Does Google’s Freshness Algorithm Have You Running Scared?

For those of you unaware, Google’s latest algorithm change (which is a modification of a previous algorithm called Caffeine) Fresh affects 35% of searches. To put this in perspective, Google’s previous algorithm change Panda only affected an estimated 12 percent of searches. This is pretty daunting news for those of you with stagnant or inactive websites. TechCrunch blogged about The Winners and Losers of Googles Freshness (stats provided by SearchMetrics.com) and even posted a list of the noted winners and losers.

The Google Fresh Winners

The below screen shot from SearchMetrics shows some websites which they state have largely benefitted from the Google Fresh algorithm change.

Out of curiosity, I decided to randomly check the Alexa rank for five of these websites. These websites, their global Alexa rankings, and the percentage difference of search engine generated visits for the last month and 7 days (depending on available data) can be seen below.

1. • LastFM.com: #612;  -14% in last 7 days / -5% in last month
   • RockHall.com: #126,565;  +49% in last month
   • Dominos.com: #3,307;  -19% in last 7 days / -5% in last month
   • Allthelyrics.com: #12,088;  -7% in last 7 days / -10% in last month
   • TechCrunch.com: #231;  -2% in last 7 days / -5% in last month

I do not want to speak on behalf of the man himself, but I doubt Charlie Sheen would agree that all of these websites are “winning.”

The Google Fresh Losers

And on the latter side, we have a list of the noted losers.

Once again, I ran five random websites through Alexa.com. Below are their statistics.

1. • ComCast.net: #197;  -17% in last 7 days / -14% in last month
   • Univision.com: #1,318;  -3% in last 7 days / -1% in last month
   • ShopLocal.com: #1,487;  +38% in last 7 days / -41% in last month
   • AmericanExpress.com: #379;  +1% in last 7 days / -10% in last month
   • Blogger.com: #7;  -5% in last 7 days / +4% in last month

Although there appear to be some discrepancies with what SmartMetrics posted and what Alexa is showing, the fact remains that many websites are being impacted by this most recent algorithm change – and to me, the majority of those appear to be in the negative.

What Are You Doing To Combat Google Fresh?

Google has made it clear that stagnant search results are not what “the people” want. And though you might not need to update all of the content on your website, you might want to consider becoming a bit more active; especially if it could benefit you in the SERPs. Just some of the ways we at National Positions are encouraging our clients to stay ahead of the game is to take advantage of any (or all) of the following:

1. Social Media
2. Internet Marketing 3.0
3. Onsite Blogging

Feel free to take a look at our SEO services and see if there is a service that might be a better fit for your company. Or, call us at (877) 866-6699 and our Internet marketing consultants can help you piece together a custom marketing plan just right for you.

What’s your Google Fresh Strategy?
We would love to hear your comments!