1. 1

2. 1. In Pursuit of Google
2

3. 1. In Pursuit of Google
Penguin & Panda?
Over the last couple of months, the so-called ‘Panda’ and ‘Penguin’ updates, have stirred
up the SEO community.
3

4. 1. In Pursuit of Google
Meet Panda
Navneet Panda optimized the machine learning algorithm at Google, making it possible to
put it into general use for the Google search engine.
4

5. 1. In Pursuit of Google
How Panda works
usage
metrics
Machine
+ Learning
Quality Raters (find
+ similarities)
Machine
- Learning
- (find
similarities)
Unlike the normal Google algorithm which is updated each time Google crawls your page,
the Panda algorithm runs in iterative updates when the ‘data is refreshed’.
5

6. 1. In Pursuit of Google
Panda victims
websites (*)…
 offering thin or duplicate content
 that are perceived as spammy
 with too many ads above the fold
 with non-authorative links
 with high bounce rates
(*) Google Panda affects the ranking of an entire site or a specific section rather than just
the individual pages on a site
6

7. 1. In Pursuit of Google
Feeding the Panda
“ With Panda, Google –for the first time- puts the
user experience into the SEO equation!
Focus on design and user experience
1| don’t put too many ads above the fold, can visitors navigate easily?, …
7

8. 1. In Pursuit of Google
Feeding the Panda
Focus on content quality
2| unique, usable content is not enough: users must want to share it and say ‘wow’
8

9. 1. In Pursuit of Google
Feeding the Panda
Optimize around user and usage metrics
3| Time on site, bounce rate, browse rate, CTR’s from SERP’s, traffic quality
9

10. 1. In Pursuit of Google
Enter the Penguin
“ In the pursuit of higher rankings or traffic, a few sites use
techniques that don’t benefit users, where the intent is to look
for shortcuts or loopholes that would rank pages higher than
they deserve to be ranked. We see all sorts of webspam
techniques every day, from keyword stuffing to link
schemes that attempt to propel sites higher in rankings.
- Google
On April 24, Google rolled out the ‘Penguin’ update targeting websites not following
Google SEO quality guidelines.
10

11. 1. In Pursuit of Google
Penguin victims
hosted by The Hosting Company
example of a site with unusual linking patterns that is affected by the Penguin update.
11

12. 1. In Pursuit of Google
12

13. 1. In Pursuit of Google
The Exact-Match Domain (EMD) update
On October 2nd, Google changed its algorithm to reduce the impact of exact-match
domains on search results.
13

14. 2. Towards a Semantic Web
14

15. 2. Towards a Semantic Web
The big problem
or or
People are using search engines to find answers to the questions they face on their
customer journeys. Relevancy in answer to a query is everything.
15

16. 2. Towards a Semantic Web
From links to things
Using schema.org, web publishers can ‘tag’ their content to reflect the object it’s
describing, be it a book, a movie, a recipe, an event, a place, ....
16

17. 2. Towards a Semantic Web
From links to things
Google uses semantic markup to create ‘rich snippets’ in the search engine result pages.
17

18. 2. Towards a Semantic Web
From links to things
Google uses semantic markup to create ‘rich snippets’ in the search engine result pages.
18

19. 2. Towards a Semantic Web
From links to things
Rich Snippets
many companies have users know
SE of
seen a RI what to expect
20%-40% + before
in click-through entering the site
More qualified visitors who are
likely to stay on the site longer
19

20. July 31, 2012
Google launches ‘structured data dashboard’
Google Rich Snippets testing tool
To provide webmasters with greater visibility into the structured data that Google knows
about, Google launched the Structured Data Dashboard inside Google Webmaster Tools.
20

21. September 17, 2012
Towards a Unified Search Interface
Using semantic markup, Google is able to create either verticals for eg recipes and news,
or –as a requested patent indicates- a unified search interface offering filtering options.
21

22. May 16, 2012
The Google Knowledge Graph
click next for video
The Google Knowledge Graph is about helping users discover new information quickly
and easily.
22

23. 2. Towards a Semantic Web
Get ready for AuthorRank
“
There are a lot of stupid people out there … and stupid people
shouldn’t write. … There needs to be a better system for tuning
down the stupid people and tuning up the smart people.
- Jason Calacanis, Internet entrepreneur and blogger
The idea behind AuthorRank is that your reputation as a content creator will influence the
ranking of search results.
23

24. 2. Towards a Semantic Web
Get ready for AuthorRank
How often is your content shared? How often is your content endorsed (+1, like)
How quickly is your content shared? Where the comments of high-quality?
Who commented on your content?
Who shared your content?
How many comments did
Did those who shared your content your content generate?
have expertise in that topic?
Do the same people always
share your content?
… Who endorsed your content?
At this moment it is still uncertain which signals Google in the end will consider for
AuthorRank.
24

25. 2. Towards a Semantic Web
Get ready for AuthorRank: how to
Identity
1| create a Google+ account, choose a good profile pic
25

26. 2. Towards a Semantic Web
Get ready for AuthorRank: how to
Option 1: verified e-mail address Option 2: rel=author markup
1 Check that you have a email address on
the same domain as your content
1 Create a link to your Google+ profile
from your webpage: <a href=
2
"[profile_url]?rel=author">my
Make sure that each article or post you
name</a>
publish on that domain has a clear byline
identifying you as the author
2 In the ‘Contributor To’ section, add a
reciprocal link back from your profile to
3 Visit the Google+ Authorship page and
submit your email address to Google.
the site(s) you just updated.
https://plus.google.com/authorship
digital signatures
2| Make sure Google knows which content is yours
26

27. 2. Towards a Semantic Web
Get ready for AuthorRank: how to
produce content worth sharing and engage
3| Content quality, activity and engagement will be important factors.
27

28. August 2012
Not just Google: Walmart rolls out semantic search
Walmart.com has already seen about 10 to 15 percent increase in shoppers that complete
a purchase after searching for a product.
28

29. August 2012
Not just Google: Walmart rolls out semantic search
Hanna
@hanna
I love salt!
salt condiments
movies Angelina Jolie
Hanna
Juliana
Walmart’s Social Genome project uses public data on the Web, proprietary data, and
social media, to identify interesting entities and relationships.
29

30. 3. Key Take-Aways
30

31. 3. Key Take-Aways
Key Take-Aways
1 2 3
With the Panda updates, Google is working on
Google has found a way to better understanding what
incorporate the user the user is looking for. It is
experience into the search slowly implementating
result rankings. more and more semantic
search features such as
rich snippets, the
Knowledge Graph and
AuthorRank.
The Penguin updates
focus on fighting webspam
such as keyword stuffing
(over-optimization) and
link schemes.
31

32. Thank you for listening.
Now let’s talk.
Geert De Laet
Technology evangelist
gdelaet@luon.com
Twitter: @geertdelaet
http://www.luon.com
32