This week, we're taking a look at a major Google algorithm update that seems to be on the way. How will it affect your rankings on Google?

In the news: Yahoo announces a new ad system, Microsoft sets Yahoo an ultimatum, search engines keep data too long and much more.

Table of contents:

• Facts of the week
• Search engine news of the week
• Articles of the week
• Success stories
• Previous articles

Webmasters in a discussion forum have noticed changes in Google's search results. Do we have to expect a larger ranking algorithm update? How will this influence the ranking of your web pages in Google's search results?

What changes did webmasters notice in Google's search results?

Not all webmasters noticed the same changes. Here's an overview of what has been reported:

• Some established websites that did not spam dropped out of Google's index early March.
  
  
• It seems to take much longer now until new websites get indexed by Google.
  
  
• Rather less relevant results have received higher rankings because some relevant pages either dropped out of the index or lost some of their inbound links.
  
  
• The Cache data doesn't seem to be updated.
  
  
• The site: and inurl: queries on Google that normally fluctuate for large websites now report the same numbers every day.

Changes like these are usually a clear indicator of an upcoming ranking algorithm update.

Is this really a ranking algorithm update?

Google engineer Matt Cutts denied that there are any major changes in the search results and that there was a ranking algorithm update on the way.

However, he wanted to investigate if and why the results change so much.

The observations of the webmasters in the forum might be normal changes that happen all the time. But the webmasters who discovered the changes are very web-savvy and they should be able to distinguish an anomaly from usual fluctuations.

What does this mean to your Google rankings?

It has yet to turn out whether this really is a ranking algorithm or not. If your rankings haven't changed yet, there's no need to act. The whole thing might just be a temporary hiccup.

If you want to make sure that your web pages are optimized for Google's latest search engine algorithm, use IBP's Top 10 Optimizer. IBP's Top 10 Optimizer always uses the latest ranking algorithm to optimize your web pages to make sure that you get the best possible results.

If you use the right SEO tools, you don't have to worry about Google ranking algorithm updates. IBP always works with the latest ranking algorithm.

Whenever you use IBP's Top 10 Optimizer, IBP analyzes the current top 10 results for your keyword to decrypt Google's current algorithm. That means that IBP always works with the latest algorithms and that you get much more accurate results with IBP than with any other SEO software tool.

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Yahoo reveals details of its new ad sales system

"Yahoo is beginning to pull the wraps off an online advertising system that the company said would help it and its partners drive sales of graphical and other premium ads. [...]

Yahoo is developing the system as other Internet giants, including Google, Microsoft and AOL, are all stepping up their efforts to become sellers and brokers of all types of ads on sites across the Web."

"It has now been more than two months since we made our proposal to acquire Yahoo! [...] If we have not concluded an agreement within the next three weeks, we will be compelled to take our case directly to your shareholders, including the initiation of a proxy contest to elect an alternative slate of directors for the Yahoo! board."

Yahoo responds:

"Our Board carefully considered your unsolicited proposal, unanimously concluded that it was not in the best interests of Yahoo! and our stockholders, and rejected it publicly on February 11, 2008. [...]

We are open to all alternatives that maximize stockholder value. To be clear, this includes a transaction with Microsoft if it represents a price that fully recognizes the value of Yahoo! on a standalone basis and to Microsoft, is superior to our other alternatives, and provides certainty of value and certainty of closing."

UK online ad spend to overtake TV

"The Internet will usurp television as the biggest advertising medium in Britain by the end of 2009 [...] The Internet was the biggest driver of overall advertising growth in 2007, with the entire sector in Britain experiencing 4.3 percent growth to 18.4 billion pounds."

Search engine newslets

• Google changing trademark policy in the UK.
• New middle-of-page Google Onebox type?
• Track the Olympic Torch on Google Maps.
• Fidelity distancing itself from Google.
• Spock.com pacts with Google.
• Google is Ireland's internet king.
• Google AdWords API coming out of beta.

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"I never use pay per click ads because I get natural rankings, easily!"

IBP is much easier to use and seems more streamlined. I love this software, it helped me getting top rankings for all of my sites.

The time it would have taken or money to pay someone to do the SEO for me would have been far greater than the small investment of this software.

I tell everyone I know about it and they are skeptical on spending the money. I never use pay per click ads because I get natural rankings, easily!"
Debra Berndt, www.hypnodeb.com

"Results took only a couple of weeks and sales continue to increase."

"IBP has everything you need in one place, as a sole operator that's priceless."
Matt Dunk , www.tiars.com.au

Share your success story with us

Let us know how IBP has helped you to improve your website and we might publish your success story with a link to your website in this newsletter. The more detailed your story is, the better.

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• View all past issues...