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Google is in the process of changing its search engine so that sites that are 'overly optimised' will be penalised in the search engine rankings.

According to CNET News, Google aims to 'level the playing field' for other websites who do not concentrate as heavily on search engine optimisation ('SEO'). CNET cites an audio clip from Barry Schwartz over at Search Engine Land in respect of a panel discussion at the recent South by Southwest conference ('SXSW'), where Google's Matt Cutts discusses the proposals.

Schwartz quotes Cutts as saying that Google aims to "level the playing field" regarding "all those people doing, for lack of a better word, over optimization or overly SEO--versus those making great content and great sites...We are trying to make GoogleBot smarter, make our relevance better, and we are also looking for those who abuse it, like too many keywords on a page, or exchange way too many links or go well beyond what you normally expect."

Schwartz notes that the changes should start to affect search engine results "in the upcoming month or next few weeks."