October 9, 2006 Google filed for a patent recently that would allow for algorithmic ranking, along with the efforts of human editing. This would mean that the build of the work in determining ranking and results would rest with a computer, but would be helped with the integration of editorial opinion. You can read the patent details here. So, what does this mean? This means that there is a chance that a human will make a piece of the decision on how relevant or beneficial a site would be in reference to it’s visibility online. So it would be a good idea to make sure that your sites are indeed built for the human. This shouldn’t be anything new, but will help to re enforce what is considered acceptable SEO practice. Sites shouldn’t really be built for the search engines, but for the end user/visitor/buyer. Even as a consultant, I often tell my clients that we will not be optimizing a site for the search engines as my title implies, but optimizing a site to show the search engines what the site is all about. When you concentrate on the search engines, you neglect what is really important, and what the site was created for in the first place, the customer. This patent will force that along because there will be a person looking at your site and giving an opinion on how important the site is to the online community, how relevant it is to it’s desired search terms, and whether or not it will be considered an authoritative source of information or services. So if you’re creating a site for the algorithmic machine, then you’re probably going to be disappointed when someone at Google looks at your site with destain and sends it to the bottom of the list.
However. Just because a search engine submits for a patent, it doesn’t mean that they will implement any of the changes. These are public records, and could very well be a ‘Art of War’ kind of situation. Smoke and Mirrors. Illusions of the mind. Either way, the same rule holds true. Make a nice site, for your customers. Not some stupid robot.
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