Category: seo

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

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

Google last night revealed their biggest change to their famed search algorithm in 3 years. They tinker with the algorithm all the time, allowing them slight refinements to it so they can better provide you with the search results you’re looking for.

But this time they’ve added by far the largest update to their algorithm so far. This update will affect 90% of all search queries! That’s right, 90%! To put that in perspective, Google’s Penguin Update affected 2.3% of English queries and caused an uproar that is still lasting to this day.

I’m sure you must be aware of all the penguin recovery techniques that are going around. Even now, months after it’s been rolled out.

So what does Hummingbird actually entail then? Well the main purpose of this update is to better answer long tailed questions that are put to the search engine. So for instance, before the update, if I were to search for “How do I make sticky toffee pudding without raisins?”, because raisins aren’t everyones cup of tea. The previous algorithm would still have counted raisins as a search term as it is in the search string. To find recipes without raisins I’d have to enter the more complicated search “Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe -raisins”. Because when you add the minus sign before a word, Google will return all search results without that word in them.

This Hummingbird update is now set to change that, so that Google will be able to understand more long tailed question search terms. Previously the algorithm’s main prerogative was to search for short tail related keywords. Which is why my search for a good sticky toffee pudding recipe took so long.

Google has also took the time to update their voice search capabilities. They want communication with Google to be as if you were taking to your friend. So for instance if you were looking up information on Malta you could say “Tell me about the History of Malta” and Google would come up with results for historical data about Malta.

But then, you could say something along the lines of “What about it’s geography?”. Google would then present you with geographical knowledge about the country, without you having to repeat it’s name. Cool isn’t it?

I’m sure that the hummingbird update had a lot to do with how much Google is pushing into mobile search as well. As on a mobile, its easier to hit one button and talk rather than fiddle with the device’s small keyboard.

Finally, in a well thought out release, the Hummingbird update also coincides with Google’s 15th Birthday celebrations. So, as well as a cute little game on the Google home page, it also subtly implies how far Google has come in 15 years by releasing their most intelligent Google Algorithm to date. Smart Move Google.

High Score for the day: 155

Blog Post by: Greg McVey

Google is set to make SSL searches the default for all users of their search engine. They’ve previously stated that they would only encrypt anyone who used the https:// version of the site, or users who were signed into their Google Account (YouTube, Gmail, Adwords etc).

But now in a dramatic and sudden U-Turn, they’ve completely reneged on this and encrypted every search term being entered. Now there are two main theories going round the web here:

1. Google have acted on their users concerns of data sharing with the US’ PRISM program. So to draw users back to their site they have assured us that they’ll encrypt all searches so no one with the power to do so can see what we’re searching.

2. Advertising sales are down and, as you may know, Google still passes on keywords used to advertisers. So in withhold keyword data from analytics, it could push more people onto their adwords, thus driving up revenue.

I’m more inclined to think it’s a mixture of the two. But what do you think?

Blog Post by Greg McVey

So, the keyword tool has finally said it’s last hurrah and been replaced by the new Keyword planner. To start with, the keyword tool was quite an excellent tool designed for PPC Specialists, but used by SEOs nonetheless. Reason being, it was the closest thing anyone had to getting traffic estimates for certain phrases, especially when you consider that you had local and global monthly estimates.

You could also add broad match or exact match phrases to the same set of results, which would give a more in depth look at who was searching what, in what volume, and present the figures side by side. Anyone could use this tool too, even without having to sign into a Google account, you just had to fill in a captcha.

So here’s where the keyword planner differs straight away. First of all you DO need to sign up for a Google Account when using the Keyword Planner, drawing the ire of many a marketer. I’m sure they all have Google Accounts already, it’s just frustrating when you need information quickly and you have to fiddle about signing into things. Plus if you want to talk to a client and use the keyword planner, they’re not always going to have a Google account themselves so this could throw a spanner in the works.

Secondly, you have to view exact match and broad match keyword statistics on different pages. Which limits your ability to check keywords side by side for the difference in statistics between broad and exact.

Also, you now can’t filter results by “Closely Related”. This always provided more enhanced results when you were looking for phrases related specifically to one subject. A move that has been remedied straight away by Google, such was the force of the backlash. Google now say that they will be reinstating the “Closely Related” tool, at some point in the future.

It isn’t all doom and gloom though, as there have been some improvements to the old tool such as the fact that there are more geographic targeting tools. Allowing people planning Local SEO campaigns to break down targeted locations more specifically. You can also bundle together these new geographic targets to get even better results.

You can also upload more keywords of your own with with the limit being much higher than it used to be. You can now upload up to 10,000 keywords.

A nice new feature is that you get ad groups suggested to you. Sort of a quick fix for keywords relating to what you’re looking for. These groups come with an average cost per click and an average monthly traffic, indicators of what you can expect from this ad group. You also get to have a look at which keywords are in the group so you pick and choose the ones you want.

So although some features of the old keyword tool will be missed, you’ve got the keyword planner to look after you and although you might not love it yet, I’m sure you’ll come to.

Blog Post by: Greg McVey