Panda a Continuous Work in Motion

Google's Panda update is still being refined and further implemented week by week. Google said the following in regards to the Panda update this week:

“We’re continuing to iterate on our Panda algorithm as part of our commitment to returning high-quality sites to Google users. This most recent update is one of the roughly 500 changes we make to our ranking algorithms each year.”

YouTube has been one of the biggest winners, according to Searchmetrics, as were a collection of other big brand video sites - Hulu, MTV, NBC, CBS, HBO and a number of others that contain a large amount of video content. Good, non spammy video will help your SEO efforts.

Aaron Wall talks about the Panda update in this humorous animated video:

Google Panda Algorithm Change History

Properly Title Individual Page Titles

Another one of the key SEO tips a site could be given is to properly label all of the different pages of their site. It is also helpful to make all pages stand out from the rest by placing unique titles (while at the same time are accurate and reflective of the content) that let internet users know the contents of each page.

By properly labeling pages, search engines will be better able to present the site when those keywords are searched. No title or a generic title will be lost among the results of a search engine while a reflective and accurate description will alert a search engine (and therefore a search engine user) to the content available to them. This is one of many SEO techniques that help separate sites and promote traffic and visibility while optimizing search engines.

Forget PageRank Remember the Big 3's

Google has said that their PageRank metric is not what it started out to be and that we shouldn't focus on that metric. While it served its purpose when it was introduced in 1998 it has since lost its spark.
 
In order to rank well on Google remember these three simple search engine optimization techniques, if done correctly they will serve your web site well:

 1. Make sure to choose relative keywords.
 2. Focus on getting higher in the search engines with the keywords you select.
 3. Get backlinks to your keywords that point to the web pages that use these keywords. Remember don’t just link to your homepage but instead build deep link building campaigns within like pages on your web site.
 
Good Luck and see you at the top.

White Hat and Black Hat SEO

All of the available search engine optimization services generally fall into one of two categories (though some may be considered a little of both): white hat search engine optimization and black hat search engine optimization. Those that fall into the white hat (named such because of classic film hero characters who would wear white hats) category are generally those that use search engine optimization techniques that are non-deceptive and follow the unwritten rules. Black hat (named after film and comic "evil" characters dressed in black) search optimization techniques are ones that are aggressive, deceptive and seeking immediate results with little to no consideration for long-term effects. While search engines and moderators often are able to eventually detect the malicious activities of those utilizing black hat search optimization techniques, often times black hat techniques can be effective for at least a short period of time.

Choose Colors Wisely When Optimizing Your Website

Being mindful of the color combinations that you use on your website. Although bright neon colors that contrast may initially attract attention, these colors can be harsh on the eyes. These colors are also not aesthetically appealing to most visitors. The greatest content in the world could be overlooked because of poor web design that uses unattractive colors. If you want to keep people interested in your website, use colors that are coordinated and easy on the eyes.

Beating the Competition through SEO

Being better than your competition is easier than you think. SEO is rules based and as long as you understand that then following the rules to get to the top is a matter of doing what needs to be done. Below are 4 quick tips that if followed will help get you to the top of the search engines. To accomplish the goal of reaching the top you only need time and patience. Good SEO takes time.

Let's dig into what we need to do:

Tip #1 - Research your competition based on the keywords that you want to do well on in searches. Keep the top five competitors.

Tip #2 - Analyze the backlinks of your competitors by going to Yahoo Site Explorer and doing a backlinks check. Go to http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/ and type in your domain name. Ex. yourname.com

Tip #3 - The goal is to get backlinks from top level domains, so for example is you are in France and your domain name ends in .fr then you want to get backlinks from .fr websites.

Tip #4 - Get backlinks from relative websites. If your website sells apples getting backlinks from automotive websites won't help you but getting links from fruit stands or grocery stores will.

Google launches "What Do You Love" a Google’s Ultimate Mashup Search Site

Today Google launched a new toy called What Do You Love. You start with a search box and get results back from over 20 of Google's services. Their mashup includes properties like Google Maps, YouTube, SketchUp, Google Blogs, Google Calendar, Google translate and others. The results are presented on one page and are similar to the layout that you would see on a Google personalized portal page.

If you need to search multiple Google channels give What Do You Love a try @ www.wdyl.com

Google Dashboard Manages your Online Reputation

Google has launched a new tool named Google Dashboard that allows you to manage your online reputation. This tool, “Me on the Web,” is included in the Google dashboard management console.

Using Google Dashboard you can set up mentions about you by setting up search alerts for data points that are included in your Google profile.

This new tool has informational links on how to manage your online identity and what to do about removing unwanted information.