Since Facebook and Twitter gained prominence there has always been the debate of whether Google pay attention to social signals as part of their algorithm. Matt Cutts denied this in 2014. Although Google+ used to have an impact on page visibility in the algorithm through rel=”author” and even though it has no impact when signed […]
Google Adds Knowledge Card Quotes for Famous People, Including Authors and Celebrities
Google is adding knowledge cards containing quotes to their search results when someone searches for a famous person’s name plus the keyword “quotes.” They seem to come up for a wide variety of names, including historical and political figures as well as authors. Here is an example for J.R.R. Tolkien, which pulls heavily from quotes […]
Thumbtack is Back in Google But Link Problems Went Beyond Badges
Thumbtack, the site that was penalized by Google for “selling” links is now back in the Google index after a week in the penalty box. And while a week being penalized is definitely on the short side, it isn’t unheard of. However, it turns out there was a lot more going on with Thumbtack’s link […]
Google Adds Documentation for Breadcrumbs
Google has added new documentation to their Structured Data section in Google Developers for breadcrumbs support. Breadcrumbs enable potential visitors to see the page’s hierarchy in the Google search results, and also provides an additional context clue to help a searcher decide if the page likely has what they are looking for. With Google putting […]
Micro-Moments: Google on the New Consumer Behavior
This Spring Google introduced the concept of “micro-moments” to explain the new consumer behavior and how businesses can capture these moments. Micro-moments are the new “I want to know”, “I want to go”, “I want to buy” moments. When people have a need, they reach for the nearest device for information. Consumers are open to […]
Why You Need a Digital Marketing Fitness Plan to Succeed at SEO
When was the last time you got out of the house and went for a walk or a run? And by extension, when was the last time you gave your website the same treatment? After speaking to Jennifer about being a contributor to the SEM Post I was trying to decide what to write my […]
Bing Adds Info About Connections to the Search Results
Bing has an interesting experiment going on in their search results right now that will show the connections between two searches – the one just made as well as the one prior to it. It seems to usually appear when there is a carousel of options in the search results, however not all carousel results […]
When Disavowing, Check Specific Links as Sites Killing Homepages
If you are doing link audits for clients affected by either penguin or with unnatural link warnings, if you find a dead homepage, don’t assume the entire site is dead. When doing link audits, some people just check the homepage of the site a link is coming from, rather than checking the page itself. But […]
Evergreen Content – Sow the Seeds & Reap the Benefits
Google Panda Refresh is Around the Corner At SMX Advanced last week, Google’s Gary Illyes revealed that a Panda refresh will be coming in the next few weeks, which means some sites are likely to see a dip in rankings, traffic, and worse, sales. The Panda refresh will impact sites that are not producing high-quality […]
The Importance of URL Structure According to Google
Everyone has had theories for years about URL structure, particularly as it relates to Google rankings. Should you use keywords or no keywords? Should you ever go beyond a single directory or can you safely go three or four deep? The question was raised at SMX Advanced last week about just how important URL structure […]