In March 2010 we told you about Google Social Search, which gathered blog posts, images, Tweets, and other information your friends/family were posting and placed them at the bottom of search results. You can read the March 2010 article here: Google Launches Social Search.
Previously, if Google’s algorithm deemed information from friends/family useful for your search, it would appear near the bottom of results. Now that information will be mixed into search results, with annotations and notes from the original poster.
Back in March we urged you to get a jump on your competition by building your social circle in Google. If you did that, good job! If not then consider starting now.
To give you a recap of the article, no doubt during some unauthorized web shopping at work, a New York Times reporter found that JCPenney was consistently #1 in Google for keywords like “casual dresses,” “home decor,” “skinny jeans,” “comforter sets,” etc. As stated in the article, the reporter felt it was odd that JCP outranked cooler (albeit more expensive) stores like J.Crew and Crate & Barrel and so an investigation ensued (aka they asked an SEO firm to explain what was going on).
What they found was that JCP had allegedly purchased or placed links on spam blogs and double gasp, those links were placed on pages related to what JCP was selling (dresses, rugs, jeans). The result was that JCP owned rank during the holiday season. The New York Times reporter felt that JCP cheated their way to the top and set up a meeting with Matt Cutts. But all Cutts did was irritate them with his, I-should-be-the-poster-child-for-the-calming-affects-of-medicinal-marijuana laid back attitude.
In the end, JCPenney.com received penalties across the board (from #1 to #70ish) for violating Google’s guidelines despite JCP’s claims that they had no knowledge of and were not involved with the links. Their SEO firm, SearchDex, got the axe. Matt Cutts got a vanity slap from the New York Times, and the NYT basically let the world know they’re in the dark ages. Whether you agree with the tactics or not, as an SEO you have to admit that JCP just shed its outdated image for something more…renegade…cowboy…defiant. Yeah, that won’t do anything to boost sales. Are they cool enough for you now NYT?
What are your thoughts? Do you admire JCP’s ambition? Think their SEO firm was totally irresponsible?
Borders Group, Inc., the second largest bookstore chain, filed for bankruptcy today in New York.
Borders plans to reorganize, but must close 200 of its 642 stores and sell the furniture and merchandise. Sales could start as early as Feb. 19. Furthermore, if negotiations with current landlords fall through, Borders may need to close 75 additional stores.
What if instead of waiting for Google to act on a spam report, you could just remove the site yourself?
A new experimental Google Chrome extension does exactly that. It allows you to remove sites from your Google search results, and then sends that information to Google. This pool of user feedback may become a signal in Google’s algorithm for dealing with web spam.
Losing the Fight on Spam?
Google took a lot of heat in 2010 and into 2011 for the increase in web spam. Ironically, Google claimed those changes were a result of improving the algorithm to better handle spam. Most people would tell you it had the opposite affect–except for the spammers of course. Google also reworked document-level classifiers to make it harder to rank well using spammy on page content, or hacked sites.
Google feels the focus must now turn to content farms. They’re asking Chrome users to provide feedback on low quality sites by using the Blocklist extension.
Below each description are three links: Cache, Similar, and Block.
Clicking the Block link will remove the entry from your search results. This will not cause an entry from the next page to advance. If you remove one entry, then instead of 10 results on the page you’ll only have nine.
Icon
A red icon (Wilson! Wilson!) will appear in the upper right corner next to the tools icon. Click on this to see a list of sites you’re currently blocking. Each site will have a link with an option to unblock which you can do at any site.
As you block and unblock sites, the information is transmitted to Google.
The Do Not Track Me Online Act was introduced in the House of Representatives February 11, 2011 by Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA). It prohibits the unauthorized tracking of a consumer’s online behavior. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will regulate, monitor and enforce the bill should it become a law. Noncompliance could result in unfair or deceptive business practices (civil action) by the FTC. And you can bet if you don’t comply that your competitors will be alerting the FTC.
In December 2010, the FTC outlined expectations which included more transparency between companies and how they track consumer information, and the ability for consumers to opt-out. Being proactive, Google, Bing and Microsoft all created opt-out browser add ons.
The message sent by Congresswoman Speier, sponsor of the bill, was “privacy over profit.” (Sorry, I had to pause for a little laugh. I was imagining politicians during campaigns using their voter databases, behavior and location analysis, and other stats to help win an election. Good thing politics is non-profit).
It’s a bill with good intent and the message is: consumers need more awareness and control over how their information is being used online, while companies need to be more forthcoming about their policies and offer consumers a means to opt-out.
Who is Excluded From the Bill?
Companies/individuals that store information for fewer than 15,000 individuals.
Companies/individuals that collect information on fewer than 10,000 individuals in a 12-month period.
Companies/individuals whose primary business is not to “study, monitor, or analyze the behavior of individuals,”
Even if this doesn’t include you, it’s a good idea to provide an easy to understand privacy policy. While this proposed act may not affect your site directly, chances are resources you rely on will be impacted.
Information Covered in the Bill
Web sites and content accessed.
Date/hour of online access.
Geolocation of the computer from which the information was accessed.
Browser, device or application by which the information was collected.
As I was reading through Google’s “to doings” for the week, I had a “which one of these is not like the others” moment.
A stable version of Google Instant for Chrome was made available.
A voice activated translation application was announced.
Satellite/terrain maps are reachable via the results page, should the search warrant it.
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG)s are returned in Image searches, and you can now use Advanced Search to find only SVGs.
Information about a pretty cool Google Doodle to celebrate science fiction author, Jules Verne’s birthday.
Google teamed up with wedding designer Michelle Rago to create Google.com/weddings, a one-stop for wedding websites, announcements and save the date cards created with Google services.
I don’t have to tell you which one is different. If you run an AdSense wedding site, provide wedding website design/hosting, or graphic design and printing services for invitations, you don’t just have competitors on page one of Google–you have a competitor in Google.
Google Wedding Resources
A well-known issue with Google has always been that they’re quick when it comes to creating tools, but not so hot when it comes to promoting them. Bundling services and showing specific niches how to utilize them is a smart move. For example, Google Weddings shows brides and grooms-to-be how to use Google Sites for wedding websites; Picnik and Picasa for invitations; and Google Docs for wedding planning. Expect to see more sites like this from Google.
Early Internet entrepreneurs were a breed of their own–still are. I’m sure back then you had conversations with people who didn’t understand the Internet and who advised you to get a “real job.” They clearly didn’t see it, but you did—that the Internet was revolutionary.
Today, the Internet job sector is responsible for employing one million people and that doesn’t include businesses that use the Internet to sell goods and services to a global market.
Mobile Growth
The next explosion of growth is coming from the wireless sector, which is estimated to grow in double digits through 2014. Future growth will be helped by the introduction of IPv6, which opens up a trillion new Internet addresses and allows more devices to connect.
America Far From World Leader in Wireless Infrastructure
The problem is that the infrastructure in America isn’t up to speed. It’s not just rural spaces that remain broadbandless. Just prior to the Great Recession, many towns experienced a building boom which broadband did not keep pace with. According to Austan Goolsbee, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, America isn’t even among the top five countries when it comes to high speed Internet availability.
The National Wireless Initiative
On February 10, 2011 at Marquette University in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, President Obama announced his solution: The National Wireless Initiative. Goolsbee went into more detail on the White House Blog, stating that the White House wants to “leapfrog 3G” and make 4G available nationwide. He likened this to the transcontinental railroad, electrifying America, and creating interstate highways in terms of what this would do for Americans. (I hope Facebook is prepared for all the new members).
World Domination, Jobs and Bragging Rights
The goals of the initiative are clear: make America leaders in the 4G space, make high speed Internet available to 98% of all Americans, create jobs, promote innovation, and lower the deficit by billion.
The initiative is a three-part plan:
The White House plans to open up and auction off 500 MHz of air wave space.
Major investment incentives will be offered to encourage businesses to build out these networks on their own.
Seed monies will be provided to fund scientists who can make these networks faster and more secure.
One UP’ed
Why did the President choose Marquette to give this speech?
In four days, with only six people, and without raising tuition, the entire campus was put on a wireless network. Go Yoppers!
While Yahoo plans on laying off 1% of its staff, Google’s Alan Eustace, SVP Engineering and Research announced the company hopes to hire 6,000 people in 2011. The announcement came January 25, 2011 via Google’s blog.
Eustance stated, “it will be our biggest hiring year in company history.” Google hired 4,500 people in 2010 and 6,000 in 2007. The hiring frenzy is needed to find bright minds to work on the many projects and initiatives in the hopper.
The last remaining IPv4s (Internet Protocol addresses) were dispersed to the five Regional Internet Registries. This announcement was made by The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) at a ceremony in Miami, Florida on February 3, 2011.
Think of this like Y2K for IP addresses. Now that the original 4 billion IPv4 Internet addresses are dispersed, Internet access providers, network providers, and organizations must make compatibility upgrades to welcome a new IP address format: the IPv6.
Obama administration rejoice. There will be jobs.
The Future With IPv6
According to Olaf Kolkman, Internet Architecture Board Chair, there are roughly two billion people connecting to the Internet using IPv4 Internet addresses, but that falls short of the 6 billion people around the world who want to connect not only computers, but multiple devices. Hooking everyone and all their devices to the Internet is, “not doable,” according to Kolkman.
IPv6 began in 1993 in anticipation of this issue, and has been available since 1999. It adds 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456 new addresses, according to the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN). Still, Kolkman believes IPv4 and IPv6 will exist simultaneously for, “a decade or decades,” but to expect IPv6 to make up the majority of the Internet in a decade’s time.
Will This Impact Your Business?
For the majority of Internet users and SEOs, this transition will be seamless. If you run your own servers you may need IPv6 connectivity, software and hardware upgrades and training. Internet access providers, content providers, and equipment vendors, on the other hand, will have to make sure they’re using transition technologies and ensuring equipment is compatible with IPv6, so their customers can access IPv4 and v6 sites.
As a webmaster, get in touch with your access provider/hosting company and find out how soon their web, email, and app servers will be compatible with IPv4 and v6.
The average Internet user won’t notice the transition to and introduction of IPv6. In fact, some devices are already on IPv6 enabled networks.
You’re LinkedIn, part of a network of 90 million professionals, in the know—so why is the advertising so archaic? Soon it won’t be. LinkedIn will allow advertisers to target professionals by job title, company, or LinkedIn group level, instead of just location or industry. Companies that participated in beta testing saw clickthrough rates 3-4 times higher than the overall site average.
