40 Google Updates in February
Working in SEO is all about getting to grips with changes in the search landscape, including developments in functionality and changes in user behaviour. That’s why there’s no all-pervading SEO bible, we have to roll with the punches and suss out what the latest changes to the Google algorithm will mean for users, search volumes, conversions rates and the strategies and tactics we adopt in order to attain favourable search coverage for our websites.
It was around this time last year that we began to feel the effects of the Panda Update, which greatly impacted many people’s fundamental approach to SEO. Obviously it is a pain when Google move the goal posts for our industry, but most of the time Google is actually improving access to the World Wide Web.
Yesterday the Google Blog announced that there were 40 reported search quality updates in February. Go read it for yourself. It’s a dizzying array of updates to many different elements of Google’s search functionality.
“We continue to improve many of our systems, including related searches, sitelinks, autocomplete, UI elements, indexing, synonyms, SafeSearch and more. Each individual change is subtle and important, and over time they add up to a radically improved search engine.” Continue reading “40 Google Updates in February” »
The Rel=Author Tag & Authorship in the SERPs
Have you seen these author images appear in the search results? They’re the result of the rel=author tag being used on blog posts, linking to a Google+ profile or author page. It took me a while but I finally got my ugly mug into the search results!
While it might seem like a minor update, in terms of SEO I think that author profiles are an important development. Displaying these profile images next to search results really makes them stand out, and giving high visibility to authors boosts the profile of writers and experts as well as the blog on which they are posting. The same author profile can be used for several different blogs, which means that journalists and writers can maintain a consistent public profile accross multiple blogs. Continue reading “The Rel=Author Tag & Authorship in the SERPs” »
Grammar for SEOs
Grammar is important for SEO. I wrote about it on the SiteVisibility blog, and this pecha kucha presentation features some grammatical refreshers for SEOs. This is from 2009 so forgive me. The sound is a bit sketchy so also apologies for that.
Grammar for SEOs Pecha Kucha by Alan Cairns.
If this interests you then you can read more about grammar and SEO here.
Censorship on MySpace
I wrote this article nearly five years ago for Flash in the Pan, a Southampton-based music and lifestyle magazine. Don’t look to it for accurate, up-to-date information about censorship online.
Just look at the success of Lily Allen, the Arctic Monkeys and wannabe chav mag tit flashes. MySpace is undoubtedly a useful tool for any budding musicians/artists/tarts to promote themselves, but what price are we paying for the convenience of a blog, a friends list and a slide show?
Recently I met a Canadian death-metal/trance/indie disco band called Kids on TV, who told me that they had their MySpace account deleted with no warning, and no explanation, other than a form letter reading as follows:
Your MySpace account has been deleted for violating our Terms of Service.
This is usually due to one of the following:
* Nude images, sexually suggestive or violent photos
* Covering our banner ads with HTML
* Harassing other users
* You do not meet the minimum age requirement
* Spamming the classifieds, forums, bulletins, or other sections of the site
* Attempting to artificially inflate scores
* Scripting the site
“Your account cannot be restored. If you choose to return to MySpace, please follow the rules.
Kids on TV now run four different MySpace pages in the fear of future deletion. Closing an account can mean losing links and friends/stalkers. While the band were unsure about why their account was deleted, they presumed it was due to the band being “thematically, visually, conceptually and politically homosexual.” Continue reading “Censorship on MySpace” »
Brighton Pavilion
I’ve just been writing a piece for a Brighton blog about Brighton Pavilion, and it has reminded me about the interesting history of this place. While I knew the basic history, that it was George IV’s pleasuredome/Xanadu before he became king, hosting lavish, indulgent parties thanks to his incredible wealth, it was Jonathan Meades’ TV show about the pavilion which really brought the building alive for me.
