How to SEO Google SearchWiki?

The number one question in every good SEO’s mind today is “how can I optimize Google SearchWiki?”‚  Google SearchWiki is the new update to Google’s algorithm that allows user to edit search results according to what they like and don’t like.‚  Google users can now add notes to specific URL’s, re-order, remove and add webpages to any search query.‚  I have been waiting for Google to launch something like this for a long time and I am amazed at how useful it is.‚  Google basically took Digg’s underlying idea and applied it to their popular search engine.‚  Users must be logged into their Gmail account in order to use the SearchWiki functionality.

Now search engine optimizer’s need to figure out how Google’s SearchWiki fits in with the rest of the Google algorithm.‚  Will it be completely independent from the primary ranking algorithm that Google uses and only apply to Personal Search, or will SearchWiki become an integral piece of how Google determines where to rank an article?‚  I am not sure, but if I was Google I would make it one of the core pieces of my ranking algorithm along with content, links and clickthrough rates.‚  My instinct tells me that Google will phase this into the main algorithm over the next year or so.

Google’s new SearchWiki algorithm is going to be a nightmare for blackhat SEO’s, but will be a great boon for whitehat SEO’s like me who focus on improving the experience of their website’s users. Google requires anyone using SearchWiki to be logged in with their Google Account. This means that Google will easily be able to identify spammers and blackhats who attempt to abuse the system for their advantage. Even sophisticated blackhats using anonymization techniques and many different Google Accounts will have a difficult time cheating the SearchWiki system at first. However, just like links, spammers will eventually find a way. That’s why Google and other search engines have to continuously innovate new ranking methodologies such as SearchWiki.

Watch Google’s official video on SearchWiki below:

I am curious as to how Google will use the SearchWiki algorithm in it’s primary ranking algorithm. One theory I already have is that Google will do the same thing that Digg has done and mark certain users as “power users”. These power users of Google SearchWiki will be folks who are strong predictors of what the best search results actually are. For instance, if User A clicks up on a certain result and then many other users also click up on that search result, the SearchWiki algorithm will give User A additional power to change results in the main algorithm. Google realizes that many of the best informational websites on the internet (Digg.com, Wikipedia.com, Stumbleupon.com) all are primarily powered by a few top users. My guess is that Google’s Searchwiki will also try to harness the energy and efforts of these power users for its own advantage.

Some people have accused Google of ripping off search.wikia.com, but that is not true since SearchWiki was first experimented with back in 2007.‚  Matt Cutts has also come out publicly to help debunk this rumor.‚  When doing research for this article, I came across a bunch of comments that Matt Cutts (who is Google’s anti-spam guy) wrote on other blogs discussing the potential spammability of Google’s SearchWiki: Cutts claims that Google currently does not allow SearchWiki to affect any other Google Accounts search results.‚  However, this does not mean that they won’t roll the SearchWiki algorithm out into the main search results algorithm after they have amassed a solid database of information in about six months.‚  My guess is that we will be very likely to see SearchWiki affecting general Google search results sometime in the near future.

My opinion is that Google’s new SearchWiki will prove to be one of the biggest changes it has ever made to its core algorithm. People should perk up and take notice.

Final note: If you enjoyed my article on Google’s SearchWiki algorithm, please click the little up arrow next to my website in the search results! 🙂