What Changes Does The Google Penguin Update Bring?

Not much time has passed since most webmasters became familiar with Google Panda. However, as opposed to what most people expected, the industry giant did not stop here and on April 24 a new update was launched. Google Penguin comes with no less than 52 algorithm changes and many more penalties for web pages using over-optimization. Like in the Panda update, representatives of the company stated penalties would only be applied to pages with problems, without the risk of affecting genuine sites. A difference would be that Google Panda reassesses all sites on average once a month, while with Penguin the optimization is evaluated continuously. As a consequence, it is now important for webmasters to adapt to the new requirements in a very short time, because penalties will be canceled immediately.

In the last week many websites have fallen in the organic search results for certain keywords or phrases. Google logic is now clear and its main purpose is now avoiding spam. When Google came out with the Panda update webmasters were very disappointed. Now that the company invented another product, Google Penguin, most people are even more worried and expect the worst.

In its almost one month of existence, Google Penguin has affected more than 3% of organic results. Many websites have suffered more than in the last Panda update. The Google algorithm change was even more drastic. And more problems can be caused by this continuing update, meaning that a page indexed among the top results may not be indexed at all after several hours if some irregularities are detected. The new algorithm changes are meant to prevent spam content as much as possible and penalize websites that use all sorts of tricks for rapid advancement in search engine results, primarily excess of keywords and phrases.

Some of the solutions you should stay away from if you want to avoid Google Penguin from 'hurting' your business are as follows:

• Duplicate content on blogs or on the subdomain of your page;
• Keyword or phrase density that is too large;
• Automatic queries, including the use of query programs;
• Hidden links;
• Black Hat SEO techniques;
• A bad design or bad links structure.

Therefore, make sure you re-check the keyword density in all your pages and ensure this is up to the latest standards. Finally, if you believe your website was penalized for no reason you can always submit a reconsideration request, explaining your problem in detail. An answer is not always guaranteed, but this is worth trying.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7078481

Matt Cutts Reveals Google's Updated SEO Copywriting Strategy

I've been suspicious for years now. Just from paying attention to the sites that come up in the search engine results pages (SERPs), I've seen differences. What I was finding was that the top sites didn't always have the exact keyphrase multiple times in their copy. It appeared that (with all Google's updates over time) we've moved away from strictly using the keyphrase as-is and more toward using the individual words within the keyphrases as we write.

I suspected that the changes I was seeing spanned Google's databases. When it was confirmed during an email conversation with Google's Matt Cutts it didn't take me by surprise. As a matter of fact, this is what I've been teaching for at least 10 years now because it makes sense. Google has always preached "natural" and "relevant." Once they started incorporating synonyms many years ago, changing the way they recognized keywords seemed like a logical course for them to follow as far as copywriting goes.

If you've learned SEO copywriting from me through my Step-by-Step Copywriting Course, you should be good to go. If not, you'd better keep reading. You'll want to start changing your strategy pretty quick like.

As-Is vs. Individual Keywords

In the beginning (as the saying goes) were keywords that grew into keyPHRASES. And from early on, those who were paying attention found that Google (and other engines) ranked pages that mention the keyphrases multiple times throughout a page.

The headlines, subheads, ALT tags, copy and other pieces of text were all prime candidates for keyword insertion. That's because Google was only able to do exact or partial matches.

Fast forward several years and Google has gotten more synonym savvy. There's no longer a need to cram keyphrases everywhere you possibly can. In fact, you may be surprised at what Matt Cutts has to say about this point.

So, instead of always using "blue suede shoes" as-is (the entire, original keyphrase together), you can also use just "blue" and just "suede" and just "shoes" within the copy. This is precisely the SEO copywriting technique I've included in many of my books and seminar sessions for years.

I'm going to paste the conversation between Matt and me below so you can read exactly what was said.

SEO Copywriting in Google's Own Words

KARON: I've been noticing a trend over the last couple of years (maybe longer) as far as SEO copywriting goes. It seems the pages that are ranking well are not always using the keyphrases as-is, but are using the individual words within the keyphrase separately. For instance, instead of always using "blue suede shoes" the page will also use "blue" and "suede" and "shoes" individually.

Can you confirm and/or comment on whether keyphrases always need to be used in their original form and if it helps/hurts to also use the individual words within the phrase?

MATT: Keyphrases don't have to be in their original form. We do a lot of synonyms work so that we can find good pages that don't happen to use the same words as the user typed.

In general though, if the words are on the webpage (not in a spammy way of course), that makes our job easier since we don't have to rely on synonym matches to find good documents.

KARON: Has proximity of the keywords on the page also gone by the wayside? And, while we're on the topic, is it still best practice to include keywords in certain locations on the page. For instance:

• headline

• subheads

• ALT tags

• anchor text link

• etc.

MATT: People can overdo it to the point that we consider it keyword stuffing and it hurts. I would just make sure you do it in natural ways where regular people aren't going to find it stiff/artificial. That tends to be what works best.

KARON: So, then, you're saying perhaps put the original keyphrase on the page once or twice (to help Google out) then just use the individual words within the phrase throughout the rest of the copy? If so, that's what I've been suggesting for years.

In light of all the recent changes with Google, would using the keyphrase numerous times (which is what everybody has gotten used to doing over time) hurt the page's ability to rank? I'm not talking about the infamous keyword density. For years most people have been taught that you do keyword research to find what people are searching for then you use those phrases (provided they are relevant) within your copy, within anchor text links, etc., etc. Still true or... ?

MATT: Correct, as long as it's done naturally, not artificially or in a spammy way.

As I've always said, "Never sacrifice the quality of your copy for the sake of the search engines." It's just not necessary. The next time you write a new page of copy test this approach to writing for the engines and see if you get as good (or better) results than before. I'm betting you'll be pleasantly surprised.

By Karon Thackston

Stop struggling with copy that's not ranking or converting like you want. Get some help at http://www.CopywritingCourse.com and watch how quickly your results improve. © 2012, All Rights Reserved

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Karon_Thackston

SEO Tips to Avoid Google Penalty Or Google Sandboxing

Search Engine Optimization or SEO is one of the most important channels to market your business online but while you carry out all activities, there is one thing that you have to be particularly careful about and that is avoiding Google penalties or sandboxing.

Google is the most used and preferred search engine around the globe. Google optimization would be an integral part of your SEO strategy, hence it is important that you are in the good books of the search engine. However in search of the top ranking, most people tend to overlook the possibilities of their site incurring penalties and end up paying a heavy price for the same. Here are a few tips to ensure that you can keep away problems with Google.

Link Carefully: When you are placing links on your site for another site or vice versa, be careful that you are confident about the other domain being involved in ethical activities. At times affiliations to black hat SEO practitioners can be the reason for your downfall. So it is very important to build links and place links very carefully.

Error 404: In case you have pages that are missing on your website, you might find yourself paying a huge price for it. The reason is that most of the times you site will divert that page to your HostSite which can be a bad sign for the search engines because it breaks down the relevance of your site.

Finally, you can look at Google's webmaster guidelines and also ensure that you have a good amount of access to their help forum. In this way you can avoid Google penalty and ensure that your SEO process goes smoothly. Ensure that your Google optimization plans aren't affected due to the wrong reasons, select a professional SEO India company for effective results and best prices. Complete Seo Services

Search Engine Optimization and Google Penalties

Sometimes the biggest task search engine optimization poses is understanding the boundaries you can take your SEO efforts to without incurring a Google penalty. Google penalties come in many different shapes and sizes and it is always a frustrating process for the webmaster, especially if the site relied heavily on search traffic.

There are a few different things that would indicate you have been hit with a Google penalty, sometimes you will be informed via webmaster tools if you make use of it. You then need to follow a strict reconsideration process after you have amended any issues Google has. There are many reasons for getting a penalty, over optimisation, spamming, keyword stuffing or having hidden text on your site, just to name a few, but when can we spot that we have been hit by a penalty?

If you monitor your search traffic closely and you seem to experience a sudden drop, this could indicate you have been penalized in some way by Google. More specifically if you have experienced a sudden drop in some of your rankings, this could also mean a penalty. When we talk about drops what we mean are significant drops, have you dropped from the first page down to result 80, 90 or even 100? If so there is little doubt your site has been hit. If your site is particularly new it's rankings may be a little erratic until you have built up a solid link authority, if it's over 12 months old it's time to start worrying.

If you try and search for your domain name and no results come back and your site has been established for over 3 months there is a good chance you will have a penalty. If you have only just registered your site that year it could be in, what is known as, the Google sandbox. This is Google's attempt at protecting their index from spam, there is nothing you can do apart from continuing to build solid links and content. If your site is older than 12 months, again you have an issue.

Google penalties are never easy to deal with and the reconsideration process can be particularly tedious. If you are not the original owner of the domain it could be a previous owner has gone against Google's guidelines and you are paying the price for it. Analyse your link and content to ensure there have been no unethical tactics implemented, if you find any remove them and plead with Google to reinstate your site in the index.

Submit RSS

What is great about using Yahoo to submit your feed is that it supports any versions of RSS existed in the field, although they prefer the RSS 2.0. Prior to your RSS feed submission to the search engine, there are few things that you need to take care of.

First of all, you need to pick an RSS format, and only a version from each different content feed will be allowed to be published. Since they only accept a single submission for each feed, multiple submissions for more than one version are not permissible. The next thing that you need to do is to validate your RSS feed upon your submission. Test your feed through the Feed Validator and do make sure that the RSS feed has been properly formed. Meanwhile, check through your feed's description and title and verify that they're correct, accurate, and brief. Also, you need to be signed in to the search engine for your feed to be added to the Yahoo RSS Database. When you're signing in, use your own ID instead of your business ID.

You are able to preview your feed after your RSS feed's URL submission. Look through everything carefully and if you're satisfied and that everything seems perfect submit your feed and add your feed to your own site by clicking the "Add" button. After you're done with your feed submission, you should update your feed by 'pinging' the search engine which is a method used by publishers like you to notify the search engine of your update in order for your latest post to appear immediately.

For your post, it should always have a meaningful and concise descriptions and titles since they are to be displayed in the search results when your feed appears on it. You will stand the chance to increase the visibility of your content by having an informative and specific description and title. The naming convention such as "Provider: Sub-Topic" is highly recommended. For example, if you're contemplating on updating about something pertaining to business news, type "Reuters: Business".

When you have submitted the URL of your RSS feed to Yahoo Database, the feed will already become accessible for the Yahoo users to search for it through the database. It's great to use Yahoo or any other major search engine for your RSS submission since their RSS directory is usually easy to use, helpful, well-organized, fast, and intuitive. Up until now, thousands of the most famous and well-known websites and blogs have been categorized by them with RSS feeds. Any submissions to the search engine will be carefully reviewed.

If you want to learn more on how your business can benefit from increased traffic check our traffic guide. and enjoy the true benefits that comes with more visitors in you business.

Michael Moume is a veteran Internet marketer with stint in traffic generation and using Internet to maximize profits. For FREE Tips and Advise, go to increaserss.com

RSS Submission Service

RSS Submission service resolves one of the important issues that most website owners' face that's traffic and being in contact with their customer. RSS means "really simple syndication" and it's a way for you to publish your content over the Internet. This simply means that you can get all of the updates from your favorite websites in a single place, rather than having to visit to each site to check if there are any new posts of articles.

A good RSS feed is just a machine readable version of your site activity checklist. It enables a website to give a live stream of updates in a structure that may be used in your internet browser, email customer or on your favorite media reader application. A feed or an RSS Feed is an inclusive element of online promotion of a blog and can help your blog:

1. To get listed faster.

2. To acquire automatic backlinks each time you post.

3. To rank in the big search engines in an exceedingly short time.

4. To become more popular and receive more subscribers.

Among the better top reasons to get your RSS submitted to RSS directories is for obtaining back links from these RSS directory sites. Bloggers look in RSS directories for information to publish some posts on their blogs. Webmasters look in RSS directories to incorporate content material to their website. Consumers look in RSS directories for alternatives to add to their news readers. RSS Feed Submissions are usually one way linked and they provide immediate link popularity.

Most of the blogs today possess RSS feeds setup in them by default. And if you're an improved level website owner and understand the importance of RSS Feeds, you might have reviewed the methods of establishing an RSS Feed on your site as well. If you currently have RSS feed set up on your site, then that's fantastic. Nonetheless, just setting up the feed on your site or blog isn't enough if you are considering SEO rewards. You need to let the word out to the RSS directories and RSS engines regarding your feed URL. These engines can see your website and edge your feed real quick which enables easy syndication of the site articles.

RSS and blogging specialists recognize that submitting your feed to news directories may be the single most important marketing technique for your blog. Your RSS feed might be culled by other sites and blogs, effectively providing you free incoming links from all of them. You might leverage your existing content to increase your PR doing nothing further vexing than unleashing your RSS feed.

RSS submission service's reason for why it's popular nowadays is that a lot more people are utilizing RSS feeds to have daily updates. Search engine spiders also favour the site with RSS submission, because the content of these sites is constantly updated. RSS submission also assists in keeping existing clients because they are always aware of the updates that you need to provide. Added benefit is the fact that updating is automatic. RSS feed submission service is increasing ground because of its ability to deliver quality traffic. RSS submission will give your website publicity and opportunity that will help you in increasing your business.

For any individual who is interested to discover so much more relating to the RSS submission service, an up and coming business process outsourcing sector which can most absolutely help jump start your small business and help you to save cash, then login to virtual assistants. You'll love it! complete seo link building services

Contextual Link Building Tips

A contextual link is an SEO tool which points to your site and targets a specific keyword phrase in its anchor text. It can be thought of as combining the two SEO powerhouses of content and linking. Following are some top contextual link building tips. If it seems like too much at once, just remember that you don't have to try it all now. The experts recommend building your back links slowly, so do a little at a time.

Perform an internet search to find a good page ranking tool. Experiment until you find one that you're comfortable using. It would be a good idea to check page ranks and get as many links as possible from pages with a high-ranking.

Determine the keyword phrase that will provide the context for your link. The web content of the linked site should focus on the same thing that is indicated by the keyword phrase. If they don't agree, then there is no context and the page ranking won't help you as much.

Don't focus on just the top page. When linking to the desired website, consider using deep links to specific pages. Most users aren't just looking for home pages. They are looking for specific information. Links to pages that contain useful information will get more pages in your site ranked and helps with overall ranking.

Submit articles with links in them. Article content should flow logically and be easy to read. It should also be at least somewhat informative. If you're not confident with your writing, consider hiring a freelancer for a quick article. It might be a good idea to bargain a little for multiple articles.

Spend some quality time with popular bookmarking and social media websites such as Twitter and Stumble. Some will provide the opportunity to get context oriented links for desired websites. Just remember not to get carried away and build too many links too fast.

Find a handful of relevant forums with good page ranking. Include a context relevant link in your signature, then interject a thoughtful opinion there once in a while. Also appreciated are things like interesting mini essays or lists of favorites.

Try issuing a press release. Care should be taken to make sure it's as newsy as it can be so many networks will pass it along. Networks like news, but tend to shy away from blatant advertisements. In exchange for taking the sales talk out and focusing on the news angle, there will be a place to share the website's information.

Do a search using your targeted keywords and notice the top fifty results. Contact the webmasters and offer to buy a backlink from as many as possible. If their page ranking is high enough, it can be worth the expense.

If there's not enough time in the day for all that, try outsourcing the task to a company that specializes in SEO. They will perform the analysis and find relevant places to link back to the desired website. Some will even provide the link as part of the service.

Consider a specialized software tool made for building backlinks. It can automate much of the analysis and related tasking, freeing up enough time to make it worth the cost. Either way, whether operating on a sophisticated budget or a very small one, there are contextual link building tips that any webmaster can follow.