Up to very recently, conversion rate optimization (CRO) was dominated by consultants who were providing the optimization solutions as a blend of empirical experience with a little bit of technology. The practitioners were relying more on the art of persuasive copy writing and the best design practices, and less on the technology and scientific methods.
Google’s algo changes on a frequent basis, most of the time without warning. Why Google changes the way they rank search results so often is likely due to business objectives (keeping investors happy), trying to keep up their image as an innovator and manager of the web’s information amidst a host of competitors (Facebook, Twitter, Bing, Yelp, etc.), fighting spam, and providing relevant search results. It’s rare that Google informs everyone about upcoming changes to their algo (as they did with Caffeine), unless it helps them achieve one of their many objectives. In my opinion, Google wanted plenty of user feedback before they launched Caffeine.
Google caffeine, the latest algo update, emphasizes page speed load time. Google says this will help make the web faster – more user friendly. But how much emphasis should be placed on things like optimizing photos for faster download, consolidating all css into one file, reducing flash usage and other things that bog down a browser? Matt Cutts, Google engineer, takes a moment to answer…