Last year, Google completed its Google Caffeine update, which allowed for a far faster indexing ability for new content across the web. Now, Google claims to be building on that update by introducing a new algorithmic improvement which will decide when a search request requires a more updated, or “fresher”, results page. This new Google Fresh update affects about 35% of searches, but as Google has also reported, that means there may be just one or two different result listings in 35% of searches. Bottom line: the average searcher will probably not notice the change, but websites with a large online presence may see a significant gain or loss in their rankings.
As one might expect, some of the “winners” of this algorithm change include news sites and online retailers. However, we are surprised to see pizza chains and communications companies among those who came out on top:
| Domain | SEO Visibility 10/30/2011 | SEO Visibility 11/06/2011 | Percent |
| last.fm | 1.232.115 | 1.386.908 | 12,56 |
| overstock.com | 774.752 | 814.747 | 5,16 |
| lonelyplanet.com | 377.565 | 412.446 | 9,24 |
| rockhall.com | 36.387 | 62.61 | 72,07 |
| marthastewart.com | 147.258 | 170.392 | 15,71 |
| wikiquote.org | 292.471 | 315.054 | 7,72 |
| dominos.com | 65.37 | 86.572 | 32,43 |
| papajohns.com | 81.411 | 101.561 | 24,75 |
| squidoo.com | 386.806 | 406.93 | 5,20 |
| soundcloud.com | 211.331 | 229.032 | 8,38 |
| playstation.com | 159.381 | 176.529 | 10,76 |
| comcast.com | 170.841 | 187.415 | 9,70 |
| hotels.com | 195.153 | 210.944 | 8,09 |
| vzw.com | 40.428 | 54.978 | 35,99 |
| guitarcenter.com | 89.295 | 103.49 | 15,90 |
| cox.com | 80.679 | 91.86 | 13,86 |
| buy.com | 152.926 | 163.761 | 7,09 |
| citibank.com | 109.88 | 120.652 | 9,80 |
| scottrade.com | 22.257 | 32.891 | 47,78 |
| aim.com | 67.757 | 77.448 | 14,30 |
| southwestvacations.com | 18.632 | 27.985 | 50,20 |
| boostmobile.com | 31.092 | 39.996 | 28,64 |
| hawaiianair.com | 27.076 | 35.97 | 32,85 |
| nationalcar.com | 17.583 | 26.454 | 50,45 |
| skype.com | 89.053 | 97.38 | 9,35 |
| garmin.com | 62.918 | 71.229 | 13,21 |
Just as with the “winning” sites, those sites on the losing end also came from diverse industries, and some news sites were also unexpectedly included:
| Domain | SEO Visibility 10/30/2011 | SEO Visibility 11/06/2011 | Percent |
| comcast.net | 367.672 | 283.036 | -23,02 |
| state.ny.us | 204.599 | 151.322 | -26,04 |
| univision.com | 117.392 | 65.72 | -44,02 |
| usmagazine.com | 254.976 | 210.329 | -17,51 |
| newseum.org | 95.132 | 58.367 | -38,65 |
| the570.com | 50.775 | 23.214 | -54,28 |
| americanexpress.com | 132.096 | 109.808 | -16,87 |
| lyricspick.com | 49.287 | 29.36 | -40,43 |
| capitalone.com | 112.678 | 95.609 | -15,15 |
| peoplestylewatch.com | 63.439 | 48.143 | -24,11 |
| realtor.org | 44.23 | 30.849 | -30,25 |
| jezebel.com | 76.736 | 63.698 | -16,99 |
| plentyoffish.com | 43.898 | 30.987 | -29,41 |
| radioshack.com | 54.039 | 41.279 | -23,61 |
| gizmag.com | 54.231 | 41.63 | -23,24 |
| anandtech.com | 50.435 | 37.963 | -24,73 |
| independent.co.uk | 67.858 | 55.691 | -17,93 |
| cpsc.gov | 73.974 | 62.175 | -15,95 |
| nj.gov | 78.117 | 66.367 | -15,042 |
| stylelist.com | 26.766 | 15.038 | -43,817 |
| justinbieberzone.com | 35.292 | 23.903 | -32,271 |
| shoplocal.com | 53.484 | 42.522 | -20,496 |
| hamstersoft.com | 28.616 | 17.74 | -38,007 |
| bncollege.com | 53.543 | 42.925 | -19,831 |
| mbnanetaccess.com | 62.795 | 52.32 | -16,681 |
| blogger.com | 50.426 | 40.172 | -20,335 |
| netscape.com | 52.276 | 42.035 | -19,59 |
This update is one of the major ways Google is attempting to make their results as relevant as possible for users, and also to keep one more step ahead innovations from competitors such as the Yahoo!-Bing Search Alliance. It also offers another reason why website owners must stay on top of search engine behavior and changes. If you are concerned about whether or not your website and search terms will be affected by Google’s “Freshness” update, contact your SEO agency today.
Contributed by Amanda Finch, Titan Growth, Inc.