Google Mayday – Beginning in May 2010, Mayday became the code word for a major change in Google’s algorithm. There were over 400 updates. The biggest change is how Google associates websites with long tail keywords. Older industry standards for a keyword phrase would consist of 1 – 3 keywords, now Google likes longer more specific keyword phrases and wants higher quality sites to be a part of the top 10 results.

Here’s an example of a long tail keyword phrase vs. 1 to 2 word keyword phrase – “Google Mayday” or “Google long tail keyword phrase Mayday” The long tail keyword phrase will bring back the most specific information for the person searching, where the short keyword would bring more generalized information. The update is a reflection of the changing habits of search engine users, who employ long tail keywords in their searches today, than they had in previous years. It’s expected that some websites will see a change in ranking. At GTI, we’ve incorporated long tail keyword phrases into the Meta Data already as a user best practice. We’re keeping a watch on your website to see the effects it may have.

Also in May, Google officially launched a new program called Google Caffeine. Caffeine provides 50 percent fresher results for web searches before, and it’s the largest collection of web content offered. Whether it’s a news story, a blog or a forum post, you can now find links to relevant content much sooner after it is published than was possible ever before.

Content on the web is blossoming. It’s growing not just in size and numbers but with the advent of video, images, news and real-time updates, the average webpage is richer and more complex. In addition, people’s expectations for search are higher than they used to be. Searchers want to find the latest relevant content and publishers expect to be found the instant they publish.

What this means to you, our clients, is that we are actively encouraging you to treat your website as the living, breathing, revenue generating vehicle that it needs to be. The way for you to do this is to add updates and information to your website at least once a month (minimum). The more positive information you provide on your website in an on-going basis, the more you will be rewarded within the search engines. Content such as PDF’s, BLOGS, Information and product updates, and VIDEO (yes, the search engines can now crawl video, well at least the description that supports it). Our job is to always keep our clients informed of the latest industry standards and we encourage you to reach out to our team if you have questions about these updates.