Search Engine Weekly Round-up #27

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Liam McCarthy

The Search Engine Weekly Round-up is where I look at the finest articles, talking points and news from the week, all from the worlds of SEO, Marketing, Social Media, etc. This week looks at the latest Penguin update, utilising remarketing, how somebody lost 80% of organic traffic, and link building for your blog.

Penguin 4, With Penguin 2.0 Generation Spam-Fighting, Is Now Live
Barry Schwartz
Follow @rustybrick
Well, here it is ladies and gents – the latest penguin update has been rolled out. Matt Cutts announced the release of this update on the 22^nd of May via his blog, stating that 2.3% of English-US enquiries have been affected, and that Penguin 2.0 has been fully rolled out in other languages as well.
One extra item to note is that there is now a Penguin Spam Report, where you can report Spammy sites that this update hasn’t noticed.
If you want to find out more about what may have been affected in this 2^nd algorithm change, we’ve got that covered here. So, have you noticed anything in your rankings after this update? Feel free to leave your comments below.
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What is an Advertorial and How Can It Be Used?

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Liam McCarthy

An advertorial is, simply put, an advertisement under the guise of an editorial piece. They are designed to promote and advertise a product/service/brand, whilst doing so in the layout of other content on the website.

Advertorials have been around for quite some time, originally used in newspapers/print media, dating back to the 1940’s, eventually transitioning over to the web. This post will look into why advertorials are used, past controversies and what should be taken into account if you plan on running an advertorial campaign.

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Search Engine Weekly Round-up #26

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Liam McCarthy

The Search Engine Weekly Round-up is where I look at the finest articles, talking points and general news from the week, all from the worlds of SEO, Marketing, Social Media, etc. This week features blogs about converting from 404 pages, viral email marketing, speaking to non-technical clients, and breaking the news of Penguin 2.0 to your clients.

Valuable 404 Pages
Ben Cook
Follow @Skitzzo
I’m sure that we’ve all seen 404 pages that are entertaining, creative or funny, but you seldom see 404 pages that can convert, which is what this post is all about.
Ben Cook ended up implementing a contact form into the 404 pages of his client’s website, which also contained a small apology, stating that the user can send an email and receive a link/file in regards to what they were looking for originally.This can help create a rapport with the user, whilst showing a fine level of customer service.

Ben’s idea ended up proving profitable, as said rapport opened further talks, which eventually led to sales. This is a fantastic post, offering a very simple, actionable idea which can be a huge boon for your company.

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Google Malware Warning Removal: A Quick Guide

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Matthew Barby

Our website recently fell foul to a malware attack and it was a real nightmare. Google blocked access to the site meaning that anyone trying to access the website was faced with this garish and quite alarming page…

If you’re suddenly presented with this message when you try to access your website, don’t panic, simply follow these steps.

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Google’s Penguin 2.0 Update: What We Can Expect

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Matthew Barby

It’s been just over a year since the first Penguin update and many websites are still shaking at the sound of the word. The Penguin update affected a huge number of websites, including some high-profile brands that were engaging in all sorts of spammy link building techniques. Matt Cutts has now confirmed on Twitter that Penguin 2.0 will hit the search engines within the next two weeks:

@mrjamiedodd we do expect to roll out Penguin 2.0 (next generation of Penguin) sometime in the next few weeks though.

— Matt Cutts (@mattcutts) May 10, 2013

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Search Engine Weekly Round-up #25

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Liam McCarthy

The Search Engine Weekly Round-up is where I look at the finest articles, talking points and general news from the week, all from the worlds of SEO, Marketing, Social Media, etc. This week, we look at guest blogging, becoming an influence, duplicate content and hashtags.

How Guest Bloggers are Sleepwalking Their Way into Penalties
James Finlayson
Follow @JamesFinlayson
Ever since Google released their Penguin update just over a year ago, guest blogging has arguably been the most recommended methods of accruing links in a post-Penguin world. This post on the SEOmoz blog from James Finlayson looks at this, and warns us of the possible dangers that can arise from guest blogging. Whilst all guest bloggers won’t get punished of course, this post looks at possible troubles that may occur.
James covers 4 topics in this post; Link Quality, Link Type, Link Location and Authorship.

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Search Engine Weekly Round-up #24

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Liam McCarthy

The Search Engine Weekly Round-up is where I look at the finest articles, talking points and general news from the week, all from the worlds of SEO, Marketing, Social Media, etc. This week looks at metrics that matter, Google Authorship/Author Rank, the rise of Google+, and 10 excellent SEO rules.

16 Marketers on the Metrics That Matter
Jeremy Rivera
Follow @ravenjeremy
The first post in this week’s round-up looks at the subject of metrics that matter. In other words, what you can show to your client in regards to your work, and showing your value to them. In this post, Jeremy Rivera has spoken to a selection of SEOs/marketers, asking what their views are on the matter, and what metrics they feel are the most important.
The group who responded have also spoken about quarterly/monthly milestones, how to explain the value of your work to clients, what to report to them, as well as how and when to send reports. This is certainly a fantastic read, and on the subject of this, Raven Tools have released a white paper on this topic, which can be found here.
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Search Engine Weekly Round-up #23

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Liam McCarthy

The Search Engine Weekly Round-up is where I look at the finest articles, talking points and general news from the week, all from the worlds of SEO, Marketing, Social Media, etc.
This week, we look at a period table, link building stories, the value of NoFollow links, and some interesting new SEO tools.

Periodic Table of Google Analytics
Jeff Sauer
Follow @jeffsauer
Starting things off is certainly one of the more creative things I’ve seen in recent times, this is an interactive period table which displays the options available within Google Analytics. Created by Jeff Sauer, this very clever feature on his site lets you hover over each of the ‘elements’, displaying something available to you within Google Analytics, complete with a short description. From Adsense Reports and Bounce Rate to Visitor Flow and Webmaster Tools, this table contains a myriad of helpful tools. Also, if you fancy a physical copy of this, Jeff has mocked up a version ready for print, with all of the elements/options listed.
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