Category: Search Engine Watch

Not getting the search traffic you were hoping for? In a new Webmaster Help video, Google’s Distinguished Engineer Matt Cutts reveals five of the biggest basic SEO mistakes webmasters make, and suggests a few ways to improve your website.

Getting a link from an .edu domain can be very valuable. There are a ton of ripe link opportunities at schools, if you know where to look. Here are a few actionable and high probability tips and tactics for acquiring .edu links.

The test matrix is your roadmap for executing PPC tests – it becomes a living record of all the tests you’ve done. By following a systematic approach to ad testing with a testing matrix, you’ll give yourself the best chance at great ROI from PPC.

There’s been a lot of talk about women being underrepresented in speaking at conferences – and the search industry in general. Women have more power than they give themselves credit for. It’s time to stop complaining and do something to change it.

Active View lets advertisers reserve inventory on the Google Display Network and pay only for those that meet the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s proposed standard of at least 50 percent of an ad being visible onscreen for one second or longer.

Google will discontinue the Meebo toolbar and hopes that users will switch to Google+ and its single sign on. Google acquired Meebo for about $100 million last summer. The Meebo Bar will stop loading on publisher sites on June 6.

Google is bringing its Now predictive search platform to Apple’s mobile operating system as a feature on the new version of Google’s Search application for the iPhone and iPad. Users will be able to access Now through the Search app itself.

The full conference agenda for SES Toronto 2013 is now online. SES Toronto, taking place June 12-14, will provide experienced marketing and advertising professionals with the knowledge and tools needed to traverse the dynamic digital landscape.

Bing may be getting a new logo. Microsoft revealed a few new logo design concepts during a Design Day presentation in Norway, including a white and gold “boomerang” logo for its Bing search engine. Could this logo soon become Bing’s logo?

Have you noticed as few as 4 or 8 search results on Bing? That’s because more than 50 percent of searchers click on Bing’s first organic result. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, Bing may show 12 or 14 results after an unsuccessful search.

Are you feeding search engines garbage? Taking a look at your entire index will allow you to gain an understanding of what Google and Bing see and index. Here’s how to hone in on and assess your content, see if it’s indexed, and clean it up.

When the goal is to attract larger audiences for your content marketing efforts, either to turn these visitors into new leads or just for the SEO value to be gained from earning links and social media shares, you need some heavyweight content bait.

If you’re using PPC to generate leads, then an effective landing page is critical to converting visitors. Use this template that you can adapt to most markets in which your prospects are just becoming aware of a problem and potential solutions.

One page out gives Mozilla trouble with Google. Enhanced campaigns get Google+ annotations and an upgrade center. And it sure was hard not to see Eric Schmidt. Here’s a quick recap of search and social marketing news and tips from the past week.

Has search lost its luster? Global search spending continues to grow, but costs-per-click (CPC) may be stagnating, according to Kenshoo’s Global Search Advertising Trends report.

Launching a new website isn’t just about updating your CMS and content, it’s also a brand refresh – your opportunity to reshape your company from the inside out. Here’s a roadmap of vital elements you’ll need for a successful relaunch and rebrand.

The comedy cable network and social media platform have teamed up to launch #ComedyFest, the “first-ever celebration of comedy and comedians to be programmed on Twitter.” The laughs start tomorrow and will be provided by more than 50 comedians.

Google has acquired news summarization start-up Wavii for more than $30 million. Wavii, which uses natural language processing technology to distil online news into topics the users most care about, confirmed the news in a post on their website.

Google reported in its bi-annual transparency report that government requested takedowns are up from the first half of last year. From July to December 2012 Google received 2,285 government requests to remove content from its platforms.

Google Instant Previews, which gave searchers a sneak peek of a website by hovering over a magnifying glass icon, has been removed due to low usage. Now Google has added a drop-down to view Cached or Similar results, or Share a page on Google+.