Westlund, a sophomore, was named second team shortstop and honorable mention utility player. Sobczak, a senior outfielder, received honorable mention recognition.

Article source: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2012/05/16/2070091/two-cal-poly-softball-players.html

“So one of the secrets of Google is that rather than employing these mainframe machines, this heavy iron, big iron kind of stuff, if you were to go into a Google data center and look at an example rack, it would look a lot like a PC,” says Cutts. “So there’s commodity PC parts. It’s the sort of thing where you’d recognize a lot of the stuff from having opened up your own computer,and what’s interesting is rather than have like special Googlebot web crawling servers, we tend to say, OK, build a whole bunch of different servers that can be used interchangeably for things like Googlebot, or web serving, or indexing. And then we have this fleet, this armada of machines, and you can deploy it on different types of tasks and different types of processing.”

“So hardware wise, they’re not exactly the same, but they look a lot like regular commodity PCs,” he adds. “And there’s no difference between Googlebot servers versus regular servers at Google. You might have differences in RAM or hard disk, but in general, it’s the same sorts of stuff.”

On the software side, Google of course builds everything itself, as to not have to rely on third-parties. Cutts says there’s a running joke at Google along the lines of “we don’t just build the cars oursevles, and we don’t just build the tires ourselves. We actually vulcanize the rubber on the tires ourselves.”

“We tend to look at everything all the way down to the metal,” Cutts explains. “I mean, if you think about it, there’s data center efficiency. There’s power efficiency on the motherboards. And so if you can sort of keep an eye on everything all the way down, you can make your stuff a lot more efficient, a lot more powerful. You’re not wasting things because you use some outside vendor and it’s black box.”

A couple months ago, Google put out a blog post discussing its data center efficiency, indicating that they are getting even more efficient.

“In the same way that you might examine your electricity bill and then tweak the thermostat, we constantly track our energy consumption and use that data to make improvements to our infrastructure. As a result, our data centers use 50 percent less energy than the typical data center,” wrote Joe Kava, Senior Director, data center construction and operations at Google.

Cutts says Google uses a lot of Linux-based machines and Linux-based servers.

“We’ve got a lot of Linux kernel hackers,” he says. “And we tend to have software that we’ve built pretty much from the ground up to do all the different specialized tasks. So even to the point of our web servers. We don’t use Apache. We don’t use IIS. We use something called GWS, which stands for the Google Web Server.”

“So by having our own binaries that we’ve built from our own stuff and building that stack all the way up, it really unlocks a lot of efficiency,” he adds. “It makes sure that there’s nothing that you can’t go in and tweak to get performance gains or to fix if you find bugs.”

If you’re interested in how Google really works, you should watch this video too:

Google says the average search query travels as much as 1,500 miles.

Article source: http://www.webpronews.com/matt-cutts-on-the-hardware-software-that-powers-googlebot-2012-05

Panda, Penguin, and The Algorithm Sandwich

After Penguin 1.0 was released, Google also explained that a Panda update was rolled out a few days before Penguin (on 4/19).  Then, to make matters even more confusing, Google rolled out a Panda refresh on 4/27.  To quickly recap, Panda rolled out on 4/19, then Penguin on 4/24, and then a Panda refresh on 4/27.  Yes, that’s essentially an algo sandwich special, with a side of insanity.  As you can imagine, webmasters that aren’t extremely familiar with SEO could very easily think they were hit by Penguin (since that was the primary topic during the time period).

The Danger of Not Knowing

Since Penguin and Panda target two different issues, it’s extremely important to know the exact algorithm update that hit your website.  Panda targets low quality content, thin content, duplicate content, etc., while Penguin targets webspam (and at this point it’s heavily targeting unnatural inbound links).  So, if you incorrectly believe you were hit by Penguin and start addressing links, then you would be wasting your time…  On the flip side, if you incorrectly believe you were hit by Panda and start addressing low quality content, then you could also be wasting your time.

And to make matters worse, both Penguin and Panda will be rolled out periodically.  That means you won’t know if your latest refinements actually made a difference until Pandas and Penguins come knocking on your door again.  And that is exactly why I wrote this post today.  I’ve had several people mistakenly believe they were hit by Penguin, when it was Panda (or vice versa).  And some were already making changes, based on the wrong assessment.  So, don’t prune your links if you were hit by Panda, and don’t gut content if you were hit by Penguin. Know what hit you, and then act.

Working in Google Analytics

1) Check Your Dates

The first thing you should do is launch Google Analytics and drill into Google Organic reporting.  Set the timeframe to April 1st through May 15th.  More on why May is important in a minute.  This will give you a good view of traffic by day during the various algorithm updates.  Remember, Panda was on 4/19, Penguin was on 4/24, and then a Panda refresh rolled out on 4/27.

In the graphs below, you can clearly see that one site was hit by Penguin while the other has been hit by Panda (twice).

A Website Hit by Panda Twice:

A Website Hit by Penguin:

Note: I explained above that you should set your final date to May 15th for a reason.  There has been a lot of chatter recently about another possible Google update.  I first received calls from webmasters on Saturday May, 12th about traffic fluctuations beginning on Friday, May 11th.  Some actually had their traffic bounce back after getting hit by Panda.  Barry Schwartz covered this on Search Engine Roundtable and Google said it was not a Penguin update or a Panda update.  One thing is for sure… there was some type of update.

2) Meeting Panda on a Weekend – Dimension by Keyword and Compare to Past

Now that you know which algorithm update hit you, you can start to determine the keywords that dropped.  Penguin rolled out on a Tuesday, while Panda rolled out on a Thursday, and then followed with a refresh on a Friday!  Since many sites see a natural dip late in the week and on weekends, it’s important to start understanding normal visitor trending, and which keywords potentially were hit.

First, within Google Organic, set the primary dimension to “Keyword”.  This will show you all of the keywords leading to your site from Google Organic during the timeframe.

Next, compare the dates after you were hit by Panda or Penguin with a previous timeframe to compare traffic by keyword.  To do this, click the date in the upper right hand corner of the interface and select a timeframe.  If you were hit by Penguin, select 4/24 to 5/15.  If you were hit by Panda, select 4/19 to 5/15.  Then click the checkbox for “compare to past”.  The default comparison will be the number of days immediately prior to the range you selected.  You can change that by selecting new dates to compare, if needed.

You will now be presented with all of the keywords leading traffic to the site, along with the percentage of increase and decrease (compared to the previous timeframe).  How awesome is that?  See a keyword drop by 75%, it probably got hit.  Then you can dimension that keyword by “Landing Page” to see which webpage got hit.  Spend some time here… the insights you glean could be incredibly valuable to your recovery efforts.

The Not So Obvious – Google Webmaster Tools and Filters

Although a lot of webmasters are familiar with Google Analytics, I find there are still many who don’t have Google Webmaster Tools set up.  As I mentioned in my post about Avoiding SEO Disaster During a Website Redesign, it’s essential to have GWT set up for your domains.  There is a wealth of information directly from Google… including messages from the Search Giant about the SEO health of your sites.  And yes, Google Webmaster Tools can help you determine which algorithm update hit your site.

1) Search Query Data

There is a tab in Google Webmaster Tools titled “Traffic” that holds a link for “Search Queries”.  This tab reveals the impressions and clicks for queries that returned your webpages in the search results.  Yes, you can see impression data and click data directly from Google properties.  While Google Analytics relies upon a click to your site, this data shows you how many impressions your content is receiving for queries on Google.  For our purposes, we can see the surge or dip in impressions and clicks as the various algorithm updates rolled out.

As you can imagine, this is a great way to see the impact of a certain algorithm update.  The default view is 30 days back, but you can now select a greater time range (up to 90 days).  Again, let’s check April 1st to May 15th to view impressions and clicks.

A Sample Search Queries Report in Google Webmaster Tools (Unaffected Website):

At this point, you can start to identify impression and click issues. If you were hit by Penguin, then you might see a steep drop-off on 4/24, and then lower levels beyond.  If you were hit by Panda, then you might see a steep drop-off on 4/19, and then again on 4/27 (if you were hit by both updates). Here is data I exported from Google Webmaster Tools for a site hit by Panda twice.

2) Focus on the Problem – Filter by Web

During my analysis of sites hit by Penguin and Panda, I noticed something interesting in Google Webmaster Tools.  For certain sites, using the filters available helped some webmasters hone in on their problem.  There is a “filters” button in the upper left-hand corner of the Search Queries report.  This lets you filter your results based on a number of criteria.  For our purposes, let’s filter by Google property.  Click the dropdown that’s labeled “Search” and choose “Web”.  That will filter your data by web-only searches, and will exclude Images, Video, Mobile, etc.

After doing this, you might see a more pronounced drop during 4/19, 4/24, and 4/27.  It will also enable you to view keywords that dropped from web search without mixing other Google properties in, which can skew the results.  For example, I analyzed several sites that actually received more impressions from Google Images after being hit by Penguin and Panda! Go figure… Removing that data provided a clearer view of the problem.

3) Export Your Data

Although Google Webmaster Tools recently rolled out an update enabling you to view up to 90 days of search query data, you can’t go back further… That means you should export the current data in order to archive it, work with it, and analyze it.  You will notice two buttons labeled “Download this table” and “Download chart data” under the trending graph.  Export your data now.

Summary – You Must Know the Problem in Order to Address It

Based on how Google rolled out Penguin and Panda recently, I’m finding it’s common for webmasters to be confused about which algorithm update hit their websites.  Penguin 1.0 and the latest Panda updates were so close that it’s easy to believe you were hit by one, when in fact, it could have been the other.  Use the techniques I listed in this post to help you determine which update really hit your site.  Then form a plan of attack knowing which cute animal you are dealing with.  Good luck.

Article source: http://www.searchenginejournal.com/penguin-or-panda-how-to-determine-which-google-algorithm-update-impacted-your-website/43751/

County Administrative Officer Jim Grant said this is the fifth budget of a “seven-year pain plan,” during which the county has sought to establish permanent structural balance.

It has reduced pension payouts by establishing a two-tier pension system, among other personnel moves, and has reduced the work force through retirement and attrition without layoffs.

The county budget interacts with and to some extent depends on the state budget, and Gov. Jerry Brown announced Monday that the projected state budget gap is $16 billion. Grant and his chief budget analyst, Assistant County Administrator Dan Buckshi, said they continually monitor actions at the state level.

Copies of the document are available at county libraries and online at www.slocounty.ca.gov.

Article source: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2012/05/16/2070020/county-budget-gets-first-look.html

School: Junior at Los Gatos High School

Accomplishments:

• Straight A student
• Webmaster for El Gato, the school newspaper for Los Gatos High School.
• Will be editor-in-chief next year
• Works after school at Roving Networks, a local networking company
• Aspiring aerospace engineer
• Accomplished outdoorsman who has hiked the Inca Trail in Peru

Key to Awesomeness:

Joey is a character whose occasionally acerbic nature masks a heart of gold, says proud father Bert Robinson.

“He is generous with his money and his time. He has a well-developed and often cutting sense of humor,” he notes, adding that he learned this about Joey when he was 4 years old and they were watching birds build a nest.

He says he asked Joey if he thought the mommy and daddy birds would soon bring food to the baby birds. “Only the mommy bird,” he replied.

“What does the daddy bird do?” dad says he asked Joey. “Mostly, he reads the newspaper,” he responded.

“Joey has a very logical mind, which makes him good at making arguments, occasionally to his parents’ chagrin. He regales his classmates with columns in El Gato in which he explores such burning topics as ‘Why won’t students park their cars in marked spaces?’ ” dad says.

His favorite cartoon character is the misanthropic rat, Rat, in Pearls Before Swine, whose adventures he reads every morning over breakfast, dad adds.

Joey is also devoted to his pets—his cat Pixel and his dog Clark. He is a big music fan whose favorite bands are Portishead, Massive Attack, the Knife, the White Stripes and Radiohead, according to dad.

Article source: http://losgatos.patch.com/articles/los-gatos-patch-whiz-kid-of-the-week-joey-robinson

St. George, UT (PRWEB) May 15, 2012

WebHostRanking.com is one of the best resources for web hosting reviews and information about related industry topics and opportunities. Started by industry professionals that have been involved in web hosting and related fields since the last 1990s, Web Host Ranking provides detailed, first-hand knowledge, experience, and help about topics ranging from creating a WordPress blog to dedicated server hosting and much more. The Web Host Ranking team is excited to announce the latest expansion of the site to include information and reviews on VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting, dedicated servers, and cloud hosting services. Webmasters that are frustrated with shared web hosting can check out the new categories at Web Host Ranking and get detailed information about other opportunities that may work better.

The Web Host Ranking website is updated several times a week with new How-to articles, web hosting reviews, awards, marketing tips, web host comparisons and more. Web hosting service providers can visit the Get Listed page and quickly learn what it takes to have their service reviewed on the Web Host Ranking site. Every review is unique and contains detailed information about the company and services they offer. There are many things, in addition to web hosting, involved in creating and maintaining a successful web presence. Many web hosts provide all the basic tools for building a website but have very few products or services that will help the webmaster understand search engine optimization, website marketing, and how to analyze website traffic and statistics. Web Host Ranking provides a one-stop place for webmasters to get help and information about each of these topics. Users can also compare hosts like BlueHost vs DreamHost to find which provider will best meet his/her needs.

The new categories on Web Host Ranking provide a unique opportunity for service providers that specialize in cloud hosting, VPS hosting, or dedicated server hosting to receive free advertising. Each company can advertise by way of a company review, through web hosting coupon offers, and can also provide other professional details through a web hosting interview with senior management or another designated staff member. Web Host Ranking is different from all the other web hosting review sites out there because they take the time to work directly with each web hosting service provider in an effort to represent the most accurate company information, current promo offers, and company values to the public. Web Host Ranking will also allow individual users to review a specific host he/she has had experience with; but every comment is moderated to prevent spam and fake reviews from ever appearing on the site.

Webmasters and web hosting service providers alike can benefit from the service and information provided by WebHostRanking.com . Visitors can visit the Get Listed or About Us page to get more information about Web Host Ranking or to get in contact with a member of the staff to ask questions or get more details about getting a service listed on Web Host Ranking. Companies that offer related services like domain name registration, SEO services, or ecommerce software should also contact Web Host Ranking for more information about getting a site or service listed and reviewed on the site. Visitors will find the best deals like the latest BlueHost coupon or other industry specials.

About WebHostRanking.com

Web Host Ranking was founded in 2009 by industry professionals who have a desire to share personal knowledge and experience with other webmasters and internet specialists. Visitors can follow Web Host Ranking on Twitter or Facebook to get the latest news and updates.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prwebcloud/hosting/prweb9505777.htm

Article source: http://www.chron.com/business/press-releases/article/WebHostRanking-com-Expands-Services-to-VPS-3562152.php

Shifting SERPs – It’s Not A Penguin Update Says Google

By: Navneet Kaushal
2012-05-15

With the SEOs struggling to sit up after the Penguin Update smack, there has been additional anxiety created by the rapid shifts in the SERPs noted in the past 24 hours. Webmasters have shared this on forums that Google search results are showing a lot of movement. The word spread that it was a Penguin 1.1 being rolled out by Google, but the search engine has denied this.

The search engine has responded to these queries of whether a Penguin refresh is being rolled out or not, by denying any Penguin update. In fact there has been no Panda refresh either by Google as well as other update from their end. This statement by Google has not made matters clear because the SERPs are fluctuating continually, as can be seen by the posts on the WebmasterWorld and Google Webmaster Help forums.

While there have been no confirmed reports of recovery from the Apr 24 rollout, but certain recovery methods have been shared on WebmasterWorld forums. These include:

1. Removing pages with thin content and sticking to original content pages.
2. Do not get more links for the affected site after getting rid of the poor content pages. Try to find out the bad links coming from disrepute sites and then take up anchor text dilution on these sites.

Have you noticed the changes in SERPs too? We are monitoring the situation and it is quite possible that it is a flux. Keep watching this site for the latest. Meanwhile to catch up on the latest on the Penguin, here is how webmasters are contemplating on ways to beat the Penguin. And some ideas for Penguin recovery.

Comments

View All Articles by Navneet Kaushal

Navneet has wide experience in natural search engine optimization, internet
marketing and PPC campaigns. He is a prolific writer and his articles can be
found in the “Best Articles” section of many websites and article banks. As
a search engine analyst , he has over 9 years of experience and his
knowledge is in application here.

Article source: http://www.searchnewz.com/topstory/news/sn-2-20120515ShiftingSERPsItsnotaPenguinUpdateSaysGoogle.html

Google’s Matt Cutts has put out hundreds of videos as part of his webmaster help series. I’ll assure you that nothing like what you’re about to hear has ever appeared in any of them.

Call it the anti-SEO help video of the decade, and if you’re a webmaster you can call it site suicide. You can laugh at this Matts Cutts parody video all you want, just don’t take any of its advice seriously.

“In addition to keyword stuffing, we look at links to porn sites. Not that many people tend to link that much to sites within the porn industry. That’s the sort of thing that’s going to be really rewarding for users, so link to porn sites. Could it be annoying? Yes, it could be annoying, but that’s perfectly fine.”

That’s one of the gems from this clever mashup from SEO guy Sam Applegate. He took (probably way to much) time to organize and analyze Cutt’s many videos and came up with this video on how to rank #1 in Google search. Except, as you may have derived from the last quote, this guide won’t have you ranking anywhere near #1.

“I do think that Bing or Blekko or Duck Duck Go are potentially doing illegal things like hacking sites,” says Cutts in fragments. Check it out below:

For his part, Cutts is aware of the video and his concern was with how much time it had to have taken its creator:

span {display: inline-block;width: 16px;background-image:url(http://images.ientrymail.com/socialditto/everything-spritev2.png);background-repeat: no-repeat;} p.dittoTweet span.timestamp a.reply > span {background-position: 0px 3px;} p.dittoTweet span.timestamp a.reply:hover > span {background-position: -16px 3px;} p.dittoTweet span.timestamp a.retweet > span {background-position: -80px 3px;} p.dittoTweet span.timestamp a.retweet:hover > span {background-position: -96px 3px;} p.dittoTweet span.timestamp a.favorite > span {background-position: -32px 2px;} p.dittoTweet span.timestamp a.favorite:hover > span {background-position: -48px 2px;}]]>

@mattcutts
Matt Cutts@seosammo wow, how much time did that take? 2 days ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

[h/t Search Engine Roundtable]

Article source: http://www.webpronews.com/watch-googles-matt-cutts-give-some-questionable-advice-on-ranking-1-2012-05

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I’m sure by now you’ve heard all of the hoopla over Google’s
recent Penguin Update. The forums are buzzing with SEO-ers up
in arms over the carnage. Matt Cutts has been whisked away to
an undisclosed location (not really) while Internet Marketers
by the gigabyte are showing up at his front door with torches
in hand looking for an explanation.

At least that’s what you might think if you were to read the
forums. Believe it or not, there are plenty of people benefiting
from the Penguin Update as well. It only makes sense. For every
site that gets bounced off the page there is a new site replacing
it. Yes, they are out there and they are quietly celebrating
Google and their beloved little monochromatic friend. So, how
can you be one of those celebrating? Easy, sort of. Here’s a
little something to get you started.

Step 1: Stop Complaining

Let’s get this out in the open first and foremost. This most
recent update to Google’s search engine algorithm is not perfect.
That’s right. Google did not take the time to personally test
all 88 billion possible searches that take place over the course
of the month to make sure each one is ordered exactly as you
would like. This was a sweeping change that touched pretty much
every possible term searched. Of course, if you are going to
cast out such a big net, you are bound to catch a few shopping
carts, tires, and dead bodies. Over the next few weeks the
algorithm will likely be tweaked and things will begin to settle
a bit. It happens every time. Stop whining about it. Google isn’t
going to all of a sudden reverse the update because Bob from
Nebraska isn’t happy.

Step 2: Get To Work

Whether or not you have been affected, if you are currently
residing on the dark side, it’s not too late to join us over
here on the light side (or whatever the heck you call the
opposite of the dark side). If you were not given a smack from
Google this time around, your day is coming if you think you are
going to keep getting away with shady link building, keyword
stuffing and spammy content. You are going to have to change
your ways at some point, so why not now? If you are looking for
a bulletproof solution to your search engine woes, here it is -
Become an expert.

That’s it. It’s simple logic. These updates are nothing more
than Google’s commitment to return the most relevant results for
the term being searched. If someone is searching for a dentist
in Hopeulikit, Georgia (yeah I know, that’s a real town – I
actually looked it up) Google is not going to want to show 10
dentists that are the best at link building. They want to show
the 10 best dentists in town. The experts. As an expert in your
field you can’t be ignored – not even by Google. Here’s a start
on how you do it.

Write Extraordinary Content

You are not going to be able to get away with that same old
regurgitated drivel if you want to be an expert. You are going
to have to come up with extraordinary content on a regular basis.
It’s tough. Not everything you write is going to be a Pulitzer
Prize winner. We’re all guilty of writers block or phoning it in
every now and then, including me – I mean, have you seen this
post? The important thing is that you can regularly get some
wood on the ball and write a really valuable blog post, e-book,
white paper, or case study that you can post on your website at
least once or twice a week.

Give It Away

Stop acting as though you are solely responsible for splitting
the atom and that you can’t share your secrets with anyone. You
should be giving away as much content as you can through blog
posts, e-books, webinars, videos, podcasts, seminars and
workshops. Get your message out there so people will know who
you are but more importantly so Google will know who you are. If
you have hundreds or even thousands of pages of QUALITY content
with your name all over it, isn’t it safe to assume that you are
going to be seen as a valuable resource by human and robot alike?
Don’t just take my word for it, in his post entitled “Where
Should You Put Your Content,” Chris Brogan puts it best in
saying “I tend to put my content out here as a faith walk, I
give away 90% and charge for 10% – it’s the Open Free Business
Model I preach teach.”

Social Media

Get out that flute and start practicing your pied piper routine.
You need to be leading the charge towards a better tomorrow and
social media is a great tool to get you in front of the
proverbial room and preach your gospel. That doesn’t mean to
oversell, harass, annoy or “friend collect.” It means to build
a substantial community. Then be an outstanding member of that
community. Be the one giving away tons of good information. Be
the one that helps others get what they want. Be the one that is
always accessible. Be consistent in your message. Eventually,
they will hold you up as their expert.

Build Quality Links for the Right Reason

Like it or not you still need other sites linking to yours. It’s
one of those things that still stands at the core of the Google
algorithm. That doesn’t mean that you have to hire a link farm
to create a bunch of spammy links. I know that’s the easy way
out, but experts don’t take the easy way out just because it’s
easy. Start visiting blogs in and around your industry and start
commenting on their posts. But here is the key – sound
intelligent, create value and add to the conversations in all of
your comments! This accomplishes a few things. It creates a link
to your website on a like minded blog with a lot of valuable
content. It also introduces you to a new audience that wouldn’t
normally have found you had you not said something that triggered
them to want to check you out further.

Write for Human Beings on Your Site

The content on your static pages like home, about us, services
and products needs to be compelling and written for a human
being. Don’t over SEO these pages by stuffing them with keywords,
making them longer than they should be or linking every other
word or phrase to another page on your site. Google won’t like
it and your visitors won’t understand it. Google is smart enough
to understand what the page is about if you write it well
without having to drill it into their heads.

Step 3: Keep Going

Look, this whole expert thing is not the easy route, I get that.
In fact, I’m sure there is a short cut in the Penguin Update
just waiting to be found and exploited. Don’t fall for it. What
happens when that hole gets filled by the next update and you’re
back to fighting for your life again? There is one thing that
short cuts, gray areas, and questionable techniques will never
have that being an expert will always. Sustainability. In the
end, there will never be an algorithm update that removes
websites for being too valuable. That’s your goal.

About The Author
Marc Ensign is an Internet Marketing geek specializing in search
engine optimization, social media and digital design.
Marc’s approach to success is based on embracing the rules
as opposed to finding the holes. While everyone else is
looking for the easy way out, Marc’s methodology is based
on putting in the work and building sustainable and
significant results.

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Article source: http://www.sitepronews.com/archives/2012/may/16.html