What is QDF?

‘Query Deserves Freshness’ is a key component of the Google Algorithm. It gives importance to the ‘freshness quotient’. If a topic is ‘hot’, meaning it’s in the news, content related to that particular topic immediately ranks at the top of Google’s search engine rankings. That, in a nutshell is QDF.

With QDF, the amount of link backs to the content does not matter. The key focus is on the freshness of that content and whether that particular content relates to a topic that is currently a hot topic of discussion.

There has always been confusion about whether content that has attracted a large number of links over a period of time can be considered ‘quality’ content or the content that is fresh but doesn’t have a huge number of links - The QDF algorithm aims to find balance between the two sides of the debate.

When does QDF actually come into play?

This happens when Google notices that there is a spike in activity regarding a certain topic; say the blogosphere is excited about a particular development or there are various news stories regarding the same, and there are search engine queries about that particular topic – and all this happening at the same time or within the same time frame.

The QDF algorithm can best be explained with a real time example. The one name that is doing the rounds of all discussions, currently, across the real and the online world is ‘Osama Bin Laden’.  Key in Osama, Bin Laden or Osama Bin Laden on Google and have a look at the results. The latest news from various news providers will figure first, followed by links to related content based on the order of freshness.

Here is an Example:

How do you leverage the immense potential of QDF for SEO purposes?

It goes without saying that your content should be fresh. You must also make sure that that this fresh content is about a topic that is uppermost in the minds of the people at that particular point of time. It’s of paramount importance that your blogs be updated frequently and you keep a lookout for the kind of topics that are uppermost in the people’s minds at that point of time.

Making the use of Press Releases, news and even PPC with keywords related to the ‘popular query’ is going to prop your SERPs. It’s important to understand that you will need to combine various strategies to optimize the use of QDF. The aggregate of all your strategies will come into the reckoning when Google’s QDF algorithm comes into play.