Google has been quite busy this past year developing and offering a wide range of new products. This year included Android, which is an operating system for mobile phones, Google Chrome, which is a new browser and a host (and we mean plenty) of features and small apps to ultimately increase the user experience. One such feature that Google has added which has received plenty of attention from the SEO and SEM community is Google Promote.
What is Google Promote?
Google Promote is a simple way for Google users to instantly rank web pages to their own preferences. In order to utilize this option, you must be a registered Google user and be signed in. When you conduct a web search for any keyword the results will be listed as usual, however next to the result there will be three boxes with icons. The first box has an up arrow to “promote”, the second box has an X to “remove” and the third box when clicked offers the ability to make a comment on the listing. So, if you do a search and you like the listing you see, you can easily promote the listing to the top of the page, if you have visited the webpage and seen it to be lacking or the listing seems out of place for your search term, you can easily remove the listing from your results. Essentially, it’s a way for a person to customize their search results- or as some have stated instant page rank!
Is it the End of Page Rank as We Know It?
Before you start stressing out, what Google Promote appears to be on first glance and what it is actually is- are two different things. The idea as a way to give listings instant page rank or remove them forever from Google’s SERP can and does scare anyone in the SEO industry. However on closer inspection, there are plenty of reasons why Google Promote is essentially a paper tiger. I am not looking to attract hubris, but in its current incarnation, there are quite a few limitations built into this feature that do make it pretty harmless in the scheme of things. So here are just a few reasons why Google Promote is not an SEO killer.
You have to be a Google User to Access this Feature
First thing you should know is that in order to take advantage of this feature, you need to have a Google account and be signed in. So this feature only applies to those that both have a Google account and are already signed in and searching.
Conducting a Search for a New Keyword or for Sites that are not Regularly Viewed
The vast majority of web users have several sites that they visit regularly, whether it is Wikipedia, CNN, Amazon, etc. The overwhelming majority of these users never do a search for the keyword CNN, they either have the site bookmarked or know its URL and simply type it into their browser. So for the most part authority sites or sites that are used by a user regularly will never receive the opportunity for a Google Promote. Realistically, will you do a search for the keyword “CNN” and then rank the web pages to fit your preference- it wouldn’t make sense.
As for infrequent sites that we visit or keywords that we do input into Google’s search box, it should be noted that for the vast majority of these keywords our goal is to find the site with the information that we need as quickly and efficiently as possible and then move on. If I do a search for the keyword “red sweater”, I think most would agree that once you see the results you will be more inclined to visit the site that looks best to you and continue your shopping experience instead of rearranging the results of a search engine ranking page that in all likelihood you will never return to again.
Does Google Take a User’s Personal Rankings into Consideration
This is another important factor to consider; does Google collect data from Google Promote and analyze this data for use in its algorithms? Google is in the business of collecting data, so the short, easy answer is yes, Google definitely collects data from Google Promote. However, there is no evidence to suggest that their algorithms have been changed to include Google Promote into search results. Not only is Google Promote too subjective, but as a fairly new feature it would take plenty of time to remove any deficiencies that could ultimately game the system.
Gaming the System
This is what SEO’s and SEM’s are scared of the most. Case in point, a client of yours runs a website for remote control toys. A competing website realizes with Google Promote he or she can now not only promote his or her own website all the way to #1, but also use Google Promote to remove all of his competitor’s websites from his SERPs. In fact, to your client’s competitor, Google Promote looks like the best thing since sliced bread. He hires 1,000 contract employees to create 1,000 new Google accounts and to specifically promote his website and remove the keyword for the search term “remote control car”. Well, before you get any ideas, you should note that Google is not Digg, where a relatively large group of people digging up a story up can alter the ranking on their site. First off, Google would have to be utilizing the results of the Google Promote feature in their main algorithm and secondly, a small group of 1,000 or even 10,000 employees removing results would have to be able to have an effect. This clearly is not the case. Throughout Google’s existence, their search algorithms are not arbitrarily based on a select few web surfers, it is based on science and mathematics. Google’s search is not run on majority rule!
But let’s say for example’s sake that these relatively small group of people could have an affect on your SERPs, they would not only have to go after one keyword, but many. Most SEO’s don’t spend their entire campaign optimizing just one, single keyword, but maybe 10 or 20 various keywords. Secondly, taking the entire web community as a whole, if one million people would take the time to search for the word “remote control car” and either promote your website, remove it or make a comment- the law of averages would even it out. Maybe half would find the content on the site sub par and remove it, others would find the site useful and promote it. So in theory, in the long term, a decent website with relevant content would bear no effect on the web audience at large, just each individual personal user.
In addition, let’s say Google (which already knows that people will try to game their system) put some controls in. Maybe Google says that in order for a Google Promote ranking to be relevant, the Google account in which it was made must be used regularly. Now when you hire 1,000 people overseas to create an account to game Google Promote, you have to worry about having enough money to continue paying a team of 1,000 employees to not only promote and reward sites, but use the account for 3 months, 6 months or a year. An easy control such as “a user sandbox” would make this type of gaming the system much more difficult and expensive.
Finally, the last reason which I will talk about (there are others) why Google Promote is not an SEO killer is that most web users won’t continue to use any application or feature unless it shows direct value. There was an article recently about customers that purchased Apple iPhone applications from the App store. The incredible revelation of this article was that of all the apps that are downloaded, less than 5% are used after only one month has passed since the initial download. It should also be noted that doing research for this article, I have noticed several postings that said, (paraphrased- yeah, I used Google Promote for a few days or a week and then got bored of it). So, unless this feature gives the user value which can be seen immediately, the chances that a person will continually seek out a keyword and then start removing or promoting listings that are only searched for once in a blue moon will be extremely low.
Benefiting from Google Promote
While in its current state, Google Promote is not an SEO killer, there are ways that one can still benefit from this feature. First off, quality content is the key. Make sure you continue to provide quality, relevant content to your potential audience. In addition, optimize your content for relevant keywords and categories. This is a no brainer, if a person searches for the term “remote control car” and receives as the first listing “diamond necklace” the user will be more apt to be peeved and remove your listing. However, if your content is right on target for what it is optimized for, you may have a user that is so impressed with your website they not only return or bookmark it, but also promote it.
Google Promote is in its early stages and like most apps and features that Google creates, it is very difficult to know where they will lead. Google has a lot on its plate and will ultimately choose features and applications that will not only give the web surfer the best experience and relevant results, but those apps and features that will ultimately be the most profitable and practical for Google’s business which is selling contextual ads.
