Google Algorithm and the Press Release: What does it mean for you?

What Has Changed?

Google's latest round of algorithm updates has been focused on allowing corporate news updates to rank alongside standard news websites. For a very long time, Google has strictly controlled news based search engine ranking, saving top positions for major news sites and syndicates. However, with the new Google algorithm, corporate news updates, including press releases, will be allowed to move up in rank to the prized higher search positions. Needless to say, other factors, such as keyword optimization, the search presence of the company that is releasing the news, and the organic traffic being drawn to the release will still impact the actual search ranking an announcement receives. This algorithm simply removes the absolute block on corporate announcements moving into the higher search rankings traditionally reserved for news outlets.

What Does This Mean for Corporate Marketing?

Needless to say, this is great news for companies that use search engine optimization and press releases as parts of their overall marketing strategy. Because corporate news and press releases will now be able to rank higher in Google search results, it massively increases the potential for such announcements to be found by the general public. Of course, this is no guarantee that your company's press release will suddenly be the first result on Google for a particular keyword. It does, however, give companies a leg up in competing with the major news outlets, which have, until now, held a monopoly on the upper results for news searches with Google. In other words, this update does not treat corporate news announcements preferentially, but simply levels the playing field. These new Google algorithm updates will very likely play into the hands of major companies that use press releases as part of their marketing framework. In addition, news outlets will now have to compete for top positions, something they have never had to do. In addition, the new algorithms will be focused on adjusting search rankings for doorway pages which do not add content or value to a visitor's experience.