Google is testing out a feature in their search results pages which replaces the URL in a result’s snippet with the name of the website on which it appears. So; for instance; a SEO Global Expert article titled “Google +1 button: Few things you must know,” which has a URL that looks like this: www.seoglobalexpert.com/blog/2011/06/google-1-button-few-things-you-must-know/; would only display SEO Global Expert instead of the URL.

This was reported first by Alex Chitu at Google operating system; working off a tip from David from Making Money with Android. It appears that even within the test; users are not seeing this happen for every result.

According to Chitu, “David, who noticed this change, says that he searched for [madvertise] and ‘most of the results looked normal, with the website title, snippet and URL. However; two search results displayed the website name instead of the URL.’”

Image credit: Google Operating System

We are yet waiting to hear back from Google on plans for this feature and/or the extent of the testing.

As a user; I am not certain this change would be an improvement. If you can view the domain name, you can tell what the website is and at times the structure of the URL itself can give you an idea of what type of page you are actually going to be landing on; particularly if the result comes from a website which you are familiar with.

I will be amazed if Google turns this into the norm for all search results but it will be interesting to view if they roll it out on a wider basis.

It is undoubtedly clear that as a general rule, people will complain when websites are redesigned. Some redesigns draw more criticism as compared to others and this would be just a minor adjustment to Google’s current design. Yet; I cannot exclaim that I have ever seen anybody complaining that Google shows URLs in search results and I would bet that certain will complain if they are removed.

Stay tuned with SEO Global Expert for more updates.

Last week; a report came out that Google had acquired Admeld for about $400 million. While the price has not been confirmed yet; Google did officially proclaim the acquisition today.

Google’s VP of display advertising; Neal Mohan; wrote on the Official Google Blog:

To help major publishers get the most out of the rapidly changing and growing display ad landscape, we’ve signed an agreement to acquire Admeld, a New York-based yield optimization firm.

There are lots of different ways that they can sell their display ad space. Often, they’ll sell space directly to advertisers or agencies, using an ad server to actually deliver and measure the ads (like Microsoft’s Atlas, AOL’s AdTech, DoubleClick’s DFP, Yahoo’s APT, OpenX, Zedo, 24/7 Real Media and others). Alternatively, they’ll make their ad space available indirectly—to hundreds of ad networks (like Advertising.com, Specific Media, Collective, 24/7, ValueClick, Vibrant, AdSense, Undertone and others), each with thousands of advertisers, or to various advertising exchanges or technology platforms (like Yahoo’s Right Media, OpenX, DoubleClick Ad Exchange, ContextWeb, AdBrite, AppNexus and others) that match them with ad buyers (like ad networks and demand side platforms) who represent advertisers, in real-time marketplaces.

Some publishers also work with a “yield optimization” provider (such as Rubicon Project, Pubmatic and others) that supplies technology to select ads from across these many indirect options, while providing personalized service and support. In a very complex and rapidly growing display ad landscape, that’s what Admeld does.

By combining Admeld’s services, expertise and technology with Google’s offerings, we’re investing in what we hope will be an improved era of flexible ad management tools for major publishers. Together with Admeld, we hope to make display advertising simpler, more efficient and more valuable, provide improved support and services, and enable publishers to make more informed decisions across all their ad space. These are all things our publisher partners have been asking us to further invest in. Of course, Admeld will continue to support other ad networks, demand side platforms, exchanges and ad servers, to yield the best possible results for publishers.

CEO of Admeld; Michael Barrett led global sales at fox interactive media;

Co-Founders Brian Adams and Ben Barokas held senior positions at AOL and as well as Chief Media Officer Jason Kelly was VP of strategy and revenue for Time Inc. Digital. It is this veteran leadership which the company plays up in its pitch.

“When I joined Admeld as CEO about 13 months later, the company had dozens of clients, most of whom reported at least a 100% increase in their revenues from ad networks,” exclaims Barrett on the AdMeld Blog. “What’s more, the team had learned that technology, while the foundation of Admeld, wasn’t the full solution. In truth, publishers didn’t want just another platform. They wanted a partner who understood their business and could help them use technology to navigate this increasingly complex space. This mix of expertise and technology still resonates with publishers today, and it will always be the cornerstone of Admeld’s approach.”

“Over the last two years in particular, display advertising has undergone more innovation than in the previous ten years combined,” he adds. “RTB, data management, private exchanges: the space has come a long way, but despite all the progress, it still has a long way to go. Our goal, together with Google, is to continue to move display advertising forward and ensure that publishers stay on the cutting edge.”

The deal must yet go through regulatory review. During this time; the two companies will remain independent from one another.

Stay tuned with SEO Global Expert for more updates.

As you may know; the Google +1 button has become available for webmasters, website owners and as well as publishers to include on their content and many rushed right in to do just that. Why not? After all it impacts your website’s visibility in search and with the continuously changing Google algorithm anything to help out in this department is welcome to most websites.

Here is a list of few things that we think any website interested in utilizing the Google +1 button must know:

• The +1 button will undoubtedly influence search rankings. Here is the exact quote from Google’s David Byttow; from when the feature was first announced: “We’ll also start to look at +1’s as one of the many signals we use to determine a page’s relevance and ranking, including social signals from other services. For +1′s, as with any new ranking signal, we’ll be starting carefully and learning how those signals affect search quality over time.”

• Google exclaims that publishers could see “more, and better qualified traffic coming from Google” as potential visitors view recommendations from friends and as well as contacts beneath their search results.

• Once a user clicks the button; a link to the content appears under the +1′s tab on user’s Google Profile.

• Google recommends clicking the button when you “like, agree with, or want to recommend” something to your loved ones.

• +1′s are public by default. Google might show them to any signed-in user who has a social connection to one. Users can choose not to have them exhibited publicly on their Google Profile; however.

• There are different sizes and styles of the button which you can utilize on your website.

• The button is even more customizable if you want to get more technical.

• While Google recommends that you utilize the button where you think they will be most effective in terms of placement around your content; the company recommends above the fold, near the title of the page, and close to sharing links. Google also exclaims it can be effective if you put it at the end of an article as well as the beginning.

• If you try to +1 a private URL; it will not work; according to Google.

• While everyone can view aggregate annotations, signed in users can also view personalized annotations from people in their Gmail/Google Talk Chat list, My Contacts group in Google Contacts, and people they are following in Google Reader and as well as Google Buzz.

• Google has austere policies for publishers which they exclaim they will utilize to govern use of the +1 button. Below noted are these policies in their entirety:

Publishers may not sell or transmit to others any data about a user related to the user’s use of the +1 Button. For the avoidance of doubt, this prohibition includes, but is not limited to, any use of pixels, cookies, or other methods to recognize users’ clicks on the +1 Button, the data of which is then disclosed, sold, or otherwise shared with other parties.

Publishers may not attempt to discover the identity of a +1 Button user unless the user consents to share his or her identity with the Publisher via a Google-approved authorization procedure. This prohibition includes identifying users by correlating +1 Button reporting data from Google with Publisher data.

Publishers may not alter or obfuscate the +1 Button, and Publishers may not associate the +1 Button with advertising content, such as putting the +1 Button on or adjacent to an ad, unless authorized to do so by Google.

Publishers may not direct users to click the +1 Button for purposes of misleading users. Publishers should not promote prizes, monies, or monetary equivalents in exchange for +1 Button clicks. For the avoidance of doubt, Publishers can direct users to the +1 Button to enable content and functionality for users and their social connections. When Publishers direct users to the +1 Button, the +1 action must be related to the Publishers’ content and the content or functionality must be available for both the visitor and their social connections.

Google may analyze Publishers’ use of the +1 Button, including to ensure Publishers’ compliance with these policies and to facilitate Google’s development of the +1 Button. By using the +1 Button, Publishers give Google permission to utilize an automated software program (often called a “web crawler”) to retrieve and analyze websites associated with the +1 Button.

• According to Search Engine Land; while they may yet be a while away; Google will bring in analytics for the button, to exhibit webmasters info on geography, demographics, content and as well as search impact. Apparently Google is working with launch partners to make certain that reporting is accurate before they offer it on a wider scale.

Stay tuned with SEO Global Expert for more updates.

When we Google brought in the +1 button in March; Google search undoubtedly took a small step in a vital direction. Search results can be more helpful and as well as more personal; when recommendations from the people you completely trust are there to guide your way.

The +1 button can help out publishers as well. As potential visitors view recommendations from their friends and  as well as contacts beneath Google search results; you could witness more and better qualified, traffic coming from Google.

From the time when they announced +1; Google has got many requests from Google search users and as well as webmasters alike for +1 buttons in more places than just search results. This is why today Google is making the +1 button available to websites across the internet. At times you want to recommend a webpage after you have visited it. After all; how do you know you want to recommend that great article on Spanish tapas if you have not read it yet?

You will also start to notice +1 buttons on other Google properties like  Android Market, Blogger,Product Search and as well as YouTube.

Adding +1 buttons to your webpages is an exemplary way to help your content stand out in Google search. By giving your visitors more chances to +1 your pages, your search results and search ads might show up with +1 annotation more often; helping out users see when your pages are most likely to be helpful.

To begin; visit the +1 button tool on Google Webmaster Central. You will be able to configure a tiny snippet of JavaScript and add it to the webpages where you want +1 buttons to appear. You can pick out from a few different button sizes and styles; so choose the +1 button which best matches your website’s layout.

In the common case; a press of the button +1’s the URL of the page it is on. Google recommends few easy ways to make certain that this maps as often as possible to the webpages appearing in Google search results.

If your website primarily caters to users who are outside of US and Canada then you can install the +1 button code now; the +1 button is already backed in 44 languages. However; remember that +1 annotations currently only appear for English search results on Google.com. Google is working on releasing +1 to searchers worldwide in the future.

If you have users who love your content then encourage them to spread the word. Add the +1 button if you want your website to be prominent with a personal recommendation right at the moment of decision; on Google search.

Stay tuned with SEO Global Expert for more updates.

It is official. Google and Bing include social signals which are links which get tweeted on Twitter when   determining rankings in their search results. This was inveterated by Danny Sullivan in his December 1, 2010 post on Search Engine Land and it was likely a factor for a while before that.

To put this novel factor in perspective; Google utilizes hundreds of signals to determine how it must rank a website. These include inbound links to the website, the title tag of a web page, and website pace.

Getting people to link to your website is really all about having incredible content that people would like to share, whether on their blogs or websites, or on Twitter. As Google and other search engines increasingly take note of social activity and the links shared on websites like Twitter, having a good social media presence will become increasingly vital for ranking well in search results.

A number of companies have been employing social media as a part of their marketing strategy. Now that social activity has so much impact on search engine optimization; companies which take SEO gravely know that they must utilize social media as part of their plan for getting onto the first page of search results.

How Can I Utilize Twitter To Help My Search Engine Optimization?

The ways of search engines are undoubtedly mysterious, and people are always trying to figure out which particular tactics will help more than others. But just as we know that other ranking factors are considered in light of giving searchers the best information for their queries, you can bet that search engines will elevate the finest content on the social networks – particularly the content which is shared by real people who have influence.

Based on case studies; the more quantity and quality of tweets that link to your website, the more of a lift you can expect to witness in your search engine rankings for the linked-to page or pages.

Mind the Text

When you tweet a link, it is likely that search engines utilize the text which you enter to determine what your link is about. It is very akin to the way that search engines regard anchor text on web pages – the text on which a link is built tells the engines what the linked page is about. This in turn can help out the linked page rank better for the keywords which are contained in the anchor text.

Who Exclaims?

Who links to you on Twitter matters. You almost certainly know already that it is more beneficial if influential tweeple – “people” in Twitter-speak – tweet about you, or retweet your tweets, because they will reach out to a wider audience. The akin is true for the search engine optimization value of Twitter. Google and Bing both exclaim that they look at the author’s authority or quality when evaluating links which appear in tweets.

The search engines are mum on how they determine author quality, but here are certain indicators of authority that search engine optimization experts think search engines consider:

*Presence of a portrait. Spam accounts often do not have one.

*Has the account been verified? Did the individual confirm their email address?

*More followers.

*Quality followers

*Ratio of following to followers.

*It may be better if the URL in someone’s profile does not match the domain they are tweeting about because then it is certain that the person is not engaging in self-promotion.

*Twitter handles that does not have numbers.

*A bio with complete information.

*Engagement.

*Included in lists created by quality tweeple.

*The PageRank of a Twitter profile

The notion of author quality is much like PageRank for web pages. If a webpage has 100 links, each from a different webpage with a PageRank of 0, then they probably provide the akin search engine optimization value as a single link from a web page with a high PageRank. A link tweeted by a well-followed person on Twitter will be worth more for your reputation and as well as your search engine optimization than 100 tweets from spam-y bot accounts.

Something you must remember is that utilizing bots or cheap labor to craft a ton of Twitter accounts and tweet links to your website would be nothing but a spam-y waste of time and as well as money. You will not get any search engine optimization value and you could end up being identified as a cause of Twitter spam.

What Can One Do For Encouraging Tweets and Links?

1. Create incredible content which people will want to share.

2. Make it easy for people to tweet and share your content.

3. Engage with your followers and attract new, quality ones.

4. Keep tabs on who has mentioned or linked to you and thank them.

What Do We Know About Twitter and Search Engine Optimization?

Case Studies

The people at one website noticed the website suddenly ranked on the first page for a particular keyword right after the website was linked to by a prominent Twitter account – one with more than 350,000 followers – and that tweet was retweeted more than 100 times.

In a recent experiment; people were asked to link to one page from their website, or tweet a link to another page. The outcomes so far? The page which was linked in 522 tweets outranked the page which was linked 646 times across 36 different websites. It showed up as the first result for a particular keyword search.

Points of Order

Search engines take note of public Twitter accounts only. If you view the lock symbol, and you have to request to follow someone, their tweets will not help out anyone’s search engine optimization.

Websites still matter. You must continue to build good backlinks to your website to guide more people to your website and for ranking well in search. Links from Twitter are a novel tool to help your search engine optimization, but they can only do so much.

For website owners; it certainly makes sense to think about earning links in the social networks and as well as on websites and blogs. Do not leave the advantages of sharing on the social web on the table.

Stay tuned with SEO Global Expert for more updates.

Google’s Matt Cutts utilized a novel webmaster video to share his thoughts on alternative search engines blekko and duckduckgo. Long story short; he thinks you must check them out and notice what you like and what you do not like about them.

The discussion was incited by a question submitted to him; asking what he thinks about blekko. “In general, I love when new search engines launch,” he exclaims. “It’s always cool to run a few queries, and see how do they score things differently than we would score things.”

“I think it’s fantastic to have a lot of competition,” he says. “I think it’s good for users, as long as people are competing on a level or fair playing ground.”

I can without a doubt hear the critics of Google’s own competitive practices getting geared up to chime in already.

On blekko’s slashtag strategy; Cutts exclaims that; “It’s unclear it will catch on, because it is some amount of work to build those individual restricts or groups or collections, but they do a relatively good job of showing auto complete, and sort of suggesting tags you might want to add.”

“I love when new search engines launch. I think competition is great,” he reiterates. “It keeps us on our toes. It makes sure that we’re doing the right things. I highly encourage people to check out both Blekko and DuckDuckGo. See what you like, see what you don’t like. Certainly with power users, it will certainly have some amount of appeal, and then time will tell.” Read more at Google’s Matt Cutts Encourages Users To Check Out Blekko and DuckDuckGo

“The wonderful thing is that everyone has different philosophies about how to improve search, and how to make search better,” he adds. “So this is another company trying out their idea – their philosophy, and we’ll just see how well it works.”

Below are a few interviews which we did earlier this year with blekko co-founder and CEO Rich Skrenta and as well as duckduckgo founder Gabriel Weinberg about their search engines. They will give you an idea of their search philosophies:

Last week, blekko announced few new privacy features; like a novel 48-hour data retention policy. Certain users will like that either way.

Stay tuned with SEO Global Expert for more updates.

We have been covering Google’s panda algorithm update a lot from its initial launch. We thought it might be helpful for few to provide something of a round-up of coverage as a one stop place for all those who are looking outs to learn more about the algorithm update; its impact on websites and as well as related stories.

So here is a list of the articles related to the panda update, content farms and as well as search quality from the past numerous months

Demand Media Deletes eHow Articles, Edits Others in Quality Clean-up Initiative
Google Algorithm Update – Is Bounce Rate a Ranking Signal?
Demand Media Search Data Released Ahead of Earnings Call
Google Panda Update – Webmasters Still Trying to Crack the Code
eHow Getting Serious about Quality
Mashable Affected by Google’s Panda Update? Not Likely.
Google Panda Update – A Broader View of U.S. Traffic Patterns
Panda Reference in Google Earth Day Doodle
Google Panda Update Victim HubPages Tweaks Approach to Boost Search Visibility
Panda Update: Hubpages Asks Google Why YouTube Gets Away With Softer Content Policy
Google Panda Update Helps Local Search Results
Despite New Panda Guidelines, Google Still Burying Authoritative Results
Panda Update Already Happened. Not Every Google Tweak Is Still Panda.
What Would Google Search Quality Be Like Without AdSense?
Helium Raises $10 Million After Being Victimized by Google Panda Update
Don’t Expect a Lot of eHow Content to Be Removed from YouTube
Google Panda Update: New Advice Directly From Google
Google Competitive Practices Brought Into the Panda Conversation
Demand Media Announces 20% Decline in eHow Search Referrals Due to Panda
Demand Media Earnings Report – Revenue Up, Questions Remain
Google Algorithm Update Fallout, eHow Response
Google Panda Update Winners, Losers, and Future Considerations
Ezine Articles Hit By Google Panda Update Again
Google Panda Update Hits Demand Media’s eHow This Time
Google Panda Update Benefits Google Properties
Ranking in Google Now That Panda Has Gone Global
Google Panda Update Winners: Video, News, Blogs, and Porn
Google Panda Update Victim Xomba Loses AdSense Ads Too
Google Panda Update Officially Goes Global (In English)
Google Panda Update Launched in More Countries
Google Panda Update – Made for Big Brands?
Google Does Guest Post for Panda Victim HubPages
Examiner’s Approach to Content Quality Post Panda Update
Merchant Circle Goes From Panda Victim to Blekko Curator
Ezine Articles Tells Authors How to Get Accepted Post Panda
Google Panda Update Hit E-Commerce Sites Too
Google’s Algorithm Impact Over the Years in Graphic Detail
Why Panda is the New Coke
Ezine Articles Traffic Update Post Panda
Google Panda Update: Lack of Consistency on Quality?
Quora vs. eHow: Where’s the Better Quality?
Decreasing Google Dependence: A Growing Trend
Demand Media Redesigns eHow with Quality Control Feature
Will Google Fill In Its Own Search Gaps, Demand Media-Style?
Retrevo Says Google Update Pushed Bigger Brands Up
AdSense and Its Relationship to Search Rankings
Google Algorithm Update Casualties Speak
Google Update Costs Mahalo Employees Their Jobs
Google Algorithm Update Helps (Not Hurts) eHow
Google Panda Update Still Encouraging Higher Quality
Suite101 CEO Writes Open Letter to Google’s Matt Cutts
Google “Panda” Algorithm Update – What’s Known & What’s Possible
Calacanis on Google Algorithm Aftermath and Impact on Mahalo
Google Algorithm Update to Get “New Layer” to Help “Falsely Caught” Sites
EzineArticles Aims to Get Rankings Back, Following Google Algorithm Update
Did Google’s Algorithm Update Go Far Enough on Content Farms?
Is This Google Algorithm Change about Content Farms or Not?

Google Finally Cracks Down on Content Farms
Demand Media Responds to Google Content Farm Update
Demand Media Goes on the Defensive About Content Quality
Content Marketer or Content Farm?
If Google Tweaked Its Search Results …
What If Content from One Company Dominated Google’s Search Results?
Confirmation: The Google Algorithm Change Was Not for Content Farms
Blekko Bans eHow and Other Content Farms
Demand Media CEO: Google Not Talking About Us
Google, Bing, and Blekko Talk Content Farms and Search Quality
The Real Problem with Content Farms is Google

An Inside Look at wikiHow Content Quality Control
User Feedback: The Next Google Ranking Signal?
Why it’s Easier for a Startup (Than For Google) to Take Action on Content Farms
wikiHow On Why Wikis Deliver Higher Quality Than Content Farms
DuckDuckGo Follows Content Farm Banning With Promoting wikiHow Content
Blekko Queries on the Rise, More So Since Content Farm Blocking

Nobody exclaims that we are done yet either. We will without a doubt update the article as novel developments, insights and research occurs

Meanwhile; we might as well utilize the comments section to expand the article as a helpful resource. If you have any of your own panda-related stories or insights then please do not hesitate to share them with rest of us.

Stay tuned with SEO Global Expert for more updates.

Google just announced that it has made an adjustment to the algorithm which it utilizes to provide traffic estimates in AdWords. The change; the company exclaims; must enhance stats for estimated clicks, cost, and as well as ad position.

This data can be noticed in places like traffic estimator and the AdWords keyword tool and as well as on the Keywords tab in your AdWords account.

While Google does not share much in the way of how the algorithm has been adjusted; Dan Friedman writes on Google’s Inside AdWords blog, “One of the most common uses of traffic estimates is to evaluate potential keywords and decide whether you should add them to your account. Traffic estimates are also useful in determining if your bids and budgets are appropriate for these new keywords.”

“In order to determine if you’re setting an appropriate target bid, try entering a few different values in the Max CPC field the next time you use the Traffic Estimator,” he adds. “Look at how these different bids affect your statistics, and then decide which bid gives you the best return on investment. You can use the same process for trying out new budgets.”

The change in the algorithm is currently live and it affects AdWords accounts all across the globe.

In other AdWords-related news; Google is adding novel targeting options which allow advertisers to target users of tablets beyond just the iPad. Be careful that you obtain the settings how you want them; because when this goes into effect; you may notice costs rise; due to the increase in tablets being targeted.

This is without a doubt yet another great move by Google.

Stay tuned with SEO Global Expert for more updates.