Internet marketers who have been practicing search engine optimization should ask themselves if they're ready for "knowledge optimization" in light of a shift in Google.

Google has changed the name of some of its search-related job positions to “knowledge” positions. Internet marketers should be asking themselves if this shift is yet another way the company is promoting the creation of useful web content that focuses on sharing “knowledge.”

TechCrunch reports that an SEC filing renames a “search group” at Google as a “knowledge group.” Of course, the company's search services are still intact and Google execs are still working on search products.

The source explains that Google insiders say this change reflects new CEO Larry Page's desire to “organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful,” as well as “facilitating the creation of knowledge.” The idea may well be that Page wants the internet to become a space where people and institutions share their knowledge – brands included.

The company's recent Panda update rewards sites for high-quality content, and marketers may discover this semantic shift in Google's search titles means there are more changes to come that will reward quality content marketing.

Katherine Griwert is Brafton's Marketing Director. She's practiced content marketing, SEO and social marketing for over five years, and her enthusiasm for new media has even deeper roots. Katherine holds a degree in American Studies from Boston College, and her writing is featured in a number of web publications.