Some insight on Penguin from Search Metrics.

Google, by way of Matt Cutts, announced some weeks ago that a special SEO over optimization update will come. Now it’s live with its first iteration. Yesterday evening Google also published the article “Another step to reward high-quality sites” with some more insights into the update. Interesting stuff that every SEO should read. The official goal was “to take care” over-optimized websites, containing too many unnatural links, automated content (spinning), keyword stuffing etc. Google tries to kill webspam altogether. The impact on all keywords queries is about 3.1%, which compared to Panda (with around 12%) is much less. But Google said more short-head/visible keywords should be affected.

Here is a video of a Penguin, an EVIL Penguin.

It strikes me that Google are going to continue to give their updates ridiculous names. The fallout from this being when SEO’s are in meetings with clients they sound ridiculous being forced to have serious conversations about the possible effects of Panda Penguin [insert silly name] udate.

My wait for Pi is (nearly) over. I have now ordered my Raspberry Pi.

What’s a Raspberry Pi?

The Raspberry Pi is a credit-card sized computer that plugs into your TV and a keyboard. It’s a capable little PC which can be used for many of the things that your desktop PC does, like spreadsheets, word-processing and games. It also plays high-definition video. We want to see it being used by kids all over the world to learn programming.

My Receipt

That. Is. All. image credits

The fastest way from point A to point B

Click-to-Teleport extensions allow potential customers to instantly teleport to your business location directly from a search ad. Forget CTRs, conversion tracking and call metrics – one click and a customer is instantly standing in your business location and ready to shop.

A new way to drive in-store sales

Our teleportation technology shortens the “online-to-store” conversion funnel by providing searchers with an easy way to visit any business and convert. On average, advertisers using Click-to-Teleport extensions have seen their offline sales increase by 3600%!

The end of location targeting

Take your business global by allowing searchers from anywhere on the planet to teleport to your store in a matter of seconds. With Click-to-Teleport, a New Yorker craving sushi can instantly dine in Tokyo. Please note that while in beta, there is no “teleport back home” option for users; you are responsible for providing return transportation or calling a taxi for any teleport customer.

Click here to read the ‘article’ Google April FOOLZ – Introducing Click-to-Teleport.

UPDATE!

Found a post on Search Engine Land and Search Engine Watch that lists the Google April Fools gag’s for this year.

1. Google Racing: Self-Driving Cars Hit NASCAR
2. Google Maps In 8-Bit For NES. relive all your favorite 1980s graphics by clicking the “Quest” button
3. Google Street Roo
4. Google China: Underwater Search
5. Google’s Really Advanced Search
6. Google Search: Weather Control
7. Google AdWords: Click-to-Teleport
8. The YouTube Collection
9. Play Music In Google Analytics
10. Google Chrome Multitask Mode
11. Gmail Tap
12. Google Fiber Bar
13. Google Analytics: Interplanetary Reporting
14. Google TV Click: Control Television & Movies!
15. Google’s Canine Staffing Team
16. That’s Not All…

image credits

Rand Fishkin (Mr SEOMoz) came to Forward to do a talk for Hacker News. He gave a presentation about inbound marketing. Very good deck. Find it below:

There will be a video @ some point so as soon as it is released I will update this post.

UPDATE!

Here is the video guys:

Inbound Marketing for Startups March 2012 – Rand Fishkin from Forward Technology on Vimeo.

From the guys over at Search Engine Land The Periodic Table Of SEO Ranking Factors.

Search engine optimization — SEO — may seem like alchemy to the uninitiated. But there is a science to it. Search engines reward pages with the right combination of ranking factors, or “signals.” SEO is about ensuring your content generates the right type of signals. Our chart below summarizes the major factors to focus on for search engine ranking success.

An informative and historical infographic that offers a timeline of Google Algorithm Changes.

Rich snippets -we see them everywhere in the SERPs, with some verticals having a higher abundance of them than others. For the average searcher, these rich snippets help show them what they’re searching for is within reach on a particular site.

Here is Googles rich snipet testing tool. Best case senario the snippet for my site looks like this:

Anyway, below is the infographic.

It’s from SEOmoz via Blue Glass. I’d feel bad if I didn’t link them.

Say NO to ACTA & Stop ACTA e-petition. Petitions to demand that United Kingdom MPs and United Kingdom representatives to and in Europe officially oppose the proposed ACTA legislation. This legislation, drawn up in secret, proposes making Internet Service Providers collect information on their users and police their use of the internet, by making the ISPs legally responsible for the internet use of their customers. This would have devastating effects on free speech, access to affordable medicine, and exchange of culture.

Learn more and take action about ACTA at laquadrature.net

Nice infrographic from the MajesticSEO crew.

I’m going to go ahead and assume that you are aware of last weeks SOPA protests that resulted in several of the internet’s largest properties self-censoring in protest. While the internet lit up with debate and discourse about the potential moral, financial and ethical dimensions of the SOPA bill, us SEO types had a very different reaction to the protest.

It’s an opportunity to run studies and gather some sweet sweet data.

Read the full SOPA & Google post on the Forward3D blog.