Posts Tagged ‘search engines’

• Why behavioural data may be the new Google black

  Friday, August 7th, 2009

  Many of us who have been in the business for some time have watched, and worked, with interest as prominence has been added, and taken away from, key SEO factors.

  First, it was the importance of on-page optimisation, which became subject to major abuse with issues such as spamdexing, keyword stuffing, doorway pages and so on. Google changed its tactics and we saw far more relevance given to links.  That too has become subject of abuse and is now less relevant in some ways, although the importance of back links etc is never going to cease entirely to be a constituent of the algorithms.

  Now, it seems that behavioural analysis may be the new black amongst the search engines. Great article here describing how Google collect personal data from users, which should encourage SEOs to think about how they can use such information. And perhaps endeavour to learn from the past and use, rather than abuse, the system.

  Meanwhile, your average surfer should, maybe, contemplate the implications of Google holding so much personal data.

  

  Tags: algorithm, behavioural, Google, Keyword stuffing, Search engine optimization, search engines, SEO, Spamdexing
  Posted in Google, SEM Industry, SEO

• Anti-trust gunning for Google?

  Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

  This week’s Wired magazine offers a worthwhile read about how Christine Varney, Obama’s head of the Justice Department’s anti-trust division, seems to be looking to repeat the anti-trust suits against Microsoft in the 1990s with Google.

  Whilst there will always be those who are fiercely loyal to Google, it is beginning to seem that there are others who don’t share that fealty. I suspect we are going to see more of this in 2009 and beyond…

  

  Tags: Christine Varney, Google, search engines
  Posted in Google

• Audioboos take off

  Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

  For those on Twitter or with an iPhone, audio boos are likely to be well known, and are one of the most frequent tweets, whoever you follow.

  For those who don’t know what an audio boo is, it is a short audio recording, usually accompanied by a static photo. In order to submit an audio boo, you require an iPhone as it is an iphone application, and hence the majority of audioboos are from individuals rather than businesses.

  However, many companies are starting to realise the potential of audioboos to create short audio blog posts, rather like a very short podcast, which can be a heads up for new content on your website, notice of sales or discounts, comment about industry news, or a quick interview with an employee, supplier or customer.

  Using multimedia to promote your business is becoming essential as we are fast moving beyond the static days of text and images on the web. So, if any of your staff have an iPhone, experiment with audioboos today to provide additional content for your website visitors, and promotional opportunities with the search engines and social media.

  

  Tags: audioboo, internet marketing, iphone, podcast, search engines, twitter
  Posted in SEO, Small Business Resources, Social Media, Stats & Trends

• Is Bing the next big thing?

  Friday, June 5th, 2009

  Statcounter reports that Bing has overtaken Yahoo! for the #2 search engine spot today.

  Microsoft’s failure to purchase Yahoo! last year for $40bn may have unwittingly led to a cheaper and faster solution to Steve Ballmer’s stated desire for MS to be the number 2 search engine within 5 years.

  However, tis early days for Bing, so let’s see how it pans out over the next few months when the novely wears off and the marketing flurry slows down a little.

  

  Tags: Bing, Google, Microsoft, search, search engines, Steve Ballmer, Web search engine, yahoo
  Posted in Google, SEM Industry

• Free ranking reports by email

  Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

  Why spend hours going through the Google rankings looking for your position, or that of your competitors, when you can automate the process and receive the results by email?

  RankReport is a great free tool that will let you monitor your rankings weekly or daily if you are obsessed by the SERPs, and will then email the results. Saves you a job!

  

  Tags: Google, ranking, Search engine optimization, Search engine results page, search engines, SEO, tools
  Posted in Google, SEO

• Search engines overtake Yellow Pages

  Thursday, October 30th, 2008

  If you hadn’t got the message yet that many of your local customers are seeking you online, this report should finally convince you!

  Although here in the UK, there are still some dinosaurs who cannot understand why they would need a computer let alone access to the Internet, there are obviously globally more savvy punters who now use the search engines more than they do the Yellow pages to find local information.

  There has been a big shift in the last 12 months in how consumers find the services they require. And most importantly, the number who then take further action eg make a phone call, email or drop into the shop is very high (from 66-72%).

  If that isn’t enough to convince you that it is time to take not just your internet presence seriously, but also look at geo-targetting, mobile search, website accessibility for mobile devices, and consumer review sites, then your business may be one of the ones that is going to struggle as the recession bites and consumers look to the Net for the best value buys.

  Tags: search engines, yellow pages
  Posted in Stats & Trends, Uncategorised

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