CAT | Google
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Google says website page loading speed will be key to rankings in the future!
0 Comments | Posted by andy in Google, Search Engine News
We’re all constantly trying to climb to the top of a Google search results page! Well here is a great hint that may help you climb search results a little faster.
Recently Google rep Matt Cutts suggested that page load times / speed of your website will affect your site position in Google. This hint is in line with other news the Google plan to “speed up the internet”. Previously Google has not factored page load time into the algorithm, although it does make a great deal of sense considering Google’s all about the end user experience. Who wants to be sent to a slow loading website, the quicker the better!
Matt suggested that we should all start paying attention to the tools and other resources found on http://code.google.com/speed a variety of plug-ins and external tools aimed to help optimize your web pages for speed.
At the end of the day what does this mean for your web pages?
It means start optimizing images, cleaning your code, compressing java script etc..
Although this can be seen as just adding to the work load of SEO’rs.. quicker page load for your visitors means a much happier consumer which will have a knock on effect for sales, consumer engagement and enjoyment.
Join the Google Speed Web Revolution, and let’s speed things up!
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Published by SEO Prof Andy
25
Are Google & Facebook Evil?
0 Comments | Posted by andy in Google, Search Engine News, Slipstream News, Social Media
Google and Facebook both represent the dominant leaders in their respective fields. So complete is their dominance in fact, that people have begun audibly questioning whether they are in fact a force for good, or evil.
The prime fear where both are concerned is with regards to data. Google has indexed billions of website pages, making it privy to a lot of information; all of which could, in theory at least, be used for dangerous profiling purposes. Google Earth has also caused uproar with claims that it is helping criminals pick targets and is another major invasion of privacy.
Facebook, of course, thrives on information. Users are encouraged to share their most personal of details, thoughts and – shamefully – pictures. It harvests your email address to find potential friends and can be accessed by anyone. With all this at one company’s disposal, could Facebook one day abuse its power and expose its users to the world.
Some may see the theories as fanciful, others as a very real Orwellian nightmare made possible by governments and corporations around the world. The fundamental truth in all this though is that both companies do wield a great deal of power and both have access to private elements of many peoples’ lives.
From a search marketing point of view, Google’s omnipotent near monopolisation of the search market, ensures that theirs is the drum that we all march to. Whilst Bing and Yahoo are still hugely popular, it is the guidelines passed down by Google – often by way of Webspam team leader Matt Cutts – that needs to be heeded with the greatest urgency.
There have been numerous tales of woe from those who have been stricken from Google’s pages and suffered a steep drop in visitors as a result. There are cases where this is inexplicable and can’t be explained; however, most are usually as the result of long-outlawed blackhat techniques like buying links or creating numerous domains to push traffic towards a single main site.
A good example of a company falling foul of Google is the case of Foundem. The UK based price comparison site had its ‘plight’, highlighted last month after they kicked up a fuss over their exclusion from the Google rankings for the past three years. They even produced a secondary site called ‘The Google Delusion’, to tell their side of the story and show how they have been persecuted by the search giant over the preceding years.
But is this exclusion as a result of Google using its power to punish or simply down to a lack of content and originality on the site? It would be churlish of me to suggest that Google haven’t played their part, but the simple truth is that Foundem are in a competitive industry and just don’t abide by the clearly defined rules of Google – thus they were forced to pay the penalty. For those in any doubt, the comments on both their own blog and the Econsultancy story offers some interesting reading, particularly with regard to where it may be failing.
The passing of information is dangerous. But whether you’re a victim of Facebook or a clumsy junior civil servant leaving a USB full of personal details, the more we open up, the more open we are to intrusion. Google and Facebook have gained their power through providing a service that the public wants. The reason that they are the first and fourth most popular websites in the world is purely down to their success at being the best (at least, the perceived best) at what they do.
Could our information be passed on and misused, yes. Is this the sole intention of Google or Facebook, most probably not. Thieves will steal lead from church roofs regardless of Google Earth. Industrious hackers can obtain personal information about you through any site that you’ve entered details, not just Facebook.
You can’t assume security, just as you can’t assume that you’ll get to the top of the search engine rankings. Understanding the dangers rather than fearing the consequences is by far the most important aspect of any online usage. So are Google and Facebook really evil? In short, no; but even if they are, we are the ones who have given them the power and the information, so can we really pass blame? There are alternative sites, plenty of them, but we have actively decided to follow the well-trodden path regardless of the dangers that may lurk down the other end.
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Published by SEO Prof Andy
24
Twitter Negotiating Real-Time Search Deal with Microsoft and Google
0 Comments | Posted by andy in Google, Microsoft, Search Engine News, Social Media, Twitter, Yahoo
When I posed the question, ‘How will Twitter monetise…?’, at the tail end of last week, I didn’t expect the answer to be quite so immediate. Today it has been announced that Twitter are holding talks with both Google and Microsoft to seal a deal that will see feeds being shown alongside standard search results.
This is a move that has been some time in the making. Bing stole a march on Google at the beginning of July by integrating the tweets of a select band of Twitterati royalty (as covered in our blog post, ‘Bing Unleash Real-Time Search’). Whilst Twitter has struggled to find a way to make money from its hugely popular service, the search engines have been seeking ways to tap into its real-time capabilities. A match made in heaven, surely.
Initial reports suggest that the Twitter team are talking to executives at both Microsoft and Google; although it remains unclear whether they favour either, both or maybe even neither. Details are a little sketchy but it appears as though Twitter will be looking to tap into some of the search engine’s huge advertising revenue by affording them the chance to mine their data.
A shrewd move, particularly if it comes off. Firstly Twitter won’t have to sell advertising on their own pages, therefore they won’t suffer the backlash of disgruntled members. Secondly, the Twitter service will suddenly become available to an even wider audience, helping to cajole a few more to sign up. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, they can finally establish a continuous and productive revenue stream.
On the other hand Google and Bing will also get what they have been looking for, real-time data. People follow trends and want to know the latest news as it happens, which has accounted for much of Twitter’s popularity. Whilst Facebook may be bigger in terms of audience, Twitter has cornered the market in information sharing; and whilst they still maintain that position, it is surely time to cash in.
As with most business deals, you can expect this to be protracted and have various twists throughout the negotiations. Whilst it will be interesting to see what the outcome is, it will surely be more interesting to see how quickly and what the effect of this Twitter/search engine integration will be.
Whilst I suggested that the news on Twitter’s monetising plans should be expected ‘in the coming months’ following their major investment, this wasn’t quite what I envisaged. Most people could have foreseen that significant investment would lead to equally significant development; but this, on the face of it, appears to be Twitter really getting their act together and ensuring they remain vital and a major part of both search and communication.
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Published by SEO Prof Andy
23
Google Services for Websites Update Announced
0 Comments | Posted by andy in Google, Internet News, Search Engine News
The Google Services for Websites package has recently received a bit of a revamp. Designed to help manage either your own or a range client sites easily, the latest updates will no doubt be welcomed with open arms by Webmasters everywhere.
Fundamentally the original Google Services for Websites was designed to show you exactly how your site was perceived by Google; where it failed, where it succeeded and how it was performing generally. With the new updates, this process has been speeded up whilst also integrating a number of new useful tools.
The first of these new tools is Web Elements. This is basically a simplified way of integrating applications including YouTube videos, presentations and maps. Through straightforward drag and click coding you can have a site bulging with useful information for your visitors. You can also interact with site users and others around you with Conversation Element whilst also searching across your own or other site with Custom Search. All of which is designed to make websites more engaging without becoming overly complicated to manage or implement changes.
The speed at which your page loads and responds is also critical to how well your site as a whole performs. If visitors are left waiting too long to see what you have to offer, you can be sure that they’ll take their business elsewhere pretty sharpish. Page Speed not only shows you how your website is performing but also provides tools and tips to help counteract latency issues.
If you’re a website hoster then the Tips for Hosters tool might be right up your street. It’ll help you to optimise your hosting platform to make it more accessible and, hopefully, more profitable. By integrating other Google Tools including Translator and Analytics to ensure you’re finding the right audience and are able to communicate with them in their language.
Of course not everybody chooses to use – or is in fact able to use – the Google Services for Websites package; but from our experience and how these new changes are shaping up, it really is invaluable. The added efficiency and in-depth knowledge it provides on visitor activity and expectations can make the difference between online mediocrity and success.
To find out more about the new updates as well as all existing services, visit the Google Blog.
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23
Google Moves Sponsored Links
0 Comments | Posted by andy in Google, Google Adwords, Google Analytics, Pay Per Click (PPC), Search Engine News
One small move for Google, one giant leap for online marketing… well maybe.
It may only be a centimetre or two but Google’s decision to move their sponsored ads much closer to the organic listings could improve ROI.
The new Google layout definitely puts the sponsored links in eye range, which could only mean one thing – advertisers get a higher Click through Rate, a better quality score and more traffic.
It will be interesting to see just how much of an increase in traffic advertisers experience and more importantly how this affects the quality of the traffic they receive.
Only time will tell but this could be a win win situation for Google and Pay Per Click management.
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23
Ad Exchange Heralds New Dawn in Display Advertising for Google
0 Comments | Posted by andy in FAQ - PPC, Google, Google Adwords, Pay Per Click (PPC)
Having already conquered paid adverts on SERPs, Google is now looking to do the same for display ads to. Ad Exchange is a new initiative that is designed to provide a forum for advertisers and hosts to meet and fill websites with wonderful advertisements.
Based around its already hugely successful DoubleClick display ad that Google acquired last year, this updated resource is set to help the search giant gain a tighter grip on Internet advertising. The trade off between the provision of advertising space, provided by the host website, and the advert itself, provided by a sponsor, will now be done in an auction like programme on Ad Exchange. This opens up rafts of opportunities from both sides, and will doubtless be greeted by groans down in Sunnyvale, California.
Just as DoubleClick has been around for some time, both before and after its integration into the growing Google Empire, so has Yahoo’s own display ad platform – powered by Right Media. Yahoo have slowly grown a core group of advertisers and even beat Google to the punch in providing a universal display ad marketplace, launching My Display Ads back in June.
Whilst Yahoo are still a profitable and hugely successful search engine, they can’t compare with Google on most fronts. Until this point though, they had gained a decent foothold in the display ad field, a foothold which could be looking decidedly shaky with this announcement. The head start that they had may well melt away with the coming of their predominant search rival, although it will be interesting to see how this pans out in the coming months and years.
On paper though Google’s advertising formula is peerless. AdWords is the most successful and widely used paid search format and DoubleClick is one of, if not the leading display ad service. All told, this could be topping up the far from depleted coffers of the Google enterprise in no time at all.
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