Tag: google

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Google’s 2012 Algorithm Updates: Where’s Google Going?

Excerpts from my latest article at Practical eCommerce: “Understanding Google’s Algorithm Updates.”

Google’s war on webspam, low-quality sites that use manipulative SEO strategies to win rankings and traffic, has reached an all-time high with the search giant churning out an average of one to two updates a day. But Google makes updates to its algorithms for many more reasons than fighting webspam. Understanding these algorithm updates and how they impact your place in Google’s search results is important to defining your SEO strategy.

Read the full article for details on each of these algorithm updates in 2012:

  • Quality Algorithm Updates: Penguin, Panda, EMD, Top Heavy
  • Information Design Algorithm Updates: 7 Results, Knowledge Graph, Knowledge Graph Carousel
  • Personalization Algorithm Updates: Search Plus Your World, Venice

The common themes in all of these algorithm updates boil down to surfacing higher quality contents that are more likely to answer individual searchers’ questions. Google is in the business of answering questions, knowing that if it’s more successful than other engines the searchers will continue to prefer Google. The more searchers Google can boast, the more data it can collect to serve those searchers ever more effectively, and the more money it makes selling advertising across all of its free products.

That sounds cynical, but it’s the reality. If your site isn’t optimized for search, according to Google’s definition, Google will just skip over it and offer searchers the sites that are optimized. Understanding the algorithm updates Google spends its time and money creating can help you understand Google’s definition of “optimized” and craft a strategy that merges SEO, customer experience and business needs into a compelling site that wins rankings and attracts customers.

Read the article in full at Practical eCommerce »

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Originally posted on Web PieRat.

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Google Algorithm Weather Reports Via MozCast

Excerpts from my latest article at Practical eCommerce: “SEO Ranking Forecast: 74 and Sunny.”

One of the hardest aspects of search engine optimization is determining whether changes in your site’s organic search results are based on changes to your own site or external influences like algorithm changes. SEOmoz created MozCast weather report to help answer this question, and today’s addition of “Top-View Metrics” makes the tool even more useful.

The foundation of MozCast is a meteorological metaphor displayed on the home page that represents the relative change in Google’s algorithms each and every day. The stormier the icon and the higher the temperature, the more Google’s algorithms changed compared to the previous day. For example, “sunny and 57” means very little change but “thunderstorms and 101” means big changes.

The magic starts with a set of 1,000 keywords. The MozCast tool grabs Google’s top 10 rankings for each keyword and compares the changes across all 1,000 keywords to get a holistic high-level view that is then translated into the weather metaphor.

Read the article in full at Practical eCommerce »

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Originally posted on Web PieRat.

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Meta Keywords: Spam & Spy Wrapped into One

Excerpts from my latest article at NBC Chicago’s Inc. Well: “Why Meta Keyword Tags Are a Waste of Time.”

 

When discussing keywords and content optimization best practices, clients will invariably ask about meta keywords. Sorry, guys, but meta keywords have been dead to the major US search engines as ranking signals for nearly three years now. Google was the first to denounce meta keywords, then Yahoo! and Bing.

Once upon a time when the Internet was young and search algorithms hadn’t evolved independent methods to determine relevance and context, meta keywords allowed site owners to specify the keywords their content was relevant for.

Unfortunately, meta keywords were visible only as a signal to search engines. Humans never see meta keywords unless they enjoy staring at source code, which is not typical consumer behavior. Spammers everywhere rejoiced at the ability to stuff popular keywords into a page to improve its rankings without the human visitors ever seeing that nasty cruft behind the scenes.

Consequently, meta keywords were short-lived as a search engine ranking signal and quickly became nothing more than a spam signal. Or a traitorous avenue for competitors to spy on your optimization efforts….

Read the full article with all the details at NBC Chicago’s Inc. Well >>

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Originally posted on Web PieRat.

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Avoiding Algorithmic Pandas and Penguins

Excerpts from my latest article at Practical eCommerce: “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 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.

Read the article in full at Practical eCommerce for more detail on Google’s Penguin and Panda algorithm updates. »

PS: For lots of interesting details on how Google instructs its human quality raters, see Search Engine Land’s article from 9/7/12: “Google Search Quality Raters Instructions Gain New “Page Quality” Guidelines.” I guess this topic is on a lot of minds lately.

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Originally posted on Web PieRat.

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Google Webmaster Tools: A Practical Guide

My latest on Practical Ecommerce: “Guide to Google Webmaster Tools“

Valuable search-engine-optimization tools that provide unique data tend to be expensive. Tools with limited data sets or limited capabilities tend to be free. Google Webmaster Tools bucks that trend by offering — for free — a unique data set and features that can’t be found in any other tool.

I’ve previously addressed reasons to register for Google Webmaster Tools, in “Top 5 Reasons to Use Google Webmaster Tools.” The purpose of this article is to explain how to use this amazing free tool set to improve your site’s search engine optimization.

Before Google opens the doors to its treasure chest, you have to prove you own the site by going through a verification process.

The best way to learn more about Google Webmaster Tools is to dive in and play with it. It’s free, relativelyeasyto verify, and packed with help topics and tips to speed you on your way.

Read the entire guide for tips and explanations on every tool and report » “Guide to Google Webmaster Tools“

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Originally posted on Web PieRat.