Google

There are 5 posts tagged Google (this is page 1 of 1).

Python Script for Creating an XML Sitemap with rel=”alternate” hreflang=”x”

Google specifies three scenarios for which rel=”alternate” hreflang=”x” is recommended:

  1. You translate only the template of your page, such as the navigation and footer, and keep the main content in a single language. This is common on pages that feature user-generated content, like a forum post.
  2. Your pages have broadly similar content within a single language, but the content has small regional variations. For example, you might have English-language content targeted at readers in the US, GB, and Ireland.
  3. Your site content is fully translated. For example, you have both German and English versions of each page.

via Google Webmaster Tools Help

Similarly, there are three means for which hreflang can be implemented. It can be tagged with the element within the section of each page, expressed through the http header for non-html files, or within your XML sitemap. There is an obvious advantage to applying it within an xml sitemap for enterprise level sites, like the ones I tend to work on. Typically, it is much easier to get an updated xml sitemap uploaded than to apply new tagging to a myriad of pages. However, even when applied within an XML sitemap, it can a be tedious process for large websites. I created a quick python script to help make that process a little bit easier.

hreflang python tool usage

This is script is designed for a website where the alternate language site has an equal number of pages to the primary language. For example, there are the same number of pages for en-uk and en-ca as there are for en-us.
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Leveraging Google+ as a Link Building & Outreach Engine

I’d like to direct my readers’ attention to a recent of post of mine published on Search Engine Journal, detailing the benefits of using Google+ as platform for conducting outreach and building links.

The post can be found at this link:
The Definitive Guide to Using Google+ for Building Links & Outreach


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Google+ Interactive Posts Plugin for WordPress

This Google+ Interactive Posts Plugin offers the opportunity to easily create interactive posts from within the WordPress “Posts” admin page, better enabling engagement for the content you push through the Google+ social platform.

How so?

It’s simple. Google+ added Interactive Posts to its social-media arsenal months ago, allowing for all of those interesting and enlightening posts shared through Google+ to now have a formal call to action embedded within each post. Continue reading →

Get “Natural” Anchor Text from Infographic Embed Codes using JavaScript

State of Infographics and SEO?

Infographics are an excellent part of a well-diversified content marketing arsenal, and although it should not be the sole reason for their creation, offer a great many SEO benefits to your website. In a 2012 interview with Eric Enge, Matt Cutts, Google’s head of webspam, went on foray about infographics:

“There are ways that infographics can be created and that represent an OK form of promotion […] I would not be surprised if at some point in the future we did not start to discount these infographic-type links to a degree. The link is often embedded in the infographic in a way that people don’t realize, vs. a true endorsement of your site.”

Needless to say, the interview made people second guess the SEO value of infographics. Matt Cutts’ statement however, isn’t all that bad and shouldn’t be perceived as an omen that spells the imminent demise of clever data visualization. It can also be interpreted as an affirmation that a correctly managed (non-spammy) infographic campaign will continue to be effective in the future, even if only with a slightly discounted link value. Continue reading →

Bing it On! Data Says Google Wins The Bing Search Challenge

What is Bing It On?

Bing It On is a valiant marketing effort by Microsoft search engine Bing. The campaign claims that People Chose Bing Web Search Results Over Google Nearly 2 to 1 in Blind Comparison Tests and is fueled by BingItOn.com, a website where people could see for themselves in a blind comparison test (similar to the old Pepsi Challenge comparing Coca-Cola and Pepsi) which search results they prefer, Google’s or Bing’s. The website strips formatting of the SERPs (although it doesn’t do a great job of this as things like author pictures still appear for Google) so that users are unable to distinguish between which search engine is on the left or right. The user can search using a custom search term or use the search suggestions provided by Bing. Search engines switch sides randomly, and the user indicates which side’s results they prefer. They can also answer that it was a “draw” if they cannot choose a winner for that round.
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