Google often changes their algorithm to innovate and improve their search engine. Though, some may argue that they do this to maintain their control of online search engine marketing and optimization.
From versions like “Penguin” and “Panda,” we have become accustomed to the idea that new versions will force the online Search Engine Marketing Industry to adapt to the new rules that have been put in place.
Just over a month ago, Google released “Hummingbird” which affected 90% of search results.
“It is really big,” said Google search executive Amit Singhal.
Many online web publishers, webmasters, and SEO gurus screamed in protest as they saw their search traffic drop dramatically. In an instant, Google had replaced the entire “engine” of the search engine and many say that Google is poising itself to become an even bigger giant in the online search engine space.
This year, Google accounted for 33% of the revenue in worldwide advertising, up 2% from the previous year. Google’s marketshare of worldwide mobile advertising revenue has also increased from 52.4 to 53.2%.
Google is planning for even more enormous growth with “Hummingbird” and some even say that they are taking an unfair advantage to control online marketing and force companies into pay-per-click models and other forms of paid advertising. Search engine optimization may even be a dying fashion with Google’s new plans.
Online marketers and retailers will soon find it very difficult to track the effectivity of keywords in Google Analytics because Google will begin rolling out secure-socket layer (SSL) search encryption, thus, disguising search traffic in a more broad and anonymous manner.
Google will begin implementing a new form of tracking, currently being dubbed as the “super cookie.” This type of tracking will take note of consumer interactions across the multitude of their devices while tying in GPS-technology. Google will know where a customer is and have a good idea of what they are looking for, based upon tracking.
Because consumers use devices other than computers such as tablets and smartphones, “cookies” are no longer as effective as they traditionally have been for tracking users. Google has developed this “super cookie” to create consumer profiles and target advertising.
Having this knowledge only empowers Google more and they are likely to charge advertisers for this valuable information. This may also drive up the costs of Google’s Display Network, Adwords, and varying digital advertising packages.
Google’s quiet step is an important step and we must all tune into the sound to keep our profits in key.
