Time for Links to Affect Rankings
Time for Links to Affect Rankings.
In a Webmaster Central hangout, Google’s John Mueller answered a question about how long it takes for links to take effect in Google. Here is John’s answer to how long it takes for a link to take effect in Google:
“The way that we process links is something that is continuous. So it’s not that we have to wait for a specific time frame to see the new effect of the links. But rather when we see links on the web we can take them into account essentially immediately.”
His confirmation that links can take effect “essentially immediately” might seem startling to some. That may be that it takes weeks or months to see an effect on rankings because it may take more than just one or five or ten links to see an effect in rankings.
Google On Link Algorithms
Mueller also described what actually happens during a core algorithm update. He divided into two different things going on. The first one was a significant changes in many algorithms. The second one is a significant change in “interpretations” which may be a reference to changing how much emphasis any given signal is given or how it’s emphasised.
Mueller continued:
“But rather, we have so many different algorithms that work in search. And when we make significant changes across a number of them or significant changes in the way that we interpret them, then that’s something that we would call a core algorithm update.
So, from that point of view, it’s not that we would say… the way that we handle links never changes or the way that we handle links always changes when we make a core algorithm update.”
Next Mueller says that a change in a link algorithm can happen at any time, not just during a core algorithm update.
“These changes can happen essentially at any time. And they can also coincide with core algorithm updates.”