This Week In Search News

Another Panda Update

Google recently tweeted that they had released a minor Panda update.  Many SEM's pay close attention to their analytics during these updates to see if there they are affected. Only after its initial rollout did we see major impact on sites such as Ezinearticles. 

Google seems to be continually tweaking their panda algorithm as they become better at identifying 'content farms' and those who mass produce content purely for rankings. This is good news for all those white hat SEO's out there who focus on original high quality content.

For those who like to keep track of Panda, a list of release dates so far are listed below:

• Update 1.0: Feb. 24, 2011
• Update 2.0: April 11, 2011
• Update 2.1: May 10, 2011
• Update 2.2: June 16, 2011
• Update 2.3: July 23, 2011
• Update 2.4: August 12, 2011
• Update 2.5: September 28, 2011

Brands Rush To Google+

After waiting months after its release for a proper support base, brands are now flocking to Google+ in order to get in at the ground level for what could potentially be a major social media platform.

New data recently published suggests that popular brands are early Google+ adopters in a bid to get a step up on the competition. It's interesting to see corporations willing to invest resources in platform that has not been tested. Perhaps this is a sign of the faith companies now have in Social Media?

At present there are no brands on Google+ that have more than 50,00 fans which questions its ability to produce ROI. Search Engine Land note that Ford, an early Google+ adopter, has 27,535 fans on Google+ and nearly 5 million on Facebook. How long before they see similar fan numbers across their multiple profiles?

Google Offers Music Store Online

Google has announced that its music store is now open for business. Now officially out of beta, the new service aims to help people access their music across multiple devices as well as syncing their library without the need for cables, file transfers etc. 

On their official blog Google have announced some exclusives to entice people to switch over to the new service.

• The Rolling Stones are offering an exclusive, never-before-released live concert album, Brussels Affair (Live, 1973), including a free single, “Dancing with Mr. D.” This is the first of six in an unreleased concert series that will be made available exclusively through Google Music over the coming months.
• Coldplay fans will find some original music that’s not available anywhere else: a free, live recording of “Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall”, a five-track live EP from their recent concert in Madrid and a remix of “Paradise” by Tiësto.
• Busta Rhymes’s first single from his upcoming album, Why Stop Now(feat. Chris Brown), is available for free.
• Shakira’s live EP from her recent concert in Paris and her new studio single, “Je L’Aime à Mourir” are both being offered up free.
• Pearl Jam are releasing a live album from their 9/11/11 concert in Toronto, free to Google Music users.
• Dave Matthews Band are offering up free albums from two live concerts, including new material from Live On Lakeside.
• Tiësto is offering up a new mix, “What Can We Do” (feat. Anastacia), exclusively to Google Music users.

Although only currently available in the US only, there are already guides on how to get around this like this one here.