Here is the latest summary of the big news and developments in the world of SEO and internet marketing in the past 4 weeks:
Larry Page takes over as Google CEO [source]
After 10 years with Eric Schmidt at the helm, Google’s co-founder Larry Page is now once again taking control of the company. Page is a different type of CEO than Eric Schmidt and we will undoubtedly see a different Google over the next few years. The wired article linked above contains some very interesting insights in how Google might alter its strategy. Some changes are already immediately apparent: The senior management at Google is shaken up with new roles and new people and Google is increasingly focused on social media – see the next item in this round-up:
Google launches +1 upvote button [source]
Google is launching another new social media experiment, this time in the shape of the +1 button. This button will be visible on Google’s search results next to a webpage’s title and allows the user to upvote the result – thus indicating that this is a good site that answered the user’s search requirement. This +1 vote will automatically be shared among the user’s social circle (which Google derives from the user’s twitter followers and Facebook friends, among other signals) who can then see the +1 logo showing in Google’s search results when they perform similar searches and the same site shows up.
In a way it’s Google’s version of the Facebook Like button (read this excellent analysis on Search Engine Land) but it remains to be seen how effective it is going to be. Right now it’s in the experimental phase and users need to opt-in, but it is likely to be rolled out incrementally soon.
Professional Web Design correlates with content credibility [source]
Yes I’m pimping one of my own blog posts here. 
I came across some recent research that showed that the way a site looks – specifically the professionalism of its design – has a big impact on how trustworthy that site’s content is perceived to be. This is of course common sense, but you’d be surprised at how many website owners don’t realize this. In essence it means that if your site doesn’t look good, the content you publish on it is less likely to be seen as trustworthy.