During a session at the WebmasterWorld Publisher’s Conference yesterday, Google representative Matt Cutts took some time to answer questions from Google users and forum members.

Cutts started out by following up on something Yahoo’s Tim Mayer also discussed at the conference: robots.txt files.

Cutts said there are a variety of ways to keep the Google robots out and prevent unintended indexes, including prohibiting robots in the .txt file, setting passwords at the .htaccess level, using the NOINDEX tag, and using the URL removal tool. To remove documents from the Google index quickly, webmasters may send an email to the email address webmaster@google.com.

Cutts went on to answer questions from members of the WebmasterWorld forums — something that has added fuel to the persistant rumors that Cutts is the infamous “Google Guy” who frequents the forums. These speculations have yet to be confirmed by Google.

Q: What’s the future of search?

Cutts said that the future of search for Google is a better understanding of documents, users and queries.

Q: Has Google ever removed sites for political reasons?

Cutts: “I don’t think we’ve removed sites for political reasons.” Google currently removes sites for legal reasons, trademark and copywriting reasons, specific requests for URL removals, and of course for spam.

Q: Google continues to rotate data centers. Why? Does Google plan to keep doing this?

Data has to change, Cutts said, and you can’t have fresh content without changes in the search engine results pages.

Q: Will Google ever update on a regular basis?

MC: “We try half a dozen scoring techniques a month.” Google has been updating almost every day and its algorithm will continue to change as Google experiments with new methods. “Search engine optimization will not be static.” The Google coding half-life is currently six months and the algorithm changes that frequently as well. Any coding the programmers are doing on Google only lasts around six months before it’s somehow updated, improved, or altered.

Q: Is AdWords Regional a success?

MC: “Yes, it is.” He added that the more time an advertisement remains on AdWords, the better results it gets.

Click here to find out what else he had to say about AdWords…

Q: Is paid inclusion in Google’s future?

MC: “No. If we thought it would provide value we’d do it.” Paid inclusion would increase the need for Google to crawl regularly and it would also mean that dynamic sites could get listed easily in the Google index. Instead, Google’s goal is to crawl dynamic sites on its own. “We don’t think paid inclusion is right for us right now,” he added. “We’re going to watch Yahoo and if it improves their relevance then we might consider it.”

Q: Is there an over-optimization penalty?

MC: “At Google we’re changing our algorithms all the time. … Don’t over-optimize if you feel you’ve been penalized.” Instead, he says, look at your site structure.

Q: Is Google for or against search engine optimization?

MC: “We don’t sit around plotting against search engine optimizers.” He defines search engine optimization as “trying to show up well within search engine guidelines.” If search engine optimization makes results more relevant he’s all for it. If it brings better content into the web he’s all for it. However, he’s against hidden text. All in all, he believes search engine optimization is neutral or even positive in regards to Google because it can increase the quality of Google to the end users.

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Murdok | Breaking eBusiness News
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