Beginning today, Google will add another facet to its already complex algorithm by lowering search rankings for websites that have “high numbers” of copyright-infringement removal requests. An example of this, which most people have seen, is the sad-faced box on Youtube that states “This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by ” These requests are available due to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act which allows copyright holders to ask Google to remove links to URL’s that are directed at unauthorized use of material.
However, with Youtube being one of the largest video hosting websites and undoubtedly receiving countless numbers of removal requests, there will be no change in their rankings. Google declined to comment on the reasons why, but we all know they wouldn’t want to hurt their own profits. The sites that will feel the brunt of the algorithm change will be sites that allow users to download copyrighted material free of charge, like Files-Tube and Torrent Hound, and Mega Upload if they were still around. A Google spokesman commented,
Beginning Your Optimization
For the past few months, we have been teaching our readers how to build on their already existing SEO campaigns, but what about the newcomers that have no idea where to start? There are two key places to start: first set up Google analytics campaigns on every one of your pages and second, (if you don’t already have this) add the files “robots.txt” and “sitemap.xml” to your website. Your website needs Google Analytics to understand how your investment is going on your website.
Google Analytics
There was a study called “One Million Site Research”, which found that 36% of the websites analyzed weren’t using Google Analytics. Regardless of how much money was spent on creating your website, some sort of investment was made and your company needs to know if that investment is profiting. Reasons for having analytics can include: visit counts on new pages, discovering your most popular pages, time spent on pages by viewers, new vs. repeat visitors, and so on.
These two files are extremely important for your SEO campaign, without them any work you’ve done is invisible to Google and might as well not even be there. The “robots” file gives search engines specific instructions on which pages to index or not index, so without that file, the search engines have no instructions which can lead to your site not getting the visitors it deserves. The “sitemap” file is the appendix of your site and every page that is in the appendix is guaranteed to be indexed by Google.
