Winners of eCities of America in 2013

Scott Levitan, Director of Small Business Engagement, a division of Google, congratulated eCities of America in 2013. Google eCity Awards recognize the digital capitals of each state; whose businesses are using the worldwide web to find new customers, connect with existing customers and fuel their local economies. Across the USA, the online businesses expect to grow 40% faster.

Following is the detailed post which he wrote about 2013 US Digital Capitals on Google Official Blog:

I love to discover local gems that help make a community unique. Sometimes those gems can be around the corner—like Cafe Borrone, my favorite for Sunday brunch with my family; the food is great and even the dog is welcome on their patio. Sometimes I find those great places when I am on the road—places like Frank in Austin, Texas with their epic sausages or Boulevard Coffee in Ashland, Ore. which has great coffee and friendly people. Some of the best things I discover without even leaving home—like Casa Kids, which designs original children’s furniture from their studio in Brooklyn, N.Y., or Sticks in West Des Moines, Iowa, which sells hand-carved and hand-painted treasures.

The web helps people everywhere discover the best of what’s around the world or around the corner. Ninety-seven percent of Americans who use the Internet—pretty much all of us—look online for local products and services. So it should come as no surprise that the impact on businesses of being online is huge. According to a McKinsey study, small businesses that make use of the web are growing twice as fast as those that aren't on the web. Just as businesses that embrace the web grow faster, communities whose businesses embrace the web grow faster as well.

Given the importance of the web in growing our local businesses and our local economies, we worked with independent research firm IPSOS to analyze the online strength of local businesses in cities and towns across America. Businesses in these communities are embracing the power of the web to find new customers, connect with existing ones and fuel their local economies. Today we’re introducing the eCity Award winners for 2013—the strongest online business communities in each state.

2013 US eCities Winners

AL - Madison AK - Homer AZ - Scottsdale AR - Bella Vista CA - Carlsbad CO - Boulder CT - Glastonbury DE - Bear FL - Santa Rosa Beach GA - Atlanta HI - Kailua Kona ID - Sandpoint IL - Oak Brook IN - Zionsville IA - West Des Moines KS - Lenexa KY - Lexington

LA - Mandeville ME - Scarborough MD - Ocean City MA - Westborough MI - Walled Lake MN - Minnetonka MS - Ridgeland MO - Maryland Heights MT - Whitefish NE - Lincoln NV - Carson City NH - Amherst NJ - Princeton NM - Albuquerque NY - New York NC - Cary ND - Fargo

OH - Solon OK - Edmond OR - Ashland PA - Exton RI - Middletown SC - N. Myrtle Beach SD - Sioux Falls TN - Hendersonville TX - Austin UT - Park City VT - South Burlington VA - Chantilly WA - Bainbridge Island WV - Charleston WI - Pewaukee WY - Casper

We hope these "digital capitals" are an inspiration to cities and businesses everywhere of what can be accomplished by embracing the web to grow. Congratulations to the 2013 eCities of America.

Source(s):
2013 eCities of America - Google Economic Impact
2013 eCities of America Award Winners

SEO Ranking Factors - Rank Correlation for Google USA in 2013 - Study by Searchmetrics

Staff at Searchmetrics have released results of their 3-month long study, SEO Ranking Factors – Rank Correlation 2013 for Google USA. They evaluated the first 30 search results of 10,000 keywords, hence they analyzed 300,000 websites. They also carried out Navigational Searches, filtering largely brand search in order to deliver better result. They searched through titles, descriptions, links, content, Facebook likes and shares, tweets, PlusOnes and more.

Marcus Tober, founder of Searchmetrics said that Ranking Factor – Rank Correlation - US 2013 study, like last year, dealt with the definition and evaluation of factors that differentiate better-positioned websites from pages placed further back in the organic search results – i.e., pages that have a positive rank correlation. Compared to their Google Ranking Factors US 2012 study, they taken significantly more ranking factors into account in their analysis.

Question studied by Searchmetrics:
What do web pages that are well-positioned by Google have in common and what distinguishes them from lower ranking pages?

What factors are playing a role?

You can find the most important factors in our overview of all rank correlation coefficients. These are all the factors we have analyzed and consider relevant. We have presented the relationship between Google search results and the various factors influencing it using the Spearman correlation - a high positive correlation coefficient occurs for a factor if higher ranking pages have that feature / or more of that feature, while lower ranking pages do not / or have less of that feature. In addition to providing an overview of the changes in correlation since last year, we have extended our analysis in 2013 to include many relevant new factors.

Top highlights of 2013:

1. Keyword domains and keyword links have lost relevance
2. Brands are the exception to many rules
3. Social signals continue to correlate very well with better rankings
4. Good content is always important: it comes to quality!
5. The number of backlinks remains immensely important
6. On-page technology remains one of the basics

Following are the Deeper Insights into the Study:

1. Keyword links and domains have lost relevance

The importance of keywords in the URL / domain has significantly decreased as a ranking factor compared to 2012:

In our study, these two factors are considered the losers when compared with last year, because the existence of keywords in the URL and/or the domain have lost their relevance. This also affects backlinks when it comes to plain text keyword links. So it looks as if the days of "hard keyword optimization" are over. Google now puts much more emphasis on natural link profiles. Hard keyword links have lost significant influence and can probably – when used excessively – even have a negative effect; for example, when Google updates its algorithm with features devaluing bad links. Wondering what else has been happening in the field of keywords? Check out the complete version of the Ranking Factors – Rank Correlation study.

2. Brands are the exception to many rules

Last year, brands held a privileged position. This has also been confirmed in this year's study: for brands – and their websites – search engines do not seem to apply the same criteria as for other domains. For example, it seems as though Google considers it natural for brands to have comparatively more backlinks with the name of the brand in the link text alone – what we refer to as "brand links" – and still not be rated negatively.

3. Social signals continue to correlate very well with better rankings

The tendency over the years has been very positive – and this year’s study confirms the trend that became evident as early as 2012: well positioned URLs have a high number of likes, shares, tweets and plus ones and specific URLs stand out in the top search results with a very high mass of social signals. On one hand this means that the activity on social networks continues to increase, on the other hand it means that frequently shared content increasingly correlates with good rankings.

4. Good content is always important: it comes to quality!

For our analysis of content features, we have increased the number of factors significantly over the previous year:

Content factors correlate almost entirely positively with good rankings and were apparently – when compared with the previous year – partially upgraded. Good ranking URLs, to a certain extent have more text and a higher number of additional media integrations compared with 2012. A good internal link structure also appears to be an important quality attribute.

5. The number of backlinks remains immensely important

Backlinks continue to be one of the most important SEO metrics. In this regard, little has changed over the years: sites with more backlinks simply rank better. And this is also the result of our ranking factor study in 2013. However, factors around this metric are subject to evolution: not only are the quantity of backlinks important, but increasingly so is their quality! The backlink profile is nowadays regarded as a kind of conglomerate of very diverse quality factors that we discuss in detail in the study.

6. On-page technology remains one of the basics

The on-page factors surrounding the technical side of building web sites have long been one of the basics of a good search engine ranking – and this will continue. Even more, it seems to be fulfilling certain on-page criteria is not about achieving a favorable ranking, rather, it is the opposite: it is simply negative for the rankings when web pages do not meet criteria. On-page factors are therefore considered more of a prerequisite for ranking higher in search results pages.

The context of the Ranking Factors - Rank Correlation Study:

Search engines work with algorithms to evaluate websites by topic and relevance. On this basis the search engines create a structure for the total of all pages in the search engine index, which finally results in a best possible ranking for users’ search queries. The criteria for the evaluation of websites and the production of this ranking are generally referred to as ranking factors. Please note the difference between correlation and causation in this case. We do not make any statements about causal effects between factors and rankings, but we analyze correlations: and the coexistence of a factor and rankings indicates some kind of relationship.

For our study, we have undertaken a comprehensive data collection which enables the analysis of the Ranking Factors for Google USA in 2013 and also allows us to draw comparisons to our analysis of the Ranking Factors in 2012. This content is an overview of our detailed Ranking Factors – Rank Correlation 2013 study. The results are based on correlation and are not proof of any causal effects.

Keep in touch with latest SEO News by following Marcus Tober at Goohle+ & Twitter and by visiting Searchmetrics SEO Blog.

Facebook introduced Searchable Hashtags, Assured more Features to Discover Public Conversations

Facebook has announced to introduce Searchable Hashtags from 12 June 2013. Clickable Hash tags will show a feed of what other people and Pages are saying about that event or topic. Facebook hash-tags will allow users to add context to a post or indicate that it is part of a larger discussion.

The newly offered feature is similar to other services like Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, or Pinterest. Search Engine giant Google is also offering hash-tags support in its social service Google+ already. Facebook members were able to include hashtags in their content earlier, but there was no real functionality. The renowned Social Networking website has said it would be "rolling out a series of features that surface some of the interesting discussions people are having about public events, people, and topics".

Facebook explained the reasoning behind the addition of Functional Hashtags feature in its blog post as following:

Every day, hundreds of millions of people use Facebook to share their thoughts on big moments happening all around them. Whether it's talking about a favorite television show, cheering on a hometown sports team or engaging with friends during a breaking news event—people on Facebook connect with their friends about what’s taking place all over the world.

To bring these conversations more to the forefront, we will be rolling out a series of features that surface some of the interesting discussions people are having about public events, people, and topics. As a first step, we are beginning to roll out hashtags on Facebook.

Facebook users now can do following:

• Search for a specific hashtag from your search bar. For example, #NBAFinals
• Click on hashtags that originate on other services, such as Instagram
• Compose posts directly from the hashtag feed and search results

Privacy is a major concern in this new development. "Public Conversation" works differently on Facebook than it does on a service like Twitter, since many Facebook posts have some degree of privacy restriction. Facebook has assured that as always, members control the audience for their posts, including those with hash-tags. A company spokesperson has revealed that from a privacy perspective, hashtags will work similarly to Facebook Graph Search. In other words, users will only see the comments that they're authorized to see. So if you include a hashtag in a friends-only post, then my friends will still be the only ones who can see it in a hashtag search.

Introduction of Hash-tags is the first step by Facebook to help people more easily discover what others are saying about a specific topic and participate in public conversations. Social Media leader has committed to continue to offer more features in future, including trending hash tags and deeper insights, that help people discover and follow more of the world's conversations. Let's see if Hashtag.org tracks Facebook hashtags in future.

Google Penguin 2.0 Update rolled out to fight more Web Spam

Google Penguin 2.0 Update, which was the talk of the SEO World of late, finally rolled out on 22 May 2013 afternoon. It affected 2.3% of U.S. English queries. It was also rolled out for other languages world-wide. Scope of Penguin update varies by language, such that the languages with more web spam will be more targeted.

Google's head of Web Spam, Matt Cutts had first announced in March, that soon there would be the next algorithm update of Penguin. On 10 May 2013, he hinted about the impending next generation of Penguin to Search professionals and Webmasters on Twitter by saying: "we do expect to roll out Penguin 2.0 (next generation of Penguin) sometime in the next few weeks though."

Cutts went into more detail in a Google Webmaster Help video on what Penguin 2.0 would unleash regarding Web Search. He also elaborated what new changes webmasters and SEOs can expect over the coming months with regards to Google search results.

He officially revealed about Penguin 2.0 roll-out late Wednesday afternoon on the #199: A Pixel Sandwich episode of This Week in Google show of TWiT.TV. He said on the talk show: "It's gonna have a pretty big impact on web spam. It's a brand new generation of algorithms. The previous iteration of Penguin would essentially only look at the home page of a site. The newer generation of Penguin goes much deeper and has a really big impact in certain small areas."

He highlighted more details on Penguin 2.0 in a new post on his own blog, titled Penguin 2.0 rolled out today, saying that the roll out aiming at fighting more web spam is now complete and affects 2.3 percent of English-U.S. queries, and that it affects non-English queries as well. He wrote:

We started rolling out the next generation of the Penguin webspam algorithm this afternoon (May 22, 2013), and the rollout is now complete. About 2.3% of English-US queries are affected to the degree that a regular user might notice. The change has also finished rolling out for other languages world-wide. The scope of Penguin varies by language, e.g. languages with more webspam will see more impact.

This is the fourth Penguin-related launch Google has done, but because this is an updated algorithm (not just a data refresh), we’ve been referring to this change as Penguin 2.0 internally. For more information on what SEOs should expect in the coming months, see the video that we recently released.

Source(s):
Penguin 2.0 rolled out today
Google Penguin 2.0 Update is Live
Penguin 4, With Penguin 2.0 Generation Spam-Fighting, Is Now Live
Google Pushed Out The Major Penguin Update (v2.0 #4)

Yahoo Chairman Fred Amoroso Stepped Down, Maynard Webb appointed Interim Chairman

Yahoo Chairman Fred Amoroso stepped down from his post on 25 April 2013. Yahoo! Inc. announced that he will not seek reelection to the board of directors at the upcoming 2013 annual meeting of shareholders. He will serve on the board through the shareholders meeting on 25 June 2013. Maynard Webb Jr has been appointed to serve as interim chairman.

Alfred J. Amoroso replaced Roy Bostock as Yahoo's chairman of the board of directors in May 2012 at the same time when Ross Levinsohn was installed as interim CEO. He led the team that investigated Yahoo's former CEO, Scott Thompson for fabricating an academic degree. He also played a part to bring Marissa Mayer from Google to serve as Yahoo's new CEO.

Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer said in a statement: "Fred has been a wonderful chairman for Yahoo! over the past year, and I'm personally grateful for his trust and guidance as I took on the role as Yahoo! CEO. Fred's mentor-ship and perspective has proved truly valuable to me in my first few months here at Yahoo!."

Fred Amoroso issued statement: "I'm very grateful and proud of the progress Yahoo! has made over the past year. When I took the position as chairman, I told the board that my intention was to serve for one year, in order to help Yahoo! during a critical time of transformation. In that time, Yahoo! hired a great new CEO, brought on a fantastic management team, revitalized the employee base, and has begun to release top notch new products. With Marissa at the helm and the leadership team in place, this is a natural time for me to transition off the board, consistent with what I said a year ago."

Interim chairman, Maynard Webb has impressive background, including serving as the COO of eBay and the CEO of LiveOps. After the end of Amoroso's term at the annual meeting, the Yahoo board will comprise of 10 members. Yahoo's stock was essentially flat after the news, with the shares price going down 8 cents to $25.12 in after-hours trading on Thursday.

Source:
Fred Amoroso to not Seek Reelection to Yahoo! Board of Directors

Matt Cutts announced Google's new Penguin, Panda & Link Networks Updates

Matt Cutts, Google's head of search spam, announced Google's upcoming Penguin, Panda algorithms updates and new link network targets in 2013. He informed about it during The Search Police, SEO Track of the SMX West.

Panda Update Coming on this Friday or Monday
Matt revealed that a Panda Algorithm update will be released anytime from this coming Friday (15 March 2013) till Monday (18 March 2013). The last version was Panda Update 24, out on 22 January 2013. So the new Panda Update 25 is set to come after 8 weeks approximately.

Major Penguin Update in 2013
Matt Cutts also said that there will be a significant Penguin update in 2013. Google's search quality team is working on a large update to the Penguin algorithm. He thinks that it will be one of the more talked about Google algorithm updates of the year.

Penguin Update 1 was released on 24 April 2012 with 3.1% impact. Penguin Update 2 was out on 26 May 2012 with less than 0.1% effect. Penguin Update 3 came on 5 October 2012 with 0.3% change.

Link Network axing Confirmed
Matt Cutts confirmed that Google targeted a Link Network a couple weeks ago. Matt emaphasied that the Search Engine giant will go after more in 2013. He revealed that Google will release another update in the next week or two, that will specifically target another big link network.

Google penalized Russian Backlinks Network in first week of March 2013. Although the Big G did not reveal the name of the affectee, but it was rumored in Webmaster forums to be Russian based SAPE Links.

Reference(s):
Search Engine Land - http://searchengineland.com/googles-matt-cutts-on-upcoming-penguin-panda-link-networks-updates-151273
Search Engine Roundtable - http://www.seroundtable.com/google-penguin-four-16486.html

Did Google penalize SAPE Links (another Link Network)?

Rumor floating around the SEO industry currently is that Google has crushed yet another link network, SAPE Links. Those using this paid service were supposedly penalized and downgraded in Google rankings over last two days. But not all webmasters agree it is the SAPE link network, rather they feel it may be a different network all together.

Dozens of threads are discussing about downgrades of Google rankings recently. Black Hat World and Black Hat Group have webmasters and SEOs who are hinting that it was due to SAPE Links. While others are not sure whether it is specific to SAPE or some other link network.

One webmaster wrote:
Anyone that use SAPE links see huge drop in rankings today?
Quite a number of Search professionals agreed but not all.

Google's head of search spam, Matt Cutts tweeted on 13 February 2013 that he was investigating "naughty Russian link selling software". And coincidently SAPE Links is a Russian link network.

@dannysullivan @seocom just another day at the office for me. :) Okay, gotta look at some really naughty Russian link selling software now.
— Matt Cutts (@mattcutts) February 13, 2013

Suggestions for Search Professionals and Webmasters:
Always avoid getting back-links from Link Networks. They may seem easy to get and can bring good Search Engine rankings early. But Google is all set to fight spam and low quality sites. Search Spam team of Big G cracks on culprits and penalizes and downgrads them in Google rankings. Always prepare unique content and get related quality back links. That will lead to top rankings in SERPs and qualified traffic.