Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Do You Trust Google's Keyword Tool?
Google provides a very popular Keyword Suggestion Tool that many SEMs rely on. But a HighRankings Forum thread questions how trustworthy the tool is. Many SEMs use the tool because it is convenient and Google provides the estimated search volumes. At the same time, many SEMs know how to take Google's estimates and apply them to their campaigns. Experience and campaign history helps SEMs learn this trade. In fact, did you know that the keyword - Does Google Rank Pages Higher on Specific Days of the Week?
An interesting WebmasterWorld thread has a theory that for some sites, Google may give that site higher ranking based on what day of the week it is. The SEO has been tracking the traffic from Google to the site for months. He noticed that every Tuesday showed the highest level of referrals from Google, but every Saturday showed the least traffic from Google. Over the past five weeks, he also has been tracking how many - Google Adds Images To Link Units Pages
Google AdSense has an ad unit named "link units." The link unit ads look like links and if you click on them, they take you a landing page of Google ads. In the past, those ads were only text ads. Now, Google is showing image ads on the bottom of the page. Here is a screen capture: Google explained more about how and when they are triggered: These image ads are contextually targeted, based on - Version Two of Local Search Ranking Factors Released
Many local SEO experts came together to publish the second version of the Local Search Ranking Factors. This guide grades how important each factor is in ranking well in local search. The survey polled 27 local SEO experts on 49 factors. David Mihm who organized the survey said the follow points are most interesting to him: The power of Distance from Centroid as a ranking factor has diminshed, but many folks are still seeing clear - Excluding Sites in AdWords is Confusing in New User Interface
A WebmasterWorld thread has several AdWords advertisers complaining about the site exclusion feature in AdWords. With the new user interface to manage campaigns, advertisers are confused how the exclusions work. Does the exclusion block domains in the search network or content network, or maybe both? I personally tried it myself and it is not clear if you can block your ads from showing up on specific sites by search or content network. It would appear
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- Titles and Capitalization Competitor IS IN ALL CAPS, should I be too?, WebmasterWorld
- Track Keyword Positions with BLVD Status, Sphinn
- What Do You Do When A Client Won't Listen?, HighRankings Forums
- Invitation to AdSene Optimization Webinar: AdSensePro Initiated, Google AdSense Help
