{"id":19851,"date":"2022-11-30T10:47:52","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T10:47:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/11\/30\/is-fresh-content-a-google-ranking-factor\/"},"modified":"2022-11-30T10:47:52","modified_gmt":"2022-11-30T10:47:52","slug":"is-fresh-content-a-google-ranking-factor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/11\/30\/is-fresh-content-a-google-ranking-factor\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Fresh Content A Google Ranking Factor?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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As with most updates in Google\u2019s history, search industry rumors spread quickly about how to \u201cgame\u201d the system.<\/p>\n

\u201cFreshness\u201d is a common theme among Google updates, spanning over a decade.<\/p>\n

And \u201cfresh content\u201d as a ranking factor has been an ongoing point of interest for SEOs, especially among content marketers.<\/p>\n

To better understand the debate, we will look at Google\u2019s \u201cFreshness\u201d updates, specifically what they mean and how (if at all) they affect search rankings.<\/p>\n

[Recommended Read:]<\/strong> Google Ranking Factors: Fact or Fiction<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The Claim: Fresh Content As A Ranking Factor<\/h2>\n

The speculation that fresh content may be a ranking factor began in response to a few major Google updates and has snowballed into quite the claim.<\/p>\n

The idea behind \u201cfresh content\u201d started a few years before Google\u2019s Caffeine update.<\/p>\n

In 2007, a New York Times reporter was allowed to spend a day with Amit Singhal (Senior VP of Search at the time).<\/p>\n

During this time, Singhal spoke on the record about the solution he had developed to solve the \u201cfreshness problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a new algorithm that tried to determine when users wanted new information and when they didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

And like all Google initiatives, it had a catchy moniker: QDF for \u201cquery deserves freshness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caffeine (2009 Google Update)<\/h3>\n

If you think Google core updates are a big deal now, wait until you hear about the Google Caffeine<\/a> update of 2009.<\/p>\n

It was such a massive change that Google actually provided developers with a preview a few months before rolling it out.<\/p>\n

Caffeine allowed Google to crawl faster, thus delivering fresher results from a much larger index.<\/p>\n

The indexing update was completed in June 2010, kicking off the fresh content myth because Google said<\/a>, \u201cCaffeine provides 50 percent fresher results.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freshness (2011 Google Update)<\/h3>\n

Google announced a \u201cFreshness update\u201d in November 2011, four years after the New York Times story broke.<\/p>\n

In the announcement titled, \u201cGiving you fresher, more recent search results,\u201d Google explained that this was a significant improvement to the ranking algorithm and noticeably impacts six to 10% of searches.<\/p>\n

Featured Snippets Freshness (2019 Google Update)<\/h3>\n

Freshness updates did not stop there. Relevancy continues to be top of mind for Google as they seek to satisfy user queries.<\/p>\n

Pandu Nayak, Google\u2019s current Vice President of Search, announced<\/a> in 2019 that the company updated its search algorithms to keep snippets current, fresh, and relevant.<\/p>\n

Danny Sullivan confirmed<\/a> that the Featured Snippets Freshness update went live in late February 2019.<\/p>\n

Rumors on how to optimize for Google updates spread quickly, and this was undoubtedly true for fresh content.<\/p>\n

Speculations circulated claiming that by updating content frequently, you could secure an SEO advantage or that updating the publication date of an article can make it look fresh.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at the evidence behind these claims and whether fresh content is in any way a ranking factor.<\/p>\n

For a deep dive into Google Ranking Factors<\/strong>, download the ebook now.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The Evidence: Fresh Content As A Ranking Factor<\/h2>\n

To decide if \u201cfresh content\u201d could be a ranking factor, we need to understand two things: what the \u201cFreshness\u201d algorithm updates mean and how they affect search rankings.<\/p>\n

QDF<\/h3>\n

Query deserves freshness (QDF) is very literal.<\/p>\n

Google\u2019s solution revolved around determining whether a search query is \u201chot,\u201d meaning whether or not the user wants the most up-to-date information on the topic.<\/p>\n

The mathematical model looked at news sites, blog posts, and Google\u2019s own stream of billions of search queries to see how much global interest there is in a particular subject.<\/p>\n

For example, Singhal shared what happens when cities suffer power outages.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen there is a blackout in New York, the first articles appear in 15 minutes; we get queries in two seconds,\u201d Singhal told the New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Such a sudden spike in interest can signify that people are looking for new information.<\/p>\n

Caffeine<\/h3>\n

Unfortunately, many people got the Caffeine update wrong.<\/p>\n

Caffeine wasn\u2019t a ranking update. The intention behind it wasn\u2019t even to impact rankings. It was a complete rebuild of Google\u2019s indexing system.<\/p>\n

Indexing and ranking are two very different things.<\/p>\n

Indexing is when Google first looks at your content and adds it to its index. That means it has the potential to be ranked.<\/p>\n

Ranking, however, is an entirely different story, with much more complex algorithms behind it.<\/p>\n

And while Caffeine focused on indexing, it was the Freshness update that affected Google\u2019s ranking algorithm.<\/p>\n

Freshness<\/h3>\n

The Freshness update was an effort to understand when a user is looking for more recent information.<\/p>\n

But \u201cfreshness\u201d doesn\u2019t apply across the board to all search queries.<\/p>\n

Google shares information on precisely which queries deserve freshness on its How Search Works<\/a> page.<\/p>\n

\"keyScreenshot from Google \u201cHow Search Works,\u201d June 2022<\/span>