Google has just released its fourth Penguin update and apparently this time they really mean it! It’s been dubbed internally at Google, and now by the SEO community en masse, as Penguin 2.0. That’s right folks, not just an oil change; it’s a whole new engine! Or in Matt Cutt’s words, “A brand new generation of algorithms” (flick forward to 1:20:00).

As we know, Penguin is Google’s algorithm that fights spam. Spam of a link variety which originates from spurious, low quality websites linking out to sites that are not semantically or thematically similar. Its job is to ensure that links from such places pass little or no value to the receiving website or, in serious cases, pass negative value. Well at least Google have given us a means of clearing up the mess! Check out our post on Google’s Disavow Tool.

As explained by Mr Cutts, Penguin 1.0 assessed website homepages and deemed whether links from those websites (anywhere on those websites) to external sites would pass lots of PageRank, some PageRank, none or negative PageRank. Essentially a website’s credibility in terms of passing PageRank was previously judged on the homepage alone. Captain Cutts has told us that Penguin 2.0 is going to be able to assess a lot deeper than homepage level. In other words, contrary to Scotty’s immortalised assessment, Google do have the power!

So other than the fact we, as a digital agency, are generally interested/obsessed with the Google’s algorithm changes, what special relevance is there for Barracuda with the latest roll-out? Well it just so happens we’ve managed to time the release of Panguin 2.0 with the release of Penguin 2.0! I know, right?!

Just as a recap, Panguin 1.0 enabled users to monitor organic visits from Google against Google’s algorithm updates. Panguin 2.0 has been released with the aim of graphically displaying the impact of algorithm changes on landing pages and keywords. We’ve provided date settings and filters intended to help you understand and communicate visually what (the heck) is going on.

Like I said… a bit smug.

The post Panguin 2.0: We beat you to it, Google! appeared first on Barracuda Digital.

Useful – because people’s personal preferences for a specific product or service, aligned with information about their background and social allegiances, culminate into something that marketers and advertisers will fall over themselves for. Facebook, as yet, has not provided a platform where this can be used commercially.

Profitable – because Facebook is like any company; it needs an income. There has been much press about how it has struggled to make the most of it’s information resources and turn it into hard cash.

Enterprising – because while Facebook was ‘cool’, it could attract new sign ups easily and effortlessly but now that it has been around for a while, that sign up rate is slowing, so it needs to find new ways to remain on the curve of the contemporary.

However, with their press statement regarding the impending launch of an exciting new Beta, Graph Search, perhaps Facebook has found an answer to those three problems.

Graph Search will allow users to enter specific queries which will provide insightful answers from the millions of mountains of information that float around the Facebook-sphere.

So what does it mean?

People will be able to enter searches such as ‘photos of my friends taken before1990’, and be shown comprehensive results relating to their query. They will also be able to search for establishments such as restaurants in a specific location that have been ‘liked’ by their friends.

The marketing side of Graph Search has been considered as well; Tom Stocky, a Facebook executive, revealed some of the market insights that the tool highlighted. It compared the music tastes of those users that supported Barack Obama against those that supported Mitt Romney, unveiling preferences for Michael Jackson and Johnny Cash respectively. The possibilities could be endless.

Without doubt, Graph Search promises to be an exciting new chassis on which both users and marketers change the way they use Facebook.

But what is Facebook really trying to do here? Besides becoming more useful, more profitable and more enterprising?

They are launching a product that could, if potential is fulfilled, take people away from the behemoth that is Google. Depending on the relevance of the search results and the user experience, Facebook could have just announced a potential game changer in Search Marketing, which could seriously challenge Google’s local and social search results.

Indeed, the gauntlet has been thrown down, as if a user’s search query doesn’t display any results, they are shown a Bing results page. It is obvious who is on whose side.

The implications of Graph Search remain to be seen, but in the meantime, marvel at the possibilities.

The post Has Facebook found what It has been Searching for? appeared first on Barracuda Digital.

I’m not normally a fan of templates. I tend to stay away from them unless I’m just browsing for inspiration. I believe it’s a lame way of going about creating websites as you’ll be creatively limited, and it’s just plain lazy to use someone else’s imagination. From my point of view the creative bit is the most fun. So unless you’re pressed for time, why miss on that?

Recently, I came across a wordpress theme I thought had some of the qualities I’m looking for in a site. So much so that I’ve done the unthinkable and purchased the template. A template… To me, that is like buying clothes in pieces, and then dying and sewing them together yourself.

However, for some reason I was moved by the visual impact of this website template, and thought there’s no better time to talk passionately about something than when you feel emotive about it.

1 – A good combination of vibrant / plain and neutral colours.

The use of colours cannot be left to chance. They are that much important. On the example below the spectrum of colours on the banner is beautiful, and despite the variety it still does not let the user think the designer was a little confused. Key information is lodged on neutral areas where they are easy to read. The designer went for a plain white, or black, with fonts in the opposite colour. Win.

2 – Vary the use of colours, but the colour scheme HAS to be consistent

The colours on links, links hovered, logo, headers, and buttons, should be vibrant too but all carefully matching some other element on the page. Again, despite the vibrancy and variety there should still be a sense of order and tastefulness.

3 – Focus on visual stimulus is more productive than comprehensive textual content.

The right balance between text and imagery should be easy to understand. The way I see it, images will always speak to your subconscious, text will just give you information which you will have to consciously take a mental (or written) note of.

If I’m looking for some sort of service online, I will quickly dismiss a site that says they have years of experience and they are the best of the best, repeating the same sentence with different words throughout the site. However, I will remember the site that had the cool design and images, regardless of my interest in taking a mental note of that site or not. In all likelihood the site with the cool imagery will be the one I’ll purchase from.

4 – Responsive and flexible. That much added value.

I have a lot of respect for developers who go through the trouble of creating sites with flexible layouts, just in case they need to be adapted by someone as picky as I am. How good it feels to install a wordpress theme you like, and as you’ll go check the settings you realise you can actually change the layout with a few clicks of the mouse. But not only that, if features such as the front page slider are easily editable and customisable, kudos for that.

Responsiveness needs no hype. One site which can accomplish the same as multiple sites. It converts and adjusts itself to different screens, to the convenience of the user, and the convenience of the businesses and individuals commissioning sites.

5 – Retina Display Graphics

Retina display is new technology pushed by Apple, and soon to be just about every product that has a screen. Retina Display by Apple is essentially a screen with a much higher pixel density, in which users cannot distinguish individual pixels at normal viewing distances.

What this means in practical terms is that a device with a Retina Display will be able to display much sharper graphics. The catch however, is that graphics must be designed for this sort of resolution at the risk of text and images losing quality on these devices.

But this is not only about image quality. On these devices, the super high resolution means more information can be fit on the screen. The image below illustrates this.

Before concluding that Retina Display is pointless, and that as a designer or a developer you shouldn’t have worry about this, remember that it is very likely that a very large slice of your website visitors will be doing it so with an Apple device. Also, as Apple seems to be the driving force behind innovation at the moment, do expect manufacturers to follow the trend soon, only with a slightly different name.

6 – When in doubt, go for a minimal / simple solution

A site will never need to be pimped out to extremes. A big mixture of colours, images spread everywhere, and the suppression of text, is by no means the right formula on its own. In fact balance is key. If in doubt, think of what content you absolutely need and how you can make it stand out – with simplicity and flair.

7 – Widgets can go a long way

From my point of view widgets are a great way of making your web pages feel a little fuller if you’re lacking in content. There’s a variety of information you can fit in there which will make your website more attractive both in terms of design and content.

I for instance enjoy when I’m searching for very specific information, find it on Google, visit the page, have a glance at the most popular or most recent blog posts widget, and notice there’s other cool information I could scan through. That could mean the difference between visiting a site once, and returning eventually regularly.

8 – The Devil Is On The Detail

Small things like menus which slide open at the right speed, the use of opacity, content sections that slide open, short animations on slideshows, sections that can be resized and repositioned, or a one page site in which users don’t open pages they slide through sections, these are details that can turn an average site into an excellent site.

Use it with care though, as excess could have the complete opposite effect. Also, you want to engage visitors not distract them (unless of course that is the purpose of your site).

9 – Remember your website must be the solution to a problem

I cannot emphasize enough how you should not underestimate your visitor’s laziness and lack of patience. No, this is not an attack on users as I’m one of those people I’ve just described.

Distribute your content conscientious of how it will look and feel to the average person who sees your site for the first time. Never hide content users need to solve some sort of riddle to be able to find.

Always keep in mind that there’s plenty of sites out there, trying to convey the same message you are. To have visitors is a privilege because they could have gone some place else. As so, make it easy for them so they can find what they need to find without having to decode what you meant to convey.

If it is clear in your head what’s the objective of your site, keep that context in mind when laying it out and planning your content. As a rule of thumb, if you’re not helping resolve (and quickly) one of the problems below, probably better to scrap it.

• I need a product or a service
• I need to be entertained
• I need information
• I need to connect with other people

This is however another tip you should use with some balance. If making it easy for users is your only driving force, more often than not you will end up with something boring and uninteresting.

10 – Don’t be scared to innovate and try out crazy ideas

This is where the passionate professionals and the hobbyists will be distinguished. Once while having a discussion about a website proposal, I heard someone say: “Menu on the top right corner is website design 101”. Meanwhile my mind was light years apart, wondering how cool it would be to have a menu you can drag anywhere you want.

Never be afraid to think outside the box. Your ideas might be ridiculous, but perhaps is just the solution that will solve everyone’s problems, or at least give your site that edge that will set it apart.

Recently, I’ve found a site of a design agency which had a large background image with very minimal textual content. The big twist was that the background image was a live video feed of the designers at work on the studio. I’d be very surprised if these guys had no clients.

You can browse their website here. Genius written all over it.

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You’re far more likely to click on the results with images right?

Photo Credit: acumendesign.co.uk

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From the point Google unleashed its Penguin algorithm, the linking paradigm shifted and the idea emerged that links from spammy websites could pass negative value. Ever since, there’s been a collective look of incredulity in Google’s general direction… if links can harm our websites, why can’t we tell you which ones we don’t want you to consider? What’s more Mr Google, it appears some unscrupulous individuals are now aiming bad links at my site. Perfect, the spammers have a new weapon all nicely gift-wrapped.

Enter the Disavow Tool; a quick and easy way to completely destroy your link portfolio… wait a minute, that’s not the idea. Now I’m confused: is this something I should be using or not? An interesting question indeed, Horace! (Not a reference, just like the name ‘Horace’)

Pandora disavowing links…

The answer from Google HQ and Commander Cutts is, no you shouldn’t… at least most of us shouldn’t. The fact is this tool is meant as a last resort once you’ve identified bad links and had a jolly good stab at trying to remove them manually. So before hitting the big red ‘eject’ button and then wondering why the ride got rough, there’s a major consideration that should be taken in to account first. That is, have you actually experienced a sustained hit on your traffic and can you construct a compelling argument to say that bad links are at the root of your woes?

No? Then we strongly suggest you leave such tools to those called Pandora.

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How can it be used? Ad rotation can be used in one of four ways.

Optimise for clicks

2.)    Optimise for conversions For those of you wanting to boost conversions, this is the method for you. It is important to point out that sometimes having a manual control over ads can sometimes be better than choosing this method, but when this approach works, it really works!

3.) Rotate evenly No special treatment. This method gives equal preference to all active ads. This means that you can allow your ads to rotate evenly, non-dependent upon the history of its past performance. This is a valuable exercise to help to identify what type of messaging your target audience is most susceptible to, as after the 90 day time frame is up, it will then optimize for clicks. 4.)   Rotate indefinitely The fundamental difference between this method and the method by which ads are rotated evenly is that this approach method will not subsequently optimise your ads for you. will rotate your ads until you wish it to stop doing so. There is no time limit for those who opt into using this approach, meaning that this method will not subsequently optimise your ads for you.  

What does this update mean? The main advantage is the fact that it gives advertisers a longer testing window for new ads. After this testing window, the likelihood of achieving an improved click through rate is boosted as the user will see higher quality ads, which ultimately leads to better performing ads for advertisers. In addition, the fact that advertisers can opt out of this change gives them more flexibility as to how they use ad rotation.

 

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How does it work? Magic. Elves, Pixies, Google Analytics APIs… that sort of jazz. Why did we do it? Here at Barracuda Digital we do a considerable amount of poking around our clients’ Google Analytics data. We do love a good poke. An interesting data set that we use as a jumping-off point is the organic traffic sent from Google searches. Attention is invariably drawn quickest to irregular looking spikes and dips in traffic over time. It’s our job to advise our clients on how to produce upward trends and avoid the dips. At the points we can see irregular traffic movements; one of the things we check is Google’s Algorithm update history. We’re checking to see if there’s a correlation between an update and irregular traffic movement. Algo-what? Whatcha talkin bout Willis? Well in short, Google’s algorithms are what make it the master of the on-line universe. It‘s a very complex set of computer programs that allow Google to find (crawl), categorise (index) and rank webpages. Thing is, in order to keep that process improving, Google has to continually tweak and change its recipe. That can often spell trouble and a drop in rankings for websites who find they’re no longer flavour of the month. So from an analytical point of view, wouldn’t it be nice if the process of matching SEOmoz’s Google Algorithm Change History with your organic website traffic was made easy? Glad you think so too… that’s why we made our Panguin SEO tool. It does exactly that. Click the link, follow the instructions, enjoy a life made easy. Why ‘Panguin’? It seems folks, that The Godfather of the internet has of late developed something of an obsession with black and white animals. Sure… live and let live. In early 2011, Google unleashed its content-crushing ‘Panda’ update. This bamboo muncher’s on-going mission is to weed out low-quality content across the web and reduce the ranking power of pages and websites containing… well, the weeds… metaphor… moving on. More recently, Google let loose its spam-spanking ‘Penguin’ update. Mr Penguin’s assignment is to fish-out manipulative on-page keyword usage. That’s right; just used ‘penguin’ and ‘fish-out’ in the same sentence.   In a nod to black and white critters the world over, Barracuda Digital have irreverently spliced together two of Google’s favourite black and white mascots in an effort to form a catchy title for our new and exciting seo tool. Panda… Penguin… Panguin… yeah, we went there. I’ll defer to Leonardo Da Vinci on this one, ‘Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication’. Cheers Leo. TL;DR We created a tool. We called it Panguin. It pulls your organic Google traffic from Google Analytics and superimposes Google’s algorithm updates. Picture Credits: monsterwax.com leonardoda-vinci.org

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