Algorithm is a common word that you are bound to encounter when dealing with SEO or Search Engine Optimization of your website. Unfortunately, most people are a little vague as to these algorithms and the effect they have on the rankings of your website in Google.
The Definition
In simple terms, an algorithm can be defined as the calculations that are performed by Google. These calculations will determine the exact rank of your website on the search results pages of Google.
Facts about the Google Algorithms
- Google does not use a single algorithm. Rather it uses multiple algorithms to help in the determination of ranking.
- Algorithms work by taking the search queries presented to them and then displaying the results in a search result page.
- The algorithms used by Google use more than 200 factors or signals in websites when trying to determine the search results. The results displayed are based on these diverse factors such as the age of the content, the PageRank, the location of the user and so on.
- Google updates their algorithms constantly to ensure the best experience for the user. Unfortunately, it also means that businesses will need to keep up making modifications to their websites to ensure the top rank.
Why Should You Pay Attention the Algorithms?
People enter their search terms in a search engine and then visit one or more of the websites displayed in the results page. This is by far the most common way people visit websites. At the same time, Google is the most widely used search engines in the world. This means, if your website gets the first rank in Google then you can get a lot of traffic. Since the algorithms determine the ranks, you need to know how each of them works so that you can optimize your website accordingly.
The Google Algorithms
- Panda – The Panda algorithm is used to determine the quality of the content in websites. Panda penalizes those websites that lack original content and provide no value to the visitor. These websites get penalized by the Panda algorithm.
- Penguin – Google uses the Penguin algorithm to check for websites that use illegal SEO techniques to achieve a higher ranking on the Google search results pages. These webpages tend to have a lot of spam or dubious links and are stuffed with keywords. Over optimization is penalized through the Penguin algorithm.
- Pirate – The Pirate algorithm checks for websites that have infringed copyrighted content and materials. This filters out those websites and reduces their rankings. The filter gets updated periodically and it ensures that websites that are clean from these issues get better rankings.
- Hummingbird – The Hummingbird bird algorithm is used to locate content that is relevant to the search terms being entered instead of selecting individual words. Websites with more relevant content get better ranks.
- Payday – Google uses the Payday algorithm to clean up search terms that are heavily spammed such as loans, insurance and so on.
- Top Heavy – This algorithm penalizes websites that have too many advertisements and have become ‘top heavy’. Their rankings are reduced.