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By: Dave Shaw
Whilst this was the first I'd heard of it, it isn't anything completely new. Google have been testing something similar since late 2007. This feature hasn't ever been available in the experimental area on Google but it seems like it has been available to a small percentage of users. This latest test features differences to what has been seen previously, namely that users can change their vote.
Can you really see Google doing something like this long term? I recently wrote about Scour, a social search engine, which allows you to vote results up the rankings and get paid for doing so. I instantly dismissed it. Maybe I was wrong, but I can't really see this feature being rolled out to the SERPs however I could
imagine Google coming up with a rival to Digg. Surely this kind of feature would be far too open to manipulation? Or maybe it's an SEO's dream?
Having said that, Digg have made it work to a certain extent, and perhaps Google would just include user votes and one of the many other factors they use to decide how websites rank?
Or perhaps Google is just doing this as a way to cleverly see what people really think of their algorithm. Does it give people what they want or could they be ranked in another way that would be more popular with people?
You can read Google's FAQ's about this feature here. I'm sure we'd all like to here from you if you've somehow managed to be lucky enough to get onto this experiment!
Author Bio:
Dave Shaw is a search engine marketer in the UK who is fascinated by all things Google. His blog is "a humorous slant on the day's most important, interesting and quirky Google stories. Because everyone loves Google."