Website Promotion Blog
Google Caffeine
It looks like Google Caffeine is being rolled out. We are seeing a BIG jump in rankings for our clients sites. Google said it would implement it after the holidays, and they have not disappointed. I was looking forward to this update, as it is very favorable to white hat SEO. Good one way links, good use of keywords in the text of webpages as well as the Titles....the ticket to doing well in Google. Celebrate!
Update: (3/4/10) Things have settled down with the Caffeine Update. Honestly, our rankings, and the rankings of our clients sites, have settled back to where they were before the update. I would still like to see Google put less emphasis on paid and reciprocal links...perhaps in the next update?
Update: (2/17/10) It looks like Google has settled down a bit. Rankings have essentially stayed the same for a week or so now. Is it the end of the update? Stay tuned...
Update: (1/29/10) Not much movement in rankings, and no word from Google on when the new update will be utilized. Expect twitter, facebook and other social media to become part of the listings in Google when the update comes out.
Update: (1/12/10) Rankings have settled back down for a week, now they are creeping back up again. Expect full rollout of the update soon!
Update: (1/14/10) Rankings now back to close to original, as before the update. Still tweaking the algo.
Duplicate Content in Google
In a move to relegate duplicate content in their SERPS, and to allow owners of websites with multiple domains and the same content more flexibility, Google has announced the use of the rel="canonical" element. Although the 301 redirect is still preferred, not all servers will allow it. So, using rel="canonical" is a way around this.
Read more » Google Webmaster Central
Read more » Interview with Matt Cutts from Google
This is a good move by Google, as I have had a hard time in the past with some of my clients servers that won't allow the 301 redirects. Although still not as good as a 301, it does offer a simple and easy way to effectively tell Google that we are not doing anything untoward, and it's also a good way to get the domain we want listed in Google, since Google will only rank the oldest domain in their SERPS (search engine results), and not any domains that come after (with the same content).
Twitter in Google
Google will be including 'tweets' in its search results, and also will use social media results in searches via your Google friends list. This means Google (and Yahoo apparently) will search Twitter for keywords, and include them in their search results.
» Read more: Twitter Marketing
Internet Reputation
There are a lot of sad stories on the internet and some involve the use of the web to slam an individual or company. Not only can comments on forums, social media and various complaint related sites be harmful, in some instances the complaints and rantings are unfounded. Once these comments are on a site, they can and will be propagated throughout the web, being picked up by one site after another.
As an example of how one blurb can propagate all through the internet, I present a cautionary tale. I have a friend who lost her daughter to a tragic accident. The related news item was published online by the local newspaper, which is fine, but then that news item was picked up by various other sites and kept propagating, until eventually it was everywhere. A constant reminder for my friend of the tragedy.
» Read another example: New York Times
Of course the internet should be kept free of any censorship, my point is that one hurtful item can become a giant one.
The biggest problem of slander on the net is the inability to address the comments, or even know who made them. It could be a jealous friend, enemy or a competitor. There are no consequences for this type of behavior, except of course for the one being slammed.
Just as road rage is easy, because of the safety of being in a car, removed and isolated from the 'offender', so is slamming someone via the web, safe and secure behind a computer with no way of being found out. People will say things about another that they would never have the bravado to say face to face.
There are companies that can help. However, removing the negative comments is next to impossible. All that can be done is to try and 'push down' the negative listings with new and positive listings using social media, press releases and the like, and also creating websites about an individual or company that the search engines will see as more 'important' than the negative ones, thus listing the positive higher, and lowering the negative in the rankings, pushing them beyond the first three pages of the major search engines. It is an uphill battle to be sure, but eventually the negative can be replaced with the positive.
» Read more: Internet Reputation Management
Local Search
Google Maps, Bing Maps and Yahoo Local
Local search is becoming more important these days. Increasingly, the public carries the internet around with them in their pockets via the use of PDA's, blackberry's, iphones etc. This emphasizes the fact that our world is becoming more mobile with the information available to us. Phone books, yellow pages, 411 operator assistance etc. are all going by the wayside because of the easily accessible information now available to people via their PDA's. Just as the cell phone replaced the need for public phone booths, PDA's (personal digital assistants) are replacing the need for the old ways of gathering information.
Google Maps, Bing Maps and Yahoo Local are becoming the prominent way to access local information. If we want to find the nearest place to get a latte, we simply use our home computer or PDA to find it. So, if we typed in 'coffee bar boston' in Google, then Google will give us a list of coffee bars in Boston via their local search. We can narrow this even further by giving the street name or section of town we are in, and Google will give us more targeted results in those areas. So, the importance of being listed in Google Maps, Bing Maps and Yahoo Local becomes very important in pulling in customers that are visiting, working or living in a particular area.
Not only is it important to be listed in local search, but it's also important to use keywords in the description, categories and service areas a business offers.
» Visit our Local Website Promotion for more info.
Social Media Optimization
In the ongoing and exploding world of social media, it makes sense to optimize the way we use it. If you are networking yourself or your company via social networking or media such as Facebook, Linkedin, YouTube, Twitter etc., then you should do it in a way that will make the search engines stand up and take notice. Use your good keywords in the titles and copy of your social listings. Make sure you include a link to your website. You should be updating your network listings in a semi-constant manner. This will give you more followers, thus more visitors to your website, and will also give you higher rankings in Google, Bing and Yahoo for your related keywords.
» Read More: Social Media Optimization
