SEO News Tip of the Day!

For some time now people have been increasingly talking about Google's algorithm and the fact that they may be using more than one. On the WebWorkShop SEO Forum, PhilC a site administrator has been conducting some detailed research into this phenomenon. What PhilC has been doing is querying the numerous datacenters (DC’s) used by Google to answer user’s keyword searches.

PhilC has noticed that there appears to be several groups of DC’s returning different results and inside these groups, there seems to be more than one algorithm in use. Read the full thread here. Google using more than one algorthim.

What does this mean?

Well I think PhilC summed it up well in one of his posts suggesting this would be a good way for Google to introduce algo updates on a couple DC’s enabling them to test them before introducing them more widely. This would help to prevent disasters such as the infamous (for some) Florida up-date which caused Google to do some back pedaling after realizing the new algo wasn’t as good as they first thought.

Another impact it has is to keep SEO’s on their toes, something many have said Google is trying to do with more and more vigor. Whether this is just a by-product nobody could really say one way or the other. One thing for shore is by using more than one algo it will be harder to work out it out.

One thing that gets me on this one is how can Google be giving you the most relevant results each time if it uses more than algo. Shorely in order to return the most relevant results you could only have algo, the most relevant algo.

DMOZ: Rotten To The Core

I knew things were bad at DMOZ. But I guess I didn't realize how bad, until I started eavesdropping on a few forums, and reading the avalanche of e-mails I received on the subject.

When it takes up to two years to get a web site listed, there's a serious problem. When perfectly qualified web sites are rejected for no other reason than the fact the editor considers them serious competition to his or her own site, there's a serious problem.

When you e-mail DMOZ about the status of your web site and don't even receive a courtesy response to your questions, there's a serious problem.

When you have egotistical DMOZ editors fighting each other to have their own web sites listed, there's a serious problem.

And quite frankly, I don't see how the mess DMOZ has created can be fixed. With an apparently endless backlog of web sites waiting to be approved, how can they possibly catch up. The answer is, they can't.

But this isn't just a performance issue we're talking about here, this is a morality issue. The very fact that it's a matter of public record what DMOZ is doing speaks volumes about the character of many of their editors.

After all, much of what I've written negatively about DMOZ came directly from the mouths and/or keyboards of DMOZ editors themselves. At least they claimed to be DMOZ editors. And for the life of me, I can't imagine why anyone would want to own up to that dubious distinction, unless it were actually true.

This is what one DMOZ editor had to say. "Since I became an editor for DMOZ a few weeks ago (albeit for a tiny category) I have seen on the DMOZ editors board that there are a lot of good volunteers there who work hard to try to keep the directory up to date and useful. Its a shame because there are also seem to be a lot of editors there who are lazy, or who have let the "power" of being an editor go to their heads. (The people who DON'T ever post on the editor message boards, or update their categories, etc.)

I think some method to allow webmasters to check the status of their site submissions (and to know why their site gets rejected if it is something fixable, and the site is related to the category and not just a spam submission, etc) would be an excellent first step to improving the system. Unfortunately the editor management system seems to be circa 1998 ... I am only guessing based on design/functionality, but I assume big changes are not coming any time soon."

Even Google may have come to the realization that DMOZ may have finally run its course. Previously found via its own tab, the Open Directory has been demoted to the "more" page.

This was Google's explanation for the demotion. "We analyzed what people were using, and that had become less popular over time. As the web grows, directory structures get harder to use. It didn't seem to be worth the real estate on the home page." Ouch!

Demoting the directory may also be a way for Google to eventually distance itself from the Open Directory Project, which powers it. The volunteer-produced directory was added back in 2000, near the height of the Open Directory's popularity.

Today, there are often complaints that the ODP, has not keep up with submission demands. In addition, there have been delays in getting the most current data out in a format that ODP partners such as Google can use.

Ultimately, any problem with the Open Directory--which is not in Google's control--still reflects badly on Google.

I do have a solution to this whole DMOZ mess, if anyone wants to hear it. I say nuke the site for morbid, and put it out of its misery!

About The Author

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: dean@lets-make-money.net

Visit his website at: http://www.lets-make-money.net