Google acknowledged that they send a billion clicks to news websites around the world. While that may be true, some are calling into question how many clicks Google is sending elsewhere. The National Association of Newspapers, otherwise known as ANJ, performed a study and concluded that allowing Google to display headlines in 154 stories actually resulted in less traffic to their organization’s news websites. (more…)

Over the course of 2012, Google has spent nearly twice as much money on lobbying then they did in 2011. Internet regulatory threats impact many online businesses, but few have the funds to allocate a significant amount of money to get their way. But what would happen if you combined Google’s lobbying efforts with those of other online heavyweights such as Amazon, eBay, Yahoo and even Facebook? You would have the new Washington D.C. based lobbying group named “The Internet Association.” (more…)

Of the different keywords I monitor, many organic listings have been pushed beneath the fold. The most recent occurrence of this was just a day ago. Dead smack at the top of the screen are Adwords ads and to the right are Google products. Ironically, Amazon has a paid listing at the top and the number two organic position as well. What is hypocritical about this is that Google has released a penalty of sorts that demotes websites which have too many ads above the fold, yet in many keyword searches Google has nothing but paid ads above the fold. (more…)

In an interview, Matt Cutts explained that panda was designed to target websites engaged in dubious practices to artificially inflate their search positions. Now, penguin has arrived with its sole purpose of demoting those websites “in the middle” of being high quality and spam. What type of person or entity typically has an “average” website? Small businesses of course. (more…)

Hearing such news on a day when the Penguin algorithm update has been confirmed is a small taste of justice by those that have seen their ranks drop out of Google’s SERPS. Many of these people, which own small businesses, have been complaining for a week or more that they no longer have any search engine visibility in Google. These same people also allege that corporate interests were delivered in the Penguin algorithm which pushed small businesses aside. (more…)

First, you might want to read Google’s post titled “Another Step to Reward High Quality Sites.” Judging by the comments on their blog post, Google is not dishing out rewards. Instead, Google is destroying many legitimate businesses that rely on search traffic for their sole existence. Obviously, many webmasters are upset. (more…)

What is interesting is how the Panda algorithm update was supposed to nail scraper sites to the wall, Google’s scraped directory survived Panda quite well. It’s these mixed signals, and double standards, which sets a horrible example for webmasters that are truly working hard to offer their visitors value through unique and detailed content. (more…)

What is troubling in this latest Google algorithm update is its apparent lack of algorithmic signals. Many of the smaller websites that lost their ranks actually provide more detailed information then the larger publishers. So why the change?

In an effort to combat spam, all search engines need to tweak their algorithms. But this latest update by Google was what is considered a major update. The update, according to Google, impacted nearly 12% of their search results. And since this algorithm update has a focus on onpage factors, the opportunity for a few high quality backlinks to correct the problem are limited. In fact, Google’s algorithm may disregard backlink signals for onpage factors. While nobody knows this yet, time will tell how to best cope with the sudden drop in ranks.

Also, it has come to light that some publishers have been “whitelisted” so that this latest algorithm update will not impact them. And as one would guess, it’s not the small mom and pop publishers that are the ones being whitelisted. Their voice is just too soft in a world where large online publishers use their financial resources to speak loudly and spread their words through press releases, video, social media and other online distribution channels.

It is my opinion that once you must start whitelisting websites, which have been impacted by an algorithm update, the algorithm is severely flawed. For if its signals can not pick up on true quality content, then it should be deactivated until it is revised to remove the need for whitelisting.

Those that would like to read more about how Google has shifted billions of dollars from small operations to the large publishers may view this post at CNN Money. While some bad apples have certainly been cut to the core with this algorithm update, I do take issue with CNN generalizing the shift occurring from “losers” to “winners.” Many of the “losers” that CNN is referring to are small family run businesses that have been devastated with major losses in traffic.

Additionally, more data regarding this transfer of traffic from small publishers to large publishers is available at Search Engine Watch. Detailed graphics are posted which display the decimation of small publishers and the amount of traffic picked up by large brands.

As an example of what I am talking about, do a quick Google search for dishwasher. Only the top two organic listings are above the fold. Searchers are bombarded with Adwords ads, a related searches box and shopping results. While this is not new, I have witnessed the expansion of Google’s desire to expand their reach into a variety of products and niches. Why is Google doing this?

As with any website, it is only natural to provide users with as much information onsite as possible. What Google is doing is no different. They have been moving away from their search business model to a find business model. And Google is making every effort to monetize this traffic. (more…)

Let’s be realistic. Business.com had a lot of dead listings in its directory. For quite some time the neglect became ever more apparent. This is the main reason why I refused to list sites there. Those dead listings are a drag on the domain authority or at least the pages where the listings are at. And the dead listings were all over.
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