Google: Links In Press Releases Are Unnatural Links & Should Be Nofollowed

Google: Links In Press Releases Are Unnatural Links & Should Be Nofollowed  Yesterday we reported about the link schemes Google update and later on I had the opportunity to ask Google's John Mueller specific questions about this update and what it means. My main concern was how specific the example was given on this one: Links with optimized anchor text in articles or press releases distributed on other sites.My questions were: (1) Just...

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After Google Penalizes Your Site, Those Who Stole Your Content Will Rank Above You

After Google Penalizes Your Site, Those Who Stole Your Content Will Rank Above You One complaint I see a lot from webmasters and publishers is that someone stole their content and is outranking them for their own content. The Scraper and Panda algorithms don't help. I cannot tell you how many times I hear this complaint and it saddens me to hear it. Most of the time, not all of the time, but most of the time, the issue is that Google has...

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Google Updates Link Schemes Examples With Mentions Of Guest Posting, Advertorials & Press Releases

Google Updates Link Schemes Examples With Mentions Of Guest Posting, Advertorials & Press Releases On Friday, I wrote at Search Engine Land Google Warns Against Large-Scale Guest Posting, Advertorials & "Optimized Anchor Text" In Press Releases. In short, Google has updated their link schemes document specifically citing three new topics: (1) Large-scale article marketing or guest posting campaigns with keyword-rich anchor text links (2)...

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Was There A Weekend Google Update?

Was There A Weekend Google Update? I am a bit torn, I've seen some chatter over the weekend at both WebmasterWorld and Google Webmaster Help but not enough to see strong signs of a definite update, like the one we had with the softer Panda update about ten days ago. But I am also seeing signs from some of the SERP tracking tools of an update. For example, MozCast showed very high changes with 105 degrees on Friday but cooler weather on Saturday....

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Google's Matt Cutts: You Can Hide Content Only When...

Google's Matt Cutts: You Can Hide Content Only When... In one of Google's Matt Cutts recent videos, Matt answered the questions of it is okay to use those expandable web techniques to expand and collapse content. It is okay to use those techniques or is it considered hidden text and against Google's Webmaster Guidelines. Matt Cutts said clearly that if it is done for user interests and not to spam or manipulate Google's search rankings, then...

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Google EMD: Does It Impact Non EMDs As Well?

Google EMD: Does It Impact Non EMDs As Well?  When Google launched the EMD Update in September 2012, I assumed that it only impacted keyword rich domain names. Specifically, sites that target the keyword phrase in their primary domain. For example, a site targeting the keyword phrase [cheap flowers] would be impacted only if their domain name was www.cheap-flowers.com or a variation of that. A WebmasterWorld thread asks if this is not...

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I Spun Hundreds Of Articles The Right Way!

I Spun Hundreds Of Articles The Right Way! Sometimes I don't get it... I spotted a thread at BlackHat Forums about spinning articles - yes it is a black hat forum, but seriously. Looking at the conversation that starts of by explaining that the SEO/Webmaster spun these articles the right way. He wrote, "I have a 500 word article which I have spun to 100 articles from 65-95% uniqueness." The others in the forum say as long as the uniqueness...

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Google's Cutts Says Don't Worry About Duplicate Content But SEOs Don't Trust

Google's Cutts Says Don't Worry About Duplicate Content But SEOs Don't Trust Yesterday at Search Engine Land I covered a video answer from Google's Matt Cutts on the topic of duplicate content. In short, should you worry about having duplicate content on your site or not. The short answer, is no. Google's Matt Cutts said that if you have content that is duplicative in your site, don't worry about it. He said, "I wouldn't stress about this...

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Can You Redirect A Google Penalty? Probably.

Can You Redirect A Google Penalty? Probably. Should you redirect a site that has a Google penalty to a site that does not have a penalty? I get this question all the time from webmasters. They have a bunch of sites, some of those sites got hit by either an algorithmic or manual penalty. They don't want to lose everything, so they ask if they should 301 redirect the penalized domain to the unpenalized domain. My answer is almost always,...

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Panda Recovery Poll: Did You Recover Last Week?

Panda Recovery Poll: Did You Recover Last Week? As you know, Google pushed out a new Panda update last week, that was "more finely targeted." I suggested this was the softer Panda release that we've been expecting but Google didn't use those words. That being said, it was indeed one of those updates that has shown a huge cheer from SEOs and webmasters where they noticed their Panda sites that were impacted were not no longer impacted. At least,...

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Pictures Of Google Panda Recovery

Pictures Of Google Panda Recovery Every wonder what the analytics and impression charts look like when you recover from a Panda update? Well, yesterday we confirmed a Panda update was pushed out, one with a softer touch, as Google said "more finely targeted." And with that, SEOs started sending me screen shots of their Analytics and Webmaster Tools. Hope you did well with the last Panda update. Author: Barry Schwar...

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Confirmed: Google Panda Update: The "Softer" Panda Algorithm

Confirmed: Google Panda Update: The "Softer" Panda Algorithm Update: Google confirmed there is a Panda update going out now that is "more finely targeted." There is renewed chatter in the WebmasterWorld forums about another shuffle taking place in Google. The consensus is that this update is likely Panda related. We know Google has now slowed the Panda rollout to happen over several days and we also know Google will not confirm Panda updates...

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Google's Cutts: Be Careful Linking Many Sites Together

Google's Cutts: Be Careful Linking Many Sites Together Yesterday, Google's Matt Cutts posted a video answer to the question "If I have 20 domains, should I link them all together?" The short answer is, most likely no - you should not link them all together. As I explained at Search Engine Land with my article titles Google's Matt Cutts: Linking 20 Domains Together Likely A "Cross Linking Scheme" - it may be considered by Google as a cross linking...

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Google To Penalize Sites Manipulating Browser Back Button & Faking Search Results

Google To Penalize Sites Manipulating Browser Back Button & Faking Search Results Google announced their next spam target are those who are implementing manipulative browser history techniques to trick the user to thinking they are on Google's search results, when in reality, they are on a page of search ads. How this works is when a user goes to a web site from Google's real search results, they then decide to click back to the Google...

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Useful: That Is What Google Wants To Rank

Useful: That Is What Google Wants To Rank A WebmasterWorld thread has discussion around one word - the word "useful." Netmeg said it in a thread and senior member, Whitey pulled it out into it's own thread. All Google wants is to rank web sites that are the most useful for their users for a relevant query. So now the thread goes through what makes a site useful or not. Here are some tips on what makes useful websites pulled from the thread but...

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Responsive Design & Hiding Links & Google Webmaster Guidelines

Responsive Design & Hiding Links & Google Webmaster Guidelines A Google Webmaster Help thread has a webmaster who made his site responsive. Meaning, he made his site mobile/smartphone friendly through the responsive design approach. The responsive design approach is Google's recommendation. That being said, even though responsive design is mostly the same content, same HTML, and same look.... Sometimes, there are slight differences....

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Seriously: Hiding Links With Font Colors?

Seriously: Hiding Links With Font Colors?  I just don't get it. How can people in 2013 think Google is that dumb? A Black Hat Forum thread has a webmaster asking if his idea of hiding links using black font on black background a "smart idea." Really? Are there still people out there doing this stuff? I guess so. But doesn't Google catch this stuff fairly easily? I wonder if they even bother to penalize the sites doing this or if they...

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Google May Be Updating Search Algorithm

Google May Be Updating Search Algorithm Here I am again, coming to you to tell you that I am seeing higher than normal chatter in the forums about a possible Google search algorithm update. I see many threads at the Google Webmaster Help forum and increase chatter in the WebmasterWorld forums. It started around late yesterday and has picked up through the morning. Some are saying this update is related to a Panda refresh. As we know, the Panda...

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What SEOs Are Focusing On With Enge's Interview With Google's Matt Cutts

What SEOs Are Focusing On With Enge's Interview With Google's Matt Cutts Whenever you hear a Googler talk about SEO or the ranking algorithm, SEOs tear apart each word. Now, when Matt Cutts talks, it is a billion times worse. Eric Enge interview Matt Cutts, that interview was titled Link Building Is Not Illegal (or Inherently Bad) with Matt Cutts. In my coverage of the interview at Search Engine Land, I pulled out these five topics as the items...

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What Is Your Focus When Ranking In Google?

What Is Your Focus When Ranking In Google? WebmasterWorld moderator, goodROI, posted a thread at WebmasterWorld asking SEOs and webmasters to share "what method(s) do you use to formulate your SEO strategy?" In short, what do you SEOs focus on when trying to rank well in Google? He starts off by telling everyone he focuses on what Google tells him not to focus on. When Google says don't focus on links, then he will focus on links. His logic,...

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Is Guest Blogging Getting Out Of Control?

Is Guest Blogging Getting Out Of Control? Yesterday I wrote a story at Search Engine Land named Google: Guest Blogging For Links? You Better Nofollow Those Links. As you can imagine, it caught people's attention - as it should. The title is not as extreme as Marie's Yes, high quality guest posts CAN get you penalized! but it is extreme enough. In short, if you are intentionally guest blogging for the sole purpose of that post having a dofollow...

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Google: You Weren't Hit By Penguin, Those Are Normal Fluctuations

Google: You Weren't Hit By Penguin, Those Are Normal Fluctuations A webmaster noticed his rankings and traffic from Google sharpely declined after the Penguin 2.0 release and decided to ask about it in the Google Webmaster Help forums. The webmaster said they noticed a "sudden drop in rankings for branded" right after the Penguin 2.0 release. So they investigated their links and saw "huge influx of spammy links coming into our site from Chinese...

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Google Manual Penalty Notification But Google Says No Manual Penalty...

Google Manual Penalty Notification But Google Says No Manual Penalty... A webmaster posted in the WebmasterWorld forums that he received a manual spam notification for "unnatural links" from Google on June 27th. He cleaned things up and quickly submitted a reconsideration request. Shortly after, on July 3rd, he received the response not that the penalty was revoked but rather there was no penalty to begin with. How can it be that he received...

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Do Larger Or Smaller Web Sites Rank Better In Google?

Do Larger Or Smaller Web Sites Rank Better In Google? A WebmasterWorld thread is having renewed discussion around an old debate on does the size of a web site matter in Google. There is no doubt, the more pages you have on your web site, the more chances you have to rank for more keyword phrases. But that being said, does a web site that is larger have a better shot than a web site that is smaller to rank for competing terms? If they are...

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July 2013 Google Webmaster Report (Google Is Hot)

July 2013 Google Webmaster Report (Google Is Hot) It was an incredibly busy month in the Google SEO/Webmaster world. Besides for Google announcing the spam algorithm, explaining about Panda's slower rollouts, releasing a new mobile ranking factor and pushing out a multi-week update, we've also seen a ton of chatter around a few updates in the past 30 days. In fact, with this multi-week update, all the Google volatility tools are lighting up over...

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Domain Crowding Search Spam Complaints

Domain Crowding Search Spam Complaints I hate being in over packed elevators, don't you? Now, imagine if the elevator comfortably fits 8 people, but you are in it with a total of 10 people. Now imagine if 9 of the other people are clones of the same person. Would you find that fair? Would you find it crazy and unwarranted? That is the way some SEOs and webmasters feel about a topic in the search field named "Multiple Domains Crowding." It...

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Should You Take Over A Competitor's Domain Name?

Should You Take Over A Competitor's Domain Name? A HighRanking Forum thread has a site owner asking about expired domain names. Not any expired domain name, an expired domain name of a competitor that went out of business. He asked if it would be safe to pick the domain name up and 301 redirect it to his site. Author: Barry Schwartz...

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Can You Test The Google Disavow Tool?

Can You Test The Google Disavow Tool? I am surprised this topic has not come up more often in the SEO forums - the topic of being able to test the Google Disavow Tool but uploading a file, waiting, removing links, waiting and repeating this process over and over again. A Google Webmaster Help thread kind of aludes to it but not fully. The issue webmasters are having is that they are disavowing a ton and waiting and not noticing an increase...

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Google's Matt Cutts: Disavow Can Help With Penguin

Google's Matt Cutts: Disavow Can Help With Penguin Just in case anyone had any questions about Google's disavow tool being able to help those hit by Penguin, Matt Cutts said the tool can help with Penguin. In a tweet, Matt responded to another tweet by @joshbachynski saying, "do you have doubts the disavow would help for penguin? there is a rumor going around a googler said it wouldn't." Author: Barry Schwartz ...

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