Kernel methods refer to a family of widely used nonlinear algorithms for machine learning tasks like classification, regression, and feature extraction. By exploiting the so-called kernel trick straightforward extensions of classical linear algorithms are enabled as long as the data only appear as innerproducts in the model formulation. This dissertation presents research on improving the performance of standard kernel methods like kernel Principal Component Analysis and the Support Vector Machine. Moreover, the goal of the thesis has been two-fold.