Google has used the bulk of 2011 to roll out targeted efforts to reward high quality content on websites, but not only content, acknowledgment for original authors as well. Before the changes it was easy for everybody and their grandma could rip off content and reap some form of benefit without fear of Google reprisal (i.e. Huffington Post).
The algorithmic adjustment dubbed the 'Panda update' severely penalized websites that were considered 'thin' content websites. Some new tools to help identify high quality websites include new metadata tags. In conjunction with their rel=canonical metadata tag, Google is now recognizing the new 'standout' metadata tag. Here's what you need to know.
September 14, 2011 at 9:59 am
· Filed under Social Media
An integrated analytics tool will roll out for Twitter users in the coming weeks. The Twitter Web Analytics will permit users:
- Understand how much your website content is being shared across the Twitter network
- See the amount of traffic Twitter sends to your site
- Measure the effectiveness of your Tweet Button integration
July 20, 2011 at 10:39 am
· Filed under Social Media
After their initial IPO some more good news from Linkedin as they surpassed the quickly fading debacle that is now MySpace. Linkedin is now a distant second when it comes to social websites with just under 34 million June visitors.
Twitter is sitting fourth but is still pulling in monthly gains, they also sit second in terms of total search traffic.
Market watchers will know that bad news usually comes out on Friday afternoon. Bad news for the SEO world came from Yahoo Search on Friday afternoon confirming the death of Yahoo Site Explorer (YSE).
YSE was kind of like an early version of GWT (Google Webmaster Tools) with one very notable difference: YSE provided competitor link information on incoming web links, the only major search engine to reveal that kind of information publicly. Read the rest of this entry »
We're getting an increased number of inquiries from prospective clients looking for web promotion/link building services. The #1 reason why is that their current off-shore (or closer to home) 'web marketers' aren't doing the job.
Why is that?
Google is continually improving their ranking algorithms which means they're always getting smarter at detecting quality links over spam. So many businesses trying to get a leg up on competitors have pursued poor links because of their short term value and now are getting killed in the search rankings
SEO is kind of like photography. Any monkey with a camera can take a picture. Likewise, any monkey can learn SEO in a matter of hours. We can teach the foundations for SEO in about two hours that would set up any webmaster with 90% of the skills they need to meet the latest standards and guidelines.
In photography there's a wide margin between amateur hack and seasoned vet. The vet knows everything about light, aperture, shutter speed, etc., that combine for a great shot. In SEO what separates the hacks from the pros isn't greater technical knowledge but great creativity. Read the rest of this entry »
May 11, 2011 at 7:44 am
· Filed under Social Media
A common misconception of 'social media' is that it only takes place on 'social media' websites like Facebook or Twitter. Just as social bookmarking websites (Digg, Reddit, Newsvine, etc.) are important components of a holistic social media strategy, so to are consumer driven comments.
The broad 'social media' sphere includes other tactics that includes the vastly important customer review. Read the rest of this entry »
Social media played a major role last night, but it could have been even bigger.
Firstly, yet again, major news was broken not by major media networks, but rather by an insider, a source close to, of all people, George Bush.
Keith Urbahn, the former chief of staff for Donald Rumsfeld and the former U.S. defence secretary under President George W. Bush, leaked the news. Major news outlets picked it up and cited him as a 'reputable source' without actually naming him. From careless tweeting by a former defence secretary to early reporting, Twitter has demonstrated a powerful change in the way we receive and push information.
Not only was the death reported early by a nobody, Bin Ladin himself could have escaped capture by employing targeted Twitter alerts. Read the rest of this entry »
As a web marketer I'm aware of all the search parameters, and some insider ones too, used to find info on the web. When it comes to individuals, groups, or brands, I can find out just about anything I want.
Little do people know (or maybe we do?) the EXTENT the digital age has turned privacy upside down. It's impossible to hide.
Everyone's done it: Googled your name. But what you see on the surface may not be the only story. Take for example the latest work we did for an individual trying to erase his digital footprint online. Easier said than done, but we managed to take care of most of the 'exposure'. Here's how. Read the rest of this entry »
Matt Cutts, Google search quality control dude, posted this answer on Youtube to a question regarding stolen content (I won't be discussing stolen images in this article).
We've all faced this issue, (or at least, anybody who's written something of value has), where you've written an article and someone rips it off. What can you do? Send a strongly worded email? File a DMCA report? That's probably not your best bet. Read the rest of this entry »
