This Guest Post by Kira Permunian is a Part of Guest Blogging Contest, for complete details please check Guest Blogging Contest page

Have you heard about the recent Google algorithm update?

It was just recently when I’ve heard this rumor again from my SEO Buddies talking about the new Google Search Algorithms – the thing that I am keen enough to know about. I explore over Google Search and on Google Blogs to see if there is really an official statement from Google with this thing. Fortunately, I found some related contents but not expressly tackling about the new algorithm.

But today, two emails dropped in my inbox confirming the rumors about the new Google Search Algorithms. Without trepidation, I accept the facts as true since the senders were of reliable source.

So here it is, the Google Search Algorithms. The first one has been long thought before but just implemented recently. The second one is the Googles Focus on Local Search Results.

CONTEXTUAL LINKS

Especially it has to do with links and your content. It shocks me that it took Google this long to implement this change, but the fix is easy. Get contextual links.

Some search engine experts are saying that Google is now placing more “weight” on links found within the actual content of our sites/blogs (called contextual links) rather than links found in the navigation menu, footer, sidebar, etc.

What does this mean to us?

If you use content/articles to promote something on the web, get back links and traffic then NOW is the time to step it up and create MORE content or get back links in the content. Well, if you are relying heavily on paid links, blog comments, forum profiles, etc. you may have seen your rankings drop.

What we need to do?

Getting back links from high Page Rank and popular related content is the best way to get more profits because contextual linking is the practice of integrating links to the most significant pages within your website or on the other related websites. When linking within content to an important page, make sure that any links placed on the page are contextually relevant and have contain keyword-focused anchor text.

Article submission is also one of the best ways of this development. You can easily submit an article of 300 to 500 words. But to be on the safer side you need to insure that your site is set up on an exclusive IP. This method is easy and popular but it should be done very safely and properly.

LOCAL SEARCH RESULTS

Another change in Google Search algorithm is that Google now focuses on listing results that are local/regional and have office address and phone number through Google’s Local Business listing service at the top of their search results.

They made it easier for us to find local stores that sell the stuffs we are looking by adding information about product availability to the SERPs. This must be a strategy to focus on regional information that is more appropriate and helpful to users.

How to optimize for Googles Local Search?

To optimize for local search in Google, you should update first your online local business listings or if not yet engaged in any local listings then this gonna be the time to be listed in some interactive yellow pages.

The method requires that you first maintain your local business listing, followed by your initial update, and then you have to consider constant monitoring and managing the local business listing just like your website.

The listings will serves as the best support tool to your primary website to rank in local search. In order for you to show up in the search results you have to be sure the local business listing has all the right information about your business, services, and products.

To name a few websites asides from Bing, Yahoo and Google local listings: Local.com, Yelp.com, Merchant Circle, Citysearch and many others sites, search engines, social networks, 411 websites, GPS websites, and some business directories.

These changes were part of vast changes that Google undergone this year like the Google Instant, Speed Matters, etc. Luckily all have been for good reasons and may provide better search experience.

If you want to add something on this article, just drop a comment! Thank you!

Related osts:

• Google Webmaster Tool: Google Started Showing more data, chart around top search terms

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In today’s economic climate it can be extremely tough to make ends meet with more individuals declaring themselves bankrupt now than ever before. Many people are even feeling the strain financially to simply make ends meet. With numerous people having taken out loans or credit card in the past, the repayments on these are just making the situation even harder. When someone lacks ample funds monthly for the everyday essentials, they use borrowing, and once inside the trap it is very difficult to break free.

However, there’s help at hand. With pension release you’ll be able to unlock pension money much prior to when traditionally expected, allowing money to be utilized to relieve stressful financial strains. At the age of 55 up to 25% of the total pension can be released in a tax free lump sum. This provision makes it possible to clear loans, credit card debts or even mortgages in one easy move, ending this viscous cycle of debt and eliminating financial worries once and for all. Without such a provision it could be years or even an entire lifetime before all debts will be repaid and peace of mind may be restored.

Even without the responsibility of existing debts, pension release may still be a good option. You may long for a family holiday, or you could have hopes for a new home or home improvements in your current home, a pension release gives you the financial resource to do this stuff. Individuals may feel that they can get the most from the pension release more at the age of 55 than they could later in life. Moreover, individuals may decide that they could use the money more constructively than having it locked away in a pension. Perhaps the money could be used to take advantage of the stock market through shares or even trusts or money could be used in something with increased security such as bonds or savings or even given to a young relative as an early inheritance.

The procedure to unlock pension money is simple and straightforward and the pension release may be used in any way the individual chooses. Even if the money is not be used right away, realizing that the provision for pension release exists can provide considerable reassurance for those struggling financially. It is reassuring to know that up to 25% of the pension is available whenever required prior to retirement. Should debts or other financial commitments suddenly become unmanageable, action can be taken to unlock pension money and use it to secure a financial situation. Whatever way that pension release is used it might certainly offer peace of mind plus a new found level of comfort to those who need it, while to others it could give you the opportunity for a special treat.

This guest post was written on behalf of the Robert Bruce Associates. For pension release advice to help you unlock pension capital please visit MyPensionRelease.com

If you are a military veteran, or know any military veterans, then this information is just for you. As you know, Veteran’s Day is right around the corner, and many restaurants and stores offer special military discounts to military members, retirees, and other veterans. The following is an abbreviated list of free meals available nationally in celebration of Veteran’s Day:

Free Meals on Veteran’s Day

• McCormick & Schmicks Seafood Restaurants free meal, Sunday Nov. 7
• Applebees free meal, Thursday, Nov. 11
• Chilis free meal, Thursday, Nov. 11
• Hooters free meal, Thursday, Nov. 11
• Outback Steakhouse free Bloomin Onion and Beverage, Thursday, Nov. 11
• Uno Chicago Grill, Thursday, Nov. 11
• Subway, Free 6 inch Sub, Thursday, Nov. 11 (participating locations only)
• Golden Corral free meal, Monday Nov. 15

My wife and I are both military veterans, and we plan on going to McCormick & Schmicks with another couple this weekend. I love the fact that McCormick & Schmicks Seafood Restaurants and Golden Corral offer the Veteran’s Day meal on a date other than Veteran’s Day. This gives military veterans an opportunity to take advantage of more than one meal at various restaurants if they so choose.

More Veteran’s Day discounts. Many other locations offer free services or discounts on Veteran’s Day. Here is a larger list of Veterans Day Meals and Discounts.

Please pass this info along if you know any military veterans, and Thanks for your service!

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~$~

This article written by Ryan Guina. Ryan is the founder and editor of Cash Money Life. He is a writer, small business owner, entrepreneur, and professional in the corporate world. He served over 6 years in the USAF and also writes about military money topics at The Military Wallet.

All content copyright Cash Money Life; if you are reading this on another website it has been illegally reproduced in violation of copyright laws.

A few years ago, our family lived by being dependent on receiving a weekly paycheck. Both the husband and I maintain great jobs, but we were hardly able to pay the bills. Borrowing from Peter to pay Paul – we would push one bill to lapse its due date to pay another we forgot about. We were never able to get ahead. It took me painstaking long years to realize that the debt ridden life was all our own making, due to poor financial habits and choices, and that I was no longer going to stand for it.

Today, things have gotten better, although we are still not in the black yet. We have an emergency fund, paid off several smaller debts and work diligently to pay off the big accounts (like the student and debt consolidation loans), and hope to pay off the Lending Club loan by the beginning of next year. We are on track to be debt free in two years and half years, with a good future in the forecast. We have also increased our contributions for retirement, learned to plan for weekend staycations, and live with a frugal mind. Our finances are much better off today than they were three years ago. It amazes me how far we have progressed and how indulgent becoming debt free feels.

If you are in a state of financial despair, like my family once was, you can climb out of it to become a your own success story. Stop living paycheck to paycheck. Take control of your financial life. I would like to share my thoughts about what has worked for our family, what I know works by having lived through this experience.

To begin, many financial advisers and blogs, typically recommend to start by tracking your spending on a daily basis. It is definitely worthy advice, but not always practical as keeping track of daily spending can be difficult. I advise you to track your expenses, but if you dont, for whatever reason, do not let that stop you from fixing your finances.

Here is my recommendation, whether or not you track your spending (but you should), at least do the following:

Learn to walk before you run

Set up your accounts. Consider setting up one savings account, a checking account strictly for bill pay, and an account for your variable expenses (like groceries, gas, and entertainment). This method has worked great for my family. You can find about more about my bank account set up, here.

Halt. Stop using your credit cards immediately! Cut them up, or put them in the freezer in a ziploc bag filled with water, effectively freezing your cards. Also stop taking other loans, either from financial companies, banks, or family and friends. Stop getting into more debt!

Save now! Yes, you do have money to save (even if it starts out with a very small amount). The next most important step you can take, in the beginning, is to start a small savings account if you havent already. Begin by depositing into it regularly, at least 10 percent of your gross paycheck. If you cant find the 10 percent then see the next step how. Set up a payroll deduction with your employer’s benefits department to have 10 percent automatically deposited from each paycheck to your savings account. If you dont see the transfer of money, you dont feel the pain. A savings account will help you bare the waves of Murphys – when an emergency comes up, like your car breaking down, you wont be thrown back into debt trench or end up broke. You will have some cash to pay for that emergency, and you can use your regular paycheck for regular expenses.

Look at voluntary spending. If you cant find 10 percent to save per paycheck, then you need to cut some things from your spending. This is where tracking your spending comes in handy, but even if you dont, you know some of the extras you spend on coffee, snacks, eating out, shopping for gadgets and clothes, going out – these are just a few of the examples. You dont need to cut everything out, but if you can cut a few of them, that can add up (pay extra attention to your food budget). Then, take the money you didnt spend on those voluntary spending items and add that amount into your savings each payday.

Start a debt snowball to get out of debt. Yes, there is debt tsunami and the the cash cascade, but those are for seasoned debt free adventurers. If you have not tried a debt snowball, it is easy. List out your debts and arrange them in order from smallest balance at the top to the largest at the bottom. Then focus on the smallest balance first, putting as much as you can into it, even if its just $20 extra. When the amount is paid off, celebrate (frugally)! Then take that total amount you were paying (say $30 minimum payment plus the $20 extra for a total of $50) and add that to the minimum payment on the next largest debt. Continue this process, with your extra amount snowballing as you go along, until you pay off all your debt. This could take several years (will be 6 1/2 years for us to be debt free), but it is very rewarding. By focusing on the smaller debts first keeps you motivated on your debt free journey.

Walk a steady pace

After taking those first steps, its time to pick up the pace. Time to start on these steps:

Start a budget (b-u-d-g-e-t). Yup, I said it. I know the word stinks like Limburger cheese. But it doesnt need to be hard, and if you set it up right, its fairly simple. Here is a great link to learn about setting up your first budget.

Use the bill pay feature for your bills. As much as possible, set up your bills to be automatically paid through your bank’s bill pay feature. For those that cant, use your banks online check system to make regular automatic payments. Like many of the banks commercials, using bill pay really can take only five minutes of your time. Now, I log on once a month to my bill pay account, set up the payments, and hit submit. Five minutes normally, ten minutes tops.

Save for your irregular expenses. Personal finance author Mary Hunt calls it a Freedom Account, it is the key to ensuring that you have smooth finances and that you stick to your budget is to take into account all your irregular expenses, such as insurance, car maintenance or repairs, gifts (think Christmas!), medical and other such things. List them out, estimate your annual spending, and begin saving for them each month. Our family saves an extra $1,000/year for increased summer camp costs. So, we put away $38/paycheck and the summer is stress free. Some banks will allow you to set up sub-accounts within your saving account for each expense and then use a spreadsheet to keep track of each. Again, this way your regular budget is used just for that, regular expenses. The Freedom Account is for the irregular expenses (just remember stress free).

Set up personal finance goals, start planning for them. When do you want to retire? How often do you want to travel? When do you want to buy that dream house? Do you want to save for your kids college education? Think about what you want in life, and start planning to save for them, especially once youve done all the above. It took our family a long time to be able to implement this step, but it did come forth. First we started with small goals like planning to pay cash for our annual camping trip. Then we were able to plan for our familys first big vacation to Maui (the awesome memories will last a lifetime for us).

Once youve gotten beyond these steps, you should be past the dependency of living paycheck-to-paycheck. Now, personal finance options like investing your money for your goals become available to you. But getting past these first stages is important.

(photo credit: Glamour.com)