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April 28, 2005

They grow up so fast…

It was just a few years ago that a school project took the first steps away from its school hosted subdomain and onto its very own domain. The modest We've Moved page can still be seen at archive.org as can the original home page.

Check out the special searches for Stanford and Linux and the familiar "beta" marker. Now Google has specialized searches for a whole range of topics and four of the six tabs (seven if you have the desktop search downloaded) on the homepage are beta.

Back then, the search business looked very different and it took a lot more effort to find what you were looking for. The appearance of Google on the scene changed everything. Looking back is a good reminder of how quickly the web evolves. Where will the search engines be in another 10 years and how will SEO adapt? It makes you think.

Links courtesy of /.

Posted by Susan Esparza on 04/28/05 at 12:05 PM
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Danny defends SEM/O

Today's Searchday article is an awesome look by Danny at the popular perception of SEO (worthless shady criminals in a nutshell) and why it's just wrong.

The whole article is worth a read but I wanted to highlight one section in particular.

SEO doesn't mean that you build a site to "trick" search engines. It doesn't mean that you have to sacrifice good design. It does mean that you consider some basic tips that even the search engines themselves will tell you to do, such covered in Shari Thurow's recent SEM and Site Usability article or some of the examples below:

• Relevant content in HTML text that can be read by search engines. An all-image or Flash page is like showing a picture to a blind person. Search engines can't see the words in your images.
• Relevant and unique HTML title tags on each page. Even in today's link-obsessed world, I still have people telling me that fixing their page title problem brought in better traffic.
• Removing barriers to indexing. Sites constructed in frames, using dynamic delivery systems, session IDs and other issues can in some cases prevent search engines from reading their content. What you can't read, you can't show to others.

Pay close attention to that first quoted sentence. SEO is not about being deceptive. It's not about cheating or misleading anyone, customer or search engine. As an SEO you have a dual burden. You must be ethical; never doing anything that will harm or mislead your client even if they want you to. You must also conduct yourself above reproach; never attempt to deceive the search engine. Don't misrepresent your pages. Don't attempt to inflate your popularity.

Don't be worthless.

Posted by Susan Esparza on 04/28/05 at 9:56 AM
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April 22, 2005

PR Updated?

It seems like there was a PR update last night. Several threads have started to discuss the latest change. Of course, every ranking change is followed by posts of how the search engine in question is either going down hill or better than ever so what better time for us to point out the Negativity towards Google discussion on High Rankings.

Speaking of search engine popularity SEW points to a study about the danger of calling something a trend before it has had a chance to establish itself. MSN Search, touted last month as gaining on Google, lost market share this month. Danny reminds us that it takes months to really see a pattern emerge. So watch this space.

Posted by Susan Esparza on 04/22/05 at 11:22 AM
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April 21, 2005

Google posts 1Q earnings, beats expectations

Google released their 1Q earnings today and like Yahoo! earlier this week, posting a large increase in profits. Google's 1Q earnings are nearly six times as much as a year previous. Income from operations rose to $443 million from $155 million, and its operating profit margin rose to 35.2 percent of revenue from 23.8 percent a year earlier.

The market responded with a 6% increase in stock prices in after hours trading to $217.15.

More information can be found in the Reuter's report

Posted by Susan Esparza on 04/21/05 at 2:42 PM
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Google's My Search History

Yesterday saw the introduction of My Search History (beta, natch), a Labs project. Upon logging into Google the search interface changes allowing Google to track the SERPs and clicked links for a given search term. (Users with a Gmail account can log in under that name and password. The three people still without Gmail accounts can use their Google Answers or Groups account.)

Saving searches can be paused for instance when you don't want Google to track the results but Google's Melissa Mayer does admit that My Search History may not be optimal for users on shared computers.

Having played with the service a bit, I don't see myself using it very often. Power researchers may find it useful but the average person will probably never notice.

Posted by sesparza on 04/21/05 at 10:12 AM
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Google Browser Spotted?

Andy Beal points to an entry by Silicon Valley Watcher who is reporting seeing a strange new browser viewing their website. Could this be the long rumored Google browser out for a test drive? Google does own gbrowser.com and has recently hired Firefox designers including Lead Designer Ben Goodger.

It could mean nothing at all. Time will tell.

Posted by Susan Esparza on 04/21/05 at 10:11 AM
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April 19, 2005

Yahoo's 1Q earnings beat estimates.

The first quarter earnings have just been released by Yahoo. Their net income was $204.6 million, or 14 cents a share vs. net income of $101.2 million, or 7 cents a share, in the Q1 2004.

Revenues were $1,174 million for the first quarter of 2005, a 55 percent increase compared to $758 million for the same period of 2004. Analysts were estimating 11 cents a share on $796.8 million in revenue.

The full press release is here

Posted by Susan Esparza on 04/19/05 at 3:09 PM
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It's a long way to Tipperary…

But Google has directions to get you there. The Google world has become slightly larger. Today's Google Blog entry announced the release of Google Local UK and Google Maps UK.

Some have criticized the search engine for not expanding the Maps and Local beyond North America so it's good to see Google responding. Now it is possible to cross the Atlantic in Google Maps or Google Maps UK and discover that a new landmass has appeared. Europe, sadly, has not yet been discovered by the Google cartographers but surely that's coming soon. They can take the Chunnel.

To get listed in Google Local UK, note that the FAQ advises submitting to Yell.com.

The Maps doesn't yet have the Satellite integration so I won't be caught up all day looking for Big Ben.

Posted by sesparza on 04/19/05 at 9:26 AM
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April 18, 2005

Google wants to get me fired.

Or at least I think that's what's really behind the much too addictive quality of Google Maps Satellite view. I managed to successfully distract half the office with looking around the nation. While Google points out the plane graveyard, we found the nuclear testing site more fascinating (Area 51 is to the north and east.) Zoom in on that large crater in the top most part of the testing area to get an idea about how big it really is. Scary stuff. Totally addictive too.

There are other interesting things to see too and Google Sightseeing is constantly updated with them. For a more practical use, check out this integration of Craig's List and Google Maps

And since Google gave a cheer to their team, I feel obligated to say Go Blue!

Now back to work.

Posted by sesparza on 04/18/05 at 10:29 AM
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April 15, 2005

Yahoo! this Week

It's a busy week so far for Yahoo. First they lost the head of their labs, head of research and chief scientist Gary Flake, to MSN Search then appointed a new head without missing a beat. Yahoo's chief data officer, Dr. Usama Fayyad, has been named to head up a major expansion of Yahoo Research Labs.

Tuesday, it was announced that Yahoo was acquiring the Latin American PPC Network TeRespondo. ClickZ covered the story and said the terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Wednesday, the big news was free hosting for small businesses. Brilliant. For a company with no worries about server space, offering small businesses a place to build up their online presence generates good will and name recognition and encourages use of Yahoo's services.

Yesterday it was the revamping of their number one rated news service. Already the most popular online news site, Yahoo is looking to move into more customization. The new page is less cluttered with fewer ads that are better placed. I like the new look but I don't like Yahoo's persistence on making you sign in to customize.

Today the news is RSS in Yahoo! Shopping. Spotted on SEW, Danny links to the full list of available feeds and notes that you're unable to specify by keyword what you're looking for which is a shame really. Shopping works better when you can actually define what you're looking for.

Posted by Susan Esparza on 04/15/05 at 9:41 AM
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This is only a test...

Google is testing 3 ads above the SERPs instead of merely two. AdWordsRep says in a forum thread that it's just a test and not permanent. Danny's got a bit more on the story.

Also a news/ads feed is being tested above messages in Gmail. Barry at SERoundtable points out the RSS feed and links to a couple other reports. The feed switched evenly between clearly labeled ads and news. My own Gmail inbox remains feed free.

Posted by sesparza on 04/15/05 at 9:36 AM
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April 13, 2005

Brand Blind

Barry (Rustybrick) over at Search Engine Roundtable has an neat idea. He's calling it the Coke vs Pepsi Search Engine Test and like the famous taste testing trials, would be conducted using a "white labeled" engine that would randomly query one of the top four engines, Ask Jeeves, Google, MSN and Yahoo! into a non-branded page. The results would also ask the user to assess the relevancy of the results.

The final tally would be very interesting from the standpoint of branding and how it influences perceptions of relevancy. Barry asks that anyone interesting in building the white labeled engine contact him.

Posted by sesparza on 04/13/05 at 3:37 PM
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April 12, 2005

Google Local Also Mobile

Google added more functionality to their local search. The new service, available at http://mobile.google.com/local, is similar to the existing local search with the same what and where search boxes and a link to get driving directions. The results present you with a small Google Maps-like display complete with push pins and the top 10 results in your area. Phone numbers are linked and if your phone supports the feature, will dial the business for you. Search Engine Watch has a more in-depth look at the features.

What's really interesting is how it highlights the importance of optimizing for local business. As the web grows ever larger, relevancy becomes more and more important. With so many people living today with mobile phone in hand, a business that does not maximize its web presence is asking to be ignored. Consumers rely on their phones to bring them the most up to date information and given the ease of use of the new local search, it is sure to gain followers.

Posted by sesparza on 04/12/05 at 9:42 AM
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April 11, 2005

More about Ask Jeeves.

Today saw an upgrade to the MyJeeves service, adding tagging capabilities as well as a foldering system and a host of other new features

But that's not what is really interesting. Today while querying the butler, one of our analysts noticed that only three sponsored web results appeared on the SERPs with the other 7 below the organic listings. The odd part is that when I repeated the query in IE (we're mostly a Firefox crew around here), all ten sponsored results appeared at the top again.

What's up with that, Jeeves?

Posted by sesparza on 04/11/05 at 2:25 PM
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Happy Birthday, Jeeves.

Everyone's favorite little engine that could celebrated its eighth birthday on April 7th. Why they didn't mention it on the actual anniversary day, we don't know but Happy Birthday anyway. Senior designer, Gary Chevksy wrote a blog entry reminiscing about the good old days and there's a nice pictorial evolution of the butler himself to go along with it.

Ask Jeeves made their name with natural language searching and just continues to improve. Here's to eight more, folks.

Posted by Susan Esparza on 04/11/05 at 8:56 AM
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April 8, 2005

Wikimedia gains another angel.

Wikimedia, which runs such web resources as Wikipedia and its sister projects including Wiktionary, Wikibooks and Wikinews have recently gained support from Yahoo. The search engine will be hosting Wikimedia's content on "a significant number of servers" in Asia free of charge. They will also begin integration into Yahoo! France, providing answers to factual questions.

Wikipedia, for those who don't know, is a free content encyclopedia that includes over 1.5 million articles, approximately 500,000 in English. It is written collaboratively by contributors from all around the world. Every article is open to be edited and a history page tracks the changes.

Previously Wikimedia has been in talks with Google for web hosting as well and Google's new Q&A feature also takes answers from Wikipedia as appropriate.

Posted by Susan Esparza on 04/ 8/05 at 9:45 AM
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April 7, 2005

Google AdWords poaching clients?

Something is definitely in the wind. First came the forum post about Google telling an AdWords Professional that he wasn't qualified to take on a large client and would be dealing with the client directly. Rustybrick and Andy Beal both commented on it and Danny has written about it as well. While there are always accusations of Google wrongdoing, coming from these four sources, the chance that it's just idle rumor mongering falls drastically.

Posted by Susan Esparza on 04/ 7/05 at 11:17 AM
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April 6, 2005

Interview with MSN Search team

Rand (Randfish) Fishkin recently interviewed the MSN Search team via email relating to MSN Search's development and future as well as currently relevant topics in the search community. The three page interview is divided into 11 topics with five sections warranting a follow up. While the MSN team was hardly forthcoming, the answers are interesting and definitely worth a read. They mention having an index of "north of 5 billion documents" and that they index daily, weekly and monthly.

Amusingly, the team described themselves as a "small scrappy startup." This is obviously some new use of the term since they also mention search as a company-wide effort and it's been quite some time since anyone thought of Microsoft as small or scrappy.

Once you've finished reading, you can discuss the interview in threads at Cre8asite and SEOChat.

Posted by Susan Esparza on 04/ 6/05 at 10:50 AM
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April 4, 2005

The Motley Fool has an interesting article on why Google could be expanding their GMail storage to 2GB. The obvious answer, to keep ahead of rivals Yahoo and MSN, isn't the final answer, according to author Rick Munarriz. The real key is increasing ad space. With 98% of revenue coming from their pay-per-click ads, it is in Google's best interests to keep consumers on pages where those ads are displayed. Given the falling cost of bandwidth, it's cheap for Google to hold onto messages longer and chance that a walk down memory lane will trigger a click on a currently relevant ad.

Munarriz calls it greedy. I think it's just smart. More storage space builds goodwill as well as traffic. It's a win all the way around.

Of course, Robert Scoble seems to think that 2GB isn't enough. As a packrat myself, I have to agree. More space, please, Google. I even promise to look at your ads.

Posted by Susan Esparza on 04/ 4/05 at 10:45 AM
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April 1, 2005

One of these things is not like the other.

Jeeves9000, GoogleGulp, Bloglines in Klingon, MSN spoofed results, Unlimited Gmail space, Yahoo Slacker?

April first brings out the playful side in the search engines and we get a mixed bag of tricks this year. From AskJeeves $400 dollar key-finding robot (sign me up!) to Google's thirst quenching, DNA changing sports drink to MSN spoofing their results to Yahoo doing a good turn to college students everywhere, there's plenty of fun to be had on April first. Additionally on Gmail's first birthday, Google announces their new goal of infinity plus one storage.

Except that according to at least once source, they aren't joking about the storage and at the bottom of my gmail it says I'm using 288 MB (20%) of 1447 MB. Plans are to bump it up to 2GB today and the ultimate goal is never deleting anything again.

To get a good wrap up of the April Fool's jokes today, Search Engine Watch is always a good source for news. As for us, we'll focus on the real news today.

Today in Real News:

Gmail to 2GB. True. They've also added rich text formatting and a spell checker. It's still in beta, of course. Why? Well, perhaps the answer lies in the FAQ for Google Gulp.
11. When will you take Google Gulp out of beta?

Man, if you pressure us, you just drive us away. We'll commit when we're ready, okay? Besides, what's so great about taking things out of beta? It ruins all the romance, the challenge, the possibilities, the right to explore. Carpe diem, ya know? Maybe we're jaded, but we've seen all these other companies leap headlong into 1.0, thinking their product is exactly what they've been dreaming of all their lives, that everything is perfect and hunky-dory - and the next thing you know some vanilla copycat release from Redmond is kicking their butt, the Board is holding emergency meetings and the CEO is on CNBC blathering sweatily about "a new direction" and "getting back to basics." No thanks, man. We like our freedom.

Yahoo releasing a new index. Despite sounding like a joke, actually quite true. Yahoo gives Danny credit for the idea of weather reports and says they'll announce index updates from now on.

Google RideFinder. True but only available in select cities for only a few companies.

Posted by sesparza on 04/ 1/05 at 10:27 AM
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