The Catalysts Behind Google's Evolution
Google's approach to
quality search is, at best, reactive. Updates in algorithms wouldn't
have been possible without catalysts. Google's legal tussle with
Search King in 2003 is just one of many (where Google won). Below are
some search engine feature updates and the reason for their immediate
implementation.
Nofollow
Nofollow enables
websites to instruct search engines not to follow any links. Google
created this feature in response to the vulnerability of online
comments to links; something like a back door for excessive linking,
which is now frowned upon. When link spamming refused to stop, Google
webspam guru Matt Cutts required nofollow for PageRank-compliant
links.
Automatic Filters
One of the longest
developments, automatic filters have engaged in numerous tugs-of-war
with black-hat practices for a long time. It started out as flagging
keyword-heavy content as spam, but merchants responded by buying ads.
When Google launched a cleansing crusade against poor content,
high-authority websites capitalised on their reputation by releasing
poor content.
PageRank
The rationale behind
the development of PageRank spans out to different catalysts. Aside
from the legal tussle with Search King, there's link farming,
sponsoring widgets, and buying expired domains. These practices mean
penalties today because they reciprocate or create low-quality
content for users.
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