Matt Cutts “On Leave” While SEO World Burns
It all started July 3. With the perfect backdrop of a major holiday weekend, Matt Cutts, head of Google’s Webspam team, announced his three month leave of absence on his blog. No email, no working, no fighting web spam. They say timing is everything. And almost three months into his break, it’s becoming suspiciously convenient and curious why our pal Matt chose to take his break during this particular time…
SEO Dead… again?
The SEO world has gone a bit haywire recently. Google and its henchman de facto SEO spokesman Matt Cutts have long preached the benefits of Google Authorship and the importance of implementing video rich snippets. Now both of these options are suddenly gone from the Google algorithm and SERP.
New algorithms (!), major updates, Oh My!
We get it Matt, you didn’t want to stay and deal with the fallout. To understand his “out of office” conspiracy theory, let’s start by examining the SEO changes that have occurred since his leave.
- All-New Pigeon Algorithm
- Removal of Video Rich Snippets
- HTTPS Ranking Factor
- Google Abandons Authorship
- Rumors of Google Penguin 3.0 Update
What does this list mean for SEO’s?
It means more questions than answers.
To start, are we beginning to see a shift away from Google+ as a whole? If so, will the algorithms be updated to reflect that move? Will Penguin 3.0 mean the end of the Internet? Where do we go from here???
Questions aside, it is evident that the SEO world is rapidly changing once again. Even looking at the search engine results page shows a different world than we had on July 2. It is clear with the removal of video thumbnails and authorship that Google is looking to streamline the aesthetic styles of the page for an improved search experience. In other words, search is getting prettier. But is it getting better? That is the question Cutts must answer when he returns in October. Were these last 90 days a super-sized version of his try something new for 30 days mantra? Or did he decide to hide from the Internet to avoid the backlash? Conspiracy theories aside, the SEO world is now full of questions. And yes Matt, we do want answers.
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