YouTube— home of the RickRoll, skateboarding cat, and any epic-fail-cute-and-cuddly-viral-video you can think of. These videos make us laugh until we cry, while others tug at our heartstrings.
Some even make us cry metaphorically, for the time in which we know we’ve just wasted.
For most, YouTube is a Godsend; it not only serves as entertainment, but moonlights as a pretty outstanding educational resource as well (well, depending on whose channel you’re on).
And speaking of channels, it’s hard to do better than Google’s... After all, Google owns Youtube. Its official channel is called Google Webmasters. It features core, influential members of the team and they discuss all things relevant to webmasters today.
Today, we’re putting the spotlight on the best educational videos from the company we all know.
Check ‘em out!
An authoritative voice Matt Cutts is one of Google's leading Software Engineers. He joined Google in 2000, and currently leads Google’s search quality team on search engine optimization issues. Today we’ll be featuring quite a few of his videos since we can’t think of a more trustworthy, authoritative voice. |
How Google Search Works in a Nutshell, Illustrated on a Whiteboard
Why this video is interesting:
It’s a great refresher course on SEO. Great for those just learning, and for those who really want to get a grasp on how Google Search works.
Say What?! Google Doesn't Use the Keywords Meta Tag in Ranking
Why this video is interesting:
Cutts says Google doesn’t factor your site’s Keywords meta tag into their main search results. While he admits other search engines might, Google doesn’t.
Keyword-oriented vs. Brandable Domains
Why this video is interesting:
Cutts admits to Google giving more weight to keyword-oriented domains at the moment, however, he reveals Google has been receiving some complaints about this, so, keyword-oriented domains might be losing their Google edge soon.
He also makes a compelling argument for brandable domains vs. keyword names, since the more unique brandable names usually have more standout-ish anchor text when it comes to backlinks.
Does Google Use Twitter and Facebook Links as a Ranking Signal?
Why this video is interesting:
Cutts confirms it: Google does use Twitter and Facebook links as a factor in web search rankings. Of course, the quality and reputation of the authors and/or social page matters, much like links.
For example: Twitter pages with tons of artificial followers (bots) won’t get you far compared to a successful page with a real following.
The Most Common SEO Mistakes That Webmasters Make
Why this video is interesting:
Remember, Cutts works for Google and practically helped shape Google’s search.
It’s interesting to hear what he believes to be the most common webmaster SEO mistake. Some of this info may not be new or groundbreaking, but the points he goes over are important to understand and there couldn’t be a better guy explaining it.
More Google Education to Come!
We’ve showcased five terrific Google Webmaster videos here today, but we’re not done yet.
We still have 5 more videos for you... Read Part-2 HERE
