I’m normally not one to jump all over a Google announcement (really? they changed the algorithm again?!?) but when G makes dramatic updates to the search results pages, I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring you up to speed.
Yesterday, Google released “Instant Previews” on their search results pages. Like Ask.com and Bing, searchers can now hover over a magnifying glass icon to pop up a preview window of the destination URL. According to Google, this helps searchers find better answers to their queries more quickly.
During tests, Google found that people who use Instant Previews are 5% more likely to like the results they click. The previews provide new ways to evaluate search results, making you more likely to find what the searcher seeks before visiting the page.
The problem with previews
First impressions are hard enough to get right when somebody clicks through to your site. But what if your Instant Preview is broken or portrays your site in a “less than useful” way?
Look at this example from CarMax.com for the search term “used cars”:
Instant Preview 404 (click for full size)
The preview shows the site’s 404 error page. That’s not helpful!
Full disclosure: I managed SEO in-house for CarMax.com years ago and have alerted them to this problem.
Check yourself frequently
What does your site’s instant preview say about your site? Does it welcome users or turn them away? Are your logos, color schemes and layouts displaying properly?
If it’s not the first impression you’d like to be making, your site design may need some sprucing up. If your Instant Preview shows the wrong page or an error page, pick up the red phone and call in the experts immediately! It’s likely not Google’s fault, so do whatever it takes to put your best foot forward and give searchers and prospective customers what they are looking for.
There comes a time in nearly every website’s life cycle when it becomes necessary to change the URL structure of a page or an entire site. The most common reasons I’ve seen are:
Switching CMS platforms or a site redesign
Implementing tactical SEO recommendations to improve page relevance
Re-categorizing content within a site’s information architecture
For simplicity’s sake, I’ll use OldPage.html and NewPage.html in the examples below.
Implications for rankings and traffic
Any of these scenarios could spell trouble for the page’s rankings and organic search engine traffic. Why? Because Google’s crawler knows about OldPage.html but not NewPage.html. OldPage.html has links pointing to it from internal and external pages. OldPage.html has history with Google, which accounts for some of the trust and credibility factors in their ever-changing ranking algorithm.
Even if the content stays the same between OldPage.html and NewPage.html, search engine crawlers will not pick up on the new address unless instructed to do so with a 301 redirect, links from internal navigation or inclusion in an XML sitemap.
But what about applying a rel=canonical tag to OldPage.html that points to NewPage.html? Would that accomplish the same things as a 301 redirect?
301 redirects vs. rel=canonical
For the uninitiated, a 301 redirect is an instruction to your web server to automatically forward requests for OldPage.html to NewPage.html. The “301″ portion means “this page has permanently moved” and search engines will begin to transfer links and other ranking criteria from OldPage.html to NewPage.html. Eventually, OldPage.html will be removed from Google’s index and search results and NewPage.html will likely take its place.
The rel=canonical <link> tag serves a different purpose. When placed in the <head> section of OldPage.html (and pointing to NewPage.html), it tells search engines that the content on OldPage.html is identical (or nearly identical) to the content on NewPage.html. This helps the search crawlers and ranking algorithms sort out duplicate content problems on sites with very complex and dynamic URL structures. When a rel=canonical tag is found, Google will begin to transfer PageRank and other ranking criteria from OldPage.html to NewPage.html. But, the key difference is that OldPage.html still exists somewhere in Google’s index and rankings.
Are they interchangeable?
No. The 301 redirect is meant to be used when one URL is permanently replaced with another. The rel=canonical tag should be reserved for two (or more) pages that still exist but are largely identical. There’s no need for each page to be indexed and compete with each other, so it makes sense to tell Google which copy you prefer them to rank.
What happens if I use canonical instead of 301?
If OldPage.html still exists (resolves when the URL is typed in the address bar), the page will persist in Google’s index but should not continue to rank well because they will start to favor the canonical page (NewPage.html).
OldPage.html’s rankings will drop over time due to fewer internal links, but the canonical tag won’t make it disappear entirely. It could theoretically remain in their index until one of the following occurs:
it is redirected permanently via 301
it returns a 404 for an extended period of time (they will keep checking for a while before dropping a URL)
a meta robots “noindex” tag is added
The corollary to that is NewPage.html will soon start to rank higher in Google because of the added internal links and canonical tag on OldPage.html will consolidate PageRank and links on NewPage.html. In most cases, the rel=canonical tag will likely not pass 100% of the PageRank applied to OldPage.html. But then again, a 301 redirect doesn’t pass 100% of the PageRank either.
A couple of caveats
Keep in mind that the canonical tag is viewed as a “hint”, not a “directive” to Google. They will try to honor it but make no guarantees that it will be followed. I still recommend the 301 redirects as the best case scenario for changing URLs because they should work faster. If they are not possible, properly implementing the canonical tag will help fill the gap.
Even though Bing and other crawlers now recognize the canonical tag, their implementation may not be as quick to notice changes or transfer PageRank and rankings to NewPage.html.
What have you noticed when comparing the impact of 301 redirects and rel=canonical tags?
I have been flooded with questions from clients, colleagues and friends since Google’s announcement of Instant search. If you’re not familiar with Instant search, check out this quick video I shot before the official announcement. Or, of course there’s always a highly polished video from Google:
The new reality of SEO and PPC?
Personally, I found Google Instant distracting at first. After a couple of days, I am pleasantly surprised that it seems useful in a lot of cases where I’m not quite sure what I’m looking for. The general use case is somebody starting with a broad search (i.e. “flowers”) that will benefit from seeing suggested search queries based on their predicted intent (such as “flower delivery in richmond, va”).
That being said, the implications for SEO and PPC marketers are currently being discussed and analyzed throughout the industry. Here are the key themes that I believe are becoming the new reality:
1. More concentration on “head” terms. These high search volume, highly competitive, expensive keywords are likely to show up more often in Google’s suggested or predicted queries. Our keyword research needs to take these suggested or predicted queries into account so that we can optimize websites and PPC campaigns accordingly.
2. Long Tail keywords will be less productive. As Jeremy indicated, I believe most searchers will be distracted or tempted to click earlier as the search results change in real-time. This will likely lead to more clicks on head terms and more search query refinements.
3. Ultimately, relevance is still key. Organic and paid search rankings have not changed with Instant. No matter how the User Experience of search evolves, a well-thought out SEO strategy will include tactics to improve a site’s relevance to the keywords people are most likely to search for. Even if you rank #1 for a popular query, a poorly written Title tag or call to action are going to diminish the likelihood of people clicking on your organic search result or converting on your site.
4. Google will get richer. The logic behind this is obvious, since the head keywords are typically more expensive on a Cost Per Click basis. When it comes to their golden goose, Google really only makes UX changes like this that will improve their bottom line.
5. Brands matter more than ever. Large brands stand to gain considerably because Google inherently trusts them more. Over the last year, we’ve seen Google start to rank well known brands higher than lesser known but potentially better-optimized sites. This evolution is not debated in the industry, but the pundits and experts disagree on whether or not this actually improves search results and the search experience for the average Google user. I tend to believe that less variety and choice leads to lower quality search results.
6. Instant doesn’t mean permanent. Google is well known for launching a major UX change or search feature only to roll it back if user acceptance is not high and/or it doesn’t have the intended outcome (higher profitability for GOOG, better user experience, ease of use, etc.) Remember how short-lived Google Wave and real-time search results were?
7. The proof is in the analytics. We won’t know the full impact of Instant on SEO and PPC until marketers and analysts have had time to gather and interpret any changes in site analytics or campaign metrics. I expect to see preliminary results being reported as early as next week but a full understanding may take weeks or months, especially when seasonality is considered.
8. Remain calm. We’re on the leading edge of this change and word travels fast in the SEM industry. We are better off taking a wait-and-see approach to making changes rather than jumping into the unknown. Even waiting a few weeks or months to modify an SEO or PPC strategy will still likely give you an advantage over the vast majority of competitors that will be slower to act (if they act at all).
I hope this puts your mind at ease. It’s an exciting change to keep an eye on, but the end result will ultimately depend on whether or not the average Google user accepts the changes or not.
Just for fun, I thought I’d post a screen capture of Google’s new “streaming” search results that update in real time as you modify your search query. It’s best viewed in full screen or HD mode.
As with the search suggestions that all the major engines use now, this will likely change SEO for most marketers as we are going to have to contend with more “eye candy” that could distract searchers from our desired search results.
While real-time search suggestions may add some value to people searching for broad terms, real-time search results are distracting and confusing at first. I’m not sure if I’ll get used to them or not, but it does seem to add some amount of unnecessary distraction.
What do you think? Have you seen these results in the wild yet?
If you haven’t heard by now, search engine rankings change a lot. The latest ranking factor to ripple through the industry is site speed. Long suspected but finally confirmed, how fast your website loads plays a role in how high your website ranks in Google.
This slideshow contains everything (well, almost everything) you need to make your WordPress installation screaming fast. Be sure to click through to the full version to visit the links he mentions.
