SEO update - Search Engine Optimisation for Estate Agents

Every search engine, including Google, is looking to continuously refine the algorithms (formula) used to rank websites so that they provide the most relevant search results for the that people that use them. The more accurate the search results, the more likely people are to use them.

With a market share of 92% here the UK, Google is a big player when it comes SEO. That is why when Matt Cutts (the head of Google's webspam team), the SEO world listens intently.

In a recent interview Matt Cutts mentioned that Google is seriously considering a website's loading speed as a factor for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), which could have serious implications on some websites.

Websites that take too long to load could theoretically have an SEO penalty. Pushing this forward could theoretically improve customer experience because users will be safe in the knowledge that all search results at the top of Google will load quickly.

Great news for end users, or is it?

Naysayers have pointed out a few reasons why Google should not go down this route. Firstly, they say that this change will only favour large companies with big budgets that has the technological muscle to ensure that their website loads as quickly as possible.

Secondly they say that the fastest website isn't always the best result i.e. the website that is suited best to you and your needs might take longer to load.

Lastly the naysayers believe that all the benefits will actually go to Google. Google will save money on crawling the web if the internet is optimised for speed and webmasters that have Google AdSense might run slightly faster than most.

Estate agents need not worry; this has not been an official Google announcement but a sign that Google is considering its options on where to develop its algorithm further. Matt Cutts did note that any changes will be made after the Christmas holidays. Luckily for estate agents, we at Resource Techniques will continue to follow any industry developments when it comes to SEO, web design, websites for estate agents, and software.