How to be SAFE over Labor Day Weekend

Do stock photos affect search rankings on Google?

Watch this brief video from Matt Cutts, head of Google’s search spam who explains if using stock photos from companies like iStock.com, Photos.com, etc. have a negative affect on organic search results and website rankings. 

What are Advertorials?

Lots of noise is circling around the Internet with regards to the topic of "ADVERTORIALS." 

What are Advertorials? Advertorials look like editorials but are really "paid content."  

Click HERE to read an interesting article published on www.journalism.co.uk  about "news websites" that dropped in Google's PageRank due to publication of Advertorials with links.

Advertorials are camouflaged to appear as guileless editorials but are really paid promotions that are misleading to readers. Watch this brief video by Matt Cutts, from the Google Web Spam Team who explains the issue with advertorials and the importance of adequate disclosure to avoid getting penalized.

Warren Buffett's Quotes & Words of Wisdom

Watch this brief interview with Warren Buffett on what you can do to be money wise and protect your assets

Click HERE to view some of Warren Buffett's top quotes and words of wisdom regarding financial investments. I think you will like them!

Penguin 2.0 update from Google goes LIVE

According to Matt Cutts' blog, it looks like the Penguin 2.0 a webspam change from Google that began to roll out today. The initial Penguin and Panda updates penalized low quality websites, link networks, shady black hat spam tactics and several other factors. The new Penguin 2.0 update will improve delivery of relevant search results for consumers. 

Google makes over 500 algorithm updates each year so you can expect to see changes on a daily basis. 

Watch the video below featuring Matt Cutts and the upcoming changes you can expect with their Penguin 2.0 update. 

Why does Google show multiple results from the same link domain?

On this video, Matt Cutts explains why Google shows multiple results for the same domain. 

Penguin 2.0 Algorithm Update Is Coming!

What is Google up to and what are their plans for the next Penguin 2.0 update? 

WHAT DOES THE PENGUIN 2.0 UPDATE TARGET?

The Penguin 2.0 algorithm update will reward high-quality sites and penalize websites that use cheap black hat link building tactics to rank higher in search results. Below are some of the things that the Penguin 2.0 algorithm update targets and actions you can take to help minimize the risk of getting penalized.

1. REMOVE IRRELEVANT BACKLINKS. If you have irrelevant or unnatural backlinks (Links from banned sites or Adult sites, links from link exchange network sites, links from blog networks, etc.) pointing to your website, they will do your more HARM than good. The days of cheating Google's algorithm by using irrelevant links to help a website rank higher is coming to an end!  Websites with irrelevant or unnatural backlinks will be penalized, it's just a matter of time before they feel the pain. ACTION: Hire a company that has link removal experience to conduct a link audit and remove irrelevant backlinks that are pointing to your site.

2. REMOVE DUPLICATE PAGES OF CONTENT. ACTION: Check your website for multiple pages of content with identical Title Tags and similar content.  

3. WRITE QUALITY CONTENT. ACTION: Make sure the pages on your site have relevant and informative content that benefits visitors and provides a good user experience. Get rid of low quality content on your site that has no value or readership.

4. FIX BROKEN LINKS. ACTION: Use an online tool to analyze your website and identify broken links. Fix any and all links that are broken on your site. 

Watch this brief video from Matt Cutts, head of Google's web spam team that explain what you can expect from their next Panda/Penguin update. 

  

Google acquires Wavii for $30 Million

Google purchases Wavii for $30 Million, a natural language processing company started by Adrian Aoun.  

Wavii is a new startup company whose technology will be used to enhance Google's Knowledge Graph. Wavii aggregates information that streams across the web and consolidates the data into fast and fun updates.

Click HERE to read more about Google's new acquisition and how Wavii's technology will compliment the world's leading search engine.

Does linking sites together violate Google's quality guidelines?

Hear what Matt Cutts has to say about linking multiple sites that are related to each other.  

Checklist To Find Out If You Have a High-Quality Website or Blog

Do you have a high-quality blog or website? 

Below are five key factors that are the Litmus test which will help determine if you have a website or blog that is high quality. 

1. Purpose Check 

• What is the purpose of your website or blog? 
• What type of beneficial research, helpful advice, wise insight, relevant information, or tips does your site provide visitors? 
• Is the content substantial by providing information beyond generalizations or otherwise lacking in helpful specifics? 
Yes or No? 

2. Content Check 

• Does your website or blog have unique written content that cannot be found on other sites? 
• Is your content grammatically correct and free from typos? 
• Does your content read natural and is it interesting? 
Yes or No? 

3. Relevancy Check 

• Is your website relevant from the visitors launching point, e.g., if your reader clicked on a link in an article to access your website, does your website relate to the article? 
• Does the content on your site reflect your visitor’s needs, wants, and interests? 
Yes or No? 

4. Quality Check 

• Do links on your pages of content connect to other pages or do you have broken links? 
• Is it easy to navigate from one page to another? 
• Do you minimize pop-ups? 
• Do ALL of your images have tags so blind people can detect what’s on your site? 
• Do you have a menu bar that is descriptive and clear? 
• Does your site load fast or is it cluttered with flash and images? 
Yes or No? 

5. Clarity Check 

• Is it easy for visitors to know what your site or blog is all about? 
• Are your products or services clearly defined? 
• You have an About Me or About Us page that tells visitor who you are? 
Yes or No? 

Scoring Results 

5 for 5 = EXCELLENT 
4 for 5 = SUPERB 
3 for 5 = FAIR 
2 for 5 = HURTING 
1 for 5 = “GORBACHEV TAKE DOWN THIS SITE” 

Click HERE to visit Google's Webmaster Central Blog and read more about how to build a quality website.

10 Tips for writing quality content and blog posts for your website

Below are a few key factors to keep in mind when developing pages of content and blog posts for your sites.

GOOD content/posts:

1. Gives helpful guidance or tips = Is “link worthy” (liked by Google who wants a good experience for users who visit your site)
2. Relevant and of interest to your audience
3. Easy to understand by readers 
4. Well written with good grammar and no spelling errors
5. Aligns with the practice areas, services, or products of your firm/business
6. Includes one keyword term that would be used by a consumer who is looking for information about this particular subject
7. Has a subtle call to action that is personable

BAD content/blog posts:

1. Rehash of other articles
2. Not important to readers  (they don’t care about the subject or topic)
3. Too vague with quality information (not enough information)
4. Hard to understand (too much legal jargon)
5. Overstuffed with keyword terms (spammy)
6. Includes link(s) to “anchor text” such as “asset protection lawyer”
7. Misspelled words and poor grammar
8. Does not provide enough quality information

Phone number spam

Does Google penalize websites that keyword stuff their phone numbers on website pages that are useless?  

Hear what Matt Cutts says about this in this 1 minute video

Google Webmaster Tools notifications

How many types of messages does the Google webspam team send out?  

Watch this video clip with Matt Cutts from Google that explains the types of Google Webmaster Tools notifications that they send out. Each month Google sends out thousands upon thousands of emails and 90% of the notifications are related to black hat tactics. 

Types of Notifications:

• Google Black hat spammer notifications: 90% 
• Google low quality or no quality content notifications: 4% 
• Google hacking notifications: 3% 
• Buying links notifications: 2% 
• Selling links notifications: 1% 
  

Unnatural Links - message from Google

What should I do if I get an "unnatural links" message from Google? 

If you receive a message from Google Webmaster Tools about unnatural links on your site, don’t hoit the panic button.  Some links are distrusted because they are related to spammy activity or may be links hacked by your competitors that they are pointing to your website.

Click HERE to read more and watch this brief video from Matt Cutts.

How to improve your LinkedIn Profile for SEO

Here are 10 simple ways you can improve your LinkedIn Profile to help improve SEO

1. Have a complete profile and don’t leave any fields blank. Add all of your awards, honors, and languages.
2. Ask for recommendations and endorsements
3. Add website URL(s) links (a max of 3 are allowed)  
4. Use a relevant keyword to optimize your job titles. Sample: Don’t use “Experienced Lawyer in Dallas,” instead use “Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer in Dallas”
5. Avoid overusing or repeating keywords
6. Promote your LinkedIn profile on your website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc.
7. Write Recommendations for other contacts in your network. Writing recommendations are beneficial and helps make you look well-liked by others. 
8. Join relevant groups to get exposure
9. Increase your network by adding 10+ contacts each month
10. Promote yourself by writing about topics of interest that are important to business professionals