I wrote a co-worker a round-up of some great Google/SEO articles that I’ve seen lately and thought it was worth sharing with the rest of the world. There’s just been a bunch of good articles lately on SEO and how Google works.

• Google describing How Google Works

  Google doesn’t like to share the inner working of Google very often. And when they do, it’s usually a very bird’s eye view. But when they do speak up, it’s well worth listening.

  Favorite Quote: “We make about ten ranking changes every week …”

  People always ask me, “How exactly will this piece of information effect ranking?” Of course, I usually answer, “I’m not completely sure.” One of the reasons why it’s so hard to nail down exactly how things are ranked is because it’s constantly changing! On top of that, it actually is extremely complex. I doubt there’s any one person who can actually answer all the questions about Google–including anyone at Google.

• What happens when you search Google

  This is article does a great job of expressing the complexity of Google in layman terms. It basically follows the path that your search takes as it goes through Google and back to you with results.

  Favorite Quote: “The query is then executed, simultaneously hitting 300 to 400 back-end machines representing Google’s verticals, advertising and spell check among others.”

  Told you it was complicated.

• The Truth About SEO

  … is that it’s a slow, deliberate process that you perform over time. I’d compare it to losing weight. When you see that magazine headline that says “Lose 17 pounds in a week,” guess how reliable that is.

  This article has a great graph illustrating his search engine growth, slowly and steadily over time. Pretty much the only way to do it. I also like how the author dilutes it all down to 2 simple rules.