Posts Tagged ‘innovation’

Personalised Internet, or just letting us see what ‘they’ want us to see?

Business News, Client News, SEO Scotland, Technology | Posted by Gavin
Jun 20 2011

During the course of my daily SEO work I spend a lot of time analysing organic search results, links, search engine results page (SERP’s) extensions etc.  As many people know search engines (Google for example) now display many different types of results within the SERP’s e.g. map/business results, products, images etc. along with paid ads and indented site links – all is getting rather complicated to explain to clients and armchair ‘quizzers’ alike!

Many of my clients query why the search results that they see do not match the results that I am sending them data on or discussing with them on the phone.  It has been mooted for a long time now that the likes of the search giant Google and social media behemoth Facebook display different search results for different people based on the history, topic, frequency, location (and much more) of their search queries – basically these sites that have become part of our everyday online lives are now filtering the results that we see based on information that we are feeding them on a daily basis.

Catching up on some reading, I came across an article that explains this scenario, the current and future state of the Internet with regards to a’personalised Internet’ much better than I ever can … thought provoking stuff.

Should we be scared of the made-to-measure internet? http://bit.ly/lMsMoh

(c) 2011 Guardian Newspapers Limited.

Popularity: 15% [?]

New Google Ad Innovations – PPC with a twist

Business News, Client News, SEO Scotland, Technology | Posted by Gavin
Apr 01 2010
Google Ad Innovations

Google Ad Innovations

Google are currently testing a new type of paid advertising, specifically geared towards e-commerce websites.  Much the same as traditional AdWords, the new innovation will incorporate a CPA (cost per action), whereby the advertiser only pays for the ‘click’ when the user click on the ad and completes a purchase on the website.

This new type of PPC, called Google Ad Innovations, integrates with the Google Merchant Centre account and is still only in early Beta testing – only a few advertisers have been given access to it’s developing functionality, but more will follow over time until it is rolled out within the Google service portfolio.

This could be major development in how many and how often e-commerce businesses utilise Google products for selling products online.

More information at http://bit.ly/dbJ4cc | More about SEO and Internet Market at www.aviemorebusiness.co.uk

Popularity: 9% [?]

Google Forum Search – important changes that will effect search rankings

SEO Scotland | Posted by Gavin
Aug 14 2009

Google’s recent ’show options’ addition to the SERP’s have provided additional search filters and I would like to continue this series of posts by looking at forums.

Online Forums and SEO

Online forums have been around for a number of years and were arguably the forerunner of social media and it’s many applications. Forums are basically online message boards, creating platforms for discussions around particular topics between people who share common interests – a place to connect with others online.

From an SEO point of view, forums represent relationship marketing opportunities as well as a chance to create and distribute valuable, topic specific content (and in some cases links).  Subject authority and online profile are additional benefits of forum participation and most market and interest categories are covered by the many that are widely used.

Google Forum Search Filter

It is not entirely clear as to what Google classifies as a forum within it’s SERP’s but indications are that not only large, specialised, dedicated forums that are listed but also forum pages that are included as part of a site, or are added as a sub domain or blog, associated with a site.

In any event, the development in the SERP’s indicate that many businesses and organisations should probably consider adding a forum in order to make full use of the this search filter option, especially ones that are particularly active in social media marketing.

As a direct result of this, posting to forums on other peoples sites is now even more important than ever.  While links within many forum posts may be subjected to the ‘nofollow’ attribute, the new filter makes the content of posts and thread more powerful and therefore a more effective traffic driver…

…What do you think?

Popularity: 43% [?]

Google – important changes that will effect search rankings

SEO Scotland, Technology | Posted by Gavin
Jul 17 2009

google-searchWhenever you read or mention Google in relation to a question along the lines of – how does Google rank my site?, what SEO factors does Google consider the most important? or how do I get page 1 rankings in Google?, you will get a mutitude of answers from various sources both on and offline.

Over recent years Google has come to dominate all things search and most things search related by providing us with ‘stuff’ that enhances our ‘user experience’ – these are key watchwords for the biggest success story in modern times, striving to improve the quality and relevancy of the information that we require, so that we continue to use Google as part of our everyday ‘online’ lives.

So I guess our answer to our questions above would be another question?!:

When I review my site and practices relating to SEO and online promotion, am I contributing or detracting from building a positive user experience? – and there is your answer

Google and the new Search Options

In line with Google’s whole ’user experience’  idea, they have added new features to the SERP’s, providing user driven options for filtering, adjusting and even expanding the search results that are displayed. Google have publicly stated that ‘a large portion’ of searches will be made using these options in the near future.

These new Show options … are displayed at the top left of most SERP’s and contain additional search filtering options such as:

  • Videos
  • Forums
  • Reviews

Further filter options enable you to display by relevancy, most recent and the option to display images from the pages.  Additionally and perhaps most importantly for SEO’s, there is Wonder Wheel and Timeline filter which has far reaching implications in relation to key phrase research & tageting.

So, what does all this mean and how can we ensure that ‘our house is in order’ so that as these options become more widely used, we know that we have acted and do not have to re-act?

… I will look at each option in more detail in coming posts on this blog 

sign up to our RSS feed and keep up to date with the new changes in Google search

Popularity: 61% [?]

Any Question Answered – from your mobile phone

Business News, Technology | Posted by admin
May 28 2009

Got a question that needs a quick answer? AQA63336 is an innovative mobile text based service – you text a question, they text the answer … simple.  You can become a publisher too and make money by getting involved.

“AQA2U is a new micro-publishing service where anyone with a mobile phone can set themselves up as a publisher to write content which is then texted to fans’ and followers’ mobile phones”

A great idea or just another way to spend your phone credit? – find out more at www.aqa.63336.com

Popularity: 34% [?]