Is Google now just doing a continuous, rolling update?

I believe so.

[rfgdxm1]

Given what is still going on now with the datacenters, I am going to propose the theory that Google has shifted from monthly updates to minor updates every day or 2. This is why Esmeralda seems to have no end. Esmeralda was the beginning of a brave new era of the constant update. Of course I might be wrong and just end up with egg all over my face after this post. ;)

I also notice it seems that Google has 2 banks of datacenters. Only one of the 2 does the partial update. Next partial update, the other bank of datacenters is used. Looks to me like -ex, -in, and -zu are involved this time. And, possibly -va. However, it could be that all of these are being rerouted all to one physical datacenter. Looking at traceroutes this may be the case.

[jjdesigns4u]

I understand the reasons for doing this but....

it is going to eat up a lot of time if you have 37 clients

[Craig_F]

just think of how many people will *stop* checking positions, if they change all the time...

[jjdesigns4u]

so you are saying that is a good thing... I guess

[Craig_F]

great for google, and good for those that end up using the time more wisely. usability, content, conversions, copywriting, etc.

[kevinpate]

So who's the least paid yet still capable person at your disposal? Doing serp checks doesn't require the person to understand why site X moved from #9 to #3 (or yuk, to #33.) It just requires someone who can accurately record a summary of the results for your later review.

Having only one site, it's not a complex task. If I had 37 sites, I'd probably recruit some student who needed a pt job for CD/gas/pizza money.

[jojojo]

"It may mark the complete end of the monthly updates."

Wouldn't that mean we would see backlinks increase on a continuous basis? So far we ahve not seen this.

[Craig_F]

> If I had 37 sites, I'd probably recruit some student

Not a bad idea, but positions don't matter enough to me to warrant that.

Targeted traffic levels and conversions do, which I can see with my logs.

[rfgdxm1]

>Wouldn't that mean we would see backlinks increase on a continuous basis? So far we ahve not seen this.

Not necessarily. Only parts of the database might be updated at any given moment. From Google's point of view, what counts is the SERPs people see. 99%+ of all searches aren't even aware the link: command exist. Only folks like us at Webmasterworld use that. The PR display is another thing that they might only update once a month or so, as that is a low priority. Google would want to devote its efforts primarily to what really counts.

[caine]

all the evidence that i can see, is that frequently changing sites, but of the SME variety, not the big sites, are getting quicker updates, but the patterns and weightings applied, i think we need to observe for a while to get a realistic picture of how this is working!

[jojojo]

"Not necessarily. Only parts of the database might be updated at any given moment."

So this would imply a rolling update every X days of backlinks and that this new process simply has not yet began.

Is this the general consensus or do some still beleive esmerelda has not yet truly settled and when it does we may see rolling updates or a few more traditional monthly updates?

[caine]

not quite there has been for the last couple of year's a rolling update of very large website's. However its the smaller websites > 10 - 50,000 pages, that seem to be getting involved, so if you follow Brett's 26 points to Google success [webmasterworld.com], and keep on re-addresing content its structure and targeting slowly but surely the perminance of the approach will bring you to the top, as its devoid of spam.

I can see differences between db's but how G is addressing them, i'm not to sure yet.

[jojojo]

I was referring to the smaller sites.

So, what about rolling updates of backlinks? This has yet to be seen.

[tommyleef]

Hey GoogleGuy,

Just sent 2 seperate spam reports with GG Esmerelda in the tag line.

One has hundreds of hidden text words on every page in the site.

The other is no fault of the author, just a duplicate page that Google gave slots 7 and 12 in a competitive term. The #7 tells you that the page is no longer maintained there and to goto to the new page. That new page is 100% the same, only hosted on a new server.

Thanks!

[amazed]

anybody else experiencing geolocation effect? Different SERP from German google than on all nine datacenters?
I found different ranking of a personal website with a name common in the US and in Germany.

I like it.

[vbjaeger]

Well, I have seen our site updated in the index and we have moved up several pages, however no new backlinks. Has anybody seena difference in their backlinks yet?

[kstprod]

vbjaeger...

Nope, I'm still missing a TON of backlinks. Nearly ALL of them to be exact. There are big ones missing too, PR8's. The only ones that show up now are 4 piddly ones, and the other 16 are internal.

I'm really wondering if the dissapearance of my index page is a direct result of this, as they all point to it.

I have no clue why my backlinks aren't showing anymore, they certainly used to, and they are still valid and PR is still good. My site is not new either, so any ideas?

[vbjaeger]

That seems to be the same problem I am having. Only 3 or 4 of my backlinks are a PR4 or higher, and none of the PR5 or higher backlinks are showing. They all disappeared after Esmerelda

[Tropical Island]

There is still a lot to do with backlinks. They seem to be adding them OK but there are sites with old links that are no longer valid (from April). There is another site (6 months old) where the backlinks (from April) are showing however no PR as yet. It does show up for some searches though.

In reponse to "amazed" about geolocation.
From where we are the serps are totally different to the US serps. We used a proxy this morning to check our AdWords in the US and to our surprise our main site is MUCH better placed on the regular serps - USA version - then from here in SA. Seems right to me!

[vbjaeger]

I think I follow what you are saying, but we have several PR5 or higher backlinks that are new as of 60 days ago and still not showing.

Would it help to submit those sites again to be crawled?

[nervous_seo]

Rolling update is a pretty neat idea but so far there have been too many instances of radical swings in SERPS for individual sites on a day to day basis.

One day you're in business and hiring and the next day you're firing!

Webmasters need somekind of stability to prosper!

[johnnydequino]

It order to get stability, one must change first. Trust me, google did not get to be the number #1 search engine because they are stupid.

I just created, in the past month, 25 pages of fresh, new content. When google gets back to it's old self, I will be well positioned.

Johnny Dequino

[Tropical Island]

"Webmasters need somekind of stability to prosper!"

If you are in a "for profit" business use AdWords!

[natural]

stability comes with longevity. i think that what google is doing is great. it seems to me that the more matured a site is, the more it maintains it's position.

it used to be relatively easy to make 5 or 6 figures in a month with a few brand new sites. obviously, that was siphoning from some more established properties. i think that the playing field is just leveling out. as long as you have a long-term vision and plan, and you are offering something that people want, you will be fine.

[nervous_seo]

Tropical Island

Whats that supposed to mean?

99% of webmasters can't compete on adwords when huge conglomerates are buying all the kywords to get market share not caring whether it is actually profitable or not!

SEO is a profession and those that consult earn!

[super_seo]

I dont know about that. I had an old one page site waiting for content and products, been sitting there for 6 months. Finally got around to it Friday the 27th. It was deep crawled by fresh bot on Saturday and now is placed solidly at #1 for very competitive keyword phrases. And all internal pages (100 pages) are all 1,2 or 3 most number one again highly competitive Phrases in the internal product pages. All right Google WOW.

[soapystar]

yeah but new sites get a huge boost in the first month..then its all hands on deck!

[manilla]

<it used to be relatively easy to make 5 or 6 figures in a month with a few brand new sites. obviously, that was siphoning from some more established properties.>

In my opinion, the date a site was created has *absolutely* NO relevance to PR or serps - why should it? I'm not sure of any valid argument that would support this. I don't think this is the way the internet is supposed to work do you?

[super_seo]

yah but first day, you got to admit, google has this end figured out.
When things calm down and this type of quick site indexing happens, Google will once again be in all our good books.

[Kirby]

99% of webmasters can't compete on adwords when huge conglomerates are buying all the kywords to get market share not caring whether it is actually profitable or not!

This is the nature of a free market system. While many think free markets are country specific, on the web its one big global free market. For commercial sites, the internet is advertising and the cost of advertising is one of the costs of doing business.

When things calm down

This is a big assumption.

In my opinion, the date a site was created has *absolutely* NO relevance to PR or serps - why should it? I'm not sure of any valid argument that would support this. I don't think this is the way the internet is supposed to work do you?

Manilla, I completely agree. Since Dominic, there has just been way to much speculation put forth as fact.

[super_seo]

As proper backlink data comes into play, while i believe the SERPs may fluctuate, im certain the results will be more constant with proper SEO technique.