German publishers of multiple news sites have asked Google to start displaying snippets and thumbnails once again, 3 weeks after Google removed them from Google News. In a highly publicized case, 200+ German news publishers were fighting Google in court over the use of snippets and thumbnails in Google News, and Google made the decision […]
Receive Lots of DMCAs? Expect to Rank Lower in Google
Google has added some new online piracy tools and features, but one in particular has the possibility to affect webmasters, particularly those who are on the receiving end of DMCAs filed with Google. In August 2012 we first announced that we would downrank sites for which we received a large number of valid DMCA notices. […]
Google Wants to Visit Online Marketing Teams in Their Offices
Google wants to learn more about how companies use Google Webmaster Tools as well as how they manage content and infrastructure, and they are willing to come to you to do it. Gary Illyes, a Google Webmaster Trends Analyst, has posted on Google+ looking for companies willing to have Google visit them as they go […]
Penguin 3.0: Is it an Update or Merely a Refresh? Google’s Response
When Penguin began rolling out Friday night, we all assumed this was the long awaited Penguin update. After all, with over a year to work on it, many assumed it was a new groundbreaking Penguin that would leave the old one in the dust in terms of spam fighting. So while a year is a […]
Penguin 3.0 Affects Less than 1% of Queries, Will Rollout for Weeks
Google has publicly posted the first comments about the Penguin update. Pierre Far shared the following on Google+: On Friday last week, we started rolling out a Penguin refresh affecting fewer than 1% of queries in US English search results. This refresh helps sites that have already cleaned up the webspam signals discovered in the […]
Penguin 3.0 Finally Updates – Google Hits Homepages, Affiliates & 301 Redirect Spam
After waiting more than a year, the Penguin 3.0 update has finally rolled out. Google has emailed me to confirm that Penguin did roll out on Friday, at the same time forums and Twitter began to light up about a possible Penguin update rolling out, but said they might not release any further details or […]
Google AdWords CTR Up 18% From Last Year; Financial Industry Up 39%
Anyone who advertises with Google knows that it seems that CPC is up in many markets. But did you know that ad CTR rates are also up? Adobe Digital Index released their Global Digital Advertising Report for Q3 2014 and found that CTR is up by 18% YoY. They also discovered that CTR growth is […]
Differences Between XML Sitemaps and RSS/Atom Feeds & Why You Should Use Both
The Google Webmaster Central Blog has posted tips to help webmasters navigate the differences between XML sitemaps and RSS/Atom feeds, as well as when to use either – or both. It is important for webmasters to submit sitemaps, particularly for sites that are very large or updated very frequently. But while many webmasters submit either […]
Why Facebook Edging Out YouTube for Video Views Isn’t That Impressive
For the first time, Facebook edges out YouTube for video views according to the August comScore data just released. While on the surface, Facebook having more video views than YouTube sounds very impressive, the reality is a lot less so. The numbers take into account videos viewed on Facebook that autoplayed, something users have been […]
Are Your PPC Campaign Results Better Than They Look? Or Worse?
At this time of year, the pressure is on to “be ready” for the upcoming hot season, and to “work with increased budgets.” Various cheerleaders and naysayers in your company (and especially, our friends at the search engines) may be pushing you and pulling you every which way, trying to find justifications in current profitability […]