MediaVision Blog » Search Engine News

Strong Medicine for Google: $500M Settlement

Julia Laubscher — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:59:30 +0000

It is often said in medical circles that prevention is better than cure – advice that the folks at Google Inc. have apparently taken to heart, preventing a lengthy legal wrangle by making one of the largest legal settlements ever seen in the US. Google has agreed to pay $500 million to settle claims that the company allowed Canadian pharmacies to place online advertisements targeting US consumers.

US law (specifically the Controlled Substances Act) forbids the importation of prescription drugs from pharmacies beyond the country’s borders, and the Department of Justice reports that the pharmaceutical AdWords campaigns led to illegal shipments of medication from Canada to US customers. Google’s payment of $500 million (the equivalent of £305 million) is a reflection of the revenue generated by the search giant and the pharmacies as a result of the AdWords advertisements. According to the Justice Department, Google was aware of the legal restrictions, and paying the penalty for “improper advertising practices” will allow the company to avoid criminal charges. This follows a 2-year investigation into the matter.

With a turnover of $29.3 billion during 2010 alone, it’s clear that even after paying the largest legal settlement in US history, Google is unlikely to experience any financial ill-effects – however, the impact of the widely publicised pharmacy advert settlement on the company’s reputation could be a bitter pill to swallow. This serves as a valuable reminder to those of us providing SEO services to clients around the globe; it is crucial that we follow a firm ethical code in all our work, bearing in mind the legal implications of each and every project, even if we can’t rely on the world’s major search engines to do the same. This is a sure-fire prescription for healthy business solutions and happy clients – the Google settlement is proof that anyone straying into illegal marketing territory will soon get a taste of their own medicine.

For further details on Google’s legal settlement, take a look at the news report below.

Strong Medicine for Google: $500M Settlement

Google Revives Realtime Search With Google+

Arne Dunckers — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:45:51 +0000

There is an ongoing war for social media dominance and even when social media platforms aren’t in the same race, the struggle continues on the grounds of integrating features between these platforms. Google is putting all of its efforts into obtaining a piece of the social media money maker and so it recently launched Google Plus. This of course after its previous unsuccessful attempts with Wave and Buzz and also, although not a social platform, Realtime search. However, resurrection seems to be in the order of the day with the announcement of the re-launch of Realtime search results.

As with many of Google’s attempts with new products its Realtime search which included data from most major social media platforms was another endeavour which didn’t stand the test of time. Realtime search made its first appearance in December 2009. The Google service brought live updates from Twitter, Yahoo answers, and Facebook into search results. When trending news was breaking, Realtime search made the results more immediately relevant. However the service was done away with in July, when Google failed to reach an agreement with Twitter for access to the firehose of data. Without the magic of the constantly updated Twitter feed, the service was rendered useless.

With the launch of Google Plus, the search engine giant is trying its second time lucky attempt with the re-launch of Realtime search, but without Twitter. The main Google search engine will still use whatever information its crawlers can pick up, but this marks the end of the company’s special access to the Twitter feed. Of course, Microsoft’s Bing Social Search is still chugging along with its own Twitter social search, complementing its Facebook search service, if that floats your boat.

With Google Realtime Search closed for renovations, it seems that the Internet has lost a major Twitter post archive – Bing never went back as far as Google, leaving a small search engine called Topsy as the most complete fully searchable Twitter history. Of course, Google’s also been careful to say that they’d be open to another Twitter partnership if the opportunity presents itself. However, depending on Google Plus’s adoption rate, it may not need anyone else on board to make a revamped Google Realtime Search a success.

The adoption success of Google Plus has been an arguable matter. Initially curiosity took precedence and the new social media platform was showered in traffic. Now the dust is starting to settle and traffic to the site has calmed down to a panic. The incredible growth is there, if only because we are becoming a social media addicted society, but you’re not getting the quality and quantity of content on Google Plus that you’re getting on Twitter. Not at this point, yet. But public updates is what makes Realtime search go round, which gives some hope that the re-launch of Realtime search might succeed with Google Plus.

What does Realtime search mean for SEO and marketing?

For web searchers, Realtime search means the ability to discover breaking news the minute it’s happening. For marketers, it presents a whole host of opportunities to increase online visibility. With real time search, frequently publishing online content becomes a must. Micro content from social sites now has the ability to appear in search results. It’s quick and easy to frequently post Google Plus and Facebook fan pages updates, so both should play a big role in your Realtime SEO content strategy.

Also, blogging presents the opportunity to help your content rank and show thought leadership at the same time – since blog posts can offer more valuable information than micro content. By optimizing press releases and submitting them through authoritative newswires, you can help your content achieve high rankings. It all boils down to quality, quantity and relevant content when it comes to Realtime search. Realtime search results reply on prestige content and brand advocates to be successful for a brand.

With Realtime search peaking over the horizon again it is becoming more and clearer that content marketing will be the trend in 2012, especially in the post-Panda landscape. No matter the type of content marketers decide is best for their brands (whether blogs, social media content, news articles or all of the above), industry conversations suggest that some form of ongoing content marketing will be necessary for businesses hoping to maintain a competitive edge in 2012.

Google Revives Realtime Search With Google+

Use Google’s Fetch Feature for Faster Indexing

Kat Stephenson — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 13:12:55 +0000

If you are creating or updating web pages then you want Google to index your URLs as quickly as possible. While many of us publish our pages and then check anxiously whether or not they have been indexed, a faster way to submit URLs has been brought under the spotlight. By using Webmaster Tools you can fetch a URL as a Googlebot and then, if the fetch is successful, you will have the option to submit the URL to be indexed. After you submit the URL to Google it should be crawled within a day and will be considered for inclusion in the index.

This functionality can be particularly useful to an SEO agency because they can ask Google to crawl new pages immediately rather than waiting for the search engine to find them. You can also submit a URL that has already been indexed in order to refresh the page if you have updated the content with say information about an event on the weekend and want the search engine to find the content and re-index the page in time. It is also useful if you have accidently published incorrect information, in which case you will want the correct version to be displayed as quickly as possible.

So how do you add a URL in order to submit it to the directory using the Fetch feature?

Sign into Webmaster Tools and navigate to the Diagnostics tab. Select the “Fetch as Googlebot” feature and enter the URL that you want to submit to the directory. If the URL has been fetched successfully, you will see a new link appear next to the fetched URL giving you the option to “Submit to index”. Once you have clicked on this link a dialog box will pop up asking you whether you want to submit just the one URL, or if you want to submit that URL and all of its linked pages.

Submit a single URL

Submit URL and all linked URLs to be indexed

You can submit a maximum of 50 individual URLs per week to the search engines, or a maximum of 10 URLs with all linked pages per month. You can see how many URLs you may still submit by referring to the Fetch as Googlebot page. Any URLs that you submit should point to content on sites; if you have images or video clips that you wish t submit you should do this via Sitemaps.

So how effective is the Fetch feature really when compared with simply allowing the Googlebots to find new or updated pages by themselves? We submitted a .co.za URL to Google.co.za using the Fetch feature. It was fetched successfully and we submitted it as s ingle URL. Within two hours the page has been crawled and indexed and we could find it easily on the web.

While the Googlebot is fairly quick at finding and crawling new content, using the Fetch feature to submit URLs for indexing is helpful if you want to speed up this process.

Use Google’s Fetch Feature for Faster Indexing

Declining Traffic: A Minus for Google Plus?

Julia Laubscher — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 13:43:38 +0000

Time and time again, the online community has watched Google try and fail to break into the world of social media. Buzz turned out to be more of a drone, Wave crashed seriously short of the social shore and Orkut just couldn’t cut it on the international networking stage. Give the folks at Google their due though, they never gave up – and with the advent of Google Plus, it seems they may have finally got it right.

The Google Plus concept has turned out to be wildly popular; in fact, within a mere 2 weeks of its launch, the service reached 10 million users, and a week later, there were 20 million Googlers looking to join the Circles, Hangouts and Huddles of Google Plus.

It’s no wonder everyone wants to get to know this new kid on the block; Google Plus provides a streaming newsfeed, group texting, video chat and friend management capabilities, adapting and refining the social media features of competing networks. Add an element of exclusivity and it’s a sure-fire recipe for popularity; receiving that coveted Google Plus invite is a lot like being welcomed to the launch of a hot new club. It’s also the perfect platform to experience social networking without any of those little annoyances and awkward moments we’ve come to associate with social media sites. For example, chances are your Mom will be sticking to Facebook. There’s a lot to be said for that kind of motivation!

NB: xkcd.com is the intellectual property of Randall Monroe. No copyright infringement is intended.

However, despite the initial meteoric rise of Google Plus, a recent report shows that user interest may already be declining. According to Experian Hitwise, Google Plus experienced a 3% drop in page visits during the week ending 23rd July, as well as a drop in the average time users were spending on the site – declining by 10%.

It may not sound like much of a drop, but flagging user engagement can sometimes be an early warning sign that a popular online trend is simply a flash in the pan. The average user tends to follow the crowd more often than not, which means you’ll regularly find high volumes of users rapidly adopting the latest “in thing” only to rapidly abandon it the moment it fails to hold their attention.

Naturally, many of Google’s critics would be quick to attribute a user drop-off rate to that never-ending privacy debate surrounding the search giant; Google Plus requires all members to use their full names, and this oh-so-Google anti-anonymity policy is sure to deter users who prefer the comfort of incognito communication online.

To be honest, it’s highly unlikely that the drop in users means Google Plus is already losing ground; for one thing, the survey was unable to track users with a Google Plus mobile app (which is undoubtedly an impressive number on its own) and for another, any SEO agency knows you can’t simply equate page visits with user volumes and announce the downfall of a site!

It’s interesting to watch the evolution of user engagement with Google Plus – but even more so to see how each subtle change launches a whole new wave of speculation over the future of the network. It’s still pretty early to make any solid predictions, but it is probably safe to say that Google Plus won’t be going anywhere in a hurry.

Declining Traffic: A Minus for Google Plus?

What Do You Love? New Google Tool is Close to Users’ Hearts

Julia Laubscher — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 13:17:28 +0000

The latest development from Google is melting hearts as it encourages Internet users to answer the question: What Do You Love?

Google’s latest offering takes the form of a universal, amalgamated search tool titled What Do You Love? Visitors to the www.wdyl.com site type in one of their favourite interests, and WDYL returns several streams of content related to the topic. The content is drawn from Google’s entire spectrum of search tools, including Google Image Search, Google Maps, Google News, Google Trends, Google Books and YouTube. In this way, users are presented with a comprehensive, all-encompassing results page presenting them with a variety of ways to explore their favourite topics further online.

So if I Love Thai food, WDYL shows me how I can find Thai recipe books using Google Books, Thai cookery videos via YouTube, Thai restaurants using Google Maps or plan an upcoming dinner with Google Calendar. If I Love penguins (and who doesn’t?) I can read the latest news stories and blogs about my favourite cuddly critters, start a penguin-related discussion using Google Groups or fire up a penguin conservation debate with Google Moderator. Or if I prefer, I can take a look at various international translations for my search phrase and check out its popularity on the web via Google Trends.

Check out WDYL in action below:

Looks pretty lovable doesn’t it? But what’s the purpose behind WDYL, and what does it mean for the SEO industry?

Essentially, WDYL is a way for Google to showcase just how extensive its search capabilities are; according to Google’s blog, the website shows users “how different Google products can show you different things about any particular search query”. And the packaging is pretty clever too; WDYL makes a direct appeal to users’ hearts by focusing a search on their personal preferences, then showing them the full Google product range and how it relates to that search. Pretty smooth, Google.

At this early stage, its hard to say how or even if WDYL will affect SEO – running a WDYL search against a traditional Google search for the same phrases, both platforms returned largely similar results and naturally it seems the normal rules of search still apply for WYDL. Preference is given to well-structured sites with the most relevant content and correctly optimised META data. WYDL also provides us with a nice fresh perspective on search, and a quick way of gauging the popularity of a phrase online.

WDYL will be adding more features over time, and we’ll probably start to see Google Plus results making an appearance on the site in the near future.

Does WDYL get your heart all a-flutter, or are you content to stick to the good old conventional Google search? Share your thought with us in the Comments section below.

What Do You Love? New Google Tool is Close to Users’ Hearts

All Aboard the Blame Bandwagon: Google hit with Another Lawsuit

Julia Laubscher — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 10:31:05 +0000

Google’s unofficial business motto is “Don’t be evil”, but some competitors are unconvinced. In the US, the Federal Trade Commission has launched a probe into the search company’s business practices following accusations of anti-competitive behaviour, and the European Commission has begun a similar investigation. Any SEO agency knows that Google is the search engine of choice for two-thirds of the world’s Internet users, and of course one can’t expect to rise to the top without making a few enemies along the way. Particularly in cases where a business dominates the market the way Google does, competitors (such as Microsoft) are bound to cry foul. But the question remains: are the probes and lawsuits facing Google the result of genuine concerns, or simply frustrated competitors jumping on the bandwagon to blame Google for dismal ranking results?

French company 1PlusV just filed a €295-million lawsuit against Google, claiming the search engine giant has been stifling the growth of rival search engines using anti-competitive ranking methods. The antitrust lawsuit will be Google’s largest European legal wrangle to date. 1PlusV filed the lawsuit at the Paris commercial court, with the complaint that 30 of their specialised search engines were delisted by Google during the period from 2007 to 2010. Bruno Guillard, founder of 1PlusV, tells press this cost the company a considerable amount of profit. “If competition were able to function normally” claims 1PlusV, “the 30 search engines would generate today more than 30 million Euros in sales per year”.

1PlusV was also one of the competitors whose complaints earlier this year prompted the investigation by the European Commission; Guillard says the company was forced to use Google technology in order to participate in online advertising.

I know it’s easy to want to throw our support behind the little guy, a small European company battling to face up to big bad Google and take back their place in the market; but remember, it’s not always a clear-cut “David vs Goliath” situation.

1PlusV operates a number of “specialised vertical search engines” –a fancy way of saying “directories”. One of these is http://www.ejustice.fr/, an online law guide. (The site also contains press releases about the damages claims against Google). Looking through the site and reading through the English translation, it requires a bit of a stretch of the imagination to think that this site would generate millions of Euros annually… it delves straight into technical legal info with no introduction or explanation about the site’s purpose. Frankly it seems designed to generate hits rather than to help and educate users.

It’s also important to note Google’s ongoing focus on giving higher priority to higher quality sites – ie those that benefit users and can be easily crawled. If a site is deemed low-quality, contains duplicate content or cannot be easily navigated, the latest Google algorithms will treat it as a content farm or SPAM site.

Another vital consideration is that while Google rules the world of search, businesses are not “forced” to use Google in order to generate revenue. There are plenty of 3rd party ad networks and social media platforms that can be leveraged by a smart business owner to generate revenue.

Google dominates 90% of the market in several countries throughout Europe, and the company didn’t get there by dumb luck or by playing dirty; they rule the search market because, simply, they currently give users the easiest and most satisfying search experience. It’s no accident that “Google” has become a verb as well as a noun! This might be an uncomfortable thought for Google’s smaller competitors, but it is also a challenge and inspiration for rivals to improve their business practices, increase their efficiency, and broaden their appeal. Unfortunately however, it’s far easier for competitors to point the finger at Google and blame the big guy for stepping all over their dreams.

All Aboard the Blame Bandwagon: Google hit with Another Lawsuit

Google Shows Support for the “Author” Tag – Possible New Search Signal

Kat Stephenson — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 07:03:21 +0000

Google recently announced that they are supporting author markup – code which enables content site to identify the author of content both on the site and across the internet. What does this mean for the web and for SEO? While we do not have any solid information on how the author tag will affect SEO and Google marketing, there are some theories about the implications thereof. But first let’s discuss the rel attribute further.

The author tag uses the rel attribute, so to insert this on your site you would simply as rel”author” to your author’s hyperlink on the article page. To put this visually you would have:

Written by rel=”author” href=”../authors/Name Surname”.

This code will alert the search engines to the fact that the linked person is an author of this linking page. The rel=”author” link must link to an author page on the same site as the aforementioned content page. While the URLs used for the content page that features the author tag and the author page may on occasion not be the same, this doesn’t matter because Google’s algorithms will determine whether or not the two pages are from the same parent domain.

So while http://www.forexample.com; http://forexample.com and http://news.forexample.com are all different host names, the Google algorithms will identify them as being part of the same parent domain.

To put this more simply a content page is any piece of content to which an author can be attributed. An author page is about a specific author and must be on the same domain as the content page. While the URLs needn’t be identical, should each of these pages feature the author markup text, the search engines will identify that it is the same author on each of these pages. These pages could also be linked to a profile page on another site, which could in turn link to other pages that have been published by the same author, using an additional relationship tag, rel=”me”, so that the author can be identified and recognised across all of these pages. Currently this feature only works in conjunction with a public Google Profile.

Now you may start to question why Google would want to identify the author of various pages of content, how this can affect SERP rankings and what this will mean for search marketing specialists. By identifying the author through the author markup text, the search engines can identify the quality of the content that is published. If the author churns out pages of uninteresting, uninformative and poorly optimised content then he is likely to be given less authority as an author, and therefore for his content to have less authority.

Consider Twitter which applies an internal quality score to its profiles. While the profile may have a huge number of followers, this does not necessarily mean that it will have a high quality score. In fact, fewer followers with higher levels of authority who retweet your tweets will be more likely to result in a higher authority. The higher authority a profile has the more likely that Google will bring up their tweets in realtime search results – another example of how it is giving credit to the author tag.

Likewise, should you add the author tags to the mix and suddenly a website depends on a lot more than just its own reputation. If the author is linked to a number of other pages with a good reputation then this will give your content page more authority. This could lead to websites having to trade on its authors to provide sufficient valuable links in order to rank well in the SERPs. Authors could capitalize very nicely on this provided they develop authority and a good reputation. However, some websites may include author markup language that links to an author with a good reputation purely to boost search rankings, which means authors will need to worry about infringement in a whole new way. On the other hand, this could also result in a massive increase in guest blogging with authors who have authority being employed to write to manipulate rankings. What were originally paid links could become paid author signals.

The author tag will help the search engines to better identify the authority of the page, and it will also help differentiate between the original author of a piece of content and those who have simply copied and pasted content into another website, thereby creating duplicate content.

What the author tag will mean for search is yet to be seen; it could be another way for Google to solve its attribution tag problems that are used to attribute the original source of content etc. What we do forecast for the author tag is that it will have an impact on authority, rankings and differentiating between original and duplicate content.

Google Shows Support for the “Author” Tag – Possible New Search Signal

Google Q&A: Panda Power and Mango Mishaps

Julia Laubscher — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 10:22:18 +0000

Earlier this month, the 2011 SMX Advanced conference got underway in Seattle, and Day 1 ended with a much-anticipated question and answer session between Search Engine Land’s Danny Sullivan and Google’s search quality boss Matt Cutts. Unsurprisingly, the agenda was largely dominated by that now-notorious bear, the Google Panda. In fact, Sullivan began the interview by revealing a large toy panda bear seated at centre-stage; a clear message to search marketing agency owners that panda-monium won’t be dying down anytime soon!

Since the introduction of the Panda update (also dubbed the Farmer algorithm), the fur has really been flying, with many site owners complaining that they have been unfairly penalised for duplicate content and are now being outranked by low-quality scraper sites – the very sites Google hoped to strip of their authority. According to Cutts, the issue is being addressed with more changes and improvements to the algorithm, and his answer has effectively set the search industry abuzz with speculation about Panda 2.2; the roll-out is expected to occur any day now, and some online sources are even speculating that Panda 2.2 is already here. Regardless, most site owners have only one question on their minds; how does a site recover once it’s been pinned under the paw of Panda?

On the day following the Sullivan/ Cutts Q&A session, the results of a poll conducted by SEO Round Table revealed that the majority of sites affected by Panda have not yet begun to see any recovery:

It seems that despite the best intentions of Google to reward higher-quality sites with more authority, the Panda algorithm has led to problems for genuine sites whose content has been duplicated by scraper sites. To make things trickier for these unfortunate sites, Panda is run manually and infrequently, meaning that changes made to help a site penalised by the algorithm will only begin to aid recovery the next time Google runs a Panda assessment.

The interview also touched on a rather amusing incident highlighting those unprecedented disconnects between user intent and search results. Newly appointed Google CEO Larry Page recently contacted Cutts and the search team with a Google query that had him stumped: “warm mangoes”. Cutts was baffled until Page explained that he wanted to know why mangoes get warm when stored in boxes*. His search had yielded plenty of recipes, but no answers! Fortunately, should you choose to Google the term today, you’ll find an enterprising web user has created a Warm Mangoes website to answer all your mango-related queries!

So, joking aside, how should site owners avoid unwarranted Panda penalties? The best kind of content, said Cutts, is the type that helps the Internet thrive; and any skilled SEO writer would agree with him. His advice to site owners is that they should focus on issues like site usability “because it’s good practice, not because Google says so”. He also assured the audience that sites considered by Google to have relatively high quality content can still rank even if they are hit by Panda, which will have a reduced effect on the site.

There are a few simple precautions you can take to ensure that your site “bears up” under the scrutiny of Panda. If you’re noticing a dip in traffic to your site, review it and be sure that it meets the following standards:

• Content is original, informative and well-written (this should apply to all pages on the site)
• Site can be easily navigated by users
• Content focuses on meeting user needs rather than pushing a business goal
• All page titles, image descriptions and key phrases are appropriate
• You are only linking to other high-quality sites
• Usability takes priority over on-site advertising

So will version 2.2 see this rather grizzly bear transform into a cuddly caniform? Google should be confirming the roll-out of the latest Panda update any minute now, so we’ll be keeping a close eye on developments – watch this space!

UPDATE: Google has confirmed Panda 2.2 – here’s the latest on the Panda algorithm from Search Engine Land.

* In case you’re wondering, mangoes produce carbon dioxide, which causes a closed container to heat up. Admit it, you were dying to know!

Google Q&A: Panda Power and Mango Mishaps

Social Search is No Longer Just a Signal

Arne Dunckers — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 07:49:55 +0000

“It’s not just what you talk about that’s important, it’s also who’s talking about you.”

Social Signals and the influence on search are no longer theoretical. Both Bing and Google factor social signals into their ranking algorithms for “regular” search results. Who you are socially, your authority, the authority of those who talk about you (or your company) all play a role. However, how much influence does and will social signals have on SEO? While some are raving about how the industry will change others think that the tail is wagging the dog.

Personally I think that although social search might still seem relatively small in retrospect to other factors of SEO or just a trend because it is fairly new, it should not be underestimated. Therefore it is necessary to add it to the equation and your overall strategy because you don’t want to be the one who is left behind when it picks up speed.

What is Social Search?

Social Search can help you find pages your friends have created, and it can also help you find links your contacts have shared on Twitter and other sites. If someone you’re connected to has publicly shared a link, the link can be shown in your results with a clear annotation.

So, if you’re looking for information about the effects of rollerblading on your social life and your colleague Julia shared a link about Modernist Rollerblading Downfalls, you’ll see an annotation and picture of Julia under the result. That way, when you see Julia in the office, you’ll know she might be a good person to ask about her favourite private rollerblading techniques. Or because you know Julia and you trust her opinion you therefore click on the link which has her picture beneath it first rather than extending your search.

What does this mean to web entrepreneurs and SEOs? To me, this means that we must be more social. It means that if you’re not being an actual person on Twitter, you should start. In fact, you should have been social on social media since the start; after all, that is what the name implies.

The requirement for brands to be talked about is on the increase. You can talk about your own brand as much as you want, but it’s giving the incentive to pass on the message which will put the necessary weight on the social media noise. Social chatter is important already, but if this has an impact on search results then the onus on brands to develop and be at the centre of online conversations will become even greater.

Although giving incentive to pass a message along the social media grapevines is important, it’s the follow through of the social media chatter which is the desired effect. The follow through is the link back to the brand’s website or other social media properties. This will both generate the most traffic and show search engine spiders that a brand is relevant in the social space for certain topics or terms.

There are countless sentiment tools out there that analyse social media content to deduce how a brand is perceived in the social space, so it’s perhaps safe to assume that Google has the means to measure this too. That being assumed, any social media chatter that is generated around a brand needs to be positive; if it’s negative then there could be a risk that the social search presence of a brand could be mirrored by its social media perception.

The Google +1 Effect

The newest player to the social search team is Google +1. Google says by +1-ing a result you’re giving it a recommendation, a stamp of approval, a personal endorsement from someone in the social circle. It’s much like the Facebook ‘Like’ but it does however lack the history, the familiarity and the functionality of the Facebook Like button. Keep in mind that it is the youngster out of the social bunch and even with slow adoption it is speculated that it won’t be long before Google’s social graph data exceeds what Facebook is sitting on. Google +1 still has some creases to iron out before running with the big dogs but they are taking it cautiously.

“Google wants to own a primary source of data, not rely on secondary sources”

This starts by looking at the social graph and the assumption that everyone on the internet belongs to a social network. A broad social graph has many users generating and interacting with a large amount of content. This is the network effect in action: the more people and content rolled in, the more valuable the network becomes. Although Google +1 is still in its infant stages, 500 million+ Facebook don’t hold up to the number of people worldwide using Google search and other products on the platform.

It’s hardly worth mentioning that Google +1 will affect the Click Through Rate (CTR) because it goes without saying. Users will be more attracted to click on a link with more +1’s. The users will be able to see the total number of people that have +1’d a particular page along with the names and the pictures of the people that belong to their Social Circle who they know and trust. This will dramatically increase the odds of getting clicked on.

It all comes down to realizing the power or control shift. Consumers are now in control of the CTR and new methods have to be implemented to make the best of it. Digital marketing needs to become more engaging and also needs to make the target market the target audience. Engaging in a genuine, meaningful conversation with consumers will be the key to marketing success and growth, even if that means acknowledging negative feedback; transparency is principal. No longer will preaching to the public have the best effect on a brand’s image and rankings. Brands have to realize and take part in how people are talking about things in real time. It’s time to make a shift concerning social thinking; a shift in thinking from being a marketer to being a publisher. Monitor, engage, and be transparent; these have always been the ultimate keys to success in the digital arena.

Much like great products, great content will only find the best people to love it if it’s leveraged well. Google +1 is embracing this and supporting this by placing the content within the social circle.

As mentioned above, even though Google’s social search addition is still slacking behind it will only be matter of time before the tides change.

Social Search is No Longer Just a Signal

Panda-monium? Google Leaders Combat Content Farms

Julia Laubscher — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 08:39:55 +0000

Following a bout of negative feedback concerning Google’s ability to filter out low-quality search results from content farms and identify it as spam, the iconic search engine has declared war on sites that exist purely for the purpose of generating links. By now, any SEO consultant will have heard of the “farmer algorithm”, Google’s latest update designed to reduce spam in search results. Of course, the burning question is, how will the search industry be affected?

According to Danny Sullivan, writing for SearchEngineLand, Google expects the change to impact approximately 12% of US search results, and eventually plans to roll out the algorithm update globally. And while most industry insiders have been picturing the wilting of metaphorical crops, Google won’t officially state that the changes are aimed at content farms. In fact, while industry news sources have dubbed it the “farmer” algorithm, Google refers to it as the “Panda”, named after one of the project’s key developers.

Search quality specialist Matt Cutts told Sullivan that Google is working on changes to drive down spam levels, targeting “scraper” sites that copy content from others. Of course, plenty of content farming practices use this method, and will therefore be impacted by the changes. Cutts and Amit Singhal say that the update “is designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites” which do not include useful or original content. Cutts adds that many of the low-quality results came from sites that had been created using “the bare minimum” of effort not regarded as spam.

This implies that content farmers could lessen the effects of the Panda algorithm simply by taking steps to improve the readability of their sites. But how many will be prompted to make the effort, and how many will continue to scrape content from other online sources?
Possibly the most significant part of the Google update is the addition of a domain blocker, a feature that allows users to block results from sites they find to be useless or offensive. Feedback from the domain blocker is intended to help Google identify content farms or similar low-quality sites. This could prove invaluable as Google strives to improve the overall quality of their search results.

In an interview with Wired.com, Cutts and Singhal said they are satisfied that the anti-content farm algorithm is achieving what they hoped it would, namely that scraper sites are no longer outranking original sites. The duo was also refreshingly upbeat about the criticism Google has received; “We’re lucky to have criticism,” says Cutts, “because that means people care enough to tell us what they want”.

What are your predictions for the future of content farms and the search industry as the new Panda algorithm rolls out? Do you feel the domain blocker will prove as useful as hoped, or will user feedback prove too subjective? Share your thoughts with us in the Comments section!

Panda-monium? Google Leaders Combat Content Farms