Category: Google

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Penguin 2.0 Were You Affected

Last month Google rolled out a pretty big update to its Penguin anti-spam algorithm update, but this is the last time you’ll see Penguin with a number.

Google named its now infamous update Penguin.
Google named its now infamous update Penguin.

First, Google has stated that it will no longer roll out separate Penguin and Panda updates, it will simply rollout out improvements MONTHLY with their regular updates. That means that although you won’t hear when an update is coming anymore, Google considers these important relevancy factors and has included them in their regular tweaks. This also means that the big shakedown is over. We’ll be seeing tweaks not smackdowns.

So, how did your site fair? The bad news is that if your site took a drop, the chance to remediate from the drop is pretty slim. Others in my industry have stated figures like under 2% of all sites affected will be able to recover from the drop in placement from Panda and Penguin updates.

So, what have been the benefits of all these changes? Well, Google feels that relevancy has improved, others report that they are seeing more localized results, and I am seeing more worried website owners being forced into Google AdWords promotion in order to get site exposure.

Take a moment to share your thoughts in the comments below on how your site has been impacted by these important algorithm changes by Google. For more information here’s a great article to read for more insight.

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Ready to Connect on Google+ Here’s How

I consider activity on Google+ important for business owners. The real SEO and search benefits are however not achieved by updating your Google+ Business page, but rather your Google+ personal page.

So, how can you connect with others to start building your Google+ empire and improved rankings for your company website in the organic listings?

  1. Start by making sure the content you write is on target, on topic, and engaging.
  2. I use my Google+ page for business and not personal use. Consider doing the same for now.
  3. Work to actively add users to circles and respond when someone adds you to one of their circles.
  4. Click +1 and leave comments on posts you find interesting. You’ve simply got to spend some time.
  5. Consider starting a hangout. Well I am still thinking about that one, but have participated in several others and they can be fun. I have just not initiated one.

I personally find that for placement Google+ will be very important. As Google does not allow any automated or scheduled updates to be passed to your Google+ page, you will find the community of business people,legitimate, real and engaging.

Personally, I use Facebook for personal interaction on my locked down private page and Google+ as my face on social networks for business.

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Guest Blogging for Links

What does Google (Matt Cutts) think about guest blogging and the links that are generated from doing it? This excellent video answers the question. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=IMxC3wQZOyc

This is the bottom line. If you did not sweat in creating the guest blog post Google will typically not give you link juice for it. That’s the hard cold fact. Write a light weight blog post of about 250 words, post it on a variety of sites, and maybe even use article spinning software in an effort to create unique content for each site and you really will not be getting link benefits.

Create a well written, informative, insightful blog post for a site that supports your industry and yes Google does like this approach. It’s all about the time you take and the insight you provide. Do not do guest blogging just for links with minimal effort on your part Matt and Google pretty much say in this video that it is wasted effort.

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Using QR Codes For Your Business

Now that you has seen QR Codes or Quick Response Codes on other sites how can you use them too? Here are a few of my suggestions.

Add a QR Code to Your Print Brochures
Add a QR Code to your print brochure, you can send your user to your home page or better yet send them to a custom created landing page that has a special offer to allow you to actually measure the results of your exposure from a trade show, speaking engagement, direct mailing.

Offer Special Coupon Codes and Promotions
Want to track mobile Web users? As most desktop users are not using QR Code scanners, you can encode special offers as a text snippet and even embed a special coupon code in a QR Code that can then be used immediately by smartphone users.

Encourage Google HotPot, FourSquare, and Google Places Reviews
By embedding your QR Code on your menu or guest check, restaurants can encourage visitors to interact immediately with location specific places to share their favorite spots with others and encourage visitors to even leave service reviews.

Print a QR Code on the back of your business card
With the ability to embed a vCard in your QR Code, you can make it easy for smartphone users to add your contact information to their phone and if they are syncing to Outlook will appear there too.

How do you think you will use a QR Code? Just click comments and let me know your suggestion too.