In Aug of 2009 Google announced its next generation of search called Google Caffeine. Half a year later and Caffeine is still not live, or is it?
Andrew Bates
Client Services Manager
Last September I reported on a hot topic in the search and web world called Google Caffeine. In this post I covered details about what Google Caffeine is (or will be), and how it is likely to dramatically impact search. This next iteration of Google’s search is focused on improving the search site in these core areas: Speed, Accuracy, Temporal Relevance, and Index Size. Most important is the weight or importance on social networking posts in an effort to increase “temporal relevance” and the validity of near real-time information. Bing and Google worked to add real time search to their indexes and results via licensing agreements with Facebook, Twitter, and others.
From all initial reports and tests, Caffeine does exactly what Google intended. Mashable, SEOBOOK, and many others reviewed the new site via a test sandbox environment, but Google closed down this test version of the Caffeine last fall. It’s fast with a deeper index and obvious incorporation of social posts. So where is it?
Well we now see some elements of real time search in current Google SERPs, so we know that at least a partial launch of Caffeine has been completed. In the last couple weeks some reputable sources have even made the argument that “Google Caffeine is Here And Has Been For Weeks!” Most believe and see evidence that Google has slowly been rolling out features of Caffeine behind the scenes with only occasional posts highlighting specifically those new features as Google Guru Matt Cutts did yesterday in his post “keep an eye on changing pages.”
When will we get to use Google Caffeine? You probably already are now every time you search on Google. While searching for my firm EyeTraffic Media I see our website, blog, Linkedin, and twitter pages in the results, but I also see nearly real time posts from our twitter account:
EyeTraffic Media real time search results in Google
The last couple months have shown that Google is already incorporating the most valuable aspects of Caffeine in current SERPs. No need to hold your breath. Google Caffeine is already old news. The current challenge for SEO experts and online marketers is learning how real time search affects a website’s organic rankings. Do you agree? Let me know your thoughts.
Tags: Andrew Bates, google caffeine, real time search, seo, Social Networking, temporal relevance
