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Websites with massive banner ads in the top half of the page are being affected by Google’s ‘page layout algorithm,’ which is designed to penalize pages with too many ads above the fold, meaning the amount of the page that is visible before scrolling down. Websites that do not have much visible content above the fold and those that have many ads in this portion of the page will be affected.

This was rolled out a few weeks ago, and any sites that do not comply with this Google algorithm change are in all likelihood already affected. The Google Webmaster blog states:

“We understand that placing ads above-the-fold is quite common for many websites; these ads often perform well and help publishers monetize online content. This algorithmic change does not affect sites who place ads above-the-fold to a normal degree, but affects sites that go much further to load the top of the page with ads to an excessive degree or that make it hard to find the actual original content on the page.

This new algorithmic improvement tends to impact sites where there is only a small amount of visible content above-the-fold or relevant content is persistently pushed down by large blocks of ads. This algorithmic change noticeably affects less than 1% of searches globally. That means that in less than one in 100 searches, a typical user might notice a reordering of results on the search page.”

Google suggests their Browser Size tool to show you exactly how much content your users can actually see when your site opens. If you need to make an adjustment, be aware that it may take several weeks for Google to recognize the changes and remove the penalty.

Some say Google is being hypocritical for penalizing ad use when they sponsor ads on their own results.  In response to this and similar accusations, Google released a statement:

“This is a site-based algorithm that looks at all the pages across an entire site in aggregate. Although it’s possible to find a few searches on Google that trigger many ads, it’s vastly more common to have no ads or few ads on a page… Again, this algorithm change is designed to demote sites that make it difficult for a user to get to the content and offer a bad user experience… Having an ad above-the-fold doesn’t imply that you’re affected by this change. It’s that excessive behavior that we’re working to avoid for our users.”

In an agreement with the US OJ which many people are fully unaware ever took place, the dominant ISPs in the US signed on to help thwart online piracy. While illegal downloads are supposedly on the decline even without legislation to try to slow it down, streaming video is being cited as copyright infringement- and that is the new next battleground. Here is what you need to know.

Time Warner Cable, Comcast, AT&T, Verizon and Cablevision have agreed to implement a 6 strike policy to help stop copyright infringement. The people they are going after with this are those who do not download video or music illegally, but those that view it or listen to it. Even though they don’t have a copy of it, they used it in some manner and that is illegal.

Violators will receive a notice of any infringement. With each notice, their ISP can take punitive measures of their own device such as cutting down their bandwidth cap, speed, or whatever they want to do really. The cable companies claim this is about educating users and not punishing them. They are not bound to turn over information of anyone caught violating a copyright, although they likely will. Mostly though, this is their way to protect their money – if their customers get caught off – they have no customers and a profit margin decrease would mean no new Lear jets each summer for the executives.

The new timeline that Facebook has thrust upon users whether they like it or not has proved to be more unpopular than it was previously thought would be the case. SEOs have noticed quite a bit of chatter that points toward people either loving it or hating it with very little in between. Surprisingly, those that want to get rid of the timeline seem to be outnumbering those that like it – and that is particularly true amongst baby boomers.

In a recent survey, 20% that were polled liked the new timeline while a whopping 70% responded that they hate it. The remaining 10% were undecided or didn’t care. Going by the math, that is a heck of a lot of people that are obviously not pleased – and whether anyone wants to admit it or not, that isn’t good news for Facebook as they enter a world where they have to listen to their users or lose them to someone who will.

Facebook has made no announcement pointing toward turning back the clock that any SEOs have run across so far. At least for the time being, the Facebook timeline is take or leave. There is no middle ground. If a viable site does arise, Facebook may have problems keeping people. As that is however unlikely, if you want to use Facebook you have to take whatever they give you – you just don’t have to smile about it. What is good for Facebook isn’t always good for the user – and this is one case of that being true.