A new generation of algorithm is in development from Become.com that takes a much more sophisticated look at how a site interrelates with other sites than those currently used by search engines. One factor that looks as though it will become important for the first time is outgoing links. Incoming links will of course continue to be vital for good rankings.

The new algo AIR (Affinity Index Ranking) is very much geared towards vertical search, specifically the shopping market but claims it will be relevant to all verticals. AIR is still very much in the development stage but a patent is pending and progress on the new algo has been exceptionally fast. Yeogirl Yun, Chairman and founder of Become.com has gone as far to suggest that "AIR is the first ground-breaking advancement in search engine technology since Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG)introduced PageRank(TM) in the late 1990s".