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6 Huge Google Changes that Affect You

By Jenni Ramminger, Senior Account Executive

Google announced in January that its top decision-making position would be turned over to Larry Page, co-founder and global leader of the Internet search giant.

Sure, avid online retailers, search engine marketers and general Internet users predicted change, but the amount of change and the velocity at which it came sent the online community scrambling for answers. With so many updates made in such a short time, we found it necessary to create a short guide explaining those that are most important to online businesses. Below is a list of the top six recent Google updates and the implications each has on future online marketing efforts.

1) Panda Update: A Bear for Many Online Businesses

The Panda Update that Google released on Feb. 24 (also referred to as the Farmer update), was essentially a declaration of war against low-quality links and content farms. This update snuck up on many unsuspecting website owners who (knowingly or unknowingly) engaged in questionable link building practices and duplicate content creation. Dramatic and instant drops in traffic were the first indications many business owners had hinting something was awry. Although some sites slowly bounced back from this update, others dropped off the first pages of Google entirely, leading to drastic decreases in traffic, leads and revenue.

The effect was crippling for approximately 12% of websites and has left business owners more aware than ever of the power of unique content and honest link building. If companies weren't doing it before, they now must focus their online marketing efforts on the creation of unique content and linkbait that will truly provide value to their visitors. Submitting links to irrelevant directories, publishing the same article across multiple sites, or paying for links on unrelated websites are practices that have been discouraged in the past but are punishable in the present, thanks to this most recent algorithm change.

2) Google Profiles Go Public

In an interesting twist, Google announced on July 6 that all Google profiles will become public and private profiles will be deleted as of July 31. This move is thought to push users towards integrating with the new Google+ social network, which is explained a little more below. For now, it's unclear as to how this will affect business owners, considering many don't use Gmail as their primary email solution. However, transparency seems to be the running theme; associating a real name and gender with your Google profile is the first step to abiding by Google's rules. Don't want to play by the rules? Not a good move. Your Google profile will be deleted and your access to Google+ denied.

3) Facebook and Google+ Go Face-to-Face

There has been quite a buzz this month about Google's release of Google+, a social communication platform that rivals Facebook. However, businesses might not be able to effectively capitalize on this platform just yet. Google has said they are currently focused on enriching the Google+ experience for consumers; a Google+ business platform is expected later this year. The Google+ business platform is rumored to feature in-depth analytics and the ability to link a Google+ profile to other commonly used business applications like Google Adwords. Google is asking businesses not to create consumer profiles at launch, as they are optimizing a platform specifically for business users. Despite their plea, a few companies - including Ford Motor Company - have already begun experimenting. Whether your company chooses to experiment on the consumer version or wait a bit longer for a business solution, one thing is for sure: Google+ is opening a whole new chapter in the book of social media. How to best use this platform in corporate marketing? Well, that's a story that's yet to be written.

4) Google Home Page Re-Designed to Promote New Tools

You may have noticed recently that Google's home page received a facelift. According to the Official Google Blog, this facelift is focused around three design principles: Focus, Elasticity and Effortlessness. In short, these changes (including the addition of a black bar at the top of the page, new positioning of popular tools and a cleaner look) serve to bring uniformity to Google's many products while helping users get to what they want faster. More changes are likely to occur in the near future, but in the meantime, what do these updates mean to business owners? Google is making things simple. They are focusing on bold calls to action, bold colors, simple navigation and the elimination of excess information that will deter users from their end goal. So what better company to learn from? Take Google's hint as a business owner lean towards simple. Look for ways to enhance your website so that it offers users a clear path to their end goal. Take out the clutter and focus on clear, bold calls to action. As searchers begin to experience simple, quick and more relevant results via Google's searches, they'll likely expect the same experience when they visit your site.

5) Twitter Results Suspended from Google's Realtime Search

On July 2 Google's contract with Twitter expired which resulted in a shutdown of Google's realtime search function. The contract between Twitter and Google had allowed for Twitter posts to appear in Google's search results in realtime via a special feed. Although this capability is currently deactivated, Google has stated that it won't be for long.

"We've temporarily disabled google.com/realtime. We're exploring how to incorporate our recently launched Google+ project into this functionality going forward, so stay tuned," Google said in a statement. "Our vision is to have google.com/realtime include Google+ information along with other realtime data from a variety of sources."

For business owners, this news is an important indicator that realtime results and Google + are both here to stay. Stay informed as to the status of Google+ and be ready to utilize this new feature as soon as it becomes available to businesses. Being included in realtime search results offers two main benefits: you gain great exposure by showing up on top of the search results and you represent your company as a leader on the topics that you post about.

6) Google to Re-Brand Popular Products

Google has announced that it is focusing these upcoming months on better branding. The first task on the list? Renaming two of its most popular tools – Picasa Image Editor and Blogger. Both products are heavily utilized, however the fact that Google owns them has not been heavily promoted. In an effort to better promote the many tools it has to offer, Google is renaming its products "Google Photos" and "Google Blogs." Expect more changes like this to occur in the near future. In the meantime, explore the tools that Google has to offer and familiarize yourself with their products. Utilizing multiple Google tools is a great way to ensure your website is incorporating all the right elements to optimize search engine rankings.

Change in the world of Internet marketing is nothing new, but its rapidity can sometimes catch companies off guard. For businesses to survive in this environment of constant evolution, curiosity is key. Stay curious about new updates – ask questions, dig for answers and experiment with new tools and platforms. Google and search is evolving full steam ahead...make sure your company doesn't miss the boat!

Contact us today for more information about our search engine optimization marketing services.