Google are set to stamp down on unethical SEO

Matt Cutts spoke at PubCon and hinted at changes to how Google approaches SEO. The event streamed live, while attendees took many notes on what Cutts had to say. Highlights of the presentation included topics which could impact SEO toward the end of the year, in 2014, and beyond. Bloggers took the event seriously and covered it live.

Search Engine Journal, Bruce Clay, Pole Vault Media, Search Mojo, and Search Engine Land provided coverage, as did Brian Patterson on his Google+ page. The event also sparked a lot of activity on Twitter. Several topics of interest received a lot of attention.

Google reported its spam team will focus on black hat hacking; the search engine has a strategy to go after those implementing hard core hacking tactics. The aim is to reduce the effect these hackers have on search results for ordinary users.

Also announced is a plan to block child pornography, not just in the U.S., but everywhere. Another wide-scale change is a focus on mobile technology in 2014, while a fix to Toolbar PageRank may be in the works. Trouble with exporting quarterly data, however, could delay this.

Cutts also discussed the possible addition of an Autocomplete function for filling in forms. Changes to page layout algorithms concerning advertisements, and Google’s authorship preference, are being considered as well. The search engine announced it will be more critical on who is highlighted in its authorship system. As a result, users may have to find other ways to boost their authoritativeness.

A boost in JavaScript efforts was hinted at too. This has yielded much speculation as to the future products and services which may be provided by Google.