Google, Yahoo and MSN appear to be continually displaying dramatic shifts in algorithms

May 12, 2005; 12:00 AM

May 12, 2005 - Because both comScore and OneStat consistantly attributes about 90% of all searches originating from Google, Yahoo, MSN, and AOL, keeping abreast of these changes and "experiments" are essential in the extremely competitive world of search engine optimization and marketing.

Google is extremely sensitive to hyperlinked keywords in backwards links and of course, the popularity of those links. However, new variables appear to have been added to this standard that are quite confusing to Webmasters and SEOs who have witnessed dramatic changes in their "ethically" programmed sites, and new controversies with link exchange strategies that have banned long established, high ranking sites.

While Web page titles still are an important influence in Google's SERPs, they don't appear to have nearly the influence they had one year ago.

Yahoo and MSN on the other hand, are prioritizing link popularity and hypertexted keywords more than ever before. This is a tremendous change from just a few months ago, when keyword frequency seemed to virtually guarantee a respectable showing for reasonably competitive keywords.

It appears that factoring in some degree of quality link popularity in SERPs significantly helps against spam sites.

However, especially in the case of Google, the newer sites do not seem to really have a chance and must resort to pay-per-click to be noticed until they can accumulate ample links.

One strategy that seems to be gaining ground among SEOs is to relentlessly analyze and dissect the relatively FEW sites that have appeared to "ace" all the major search engines.

Free tools abound on the Web for just this purpose. Several will thoroughly analyze the keyword-frequency and density of a given site.

Some will analyze the keywords and page ranks of the backwards links of a particular site or page.

Some will keep a database of the various positions a Web page may have experienced among various search engines over a period of time.

Taken together, this arsenal of tools can work in harmony to increase the probability of eventual SERPs success and staying power.

A list and links to these free tools are collected at : http://search-engines-web.com/
http://google-yahoo.com/