Thursday, April 20, 2006

Google Services in Abundance

It's pretty amazing when you think about how many Google Services exist for users, everything from finance to specialized services to email and travel planning. The wikipedia page referenced goes more in depth into these services (80+% of them in beta), and gives you a complete picture of Google's masterplan, as of yet.I do find many of there services incredibly useful and relevant, and many others redundant or quite trivial for advanced use. I think it's Google covering their bases when it comes to a variety of their users and human behaviors online. Obviously, Blogger is one of my favorit tools and gmail is quite smooth. The Google Base Beta is becoming a favorite of mine, but still has quite a few bugs and it's patterns of use (in terms of SEO) are not well known, making this a bit of an enigma...
Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Google_services_and_tools

Monday, April 17, 2006

Google Calendar

Yet another Google application setting itself up to become an important appliance for Google's users. It is actually quite useful in the fact that it may be generated by buckets so you can have multiple calendars for different functions or just one for all. I am poised to take a more indepth look at this tool to see it if it integrates into Outlook or allows direct integration with Gmail, Google Base and other Google specific tools.

Look out folks, next might be Google's own personalized E-shop... perhaps Google and Amazon really will be close fitting for this endeavor...

Friday, April 07, 2006

Google / Yahoo Local Submissions Tips

Although links are the focus of link building, it is important to grab at opportunities that are considered traditional. Although getting a local listing (like the yellow pages) is somewhat traditional, there is a new spin on the quality since now there are identical ways to get info listed online. Superpages is a good example of an online yellow pages that supports internet listings and searches.Get listed at Google and Yahoo! local to see some extra, qualified traffic. You'll need location information for your offices, a phone number to list, a description of what you do or sell, an email address and website. For Google, you'll might want to use your Google account, which you already have if you've signed up for Gmail, Adwords, Google Sitemaps or any other online based Google product. Local search is becoming more important to your business so start by using their form and verification process. Basic Local Yahoo listings are free of charge just like Google Local.

Lycos Loses Search Team - Needle in a Haystack?

Lycos has laid off it's team. Through the years as MSN, Yahoo! and Google came up from the dirt into the highest ranks of search, Lycos, Hotbot and more just seemed to wither into nothingness. I do remember a time when I refused to use google and stuck to hotbot... that is until hotbot began to issue irrelevant results and too much advertising!I have to say, sometime around 1997 Lycos had an awesome FTP/file search tool which was quite short lived, and needless to say, I too had no reason anymore to use them. Although this report could be taken to mean that the folks working on search are considered to be in the dangerous plumes of job loss, industry-wide, I feel it is simply the mis-mangement of a Search Engine Superstar-wanabee.Alas, Lycos has joined the living dead, and it is only a matter of time before it collapses into the clutches of a real Search Engine superstar, or worse yet, dissipates into absolute and dark nothingness.
Link: http://battellemedia.com/archives/002308.php

Matt Cutts on Google's Search Spam Removal

It's been a fact that Google has been improving search engine algorithms to detect "search spam" such as doorway pages, hidden text, and other cloaking techniques that belong to the fray of "Black Hat" SEO firms and professionals. Just a minor digress... Living some time as a "white-hat hacker" it was appearent that the term "Black Hat" refered to the hackers that caused malicious damage and were purely after profit as opposed to the clean motives of the "White Hat", looking to save the day by abiding by guidelines or honor...As a white hat SEO, I understand that it can be tempting to try using cloaking techniques that at the moment work, but can easily be offset by the understanding that with risk comes consequence, and in Google's case, it is pretty severe! Right now those black hat SEO firms could be reaping the dough and traffic, then one day, ZERO. Not one visit, not one conversion. Now that is a painful online death.(Reaper image above from a Salon.com Blog)
Link: http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/ramping-up-on-international-webspam/

Google Acquires Measure Map

Measure Map seems to be a really useful tool for tracking visits, posts and blog use. Now that it is part of the Google universe, It is yet another reason to use Google. Funny thing is that their "invitation" form (posted on their homepage) seems to be using AJAX, the very same implementation technology for Google Suggest.While right now this is a "cool" tool, it certainly can be as useful or more so than Google's Urchin, for Blogs, of course. While Measure Map is primarily focused on a blogger's use, I am sure SEO firms and professionals will be picking up the tool for Optimization and tracking purposes. While it lacks the complete functionality of an integrated analytics application, no doubt, with an API set, it may just do the trick...I m waiting to be invited to check out the tool in all of it's glory. Wish me luck.
Link: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/02/here-comes-measure-map.html

Just When I thought it was Safe to Blog Again...

A blog, right here on blogger, labelling itself as the Nexium Blog, is filling itself with garbage posts that use a bunch of expensive vocabulary words to fill in the page. At the end of every post is a link to a Gambling site.Clearly this is BLOG-SPAM, and I have seen it once before, almost similar in style... I think it may even be the same person because I swear I saw one of those gamling links before. While this certainly is not related to Website Design or SEO, I felt that it was importnat to mention... After all, it abuses the trust online that we should foster, not ravage.Additionally, This is a "black hat" tactic for gambling SEO. Clearly not smart and a waste of space, time and an abuse to all who belong.What do you think? Feedback is appreciated.

Web Wise - Getting Better Through Time

This article dated on the 27th of March (Today is the 21st...), is pretty indicative of the trends surounding online marketing and SEO/SEM. I've been involved in the online world for over 12 years now and I have seen quite a few things progress. One of them is definately online tracking. This is a definate read if you are interested in the sorts of data advertising agencies and Search marketing firms acquire. If you couple those measurements with the metrics data search engines like Google and Yahoo collect/provide, you can see how truly little annomity we have online. Scary though, but the complete truth.
Link: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_13/b3977401.htm

Microsoft launches revamped search engine

Yet another article about the Microsoft initiatives to improve beyond Google's status as the defacto search engine of current. The good thing here, is that, now there are a couple more details about their new engine, plans for the near future to burst onto the scene ahead of Google and also a name for their new technology. Microsoft dubs their brand spanking new web search application, "live".Set to be replacing the current MSN engine technology, "live" will be running through a undetermined length test-phase on www.live.com and once deemed read to launch, will replace http://www.msn.com engine. Features planned to improve the technology beyond that which exists right now is tabbed searches conducted simultaneously in one window, smart pane technology which will allow for display of more or less result information according to user specifications/needs, and image searches in tandem with copy and information searches. A great possibility also lies in more natural searches conducted off of logical questions as opposed to keyword based searching which is not completely considered natural.Now, it will definately become appearent that if this becomes the star of search, I and other SEO specialists will be looking into new ways of designing search term optimization patterns, and couldA) create a more accessible method of penetration into search results orb) be detrimental to search tactics and be more of an uphill battle to get results from optimization efforts...At this time, we will just have to study, analyze and wait to find what the future brings.
Link: http://business.bostonherald.com/technologyNews/view.bg?articleid=129539

Microsoft says better than Google soon | Reuters.com

I am certainly interested in this bit of news as Microsoft is making a really big claim and the correlation between their efforts with their Small Business Directory and the effects seen in the market with that directory has improved. The fact that Microsoft's Bcentral directory has been placed as one of the more important directories from a position of not even being known over the past 10 years, shows me and perhaps the rest of the SEO / SEM community that they are serious in positioning their search services in front of competitors.The question, will they succeed, is yet another issue. After all they are facing two giants, Yahoo! and Google. Google of course being the most proactive and R&D focused competitor, willing and able to try everything to dominate the search market.The most intreguing thing at this time for me is how Microsoft intends to be better than Google's 100+ point site analysis. What could they tweak or add on to their algorythm to improve search relevance and thus beat out the functionality and quality of results that Google churns out? I am sure this is on the mind of every SEO professional who has read the article.All we can do at this point is wait and see.
Link: http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyID=2006-03-01T211748Z_01_L01660811_RTRUKOC_0_US-SUMMIT-MICROSFT-GOOGLE.xml&pageNumber=0&imageid=&cap=&sz=13

Google Offers SEO Selection Guidelines

As interesting a topic as this is, it holds so much in terms of emphasis for the growth and development of the SEO profession. After the search engines and concerned "netizens" began policing search engine abuses by black and grey hat SEO's back in 1999/2000, the profession began its movement to become a true profession which could garner salary and reputation worthy of the effort and improvement brought forth. No movement was greater however, than over the past 2 years where it became outrageously obvious that Search engines were clamping down on black hats, concerned "netizens" were not accepting the abuse anymore, corporations were more aware of the implication of "spamming" search engines and overall SEO professionalism became a true virtue.While I and many others have always stayed true to white hat tactics, for quite some time there was angst over the popularity and widespread underground approval or "whatever it takes" tactics for SEO's. I can safely say that the search engines: Google, Yahoo!, MSN and others are indeed doing a great job at improving algorithms in this way and that the SEO community is beginning to get serious on improving reputation and actual optimization of websites, the way it should have always been... is now becoming a reality.About time.
Link: http://searchenginewatch.com/sereport/article.php/2165161

Kinderstart Vs. Google - Who Cares?

Reading this article about Kinderstart's suite against Google, it becomes immediately appearent that online marketing can be cutthroat and at times innane. In this case, I can understand the upset that Kinderstart must have experienced when 80% of its revenue was lost and 70% of its traffic vanished, however, on the same note, Google makes these updates often and that is one of the majoy risks of operating with a dependancy on one site / search engine, or portal.Operating in the SEO/SEM space, professionals like myself understand that updates can certainly "shake things up", but we move on and determine a new strategy to shift the reality of search engine filtration to our favor. As the profession grows up, we will understand how to more effectively implement a strategy that can work well for years at a time and be augmented slightly to maintain the effect.This lawsuit seems quite lame in my opinion as any one of my clients, or me for that matter, could go around suing Google willy'nilly for similar results, but in our minds, we know better. Shame on Kinderstart for starting a battle that is unjust, and hopefully nothing beneficia comes of this site for Kinderstart.Technology is a tool, not an end. There ends my rant.
Link: http://today.reuters.com/business/newsArticle.aspx?type=ousiv&storyID=2006-03-19T020938Z_01_KRA907614_RTRIDST_0_BUSINESSPRO-TECH-GOOGLE-LAWSUIT-DC.XML

Google Music Search

Yet another great tool in the Google Arsenal, Music Search. Although I am not sure if this is new, I just found out about this about a week ago and although it is a fledgling technology, the promise is there. Next best thing to add to this tool to make it a killer app is to be able to play a sound byte/sample off of the search page (probably using AJAX). This would make the experience very fluid and probably allow Google or affiliates to make immediate purchases (which I know I've fallen victim to... and many others will also.).
Link: http://www.google.com/musicsearch?q=delirium&res=album
What was interesting about this whole topic is that Google is testing its Google Base offering in the SERP and that the pattern by which it posts specific search terms is not known or even discussed on forums or blogs related to SEO. I know I've been using the Google Base interface for submitting real estate, events and even services. The listings look great, are easy to modify and do come up rather well in Google Base searches. The only thing I would like to and intend on studying is how Google or Google Base determines a search term should be utilized for the SERP results. For instance as is mentioned in this article, "houses for sale", "apartment for sale", and "los angeles real estate" all show the Google Base form on the SERP at top, however when you search for other locations or offerings that would be in Google, they don't necessarily come up in the results.In time it will become clear, and perhaps they might also be simply testing out a few chosen terms, thus making it relatively impossible to be sure that a theory can be applied. Check me up in a later date when I will be discussing my findings on this matter and how it can be applied to SEO related efforts.
Link: http://did-it.com/blog/index.php/2006/03/24/googlebase-integrated-into-google-serps/