As a small business owner you may not be aware of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) but that does not mean it cannot benefit you. The essence of SEO is that it helps you improve the ranking of your business on the Google search algorithm. And this in turn helps your business climb up the Google search listing. So as a small business owner you can always benefit from SEO to improve Google rankings of your business.

In a recent interview, Samar Singla, CEO of Click Labs revealed how he and his organization has helped small and medium sized businesses gain visibility, spread brand awareness and multiply revenue manifolds. He shared some basic techniques which you as a small business owner can adopt  to improve Google rankings of your business. The best part is that these techniques do not cost you anything and are easy to implement.

WordPress is the Most SEO Friendly Platform. Use It.

Samar emphasized on the use of WordPress blogging platform. He told that it is the most SEO friendly platform. It is one of the best Content Management System when it comes to SEO. Optimizing a WordPress website is a lot easier and quick than optimizing a website built on other traditional platforms which most of the local businesses tend to use.

Keyword Research

“Effective keyword research forms the basis of effective Search Engine Optimization of a website.” Samar said. Once you have created or switched your website to WordPress platform it is the time to start researching the keywords. Keywords are those key words that your target audience uses to locate your business, product or services on a search engine. So find out those keywords that best describe your business or products, Samar added.  You may need to analyze your competitor websites as well to find out the keywords they are using to draw traffic towards their business.

Start Onsite Optimization

Once you have found the right keywords you wish to improve Google rankings for you need to start with onsite optimization of your website. Insert those highly searched keywords in different places on different pages of your website. Samar said that it is important to maintain the right keyword density and keyword prominence. If you go on to over stuff your web pages with keywords you may end up ‘spamming’ as per Google.

Google Places

When you are done with your initial website optimization efforts it is the time to move on to the next level of optimization.  You should claim your Google Places business listing, Samar added.  Add some basic information about your business and be as elaborate as possible while filling each section of the listing. Give details like your business address, phone number, description about your business, hours of operation, keywords, etc.  Samar said that you can improve Google rankings for your business further by adding photos of your business and requesting reviews about your business.

Generate Backlinks

After optimizing Google places listing it takes a few days to a week to start ranking in the search results. However, your job as a business owner does not end here. You should consider back linking. Any business of any size, small, medium or large can improve Google rankings with effective back linking, Samar said. We do not ask you to buy spammy back links as they can negatively affect your search engine rankings, Samar added.

Samar said that social bookmarking and profile submissions on some high page rank websites are just the couple of ways among several others that local businesses can consider to generate quality back links. It will help you increase the relevancy and value of your website in the eyes of Google and other search engines.

Inflated academic credentials are believed to be the reason behind the resignation of Scott Thompson from the post of Chief Executive Officer at Yahoo! Inc. The Yahoo CEO resigns after much speculation.

Thompson joined Yahoo as the CEO of the company in January this year. He came from eBay Inc., and replaced Carol Bartz whom Yahoo had dismissed in September 2011.

It was on May 3 that Daniel Loeb who is a principal stakeholder (with 5.8% stake in Yahoo through the Third Point LLC) discovered the discrepancy in Thompson’s academic credentials. He found the official Yahoo biography of Scott Thompson exaggerating his academic credentials. The biography stated that Scott Thompson holds a dual degree in accounting and computer science. But the truth is that he holds a degree in accounting only.

According to sources, Ross Levinsohn who is the head of Global Media at Sunnyvale, California will replace Thompson as interim CEO.

This is the third dismissal of a CEO at Yahoo in just three years and it may make things more problematic at Yahoo which is already struggling to gain ground. Despite being one of the biggest brand names in the industry Yahoo’s performance has been consistently poor for the last few years. It has not been able to safeguard its market share from Facebook and Google. They have been persistently eating into  its market share.

I have been answering a lot of phone calls and my Inbox is full with emails from clients who believe that they have been hit by the Penguin update, Google’s new algorithm targeting Webspam. Or maybe they have been hit by the Panda? It is not clear. But it is clear that for some the traffic has come down drastically and the situation is grim.

The worst hit, I believe, are those local business owners who have spent a considerable amount from their limited marketing budget to buy link building schemes.  Probably, they got into such situation as they believed that link building is a quicker way to generate traffic than a long term marketing plan. But now it is clear that it is not so.

So here are some local link building tips that are time tested and at the same time they do not infuriate Google.

Sponsor Some Local Sports Event

Take the initial step and sponsor your kid’s baseball team. You can have your business name printed on their jerseys. This is cheap and can help in building awareness about your business among your target audience, the local crowd.

If you do the things right then it may also get you a link on the league’s official website. This is called Citation is Search Engine Optimization (SEO) terminology.

Associate with a Cause

There are many celebrities that support many social causes. This is a brilliant way to spread word and build trust among the members of the society. Being a local business you can sponsor a fundraising event or be a fundraiser for a social cause. This will certainly help you gain link or two from the media sites.

Be an Active Member of your Local Business Association

Being an active member of your local business association would mean a good networking opportunity. In addition to that it will also mean getting citation/recommendations from other local businesses. This in turn means that other local businesses will help you market your business.

Host a Contest

I am not asking you to host a big event instead I am suggesting you host small contests like Pie Eating contests or something similar. You need to come up with innovative ideas that are not only cheap but are also a hit among the local crowd. Hosting contests would mean spreading word about your business (people like to find out who is hosting the event).

Make Your Business Video

One of the greatest things about the Internet is that it is very cheap to make and immediately distribute your business videos.

Find a local talent or use a marketplace website to find talent that can get you a video done about your local business. Have your business goals conveyed to the artist and ask them to come up with an attention grabbing video that generates links too.

The 5 link building tips that I just divulged should assure you that the Penguins and the Pandas are not to be scared of. There are many more similar link building techniques that you can use to generate more traffic to your local business.  You should not consider SEO or Link building through spammy link schemes to be a substitute for your marketing plan.

SEO and Link Building should be an integral part of your online marketing strategy but as a local business owner there is a lot more you can do to gain traffic and generate revenue.

If inside sources are to believed, Google is considering acquisition of social media platform Meebo. However, CEO of Meebo, Seth Sternberg was tight lipped about the negotiations. The inside news is that Google is expected to buy seven year old Meebo for $100. But there is no official release about Google acquiring Meebo yet.

Ever since its launch in the year 2005, Meebo has evolved consistently. The first offering from the company was the Meebo Messenger. It was a web based instant messenger platform that did not require users to download any kind of software. Meebo Messenger had compatibility with all the leading IMs including Yahoo, MSN, AOL and others. However, Meebo failed to monetize the Meebo Messenger. And it was only in the year 2009 that Meebo came up with Meebo Bar, a social sharing tool bar for website publishers.  Meebo Bar offered publishers multiple advertising options and helped them in promotion of social actions. Meebo Bar had hit the right note. Since then the Meebo tool bar has been widely used and distributed on top web sites. San Francisco and Travel Chronicle are among them.

The tech economy was witnessing a dip around mid 2008 and it was during this time that Meebo managed to raise funds worth $25 million on a $200 million valuation. The latest funding of $27.5 million came in the year 2010. Now as many prominent capitalists invested at a valuation of $200 million, they are expected to lose their money.

Meebo with over 250 million monthly visitors is widely used both by the publishers and consumers. Right price, good talent and focus on mobile and social app development have undoubtedly generated Google’s interest in Meebo.

An increase in the number of site visits always feels good. But, the real statistic that matters is Conversion Rate- the ratio of site visits to rooms booked online. To know what visitors do on your website is more important than how do they get there. Are your site visitors booking or abandoning?

It is of utmost importance to understand why site visitors abandon a transaction in order to remove the obstacles that deter them from making bookings. You can follow these inexpensive ways to relieve customers of discomfort, encourage direct online room bookings and build loyalty in the process.

Be up front with whatever you offer

Lowering the rates may not be the option to accommodate all customers but there is another way out to address the issue. You should ensure that the rates you advertise are actually available on your website. You should either include or disclose additional fees and taxes in your hotel banner ads, promotional campaigns and emails. This a simple way to pre qualify your hotel website visitors. This way you funnel only those customers who are ready to book rooms at rates that you have listed. It will remove customer frustration while building trust at the same time.

Optimize Landing Pages

A landing page can be defined as the page on your hotel website where the users will eventually land upon clicking a piece of online advertising. Take users from your hotel ad to the ad specific landing page on your hotel website. The landing page should have a coordinating message and promotional offers to instantly reassure customers that they have landed at the right place. Further optimization of these pages can be done by giving one offer per landing page with details simply bulleted out. In the end, you should include a hard to miss call- for- action, Book Now!

Get rid of Pre-Booking Registration

It has been observed that in an attempt to gather maximum guest information the hotel websites miss the track of their top priority- driving online room bookings. Your goal should be to take the user to Book Now button faster. The guest contact information can still be captured. On your reservation confirmation page give an option to set up an account after the guest has booked the stay with your hotel. Explain them the benefits of creating an account with your hotel website. This will increase guest information submissions.

Show Room Availability Interactively

To have room for everyone is not possible for any hotel. But you can at least show the available dates. The calendar is the best tool to accomplish this task interactively. Displaying room availability in this manner will allow would be guests to view time frames they have to work with. If your website displays the harsh No Availability message even though there is only one day conflict in the request, the guests will be definitely turned off. You will miss out on those guests who could adjust dates by a day on either. Constantly receiving No Availability message sends user to the competitor websites faster.

Work On Your Website Content

Review your website content and ask yourself that whether it supports your hotel’s goal of getting more online room bookings.  Is it prompting users to Book Now?  You can even use this content clarity technique when there is a need to add fresh content as well. This way only the relevant content will be available on your hotel website.

It can be a tough job to identify the content important to customers. You should view your hotel website statistics. This way you would know the pages that guests are leaving the website from and what pages lead to a successful room bookings. If you do not have access to website statistics, go through online reviews of your recent guests. You can call those guests and ask what made their stay memorable with your hotel.  There are chances that other guests will also be attracted to those same points. Now you know what the content of your hotel website should be and where it should lead.

Hotels use this website as a quick and efficient way of providing information to customers. Hotel industry experts regard Twitter as a way to expand demographic reach and access large number of contacts otherwise inaccessible.

From a customer’s point of view there are many things that need to be answered prior to booking a room with your hotel. These may include Cost, Pet Policy, Guest Reviews, etc. As an hotel owner you can effectively use Twitter to answer all these questions instantaneously. It will surely help you in increasing room bookings.

10 Twitter ways that guarantee more room bookings

1.    Promote Local Events

Promotion of local events such as Festivals & concerts serve as an excuse for individuals to travel and also help support community. Enticed with the support your hotel gives to local activities, the number of guests coming to the hotel will increase. You will also notice an increase in number of Followers of your Twitter page.

2.    Offer Discounts

Customers love to get best deals on any item. Hotel industry is no excuse; compelling discounts and package deals can attract more room bookings. Use Twitter to publicize any special deals or offers that encourage customers to book rooms with your hotel. Twitter will spread word about promotional offers at your hotel among its millions of users. It will increase hits on your Twitter page and more people will start Following you out of the hope of finding more discounts.

3.    Mention Twitter Exclusive Offers

You can offer some exclusive online discounts, packages or deals. This is the best way to reward your loyal customers. You will be able to increase room bookings by strengthening your Followers network. People will go intentionaly to your Twitter page to know more about online exclusive deals. More people Following your Twitter page will also mean an increase in popularity of your hotel brand.

4.    Talk About Special Events

Tell your Twitter fans about the events that your hotel is organizing. The Tweets can be about any event like a Christmas party, an Art show or any other event that your hotel is hosting. Write brief description about the special event on your Twitter page so that people get to know about it. This will help generate more room bookings and get increased daily visitors to your hotel. People always feel interested in special events and activities.

5.    Tweet about Special Offers at local establishments

People who plan to stay at your hotel  would surely like to be know about some great nearby shops or restaurants. Tweets are the best possible way to do so. You can attract those guests to stay at your hotel by offering them some free coupons valid at nearby local establishments. It will thus help you promote your hotel and at the same time help your customers save money.

6.    Give Hotel Updates

Make it a point to keep your customers informed about any changes or updates about your hotel. It can be about anything like changed policy information or new openings with your hotel. To keep potential customers well informed and up to date is a effective way of generating trust and encouraging room bookings.

7.    Encourage Customer Feedback

You should motivate your customers to give feedback about your hotel on Twitter. It will help you address any problems faced by your customers and act accordingly. This way your Twitter followers will realize that how much value your hotel gives to customer opinion. They will be encouraged to book your hotel instead of going to any other hotel.

8.    Highlight Achievements of your Hotel

Tweet about the most recent news article published about your hotel. Or highlight the support that your hotel provides to a social cause. You should introduce your Followers about all the great aspects of your hotel. Highlighting the good things about your hotel will increase the likelihood of getting a room booking.

9.    Post Videos and Photos of your Hotel

Visual stimulation is necessary when prompting online potential customers to be your guests. This can be achieved by posting photos and videos of your hotel. Take your customers on a virtual tour introducing them with their place of stay and the type amenities that you may provide with their bookings.

10.  Give glimpses of your Hotel expansion plans

If you are planning to expand your hotel business in near future, Twitter is the place to talk about it. Tweet about the new places or destinations your hotel plans to hit. Your Followers will feel elated and it may also bring about some prospective customers.

Here is my next addition to the online hotel promotion series. In my last article I gave you tips to gain more room bookings using Facebook.  In this article I will give you 101 online hotel marketing tips that you can incorporate in your marketing plan for increased room bookings and higher ROI.

Hotel Industry is highly competitive. Internet is the new medium you can utilize to reach out your target audience. And if, you are able to use online resources effectively then you will certainly have an edge over your competitors. Following a comprehensive online hotel marketing strategy is an inexpensive way to increase direct online bookings and generate higher revenue. A well laid out hotel marketing strategy can help you with the following:

● More Room Bookings
● Cut Costs
● Generate More Revenue
● Brand Your Hotel
● Get Global Exposure
● Outsmart Your Competition

101 online hotel marketing strategies that guarantee success are as follows.

1. Search engine submissions. Submit your hotel website to different search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing Ask and Dmoz.
2. Use website optimization techniques for effective online hotel marketing.
3. Get comprehensive website analysis done from a professional hotel marketing company.
4. Get in place strong link structure and strategy for your hotel website.
5. You should include a link to your website in your email signatures. Make sure that your hotel staff also includes your hotel website link in their signatures.
6. Also include your hotel website link in your forum signature.
7. Join and participate in niche forums. These may include forums that relate to hotels, hospitality and travel & tourism.
Social Media should be an Integral Part of your Hotel Marketing Strategies
8. Be active in relevant hotel communities.
9. You should convert your hotel blog posts into PDF and submit them to Scribd. Include your hotel website URL in the description.
10. Make sure you add your Scribd documents to relevant hotel groups.
11. You should join and actively participate in different hotel discussion groups.
12. Join as many social networks as many you can.
13. Or, join couple of popular social networks such as Facebook and Twitter and be really active.

Facebook

14. Create Facebook profile.
15. Integrate hotel blog on to your Facebook profile.
16. Place a Facebook button on your hotel website.
17. Include a customized booking widget.
18. Give options to subscribe to hotel newsletter.
19. Choose a URL that correlates to your hotel brand.
20. Post regular hotel updates on your wall.
21. Combine your Facebook profile with your other social media profiles.
22. Make effective use of Facebook Friend Finder application to find people you want to connect with.
23. Invite past hotel guests to write reviews on your wall.
24. Offer special discounts and packages on your Facebook page.
25. Purchase Facebook advertisements.

Twitter

26. Get your hotel a Twitter profile.
27. Post regular Tweets.
28. You must include hash tags (# tagname) in your tweets.
29. You should search for your niche and answer any questions or doubts people may have.
30. Tweets must include links to different pages of your hotel website.
31. Place a Twitter button on your hotel website.
32. Include a Retweet button in your hotel’s blog posts.
33. Promote local events. Guests would love to know about things to do in your city.
34. Publicize special offers and discounts.
35. Post hotel photos and videos.
36. Talk about hotel special events like Christmas Party, etc.
37. Offer exclusive online discounts and packages.
38. Write hotel updates. Customers like being updated about latest happenings at your hotel.
39. Motivate customers to give feedback.
40. Mention your hotel’s achievements or good things about your hotel.
41. Write about hotel expansion.

More online hotel marketing strategies

Online Hotel Videos

42. Create your hotel videos and distribute them online.
43. Consider creating a video sitemap on your hotel website.
44. Add your hotel videos to your website and blogs.
45. Upload your hotel videos on YouTube.
46. Make sure to respond to your hotel videos on YouTube with quality content.
47. Include your Hotel URL at the top of the video descriptions.
48. Devise unique video titles and tags.
49. Make sure your hotel videos are available in multiple formats.
50. Try using keywords and descriptions in your video files and submissions.
51. Upload your videos to different sites multiple times. Target different keywords each time.
52. Popular video sites other than YouTube which you can use to market your hotel website include Metacafe, MySpace, Digg Videos, blip.tv, AOL Video, Google Video, GoFish, Vimeo, Yahoo Video and more.

Use Your Hotel Blog as a Hotel Marketing Tool

53. Start writing your hotel blog, if you have been not writing it yet.
54. You should ensure that the content posted on your hotel blog is fresh.
55. Include latest local travel information of your city in your hotel blog articles.
56. Write articles about latest hotel events and activities.
57. Talk about latest promotions and packages of your hotel in your hotel blog.
58. Get services of professional bloggers. Ask them to write about your hotel.
59. Blogs are great marketing tools. Use them effectively.
60. Your blog titles must be interesting.
61. Make sure your blog titles include hotel industry keywords.
62. Or, try including those keywords which they search to locate your or competitor hotels.
63. Include in your hotel blog RSS/Social bookmarking option.
64. Bookmark your hotel website and hotel blogs on delicio.us and others.
65. You should submit your hotel blog to popular niche blog directories.
66. Keep a regular check on the content of popular hotel websites and their blogs that witness high traffic. Try creating similar content but not the same.

Paid Hotel Marketing

67. Start paid online advertisements using Google Adwords and others.
68. Run PPC Advertising or Pay Per Click ad campaigns for your hotel website.
69. Get your hotel website and hotel products reviewed.
70. Consider buying some ad space.

71. Write and submit regular articles and press release.

72. Use StumbleUpon for online marketing your hotel website and blog.
73. You should exchange links with your competitor hotel websites.
74. Hold regular online contests. Give discounts and packages to winners.
75. Join different affiliate programs and get affiliates to sell your hotel products.
76. Design numerous banners in all possible sizes. This will give your affiliates ample opportunity to market your hotel products.
77. Email your affiliates on a regular basis. Your emails must include latest hotel promotions and discount coupons.
78. Add Polls to your hotel website and hotel blog.
79. Keep an archive of older Polls on a dedicated page on your hotel website.
80. Your hotel should be an regular contributor on Yahoo Answers, Answers.com and others.
81. Create some interactive software that upsells your hotel products, services and packages on your hotel website and blog.
82. Create some interesting application that advertises your hotel on your hotel website. Distribute the application for free through different online channels.
83. You should run an online forum/bulletin board.
84. Offer your guests discounts on their next purchase with the property.
85. Include interviews of your satisfied hotel customers. It serves as a great testimonial.
86. Start submitting articles about your hotel on popular article directories in travel categories.

Newsletter

87. Create good hospitality newsletters for your hotel website.
88. Post your hotel newsletters on different online marketing channels.
89. Offer your hotel newsletter subscribers some discounts and holiday packages.
90. You should include in your newsletter sales and promotion information, latest packages, what is new with your hotel and other travel information.
91. Do remember to include your hotel’s physical address and a navigational map to your hotel from the nearest public transport in your newsletter.
92. Your website should include archives of your hotel newsletter.
93. Assure your hotel newsletter subscribers that you will not spam them, share or sell their email address with third parties.

94. Submit your hotel advertisements on different online classifieds. Put your hotel classifieds on websites from where most of your customers came from.
95. Look for niche classifieds for your hotel. Submit to them. Many of them are free to use.
96. You should submit your product feed to Google Base. You can add descriptions about your hotel, hotel services and products.
97. You should upload your hotel photos to websites such as Flickr, Bubbleshare, Fotolog and others.
98. Tag your hotel photos on Flickr.
99. Participate in hotel conferences and events. This builds credibility and establishes expertise.

The Bottom Line

100. Formulate a well calculated hotel internet marketing strategy. Utilize 101 ways to promote your hotel online to generate more direct room bookings.
101. Be patient. Once you have implemented the hotel internet marketing strategy it takes a while for the traffic to arrive and bookings to confirm.

What is SNOPA?

Social Networking Online Protection Act is the new bill introduced by Eliot Engel (NY-D) and Jan Schakowsky (IL-D). It is the first legislation in Congress that takes up the concern of pre-employment screenings by Facebook. The bill intends to deem this practice as an illegal act.

What will happen if SNOPA is Signed Into Law?

The employers would be banned from requiring their employees to provide confidential information including passwords and other login details to their social networking accounts.

If SNOPA takes the form of law it would mean a civil penalty of $10,000 to any employer who violates it.

This is what Congressman Engel said in a statement regarding SNOPA:

“We must draw the line somewhere and define what is private.  No one would feel comfortable going to a public place and giving out their username and passwords to total strangers.  They should not be required to do so at work, at school, or while trying to obtain work or an education.  This is a matter of personal privacy and makes sense in our digital world.”

What Engel has said is valid and has found support of many. Privacy is not a matter of privilege but it is a right. Facebook’s privacy policy instructs users to never divulge their login information to any individual or organization. However, there is currently no law prevalent in the United States or internationally that ensures enforcement of this policy.

Coming few months may witness introduction of some new laws pertaining to cyber security and privacy. SNOPA is currently leading the way and it may also become one of the first American law that would define privacy on social networking websites.

The number of people using Social Media is growing exponentially. Facebook is the most sought after social network these days. Facebook has over 900 million users. There is a growing population of hotel guests which refers to Facebook to manage their travel needs.

Many hotels respect Facebook as a strong promotional tool. They have already joined hands with millions of other users on this larger than life platform. Hotels are now using Facebook for booking guests, developing widgets with functionality in excess to their website and lot more. The hotels now interact with their customers one on one through Facebook. This increases accessibility and helps create strong relations with customers.

The 10 golden rules you must follow to convert your Facebook fans into booking guests

Manage your Facebook Profile

To get your Facebook guests to book room at your hotel you first need to create a business account. Do remember to read the Facebook rules that guide business accounts. Make sure you keep any personal aspects of your profile private by changing the account settings. This will help to separate your business life from your private life. You may consider posting your professional photo. This will help you reinforce your hotel brand and give your guests a glimpse about the person who runs the the hotel.

Utilize Facebook Applications

This Facebook aspect allows you to integrate your hotel blog, and your other social media accounts onto your Facebook profile. A customized booking widget that gives anytime access to Facebook fans should be created. This is the best way to gain more room bookings as the guests will not have to leave Facebook to book room with your hotel.

Give Hotel Newsletter Subscription options & Archives

You should consider posting subscription options to your hotel’s newsletter and archives in your profile. This way you can direct your Facebook profile viewers to your Hotel website homepage and let them explore more about your hotel.  These featured links on your profile help increase the chance of direct online room bookings with your hotel.

Select a Facebook URL that correlates to your Hotel Brand

This is to ensure that Facebook users are easily able to find information about your hotel. It is recommended to incorporate this URL into your email signature, business cards, etc. It will allow potential customers to know more about your hotel and could eventually add to more room bookings.

Post regular hotel updates on your wall

This will serve as a information resource for those interested in staying with your hotel. People who are your friends on Facebook will see the update and may find the recently changed information interesting. You should post useful articles and links to increase your credibility and share latest news that relates to your hotel.

Combine your Facebook account with Twitter, MySpace and others

Get wider demographic reach for your hotel. This can be done by allowing interlinking of your Facebook profile with other social media tools such as Twitter, MySpace, StumbleUpon, Flickr and others.

Use Friend Finder Application

You can use this Facebook functionality to get suggestions about other people you may like to connect with. This will help you expand your network. Going this way you will also get the opportunity to advertise your hotel on the pages of other people as well.

Invite your past hotel guests to write on your Facebook page

Get the first hand opinion about your hotel and the services offered. You should invite your hotel guests in the past to write on your Facebook page. This will allow other Facebook users to read their experiences and take firm room booking decision. And hence, more room bookings.

Add Discounts and Package deals to your Facebook page

Offer your Facebook friends some exclusive discounts and package deals which may not be available to others. You will be able to create a hype about your hotel and increase the number of people who want to add you as a friend on Facebook.

Buy Facebook Advertisements

You should consider buying Facebook advertisements that feature your hotel. This helps when you are trying to target specific audience. You will notice an increase in traffic not only on your Facebook page but also on your hotel website.

The name of the update comes after the update itself came. But if you remember, it has happened earlier as well. When the Panda update was released in February 2011, Google did not disclose the name it was using internally for the update. The same thing seems to have happened with the latest Penguin Update. On 24 April when the update was announced, it was unnamed. But now Google has given it an official name, the Penguin Update.

The Penguin Update is intended to improve the quality of search results and encourage white hat Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques. Here is what the official Google release has to say about the webspam algorithm update, now Penguin update.

“our advice for webmasters is to focus on creating high quality sites that create a good user experience and employ white hat SEO methods instead of engaging in aggressive webspam tactics.”

“Sites affected by this change might not be easily recognizable as spamming…….but the common thread is that these sites are doing much more than white hat SEO; we believe they are engaging in webspam tactics to manipulate search engine rankings.”