Google Caffeine Roll Out

According to Google's Matt Cutts, we can expect the Caffeine roll out for everyone after the holidays: http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/google-caffeine-update/.

Currently, one data center has gone live with the new indexing infrastructure so it is possible that you may see some changes in Google search technology. However, most of us won't see any major changes until after the holidays.

Is your website ready for this change? If not, or if you have any questions about it, give me a call.

Heads Up! Caffeine Is Coming!

Google is preparing a new search index, called “Caffeine”. I’ve been reading about the results people are finding when they test this new index and I’ve been doing quite a bit of testing of my own. Since this is still in the “beta” phase, things will certainly change, but this is what I expect to see in the final version.

1. There is going to be a heavy emphasis on social media – it’s time to beef up your profiles on your Blog, Facebook, Google Account, Twitter and LinkedIn. If you don’t have a Blog, you need to start one now.
2. There seems to be less emphasis on news and image search results, but much better real time results.
3. Make sure you are using Google Product Search (Google Shopping) if you sell products and that this feed is well optimized for search results.
4. The new Google search relies more on keywords – there is a definite change in the search algorithm. Now is the time to optimize (or re-optimize) your site for good SEO. And, be aware that as Google works out the kinks, this algorithm is sure to change over time and this will require site optimizations to change as well.
5. The major change I am seeing is the social media focus. Make sure that you have a Blog and accounts with Twitter, LinkedIn and a Facebook page. Maintain these accounts - keep them updated with fresh, relevant content and make sure that you have good profiles in each.
   

There is little doubt in my mind that this search index update from Google is going to be a huge issue for some websites. For those of you who remember the “Big Daddy Index” of 2006 and the problems that created for some, I expect this to be at least as big. Unless you are well covered in the social media world and have recently optimized your site content for good keyword SEO, this is not the time to sit back and wait to see what happens. You can be sure that your competitors are not.

Contact me now and ask about a Social Media Marketing package and site re-optimization so you will be ready for the new Google search. Now is the time to move ahead on any website marketing plans you may have put on hold.

Optimizing Video for Search Engines:

I have been running into a number of questions from business clients lately about how to best optimize video for search engines. Since "video SEO" is a fairly new concept for many of us, here is my initial list of "Best Practices":

1. Use keywords in the file name .

2. Create a Video Site Map page that includes the H1 heading "Video Site Map" and a brief, keyword rich text summary or transcript of the video content.

3. Include an embedded Logo in each video.

4. Provide an RSS feed of the Video, complete with appropriate tags & a text transcript (or summary).

5. Store all videos in one directory on the server.

6. Make sure that all links to a video include strong keywords in the link anchor text.

7. Make sure that your content is featured on its own page with relevant text and properly embedded link elements.

8. Submit your videos to the most appropriate video search engines & sites and make sure that you use the best tags.

For the most part, this is really just going back to the basics of traditional Search Engine Optimization: meta data (title, meta tags), keywords in the file name, keywords in link anchor text and manual submissions.

Google Adwords New Placement Performance Report

I have always stayed away from running ads on Google's content network and one reason was that I wasn't able to track this traffic very well or check the the ad placement. Well, at least part of this problem appears to be solved with the new Placement Performance reporting capability just announced. I'm looking forward to testing this out and I will post an update when I do that.

This is what Google says in Adwords Help:
"You can now run a Placement Performance report to view performance metrics for ads that may be running on URLs or domains within our content network.

Google has always provided full online statistical, conversion, and financial reporting for the Google AdWords program. Now with the Placement Performance report, you can gain greater transparency about your campaigns' performance on the content network for the first time. This report is intended as a tool for you to make informed decisions on improving your campaign's return on investment."

This looks promising. I'll keep you posted.

Check Your Backlinks in Google Webmaster Central

Google is now providing (more) accurate backlink information in Webmaster Central. There is now a Links tab that will allow you to check your site backlinks. According to Google , "Now you can use webmaster tools to view a much larger sample of links to pages on your site that we found on the web. Unlike the link: operator, this data is much more comprehensive and can be classified, filtered, and downloaded. All you need to do is verify site ownership to see this information."

Matt Cutts says that the tool is not showing 100% of the backlinks from Google yet, but he expects it to grow. Another point that Matt makes is "Do not assume just because you see a backlink that it’s carrying weight." Since the bold is his and he says this twice, my guess is that this is an important point that he wants to make. :)

This is certainly a welcome addition to the other tools available in Webmaster Central.