If you are running one of the approximately 1 in 10 websites that enjoys first page search results from Google, you are likely somewhat confused by all the jumping around in the SERPs. Starting earlier this month, Google started making some changes, though they didn’t initially comment much on what they were doing. It has been difficult to track down anything that the sites really had in common.
Well, it has finally been confirmed that Google has been making a series of fairly small updates to their Penguin algorithm. Don’t get too comfortable, however, because the changes aren’t over yet. Barry Schwartz of SearchEngineLand reached out to Google and actually got an answer. Google said that the updates are not yet complete, and “there won’t be a particularly distinct end-point to the activity, since Penguin is shifting to more continuous updates.”
This seems to mean that Google will be making much more frequent, though less impactful, updates to the algorithm. This can make it far harder for website owners to keep up with what is going on. Of course, this is likely intentional for Google since they don’t want people attempting to manipulate the search results. Instead, they want everyone to focus only on publishing high quality content that searchers will actually benefit from (no change here).
As has long been the case, sites that are looking for any type of stability in the SERPs will need to make their sites as user friendly as possible. This includes having an easy to understand internal linking structure, having the site load quickly, and of course, having high quality content on every page.
