Top ten sites on this query are set in stone for several weeks

[foolsgold]

One sector I follow really closely, which is massively competitive, has seen no variation in the last few weeks for sites ranking in the top ten, and those outside of it.

So the top ten sites have fluxed within themselves but no site from those outside have been let in. And those ranked 11 to 20 have also fluxed but not one site has got in to the top ten. Anyone else seeing similar levels of intransigence?

If Google was really taking into account 'freshness' and factoring in changes more readily post Caffeine wouldn't we expect a greater degree of variation and rate of change in SERPs?

[networkliquidators]

As this post seems a bit to broad. Google handles different terms based on tons of popularity factors. For example, if you search "Cisco Catalyst" in Google, you will see Cisco owning that phrase on various Cisco owned domains.

Other than Wikipedia, all results are Cisco domains even when the content is similar to each other. I guess Google is assuming I want some information on the Catalyst series and the manufacturer is the best source to find that information. Considering I don't know which exact product I'm looking for, it serves domains with a formulation of results from domains with different domain extensions from the manufacturer. It's a bit of a mess if you ask me.

I know all of this is occuring from the update around Aug 20th, 2010 in relation to brand searches, but it seems to go further than just one domain of a brand.

In relation to your term, if the frequency of content surronding your phrase with activity is not greater than the current popularity and usefulness of the current 10 results, it is impractical to get a article from 1 source on the search page. However, if there is a news article with massive distrubution, that article could land on the first page for 1 - 3 days to be given a chance to be linked to.

If the new article is not linked to within this time, it will slowly fall down the ranks.

My guess is that industry also plays an important role in how content and phrases are served as well which can play a huge factor in updating results on a page. Google insight lets you break up search by industry to track trends. Well, this tells me they DO TRACK INDUSTRIES and perhaps set different rules in indexing and serving content for those industries.

[tedster]

Welcome to the forums, networkliquidators - thanks for your input on this topic.

I also feel that there is a kind of hurdle in getting from #11 to somewhere on page one - something that gos beyond what it takes to move up just one spot anywhere else. I'm thinking of one particular SERP that I monitor regularly, where there is a degree of semantic ambiguity in the search term.

For several months, the only time a new domain has shown up on page #1 seems to be when there's an algorithm change related to user intention. And it's not like there aren't other domains working hard to rank on this term either.

[networkliquidators]

Take this forum for example. Google is weighing heavy to social activity. The most active section on this forum is found in Google / Google SEO News and Discussion. I would put the most visited forum sections and place them in order on the home page from most visited to least visited.

In the code, do a count on all views from every subforum to its parent forum (adding them all up) and list the most viewed section first. Now, order the most visited subforum in that subset. For a range to count, use the system date of present and minus the last 30 days so the list can be done automatically.

I have no doubt his forum's traffic would increase from a minor modification such as the one above. Anyone can take the same concept and apply to your forum to try to boost results.

It's like the same principle owning a store, you would put your best selling products in the eyes of your customers while the adult diapers are hidden in the back.