Search Engine Optimization Tips

Monday, February 4, 2013

Update to Top Search Queries data

Webmaster level: All

Starting today, we’re updating our Top Search Queries feature to make it better match expectations about search engine rankings. Previously we reported the average position of all URLs from your site for a given query. As of today, we’ll instead average only the top position that a URL from your site appeared in.

An example
Let’s say Nick searched for [bacon] and URLs from your site appeared in positions 3, 6, and 12. Jane also searched for [bacon] and URLs from your site appeared in positions 5 and 9. Previously, we would have averaged all these positions together and shown an Average Position of 7. Going forward, we’ll only average the highest position your site appeared in for each search (3 for Nick’s search and 5 for Jane’s search), for an Average Position of 4.

We anticipate that this new method of calculation will more accurately match your expectations about how a link's position in Google Search results should be reported.

How will this affect my Top Search Queries data?
This change will affect your Top Search Queries data going forward. Historical data will not change. Note that the change in calculation means that the Average Position metric will usually stay the same or decrease, as we will no longer be averaging in lower-ranking URLs.

Check out the updated Top Search Queries data in the Your site on the web section of Webmaster Tools. And remember, you can also download Top Search Queries data programmatically!

We look forward to providing you a more representative picture of your Google Search data. Let us know what you think in our Webmaster Forum.

Posted by Chris Anderson, Google Analytics team, and Susan Moskwa, Webmaster Trends Analyst

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Daily SEO Tips

* What does Yahoo! say it wants in a Web page?
1.Original and unique content of genuine value
2.Pages designed primarily for humans, with search engine
considerations secondary
3.Hyperlinks intended to help people find interesting,
related content, when applicable
4.Metadata (including title and description) that accurately
describes the contents of a web page
5.Good web design in general

*Create content that serves your customer's needs FIRST and your own needs second.

* One way to build content freshness is to add a blog to your site.Post to it regularly with valuable content and links.

*Are you working on some new Web content for the search engines this week?

Here are 3 elements to keep in mind:

1. Create content that is original and genuinely useful to your visitors.
2. Create high quality content that engages the visitor serves a purpose.
3. Create truly relevant content that satisfies the user's initial query.

*so watch keyword prominence in your title tag which should be around 8-10
words long, or shorter (Maximum of 75 characters, including spaces).

*How are you doing with "content freshness" and adding new article pages to yourWeb site on a regular basis? Remember that you may get much more relevancy for"content freshness" than you might expect. Make a commitment to performing regularupdates and additions to your Web site and keep an eye on search engine visitingfrequency.

*This tool shows your Google search engine results pages across56 (or more) datacenters all at once.

http://www.mcdar.net/dance/index.php

* Did you know that all links are not created quite equally with
respect to relevancy influence?

For example, a link in navigation is not worth as much as a link
in the middle of the body of your page. And a link at the bottom of
the page wouldn't count as much, or a link as a caption wouldn't
count as much.

* Be sure to use care with text color inside of a table too.
Example: If your background is a white page and you are using a table filled with
dark Navy Blue (for example.) Be careful not to use a white colored font text.
Although the text is not hidden, you could still accidentally set off some flags
by using a white text with a white background (regardless of the fact that the
table is blue.)

* Are you aware of the penalties for using hidden text? This out dated technique
is Spam. Never try to add keywords or text to a page, in the same color font as
the exact background color, thus making text appear hidden.

Spam Alert: Don't EVER use hidden text, hidden links or hidden "anything" on a page
unless you want to risk setting off some warning flags and risk getting in trouble.

* Do you understand that there is a difference between creating "unique content" and
creating "high quality useful content." Just because your content is "unique" does
not mean that it may be particularly "useful." Make it your goal to serve up
useful content that actual engages the reader and satisfies their "original search."

* Did you know that Google Page Rank is only one small influenceto relevancy?
Hint: Don't get obsessed with trying to achieve a high page rank value.Instead focus on building true visibility. Google PR and actualvisibility in the rankings are not the same thing.

* Create a content rich, informational site which is loaded with
quality articles, tips, free advice, and tutorials, and keep your
options to buy a product very subtle. The number one reason most
people go online is to look up information, so the key is to
discover high-demand topics for a niche audience and give your
audience exactly what they are searching for first. Satisfy
their search first and then offer them the option to buy.