Google’s Page Layout Algorithm
Google recently announced a new change in its page layout algorithm. The announcement comes after several users complained to Google about the results they display on their search results page. Many websites introduce several advertisements on their pages. Many times these advertisements are so many that there are just advertisements above the fold, and users have to go through a maze of advertisements to arrive at the actual content. Users have been unhappy with this as the result isn't worth it. Users click on the link with an expectation to get some relevant data, but when they visit the page they get several advertisements above the fold and they have to drag down to the bottom of the page to receive some relevant data. Google took this complaint seriously and introduced a page ranking algorithm that penalises pages if they have excess advertisements above the fold. Google comments that this practice of websites is bad for user experience, and if the first thing that we see on the page is a large number of advertisements, the page may face the axe the next time it is supposed to be ranked. SEO experts know how serious Google gets with this rank dropping, as Google also gives real serious punishment to websites using black hat SEO techniques. The move isn't surprising, though. When a user clicks on a link given by Google, he expects some results on the page and has some trust associated with it. When they do not find the relevant data on the page and instead find just advertisements, they leave the page disappointed, which eventually affects Google's brand image. Google also made things easier for advertising agencies and released a tool at browsersize.googlelabs.com. This tool would help websites know whether this new algorithm may affect them or not. This tool can be beneficial, as you can make timely changes in the interface of your website to make it compatible with Google's new algorithm. For those of you who are thinking of checking Google's results using this tool, do not try too hard, as you won't be able to plug in their URL in the tool. Creative advertising agencies feel that this move by Google is not justified, as Google is doing exactly the opposite of what it is asking the other websites to do. The penalty on top of it may prove to be really heavy for websites, as Google has been known to charge severe penalties and behave seriously with their warnings. The algorithm is out in the open, and you would have known by now if you were among the sufferers. All you can do now is keep removing ads and make changes to the interfaces. Keep on making the changes and wait for Google to make an update so that your website can get back on track. It is being expected that every 1 in 100 searches has been affected by this new algorithm.