Weekly SEO news: 11 September 2012
Welcome to the latest issue of the Search Engine Facts newsletter.

Many websites have been hit by Google's recent 'Penguin' algorithm update. These businesses lost their top rankings on Google, resulting in a major decline in visitors. This article shows how to check the backlinks of your website.

In the news: Amazon doesn't want to pay Google, Bing introduces a new ad preview tool, Google is testing four results on the first result page, and more.

Table of contents:

We hope that you enjoy this newsletter and that it helps you to get more out of your website. Please pass this newsletter on to your friends.

Best regards,
Andre Voget, Johannes Selbach, Axandra CEO
1. Check your links for Google's Penguin update

Many websites have been hit by Google's recent 'Penguin' algorithm update. These businesses lost their top rankings on Google,  resulting in a major decline in visitors.

Google's Penguin algorithm update targeted websites with unnatural backlink profiles. Websites that utilized paid links or other unnatural backlinks were removed from Google's index. Make sure that your website won't be penalized.

You need a reliable SEO tool that enables you to do an in-depth audit of your backlinks. This can be done with the link manager in IBP.

1. Check the anchor texts

Google doesn't like hundreds of backlinks with exactly the same anchor text (the text that is used to link to your site). Diversified backlinks that contain keywords that are related to your business work best.

To get an overview of the anchor texts that are used to link to your website, just use the "Find websites that link to your site" command in IBP's link manager:

anchor text analyzer

2. Check domain diversity

A natural backlink profile includes backlinks from different website types. The link manager in IBP offers a lot of information about the sites that link to your site:

  • the IP addresses
  • the Google PageRank
  • the Alexa TrafficRank
  • the number of outbound links on the page
  • the total number of links on the page
  • and much more information

anchor text analyzer

These signals help you to make informed decisions about your backlinks. Depending on the structure of your backlinks, you could:

    • remove some backlinks
    • diversify the anchor text of your backlinks
    • diversify your backlink sources
    • get new backlinks

Get new backlinks with IBP

In addition to the backlink data above, IBP's link manager provides you with other helpful information and you can get new backlinks with IBP.

IBP also helps you to optimize the content of your web pages to make sure that your web pages will be listed for the right keywords on Google's first result page.

Try IBP now risk-freeBuy IBP now risk-free
2. Search engine news and articles of the week

GoogleAmazon doesn't want to pay Google

"Google says the change will improve its shopping results because retailers are more likely to list accurate and up-to-date items if they are paying. [...]

Amazon has already removed its listings from Google Shopping. Looking for a Kindle? Google Shopping shows Kindles from Best Buy, eBay and sites called Fumfie and Glyde — but not Amazon."



Bing ads: enhancements to the adCenter ad preview tool

"'Where is my ad?' is one of the most popular questions we get. With that in mind, soon we will offer an updated Ad Preview Tool, to help our advertisers verify whether or not their ads are showing to the general audience or a targeted audience.

The tool will also offer targeting and a diagnostics feedback function. This enhancement will be complete within the next few releases, you will find the enhanced adCenter Ad Preview Tool in 'Tools' section."



GoogleHow Google is filled with hypocrisy and will steal your intellectual property

"If there is one thing Google is good at, it’s framing themselves and their actions as being “good for the user” and for the benefit of others while playing down how their actions are self-serving. [...]

Google plays fast and loose with rules, employing them when they work to their advantage and completely ignoring them when they stand in the way of Google getting what Google wants. [...]

It’s not all peace, love, unicorns, rainbows, and lava lamps. It’s you having something they want. And heaven help you if you don’t have the legal money and firepower to put up a fight."



Google testing only four results on the first result page

In an online discussion, webmasters have discovered that Google is testing only four results on the first result page for some keywords:

"Today I noticed Google displaying 4-5 results on first page. I heard and seen the 7 results but not 4. This is crazy if this is the direction their going."

The related screenshots can be found here and here.



Google still uses human raters for the search results

"Google still uses an army of raters to train their algorithms and validate situations that the algorithm can not do by itself.

It is a pure user oriented view, from Google’s side and everything is related to the User Experience. This is used both for natural search and paid search but it seems they are mostly focused on the natural part."


Search engine newslets
  • Microsoft announces the Yahoo Bing Network.
  • Google testing search options above results.
  • Amazon's new Kindle Fire HD uses Bing as the default search engine.
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3. Recommended resources

Download the brand-new IBP 12

The new version IBP 12 is now available for download. IBP 12 has many great new features. Download it now and see for yourself:

New version 12

If you haven't done it yet, you can download the free demo version of the brand-new IBP 12 now.

seoprofiler

Try IBP now risk-freeBuy IBP now risk-free

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4. Previous articles

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