Archive for March, 2009

The 2 Latest Changes to Google Search and how it could Effect Organic SEO

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

With a nearly constant stream of buzz coming out every week about a new or a developing Google service, it’s actually kind of nice to report something about the thing that made Google such a big online presence in the first place, and the thing that organic SEO specialists really care about: search.

Google has announced two changes to its search engine, both that could have repercussions in the organic SEO industy.

First, Google now recognizes longer queries and offers longer snippets. Snippets are the brief descriptions—usually one or two sentences targeted by organic SEO professionals—that appear below each search result. The idea here is that if you’re searching for “Restaurants in downtown Akron with steak and vegetarian entrees,” the short snippet may not have enough information. So from now on, longer search terms will often produce search results that have longer snippets.

The second change may be even more important for organic SEO experts and everyday searchers alike. It has to do with related searches. You may have noticed related searches at the bottom of the search results page. They offer suggestions for other Google searches you could enter if the results from your first search weren’t up to snuff.

For example, a search for “basic economics” would previously only return related searches with the words “economics” in it. You’d see suggestions like “basic economic problems,” “basic economic concepts,” and other searches like that.

Now, organic SEO specialists will have to be aware of an improved “related searches” function. Google gives you results like “GDP,” “supply and demand,” and “macroeconomics.” In other words, the related searches appear a bit more intelligently chosen.

Anybody Can Do Ethical SEO, Right?

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

Mention to anyone who has ever heard of organic SEO that you’re considering it for your business and suddenly he or she becomes an expert:

  • “Well, here’s how to drive people to your website!  I did it myself!”
  • “You want to do ethical SEO?  Hey, that’s EASY.  I can teach it to you over lunch.”
  • “SEO is simple.  Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

Ah, the innocence of those who aren’t “in the know”.  To be fair, many people who’ve made remarks like those above actually believe what they’re stating.  They truly think that organic SEO just “happens”, almost magically, without any kind of plan.

But don’t fall into this trap.

True ethical search engine optimization is a lot more than just popping a few keywords into the text of a blog or website.  It’s more than Tweeting a couple of times a week.  And it’s much more than throwing phrases against the proverbial “wall” in the hopes that they stick.

Organic SEO is a process that can only occur in conjunction with a plan.  As much as naysayers would like to suggest otherwise, that plan has to be meticulously thought-out.  It also has to have knowledge behind it… the knowledge of an ethical SEO firm.

Of course, that isn’t to say that you can’t give it a “go” on your own, though you risk losing gobs of time and money in the process.  Instead of playing a game of “SEO roulette”, why not trust your ethical SEO to a business that knows its stuff and can back up its claims?  Otherwise, you could be throwing dollars down the drain.

Social Networking Facts: New Figures Report a Booming 2008 for the Social Networks

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

According to Nielsen Online’s newest social networking facts report, social networking is now more popular than email in terms of reach and strength of communication. The study reports that 66.8% of Internet users used “member communities” (that would be social networking services like Facebook and LinkedIn) compared with just 65.1% of Internet users who used email.

The study also reported other interesting social networking facts. Internet users spent 63% more time on social networking that they did in earlier years. And it should be no surprise that the biggest social networking service is Facebook. Facebook, the largest social network service, saw growth of 566% in time spent on it by users. The fastest-growing demographic among the Facebook social network service is older users, with 12.4 million people between the ages of 35-49 joining in 2008.

Nielsen also reported other key social networking facts: 29.9% of all Internet users are on Facebook. But while it’s the leading social networking service in the United States and many other countries, Facebook is not the dominant social network in Germany, Brazil and Japan.