{"id":3495,"date":"2012-05-11T14:11:07","date_gmt":"2012-05-11T19:11:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rocketclicks.com\/blog\/?p=3495"},"modified":"2012-05-11T14:11:07","modified_gmt":"2012-05-11T19:11:07","slug":"google-reviews-their-april-algorithm-changes-semantics-play-a-bigger-rankings-role-bing-has-a-unique-differentiator-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rocketclicks.com\/industry-news\/google-reviews-their-april-algorithm-changes-semantics-play-a-bigger-rankings-role-bing-has-a-unique-differentiator-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Reviews Their April Algorithm Changes, Semantics Play A Bigger Rankings’ Role, Bing Has A Unique Differentiator, & More"},"content":{"rendered":"
April was Ground Zero for Google\u2019s Penguin and Panda 3.5\/.6 updates, and Google outlines some of their most significant features (along with others) in their monthly transparency blog post. Among the updates:<\/p>\n
–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A 15% bigger index base.<\/p>\n
–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Improving on-page keyword scoring.<\/p>\n
–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Better understanding of \u201cfresh\u201d seeking queries.<\/p>\n
–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Better local results based on user location search intent.<\/p>\n
–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Smarter, more relevant sitelink choices.<\/p>\n
Source: The Official Google Inside Search Blog<\/a><\/p>\n Google has hinted at its extensive research into semantic-based technology that would allow its algorithm to guess user intent based on related terms rather than a literal keyword interpretation. We\u2019ve provided a screen shot example below:<\/p>\n \n It appears the first implementation of Google\u2019s semantic update is becoming a permanent fixture in its search results. This is a significant update in the sense that it provides users searching for information (the majority of searches) with an answer without requiring a click.<\/p>\n Source: Search Engine Journal<\/a><\/p>\n Bing\u2019s current Google-y looking search results may look quite different for everyone over the next few weeks. The Burger King of search engines is moving closer to a three columned approach. The layout consists of the standard results on the left, a middle column with more detailed information (similar to Google Sources), and a right column with social media expert\/user commentary on the query in question.<\/p>\n The social layout is one area where Bing could have an advantage over Google, who opted for a Google+ only promotional strategy. Bing, in contrast, is able to display data from much more popular social networks (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare).<\/p>\n Source: Search Engine Watch<\/a><\/p>\n Google and legal nerds unite! Google is facing worldwide anti-trust lawsuits, and the U.S. leaning towards RSVPing<\/a> to the party. However, Google\u2019s purported First Amendment-based defense strategy adds a new level of intrigue to this story.<\/p>\n Commissioned by Google themselves, a UCLA law professor has concocted a legal brief arguing that, since search results are ultimately editorial speech\/judgments, they cannot be regulated by standard anti-trust laws. Basically, search results are a form of speech as protected as newspaper columns.<\/p>\n Source: Search Engine Land<\/a><\/p>\n It seems that Google is rehashing its November 2011 testing of \u201cSources\u201d results, which display people, movies, books, music, and television shows relevant to a given query. Because most, if not all, searches involving these various nouns are informational in nature, it\u2019d be a good idea to bet on this change becoming permanent sometime in the near future.<\/p>\n Source: Search Engine Land<\/a><\/p>\n Many businesses, local and national (obviously), have more than one location. As such, Google has responded to this quiet dilemma by offering a new bulk listing option for Google Places. The management tool will now allow businesses to edit all of their locations in one spot, and search their listings by location and fix errors individually.<\/p>\n Source: Search Engine Land<\/a><\/p>\n Kids hoping to utilize fake IDs might now have to get a fake Facebook account to match.\u00a0 Bouncers in some countries are now asking to see potential patrons\u2019 Facebook pages on their smartphones. The justification is that it is just another way of verifying the person is who the traditional ID they present says they are. Still, the practice has already drawn criticism from several organizations who claim it is a violation of the basic right to privacy.<\/p>\n Source: BBC<\/a><\/p>\n In news of the cool and ominous, it appears that transforming machines are not too far outside the realm of reality. Mashable has a video of the Bravo Robot, a toy car that literally transforms into a standing robot in a few seconds. It\u2019s not nearly as fast as the movie Transformers, but it\u2019s a step in that direction. Color me skeptical, but I doubt it\u2019d do much against a Decepticon invasion at this point in time, even with Shia LaBeouf and Michael Bay at its side.<\/p>\n Source: Mashable<\/a><\/p>\n It has been over 10 years since Internet Explorer became the one and only useable browser in South Korea. In a late 1990s effort to further secure e-commerce transactions, South Korea\u2019s government decided to require all users to provide a digital certificate as proof of their identity. The problem is that the certificate only runs with a Microsoft ActiveX plug-in.<\/p>\n The result a decade later has been an IE monopolistic rule over the South Korean Internet, a suppressed market for innovation, and a convoluted bureaucratic process requirement if any business or company wants to use an alternative to the ActiveX plug-in.<\/p>\n Source: Tech Dirt<\/a><\/p>\n There\u2019s a bit of hyperbole in the headline above, but the same could be said of the actual headline in Eric Ward\u2019s recent Search Engine Land piece on unnatural links. Eric identifies 15 different species in the Internet wild, and explains the grey area that often surrounds these prevalent creatures.<\/p>\n Analysis By: Eric Ward, Search Engine Land<\/a><\/p>\n Link building has its share of difficulties, but no strategy under that umbrella is harder than consistently finding resources for e-commerce links. Stephanie Chang has a good article on SEOmoz on how to think outside the box when you\u2019re attempting to build links to product pages without the benefit of compelling content.<\/p>\n Analysis By: Stephanie Chang, SEOmoz<\/a><\/p>\n Harvard Business Review says the most successful companies are those with an excellent corporate culture. With motivation to succeed and grow, employees will want to stay on-board and create opportunities in a job they love.<\/p>\n Analysis By: Harvard Business Review<\/a><\/p>\n Who better to offer advice for traveling than Dan Pink, a nationally renowned public speaker? Pink offers 12 travel tips in a short video, coincidentally recorded in an airport.<\/p>\n Analysis By: Mark Frauenfelder, BoingBoing<\/a><\/p>\n One of the major components of the new Penguin update seems to address anchor text over-optimization of backlinks. The finding highlights just how crucial natural anchor text optimization is. A solid natural anchor text profile is composed mostly of strongly branded anchor text, some broad\/partial match keyword anchor texts and other anchor texts (click here, website etc.). A natural anchor text profile only uses an exact keyword match anchor text in very rare instances.<\/p>\nSemantic Search Is One Step Closer To A Permanent Google Reality<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Bing Search Gets Three Columns<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Showdown: Google Vs. Antitrust Regulations<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\u2018Sources\u2019 Tests Are Back, With Books, Movies, And Music Galore<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Google Lumps All Your Places Editing Into One Area<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Facebook Profiles Offer A New Form Of ID Verification<\/strong><\/h3>\n
A Real Life Transformer: He\u2019s No Optimus Prime, But He\u2019ll Do For Now<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Who Would\u2019ve Thought Internet Explorer Would Stymie Innovation?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Notable Commentary<\/h1>\n
Filled With Natural Links<\/h1>\n
85 Unnatural Links On The Web, 85 Unnatural Links, Take One Down, Notify Google, 84 Unnatural Links On The Web<\/strong><\/h3>\n
E-Commerce Link Building Got You Down? Fear Not, For There Are Creative Possibilities Abound<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Corporate Culture Matters<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Don\u2019t Bother Watching The Travel Channel; Dan Pink Has Got You Covered<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Natural Anchor Text Optimization Is Crucial<\/strong><\/h3>\n