Threadwatch.org
Most wide ranging discussion of the Google "suggest" and reverse engineering...I am alos of the opinion that this tool could skew the seerps even more to high volume (and high cost) for clicks.
Saturday, December 11, 2004
Friday, December 10, 2004
Site-Flavored Google Search Beta
Google Business Solutions
Users of Google search solutions can test new personalisation features...expect these to become the norm..
Users of Google search solutions can test new personalisation features...expect these to become the norm..
Google offers a suggestion
CNET News.com
"Google has launched a new feature that tries to guess what users are looking for as they type queries into a search box.
Google Suggest quietly debuted this week on the company's Labs site, which showcases Google features that 'aren't quite ready for prime time,' according to a message on the site. "
Google: "As you type, Google will offer suggestions. Use the arrow keys to navigate the results."
Google Suggest FAQ: "Google Suggest : Frequently Asked Questions "
Invisible tabs?
"Google has launched a new feature that tries to guess what users are looking for as they type queries into a search box.
Google Suggest quietly debuted this week on the company's Labs site, which showcases Google features that 'aren't quite ready for prime time,' according to a message on the site. "
Google: "As you type, Google will offer suggestions. Use the arrow keys to navigate the results."
Google Suggest FAQ: "Google Suggest : Frequently Asked Questions "
Invisible tabs?
Google Magazine Search?
internetnews.com
"Google (Quote, Chart) may have found a way to make money from its still-in-beta News service without alienating publishers, as indicated by a patent application on file with the USPTO...There are two key elements of the patent: a method for executing a permission protocol so that the publisher could authorize Google to display more text from the relevant publication; and storing scanned versions of printed documents along with data sets representing the ads that went with them.
Google's problem with its News service is that there's no way to monetize it. News publishers would cry foul if it displayed contextual ads against their content, even if it is just headlines and openers. The patent application hints at a way to take that a step further. It would cover a process of scanning printed media and displaying them as search results "as a replica of the corresponding printed media." This method would maintain a news organization's or publisher's branding -- and it also would maintain the original ads.
But fast-moving tech companies don't tend to waste time on applying for irrelevant patents, said IP attorney John Rabena, a partner at Sughrue Mion, an intellectual property law firm.
"If Google has a patent application on something, they're probably doing it now," Rabena said. In his experience, technology and software companies don't go after a lot of patents. "They tend to stick to their core technology."
A gander at Google's patent portfolio seems to bear out Rabena's theory: The search advertising giant has six applications in the pipeline, three of them filed in 2004, along with seven patents. All but two relate to search; one is for a method of serving relevant advertising and another is for a method of displaying e-mail. "
"Google (Quote, Chart) may have found a way to make money from its still-in-beta News service without alienating publishers, as indicated by a patent application on file with the USPTO...There are two key elements of the patent: a method for executing a permission protocol so that the publisher could authorize Google to display more text from the relevant publication; and storing scanned versions of printed documents along with data sets representing the ads that went with them.
Google's problem with its News service is that there's no way to monetize it. News publishers would cry foul if it displayed contextual ads against their content, even if it is just headlines and openers. The patent application hints at a way to take that a step further. It would cover a process of scanning printed media and displaying them as search results "as a replica of the corresponding printed media." This method would maintain a news organization's or publisher's branding -- and it also would maintain the original ads.
But fast-moving tech companies don't tend to waste time on applying for irrelevant patents, said IP attorney John Rabena, a partner at Sughrue Mion, an intellectual property law firm.
"If Google has a patent application on something, they're probably doing it now," Rabena said. In his experience, technology and software companies don't go after a lot of patents. "They tend to stick to their core technology."
A gander at Google's patent portfolio seems to bear out Rabena's theory: The search advertising giant has six applications in the pipeline, three of them filed in 2004, along with seven patents. All but two relate to search; one is for a method of serving relevant advertising and another is for a method of displaying e-mail. "
Thursday, December 09, 2004
Google Guy: how to get great results: "look at your logs, not your rankings"
Searchenginewatch forum
"I advise people to spend less time on their toolbar PR, rankings, or a single keyword phrase and more time seeing how they do across several search engines, seeing if they can be relevant for diverse phrases, and on looking at their logs to figure out what keywords users are typing to really find the site". And I'd compress that down to "look at your logs, not your rankings." There's often more interesting stuff to learn in one's server logs and by thinking about how surfers use your site.
"I advise people to spend less time on their toolbar PR, rankings, or a single keyword phrase and more time seeing how they do across several search engines, seeing if they can be relevant for diverse phrases, and on looking at their logs to figure out what keywords users are typing to really find the site". And I'd compress that down to "look at your logs, not your rankings." There's often more interesting stuff to learn in one's server logs and by thinking about how surfers use your site.
"Google Introduces Animated Ads"
MediaDailyNews 12-09-04
Google announced it will now allow eye-catching animated GIF banners throughout its AdSense network for publishers. Google intends to continue charging advertisers on a cost-per-performance basis--Some analysts criticized the move, saying that it's a mistake for Google to use a cost-per-click pricing model charge for banner ads--which can have a branding value even if consumers don't click on them. Sometimes, especially with streaming and rich media banners, advertisers don't even call on consumers to take any direct action. For this reason, banners are traditionally sold based on cost-per-thousand impression basis.
The danger faced by Google is that advertisers will get the branding benefits of banner ads, but won't have to pay because consumers might not click on them.
Google announced it will now allow eye-catching animated GIF banners throughout its AdSense network for publishers. Google intends to continue charging advertisers on a cost-per-performance basis--Some analysts criticized the move, saying that it's a mistake for Google to use a cost-per-click pricing model charge for banner ads--which can have a branding value even if consumers don't click on them. Sometimes, especially with streaming and rich media banners, advertisers don't even call on consumers to take any direct action. For this reason, banners are traditionally sold based on cost-per-thousand impression basis.
The danger faced by Google is that advertisers will get the branding benefits of banner ads, but won't have to pay because consumers might not click on them.
Monday, December 06, 2004
Google & Authority Sites: Tourism Example
SiteProNews
In an article about writing content for Google Jim Hedger also discusses the concept of authority sites giving a tourism related example to illustrate how the concept relates to linking:
He theorises that Google is becoming more strict about link-relevance stating that "to postively affect ranking the pages or sites linked together must relate to each other in topic as well as by sharing similar keywords."
His example is regional tourism as a topic.
"A local tourism bureau will almost certainly have a website. That site will link to the sites of member-clients in its region. Each of those sites represent businesses dependent on regional tourism, thus establishing relevance between the sites. The tourism bureau becomes the "hub" from which Google follows links to other, topically related websites. In this way, the Hub site becomes a highly positive link-reference in Google's eyes."
In an article about writing content for Google Jim Hedger also discusses the concept of authority sites giving a tourism related example to illustrate how the concept relates to linking:
He theorises that Google is becoming more strict about link-relevance stating that "to postively affect ranking the pages or sites linked together must relate to each other in topic as well as by sharing similar keywords."
His example is regional tourism as a topic.
"A local tourism bureau will almost certainly have a website. That site will link to the sites of member-clients in its region. Each of those sites represent businesses dependent on regional tourism, thus establishing relevance between the sites. The tourism bureau becomes the "hub" from which Google follows links to other, topically related websites. In this way, the Hub site becomes a highly positive link-reference in Google's eyes."
Sunday, December 05, 2004
Toolbar PageRank is dead, long live PageRank...
JohnGalt That's not my real name... put the cat amongst the pigeons with his post at forums.searchenginewatch "Google says: Toolbar PageRank is for entertainment purposes only..."
He claims to have received the following from a Google rep...""The PageRank that is displayed in the Google Toolbar is for entertainment purposes only. Due to repeated attempts by hackers to access this data, Google updates the PageRank data very infrequently because is it not secure. On average, the PR that is displayed in the Google Toolbar is several months old. If the toolbar is showing a PR of zero, this is because the user is visiting a new URL that hasn't been updated in the last update. The PR that is displayed by the Google Toolbar is not the same PR that is used to rank the webpage results so there is no need to be concerned if your PR is displayed as zero. If a site is showing up in the search results, it doesn't not have a real PR of zero, the Toolbar is just out of date"
The amount of hot air this has generated in a flurry of forum posts indicates that PageRank mania (severe cases of OCD) is still crippling those who hold the delusional belief that the little green line is the holy grail..
Googleguy chips in at seoroundtable
with a refutation which is not wholly convincing and sends the commentators into a dizzy spin trying to interpret what he really means...
Perhaps a tad more helpful are the "facts" that bobmutch posts about the redundancy of the PR toolbar at Threadwatch.org "Toolbar PR used to be updated every month up until Jun 22/2004 when PR went for 106 days without an update (longest on record before that was Aug 8/2003 and Oct 22/2000 at 54 days)... We currently haven't have a Toolbar PR update for 57 days, a BL update for 7 days (Nov 25) and a Google Directory PR update for 35 days (Oct 28).
He claims to have received the following from a Google rep...""The PageRank that is displayed in the Google Toolbar is for entertainment purposes only. Due to repeated attempts by hackers to access this data, Google updates the PageRank data very infrequently because is it not secure. On average, the PR that is displayed in the Google Toolbar is several months old. If the toolbar is showing a PR of zero, this is because the user is visiting a new URL that hasn't been updated in the last update. The PR that is displayed by the Google Toolbar is not the same PR that is used to rank the webpage results so there is no need to be concerned if your PR is displayed as zero. If a site is showing up in the search results, it doesn't not have a real PR of zero, the Toolbar is just out of date"
The amount of hot air this has generated in a flurry of forum posts indicates that PageRank mania (severe cases of OCD) is still crippling those who hold the delusional belief that the little green line is the holy grail..
Googleguy chips in at seoroundtable
with a refutation which is not wholly convincing and sends the commentators into a dizzy spin trying to interpret what he really means...
Perhaps a tad more helpful are the "facts" that bobmutch posts about the redundancy of the PR toolbar at Threadwatch.org "Toolbar PR used to be updated every month up until Jun 22/2004 when PR went for 106 days without an update (longest on record before that was Aug 8/2003 and Oct 22/2000 at 54 days)... We currently haven't have a Toolbar PR update for 57 days, a BL update for 7 days (Nov 25) and a Google Directory PR update for 35 days (Oct 28).
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