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April 06, 2005
Google's secrets revealed
Via Blog Business World — Google patent application on search algorithms. If you can read through it all, the patent application actually has some interesting insights for how SEO and Google ranking works.
Curiously enough, I recently added a stats counter to my archive pages and the results have been fascinating to read. I am surprised at how much traffic MSN and Yahoo are sending PHOSITA’s way. In the past when I was strictly watching stats on my main page, it was well over 80% Google – with the archives included, Google is down in the 30–40% range.
Anyone have any guesses why MSN and Yahoo seem to prize archived posts over the main page, contrary to Google?
Highlights from the Blog Business World post:
Search engine giant Google has made the news, by applying for a United States patent, for its search engine technology formula.
Commonly referred to as the search engine algorithm, the patent application covers the various factors that go into ranking a site.
When a searcher enters a word or phrase into the search box, the mega computers at Google perform literally millions and millions of calculations according to a mathematical formula. That formula is designed by Google engineers to provide what Google believes to be the most relevant results for that search.
While not everyone would agree that the returned sites are the best fit for the searcher's needs and requirements, Google does have searchers in mind. It's even my opinion that Google is attempting to create its search algorithm to think like a real person, actively seeking information.
That is the main thrust of the Google patent information.
Google wants its calculations to think like a real person.
Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 06:00 PM.
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A couple of thoughts - as your experience somewhat mimics mine.
Google uses their PageRank of which a large determining factor is how many pages link to that page (and the accompanying anchor text). As your homepage is probably the most frequently linked to page, it ranks best with Google.
Yahoo and MSN seem to like "on page" factors more than Google - giving more weight to keywords, titles and such. Archived posts are very good on these factors and hence show up more in their rankings.
My highest search term ranking on Google right now is very strange. I am currently ranked number 4 (and at one point was at number 3) for the term "random comment."
Posted by: Tim Palmer at April 6, 2005 08:30 PM
Google rewards fresh content, and that is what appears on the blog home page. The incoming link power is also directed at the blog's home page, giving the home page a huge boost in the rankings. Blog home pages also rank well in MSN, and especially well in Yahoo.
At the same time, as Tim says, the concern of Yahoo and MSN Search is on page content. As such, those pages will rank well in MSN and Yahoo, but internal page rankings will often (but not always) be weaker in Google.
Posted by: Wayne Hurlbert at April 8, 2005 03:54 AM
