Google has been granted another patent last week. The patent describes how Google might categorize web pages and search queries to deliver better results.

 

Why does it make sense to categorize web pages and search queries?

 

The same word can have multiple meanings depending on the context. Google wants to return the correct result based on the intention of the web searcher. The following example is given in the patent application:

 

"Cleaning Supplies," "Lawn Care," "Maintenance," and "Decorative," represent subcategories and can also reflect specific items. [...]

"Brooms," "Mops," "Vacuum Cleaners," "Rakes," "Mowers," "Flamingos," "Gnomes," reflect the specific items to which individual documents and potential search query terms are associated.

 

The category hierarchy could equally be defined as a list with each category including a full item description. For instance, "Flamingos" could be expressed as a list item, "Household>Lawn Care>Decorative>Flamingos."

 

How does Google categorize web pages?

 

When Google indexes a web page, Google might assign a ranking score and a category score. In this example, a web page about flamingos would be compared to other pages that contain the word "flamingos".

Depending on the other words on the web page, the page would be given a category score and a ranking score for the given category.

According to the patent, the categories for pages and queries can be created manually, through an automated process, or by a combination of both methods.

 

What does this mean for your website?

 

If you want to make sure that Google categorises your web pages correctly, you should use many different and related keywords that describe the topic of your website on your web pages.

 

The more different words that are related to your website topic appear on your web pages the easier it is for Google to categorise your pages.

 

We can help you with keyword research to ensure all of the relevant and popular terms used to locate your products/services are identified. We can then create website copy to optimise against these keyword phrases. The more pages you optimize, the more likely it is that Google will find your website relevant to that topic and that you will get high rankings for the keywords on the individual pages.

 

Be ready for Google changes because you can bet that your competitors are doing just that. Contact Us today.