HTC One VX (AT&T)

A year ago, the $49.99 HTC One VX for AT&T would've been a top-of-the-line superphone. Today it's just a beautiful smartphone?with solid specs and a budget price. The HTC One VX gets you a lovely display, plenty of power, and good battery life, all wrapped up in a phone that's very comfortable to use. Thing is, there are so many good phones out there right now that the HTC One VX isn't quite good enough unseat the Pantech Discover, our current Editors' Choice for budget smartphones.

Design and Call Quality
The HTC One VX may be inexpensive, but it looks like a million bucks. HTC's eye for design is on full display here, from the silver plastic rim around the display, to the matte white polycarbonate backing. Peeling it off gives you access to the microSD and SIM card slots, but alas, the 1800mAh battery has been sealed in. There's a volume rocker on the right side of the phone and a power button on top, but minimalism is the name of the game here.

The One VX measures 5.26 by 2.66 by 0.36 inches (HWD) and weighs just 4.37 ounces. Compared to many of the gargantuan new smartphones out there, it fits comfortably and naturally in the palm of my hand.

The 4.5-inch Super LCD 2 screen features 960-by-540-pixel resolution. It's bright and sharp, though not quite as impressive as the 4.8-inch, 720p display on the Pantech Flex. Still, the One VX is easier to hold. There are haptic feedback-enabled touch buttons beneath the display, which I find a little easier to use than the onscreen buttons on many new phones.

The One VX runs on AT&T's EDGE, HSPA+, and LTE networks. You also get 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, which includes support for the faster 5GHz band. I got very good reception and LTE data speeds in New York City, which has been true for most new AT&T phones. As we discovered in our?Fastest Mobile Networks?survey, AT&T's LTE speeds can exceed Verizon's, though Verizon and covers more of the nation. You can use the One VX as a mobile hotspot as long as you're using (at minimum) AT&T's $50 monthly 5GB data plan.

Call quality is pretty good. Voices sound full in the earpiece, though there's some fuzz and hiss. Calls made with the phone are very loud and clear, with average noise cancellation. Calls were fine through a Jawbone Era?Bluetooth headset and standard Android voice dialing worked well over Bluetooth. The speakerphone sounds good and is loud enough to hear outside. The 1800mAh battery was good for a whopping 14 hours and 21 minutes of talk time.

Hardware, Android, and Apps
Inside, the One VX is running on a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8930 processor. That isn't quite as fast as the 1.5GHz chip in phones like the Pantech Flex and Samsung Galaxy S III. But the One VX has a lower screen resolution, so it evened out in many of our gaming benchmarks, though the Flex is faster for browsing and in general. Still, at this level of processing power, you'll be able to run any app from the Google Play app store.

The One VX is running Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich), which is a little disappointing, since other new HTC phones like the One X+ are running Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). HTC promises an update, but as usual, there's no timeline for when. You also get HTC's Sense 4.1 overlay, which is a step behind Sense 4+, though it's similar enough.

(Next page: Multimedia, Camera, and Conclusions)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/hM5C0dSFoj8/0,2817,2414463,00.asp

whitney cummings maine caucus whitney houston has died blue ivy carter whitney houston death the vow the voice season 2

Google adds ARM support to Chrome's Native Client

Google's Native Client endowed x86 machines with the ability to run apps compiled from C and C++ right inside Chrome in 2011, and now ARM devices are finally getting their time to shine. Mountain View's latest Native Client SDK adds support for ARM hardware, and tweaking existing Native Client apps to run on the architecture sounds pretty painless. According to Page and Co., developers just have to add a new file extension to their app, tweak a manifest file and get ahold of the fresh SDK. ARM support is reason enough for developers to celebrate, but Google says it's working on a next-gen Portable Native Client that'll let apps work regardless of architecture and without having to recompile, to boot. If you're ready to start coding, hit the source link for more details.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Tablets, Internet, Google

Comments

Source: Google Chromium Blog

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/22/google-chrome-native-client-arm-support/

charlotte bobcats new york rangers nfl mock draft 2012 norfolk island michael brockers lisa marie presley florida panthers

64% of Dubai is built, under construction | Real Estate | AMEinfo.com

Posted by staff reporter
Tuesday, January 22 - 2013 at 06:30 UAE local time (GMT+4)

Replication or redistribution in whole or in part is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AME Info FZ LLC / 4C.

The information comprised in this section is not, nor is it held out to be, a solicitation of any person to take any form of investment decision. The content of the AMEinfo.com Web site does not constitute advice or a recommendation by AME Info FZ LLC / 4C and should not be relied upon in making (or refraining from making) any decision relating to investments or any other matter. You should consult your own independent financial adviser and obtain professional advice before exercising any investment decisions or choices based on information featured in this AMEinfo.com Web site.

AME Info FZ LLC / 4C can not be held liable or responsible in any way for any opinions, suggestions, recommendations or comments made by any of the contributors to the various columns on the AMEinfo.com Web site nor do opinions of contributors necessarily reflect those of AME Info FZ LLC / 4C.

In no event shall AME Info FZ LLC / 4C be liable for any damages whatsoever, including, without limitation, direct, special, indirect, consequential, or incidental damages, or damages for lost profits, loss of revenue, or loss of use, arising out of or related to the AMEinfo.com Web site or the information contained in it, whether such damages arise in contract, negligence, tort, under statute, in equity, at law or otherwise.

Source: http://www.ameinfo.com/64-dubai-built-construction-326614

Oscar Pistorius Aliya Mustafina Kirk Urso London 2012 Javelin roger federer Olga Korbut Usain Bolt 2012 Olympics

GoErie.com Blogs: Runners Notes - Just Write 3 ~ Like the wind

The wind wakes me. It sounds like a freight train outside the window above my head. I roll over, reaching for the cell phone on my nightstand. 5:38 a.m. I check to be sure my alarm is set and fall back asleep.

When the alarm goes off 45 minutes later, the wind is still roaring. I check my cell. No text messages, so I get up and go out to get the paper. Despite the wind, it?s pretty warm for January.

I check my phone again. Still no messages, so I get ready to go.

?You?re running?? Dan says incredulously.

?Nobody else canceled, and I?m not going to be the one to call off,? I say.

I pull into the gym at 7:02 a.m., the only car in the lot. While I wait, gusts rock my car.

We run into the wind the first half mile, but once we get below the gym, the wind disappears. Or maybe it doesn?t. Maybe it?s just lost, forgotten, as we run side-by-side, groaning our way up hills, talking our way through miles that rush by faster than the wind.

____________________________
About Just Write
?What ends up revealing itself when free writing is that everything has meaning. That is a magnificent gift of writing. If we write from a free heart-gut place, our souls start speaking.?

Source: http://www.goerieblogs.com/sports/runnersnotes/2013/01/just-write-3-like-the-wind/

Marissa Mayer Jon Lord Colorado shootings dark knight rises Aurora shooting James Eagan Holmes jeremy lin

5 Clever Ways Your Business Can Use Video to Drive Traffic ...

?My idea of good company is the company of clever, well-informed people who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company.? -Jane Austen

Tired of hearing about how video increases conversions? Yeah me too.

And I live and breathe online video.

However, you?re a savvy marketer. You read the Unbounce blog and probably other popular marketing blogs, so you don?t need to be pounded over the head about the fact that you should be using video.

You already know that video increases conversions and you?ve probably read these great posts:

So, let?s take a different approach. Let?s explore some businesses that are using video in clever ways and in places you?ve never dreamt of.

Here are 5 clever ways businesses are using video to engage with their audiences and grow their traffic.

Go K-Pop

How do you capitalize on a wacky yet addictive music video that has become this year?s biggest internet sensation known as ?Gangnam Style??

Simple, you create your own version of a wacky, yet addictive music video and call it ?Inbound Style.?

If you?re an avid reader of Hubspot, like myself, then you love the marketing tips they provide. But you also love their not-so-serious approach to marketing.

Sure we?re geeky marketers who enjoy a dinner conversation about the latest conversion tactics and social media trends, but sometimes we all like (and need) to take our shoes off, take in a long breath of fresh air and enjoy a little comedy.

For all the great content that Hubspot creates, it?s refreshing to see a little personality so we, as their audience, can have a deeper connection with the brand.

THE Unsubscribe Video

What happens when you click unsubscribe on one of the daily emails you receive from Groupon?

Well, the quirky brand we all know and love uses video to re-engage users during this process.

The video allows you to ?punish? Derrick for sending an email that you found irrelevant. If you decide to click on the ?punish? button, another person comes over to yell at him and throws some water in his face.

At the end of the video, you are able to show some pity on Derrick and resubsribe to the emails.

Even though there?s no audio in the video, the concept is genius and the first time I saw it, I resubscribed immediately.

It?s an amazingly clever use of video and has led to many other blogs writing about this simple unsubscribe page.

Although Groupon has since switched over to a more conventional unsubscribe page where you can manage your email settings, the fact that Mike Arrington created a video about Groupon?s unsubscribe page made it still worth mentioning.

Video Twitter Replies

What typically happens when one of our followers ask us a question on Twitter? We write a reply back to them as fast as we can or link them to the right page with the answers. Works perfectly fine right?

But how do you go above and beyond the norm and truly connect with your audience? Jen Rubio, Social Media Manager for Warby Parker, uses social media in unexpected ways to double the response rate and truly connect with followers.

Most people generally think of Twitter as a text-based social platform, but one of the most successful things that Warby Parker does on Twitter is reply to people with video responses.

The companies? followers frequently ask questions about the color, size and/or shape of a particular frame, and instead of just responding to them with a tweet, she and her team creates a video that shows them the difference between two frames.

Keeping things visual captivates your audience and produces great content with little to no time or money.

Targeted Customer Testimonials

Full disclosure: Sharefile is a customer of SmartShoot.

How did Sharefile become one of the biggest file sending services on the net getting acquired by Citrix in October 2011?
They used SmartShoot, of course. J to the k.

On a serious note, Sharefile understood the power of video and instead of just creating one overarching testimonial video they created multiple testimonial videos targeted at key target markets.

By creating industry specific landing pages along with industry specific customer testimonials, they?ve boosted user signups to their subscription service.

Click for full-size image

Create Your Own Whiteboard Animation

Have a loooooong piece of video content that you can?t wait to share with the world? Consider using a whiteboard animation video.

The beauty of these videos is that everything moves at an engaging pace and allows you to create longer videos without the fear of losing your audience.

One of my ABSOLUTE favorites is Dan Pink?s talk about the hidden trusts behind what really motivates us at home and in the workplace.

Now if you?ve got the budget you can certainly get a whiteboard animation through the SmartShoot platform, however, you?re looking at a minimum of $2,000 for a 60 second video.

Pat Flynn, a popular blogger and internet marketer, has a fantastic video that teaches you how to create your own whiteboard animation for just a few hundred dollars.

Pat states that ?with YouTube, I can reach more people than I ever could by just sticking to written content on my blog.? His YouTube channel has over 13,000 subscribers and 1.8 million views.

---

? Steve Young

---

---

---

---

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe for updates (it's free)

Get free optimization and conversion tips in your inbox.

---

Source: http://unbounce.com/online-marketing/5-clever-ways-your-business-can-use-video-to-drive-traffic/

all star game oscar red carpet daytona 500 start time ryan zimmerman oscars red carpet jennifer lopez wardrobe malfunction hugo

Determining Short and Long Term Financial Goals | MoneySense

By Frances Nikki Reve M. Estorninos, CSS, RFP Candidate (Batch 21)

Mr. and Mrs. Bobby and Cara Alvarez, both 31 years old, are government employees. They receive a monthly net income of P14,000 each. They have a four-year-old daughter named Karen. Bobby?s tenure in office is permanent while his wife is a contractual worker. Although they can both avail of GSIS, SSS, and Philhealth benefits, the two have no other kinds of insurance or any active will.

The Alvarez?s short term goals include Cara stopping work for a few months so she can review for the Bar exam. Meanwhile, her family will provide financial support at par with Cara?s current compensation during the time of her review. Cara?s parents also pledged support for Karen?s preschool tuition fees.

Bobby plans to take the Bar after a year. He wants to secure funds first for Karen?s elementary education as Cara?s parents promised to take care of Karen?s Nursery II tuition fees. The Alvarez?s also want to buy a new car and weighing the following housing options: (1) buy a rent-to-own condo, (2) build a house on a lot that will be part of Bobby?s inheritance or (3) continue to stay in Bobby?s family?s home.

Their long term goals (in five years? time until they retire) include securing their daughter?s high school and college education. Bobby considers retiring at age 55 with a monthly income of P50,000 (in today?s money).

Current Financial Situation

Bobby and Cara were able to set aside some savings and invested them. Bobby?s cooperative in his government office has a strong and consistent record of dividend repayments to all members. The cooperative allows members to deposit a maximum of P5,000 monthly which earns 3% interest per month. At the end of each calendar year, all the members must withdraw the interest for the year. The Alvarez?s has also put up a P150,000 fund where they were able to receive P51,788 in December.

Their statement of assets and liabilities as of December is as follows:

ASSETS
Cash ATM	Bobby	P13,000
Cash ATM	Cara	P8,000
Cash	Cooperative (3% per month)	P150,000
Cash	Stocks	P165,000
TOTAL ASSETS		P336,000
TOTAL LIABILITIES		P0
NET WORTH		P336,000

Making Goals

1. Determine areas with potential

   Although the Alvarez?s have no current liabilities, most of their money was spent during the Christmas season for shopping and debt payment. The couple also has a history of extravagant shopping during holidays and even uses their bonuses to pay for things. These need to be adjusted so they can get nearer their goals. It is wise though that they have not applied for a credit card to avoid possible impulsive buying and were able to pay all their liabilities (e.g. personal loans) the past year.

   Bobby started contributing to the cooperative fund with Karen?s education in mind. If he can consistently contribute P5,000 monthly, there will be dividends of P77,588.95 for this year. However, this needs to be evaluated if the fund will be enough for the child?s tuition fees. Nevertheless, the consistent 3% monthly return is unparalleled in other investment instruments. It is important though for the couple to learn how to diversify their investment basket for the family?s welfare.

2. Determine if the support pledged by Cara?s parents will be enough for the family?s needs

   Bobby and Cara both earn compensation so their taxes are withheld and they need not pay additional taxes when their Income Tax Returns are filed. At the moment, the couple and their daughter live in the home of Bobby?s father. For the past months, the Alvarez patriarch has been paying for the household utilities,

   Karen?s milk and part of the groceries, totaling P6,850 per month. Since Cara?s parents pledged support, projections of projected cash needs of the household were made assuming a monthly P14,000 allowance throughout her review. With this, all the basic necessities can be covered and the P5,000 a month coop contribution can be continued. The latter is necessary to better prepare the family?s finances when Bobby also starts reviewing for the Bar next year.

   Almost 94% of the family?s expenses are non-discretionary thus, their regular weekend mall outings must be adjusted and a minimal monthly allocation of P1,500 for leisure is recommended instead. The savings can be channeled for Karen?s clothing needs as well as P3000 monthly allowance for the child?s schooling, school projects, and transportation fees.

3. Anticipate major income and expense changes that may happen

   Bobby?s intention to take the Bar will coincide with a paid study leave for two months. He has requested that his current income be used as the basis. If Cara passes the Bar, the current family income will significantly increase. By then, a comprehensive review of this financial plan is suggested.

   Using a 5% inflation rate in computing for expenses, all the projected dividends from the cooperative in the next twelve months amounting to P77,588.95 will be used to cover the needs of the following year, including Karen?s tuition fee. In addition, a P30,000 per semester subsidy from Cara?s parents is also expected. However, this financial plan will have to be revised if another child is conceived.

4. Determine emergency funds needed

   Based on the Alvarez?s cash flow statement, the family?s average monthly expenses roughly comes to P40,000. With the available funds in their ATM savings accounts intended for the needs of the family for the year, it is suggested that Bobby and Cara set aside P120,000 of stocks fund as their contingency to be kept in a money market fund.

5. Determine if current employment conditions can sustain the family after the Bar exams

   Based on projections, the Alvarez?s will live with ease for the most part of the year. However, they may need to tap their emergency fund come November which can be replenished by December. Their current annual income only totals P534,000 while expenses are at P631,020 when Karen?s tuition fees will no longer be subsidized by relatives.

   Thus, the couple?s income must increase by at least 20% in three years? time and at least 5% annually onwards to cover for inflation, else the dividends from the coop will not be enough for its intended use which is to pay for Karen?s schooling.

Recommendations on educational planning

Karen?s preschool education is projected to cost around P70,000 annually while elementary, high school, and college education will cost P100,000 yearly in today?s value. Even if she is enrolled in a state university for college, the fees may still increase by 10% each year.

The couple is encouraged to consistently add P5,000 to their coop fund. Dividends in December 2013 must automatically be set aside for the tuition fees in June and November 2014. Fees for Nursery I and II will be subsidized by Karen?s parents in consideration of her Bar examinations. Dividends for December 2012 will be used to cover for other expenses in 2013. Starting 2015, excess funds can be re-invested in other instruments that pay 15% per annum return, which can be used for the family?s other goals.

Recommendations on retirement planning

Bobby and Cara want to retire by age 55 with a monthly income of P50,000 (in today?s value). Assuming an inflation rate of 5%, they will need P161,255 per month by that time. They both expect to live up to their 80s, with the assumption that all assets have been disposed by then. Returns during retirement will average 8% per annum as compared to the current expected rate until retirement of 15%.

As their current investments in stocks were reduced to P45,000 to give way to an emergency fund, this will translate to only P1,288,132.93 in Year 24. They also have set their contributions to the cooperative for retirement, provided that they consistently add P5,000 monthly to it until then. This will total to P1,650,000 by Year 24 and leave a lump sum gap of P34,989,896.45. This can be attained by saving at least an additional P15,823.43 per month earning 15% per year for the next 24 years.

If the couple?s retirement age will be adjusted to 60 (29 years from now), required monthly savings needed until Year 29 is P8,498.39. This can be further halved if the retirement age will be adjusted to 65 (34 years from now), which only entails P4,293.45 in monthly savings.

Considering the family?s current situation that they will need support from Cara?s family to weather through the BAR exam reviews, even an additional P4,293.45 to be allotted for retirement savings will result in negative cashflows for 2012 and 2013. Thus, it is advised that they start adding investments for retirement right after their respective BAR exams. This will mean that if they start saving for retirement two years from now, they will have to set aside P19240.87, P10314.27 and P5248.04 to retire comfortably by 55, 60 or 65, respectively.

Another potential source of retirement savings is the excess funds generated from the coop deposits which shall be invested in instruments that pay 15% per annum return. This way, the required savings needed for retirement will be lighter.

Bobby and Cara are also advised to resume pooling funds for retirement after their BAR exams at age 33. This plan reinvests the excess dividends from their coop deposits in investment funds earning 15% per annum. They will only need to save P12,062.46 to retire at 55 or P433.47 at 60. The option to retire at 65 does not require additional savings for retirement and even yields excess funds of P36,195,025.05 at Year 64 or 2045. Among the choices, the best plan is to target age 60 for retirement so that they can still enjoy their retirement benefits.

Another scenario is to (1) adjust the monthly retirement income making it only P45,000 from their desired P50,000 and (2) instead of allotting all excess coop dividends for retirement, only half will be invested while the rest will be spent for the family?s special needs. The latter will result to a P14.5 M projected amount by retirement year, which will help lower the lump sum gap.

If the retirement plan monthly income is reduced to P45,000, it will only require a P4904.19 monthly savings for the couple which will start two years from now, when it is assumed the family?s finances will be more stable after they have both taken the Bar exams. This retirement plan is best recommended for the couple.

Recommendations on special needs planning

Based on the current state of the family?s finances, the decision to buy a condo or build a house on a lot that Bobby will inherit eventually, will postpone their retirement goals if they will seek to pay for mortgage using the excess dividends (amount left from the tuition allotment) from the coop. Unless the family?s income will be augmented, the family may not yet be ready for these goals in five (5) years.

Five years from now, by 2016, only P14,801.87 will be available if the excess dividends in 2015 and 2016 can generate 15% interest when invested. Thus, this fund may not be ready for purchase of house or car by 2016, but it can supplement their budget if substantial increases in their income happen.

Recommendations on insurance planning

The protection needs of the family must also be considered should untimely demise happen. This will be best prepared for through life insurance. To compute for Bobby?s and Cara?s coverage necessitates the following steps:

1. Determine the immediate cash needs for living expenses ? Immediate cash needs cover expenses up to six (6) months after death with the assumption that the widow(er) will resume work afterwards.
2. Determine the present value needed for education fund ? The family must have P907,460.28 invested today at 15% per year to cover for Karen?s education.
3. Determine funeral expenses, medical expenses (net of Philhealth), emergency fund, present value of the retirement shortfall needed and insurance coverage needed ? insurance coverage for Bobby should be P2,086,825.36; while, Cara needs P1,932,134.4. It is recommended that they subscribe to Permanent Insurance Life Policies with the respective face amount. These have cash values that can supplement their retirement income needs. They can choose to pay for it for a fixed number of years. This is the best way to protect their family?s welfare.

This financial plan is to be implemented effective January 1, 2012.

Source: http://moneysense.com.ph/planning/determining-short-and-long-term-financial-goals/

arkansas razorbacks trisomy 18 ozzie guillen ozzie guillen buster posey eric holder eric holder

Matching Google Algorithm to Your Traffic Loss - WordStream

When website traffic drops, and it?s clear that you were not the cause of it, it?s time to point your finger at Google, rant, and maybe even cut down that 6000 word rant into an informative 3700 word blog post. This SEO is spending Christmas Eve with Google so hopefully you won?t have to.

This is the type of early Christmas card you would not want from Google.
?

?It?s probably that darn Google Panda,?

?I feel like it?s Penguin and negative SEO!?

or

?It might be those directory submissions/paid links that so-and-so did in the past?

Before you go on a zealous ?Google is evil? blame rampage, I understand that there?s a ton of ways to blame Google (or someone else) without proof. However, empty accusations will not get you your traffic back. Attributing traffic loss to a Google algorithm update is no easy task. In this post, I?ll outline a bunch of tools, resources, methodologies, and know-how you can use to evaluate potential Google algorithm updates and refreshes* that could be responsible for your sudden loss of traffic.

Warning: To make this post digestible, I?ve excluded things that I consider ?features? of Google Search. When Google updates these features, you could either gain or lose traffic as well.

Table of Contents:

Step 1: Gathering News on Google SERP Volatility

• Tools:
  • MozCast
  • SERPmetrics
  • SERPS.com
• News Sources:
  • Authoritative search engine marketing news websites
  • Webmaster World discussions
  • From Google

Step 2: Picking the Right Dates to Analyze

• The art of framing the question and measuring the right stuff

Step 3: Identifying Your Most Impacted URLS

• How to export, list, and rank landing pages with significant traffic loss

Step 4:? Match Your Landing Page to That Google Algorithm

• Algorithm Updates:
  • Google Panda
  • Penguin
  • Exact Domain Match Update
  • Pirate Update
  • ?Top-Heavy? Update
  • 7 SERPS Update
  • Vince Change
  • Brandy Update
  • Unknown Updates/Changes
• Google Features
  • Expanded Sitelinks
  • Universal Search
  • Personalized Search
  • Google Instant
  • Freshness Update (AKA Caffeine)
  • Real-time Search
  • Knowledge Graph
  • Google Authorship
  • Social Signals
• Local
  • Venice Update
  • Google Places
  • Negative Reviews
  • Google Mobile Search

Step 5: Don?t just Blame Google, Do Something!

• Prepare your content for the next Google Search trends.

Step 6: Diversification is the Best Long Term Solution

• Non-Google traffic alternatives

TLDR; If you have the SEO ninja powers to understand or foresee what Google update you have been hit by, you can remedy or set long-term plans where you won?t be affected by Google?s periodic whims!

Tis The Season to Chase Google Algorithm Updates

While the holiday season is notorious for seasonal SEO traffic changes for B2B and B2C keywords alike, I was seeing unusual traffic changes that started on December 5^th, and continued on the 10^th and 13th. This was odd, since it wasn?t just the traditional week before Christmas where vacation days aren?t uncommon.

12/18/2012 Update: A Google spokesperson says there was no Google Algorithm ?update? on the 13^th. The rest of us are certain that there was some kind of change or a series of changes ? this wouldn?t be the first time we?re having trouble interpreting Googlespeak. For example, what SEO?s named the ?Vince Update,? Googlers would simply consider a small change to the overall algorithm. Personally, I think Google?s either making a series of changes (they make over 500 a year) or running tests (on any given search query from an average user, there may be 10 elements being tested).

One may be a fluke,
Two is a trend,
Three means we better figure out what?s going on.
-Wise Words of Larry Kim

Now without further ado, let?s dig into the analysis. You will need:

- A website whose organic traffic just recently declined
- A browser capable of private/incognito/InPrivate/anonymous search. The latest editions of Firefox, Chrome, and Internet Explorer all allow you to browse the web anonymously.
- A Google Analytics account correctly linked to said website

Optional: A backlink tool such as Google Webmaster Tools, Majestic SEO?s Site Explorer or SEOMoz?s Open Site Explorer.

If there truly is a Google algorithm update or change, chances are you?re not the only one with altered search engine results pages (SERPs). Here are the places I checked to see if I?m just being the boy who cried wolf:

MozCast

SEOMoz?s handy-dandy MozCast tool tracks the SERPs on over 1,000 hand-picked, non-local keywords and displays ranking volatility through cute-looking weather forecasts. The more search results are changing, the hotter the weather forecast becomes. Search enthusiasts, I encourage you to understand the source of this data, and familiarize yourself with the other concepts such as SERP count, EMD and PMD tools offered.

December 10^th just so happens to be one of those stormy days - check.

SERPmetrics

SERPmetrics uses a different scoring system to calculate what they call ?flux,? which is the average of all SERP movement they track over their last period, weighed towards the top end. Slightly different methodology than the MozCast, but same concept, AND we?re seeing the same trends.

After December 10th, SERP flux goes upwards - Double checked.

SERPs Volatility Index

SERPS.com creates their own SERPs Volatility Index with their own sample of 1000+ websites, as opposed to hand-picked keywords from select industries. What?s nice is that there?s even an average volatility to help you gauge whether a trend appears significant. Special thanks to Scott Krager for spending some time explaining how the index works.

After December 10th, SERP volatility trends upwards beyond the average date ? Ding ding ding!

Webmaster World Forums

Leave it to the webmasters of the world to tell you if they?re also freaking out. The Google SEO News and Discussion section in Webmaster World Forums is a goldmine for news and insights. If you would like to comment and add to the discussion, please remember to stick to the facts and not your emotions.

70-90% drop in traffic? WordStream must be incredibly lucky! I?m not the only webmaster freaking out? Looks like this will make a nice story.

Search Marketing News Sources: SEL, SEW, SEJ, SERoundtable, and Google

When it comes to confirming a Google algorithm update, these news sites are usually the first to comment on the impact. However, note that their specialty is in news reporting, not speculation ? so it?s nice to get to the source ? Google. If you?re not already following A Googler or Matt Cutts on Twitter, it?s a smart idea to subscribe to Google?s search blog.

@Google is Google?s official Twitter account.

The distinguished Google Engineer Matt Cutts is well known for his webmaster videos on YouTube and answering the question of website owners.

Google has become increasingly transparent about the changes they make in their search algorithm. The only problem is that many of them are cryptically named updates like Porky Pig, smoothieking, and old possum.

Important Disclaimer: Just because it?s not on the news, it doesn?t mean that one of Google?s many search algorithm improvements didn?t impact your web traffic ? even if your overall organic traffic stays constant, it?s very likely that huge SERP movements will negatively impact some of your content while helping others. Step one is purely exploratory to help you test the waters.

Comparing the traffic change date ranges correctly to a good benchmark is practically half of this exercise. With experience, you?ll get a sense of how you?ll want to analyze your data.

1.?????? Because our organic traffic follows a weekly cycle, I could compare the current traffic drop to the same date the prior week, or two weeks prior (use your judgment here).

2.?????? I always want the highest precision possible to minimize data sampling error.

Pro Tip: Always be weary of year-over-year trends (i.e. comparing a non-holiday to a holiday range) and one-time special events (presidential election) from your results. Use your judgment on what makes sense ? a bad range will show misleading results.

For my own analysis on what happened on December 10^th, I used the traffic data two weeks prior to the suspected algorithm changes. I had reason to believe that something fishy may?ve occurred on the 5^th, so I did not want to analyze traffic changes that could?ve been caused by multiple updates. There is no perfect or best date ranges to analyze, but there certainly are darn good ones with good reasoning behind them and this is one of them.

Ever since SEOMoz, Raventools, and even Ahrefs have been getting slapped by Google?s API legal terms enforcement team, many of us have lost faith in rank-checking tools. Time to go back to checking good-ol? traffic folks via Google!

1. Log onto your Google Analytics

2. Dig into your Standard Reporting with Content ? Site Content ? Landing Pages and adjust the dates and rows shown (I like to maximize it to 500). Also make sure you have the Advanced Segment ?Non-paid Search Traffic? highlighted.

3. Export the data into an editing friendly format. Excel users, I recommend using the file types .csv and .xlsx. Hipsters, you?re free to use Google Spreadsheets.

4. Find the traffic lost between the period where you believe there?s an algorithm update to the benchmark period prior for each landing page.

4a. Curse at how unfriendly the data format is to do this.

5. Rank the landing pages by the total traffic lost!

5a. Curse more if you?re not very good at Excel?s List and Filter function.

Here are the top 10 landing pages that were impacted by December 10^th:

6. Group similar pages together and make a hypothesis. Seeing that five out of ten of our top traffic loss landing pages was related to our infographics ? content that accrued a large number of anchor-text optimized links in a short amount of time ? I first suspected that this was a Google update on links, anchor text and/or semantically related keywords.

This is where SEOs pats themselves on the back and remember why we love our job. Tracking Google algorithm updates to website traffic is like playing detective searching for clues that point to the culprit. Usually it makes sense to start with your hypothesis (you want to hone your SEO senses) but let?s start with the most popular suspects.

These Google updates are the most like culprits for the traffic loss. (If you need more technical SEO interview questions, any of these algorithms are fair questions to ask an SEO!)

Google Panda Update

Google Panda defined: Google?s Panda algorithm cracks down on thin content/shallow content, sites with high ad-to-content ratios, and other signals that indicate low web content quality. To date, Panda has been updated over 20 times, and cumulatively impacted over 20% of all English queries.

Why so many updates? Googler Navneet Panda didn?t just build an algorithm ? it was a machine learning system. Panda is an algorithm with an AI that improves over time. The scariest thing of course, is that Panda is a site-wide penalty.

One of the few Google algorithms you can put a face to.

Algorithm assessment: The easiest way to check for a Panda update is to see if all of your web pages are seeing significant traffic decline. The next step is to assess just how useful your website content is. The WordStream landing pages affected are all long, in-depth articles with original perspective. We were not hit by Panda.

Pro Tip: Article submission websites, which were once touted as an SEO best practice, were negatively impacted by the Google Panda update. These websites were rarely ever visited by real people, and were essentially just a web content and links middleman intended to manipulate Google search engine rankings. Keep your web content unique, useful, and thoughtful and you?ll be clear off the path of the Panda?s wrath.

Google Penguin Update

Google Penguin defined: The Google Penguin algorithm (AKA Webspam Update) is notorious for the heavy crack-down it does on websites engaging in linking practices intended to manipulate search engine rankings, but also includes SEO techniques that violate Google?s Webmaster Guidelines. These techniques include keyword stuffing, cloaking, sneaky redirects/doorway pages, purposeful duplicate content, and others. Like Panda, Penguin rolls out in iterations, and I believe the penalty is site-wide as well, but it has not been confirmed by Google.

Algorithm assessment: First, I looked to see if these landing pages are somehow getting linked by websites from bad neighborhoods (e.g. porn/gambling sites). To do this, I logged into Google Webmaster Tools/Open Site Explorer/Majestic SEO and delved into each page?s link profile. Actually visit the sites that are linking to the page if you don?t know them, and then look for patterns. It?s not always the latest links that occur that bring down your traffic ? old links are sometimes lost, broken, or hacked into doing something else.

Seeing that all 10 landing pages were getting URLS from different, trustworthy domains (with a mix of ugly scraper sites in each) and generally had healthy links (e.g. links from the New York Times), I knew we were not being subjected to spammy link practices.

Pro Tip: Link tracking tools are necessary to find out if your website has been participating in spammy link practices in the past, or has been the target of a negative SEO attack. The more advanced user will also look at the ratio of varying anchor texts that lead to your landing pages. Visit Google Webmaster Tools, Open Site Explorer, and Majestic SEO to learn more about them.

If you?ve knowingly attempted to manipulate search engine rankings through other means that are in Google?s Webmaster Guidelines? grey or red zones, this tutorial is simply too basic for you ;)

Exact Match Domain Update

Exact Match Domain defined: The Exact Match Domain (EMD) algorithm update was created to prevent SERP domination from domains that are exact matches to the keywords they were targeting. Typically, domains struck by this update have thin content that?s considered low-quality. The EMD update also rolls out periodically like Penguin.

Algorithm assessment: I started by using Google Search with a browser in private browsing mode. If you search for the main keyword variations that are driving traffic to your landing pages and you see competitors with exact match domains beating you in the SERPS, you?ll know that they?ve either improved their page or Google made an exact match domain algorithm change. From my perspective, it looks like an exact match domain algorithm refresh since their website content seems unchanged.

Unfortunately for us, googlekeywordtool.com is a no-nonsense navigational toolbox which people continue to use in order to access Google?s AdWords Keyword Tool ? we?ve been head to head with this URL for a while.

Pro tip: Be extra careful with typing in your query, as Google results are known to change as you retype mistakes. (Yes Google is that darn smart when it comes to personalization) and note that this method isn?t perfect as it is still being adjusted for your connection geography. If any of your links show up as purple (clicked in the past) you?re doing it wrong!

Pirate Update (DMCA Warnings)

Google Pirate defined: When Google receives a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) take-down notice from a copyright owner on some questionable content hosted on Google, Google listens in two ways. First, copyrighted content is removed at the copyright owner?s demands if there?s a clear violation. Then, if a website accumulates an unhealthy number of DMCA take-down requests, the Pirate Update penalizes the whole website from ranking well on Google.

Algorithm assessment: Unless you?re a black hat spammer stealing someone else?s content as your own, running a file-sharing site without copyright enforcement, or some other internet crime syndication platform, I wouldn?t worry about Pirate. For most of us out there, before you make the mistake of grabbing ?free? images on the web, it?s a good idea to check to see if it has some sort of licensing.

Pro tip: If you can?t find the source, use a reverse image search tool to help you make informed decisions without getting in trouble with the law. If you plan on optimizing images for image search, it?s best to own unique images.

?Top Heavy? Update

Top Heavy defined: The Top Heavy Google update penalizes websites with too many ads being shown to a user when they first enter their website. There have been reports of regaining rankings when excessive ads were removed and the website was revisited by the top heavy algorithm. Like the EMD algorithm update, Top Heavy also periodically refreshes.

Here?s a layout of a top-heavy website.

Algorithm assessment: Unfortunately, WordStream is not involved in affiliate advertising to comment on this update.

We?ll welcome the expert bloggers of our site to comment on their experiences with the Top Heavy update.

7-Result SERP Update

7 SERP defined: The 7-Results SERP algorithm update isn?t a penalty per se, but a new feature Google uses to present information to the searcher. Typically, the usual page with 10 search results gets truncated to 6-9 results on the first page (7 is the most common occurrence) and the top SERP is a Google sitelink. If you need another reason why rank-checking for SEO should die, here you go. However, the topic of rank-checking is another debate for another informative post!

Algorithm assessment: Of the landing pages impacted, only our /google-adwords page has been impacted by the 7-Results SERPs, and it pre-dates December 10^th.

However, a quick check reveals our Google AdWords page has two new competitors ? the New York Times and Search Engine Land? fishy!

Pro Tip: Generally speaking, 7-Results SERPs occur on navigational queries which have a result with expanded sitelinks. If you?re competing on a branded terms, this would be an update to keep an eye on.

Vince Change

Vince Change defined: Also known as the ?Google favors brands? update, back in 2009, a Googler named Vince factored in more trust (quality, PageRank, reputation, authority, and other metrics) into the algorithm for general queries. As a result, webmasters were seeing big brands gain a lot more ground than small brands in the SERPs. Note that Vince does not impact long-tail queries.

Case study analysis: The keyword ?Google AdWords? is a prime example of how different brands have different strengths when viewed from a Vince perspective. The New York Times was able to penetrate the SERPs of an already heavily branded keyword due to having great online authority (PR9, quality news, and many trustworthy authors) and break through Google?s branded AdWords wall of defense. WordStream is definitely seeing something that suggests a Vince-like update, since most of the pages updated target ?Google? or ?AdWords? keywords.

Pro tip: Big brands can easily bully you out for generic keywords. Either build your brand and become one of them, or focus on the long-tail. To become a big brand on the internet, you?ll need to build amazing backlinks.

Brandy Update

Brandy Update defined: Going even further back to 2004, this update gives additional weight to keyword synonyms and other semantically related keywords. This was also when anchor text variations and the ?neighborhood? of pages with inbound links started being considered as important ranking factors.

Case study analysis: If you?ve looked for the big Penguin in terms of link neighborhoods and webspam such as keyword stuffing, Brandy will remind you that semantics are important on your website content, internal links, and even the anchor text of other websites linking to your content. Having used infographics as a means to garner links and co-citations from news sites, I knew that the embed codes of our Infographics could be creating an unnatural looking backlink profile. However, this doesn?t rule out the possibility that less weight may be given to links acquired through infographics. Anchor text distribution was a legitimate area of concern for us.

If the main keyword you?re targeting is ?Google AdWords? but a lot of incoming anchor text links say ?adwords grader? instead, it made sense as to why we were losing ground on Google AdWords.

A natural link profile will have branded hyperlinks, full urls, missing anchor text, and sometimes even misspellings. A ?normal? link profile will vary by the competition in a particular keyword space.

The charts above was created with Open Site Explorer data. If you?re looking for free tools, I?d recommend a simple ahrefs account. All of their features should be fully functional till mid-January, which is when Google will force them to comply with the newest API guidelines. Alternatively, backlinkwatch.com is also an option ? it?s slower than a paid tool, filled with annoying ads, but it?s hard to beat free.

Pro tip: If you?re budget strapped, brain dead or don?t have top-notch keyword research skills, you can always use Google?s Related searches tool as a crux. Otherwise, use WordStream?s Keyword Tool to find semantically related keywords. Before you start stuffing these keywords into your article, please hire a writer to do it in a manner that is natural and elegant.

Unknown Updates/Changes

I?m sorry, but Google is a black box and we can?t know everything about Google. There are plenty of algorithmic reasons as to why you may have lost website traffic that I haven?t described here, and only Google knows. Sometimes it?s suspected that there is more emphasis on trust signals like AuthorRank, other times it?s a focus on keyword semantics or the incorporation of social signals ? it?s impossible to pinpoint exactly what is going on by yourself, so make sure you analyze, test, and cross-check with webmasters around the world.

I hope you now have a better idea of a few parts that goes into Google?s algorithm, and how to attribute the traffic loss your top pages are experiencing. However, don?t just stop there ? you weren?t hired to whine!

At WordStream, we?ve already found ways to diversify incoming link anchor texts, create better lists of semantic keywords to our content writers, and shift our content focus away from infographics in preparation of Google?s current and future algorithm shift.

If it all works out, we?ll have recovered and bested Google?s algorithm for the long run!

If Google pulls a quick one on your organic traffic, is your business dead? For the long run, Google?s bound to make algorithmic updates that will cause your traffic will fall whether you like it or not.

To minimize the impact of this loss, it?s a great idea to invest in social media marketing for a steady stream of referral traffic, e-mail marketing for direct traffic to your website, or God forbid you forget PPC for a steady stream of qualified leads.

Online marketing is a marathon, and I sincerely thank you for running with us.?

?

Source: http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2012/12/24/google-algorithm-update-changes

academy award nominations cynthia nixon cspan state of the union drinking game oscar noms capital gains tim thomas