Google Update Targets Web Spam Not SEO
Google has just announced that their latest algorithm update will target people who spam search results, or deliberately violate their guidelines to improve their rankings.
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Track Google Account Activity
This week Google released a new functionality that allows users to get a monthly report of their internet activity.
Google Checking Up On Places Pages
According to some recent reports, Google has been manually verifying their places pages via phone.
Google Discontinues Products
There are always a few different Google products kicking around, of varying levels of use and popularity. Every now and then, Google cleans house, and they’re announcing it again right now.
Verbatim Results From Google
After numerous complaints about the removal of the “+” search operator from Google, the search engine has responded by giving the option for verbatim searches.
Google Places Category Tool
With local search results continuing to be prominent (if not dominant) in search engine results, it’s important to make sure that your business has a Google Places listing. This means your business can appear on Google Maps, and has a chance of coming up as a local search result in searches on Google.
Google To Track Content Authors
Google announced yesterday that it has started to index content based not only on the website that published it, but also on the author who originated it. Using the rel=“author” attribute, Google will be able to match writers and their work.
Google +1
At the end of last month, Google very quietly launched what it calls a new layer of social networking tied to the world famous search engine. The Google +1 Button is modeled on Facebooks even more famous “like” button, and is supposed to give personal recommendations for search results.
Even Google Makes Mistakes
Technically, we all know that Google makes mistakes sometimes. It’s pretty much an extremely complicated piece of software, that they make changes to every day. (In the last year, Google made over 550 changes to their search algorithm.) So it’s not surprising that it breaks sometimes. In fact, we should be impressed that it works so well.
Google Instant Preview
In a move which some claim is an attempt to catch up with Microsoft’s Bing search engine, Google has just rolled out testing on their new feature, Google Instant Preview.
Google Place Search
Yesterday Google announced their latest feature, the Google Place Search. Place Search allows Google users to easily find information about local businesses, by clustering search results around a specific area.
Google Instant Launches
In its never ending quest for the most intuitive search technology possible, Google has just released the latest tweak to its user interface: Google Instant. According to Google, it’s a new search enhancement, that lets you see results (for what Google thinks you’re searching for) as you type.
Tools for Online Success
Google, in conjunction with the US Small Business Administration, has launched a new site aimed at providing small business owners with the tools and advice they need to help them succeed online.
Google Tweaks Search Pages
If you’re a regular Google user, you might have been served up a different version of the Google search page recently. Google has been tweaking its user interface, to make it easier for people to find the information they’re looking for, and testing it with random appearances.
Google Docs
For some time now, Google has offered a set of document related applications built into their user accounts. Google Docs allows you to create, store and share your documents online, which means they’re accessible any time, from anywhere.
New Google Keyword Tool In Beta
Google has just released a new version of its popular (and useful) keyword tool. The new tool for keyword research is still in it’s beta version, and provides an updated interface, as well as additional keyword data.
Google Caffeine Becomes Official
According to a recent blog post by Google spokesperson Matt Cutts, the much discussed and recently tested new search algorithm Google Caffeine will soon be implemented worldwide.
Google PageRank Not So Important
A recent move by search engine giant Google has left search engine optimisers either shaking their heads, or feeling vindicated. An article appeared on WebProNews earlier this week, backed up by a post on Google Webmaster Central from Webmaster Trends Analyst Susan Moskwa, pointing out that Google has removed their PageRank distribution feature from their webmaster tools.
Google Local Business Directory
Now that Google Maps has officially launched in South Africa, with all the functionality that’s associated with it, it’s become possible to add your business to Google Maps with the Google Local Business Centre.
The Final Word On Meta Keywords
For years we’ve been telling people that the meta keywords tag that appears on almost every website has no impact at all on your search engine ranking. And yet we keep getting, hearing, and seeing queries about this most misunderstood of all meta tags.
Google Launches Display Ads
Google announced on it’s official blog at the end of last week that it was rolling out the end product of it’s incorporation with DoubleClick, an acquisition that Google made 18 months ago.
Fast-Flip Testing By Google
Responding to an increasingly media rich online environment, Google has launched a new experimental service that they call Fast Flip.
Google Search Box Gets Bigger
In the past, search engine giant Google has been very careful about not tampering with the look of their clean, simple and functional search page. Last week though, in a move that had many rubbing their eyes and fiddling with the text size options on their browser, Google changed something.
Register Your Trademark With Google
With recent questions regarding cyber-squatting and the protection of domain names, we’ve queried Google itself about the importance of trademarks when it comes to online marketing.
Google Trends & Search Research Tools
Google Trends is a public web tool released by Google, that provides a graphic representation of how frequently any given term is searched for, according to date, region and language.
Is Bing Better Than Google?
The relatively recent launch of Microsoft’s new search engine Bing has also launched a new online debate. Which search engine is better?
Google Caffeine Comparison Tool
Following on from our last article, in which we discussed the new Google Caffeine algorithm that’s in development, here’s a handy little tool that lets you compare the results of the existing Google search infrastructure with results using the proposed new Google “caffeine” algorithm.
Testing Google Caffeine
Although not yet confirmed, it appears that the Caffeine index will provide a new search infrastructure, effectively replacing the existing methods that Google uses.
Quick Guide To Google Applications
Google makes a wide variety of different applications available to their users, most of them freely. As well as being free, many of them are fun, engaging, useful, or all three. For your convenience, here’s a list of Google application, as well as links to them.
Search Engine Optimisation Is Google Optimisation
Although the industry is called search engine optimisation (SEO), the truth of the matter is that most websites, especially in South Africa, want and need to optimise for Google.
Basic Google Search Tips
Its amazing. Google is a tool we all use constantly, (I myself use it innumerable times a day), yet the true potential of its search capabilities remains untapped by most.
