While everyone has been talking about how Google is integrating more and more real time search results with the help of sites like Twitter, Facebook and MySpace, there is the less visible algorithm that powers search results, which Google has been working on making more real time.
Google has been working on the new method of indexing their search results for a while now, and many SEO professionals are well aware of the upcoming update, code named “Caffeine“. Representatives from Google have maintained that the Caffeine update wouldn’t go live before 2010.
2010 is here, now. The search engine has already been testing Caffeine in one of their data centres since last summer, and it may be rolled out very soon.
In fact, there are some bloggers who claim that they have already noticed faster search results.
As far as most users are concerned, the official launch of Caffeine will not make much difference to the search results, as Caffeine is more of a behind-the-scenes worker. There will be no visual changes in the search results.
Only the overall speed with which the search results are received is expected to change for the better. This factor will be especially useful in searches for photos and videos.
A study of Google Caffeine conducted by an SEO firm found that it will give more importance to news and social media for generic search terms, but specific keywords will show more regular websites on the subject. In general, they found that search rankings are not very likely to change, except for some websites, which may not have updated their content for a very long time. It will, therefore, be beneficial for websites to remain up-to-date and refresh their content regularly once the Caffeine update is launched.
