SEO News

Using Knowledge Graph data, Google has made a change that gives searchers extra information about websites listed in the search results, such as when it was founded, who owns it, what type of site it is, and awards it has won. Source: Search Engine Watch

Performing a content audit on your website is time-consuming, but also incredibly valuable. It will help you see what content is on your site, how well it's optimized, and necessary next steps for better usability, loyalty, and search visibility. Source: Search Engine Watch

The use of virtual reality headsets is reaching a tipping point with increased opportunities for brands to exploit their growing popularity, according to new research published by ClickZ and Toluna. A poll of consumers in the United States has found that more than a third (37%) have now used either their own or someone else’s VR headset, almost double the equivalent figure of 19% in the UK. The survey of 1,000 US and 1,000 UK consumers was carried out by ClickZ Intelligence using Toluna software, the world’s leading provider of real-time digital consumer insights. Of those US consumers who have used a VR headset, the most common drivers of usage were for gaming (…

Every day in Q3 2012, Google served up 29.8 billion ad impressions across Google search and the Display Network. WordStream shares a look into which ads have the highest conversion rates and which verticals are driving Google’s massive ad income. Source: Search Engine Watch

Facebook is making some changes to how users see updates from individuals and pages in the news feed. This change will definitely hurt businesses running branded pages on Facebook that don't want to pay for Facebook advertising for visibility. Source: Search Engine Watch

Here are three ways to use the latest Google Keyword Planner features to make your AdWords management more receptive to user context (location, device, and time), which in turn will help make your entire campaign more successful. Source: Search Engine Watch

Perception is everything. In the business world, people are naturally attracted to the biggest names, whether you call them influencers, experts, or [insert industry here] rock stars. But what if you aren’t a big name yet? What if you’re just starting out and looking to make a name for yourself? How can you get on the radar of people you want to do business with in the future? Social media advertising makes it super easy to appear superbad. You can bias the way people think about you and make yourself (or your company) appear bigger than you are. Here are six crazy ideas that will help you look like a really big deal using social media ads. 1. Target ads a…

Quantify the business impact, keep a pulse on mobile, monitor social platforms, and be competitive. Incorporate these principles into your keyword research process and you'll position your SEO campaigns for sustained revenue and customer acquisition. Source: Search Engine Watch

This week, Google announced AdWords will have a new look and feel that's more consistent with other Google products. Updates included more white space, softer colors, and less scrolling to access important information. Source: Search Engine Watch

Google research reveals 34 percent of consumers on tablets or computers will also go to a store. And these people are ready to buy once they are in a store, as 18 percent of local searches lead to sales, compared to 7 percent for non-local searches. Source: Search Engine Watch

The big story in streaming this past week is the anticipated arrival of Amazon’s new on-demand music service. Rumours have been floating around for a while now but sites such as The Verge are guessing that the online retailer could jump into the ring with Spotify and Apple Music etc. over the next few weeks; with a service for customers already using the Echo device. It is expected they will launch an additional $10-per-month ‘open to all’ cross-device service in early 2017. Amazon certainly have a weighty legacy to leverage from, as well as a wealth of recorded media they already offer through their Prime service which they can now bring to the table. But I thou…

From giving SEO recommendations proper prioritization, to integrating social with SEO, and to developing a strong training and communication structure, these lessons will give you tangible ideas on how to improve your own enterprise SEO campaign. Source: Search Engine Watch

Pinterest news this week includes an announcement for a new recipe search for special dietary needs like gluten-free and "paleo," and a couple features spotted by users that are in testing: personalized home pages and functional GIF images. Source: Search Engine Watch

With Mother's Day right around the corner, AdGooroo wanted to examine the paid search landscape to see who the leaders were in mobile, desktop, and tablet paid search for the flowers and gifts category. ProFlowers and 1800Flowers claimed the top spots. Source: Search Engine Watch

A couple of weeks ago we published an article covering 12 high profile websites that have been hit with a Google penalty. Not all of these companies were in anyway directly to blame. For many it was a lack of education around SEO best practice. Or in some cases an errant SEO consultant earned them the punishment. In order to elucidate further on the behaviour that will lead to a penalty, let’s take a look at the ‘black hat SEO’ practices. What is Black Hat SEO? Any on-page or off-page practice that intends to falsely manipulate a website’s search position. There are many ways a website can do this, all of which are bad for your site, bad for search engines and …

Facebook may have 1 billion users and counting, but for a growing number of people niche social networks appear to be offering a more specialized and personalized experience that social networks with a wider net simply can't match. Source: Search Engine Watch

Google's Matt Cutts has issued a warning shot to low-quality guest blogs. No one would argue that spammers haven't been abusing guest blogging, but it can be done with integrity, and quality. Here's why guest blogging won't go away in 2014. Source: Search Engine Watch

A new study of 50,000 random pinners and their pins looks at how people are using Pinterest, whether women are still out-pinning men, the most popular categories for pins, the top brands utilizing Pinterest, and the most popular pinning times. Source: Search Engine Watch

Google has been prepping a slew of new products for the limelight and after slowly and (probably) intentionally leaking those over time, it made the official announcement on October 4th. New products include a pair of Pixel smartphones, Google Home smart speaker, Daydream VR set, Google Wi-Fi router, and a higher-definition Chromecast streaming dongle. Something to note right off the bat is that the products themselves don’t offer new functionality for the consumer. In fact, they overtly mirror the utility offered by comparable products in the market, most notably Apple’s gold standard iPhone and Amazon’s wildly popular Echo platform. So what’s the motivation? …

A person claiming to be an apps developer is selling a list of over 1 million data files on Facebook users and 300,000 Twitter users, including email addresses, for $5. The developer claims to have collected the information through social apps. Source: Search Engine Watch