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:
- Preemptive Google Reconsideration Requests
A WebmasterWorld thread has a webmaster who noticed his site was spammed and he is anticipating his site to be penalized by Google, and the other search engines. He asked if he should start early and submit a reconsideration request with Google. A reconsideration request would notify Google of the hack and spam and let them know about it as soon as possible. So far, all the feedback is that he should not wait until - Google Can't Show You Your Maps Listings? Let Them Know
A couple weeks ago, Google began helping business owners find themselves with a link in their Google Local Business Center that read "See your listing on Google Maps." The thing is, for some, when you click on that link, it doesn't show you are listing in Google Maps. Why? Google isn't sure. But they did ask for help. A Google Maps Help thread has Googler, Linda asking for help in finding the issue. She asked - AdSense To Allow Category Filtering of 8 Categories
Back in April, Google began allowing AdSense category filtering of up to five categories. Now, Google announced you can filter up to 8 categories, that is three more categories. I personally do not see the 3 additional categories to block, I can only block up to five right now. But Google did say, "you should notice this change within the next few weeks." Google does explain how to find this category filter: To get started - Google Maps Updates Business Listing Quality Guidelines
Google has just updated the Business Listing Quality Guidelines for Google Maps. There are many changes to this guidelines page - in fact - it seems like it was completely revised. So I will show you the old version and then the new version: Old Version: Google Maps aims to provide value for users and business owners alike. We've implemented a number of guidelines that align with these intentions. To protect users, businesses, and the - Sphinn Comes Out of Beta
Rob Kerry, Sphinn's administrator, announced Sphinn has finally come out of beta. Sphinn has moved off of their original software, started from scratch, improved the user experience, spam filtering and zapped most of the bugs since the launch of Sphinn 2.0 in July. Sphinn dropped the "beta" badge from the logo: Other changes include that moderators and administrators will more actively promote items to the home page, even before they become "hot." There is a - Google News Sitemaps Rejection Bug
If your publication is included in Google News and you tried to submit a Sitemap file on Friday, you may have noticed it was rejected. Several publishers have been complaining about this in a few Google News Help threads. The issue is that some publications are finding out they are no longer included in Google News. They are instructed to submit a Sitemap file, but when they do, they are told the Sitemap file is
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- TLD vs ccTLD - should I switch my sites?, Google Webmaster Help
- Geocities Japan is still working!, DigitalPoint Forums
- Google's favored rocket scientist?, Sphinn
- I am trying to find the “Include my site in Google Image Labeler” under Settings. It is not an option for me?, Google Webmaster Help
- Interview with Debra Mastaler, Sphinn
- Local US Elections Day 2009, Search Engine Roundtable Forums
- Today's link building idea., WebmasterWorld
- Upcoming webinar: Using Analytics to optimise your AdSense performance, Google AdSense Help
- Using " canonical" effect the quality score, Google AdWords Help
