May17
We recently made a change to the Remove URL tool in Webmaster Tools to eliminate the requirement that the webpage’s URL must first be blocked by a site owner before the page can be removed from Google’s search results. Because you’ve already verified ownership of the site, we can eliminate this requirement to make it easier for you, as the site owner, to remove unwanted pages (e.g. pages accidentally made public) from Google’s search results.
Once you’ve requested to have a URL removed from the search engine’s result pages, your account will be flagged for a 90 day grace period, during which you can revoke the removal request. Google will continue to spider your website but not display it in results page during this period.
For permanent removal, you must ensure that one of the following page blocking methods is implemented for the URL to be removed:
- indicate that the page no longer exists by returning a 404 or 410 HTTP status code
- block the page from crawling via a robots.txt file
- block the page from indexing via a noindex meta tag
For more information, read more about Easier URL Removals on Google Webmaster Central.
May13
While definitely not considered a best practice, and it is definitely looked at as not the whitest of hat by some, the technique of breaking out of the Google Images “frame” (modal window over your website showing just the image) and showing the entire content of your website is becoming more and more popular. I’m going to say it’s OK, since both Facebook and Google employ this technique.
If you find yourself with the need to implement a frame breaker (which does work on “frames” from other websites, such as HootSuite and Digg) it’s fairly simple, you just need to add the following JavaScript code to your <head> tag:
<script type='text/javascript'>if (window != top) top.location = self.location</script>
Oct17
Google’s Analytics team has just rolled out a new beta feature called “In-Page Analytics” which is a heat map of your visitors clicks and browsing session. Sometimes browsing the visitor reports can be quite overwhelming, especially when trying to gain insightful knowledge into your users browsing patterns; Google Analytic’s new In-Page Analytics can help you keep a visual grasp on this data as you compare it with other audience metrics.
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Jul21
Google has been making some big moves lately, both in SEO related fields and not. Mostly hum-drum acquisitions and the usual Google to-do, however a couple items stand out:
Jul21
Yes, it’s true, as confirmed by Adam D’Angelo on the Quora discussion boards. Major players within Google’s infrastructure are making headway on a new project, dubiously dubbed Google Me. Google Me is another attempt (Orkut, anyone?) at getting their foot in the door of social networking, possibly even cornering the market if their application will really rival Facebook.
I’m curious to see what direction this social network is headed, and am eager to get my hands dirty in its features. I guess we’ll see what the big G is up to as more details unfold.
I stumbled upon an interesting article highlighting the reasons why Google might not be the right people to develop a social network, check it out: Pandas and Lobsters: Why Google Cannot Build Social Applications…
Jul19
Hey guys, it’s been a while, but I’m back, and with a vengeance.
In case you haven’t noticed, a WHOLE LOT of amazing things are coming to Google’s Blogger platform! Recent updates bring support for the following
- Many new default themes!
- Many new widgets, available in Blogger Draft.
- Better AdSense integration and support.
- Integration with Amazon’s affiliate program.
- Integration with Google Analytics metrics!
Those are just a few of the highlights, head on over to Google Bloggerto check out all the new features!
Jan12
Au contrair to my previous post dissing on Google’s weird favicon … Google made me feel all warm and tingly with this one!
Google’s new favicon features a white g overlaid on a multicolored background representing the Google colors, which was inspired by the submission of André Resende a CSCI undergrad in Brazil. (Background remind anyone else of the Microsoft flag? Looks cool, but I’m just sayin’ …)
Anyways I’m sure you’ve all noticed it already just had to put in my two bits about it. I’m really happy they changed it, because the old one was starting to be a real drag!
You can check out the official new Google favicon announcement for the runners up in the submissions that inspired the new icon.
Dec28
It finally here, the booster kit every SEO newbie has been waiting for, handed down to man by the Gods themselves … Okay so maybe I was being a little facetious, who cares?
Due to the repeated questions of many anxious webmasters yearning to climb the ranks of the Google results pages to that #1 spot, that gold mine of traffic, Google released a simple document that overviews what you need to know about search engine optimization, the basics anyway. Google’s Official SEO Starter Guide goes over proper title creation, good practices for title and meta tags, ideal URL structures, website navigation from a search engine spider’s perspective, proper user of anchor and header tags, image optimization, robots.txt, and more!
If you don’t know much about optimizing your site for Google (or any other search engine, for that matter) you should definitely give the PDF a read. Hell, if you feel like brushing up on your SEO fundamentals, you should definitely give the PDF a read.
Check out the post over at Google Webmaster Central or just download the Official Google SEO Starter Guide!
Jun15
Another great strip by Ranked Hard, this comic depicts The Real Reason Your Site Dropped in Google.
Good thing I use AdWords!
Jun3
It makes me want to vomit.
Why, Google, why? Why did you take something so perfect and elegant and ruin it?
You make me sick.
FOLLOW UP TO THIS POST: Google Fesses For Freaky Favicon
