Change Google's Instant Search
This morning, September 8, 2010, Google rolled out a new feature for its search engine: Google Instant. Instead of finishing your search terms, or query, Google updates and refreshes its results every 30 microseconds to give you what they hope are your search terms before you've finished typing. Since Google finishes your search for you, it's possible that millions of sites that used good keyword analysis and SEO are going to lose out. No one will see the same results with Google's Instant search.
Today, there are many confused content writers who are also concerned about what this means for their writing and future earning ability. For those of you who somehow manage content online using SEO, you may be concerned, too. By simply introducing a new feature, Google has the power to change the current face of SEO and search. Before these changes there are certain things that people do to try to rank high in Google, such as studying keywords and going for niche markets.
Google has already "warned" us to expect fluctuations in page impressions. It seems that when the Google Instant search engine is showing results it counts as a page impression. Google's Instant search engine has to change SEO in some way, doesn't it? There are already people who spam the heck out of others and try to climb the search engines without putting in work. What's next?
It is going to make it harder to determine how effective an SEO campaign or the implementation of new strategies is working because page impressions are changing. Now, your site will get a page impression just because it came up in the search results. It seems that out of this the big companies win because they pay to be the sponsored result and have the big bucks to SEO all the way to #1.
I have the top spot or first page of Google for several articles, but this just might change everything. They will still be there, but it's a question of whether or not the people will type out the words. In the past (yesterday), shooting for long-tail keywords was beneficial. Now, with Google Instant, I don't know. Do I try to write for shorter keywords?
The only thing that I do know to do or to let people know is that you can turn off Google Instant in your search settings.
http://www.infobarrel.com/How_to_Change_...
The difference between Google Instant and the old search engine could be described as sheer laziness. With Google Instant you do not have to press enter to get your search results, but without it you do. I think if it is really that important that I save 2-5 seconds on each internet search that I make then perhaps it's time to re-prioritize my life.
I really don't know what this means. Myself, and many writer colleagues, make money with our own websites and by writing for other content/article sites. At least for me, it is an honest living, and one that I've worked very hard at learning from scratch. This motivation of Google's to save people time on searches potentially disrupts many people. I'm not sure it's worth the saved time.
I'm banking on this from Google's website:
Q:Does this change impact the ranking of search results?
A:No, this change does not impact the ranking of search results.
Internet Advancement, which also goes by 4GreatBuys.com, must refund customers, pay $24,432 to the state for costs incurred and a civil penalty of $25,000.
The company had promised to get its customers ranked in the top 10 to 20 results on the search engines for $980 to $1,500 in set-up fees and monthly fees of $79.80 to $89.95.
The case involved "search engine optimization" services, which attempt to get businesses high placement in search-engine results.
"Internet Advancement misrepresented its success rate, promised more than it could deliver, then refused to provide refunds to customers who didn't get what they paid for," said Attorney General Christine Gregoire.
She said the Attorney General's Office, the Federal Trade Commission and the Better Business Bureau received more than 100 complaints from customers around the country.
Microsoft MSN
New deals for movie lovers
Microsoft's MSN division said yesterday it has signed new deals with Blockbuster, CinemaNow and MovieTickets.com to partner on its MSN Movies site, at movies.msn.com.
People will be able to rent DVDs, download movies and buy tickets online at the site, Microsoft said. Blockbuster launched its own DVD rental service this week, and the additional placement on MSN's site will likely give it more exposure to Internet users.
Online movie-download company CinemaNow will use the site to offer a subscription service to MSN users for $9.95 a month or $49.95 a year.
Nike
Discount brands acquired
Nike, the world's largest athletic-footwear maker, acquired Official Starter Properties and Official Starter for about $43 million to gain brands that sell in discount stores.
Nike said the businesses, which own and license the Starter, Team Starter and Asphalt brands, will be operated by Exeter Brands Group, a new operating unit. Nike also gains the Shaq and Dunkman brands of apparel, footwear and accessories.
Enron
Lay won't get trial in Sept.
HOUSTON — Enron founder Kenneth Lay will not get the September trial he wanted on charges stemming from the collapse of the scandal-ridden company.
Lay had asked for a Sept. 14 trial, and told U.S. District Judge Sim Lake he would give up his right to face a jury and leave his fate in the judge's hands if that would result in a speedy prosecution.
Lake yesterday declined to set a trial date. The judge indicated he could decide by early October on whether the former Enron chairman will get a separate trial or face a judge or jury alongside his one-time protégé, former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling, and the company's former top accountant, Richard Causey.
All three have pleaded not guilty.
Federated Department Stores
Profit dives while sales rise
CINCINNATI — Second-quarter profit tumbled 35 percent at Federated Department Stores, largely because of the expense of buying back debt, while sales rose 3 percent, the retailer reported yesterday.
The results fell short of analysts' expectations. Federated's stock price slipped 3 percent, even though the retailer, parent company of Bon-Macy's, slightly raised its earnings guidance for 2004.
Shares of Federated fell $1.52 to $44.50. They have declined 5.6 percent this year.
SEO is an acronym for "search engine optimization" or "search engine optimizer." Deciding to hire an SEO is a big decision that can potentially improve your site and save time, but you can also risk damage to your site and reputation. Make sure to research the potential advantages as well as the damage that an irresponsible SEO can do to your site. Many SEOs and other agencies and consultants provide useful services for website owners, including: If you're thinking about hiring an SEO, the earlier the better. A great time to hire is when you're considering a site redesign, or planning to launch a new site. That way, you and your SEO can ensure that your site is designed to be search engine-friendly from the bottom up. However, a good SEO can also help improve an existing site. Some useful questions to ask an SEO include:
Review of your site content or structure
Technical advice on website development: for example, hosting, redirects, error pages, use of JavaScript
Content development
Management of online business development campaigns
Keyword research
SEO training
Expertise in specific markets and geographies.
Keep in mind that the Google search results page includes organic search results and often paid advertisement (denoted by the heading "Sponsored Links") as well. Advertising with Google won't have any effect on your site's presence in our search results. Google never accepts money to include or rank sites in our search results, and it costs nothing to appear in our organic search results.
While SEOs can provide clients with valuable services, some unethical SEOs have given the industry a black eye through their overly aggressive marketing efforts and their attempts to manipulate search engine results in unfair ways. Practices that violate our guidelines may result in a negative adjustment of your site's presence in Google, or even the removal of your site from our index. Here are some things to consider:
- Be wary of SEO firms and web consultants or agencies that send you email out of the blue.
Amazingly, we get these spam emails too:
"Dear google.com,
I visited your website and noticed that you are not listed in most of the major search engines and directories..."Reserve the same skepticism for unsolicited email about search engines as you do for "burn fat at night" diet pills or requests to help transfer funds from deposed dictators.
- No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.
Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a "special relationship" with Google, or advertise a "priority submit" to Google. There is no priority submit for Google. In fact, the only way to submit a site to Google directly is through our Add URL page or by submitting a Sitemap and you can do this yourself at no cost whatsoever.
- Be careful if a company is secretive or won't clearly explain what they intend to do.
Ask for explanations if something is unclear. If an SEO creates deceptive or misleading content on your behalf, such as doorway pages or "throwaway" domains, your site could be removed entirely from Google's index. Ultimately, you are responsible for the actions of any companies you hire, so it's best to be sure you know exactly how they intend to "help" you. If an SEO has FTP access to your server, they should be willing to explain all the changes they are making to your site.
- You should never have to link to an SEO.
Avoid SEOs that talk about the power of "free-for-all" links, link popularity schemes, or submitting your site to thousands of search engines. These are typically useless exercises that don't affect your ranking in the results of the major search engines -- at least, not in a way you would likely consider to be positive.
- Choose wisely.
While you consider whether to go with an SEO, you may want to do some research on the industry. Google is one way to do that, of course. You might also seek out a few of the cautionary tales that have appeared in the press, including this article on one particularly aggressive SEO:http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002002970_nwbizbriefs12.html. While Google doesn't comment on specific companies, we've encountered firms calling themselves SEOs who follow practices that are clearly beyond the pale of accepted business behavior. Be careful.
- Be sure to understand where the money goes.
While Google never sells better ranking in our search results, several other search engines combine pay-per-click or pay-for-inclusion results with their regular web search results. Some SEOs will promise to rank you highly in search engines, but place you in the advertising section rather than in the search results. A few SEOs will even change their bid prices in real time to create the illusion that they "control" other search engines and can place themselves in the slot of their choice. This scam doesn't work with Google because our advertising is clearly labeled and separated from our search results, but be sure to ask any SEO you're considering which fees go toward permanent inclusion and which apply toward temporary advertising.
- What are the most common abuses a website owner is likely to encounter?
- What are some other things to look out for?
- owns shadow domains
- puts links to their other clients on doorway pages
- offers to sell keywords in the address bar
- doesn't distinguish between actual search results and ads that appear on search results pages
- guarantees ranking, but only on obscure, long keyword phrases you would get anyway
- operates with multiple aliases or falsified WHOIS info
- gets traffic from "fake" search engines, spyware, or scumware
- has had domains removed from Google's index or is not itself listed in Google
One common scam is the creation of "shadow" domains that funnel users to a site by using deceptive redirects. These shadow domains often will be owned by the SEO who claims to be working on a client's behalf. However, if the relationship sours, the SEO may point the domain to a different site, or even to a competitor's domain. If that happens, the client has paid to develop a competing site owned entirely by the SEO.
Another illicit practice is to place "doorway" pages loaded with keywords on the client's site somewhere. The SEO promises this will make the page more relevant for more queries. This is inherently false since individual pages are rarely relevant for a wide range of keywords. More insidious, however, is that these doorway pages often contain hidden links to the SEO's other clients as well. Such doorway pages drain away the link popularity of a site and route it to the SEO and its other clients, which may include sites with unsavory or illegal content.
There are a few warning signs that you may be dealing with a rogue SEO. It's far from a comprehensive list, so if you have any doubts, you should trust your instincts. By all means, feel free to walk away if the SEO:
If you feel that you were deceived by an SEO in some way, you may want to report it.
In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) handles complaints about deceptive or unfair business practices. To file a complaint, visit: http://www.ftc.gov/ and click on "File a Complaint Online," call 1-877-FTC-HELP, or write to:
Federal Trade Commission
CRC-240
Washington, D.C. 20580
If your complaint is against a company in a country other than the United States, please file it athttp://www.econsumer.gov/.
Blogger.com is the largest blogging platform in the world, reaching hundreds of millions of readers around the world each month. Hundreds of thousands of blogs use AdSense to generate revenue and add value to their blogs; your ad could be on these blogs today!
Blogs hosted by Blogger cover every topic imaginable. We have analyzed the contents of our most popular blogs and placed them into AdWords categories you're already familiar with. Here are just a few of the most popular categories of blogs along with the approximate weekly impressions available:
Blogger - run of site: 350m
Arts & Entertainment: 50m
Arts & Entertainment / Music: 28m
People & Society: 14m
Arts & Entertainment / Movies: 13m
Computers & Electronics: 12m
Sports / Team Sports: 9m
Food & Drink / Cooking & Recipes: 9m
Shopping & Apparel: 7m
Health: 6m
There are hundreds of categories to choose from, each representing a targeted, engaged collection of readers who may be perfect for your message. Head over to Google AdWords and search for Blogger in the Placement Tool today!
Blogger was acquired by Google in 2003 and is one of the most-visited web properties in the world.
Some statistics about Blogger:
340,000 words per minute are written on Blogger every minute of every day
300m+ visitors per month
500m+ pageviews per day
45% of Blogger's traffic comes from the U.S.
Blogger users can add AdSense to their blog with one click