iconSearch Engine Land

SearchCap: The Day In Search, May 16, 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 Launches Knowledge Graph To Provide Answers, Not Just Links Hinted at for months, Google formally
Google Launches Knowledge Graph To Provide Answers, Not Just Links
Hinted at for months, Google formally launched its “Knowledge Graph” today. The new technology is being used to provide popular facts about people, places and things alongside Google’s traditional results. It also allows Google to move toward a new way
With Fix In Place, Wolfram Alpha Explains How Siri “Recommended” The Lumia By Mistake
It wasn’t Siri that was recommending the Lumia as the best smartphone to some last week; it was Wolfram Alpha. That won’t happen again, now that Wolfram Alpha has made changes to to fix problems it had dealing with customer
3 Guidelines To Scale Your SEM Team
There is a phenomenon within organizations that causes productivity to decline as teams grow larger. This phenomenon is described in economics as a diseconomy of scale and is caused by at least three factors including increased communication costs, duplication of effort, and
Did Google Drop 100+ Small Directories
Yesterday I covered a WebmasterWorld thread where SEOs were complaining that Google has been removing tons of free web directories from their index. I conducted some random tests and did notice some of these free web directories not coming up
Do Search & Display Really Belong Together?
The premise is simple – PPC and display are both media buys trying to achieve similar outcomes; both are forms of ‘bought media’ and now with display moving to a biddable environment both now require quantitative skill sets to manage
Early Stage Landing Pages At The Top Of The Funnel
For many B2B and considered purchases, buyers go through several stages of evaluating the market and choosing a seller. Different stages naturally benefit from different kinds of landing pages and conversion strategies. Here, we’ll take a look at the very
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iconAaron Wall's SEO Book.com

GWT notice of detected unnatural links to http://www.seobook.com/
I am already getting fake webmaster tool notification messages using the above subject line & the following message:Hello dear managers of http://www.seobook.com/! My name is Olivia, and the issue I’m gonna to discuss is for
Ha! Bullets Can't Hurt ME
Negative SEO vs SabotageJust about any independent SEO worth their weight who publishes a number of websites has at least once hit a snag & been filtered or penalized. A person can say not me but how do they operate
Google AdWords Ads Add Album Cover & Song Preview
Before I get any drops of jupiter hate on the following...I was typing in training.seobook.com & somehow accidentally hit enter after typing train & when the URL completion didnt work I got the following SERP.If you click the feature video
The Google Penguin Update: Over-Optimization, Webspam, & High Quality Empty Content Pages
Huge UpdateGoogle recently launched their webspam Penguin update. While they claim it only impacted about 3.1% of search queries, the 3.1% it impacted were largely in the commercial transactional keywords worth a lot of money category. Based on the number
GoogleBowling, Negative SEO & Outing
Excessive Complexity & Unintended ConsequencesSergey Brin recently said:You have to play by their rules, which are really restrictive. The kind of environment that we developed Google in, the reason that we were able to develop a search engine, is the
Consumer Ad Awareness in Search Results
For the following study, we asked Does this search result have ads on it? to 1,000 searchers, per search results. Due to these surveys requiring a smaller image (to fit the
Which Source Do You Trust Most?
Which do you trust most as a source of advice on important issues?People tend to trust friends & family and the mainstream media far more than they trust websites & search engines.Vote All (1204) 
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iconSEOmoz

9 Lessons from 1,000 SEO Questions
Posted by Dr. PeteI spend a lot of quality time in Private Q&A here on SEOmoz, and I recently passed a milestone – 1,000 private
17 Types of Link Spam to Avoid
Posted by Carson WardIf the last few months of ranking changes have shown me anything, it's that poorly executed link building strategy that many of us call white hat can be more dangerous than black-hat strategies like buying links. As
Response Codes Explained with Pictures
Posted by Lindsay
Project Management for SEO (2012 Edition!)
Posted by Tom CritchlowSo here's the truth - I used to suck at project management. But over the years I've determinedly turned myself into a half-decent project manager. Why? What was the driving force?Project Management Is A Tool For Effecting
Colossal Day of Craziness!
Posted by MozCTOHello, I am Anthony Skinner, the CTO of MozLand!Many of you were affected by several SEOmoz tool issues that happened last week, unfortunately all colliding into one colossal day of craziness on May 3rd. We want to first
The Penguin Update - Whiteboard Friday
Posted by robkerrySEOmoz and I don't always see eye to eye on industry issues, but I still have a lot of respect for the company. In fact SEOmoz is still the website that I send people to, when they want
The Real Impact of the Google SmartPhone Crawler (Part 3): Avoiding Mobile Mis-Indexing
Posted by SuzzicksThis post was originally in YouMoz, and was promoted to the main blog because it provides great value and interest to our community. The authors views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views
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iconMatt Cutts

Example email to a hacked site
Beyond clear-cut blackhat webspam, the second-biggest category of spam that Google deals with is hacked sites. The most common reaction we hear from webmasters is “The problem is with the Google search. There is nothing wrong with our website.” That’s
New 30 day challenge: No news
I haven’t given an update on my 30 day challenges in, like, forever. So here goes: - In 2011, I paused my 30 day challenges to do a “six month challenge”: training to run a marathon. I ended up running
Eventful Events
Every so often real life catches up with you in ways you didn’t expect. My wife broke her foot a few days ago. She took a unfortunate spill off a stepstool, but she’s telling everyone it was a ninja fight.
It’s time to stop PROTECT IP
A couple months ago, I wrote this about SOPA: SOPA galvanized the tech community, from start-ups to venture capitalists to the largest web companies. SOPA was an unexpected shock and a wake-up call. Well, guess what? Now the internet is
Sharing a search story
I’ve been reading a lot of the coverage of the Search plus Your World launch and I wanted to share my story and then clarify something. I love to stay up until early in the morning playing Werewolf. In early
Larry Lessig on the corrupting influence of money
Larry Lessig has a new book called Republic, Lost which discusses the corrupting influence of money on politics. I would highly recommend the book, because it gets to the heart of why things so many things in Washington, D.C. seem
Beware of fake Matts leaving comments
A lot of the time, I dispel misconceptions by leaving comments on blogs. That works great, except for the rare occasion when someone pretends to be me and leaves a rude, fake, or otherwise untrue blog comment. Over the previous
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iconSearch Engine Watch

Ford Retains Confidence in Facebook Ads as GM Quits
Automaker tells ClickZ it will continue advertising on the social site. While General Motors may halt Facebook advertising, according to a Wall Street Journal story today, Ford has a different attitude toward paid promotions on the social site.
Life After Google Penguin – Going Beyond the Name
Dont try too hard to look for dates and names of updates. Rather, look more to the effects as Google’s algorithm evolves so you can adapt accordingly. What really matters is that Google is looking harder at link spam now,
7 Time-Saving Google Analytics Custom Reports
The right Custom Reports can be incredible time savers. Instead of spending time digging around for important metrics, you can find what you need separated neatly into columns for some analysis that will lead to some actionable insight.
Piwik Open Source Analytics: A Primer
With a focus on privacy and keeping data safe, Piwik is a web analytics package that aims to be a free software alternative to Google Analytics. Here are some of Piwik’s features and how it compares to other top-billing analytics
Make Second Tier Search Engines Part of Your Lead Generation Strategy
Google and Bing can only get you so far. If you work in an extremely competitive industry you may find yourself paying anywhere from $30 to $50+ per click. Working with second tier engine/networks can provide an abundance of traffic
Social Media Ad Spending Forecast to Hit $9.8 Billion by 2016
Social media advertising revenues in the U.S. will grow from $3.8 billion in 2011 to $9.8 billion in 2016, according to BIA/Kelsey’s U.S. Local Media Forecast (2011-2016). The leap would represent a compound annual growth rate of 21 percent.
Embattled Yahoo CEO Leaves With $7 Million After 5 Months
Yahoo has their fifth CEO in as many years, as Scott Thompson stepped down in the scandal over his padded resume. Investor hedge fund Loeb will exert greater control with three board seats, while Ross Levinsohn takes the interim CEO
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iconPronet Advertising

How To Market Your Infographics
Tom is the online marketing blogger for Quantum SEO Labs, the link building service company. It is no secret that infographics have become the new ‘it’ thing. Well established as a fantastic way of marketing your content, it is easy
Mobile Marketing: What You Need to Know
Mobile marketing is gaining traction when it comes to online marketing. But despite the advantages that it poses, there are still a lot of businesses that don’t make use of its power to leverage their brand. On the other hand,
AdWords Bid Simulator, Now Available at Campaign Level
It’s difficult whether a marketer needs to increase or decrease his or her bids without any idea of how it could affect an ad performance. Although it has nothing to do with magic, the bid simulator can give insight on
Facebook Fan Page SEO for Real Estate
The last couple of years have seen the Facebook fan page become an all-important part of any realtor’s marketing strategy. Virtually everyone who is anyone in real estate operates a page on Facebook these days – but just having one
SEO Tips You Can Borrow from SEO
There are times that effective pay-per-click strategies can work for search engine optimization and vice versa. In addition, whatever you gain or loss with one can affect your decision for the other. Because a tiny tweak on your PPC campaign
Facebook Tests “Highlighted Posts”
A spokesperson confirmed that Facebook is testing a way for users to promote their post for a certain amount. The test is limited to a small number of users, and it features a “highlight” button next to Like and comment
Bing Re-launches Search Engine with Social Sidebar
Last Thursday, Bing announced its new search engine that puts the spotlight on social search. Although social search on Microsoft’s search engine is nothing new, they off-loaded the social elements on a new sidebar area. With the “new Bing,” users
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iconSEO Black Hat

Google Lied about Manually Changes
The Lie was told here by Udi Manber, and repeated by Matt Cutts. And I quote:‘At Google we do not manually change results. For example, if we find for a particular query that result No. 4 should be result No.
Clicksteam For Dummies: How The Ranking Factor Works
Since the majority of people can’t seem to figure out how clickstream data could be used as a Search Engine Ranking Factor, without ever scraping the actual page, I’ll give you a hint.
Bing is Just Better
Google is scared. They call Bing’s Results “a Cheap imitation”, but the fact is that Bing is now consistently delivering better results.
Bing is Just Better
Google is scared. They call Bing’s Results “a Cheap imitation”, but the fact is that Bing is now consistently delivering better results.
Anti PR SEO – Made Profitable by Google
Hows that old saying go? No publicity is bad publicity.
Epassporte Dropped by Visa
Pretty amazing the did that all at once like that: leaving epassporte high and dry.
It’s Google Reads My Mind!
Scary how they just know what youre gonna search for.
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iconSearch Engine Roundtable

Daily Search Forum Recap: May 16, 2012
Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today...
Google Update Brewing? What Is Going On?
These are typically signs of an update happening in Google. Maybe a Panda or Penguin refresh? Maybe a new Google bug? Maybe a new penalty or an old one being run again? Or maybe it is something completely different or
Google Maps Now With Home & Work Saved Locations
One of my pet peeves with Google Maps is that it doesnt remember my home or office location, even though I am signed in. So I have to type it out each time I want to check directions or time
Google AdWords Travel Season Advertisers Inforgraphic
Zee, a Google AdWords representative...
Vanessa From Google Places Offers Weekly Video Recaps
Exciting news for you local SEO nuts out there that love watching videos - Googles Google Places community manager. Vanessa Schneider is now producing weekly videos recapping the most exciting topics in the Google Places Help forum...
Google & Facebook Can Work Together: Timeline Timeline
Daily Search Forum Recap: May 15, 2012
Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today...
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iconSEO Chat

Using Semantics for Keyword Research
Semantics concerns the meaning of words – historically a weak area for search engines. Over the years weve seen vast improvement in Googles ability to understand what searchers mean when they enter keywords. You can capitalize on this fact by
Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson Resigns
Just ten days after the revelation that Scott Thompson did not, in fact, hold the computer science degree he claimed on his resume, the new Yahoo CEO is resigning his position. Thompson, who replaced Carol Bartz, held the position barely
Bing Launches Social Sidebar
When Microsoft cleaned up Bings results pages earlier this month, a number of observers wondered if it was trying to imitate an earlier, less cluttered version of Google. In actuality, the software giant was clearing the decks for a new
Write Content For the Four Buying Personalities
In my previous article I talked about four main goals or “personas” you should keep in mind when writing content for your website. Your visitors display a lot more variety than that, though. Four different visitors could have the same
Write SEO Content for Your Visitor`s Goals
How do your websites visitors spend their time online? That can vary not only from person to person, but at different times with the same person. Why? Users pursue a variety of different goals. If you keep this in mind,
Guest Posting: How to Find and Seduce Your Editor
You know all the benefits that writing a guest post for a well-read blog in your niche can offer. You know you can write great content because youre an expert in your field. But how do you get into guest
Title Tags: Not Just for Keywords Anymore
I very nearly titled this article “The Truth About Keywords in Title Tags.” I didnt because Im no longer sure that anyone has all of it. If youre ready to rethink one of the most basic things youve ever learned
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iconOnline Marketing Blog

Interview: The Future of Cloud Marketing Software with Vocus CMO Jason Jue
At TopRank Online Marketing, we are fortunate to provide consulting to quite a few innovative B2B companies that serve other marketers. A great example of that is PRWeb and parent company, Vocus, both long standing clients. In late 2011 Vocus welcomed
Channel Your Internal Marketing Warrior: 4 Tips for Strengthening Your Marketing Plan
In March of this year I made a decision: I wanted to get healthier.  The problem I have always faced is that I didn’t see the point of exercise, just for the sake of exercise.  Treadmills and stationary bicycles never
5 Ways to Optimize the Business Value of Attending Conferences
TopRank receives a lot of value from having me speak at conferences but you don’t have to be a speaker to realize a positive return from events. Small, large online or offline, there are numerous ways to optimize and maximize your
Online Marketing News: Take Action on Social Data, LinkedIn Gets the Scoop, Google Reigns Supre(...)
Actionable Social Analytics This recent infographic by awareness takes a dive into social analytics.  In an era where virtually every brand is online, it is essential that action is being taken off of the data we are collecting from social networks.
Holistic Optimization Across the Sales Cycle: Optimize Speaking Events May & June
When you have a business that relies on attracting new business online the sheer volume of options can be confusing. Should offline advertising efforts transfer to online? Maybe email marketing? What about SEO or the hot topic, social media? So
What Are the Most Important Social Networks for Business?
If you’ve been involved with marketing on the web for 10 years or more, could you have imagined what the web looks like today back in 2002? Considering the changes over the past year between Google, Facebook, Pinterest and Mobile,
It’s Like Deja Vu All Over Again: 4 Tips for Improving Marketing for Small Business
At some time or another we have all experienced that eerie sense of familiarity where we’ve “been there” or “done that” before.  Whether it is an actual memory or simply a “brain fart”, deja vu is an interesting experience. Let’s
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iconSearch Engine Journal

A Keen Mind in Sheep’s Clothing
Zuckerberg moves almost as fast as you can say “hoodie.”  While we were feasting our eyes on the media’s fascination regarding Mark’s choice in clothing, Facebook donned itself in two more acquisitions.  I say ‘more,’ in reference to the few-week
‘Relevancy is King’ Says Google VP at SMX London
In his opening keynote at SMX London, Amit Singhal, VP and Google Fellow, who rewrote the original Google algorithm upon his hire in 2000, said today that “Relevancy is King”. He added that Google looks at a combination of three
Facebook Update: Higher Target IPO Price Resulting in Stakeholder Liquidation
On Tuesday, the world’s largest social network raised the target IPO price range to $34 to $38. If Facebook shares sell at the upper limit ($38), the social network will raise about $12.8 billion and its market value will be
Why Did GM Drop Facebook Advertising?
I am sure you heard yesterday that GM stopped investing in ad space on Facebook. New research on Facebook advertising performance from WordStream may offer a few clues as to why General Motors discontinued advertising on the massive social network. 
5 Local Resources to Boost Your Local Rankings
Local search engine optimization (SEO) is a specialized form of SEO focused on optimizing businesses and their websites for optimal visibility in local search engines. Local search takes into consideration not only the keyword the searcher entered, but also the
Most Popular SEJ Articles for April 2012
April was a big traffic month for us and that means we had some fantastic and informative articles you should read. Below are the top 10 articles based on traffic numbers. Happy reading! 1). 24 Eye-Popping SEO Statistics  by Eric
Advertising on SEJ Made Easy with BuyAds.com & iSocket
Interested in advertising your company or SEO tool on Search Engine Journal? Thanks to our new partner BuyAds.com, you can now avoid contacting me altogether ;) We now offer direct advertising on SEJ via BuyAds.com’s self-service ad platform, which is
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iconGraywolf's SEO Blog

Shoeboxed.com Review – Receipt Scanning & Business Card Scanning Software
The following is a review of Shoeboxed.com, a receipt scanning and business card scanning service. To be honest keeping receipts, accounting, or any book keeping work is pretty much something I hate. I can’t tell you how many times I’d
Why Offline Stores and Small Businesses Need to Embrace Online Shopping and Build Better Websites
I recently wrote a story How Brick and Mortar Stores Can Use eCommerce to Drive Sales about tips that eCommerce stores can use to drive traffic to their brick and mortar locations. However, what really needs to happen is offline
Does Your Small Business Need a Facebook and Twitter Social Media Account
It’s 2012 and social media and social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook are constantly mentioned on mainstream media, news and entertainment websites, and broadcast programs. Print ads for everything from movies to toothpaste have those ubiquitous little Facebook and
Why Website Owners Should Be Using Pinterest
A lot has been said and written about Pinterest in the past few weeks and months, from how marketers can use use it to drive traffic to how affiliate spammers are using it to generate income. However, I’m going to
Why You Need Different Templates for Your Website
Recently I’ve been talking with some friends who don’t fit into the traditional SEO, publisher, or writer-with-delusional-dreams-of-becoming-a-famous-blogging-rock-star categories. They want to build and run websites in their spare time about subjects they are interested in. But they don’t want them
Why You Need Different Types of Web Pages
Received exception: HTTP-Error: 301 Moved Permanently RuntimeError: HTTP-Error: 301 Moved Permanently At line 549 in ‘client.rb’ (inside method ‘do_rpc’) At line 420 in ‘client.rb’ (inside method ‘call2’) At line 410 in ‘client.rb’ (inside method ‘call’) At line 34 in ‘metaweblog.rb’
SEO Secrets, Tips & Tricks – Why it’s Not Worth Your Your Time
Whenever I go to conference, or at least a dozen times a week by email, I get asked what are some “SEO secrets” or hey what keywords do you rank for, and can you show me some of your websites.
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All credits go to the authors of these sites. Without their hard work Original Signal would not exist. Last updated on May 17th 2012 05:25 | Contact