Patent: Google Faking Search Results To Trick SEOs? - Is this the END?

A recently granted patent named ranking documents can be looked at as if it was a Penguin patent or maybe a patent on how to trick SEOs into thinking their pages are ranking or maybe both. Rather than allow the rankings to respond immediately and directly to those changes, the patent explains a system that would change rankings in unexpected, counter-intuitive ways - while the rankings change from a first position through transition positions and to the final "target rank" position. In other words, significant changes in position continue to happen even though there is no change in page's ranking factors!


Detailed Read

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http://www.seobythesea.com/2012/08/g...ammers-patent/

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The Patent : Patent Number 8244722

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http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-P...RS=PN/08244722

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Nice share.

Indeed, there's no reason to think that Google will not openly refine its current approach to include dis-information campaigns. After all, there is nothing illegal about such campaigns in the event that thay are not purposefully pushing competition into the periphery by engaging in them.

Google has engaged in dis-information for at least 3 years now. I am actually a bit surprised that it has taken them this long to file an applicable patent.

The lesson is as it has always been for those relying on Google organic search to make money: Knock it off or go broke.

I read about this, it sounds a lot like what we know as the G dance.

Just another reason to keep doing what your doing when your site dances. This is a sign that they can't really deal with link manipulation in a direct way, they need to try and trick you to stop, and they will analyze how you change your campaign when you get pushed in an artificial dance.

So basically.... if you build links to your site's initial reaction is a drop... rejoice.
If you build links and your site and the initial reaction is a rise.... PANIC!

/grabs dancing shoes... :)

I believe the same. However, Need someone who can understand the Patent Completely..

You should ask Bill Slawski from that site, he's a genius and responds to most comments usually.

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Originally Posted by shailzrocks

I believe the same. However, Need someone who can understand the Patent Completely..

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There's a couple services provided here that must have been the guinea pig for the R&D they did on that patent, their results were so lolwut I ended up writing my own scrapers.

How is this the end exactly? Adapt or die.

This is very interesting, Thanks for the share!

Thanks for the share.

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Originally Posted by golface72

So basically.... if you build links to your site's initial reaction is a drop... rejoice.

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Can you please be more specific? Does it mean drop before rise or what? If I proceed with building links will they improve? I know it's too narrow, but theoretically when ill it stop dancing? Because I have something similar going on with one of the sites, the rankings changes few times a week and it makes me crazy.

It can mean many things, but mostly this is just a patent for a google dance ++.

What I can read from the patent Google can now put time based transition for your site and after that (based on your action) determine if the old rank was your true target rank, or is it closer to your new transition rank.

So if you make a changes for your website onpage or offpage there's a transition period from your old rank to new rank AKA dance. There's different things that might happen after you make changes depending on, well pretty much random factors.

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A rank transition function may be selected for this document (block 830). For example, the damped response transition function (e.g., FIG. 6) or the initially-inverse response transition function (e.g., FIG. 7) may be selected. In one implementation, a rank transition function may be selected on a per-document basis. In another implementation, a rank transition function may be selected for the domain/site with which the document is associated, the server on which the document is hosted, or a set of documents that share a similar trait (e.g., the same author (e.g., a signature in the document), design elements (e.g., layout, images, etc.), etc.). In any of these situations, the documents associated with the domain/site/set or hosted by the same server may be subjected to the same rank transition function. In yet another implementation, a rank transition function may be selected randomly.

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As you see, there are a lot of different ways they might handle your website after you make changes/get links. Your site might just go up like it should, your rankings might drop, it can be sitewide/serverwide/authorwide etc. And all this is done so that they could catch rank modifying spammers.

One other really interesting fact about this is in next quote:

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In other words, the document's rank may decrease for a period of approximately 20 days before settling in on its new steady state (target) value (e.g., 1.0 in FIG. 7) in approximately 70 days after a positive change in its link-based information.

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So, after you get positive change in your link profile, you might drop in rankings after 70 days of getting these positive changes. Google has a lot of randomization in their algorithms to catch everyone who is trying to modify SERPs and you can't never be sure ranking changes are because of what you did, what google did or what others did.

Conclusion: You just need a lot of patience when doing SEO. You should not jump to conclusions if your rankings change after you do some changes, but you should rather wait it out (or continue link building) and see what is your real target rank.

Regarding this patent, one has to wonder at the incidence rate of false-positives it has caused over the years... has to be millions. After all, it's not just 'spammers' (whoever they are, exactly) that attempt to rectify drops in SERPs after implementing this or that SEO strategy.

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Originally Posted by BLIXX

Nice share.

Indeed, there's no reason to think that Google will not openly refine its current approach to include dis-information campaigns. After all, there is nothing illegal about such campaigns in the event that thay are not purposefully pushing competition into the periphery by engaging in them.

Google has engaged in dis-information for at least 3 years now. I am actually a bit surprised that it has taken them this long to file an applicable patent.

The lesson is as it has always been for those relying on Google organic search to make money: Knock it off or go broke.

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Or make a lot of money by doing it right :)

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Originally Posted by Scritty

Or make a lot of money by doing it right :)

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'Correctly' *relying* on Google organic search to make money is something I'd enjoy hearing an argument for, Scritty... Scratch that: I'd love to hear a good argument for relying on Google for anything, lol.

I think it sound to say that whatever money one makes from Google organic search ought to be viewed as 'bonus' cash. Obviously, there are people that have, do and will continue to profitably navigate the ever-evolving Google Search landscape. These people, however, are few and far between.

Thanks for this share. kinda good to know.

I have a test site that I've been pounding GSA links to. I made all unique comments for blogs and images and guestbooks to reduce footprints. I only had about 6 keywords that I was ranking for, but this weekend all pages dropped out of the top 100. I think it's due to transition rank. I'm planning on waiting it out.

Here's the part from the patent that I'm most concerned about:

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13. The method of claim 12, where selecting a rank transition function includes: ... documents hosted by a same server associated with the document

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It sounds like webpages on a whitehat website can be ranked lower if it's on the same host as one suspected of link spamming. We should all watch how we host sites (especially client sites) and don't mix and match.

G. search results are fake (about 1/3 results maybe more). My website (non english) is on 4th position (when i use my ip, cookies cleared), but with wery low traffic (about 1/5 past year). I try use some proxy with same keyword and everytime are results different. Example some "keyword": 1st page (12 results):Wikipedia, youtube video 6x, vimeo, fackbook, last 2 results is website some company
2nd page: same youtube video, myspace, 2results website another company. Someting similar on the 3rd page (3 firms on 3 pages). When customer looking for this service in G results find BIG S-HIT

If you actually read the patent very carefully, the purpose of it is to have "spammers" to incriminate themselves meaning that if you make changes to your site, it watches your behaviour during the transation period. In other words, if you "react" negatively to a negative SERP by removing keywods or building more links it means that your "spammer" in the eyes of google.

For example of you have keyword stuffing going on your site, google will negatively effect your rankings, it sees your reaction, if you then go ahead and remove all those keywords the it knows that you were intentionally keyword stuffing because because of a negative SERP you actually went and removed the extra keywords. I hope this makes sense...

very interesting approche they are taking.