Does Google care if you show up at all?

Search Engine Land points out that Google is testing the idea of returning fewer than 10 results when they think they know the answer. To be fair, if you’re not in the first handful of results, you’re probably not getting many (or any) clicks.

But it’s a troubling sign when Google doesn’t think your site is even worth showing.

Assuming, of course, that you have a site. (And, if you don’t, check out our guide on how to build a blog for your business, quick).

Google isn’t done here. As both mobile and social activities drive changes in search behavior, Google will continue to play with its method of presenting results. After all, it’s got 10 billion reasons each quarter to do so.

Of course, Google’s continually shifting search results underscores a point LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman made the other day when he said social media is still very young. I agree. In fact, the growth of Pinterest, the introduction of Google+ and Google’s ever-changing algorithms suggest strongly that we’re still in “the cave painting days” of Internet marketing.

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