Google appears to Change Algorithm: Using Capital Letters Creates New Keywords
Keyword research tools may be in for another overhaul. Google’s algorithm now appears to be viewing the capitalized versions of keywords as separate from the lowercase versions. I came across this while searching for the lowercase and uppercase versions of the keyword “engagement rings.” Look at these screen shots from the 216.239.59.99 datacenter.
Screenshot of Google results with a lowercase “e” in engagement rings. Click for larger image.
Screenshot of Google results with an uppercase”E” in Engagement rings. Click for larger image.
Searching with a capital “E” gives different results than searching with all lowercase letters, and I also noticed discrepancies between lowercase and uppercase letters with that keyword at the 64.233.183.107 datacenter.
Now, look at the differences in the SERPS at the 64.233.171.107 datacenter for the lower and uppercase version of the keyword “dog tags.” The results change after the second search result.
Screenshot of Google results with a lowercase “d” in dog tags. Click for larger image.
Screenshot of Google results with an uppercase “D” in Dog tags. Click for larger image.
Assuming this isn’t a temporary glitch, the SEO landscape will undergo another transformation. If this reflects a real change in the algorithm, keyword research tools such as Wordtracker and Keyword Discovery will have to be adjusted to compensate. They currently don’t differentiate between searches with lowercase and capital letters. Since the Google search results were believed to be identical for each, they had no reason to.
We’ll have to wait for an official word from Google (if they give one), but right now this is looking at lot less like a glitch and a lot more like a real shift in the algorithm. And it would be a significant one. I would guess that people search with different forms of capitalization as often as they misspell words or use the plural form of words. But it’s just a guess, as there is no keyword research data to back that assumption up….yet.
We’ll have to keep our eyes on this one.
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5 Responses to “Google appears to Change Algorithm: Using Capital Letters Creates New Keywords”
By Arnie on May 7, 2008 | Reply
I’ve always wondered about this. I just conducted some a few searches with and without caps and the results did not seem to differ, but I only tried 3 different phrases.
If what you are finding turns out to be true, you are right, the SEO world has something new to concentrate on. And just when I was beginning to cut my hours down to 16 per day
By Shell Harris on May 7, 2008 | Reply
Arnie, you and I are in the same long-hours boat. I’m hoping this is only a temporary things. It’s hard enough with clients seeing different results due to Google datacenters but now we have to ask, “Are you using a uppercase or lowercase spelling?”
By the way, I thought you have a lot of good information on your Auto Do Follow link post. You have great commenters! I am going to use some of that information for our auto dealer client.
By Kiowa Jackson on May 8, 2008 | Reply
I see different results when I search on a phrase with caps than I do without caps. But if I search a second time with caps the results go back to normal
By Guy Thompson on May 10, 2008 | Reply
I’ve noticed some differences in the lower reaches of the SERPs. Right now I’d say that the first 10% of results are probably identical, but that the lower pages can differ.
Your mileage will vary.
On a related topic, using hyphens in conjunction with capital letters in (for example) blog post titles and URLs might change the positioning in the SERPs, but again, there’s not much research to back it up.
Experimentation will be the only way to be sure, but not many of us have the time!
By Ash Nallawalla on May 10, 2008 | Reply
Checked at 74.125.19.99, 74.125.19.103, 74.125.19.147, 74.125.19.104 and while the total number of results for Engagement Ring (no quotes) is 7,160,000 and for engagement ring it is 7,140,000, the first 100 results for each are the same. Completely different results seen from Australia, e.g. the fourth result in both is a News item with Scarlett Johansson’s picture from the SF Chronicle.
IOW, the observation could either be a glitch or a test that we are not seeing here.