Google rankings revealed

[MindBuster]

A recent patent filing by Google has revealed a lot about how Google ranks websites....

http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/6-10-2005-71368.asp

Interesting read ;)

[Joeychgo]

I dont agree with some of what he says, and I believe he's only scratching the surface. Page Rank means almost nothing in regard to the serps IMO.

There are more then 100 variables that contribute to how a site ranks in the serps.

Its the penalties, aging factors and incoming links that I believe really control the serps.

[AnthonyCea]

Good search engine ready URL's mean a hell of a lot also.

Like Joey says there are many reasons, the size of a site, how many clicks they get from the SERP's (CTR) also are factors, plus many others (age of the site).

Quality of links (no link farm links = reciprocal directory links) mean a hell of a lot also.

[minstrel]

That article is about a patent that is almost a year and a half old. More importantly, it's a patent -- it doesn't tell us anything about what Google IS doing... only about what Google might be doing now or at some future date.

There have been several articles written about this patent and numerous discussions on every major and most minor forums that focus on Google and SEO. They are a mixture of speculation and hysteria, much like the brouhaha about reciprocal linking about 6 months back.

[Noppid]

If any of you would take the time to read the copyright, trademark and patent laws, you would see they don't work like that and you'd ignore such posts.

I've been laughing at everyone that brings this up for months.

RTFM

[minstrel]

I totally agree, noppid... but the damn stories just won't go away. Every self-styled SEO expert on the planet seems to want to write an article about how /she is the first person to see the "hidden meaning" in this patent and to expose the "Google secrets revealed" by the application.

It would be funnier if so many people weren't taking it seriously.