Is Google the Mozart of Online Advertising?
October 3, 2011
The Google recipe for its Web site placement order for searches is closely guarded despite the company’s open-source policy. Google Discusses Their Algorithm Change Process at Search Engine Journal explains the lengthy and arduous process Googlers must go through in the quest for search engine effectiveness.
Mozart was gifted, somewhat like the Energizer Bunny until his batteries gave up, and able to suck up the best ideas from whatever sequence of notes he happened to absorb. Not surprisingly, Mozart did his best to control his musical output, leaving gaps in his manuscripts, which, I presume, reminded him to make something up as he went along. The gap also added difficulty to those who would game his musical system. Is Google the Mozart of online advertising?
Google allegedly explains that Google must guard the algorithms to keep the manipulation of its numerical recipes to an acceptable minimum. In fact, an entire industry has grown up around trying to crack Google’s search algorithms in an effort to bolster one’s ranking. Google isn’t just sitting around; rather, they are constantly updating and tweaking their algorithms. The leitmotif runs through objectivity and results shaping is evident to me. Am I alone? The article asserts:
Each idea is based on improving the user experience, but not every idea actually shows a positive user impact; while over 500 changes were made last year, over 20,000 experiments were conducted in that same time period. The key takeaway is that, while it’s a good idea to pay attention to experiments, only a small cut will ever become a part of the standard – and, with 500 changes a year, even those alterations are subject to reversal.
With so many changes constantly occurring behind the curtain, how are websites to keep up? Although 500 changes may be made in a year, not all of them (hardly any at all) have an impact of the majority of site rankings, according to Google. The few changes that do shake things up, make life interesting for certain Web sites. Most companies relying on Google traffic for sustenance are in constant competition with Google’s algorithm. A misstep—either intentional or unintentional—can deliver a surprise with algorithm updates. In fact, as I write this, a new Panda is apparently underway. The publisher of this blog is indifferent to traffic, using this Web log as a diary of information and ideas which are recycled for for fee columns, monographs, client reports, and the occasional industry talk. Most Web sites do not enjoy this luxury.
Search engine optimization experts find new ways of diluting search results precision and recall. As long as there is billions of dollars in advertising being thrown around the Google rankings, there will be those trying to manipulate it. And when traffic building is really needed, a frazzled marketer can just buy Adwords.
I don’t think the analogy of Google and Mozart has sufficient elasticity to cover the balancing of organic search (that is, gaming the system) and buying Adwords. I do think Google and to some extent Bing are gifted composer conductors. Musicians have to follow the score or lose out.
Catherine Lamsfuss, October 3, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
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