‘Google search results’

The Google +1 button has been rolled out and received with mixed enthusiasm by website owners and AdWords advertisers. Many of the webmasters have already added the +1 button to their sites. No doubt, Google changes their search and indexing algorithms on a regular basis and keeping up with all the changes can be hard work. Google Buzz may very well disappear completely or if the company strategizes correctly, they may just combine the two ensuring more interactivity amongst searches.

If you haven’t placed the Google +1 button on your website yet, you will benefit from the tips and pieces of information about the new roll-out from Google.

Google +1 Button Will Influence Rankings

Google announced that the +1 feature will definitely be used in determining a web page relevance to a search string and thus also its ranking. Website owners will thus have to carefully consider the content of their sites and the keywords optimized for. Quality will count since the user will have the power to click on the button for liking the content. The button can almost be compared to the Facebook Like button, just with a bit more power.

How Does The User See The Google +1 Button?

When a searcher comes across a web page related to a specific search, they can simply click on the Google +1 button to recommend it as relevant to the search. The users must be logged in with their Google account to use the button and can set the public display in their profiles. The button and likes of a person will by default be publicly displayed unless set otherwise in the profile settings.

Users will see recommendations from contacts below their search results, helping them to get more relevant search results. The moment the user clicks the button, the content will appear in the user’s profile at Google under the Google +1 button tab. It can be seen in 44 languages, but the annotations will only be visible in English.

Is The Google +1 Button The Same As Google Buzz?

The +1 feature is not intended as a conversation tool whereas the Google Buzz feature has been created to promote conversation about interesting topics or web content found by searchers. Up to now, it has not been used widely and many website owners have already replaced it with the +1 feature, seen as more relevant to searches.

How Will The +1 Button Feature On A Website?

Google provides the website owner or AdWords advertiser with several styles and sizes to select from. If a site owner has a bit of technical knowledge, more customisation can be done to the button. One can add several +1 buttons to a single web page at various places. If a user clicks one, it will mean a recommendation for the whole page. Google has suggested placement of the +1 button near the page title and the links to be shared. In addition, you can place the button at the end of the page as well.

Google has given recommendations regarding faster loading speed such as placement of the script tag at the end of the page before the closing of the page body tag. It is worth keeping in mind since loading time of a page is also considered regarding page ranking. When it comes to AdWords, the +1 annotations will appear next to the headlines.

Where Will The Button Also Be Visible?

The Google +1 button will be visible under the Share at YouTube, and will also be visible at the Blogger, Android Market and the Google Product Search facility. It is not available for mobile search at the moment, but Google most probably will add the feature to the mobile search in the near future.

How To Add The Button At A Blogger Site

Simply click on the Page Elements under Design on the blog dashboard and once you have located the blog posting area, you can edit by selecting the share buttons option where the +1 button can also be found.

Why Place The Google +1 Button At Your Web Pages, Blog Posts And Search Ads?

According to Google, adding the button to your pages, AdWords and blog posts, you ensure that your pages and ads will be immediately visible. By giving your visitors more opportunities to plus one your content, you increase the chances of more relevant traffic to your site. This is so because the plus one annotations will be visible in the search results. The idea is that people are more likely to click on search results with plus one annotations than those not reviewed and recommended.

Terms Of Usage

Google by now has learned that SEO marketers and web publishers don’t take long before they get shortcuts regarding Google features. As such the company has created strict rules and regulations for the usage of the Google +1 button. One for instance, may not entice a visitor in any way to click on the +1 button. Publishers may also not try to discover who used the button unless the user has allowed sharing of such information with the publishers. Publishers cannot give awards in return for clicking on the + 1 buttons.

Analytics For The Feature Are Not Yet Available

Although you will not be able to use Google Analytics for the +1 button yet, Google is working on such to ensure that website owners will be able to get information on the demographics and content clicked for. In future then, webmasters will be able to use information derived from Google +1 button clicks to improve their web content and marketing strategies.

Should You Ignore Or Use?

The Google +1 button is a social sharing feature, something at which Google has not been able to succeed thus far. Considering that web pages are now almost cluttered with all the social sharing buttons, one may be sceptical regarding usage of the +1 by users.

Although people use the Like feature for Facebook, they tend to be less concerned about what their friends search for and will want to search for regarding organic searches. On the other hand, a +1 annotation or more can certainly help to improve visibility in the search results and as such we recommend that you add the button to your pages and ads sooner rather than later.

Let us handle the process should you struggle to add the new Google +1 feature to all your web pages.

Google Panda is the name of the new algorithm used by Google to index pages and also to ban and move pages down the search results. Dewaldt Huysamen of iLead Online recently compiled a report named “SEO Update On Google’s Top Secret Google Panda’s Algo Change” based on the findings of Michael Campbell who gave 19 pointers on how to ensure that your website remains in the top search results even with the new Google Panda lurking in the woods.

Search engine optimization is a fine and dynamic art. Just as human search and Internet usage behaviour changes over time as they adapt to new additions to the online environment, search engines, including the likes of Google, change their algorithms to ensure the most relevant search results for the user. Google attempts to give the user value for their search time through the implementation of the Google Panda Algorithm.

Why The Need For Google Panda?

It never takes long for SEOs to catch up with new algorithms and unfortunately the spammers and black hat SEOs are even faster. They are the opportunists of the online world, taking what is meant to be good for everyone and turning it into a tool that gives them an unfair advantage. Make no mistake – advantage is what you should strive for, but not when it involves unethical behaviour that can cause the search engine to change its algorithm into a rather angry Google Panda that becomes aggressive to keep the status quo. Since the spammers and the black hatters will always be around, the average website owner has to do some work to prevent being categorised in the same category as the unscrupulous black hatters.

What Is Important According To Google Panda?

The normal SEO stays in place. Keyword density must be checked, spelling and grammar should be up to standard and useful sticky content must be provided. The article directories and article farms were hit exceptionally hard because the feeling is that the content at these sites is not worth the search. Still good for building incoming links, these article directories unfortunately are also filled with user generated content with loads of ads, making it difficult to read the content. Problem is that users leave the sites and have to redo their searches.

Duplicate content and no meat are two more reasons for citing the above as below standard sources of information. With Google being the number one search engine and also an excellent income generator for AdSense entrepreneurs, article directories have become big business. Three blocks of ads can be placed with every article and since the user may find the content to be useless, the ads become all the more attractive, leading to clicks and of course, money in the bank for the AdSense generator.

In effect then, Google is also guilty in creating the culture of serving up junk and had to do something to level the playing field again and taking out the junk. Google Panda is their answer to this problem.

How To Stay On The Friendly Side Of Google Panda

The main focus should be to retain visitors at your site. This doesn’t mean getting the users to your site and then trapping them. Indeed, such behaviour will make Google Panda your enemy. The answer lies in good quality content. You have heard it all before, but now the content must be super relevant and of exceptional value. Google Panda basically works on the principle of checking how long a visitor stays at a site before returning to the search page to find a more relevant match for their query. Without getting bogged down in detail – Google checks user behaviour. It may come as a surprise, but your every move on the search engine is closely monitored. No need to switch off the computer as the tracking is done simply to enhance the search engine and to ensure that you will find relevant pages when typing in a search.

Practical Points

Google Panda considers the following in addition to the other 200 SEO factors to be important:

• Feedback from users – still considered in a way, but may change in future.
• Bounce rate – how long a visitor stays at a particular web page before hitting the back button and doing another search.
• The number of ads displayed on a page – if there are too many ads, and especially ads not meeting the standard such as blinking ones and ads loading slowly, the Google Panda algorithm kicks in.
• Auto generated content – if the website contains too many pages of auto or syndicated content it can lead to a lower rank.
• Spelling and grammar should be correct as incorrect usage of language can be an indication of article spinning and also of low quality content.
• Design of the page – loading time is the keyword here.
• Outgoing links – pages with too many links out will be penalized.
• Duplicate content – even on your own pages will lead to penalization.
• Getting a top ten result for a keyword phrase spread over several pages is considered scaly.

What You Can Do To Stay On The Best Side Of Google Panda

Apart from changing your website to ensure that you stay within the Google Panda boundaries as indicated above, you should ensure that the visitor stays longer than the average 57 seconds at your site. You want to ensure that the visitor’s attention will be grabbed for at least 60 seconds and as such will benefit from using the following techniques:

• Avoid the usage of clipart and unprofessional graphics. You want to build confidence which will not be the case when using outdated blinking clipart and animation.
• Use colours wisely. You want to improve readability and as such should stay clear of a light font colour on dark backgrounds. Keep in mind that people get tired easily when having to read blurry content which is exactly what happens when you have a light font on a dark background.
• Keep outgoing links to a minimum – you want the user to stay with you for just a bit longer.
• Use Verdana instead of Arial or Helvetica fonts which were meant for bus stop signs rather than for computer readability.
• Avoid heavy navigation which will confuse the user and tempt them to hit the back button. It can also lead to slow loading times – which can be detrimental if you want a low bounce rate.
• Use narrow column widths such as 60 characters and keep the font at 12 points to ensure maximum readability.
• Create super quality and attention grabbing content which will ensure positive feedback.
• Structure pages well to ensure that any auto content will be separated and not indexed.
• Check high bounce rate pages and change the content. Even one page with a high bounce rate can affect your site’s ranking.
• Don’t ignore the importance of the legal pages such as Privacy Statement, Terms & Conditions, and Disclaimers. Group them together under the About Us section.
• Ensure that your site only features high quality ads.
• Use photos instead of clipart and only include such when adding value to the story.
• Add sticky content. This means a video where relevant to keep visitors at your site for longer.

Review your website for the above factors. If you need help in getting into Google Panda’s good books or should we say, the best side of the Panda tree, get in contact with us at iLead Online to ensure that your website does more than meet the requirements – it should flourish in the Google Panda world.

It is an obvious truth that in our day and age everything is rushed. We hasten from point A to B with the mission to get everything done as soon as possible. This might very well because of the belief that time is in fact money, and that every second wasted is as good as money down the drain. As such, one of the consequences of our accelerated lifestyle is the importance of speed. It is therefore no shocker that the average internet user takes approximately 30 seconds to decide whether or not the website they are on is what they are indeed looking for.

As can be expected Google was yet again at the forefront when it came to developing ways to speed things up and as a result they decided to add ‘site speed’ into their calculation, or search ranking algorithms. Yip, this means that if you want your website to do well within the search engine results, your website’s speed is a factor you need to consider.

Google is not the only reason why you should make sure that your website loads quickly. The fact of the matter is that it will not only benefit your website’s rankings but also your relationship with readers and potential clients. What many website owners fail to recognise is that the slowness of their website make such an impact on their customers that they may see it as part of the brand values associated with their website. Moreover recent tests done by Google proved that faster websites increased conversions and user satisfaction. In other words, the quicker version of the same websites actually sold more products, had more online forms submitted, higher rates of downloads, and so forth.

An added bonus of websites operating faster was a reduction in operating costs. You might therefore think that as a website owner your main focus should be on the speed of the website. The answer is no. Although this factor does now carry some weight within the Google search results, it mainly applies to those visitors doing their search in English and on Google.com. The main and most important aspect remains to be the relevance of a page, which is why we at iLead Online place such an emphasis on providing our clients with unique, well-written content.

By constantly developing and adding content to our clients’ websites we are able to ensure that they rank higher as well as achieve better conversion rates. Combine this with the expertise to design a website that is “friendly” towards online marketing, and you can be certain that your website will soon show a positive ROI. At the end of the day these websites not only achieve the goals they set out, but also provide their readers – or potential customers – with quick and informative content that is sure to add to customer satisfaction.