Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.
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Items by Tamar Weinberg
Search Engine Roundtable
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Daily Search Forum Recap: August 15, 2008
Posted: August 16th, 2008, 12:00am CEST by Tamar Weinberg
Tags: Search Forum Recap
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Weekly Search Buzz RoundUp - 08/15/08: Google Search Share Tops 70%, Gmail Outage Affects Thousands & Don't Depend on Goldmine Research for Ethics
Posted: August 15th, 2008, 6:00pm CEST by Tamar Weinberg
Tags: Search Buzz RoundUp
Happy Friday! Hope you all had a great week and are pumped for SES San Jose next week! I know I am and I still don't know if I'm going! :) Here are the noteworthy news for this week:
Google Search Share Tops 70%
Google has had more than 70% of searches according to a Hitwise report. Is Google now a monopoly? It's debatable, but if there's choice involved, most feel that it's not.
Do Hearing About Penalties Worry You?
Google penalizes people for everything lately -- over-optimizing, selling links, whatever. The question we have to ask is: when you read about this stuff, do you feel like you need to make some changes to avoid getting "caught?" We have a poll open and the votes are pretty much split at this time, so vote on whether penalties worry you right now!
Google Doesn't Want You to Use Automated Software
If you're using ranking software to scrape the results of Google, don't be surprised if you get blocked. A few Google reps comment that they'd much rather have the Google TOS followed than ignored and that Google is meant for people and not for bots and applications that attempt to scrape data.
Do You Know that Google Personalizes Your Results?
In case you were living under a rock for the past few months, you should know that Google has personalized your results. In case you were totally clueless, though, Google is being more transparent about it. Just be sure to read the fine print and all.
Google Shuts Down Feedburner Advertising Network, Opens AdSense
This week, Barry spotted the thread where Google announced the end of Feedburner's Advertising Network. Publishers are no longer being accepted. What does this mean for the future of RSS advertising? We already have the answer: Google has opened AdSense for publishers to advertise within RSS. Now it all makes sense.
Google Reader Wants You To Share!
Google Reader is apparently the social RSS reader. It's so social that Google lets you share your feeds with your friends but until yesterday didn't give you a chance to tell Google you weren't ready to learn more. Now that's fixed, though. :)
Google Observations for the Week
After reporting that Google Webmaster Tools encountered 404 errors, we now know that the issue is fixed. JohnMu, our Swiss friend who has lived in the US for a long time and has no accent at all, tells us that the issue is resolved.
Two other issues relating to sitemaps and crawling Blogger have been resolved. Again, it's JohnMu who comes to the rescue... or at least the podium.
With regards to search, forum members observe that Google is not bolding all search results. As for why -- we don't know. My guess is that it's a bug rather than a "feature," but it could be experimental. Still, I don't see how that will encourage people to click.
Gmail Suffers Downtime
It's scary to be dependent on Gmail, but that's the case for millions of users. And when an outage took out Gmail for a large percentage of those users, worry settled in. Can we depend on Google forever? Hopefully, this is an issue that will never recur; I'm just glad that I keep my Gmail tabs open at all time!
You are Not the Most Dependable SEO
Goldmine Research is not a reputable company, even if they tell you that you're the most dependable search engine optimization company for the "feel-good" effect. Guess what? You've just been scammed! If Goldmine Research contacts you, do your research -- they want you to pay $5500 for the publicity. Not cool.
Internet Marketer's Charity Party Kicks off SES San Jose
A bunch of great internet marketers are holding a charity party next Monday, which will occur in San Jose right by the conference center where SES will be held. I'm still not sure if I'll make it but we have some great bloggers who will. Stay tuned for live coverage next week, and to those who will be there, have fun in San Jose! Just don't forget to save me schwag if you don't see me!
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How Will the SEO Bubble Pop?
Posted: August 15th, 2008, 4:34pm CEST by Tamar Weinberg
Tags: Search Engine Optimization
You can clearly search and find that many people think that SEO is dying a painful death, but do you know exactly how that will happen? Well, Ian Lurie decided to speculate how the SEO bubble will pop and proposes three theories.
In his first theory, bigger agencies will start doing their SEO in-house. In his second, SEO will just not be needed because of cut costs. In the third theory, Ian says that clients are seeking tolerable (not lousy!) results and that the rip-off artists will go away.
Do you agree? At Sphinn, forum members don't feel that Ian's assessment is correct. The need for marketing is much more important now than ever, and talent will always be needed. "Shameless self-promoters," then, will need to be distinguished from real talent.
Additionally, since web sites are not going away anytime soon, most don't foresee the SEO bubble to pop.
Forum discussion continues at Sphinn.
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Webmasters Question Effectiveness of Google Base and Shopping SERPs
Posted: August 15th, 2008, 4:07pm CEST by Tamar Weinberg
Tags: Other Google Topics
Is it beneficial for you to submit the products you have for sale on Google Base? What about utilizing Google Checkout? How does this fare for your product sales? This is the question posed by a seller on WebmasterWorld.
There are mixed results -- some say that their sales have increased exponentially. Others said that they didn't see their products listed anywhere.
Now the question is pointed at you. Have you used Google Base to list your products? Has it been successful?
Please let us know your thoughts in the comments or leave your feedback on WebmasterWorld.
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Daily Search Forum Recap: August 14, 2008
Posted: August 15th, 2008, 12:00am CEST by Tamar Weinberg
Tags: Search Forum Recap
Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.
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How Do We Determine Authority for Link Building?
Posted: August 14th, 2008, 5:08pm CEST by Tamar Weinberg
Tags: Other Google Topics
Michael Gray writes an interesting post about that teaching advanced link building and PageRank will never die. In the article, he explains that everyone who learns about optimization techniques are at different levels; some are more advanced and may consider topics to be basic. Now what happens if you recommend link building tactics from an "authoritative" site? By whose metric? If you apply this to authority as determined by "PageRank," Michael has a problem with this. Google's toolbar PR is simply used for "entertainment" purposes, as he says quite eloquently:
Since google has admitted that they will adjust/manipulate page rank of sites they believe are selling links, and those adjustments will trickle down/out, page rank is really just for entertainment purposes.
Therefore, Michael explains that establishing authority must occur by looking at the other available metrics together.
His post is discussed on Sphinn where Michael is forced to justify that PageRank is used now because " people need the ability to explain/understand things quickly, especially those who aren't entrenched in the field." And for that, PageRank is the current metric that delivers.
But some people have a problem with Michael's suggestion that one should refer to authoritative sites. Instead, the emphasis should be on relevant sites, be them authoritative or not. However, one points out that "relevance is a red herring," especially if the links to "relevant" pages are pornographic or questionable in nature.
Forum discussion continues at Sphinn.
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Google Reader Really, Really Wants You To Share With Your Friends
Posted: August 14th, 2008, 4:53pm CEST by Tamar Weinberg
Tags: Other Google Topics
Google has announced a new Google Reader feature that lets you share your blog posts with friends -- separate from your Gtalk contacts. Here's an example screenshot of what it looks like:
Google is really excited about this, and so are users. They are even ready for more -- sharing specific folders with specific friends, having a conversation with their friends, etc.
One big concern, however, is the fact that Google has pushed this too hard without giving users the ability to close the window. The screenshot explains:
(Photo from jaymeydad)In subsequent threads (like this Google Groups one), forum members call the push a bit too much and consider that bubble a "pesky" one that won't go away -- there's no "close" button, as illustrated. Google Reader Guide has acknowledged the problem and said that the best way to remove the bubble (for now, until they fix it) is to hit "Edit" and then "Cancel."
Thanks for your feedback on this. Just to let you know, we now recognize that this is a potentially annoying way to introduce our new enhanced sharing features. We're working on making the decision to share items, if and when you're ready, easier and less intrusive.
Update 08/15: Google has listened. A Google Groups thread announces that you can now easily close that box.
Forum discussion continues at Google Groups (#1) and Google Groups (#2).
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Do Search Penalty Discussions Worry You?
Posted: August 14th, 2008, 4:28pm CEST by Tamar Weinberg
Tags: Other Google Topics
With the variety of penalty discussions we read about, one who starts following the forum discussion is bound to get paranoid. At least, that's the case for one WebmasterWorld member who considers himself "white hat," but still is worried about the variety of penalties that he keeps reading about.
Another person chimes in on the discussion and says that most penalties did not impact the white hats. He says that if you're "truly white hat as I am, then continue on that way. Take time out to examine the posts from some of those who have been penalised. Most, admittedly not all, claim to be white hat but in fact have been using some incredibly stupid SEO techniques."
The question, though, is that the definition of "white hat" seems to change. People are getting confused on what is wrong and what isn't. This is understandable. When in doubt, check the guidelines for what is right and what isn't. If you're still not sure, ask.
So the question to the Search Engine Roundtable readers: does the discussion cause you to be paranoid? Answer in the poll:
Forum discussion continues at WebmasterWorld.
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Daily Search Forum Recap: August 13, 2008
Posted: August 14th, 2008, 12:00am CEST by Tamar Weinberg
Tags: Search Forum Recap
Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.
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"Search Meets Real Life" - Give Danny Advice on What to Speak about at Gnomedex
Posted: August 12th, 2008, 4:48pm CEST by Tamar Weinberg
Tags: Other Search Topics
Now that Danny Sullivan is a California resident, he can travel much much more easily. This year, he is stepping outside the typical conference boundaries of Search Engine Strategies, Search Marketing Expo, and Pubcon, and will be speaking at the Gnomedex conference on August 21-23. As a result, Danny has posted about the engagement on Search Engine Land and has been looking to Sphinn for discussion that he can integrate into his speech.
The Sphinn discussion has had a lot of real interesting experiences, from people saying that judges are using Google to gain ammunition for court cases (in one case, for child support) to how search makes it easier to form relationships based on a single passion for a topic.
The ability to search online is making us smarter, not stupider, because we're getting results instantaneously.
There's some really great discussion, from Matt Cutts trying to give the background on how policies are implemented, to others feeling that "old news is not news." Overall, the entire thread is a good read.
Forum discussion continues at Sphinn.