Beware Google Bearing Gifts? When Too Much is Too Much

There are a few experiences that stand out ━ not only because of the impact of the action in that moment in time, but also for the reverberations that persist long after.

One such event occurred at SMX East 2011. The Ask the Search Engines session was standing room only. Google’s rep was Tiffany Oberoi and she sat at the front of the room next to reps for Bing and Blekko. Tiffany had brought with her a bottle of Windex. You can just make out its small blue form on the table next to her in the picture.

Google aims to improve its transparency, as evidenced by @tiffanyoberoi‘s bottle of windex. #smx #33a yfrog.com/khrdqmcj

— Bruce Clay, Inc. (@BruceClayInc) September 15, 2011

Her visual aid supported a claim that Google was going to be more transparent with webmasters. High marks to Tiffany for a presentation that cut through the noise. Even more impressive, Google’s stuck to its word ━ whether or not for the better of the search engine optimization industry remains up for debate.

That event was a turning point in the way Google addresses the SEO industry.

We used to get confirmation that some 400+ obscured algorithm changes had occurred over a year and we were happy to get it. Now Google parades 50+ changes to search each month, spelled out in straightforward detail. Launch codenames, project codenames, and algo updates named after cute critters?

Google’s up to something. The search engine used to lock down its intel tighter than Fort Knox and now it’s spilling secrets faster than Niagra Falls. I suspect their intent is to bombard us with more information than we know what to do with. Google tried to keep SEO in check by withholding information. The less they told us, the more we poked and dug and snooped. Now they hurl every update at us in bloody detail, sending us into a tailspin of overanalysis.

Here’s a call to value SEO wisdom above knowledge. We can use that Windex alright, but to our advantage. Let’s clean up the discourse and clear up our thinking to embrace a long view of search engine marketing beyond algo chasing.

Virginia Nussey is the director of content marketing at MobileMonkey. Prior to joining this startup in 2018, Virginia was the operations and content manager at Bruce Clay Inc., having joined the company in 2008 as a writer and blogger.

See Virginia's author page for links to connect on social media.