Google Offer Guidance Regarding Digital Advertising & Infinite Scrolling
Google Page Algorithm Update
Those of you who take a direct interest in digital marketing may remember that Google opted to introduce a page algorithm update in 2012. It was aimed primarily at those websites which featured advertisements ‘above the fold’. Matt Cutt’s made it quite clear that such sites would be demoted in a bid to maintain the quality of the search results. However, Google’s lead engineer went one step further in the announcement of page algorithm refresh a couple of weeks ago. This key update has been aimed at ‘top heavy’ websites which are a challenge to navigate.
Research has revealed that the page algorithm update has only impacted 1% of global searches. However, it has served as a warning to those webmasters who prioritise the integration of potentially lucrative advertisements. Matt Cutts said, ‘Rather than scrolling down the page past a slew of ads, users want to see content right away. So sites that don’t have much content ‘above-the-fold’ can be affected by this change.’
Google Provide Technical Advice For Webmasters
There has been an increase in the number of webmasters opting to incorporate the same infinite scrolling structure as seen on Twitter and Pinterest in recent times. The adoption of this navigational method has been welcomed by those digital users who are primarily interested in speed and functionality. However, Google have revealed that infinitely scrolling pages pose a problem for search engine robots.
Google’s John Meuller said, ‘With infinite scroll, crawlers cannot always emulate manual user behaviour–like scrolling or clicking a button to load more items–so they don’t always access all individual items in the feed or gallery. If crawlers can’t access your content, it’s unlikely to surface in search results.’
Those webmasters who’ve chosen to incorporate infinite scrolling have been advised to create separate paginated pages that can be accessed by the search engine crawlers. They have also been urged to prioritise the inclusion of information for the benefit of online users.
Matt Cutts Highlights The Importance Of Backlinks
There has been a great deal of discussion about the creation and over-optimisation of back-links over the last few years. Google have released various algorithms and penalised those webmasters who’ve used black hat linking tactics. However, Matt Cutts has chosen to reinforce the importance of digital links in the latest in a series of informative videos.
What Do You Think?
Can you imagine a digital world without backlinks? Do you think that Google are taking the right approach with regards to the penalisation of ‘top heavy’ websites? We welcome and will respond to any comments you wish to make at the bottom of this post. Also, please feel free to Tweet and Google + this blog!
