In August 2014, Google announced that they would give a small ranking boost to HTTPS with the new HTTPS ranking factor. Now that it is a few weeks later, many are wondering how much of an impact does HTTPS URLs actually have on rankings. The answer according to SearchMetrics is none currently. Marcus Tober of […]
On Friday, August 8th, there appears to have been a Google algorithm update that Google said they will not comment on. It may likely be a monthly Google Panda refresh but we cannot confirm if there was an update and if so, if it was Panda or not. I reported the details at the Search […]
When Google released its most recent modification to the Panda algorithm, Panda 4.0, on May 20th, one of the sites reportedly hit hard by the update was the large press release distribution company, PR Newswire. The company’s answer to recover from the algorithmic penalty is to “take action” against press release spammers through new internal […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Will Google & Bing Penalize Microsoft Over Their Sponsored Post Campaign For Internet Explorer? This morning, news broke that Microsoft Internet Explorer is getting help from SocialChorus to build more awareness […]
SearchMetrics released a study on the penetration of Universal Search results in the Google search results. By Universal Search we mean the way Google “blends” results from “vertical” search engines like Google Images, Google Videos, Google Maps or Google News into its web search listings. The study shows that for all searches, 85% of them […]
This SEO ranking factors session has become a much-anticipated tradition at SMX Advanced, as the substantial early morning crowd in attendance this year testified. Each year, a panel of SEO data experts present their up-to-date findings, test results, and best guesses as to what factors are primary in Google’s ranking algorithm. There are always surprises, […]
On Tuesday, Google pushed out their revised Panda Algorithm code-named Panda 4.0. Panda is designed to remove low-quality content from Google’s search results. Yesterday, we published an early Winners & Losers report on which large sites were impacted the most both in a positive and negative way. RetailMeNot was one of the larger sites on […]
Yesterday, Google began rolling out their Panda 4.0 update designed to punch low-quality content. That’s generated both “winners” who have moved up in rankings as “losers” have dropped down — and eBay might be one of the big losers. Searchmetrics gave us their initial winners and loser charts, based on rankings they continually monitor. These show […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Enterprise SEO in 2014 – Webcast this Thursday This Thursday, May 1, at 1 PM EDT, our sister site, Digital Marketing Depot will host a webcast to help you better understand […]
We all saw this one coming: Web Design Library, the website that was using Twitter to renew paid links last week, appears to have earned a Google penalty. While I was researching last week’s article, I saw the site ranking at No. 8 for the term web design. Today, I’m seeing it at No. 48 […]
Oh no they didn’t: BrightEdge has sued rival Searchmetrics using multiple SEO patents, which were granted last year. The concern being expressed by some today is that this could be the beginning of a wave of litigation as BrightEdge seeks to capitalize on its newly granted IP or goes after competitors that it perceives to […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the Web. From Search Engine Land: Google Intros Android App For Managing Google Places Listings Local business owners have a new tool for managing their Google Places For Business Listing. Mike Blumenthal got the scoop on the […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the Web. From Search Engine Land: Bing Ads Analysis Tools Go Live: Dimensions Tab, Performance Comparison Graph Bing Ads launched two very handy tools today that make account analysis from within the web interface a reality. The […]
Searchmetrics has released their SEO ranking factors for Bing, Microsoft’s search engine, today. Similar to their Google ranking factors, Searchmetrics analyzed 10,000 popular keywords and 300,000 websites appearing in the top 30 search results and looked at how various factors correlated with rankings. The top five key findings were: (1) Top brands rank higher on […]
Google tells us they make as many as 600 changes to their ranking algorithms every year. Some are major, typically named after disarmingly cute animals that can nonetheless severely damage or even destroy hard-won search result placement. Other changes are minor, but if your site happens to be subject to the “new rules” you need […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the Web. From Search Engine Land: New Google Maps App Gives Users More Search Functionality & Navigation Features Google announced today the release of a new Google Maps app for Android devices, with iPhone and iPad versions […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the Web. From Search Engine Land: DuckDuckGo Passes 3 Million Searches, Just 8 Days After Hitting 2 Million Another week, another traffic record in the alternative search engine space. DuckDuckGo (DDG) tweeted this morning about its latest […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the Web. From Search Engine Land: DuckDuckGo Passes 2 Million Daily Searches DuckDuckGo, the upstart search engine that hangs it hat on protecting its users’ privacy, hit a new milestone on Monday: its first day with two […]
Google’s fourth Penguin update — what the company is calling Penguin 2.0 — hit last night, and less than 24 hours later we’re already getting a first chance to look at what sites might be considered “losers” in terms of search visibility. In a nutshell, the list includes: porn sites, game sites and big brands […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the Web. From Search Engine Land: Google News Sources Grow 15% In 2012 & Continue To Climb With Patch.com In The Lead After seeing a 15 percent increase in Google News sources last year, a recent study […]
After seeing a 15 percent increase in Google News sources last year, a recent study conducted by SearchMetrics discovered that a majority of the News integrations displayed in Google Universal Search results are coming from AOL-owned Patch.com. Analyzing several hundred thousand keywords, the study found that Patch.com made an appearance in the News integration results […]
(Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of articles looking at the aftermath of Google’s Panda algorithm update, which launched February 24, 2011. To catch up, please see the first article in the series: Google Panda Two Years Later: Losers Still Losing & One Real Recovery.) Google’s Panda algorithm update, which launched two […]
Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of articles looking at the aftermath of Google’s Panda algorithm update, which launched February 24, 2011.) Two years ago today, Google sent shockwaves through not only the SEO industry, but also through online publishing in general when it launched the Panda algorithm update. It was originally […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: StarCraft Themed Google Easter Egg “Zerg Rush” Calls An Attack On Your Search Results Google’s newest Easter egg, a search for “zerg rush,” forces to to fight an onslaught of invaders […]
What began as an experiment 10 months ago is now showing up in nearly one of every five Google search results. I’m talking about authorship — Google’s use of the rel=author markup to identify content creators next to their content. A new SearchMetrics study published this week says that about 17 percent of queries included […]
Last week, Google released a new update to its Panda algorithm that targets low-quality content. Who won and who lost? Searchmetrics has posted an analysis of that. Our original story here reported the winners/losers list, as Searchmetrics did, showing who was estimated to have gained and lost in the new Penguin Update that was released this […]
Major brands and a variety of news sites — from established outlets to internet-only gossip sites — are among the winners from Google’s recent algorithm update that aimed to reward fresh and more recent content.
Searchmetrics has a pretty good track record of figuring out who lost after one of Google’s Panda Updates. Among the latest victims of this week’s Panda Update 2.5, some unexpected surprises: popular tech blog The Next Web, blog aggregator Technorati, and NBC’s The Today Show. Winners include Google’s own YouTube, along with Fox News and several […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Foursquare Adds ‘Lists’ Functionality For Profiles & Pages Over the past few years Foursquare has been rapidly evolving, and their newly announced “lists” feature looks like a very promising new addition. […]
Google has again slapped a comparison shopping site owned by its primary search competitor, Bing, as part of its most recent expansion of the “Panda” algorithm update. It’s only been a few days since Google pushed out Panda around the world in all languages except Chinese, Japanese and Korean. But Searchmetrics has already published its […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Search For Hotels With Google Hotel Finder Forget using Google Maps when you want to find a hotel to stay at for a business trip or family vacation! You can now […]
Searchmetrics has conducted a data analysis on what type of content appears most often in Google Universal Search results, as well as which sites are most visible in them. Video and image content wins, as does content hosted on Google’s own properties. Universal Search Loves Video, Images The most revealing data from the study, which the […]
The New York Times Company has confirmed recent reports that its About.com property was one of the sites that suffered traffic declines in the wake of Google’s recent Panda/Farmer algorithm change. Speaking during its recent earnings call, CEO Janet Robinson said that About.com “experienced a moderately negative impact on page views from the algorithm changes […]
It’s only been 48 hours since Google expanded the Panda/Farmer update to all English language searches outside the US, and we’re already seeing reports about who the early winners and losers are. In some cases, the names are familiar if you followed the original reports when the algorithm change first hit in the US in […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Ask Launches Local Conversations iPhone App Ask.com noticed some interesting behavior happening on its Q&A iPhone application. People were trying to have “conversations” in the comments area of the app, according […]
As search industry analysts continue to review the fallout from last week’s Google Farmer update, we’re getting new snapshots of what sites were hurt and which ones have survived the crosshairs of Google’s latest algorithm change. One such analysis from SearchMetrics confirms much of what’s already been reported, but also adds several new names to […]