Penguin Update Against “Webspam” Sites

Google emphasized that the Penguin Update was targeting sites that participate in certain types of webspam tactics; mentioning keyword stuffing and link schemes as two specific examples. Keyword stuffing is not something new to SEO. Many webmasters have been doing it and finding different ways to hide it from search engines in order to game the algorithm and get higher rankings. Link schemes have been around for a while now and can also be effective for propelling websites to the top of the search results. Earlier this year Google targeted specific link networks as part of their ongoing war on webspam. Many blogs that were part of these link networks were removed from Google’s index. The result was that many websites which had been getting links from these networks saw their rankings drop as those links lost their value.

The Penguin Update is taking the war on these types of link schemes one step further by penalizing sites which have participated in them. Specifically, the update targets sites with “unusual linking patterns” or links from pages with spun content where the content is “spun beyond recognition” and the links may or may not even be relevant to the content. It makes sense that these types of links should not be rewarded because they are clearly for the sole purpose of manipulating search engine rankings. However, by penalizing sites which have unusual linking patterns, Google has opened the door to “negative SEO” tactics.

Can negative SEO really work?

While I wouldn’t personally attempt to knock a competitor out of the search results using any form of negative SEO, this strategy could absolutely work with the Penguin Update. What would prevent someone from getting these types of links to a competitor’s website to knock their site from the search results? If you think about it, if I was tired of ranking #2 to a specific competitor, all I would have to do is get some of these webspam links to their website and their site drops from the top position. I hope that in the light of negative SEO being a real possibility now that Google might reconsider penalizing sites for the types of links that they have and look for other ways to devalue those links. Giving links from link schemes no value in the search engine’s algorithm would result in no reward being given to webmasters who participate in those webspam tactics and would also prevent the possibility of using the same link schemes for negative SEO.

I found these 5 extensions are very useful for my work on everyday basis. So, my Top 5 Google Chrome Add-Ons for Chrome:

1. Regular Expression Checker
   Regular expressions are used throughout Google Analytics for filtering, creating advanced segments, defining goals, and configuring funnel steps. This useful add-on helps test your expressions for troubleshooting purposes.
   Developed by www.simon20.com.
2. Google Analytics Debuger
   This is an official Google Analytics add-on. It prints useful information to the JavaScript console about any web page containing a GATC. When you enable the debug version of the GATC (ga_debug.js), the information shown includes error messages and warnings about your tracking code implementation and a detailed breakdown of each tracking beacon sent to Google Analytics.
   Developed by Google.
3. Stats Calculator
   This clever bookmarklet takes a statistical approach for comparing two e-commerce conversion rates and your overall goal conversion rate. The bookmarklet performs a z-test to show the confidence interval of two selected dimensions. This shows if the differences you observe are statistically significant.
   Developed by Michael Whitaker.
4. GA Copy & Paste
   An extremely powerful add-on that greatly simplifies the management and administration of goals and filters.
   Developed by Eduardo Cereto Carvalho of Cardinal Path.
5. Analytics Helper
   This simple add-on displays a green icon in the browser address bar whenever a GATC is detected on a page you browse. Clicking the icon shows the account number of the tracking code, the code type (asynchronous, traditional), and a note on the positioning of code.
   Developed by Oliver J Fields.

The company hasn’t said yet what it’s going to do with the cars, but they should be a good business for Google, because they draw heavily on Google’s data centers.

From Google Distinguished Software Engineer Sebastian Thrun:

“Our automated cars use video cameras, radar sensors and a laser range finder to “see” other traffic, as well as detailed maps (which we collect using manually driven vehicles) to navigate the road ahead. This is all made possible by Google’s data centers, which can process the enormous amounts of information gathered by our cars when mapping their terrain.”

Here’s a video of the car in action — there is a person behind the wheel, but he or she only takes control if something goes wrong.

1. Twitter Counter – This tool provides statistics of  Twitter usage and tracks over 14 million users and counting. It also offers a variety of widgets and buttons that you can add to your blog, website or social network profile to show recent Twitter visitors and number of followers.
2. Social Mention – It allows you to easily track and measure what people are saying about you, your company, a new product, or any topic across the web’s social media landscape in real-time. Social Mention monitors 100+ social media properties directly including: Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, YouTube, Digg, Google etc.
3. Klout – This tool measures influence based on your ability to drive action. Every time you create content or engage you influence others. The Klout Score uses data from social networks in order to measure:
• True Reach: How many people you influence
• Amplification: How much you influence them
• Network Impact: The influence of your network
4. Twitter Grader – Tool that allows you to check the power of your twitter profile compared to millions of other users that have been graded. Just enter your or any other twitter username and you’ll get an instant grade and report.
5. Monitter – It is real time twitter search tool that enables you to monitor a set of keywords on twitter. It also allows you to narrow the search to a particular geographic location, allowing you to find out what’s going onin a particular part of the world.

Touchscreens everywhere: windows, bed, TV screens, smartphones, bathroom and kitchen, car, workplace and all glasses connected. Even the highway. I think it’s probably possible now but it’s still the future.

What do you think? Now or future?

I wanted to share a great Twitter App with you. I want to know who are my most valuable Twitter follower and I’m sure everybody wants to know the same.

Alex Taub and Michael Schonfeld made a great app and the name is simple “Who’s Your MVF” or Who is Your Most Valuable (Twitter) Follower. They’ve made it just for fun but I’m sure it’ll be used for business as well.

The app shows your most valuable Twitter follower, based on who in your following has the most followers. It’s simple but very useful. At least you can find your top follower and guess the reason why he/she follows you.

Since Monday, App’s web page had a huge number of visits so they’re having some problem with access, but they told they’re working on it.

Anyway, I think it’s a great and simple idea and I recommend it.

Who is Your Most Valuable Twitter Follower App – www.mvfapp.com

At this moment ROM is pretty stable with a few minor problems with USB mass storage and data statistics but it would be fixed probably very soon.

You can download the Android ICS custom ROM (but use it at your own risk) from the following link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1354263

Actually, Android ICS is not available at any device at this moment, but soon it will be available first on Samsung Google Nexus first and after that as update for some of existing devices as well as for new phones, tablets etc.

You can find more information on how to obtain the software on Android Open Source Project web site.

Google has started a new contest about the upcoming Galaxy Nexus and Android OS 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Twitter followers will have 10 chances in 10 days to win Galaxy Nexus w/ Android 4.0. A new contest called the “Galaxy Nexus Challenge” officially starts today, November 12th at 9 am PST (12 pm Toronto time), and goes until November 21st.

All you have to do is follow Google via their Nexus Twitter handle (twitter.com/googlenexus), and reply a “solution” to the daily “Google Nexus puzzle, photo or essay question tweet”.

Eligible countries for the contest: Australia, Canada (excluded Quebec), France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Netherlands,
Singapore, Spain, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the 50 United States and the District of Columbia.

More information about rules on: Galaxy Nexus Challenge Official Rules

There is an exception for small sites – the first 25,000 map-loads a day are free. The toll has been on the way since Google updated the Maps API’s Terms of Service in April and was scheduled to kick in at the beginning of October. It could be significant cost for developers: an app using the JavaScript Maps API for mobile and clocking in 100,000 users will now have to shell out $300 a day.

The visitor allowance is lower for those with styled maps (visually customised ones), who will have to pay $4 per 1,000 map loads after the first 2,500 – this goes up to $8 per 1,000 loads after 25,000 loads.

Developers who use the Maps API could do one of the following in the future:

• Reduce usage to below the limits
• Opt-in to paying for excess usage at the rates given in the FAQ for this service
• Purchase a Maps API Premier license

The Premier licence has been around for a while, and contains added features such as advanced geocoding, customer support, and full control over advertising. The prices start at $10,000 per year, increasing according to the number of site visitors.

Not everyone who has a Google map on their site will be affected. It’s possible to embed a Google map on a site or blog without using the API – and there is nothing to indicate that that will change.

More information on Google Geo Developers Blog