paynt - 6:44 am on May 20, 2003 (gmt 0)

Ah vdlddd8379, welcome to the forums at Webmasterworld.

Well, diversify.

To distribute (investments) among different companies or securities in order to limit losses in the event of a fall in a particular market or industry. – dictionary.com [dictionary.reference.com]

I think that means spread things around. So we all know Google likes links in and links out and Google does not appear to benefit sites that provide duplicated content. (dull, overused, boring, mirrored – ok I am showing my bias) Google does appear to like (what does that mean like? Ugh) content that not only stands out but that other sites link to because they too think the information is interesting, unique, shall we say original? <aside>I don’t really think Google has actually figured this out. I think we’ve just figured out ways to work with what Google’s algo seems to do.

And could it be that we just don’t want to put all our eggs in one basket, and that includes the Google basket. I actually think that Google likes sites that show up in multiple peripheral markets and as ‘resources’ for multiple lines of promotion of information. What might that mean? Well, maybe showing up in the ‘news’ about the product or service. Or for resources or images, what ever it is that is being promoted, I see Google seeking sites to place near the top that offer more than one channel of interest. There are certain sites that come up consistently no matter what topic I’m searching for. I know my searches might be more refined or directed than others but still, I consistently see the same sites or ‘type’ of site coming up in searches no matter what.

What do these sites have to offer? Diversity. They have news and information, fresh and relevant content and are referenced from a variety of peripheral markets.

I think that many of us are having problems because we don’t actually understand the true value or meaning of themes. We’re boxing ourselves in. I see themes as a core base to build from but then grow from there. We need to stretch ourselves more. These update threads are boring because they are all caught up in the details of the moment. How are you all applying the details of what you see?