SEO News » Search Engine Roundtable » August 31, 2010

Feeds

5033 items (4508 unread) in 3 feeds

Google (305 unread)

• Official Google Webmaster Central Blog (305 unread)

SEO (4203 unread)

• Emily Chang (334 unread)
• Search Engine Roundtable (3869 unread)

Search Engine Roundtable (4 unread)

• 

  Daily Search Forum Recap: August 31, 2010

  Posted: August 31st, 2010, 11:00pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Forum Recap  

  Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.

  
  

• 

  SEO Is Deeper Than What You Read

  Posted: August 31st, 2010, 3:54pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Engine Optimization  

  There is an outstanding thread by Tedster, Ted Ulle, at WebmasterWorld. The topic is on too many newbie SEOs taking the SEO advice given on forums, blogs, news sites and here at face value. He is concerned that a new SEO will read something and not understand the true meaning of what is really being said.

  Let me quote a piece of his concern:

  Recent years have seen a flood of interest in SEO. Unfortunately, a lot of recent entries into SEO have no sense of perspective and no idea of how to evaluate advice that they read or hear. And still they write blog articles ;( There's a lot of regurgitated second and third hand learning being spread today - and it's even being sold to clients.

  SEO began in the 90s, back before the acronym itself was even created. Most of the pioneers were early affiliate marketers who personally reverse-engineered the search engine algorithms of the day. What they learned was privately shared, until it stopped working so well. At that point, the tidbits began to bleed into the wider pool of knowledge.

  Why do I bring up this old time stuff? The same pattern still holds. And taking anyone's SEO advice at face value is a dangerous practice. Anyone who is not doing their own testing and measurement is at a disadvantage. They may be buying into advice that's outdated by many years - and some of it may even come from back in the 90s!

  Truth be told, I am a culprit of spreading information that is not explained in detail each time I write it. Personally, I don't have patience, I don't have patience listening or reading something that needs to be explained in detail. I tend to get things quickly, at least I think I do, so listening to someone go on and on to make sure everyone is on the same page - well, it drives me nuts. So since that is my personality, I often don't have the patience to explain things that I already know. It isn't the best characteristic of myself, but we all have flaws, and this is one of mine.

  Those who read this site every day, know this flaw in my writing and know how to read beyond what I write. If I make a comment that most people would likely break out into more detail and I don't, my reader knows why. I try my best to write concisely and get to the point without repeating myself, unlike what I am doing here. But sometimes without reviewing stuff and explaining it in detail, some new people to the industry that read my stuff won't get it fully and take it at face value.

  I would say 50% of my posts, specifically when I offer SEO specific advice, don't go into enough detail for new SEOs to fully understand what to practice. That is a fault I have and you need to know that.

  I have a recent example and I hope this person doesn't get upset with me using him as an example, but the content is out there in the public and thus complies with my blogging code of ethics.

  Here is the tweets sent to me a few days ago:

  .bbpBox22284877437 {background:url(http://a3.twimg.com/profile_background_images/126469275/2010-07-25_07-41-35_94.219.20.215.jpg) #333300;padding:20px;} p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px} p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}

  @rustybrick Hi, I got a questions, how does SocialMedia impact on Google-Ranking? Is there any impact?less than a minute ago via Twitter for iPhoneOguzhan Kalkan
  KalkanOguzhan

  .bbpBox22285580295 {background:url(http://a3.twimg.com/profile_background_images/126469275/2010-07-25_07-41-35_94.219.20.215.jpg) #333300;padding:20px;} p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px} p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}

  @rustybrick not the same power like a Link, am I right?! just like that the bot recognisize that the site is popular for some relevant KeyW?less than a minute ago via Twitter for iPhoneOguzhan Kalkan
  KalkanOguzhan

  Most experienced SEOs know that social media typically doesn't have a direct impact on your link building. It typically does not directly impact your Google rankings. What it does do it get people to become aware of your web site and the awareness may drive more links and the more links may drive better rankings in Google. So if I ever say that social media helps your Google rankings, that is what I may mean. I may skip over the details as to why and understanding why is important.

  I am not the only SEO blogger who is guilty of taking this short cuts, so keep it in mind. And honestly, it is much worse in the forums. Then what you have is what Tedster described, new SEOs preaching half truths to other new SEOs and their clients and we got a problem. I apologize, but it is a bad habit I doubt will ever change. So please keep this in mind when reading what I write.

  Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

  
  

• 

  Google Adds Blog Filter To Help Find Blogs On Subjects

  Posted: August 31st, 2010, 3:41pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Google Search Engine  

  Google announced they added a new filter that helps you find "specialized blogs" on any topic you can imagine.

  Here is how it works. Go to Google, search for a topic, then click on the "blogs" filter on the left side (note: it might be hidden under a "more" link). Then when the page filters to blogs, click again on the left side, this time where it says "homepages." That filter will show the most important and relevant blogs on the search query you entered.

  Here is a screen shot:

  How is this useful? Well, for a searcher it is obvious, but what about an SEO? Finding blogs in a niche can sometimes be hard. Google has just made it so much easier. You can now find blogs in the aerospace engineering field or duck hunting field with ease. Form a relationship with those bloggers and garner links from them over time.

  Tedster said in a forum thread, "This is pretty handy. I've already found a few sources I didn't know existed in various verticals I watch."

  Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

  
  

• 

  Google Cost A Business $4 Million or Was It a Link Curator?

  Posted: August 31st, 2010, 3:28pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Spam  

  Inc.com posted a really great article with a very catchy title. The title is a bit misleading, it reads How Google Cost Me $4 Million. In short, it goes through a story of how a site was doing great on Google, until Google penalized them and they rankings tanked, costing them a fortune of money.

  The article ends very well:

  We didn't see the kind of ratings we had before the penalty until Google's Caffeine update, this June. That was our final pardon. Now we're back at the top.

  Without the Google penalty, we wouldn't be anywhere near as far along as we are. You have two choices: You can roll over and die, or you can grow beyond it.

  But I love how Googler's respond to the title. Let me quote some Tweets:

  .bbpBox22548554238 {background:url(http://s.twimg.com/a/1282866105/images/themes/theme10/bg.gif) #000000;padding:20px;} p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px} p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}

  I'm pretty sure I even know the specific SEO that caused [goo.gl] @gmtgiftbaskets are you going to name them? ;) #youveheardofthemless than a minute ago via webMatt Cutts
  mattcutts

  .bbpBox22554897762 {background:url(http://s.twimg.com/a/1282866105/images/themes/theme1/bg.png) #7668EB;padding:20px;} p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px} p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}

  This co. hired a Link Curator. Maybe link manipulators in the SEO trenches will reinvent themselves? [goo.gl]less than a minute ago via webBrian White
  brianwhite

  .bbpBox22547666024 {background:url(http://s.twimg.com/a/1282866105/images/themes/theme10/bg.gif) #000000;padding:20px;} p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px} p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}

  Reading [goo.gl] . Agree with the comment by JustinM @ [goo.gl] . Our guidelines are clear on this topic.less than a minute ago via webMatt Cutts
  mattcutts

  Clearly the company and Google know stuff we don't know. But in the end, this company received a nice amount of links and even asked Matt:

  .bbpBox22560907248 {background:url(http://a1.twimg.com/profile_background_images/76347860/GGB_Twitter_BGround.jpg) #C0DEED;padding:20px;} p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px} p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}

  @mattcutts But you could link to us out of the kindness of your heart ;)less than a minute ago via TweetDeckGourmet Gift Baskets
  gmtgiftbaskets

  I doubt you will see Matt link to them any time soon.

  So who cost this gift basket company $4 million? Was it Google, a link builder or themselves?

  Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.