Net66 SEO: The NoFollow Tag and Everything you Need to Know About it. [Infographic]

If you’re involved with SEO somehow, either as a technician or as a client, then you’ll have probably heard these two phrases get bandied about. NoFollow Lin and Follow Link. There is a difference in these links, the main one being that a follow link will allow link “juice” to flow through it. Whereas a nofollow link will not pass any juice on.

The reason that this is significant is that Google uses link juice to gauge how popular and how trusted it is. In the past it will have relied heavily on this but now, Google places much more emphasis on the quality of content and how your website can engage the user.

So, if you want to link to a website, but you don’t necessarily want to recommend it, you would use the NoFollow attribute. Below is a helpful infographic from Search Engine Land to help you know when (not) to use the nofollow attribute:

Blog Post by Greg McVey

Net66: Infographics and Their Benefits

Everyone loves an infographic. They’re fun, usually colourful and pretty damn useful. Here are the top six benefits to having one:

> They’re so much more attention grabbing than regular images. Usually entailing a large, colourful banner at the top with a big, bold heading, users are drawn in by this.

> Attention spans. They’re getting shorter in the wake of the content marketing revolution which has, hey, HEY, LOOK AT ME!! If you looked at this straight away you can see what I mean. People need information in short, sharp bursts and that’s exactly what infographics do. As this information is usually surrounded by bright colours, this helps us remember what we’ve read too.

> They’re more viral. They get everywhere. This is as much down to the fact that they usually have an embed code in them, as it is down to the shareability of them. Would you copy and paste text to someone you know might like it? No you’d hit the share button and share the whole blog. With infographics they come with their own share button to make this so much easier for you, as well as making it easier for it to go viral.

> They can also help with brand awareness. If your logo and website match a colour scheme, an infographic can use those same colours to raise the profile of your brand on the web.

So if you’re looking to create some powerful content on your website, use an inforgraphic and see how well it goes for you.

Blog Post by Greg McVey

Net66 SEO: 301 Redirects. To www. or to not www.

I know we’ve probably paraphrased Hamlet enough in our blog titles, but it will probably always happen. And it’s a nice quote. But alas, I digress. A recent Webmaster Forums user stated that he has webmaster accounts for his website’s www.domain.com and domain.com. That’s not unusual, in fact, it’s actually quite prudent.

The problem came when this user was hit by a link penalty courtesy of Penguin 2.1. So after extensive cleaning and finally rectifying what was a fault in their previous link campaigns, they had their link penalty removed.

But here’s the weird part. The only had their link penalty removed for the www.domain.com whilst the penalty for the domain.com website remained. This has left the user quite discontent as after all their hard work and successful removal of any bad links, they still won’t register on Google for www.domain.com (their domain). Bad Luck.

The reason they won’t show is because the penalised domain.com is still pointing at the www.domain.com so passing on the penalty.

Have you heard of anything like this happening before?

Creating the Social Media Pulse

So Google has made a load of changes recently, some of which were their biggest in the last 12 years!

Its been quite some 12 – 18 months, you could almost say that Google has completely revamped and the ball game has now changed when it comes to succeeding online.

But what do we make of this, is it now harder to rank on google, be seen and drive traffic to your website?

Well the answer is yes and no.

If you think your going to still be able to manipulate Google, by doing black hat or grey hat methods, then your going to be progressively disappointed. Google is smart, has been smart for the last 10 years, and is only ever going to get smarter, especially with the amount of resources it has at its disposal, so there’s only one way know to beat this Goliath and thats to play it at its own game.

What should you do to Make Google Happy?

Well before we answer that lets have a brief look into what the 3 main updates actually entail over the last year or two.

Panda

This one was all about content, if you had duplicate content on your website your gone!, if you had low quality poor content on your website your gone!

Penguin

This update focused mainly on the backlinks you had going to your website. This was were most people would try and pull the wool over the eyes of Google, and sure they may have succeeded for a while, but inevitably Google pounced back and their backlinking algorithm now is very different to what it was before.

Hummingbird

Now this is an interesting one, arguably the smallest update of the 3, but certainly one that has also reaped havoc in the world of online marketing and SEO.

So what is Hummingbird?

Well with the risk of over simplifying it, this update was all about the “user experience” if Google can be blamed for being obsessed with anything, then its definitely user experience.

In short,what is your user getting from your website when they visit it? What are you offering to them?

Do you provide quality content which is unique, do you offer a service; whether it be online or offline? Are you unique and original?

The Social Media Element

One of the good things about Hummingbird is that no matter how complicated and complex you may thing these updates are, it can be massively simplified, well.. to a degree.

What Google seems to have done now is take social media very much into consideration. You (the people) are the best algorithm that any computer or brain can come up with right now. If your on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus or Linked In and your accounts are going bananas, then who is google to argue?

Don’t get me wrong, ranking on google and getting traffic isn’t just about being on Facebook etc. but its a box that no business can now leave, not tick it and be forgotten about.

By being social, by updating your account, by having others comment and get involved with what your doing, this is a great measuring stick for Google to go off, and being part of a good solid rounded SEO package will stand you in good stead for better rankings, more traffic and more sales and leads, now which business doesn’t want that?

Net66 SEO: Bold or Strong? Which to use for SEO

Now this might seem a very picky question. But with SEO it’s the picky questions that can sometimes make a difference. You can be within Google’s Webmaster Guidelines by a hairline and something like this could tip you over that edge and start to harm your rankings.

Thankfully though, as both the tags are designed to simply make text bold, and it’s what the end user sees that counts with Google. There really is no difference either because strong text is strong and bold text is bold.

See Matt’s video below:

Net66 SEO: How to Make a Speedy Website

In SEO and in life, people are looking to go faster at every opportunity. It’s the same with websites. Look at how highly anticipated the 4G rollout was and you can understand people’s need for speed. If your website loads quicker then you’re less likely to frustrate your end user. This could keep quite a lot of traffic on your site. So see below for our tips on how to speed up your site.

Update Your Website. For example, if you’re using WordPress, new updates are constantly made to the platform and to plugins, themes etc. So if you’re still using and older version of a plugin or the framework, then not only will your website note be as quick as more recent websites, but it could also have security holes in it. Updating this will help speed up your site’s loading time as it improves on the basic framework your site had. Note: If you do decide to update anything. ALWAYS take a back up. You never know.

Limit Plugin Use. I know from experience that plugins range from the incredibly useful, to the just plain awesome category. But there is always the temptation to build and build your arsenal of plugins until your site starts to struggle. Too much of a good think don’t you know. So make sure you’re using only the plugins that are essential for your site to run. Deactivate the ones you aren’t using. But again, check with your developer before you de-activate any plugins as some might be imperative to the but might not seem it at first glance.

Optimise images. So it’s great that you’ve finally had your store/products/portfolio professionally photographed. But now you’ve received the files you’ll find that they’re nearly 5mb each. Using these images off the bat would be a bad idea. They’re large files and as such, will take a long time to load on your site. Make sure you crop/resize them before you add them to your website. Otherwise you’ll find yourself waiting and age before you get to see your shop/products/portfolio online in all its glory.

Blog Post by Greg McVey

Net66 SEO: What Can I do about Keywords 100% Not Provided

You may have heard the news doing the circuit on the SEO blogs that Google Analytics will no longer be providing keyword data. That is, of course, unless you’re willing to forego all your previous SEO work and switch to Paid Adverts a la Google Adwords. Failing that if you have a spare £90,000 per year lying around, you could easily afford Google Analytics Premium. Where “user privacy” – the reason Google are switching to (not provided) keywords – appears to be easily bought.

But we’re not here to gripe about who appears to be taking advantage of a monopoly position, we’re here to discuss what can be done to regain some useful data back from Google. See our top tips below:

Take Advantage of your Landing Pages

As we all know, one of the main keys in SEO is relevance. You want to optimise a specific page for each individual keyword. So now that you’ve done that, you’ll be able to look at which pages are the most relevant for each keyword. Through Google Analytics (It is still quite useful after all) if you navigate to Behaviour > Site Content > Landing Pages. This shows you a a list of your most popular landing pages and also just exactly how many hits you’re getting directly to them. Adding an advanced search to this will also help you narrow it down. If you add the secondary dimension as source and then search this for “Google”, it will show only the Google traffic to your landing pages.

Analysing the statistics from this section you’ll be able to discern which pages are performing better than others. For example our SEO services has more hits to it this month than our website design page. So from that it’s indicative we’re getting found more for SEO related keywords than web design keyword. Apply the same principle to your own clients’ analytics and you’ll be able to privide them with more accurate data.

Using Google Webmasters Tools

Google also offer a range of Webmasters Tools which help you produce a website worth of Google’s listings. In this set of tools you’ll find such things as the links Google have discovered to your site, which can prove an excellent link analysis tool. Especially when you consider that if you are ever to receive a link warning from them, they almost always refer to the links contained within webmaster.

But what we’re after here is the “keywords” section of Google Webmasters Tools. You can access it by clicking Search Engine > Search Queries. This will provide you with a list of your most popular queries and how many impressions you’ve made. You’ll also be able to see just how many clicks you’re getting from your impressions as well. This will give you some great data such as which pages appear for that search term the most as well as their average ranking positions in the search engines.

So although we might not be getting the best and most accurate data from Google Analytics anymore, there’s no need to panic massively as there’s still a lot you can do. Such as the above tips.

Blog Post by: Greg McVey

Net66 SEO: Guest Blogging in Moderation is the Best Way

Oscar Wilde once said “Everything in Moderation is the key, including moderation”. Matt Cutts is no Oscar Wilde but he has come out with his own views on what should be carried out in moderation this week, which is Guest Blogging.

The reason for this is that he was asked how Google can distinguish between genuine guest blogs and paid links. And he went on to explain pretty much how the distinctions are made. Firstly, if there is a spam review, then a member of the webspam team will take a look at it. And as they’re a human they’ll be able to judge it correctly.

Anchor Text. A good indicator of a paid link is keyword rich anchor text. It might seem obvious now but people are still paying for keyword rich anchor text, especially if it’s a dofollow. If you’re writing a genuine guest post then you aren’t doing it for the anchor text, you’re writing it as you’re an expert on the subject and have a genuine passion for it. Due to this you’re much more likely to make links contextual.

Relevance. Identifying a genuine guest blog post is also helped by how relevant the post is to the rest of the website. If you’re a website looking for a guest post, you’re likely looking for an expert relevant in your industry. If you’re simply paying to get a blog post on that site, then in theory you’re only looking for the links you’ll be adding to your post and won’t care much about relevance. Indicating paid links.

Authorship. As a content writer you take pride in your work and want to receive the kudos, well deserved of course, that your writing inspires. As such, you’ll be wanting to write a bit about yourself at the end of any guest posts you do. You’ll probably also include a Google+ link and a link to your personal blog. If you were doing this for the links, a jot would not be given as long as the submitted article contained keyword rich anchor text. Again, indicative of paid links over genuine guest post.

So if you’re approached to write a guest post, keep this tips in mind when you’re writing. Otherwise you might get on the wrong end of Googles paid link detector. You an see Matt Cutts answer in full on the webmaster video below:

Blog Post by Greg McVey

Net66 SEO: Content Marketing – Beginners Guide to Failure

There’s been so much content generated and shared on the web ever since the veritable Krakatoa of Content Marketing. Everyone was in a rush to produce much more content, very quickly. As a result, people concentrated more on the quantity of material that was going through their website as opposed to the quality.

In fact, a recent video resignation went viral with the worker in question being unhappy with her working conditions. Ironically this person worked creating viral videos and succeeded with their final contribution.

Before you get to that stage though, you need to avoid these common pitfalls:

> Not Being Yourself. Writing a blog is different to writing a piece of content for a web page. As a blog writer you get to humanise yourself so don’t be afraid to show your personality off a little. People identify with people. If you’re just a another faceless company interested in people’s coffers than people themselves, it’s only going to go one way. But people reading a personalised blog can catch a glimpse of the people who want their business and could sway a decision.

> Bandwaggoning. By all means take a look around the blogosphere before you start writing and look for that piece of content that can help get the ball rolling for your own place. But don’t just rewrite it with your own words. Give your own opinion on the subject. You do have your own opinion don’t you? Good. Just checking. So use it, you might come across a post where they say a certain type of link is a bad link, and you might disagree, so write that down. People value honesty and if you’re simply regurgitating material, your posts won’t be valued.

> Buzz Words. They still work to a degree, but mostly in house. Most people find themselves reacting adversely to buzz words as they can sometimes feel like sales words and no body likes being sold to. Limit them if you can and only use them when no other words will do.

These tips won’t make you a content marketing guru (buzzword) overnight. But they will definitely set you on your way.

Blog Post by Greg McVey

Semantic Search – How it works

Ok, so after Panda & Penguin, generally the SEO world thought it may be the last large update for a while, that was obviously not the right thought.

Hummingbird – What will change? – Is SEO Dead? 90% of searches affected, will many be penalised? Do we have to completely revolutionise our methods?

If you work in SEO you probably will have questioned one of the above, if not all & more at some point.

As with all Major updates, it is easy to be dramatic and think SEO is dead. This can be seen in many places and generally most seek a direct cure from the Google Webmaster Forums.

However, with the semantic search implemented by the new update, research suggests results will be of a much better quality. Meaning, as ever, the update is a good thing for anyone who uses or is involved with Google in whatever capacity.

So how does Semantic Search work:

Traditionally, this is what you could expect if you were to search Google:

With the introduction of Semantic search, this is what we now see:

question-question

So in actual fact, whereas initially it may seem counter intuitive to SEOs, it is actually all in the name of giving the users better quality results via Google.

As we all know:

Better Search Results =

Better Conversions =

Happy Customers =

So, as always, what seems like the end of the world initially is actually a great development for SEO and for businesses in general.

Hummingbird means that as search behaviour continues to evolve so do the search results, and evolve for the best might I add.

If you feel you have been affected by the Hummingbird Algorithm Update and the effects have been detrimental, then there are questions to be answered about what you have done in the past.

We are happy to report that after 10 years and many many updates our methods are as effective and successful as they ever have been so feel free to enquire with us.

Tags: #seo #googlealgorithm #seomanchester #net66

Blog Post by: Tom McVey

Net66 SEO: Google’s Matt Cutts – Geo-Location Redirection NOT Spam.

The reason why this has been brought up is that Google has isn’t the biggest fan of Doorway Pages or redirection pages. For example a page that ranks for hardwood flooring would, when clicked on, redirect your to a page on laminate flooring, or to a different website. All bad linking practices.

But Geo-location redirects aren’t spammy according to Google. So although Google Bot might read the US version of your website, you can still show users in different areas without worrying about Google punishing you.

The reason this is an issue is down to a black hat technique called cloaking. In which a redirect would show a Googlebot a nice content rich optimised page, and would show an actual user something completely different.

You can see the full video below:

Blog Post by: Greg McVey

Net66 SEO: Google PageRank not Getting Update this Year

PageRank. Long was it the staple diet of the internet, instantly giving you an idea of the site’s trustability. It was easy, the higher the PageRank, the more Google trusts the site and the more you should too. The lower the PageRank usually meant that Google didn’t trust this site as much, or that it was a new site.

But now it’s different. PageRank hasn’t been updated since February and now it looks like it’s not going to be updated again this year. See Matt Cutts video below:

You can see from this video that PageRank is only updated periodically so you might not get a PageRank straight away, or for a while. But it’s a tweet that Matt Cutts responded too that gave away just how little importance Google is placing in PageRank. See the Tweet below:

@NielsBoschh I would be surprised if that happened.

— Matt Cutts (@mattcutts) October 6, 2013

That’s going to mean no PageRank update for at least 10 months. Nearly a year of no updates. That’s quite a time, so it does look as if Google is starting to look at other factors for it’s main trust in a website, and letting PageRank fall into disrepair.

Blog Post by: Greg McVey

Net66 SEO: Google Release New Penguin 2.1 (Penguin 5) Update

On Friday Google confirmed, via their perennial knight of webspam Matt Cutts, that they have released a new version of their Penguin Update. This update runs in tandem with Google’s new algorithm, Hummingbird, with their other significant update, Panda, also being integrated into the algorithm.

Now there is something to be cleared up here with a lot of people referring to Penguin 5, whilst others refer to it as Penguin 2.1. The reason being is that Google have released 5 Penguin updates, however, the fourth update was deemed too different from the third. So, Google decided to name it Penguin 2.0 as it was a pretty revolutionary and new update that was a cut above the previous Penguins.

But now we have Penguin 2.1. So what does this entail? Well the official release didn’t really give two much away. It was confirmed by Matt on his Twitter page with the tweet reading that Google have released the update and that it will affect around 1% of search queries. See the Tweet below:

Penguin 2.1 launching today. Affects ~1% of searches to a noticeable degree. More info on Penguin: http://t.co/4YSh4sfZQj

— Matt Cutts (@mattcutts) October 4, 2013

The thing to notice here is the text “to a noticeable degree”. With Hummingbirds release it affected around 90% of searches on Google. But with that, the SEO industry only noted a slight change here or there and there were no mass scale fallouts of rankings for people. But this time, with the 1% being to a noticeable degree, that’s more likely to mean that there will be a higher degree of page one listings changing. Much more likely to draw attention from the SEO industry.

Penguin 2.1 does seem to have hit a lot of sites that have so far seemed to escape punishment by Google. After all, that’s the point of Penguin 2.1, to root out websites that are manipulating the search algorithm, specifically though bad link building practices.

It seems to have taken hold already with a lot of fluctuations in traffic and rankings being noted throughout the SEO industry, especially on the Webmaster World forums. Have you noticed any ups or downs in your traffic or rankings?

Blog Post by: Greg McVey

Net66 Google: Google Now Integrated with Knowledge Graph

There have been a lot of big updates form Google recently. Not least of which is the completely new algorithm they’ve introduced called Hummingbird. This Algorithm pays closer attention to sentences as a whole rather than noting which keywords are used and bringing up relevant results for them. This helps Google answer questions better when asked.

Another big update is the integration of two of Google’s most advanced search features. Their personalised search service Google Now and the Knowledge Graph. Personally I love Google Now, it practically second guesses me. I pull out my phone wondering when my next meeting is, and it’s first on the display of “Cards”.

But now Google are making this and even bigger feature as you can get Updates from people who have the Knowledge Graph Card. I.e. when you search for someone on Google and it brings up a little bio on the right hand side of the page, that’s the knowledge graph guessing at what you want and bringing up a snapshot of the information you’re after.

But if you’re running a search on a device with Google Now on it, then you get something extra. You get a little “Keep Me Updated” box that you can tick. So say you’re looking up Matt Cutts on a device that you have Google Now on, then you can tick a box to make sure next time he updates his blog, you’re notified. Perfect for the SEO on the go. See the below image:

So, do you use Google Now? Who have you signed up with?

Blog Post by: Greg McVey

Image Courtesy of Search Engine Roundtable

Net66: Google Now Providing Web Design Tools

This week Google have launched their own HTML5 website design tool. Although in Beta at the moment, it already looks like a pretty handy tool. You can download it here. It seems the reason Google are now releasing this tool is down to the fact that, although a wonderful language, HTML5 has yet to be adopted and used in everyday web design.

One of the reasons for this is that you have to design three websites in effect. One for computers, one for tablets, and one for phones. The web design tool released by Google looks to tackle this problem head on with it’s easy and simple to use interface. Check out the demo below:

Blog Post by: Greg McVey