What happened to my Google Places account?

Google is making lots of improvements in their search algorithms to help businesses with Local Listings and Maps. They have updated their rating system to enhance search results and improve User experience.

The Google Places is now called Google+ Local.

Learn more by clicking HERE 

How can I move my Google Places content into Google+ Local? Read more HERE 

Click HERE to learn more about Google Places Quality Guidelines.

How Can I clean My Site After A Penguin Update?

Thousands of spammy websites were impacted and will continue to see a decline in rankings with Google's Penguin update. 

Click HERE to get ideas on how you can clean your website.

Panda Update

Panda update from Google and what it means to you. Watch this video clip regarding high quality websites and their new signals that will impact the quality of your website. 

How can I design a Quality website that Google likes?

How can I design a quality website that Google and the other search engines like? 

This is a GREAT question. If you are truly interested in developing a quality website that is successful on the Internet, make sure you adhere to Google's guidelines.

There are thousands of web developers that do not have a clue about SEO and how your website architecture is impacted with the latest algorithm updates.

Below is a checklist with 12 critical factors that will help you design a quality website for the search engines

1. Make your site crawable
2. Great content that is well written, informative and interesting
3. Keyword research to ensure that the right words are on your pages
4. Cutting edge website design with a hook - What sets you apart from the competition? Why should people return to your site and bookmark it?
5. Link and website architecture is critical
6. Sitemap
7. Correct Title and Meta description tags
8. Page layout
9. Minimizing keyword stuffing
10. Relevant or Natural backlinks for search engine optimization or SEO
11. Easy navigation  and fast page downloads

Click HERE to learn more about Google's Quality Guidelines and guidance on how to build a  website that works.

Google's makes 52 Algorithm Updates in April, 2012

How may updates did Google make to their algorithm in April?

According to Google's Official Blog Post site, they made 52 Algorithm updates in the month of April, 2012.

Click the link to read more... http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2012/05/search-quality-highlights-53-changes.html

Penguin Update - What Happened?

Google's Penguin update 

- A new algorithm on-page sifting filter. 

• What happened with the Penguin update?
  
• When did the Penguin update happen?
  
• What sites were affected and how can I know if my site was impacted?
  
• How can I recover from Google's Penguin update?
  
• Can I get help from Google?
  
• What is the Panda 3.5 update? (off-page)
  
• Can I sabotage my competitors with the Penguin update?
  
• What impact will the Penguin update have on my firm or business?

Watch this video to get a better understanding of Google's Penguin update.

Google rewards high quality websites

What is a high quality website is a question that lots of people pose to developers. 

 Google has made it very clear that a quality website will make a site more crawlable and make individual pages more accessible and easier to find. Below is 12 point checklist that will make your site effective with search engine optimization, or SEO :

1. Make your site crawable
2. Develop GREAT or quality content that is informative and interesting to site visitors
3. A hook - What sets you apart from the competition? Why should people return to your site and bookmark it?
4. Keyword research to ensure that the right words are on your pages
5. Link and website architecture is critical
6. Sitemap
7. Correct Title and Meta description tags
8. Page layout
9. Minimizing keyword stuffing
10. Relevant or Natural backlinks for search engine optimization or SEO
11. Easy navigation 
12. Fast page downloads

Watch this brief video clip from Matt Cutts on  Qualities of a good site



Click HERE to read the article on Google's Blogspot on why "High Quality Websites" are rewarded by their search engine.   

Click HERE to read about Google's Quality Standards for website design.

What is a landing page and how do I create one?

How do I develop a quality landing page?

Developing a quality landing page is critical to the success of your website. Google looks at various items to determine if your landing page will give visitors a great experience. The three main factors for a landing page are:

1. Original content (no duplicate) and Relevancy. Is your content informative, clear and useful?
2. Transparency. Can visitors easily find your products, services and contact information?
3. Ease of navigation. Is your site layout simple or do you have lots of links or information all over the page that makes it confusing for visitors?   

For additional information from Google, on how to build a quality landing page, click on the link...http://support.google.com/adwords/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=2404197

Google's Panda Update Impacts Rankings For Low Quality Sites

What does Google's Panda Update Target?

The objectives of the Panda algorithm updates are designed to:

• Penalize sites that try to manipulate the search engine through:
• keyword stuffing 
• hidden text
• Reward quality websites and decrease rankings for low quality sites 
• Filter sites with duplicate content 
• Penalize sites such as ‘content farms’ - click HERE to read more on Google's Blog
• Minimize weaknesses in its algorithm by reducing webspam
• Click HERE to see a "Chronological Overview of Google's  Panda Updates"

97% of Consumers use the Internet to Shop Locally

According to a research conducted by BIA/Kelsey and ConSta, 97% of Consumers use the Internet to Shop Locally. 

Consumers that were surveyed stated the following:

• 90% use the Internet (search engine)

• 48% use Internet Yellow Pages

• 24% use vertical sites

• 42% use comparison shopping sites

Shopping online for services and products continues to grow at a high rate. Read more...

What is duplicate content?

What does duplicate content mean?

According to Google's Webmaster website, duplicate content is having large quantities of content that appears to be the same across various websites on the Internet. The majority of the content completely matches other content with minimal differences or appears to be similar.

Google's primary goal is to provide users (customers) the best search experience possible on the Internet so they will seldom display websites with duplicate pages of content and therefore, the algorithm chooses the website that is most likely to be the originator of the content.

Websites that have pages with duplicate content run the risk of being delisted or not showing up on the query results for keywords.

What about quoting or using content from other sources, will Google see that as duplicate content and penalize your website?  Hear what Matt Cutts from Google has to say:

Click HERE to read more about duplicate content at Google's Webmaster Tools…

Content Guidelines from Google for Website Development

Are their any guidelines for developing content on my website?

 Yes there are. Content plays a MAJOR factor with Google and the search engines. If you want to develop content so that it shows up on Google's search engines, you must play by their rules and adhere to their standards. 

Click link to read more about Google's guidelines for development of content... http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/topic.py?hl=en&topic=2371375&parent=1724125&ctx=topic

What Are The Most Frequently Asked Questions to Google?

Google's receives thousands of questions each day from website developers, SEO companies, and consumers like you and me.

Click the link to see the list of answers for common questions asked by end users at Google's Webmaster Tools website...http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1050724

What can I do if I have a website with Malware?

Thousands of websites have infected with Spam and Malware that impacts their website rankings on on Google and the search engines. If your site has been infected or you have questions and would like to know what you can do click the link to read more regarding Malware and how to get your site relisted with Google: http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=168328

How can I know if I have a quality backlink?

Quality Backlinks Do Make A Difference

The quality of a web page does not require lots of metrics or formulas to evaluate its value and worth. You can judge the quality of a backlink by answering four simple questions:

• Does the page link to your site have good information or quality content that will interest the average visitor?
• Is content well written and interesting?
• Does the content have any relevance with what you do? 
• Do you think the web page linking to your site will have any value to people who come to your site?

If you answered "yes" to the four questions listed above, the backlink from that page may be of value.

Remember that backlinks are likes votes and have the greatest influence in helping your pages to rank in Google's search results. INVEST IN HIGH QUALITY LINKS to build up their trust, popularity, and high rankings with Google and the search engines. 

Read more about Backlinks and why a website PageRank will go down on Matt Cutts blog at: http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/why-did-my-pagerank-go-down 

What can I do with poor quality backlinks linking to my website? Read more on what you can do with incoming links to your site by clicking the link below: http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2009/10/dealing-with-low-quality-backlinks.html

Which links get the most clicks on Google's Organic Search Engine Results Page?

Google Search Engine Results Page (SERP) study conducted by Optify

Below is a link to an interesting Search Engine Results Page (SERP) study conducted by Optify in December, 2010, that provides a comprehensive breakdown on the organic results that received the most click through rates for keyword search terms.

Click through rates on search engine results (links that are displayed on the 1st page) will fluctuate dramatically based on several factors like:

• Types of products
• Firms, companies and organizations listed
• Services provided
• Consumers, visitors, browsers
• Topics of interest
• Meta description (words displayed under the link)
• Geographic area, etc.

Read more here -  Optify's research on The Changing Face of SERPs (PDF)

NOTE: It's important to remember that Google's Search Results Page may include both organic results and paid advertisements (domains listed at the very top in a light yellow color) or on the right side of the page that say "Ads - Why these ads?"

Sponsored Links are called "Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns that enable you to get immediate 1st page visibility. Charges will vary based on the competitiveness of your keyword term. If you advertise with Google or the other search engines like Big or Yahoo, they will not help your website's rankings or presence (popularity) in the organic search results. 

Read more about SEO at: Google's Webmaster Tools website

Does keyword density matter?

What is the correct keyword density when writing content for my website or blog?

Watch this brief video and hear what Matt Cutts from Google's webspam team has to say about keyword density and what you need to keep in mind when you are writing content.

How many links should I have per page?

1. Click HERE to read Matt Cutts recommendations for quantity of links per page based on Google's Webmaster Guidelines for finding, crawling, and indexing your website.  



2. Click HERE to see a list of TOP WEBSITES with links on the page

What are Link schemes?

You MUST abide by Google's rules and avoid LINK SCHEMES if you want your website to be trusted. Quantity, quality, and relevance of links pointing to your website is what counts in helping your website ratings and popularity. 

Selling or purchasing links that pass Google's PageRank is a violation that is high risk that may impacy a website's ranking. Not all paid links violate Google's guidelines, however, uyou must be careful in following their guidelines for relevancy. 

Click on "PAID LINK" to read more at Google's Webmaster Guidelines.

Is website content more important than backlinks to rank on Google?

Hear what Matt Cutts from Google has to say about quality content and how it is the foundation for a good website that is well rounded.