There were two semi-related bits of news yesterday that have the potential to give WordPress-powered blogs even more of an edge in Google search rankings. Two small changes that are going to change how we find and use information, and it all comes down to one word: PubSubHubbub (PuSH).
First we got word that all 10.5 million WordPress.com blogs would support not only RSSCloud but also PuSH. That’s a lot of blog content there. Enough to make a serious difference on its own. At the same time Automattic released the PuSHPress plugin to do the same for self-hosted WP blogs (which I promptly downloaded and activated, just like I did for RSSCloud). Sure alone this is major news (hence why RWW and others covered it—10.5 Million WordPress Blogs Get PubSubHubbub), now WP.com blogs and those who install the plugin will now push their updates out to readers instead of forcing readers to come to them. Ah the real-time web, it’s getting richer and richer. So, while that is cool, it is trumped by the next bit of news…
Google is going to use PuSH to power real-time indexing and results—Google Index to Go Real Time. See the connection? Out of the box WP.com blogs are going to have a serious edge over most other blogs (I’m sure Blogger blogs will get PuSH soon too). A tight blogging network that stomps out spam blogs without mercy, that encourages great content, and now well tell Google immediately when there is new stuff? I think that’s a pretty powerful thing. Now, add to the mix all the self-hosted WP blogs? Man that has the potential to really influence Google results.
This doesn’t mean that people can be lazy with SEO, on the contrary, I think this should push people to take it more seriously. Look, you’re going to get your content right into the Google index, so making sure you use (good) categories, tags, and writing with keywords in mind only serves to push you higher in the results.
With tens (hundreds?) of millions of blogs pushing updates to Google, don’t you think that those results are going to get priority?
Granted, it shouldn’t take long before Blogger, MovableType, and TypePad have PuSH support as well, but let’s consider volume here. WordPress is poised to become the platform of choice for Google.
WordPress, powering the realtime web, with help from Google.
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