In an effort to make analyzing stats fair for everyone, Google has made Webmaster Tools less accurate. Starting February 3, 2011, page impressions listed under Search Queries will be reported differently. Previously, impressions were rounded up two or three numbers, for example 12,100. Now they will only be rounded up one or two numbers, for example, 12,100 becomes 12,000.

According to Google, the way impressions are calculated has not changed, but the way they are presented for you has. The change was announced by Pierre Far and Gary Illyes of the Webmaster Trends Analyst team as something requested by webmasters which will be, “a nicer representation for a better, less confusing experience.” Pierre Far further stated the change will allow webmasters to see long-term trends without being bogged down by daily fluctuations.

Suggestion: why not report numbers both ways?

SEO Revolution Blog

One month after a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report on improving online privacy, Google launched Keep My Opt-Outs which is a plugin that blocks ad tracking cookies. It gives users the ability to decide if they want to deny ad cookies; however, opting-out doesn’t mean the ads go away, it just means the ads become repetitive aka annoying.

Taking privacy of the anonymous searcher even further, Google has a beta plugin for Google Analytics. That means users can deny cookies that provide data to you such as how long they were on the site, if they are a new or returning users, etc.

Mozilla (Firefox) has created the Targeting Advertising Cookie Opt-Out (Taco) plugin that allows users to deny behavioral ads. And Microsoft has sated that a “Tracking Protection” feature will be part of the next IE version with features similar to Google and Mozilla’s plugins.

Why the New Plugins?

The FTC released a report in December 2010 titled, “Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change: A Proposed Framework for Businesses and Policymakers.”

There are three FTC guidelines in the report:

• Companies should incorporate creating and implementing privacy protections into their daily business procedures. This includes keeping the data secure, collecting only necessary data needed for specific business purposes, making sure the data is accurate, making sure data is kept only long enough to complete those business purposes and then safely eliminating the data.
• “Second, [...] that companies provide choices to consumers about their data practices in a simpler, more streamlined way than has been used in the past. Under this approach, consumer choice would not be necessary for a limited set of “commonly accepted” data practices, thus allowing clearer, more meaningful choice with respect to practices of greater concern.”
• Thirdly, the FTC suggests that companies continue to improve their privacy policies, so that, “interested parties can compare data practices and choices across companies.”

You can read the report (PDF) here.

If you’d like to comment on this issue or the report, submit your thoughts to the FTC by February 18.

References:

Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change: A Proposed Framework for Businesses and Policymakers. Rep. Federal Trade Commission, Dec. 2010. Web. 29 Jan. 2011.

SEO Revolution Blog

“Larry is ready to lead,” Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google.

Google announced today that Larry Page, co-founder of Google, will replace the search engine’s decade long CEO, Eric Schmidt starting April 4, 2011. The news came when Google announced its fourth quarter and 2010 fiscal year earnings. Read the statement here.

Page, who served as CEO prior to Schmidt, will overtake the day-to-day operations, while Schmidt becomes Executive Chairman and focuses on external business opportunities for the company, in addition to, “government outreach and technology thought leadership.” Schmidt will continue his role as adviser to co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

In a statement, Schmidt announced that Google had a stellar year and that, “These results give us the optimism and confidence to invest heavily in future growth — investments that will benefit our users, Google and the wider web.”

Google Financial Reporting

Revenues for the quarter ending December 31, 2010 were .44 billion. That’s a 26% increase over the fourth quarter of 2009.

.50 billion in revenue was generated by Google’s partner sites through AdSense programs. That’s a 22% increase from the last quarter in 2009.

52% of total revenues in the fourth quarter of 2010 were generated outside the United States of America.

Aggregate paid clicks, including AdSense-related clicks, were up 18% as compared to the fourth quarter in 2009, with an average cost-per-click up 5%.

SEO Revolution Blog

Cyberspace is, “the interdependent network of information technology infrastructures, and includes the Internet, telecommunications networks, computer systems, and embedded processors and controllers in critical industries. Common usage of the term also refers to the virtual environment of information and interactions between people” as defined by the National Security Presidential Directive 54/Homeland Security Presidential Directive 23 (NSPD-54/HSPD23).

On June 25, 2010, via the White House blog, a draft release of National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC) was announced. It was described as, “a blueprint to reduce cybersecurity vulnerabilities and improve online privacy protections through the use of trusted digital identities.”

NSTIC, “calls for the creation of an online environment [...] where individuals and organizations can complete online transactions with confidence, trusting the identities of each other and the identities of the infrastructure that the transaction runs on.”

On January 7, 2011, Howard A. Schmidt, Cybersecurity Coordinator and Special Assistant to the President, and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced that the National Program Office (NPO) will be moving forward with the national identity program which is expected to be implemented within months.

“We have a major problem in cyberspace, because when we are online we do not really know if people, businesses, and organizations are who they say they are” Schmidt stated via The White House Blog.

One goal of the NSTIC is to “reduce inefficient identification procedures” and improve security and privacy. This would involve getting credentials from various online providers, such as a digital certificate, to prove individuals and websites are who they say they are when performing transactions, online banking, accessing personal information and records, and sending email. The NPO envisions a process where you sign in once and move among your sites without signing in each time. Details are vague, but users will have control over how much information they input and whether they want to surf verified or log out and remain anonymous.

Potential Hiccups
A big question this all brings up is, what happens if someone hacks into or steals your online identity. Now they don’t just have your password, computer or phone–they’ve got your “digital certificates” verifying your identity and possibly allowing thieves to float among your financial sites. It seems like a lot of damage could occur pretty quickly. I can just hear the banks and credit reporting agencies now–”but you were logged in using your verified national identity.”

Identity Ecosystem–Sounds Gritty
This new world, as envisioned in the NSTIC is called the Identity Ecosystem. With the help of some in the private sector, Schmidt states, “Now is the time to move forward with our shared vision of a better, more secure cyberspace.”

Here is a link to the Cyperspace Policy Review.

Works Cited:

Schmidt, Howard A. “The National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace.” The White House Blog. 25 June 2010. Web. 12 Jan. 2011. .

Schmidt, Howard A. “A National Program Office for Enhancing Online Trust and Privacy.” The White House. 7 Jan. 2011. Web. 12 Jan. 2011. .

Your Thoughts?
Let us know what you think? Is this new program too intrusive? Should the government focus more on securing infrastructure and less on personal interactions and business? Or is this a change that is long over due?

SEO Revolution Blog

There is no substitute for a converting landing page on page one of Google; however, I wanted to share an easy method for getting your Tweets listed in Google Reatime.

If you’re not too familiar with Google Reatime results, you’ll find a link to it in the left side menu of Google Search. Once a search is performed, a menu appears to the left. Click the “Everything” link. This reveals the different Universal Search options available, such as searching only blogs and blogs posts, images, or videos. For this article, we’re interested in the “Realtime” link (which may appears as “Updates” in your area). Realtime was created to list the “latest” information and breaking news on the web from sources like Facebook, Twitter, Jaiku, FriendFeed and MySpace, but right now it’s basically a search for indexed Tweets.

But that’s a good thing. It means even if someone doesn’t use Twitter they may still find your news, link, or offers. Not all Tweets are included in Realtime, but there is an easy technique for getting yours included immediately. It doesn’t matter if your Twitter account is one minute or one year old, this works. And I’m not talking about “sponsored” Tweets I’m talking about “any” Tweet which is even better.

1. Sign up for Twitter or log in.
2. Sign up for Digg or log in.
3. Link your Twitter and Digg accounts via Digg.
4. Post a link on Digg (avoid spam).
5. Elect (via Digg) to also post it to your Twitter account.

It may take an hour or so for the initial post to appear in Realtime results, but once you’ve done this, future posts appear almost instantly. Just remember to follow the steps above. Once you have a nice Twitter following, have shown that you post quality content regularly, and have gotten some retweets and mentions, your posts should appear on their own.

SEO Revolution Blog