Site Speed Affects Rankings – It’s Official!
It has been suspected for some time that the time it takes for your site to load affects your site ranking. Well, it is now official, Google that it will include a new element to its algorithm making site speed an important element of page rank. Whilst content is still the primary determining factor, Google points out that users have a better browsing experience when pages are readily accessible and fast to load, a fact which is backed up by their own internal research. In this post, Google explains its reasoning and points to a number of free tools you can use to make your site satisfy this latest change.
How to Add Images to your Sitemap
All Webmasters are aware of the value of sitemaps when it comes to search engine rankings and SEO in general. In an important announcement, Google has advised that it is now possible to add images to your site map to make it easier for the search engine to understand the nature of your content and to alert it as to which images you consider important to your site. There is no need to create a whole new sitemap, the Webmaster Tools Help Centre will give you detailed instructions on how to implement the changes in your existing sitemap.
Stop Your Site From Being Hacked
In a recent post at the it’s Webmaster Central blog, Google discloses that it detects thousands of sites every day they have been hacked and had content compromised, and it isn’t just large companies are bearing the brunt of these spam attacks. Small business sites and even personal sites are also being targeted, so Google is coming to the rescue with new software versions aimed at helping Web masters protect their sites. From now on Google will be alerting Webmasters of potential threats and reported hacks. Simply go to the Webmaster help forum at Google to obtain more details.
Yahoo Revenue Increases
Now that the deal between Yahoo and Google has been finally approved, it looks like advertisers and investors have jumped on the bandwagon. The release of trading figures shows a modest growth in income mainly from the sale of assets, but Yahoo!’s earnings per share increased substantially on the back of the deal. Large advertisers appear to have returned to the market contributing substantially to the improved figures. There is still room for improvement however as other figures show that Yahoo! is losing substantially in the search market share.
Is Google’s Growth an Illusion?
Questions are being raised about Google’s market growth. In this recent posting the author argues that recent statements issued by Google describing strong growth in Windows 7 and Bing, are not reflected in the figures which were released at the same time. The online services division actually shows a $300 million decline over the last 12 months. accountants will have a better understanding of the figures released by Google but the comments that follow this post also offer some interesting explanations. Company figures don’t usually lie but sometimes companies do exaggerate certain elements of their performance to encourage investors.
Try Out This New Google Analytics Filter
Yoast has just released a new Google analytics filter that will help you track SEO rankings. Well, not quite! In this article you will receive some detailed instructions on how to use a filter to obtain a truer picture then you would usually expect from a Google analytics tool. In this technical post Andre Scholten provides a detailed step-by-step approach to building a filter within the Google analytics tool interface that overcomes the confusion that can arise when using personalised search or local results. Learning to use this tool will give you greater insight into where your site really ranks.
New Social Media Marketing Backlink Tips
The search continues for better backs linking strategies and this new article from Daily SEO Tip outlines 4 link building tips to use in your social media marketing. Whilst many social media links are nofollow you can still use them falling building if you follow the strategies outlined here. By utilising profile links and contextual blog links you will add some weight to your back linking strategy. The article provides details on which methods to use and you will find a lot more useful information in the comments that follow the article.
Power Up Your Backlinks
The importance of back linking as part of an SEO strategy cannot be stressed strongly enough. Every Webmaster continues to search for new ways to build more and to make them as relevant and strong as possible. As you are probably aware,Google’s Matt Cutts recently confirmed that a site can suffer loss of page rank when using 301 redirects, and this sent a shiver through the entire SEO spectrum. As far as link building goes however, you can avoid this loss by contacting link partners to ensure that direct linking occurs without the need to redirect.
In this article, five new strategies are suggested that will strengthen your back links and add weight to your ranking campaign.
Web Search Volumes Dropping
Website Magazine has reported that Internet search activity has dropped again, continuing a trend which began in March 2009. Whilst Google’s share of US searches dropped 0.4%, Bing continued to climb as did Yahoo!the predictions are that this trend will last for at least the next three or four months. Make sure you read the article to get more details.
Press Releases Go Social
In this article from Website Magazine, evidence is emerging that an increasing number of journalists are turning to social media for their stories. PRWeek and PR Newswire have sourced nearly 34% of their stories from social media networks in the recent past compared to 24% just a year ago. But, there is probably nothing new in this because journalists have always relied on personal sources, and social networks are now filling the bill just as they used to in the old days. This article provides an insight into the methods that journalists are using, and might give you some insight as an Internet marketer.
