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Thank you Internet: the best order of watching Star Wars
1 part crowd-sourced Q&A (the sci-fi StackExchange site) and 1 part Google’s Knowledge Graph (a database of answers and indexed data based on semantic search concepts) to get an instant result on my critical search: “correct order of watching Star Wars” In case you wonder, here’s what the Internet has decided for my life in [Continue reading]
Google’s Boolean Logic Doodle: what does it mean?
If you were stuck on Google’s homepage today trying to understand what the doodle is about, here’s the meaning of each combination. In each case, the “x” and “y” circles of the lowercase “g” letter are hidden or shown according to the highlighted operation as if you were do a search on two terms (“x” [Continue reading]
How to add authorship information for Facebook, Pinterest and Google on your blog
Authorship markup for sites used to be an exciting term back when Google was using it in the search results but has since faded back as Google decided that it’s not for everyone. Now it may make a come back as Facebook is now using it to help you get more followers and at the [Continue reading]
Google’s war on URLs continues
Google announced a change it has been testing for some time: replacing the URL in search results with the breadcrumbs of the page. Ironically, Google’s announcement is titled “Better presentation of URLs in search results”. To help mobile searchers understand your website better when we show it in the mobile search results, today we’re updating [Continue reading]
Timer “app” in Google’s search box
Another episode of the continuing series “Google prefers to give you answers rather than direct you to a site that has the answer”. Type “timer X minutes” to get a timer app with stop/reset buttons and an alarm sound in your search results. h/t +Travis Wise
Content search for your photos!
// Type “birds” in Google Image search and you get thousands of images of birds. This is done because Google analyses photos and indexes them according to their actual content (shapes or patterns they include). Now, this can be done for your own photos, provided that you use Google+/Picasa. Type “my photos” followed by a [Continue reading]
Google adding synonyms and intent in the search for the perfect match
// For some time now, #Google has not been taking your searches… literally. Your keywords will of course be used but Google will also add in the mix the correct spelling of the words you used (if you made an error) as well as synonyms or related words (think "cat" when you search for "pet") [Continue reading]
G+ statistics via Webmaster Tools Author Stats
// I had previously http://bit.ly/W8U6r2 written about adding your #author information in your content so that your name can show up next to Google search engine results of your website and #Google+ posts. What I hadn’t included though is that Google’s #WebmasterTools have a "Author stats" report with traffic #statistics of the pages that Google has [Continue reading]
Romney Self-Googlebombed!
// Apparently if you search on #Google images for "completely wrong" you get tons of photos of Mitt Romney. It’s not an old-style #googlebomb but just a regular search engine… feature. This result comes probably from Romney’s recent statement that he was "completely wrong" on his characterizations of 47% of americans… Google search link: http://bit.ly/VQqLGtLink to [Continue reading]
Easy SEO for your YouTube videos in 3 steps
This post contains photos of sexy aliens 1) Find out what’s popular in the last 24-72 hours2) Choose a maximum of 3 terms3) Put them on your video title no matter what kind of content you have Done! Just sit back and watch that counter go up! :D
You can now play doctor with Google
In it’s quest to serve you the most accurate (ads and) information that you are looking for, Google will now match searches for illness symptoms with the actual disease you might suffer from. A search "abdominal pain on my right side" will provide a top-of-search-results box with possible situations such as appendicitis, ovarian cyst and [Continue reading]
Improve your SEO with XML Sitemaps
One process often suggested to improve your search engine rankings are creating your #sitemap in XML format and submitting to search engines. #Google and #Bing are among the search engines that support the format. But a simple dump of every single page on your site might not be the best way to go about it. [Continue reading]
Romney: to defecate in terror!
Apparently Mitt #Romney now has a "Santorum problem". www.spreadingromney.com has managed to come up in the top search results on Google and Bing for "Romney" (#5 on Google on my tests both with "google plus your world" and normal settings) +Search Engine Land has more on the subject http://selnd.com/ytX7Oc(Yes, I suppose this post’s title just [Continue reading]
12 Steps to organic keywords optimization
+George Aspland at +Search Engine Land has posted a comprehensive guide on improving your search engine ranking through careful curation of your content and code. His 12 steps: 1. Choose The Keywords To Focus On2. Prioritize Your Keywords3. Check That Important Content On The Page Is Getting Indexed4. Ensure The Indexed Text Is Unique5. Try [Continue reading]
Now you really need to be on Google+
In case you didn’t think you needed to be on Google+ since your social media presence on other platforms was "good enough", think again. As of this week Google is rolling out the "Search Plus Your World" feature, basically combining it’s data from Google+ in the search results, both providing a more personalized result but [Continue reading]
Add your author information in search results
#Google is quickly adding social elements in search, you might have seen that can see who shared a page directly on the #search results page. But you can now add your own author information (name and photo) when a page of yours shows up in search results. Here’s how to do it: 1. Link your [Continue reading]
The Periodic Table of SEO Ranking Factors
Here is a handy chart of factors to consider in your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) efforts by the good folks at Search Engine Land. Use it to 1) evaluate your current status: how are you fairing on each of them (from none at all to perfection – but also "doesn’t apply" might be a valid [Continue reading]
If Google bans Google
[Update]In an excellent move of fairness, the Google Chrome page no longer appears on the organic results for "browser". Here is a screenshot (G+ doesn’t allow me to add another photo on this post any more)https://markg.blog/2012/01/03/if-google-bans-google/google-chrome-demoted/Here is Matt Cutt’s post on the matterhttps://plus.google.com/109412257237874861202/posts/NAWunDzJSHCIt would be nice if they also stopped the paid ad for Google [Continue reading]
Have you noticed a change in your search results? Google has been making some changes……
Have you noticed a change in your search results? Google has been making some changes… http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/giving-you-fresher-more-recent-search.html Reshared post from +Danny Sullivan Terrible accident on the M5 motorway in England, which I used to drive on often. I was curious how Google’s new "fresh" algorithm handled this. In the US, not at all — nothing fresh [Continue reading]
Google changes Sitelinks, top search result spot gets more important
Google is changing Sitelinks, the links below a search result with access to other pages of the same site. Changes include: – Sitelinks are now full-size links with a URL and one line of snippet text. – Links have increased from a maximum of 8 links to 12, revealing more about the websites you are [Continue reading]
7 SEO Myths You’re Probably Following
SEO. Just the mention of it will flood your Twitter stream with spam replies and start the “gurus” knocking at your inbox door. But really, SEO isn’t as big of a mystery as many would make it out to be. Oh sure, there are some hard and fast rules when it comes to the good [Continue reading]
FAQ: How Google factors page speed into its search rankings
It’s a well-known fact that site speed is a critical ranking factor for organic search. The big question has been how exactly Google does this. This is probably one of the most-asked questions I receive, and the answers aren’t easy to find. Full article: FAQs: The 12 most-asked questions about how Google factors page speed [Continue reading]