tactics for dealing with the latest google algorithm updates - pubcon new orleans 2013

Tactics for Dealing with the Latest Google Algorithm

UpdatesPresented by:

Bill Hartzer

Overview• Recent Major Google Updates

– Panda, Penguin, EMD, Page Layout Updates

• Google Knowledge Graph• UnNatural Link Warnings• Cleaning Up Your Links• Link Removal Requests• Google Disavow Tool

Bill Hartzer, Director of SEOTwitter: @standingdog and

@bhartzerFacebook:

Facebook.com/StandingDog

What is Google Panda?• Ranking factor added to the Google algorithm

• Filter designed to identify ‘low quality pages’.

• Provides better rankings for high-quality sites

• Doesn't run continuously due to analysis processing

• Updates every 4 to 7 weeks

• Named after Google engineer Navneet Panda


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How Google Panda Was Developed

• Google Engineer came up with questions.• Sent questions to human quality testers who rated sites

– Rated based on quality, design, trustworthiness, speed, and whether or not they would return to site

– Google came up with definition of “low quality”• Launched Personal Chrome Site Blocker extension earlier.

– Allowed users to specify sites they want blocked from search results

• Compared data from both sources (Raters and Chrome Blocker), and had 84 percent overlap, indicating on right track

• Came up with Classifier to indicate Low Quality vs. High Quality Sites, to be used mathematically in Google Panda.


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Google Panda History• Rolled Out to US sites around February 24, 2011

– http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/finding-more-high-quality-sites-in.html

• Rolled out to Globally to all English language Users around April 11, 2011– Also began to roll out data from sites that users block

• Latest update Panda #25 — March 14, 2013- Panda updates now on rolling update schedule (previously manually pushed out). Updates less transparent now.


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Google Panda Update History• Panda/Farmer — February 23, 2011

• Panda 2.0 — April 11, 2011• Panda 2.1 — May 9, 2011• Panda 2.2 — June 21, 2011• Panda 2.3 — July 23, 2011• Panda Goes Global (2.4) — August 12,

2011• Panda 2.5 — September 28, 2011• Panda "Flux" — October 5, 2011• Panda 3.1 — November 18, 2011• Panda 3.2 — January 18, 2012• Panda 3.3 — February 27, 2012• Panda 3.4 — March 23, 2012• Panda 3.5 — April 19, 2012• Panda 3.6 — April 27, 2012• Panda 3.7 — June 8, 2012• Panda 3.8 — June 25, 2012• Panda 3.9 — July 24, 2012• Panda 3.9.1 — August 20, 2012• Panda 3.9.2 — September 18, 2012• Panda #20 — September 27, 2012

See the Google Algorithm Change History:http://www.seomoz.org/google-algorithm-

change


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• Panda #21 — November 5, 2012• Panda #22 — November 21, 2012• Panda #23 — December 21, 2012• Panda #24 — January 23, 2013• Panda #24 — March 14, 2013

Were You Hit by Panda?

• Look at Web Analytics• Sites affected had traffic loss starting in February, 2011.• Google Analytics for your site (Web Trends, Omniture,

etc.)• Google Trends for any site (http://trends.google.com)


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Recovering from Panda• Make sure all content on site is “high quality”

• Review Google’s List: 23 Questions to assess quality– http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2011/05/more-guidance-on-building-high-

quality.html

• Identify and remove least-visited pageson site via your web analytics

• Take out the trash, so to speak.

• Prevent Pogosticking from SERPs.


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Panda vs. Penguin• Panda focuses on sites providing a bad user experience

– Sites with low quality content

• Penguin focuses on spamdexing and link bombing.


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What is Google Penguin?

• Google: “algorithm change targeted at webspam.”– http://insidesearch.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/another-step-to-

reward-high-quality.html

• Goal is to “decrease rankings for sites that violate Google’s Quality Guidelines”.– http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?

hl=en&answer=35769#3

• Examples:– Keyword Stuffing, Over Optimization– Unusual linking patterns (outgoing links)


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Google Penguin History• First reported April 24, 2012• Penguin #2 — May 25, 2012• Penguin #3 — October 5, 2012

- impacted 0.3 percent of queries• Penguin #4 — Coming Soon… but was

announced in “Search Police” session at SMX West March 20th.


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Were You Hit by Penguin?

• Panda 4/19/2012, Penguin 4/24, Panda refresh 4/27, then Panda 10/5

– Search Engine Journal: http://www.searchenginejournal.com/penguin-or-panda-how-to-determine-which-google-algorithm-update-impacted-your-website/43751/


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Recovering from Penguin

• Perform a full SEO Audit of web site– Identify and fix problem areas on site that violate

Google guidelines (keyword stuffing, over optimization, etc.)

• Review Google Webmaster Tools for messages, suggestions

• Perform full link analysis of site– Download links from Majestic SEO, SEOMoz Open

Site Explorer, a hrefs, etc.– Review anchor text, clean up links to site– LinkResearchTools.com for further cleanup

• Work on Authority, Trust of your site


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Exact Match Domain Update

• Exact-Match Domain (EMD) Update — September 27, 2012Should be called the “Commercial Phrase” Update. But for PR purposes, I realize why Google calls it the “EMD” update.

• Google targeted “commercial phrases” with this update.• AdWords CPC Cost + # Searches Per Month = Commercial

Phrase• Example:

– $5.00 CPC + 20,000 Searches Per Month = Commercial Phrase

• Valuable Domain Names include Keywords (commercial phrases)

• Not all keyword rich domains affected• Sites without keyword rich domains were affected• Recover by cleaning up your link profile, especially anchor text


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Page Layout Update• Page Layout #2 — October 9, 2012 • Google targeted pages with too many ads “above the

fold”• http://browsersize.googlelabs.com/


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Knowledge Graph Update

• Knowledge Graph Expansion — December 4, 2012 • Added KG functionality to non-English queries, enhanced

KG• Get your site, business ready for Knowledge Graph.• TIP: get listed in Freebase.com, part of Knowledge

Graph.


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UnNatural Link Warnings

• Got an unnatural link warning in Google Webmaster Tools?

• Sample Unnatural Link Warning shown below• Process for Recovering from Unnatural Link Warnings:• Clean Up Links, Disavow, Reinclusion Request• IMPORTANT: Clean Up Your Links!

– Disavow, Reinclusion Request not required!


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Cleaning Up Your Links• Review all your links (Majestic SEO, a hrefs, Webmaster

Tools)• LinkResearchTools .com Link Detox Tool• Identify Toxic and Suspicious Links. Review by hand!• Notify site owners of toxic links, review suspicious links• Be nice, ask, beg for removals. No C&D from your

lawyer!• If no answer, prepare Link Disavow list


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Link Removal Requests• Get organized. MS Excel, Google Docs spreadsheet• Include URL, Status, Date Contacted, Anchor Text, Notes• Find domain owner (whois data, contact info on site)• Ask for link removal or anchor text change if

appropriate• Realize that some links won’t be removed (thus disavow

tool)• Remember: Disavow is not required in order to recover.

• How to respond to a link removal request http://www.billhartzer.com/pages/how-to-respond-to-a-link-removal-request/


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Google Disavow Tool• What is Disavow? (Bing has Disavow tool, too)• Disavow is an advanced tool – use with caution• Not all sites should disavow links• Should You Disavow Links? How to Know

- check your backlink profile, look for toxic links- if you have a rogue former SEO firm who built bad links- if you have negative SEO done to your site

• Disavow should be a “last resort” effort. It’s not a magic bullet for ranking better.

• Carry on with your ‘normal’ linking, link earning activities (or do more of it)

• https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/disavow-links-main


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And Finally…

• How many characters can you fit in a Title Tag in the Google SERPs? Most say 70 characters or less…


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110+ Characters in the Title

• Measure title tag length in pixels, not characters• Google doesn't truncate title tags in SERPs based

on the number of characters in your title tag.• Blog post and tool to measure title tag pixel

length: http://bit.ly/titletaglength


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Thank YouBill Hartzer

Director of Search Engine OptimizationStanding Dog

www.StandingDog.comTwitter: @StandingDog

Facebook: Facebook.com/standingdog

Personal Blog: www.BillHartzer.comTwitter: @Bhartzer

Facebook: Facebook.com/bhartzer


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tactics for dealing with the latest google algorithm updates - pubcon new orleans 2013

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