The recent Yelp/Yahoo partnership has angered some local business owners who say years of positive reviews are now gone from their Yahoo Local business listings.
Some of their stories were told this week in the Wall Street Journal, including Colonial Hardwood Flooring of Lexington, Mass. The company says it had built up “six years of mostly positive feedback” on its Yahoo Local listing, but now it only shows one Yelp review that was posted on February 14, 2014.
Colonial Hardwood’s owner tells the WSJ that “it’s a slap in the face that they took all those reviews down overnight.”
And that is literally how things work now.
As the WSJ explains, Yahoo will continue to show its own reviews on a Yahoo Local listing until a business gets a new Yelp review. When that happens, the Yelp reviews replace Yahoo reviews. So the fact that this one Yelp review is so new is what caused the Yahoo reviews to disappear from Colonial Hardwood’s listing.
Fortunately for the flooring company, the one showing from Yelp is a five-star review — other businesses may not be so lucky. But regardless, studies have shown that consumers need to see multiple reviews before they trust what they’re reading. So going from six years of reviews to one review less than two months old probably isn’t a Good Thing, even with it being a five-star review.
Yahoo gave this generic statement to the WSJ:

We partnered with Yelp, one of the most trusted, relevant sources of consumer business reviews, to provide a richer search experience for Yahoo users. That’s why when Yelp’s reviews are available for U.S. businesses, they will replace Yahoo Local reviews.

When Yahoo and Yelp announced their partnership, they clearly said that Yelp reviews would be used on Yahoo Local listings. But it seems that the companies could’ve done a better job of letting local businesses know about the change.
And Colonial Hardwood Flooring may also not know that this same situation is happening on Bing. Bing and Yelp did their local content deal back in 2012, and Yelp reviews (and other content) are populating Bing local listings similarly to Yahoo’s.

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Twitter continues to expand its collection of search filters with the recent addition of search for Timelines and Lists.
I’m not aware of any announcement about this, but it’s showing up as a search filter on Twitter.com and in the official Twitter apps (both iOS and Android).
The option in the left-side navigation says “Timelines,” and then once you’ve selected that search filter, there’s a secondary option above the search results to switch between Timelines and Lists.
For users, the new filters offer a way to find curated content sources from other Twitter users.
In late January, Twitter added search filters for videos, news, tweets from people you follow and more. And earlier this month, the advanced search page on Twitter.com was updated with an easier-to-use date range search.

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Earlier this week, the Google Analytics team announced the release of Smart Lists, a new remarketing list type that automates list creation and management in Google Analytics. Smart Lists are primarily powered by all that anonymized conversion data that comes from the millions of Google Analytics-enabled sites opted-in to share data with the company.

Smart Lists make use of signals like visit duration, page depth, location, device, referrer and browser. Applying machine learning to the conversion data, the lists predict which users are most likely to convert when they come back to a site.

According to the company, Analytics then automatically manages the remarketing campaigns in AdWords to focus on those high potential users. Google says the model of users most likely to convert is usually updated daily based on the most recent data, and users are automatically added to or removed from a Smart List based on the model.
For sites that use e-commerce conversion tracking in Analytics and have at least 500 monthly e-commerce transactions and 10,000 daily pageviews, the Smart List will automatically be “upgraded” to rely on the sites’ own data rather than that of similar businesses. The list appears as [My Smart List] in the list builder.
The team says they are working on other ways to use these conversion data signals in other reporting and capabilities to help marketers learn which factors help predict whether a user is likely to convert.

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When Google introduced Estimated Total Conversions

in AdWords last September, the company made clear it was working on ways to measure the impact of online advertising on in-store sales as it outlined the initiative to give advertisers a complete view of the effect their search advertising has on purchases.
At the time of the announcement, the company rolled out Estimated Cross-Device Conversions as the first new conversion type and said phone call and in-store conversions would be coming soon.
The company has since integrated call conversions, most recently giving advertisers the ability to apply bid strategies based on call duration. That leaves in-store conversions as the outstanding piece of the Estimated Total Conversions equation. The company is reportedly to solve this in at least a couple of ways.
In November, it was reported that Google was experimenting with using smartphone location data to track offline store visits and tie them back to ad exposures on mobile devices. Now, The Wall Street Journal reports Google is partnering with data provider giants like Datalogix and Acxiom to measure the offline sales impact of Google AdWords ads by matching anonymous cookies on users’ computers to the in-store sales info gathered by the data providers. According to WSJ the test involves a handful of advertisers, including Michael’s craft stores.
“We’re running a number of tests to help clients use their own sales data to measure how their search campaigns impact sales,” a Google spokesperson told us and WSJ,
Google isn’t the only one teaming up with the big data providers to solve the problem of showing advertisers how their online ad investments lead to in-store purchases. Both Facebook and Twitter have already been doing this.
Last year, Twitter unveiled how its “offline sales impact” tool, developed with Datalogix, has been measuring the offline sales impact of promoted and organic tweets for consumer packaged goods and automotive advertisers.
Facebook first began partnering with Datalogix to map advertising exposures to offline sales back in 2012.
Google, however, dominates the online advertising industry. If the company can give advertisers offline conversion data that they trust, it stands to reap huge rewards. While Google has been introducing new ad formats and features such as image extensions to appeal brand advertisers, the company knows that brands will really to take notice is if they can show that a search ad clicks or display ad impressions lead to in-store purchases.
It’s not known if in-store tracking is ready for prime time, however, the company is set to announce several new features in AdWords to help advertisers “use context to reach customers in even more effective ways” in a livestream on April 22.  Building on the foundation of Enhanced Campaigns the features are said to “increase awareness and engagement everywhere your customers are online – from the web, to the mobile web, to mobile apps”.  You can register for the livestream here.

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Say the words “Google” and “Panda” in the same breath and you just might hear a collective groan coming from the ranks of webmasters and content marketers who manage search engine optimization (SEO). The Google Panda algorithm can either make or break the search engine rankings for a website.  So Panda must be taken very seriously in the world of SEO and Web Content Management.

Understand Sentiment – What is the Original Intent of the Search
Though a lot of marketers may be anxious over how Panda could affect their SEO strategies – the algorithm is an advantage to those who pay attention to SEO basics and the original search intent of readers.  
To better understand the intent of the Panda algorithm, think about today’s search queries.  Gone are the days when one-word or two-word phrases are used as search terms. Gone also are the days when users were willing to click page after page on the search engine to find the result they were looking for.
People today are asking search engines value-based questions to solve issues based upon needs, wants, and pain points. At the same time, user expectations have become more demanding. They expect to find a relevant answer to their query on the first page of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP).
As the Panda algorithm evolves its ultimate intent will be one of relevance – satisfying the original intent of the search query.
Panda is simply trying to make the SERP a better place for everyone – a fairer, nicer, better gateway where the users find links to the right answers.  With Panda, the SERP becomes a place where no one individual or vendor can dominate the gateway through manipulative tactics. It is the great equalizer.
What Google Panda Measures & How It Affects Your SEO Rankings
Panda isn’t just any normal algorithm that Google has put out in the past.  It is a quality filter applied to websites.  This quality score changes how online channels rank depending on how Google measures the quality of content on each page.  The algorithm runs against the database of Google-indexed websites – adding a quality score, which then affects ranking.
The first Google Panda algorithm was introduced in February of 2011.  Google’s Matt Cutts and Amit Singhal conducted extensive qualitative research with focus groups of search engine users to learn what type of sites are considered low quality and why. 
They used the results of this research to develop a mathematical algorithm that defines low quality and scores a website accordingly.  Among the many issues raised within the research, the algorithm takes into consideration:

• Does the website contain duplicate content?
• Is the website low on original content?
• Is there a higher ratio of advertisements over content?
• Is the content and page title tag relevant to the original search query?
• Is the website “over-optimized” with keyword phrases?
• Does the website or optimized webpages have a high bounce rate?

Score negatively on these or other considerations in the algorithm and Panda will drop the entire website in the search engine rankings – not just individual pages. 
Now you understand why the Google Panda algorithm is not taken lightly by marketers and webmasters.
Guide to Surviving Any Google Panda Update
Complying with the Panda algorithm doesn’t have to be a painful process.  Amongst the many considerations, it’s simply a matter of making your website a location where your target audience can satisfy their original search intent with relevant quality content.
Here are a few steps that you can take:
1)      Avoid Duplicate Pages or Thin Content – This sounds easier in concept than it is in practice. Throughout the lifecycle of a website, there can be a number of reasons why content gets duplicated – not all of which are for the intent of manipulating search engine rankings.  But the fact is, there are numerous websites whose creators have tried to manipulate the rankings and dominate a SERP by duplicating pages and simply adjusting the H1 tags or title tags.  Other methods have included the wholesale copy & paste of content from external sites.  Though it means harder work for content marketers, Panda gives a higher quality score for original content. 

As for thin content, Panda will slap you with a low score for short or unsubstantial articles.  Again, consider relevance for the reader’s original search query.  They are seeking relevant information to understand a question, solve a problem, or fix a pain point.  A good measurement for each web page that you develop is to ask, “Does this article add value to the discussion and help solve the reader’s issue or pain point?”
2)      Avoid “Over-Optimization” – Panda is considering your Keyword Density with this score.  No one can tell you the magic ratio for this.  There are Keyword Density Analyzer tools available that will tell you the magic number is 2-3%.  But don’t rely strictly on a Keyword Density Analyzer to decide whether or not you have satisfied Google Panda’s measurement of this.  These calculators have no methods to analyze the distribution of your keyword phrase usage. 

You must use keyword density in a strategic manner that is natural to the flow and readability of an article.  The minute you try to dump in keywords into every other sentence to rank high in the search engines – watch out for the big Panda slap! 
Here are some ideas for optimizing keywords:

1. Use once in the title tags
2. Use once in the URL (don’t go crazy on this – keep URLs short)
3. Use once in the H1 header
4. Use once in the sub-header
5. Use 2 to 4 times in body content
6. Manage the proximity and distribution of keywords throughout the article – evenly distributed at the beginning, the middle and the close.  The amount of times depends upon the length of the article.
7. Use once in the alt tags and meta description

3)      Limit the Ratio of Advertisements Over Content – Ever conduct a search query and click on a link that you think is going to answer your question,only to be taken to a page that is bereft of relevant content? Instead of an article that adds value to your research, you are slammed with a wall of advertisements and links to product pages that are completely irrelevant.  These website creators, have only their agenda in mind and are not contributing to the exchange of ideas.  Panda will slap websites with a high ratio of ads. 

While Google is not penalizing websites for having advertisements, Panda will score you higher if you have a well-balanced ratio of content and ads.  Put yourself in the shoes of your intended reader – Does your web page scream of “Buy, Buy – Sell, Sell?” Or does it respond to the intent of the original search query?
Use Google Analytics as a Measurement
Here’s a final test as to whether or not your website will score well with the Panda algorithm.  Take a close look at your Google Analytics report each month.  Is your website experiencing high bounce rates of 60 to 70%?  That means that six out of 10 viewers are exiting your site upon arrival.  Is your average time on site low? These are indicators that your website is at risk. 
Panda is measuring the number of viewers who are exiting your site.  If that ratio is too high, Panda has determined that you do not have relevant quality content. 
These are just a few ideas how you can survive any Google Panda update.  What are some of the SEO initiatives you’ve undertaken within your web design and marketing teams to resolve this?

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How Does Google Panda Work?

Thursday, March 29th, 2012

Unless you are new to online marketing, you have either heard of Google Panda or been directly affected by it. If the latter is true, then you are probably familiar with the changes the algorithm updates have caused to search engine optimization (SEO). But what exactly is Google Panda and how does it work? And why should you care?
Google Panda is the search engine’s latest ranking algorithm which was released in 2011. The primary idea behind this algorithm is that since quality content is preferred by Google customers, those sites that meet certain criteria should be ranked higher on Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs). One of Panda’s biggest changes is that an entire website can be scored lower because of problems with a few pages on the site.
The more you know about the inner workings of the algorithm as well as Google’s intent behind the updates, the better you can position yourself to quickly recover from any changes that impact your website’s ranking. You may even be able to forecast future updates to be ahead of the next major changes so that interruptions to your site, and ultimately your online business, are minimized. So, let’s get down to business.
1. Psst…Can You Keep a Secret?
Well, Google certainly can! Like any business, there are just some things you don’t share with the public, especially since your competitors are very much a part of that public. Much of what is known about the Panda update has been provided directly from Google. And SEO experts have figured out other aspects of the update through trial and error. But no one outside of Google has the complete picture. So, keep that in mind as we move forward.
2. Google’s Algorithm Simplified
The algorithm is a complex mathematical formula Google uses to identify and present search results to their customers. It is used to match relevant web pages to each search query based on the words entered. Every web page determined to be relevant to the search is then ranked so that the most relevant is at the top of the list or SERPs. Algorithms are needed for search engines like Google to effectively index the trillions of web pages that currently exist and rank results in a matter of milliseconds. This is a very simplified explanation of algorithms considering that up to 100 individual variables are used by Google to determine page rank alone. Our summary here is meant more as a basic primer for newbies.
3. Focus of Panda
The Panda update changed the way Google ranked pages. The primary intent of Google Panda is to better identify the most relevant web pages for SERPs. Google’s overarching goal here is to dramatically improve the quality of search results for their customers. To this end, Panda looks for the most desirable as well as the least desirable page qualities and ranks pages accordingly. These characteristics were determined based on surveys that Google customers completed as human testers verified. As a result, Panda is incentivizing relevant content that Google users want to see.
4. Identifies Duplicate Content
To make SERPs more reliable, Google Panda sets out to identify duplicate content both within a website and between websites. Web pages that do not have original content can be dropped from SERPs. Sites that increased their page ranks through “content farming” are the primary target of Google Panda which is why it is also known as the Farmer update. It is no longer viable to have back links that are automatically generated and are completely irrelevant to your page or site. The pages that produce those links are now required to be valid sites with original or new content.
5. Penalizes Spammy Web Pages
Web pages that do not have authentic content but rather use page fillers such as nonsense words, advertising and images have consistently been included high on SERPs because site owners have figured out ways to circumvent Google’s page rank algorithm. Panda now aims to penalize those same sites for being misleading and having junk content that Google customers have no interest in seeing. These sites also tend to be difficult to near impossible for visitors to navigate which is another negative mark in the Panda algorithm.
6. Rewards Quality Content
It is anticipated that sites that offer relevant and quality content will be able to find their rightful place on SERPs once Panda finishes weeding out the imposters. Panda reminds website owners that humans matter. Each web page must be optimized for humans before it is optimized for search engines. Visitors should find your site content relevant when they enter it from a SERP.
7. Re-Ranks Web Pages
Panda looks at these and other factors to re-rank web pages on SERPs. Sites that are basically determined to be of little value can actually disappear from Google altogether. Ranking is a constant and consistent process so it is important that this serves as the springboard for everything you do specific to your content. It is not unusual for page ranks to change more drastically today because of Panda than in the past.
8. Encourages Best Customer Experiences
At the very heart of Panda is Google’s expectation that their SERPs result in great experiences for their customers. Google does not want to direct users to sites that are meaningless. With the Panda update, website design and navigation have once again risen in importance. Panda actually scores the general feel of a website based on ease of use and whether visitors will actually like exploring the site. This human element is one of the unusual features of Panda. Google has figured out a way to incorporate human logic processes into its algorithm based on the results of their human testers.
9. Preventing a Panda Blitz
The main reason site owners and webmasters want to know how Panda works is to avoid getting penalized. Whether you have been impacted already or not, there are several steps you can take to prevent significant Panda damage to your business. Start with your content. Review everything on your site and all content linked to your site to verify it is of the highest quality and is 100% relevant to each of your web pages. If it is not, clean it up as soon as possible. This is where good search engine optimization (SEO) practices can protect you against major algorithm updates like Panda.
10. Side Effects of Panda
Unfortunately, Panda doesn’t always get it right. It is very possible to be a victim of search engine algorithms. This is nothing new. However, Google expected Panda to have a wide-spread impact with nearly 12% of all Google queries affected. Of course they intended that the bad sites would be the ones to suffer. The reality is that many good sites with quality content have also been dropped in page rankings or penalized in other ways. If you have mistakenly been targeted by Panda, you can work directly with Google to fix the problem. But be sure the error actually is on their part.
11. Diagnosing a Panda Attack
You may not be immediately aware that Panda has touched your site. The most obvious clues are less Google traffic to your site and your page rank. You may notice that you have fewer visitors based on various metrics. If you know what your page rank was before Panda, check to see if it is the same for all of your keywords. Consider other factors that impact page rank such as lack of new content and increase in competition. After you have ruled out all other possibilities, then you can assume your site has been affected by Panda. Is your site no longer ranked at all? Here you can just run with the assumption that Panda hit your site.
12. Before and After Panda
Google’s previous algorithms focused on keyword density to measure relevancy. It also considered the number of links to the site, the quality of the links, and whether the site was a trusted authority. Panda has significantly added to the recipe for relevancy. Much more attention is given to user behavior. This includes click through rates, the time visitors spend on your site, what they do on your site, and how often they return. Panda is also interested in bounce rates, the overall navigation of your site, and the types of on-site searches visitors conduct.
13. The Future of Panda
This is not a benign one-shot update like others Google has published. There will continue to be changes to the Panda update in the future as Google does its part to clean up the Web. Google typically makes about 500 changes its algorithm every year. It will not likely be different with Panda. The reality is that Panda is here for the foreseeable future.
Through the Panda update, Google intends to reinforce white hat SEO practices across the Web. Junk sites designed specifically for search engines will face the wrath of Panda. Your priority when creating websites and developing content must be on your human customers with secondary attention given to search engines. This is the best way to work with Panda.

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Or! Why ‘Being Natural’ Is the First and Foremost Golden Rule of SEO

Courtesy © Jan Schuler – Fotolia.com

When it comes to updating the search algorithm, Google takes some sharp steps to make sure that they maintain the actual exercise of white hat SEO. The only motto behind this is to deliver better and much more reliable search results to the users. Continuing on this line, this time too, the EMD update that Google introduced along with the Panda update will issue a check and reduce the “low quality” exact match domains in the search results. Disavow was yet another blow to traditional link building. Site owners can now clean low quality outbound links off their site.

The traditional way to find a place in the top 10 rankings is to register a domain and build an authority site. The more exact the keyword featured in the domain name is, the higher is the possibility of ranking well. This strategy has helped most of the B2B and the B2C sites enjoy a raised ranking by incorporating high-traffic keywords into their domain names. Such domains bear an exact relevance to the searches, and are thus called Exact Match Domains (EMDs). However, nothing remains ‘unregistered’ to Google’s eyes. The new EMD update will take action against these sites, and offer a more natural and appropriate result oriented search to the users.

Most of the exact match domains tend to be spammy as most of them are devoid of quality content. Useless articles with a large number of keywords, unrelated links, and too many ads are the things that exact domain websites usually indulge in, and most of them provide zero or little value to the users. The new EMD update will now downgrade all these websites, and encourage those sites which indulge in only white hat SEO techniques and provide value to users with quality content.

Getting a Better Understanding of Google’s New Update

Google’s principle engineer Matt Cutts had twitted “reduce low-quality ‘exact-match’ domains in search results”, which was all about the EMD update. The most dominant feature of this algorithm update is how it works. The algorithm does not necessarily eliminate all the exact domain websites, but keeps a tight check on them to make sure that only sites with useful and quality content gets promoted. This algorithm will run quite often to deal with those sites that escaped the previous updates. Google has made the process of filtering a lot harder and is now intolerant to all shortcut SEO strategies and blackhat optimization methods.

It is making the search process and ranking more natural, and this has led to the worry of most webmasters who had highly ranking sites earlier. Figures obtained till now show that almost 1000 SERPs have seen a drop from the top 10 rankings, and the newcomers have seen sharp declines. In fact, it is strange that this process of downgrading does not follow any clear pattern. The penalty has taken a toll on many of the renowned top ranking websites. For instance, sites that ranked at #1 are now sitting at #234 on the 24th page or so.

The question remains about whether all the exact domain websites should worry about this. The answer is a ‘no’. Google has not downgraded all the exact matching domains since some of them have quality content and do not indulge in black hat marketing and SEO methods.

Overcoming the Updates

The answer to the ultimate question of how to achieve good rankings in Google can be found in the precise criteria that Google follows in ranking websites. Whatever the niche may be, Google looks for genuine and authority sites, which have quality content, provide a rich experience, and above all look natural. Naturality and authority are the principal factors that can catapult any website to the top of the search results. Now what is naturality? In the prying eyes of Google, a natural website is one which has high quality unique and dependable content, and an average commercial value. The website must possess a blend of relevant and non-relevant backlinks acquired naturally though approved backlinking methods over a long period.

Any authentic and legitimate website in any niche will have high quality original content, rich user experience, and a naturally acquired diverse backlink arsenal. It might be true that ranking a website in the natural way is time-consuming, but it is undoubtedly the most effective and the straight-forward way to update-proof the website. Here are some key points to be considered while optimizing a website in the post Panda, EMD and Disavow scenario that emphasize the importance of being natural:

1. Take down all the poor quality content and links from the website. Clean out content used for the sole purpose of SEO, and not for readers. It is always good to outsource all the writing work to a professional ghostwriter. A good writer can do wonders to the website. Leave out a bit of the low quality and irrelevant links just to maintain the link diversity of the website’s link structure, and thereby look natural to the search engines.
2. Unnecessary link farming and keyword stuffing can get a website penalized in no time. The content and the quality of the articles in any website should be top notch and more information oriented. Usage of the keywords just for the sake of higher ranks is not at all recommended as it could turn out to be counterproductive. Moreover, grammar, spellings, and other aspects of the content must be error free and original.
3. If a majority of the contextual links, whether inbound or outbound, seems to be of low quality or spammy, it could result in poor search engine rankings and low page ranks. Try to provide outbound links related to the content of the page. The outbound links may be directed to authority sites for users who wish to read or find out more on a topic. Using outbound links is one of the most effective ways to improve user experience.
4. Internal linking is another white SEO strategy that can boost rankings. Try linking contextual keywords to a related page of the site. The best example of a website with an immense internal link structure is Wikipedia. It can be observed that every single keyword on a Wikipedia page is linked to a related page within Wikipedia itself. This adds to the user experience of the site, apart from increasing the backlink count.
5. Go for a 2% keyword density and avoid keyword stuffing. During on-page optimization, stop over-optimizing the alt and meta tags. Use keywords that blend into the content. Never hinder the readability for optimization. Also use more images and videos on the home page. Google just loves content that provide a rich user experience.
6. Let people know about the website. Sharing content on various social media sites can make a website visible to a ridiculously large number of people. Social media acceptance is proof that people like the website and find it useful. This has also turned into an important criterion for ranking. Social media are also a terrific source of targeted traffic.
7. Link building is the best way to direct high traffic to a page. Most traditional backlinking strategies have been ruled out by Google. Stop link farming and spammy backlinking through article submission. Having spammy links within the content is a crime as far as Google is concerned.  Such methods no longer work. To stay on the safe side, use backlinking methods approved by Google.

Rebuilding

Guest posting is one of the quicker link building methods through which it is possible to reach out to a wider section of readers. Today, most authority sites in any niche allow a few backlinks for guest posts with high quality unique content. Opt for blogs in the same niche that have high page ranks. Guest posting also helps the writer to build a good reputation in the niche.

Authoring articles for Web 2.0 sites is another sure-shot strategy that can get a lot of high quality backlinks. Some Web 2.0 sites like Squidoo own page ranks as high as 7. Make use of such sites for building up an arsenal of high quality backlinks. Do not entirely rule out article submission either, for link diversity is essential to look natural. Whichever method is being followed, make sure that the links are indexed over a long time so that the link building program as a whole looks natural. It is to be noted that outsourcing the link building process may not be always a good idea.

It all got started with the Google Panda update followed by Penguin. The Panda still keeps a check on the poor quality content and keywords on the net, while EMD runs a check on the low quality exact matching domain names. As all this happens, Disavow cleans up the link structure of the sites. It would be absurd to say that SEO is dead, but it sure is tougher than ever. More Google updates are expected to be in line with the recent ones, but now it is all about running away from the EMD metrics of Google. All we have to do is follow the golden rule and be natural.

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A new year 2013 has been started and all of Webmasters and promoters going to wonder what blenders they are going to see in SEO world in year 2013. Whats the latest Google SEO changes and News for 2013 related to SEO, which usually affects SEO & Search results with each SEO update. The days go and each day we saw something new happening and updating in SEO.  Google updates its algorithms on regularly bases now as Google confirmed that they will be doing almost 500 updates yearly in their system and we just keep curious to know what all latest Google SEO updates of 2013 going to take place and how they are going to affect their years of SEO work on websites. The time Google SEO update news come in market and we just keep searching for the affect or benefit of these latest SEO updates on our websites. On this page we are going to share each update either its Google Algorithm Update 2013, Google Panda Update 2013, Google Penguin Update 2013, Google Page Rank Update 2013 or Google SEO Update for 2013.  So lets start to check what all recent seo updates has took place till now in 2013.

Update 1 on 17 January 2013 – Google Algorithm Update :

The first Google update of 2013 we have seen on 17th January 2013 when suddenly all SEO results has been changed and it was confirmed that their was a Google Algorithm update has took place. But Google officially denied that their was no update from Google but according to Webmaster their was a Google Algorithm Update for sure.

Check this article for more details : Possibly Google Algorithm Update

Update 2 on 22 January 2013 – Google Panda Algorithm Update #24 :

Soon after the unofficial Google algorithm update which webmasters seen on 17 January 2013, Google has announced an official Google Panda Algorithm update on 22 January 2013. This was Google Panda update and affected low quality website. Officially this update has affected 1.2 search queries.

Check this article for more details: Officially Google Panda Update #24

Update 3 on 25 January 2013 – Google Page Rank Update :

The very first Google Page rank update of 2013 took place on 25 January 2013. According to webmasters this was a very minor Google pagerank update and change has been seen on fewer of websites only. Majorly this was assumed like this was a downgrade Google pagerank update only and it has affected only high page rank websites having more or less 4-5 page rank and a downfall in their page rank has been seen.

Check this article for  more details: Downgrade in Google Page Rank

Update 4 on 27 January 2013 -  Google Rolled Back Its Recent Google Algorithm Updates

SEO Webmasters has confirmed that they have seen a lot of signs that Google is rolling back its recent Google SEO algorithm updates which took place on 17 January 2013 and 22 January 2013. As we knew Google never says and disclose these kind of activities but the SEO affect of this has been seen.

Check this article for more details: Google Rolled Back Algorithm Updates

Update 5 on 30 January 2013 – Google Dance

SEO webmasters have seen that their was a Google dance going on soon after that latest Google SEO update happens on 22 January 2013. This was either a Google Dance or the google rolled back its algorithm update. But fluctuations of keywords in google search results keep moving and was not stable at all.

Check this article for more details: Google Dance

Update 6 on 4 February 2013 – Google Page Rank Update

Today On 4 February 2013 Google Toolbar Pagerank has been updated. This is a major page rank update of this year 2013. We have made predictions of this earlier and Google Page rank update has took place on exact time.

Check this article for more details: Google Page Rank Update February 2013

Update 7 on 12 February 2013 -  Signs of Google Algorithm Update May be Google Penguin

On 12 February, thousand of webmasters reported a downfall in their rankings. According to our observations and all feedback we received from SEO Executives and Webmasters, we have seen some strong chances that it was Google Penguin Update on 12 February 2013.

Check this article for more details: Google Penguin Update February 2013

Update 8 on 1st March 2013 -  Google Released How Search Works in Google Step By Step

On 1 February 2013, To increase the transparency regarding Google Search Engine algorithms. Google has released a interactive platform for users to users know more about how Google search engine algorithm works. You can check out all details in this article for How Google Search Works

These are all latest Google SEO updates of 2013 which we have seen till now. As Google is doing changes very frequently these days and we can expect a new Google SEO news daily  So keep checking for recent and updated SEO news of 2013 or share if you have any other SEO Updates or SEO news for 2013.

Cheers!!!!!!

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Tom Gregan of SEO specialists Brandfluent Digital explains what the latest updates to Google's algorithm mean for SEO and how you can use this knowledge to boost your websites' rankings

Google’s recent Penguin and Panda algorithm updates have been big news, and it’s widely agreed that they’ve improved the quality of search results substantially. But how do make sure your site doesn't lose out?
As SEO professionals, we’d like to share with the web designer community what we think Google is now looking for. Hopefully this can help both sides work together more harmoniously to make quality, high-ranking websites.

1. What we know

At its core, the Panda update is about signals pertinent to relevance and a site’s ability to indicate that it belongs high in results. Google is taking time to assess signals such as:

• The amount of content above the fold
• The bounce rate for a page
• The click-through rate of the page
• The number of clicks a page gets in results

… and more, always intent on evaluating whether a page is proving itself as providing relevant content for the search in question.
Importantly, no longer does it seem that Google simply demotes poor quality pages. Instead, it is willing to demote the entire domain, simply because a few pages are letting the site down.
Penguin, meanwhile, has brought into focus “over-optimisation”, a term coined by Google’s distinguished engineer and head of webspam, Matt Cutts.  While the majority of the signals introduced by Penguin are related to offsite work (ie, poor quality links being built back to the domain) there are a few considerations which are specifically relevant to design practices.
The first thing I always recommend when blue-printing a build for developers is an appreciation that content must be given paramount importance. Landing pages, the site’s homepage, product pages and all other pages you want to appear in results must endeavour to include not only a significant amount of text, but also a variety of content.
Remember that while look and feel help to make a site user trust and navigate further throughout the build, it is content alone which gets them seen in search.

2. Complement main images

Having content feature above the fold (as opposed to ads) is at present believed to be a positive Panda signal. As images are often a large part of design, we recommend complementing main images which take up a large amount of above-the-fold real estate with concise, yet on-topic HTML text, neatly nested in an attractive textbox.
For bonus points, each box of text should include a tag to indicate the primary key term which the following text is relevant to. 

Complement large images above the fold with concise, yet on-topic HTML text

We further recommend that when trying to incorporate text in to your design, go and pick up an informative publication (such as the .net print magazine) and flick through to see how they combine large amounts of text with imagery and photography.
These publications generally have text as their primary concern and images and photos work to break up the monotony, which is close to how SEO friendly design ought to work.

3. Considered content

Important pages throughout the build ought to be afforded a substantial amount of considered content, which ideally would ensure a decent text: code ratio (I usually aim for 1:5). We believe that keyword density is of lesser importance than having a variety of relevant key terms. Striving to incorporate terms you expected to come up in a discussion about the main topic of the page is a less suspect and more search friendly approach to generating content.
Whilst it’s not always easy to make content about some services/products a riveting read, using images, lists, embedded videos and quotes can help to maintain and develop relevance.

4. Plagiarism and duplication

From experience, the majority of plagiarised text comes from external profiles that the business itself has set up. In order to save time, employees and site owners will lift text from their site in order to quickly fill in details.
This practice will potentially earn your client a run in with Panda, which could mean being anchored down in results. We recommend ensuring that all content can be adapted via the site’s CMS, which will earn you a hat-tip from any SEO agency which takes on the domain.
While you cannot stop laziness in the client, you can provide a means to adapt the content on the site, permitting the ability to change the content and side-step any form of punishment for duplicate content.  

5. Click-through rate

We now believe that the number of pages a site user clicks through before leaving the domain, or returning to the results page, is in itself an indication of relevance.
A domain that has a high number of clicks-through to other internal pages is believed by Google to be more relevant and therefore worthy of high positions.
We recommend putting clickworthy information into a series and incentivising clicking-through, which in practicality means requiring clickthrough to get the full story/information. This works particularly well on the homepage of the domain, where content can be written to require a click-through in order to completely read all the relevant information

6. Dwell time

While dwell time is known to be an established quality signal for Google’s PPC services, we believe that currently a similar consideration has been included in Google’s Panda algorithm.
In a nutshell, dwell time (and specifically dwell time relevant to organic search) is a signal that averages the amount of time spent on a page after click-through in results. The longer the searcher spends on site, the more relevant that site appears to Google.

7. Dwell techniques

As you probably will have already guessed, dwell techniques are a growing collection of ways in which to increase dwell time. Typically, we employ dwell techniques on main category, sub-category, article pages/posts, education pages and other pages which frequently have users click on, extract information, then leave.
Considering that bounce rate is now a significant signal in Panda, dwell techniques are beginning to make their way in to SEO site design recommendations.
In a nutshell, dwell techniques mean creating and utilising content on category, sub-category and other important pages throughout the build, which encourage users to read over or interact with the page and refrain from bouncing.
Explaining a brand’s USP using a slideshow or 30-second video clip makes the information easily digestible and keeps them engaged for the time it takes to reach the end. From a search perspective, this content has resulted in a longer time on site, which means a better signal to Google.

8. Spelling and grammar

Spelling and grammar mistakes on your site are frankly unacceptable, so it’s definitely worth proof-reading any copy thoroughly. Using a spellchecking tool is a must, while services such as checkdog.com and Net Mechanic provide free and paid-for services to assess your entire build for mistakes which may be lowering Google’s evaluation of your domain.
It should be mentioned that we’ve never had a client that has significantly suffered a fall in rankings due to poor spelling and grammar, but from a trust, search and UX perspective it’s an obvious weakness.

9. Anchor text

We recommend assuring that any accrediting footer links throughout sites you have built use brand name anchor text and not terms you wish to appear for.
Key-term anchor text such as: “web design”, “branding and web development” and “web branding” should be replaced with the company’s brand name. Having several thousand links from one domain, all with the same anchor text, is likely to incur the wrath of penguin.

10. Content embeds

When providing an ‘embed this link/content’ frame into a build, we are currently recommending that all anchor text used strives to include the company’s brand name and change for each new piece of content.
While this is not a big problem for smaller brands with lesser traffic, builds that encourage a lot of backlinks or projects that are expected to attract a lot of links ought to ensure that all links back are branded and not identical. 

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1:Optimize your site for search engines.

Search engines have always been a major way to get traffic for free. That is why you need to do your homework and optimize your site so that it ranks well for the keywords you target. SEO is still the most powerful way to get traffic for free and you really need to invest some time and efforts in the optimization of your site. SEO is not that difficult and if you want to get familiar with it in a nutshell, check our SEO Tutorial. If you are too busy for that, you can start with the 15 Minute SEO article.

2:Frequently update the contents of your site. .

If you expected some shocking secrets revealed, you might be a bit disappointed. One of the first steps in getting traffic for free is trivial but vital – get great content and frequently update it. In terms of SEO, content is king. If your content is good and frequently updated you will not only build a loyal audience of recurring visitors, who will often come to see what is new, but search engines will also love your site.

3:Take advantage of social bookmarking sites.

Social bookmarking sites (especially the most popular among them) are another powerful way to get traffic for free. If you want to learn how to do it, check the How to get Traffic from Social Bookmarking sites article, where we have explained what to do if you want to get free traffic from sites such as Digg, Delicious, etc.

4:Use your Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Social networks are also a way to get traffic for free. If you are popular on networks, such as Twitter or Facebook, the traffic you get from there can easily surpass the traffic from Google and the other search engines. It is true that building a large network of targeted followers on Twitter and supporters on Facebook takes a lot of time and effort but generally the result is worth.

5:Get links with other sites in your niche.

Another way to get traffic for free is from other sites in your niche. Getting links with other sites in your niche is also good for SEO, especially if you manage to get links without the famous nofollow attribute. But even if the links are nofollow (i.e. they are useless for SEO), they still help to get traffic to your site. If you manage to put your link in a visible place on a site with high volumes of traffic, you can get thousands of hits from this link alone. If you need list of sites within your niche where you could get backlinks from, check the Backlink Builder tool. However, be careful if you exchange links because linking to bad neighbors can do you a lot of harm.

6: Use any chance to promote your site for free.

Free promotion is always welcome, so don't neglect it. There are many ways to promote your site for free and some of the most popular ones include free classified ads, submissions to directories, inclusion in various listings, etc. It is true that not all free ways to promote your site work well but if you select the right places to promote your site for free, this can also result in tons of traffic.

7:Create a free product or service.

Content drives most traffic when you offer something useful. There are many types of useful content you can create and they largely depend on the niche of your site. You can have articles with tons of advice, or short tips but one of the most powerful ways to get traffic is to create a free product or service. When this product or service gets popular and people start visiting your site, chances are that they will visit the other sections of the site as well.

8:Use viral content.

Free products and services are great for getting free traffic to your site and one of the best varieties in this aspect is viral content. Viral content is called so because it distributes like a virus – i.e. when users like your content, they send it to their friends, post it on various sites, and promote it for free in many different ways. Viral content distributes on its own and your only task is to create it and submit it to a couple of popular sites. After that users pick it and distribute it for you. Viral content can be a hot video or a presentation but it can also be a good old article or an image.

9:Use offline promotion.

Offline promotion is frequently forgotten but it is also a way to get traffic for free. Yes, computers are everywhere and many people spend more time online than offline but still life hasn't moved completely on the Web. Offline promotion is also very powerful and if you know how to use it, this can also bring you many visitors. Some of the traditional offline ways to promote your site include printing its URL on your company's business cards and souvenirs or sticking it on your company vehicles. You can also start selling T-shirts and other merchandise with your logo and this way make your brand more popular.

10:Include your URL in your signature.

URLs in forum signatures are also a way to get traffic for free. There are forums, which get millions of visitors a day and if you are a popular user on such a forum, you can use this to get traffic to your site. When you post on forums and people like your posts, they tend to click the link to your site on your signature to learn more about you. In rare cases you might be able to post a deep link (i.e. a link to an internal page of the site) rather than a link to your homepage and this is also a way to focus attention to a particular page. Unfortunately, deep links are rarely allowed.

Getting traffic for free is a vast topic and it is not possible to list all the ways to do it. However, if you know the most important ways – i.e. the ways we discussed in this article and you apply them properly, it is guaranteed that you will be able to get lots of traffic for free.

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APRIL 3, 2012 BY TABA RAMA 3 COMMENTS
After the Google panda updates which rocked the whole websites, now it’s time to recover and regain the lost crown. With recent ongoing improvement on search engine, Google is now more sticker and aggressive to low quality and spam sites.
But the question which strikes on everyone mind is how to exactly escape the Panda effects?
Every blogger share its strategy, experience in which some of the ideas were really helpful. After the Google Panda, now the SEO steps on-page and off-page should be done with very careful. Some basic SEO Tips which all webmasters (Me too) have consistently told is to avoid duplicate content, avoiding link farm, effective using of anchor text and lots more but after Google Panda updates SEO tactics needs lots more than that.


Then, what are the effective Google Panda SEO Tips to improve the blog performance?


You might be hoping that there will be no more shocked Panda changes, and you have finally survived the panda effects! It’s not the actual case. According to the source from wired.com, it has been confirmed that Google will introduce around 550 changes in its algorithm this year.
Though I ‘am neither a problogger nor a SEO expert (But really aims for!) but at least got an some experience and tactics which might helps you out.
Check out the 5 Google Panda SEO Tips if you really cares for your site,
1. Relevancy now matters a most.

With the latest algorithm updates, Google now pays more importance on the relevance of the whole theme contents. In a site, relevancy words usually mean similarities within the pages, post with related keywords. That’s the reason why niche sites have good SERP and site authority. It is probably not a good idea to write one post on entertainment and another on technology.
2. Do more guest post and totally forget about articles directories, for effective link.

Back in old days, most effective link building strategies used by webmaster were submitting articles to article directories (Like EzineArticles). But since algorithm changed and 2012 Google is much more advanced than compares to 2000 Google, and so the strategy needs to be get changes too.
Due to low quality content in most of article directories, those sites were the first to gets effects during the recent panda updates. So, if you are looking for building backlinks then articles directories are no more that effective likes before.
Rather I would recommend for guest posting to some higher page rank Blogs.
3. Be active on Social Networking, Panda loves to be social.

Google is giving much important on real time updated information and social media presents. Only Google’s know the exact impact of Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn on sites in its search results but it was confirmed by Google team that now their search results is providing real time sharing.
4. Got some videos, Google loves them.

Sites like YouTube and Metacafe were the real winner on this recent Panda update. But what would have been the reason behind? Videos! Search engines mostly Google is giving much weight to videos, so if you got some or planning for, you better be fast. It might help your site pagerank and can increase the SERP.
5. They Avoid Excessive Advertisements.

Though the excessive advertisements in a site is not a ideal practice and Google have been telling this lots of time, but on recent updates Google is now much strict about this.
Excessive advertisement creates problems both for user and search bots. It actually doesn’t makes sense to have so much of ads neither its user friendly. Too many ads can make your site Meaningless in the eyes of search bot.
So, I will recommend write quality content (if possible , include images, videos, graph on content) and use limited ads.
As a webmaster you should take your site as your own baby who actually needs your care and attention. The above points might sounds too common issue but I remind you there is no more any scope for little issue, Google is no more considering even a slight mistakes.
If you have got some better ideas on Google panda SEO Tips which might help us, share us through comment and let us we all learn.

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No doubt that the most interested and the Webmasters of websites and blogs field of SEO or search engine optimization are familiar Google Knowledge Graph update, Google Panda and Google Penguin, the update has been greatly on the algorithm Google in February of last year and the impact more than 50% of the search results on the Google, which was a catastrophe for some sites and a victory to each other. Also, that this update from Google did not change the traditional concepts of SEO marketing like Affiliate Overthrow but not the concepts of e-marketing as a whole and not the policy of many companies on the web about the strategies adopted by the SEO.

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GOOGLE PANDA SEO

In this article in SEO FightBack blog you will learn more about the updates to Google Panda, and we have a simple comparison between the factors optimized for search engines SEO Factors before and after updating the Panda ... and here I would note that we did not we include all these factors and we restrict ourselves only to the factors, the most famous and which known to most workers in this field.
Google Panda update

The main objective of Google Panda update is to fight duplicate content and landing arrange the positions that are - thought to Google - it is of poor quality and raising the order of good locations and according to the definition of Google sites with poor quality content, they are sites that do not provide any real value for users and sites that copy content from other sites and disseminated by third party sites and useful sites empty content is published for the purpose of display ads only!

What are the principles adopted by Google in the process of rearrangement sites by Google panda update?

Google began hiring private individuals (students, women's homes, people who work in their homes ...) evaluation of their job sites that appear in the search results based on the Guideline manual or preset by Google and directs individuals in the way of building their evaluations. The idea was simply that these individuals or the evaluator informs Google about what they believe good sites and bad sites.
Navneet Panda Google

Taking Google's data adopted by the evaluators began analyzed by processors and sophisticated machines based on the technology of artificial intelligence and have the ability to learn and conclusion and in this way was able to drive Google to make of this update is part of the reduce webspam when the anointed of the sites and putting them on the search results pages and began to distinguish between sites "good" sites and "bad" and was supervised by the process engineer Navneet Panda, which is called the update name.

Google began introducing new factors in his logarithms not used before webmasters as CTR and Bounce Rate and Time on Site such as Review Engine ROI and the signals coming from social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus.

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If your a newbie online and have developed a website for the first time, you are most probably wondering or having trouble advertising it. There are many ways you can get your website advertised on the web and it doesn't always have to cost you money. You can get advertising that you pay for, but there are also a lot of ways that you can get free advertising for your website.

Here is a list of 45 ways that can improve your websites traffic, help you in SEO, build your backlinks and give your site some more exposure:

1. Do SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

2. Write Press Releases and submit them to PRweb and other Press Release sites.

3. Do Link Exchanges with other sites that are on the same subject as yours.

4. Make a freebie and included your sites link on it and then distribute it freely.

5. Write articles about your sites topic and then add your sites link to your authors resource box.

6. Add your site to free and reciprocal web directories.

7. Make some videos and submit them to the larger video sharing sites like Youtube.

8. Take part in social bookmark sites. These can get some good quick traffic (don't spam).

9. Take part in social networking sites. These can get some good quick traffic (don't spam).

10. Pay for direct advertising on sites that are on the same subject as yours.

11. Take part in PPC advertising including Google Adwords, Yahoo Search Marketing, etc.

12. Make an affiliate program for your website and let others promote your products where you will then give them a commission for their efforts. If you produce an affiliate program, then making it a two-tier program can also help you promote the affiliate program itself.

13. If you have products that you want to promote, then upload your product datafeed to Froogle as you can have your products promoted freely. Also take part in other product price comparison sites to get even more exposure and traffic for your products.

14. Do viral marketing by producing something with your sites link attached. This thing could be software, a funny video, etc. What ever it is, it must be very entertaining and something that others would want to pass on to their friends.

15. Make sure your site is updated regularly so that your existing visitors will keep returning to your website from time to time.

16. Don't include to many noticeable ads on your site as this can actually decrease the value of your site when it comes to keeping your visitors.

17. Monitor your websites traffic very closely.

18. Participate in different forums that are on the same topic as your site and then include your sites link in your signature (Don't spam).

19. Include your sites link in the signature of any emails that you send to people.

20. Create a blog on the same topic as your website, keep it updated and then ping it.

21. Produce some business cards and get them distributed.

22. Mention your website to your friends and family and ask them to pass it on to others (Word of mouth advertising).

23. Try to do some interesting things on your site so that you can try and get it into the news.

24. Write product reviews for some sites and if you can include your sites link in it, then do so.

25. Offer a competition on your website. This will help in getting your visitors a little more excited and involved with your website. This may also help a little more in the Word of Mouth advertising of your site.

26. Get interviewed by others so they can then hopefully include the interview on their site and your sites link will then be included in it.

27. Take part in banner exchanges.

28. Purchase banner advertising.

29. Do email marketing without spamming.

30. Advertise in offline media.

31. Advertise in offline and online classifieds.

32. Try to do something so that it becomes link bait. This could just be from having some very useful tools on your site.

33. Always offer a good service and put your visitors / customers first. This will help in branding, loyalty and keeping your visitors / customers.

34. Use RSS feeds so that your website users can easily keep up to date of new stuff happening on your website or even use your RSS feeds in their site.

35. Get your website business listed in the telephone directories.

36. Do join ventures.

37. Take part in Yahoo Answers and other similar type of sites.

38. Take part in Yahoo and Google Groups plus other similar things.

39. Review sites within the same niche as yours on Alexa and other similar sites.

40. Leave testimonials if you have brought something and include your sites link somewhere within it.

41. Hire someone to help you in your sites promotion. The more you do the quicker your traffic will grow including your sites popularity and branding.

42. Become a sponsor and get your link listed on the site that you sponsor.

43. Release a Firefox extension that will help bring people to your website.

44. If you have images on your website and would like to get some exposure from them, then make sure they get into the image search engines as this can also get you some good traffic.

45. Get your own top-level domain so that your site looks more professional and trustworthy to your visitor / customer.

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