on 3/11/2011 Google proclaimed that they will be placing more emphasis on “the most up-to-date” web content. The opening paragraph of a recent Google’s blog post, written by Amit Singhal, says it all:

“Search results, like warm cookies right out of the oven, or cool refreshing fruit on a hot summer’s day, are best when they’re fresh….”

We been aware that Google likes fresh content for a long time, but this announcement gives us a clearer picture of what Google is defining as fresh web content, and more importantly, what types of web pages need to stay constantly updated to achieve maximum search engine rankings.

So what can this mean for the average website owner? The answer is an interesting one. The changes could impact you very little, or they might significantly affect your search engine rankings. Let’s look at Google’s announcemen according to Singhal:

“Given the incredibly fast pace at which information moves in today’s world, the most recent information can be from the last week, day, or even minute, and depending on the search terms, the algorithm needs to be able to figure out if a result from a week ago about a TV show is recent, or if a result from a week ago about breaking news is too old.”

So, it seems that Google has included into their algorithm that a factor  that determines whether a person searching for a given keyword is looking specifically for the most recent content. If so, Google will find and deliver that content.

That may seem ominous for the average website owner, but it’s actually not as bad as it sounds. In most cases, website owners will not need to do anything to maintain their rankings. Some people, however, will need to update their websites on a regular basis. Whichever category you fall into, there may be an opportunity to move your site up in rankings if you capitalize on this new change.