Below is a small grouping of videos (out of 492 videos Google team members have created) that have been released over the years. In May, Google announced a new section which details some web-mastering tips they want you to know about. Google's got plenty of things they don't want you to know, but these topics and processes are the things they do want webmasters to know and understand so that crawling and indexing your site (plus the web) could be done better which in-turn … [Read more...]
Google’s Semantic Web: Knowledge Graph Means Things, Not Strings
Google, which commands the elephant's share of search-engine visitors, has ponderously stamped the ground again by introducing a new feature intended to quickly illuminate popular topics. Company officials say their Knowledge Graph addition will help searchers gain a wider picture of many subjects without the need to wade through overly expansive results. Similar functionality has already appeared with little notice at smaller competitors such as DuckDuckGo, but Google's own … [Read more...]
Business Listings Get New Name: “Places” Becomes “Google Plus Local”
Google local search results are becoming more important every day. As Google expands its local maps listings businesses continue to try determining why some sites out-rank or appear above them, particularity, in the local maps based results on Google’s first page. Recently, David Mihm, a search marketer who specializes in local SEO, released a study performed by 40 local search marketers from around the world (all of whom are listed on the survey results page). The study … [Read more...]
Google Unleashes Limitless Liability for Websites with Penguin Update
Never before has there been a negative factor when it comes to hypertext links, until now. On or around April 28th 2012, Google released its latest algorithm update dubbed “Penguin”. This update was specifically targeting web sites which have characteristics indicating they have used tactics to build what Google refers to as “artificial” or “unnatural links” pointing to them. Web sites which are deemed to be using methods of generating what Google feels are “unnatural” or … [Read more...]
How To Put Your Twitter Account On “Auto Pilot” With TwitterFeed.com
According to a research study conducted by PEW research, as of February 2012, 15% of all adults online use Twitter and 8% do so on a typical day. The numbers are even higher as you dip into the younger generations with one quarter (26%) of users between ages 18-29 using Twitter, nearly double the rate for those ages 30-49. Finally, among the youngest internet users (those ages 18-24), 31% are using Twitter. Although it’s not ideal to have to log on each and every day to … [Read more...]
Google Panda: 10 Ways Panda Update Determines Content Quality
Google Panda is the Google algorithm that specifically attempts to improve the relevance of search results. While the Penguin algorithm focuses more on link quality, Panda is still very important and focuses on content quality. The standards Google uses in Panda are, like its namesake, fairly black and white. 10 Ways Google Determines Content Quality 1 ) Links: Especially from recognized "authority" sites within a particular niche are an important indication of content … [Read more...]
Fake Verizon Wireless Email: Email Scams & How To Avoid Them
Below is why you should get ‘out of the habit’ of clicking on any links within an email. Scams are running rampant with email and they’re not always easy to spot with the naked eye, so be cautious and think before you click. PLEASE NOTE: THE PHOTO EMAIL BELOW IS NOT SENT FROM VERIZON®. IF YOU RECEIVE IT, IT'S A FAKE. IT IS BEING USED BELOW AS AN EXAMPLE OF AN ACTUAL "PHISHING" EMAIL I RECEIVED. VERIZON® IS ALREADY AWARE OF IT AND TRYING TO PUT A STOP TO IT. THIS IS HERE TO … [Read more...]
Study: “Social Signals” Boost Organic Search Engine Rankings
Just over a year ago in February of 2011 I did a post on "social media" and "social signals" called Social Media 101 “Algorithmically Speaking”. The post detailed how social media was a necessary component of search marketing and how "social signals" likely effected search engine rankings, if not at that time, would soon thereafter. The idea, at least publicly, that social signals could or would influence rankings began a while back in 2010 but the buzz has grown … [Read more...]
Google Penguin: After Carefully Measured “Blowback” Penguin Released
In the beginning of last month (April) Google announced the release of a large scale update to its search algorithm which took place in late February. This particular update, which is referred to in the webmaster community as “Panda 3.3”, has been considered an extension of previous updates which have taken place over the last year ("Panda" through "Panda 3.3") but are unlike those which are related to content, identifying the originators of content, and brands - what Google … [Read more...]
Google Market Share Strong Despite Growing Legal Problems, Competition
Google's Street View project is currently being investigated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). While Street Views are designed to provide panoramic views and wireless mapping of areas, there are allegations that the process “went beyond mapping wireless connections” and private information and communications have been intercepted and collected during the process. According to FCC documents, Google's data gathering efforts have allowed people’s communications, … [Read more...]
Authorship: Hooking Up Your Site with Your Google+ Page and YOU
I’m jumping right on the bandwagon with all of this Google+ stuff and advising others to use it without much hesitation because I’m pretty certain I know where it’s all going; I posted about it last year in fact. Google will use the power of its intermingling services to compete and possibly beat Facebook.com and other fast rowing social networks by rewarding sites which participate - with better rankings on Google. That’s the game at play, and a winning strategy for the … [Read more...]
Sudden House Passage of CISPA Legislation Sparks Hullabaloo
The rapid approval of new cybersecurity legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday has caught opponents off guard. The controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011 (CISPA) would grant law enforcement and national-security agencies broad powers to monitor private electronic communications. The 248 to 168 margin was especially galling to critics who had harshly denounced the bill as even more expansive than either the Stop Online Piracy … [Read more...]
839 New Generic Top Level Domains To Make Internet a Confusing Space
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is set to change up the Internet address system once again. While Generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) were relatively fixed in the past, there are those that are pushing to get the green light for new domains. So far, a good deal of domain marketing has focused on domain hacks. New rules would allow big brands or those with deep pockets to own domains ending in virtually anything they want, like .nyc, .place, or … [Read more...]
One Year Into Google Panda; And It Still Isn’t Over Yet
The one-year anniversary of the original Google Panda update has come and gone and we’re still seeing significant tweaks in the aftermath . Google Panda was aimed at filtering out and eliminated junk content sites and/or sites heavily supported from ads by penalizing them for having poor content. While Google can’t physically remove data from a website, they sure can effectively prevent the masses from finding them by rating them lower than those with content perceived to be … [Read more...]
A Close Look at Quality Launch Reviews at Google Inc. (Video)
Each week (on Thursdays), Google engineers meet to go over anticipated changes and improvements intended to be rolled out onto Google.com. It is interesting to see how much detail goes into each of these decisions. Whether or not a new component will be added to Google search, is decided in these meetings, this one on misspellings and rolling out a change to Suggested Search. Google recently released a list of 50 changes on its blog “Inside Search” which stated: “We’re … [Read more...]