Website categorization revealed at Google

In the SEO community, there has been ongoing debate for some time about whether Google assigns websites to specific categories. The advantages of such categorization are clear: it would allow websites to be evaluated based on their category, and the algorithm could be adjusted separately for individual categories. Bill Slawski recently revealed in his blog that a recently approved Google patent addresses precisely this categorization.

Under the title "Keywords associated with document categories," Google applied for a patent in 2007 that describes how websites are classified into categories, each associated with a predefined set of keywords. A website assigned by Google to a specific category thus has a higher chance of ranking well for the associated keywords than a domain of another category. The patent primarily describes this process for use in local search, but it can also be applied to other areas of search. Whether such a method is already influencing the ranking is unknown, but many industry experts wouldn't be surprised.

So, what does this mean specifically for your own website? It's not new that websites should be thematically clearly defined due to precise target group definition. Clean structuring using categories and subcategories has long been a proven approach for both SEO and usability reasons. Since Google's Panda update and the increased focus on the content quality of a website, such aspects remain an important topic. Clear structuring and the use of relevant keywords should be a focus when creating and maintaining websites.

There are various ways to see your own domain through Google's eyes and find the most important keywords according to Google's assessment: the Google AdWords Keyword Tool provides insight into which keywords Google suggests for a specific URL.

In Google Webmaster Tools, under the "Keywords" section, there is a list of the most important keywords found by Google when crawling the domain. Clicking on each keyword also shows the found variations. Google itself notes, "These keywords should reflect the subject matter of your website." If the listed keywords don't match the content (and thus the potential category) of the domain, reviewing the content is advisable. Additionally, the Webmaster Tools show the most frequent search queries that bring visitors to the domain.

Regardless of whether the categorization described in the patent is already part of the algorithm, it is always sensible to review the keywords of your own page, ensure clean structuring of the content, and pay attention to relevant keywords. Those who wish to delve deeper into the subject can find the original patent mentioned above as an abstract at the German Patent and Trademark Office and in full at the US Patent Office.