Mikal E. Belicove

Tag: Google

  • What Google’s New Stance on Copyright Infringement Means to Your Business

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    Google currently accounts for over 66 percent of all online searches in the U.S. With this kind of market prominence, business owners should keep an eye on the slew of recent changes that Google has made to its search algorithm, especially one that may have serious implications for business search results. Google is now taking…

  • Understanding Google’s New Page Layout Algorithm

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    Google issued a new warning to webmasters that it is updating its algorithms again, this time targeting websites that choose to display ads that run above the fold — that is, the section of a webpage visible without scrolling. And before you start griping that Google just won’t leave well enough alone, this change is…

  • Emerging Social Media Sites to Attract Users

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    If you think social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are sticky, today’s emerging sites might as well be liquid cement. As email and instant messaging loses prowess among users, social networking sites are stepping in as a primary communication channel for some users. And while Facebook continues to reign supreme, emerging sites like Tumblr…

  • Lawmakers Seek FTC Scrutiny of Google’s Search Results

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    Two U.S. senators fired off a letter to the Federal Trade Commission this week calling for an investigation into what they allege as bias by Google in favor of its own products and services in search results. Senators Herb Kohl (D., Wis.) and Mike Lee (R., Utah), both members of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee…

  • Why Google+ Pages Isn’t Good for Business

    Why Google+ Pages Isn’t Good for Business

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    When Google launched its latest social networking utility, Google+, in June, and then announced in July that the service had already enrolled 10 million users, I reported that Google+ wasn’t ready for business. Now, four months later, Google has announced the release of Google+ Pages — a way for businesses, brands and organizations to officially use Google+ to…

  • Understanding Google’s New Sitelinks

    Understanding Google’s New Sitelinks

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    When it comes to search engine results, your company’s placement acreage atop a Google search result page is what matters. Thanks to some tinkering by the search engineers over at the Googleplex, your website’s Google search results now have a much better chance of standing out from the crowd. Just in case you missed it,…

  • AdWords Express Takes Pain Out of Local Online Advertising

    AdWords Express Takes Pain Out of Local Online Advertising

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    Google released a new version of AdWords this week with the intent of making setting up and managing a local online advertising campaigns easy and stress free. And from what I’ve seen so far, AdWords Express is not only simple to use, but it’s an ideal interface for local businesses with no prior online advertising experience. AdWords…

  • Google+ Isn’t Ready For Business

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    With so much talk about Google+ lately, it’s only natural that business owners want in. They’ll have to wait though. Google last week began field testing Google+ — the search giant’s new social networking utility — on an “invitation-only” basis, and many entrepreneurs and business owners are chomping at the bit for an opportunity to…

  • Tell Google You’re Ready for Your Close-Up

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    How many times have you made reservations at a restaurant only to find the decor disappointing? Maybe you figured a place called “Haute Meal” would feature modern fare and furniture, and instead you find a dark dining room decked out with stained glass, worn red leather booths and pink lighting intended to erase wrinkles and…

  • Google’s Own Search-Engine Tour Guide +1

    Google’s Own Search-Engine Tour Guide +1

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    Google says the World Wide Web is a big place and what we all need from time to time is an experienced tour guide. As a result, the folks over at the Googleplex have trotted out Google +1, an experimental feature that enables those with a Google Profile to share recommendations with their friends and colleagues right…

  • Google’s Panda Puts Content Farms Out to Pasture

    Google’s Panda Puts Content Farms Out to Pasture

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    Let’s face facts: Your business isn’t on the Net if it isn’t highly indexed by Google because Google is the Internet. So when the world’s most popular search engine recently announced an update to its search algorithm, many of those businesses that use low-quality content to drive search engine traffic to their sites found themselves at…

  • Make Sure Your SEO is Wearing a White Hat

    Make Sure Your SEO is Wearing a White Hat

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    The New York Times piled some fairly harmful media attention on JC Penney over the weekend by questioning how the behemoth U.S. retailer was able to consistently turn up first in line on Google’s search results for a large number of seemingly unrelated keywords. From “bedding” to “blue jeans,” the JC Penney name popped up…

  • What To Do if Google Says ‘Your Website May Be Compromised’

    What To Do if Google Says ‘Your Website May Be Compromised’

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    If you’re a webmaster, five words you never want to find on the search results for your website on Google are, “This site may be compromised.” The fact that hackers and crackers are making a picnic lunch out of your website pretty much means your immediate future has already been planned for you. Anything else…

  • Four For Friday: Google Caffeine and What it Means for Your Business

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    This week’s Four For Friday is a little different. Rather than asking you, our readers, to weigh in on four issues currently impacting businesses, today I’m asking someone else to answer four questions of my own (questions that similarly reflect the current climate in business). If this goes well–meaning if you like the format and…

  • Google Caffeine and What it Means for Your Business

    Google Caffeine and What it Means for Your Business

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    by

    mikal
    in

    This week’s Four For Friday is a little different. Rather than asking you, our readers, to weigh in on four issues currently impacting businesses, today I’m asking someone else to answer four questions of my own (questions that similarly reflect the current climate in business). If this goes well–meaning if you like the format and…

  • Google Revamps its Local Business Center

    Google Revamps its Local Business Center

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    Google, which currently owns 65 percent of the search market, has just renamed its Local Business Center ‘Google Places‘ and added a host of new features, demonstrating the behemoth’s ongoing commitment to letting business owners manage their online presence using the world’s No. 1 search engine. As I’ve written before, you can add your business…

  • Put Your Business on the Map with Google Maps

    Put Your Business on the Map with Google Maps

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    If you’ve ever googled a geographical area looking for a specific product or service, you know that local business listings pop up near the top of the search results. Google “dentist” followed by the name of your city and state or your ZIP code, and Google presents you with a list of dentists in the…

  • Google Buzz for Business

    Google Buzz for Business

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    Google Buzz — a social networking tool that allows Gmail users to share updates, photos, videos, links and more instantaneously online and on Android phones and the iPhone–made its debut today. By the end of the weekend, Google says all 175 million or so of its Gmail account holders will have access to the new service.…