Google search engine users can now do searches based on an image uploaded in the search field and can then reveal where it was made, the company said in a conference on Internet search. In addition, Chrome users will soon be able to search by voice on the Internet, however this being available only for English language. Furthermore, Google also introduced the application that basically anticipates what web page an user will want to open and will load it before even before the user will click on it. Quite interesting features, right?

One of the most important news is however the Google search based on an uploaded image. Once the image will be searched for, Google will analyse its details and according to the company it will reveal where that picture was taken or what popular buildings appear in it. The company mentioned that they will not use facial recognition technology for this new feature. As with any new application, Google folks mentioned that more work/development is needed and in its early stages the results might not be too great.

For more than two years, Android’s Goggles application can be used by smartphone’ users for finding out more information about a certain place/building, based on existing images from the Internet. For desktop users however this would be the first application ever created, and this are becoming more and more interesting for the near future.

Chrome browser users can soon search Google only by using a microphone and saying what they want to find out. Yet again, the service will be first available only in English, but Google says that the number of languages ​​in which searches can be made will increase in the future. The guys at Google say they have worked hard for two years in this area of research so that in the near future things to be changed related to how users search the Internet (the voice search service is available for smartphones).

The latest Google algorithm update – Panda/Farmer – created lot of buzz among all webmasters. Many websites lost thousands of visitors, others won, but all folks seem to be quite obsessed about this algorithm change.

However, books about how to avoid Panda have been launched and they seem to be quite successful. There is nothing “magic” related to how not to be hit by this latest update, here are some obvious tips that anyone should take into consideration for dealing with this issue:

1.      No to autoblogs

Autoblogs are usually creating using different WordPress plugins or software specially created to use auto-generated (stolen) content on the websites they are used. Panda should definitely be translated as “death to autoblogs”. Although before this type of websites sometimes were ranking even higher than the original publisher, with this update things have been changed.

2.      No to cheap re-writes

Many webmasters are using for their blogs cheap writers that usually only re-write content found online – this is not quality content and obviously the websites using this type of content will have to suffer in terms of traffic/SERPS.

3.      No to spun articles/PLR articles

Although Google is only a “robot”, it seems that it can make the difference between quality content and spun, rubbish content. From grammar mistakes to even unusual usage of synonyms, Panda addresses to this issue as well.

4.      Yes to unique, quality content

Unique, interesting and quality content has been for ages the sure-way for getting natural backlinks, more targeted traffic, more loyal readers and more exposure in the online environment. Is not something new that you should definitely create top-notch content but it is new that obviously bad content can do more harm than good, now with the Panda/Farmer update.

After seeing the potential social media has for the whole online environment, Google obviously wanted a big piece of this market and launched its own social service – Google Buzz. Buzz was a major failure so it has been left aside, however the guys at Google started to dig deeper and deeper in social area.

After the rumors that SERPs are influenced by the “buzz” a certain website has in the social media environment, Google recently launched its +1 button (quite similar to Facebook’s Like) and recently they have acquired a social analytics online service called PostRank.

Basically, PostRank’s main mission is to track and measure social posts so this movement from Google is not a surprise, while trying not to being left aside in all this popular social thing. It seems that they will use data provided by this new “department” to understand more how social works and where can they find a breach to jump in this boat.

It is not the first acquisition Google makes in this niche, PostRank following a large number of social media companies like SayNow or Fflick. However, it seems that PostRank’s main objective will be to keep track and analyse all things related to online social.

Again, it is not a surprise that Google bought this company right after they have launched into the wild their +1 button – with this new technology in their hands they will be able to track +1’s social impact and analyse whether it is a successful social launch or not.

As we suspected, Google launched its new “social media” response to Facebook’s Like quite fast. Google’s +1 button serves the exact same purpose as a “Like” does: people search for information online, they discover what they consider an interesting resource and click the +1 button for sharing it online.

To process for getting access to +1 button on your website is quite easy: just go to your Google account, sign in, install the necessary extension and there you go: you have instant access to this social media sharing button right from Google Chrome browser. Once you start visiting other pages you will see the +1 button next to the resources you are reading, up and running, waiting to be clicked for sharing interesting articles/content.

For now all is crystal clear, we are still considering +1 button a mirrored feature of Facebook’s Like, however, what will be the consequences in terms of search engine optimisation? Will it have any or it will be “yet another social sharing button”?

If users can now remove websites from their search engine results and this action is taken into consideration by Google folks, it means that +1 sharing can really make a difference in the SERPS. We all know that Google tries to “make the web a more user-friendly place” and they are considering the bounce rate as a ranking factor (not demonstrated though), however only time will tell whether this new feature will have an impact or not over websites’ positions in the search engine results.

The New York Times exposed earlier in February this year that JCPenney, one of the most popular online retailers from the US, has violated Google TOS and used black hat link building methods for higher rankings. Following that report they have suffered a manual penalty which seems to have been lifted.

The interesting fact is that although they have lost major ranks on Google, they have actually reported a 6.6% increase in online sales, when compared to last year’s sales, thus strengthening their statement that only about 7% of their visitors come from organic results.

But how was the penalty removed so quickly and did JCPenney gain anything after this story? First things first, the retailer had to quickly remove the shady links (thousands of paid links from different networks, acquired over time), clean up their link profile and obviously submit the re-consideration request. Normally, after cleaning up the shady links they should have been suffered a major decline in link numbers, however this is entirely false! Actually their link diversity, numbers and whole link profile has become stronger, this all due to the media coverage of this subject. Quality links from thousands of well established sites like TechCrunch or Search Engine Land will definitely make a difference on the long run and this is one of the best examples of what we call “a perfect link bait”.

This is not only about the links but it is also about brand awareness, brand promotion and brand exposure. Their massive media and offline media coverage actually increased their sales and brand awareness without them doing absolutely nothing! They might not have been gained all their top positions after the penalty was removed but some things are sure:

-          they have came back on top spots

-          they have increased their sales

-          they have a great link profile now

-          they gained thousands of authority links

-          they had the perfect brand awareness campaign, for free

Anyone in for a major penalty?

You have probably heard by now that one of the most easiest ways of getting backlinks to a webpage you are promoting is by using properly internal linking. Not only that can help you rank a certain page for long tail keywords but it also creates a better website architecture we are all searching for. However, how should internal linking be used to obtain the most benefits from it?

First and foremost, a good internal linking strategy depends on the anchor text picked and used. Exactly like building links on other websites, internal links’ anchors should vary accordingly but one issue that most webmasters face is using the keywords they will create internal links with.

The easiest way for getting highly-relevant and searched keywords is by using Google Analytics. Whether they are providing 100% true information or not, the entrance keywords for a certain page are most of the time a goldmine. Just choose the page you are trying to promote, go to your Google Analytics account and see what keywords are driving traffic/visitors to that very page.

From there on, it is a simple task – whether you are creating new posts that will incorporate that anchor or simply browse your website for places where you can insert those anchors, you can easily add a few new backlinks towards the promoted page thus gaining more authority, usability and maybe even a SERPs boost if the targeted long-tail keyword is not a very difficult one.