SEO Experts Blog

Google has been releasing short 2-3min video tutorials on some of the most basic of questions related to search and your Web site. We have decided to feature these quick questions and answers to be sure that ALL of your questions are answered!

In today's question, Matt Cutts (head of Google's Webspam team) addresses the reasons why a new website may initially have high page rank, and why said page rank might drop over time.

The question asks:

"When we create a new landing page with quality content, Google ranks that page on the top 30-50 for targeted keywords. Then why does the rank get decreased for the next 2 to 3 weeks? If pages didn't have required quality, then why did it get ranked in the firs...

Google's site, How Search Works, features a prominent Fighting Spam section which features live spam takedowns and some other interesting details. For example, here is some gambling spam that Google has removed from their search results.

Within the Fighting Spam portion of Google's latest resource are statistics showing:

• Manual takedowns
• Type of spam taken ...

Face it - Search engine algorithms are logical. The people in charge of the changes to the formula have goals and they adjust the algorithm to help accomplish those goals. That makes predicting the changes to the formula ALL about trying to figure out the goals of the search engines and how they apply to rankings.

Sounds simple enough, but then why isn't it? In my 11 years of experience I've learned that it's complicated because people make it that way. For example, when a trusted authority on search figures out a new change and explains it to their readers, like all scientists, they tag the new concept with a na...

In early April, the big news in Local Search was the announcement from Google about the new dashboard upgrade. The buzz about it spread rapidly and we were all excited about it, but what has really changed?

The more I look at what you can do now compared to what you could do before April 2nd when the announcement was made, the more I'm inclined to say that for most of us the answer is not much.

Perhaps, we should have taken a clue from Google's announcement on blogspot:

"Today, we're introducing an upgrade to the look and feel of Google Places for Business th...

The SEO world is always a-flutter with debate on one buzz-word topic or another. There is always talk of link building, search engine algorithm changes, and how to improve your PageRank, domain authority, traffic, and other website metrics. Most of the solutions come in the form of on-page optimization and getting links.

What isn't always considered is maintaining the links you already have. After all, though the Internet seems limitless, there are a finite number of quality sites, and while new blogs are popping up every day, the more links you acquire, the longer it will take you to find...

Here is the April 2013 installment of 'What's New in Local Search'. It's been another busy month so I won't waste your time and am just going to dive right in.

• There are some things that are good for those managing the new AdWords enhanced campaigns for local businesses even though there are plenty of things not to like about. The best of these is the ability to adjust your bids by geographic area, allowing you to pay more or less for a click depending on its value to you in each market where you sell. These campaign-level bidding adjustments may not give you as tight control as setting up individual campaigns for each region, it is a good way to get started if you have many ge...

2012 was a roller coaster year for webmasters. Google took sites from gasping highs to gut churning lows! ...punctuated by episodes of anxious uncertainty. But you've been paying attention, right? And following our advice. So most of the drama passed you by. Chances are, you br...