Google's Matt Cutts has released a number of videos in which he talks about the way Google works.

Google's Matt Cutts has addresses previous and future updates of the Google index in these videos.

GOOGLE FACTS
Google's index is updated every day as Google crawls the web. There pretty much is always an update going on.

Google has algorithms and data pushes that are going out on a less frequent basis. The latest were on 27 June, 28 July and 17 August.

Google's BigDaddy update was a software infrastructure upgrade that finished in February. The BigDaddy update introduced a new way how they crawl the web.

Matt Cutts mentions in the video that another software infrastructure update is on the way. The new update should increase the quality of the search results:

"If we find out that we can improve quality by changing our algorithms or data or infrastructure, or anything else, we’re going to make that change.

The best SEO's in my experience are the ones that can adapt, and that say 'OK, this is the way the algorithms look right now to me, if I want to make a good site that will do well in search engines, this is the direction I want to head in next.'"

Read recap articles on the 2005 San Jose SES.

Looks like Microsoft doesn't want Google to have all of the fun, so their new ready for prime-time search engine has been released. This new search engine can be seen at: http://beta.search.msn.com.

Their index is currently supported by 5 billion pages and is a algorithmic search engine built by Microsoft engineers.  The functionality resembles the present Google and Yahoo search engines. They chose to make the interface clean and uncluttered much like Google.

MSN Search features a "Near Me" button which when clicked will present local results. By default it uses the searchers IP address to determine location. These settings can be manually changed.

What is Anchor Text?

Anchor text is the hyper-linked text that allows the user to move around web sites.

Anchor Text Relevancy

From a search engine stand point it is important that the anchor text be relevant to the information that it points to. If it is it can improve your ranking in the search engines. So for example if your web site is dedicated to selling exercise videos and the page that you are going to point to has numerous articles on exercise videos then you have a high relevancy.

To achieve even higher relevancy make sure that the integrity of the document that your pointing to has been marked up with those same anchor text phrases. I.E. The page title of the page you are going to is called "exercise videos" and your anchor text is the same.

What Not To Do:

It is a common mistake to see people use "click here" in anchor text. In doing this you are loosing many possible users. Instead use descriptive anchor text phrases that are relevant to the subject matter.

If you are looking to hire an SEO firm, here is some of what you want to look for in that firm.

Keyword Research and Copywriting Skills

Both SEO and search engine advertising require keyword research and copywriting skills.

With ad copy, writers deal with only a limited set of words, including:

• 1) Query Words
• 2) Unique Selling Propositions
• 3) Calls to Action

In Web Site pages (including landing pages), writers have much more to deal with like page titles, meta tags, headings, a higher word count, site navigation schemes, calls to action (above and below the fold), and cross-linking. Though some of these features should be available on ad landing pages, many of these landing pages aren't an integral part of a site's information architecture.

Many copywriters come from the print world or, advertising, or journalism background. These copywriters might not specialize in the Web and search engine copywriting. Search engine copywriters know how to write with keyword phrases and incorporate these phrases into sales copy without diluting either their brand or copy. Search engine friendly copy has a certain level of redundancy that most likely will not be acceptable in a print medium or for that English paper you wrote in college. So it is important to find search engine copywriters for web site work, otherwise inevidibly you will most likely have problems if you try to hire a print copywriter.

Web Site Design, and Interface Usability

Placing keyword-rich text on Web pages won't increase search engine visibility unless crawler-based search engines can easily access that text. A site's design, page layout, navigation scheme, and information architecture are just as important as search engine friendly copy. That's why you will notice a site that is primarily designed in graphics will not rank well in the search engines.

Finding an SEO firm that specializes in search engine friendly design is difficult. Not only must this firm's staff have design skills, their staff should have programming, marketing, Web analytics, and interface usability skills. Very few SEO firms have staff with technical and marketing skills.

Even if an SEO firm doesn't have individual staffers with multiple talents, make sure it has staffers with these five skill sets: web design, programming, search, Web analytics, and interface usability.

Inbound and Outbound Link Development

Link development is often an ongoing process that goes far beyond site development completion. For a new site, link development often begins with directory paid inclusion. Since it's very difficult to modify a directory listing, a search engine friendly copywriter should know how to research categories and write appropriate descriptions that will enhance a site's overall search engine visibility and be an accurate directory description. Many Web content writers don't understand directory submission. It's a special skill.

Unfortunately, link development isn't a skill PR firms currently provide. Link development requires search, publicity, and e-mail skills. For example, an article opportunity might arise in an online publication. A qualified link developer knows how to:

1.) E-mail a publication to pitch the article
2.)Write the article so keywords naturally appear in the copy
3.)Ensure the article links back to the Web site in a search-friendly way.

In Closing

Sometimes, SEO can be a simple process. Maybe the title tags need a little tweaking. Adding text links and a site map might solve the problem, or creating a URL structure the crawler-based search engines can follow. However, if you need to outsource or hire an SEO firm, make sure the firm has staff that specialize in search, copywriting, design, programming, marketing, and inbound link development.