Tag Archives: Google SEO News

SEO: Avoiding Penguins and Pandas

Google’s recent penchant for naming major algorithmic updates after animals has the world of search engine optimization sounding more like a zookeeper’s dilemma. But with rumors of an impending Penguin update — see this article from Search Engine Roundtable — right around the corner, ecommerce marketers need to know their Penguins from their Pandas, and how to avoid the ire of both.

In both cases, Penguin and Panda are algorithmic updates. Each represents updates to the hundreds of signals that Google uses to analyze and rank web pages for its search results pages. Penguin and Panda are primarily associated with negative impact on organic search traffic. Algorithmic updates are different than a manual penalty, in which human members of Google’s Web Spam team manually identify violations to Google’s webmaster guidelines and assess penalties on those pages. Because Penguin and Panda act algorithmically, if a site that has been demoted can identify and remove the issue, the site should be able to rebound algorithmically as well.

Most algorithms are being constantly tweaked and updated within Google’s main index. As a result, the impact of these continual updates isn’t felt strongly or suddenly as the algorithms evolve. Interestingly, Penguin and Panda are processed outside of the main index. Consequently, the updates to the rankings that these two algorithms produce are experienced in sudden bursts of change to rankings and traffic, lending Penguin and Panda their fearsome reputation.

Penguin: Over-optimization

Google’s Penguin algorithm update — first launched on April 24, 2012 and updated on May 26 — targets sites that have been over-optimized to an extent that they violate Google’s webmaster guidelines. For example, sites with large quantities of low-quality links and unusually high numbers of highly optimized anchor text, as well as sites that employ more typical keyword stuffing tactics or duplicate content. Google

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Article source: http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/3724-SEO-Avoiding-Penguins-and-Pandas

7 Habits of Highly Effective SEO

From searchenginewatch.com

When I started my professional career (selling advertising), one of the most influential books that I read at the time was “7 Habits of Highly Effective People“, by Stephen Covey.

It’s not much of an over-statement to say that this book changed my life.

What’s interesting to me is how many of the tenets that Mr. Covey conveyed in this book hold true in many facets of my life, and specifically with digital marketing and search engine optimization (SEO).

I speak to many prospects for SEO services, every day. Some of these believe that SEO is a one-and-done affair.

While I find instances where companies could see some solid gains by simply implementing proper title tags and correcting a few things, more often than not, proper SEO efforts need to be worked on a regular basis to realize the types of gains that can deliver really solid, long-lasting and “optimized” (optimal) results.

Every SEO company will have its own processes for performing SEO, and I’m not suggesting that what follows covers everything that goes into an ongoing SEO effort, but the key ingredients are here.

*Note: items in italics come directly from Stephen Covey’s website.

Habit 1: Be Proactive

Instead of reacting to or worrying about conditions over which they have little or no control, proactive people focus their time and energy on things they can control. The problems, challenges, and opportunities we face fall into two areas–Circle of Concern and Circle of Influence.

Proactive people focus their efforts on their Circle of Influence. They work on the things they can do something about: health, children, problems at work. Reactive people focus their efforts in the Circle of Concern–things over which they have little or no control: the national debt, terrorism, the weather. Gaining an awareness of the areas in which we expend

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Article source: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2191663/7-Habits-of-Highly-Effective-SEO

10 SEO Techniques All Startups Should Be Using

If you’re a startup entrepreneur, chances are good that search engine optimization (SEO) is the last thing on your mind. After all, why should you worry about things like keyword phrases and backlinks when there are a hundred other items on your “to do” list, all clamoring for your attention?

Unfortunately, this mindset is extremely shortsighted. It doesn’t matter how innovative your products or services are. If people can’t find you online, you’re going to have a seriously tough time sustaining the momentum you need to propel a growing business to success.

So instead of dismissing the tremendous potential involved with SEO, consider implementing any or all of the following techniques into your startup’s marketing plan:

Technique #1 – Identify Target Keywords

In my opinion, a startup’s #1 marketing goal should be to identify at least a handful of potential SEO keywords to target within the natural search results and then optimize the site accordingly. This list should include keyword phrases that your potential customers are actually entering into the engines (as determined by search volume figures found in keyword research tools) and that aren’t too competitive to rank for your site (based on the presence of established websites in Google’s Top 10 results).

Once identified, these keywords should be integrated into your site in key areas, including your page titles, your heading tags, and your body content. Don’t force it through excessive inclusions, but do take advantage of the SEO value these positions hold to inform the search engines about the subject of your web content.

Technique #2 – Implement Branding Efforts

However, while it’s important to identify and target SEO keywords for use in your startup marketing plan, it’s also vital that you begin the branding process as early as possible in your company’s tenure. There’s no arguing with the fact that Google loves brands. Considering

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Article source: http://www.searchenginejournal.com/10-seo-techniques-all-startups-should-be-using/45827/

How To Measure SEO – 5 Ways

SEO is getting harder and harder.

If I was using search engine optimization as a key component of my marketing today – which I am – I would make damn sure I’d know how to track success.

Because SEO is harder, it’s also more expensive than ever.

If you plan to use cheap links and content outsourced to third world countries, you are living in a fantasy world of search engine optimization.

There are many ways to measure SEO but using ranking reports is not one way.

Have you looked at Google recently? With video results, image results, and social results all being injected into the search engine results pages (SERPs), how are you going to judge success based on a ranking report?

In the last 30 days, here are my rankings (with clicks) for the phrase “google plus local” from Google Webmaster Tools:

 

Which position would you show your boss?

I’m fairly confident that I am somewhere between position 1 and 10 (except when I’m on page 2 or 3).

Look, I still run these reports. Old habits die hard. But I do really wish they would die. Positioning reports are meaningless ego-driven search babble.

You Want Results!

You aren’t trying to rank well for your health. You are trying to get some sort of action. The action is what you need to be tracking. Ranking is just a means to an end.

The end results could be things like getting people to:

  • Engage with your site.
  • Sign up for your newsletter.
  • Buy something.
  • Fill out your online form.
  • Call you.

You get the idea, right? Track the thing you want them to do.

Here are five ways to measure SEO.

No. 1: Segment, filter, and compare.

Google Analytics is your friend when it comes to measuring success.

Get comfortable with segmenting your traffic using the built-in advanced segmenting reports in Google Analytics. First, segment on your “non-paid search

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Article source: http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2188033/measure-seo

Best SEO Practices for Twitter and Facebook

It is critical that you optimize your social presence so that people can find you easily. You know that it is important to do that; however, you should also have an understanding of why it is so important.

If you don’t start out by having a clear understanding of why it is so important for your business that you optimize effectively, you will be faced with obstacles that may prevent you from accomplishing your goals as quickly and easily as you would like.

Connecting social media sites and searches

The first question that you need to answer is why you feel that it is important for you to connect your social media sites and how they relate to searches. Your objectives are actually quite simple.

  • What do you need to do to get your pages to rank higher?
  • What do you need to do to get your website to rank higher because of your social media connections

One fact that is undeniable is that there has been a tremendous increase in activity with interactive social media sites.  Many well-known brands have gotten involved with interactive social media sites and it is really making a difference to their success. Businesses have finally started to understand the need to be involved with social media because it is advantageous for their businesses.

Getting your pages to rank higher

Links are a very important element when it comes to getting your pages to achieve high rankings. There are many different links that are valuable and that will add value to whatever content you are offering. Providing links in your content that lead back to your website is the easiest way to drive new online traffic to you so that you can start to interact and build relationships. It will give you instant gratification.

Don’t be afraid to…

Use brand names in your articles. The

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Article source: http://www.business2community.com/seo/best-seo-practices-for-twitter-and-facebook-0266572

5 Common SEO Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

With the number of updates Google and the other search engines make to their algorithms, it can be daunting to stay current with best practices for search engine optimization (SEO). Should backlinks still be a priority? What is Google’s Penguin update and how can I stop losing traffic because of it?

But no matter how much search engines change their ranking equations, there are a number of basic SEO mistakes you’ll want to avoid. Here’s a look at the five most common errors and some advice for how you can avoid making them:

Mistake No. 1: Failing to conduct proper keyword research. 
The Internet runs on keywords. Websites show up in search engine results only when they’re relevant to keyword queries.

If you’re posting web content based on whatever you feel like writing rather than based on proper keyword research, you might be limiting your opportunities to generate search results traffic. A keyword is a word or series of words that a user enters into a search engine. To research keywords for your industry, use tools such as Google’s free Adwords Keyword Research service to look for search queries that generate an adequate volume of website results without being so competitive that your site won’t rank high in the search results.

Related: How Keyword Research Can Improve Your SEO

Mistake No. 2: Building low-value backlinks. 
Although link building can be an important part of online marketing, you won’t want to put quantity ahead of quality. Low-value backlinks — including those from spam websites, irrelevant sites or sites built solely for the purpose of disseminating links — could do damage to your site’s SEO, especially in the wake of the recent Google Penguin update.

Google Penguin is an algorithmic change designed to weed spam sites out of search results.

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Article source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/223882?cm_mmc=Carousel-_-223882-_-13-_-fpf

Google Webmaster Tools Notice of Detected Unnatural Links

For years I have heard people say “buy links for your competitor and report them”, if it was really that easy and I’m guessing not illegal then we would all be doing it, wouldn’t we ?

Sometimes I sit at home at night and pretend I’m the Head of Google’s Spam Team, only I drink wine and not Sprite , and what would I do with competitor bowling and buying links in general, so here is what I think I would do.

a) Assemble a crack team of Googlers ( I guessing the real head of spam did this ), and create a list of guidelines to send out to 50,000 work at home raters and look for patterns. Things like bad content, over affiliated sites or sites just hitting out of their league, (say a 3 page site ranking top 10 for insurance or loans), sites that shouldn’t be in the top 10. The metrics are truly endless when you start looking into this, you only have to find a few positive signals, is this site is buying links and a quick hand review from any expert  spam team or seo and they can tell.

So now I have a small section of sites that are seen to be are Selling links and all I need to do is collect all the sites that have out going SEO links and I have my maybe list of link buyers. Then all I need to do is find any correlation appearing on other sites (now my sellers list) and pretty soon I will find the networks.

Not all sites that sell links realise what they are actually doing. I have found many link placements for SEO value in sponsoring clubs and user groups or in paid offline advertising that’s going to get republished. I guess my job

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Article source: http://www.davidnaylor.co.uk/detected-unnatural-links.html

SEO: Avoid Link Building Shortcuts

There are no safe link building shortcuts. Instead I want to warn marketers about deceptive search marketers and the dangers of using “easy” link building tactics. In the latest instance, the search engine optimization community is abuzz with news that Home Depot’s SEO team has attempted to increase its link portfolio by potentially shady means. Last year, J.C. Penney and even Google’s own Chrome browser marketing site were reportedly penalized by Google Search for violating linking guidelines.

The temptation to manipulate rankings by acquiring links through unethical means is easy to understand: Links are the lifeblood of the Internet and a major factor in every major search engine’s ranking algorithms. In theory, more links means better rankings. In reality, the engines compile data across hundreds of factors algorithmically to determine rankings, and links are just one part. We’ll look at some link building tactics as examples of what not to do.

Know the Linking Guidelines

The first and easiest way to run afoul of linking guidelines is ignorance. Google in particular publishes its webmaster guidelines as a way to communicate what it considers ethical and unethical in its search algorithms. Google’s guidelines for links are very clear:

“Examples of link schemes can include:

  • Links intended to manipulate PageRank
  • Links to web spammers or bad neighborhoods on the web
  • Excessive reciprocal links or excessive link exchanging (‘Link to me and I’ll link to you.’)
  • Buying or selling links that pass PageRank”

The guidelines are fairly broad. In practice, I use this check: If a linking opportunity seems too easy it’s probably in violation of Google’s webmaster guidelines. For example, many companies will offer to sell you 100 links for the low price of $50. Yes, these companies will sell you the links and they may even produce the links. However, the tactics they use will involve activities like

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Article source: http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/3489-SEO-Avoid-Link-Building-Shortcuts

5 Reasons Why Small Business Owners Distrust SEO

confusing-traffic-signInsiders find every aspect of search engine optimization (SEO) fascinating. But the real world doesn’t. An SEO professional may live and die by every algo update and latest social signal split-test, but please know that the non-SEO world couldn’t care less.

Take, for example, a carpet cleaner, a dentist, a veterinarian, roofer, plumber, mover, even doctors, lawyers… you get the idea. They are busy running their businesses. Over the years a divergence has developed between the SEM blogs and the realities of small business marketing. A course correction is needed.

Let’s first be clear, small business needs online marketing. In fact, many of these businesses need online marketing far more than their larger corporate brothers. The big guys can swing fat SEO budgets around as they “explore” different social media outlets and “experiment” with social engagement as an alternative customer service strategy.

The small business profile is not nearly as pretty, particularly in this economy. Often hampered by small margins, super tight budgets and a general lack of respect from vendors who give them their lesser-trained account managers, many small business owners are living on a frustrating edge.

It Used to be so Simple

A small business owner who has been around for a while is often especially unhappy with the migration to online marketing. The rules used to be simple. You set up shop, bought your yellow pages ad, and then had a modest budget for other media outlets such as radio, newsprint, fliers, coupons and perhaps local television.

While you’d expect great enthusiasm for the new online economy, you often hear frustration and bitterness. Why is small business so mistrustful of online marketing? And what is so special about SEO that has them particularly distrustful?

1. The Rules Keep Changing

Last

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Article source: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2156233/5-Reasons-Why-Small-Business-Owners-Distrust-SEO

How Google’s +1 Button Affects SEO

Since the days of Google Buzz, the +1 button has been a mystery to users and content producers alike. It’s different from Facebook’s “Like” button, in that it doesn’t directly share content to a user’s social stream. But the cultivation of a social graph has long been the goal of Google, and its connection to search was likely inevitable.

Google defines the +1 as a feature to help people discover and share relevant content from the people they already know and trust. Users can +1 different types of content, including Google search results, websites, and advertisements. Once users +1 a piece of content, it can be seen on the +1 tab in their Google+ profile, in Google search results, and on websites with a +1 button.

The plot thickened last month when Google launched Search plus Your World. Jack Menzel, director of product management for Google Search, explained that now Google+ users would be able to “search across information that is private and only shared to you, not just the public web.” According to Ian Lurie from the blog Conversation Marketing, in Search plus Your World, search results that received a lot of +1s tend to show up higher in results.

Google has come out and described the purpose of a +1, but hasn’t necessarily explained the direct effect a +1 has on search ranking. Here’s a breakdown of what we currently know.

Does a +1 Affect my Site’s Performance in Social Search?

The +1 has an indirect effect on your site’s search rank. This does not mean the more +1’s a link has, the higher rank it achieves in traditional search results. Take this scenario:

When a Google+ user +1’s a piece of content, he gives it his

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Article source: http://mashable.com/2012/02/21/google-plus-1-seo/