Search Engine Optimization News Blog

Google has built a reputation for being able to anticipate searcher needs and serve up the best results based not just on keyword input but other factors as well. Lately the focus has been on local search.

With the expected explosion of mobile search looming, the idea behind localized search is faster access to the desired data. (This assumes that you are indeed seeking local results.)

Searchers logged into their Google account and conducting searches on Google will soon be seeing a note at the top right of the screen - ‘Customized for the San Francisco area’ (or the Dallas area, or Chicago, or maybe even Upper East Side?).

Naturally, Google is using your IP address to help create the results page. An interesting feature also appears next to the ‘customized’ info - ‘More Details’. This brings up a whole lot of information I bet you didn’t realize was being utilized to proffer even more customized results.

The query directly preceding your most recent one is taken into account to skew the results, as is a web history of your previous searches. Google analyzes the data to predict what type of results you want this time, based on your progression of search last time.

Google has been doing all this for a while, now, but with recent accusations that they don’t value privacy and their transparency leaves much to be desired, Google is ‘letting us all have a look behind the scenes’.

Of course they are quick to note that the most recent query information is only stored on your browser for a short time, and that it is immediately erased if you close your browser; also, they state that your search history ‘belongs to you’ and you can always delete it or log in from a different account if you don’t want your search history skewing the data.

As far as the mobile applications go, local is definitely the focus, Advertising is extremely costly, and SEO for mobile search is requiring a revamping of techniques to improve load time and uncluttered the tiny screens to provide the best search experience possible. Relevant results will need to be easily understood by the mobile user.

The increasing pool of potential customers and advertisers is sure to benefit Google if they can stay ahead of the curve, and with their attention to local search parameters that is exactly what they are attempting to do.

The majority rules, of course, and in most cases Google’s presumptions of what is relevant to you will probably be right on the money.

Well educated, affluent, working white women are watching their favorite shows online rather than on the boob tube these days, says a new survey.

Well, duh. They finally figured out it was useless trying to pry the remote from the fists of the well educated, affluent, working white man.

20% of primetime television is now watched online, and more and more people are turning to online viewing as a primary source of programming rather than a secondary source.

This opens the door to a whole new world of advertising, as consumers move away from the commercial laden venue of primetime TV and into the wonderful world of online programming.

Pricing for ads to be shown around online showings of popular programs is pricy, but if that is where the consumers are headed that is where the advertisers will end up as well.

The income bracket for these viewers is on the higher side as well, so it is a good market for pricier items. I wonder if we will start seeing more product placement within the shows themselves?

T Boone Pickens, Texas oil tycoon and self styled alternate energy pioneer, has sold his 10 million shares of Yahoo stock following the Yahoo - Icahn deal and prior to Friday’s stockholders’ meeting.

Pickens had purchased the stock back in May, when he announced his support of Icahn move to supplant the entire Yahoo board by forcing a proxy fight.

Subsequent to the agreement between Yahoo’s board and Icanh to seat the corporate raider on the board, Icahn called off the battle and Pickens is leaving the field in what can only be termed disgust.

“I think that Yahoo management was pathetic,” Pickens told the San Francisco Chronicle. He was insistent along with Icahn that a full buyout by Microsoft was the best route to pursue.

Numerous websites are in a tizzy yet again as Google’s algorithm’s for PageRank appear to be tweaking once more. The search engine giant’s constant adjusting of PageRank has made some webmasters decide to forget about chasing the brass ring, observing that many low PageRank results actually can show up quite high on the SERPs.

Google’s last official change to the PageRank algorithm was in January, and the intervening months have seen a flurry of panics as rankings have been erratic. The PageRank seems to come and go, the SERPs fluctuate wildly and various penalties are given based on obscure policies - Google truly does giveth and taketh away.

Search engines are where it’s at, these days… or so it seems. The controversy over Google’s ever increasing preemptive tactics has caused some daring souls to strike out in their own. Others plan to cash in on the mobile search aspects, or focus on local and targeted search as a way to stand out from the crowd.

Visual search has been booming as well, and engines geared specifically for that venue are also springing up. Viewzi came out of private beta at the beginning of July, a huge improvement on both the rather flimsy Picitup that preceded it in May and the only slightly better Pixsy last year.

On the traditional search front, Scour was supposed to be the big hit, allowing searchers to comment on and thus influence rankings - of course, it was just another conglomeration of search results from the three major engines.

Points are awarded based on participants searching, rating (thumbs up or down) and commenting on the results. An interesting attempt to put a social slant on search, and make it an interactive experience…

But the most interesting concept to hit the boards is Cuil. Not a completely new idea, of course not, but the idea of letting searchers’ time spent on site indicate its worth rather than links could be a better indicator of the individual website’s value.

Cuil came out and promptly crashed as people flocked to see what a couple of ex-Googlers and some tech majors could possibly think would beat out the well established search giant.

Back up and running again, Cuil boasts an index of 120 billion pages and promises complete privacy, claiming no user information ( not even ISP addresses) will be recorded or used for any purpose.

So does it work? Reviews are mixed. I think a lot of people WANT it to work, but there are plenty of bugs. Some people are already whining that their top ranked site on Google isn‘t showing on Cuil yet - well, then, Be happy you are fist on Google! Worrying about ranking on Cuil isn‘t the priority right now by a long shot.

It is going to take time to make Cuil work properly, based on the very concept behind quality driven search. Certainly as the engine is used, it will generate better and better results - right? And that is really what the idea behind Cuil is all about. Hopefully it will live long enough to come through on its promises.