The webmaster community is all agog nowadays of the ongoing Google update. In an effort to combat spam and improve its search results, Google periodically changes its algorithm in ranking websites.

However, this particular update, codenamed Jagger (in honor of Matt Cutts), is different from all others. First off, it comes in three stages, the first stage of which started around end-September (some say Sept. 22), and two months later is still ongoing. Many suspect that new ranking frameworks are being implemented, in particular Trust Rank

As with every update, some gain better Google rankings while others see their traffic dwindle if not altogether disappear. Over at WebmasterWorld, three extremely long threads have been devoted to this update, and one of the trends emerging is that many white hat sites with unique and quality content were adversely affected by the update. Pandia.com has a succinct article on this current update, and what the mitigating factors could be. The author posits that the following impacts a site’s ranking in Google with the current Jagger update:

1. Value of incoming links
2. Value of anchor text in incoming links
3. Content on page of incoming links
4. Keyword repetitions in anchor text
5. Age of the incoming links
6. Nature of sites linking to you
7. Directory links
8. Speed and volume of incoming links created
9. Value of reciprocal links
10. Impact of outbound links / links page on your website
11. Sandbox effect / age of your site, domain registration date
12. Size of your site’s content
13. Addition and frequency of fresh content update
14. Canonical / sub domains, sub-sub domains
15. Multiple domains on same IP numbers
16. Duplicate content on same site or on multiple domains
17. Over-optimization, excessive text markup
18. Irrational use of CSS