5 For Friday — Links, Stories & Posts For Your Weekend
October 19th, 2012 by
1. Google Launches Disavow Links Tool – Search Engine Land
The long-awaited Google Disavow tool was announced this week at Pubcon by Matt Cutts. The tool, which is available in Webmaster Tools, allows users to submit a list of links and essentially tells Google that you don’t want those links associated with your domain. The value of the Google Disavow tool is still TBD, but at least they actually have one now – Bing launched theirs months ago.
2. Take a walk through a Google data center – Google.com
To Google something is synonymous with searching on the internet – but where does all of that Internet live? Follow along and let Google show you one of their wonderful Internet factories. Walk around with Google Streetview or check out the video tour (click Watch a Guided Tour, below the image). There are plenty of sweet finds and cool inside-baseball tidbits in the tour, including a stormtrooper, so check it out!
3. Small Players Seek an Alternative to the Expense of Pay-Per-Click – The New York Times
Paid search advertising has evolved considerably over the years. As consumer trust levels have increased online, so to have the number of businesses that are advertising in these venues. As with any form of advertising, costs are determined by the number of businesses that are competing for the same consumers. This idea is even more important when the platform bases its costs on an auction format. Check out this NYT article on how some businesses have responded to the increased cost of pay per click advertising.
4. Yelp Cracks Down on Fake Reviews With New Consumer Alerts – Mashable
Yelp! has announced a new policy to crack down on businesses that solicit fake reviews. Their new policy is determined to increase the consequences for businesses caught violating Yelp’s rules. It results in a semi-public shaming for those business in violation. A business which is found to be in breach of the Yelp! TOS will be tagged with a scarlet dialog box to let all viewers know of their bad behavior.
5. Is Groupon Worth It? – Search Engine Journal
Groupon, LivingSocial, Amazon, Facebook Deals, Yollar… the list of daily deal sites goes on and on, but many business owners wonder “Is it worth it?” Check out SI CEO Will Scott’s advice on whether the daily deal giant is “worth it,” and learn 5 tips on using Groupon effectively for your business. Everyone likes a good deal, but is it a good idea for your business? Find out over at SEJ!
