What should we expect in the next few months in terms of SEO for Google?”

That is the question a new video from Google’s Matt Cutts answers about what we can soon expect with respect to SEO and search engine results.

Below are 10 points that Matt addresses in his video:

1. Penguin Update: The next Penguin update (which is expected to launch soon) will go even further than before. I can hear the screams already.
2. Queries: Spammy queries will soon come under scrutiny of the Google microscope. Nuff said.
3. Swimming with the Sharks: Matt Cutts says Google will travel “upstream” to terminate link spammers and any unfair advantage they got. Will the Blog Networks be included? I highly doubt it.
4. Judgment on the Advertorials: The Google god will get medieval with advertorial sinners more than ever now. No more link juice and there must be “clear and conspicuous disclosure“.
5. Better Link Analysis: Cutts promises Google is getting even better at link analysis. “We’ll see if that bears fruit or not“. Whateva.
6. Warning and Removal Of Hacked Sites: Google is working on new features to better detect and warn us about hacked sites. This is a good thing if it really works.
7. Damn the Domain Spam: The number of times the same domain name shows up in Google’s search results (”clusters“) is supposed to diminish this year. I see this happening far too much in my own blog tips niche. As always it’s the phonies who are the worst offenders.
8. Boosting “Authority”: This one really concerns me. Google will artificially give a ranking boost to certain sites that it deems an “authority“. It’s hard to believe that Google is actually admitting doing this and it opens Pandora’s Box to playing favourites. What goes up will unfortunately bump others down. So the question begs to be asked … what will determine who is the “authority“. Matt Cutts? The most Plus Ones? LOL. Sounds more like an opportunity for Google bias to me.
9. A Reprieve from Panda Hell: Apparently Google wants to “soften” the blow on some sites (mine included) that Panda had screwed the pooch. So Google admits that it made a mistake. God forbid.
10. Google to Earth: Google claims (again) that it will improve communications to us in Webmaster Tools. We shall see.

Now that’s what I’m talking about. This is why nobody else bitches about Google. Who wouldn’t like the VIP treatment. (Rhetorical).

But seriously I’m not holding my breath for this update. This sounds more like Google fudging the search results than anything else.

We’ve heard too many promises about how Google is going to do this and will fix that. There seems to be a lot of experimentation going on but nothing much really changes does it. The information resellers continue getting away with content theft, Google has its favourites (um, I mean authority sites) and honest bloggers are lost in the shuffle as usual.

It’s no wonder the establishment bloggers aren’t complaining. They have the most to gain. If I was a rookie blogger today I would be screaming loud and hard right now.

My first venture as an entrepreneur I used a bookeeping program called Quicken and learned how I could alter the results by tweaking the filters. I could make bad data look good to the unwary eye by giving more weight to what I wanted others to see. Push the desirable stuff to the forefront and throw the rest to the back of the bus.

It’s no different with search engine algorithms, and that’s what most people don’t realize. It’s not a one size fits all process. Nor is it rocket science. It’s tech art, and the artsy fartsies at Google can’t resist meddling with the results. It just goes from bad to worse. Or like the old addage says, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Readers have often asked me if Google will throw me to the back of the bus for speaking frankly about this sort of nonsense. Well all I can say to that is it’s a fact I am one of Google’s most outspoken critics. My past battles are legendary and I am definitely on their radar. I have heard of other bloggers being targeted by Google and I have my own war stories to tell. Nor am I invited to their gala events.

Nuff said. Indeed Google does play favourites and shit often happens. Time will tell if things get any worse. Or like Tom Hanks once said “who knows what the tide could bring”. Especially when it comes to Google.

Remember when we were all so enamoured with Google’s “unbiased“, “do no evil” and “intuitive” search results? Well I think it’s safe to say that is all in the past. It’s about self-serving corporate interests and to hell with whomever or whatever gets in the way. It’s about elitism and protecting your own.

The Google god has spoken. Yes it is depressing. Still don’t believe me when I say that SEO is a Dog Chasing its Tail?

P.s.: Check out the follow up Blog Talk Radio Show titled Google Plus Changes and What They Really Mean. You don’t want to miss it.