A new version of Google’s search engine is currently, and publicly, being tested, and debate is raging in the SEO community over whether the new system provides any real benefits. Some webmasters say the new engine is pointless, while others seem to love it. The real value of the new search engine is probably about half-way between the two opinions.

Google says that the new engine is designed to please web developers and others interested in a high-power search. The new engine is supposed to be down-to-the-millisecond responsive, hence the name. Caffeine will ’sit under the hood’ of Google’s current search engine, meaning that a lot of users won’t even notice a difference in their search results.

The search engine has been opened up to web developers for feedback. Most developers have noticed that Google Caffeine is a lot faster in loading compared to Google. The new engine has a larger index for a lot of search terms as well, although for some terms the index is actually smaller compared to the old engine. This might be due to the new index sandboxing more sites, thus providing a more efficient search, although it’s too soon to really tell.

It may take a bit of time for developers to adjust to the new search engine, as the algorithm is different. This also makes the new engine a little more exciting. The new algorithm seems to give a bit more weight to the whole string of keywords in a URL. This is good news for those who have worked on getting their keywords fine-tuned within their URLs.

Long-tailed keywords receive more relevant results in Caffeine, reflecting the fact that viewers are searching using lengthy phrases more often. This could make a difference to how a page is optimised, as a lot of businesses have focussed on single keywords in the past. You can talk to us at SEO Consult for advice on increasing the long-tail keyword density on your site.

One suspected benefit of Caffeine is that small sites seem to be getting a boost in the new engine. Google has always had a tendency to spit out a number of pages from the same site in search engine results. This has given an advantage to big sites. Caffeine, however, appears to favour smaller sites with good, deep back-linking in place.

Google appears to be increasing its focus on real-time search with this new engine. Twitter and Facebook pages are featuring a little more prominently on Caffeine. Again, this is a sign that constant interaction is an increasingly important factor in keeping a good web presence.

What does Caffeine mean for search engine optimisation? The new engine may mean a shake-up for SEO methods, but every update of Google sees a certain amount of scrambling around in the SEO community. Most SEO companies already recommend featuring keywords in their URLs, and the need to also feature the keyword in your title and in a snippet of text should come as no surprise.

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