SEO lab > Google articles

Optimising for Expert Systems

by Brian Turner of britecorp.

There is a camp within Search Engine Optimisation that says that Google implemented an "expert system" at the Florida Update. I am currently a very much a part of this camp.

What the exact form this update has taken can only be guessed at. It could be Hilltop, or an advanced form of it – or else something like TopicSensitive PageRank. It could be something completely unknown from previously published Google papers and patents. However, to myself, the "expert system" is plainly given away by the sudden elevated rankings of .edu, .gov – and directory – pages.

The point here is that by this interpretation, Google works specifically from a pre-selected set of "expert pages" and "authority sites", who's outbound links are now of elevated important.

And although .edu and .gov sites are hard to manipulate – quite possibly a contributory reason for their inclusion – directories are more readily accessible.

The interesting thing is that, even if Google hasn't implemented an expert system - even if the changing rankings are caused in majority by something such as TSPR, even LocalRank, or an unknown quantity - then this entire article will still be entirely relevant. It is merely the emphasis of the link-building that would change.

How do you SEO against an expert set? Well, to do that you need to set up links from expert pages and authority sites.

That's actually a lot harder than it sounds: that means you need well-established pages to link to you, and we all know what buggers high PR sites are to get links from.

However, all is not lost – you simply need a much more focussed link-building campaign.

That means directories for starters - any that are indexed and have unmodified links can be of great value to sites looking to SEO against the Florida/Austin/Yorkshire system.

Lots of directory links. As many as possible. And keep them on topic, or related at least.

And don't just stop there - links pages on sites related to your theme could also be an invaluable resource for setting up "expert" connections. Link exchanges in themselves are hard work, but just remember to aim for quality. Find them by doing a backlink check on your competitors, and also trawl DMOZ and Yahoo for quality link partners.

Of course, don't forget our specific onsite articles about this subject, not least Rise of the Directory. Also take particular note of our specific articles, such as An introduction to link building, Directory Listings, Link Exchange Programs, and Independent Back Linking Networks.

SEO used to be about Content SEO and Link Building SEO. In fact, link building with its anchor text and PR advantages was such a big issue that sites could be back-linked from anything and anywhere, and gain tremendously so long as just the text anchors were properly targeted for keywords.

Now it's different. The page counts. The site status counts. The days of hogging PR are fading away.

Wake up to a new dawn. It began with Florida – it continued with Austin – and it ends with Yorkshire.

Welcome to a new world of SEO - welcome to New Google.

Or is it?

Next >> When Yorkshire? An addendum.