Google and other search engines have been formulating ways of fighting spam over many years. The most recent attempts by Google comes in the form of new attributes called “UGC” and “sponsored”. UGC stands for user-generated content while “sponsored” stands for ads. What exactly will be the impact of the new attributes? Let us find out below.
Reactions from the SEO community
Before delving deeper into the impacts, it is important to analyze the reactions that have come out from the SEO front. According to reactions posted online, many pundits considered the new attributes to be useful. During the past, only the NoFollow attribute was available to the community and this made it difficult to classify content accordingly.
Now though, site owners will be able to correctly classify content and make it easy for search engines to identify the information to rank. The benefit for site owners might thus not be direct but for search engines like Google, the work of ranking websites will be much easier.
Likely impacts on SEO from the new attributes
SEO experts have argued that the new attributes are great as part of Google’s algorithm. The feeling of pundits is that with a search engine that understands the websites better, the organic ranking will become effective. The major impact of the new attributes will be on the end-users. Publishers and other parties in the content production chain will thus see immediate benefits from the new changes. According to CLT Marketing, the new changes will result in a better web within the next couple of years.
Advantages of the new attributes
Every improvement made in the search realm must come with some improvements. From the new attributes, there are many benefits to be expected. To start with, the differentiation of information carried will be possible. Every link created carries with it crucial information that helps search engines link to the right content. With good links, publishers can access structured content.
The search engines also become much more efficient in managing the promotion and marketing aspects for publishers. When the search engines understand links better, the results are not just great in the promotional aspects. The UX for end-users improves and this ultimately results in success.
Are there drawbacks to not implementing the new attributes?
One of the major issues that have come up quickly is the effects of not following the new changes. Many webmasters are particularly concerned about the effects of not changing their content to match the new rules. While many websites already follow the “nofollow” rules, none have included the new changes introduced by Google.
To reassure webmasters, Google has pointed out that all websites that currently have adhered to the nofollow rules need not worry about changing their whole sites to meet the UGC and “sponsored” attributes. The search company has indicated that the new changes are unlikely to affect webmasters in terms of current ranking.
Concerns about spamming
With the new updates, many webmasters have also raised concerns about manipulation by spammers. Spamming has been a major issue in previous times where blackhat techniques are used to achieve ranking. Webmasters have thus sought to know how Google will deal with new spammers who might want to take advantage of the new attributes. As it stands, it would be possible for spammers to use comments to lay claims on nofollow links. While Google has not specifically responded to these concerns, pundits have recommended the use of off-page SEO techniques to ensure unabated organic ranking.
What the future holds
For now, the new changes are still a new thing on the web. There will still be more issues to analyze before conclusions are made. This is why the best thing to do now is to just follow the new format for attributes as new developments arise. Bloggers, webmasters and other parties in the content production realm need to start using the UGC and sponsored links on new content. It is unnecessary to do this for older content but the new attributes are the future for the content and SEO realms.
