Month: May 2018

Reboot your router to avoid Russian malware, FBI warns:

Reboot your router to avoid Russian malware, FBI warns: What you need to know

In some cases, a full factory reset may be required

By

Senior Editor, PCWorld | MAY 30, 2018 8:53 AM PT

Your gateway to the Internet may be the portal that foreign hackers are using to snatch your data. The FBI recently issued a security noticewarning that all home and small office routers should be rebooted after Cisco’s Talon group discovered sophisticated Russian-linked “VPNFilter” malware infecting at least 500,000 networking devices.

Here’s what you need to know about VPNFilter and the FBI’s guidance to reboot your router—which might not even safeguard against the malware completely.

Original Article Here

 

Google: how we choose pages for featured snippets

Google: how we choose pages for featured snippets

BY · MAY 18, 2018

In a webmaster hangout on YouTube, Google’s John Mueller shared useful information about the content Google uses for featured snippets.

What are featured snippets?

Featured snippets are also called ‘position zero’ results. Featured snippets are listed at the top of the search results pages.

These special search results include a summary of the answer, extracted from a webpage, plus a link to the page, the page title and URL:Google featured snippet example

According to Google, featured snippets are normal search results, emphasized with special layout. Google shows featured snippets when they recognize that a query asks a question. Google’s algorithm programmatically detects pages that answer the user’s question, and display a top result as a featured snippet in the search results.

Google’s John Mueller commented on featured snippets

In the webmaster hangout, John Mueller said that high EAT factors (expertise, authority, trustworthiness) that are used in Google Search Quality Evaluators guidelines do not guarantee featured snippets for your website:

“Generally speaking it’s not the case because you have an important website that we’re automatically including everything that you write as a featured snippet.”

He added that the relevance of a web page to the query is important:

“We look at a number of factors when it comes to featured snippets. Part of that is really relevance to understand what makes sense to show to users for individual queries.”

The FBI Says Your Router Is Helping Russian Hackers

The FBI Says Your Router Is Helping Russian Hackers

But there’s one simple thing you can do to fix it.

JAMILAH KINGMAY. 27, 2018 1:12 PM

 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation made an announcement on Friday that went a bit under the radar, but is huge: Russian hackers devised a sophisticated malware system that has infected hundreds of thousands of internet routers in the United States as part of its ongoing effort to undermine American democracy.

“Foreign cyber actors have compromised hundreds of thousands of home and office routers and other networked devices worldwide,” the agency wrote on a public service announcement released on Friday. “The malware is able to perform multiple functions, including possible information collection, device exploitation, and blocking network traffic.”

The agency called the size and scope of the problem “significant.”

The FBI says that the Russian hacker group “Fancy Bear” is behind the new malware. Fancy Bear is reportedly directed by Russia’s military intelligence agency and is responsible for hacking into the Democratic National Committee ahead of the 2016 presidential election. An estimated 500,000 routers in at least 54 countries were infected with the malware. And devices from major router manufacturers including Linksys, MikroTik, Netgrear, and TP-Link were all affected.

The FBI has since seized a domain name associated with Fancy Bear, www.toknowall.com, which it says was a critical part of the malware’s “command-and-control infrastructure,” according to the New York Times.

“This court-ordered seizure will assist in the identification of victim devices and disrupts the ability of these hackers to steal personal and other sensitive information and carry out disruptive cyberattacks,” Scott W. Brady, United States attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, said in the statement to the Times.

Worried that you’re router’s been compromised? The FBI recommend several steps, including rebooting it, disabling remote management settings, and using a stronger password, especially when encryption is enabled.

 

original article

50 Ways to Get Quality ‘White Hat’ Backlinks

50 Ways to Get Quality ‘White Hat’ Backlinks

Obtaining “white hat” SEO links is really only in part about the link itself. It’s also about serving the audience and community of the site that links to you … and real relationships.

People should link to you because you have earned the link, not because you bought or bartered for it.

It is our opinion that link building is less about the number of links and more about the number of linking domains from within your industry. Quality over quantity always.

Our list of 50 ways to get quality SEO backlinks is different from other link-building-idea lists in one important way. We stay focused on how you can add value for your ultimate audience through your website.

Then, with a little extra effort, you can get a link from other sites serving that same audience.

original article here

11 Local SEO Myths Debunked Once and For All

11 Local SEO Myths Debunked Once and For All

Local SEO myths – what a tangled topic to discuss. You might get caught on the subject and start feeling intimidated thinking of the high amount of work you must do to rank in local SEO. Which, obviously, is unreal. Don’t get us wrong: it’s difficult indeed, but far from impossible.

In the local SEO area there are always new things to discover that can help your business get new customers, improve your visibility and get more local searches. Let’s bury all the local SEO myths and misleading strategies. Today, we’ll get this topic straight once and for all.

1. Claiming Your Website in Google Is a Surefire Way to Boost Your SEO

Claiming your website in GoogleMyBusiness can bring lots of benefits. But, on the other hand, it is misleading to say that claiming your website in GMB can skyrocket your local rankings. This action has lots of other benefits. It can not assure you high rankings.

What it can do instead, is generate traffic to your site and social accounts, target local clients to your offline location, get higher visibility on Google search and maps.

Listing your business in Google can help you increase your local rankings, but there are lots of other steps you need to take to say it will definitely bring a higher position. Google’s guidelines explicitly tell you what you need to do in order to help your website rank in local search, but that is not a guaranty if you don’t do it right.

One of the most important aspects to keep in mind is to keep improved information about your business and have:

  • Accurate business information regarding NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number);
  • Updated working hours (make sure you select the dates when your office is closed, such as national days or celebrations);
  • Correct coordinates to your location;
  • True pictures of your product and services;
  • Responses to your reviews to show to your clients you value their opinions and want to build a relationship.

In the era when everybody stays with the mobile phone in their hand, it is stupid not to take advantage of that behavior and get your store into users’ attention by claiming your website in GMB.

Imagine you go to Madrid, you visited Santiago Bernabeu and what to eat something. It’s your first time in the city, don’t know much, you speak a different language. How do you find a place? By foot, it could be tricky and difficult because you don’t know which way to go.

At that moment you can search on maps “restaurants near you”. The easiest and most effective way to find a place where you could eat. You can get lots of recommendations:

The bottom line is that claiming your website in Google is not a surefire way to boost your SEO. Besides claiming it, you have a lot of information that you need to add and there are a lot of factors that can influence the local rankings.

Listing your business in Google can bring you lots of other benefits, such as targeting local clients offline and generating organic traffic to your online website and social media accounts, increasing visibility on Google search and maps, building trustful relationships, creating awareness, and so much more.

original article here

Answers to email marketers’ niggling questions about GDPR

Answers to email marketers’ niggling questions about GDPR

Contributor Kyle Henderick consults with his colleague to dispel likely areas of confusion about the data regulation.

on May 24, 2018 at 1:45 pm

If you’ve paid attention to the news in recent months, you know that the EU’s new consumer data privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), goes into effect at the end of this week (May 25, 2018).

Under the regulation, all businesses that handle personal data about EU citizens are required to follow strict guidelines for the collection, use and protection of that data. Additionally, businesses must give consumers the option to request erasure and opt out of profiling.

The GDPR is a move in the right direction. Consumers are warier than ever before about how businesses collect and use their data, especially in the wake of massive data breaches from companies like Equifax. Given the potential consequences of personal data landing in the wrong hands, these data privacy concerns are justified. Businesses that collect and use consumer data should be held to high standards.

Original Article Here

Google confirms rolling out a broad core search algorithm

Google confirms rolling out a broad core search algorithm

Google has confirmed rumors that a search algorithm update took place on Monday. Some sites may have seen their rankings improve, while others may have seen negative or zero change.

on April 20, 2018 at 2:52 pm

Google has posted on Twitter that it released a “broad core algorithm update” this past Monday. Google said it “routinely” does updates “throughout the year” and referenced the communication from the previous core update.

Google explained that core search updates happen “several times per year” and that while “some sites may note drops or gains,” there is nothing specific a site can do to tweak its rankings around these updates. In general, Google says to continue to improve your overall site quality, and the next time Google runs these updates, hopefully, your website will be rewarded.

Google explained that “pages that were previously under-rewarded” would see a benefit from these core updates.

original article here

Search marketing software company WordStream acquired by Gannett for $150M

Search marketing software company WordStream acquired by Gannett for $150M

Founded in 2007, the popular PPC management tool has been sold.

on May 10, 2018 at 11:37 am

WordStream, the paid search software company that helps advertisers manage their PPC campaigns, has been acquired by the Gannett Company for $150 million. The deal is $130 million in cash, plus up to an aggregate $20 million earnout payable in 2019 and 2020 based on achieving certain revenue targets, according to the announcement.

WordStream was founded by Larry Kim, a high profile personality in the search marketing industry, back in 2007. In August of 2008, the company was able to secure a $4 million Series A investment from Sigma Partners, and in 2010, it secured a $6M Series B investment led by Egan Managed Partners. The company currently has over 2,000 customers. Larry stepped down as CEO a year or so ago, but he remained on the board of directors.

“This acquisition marks another critical milestone in Gannett’s digital transformation, enhancing our ability to support businesses and agencies in our local markets with the intelligent, data-driven marketing solutions they need to drive growth,” said Robert Dickey, president and chief executive officer of Gannett. “WordStream’s technology, extensive data and analytics capabilities together with an experienced executive team will bring tremendous value to Gannett’s expanding digital marketing services business.”

original article here

Google: How To Reverse A Site Move & Go Back To Original URLs

Google: How To Reverse A Site Move & Go Back To Original URLs

Apr 19, 2018 • 8:14 am | comments (6)by twitter Google+ | Filed Under Google Search Engine Optimization

Site moves in the SEO world are always scary, moving from one domain to another or one URL structure to another can be nerve racking. But imagine you go through with a site move and then the client wants you to revert back (love that GIF) and go back to the old URL structure or old domain name. That is even more stressful and probably isn’t something so common for most of you.

Well, John Mueller of Google addressed that question in a hangout from earlier this month at the 46:08 mark into the video. He said in short that you need to redirect back to the old domain, make sure that all the external links, internal links, sitemaps, canonicals, etc are probably back to the way they originally were and make sure to do it fast because the longer you leave the new URLs up, the longer it takes Google to revert you back to the old domain.

He also mentioned “good luck” which makes you feel like this is dangerous territory, which it really is.

Original article here