There has been a lot of talk about Google’s patents and their potential implementations and SEO implications among SEO experts lately. Cutts has his opinion, of course, but we will discuss that later on. What concerns us now is why SEOs pay so much attention to patents. I mean, patent papers explain the processes behind inventions and innovations, but that is not an explanation for their increasing importance among SEOs. Why so much noise?
Google’s Patents as a BIG DEAL
Why are Google’s patents perceived as so important? Well, it is enough only to consider the recent cases of Google vs. another company over different patents and we get a pretty good idea of how valuable these are to Google. For example, the cases against iPhone 4 and Xbox 360, in which the International Trade Commission ruled in favor of the other company, show that Google tends to make a fuss every time someone uses a technique similar to their patents. Would Google do that if the patents it holds weren’t important? Of course not. As it turns out, patents bring so much money that both Google and Apple spend more money on them than on research and development of new products.
Patents and SEO
Now, why are these patents important to SEOs?
The answer is – because Google holds a bunch of patents and is probably developing new ones, some of which might potentially have an impact equal to the impacts of Panda and Penguin. Google’s patents may potentially change SEO all over again.
Bill Slawski is known to monitor Google’s patents and works published by its engineers in an attempt to figure out which change of algorithm is based on which patent. Google doesn’t really disclose these things, and only gives guidelines as to how to avoid being penalized by their search engine, but their guidelines are not always enough for a serious SEO work on big and small websites. To find out more, read about what Bill Slawski has to say about the potentially important patents that could have been the foundation for Panda.
The fact is that patents can often provide a valuable insight into the future of search and be of great help to webmasters.
Matt Cutts Says
“Just because a patent issues that has somebody’s name on it or someone who works at search quality or someone who works at Google, that doesn’t necessarily mean we are using that patent at that moment,” Cutts said in the video. “So sometimes you will see speculation Google had a patent where they mentioned using the length of time that a domain was registered. That doesn’t mean that we are necessarily doing that, it just means that mechanism is patented.” – Matt Cutts
So we shouldn’t pay attention to patents just because they are not necessarily used at the given moment?
I do not think that is quite true. As Bill Slawski said
“They are a chance to learn about the assumptions that search engines make about search, searchers, search engines, and the web.”
He also added that, though Matt has a point in saying that a patent should not be taken as proof that a certain principle is being implemented, we shouldn’t ignore what we can learn from it. (SEO by the Sea and SEW)
Here’s what Mark Traphagen has to say about patents owned by Google:
“One of the arguments we hear from time to time from those who insist that “Author Rank” is a present reality in the Google Search algorithm is that because Google has the various Agent Rank patents, they must be using them. This is an unwarranted assumption, and reflects a misunderstanding of what patents are for. Inventors or companies sometimes patent an idea they come up with just to protect it from competition (and keep it in their “war chest”), even if they don’t intend to immediately (or perhaps ever) actually use it. “(Google Plus Mark Traphagen)
So what should our standpoint in this be?
To Pay Attention or Let It Slide?
Pay attention, definitely. Even though Google’s patents may not have an immediate relevance, no one can claim they will not become relevant sometime in the future. If you are familiar with them, it is easier for you to spot changes in the search process and ways to use them to your own advantage.
However, do not obsess over this. If your timetable doesn’t allow you to delve into each and every patent, the world is not going to end because of it. Stay alert as much as you can – that’s pretty much enough.