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Now Test Your Sitemaps Before Submitting Them To Google
January 26th, 2012
Google has quietly added a feature to Google Webmaster Tools that allows you to test your sitemap files prior to submitting them to Google. Google’s Pierre Far confirmed that this is indeed a brand new feature built to help webmasters debug their sitemap files prior to submitting them. One of...
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
3 Keys To Online Retail In 2012: Doing More With Less
January 26th, 2012
We are only a month into 2012, but 2011 already seems like a distant memory. Christmas was over a month ago and Black Friday was approximately 6 months ago by my calculations. But as we reminisce on the year that was 2011, hopefully you were pleasantly surprised with how it turned out. For a year...
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
What The Holidays Tell Search Marketers
January 26th, 2012
I realize most of us are already well-focused on 2012, so a look back at the 2011 holiday season may seem a bit dated. However, the holiday season provides search marketers a snapshot of behavior that should prove relevant for the upcoming year, though perhaps on a smaller scale. To gain a more...
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Are You Keeping Secrets From The Search Engines?
January 26th, 2012
Many webmasters are obfuscating the content of their sites’ pages from view of the search engines. They post content that appears differently for human readers than it does for search engine crawlers. And as a result, their sites receive inferior treatment from those search engines in the indexes....
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Google Panda 3.2 Update Confirmed
January 26th, 2012
Google has confirmed reports of a Panda update with us. Thye company told us they have done a data refresh of the Google Panda algorithm about a week ago, and added that there were no additional signals or algorithm changes. This was only a data refresh. I saw reports over the past week or so [...]
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
FairSearch.org Introduces Anti-Google “Good To Know” Ad Campaign
January 26th, 2012
FairSearch.org, a consortium of companies that originally came together to oppose the Google acquisition of ITA and includes Tavelocity, Microsoft and TripAdvisor among others, has added several new members to its ranks and launched an anti-Google print-ad campaign. Entitled “Good to...
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Google Changes Definition Of Average Search Ranking Position
January 25th, 2012
The Google Webmaster Blog and Google Analytics Blog announced they are changing how they define the average position in the search query report in Google Webmaster Tools and search optimization report in Google Analytics. The new definition will take the average of the top ranking of your site for...
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
SearchCap: The Day In Search, January 25, 2012
January 25th, 2012
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Revamps Submit Content Page Google has updated their URL submission tool page and redesigned their Submit Your Content page. The old URL which was at...
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Google Revamps Submit Content Page
January 25th, 2012
Google has updated their URL submission tool page and redesigned their Submit Your Content page. The old URL which was at google.com/webmasters/tools/submit-url/ now returns a page not found (404) error. The issue with that is, Google should really use a 301 redirect because it ranks in the top...
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
DuckDuckGo Sets New Traffic Record, But Stats Show How Dominant Google, Others Are
January 25th, 2012
DuckDuckGo, the upstart search engine that’s challenged its bigger competitors on privacy issues, has had a couple straight days of record-setting traffic. But the numbers show just how much the major search engines dominate the search space. First, let’s recognize how cool it is that...
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Emergency In Your Area? “Public Alerts” On Google Maps Shows Warnings
January 25th, 2012
Google announced a new layer of data being added to Google Maps for public alerts. If there are emergency alerts in your area, Google will show them to you on the map, with more details on the alert. You can access it over at google.org/publicalerts. The map will load with a layer of data on [...]
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
2012 Is The Year To Cut Your Site Retargeting Budget
January 25th, 2012
Having made the switch from ‘agency guy’ to ‘vendor guy’ a year ago, I have talked to dozens of agencies in the last 12 months and have been completely blown away by the vast quantity of media dollars that are being poured into bad site retargeting programs. Good money is disappearing into...
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
4+ Recommendations To Enhance B2B SEO Initiatives
January 25th, 2012
The start of the new year is the ideal time for B2B search engine marketers to reassess website strategy and determine where enhancements could be made to benefit SEO visibility. With budgets still in review and benchmarks being set, focusing on site enhancements first could help maximize the...
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
When A/B Testing Prices, Proceed With Caution
January 25th, 2012
I had an interesting A/B testing experience over the holidays. This time, it wasn’t an A/B test that I was running, but rather an A/B test in which I was an (initially) unsuspecting participant. It reminded me of the negative side effects that certain kinds of tests can have on customers —...
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
WSJ: Federal Prisoner Helped U.S. Sting Against Google’s Pharmacy Ads
January 25th, 2012
It’s been a difficult month for Google, and the company is bound to take another hit in the morning as a Wall Street Journal article makes the rounds — an article that offers new details about the government sting that compelled Google to pay $500 million after acknowledging that it...
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Ask.com Has The Most Long-Winded Searchers, Report Says
January 24th, 2012
The longest search queries are happening on Ask.com, where users average almost five words per search. That’s according to research from Chitika. The ad network analyzed search referrals on “hundreds of millions” of impressions across sites in its network between January 9th and...
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
SearchCap: The Day In Search, January 24, 2012
January 24th, 2012
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Infographic: How Much Does SEO Cost? How much does SEO cost? How much time do you have to discuss the various models and prices out there! However, a new survey...
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
SPONSORED MESSAGE: Getting the Most Out of Your Agency
January 24th, 2012
There’s no doubt, a great agency can exponentially increase your marketing success. Whether you are about to issue an RFP or are six months into a year-long engagement with your digital agency, now is the time to ensure you know how to get the most out of your agency partnership. Read on for...
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Infographic: How Much Does SEO Cost?
January 24th, 2012
How much does SEO cost? How much time do you have to discuss the various models and prices out there! However, a new survey sheds some light on the subject. Over 500 people and companies who offer search engine optimization services were asked about how their models. Turns out, it’s most...
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Infographics: Why They Fail For Link Building
January 24th, 2012
We’ve all seen them: too much of them. They filter through our Twitter stream, pop up in our News Feed, and infiltrate our search results. My dear friends, we are in infographic overload, and if we don’t do something now, it may be too late for us all. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not against [...]
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Did International Markets Cause Google’s Loss Of Love On Wall Street?
January 24th, 2012
Wall Street wasn’t terribly impressed with Google’s figures for the last quarter of 2011 announced after the bell last thursday. To a normal person, you would think that generating $2.71 billion profit and significantly beating your own previous quarters would be a cause for...
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
A Proposal For Social Network Détente
January 23rd, 2012
For the past two weeks, I feel like I’ve been witnessing some type of Cuban Missile Crisis going on between Google, Twitter and Facebook. I’d like to suggest some ways that social-nuclear war might be averted. Beyond Blame, Believing In Cooperation Let’s set aside blame, because...
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
SearchCap: The Day In Search, January 23, 2012
January 23rd, 2012
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Projecting 2012 Google Mobile Revenues: $4 or $6 Billion? On Google’s Q3 2011 earnings call CEO Larry Page casually mentioned that Google had a mobile...
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
130 Experts Speaking at Search Engine Land’s SMX West – Conference Rates Increase Saturday
January 23rd, 2012
Early bird rates for Search Marketing Expo – SMX West expire this Saturday, January 28. Register now and save! Here’s why you should join us February 28 to March 1 in San Jose, CA: More than 130 of the world’s most knowledgeable search marketers will present at SMX West. They’re selected based on...
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Projecting 2012 Google Mobile Revenues: $4 or $6 Billion?
January 23rd, 2012
On Google’s Q3 2011 earnings call CEO Larry Page casually mentioned that Google had a mobile revenue “run rate” of more than $2.5 billion. On the Q4 earnings call, just last week, Google announced a $5 billion annualized “run rate” for display advertising (including...
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
10 Form Optimization Tips For Landing Pages
January 23rd, 2012
Over the years, I’ve done a lot of work with form optimization. In this article, I’ll cover some tried and true form optimization tips. I’ve done most of my testing on the PPC side, but obviously, the information can also be used effectively to improve overall form conversions on websites. 1....
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
How To Achieve Mobile Search Ranking Clarity
January 23rd, 2012
Mobile search results not only produce different rankings from desktop search but can also vary based on the mobile device type that the query was performed on, as has been written about here at Search Engine from myself and Bryson Meunier among others. You can see mobile results directly from your...
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Google Plus Connections Are The New Link
January 23rd, 2012
A couple of weeks ago, Google caused a big hub-bub when it launched Search Plus Your World (“SPEW” for short), the catchy-titled deep integration of Google Plus and Google’s organic Web results. Naturally as soon as that happened, many of my clients, big and small, called to get...
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Google Search Showing Results For Punctuation Marks
January 23rd, 2012
Alex Chitu reports Google is now showing search results for punctuation marks and other types of symbols. In the past, Google ignored most punctuation marks and didn’t show any results for them that were useful. Now Google is. For example, a search for , returns pages on the topic of usage of...
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
“Don’t Be Evil” Tool — Backed By Facebook & Twitter — Shows Google’s “Search Plus Your World” Can Go Beyond Google+
January 23rd, 2012
I’ve written that Google has plenty of public data to allow parts its new Search Plus Your World feature to be inclusive of rival social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Now, those networks are proving that true, through a new “Don’t Be Evil” tool that lets anyone...
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Google’s “Find Hotels By Travel Time” Offers Some Of That “Innovation” Google Was Talking About
January 22nd, 2012
Before Google was formally approved to buy travel software company ITA, the company argued that the acquisition would result in “innovation” for travelers and travel search users. Beyond the appearance of flight times/routes in search results we haven’t seen much...
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
“Ask On Google+” Links Appearing In Google’s Search Results
January 20th, 2012
The invasion of Google+ into Google’s search results continue. The latest Google+ification? Now Google’s encouraging people at the end of its search listings if they “Want to ask your friends about” what they were Googling. Want To Ask Your Friends? Tom Critchlow tipped me...
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
SearchCap: The Day In Search, January 20, 2012
January 20th, 2012
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Bing’s New Ad Campaign: Bing Is For #Doing Bing is set to launch a new ad campaign this weekend that includes a subtle change from its previous messaging....
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Bing’s New Ad Campaign: Bing Is For #Doing
January 20th, 2012
Bing is set to launch a new ad campaign this weekend that includes a subtle change from its previous messaging. Rather than promoting the idea of making decisions, the new campaign is about people doing interesting things and uses the slogan, Bing is for #Doing. More specifically, the new TV...
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Google Webmaster Tools Adds Useful Download Options
January 20th, 2012
Google webmaster tools data is helpful stuff, but has been somewhat tough to download and use. Last month, Google made things a bit easier by providing a Python script for downloading search query data (as this report isn’t available as of yet through the API). Now, they’ve added new...
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Wolfram|Alpha Scores Again With Rich NFL Data
January 20th, 2012
I am a long time admirer of Wolfram|Alpha and I’m happy to report that my admiration continues to grow, as you can now access NFL (National Football League) statistics using Wolfram|Alpha. So, queries like: Tom Brady Joe Flacco Passing Yards 49ers 2011 New York Giants field goal...
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
An Interview With A Google Search Quality Rater
January 20th, 2012
Since at least 2005, Google has been using a large, worldwide focus group to help review its search results and the quality of the web pages that rank well in its algorithm. The people in this program are called Quality Raters and, as you can imagine, the work they do is important to search...
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Search In Pics: Google Boxers, 90+ Million Google+ & Gundotra Google+ Cadbury Bar
January 20th, 2012
In this week’s Search In Pictures, here are the latest images culled from the web, showing what people eat at the search engine companies, how they play, who they meet, where they speak, what toys they have, and more. Google Boxers: Google+ Circles T-Shirt: Google Camera Google Graffiti: Vic...
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
How America’s Search Trends From 2011 Makes Google+ Stand Out
January 20th, 2012
More than 300 Billion searches were made in the US in 2011, according to ComScore. In December each year, the Big Three search engines publish the most popular searches of the year. In 2011, the top ten searches from the three search engines added up to more than 250 million searches alone. We...
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Website Usability 101 For SEO Professionals
January 20th, 2012
Want to be better at search engine optimization? What all SEO professionals should know about website usability.
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
AdGooroo Trademark Insight Tool Makes Infringement Monitoring A Breeze
January 20th, 2012
Some of you may not have any issues with other advertisers infringing on your trademarked terms via search marketing… count yourselves lucky. For those of us who have been left by the search engines to self-police these problems, AdGooroo’s Trademark Insight tool can turn a laborious challenge into...
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Pages With Too Many Ads “Above The Fold” Now Penalized By Google’s “Page Layout” Algorithm
January 19th, 2012
Do you shove lots of ads at the top of your web pages? Think again. Tired of doing a Google search and landing on these types of pages? Rejoice. Google has announced that it will penalize sites with pages that are top-heavy with ads. Top Heavy With Ads? Look Out! The change — called the...
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
SearchCap: The Day In Search, January 19, 2012
January 19th, 2012
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google: Paid Clicks Up 34% While Cost Per Click Down 8% YoY Google just posted their Q4 2011 earnings resulting in a massive quarter but not meeting expectations...
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Google: Paid Clicks Up 34% While Cost Per Click Down 8% YoY
January 19th, 2012
Google just posted their Q4 2011 earnings resulting in a massive quarter but not meeting expectations of investors. In fact, Google’s stock is down over 9% in after hours trading. That being said, part of those earning results showed that paid clicks on Google’s network is up 34% year...
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Webcasts next week: Social Media Analytics (Wed) + Pay Per Call Advertising (Thurs)
January 19th, 2012
Search Marketing Now will host two webcasts next week. On Wednesday, January 25, Jill Whalen of High Rankings and Horst Joepen of Searchmetrics present will present “Measuring Social Media Marketing Success Using Analytics Tools.” They’ll look at emerging social media analytics...
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Keep Pace with Search Marketing Changes – Attend SMX West
January 19th, 2012
SMX West – February 28 – March 1 in San Jose, CA Google is blocking some referrer information. Link data has gotten harder to analyze. Google’s Search Plus Your World bombshell promises to take personalization to a whole new level. Understand the landscape and get the tactics you...
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Nokia Now “Powering” Bing Maps
January 19th, 2012
In May of last year I had a conversation with someone who told me that Nokia Maps (Navteq) would effectively replace the infrastructure behind Bing Maps. I was surprised to say the least and wrote about it in a story entitled Bing Maps To Be Powered (Replaced) By Nokia? The impression I got is that...
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Google Maps Now Highlighting Borders Of Cities, Postal Codes & More
January 19th, 2012
Google Maps has added a feature where it will highlight in a pink color the borders of a city, postal code or other borders based on your search. To see it yourself, go to Google Maps and search for a city name or even a zip code. You will see a pinkish highlight around the [...]
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Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
How To Track U.S. Congress Members’ Tweets
January 19th, 2012
Many U.S. Senators and Representatives are tweeting opinions, updates, images, documents, etc. these days, and Twitter can be a very useful, if not an essential tool, to learn about what’s going on directly from each member, especially regarding controversial legislation such as SOPA. An easy to...
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Search Rankings are Dead: Long Live Search Placements
January 19th, 2012
It’s a new year. Somebody needs to declare something dead. Recently, I gave a presentation on Google’s Search+ in which I said ranking reports no longer matter because there is no such thing as consistent Google rankings. What you see in the Google search results and what I see, for the exact same...
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.