Google Update:
Google Chrome OS Project
Google are launching an operating system under the livery of Chome, due in mid 2010. Hot on the heals of the new microsoft search engine Bing. So MS are chasing the search market and Google are moving into Microsoft home turf of OS. This is going to get interesting and the most likely loser will be microsoft. The recent success of the Chrome browers and Google apps. has proven the market for a Google OS. Of course with the current trend for dual boot and faster processing there is room for both. The key factor will be whether or now new PC’s will ship with the Chrome OS. The likelyhood is that they will and people will be happy to accept that. After all Google is about as well known and trusted as they come. Look out for screen shots here.
New Search Engine on the Block
Maybe you’ve heard of Bing, Microsoft have come out with all guns blazing and so far so good. Bing looks different and the search results are different from Google’s too. It’s early days and Bing isn’t officially launched yet, you can check it over at www.bing.com. Matt cutts of Google has already been quick to point out it’s short comings in a Twitter conversation earlier this week. So are Google worried? Who knows, the fact Matt felt he needed to discuss the matter speaks for it’s self. Watch this space for mor updates.
Webmaster SEO Tools
If you’re looking for some good quality seo tool that won’t break the bank, I can recommend a really good SEO Software site. You can find software and soung information, cover both the basic and the more advanced optimisation areas. Look out for the SEO Insights video course launching soon. Also the offer a free 5 day ecourse on Traffic and seo.
Google’s Latest Slap
Every now and again Google look at the importance they attach to certain domains. Squido is no longer as important, It’s still a good place to support your main site. Now days it takes longer to get a high position and it’s unlikely you’ll hit the top spot. That was one of Google’s algo changes. The latest area of their attention is the social network scene. Although social book marking is still a good source of links and still effective, it no longer as powerful. Like all good things a few irresponsible people just go too far. The net effect is Google have to take action to protect the integrity of their search results.
That’s what we see happening now. The answer is to make sure you have links from a good mix of websites. Directory submissions, videos, social bookmarks and hub pages are all good. The best source of strong back links is still other peoples related websites. Exchanging links is one of the best ways to tell any search engine how important your own website is. A good way to maximise theses links is to host a couple of good blogs. That way you can still build one way links whilst offering a fair exchange. While you’re at it don’t over look Google’s local search or Google base and remember Rss feed and podcasts. If you don’t put all your eggs in one basket, you’ll weather the storm.
Search Engine News:
Google’s New Keyword Tool
It seems Google are really trying to be more transparent. The latest tool from the Googleplex is a massive sea change and it’s bound to effect the way we look at key words. It is still in beta but even so it’s a great bit of kit. The big difference here is that you can actually look at keywords that are being uesd to arrive at any given website. It’s like being able to look into the minds of internet browsers. There are a lot of surprises in there too.
Can you imagine how much easier and how much more accurate your research will be with this new insight? Best of all it’s straight from Google, the horses mouth. I can’t wait to put this new information to good use and I’m sure a lot of other people will feel the same. No more guessing, no more third party tools, that never seem to get it quite right. It looks like Christmas has come early with the search based keyword tool. Google it and give it a try. It might just change the way you research keywords, for the better.
Keyword Reaserch - The foundation of SEO
Good keyword research is at the root of everything as far as SEO is concerned. Without it you could waste moths optimising for a search term that will never perform. Your keywords just don’t need to bring you traffic, you want high conversion rates too. It’s always good to be on Google’s page one for a generic term, but it’s the more targeted keywords that make you the sales. If you sell Sleigh Beds for example then the word Beds will be worth 1000’s of searches a day. Where as Sleigh Beds may be only a few hundred. The difference is somebody typing Beds into Google may not want a Sleigh Bed, in fact they probably don’t. So unless you have something else to offer them, they will bounce right of your site. Somebody looking for Sleigh beds is a qualified lead, they know what they want. they are much more likely to be a buyer. So a little bit of careful consideration will transform your online success. Keyword research is changing fast, new tools and more information is becoming available. Now almost anyone has access to true search intelligence. Use it wisely and it will pay dividens.
Google goes to war on paid links
Google or Matt Cutts to be precise has fired a shot across the bows of all webmasters that buy links. It’s been widely known that Google frown upon the pracitice and there has always been a certain level of risk attached. Most of us read Matts blog and are aware the paid links are (in Google’s eyes) a bad thing. A large number of websites have had their page rank cut, some lost it completely. The issue stems from the value Google put on back links and the way they calculate page rank. Page rank is unique to Google and it looks as if they may have created a monster. Plenty of “SEO” companies can buy links or even have their own link farms, using these they artificially pump up a websites page rank. Now most honest webmasters don’t do this or anything like it, but a lot will have a link they are paying for. Many others sell a few links to help make ends meet. The value of these links is dependent on the page rank of the site. So if they get reported to Google or discovered in some other way (many advertise on open forums) they run the risk of losing the highly prized PR they have gained over time.
Google are actively seeking both buyers and sellers of links, it’s the only way they can protect the integrity of the the page rank system. The problem is it will almost certainly be the small webmasters that suffer while the big boys just move on the next easy money scheme.
If you look at the bigger picture page rank, apart from making paid links more valuable, isn’t all that important to a websites success. There are a great many sites with low or even no page rank performing very well. I have some in the top 10 search results, out ranking higher PR pages. As long as you bear in mind that PR is only one factor in the mix for Google, the need to buy links deminishes considerably.
My own view is that content and good well thought out design will attract the inbound links you need and with them Page Rank too.
Google devalues Dmoz (Maybe)
Recently Google revised it’s webmaster guidelines and they no longer recommend listing in the Dmoz or Yahoo directories. Google themselves are saying that this is simply an update and that it was an outdated piece of advice. The open directory project has been a bone of contention among webmasters for many years. Some sites are listed in months and some in years and some never. Due to the nature of the directory and it’s importance to Google it’s been a “must have” listing on purely SEO grounds. I personally have never had any traffic from Dmoz and know of only one person that claims that they have. So as a pomotional tool it’s pretty limited. It’s notoriously hard to get a listing, due to fact it is entirely human edited. These editors are all volunteers, giving up their time for free.
So is it a bad thing for Google to be moving away. I don’t think so, it was only ever advisory. Dmoz does without doubt help a website’s authority.
From an SEO point I’ve had websites listed on the first page of Google for several years without a Dmoz listing or any other directory listing for that matter. I think directory listings have a value and Dmoz more than most. Will it effect all the sites with a coveted listing? No. So what’s the big deal? There isn’t one, Google are right it was just outdated advice and needed to be dropped. I’m sure the SEO world will survive and as far as Dmoz is concerned, it’s a directory and it does a job. Dmoz will survive, whatever changes lay ahead. Most webmasters and SEO’s will still submit their sites and still wait months or even years. I look at Dmoz as part of the old school, there is still a place for it and it still adds value to the web. When you really think about what else can you get for free these days, with the power and reputation of the open directory?
Google Gives Link Advice
Need links? Google says be interesting. Maile Ohye of Google concluded Link Week with a tutorial on getting more links. It says what the SEO experts have always said for years: good content and inbound links are critical, and in that order. Google has had a history of silence on the SEO side of things, and experts were often left to guess and test-and worse still, try to game the system. Google sent a pretty clear signal this time last year by cutting the PageRanks of paid directories, a move seeming to confirm white hat SEO methods. In her post, Ohye sings the praises of organicly gained, editorial links and directly denounces any links that appear “spammy,” or not “merit-based.”
No real surprises there but it does under pin what we already know, buying links is going to get you burned. A site with good regularly update content will always perform well, especially in Google. So rather that buying links, let them come to you. Sure it’s not as fast as most of us would like but the benefits are huge. With Google looking for websites to make an example the risk is now just too great. Try to remember, Google doesn’t really need your website, it has millions to choose from, so make sure you give them what they want. In return you’ll be rewarded with high page rank and top search results. Interestingly it seems that Google really want tell us what they expect from webmaters and site owners. I find they are now one of the best sources of information. After all it’s in everyones interests to listen, a better web will benefit us all.
Credit Crunch Means its time to look at SEO
With the current financial crisis it’s never been more important to have optimised webpages. Companies and individuals are looking for ways to increase sales and maximise their profits. Anyone doing business on the web needs to raise their game. If they don’t the implications could be very serious. A well designed optimised website will perform better, convert better and ultimately make more money. When times are hard people tend to research a little harder and buy that little bit better.
To ensure you get the optimum results from your site and your marketing campaign you need to deliver what the customer is looking for. So keywords and phrases become more important than ever, as does you search engine position and rank. To survive and succeed you need to optimise.
Can you Over Optimise?
It’s a good question, there is a point where SEO could be veiwed as spam. For the less experienced or less ethical SEO’s it’s tempting to keyword stuff and build 100’s or even thousands of unrelated links. Will it get you high search ranking, probably. It won’t last long though, even if you fool the spiders the human editors will spot you. Don’t forget about website visitors too, they can report a spammy site. I’d like to say there is a fine line between the right way to optimise and the wrong way, but the fact is it’s a big, fat, visible from space line. All you need to do is read the Google webmaster guide lines.
So why would anybody try to go over the top and risk losing their Google or Yahoo position completely? Generally it comes down to either Impatience or greed and sometimes both. Now it is also possible for someone to take bad advice and make a genuine mistake, it happens. The problem they face is that the search engines are unlikely to forgive them. To a degree I can see their point. There are published guidlines and articles, even official blogs. Just about all the information you need is out there. Unfortunately there is also plenty of “unofficial” information too and this is where the risk can be found. Many people don’t understand that optimising is about making a webpage or website as good and useful as is possible. It’s about relevance, cutomer experience and of course good organic results. It is not a way to cheat or game the system, nor is it a get rich quick solution. Good effctive SEO wil take some time, it takes research and preparation and above all it requires at least some measure of trust and credibility.
So can you over optimise? yes. Is it a bad thing? yes. Having said all of that I still see websites that are very clearly optimised to within an inch of the guide lines. They are usually not as visitor friendly as their counterparts and probably won’t stand the test of time. One of things that may be lost on those site owners, is that people make purchases, sign up to news letters and recommend their friends. A search engine does a job, a customer gives you a sale. The balance between the two is the real art of SEO, it’s not everything to be ranking well. For an online business to thrive it has to be able to convert visitors to customers.
