The SEO Blog from cognitiveSEO

Over-optimisation of targeted anchor text has been given a lot of importance by SEO experts, in a bid to avoid getting slapped by Google’s penguin update. We saw the effects of the penguin update on many websites that have unnatural anchor text distribution and, as anyone would expect, this should have been applied to the ‘payday loans’ niche but, surprisingly, this is still not the case. Any rational SEO would think anchor text distribution is crucial in a competitive and controversial [...]

Anchor text has always been a hot topic of discussion, but it's not more important than ever thanks to Google's algorithm changes that have affected link building. While most have known a natural link profile doesn't equal a majority of links with targeted keyword based anchor text, it hasn't stopped many SEO's from pursuing keyword anchor text heavily in their link building efforts for clients and many times, by the client's own request. What Might Be Considered Natural Anchor Text While ther [...]

There are many SEO tactics that could negatively influence a sites' ranking. The tactics presented in this article are 7 of the most important ones, that I consider you should avoid, as to the 2012 events (Penguin/Panda/other Google updates). They are both onsite and offsite tactics. (Note: LQ = Low Quality) 1. Directories (LQ) This is one of those "Post Penguin" tactics to avoid. Of course there are still, great human-edited directories that will give you quality links (even if paid). bo [...]

There is a lot of talk about Google’s continued algorithm changes, particularly Google Panda and Google Penguin. Most of the talk seems focused on what not to do or what strategies to employ to avoid being affected by these algorithm changes, but there are still plenty of people who don’t quite get how or why they are losing their rankings or what to do about it if they are. Today, we would like to rundown the past, present, and future of how Panda and Penguin affect your website and your bu [...]

Last year, potpiegirl found a document from Google, by searching the Google index, that was entitled "2011 Google Quality Raters Handbook". Today doing the same thing, I found a new leaked, 161 pages Google document entitled : "General Guidelines Version 3.27 - June 22, 2012" I will not provide a link to this document, due to obvious reasons, but you can try to search, either on Google or the Social Media sites and you will probably find it. What I will share with you in this post, is [...]

We always listen to our customers feedback. Your feedback has really guided the creation of this update. Thank you for being such a great customer! This update is more geared to SEO agencies and Professional SEOs that need reporting functionality. White-label capability PDF Export functionality The update is structured as follows : The $49 package gets the PDF export functionality (without the ability to customize the logo) All packages from $99 and up get the full White- [...]

I am starting a series of high quality SEO reports and Case Studies on variety of verticals. The first one that I chose is the "Online Gambling" vertical. This is one of the most competitive markets online. All these reports are in PDF format. To get the Free SEO report, I just ask for a Tweet. You will get real world case studies and a limited time discount on cognitiveSEO. PDF Quick snapshot Here are some pieces of content from the PDF report. "Contents 1. Introduction [...]

This is a guest article written by Traian Neacsu. He is the Director of SEO and co-founder of Pitstop Media Inc, a top rated Canadian SEO company that provides search engine optimization services to businesses across North America. The views of the author do not necessarily represent the views of cognitiveSEO. High authority, relevant backlinks are gold for search engine rankings. And we are always attempting to trace and to get our hands on them. When it comes to find the best backl [...]

"Before you continue reading this post you need to be aware that the case study presents actual data and results from Google. We do not endorse using these kind of black hat practices. We only present them as they are being used and abused. Maybe Google will fix these faster. All for the sake of search transparency ... " High rankings for highly competitive keywords are still being obtainable, post “Penguin”, with black hat practices. How do I dare to say that you might ask? Well bec [...]

Last week I asked Yousaf Sekander, who is the Group Head of Search & Social Marketing at ElevateLocal, one of our SEO Agency customers from the UK, if he would be interested in giving an interview on how they are using the cognitiveSEO toolset in their SEO endeavors. He agreed to give us the interview, and as a result here are the Q&A's : Please tell us a bit about yourself and the SEO agency you work for. I have been in the IT industry for just over 7 years in a professional capac [...]