Google announced Search Removal Request Form

Following the European Union "Right to be Forgotten" court ruling, Google has now launched a new form to allow people to submit removal requests to the search engine.

The form launched Friday and supposedly spurred 12,000 requests. Users in all 28 European Union countries, as well as four extra non-EU countries, can now request removals from search results.

The form requires that those who submit the form submit a valid form of photo ID to complete the request. It does, however, allow users to request removals for others, provided they are acting for that person, such as a spouse or lawyer.

To submit a request, you need to contain the full name for the person you are requesting search results to be removed, your own name (if different) as well as the relationship to the person you are submitting the form for and a contact email address. Google also said you must:

(a) Provide the URL for each link appearing in a Google search for your name that you request to be removed. (The URL can be taken from your browser bar after clicking on the search result in question).

(b) clarify, if not clear, why the linked page is about you (or, if you are submitting this form on behalf of someone else, the person named above).

(c) Explain how this URL in search results is immaterial, outdated, or otherwise wrong.
The form defaults to only submit a single URL for removal but you can add added as needed, but Google requests an explanation for each one.

Google also seems to recognize the option that there could be fake removals from people attempting to damage competitors. They hope that the requested information will avoid people from impersonating others, or from those trying to attempt to stifle legal information.

It is attractive though that the identification does not need to be a government issued ID or passport. Users can also vague the identifying numbers from the identification and Google will wipe out their copy within a month of the removal requests being closed.

Why there are four non-EU countries is a mystery, other than they are physically close to the UE. The four countries include Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

There is no announced timeline for how long Google will take to take action on the submitted "Right to be Forgotten" requests.

"Almost a third of the requests were in relation to accusations of fraud, 20 per cent were in relation to violent/serious crimes, and around 12 per cent regarded child pornography arrests,"

 The Telegraph reported. "More than 1,500 of these requests are believed to have come from people in the UK. An ex-politician seeking re-election, a paedophile and a GP were among the British applicants."

you might also like: Tips to Rule The Search Engine Results Page

Why HR Should support Staff Blogging

 Turning to your employees to take part in marketing campaigns with staff blogging results in much profit that go straight to the heart of any HR department’s assignment. Staff blogging helps boost employee engagement, foster employee development, and aid external recruitment.

1) Increase Employee Engagement

In a small enterprise of 50 to 100 employees, being selected to take part in a content sourcing meeting comes across as an honor and a sign that the company values their thoughts and ideas. Preferred employees also get the chance to spend time with the management team. They’ll enjoy official introduction and the opportunity to impress the team with their expertise. During one first blog training meeting, an engineer thanked me afterward because he had gotten the chance to spend two hours sitting side-by-side with the CEO of the company. He exclaimed, “This is awesome!” because he’d never had that chance before. Your brilliant employees will feel valued and gain a sense of ownership in the company when they’re brought into the room with your
Executive team to talk at length about some of the wonderful projects they are working on.

2) Improve Company Culture with Incentives & Blogging Competitions
 

Employees can be further occupied by implementing competitive incentives in a staff blogging campaign. Make it fun to contribute content ideas and information by recognizing persons who delivered content that resulted in highly trafficked blog posts. Other metrics for a blogging competition could comprise internal awards to the person whose blogs generated the most number of views, shares, likes, or comments. Though blogging can sometimes remain a mystery inside a business environment, tying staff blogging to activities that promote company culture, like competitions, can make it more accessible to the blogosphere.

3) Promote Professional Development among Employees
 

Another advantage of staff blogging is the increased opportunity for professional development among employees. When staff blogs are published on the company site, third party websites, or on top-tiered industry blogs, their names become associated with career-building thought-leadership. The advantage is that external recruiting labors get a boost when companies enjoy good reputations for developing and engaging their employees. The most skilled workers tend to want to work for companies where they’ll feel busy and be encouraged to develop efficiently. Staff blogging will enhance your company’s reputation for being an excellent place to build and grow one’s career.

Staff blogging is an efficient delivery system for content and, if used purposefully can build great SEO, social, and yield returns for your company. But the benefits of staff blogging aren’t limited to just a company’s marketing campaign. Sourcing content for your company blog will make your employees feel significant and will get them excited about participating in the strategic direction of the company.

Google Authorship

Some of the major goals of blogging and content strategies are to drive traffic, earn links, and to rank higher on Google. So, with Google Authorship & Author Rank being so significant today I am amazed at how many bloggers and website owners have still not embraced it. With Google Authorship, you can help improve rank while branding yourself as a respected writer in your field. Since Google altered its algorithms to provide more relevant search results, it is my belief that becoming an authority is vital to securing a high search rank today. All you need is a Google+ profile to get started and this very easy-to-follow Google Authorship eBook.

Add a Face to Your Work

Be proud of your work and let everyone see the face after the experience! By linking your online work to your Google+ profile, Google Authorship verifies you as the author. This will allow your Google+ image to appear beside search results where you’re the author. I don’t know about you, but when I search for some information online and I notice a professional picture beside a result, I am more inclined to click. Experts have already proven time and time again that some search results with an image have an advanced click rate than those without. Plus, the more searchers see your face, the more they think of you as a professional in your industry. 

Rank above Plagiarists

 As a matter of fact, plagiarized content often ranks higher than the original content on Google. When you set up yourself as the original author, Google ranks your content higher than any duplicate content. Instead of searchers finding plagiarists, they find you. Anything that helps with this battle is a win-win for everyone. Another benefit is, once you have an recognized audience by using Google Authorship, your fans are likely to let you know if they see your content published somewhere else under a different name. This gives you the chance to report the content to Google and help remove another plagiarist from the web.

Attach With Readers

I like connecting with my readers and many times I get the same people sharing, liking and promoting my blogs. Authorship makes it simple to connect with your followers and build a network. Readers can view my Google+ profile straight from Google search results to learn more about me. My profile not only lists blogs where I’m an author, but provides a link for readers to view my content through a custom search. Readers instantly discover who I am and if they want they can add me frankly to their circles if they use Google+. Set up your Google Authorship and this will give you a great opportunity to connect with your readers on a social platform they know and love.

Index earlier

If you have something significant to say or timely news you want to share and you want your content indexed quicker, link it to your Google+ profile. The Google Authorship program gives your linked content priority over other websites. The quicker you’re indexed; the sooner people will find your content. With millions of pieces of content published on a daily basis, you need some way to stand out from the rest. One of the most important tips I give my clients is, even with proper SEO, you could at rest be buried by the competition. If your content is indexed faster, searchers will find you before the competition, giving you a chance to build your audience. This advice is very expensive.

Author Rank

Google is beginning to realize Author Rank which ranks Google Authorship writers based on engagement and social factors. Those with a profile will rank higher than those without one. While rank will still be based on the content first and foremost, if you craft excellent content, Author Rank will help boost your overall Google search rank. While Google hasn’t implemented Author Rank fully yet, some aspects are already being used in Google’s algorithms. As Google perfects the new ranking system, you’ll see a greater boost in your rank. By using Authorship now rather than later it will help you build your readership and social media impact so you’ll be at the top of search results one time Author Rank is implemented in full. If you don’t believe me, read what Mark Traphagen writes about “Authorship Tips and Takeaways from Matt Cutt’s Video”.

If you want your content in face of more people and want to build your Google authority, joining Google+ and using Google Authorship is a must. That’s all I have to say on the matter!

3 fundamentals for huge Mobile SEO

Much of the argument around mobile SEO seems to be a numbers game. Dozens of articles focus on mobile usage statistics – from 25 percent of all searches being performed on mobile devices, to cross-device decision-making. These articles have the goal of support professionals get buy-in from their bosses, or freelancers pitch to their clients.
While it's one thing to know that consumers are using a knowledge, it's quite another to know how, where and for what purposes.

Going Beyond the Mobile Stats

If all we have are mobile usage data – essentially quantifying a exacting search demographic – then we have few insights on how to really capture their attention.
This approach only scratches the surface of the present and future of mobile.
This article will look at:

•    Distinct technical necessities of mobile SEO.
•    Mobile-specific keywords and how to spot them.
•    Ways to stop wasting your time with "killer content."

SEO and User knowledge: the Real Overlap

The overlie between SEO and UX is paramount when it comes to mobile. Few businesses understand that the mobile experience of a website is a unique one – fewer comprehend Google has outright said that a poor mobile experience will demote a domain's rankings.

For mobile, we're going to focus on:

•    Page load time (you can test yours here).
•    Fixing bounce rate.
•    Reducing redirects (each redirect = 2-4 second additional load time)
These considerations are what will actuallymake a difference in the mobile SEO value and performance of your website. Plus, it will make your users happy – delighted even. And when all is said and done, you can check how your rankings have been improved (or equally important, defended) using a mobile-savvy platform such as BrightEdge.

Keyword Relevancy

When performing keyword investigates, there's usually a search phrase that stands out as odd. It could be a niche request, or something completely inane:
Figure out and annotate what's relevant for your website by:

•    Crunching the mobile-share percentages of keywords in analytics.
•    Marking keywords you already receive traffic from for mobile potential.
•    Brainstorm or feel potential new keywords specific to your niche.

Once you've finished up the legwork, the next steps should be basic. Start with optimizing titles, Meta, and on-page content to include these keywords – preferably with new, dedicated pages that intentionally target your mobile audience.

Context is the New Content

In the move to making SEO more bright, strategic, and sincere, realizing the importance of intention and context becomes supreme.
Why particularities – such as load time or mobile-specific keywords – are opening to great mobile SEO is because people who are on the go are looking for actionable, immediate and significant websites.

Mobile users are deterred by delays, friction, and unresponsive design. They won't parse keyword-garbled text, or navigate to the depths of some ether to buy products or subscribe to services – particularly when competitors treat their time with more respect.
It's Still About Numbers

Yes – it's still a numbers game.

More significant than broader marketing trends, is the data available for particular companies. Whether you're hooked into Google Analytics, Omniture, or CoreMetrics, you'll be able to authenticate whether mobile is worth investing in today.

Hopefully this article has armed you with something more than statistics – information or motivation that can help ignite a sincerely user-centric mobile plan. As always, I look forward to your feedback, thoughts, or questions in the comments below.

Instagram currently Bans Users From definite Hashtag Searches

Instagram now bans users from thorough for certain hashtags that may be considered profane or clear. This discovery, by Nick Drewe of The Data Pack,  comes after Instagram’s 2012 announcement on its Tumblr that it was banning keyword search for “Thinspiration” terms, that many eating muddle dead use, as well as placing a disclaimer on images that relate to self-harm in any way.  They also prohibit accounts that are meant to glorify self-harm.

The current batch of search hashtags that Instagram has barred mainly center around profanity. The total list that Drewe has discovered on his own using the Instagram API can be found on his website.

Possible Issues

Another blog post at Digital Trends cover Drewe’s discovery points out that there may be some sort of routine filter set, as searching for the term #thesexpistols (after the famous English band) isn’t allowed. Instagram also barred all hashtags that included the word bitch, even though the hashtag #uglyslutsaturday is still searchable as of publication.

These types of inconsistencies is what makes banning hashtags or putting certain restrictions on search a doubtful practice. While no one will disagree that banning top level searches for porn-related or damaging terms is part of Instagram’s terms of service, many may argue that what is considered profane is individual to each person.

While Instagram is a private service and users must consent to their terms when using the site, these inconsistencies that are taken out of context or not fairly useful to other derogatory terms can be trying to some users.

Search Implications
 

Instagram isn’t the only web giant to ban certain terms or services. As of 2010, Google had a list of banned terms for Google Instant, their auto-complete service, and they have also barred weapon-related listings from Google Shopping, according to a 2012 post on Search Engine Land.
 

While these services are ours to decide to use, these limits may eventually hurt businesses and organizations. For instance, what if cancer teaching and awareness organization F*ck Cancer had an Instagram campaign, but their target hashtag was unsearchable because of their name?
 

While there at present isn’t the choice to view search results for banned hashtags on Instagram, many other services allow users to have the option to see content after presentation a disclaimer for potentially offensive content, instead of banning it totally.

Facebook Launches Verified Accounts for Brands, Businesses, Public Figures

Facebook is getting into the verification business, borrowing a feature that Twitter first introduced approximately four years ago.

Facebook’s verification badges for pages and profiles will also mimic Twitter by leaving much of the process unknown and internal.

It’s unclear why Facebook is making the move to confirm brands and well-known figures with large audiences on the site but it plans to start the proactive process over the coming days. The company will “automatically verify the largest pages on Facebook that are at the greatest risk of duplication,” said a Facebook spokeswoman.

“Verified pages fit in to a small group of prominent public figures (celebrities, journalists, government officials, popular brands and businesses) with large audiences,” the site notes in a blog post announcing the news.

“I think that it’s a concern for a lot of the luxury brands,” said Raina Penchansky, chief strategy officer for Digital Brand Architects. “Social and digital is a difficult space for luxury brands,” because luxury brands prefer to preserve an aura of exclusivity by limiting their exposure and access to larger untargeted audiences, she added.

While verified pages and profiles will add some semblance of authenticity, brands aren’t precisely begging for the feature or avoiding Facebook because they don’t have a small blue badge and check mark next to their names throughout the site.

"I've never seen any pushback from a product,” Penchansky said. “It doesn't feel like something that's been a huge barrier for entry for our brands."

Still, she said, some brands might be a little uneasy about the random verification process, particularly since Facebook hasn’t outlined the requirements for verification or the ability to request a profile or page be verified.

The blue check mark identifying verified pages and profiles will 98come out in timelines, stories, search results, news feed ads and while users hover over the name of a page elsewhere on the site. Brands that don’t automatically receive verification over the coming weeks are being referred to Facebook’s help center where common duplication issues can be resolved.

The 5 Step method to Great Keyword Research

Attracting new visitors to your website begins with some words being typed into a search box.

Identifying the right search terms for your SEO efforts is the most significant thing that you can do to make sure that you have success on the search engines. Without the right search terms, the rest of your SEO efforts will be doomed to fail. Doing keyword research will get rid of the risk of targeting search terms that either have no search volume or are so competitive that the search terms will be nearly not possible to get onto the first page of Google. Focusing on the right keywords is totally the glue that holds the entire SEO process together.

When doing keyword research, it’s not merely about getting visitors to your site, but about getting the right visitors to your site. The usefulness of this intelligence can’t be overstated. With keyword research you can forecast market shifts and conditions, services that potential customers are looking for and content that web searchers are currently seeking.

This presents a huge opportunity to understand one’s audience with an extremely low investment in terms of money. This is one of the reasons that SEO offers such a high return on investment for the advertisers willing to do the work necessary to succeed in this marketing channel.

Here is a formula I recommend when doing keyword research:

With this in mind, let’s take a look at the 5-step process for conducting great keyword research.

Step 1 – Put together an initial list of search terms that you think your target audience would use to find your website. If you’re stuck for ideas, you can go to a competitor’s website and simply right-click on their website. Then view the source code and look for the Meta keywords that are listed. These are the keywords that your competitor’s have deemed to be their most significant searches and could be a good list to use as your initial starting point in addition to the list you have put together on your own.

Step 2 – Take your early list of search terms and plug them into the free Google Keyword tool: https://adwords.google.com/o/Keyword. Then once you’ve entered the target search terms, click on the search button to reveal a list of related terms and their corresponding monthly traffic volumes.

Step 3 – Export an excel file with the list of search terms that were displayed in the Google Keyword tool and do a data sort of keywords with the highest traffic and lowest competition. Once you have this list, you’ll want to do an Excel sort of keywords by the highest monthly traffic volumes. Then choose five to ten keywords toward the top of the list that you think are most significant to your website.

Step 4 – Once you have this initial list, you will want to check on the overall competitiveness of the search terms on your list. Google gives you a competition score in their tool, but be aware that this only reflects the paid search competition and isn’t applicable for SEO purposes. In this regard, you can find a free tool here: http://www.webseoanalytics.com/free/seo-tools/keyword-difficulty.php to check on the overall competitiveness of the keywords on your list. You will want to only target search terms that are categorized as low to medium in competition.

Step 5 – After you have your early list of search terms, you will want to enter them into a rank tracking software so that you can keep track of your target search terms while at the same time understanding how your activities are impacting overall search rankings for the search terms you are targeting. Here is a free tool that can be used for these purposes: http://tools.seobook.com/firefox/rank-checker/.

Finding the right set of keywords to aim with your search engine optimization efforts is the first and most significant step in getting to that very essential spot at the top of Google. So make sure to get it right and you will be well on your way to achieving success on the search engines.