Are recent Google changes benefiting the big brands ahead of smaller businesses?
After Google released its latest algorithm, Penguin 2.0, the digital world was speculating on how the update will affect online businesses. This new algorithm was released on May 22nd in an effort to stop websites from attaining unnatural positions in Google.
The search engine wants brands to focus less on search ranking manipulation and more on building their brands; the effects of this has been seen by many online businesses. This means that many online retailers are now looking at changing their strategy towards online marketing.
The unfortunate issue is that many businesses, who felt that they were investing in their future by hiring a “specialist SEO company”, now have to try and regain their online presence, as the service they may have bought might not have been in compliance with Google Webmaster Tools.
However, it isn’t just the case that the penguin update has affected smaller businesses, as there are some cases worth noticing in the niche market and niche products. Alongside the penguin update, we have seen major websites and big brands ranking for unexpected keywords which they don’t even target or associate selling.
As some call it a margin of error, it is believed that the update has hit small businesses the most. For example, by looking at the keyword “greenhouses”, we can see that it is a very niche product and there are companies that specialize in constructing and selling it. What has happened after 2.0, is that rankings have dropped in SERPS by bigger brands which actually have a minor department selling this product on their website.
So, keeping in mind that there are companies that have the expertise on greenhouses, why would Tesco, Argos and Amazon (three market giants who have nothing to do with selling this specific niche product), show up on the first page in high rankings? Another example is the word “golf bags”, for which Amazon and Tesco are ranking high without even targeting this keyword or specializing on the niche product.
What we can understand from this article is that in some cases, big names are favoured above search relevance.
Google is incorporating factors which are favouring more famous brands and we feel that now, the search volume of a brand is a factor in how well it ranks for keywords. This would explain how Tesco is popping up in niches which it isn’t actively looking at targeting online.
Perhaps more importantly, the authority of the Tesco brand online is making it very difficult for smaller businesses in the same niche to compete with the big brands.
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