Google Lets The Cat Out Of The Bag (some of it at least)

One thing that Google is pretty consistent is visitor experience and they do say so in this interview over and over

this has been the mantra from the get go

wait till you see what they do with Google Chrome

one day they are going to dangle a carrot like they did with the little green bar showing you PR, don't know what it will be to get you to use Chrome as your main browser but they will

so if you want to get ahead of the curve focus on your visitor experience

with using a browser like chrome they can measure visitor experience very closely, why do you think they came out with it

this whole SEO thing is eventually going to be a thing of the past once the change takes place

Ed

For all the article marketers out there:

"Question: Until recentley (the last six months or so) a high ranking was achievable by submitting articles to article directories (providing they were 40%-60% unique), it no longer seems to be the case. Have links from article sites been de-valued at all?

Google's Answer: In my experience, not every article directory site is high-quality. Sometimes you see a ton of articles copied all over the place, and it's hard to even find original content on the site. The user experience for a lot of those article directory sites can be pretty bad too. So you'd see users landing on those sorts of pages have a bad experience. If you're thinking of boosting your reputation and getting to be well-known, I might not start as the very first thing with an article directory. Sometimes it's nice to get to be known a little better before jumping in and submitting a ton of articles as the first thing.

Translation: Yes."

One thing that quickly depreciate quality is when you have a site that is just one of hundreds, all syndicating the same content, yet lacking the editorial quality you would see on a news type site.

When it comes to article sites, human quality review is the key ingredient to creating value with the link. We determine uniqueness and quality before we publish a submission. Not all submissions will be published if we find duplicate content (we search sentences and phrases in the content.) Also, connecting to related content needs to have strong standards as well.

As for Google's measuring stick on user experience, I think many people have a different response when it comes to user experience when looking at the same site. There are different mindsets based on the keyword being searched (obviously) but it can still be hard for software to measure a good user experience, other than bounces. I'd hate to see an over-reach by Google here when it comes to article/news/blog sites.

I thought the most interesting pieces were the part about article marketing, and the section concerning blog comments. I've always been a proponent of the idea that top sites have lots of comments because they have lots of visitors, but I didn't think that they'd be the top sites because they have lots of comments. Great find!

I wouldn't trust anything those guys say publicly, as they are the ministers of disinformation.

Chris,

It is true that Google is looking to make money for its shareholders. However, the old saying is still true and they know it: 'satisfy the needs of enough people and you will grow wealthy beyond your dreams.' To continue making money Google has to give user experience priority.
Robert

Robert, just like Microsoft does, right?

That is right, Chris. Enlightened millionaires make sure that everyone is a winner.

I do smile when I see all the Google bashing and paranoia. Google DOES operate as a business, but they are only able to do so because they provide (and srtive to improve) a service that multiple millions of people enjoy.

You try and find relevant, rich and useful content on MSN and I'll do the same on Google. Let's see who gets to the finish line quicker.

At the end of the day, as much as people moan about Google's ways, they are doing the things they are doing to improve the user experience. Guess what happens when a user has a better experience? Yep, you get paid...all ya gotta do is lead the visitor.

ptone...

Thanks, I glanced at it and will spend more time going though it later.

Thanks again,
Joe

I was fortunate enough to be able to sit in on this seminar. It was the most rewarding experience I have had to date in internet marketing as I was able to gain a new insight as far as Google's "thinking."

The article that is linked in the OP is simply a summary of the seminar. It actually went on for hours, and much more was said and implied than what you read in the article.

Namely, article directory links have been devalued...AT SOME DIRECTORIES. Not all of them. Just look at the power that EZA continues to showcase. And other article dircetories, including mine, are experiencing more traffic than ever before.

So before you go and start saying that article directories have been devalued by Google, go back and listen carefully. Matt is speaking in the context of the thousands of crap directories out there. Plus, I got the feeling that his answer actually encouraged experienced internet marketers to actually DO article marketing.

Anyhow, I just had to pop in and give you my two cents. As far as the comment about article directories in the article linked in the OP...this is just a couple of sentences from hours of discussion...and an obvious biased opinion of article directories as a whole.

Respectfully,
Allen Graves