Google has announced a re-tooled search algorithm that unabashedly takes aim at reducing the poor-quality materials born of content farms that have begun heavily populating Google search results.
Writing on the Official Google Blog, search engineers Amit Singhal and Matt Cutts say the update will effect a substantial 11.8% of all Google search results. The move, they admit, “is designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites—sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful.”
“At the same time, it will provide better rankings for high-quality sites—sites with original content and information such as research, in-depth reports, thoughtful analysis and so on.”
Google, however, did not cite by name any particular websites or repudiated content mills that will see their search listings plummet.
The transition into the new algorithm will require a period of adjustment, Google warns.
“We can’t make a major improvement without affecting rankings for many sites,” Singhal and Cutts caution.
“It has to be that some sites will go up and some will go down. Google depends on the high-quality content created by wonderful websites around the world, and we do have a responsibility to encourage a healthy web ecosystem. Therefore, it is important for high-quality sites to be rewarded, and that’s exactly what this change does.”
