12 social signals from Twitter that could influence search rankings
We know that Google uses hundreds of ranking factors to determine where it places web pages in its index. We also know that social media sites are becoming increasingly influential on search placements.
Charles Duncombe explored the topic on this blog a few days ago, focusing mainly on volume-based signals. I think there’s probably a bit more to it than that, or at least there should be.
This is a think-out-loud ‘Friday’ post, rather than a definitive guide to the things Googlebot is sniffing out (for I know not what it looks for). It considers the possibilities, to explore what Google might be able to make sense of. I invite you to share your own ideas in the comments section below.
So then, what kind of social signals might it take notice of on Twitter?
Google targets undesirable pagination
Pagination, the breaking up of content across multiple pages, is a common practice and in many cases, a product of good design.
After all, there are plenty of cases where pagination creates a more pleasurable, higher-performing user experience.
But pagination isn't always desirable. Some sites, for instance, employ pagination in a questionable attempt to boost page views, and thus ad impressions.
What are the most important search ranking factors?
The biennial search ranking factors report from SEOmoz was released today, which surveyed 134 SEO professionals on what has the most effect on search rankings, and their views on the future of search.
Here's a few highlights from the report...
Could email reputation become a Google ranking factor?
In the battle to maintain the quality of its SERPs, Google is increasingly tweaking its algorithm. Since there are only so many on-page ranking factors for Google to consider, it's logical to expect that off-page ranking factors will only become more numerous and important over time.
At least one website operator believes these off-page factors may now include email reputation. Jake Ludington, who runs JakeLudington.com, noticed a drop in his traffic in April, and after looking at his website, came to the conclusion that his email newsletter must have caused the drop.
Social ranking signals revealed: what Google and Bing are really using
It's widely assumed that search engines are incorporating signals from popular social networking hubs into their algorithms. After all, millions upon millions of links are shared every day on sites like Facebook and Twitter. It would be somewhat surprising if search engines like Google and Bing were ignoring these links, particularly given the fact that the largest search engines all have data deals in place with Twitter and/or Facebook.
But which signals are being used, and what sort of weight are they being given? Thanks to interviews Search Engine Land's Danny Sullivan conducted with both Google and Bing representatives, we now have a better idea.
Google Caffeine: the most refreshing Google update ever for SEOs?
Need a Caffeine boost? After much anticipation and discussion, Google's latest 'big update' is officially here.
Unlike many major Google updates, which include alterations to the factors Google uses to rank pages, Caffeine instead represents an update to Google's web indexing system. The result: Google says Caffeine "provides 50 percent fresher results for web searches than our last index."
It's official: Google incorporates website speed into your ranking
Most online publishers already know instinctively that a slow-loading website isn't a good thing. After all, who has the time to browse around a website on which pages take forever to load? Not a lot of people in today's fast-paced world.
Google knows that, and after it dropped a hint late last year, has followed through on its plans to incorporate website speed into its ranking algorithm.
Google’s real time SEO ranking factors for Twitter
Google’s recent move into real-time search has generated a lot noise in the internet industry recently, not least among the SEO professionals.
The search engine is now indexing tweets from Twitter and other status updates from other social media sites, including Myspace and Facebook.
Most of the time real time results are currently displayed on the top half of the page, which is prime real estate, and as such SEOs are keen to understand what makes Google tick.
Is Google Site Performance a prelude to load time as ranking factor?
As reported in November, Google's Matt Cutts indicated that page load time may make its debut as a search ranking factor in 2010.
And now there's a new hint that page load time could become a ranking factor next year: Google has added a new section called Site Performance to Google Webmaster Tools.
Load time: coming soon as a Google ranking factor?
Google's algorithm looks at a significant number of ranking factors when it decides where a site should be in the SERPs. These ranking factors, and the weight they're each given, change over time.
Last week at PubCon, Google's Matt Cutts revealed a new ranking factor that may debut in 2010: page load time.
