Google has tweaked its search algorithm, which should be good news for websites with legitimate content. They are finally going after the “article farms” that create keyword-rich articles to rise to the top of popular searches.

Manipulating search engines is something that no one wants, but everybody does. The goal of being “#1 on Google” is the typical request of people who want their websites to rank high in search results. But to get there requires meaningful, helpful content that others connect to via links — in other words, content that’s good enough to share. And that’s an excellent approach for deciding who gets top rankings on search results pages. After all, highly relevant results are what we want when we search, right?

That is unless your site could also be returned for that search term. Then you want Google to rank your site on top, whether the content is the best or not. Getting your site to #1 is the art (myth?) of SEO (search engine optimization), an industry called everything from miraculous to snake oil. And sorting out pages with genuinely useful content from pages that are merely “optimized” is the dilemma that search engines must deal with every day.

Suppose you’ve gone to great lengths to create valuable, meaningful content that helps people make decisions. In that case, you’ll be happy with Google’s new tweaks, which penalize sites with content designed simply to manipulate the search engines and manufacture rankings. If you’re an “optimizer,” you’ll be less than thrilled. However, the happiest people of all should be search engine users. Remember them? They’re looking for helpful, relevant information, and if that’s what you deliver, you shouldn’t have to “optimize” to see your pages valued by Google.

Read full article: Google Tweaks Algorithm to Push Down Low-Quality Sites