Back in March 2019 (just last month), Yelp announced a new initiative called Verified Licenses, which is supposed to bring peace of mind to booking a professional that’s listed on Yelp.com. I did some checking of my own on a few local businesses. I found that despite Yelp displaying a verification logo and link to license information, the actual license information of these businesses is bogus. In some cases, the license numbers aren’t even valid license numbers in the State where the business listed. [Continue reading]
Chitika Online Advertising Network Has Shut Down
Chitika, the online advertising network that, at one time, was an alternative to Google Adsense for publishers such as myself, has shut down, effective immediately. In an email sent to publishers late last night (April 17, 2019), Chitika informed all of their publishers that they are “shutting down effective immediately”. [Continue reading]
KPMG Moves To Their Own .BRAND TLD
KPMG has moved to their own .BRAND TLD (Top Level Domain), the first of the big accounting firms to make the move. Previously they were using the domain name KPMG.com as their home page, and now if you go to KMPG.com in your web browser it will … [Continue reading]
Google Indexes Domains That Have Not Been Registered
Today I learned that Google will index a domain name that has not been registered. Ever. As in no one has ever registered the domain name, the domain name is available for registration by anyone, and someone could register it if they met the … [Continue reading]
Canonical Tag Negative SEO Still a Problem with Google
A while back I uncovered a new type of undetectable negative SEO, which involved the canonical tag. Search Engine Journal covered it in a post here. I thought that as a result of bringing it out in the open that Google would somehow fix the problem. … [Continue reading]
Web Host Agents Sending Fake Invoices for Website Hosting
A company called Web Host Agents is sending businesses an invoice for web hosting services. The problem is that the invoice is fake, and Web Host Agents doesn't currently host the company's website. It's a fake invoice, a sales tactic that's being … [Continue reading]
Google Fetch and Render Tool Officially Removed
We knew this was coming, and we even were told via popup messages in Google Search Console. I knew the end was coming. March 28, 2019 was the date that Google's Fetch as Google tool would be removed from Google Search Console. Now I can confirm that … [Continue reading]
Using The eufyCam E Wire-Free HD Security Camera
Sponsored post and review, Posted January 10, 2019. Updated February 19, 2019. For a while now, I have wanted to set up a security camera or system so I can monitor it from my iPhone. If I'm in my working on my laptop, working on an SEO … [Continue reading]
Reddit AMA With Bill Hartzer on SEO Audits and Domain Names
On Tuesday, March 19, 2019, I will be doing a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) via the SEMRush.com Subreddit. This is an opportunity to literally ask me anything. I've chosen the topics of SEO Audits and Domain Names as well as chickens and goats. But … [Continue reading]
Facebook Down and Facebook Outage March 13, 2019 #FacebookDown
It appears that several are mentioning that Facebook has been having issues today, March 13, 2019. Based on a few posts and comments that I've made on posts today, I'm seeing errors. I don't know if these are being posted or commented on--or if … [Continue reading]
57 Speakers to See at Pubcon Florida 2019
Whenever there's a great search industry conference coming soon, especially the ones that I'm attending or speaking at, I put together Bill's List. These are my personal hand-picked speakers that you absolutely must-see or meet at the conference. … [Continue reading]
Google Removal Tool to Remove Pages On A Site You Don’t Own
Today I learned that it's possible to use the Google Removal Tool to request removal of pages on someone else's website. Even if the page is on a website that you don't own. I may be mistaken, but previously you had to be logged into a Google Account … [Continue reading]
Slideshare Misconfigures SSL Certificate, Causes Downtime
After I speak at conferences and events, I usually upload a copy of my presentation to Slideshare here so people who were at the event and those who weren't at the event can see my presentation. Well, someone asked me today for a copy of an SEO … [Continue reading]
56 Takeaways from Google’s Gary Illyes’ AMA On Reddit
Gary Illyes, Google's Chief of Sunshine and Happiness and Trends Analyst, recently did an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit. There were a lot of questions asked, and I've narrowed it all down to the key takeaways. I've pulled out the most important … [Continue reading]
Wix Promotes SEO in Super Bowl LIII Ad, But Fails with Karlie Kloss Website
Wix.com recently spent a lot of money on a Super Bowl ad during Super Bowl LIII to promote how easy it is to use Wix to create a website. While I appreciate them mentioning SEO and getting good search results, the way it's being promoted is … [Continue reading]
What I Learned By Analyzing the Upcoming 2019 NamesCon Domain Auction List
Every year at the NamesCon domain name conference, ROTD (Right of the Dot) holds a live domain name auction. This year they've picked 641 premium domain names to run in the auction--only the best from that list will be auctioned off live at the event … [Continue reading]
Twitter Fixes their Google Search Result Problem
Posted January 11, 2019 It appears that Twitter has finally fixed their Google search results problem. If you might recall, … [Continue reading]
Google to Shut Down Small Business Community from Google
We've already heard that Google is closing down their social media site Google Plus, closing it down faster than previously expected. Now, we have yet another Google social community being closed down on January 16th, 2019: the Small Business … [Continue reading]
Due Diligence on $750,000 Files.com Domain Name
The domain name Files.com recently sold for US $750,000 according to Domain Name Wire. Action Verb, LLC bought the domain name Files.com and, according to the landing page on the site, they plan on launching "powerful file management for businesses … [Continue reading]
Grace Millane Case: Google Illegally Revealed Murder Suspect’s Name via Mass Email
December 13, 2018: 11:14am CST Google illegally revealed the name of a murder suspect via a mass email sent out to subscribers of their top trends in New Zealand. A temporary suppression order was in place until the suspect went to trial for … [Continue reading]
