SEO - Search Engine Optimization

Google has been testing some algorithm updates recently and last week has decided to put them into effect. The Google Page Layout Update, as it is now known, takes into account the content that is "above the fold" on a webpage and will reduce the quality and authority of pages that do not provide quality content above the fold (namely excessive ads at the top of the page).

Google's "Distinguished Engineer", Matt Cutts wrote:

We understand that placing ads above-the-fold is quite common for many websites; these ads often perform well and help publishers monetize online content. This algorithmic change does not affect sites who place ads above-the-fold to a normal degree, but affects sites that go much further to load the top of the page with ads to an excessive degree or that make it hard to find the actual original content on the page. This new algorithmic improvement tends to impact sites where there is only a small amount of visible content above-the-fold or relevant content is persistently pushed down by large blocks of ads.

Social Media may be the hot topic of the day (or the last several years actually), but when it comes to finding useful information, the majority of consumers still rely heavily on search (and other specialty niche websites). A recent article over at searchengineland.com indicates that Search Trumps Social For Local Business Information.

Research from the Pew Internet & American Life Foundation found that during a survey in early 2011, a majority of people (51%) looking for information about bars, restaurants and clubs, use the internet for their research. The types of internet technology they use are as follows:

• search engines – 38 percent
• specialty websites – 17 percent
• social media – 3 percent

As for other types of local business, just under a majority (47%) use the internet. Of those:

Well, check out the video below and see for yourself....

I guess the short answer is, as long as you follow Google's guidelines than SEO is not considered spam.

It is going to be up to each individual website and their SEO team to determine the right blend of onsite optimization, content creation and link building that will work for them, without upsetting the mighty "G".

Interesting how, in the video above, Matt Cutts is once again pushing site speed as a ranking factor. "One of many ranking factors" as is always stated. I just find it funny how that particular ranking factor (site speed) always seems to be mentioned....

Looking for a quick, very basic tutorial of what Search Engine Optimization actually is?

The folks at SearchEngineLand.com along with Common Craft have put together a fine little presentation about "What is SEO". If SEO has piqued your interest for you business (and it really should) but you don't quite understand it just yet, take 3 minutes of your day and watch the video below. It is well worth the effort.

We are big fans of RavenTools.com and love the tool set they provide.
They have a great online suite of applications that make organizing and managing SEO campaigns a breeze, especially multiple campaigns. Not to mention the tool set is agency friendly with full user and permission control.

Raven Tools Firefox tool bar has become a "must-have" component in our browser (I am still waiting for the Chrome version...).
The raventools toolbar makes it very easy to interact with your web properties and perform many of the more tedious SEO tasks (such as tracking links in your link building campaigns) or quickly accessing differnt personas for your different websites.

However with the recent new updates to Firefox (versions 4, 5 & 6 coming out very recently) and the fact that I have to maintain a browser across at least 4 different computers (My main office PC, conference room PC, Laptop & home PC) I have had to do many updates recently. And each time I update, I would always do a google search for the raventools toolbar or raven toolbar for firefox or maybe even raventools firefox toolbar. However, my search never turns up relevant results.
I eventually found the answer I needed in the raventools knowledge base:

Firefox Toolbar

2nd Annual Regional Small Business Conference & Bootcamp

Don't miss out this Thursday, May 19, 2011 at the Anne Kolb Nature Center in Hollywood Florida.
From 8:00am - 2:30pm.

Registration is FREE

The Cities of Hollywood, Dania Beach, Miramar, Hallandale Beach and Pembroke Pines along with Broward County's Office of Economic and Small Business Development, South Florida Regional Planning Council, Greater Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, Greater Dania Beach Chamber of Commerce, Regions Bank and Liberia Economic and Social Development, Inc., have partnered to host the Second Annual Regional Small Business Conference and Bootcamp on May 19, 2011.

The event is FREE and seating is limited. To register, contact the City of Hollywood Office of Business & International Trade, 954.921.3388

A recent Small Business Search Marketing Survey by American Express OPEN and Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO) shows that more small businesses are using Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, etc...) to attract new business than Mass Email Marketing, Organic SEO and Pay-Per-Click Advertising.

Google is getting into the social game again. Why should Mario (and Facebook) have all the fun. Hopefully the big G will play it right this time it won't be a sleeper like Google Buzz. 

Google's social strategy seems to be looking much more like Facebook's social strategy. Facebook launched its Open Graph and social plugins (including the Like Button) around this same time last year. They made a big impact in the social and SEO world with the potential for a major game changer. Google seems to be following and trying to duplicate what Facebook has started. 

The video below explains the new concept of Google +1. It's about putting a little +1 button in search results, paid ads and basically all over the web. 

What happens when your website gets caught up in a new Google algorithm update and all of the sudden your coveted top Search Engine Ranking Positions (SERP's) disappear?

Apparently you complain as loud as you can to any and all media sources. (since complaining to Google apparently falls on deaf ears) And then you build lots of traffic and links from those sources to replace your lost search engine traffic.

I just finished reading my second article today (this time on wired.com) about how Cult of Mac has been inadvertently punished by the recent Google algorithm update. 

If Adwords has not worked for you, don't fret, you are not alone. Apparently not even Google can promote enough business through Adwords to salvage certain projects.

Google announced today that they will no longer be supporting real estate listings on their Google maps. Google states the reasons for this are:

In part due to low usage, the proliferation of excellent property-search tools on real estate websites, and the infrastructure challenge posed by the impending retirement of the Google Base API (used by listing providers to submit listings), we’ve decided to discontinue the real estate feature within Google Maps on February 10, 2011.

They are excited about the way their services have been used but feel that the industry overall can be better served with a different feature set.