SEO

As I reported last night at Search Engine Land, Penguin 2.0 / 4 is now live - this is the next generation Penguin update. As Google's Matt Cutts added, this impacts 2.3% of English queries and also impacts other languages but the percentage depends on the level of spam in those languages...

A Google Web Search Help thread had a solo post from a user upset to see a nude topless image show up in the knowledge graph box for a search for [kierston wareing]...

As I reported yesterday at Search Engine Land, the site command may be a bit buggy for you right now and may not be resolved for about a week. In short...

As you may have heard, #ifihadglass winners are now being notified slowly that they can schedule a time to pick up Google Glass in NY or California. Google announced on Google+, "Over the next few weeks...

It's been less than 24 hours since Google Penguin 2.0 went live, but there are already several reports of big changes. There are also many reports that, despite Penguin, Google is still ranking spam sites. You can now report this directly to Google.

by Jayson DeMers Penguin 2.0 has just rolled out. Brace for impact. For the approximate 2.3% regular US-English queries that it affects, many SEOs have been waiting to see if the traffic to their website will be negatively affected. While many black-hat practitioners that were affected by Penguin 1.0 can only hope their rankings don't plunge further into the depths of obscurity, the rest of us are crossing our fingers and hoping that we made it through relatively unscathed. However, if your website was affected by Penguin 2.0, there are a few things you can do to ensure that your website gets back on the straight and narrow. And remember: the majority of positive comebacks after Google algorithm updates are from websites genuinely wanting to provide the best possible website for users instead of those just looking to skirt by until the next Google Zoo animal is released. If you were affected by Penguin 2.0, read on. I've done my best to guess what Google has changed, based on information from Matt Cutts prior to the launch of Penguin 2.0, as well as what Google aimed to solve with Penguin 1.0. As the SEO community performs tests and learns more information about specifics of Penguin 2.0, the collective knowledge of the update may change. For now, if you've been hit and are looking for likely answers, here's what you need to do to recover your rankings. 1. Learn From Your Mistakes The previous Google algorithm updates have already told us what Google is looking for-- great content, natural link profiles (both inbound and outbound), and an organic, natural link velocity that steadily increases month by month. If you were penalized by previous Panda or Penguin updates, then it's time to make the changes necessary to get back into Google's good graces. If Panda and Penguin 1.0 were slaps on the hand, then consider 2.0 the wake-up you need to get your website completely back on track. The next updates will be even more intuitive and stringent, so making those big content-focused changes now can prevent even further lost traffic in the future. 2. Stop Shady Practices A crucial step toward recovering from Penguin 2.0 is to stop all "shady" practices as determined by Google. This includes unnatural link building, and spammy or keyword-stuffed onsite content. Besides looking for these types of black hat practices, Google is getting better at recognizing when sites are trying to be deceitful, especially when it comes to focusing on typically-spammy search queries, catching sites that are participating in link swapping schemes, and content that contains keyword stuffing or unnatural links. The easiest step toward recovering from Penguin 2.0 is to stop these sorts of practices all together. 3. Pick up The Pieces The bridge between destruction and normalcy is the recovery phrase, which may take weeks or months, depending on the website and level of black hat SEO practices that Google believed they were involved in.If you believe that your website was penalized because of shady link building practices (which is likely if you were hit by Penguin 2.0), you'll need to identify what links could be causing you harm, and then attempt to have them removed. Any links you fail to get removed, be sure to disavow. To identify what links could be causing you harm, use a tool like Open Site Explorer or Majestic SEO. Alternatively, have a professional perform a link profile audit to identify harmful links for you. Here's a step-by-step walkthrough I wrote that describes how to audit your own link profile. You can disavow links through Google Webmaster Tools. This tool should be used with caution and only after personally reaching out to these websites to get the links removed. I recommend disavowing all harmful links (even ones that have been successfully removed); it can't hurt. Besides attempting to clean up your external link profile, you should al

The comScore Video Metrix service has just released data that shows 181.9 million Americans watched 38.8 billion online content videos in April 2013, while the number of video ad views reached an all-time high of 13.2 billion.

Revision3 and Discovery are launching a new digital network called TestTube. It has all the types of shows you'd expect from the geeky/nerdy set that help us learn more about our world and maybe even laugh in the process.

While Google in the U.S. is celebrating today with one of its Doodle 4 Google competition winners, Canadian Google users are instead seeing a Google Doodle celebrating the 140th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Content marketing isn't the "new SEO" – or even new. Have you been drinking the Kool-Aid and not spending enough time on your search optimization? Here are 12 things you should check with the arrival of Google Penguin 2.0 and more changes coming.