Google Update
With the conclusion of Google's major update, we can observe the emergence of many new phenomena. For example, from the PR update on July 26th and the data update in the following two weeks, it is evident that Google has given significant attention to a group of Chinese websites, especially Chinese portals covering the Olympics. I also had the fortune of being favored by Google, with all sorts of data showing improvement. Here, I'd like to share some of my thoughts.
After a wait of nearly three months, sites that were downgraded in the 430 update have been liberated, with many data points unexpectedly improving. For Google, which has always valued high-quality backlinks, this update doesn't seem to be the result of long-term crawling feedback for site data. Instead, it appears to be more about consideration for the Olympics and Chinese websites. For instance, numerous sites without backlinks or only a few low-quality links received PR boosts. Some sites established between June and mid-July also obtained respectable PR values; I've even seen a new site with PR5, though it dropped to PR4 on the third day of the update.
In fact, there’s no need to over-analyze these sites' structures or their backlink profiles. If your site has rich content with a large amount of original, readable articles—where readability refers to content that helps search engines extract keywords that match users' search behaviors and results—you're likely to benefit. The main highlight of the July update was undoubtedly the Beijing Olympics in August. This explains why many newly indexed sites, despite scraping large amounts of pre-Olympic content, were not penalized but instead favored by Google. My personal analysis: These scraping sites may enjoy good times for only a few months. Once the Olympic-related searches cool down, Google will likely demote them again. Thus, quality original sites will still emerge as the ultimate winners.
Portal Competition
In this update, the competition among portals is clear to everyone. Despite commercial interests driving competition in Olympic coverage, broadcasting rights, and advertising deals, the PR update saw Baidu, representing Chinese search engines, achieve a commendable PR8. Domestic government institutions or portals related to the Olympics also received PR8 upgrades. Examples include Xinhua News Agency, Sina.com, Sohu.com, and CCTV, all of which are PR8 representatives. Others like QQ, 163, and TOM represent PR7. These sites benefited somewhat from their association with the Olympics, reflecting Google's favoritism towards Chinese websites.
Polarization
After this update, many webmasters complained: "Why did Google kill my site? Why wasn't my site indexed, but instead lost pages? Why did my links decrease? Why did my site's PR drop after the update?" These questions reveal another side of Google: severe penalties for sites practicing excessive SEO or black hat SEO techniques. Additionally, sites that remained neutral but had no connection to the Olympics and lacked substantial content were once again neglected by Google. This caused a polarization in this Google update.
SEO and Rankings
Regarding SEO issues, Google tends to handle updates steadily and transition smoothly. In this major Google update, Baidu also underwent a significant update, but it seemed rushed, as if targeting Olympic-related sites. Unfortunately, some high-quality sites, particularly entertainment sites, lost their rankings for certain keywords. In light of these situations, I believe there's no need to make drastic adjustments in SEO to adapt to ranking changes during the Olympic period. Maintaining high-quality content, where content is king, will ultimately lead to success.