Part of our role here at Search South involves staying up to date with the latest SEO news and trends. You may not have spotted some of the biggest headlines of recent days, so here’s our guide to what’s big in SEO right now.
Google Shopping changes
If you’ve missed the big news in this area, then you may not be aware that Google Shopping is about to change significantly. Many online retailers have been used to the fact that free Google Shopping listings bring in visitors and sales.
Until this point in time, this has all been free – but change is coming.
As might be expected, any change to this system is likely to cause some concern, as is reported over at Search Engine Land.
We’re quite surprised to see them reporting that the reaction has been relatively balanced – we’d expect a bit more negativity surrounding the announcement.
Negative SEO: protecting your site
Google’s Penguin changes have caused quite a stir and some are suggesting that they herald the return of negative SEO – this is the idea that competitors can damage your search engine rankings.
So can you protect your site from this problem? Over at SEO News, they have a detailed discussion of this issue.
Link building from scratch
Julie Joyce (over at Search Engine Watch) considers how you should be approaching link building, whether you’re building a new website, or looking to recover from a penalty.
We reckon that it’s an interesting list, as a talking point at least. Do we agree with everything on there? No, but when do SEO consultants every agree on anything?!
Google and small businesses
How well do Google work with small, local businesses? In recent times, it has seemed like a number of algorithm changes have been to the benefit of big brands.
According to a report at Search Engine Journal, Google are keen to capture greater market share in this area. Will this work well for them? In some senses, it seems to be an attempt to re-market existing products, so we’ll wait and see.