November didn’t feature much in the way of big updates and SEO news from Google, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a lot of news for SEOs. Last month was more about clarifying how to use the SEO tools you’ve already got.
Beef Up Your SEO with GWT -Google Webmaster Tools (GWT) isn’t the first place most publishers go to enhance SEO but, this month, we found out some pretty interesting uses for Google’s biggest toolbox.
Also…How Can Google Improve GWT? -Matt Cutts is soliciting advice for how to improve GWT. He’s not promising to act on your suggestions, but he says he’s all ears.
Facebook’s New Share & Like Buttons – Social media is an increasingly big piece in the SEO puzzle and Facebook’s new Share & Like buttons make going viral a bit easier. Don’t worry if you really like the old buttons, the new look is yours whether you like it or not.
Google Mystery Barge Facts – Remember when the Google Barge was a big mystery that could have wound up being anything? Well, those days are gone for good and now we know a lot more, maybe too much, about Google’s biggest publicity stunt.
Can White Hats Wear Black Hats, Too? – Can good guys use bad tools for good? This month we found out there is a big grey area between black hat and white hat SEO.
Bing Improvements – Bing announced some major improvements to its version of GWT last month with a special emphasis on social media tracking. If you’re getting into the nitty gritty of Twitter and Linkedin, this is worth examining.
Cutts Clarifies Disavow Links…Again – Are you still confused about when the right time to use the Disavow Links Tool is? If you are, you’re hardly alone. If you’re lucky, Cutts’ latest video on the subject will help clear the air (though we wouldn’t bet on it).
A Word About Meta Descriptions – If you’re getting sloppy with meta descriptions you might want to know that Cutts says no meta description is better than duplicate meta descriptions.
Hummingbird and the Social Connection – Google’s Hummingbird didn’t have much immediate impact on SEOs, which made for some happy SEOs. The bigger picture with Hummingbird is that it may be used to seek out more authentic social signals. This shows, once again, that Google is very serious about social media.
Is this a Secure Search Workaround? – The folks at Search Engine Land have discovered a Google Secure Search workaround. So what’s the catch? It’s really only useful in a limited number of situations.