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Google SEO Updates: October 2013

Matt Cutts as Dread Pirate Roberts

“The only constant in SEO is change,” that’s how the folks at Search Engine Journal describe the digital landscape these days.

Now, with the month of October in the books, we tend to agree with them on this point.

SEOs are being challenged to adapt to a new landscape where tried and true rank-building techniques can get you thrown in the doghouse.

Here are a few of the SEO headlines from October to help keep you up-to-date.

Hummingbird Impact on Affiliates – The long-term impact of the Hummingbird impact has yet to be written but, so far, the little bird hasn’t done much damage.

Penguin 2.1 Released – The biggest challenge of dealing with the new Penguin update doesn’t have anything to do with links, it’s simply deciding what to call it. Is it, Penguin 2.1 like Google says? Or is it, Penguin 5 like everyone in the SEO says?

Underappreciated SEOs – We all know the SEO all-stars but this month we met a few of the SEOs world’s less appreciated, but just as informative, voices.

New AdWords AdRank Formula Explained – AdWords new AdRank formula is another one of those, “little,” changes that winds up have a huge impact on SEOs.

How the Government Shutdown Hit SEO – The 16-day shutdown of the US Government may have a lasting, and negative, impact on SEOs who link to Government sites.

Social Signals Boost Authority – Social signals, especially those that generate from Google+ have a huge impact on the amount of traffic you get, and your overall authority.

 

What if Google Didn’t Exist? – Peer into a digital world where the mighty Google never came to pass.

Matt Cutts Halloween Costume – The head of Google’s Web Spam Team kept things timely this year by dress as the Dread Pirate Roberts (the founder of the Silk Road, not the one from the Princess Bride).

More Indexed Pages Doesn’t = Higher Rank – When wasn’t working on his costume, Cutts took a little time to make a video reminding everyone that the huge number of indexed pages won’t necessarily pay off in higher PageRank.

The Difference Between <strong> and <bold> – Cutts also released a video describing the differences between the <strong> tag and the <bold> tag. This prompted one commenter to suggest that Cutts had run out questions to answer in his ubiquitous videos.