At this point, everyone understands that Google will penalize sites that are using spammy techniques. If you're buying links, creating strange and unnatural link profiles, or gaming the system in other ways, you'll get the mighty Google hammer brought down upon you. In most of these cases, it's possible to reverse the damage. With a lot of hard work and even more patience, you can get a penalty lifted and carry on your business as a rehabilitated one-time offender in the SEO world.

If the dark side calls to you again though, you may not be so lucky.

In one of the most recent Webmaster Help videos, Matt Cutts mentions that not only do different infractions carry different penalties, repeat offenders will be hit harder than first-timers, regardless of the specific infraction. Here is the example he gives:

"Google tends to look at buying and selling links that pass PageRank as a violation of our guidelines and if we see that happening multiple times, repeated times, then the actions that we take get more and more severe," Cutts said. "So we're more willing to take stronger action whenever we see repeated violations."

So, if you've ever been hit with a penalty, it's not a good idea to perform SEO techniques that are even in the gray area, never mind straight black hat. It may be tempting, but when you start to get away with the little things, you'll likely start to take chances with bigger and bigger infractions until one day—BAM! You're hit with another penalty, this time one you can't recover from. Next thing you know you're running an empty coffee mug back and forth along the bars of your digital cell, wondering where exactly your life went wrong.

Of course, much like real life criminals, the call of the dark side may be too strong for some to resist. Just remember you have to be strong or suffer the consequences.

Original post in Wikimotive's blog by Tim Martell.

SEO is a game of increments. If you take any one technique to the extreme, you can ruin the effectiveness. Not just the effectiveness of that one technique either, but your entire campaign. You need to play it smart and move slowly, accepting that—while their are certain aspects of SEO you can move fast and loud on—the majority of quality SEO takes time, patience, and careful recalibration after careful recalibration.

How do you know how much is enough and how far is too far? We have an infographic that will help you with the basics of your digital marketing planning. It's in the Goldilocks style of too hot, too cold, or just right. Except in this case it's too spammy, not enough effort, or profitable. As always, take the information in this infographic with a grain of salt, but we actually agree with most of what this one has to say, especially when it comes to diversifying your links and producing a mix of content types.

Check out the infographic and let us know what you think. Just be aware that if you fall into the too hot or too cold ends of the spectrum, you're almost definitely doing something wrong.

Originally posted on Wikimotive's blog by Tim Martell. 

It seemed that Google had all but given up on keeping PageRank up to date. In the past year, it had only been updated a single time, back in February of 2013. Well, the long PageRank drought it now over, because as an early Christmas present, Google has updated PageRank across the web. Let's take a look at how the new PageRank landscape looks and what it means for your SEO.

Earlier this year at Pubcon is Las Vegas, Matt Cutts said that the PageRank system was broken and there were no plans to fix it in 2013. Apparently Google decided that it was worth investing in after all, because it's going strong with no more issued apparent.

As far as the updates go, the news isn't exactly stellar. Newer sites are being upgraded to a PR1 or PR2, but very few new sites are higher than that. Unfortunately, higher ranked sites in the PR4-PR6 range have dropped all the way back down to PR1 as a result of poor content and bad linking practices.

Some people are saying that the PageRank data isn't up to date, that it may be from as long ago as September, but there's really no way to tell. Google and Matt Cutts will neither confirm or deny the allegation so all we can do is work with what we're given.

You should check your updated PageRank right away and see how your site is fairing. If your site is only a year or two old, you should expect to be around a PR2. If your site is much older, you should be at least a PR4. If you want some help checking your PageRank and understanding how it affects your total search engine optimization strategy, feel free to contact me at tim@wikimotive.com for a quick (and, of course, free) appraisal of your current standings.

Original post on Wikimotive's blog by Tim Martell. 

Have you ever heard of Nostradamus? He’s a crazy guy who wrote a bunch of super vague poems and know he gets credit for predicting all kinds of major world events. Was he clairvoyant? We have to say no, because if he was, he probably would have written something that’s actually useful, like the sports almanac from Back to the Future II. Remember that? With old Biff? That was good stuff (worst movie of the trilogy though).

Anyway, the point I was originally trying to make with all of that is that no one truly knows what the future holds. The best we can do is think critically about the present and make educated guesses about what’s to come. With that in mind, we want to share an interesting infographic with you today. It’s titled “The Future of Link Building” but really it’s the present of link building. The techniques recommended in this piece are already best practice, so there’s nothing particularly precognizant, but they very well may (and should) be the future of your personal link building.

Give the infographic a look and see how the techniques recommended compare to what you’re currently working on. If you fall into the unnatural link category, it’s time to pull a Biff and join us in the future McFly.

There's been a lot of talk recently about the keyword (not provided) ordeal that has been increasingly plaguing users of Google Analytics. Pretty much every single blog that talks about digital marketing (including this one) has had multiple articles about not provided and what it may mean. Of all the suggested workarounds, one of the more popular was to start relying on Bing Webmaster Tools for the data. Sure, the search volume was less than Google, but you could take what volume there was and extrapolate it to get a pretty clear picture of what keywords were working for you.

Well, it was nice while it lasted, but now Microsoft and Bing are joining Google in the keyword (not provided) world.

This is all coming down as a result of all the recent NSA scandals. People care more than ever about their privacy online, and Bing is feeling the pressure to move to encrypted search. Bing isn't the only one either, Yahoo is considering taking similar actions. That's right, the top three search engines are all going to move to keyword (not provided), so if you thought people were freaking out before, you haven't seen anything yet.

There are meetings this week in Redmond where the Bing execs will look at exactly how they want to roll out their new encrypted search, but smart money is on their data being limited in the exact same way as Google's. Yahoo is claiming there encryption program will be opt-in, but they receive their results through Microsoft and Bing, so it's unlikely that they'll actually be able to have much clout in the matter.

Have you developed a workaround to the not provided problem that doesn't involve Bing or Yahoo? If you haven't, now may be the time to contact your friendly neighborhood Wikimotive and get some free advice on the matter.

Post originally found on Wikimotive's blog by Tim Martell.

Today I want to share with you another list from the SEO GOAT, Matt Cutts. In a classic webmaster help video on Google's channel, he tackles a very interesting question: "what are the top 4 mistakes that SEOs make?" If you read this blog every day, chances are you aren't making these mistakes, but if you're new to the SEO game, these could very well be causing you some real trouble. We've looked at this list before, but we think it's worth revisiting because all of the advice is still relevant with minor changes.

Without further ado, let's take a look at what Matt Cutts considers to be the top 4 mistakes and how you can avoid making them.

1.Your website isn't easy to crawl. This one hasn't changed too much, but people are still making the mistake. If Google can't find all of your pages, you're in trouble from the word GO. Use your webmaster tools and have a quality sitemap submitted. If you're unsure how to do this, you can email us at questions@wikimotive.com and we'll work you through it, free of charge.

2. You're more concerned with link building than content. Are you sick of hearing about this yet? Too bad, because it's not going anywhere. Content is here to stay, so hire a decent writer (or learn to write yourself) and produce quality every single day. If you can't do that, then you don't deserve the business.

3. Include the RIGHT content. Just any content isn't enough though. You need to write the right stuff for your business. Look at your keyword research (you have keyword research, right?) and be sure you're writing about topics relevant to your business. You don't need a certain percentage of keyword density, just make sure your content is relevant to the searches you want to rank for, at least tangentially.

4. Not using title and description. Most people understand this is important but they let software do it for them. DON'T DO THIS. No software or plugin or backend will every do as good a job as you. Hand tailor each and every title and description to succeed.

Original post on Wikimotive's blog by Tim Martell.

It’s here, it’s finally here! After years of waiting, counting each and every link like a search engine optimizationteetotaler, the chains of Google have been broken and we can finally spread our wings and link to our hearts content! Right? Right…?

Well, not exactly.

This week’s installment of Matt Cutt’s Google Webmaster Help video series has him answering a question about the Webmaster guidelines. As you may now, until recently the guidelines said that anything more than 100 links per page would lead to an automatic penalty. This week, some astute SEO noticed that that stipulation was gone from the document, and asked Cutts what exactly was going on. Cutts responded by saying that they’ve been easing off the 100 links per page Webmaster guidelines since way back in 2008, and it was officially removed just recently.

Does this mean we have carte blanche to link as many times as we want with no repercussions? Unfortunately, it does not. Google will still be punishing people with an unnaturally high amount of links, they’re just removing the blanket penalty threat so that legitimate news and other aggregator sites can flourish without fear.

Cutts also makes an interesting point about PageRank. This may be old news to some of you, but I’m going to share it for those who are unfamiliar. A site only has so much PageRank to pass. If you link to one other site, that other site gets 100 percent of the page rank. If you link to two, they both get 50 percent, four nets 25% a piece and so on. This means that you can legitimately link to as many places as you’d link, and you can be linked to from large sites like that, but they aren’t very powerful by themselves. For instance, a site like Alltop where your page is one of hundreds, even though it has good authority, it’s not as powerful as one good link from a lower authority but relevant blog.

Original blog on Wikimotive by Tim Martell.

We’ve talked about site speed is an important factor in SEO, and we’re going to reiterate it now. Are you ready? SITE SPEED IS IMPORTANT! Anyone who tells you otherwise is either selling you something you don’t need or just flat out wrong. Google and other search engines measure how fast you load, and if you’re slow, you won’t rank as well as someone comparable who is faster. We’re bringing this back up because we have some interesting new data. Not only does it confirm that fast load speeds are important, it quantifies exactly how important they are.

Let’s check it out.

Originally the site speed info came to us from Amazon, but this updated data is from Velocity 2013. They did a second by second study, changing nothing but their load speeds, and analyzed how it affected both their rankings and their conversions. It turns out, there is a direct relationship, and it’s more substantial than you might guess:

• +3% conversions for every second reduced from 15 seconds to 7 seconds
• +2% conversions for every second reduced from seconds 7 to 5
• +1% conversions for every second reduced from seconds 4 to 2

This study, combined with some other recent research, shows us that you need to be, at least, under 10 seconds. If you don’t have many images, you’re under 5 seconds. If that sounds difficult, you’re doing something very, very wrong. Of course, there are always exceptions. If your site is image heavy or has some strange script, maybe you add a couple seconds to the average, but every site should at least be under 10 this day and age.

The requirements from users are even harsher than ours. According to the Amazon and Velocity studies, most users expect sites to load to the point of usability in 2 seconds or less.

Want to know your speed? Check the Google sponsored WebPageTest.org for a quick look, and talk to your webmaster to get a more detailed idea of where you stand.

Original Post on Wikimotive's blog by Andrew Martin. 

LinkedIn has been in a strange position for awhile now. They're trying to be the Facebook of the professional world, but they've been constantly stymied by the fact that Facebook is also trying to be the Facebook of the professional world. Luckily for LinkedIn, they managed to firmly entrench themselves in the professional profile niche, and Facebook has had no luck in unseating them from that particular throne. If you've been paying attention, you may have noticed that LinkedIn has been slowly adding and improving features over the last couple years (not to say they weren't before, but the last couple years were particularly aggressive) and today they've unveiled another huge feature: the Showcase Page. Let's take a look at what it is and what it means for your business.

Showcase Pages are designed to compliment Company Pages, with the main difference being that followers of a brand of business can interact directly through

What do the pages look like? LinkedIn posted a blog today with an example. They actually look pretty slick, and they are more than a little reminiscent of Facebook:

These pages are great for users, but they're also great for you as a business. You should set one up right away. Not only will they drive more people to your company and content, they also come complete with LinkedIn analytics so you can track who is looking closer. This is great to advertise your current staff, draw in new hires, or just wow people who may be curious about using your business in the traditional sense.

All companies get up to 10 showcases pages free of charge. And, while it's not a "drop everything and do it now" kind of thing, it is something you should be doing sooner rather than later. Start with one and let us see what you come up with!

Original Blog on Wikimotive by Daniel Hinds.

It’s Monday morning, do you know where your mother is?

If you’ve spent any time on YouTube before November, you’ve probably heard several different answers to that question, all of them less than savory. The YouTube comment section has long been known as a terrible place, and for good reason. If you go to pretty much any video on there and read down far enough, you’ll find nearly every belief you hold sacred insulted. If you post a comment in reply, you’ll only add fuel to the fire and find yourself personallyinsulted. It’s a no-win situation, and it’s the reason behind Google and YouTube’s recent change, a change that has many people up in (virtual) arms, calling for either a change back or all-out abandonment of the platform. Let’s take a look at what’s going on and how it may affect your marketing.

The big change came earlier this month when YouTube switched the way they handled their comment section. Instead of using their old, mostly anonymous accounts, YouTubers suddenly found themselves needing a Google+ account to comment on videos.

This has caused an outrage, because, frankly, people don’t want to use Google+, not even a little bit. Since its launch Google’s social network has floundered and despite herding customers towards it at every opportunity, it just isn’t catching on. And now, Google is using it’s most powerful weapon of all, YouTube, to try and drive subscriptions and create an active user base, and people do not like it.

People hate it so much, they’ve created a change.org petition against it, a petition that has already manager to garner 175,400 signatures at the time of this writing. Here’s the main text that the petition uses:

“Google is forcing us to make google+ accounts and invading our social life to comment on a youtube video and trying to take away our anonymous profile. They are also trying to censor us unless we share the same worldview as they do.”

That may seem a little extreme, but the hits just keep coming. My personal favorite comes from Jawed Karim, one of the original founders of YouTube. He said (quite eloquently) “Why the fuck do i need a google+ account to comment on a video?”

Why indeed?

Ostensibly, Google and YouTube made the change to cut down on all of the terrible crap that gets said in a YouTube comment section. Surely that’s a noble goal, but it isn’t being perceived as a genuine one. To most people (as I said above) this feels more like a crass and blunt attempt to get more people involved with Google+, a social network they have already rejected time and time again.

Unfortunately for Google, this change could not have come at a worse time. The events surrounding Edward Snowden and the NSA are ongoing, and the privacy discussion in America has never been more active. Some are perceiving this as an attempt on Google’s part to circumvent the private lives and personalities that people have carefully cultivated on the net. Of course, Google will never back down from their “user experience” justification, so you’ll have to make up your own mind as to which reason is the true one.

So what about marketing?

As a YouTube user, you may not love the new commenting system, but as a business and channel owner, you need to like it at least a little. Gone are the spam comments, the hateful comments, and the downright racist and bizarre comments. Now, you have an opportunity to foster actual intelligent discussion. Sure it’s against the will of the userbase, but that isn’t your problem or your concern. All you need to focus on is building up your YouTube channel and your Google+ page. One way or another, this is all going to blow over (and if history has taught us anything, it’s that Google more than likely won’t back down) and you need to be in a position to reach your audience. A good backup plan? Strengthen your blog and embed all of your videos in posts, that gives people an alternative way to comment. Of course, this is all moot if you aren’t making interesting video content!

Original post on Wikimotive's blog by Daniel Hinds.