A while back Matt Cutts had said that Google changes its ranking Algorithm almost daily. That was certainly confirmed recently by Udi Manber, the Google vice president who oversees search quality who stated in an interview that Google tweaked their algorithm 450 times last year.

So, in case anyone wonders why rankings fluctuate - this would be one reason...

Can we have a link to the source of that statement, thanks

450 tweaks a year and they still can't read content. What is their problem?

Yeah, no matter how much Google and some SEO's chant the mantra "content" - Google is really still all about links - and time. Especially when the keywords are competitive.

Google can read content - it just chooses to ignore it in most cases.

Content helps get you links and repeat visitors but Google really does not put much weight on the actual content for ranking purposes (for the competitive keywords) unless there is little competition. The real estate industry is generally competitive in most areas so content really isn't usually going to affect ranking much except for obscure ("long tail", seldom searched for) keywords.

Thanks doug,

Not sure I agree entirely with Doug - yes, you do need links from trusted and authority sites in your niche.

But you also need well structured and original content on your website.

For example, duplicate content is a real no, no.

yeah i think they still go with the quantity of links here is one of my favorite explanation from other forums

[quote]Most web users possess neither the ability nor the temperament required for discriminating between the good, the bad and the ugly. All they want is something, anything, now.

Google not only knows this, but actively uses it to its advantage. For Google's purposes, quantity is superior to quality.

Take, for example, a search for a medical dictionary.

* medical dictionary - 8,280,000 hits
* "medical dictionary" - 5,290,000 hits


Are there really that many authoritative medical dictionaries in the world? Of course not.

And, what of the Gold Standards such as Merck Manual or Taber's Cyclopedic? Neither is to be found on page 1 of the SERPs for either query.

Still, the masses are impressed by the sheer volume of SERPs returned. It's a practical application of the maxim that "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull$hit."[/quote]