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Search Engine Roundtable

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  Daily Search Forum Recap: September 2, 2010

  Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 11:00pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Forum Recap  

  Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.

  
  

Official Google Webmaster Central Blog

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  Rich snippets: testing tool improvements, breadcrumbs, and events

  Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 6:57pm CEST by Maile Ohye

  Tags:  Search results  

  Webmaster Level: All
  
  Since the initial roll-out of rich snippets in 2009, webmasters have shown a great deal of interest in adding markup to their web pages to improve their listings in search results. When webmasters add markup using microdata, microformats, or RDFa, Google is able to understand the content on web pages and show search result snippets that better convey the information on the page. Thanks to steady adoption by webmasters, we now see more than twice as many searches with rich snippets in the results in the US, and a four-fold increase globally, compared to one year ago. Here are three recent product updates.
  
  Testing tool improvements
  
  Despite the healthy adoption rate by webmasters so far, implementing the rich snippets markup correctly can still be a major challenge. To help address this, we’ve added new error messages to the rich snippets testing tool to help you better identify and fix any problems with the markup.
  
  
  If you’ve added markup in the past but haven’t seen rich snippets appear for your site, we encourage you to take a few minutes to try testing the markup again on the updated testing tool.
  
  Rich snippets markup for breadcrumbs
  
  Last year, Google announced a modification to search results to begin showing site hierarchies (typically referred to as "breadcrumbs") rather than standard URLs in cases where it helped users to better understand a website:
  
  
  We are now adding support for a Breadcrumbs markup format that allows webmasters to explicitly identify the breadcrumb hierarchy on their pages.
  
  If the breadcrumbs UI is already showing for your site, we'll continue to show it even if you don't do the markup, so don't worry about any existing UI disappearing. Note that this new format is experimental. Based on feedback and on other available standards, this format may be modified or replaced in the future. As with other rich snippet types, while markup helps us to better understand the content on your site, it does not guarantee that the breadcrumbs UI will be shown for your web pages in search results.
  
  Events
  
  In January, we added support for rich snippets for events. If a web page containing events listings showed up in search results, up to three links to specific events could be shown in the search result snippet.
  
  This works well for general queries like [concerts in seattle], but we also wanted to improve the search experience when searching for a specific event. We will now show rich snippets when pages containing a single event show up in search results. Single event rich snippets now contain the date and location of the event:
  
  
  For instructions on adding events markup, refer to the events page in the rich snippets documentation.
  
  Posted by Kavi Goel and Pravir Gupta, Search Quality team

Search Engine Roundtable

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  Bing Web Search Update?

  Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 4:03pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Microsoft MSN Search  

  This is very very early and I don't have evidence of this myself, since I don't monitor rankings, but a single post at WebmasterWorld suggested there is a Bing update taking place.

  textex, someone I trust at the forum, who has been a member of WebmasterWorld for almost ten years now, said:

  Looks like an update....

  So if there is a Bing update, there is a Yahoo update in the US and Canada.

  Did you notice major changes in your Bing rankings?

  Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

  
  

• 

  How Does Google Maps Decide To Show Labels (Points of Interest)?

  Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 3:46pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Other Google Topics  

  Yesterday I reported Google is testing "sponsored map icons" in the US. They are basically enhanced point of interest icons using the company's logo, instead of the basic POI (point of interest) icon Google uses on the map views.

  Here you can see some POI icons, also known as "labels." They include a doctor icon, a bed and breakfast icon, a synagogue icon, a lawyer office icon and them some generic squares.

  Clearly, when you define your business category in Google Places, Google knows which icon to show for your business. But why are only these businesses showing? There are literally dozens of businesses near mine, which is RustyBrick. I work in an office building, so why is RustyBrick shown and not the 100 or so other businesses here?

  Google has a help document that explains:

  The place labels shown on Google Maps are determined algorithmically based on a large number of factors, so there is no way to guarantee placement of your business on the map as a place label. One factor these algorithms consider is the accuracy of the business listing and the richness of the content associated with the listing, so you can improve the chances that your business will receive a place label if you claim it in Google Places.

  Right, that doesn't say much, does it? But when I spoke with Google Product Manager, Matthew Leske yesterday, he dropped some hints as to how Google decides which icons to show at what level. He told me the following factors go into making this up:

  Google looks at the listings:
  

  • Quantity of citations
  • Is there Wikipedia entry (he specifically mentioned that)
  • Search volume for business
  • and "other relevant information"

  He explained it is more like a web search relevancy algorithm than anything else.

  Forum discussion at Google Places Help.

  
  

• 

  Sphinn Drops Voting & SEO Community Revolts

  Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 3:39pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  SEO Forum News  

  I doubt you missed the big SEO community news from yesterday. Danny Sullivan announced in a Sphinn thread that Sphinn will be going the editorial route and be removing voting. Instead, editors will decide what should be on the front page and not users.

  Users can still submit content, but editors have the final say on what makes it to the front page of Sphinn. The goal is to have hand picked content that the community can discuss, as opposed to have users vote on content submitted by anyone. Read Danny's full explanation for more details.

  The community, at least the ones upset with the decision, were extremely vocal about their dislike of this decision. Some are saying that the moderators will only allow their "friends" content on the front page. Some are saying that taking away voting removes the core of the Sphinn site. Some are saying that this just makes it one more discussion forum. Personally, I have no idea - but I'd like to see how this model works.

  What do you think? Here is an anonymous poll:

  Does Removing Voting From Sphinn Kill It?online survey

  There are many threads and blog posts about it, most linked to in the primary Sphinn thread.

  Forum discussion at several Sphinn threads.

  
  

• 

  Google Webmaster Tools Bug Prevented Unverifying Users

  Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 3:27pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Google Optimization  

  Some users have recently been having difficultly removing verified users in Google Webmaster Tools. Google allows you to give multiple users access to view your Google Webmaster Tools reports and data.

  Sometimes you want to revoke access to some of those users. To do that, you go "Add or remove owners" on the Webmaster Tools homepage and click "unverify."

  But that was not working for the past couple days. Google admitted the bug and said it was fixed last night in a Google Webmaster Help thread. Dennis G. from Google said:

  We had a bug in our server that blocked follow-up "unverify" requests, so it was impossible to remove that "Unverification pending" warning. It should be fixed now, so just click that "unverify" link one last time. Sorry for the inconvenience.

  Forum discussion at Google Webmaster Help.

  
  

• 

  GoogleBot Crawling Less or More Efficiently?

  Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 3:21pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Google Optimization  

  The obsessed (in a cool geeky way) webmasters at WebmasterWorld are discussing recent patterns they noticed with how Google's spider, GoogleBot has been accessing their site recently.

  One said GoogleBot is crawling 50% less than it normally does. Others are saying they are just seeing GoogleBot crawl differently, but not less, per say. In addition, another person said Google stop crawling almost completely, but that is likely another issue.

  Tedster explained what he has recently seen:

  The sites I work with have been showing a changed crawling pattern since June, but it's not really a reduced crawl. On average more pages are being spidered over any extended period, but the whole pattern contains more spikes - occurring on about a 7-8 day cycle.

  Have you noticed new or different GoogleBot crawling behavior?

  We did report GoogleBot crawling from multiple locations at the same time, them having new crawling issues and acting all weird recently. Remember, this may all be caffeine related, so keep that in mind.

  Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

  
  

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  Logged In/Out: Google Keyword Tool Gives Different Results

  Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 2:58pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Google AdWords  

  Sheara Goldenthal pinged me with a question yesterday about why the Google Keyword Tool shows different search volume data for the same keyword phrase, when she is logged in versus not logged into her AdWords account.

  It is a great question, a question I thought I knew the solid answer for. I am sure I read it somewhere, so I dug a bit deeper. It seems like this is a popular question asked in several forums, including HighRankings Forums, Warrior Forums and several Google AdWords Help forum.

  There is a help document that answers this question:

  Why do traffic estimates for my ad group differ from those given by the standalone tool?

  The results yielded by the Traffic Estimator in your ad group and the standalone Traffic Estimator may differ for two reasons:

  (1) Performance Data: The past performance of an ad group will influence the Quality Score of all the keywords in that ad group. Your ad group's Traffic Estimator considers the ad group's performance details when making estimates about your keywords. The standalone tool, on the other hand, does not. For the most accurate results, use the Traffic Estimator in your ad group.

  (2) Double-Serving: In accordance with our double-serving policy, we will only show one of your ads on a search for a particular keyword, even if that keyword appears multiple times in your account. The Traffic Estimator in your ad group accounts for double serving among your keywords when making estimates, whereas the standalone tool does not. Therefore, the standalone tool may yield higher estimates when it evaluates a keyword that appears multiple times within your account.

  Forum discussion at HighRankings Forums, Warrior Forums and several Google AdWords Help.

  
  

Emily Chang

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  Twitter for iPad

  Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 8:14am CEST by Emily Chang

  Tags:  Writing  

  Just downloaded the first version of Twitter for iPad (iTunes link) and trying it out. On first glance, love the clean, properly-sized UI. Try pinch/zoom on a tweet to see more info. Pinch again to close. Swipe down with two fingers to see a thread. The “write a tweet” view overlaps a bit much for my preference, but otherwise, really liking it so far. If you’ve had the iPhone version, delete it from your iPad, then reinstall from the App store.

  UPDATE 9/2: After playing more with the app, I find the sliding panels helpful, but feel like there’s too much horizontal stacking/sliding. It also seems impossible to permanently get rid of a panel detail once it’s open? You can flick it to the right but it still lingers there.

  In terms of functionality, there are a few things missing from this version, although I suspect they’ll be coming in the next:

  • ability to save searches
  • delete DMs (and mark all as read). Actually I’d just like to see this synced across all Twitter apps so if I’ve read a DM before, it doesn’t show up on the desktop client or iPad as unread.
  • geo-location for tweets
  • see local trends, not just global trends

Search Engine Roundtable

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  Daily Search Forum Recap: September 1, 2010

  Posted: September 1st, 2010, 11:00pm CEST by rustybrick

  Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.

  
  

• 

  The Big Paid Search Merge Begins: Yahoo to Microsoft adCenter

  Posted: September 1st, 2010, 3:28pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Yahoo Search Marketing  

  So Yahoo web search, the organic results, are now powered by Bing, Microsoft search. The next to fall is the paid search side of things.

  Yahoo announced yesterday that the beginning of the end for Panama, Yahoo's Search Marketing platform. It is the beginning end of Yahoo powering their own search ads on their own search interface.

  Folks at WebmasterWorld are calling it a "merge." The big paid search merge? Well, not really, more like the "big dig" for Yahoo. Yahoo isn't necessarily merging their technology with Microsoft, they are telling their advertisers to get their campaigns set up in Microsoft adCenter because Yahoo is burying their software likely by the end of October (in the US and Canada).

  Yahoo laid out the three stages to this transition:

  There are three stages to completing your transition:

  1) Prepare your account for transition to adCenter
  When you log into your Yahoo! Search Marketing account, you’ll automatically be taken to a new tab labeled “adCenter.” We recommend that you review your Compatibility Report, and fix incompatibilities between your current Yahoo! campaigns and the adCenter platform before starting the transition to adCenter.

  2) Transition your account to adCenter
  When you begin your transition, you’ll be able to create a new adCenter account, or indicate that you have an existing adCenter account that you want to continue to use. If you choose, you can use the transition tool to copy your Yahoo! Search Marketing campaigns over to adCenter. Please note that your campaigns will retain the same status (active or paused) as they have within your Yahoo! account, so you may start incurring click charges for Bing traffic right away.

  3) Continue to manage your Yahoo! Search Marketing account
  The last stage in the transition process will occur when Yahoo! Search ad serving moves to adCenter, which we expect to begin in mid-October and be completed by the end of October. During this period, you should expect traffic from your Yahoo! Search Marketing account to decrease, and increase in your adCenter account. But until this process is complete, you’ll still need to actively manage your Yahoo! Search Marketing account to have your ads displayed on Yahoo! and our partner sites.

  Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

  
  

• 

  Google Map In Web Search Can Drop Your CTR Up to 65%

  Posted: September 1st, 2010, 3:17pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Google Search Engine  

  Google showing maps and local listings in the pure organic web search results is nothing new. For example, the image below shows a search for [plumber 10010], NYC plumbers. Now, if you are not in that local listing and you are in the web search results, what are the chances of you getting clicked on? Slim, no?

  A WebmasterWorld thread is asking webmasters and SEOs to estimate the degradation of having the local listings mixed into the web search results. The estimates of the loss range anywhere from 10% to 65% depending on who you ask and where the map location is. I'd assume the example above would be closer to 65% but when the maps show up in the middle of the page, maybe closer to 20%?

  Tedster of WebmasterWorld said, "I've seen more like 35% to 60% loss." The site references some studies done in the past as well.

  Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

  
  

• 

  Setting Google Geographic Target To "Unlisted"

  Posted: September 1st, 2010, 3:06pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Other Google Topics  

  Honestly, this is one topic I really don't know too much about. Google lets your Geographic target for your web site in Google Webmaster Tools. But what if you have a ccTLD, a country specific top level domain such as .fr (France), and you want to not target a specific country?

  The Google help document on this topic says:

  You can only use this feature for sites with a generic top-level domain, such as .com or .org. Sites with country-coded top-level domains (such as .ie) are already associated with a geographic region, in this case Ireland.

  I checked one site I have in my Webmaster Tools account, the only site with a ccTLD and it didn't let me specify a different country. So I assume only certain ccTLDs or TLDs can set "unlisted" as an option to target all countries? Or am I missing something?

  Google said, "If you want to ensure that your site is not associated with any country or region, select Unlisted."

  It does appear that only certain ccTLDs let you change the geographic target, like a .co TLD. And you can change it to unlisted in order to not set a geographic target.

  There are a couple threads asking how long does it take once you set the "unlisted" marker. The threads are at WebmasterWorld and Google Webmaster Help.

  The WebmasterWorld thread has Tedster saying:

  I've only heard one practical report about this and the recovery took many months for them, but they say it did happen eventually.

  I am not sure if anyone else has experience here, but I'd love to know how quickly Google picks up the geographic target change, specifically for using "unlisted" as an option.

  Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld and Google Webmaster Help.

  Update: Google's JohnMu did point out a solid distinction between setting unlisted or not:

  There's actually a subtle difference between not activating Webmaster Tools owner-specified geotargeting and selecting "Unlisted". Not selecting to do geotargeting through Webmaster Tools results in Google doing geotargeting automatically (generally based on the server location), activating geotargeting and selecting "Unlisted" in Webmaster Tools results in Google not doing geotargeting.

  
  

• 

  Google Cache Broken For Home Pages

  Posted: September 1st, 2010, 2:43pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Google Search Engine  

  There is a weird Google bug with the cache feature. It seems to only impact home pages. For example, a search for this site in Google returns a Google search result of the home page (we aren't penalized yet):

  But when you click on the cache link, it takes you to a dead page:

  This does not appear to impact inside pages, but rather only the root page (aka home page). Why?

  I have been receiving emails reporting this, as well as spotted several threads in the forums about this. Threads come from Google Webmaster Help and WebmasterWorld.

  I should note that this isn't uncommon and I wouldn't worry about this impacting your Google rankings.

  Forum discussion at Google Webmaster Help and WebmasterWorld& HighRanking Forums.

  
  

• 

  Taking Over a Business With Bad Google Maps Reviews?

  Posted: September 1st, 2010, 2:35pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Other Google Topics  

  A Google Places Help thread has a story of a person who bought a business from someone else.

  The issue is, that business has pretty bad reviews in Google Maps and since there will be new management, he wants to know how to remove the bad reviews.

  A fair question, that is why you often see the "under new management" signs outside of businesses. People want to know when new businesses have new owners and thus maybe better customer service (or maybe not).

  The business owner said:

  I am buying a local small buisness in a few weeks. The current owner has some pretty nasty reviews about him that currently come up when people search the biz name. I want to know if there is a way to have those reviews removed once I take ownership - I don't want people avoiding me because of his past mistakes.

  Andrew in the forums suggested he request that the current owner to delete his Google Places account. Then the reviews should go as well. He also suggests renaming the business, just because of the possible bad karma associated with the business.

  Do you agree?

  Forum discussion at Google Places Help.

  
  

Official Google Webmaster Central Blog

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  Google now indexes SVG

  Posted: September 1st, 2010, 1:30am CEST by Maile Ohye

  Tags:  crawling and indexing  

  Webmaster Level: All
  
  You can now use Google search to find SVG documents. SVG is an open, XML-based format for vector graphics with support for interactive elements. We’re big fans of open standards, and our mission is to organize the world’s information, so indexing SVG is a natural step.
  
  We index SVG content whether it is in a standalone file or embedded directly in HTML. The web is big, so it may take some time before we crawl and index most SVG files, but as of today you may start seeing them in your search results. If you want to see it yourself, try searching for [sitemap site:fastsvg.com] or [HideShow site:svg-whiz.com]
  
  If you host SVG files and you wish to exclude them from Google’s search results, you can use the “X-Robots-Tag: noindex” directive in the HTTP header.
  
  Check out Webmaster Central for a full list of file types we support.
  
  Posted by Bogdan Stanescu and John Sarapata, Software Engineers

Search Engine Roundtable

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  Daily Search Forum Recap: August 31, 2010

  Posted: August 31st, 2010, 11:00pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Forum Recap  

  Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.

  
  

• 

  SEO Is Deeper Than What You Read

  Posted: August 31st, 2010, 3:54pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Engine Optimization  

  There is an outstanding thread by Tedster, Ted Ulle, at WebmasterWorld. The topic is on too many newbie SEOs taking the SEO advice given on forums, blogs, news sites and here at face value. He is concerned that a new SEO will read something and not understand the true meaning of what is really being said.

  Let me quote a piece of his concern:

  Recent years have seen a flood of interest in SEO. Unfortunately, a lot of recent entries into SEO have no sense of perspective and no idea of how to evaluate advice that they read or hear. And still they write blog articles ;( There's a lot of regurgitated second and third hand learning being spread today - and it's even being sold to clients.

  SEO began in the 90s, back before the acronym itself was even created. Most of the pioneers were early affiliate marketers who personally reverse-engineered the search engine algorithms of the day. What they learned was privately shared, until it stopped working so well. At that point, the tidbits began to bleed into the wider pool of knowledge.

  Why do I bring up this old time stuff? The same pattern still holds. And taking anyone's SEO advice at face value is a dangerous practice. Anyone who is not doing their own testing and measurement is at a disadvantage. They may be buying into advice that's outdated by many years - and some of it may even come from back in the 90s!

  Truth be told, I am a culprit of spreading information that is not explained in detail each time I write it. Personally, I don't have patience, I don't have patience listening or reading something that needs to be explained in detail. I tend to get things quickly, at least I think I do, so listening to someone go on and on to make sure everyone is on the same page - well, it drives me nuts. So since that is my personality, I often don't have the patience to explain things that I already know. It isn't the best characteristic of myself, but we all have flaws, and this is one of mine.

  Those who read this site every day, know this flaw in my writing and know how to read beyond what I write. If I make a comment that most people would likely break out into more detail and I don't, my reader knows why. I try my best to write concisely and get to the point without repeating myself, unlike what I am doing here. But sometimes without reviewing stuff and explaining it in detail, some new people to the industry that read my stuff won't get it fully and take it at face value.

  I would say 50% of my posts, specifically when I offer SEO specific advice, don't go into enough detail for new SEOs to fully understand what to practice. That is a fault I have and you need to know that.

  I have a recent example and I hope this person doesn't get upset with me using him as an example, but the content is out there in the public and thus complies with my blogging code of ethics.

  Here is the tweets sent to me a few days ago:

  .bbpBox22284877437 {background:url(http://a3.twimg.com/profile_background_images/126469275/2010-07-25_07-41-35_94.219.20.215.jpg) #333300;padding:20px;} p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px} p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}

  @rustybrick Hi, I got a questions, how does SocialMedia impact on Google-Ranking? Is there any impact?less than a minute ago via Twitter for iPhoneOguzhan Kalkan
  KalkanOguzhan

  .bbpBox22285580295 {background:url(http://a3.twimg.com/profile_background_images/126469275/2010-07-25_07-41-35_94.219.20.215.jpg) #333300;padding:20px;} p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px} p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}

  @rustybrick not the same power like a Link, am I right?! just like that the bot recognisize that the site is popular for some relevant KeyW?less than a minute ago via Twitter for iPhoneOguzhan Kalkan
  KalkanOguzhan

  Most experienced SEOs know that social media typically doesn't have a direct impact on your link building. It typically does not directly impact your Google rankings. What it does do it get people to become aware of your web site and the awareness may drive more links and the more links may drive better rankings in Google. So if I ever say that social media helps your Google rankings, that is what I may mean. I may skip over the details as to why and understanding why is important.

  I am not the only SEO blogger who is guilty of taking this short cuts, so keep it in mind. And honestly, it is much worse in the forums. Then what you have is what Tedster described, new SEOs preaching half truths to other new SEOs and their clients and we got a problem. I apologize, but it is a bad habit I doubt will ever change. So please keep this in mind when reading what I write.

  Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

  
  

• 

  Google Adds Blog Filter To Help Find Blogs On Subjects

  Posted: August 31st, 2010, 3:41pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Google Search Engine  

  Google announced they added a new filter that helps you find "specialized blogs" on any topic you can imagine.

  Here is how it works. Go to Google, search for a topic, then click on the "blogs" filter on the left side (note: it might be hidden under a "more" link). Then when the page filters to blogs, click again on the left side, this time where it says "homepages." That filter will show the most important and relevant blogs on the search query you entered.

  Here is a screen shot:

  How is this useful? Well, for a searcher it is obvious, but what about an SEO? Finding blogs in a niche can sometimes be hard. Google has just made it so much easier. You can now find blogs in the aerospace engineering field or duck hunting field with ease. Form a relationship with those bloggers and garner links from them over time.

  Tedster said in a forum thread, "This is pretty handy. I've already found a few sources I didn't know existed in various verticals I watch."

  Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

  
  

• 

  Google Cost A Business $4 Million or Was It a Link Curator?

  Posted: August 31st, 2010, 3:28pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Spam  

  Inc.com posted a really great article with a very catchy title. The title is a bit misleading, it reads How Google Cost Me $4 Million. In short, it goes through a story of how a site was doing great on Google, until Google penalized them and they rankings tanked, costing them a fortune of money.

  The article ends very well:

  We didn't see the kind of ratings we had before the penalty until Google's Caffeine update, this June. That was our final pardon. Now we're back at the top.

  Without the Google penalty, we wouldn't be anywhere near as far along as we are. You have two choices: You can roll over and die, or you can grow beyond it.

  But I love how Googler's respond to the title. Let me quote some Tweets:

  .bbpBox22548554238 {background:url(http://s.twimg.com/a/1282866105/images/themes/theme10/bg.gif) #000000;padding:20px;} p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px} p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}

  I'm pretty sure I even know the specific SEO that caused [goo.gl] @gmtgiftbaskets are you going to name them? ;) #youveheardofthemless than a minute ago via webMatt Cutts
  mattcutts

  .bbpBox22554897762 {background:url(http://s.twimg.com/a/1282866105/images/themes/theme1/bg.png) #7668EB;padding:20px;} p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px} p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}

  This co. hired a Link Curator. Maybe link manipulators in the SEO trenches will reinvent themselves? [goo.gl]less than a minute ago via webBrian White
  brianwhite

  .bbpBox22547666024 {background:url(http://s.twimg.com/a/1282866105/images/themes/theme10/bg.gif) #000000;padding:20px;} p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px} p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}

  Reading [goo.gl] . Agree with the comment by JustinM @ [goo.gl] . Our guidelines are clear on this topic.less than a minute ago via webMatt Cutts
  mattcutts

  Clearly the company and Google know stuff we don't know. But in the end, this company received a nice amount of links and even asked Matt:

  .bbpBox22560907248 {background:url(http://a1.twimg.com/profile_background_images/76347860/GGB_Twitter_BGround.jpg) #C0DEED;padding:20px;} p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px} p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}

  @mattcutts But you could link to us out of the kindness of your heart ;)less than a minute ago via TweetDeckGourmet Gift Baskets
  gmtgiftbaskets

  I doubt you will see Matt link to them any time soon.

  So who cost this gift basket company $4 million? Was it Google, a link builder or themselves?

  Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

  
  

Emily Chang

• 

  Vietnamese Vegetable Pancake

  Posted: August 30th, 2010, 10:04pm CEST by Emily Chang

  Tags:  Living  

• 

  Petite Dark Chocolate Doughnuts

  Posted: August 30th, 2010, 4:48am CEST by Emily Chang

  Tags:  Living  

  Max has been on a vegan cooking marathon, creating a new recipe daily (YES, I know I’m lucky). Today, he decided to make petite vegan doughnuts. Ahhhh, they’re the best vegan doughnuts I’ve ever had.

• 

  Green Stuff

  Posted: August 29th, 2010, 8:04am CEST by Emily Chang

  Tags:  Living  

• 

  Urban Forest Map

  Posted: August 28th, 2010, 8:19am CEST by Emily Chang

  Tags:  Writing  

  I was still curious after taking this photo of the trees on 24th Street at Bryant earlier today. How could I identify these trees?  I did several searches on variations of “trees on 24th street mission san francisco” which brought up some great local links, including SFTrees and a good list of trees in the Mission district but without photos, making it hard to decipher. I did some Google image searches on species listed but that only ruled out most of them. I did see a mention of a Chinese Banyan which looked like it could be but the many of the photos returned in Google showed bansai versions. After some more search, I ended up at the site of the San Francisco nonprofit group, Friends of the Urban Forest and saw a link to a collaborative project called the Urban Forest Map.

  The Urban Forest Map is a collaboration of government, nonprofits, businesses and you to map every tree in San Francisco. Along the way we’ll calculate the environmental benefits the trees are providing — how many gallons of stormwater they are helping to filter, how many pounds of air pollutants they are capturing, how many kilowatt-hours of energy they are conserving, and how many tons of carbon dioxide they are removing from the atmosphere. The information we gather will help urban foresters and city planners to better manage trees in specific areas, track and combat tree pests and diseases, and plan future tree plantings. Climatologists can use it to better understand the effects of urban forests on climates, and students and citizen scientists can use it to learn about the role trees play in the urban ecosystem.

  What a fantastic idea. I did a location search on the site for 24th Street at Bryant, zoomed in on the map, checked the map points for trees on that block and sure enough, located the Chinese Banyan trees that line both sides of the street. I signed up and added my photo to the page. Each tree page includes user contributed content such as scientific name, trunk diameter, height, as well as site-provided data like estimates of yearly energy conserved, air pollutants removed, carbon dioxide reduction, and more. There are also two Google maps, one showing a satellite view of the location and another of the street view. The project is also open source and if you’re a developer or want to make a mashup, you can download the map data (links to “export options” above the map).

  I’m enamored with the idea and purpose of this site. I’ve been fascinated by the trees in the city and the West coast in general since moving here from the East coast. Excited to be able to learn more about the more than 200 species of trees in the city alone. As equally excited about contributing photos to tree pages. Going to start with my hood in SoMA and places I frequent.

  Hopefully, this idea will spread to other cities, with the cooperation and passion of local citizens, the government, scientists and environmentalists to make our urban ecosystems flourish.

• 

  082710

  Posted: August 28th, 2010, 7:35am CEST by Emily Chang

  Tags:  Living  

  After yesterday’s deluge of web work (first meeting with MW, then FV, then JM), we headed out this afternoon for short relax: a vegan diner meal at St. Francis Fountain, impressively established in 1918. We opted for our own constructed breakfast combo, including “the vegan thing” (potatoes, guac, salsa, vegan jack), side of vegan sausages, dry sourdough toast finished with vegan blueberry pancakes and oh-so-good black coffee.

• 

  082610

  Posted: August 27th, 2010, 8:06am CEST by Emily Chang

  Tags:  Living  

  Spent a large portion of today in here before and after meetings.

• 

  082510

  Posted: August 26th, 2010, 7:18am CEST by Emily Chang

  Tags:  Living  

  It’s good to be vegan. Delicious meal of Max’s Quinoa, Cucumber, Tomato and Lime Salad over romaine lettuce and sweet white corn.

• 

  082410

  Posted: August 26th, 2010, 4:09am CEST by Emily Chang

  Tags:  Living  

  Full moon after a rare 100 degree day in SF.

Search Engine Roundtable

• 

  Daily Search Forum Recap: August 25, 2010

  Posted: August 25th, 2010, 11:00pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Forum Recap  

  Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.

  
  

• 

  So Sad: Yahoo Finally & Officially Gave Up On Search

  Posted: August 25th, 2010, 3:50pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Yahoo Search Engine  

  I really don't know why I am so upset, but I am. Probably not as upset as all those Yahoo Search engineers who are out of a job or as upset as Jerry Yang but I am really upset.

  Yahoo has been testing letting Bing power their search results then ramped it up last week. Then yesterday, officially flipped the switch in the U.S. and Canada. Yahoo no longer powers the underlying organic search results on Yahoo Search, it is now Bing who powers it.

  
  Shashi Seth of Yahoo said, " I am proud to announce that the transition of organic search between Yahoo! and Microsoft is complete." Bing's Satya Nadella said, "Today I am happy to share that Bing is powering Yahoo!’s search results in the US and Canada." Yea, I am sure he is happy.

  The paid results are next and that will likely be done in the next month or so, in my opinion. We are still waiting to hear on Site Explorer, BOSS, Search Monkey dates for transition or future plans.

  I am sad. Yahoo was powering their own results. They dropped Google, bought several search companies (AllTheWeb, AltaVista Inktomi +) and launched their own Yahoo Search. That is done, no more, gone!

  To make things worse, they are embarrassed that Bing is powering them. Why? point font at the bottom of the page? Heck, with Google, they had a fancy Google logo on the bottom or top of the results.

  I am just sad!

  Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld, DigitalPoint Forums.

  Update: So Yahoo responded to this blog post, without linking to it, saying they will always be a search engine. I tweeted it and got this response back from an SEO that I found to be dead on:

  .bbpBox22093206978 {background:url(http://a1.twimg.com/profile_background_images/4877276/back5.jpg) #339933;padding:20px;} p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px} p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}

  @rustybrick Funny - when Yahoo uses someone else's data, they're evolving. When I do it, I'm a thin affiliate.less than a minute ago via TweetDeckDr. Peter J. Meyers
  dr_pete

  Two more quotes, these from Danny Sullivan, who I am glad agrees with me:

  .bbpBox22097768415 {background:url(http://a1.twimg.com/profile_background_images/1636162/flag-flickr.jpg) #9ae4e8;padding:20px;} p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px} p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}

  i'm among the "irresponsible" with "innuendo" that yahoo's not search engine. it's not. it offer search made by others [bit.ly]less than a minute ago via Seesmic twhirlDanny Sullivan
  dannysullivan

  .bbpBox22097866969 {background:url(http://a1.twimg.com/profile_background_images/1636162/flag-flickr.jpg) #9ae4e8;padding:20px;} p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px} p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}

  at least i'm not the one who said yahoo was never a search company. that was yahoo CEO carol bartz [selnd.com]less than a minute ago via Seesmic twhirlDanny Sullivan
  dannysullivan

  
  

• 

  Setting The Preferred Domain In Google Webmaster Tools Won't Hurt You

  Posted: August 25th, 2010, 3:44pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Google Optimization  

  A quick SEO myth buster post for you. You know how you can set the preferred domain in Google Webmaster Tools? Well, if you do that, you won't be deindexed, so don't worry.

  A webmaster asked this question in a Google Webmaster Help thread and Google's JohnMu replied.

  John said:

  No, setting a preferred domain name does not result in a site being deindexed.

  It is hard for Google to be more straightforward than that statement.

  Forum discussion at Google Webmaster Help.

  
  

• 

  Study: META Descriptions Very Important Search Results Click Through Rates

  Posted: August 25th, 2010, 3:29pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Google Search Engine  

  Dynamical.biz translated a new eye tracking study done Spanish (PDF here) of how searchers look at the search results on a search results page.

  Here is the break down of the study, but before you look at it, let me define a "fixation" in terms of eye tracking studies. As per Wikipedia, a Fixation online eye tracking refers to the test subject fixing on a particular portion of the page. It is used to determine which areas of a web page receive the most views. This is used to adjust where content resides on a web page to maximize its exposure.

  The one thing that really stands out to many SEOs is the META description, or the search engine snippet. In all types of queries, the meta description is fixated over more and more time is spent looking at it. More than the big blue hyper link and more than the URL.

  Above is an explanation of the various parts of a typical search result. I would think the primary influencer for a click on a search result would be the title, not the snippet. But I guess people actually read those snippets, which can be pulled from your META description tag or dynamically curated by Google.

  Much more on the study at Dynamical.biz.

  Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

  
  

• 

  New Google Merchant Feed Error: "Duplicate Offers"

  Posted: August 25th, 2010, 3:20pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Google Optimization  

  There is a new error message that has been officially introduced for Google Merchant Center merchants. The new error is known as "Duplicate offers" and shows up when Google thinks "there are duplicate items in your data feed that should be removed."

  Google's Ronald from the Merchant Center team said in a Google Merchant Center Help thread:

  As some of you may have already noticed, we've introduced a new error message called "Duplicate offers" in the data feed details page. This error message suggests that there are duplicate items in your data feed that should be removed. Please know that the Google Merchant Center program policies do not allow posting of duplicate items.

  Some have indeed already noticed. You can just Google duplicate offers and restrict it to Google matches and you will see tons of complaints.

  I assume Google has let the policy slide, but according to the policy:

  Duplicate offers within the same account, or between separate accounts that you control, are not allowed.

  Forum discussion at Google Merchant Center Help.

  
  

• 

  Google Cache Screwy?

  Posted: August 25th, 2010, 3:14pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Google Optimization  

  A HighRanking Forums thread has many senior (old timer) SEOs complaining about the Google Cache. Let me quote one of my favorite online SEO personalities, "OldWelshGuy":

  Something is really wrong with the Google cache reporting or caching system. OK of late (last 6 months or more) there are times when you check a cache and there is no cache (or reason not to be cached), but that has been rare. Now it is all over the place, with many sites reporting cache reporting having stopped mysteriously at August 12th or just before.

  Oddly though the reality and the reporting is different. e.g.

  One site on a site search is reporting 3 pages (there are 4) one of the pages was renamed and no redirect put in place, but it is not showing on a site: search. here is the thing though. go to the page, check the cache using the toolbar, and there it is showing as cached. I thought this was unique, but it isn't.

  His complaints don't go unheard. Jill Whalen the owner of HighRankings replied saying, "Yep. It's pretty crazy. You can't believe much of anything you see at Google anymore."

  Moderator, Qwerty said:

  I've noticed lately that the "cached" link on the SERP for a site: search isn't working. When the link ought to point to webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:domain.com/page.htm, it's inserting a string of gobbledegook to create a URL like webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:hV2MVz1GswkJ:domain.com/page.htm, which goes to a page saying the search didn't match any documents. Pull the "hV2MVz1GswkJ:" out of the URL, and there's the cached copy of the page.

  Some suspect it is caffeine related, while others are not sure.

  Have you noticed these issues?

  Forum discussion at HighRanking Forums.

  
  

• 

  Google Alerts Adds "Updates" Type Option

  Posted: August 25th, 2010, 3:03pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Google Search Engine  

  Google Alerts has added an additional alert type to the bundle. The new type is named "updates" and likely gives you alerts when there are matches to Google's real time search index.

  Here is a picture:

  Google has been tweaking their Google Alerts system to make it more selective and more relevant recently. I wonder how adding "updates" to the mix might cause those relevancy tweaks to fall a bit, if at all?

  I assume if you are subscribed to the "Everything" option, you will automatically start getting the new "updates" alerts.

  Forum discussion at Google Blogoscoped Forums.

  
  

Emily Chang

• 

  Stuck on BART

  Posted: August 25th, 2010, 8:26am CEST by Emily Chang

  Tags:  Living  

  
  Some kind of train issue has us sitting still for 20 minutes at the 16th Street BART station. Then the train slowly goes backwards and forwards to fix a rail issue. Passed the time taking hipstamatic iPhone photos rather than becoming exasperated like the woman in front of us.

Search Engine Roundtable

• 

  Daily Search Forum Recap: August 24, 2010

  Posted: August 24th, 2010, 11:00pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Forum Recap  

  Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.

  
  

• 

  Some Clues On Making Unique Content From Google

  Posted: August 24th, 2010, 3:53pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Google Optimization  

  I spotted an interesting thread at Google Webmaster Help where a manufacturer is upset that his vendors outrank him for his own products. The manufacturer provides an XML feed for their vendors and resellers to use and sell, but it is the same content the manufacturer uses on his own site.

  He asked what he can do to make sure Google knows that his site is the source of this content and thus rank higher than his resellers? In that, Google's JohnMu replied offering a glimpse of insight into how to differentiate his content and make it unique enough for Google to find it rank worthy.

  JohnMu spoke a bit about the Google algorithms, saying:

  Our algorithms don't count characters, but they try to find unique content in a sense. I wouldn't worry too much about the length, I'd just make sure that you have pages about your software on your site that do not contain just the content that you're syndicating via the XML file. Adding a sentence or two is one way to do this, even better would be to make it completely unique. Keep in mind that the unique content is not only for Googlebot -- your visitors will want to see it too. As the developer of your software, I'd assume that you would know it much better than the other sites, so as a user, I would expect to find more and more detailed information on your site. I bet that's already the case, so perhaps you're already all set :).

  Key take-aways?

  • Character count not important
  • Unique "sense" is important
  • Two unique sentences may do the trick
  • Use content your not sending to resellers

  None of this is crazy, but we do see Google saying things that they may not have said in the past. Such as the length of the content is not important, a sentence or two may be enough to make it unique enough and something about "unique sense."

  Forum discussion at Google Webmaster Help.

  
  

• 

  GoogleBot Crawling From Different Locations At Same Time

  Posted: August 24th, 2010, 3:47pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Google Optimization  

  The obsessed SEOs at WebmasterWorld have noticed that for the first time in watching how GoogleBot (Google's search crawler) spiders their sites, they are now crawling from a few different IP addresses at the same time.

  Long time WebmasterWorld members said this is the first time they have seen GoogleBot crawl their site at the same time from multiple IPs. Several have noticed GoogleBots crawling from three different IPs at the same time. One member said:

  We had lots of crawler activity today on a newer site, google hit the site from 3 different ip addresses throughout the day. Hoping it's a good sign, never seen them use different ip addresses in the same day before.

  Another senior member added:

  Yea they went berzerk on our big site last thursday and friday. their fast activity notified me so I took a peek to see who was scraping the site... I've never seen Google spider so fast and from so many IP addresses, they were all valid Google ip's but there was like 10-20 of them running at once.

  Have you noticed this behavior?

  Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

  
  

• 

  Reporting Search Spam To Bing

  Posted: August 24th, 2010, 3:37pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Microsoft MSN Search  

  Now that Bing owns about 30% of the U.S. market share by gobbling up Yahoo's search share, some people may want to know how to report search spam to Bing.

  Now, we know most SEOs won't report competitors to spam. The topic of spam reporting is nothing new:

  • Reporting Spam: Is It Ethical
  • How Can I Report Spam to Google?
  • Google Spam Reporting Working
  • Does Google Investigate Spam Reports?
  • Quick Spam Reporting Tool

  That being said, if you wanted to report serious spam that you are afraid your children or grandparents would be hurt by, then here is how.

  Go to Bing.com and on the bottom right, there is a link for "Tell us what you think." Click it and select "Found Spam" in the drop down on the form. Fill it out and pray they do something.

  The "Tell us what you think" is found on all the search result pages as well, so it is always in the bottom right hand corner of all the pages.

  You can also try this form or the Bing Webmaster Forums.

  Forum discussion at Search Engine Watch Forums & Bing Forums.

  
  

• 

  Google AdWords Issues: Invalid Clicks Bug, Billing Tab Inaccessible & Snapshot Date Off

  Posted: August 24th, 2010, 3:26pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Google AdWords  

  There are several new known issues with the Google AdWords system. The issues are being worked on by Google and you should know that they will be taking care of them.

  (1) Invalid Clicks & Invalid Click Rate Wrong:

  Due to a technical issue, the Invalid Clicks column and the Invalid Click rate column from the campaigns management tab are showing 0 for all the campaigns in your account. Our engineers are working on resolving this issue.

  Forum discussion at Google AdWords Help.

  (2) Billing Tab Is Inaccessible For Some:

  Some customers might not be able to access the Billing tabs in their Adwords account. A workaround is to go directly to the pages once you have logged in to your AdWords account, and go to the 'Billing Summary or the 'Billing Preferences.'

  Forum discussion at Google AdWords Help.

  (3) Wrong Message On Account Snapshot:

  There is a message on the account snapshot page about a system maintenance showing the incorrect dates. The system maintenance will take place from August 21, 2010 10:00 AM through August 21, 2010 2:00 PM Pacific Time. Please disregard the dates that are posted for 2005 and 2015, apologies for the inconvenience.

  Forum discussion at Google AdWords Help.

  
  

• 

  Google Places Image Upload Broken?

  Posted: August 24th, 2010, 3:17pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Other Google Topics  

  There are several users recently reporting that they are unable to upload photos to their business listing in Google Places. The reports come via the Google Places Help forum and there are dozens of complaints in the past week.

  The first recent complaint said:

  Image uploads are broken. I have tried valid JPG images both from the web and my computer and they all show up as broken links.

  Then we have several, "me too" posts, such as:

  I am having the same problem. I have tried uploading photos from my computer as well as from my flickr stream and they all show up as broken links.

  The thing is, I personally just tried it and it worked fine. No errors:

  Maybe all these users are uploading them wrong? There are specific format requirements for photos, but can this many people not be following those requirements? Maybe it is a browser specific issue?

  Forum discussion at Google Places Help.

  
  

Emily Chang

• 

  HKIA Sensor

  Posted: August 24th, 2010, 8:21am CEST by Emily Chang

  Tags:  Living  

  Pulled  this security sticker from Hong Kong Airport off my luggage last night only to discover a sensor underneath. Googled to find one cached document citing: “in addition, Hong Kong International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the world, has improved its baggage tracking infrastructureusing RFID in order to increase customer satisfaction. The baggage tracking system was deployed by Matrics Inc.”

Search Engine Roundtable

• 

  Daily Search Forum Recap: August 23, 2010

  Posted: August 23rd, 2010, 11:00pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Forum Recap  

  Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.

  
  

• 

  Why Are My Search Query Counts in Google Webmaster Tools The Same?

  Posted: August 23rd, 2010, 3:57pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Google Optimization  

  If you ever login to see your Google Webmaster Tools search query reports you may notice that from day to day, the chart may display the same number of queries.

  One person questioned this in Google Webmaster Help asking how this is possible. This webmaster didn't believe his eyes and asked, "How come that the queries can be the same 4 days in a row?"

  Here is a screen shot from my report and I see similar patterns:

  Google's JohnMu confirmed this reality in the Google Webmaster Help thread and said it was due to how the numbers were "bucketed" in their system. John said:

  This is due to the way that the numbers are "bucketed" in our system. Basically, to simplify the UI a bit, ca. the values 160 to 260 may get reduced to 210 and shown that way in the user interface. In practice, if the numbers are the same for you, this means that it has been relatively stable for that time. We're looking into ways of making this a bit clearer or providing more exact numbers, but in the meantime if you see this, I wouldn't worry about it :).

  Just another one of those deeper interesting tidbits gleamed from tough questions answered by Google.

  Forum discussion at Google Webmaster Help.

  
  

Emily Chang

• 

  082110

  Posted: August 22nd, 2010, 6:28am CEST by Emily Chang

  Tags:  Living  

• 

  Gracias Madre

  Posted: August 21st, 2010, 6:19am CEST by Emily Chang

  Tags:  Living  

Search Engine Roundtable

• 

  Daily Search Forum Recap: August 20, 2010

  Posted: August 20th, 2010, 11:00pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Forum Recap  

  Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.

  
  

• 

  Video Recap of Weekly Search Buzz :: August 20, 2010

  Posted: August 20th, 2010, 8:50pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Buzz RoundUp  

  This week I covered two interesting Google anomalies. The first is where brand type queries are showing mostly results from that brand's domain. The second is Google is showing only Google pages for some search results. The big news this week is that Bing is now powering Yahoo fully in the U.S. and Canada. With that, Site Explorer, BOSS and Search Monkey are changing. Google added a new way to verify you site in Google Webmaster Tools. comScore released their search market share report. Bing News can drive nice traffic, that is if you can get included. Facebook does place check-ins, like Foursquare. We had lots of logos to share with you this week. Finally, SES San Francisco was this week, which is why I act so tired in the video. That was this past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

  Make sure to subscribe to our video feed or subscribe directly on iTunes to be notified of these updates and download the video in the background. You can also watch this live and ask questions during the show, typically Friday mornings around 9:30 (EST) at seroundtable.com/live, follow @rustybrick to be notified when we air. Here is the YouTube version of the feed:

  
  For the original iTunes version, click here.

  Search Topics of Discussion:
  

  • Google Search Real Estate Dominated By Single Domain For Brand Searches
  • Bug Or Future: Google Search Results Showing Only Google Listings?
  • Bing To Power Yahoo Within The Week
  • Yahoo Site Explorer Migrating Into Bing Webmaster Tools & More
  • Is Yahoo Embarrassed Over Bing Powering Their Results?
  • Google Lets You Verify Your Site in Webmaster Tools With Google Analytics Code
  • comScore July 2010 Search Ranking Share Report
  • Bing News Sends Nice Traffic & Can Be Delayed
  • Facebook, Now With Location Check Ins
  • Happy & Sad Logos: Chinese Valentines, Korea Independence, Kyoto Festival, & Sad Colorless Logos
  • Embarrassing Google India Independence Day Logo Typo
  • Google Russia's Soviet Space Dog Doodle
  • SES San Francisco 2010 Coverage Recap

  Please do subscribe via iTunes or on your favorite RSS reader. Don't forget to comment below with the right answer and good luck!

  
  

• 

  SEOs & Webmasters Complaining About Google's Canonical Tag?

  Posted: August 20th, 2010, 3:24pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Google Optimization  

  About a year and a half ago, Google released the canonical tag. In summary, it is basically a special snippet of code you place on your page that does a 301 redirect without physically redirecting people, instead it redirects search bots.

  In December, they expanded the use of this tag to support cross-domain canonical tag usage, as opposed to just using the tag internally. Personally, I have just used the canonical tag internally, never applied it cross-domain - yet.

  A WebmasterWorld thread has Tedster saying that many, too many, webmasters are complaining about issues with the tag. He said, "in the past week or so I've read several accounts around the web of so-called "canonical disasters." He adds:

  I've used the canonical link tag with no apparent problems, and in some cases it put an easy band-aid on a nasty infrastructure knot. But now I'm reading some SEO blogs that warn against serving the canonical link on the "original" URL. How could that be a problem?

  I agree on that I don't see why SEOs or Webmasters would have issues with it. But I don't agree in seeing more complaints about it than normal.

  In fact, in March I ran a poll asking does the canonical tag work well on Google? The response break down was mostly positive:

  Not all positive. I kind of thing webmasters may not be using it right? Or maybe I am wrong?

  Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

  
  

• 

  Does Google AdSense Automatically Show Your Best Color Ad?

  Posted: August 20th, 2010, 3:13pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Google AdSense  

  A WebmasterWorld thread has Google AdSense publishers wondering if Google automatically shows the best performing ad color.

  As you know, you can allow Google to rotate the AdSense color templates for you. But is that purely random or is Google showing your best color?

  Most publishers suspect Google automatically shows the best performing colors. Netmeg said:

  I always just assumed they rotated them. It's a good question.

  The help document on this say sit is completely random. I'll quote it:

  You can select up to 4 palettes that will rotate randomly.

  Would be nice if Google did the best performing color more often?

  Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

  
  

• 

  Google Lets You Verify Your Site in Webmaster Tools With Google Analytics Code

  Posted: August 20th, 2010, 3:03pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Other Google Topics  

  Google announced adding an additional method of verifying your site with Google Webmaster Tools. In addition to the HTML file, META tag inclusion, and DNS method of verification, you can now use Google Analytics code.

  This specifically works with the new asynchronous Analytics JavaScript code but everyone should use that code anyway.

  The process is simple. Set up the special code on the site, then go to Webmaster Tools and verify the site. You must be the administrator on the Google Analytics account associated with the JavaScript snippet for you to continue to see that site in your Google Webmaster Tools section.

  Here is a screen capture of the current available methods of verification:

  Forum discussion at Google Webmaster Help.

  
  

• 

  Bing News Sends Nice Traffic & Can Be Delayed

  Posted: August 20th, 2010, 2:55pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Microsoft MSN Search  

  When it comes to news search engines, it seems like all we talk about is Google News and rarely Yahoo or Bing News.

  I spotted a WebmasterWorld thread with a rare post by someone included in the Bing News index. The publisher said, "My site has just been indexed in Bing News. And I like it."

  He said he didn't request to get listed in Bing News, which, by the way, doesn't work. He was just included randomly and he loves what he sees.

  He noticed an "uptick in retweets" and looked into it. It turned out to be Bing sending traffic to his site via Bing News.

  Yes, Bing is way more selective than Google News. He also said that some of his content gets pulled into Bing News on a two-day delay. I am not sure if that is specific to his site being newly indexed or just the way Bing handles "news," which kind of doesn't make sense.

  Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

  
  

• 

  SES San Francisco 2010 Coverage Recap

  Posted: August 20th, 2010, 2:45pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Engine Strategies 2010 San  

  Search Engine Strategies San Francisco is now over and I wanted to recap the sessions we covered over the past three days.

  But first, I wanted to thank our live blog volunteers. Keri Morgret of MyNextCustomer, Ben Pfeiffer & Shanon Woodruff of RankSmart did an outstanding job covering the sessions. I hope you enjoyed the coverage and I wanted to give a big thank you to them.

  We covered about 35 sessions and here they are:

  Day One:
  

  • Opening Keynote - Jeffrey Hayzlett, Celebrity CMO Former Kodak CMO
  • How Large Advertisers are Accelerating their SEO with Social Media
  • Search: Where to Next?
  • Digital Asset Optimization
  • Meaningful SEO Metrics: Going Beyond the Numbers
  • Introduction to Information Retrieval on the Web
  • Link Building Basics
  • Content Marketing Optimization
  • Deep Dive Into Analytics
  • Developing Great Content
  • Introduction to Remarketing

  
  Day Two:
  

  • Keynote - BJ Fogg Author, Persuasive Technology
  • News Search Optimization
  • Bringing SEO In-House: The Pros and Cons
  • Crossing the Digital Divide: The Leap From Search to Display
  • It's All About the User: Search Insights for Your Site
  • Search, PR & the Social Butterfly
  • Real-Time Storytelling
  • Link Building in August of 2010 with Jim Boykin
  • Competitive Research
  • B2B Search Marketing Tips
  • Twitternation & Automation
  • Twitternation & Automation
  • How to Become a Link Magnet
  • Beyond the Click: What Shoppers Need Now

  
  Day Three:
  

  • Keynote - Tim Ash, Author, CEO, SiteTuners.com
  • PPC or SEO? The Ultimate Search Marketing Battle
  • Social Media 101
  • Duplicate Content & Multiple Site Issues
  • Search Marketing Toolbox
  • Social & the Marketing Mix
  • Ads in a Quality Score World
  • Killer Facebook Marketing: Do's and Don'ts
  • Advanced Paid Search Tactics

  Thanks all!

  
  

Official Google Webmaster Central Blog

• 

  Showing more results from a domain

  Posted: August 20th, 2010, 11:40am CEST by Jonathan Simon

  Tags:  Search results  

  Webmaster Level: All
  
  Today we’ve launched a change to our ranking algorithm that will make it much easier for users to find a large number of results from a single site. For queries that indicate a strong user interest in a particular domain, like [exhibitions at amnh], we’ll now show more results from the relevant site:
  
  
  
  Prior to today’s change, only two results from www.amnh.org would have appeared for this query. Now, we determine that the user is likely interested in the Museum of Natural History’s website, so seven results from the amnh.org domain appear. Since the user is looking for exhibitions at the museum, it’s far more likely that they’ll find what they’re looking for, faster. The last few results for this query are from other sites, preserving some diversity in the results.
  
  We’re always reassessing our ranking and user interface, making hundreds of changes each year. We expect today’s improvement will help users find deeper results from a single site, while still providing diversity on the results page.
  
  
  Written by Samarth Keshava, Software Engineer

Emily Chang

• 

  Future iPhones, iPads could recognize, adjust for individual users

  Posted: August 20th, 2010, 9:09am CEST by Emily Chang

  Tags:  Bookmarks  

  Relying on a user’s picture or the sound of their voice, future portable devices from Apple like an iPhone or iPad could recognize individuals who pick up and use the item.

  The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office this week revealed a patent application from Apple entitled “Systems and Methods for Identifying Unauthorized Users of an Electronic Device.” The security-centric invention describes methods to identify users through a picture, the sound of their voice, or even their unique heartbeat.

  via AppleInsider | Future iPhones, iPads could recognize, adjust for individual users.

• 

  Experience is the best teacher

  Posted: August 20th, 2010, 8:23am CEST by Emily Chang

  Tags:  Living  

  Spotted in Mission near 22nd (click image to enlarge). Just saw this one the other day.

• 

  Facebook Joins Geo-location Services

  Posted: August 20th, 2010, 8:16am CEST by Emily Chang

  Tags:  Writing  

  Facebook finally launches its geo-location social app, Facebook Places, bringing location features to its 500 million users. You can checkin to locations, see who’s nearby your vicinity as well as tag the names of other Facebook friends who are at the same location. As a test, I checked in from the iPhone app and added Ideacodes as a location. To claim the location, you have to provide proof that you’re officially affiliated with the organization and upload business documents for review.

  Admittedly, I’m not a heavy Facebook user. In fact, I only login to see what people are up to a few times a month. Mostly, I’m drawn to it as a way to keep in touch with my oldest friends from high school and college. While most of them aren’t on the early adopter social networks, they’re ALL on Facebook posting photos and witty status updates. Even though Twitter’s already mainstream, most of them aren’t on Twitter, but lots of them update their status on Facebook every day. So I’m sure we’ll start to see mainstream adoption (and also rejection) of location checkin practices given Facebook’s sheer reach.

  At launch, a few other popular location services (Foursquare, Gowalla, Yelp and Booyah) are using the API to push information back into Places. I’ve been using Foursquare for checkins since it launched and use Check.in to push to both Foursquare and Gowalla. I’m not convinced I’ll publish my location data to Places. My network on Facebook is spread all over the world and ranges from close personal friends to startup ceos to business clients to readers of my sites. If most of your Facebook contacts were local, then that would be a good way to keep friends up to date with where you are. That’s how I use Foursquare. On the other hand, I might start checking Facebook more to see where my friends (that aren’t on Foursquare) are ;)

  Before you just start checking in without regard on Facebook, there are some issues you want to be aware of. Take a look at ACLU of Northern California on Facebook Places: Check This Out Before You Check In. As with all social media, it’s your choice to use it within your own context. If you decide it’s not for you, here’s an article at LifeHacker on how to disable this feature.

• 

  Udupi Palace

  Posted: August 20th, 2010, 8:07am CEST by Emily Chang

  Tags:  Living  

• 

  Creperie Saint Germain

  Posted: August 20th, 2010, 6:10am CEST by Emily Chang

  Tags:  Living  

  SF foodies, there’s a new lunch-time foodstand serving crepes on 2nd and Howard St – Creperie Saint Germain! Too bad they don’t have vegan crepes. We saw the cart the other day and thought it was just being stored at the parking lot. Cool to see they can get a license to operate a foodstand in the lot. Hope more of these show up in SoMA.

Search Engine Roundtable

• 

  SES SFO: Advanced Paid Search Tactics

  Posted: August 20th, 2010, 2:30am CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Engine Strategies 2010 San  

  Below is live coverage of the Advanced Paid Search Tactics from the SES SFO conference.

  This coverage is provided by Keri Morgret of MyNextCustomer.

  We are using a live blogging tool to provide the real time coverage, please excuse any typos. You can also interact with us and while we are live blogging, so feel free to ask us questions as we blog. We will publish the archive below after the session is completed.

  Advanced Paid Search Tactics

  
  

• 

  SES SFO: Killer Facebook Marketing: Do's and Don'ts

  Posted: August 20th, 2010, 1:00am CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Engine Strategies 2010 San  

  Below is live coverage of the Killer Facebook Marketing: Do's and Don'ts from the SES SFO conference.

  This coverage is provided by Ben Pfeiffer of RankSmart & Keri Morgret of MyNextCustomer.

  We are using a live blogging tool to provide the real time coverage, please excuse any typos. You can also interact with us and while we are live blogging, so feel free to ask us questions as we blog. We will publish the archive below after the session is completed.

  Killer Facebook Marketing: Do's and Don'ts

  
  

• 

  SES SFO: Ads in a Quality Score World

  Posted: August 19th, 2010, 11:45pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Engine Strategies 2010 San  

  Below is live coverage of the Ads in a Quality Score World from the SES SFO conference.

  This coverage is provided by Keri Morgret of MyNextCustomer.

  We are using a live blogging tool to provide the real time coverage, please excuse any typos. You can also interact with us and while we are live blogging, so feel free to ask us questions as we blog. We will publish the archive below after the session is completed.

  Ads in a Quality Score World

  
  

• 

  SES SFO: Social & the Marketing Mix

  Posted: August 19th, 2010, 11:45pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Engine Strategies 2010 San  

  Below is live coverage of the Social & the Marketing Mix from the SES SFO conference.

  This coverage is provided by Shanon Woodruff of RankSmart.

  We are using a live blogging tool to provide the real time coverage, please excuse any typos. You can also interact with us and while we are live blogging, so feel free to ask us questions as we blog. We will publish the archive below after the session is completed.

  Social & the Marketing Mix

  
  

• 

  Daily Search Forum Recap: August 19, 2010

  Posted: August 19th, 2010, 11:00pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Forum Recap  

  Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.

  
  

• 

  SES SFO: Search Marketing Toolbox

  Posted: August 19th, 2010, 10:45pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Engine Strategies 2010 San  

  Below is live coverage of the Search Marketing Toolbox from the SES SFO conference.

  This coverage is provided by Keri Morgret of MyNextCustomer.

  We are using a live blogging tool to provide the real time coverage, please excuse any typos. You can also interact with us and while we are live blogging, so feel free to ask us questions as we blog. We will publish the archive below after the session is completed.

  Search Marketing Toolbox

  
  

• 

  SES SFO: Duplicate Content & Multiple Site Issues

  Posted: August 19th, 2010, 10:45pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Engine Strategies 2010 San  

  Below is live coverage of the Duplicate Content & Multiple Site Issues from the SES SFO conference.

  This coverage is provided by Ben Pfeiffer of RankSmart.

  We are using a live blogging tool to provide the real time coverage, please excuse any typos. You can also interact with us and while we are live blogging, so feel free to ask us questions as we blog. We will publish the archive below after the session is completed.

  Duplicate Content & Multiple Site Issues

  
  

• 

  SES SFO: Social Media 101

  Posted: August 19th, 2010, 10:45pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Engine Strategies 2010 San  

  Below is live coverage of the Social Media 101 from the SES SFO conference.

  This coverage is provided by Shanon Woodruff of RankSmart.

  We are using a live blogging tool to provide the real time coverage, please excuse any typos. You can also interact with us and while we are live blogging, so feel free to ask us questions as we blog. We will publish the archive below after the session is completed.

  Social Media 101

  
  

Emily Chang

• 

  The MoMA App

  Posted: August 19th, 2010, 7:56am CEST by Emily Chang

  Tags:  Bookmarks  

  MoMA has been quick to adopt online and social media practices in the last few years, and they’ve now released the first version of their free MoMA iPhone app (iTunes link). The app gives users “access to 32,000 works of art in the museum’s wide collection of modern and contemporary art; a dictionary of art terms and a database of artist bios; calendar information for exhibitions, film screenings, and events; and a wide range of audio tours consisting of special tours for children, teens, and the visually impaired.”  I love the availability to audio tours and the ability to browse by floor or stop number.  I also like that MoMA is encouraging visitors to take their own pictures in the museum and send it as a postcard to friends.  The app will be available shortly for Apple iPod Touch devices as well as Android. I suspect we’ll see a later version with slightly different features for iPad. I’m hoping SFMoMA creates a comprehensive app soon as well, given that they’ve already started with a rooftop garden iPhone/iPad tour.

• 

  081810

  Posted: August 19th, 2010, 7:13am CEST by Emily Chang

  Tags:  Living  

  Max’s chic pea spread and radishes on sesame crackers.

Search Engine Roundtable

• 

  Daily Search Forum Recap: August 18, 2010

  Posted: August 18th, 2010, 11:00pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Forum Recap  

  Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.

  
  

• 

  SES SFO: Search, PR & the Social Butterfly

  Posted: August 18th, 2010, 10:45pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Engine Strategies 2010 San  

  Below is live coverage of the Search, PR & the Social Butterfly from the SES SFO conference.

  This coverage is provided by Shanon Woodruff of RankSmart, Keri Morgret of MyNextCustomer & Ben Pfeiffer of RankSmart.

  We are using a live blogging tool to provide the real time coverage, please excuse any typos. You can also interact with us and while we are live blogging, so feel free to ask us questions as we blog. We will publish the archive below after the session is completed.

  Search, PR & the Social Butterfly

  
  

• 

  SES SFO: It's All About the User: Search Insights for Your Site

  Posted: August 18th, 2010, 10:45pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Engine Strategies 2010 San  

  Below is live coverage of the It's All About the User: Search Insights for Your Site from the SES SFO conference.

  This coverage is provided by Barry Schwartz of RustyBrick.

  We are using a live blogging tool to provide the real time coverage, please excuse any typos. You can also interact with us and while we are live blogging, so feel free to ask us questions as we blog. We will publish the archive below after the session is completed.

  It's All About the User: Search Insights for Your Site

  
  

• 

  SES SFO: Crossing the Digital Divide: The Leap From Search to Display

  Posted: August 18th, 2010, 8:45pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Engine Strategies 2010 San  

  Below is live coverage of the Crossing the Digital Divide: The Leap From Search to Display from the SES SFO conference.

  This coverage is provided by Keri Morgret of MyNextCustomer.

  We are using a live blogging tool to provide the real time coverage, please excuse any typos. You can also interact with us and while we are live blogging, so feel free to ask us questions as we blog. We will publish the archive below after the session is completed.

  Crossing the Digital Divide: The Leap From Search to Display

  
  

• 

  SES SFO: Bringing SEO In-House: The Pros and Cons

  Posted: August 18th, 2010, 8:45pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Engine Strategies 2010 San  

  Below is live coverage of the Bringing SEO In-House: The Pros and Cons from the SES SFO conference.

  This coverage is provided by Ben Pfeiffer of RankSmart.

  We are using a live blogging tool to provide the real time coverage, please excuse any typos. You can also interact with us and while we are live blogging, so feel free to ask us questions as we blog. We will publish the archive below after the session is completed.

  Bringing SEO In-House: The Pros and Cons

  
  

• 

  SES SFO: News Search Optimization

  Posted: August 18th, 2010, 8:45pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Engine Strategies 2010 San  

  Below is live coverage of the News Search Optimization from the SES SFO conference.

  This coverage is provided by Shanon Woodruff of RankSmart.

  We are using a live blogging tool to provide the real time coverage, please excuse any typos. You can also interact with us and while we are live blogging, so feel free to ask us questions as we blog. We will publish the archive below after the session is completed.

  News Search Optimization

  
  

• 

  SES SFO: Keynote - BJ Fogg Author, Persuasive Technology

  Posted: August 18th, 2010, 7:15pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Engine Strategies 2010 San  

  Below is live coverage of the Keynote - BJ Fogg Author, Persuasive Technology from the SES SFO conference.

  This coverage is provided by Keri Morgret of MyNextCustomer & Barry Schwartz of RustyBrick.

  We are using a live blogging tool to provide the real time coverage, please excuse any typos. You can also interact with us and while we are live blogging, so feel free to ask us questions as we blog. We will publish the archive below after the session is completed.

  Keynote - BJ Fogg Author, Persuasive Technology

  
  

• 

  Yahoo Site Explorer Migrating Into Bing Webmaster Tools & More

  Posted: August 18th, 2010, 4:44pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Yahoo Search Optimization  

  As you know by now, Yahoo promised to complete the transition to being fully powered by Bing in the U.S. and Canada within a week of time. But what does that mean for the beloved Yahoo Site Explorer or BOSS or Search Monkey?

  Site Explorer will stick around until all of the migration is complete. But when the Bing transition in the U.S. and Canada are complete, within a week or so, Yahoo hopes to announce when Bing will have the Site Explorer features in Bing Webmaster Tools.

  When Bing released their new Bing Webmaster Center it was missing a critical feature, linkage data. Many speculated that Yahoo Site Explorer would replace it and that is kind of true. Bing Webmaster Center will get linkage tools via Site Explorers framework, some how. We should know exactly when that will happen in a week or so.

  BOSS is sticking around too, but there will be some ways to monetize that so it makes sense for Yahoo to keep it around. I believe Bing will power some of Yahoo BOSS and Yahoo will power parts of it as well. But there are not many details exactly what will happen with BOSS going forward at this point.

  SearchMonkey is kind of dead. The developer tools are going away but they markup techniques will remain on Yahoo Search. Bing may or may not use some of the markup techniques, but Yahoo will continue to use it to make the search results richer there.

  You can learn a lot more about the specifics at the Yahoo Developer blog and on the Yahoo Search blog.

  Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

  
  

• 

  Bing To Power Yahoo Within The Week

  Posted: August 18th, 2010, 4:29pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Yahoo Search Engine  

  Yahoo announced that Bing will be powering Yahoo Search on the organic side later this week. Right now and for the past month, Yahoo has been testing Bing powered search results on Yahoo. Yahoo said, the full transition is happening later this week and they will let us know when it is complete.

  You will also know the transition is complete when you see the "Powered by Bing" logo on the bottom of the Yahoo Search results.

  This is only for the United States and Canada Yahoo Search results, the other results won't change over until 2012. This is also only for the organic side of things.

  Also, you should know the organic results between Yahoo and Bing, the ranking order, will be exactly the same when this transition is complete. Yahoo may add some makeup to the results, but the ranking order will be exactly the same.

  On the paid side, Yahoo is testing the account migration tool now and hopes to release it to everyone in the upcoming weeks.

  I'll follow up this post on the webmaster side of the things. Specifically, Yahoo Site Explorer, BOSS and SearchMonkey.

  Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

  
  

• 

  What If You Link To A Site Banned In Google?

  Posted: August 18th, 2010, 4:22pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Google Optimization  

  A WebmasterWorld thread has one webmaster who is a bit nervous after finding out a site he links to is banned in Google. He said it is a popular site, the site was banned approximately 3-months ago and he is linking to it. He asked, should he be worried about his rankings being downgraded for linking to a banned site?

  In his case, it has only been a few months and I doubt Google would penalize him for one link to a recently banned site, if that link was there prior. Before I get into my thoughts, take my poll, do you think linking to banned sites can hurt you?

  Would Linking To A Banned Site Hurt You?Market Research

  Overall, Google knows you have control over who you link to. If you don't, you can always enforce a nofollow attribute on links from third-parties on your web site. If you do not do that, it is your fault. If you link out to sites that are spam or banned, then maybe, if there are enough of them, Google would consider your site to be untrustworthy and you might see a degration in your rankings.

  I don't think one link will make that much of a difference, but many - yea.

  Do you agree?

  Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

  
  

• 

  comScore July 2010 Search Ranking Share Report

  Posted: August 18th, 2010, 4:13pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Engine Industry News  

  comScore released their July 2010 search market share report, showing Yahoo climbing to 17% share, Google still around 65% and Bing at 11%. Here is the chart, using their new explicit search measuring technique.

  The folks at WebmasterWorld, at least these days, are very pro Bing and anti-Google. So they are happy to see Google take a slight drop and Yahoo increase.

  well I tell everyone to use Bing as SE if they dont want one looking over your shoulder all the time

  In any event, Google still dominates.

  Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

  
  

• 

  Do Keyword Rich Domain Names Have a Search Ranking Edge?

  Posted: August 18th, 2010, 4:01pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Engine Optimization  

  We have been writing about keywords in the domain name for ages now. In fact, Matt Cutts said keywords in URLs do help on some level. A poll we held a while back had 75% of SEOs feel Google loves keywords in the URL.

  But in 2010, is Google still in love with keyword rich domains?

  A WebmasterWorldthread has some people saying yes and others saying it depends. One said, "It seems to me, SEO-wise, generic keyword laden domains are still the way to go. That may change in the future, but it hasn't yet."

  But is that true with competitive keywords? Tedster replied:

  My guess would be that, as a percentage, it's not really as high as our impression says. If you've ever tried to rank a keyword-match domain in a competitive market, you know it takes more than just the domain.

  There is a lot more than a keyword in a URL or a bunch of links that makes up Google's ranking algorithm. Of course, everything might help here and there and if you have a keyword rich domain name, people may use plain anchor text of your domain name to link to you. But keeping things constant, how valuable is the keyword in the domain as a stand alone factor? It is hard for you and I to say.

  Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

  
  

Official Google Webmaster Central Blog

• 

  Verification time savers —  Analytics included!

  Posted: August 18th, 2010, 3:12pm CEST by Sean Harding

  Webmaster Level: All
  
  Nobody likes to duplicate effort. Unfortunately, sometimes it's a fact of life. If you want to use Google Analytics, you need to add a JavaScript tracking code to your pages. When you're ready to verify ownership of your site in other Google products (such as Webmaster Tools), you have to add a meta tag, HTML file or DNS record to your site. They're very similar tasks, but also completely independent. Until today.
  
  You can now use a Google Analytics JavaScript snippet to verify ownership of your website. If you already have Google Analytics set up, verifying ownership is as simple as clicking a button.
  
  
  This only works with the newer asynchronous Analytics JavaScript, so if you haven't migrated yet, now is a great time. If you haven't set up Google Analytics or verified yet, go ahead and set up Google Analytics first, then come verify ownership of your site. It'll save you a little time — who doesn't like that? Just as with all of our other verification methods, the Google Analytics JavaScript needs to stay in place on your site, or your verification will expire. You also need to remain an administrator on the Google Analytics account associated with the JavaScript snippet.
  
  Don't forget that once you've verified ownership, you can add other verified owners quickly and easily through the Verification Details page. There's no need for each owner to manually verify ownership. More effort and time saved!
  
  
  We've also introduced an improved interface for verification. The new verification page gives you more information about each verification method. In some cases, we can now provide detailed instructions about how to complete verification with your specific domain registrar or provider. If your provider is included, there's no need to dig through their documentation to figure out how to add a verification DNS record — we'll walk you through it.
  
  
  The time you save using these new verification features might not be enough to let you take up a new hobby, but we hope it makes the verification process a little bit more pleasant. As always, please visit the Webmaster Help Forum if you have any questions.
  
  Written by Sean Harding, Software Engineer

Emily Chang

• 

  081710

  Posted: August 18th, 2010, 7:08am CEST by Emily Chang

  Tags:  Living  

  Max’s vegan red and white cauliflower bake. Delicious.

Search Engine Roundtable

• 

  SES SFO: Introduction to Remarketing

  Posted: August 18th, 2010, 2:00am CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Engine Strategies 2010 San  

  Below is live coverage of the Introduction to Remarketing from the SES SFO conference.

  This coverage is provided by Keri Morgret of MyNextCustomer & Ben Pfeiffer of RankSmart.

  We are using a live blogging tool to provide the real time coverage, please excuse any typos. You can also interact with us and while we are live blogging, so feel free to ask us questions as we blog. We will publish the archive below after the session is completed.

  Introduction to Remarketing

  
  

• 

  SES SFO: Developing Great Content

  Posted: August 18th, 2010, 2:00am CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Engine Strategies 2010 San  

  Below is live coverage of the Developing Great Content from the SES SFO conference.

  This coverage is provided by Shanon Woodruff of RankSmart.

  We are using a live blogging tool to provide the real time coverage, please excuse any typos. You can also interact with us and while we are live blogging, so feel free to ask us questions as we blog. We will publish the archive below after the session is completed.

  Developing Great Content

  
  

• 

  SES SFO: Deep Dive Into Analytics

  Posted: August 18th, 2010, 12:45am CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Engine Strategies 2010 San  

  Below is live coverage of the Deep Dive Into Analytics from the SES SFO conference.

  This coverage is provided by Keri Morgret of MyNextCustomer.

  We are using a live blogging tool to provide the real time coverage, please excuse any typos. You can also interact with us and while we are live blogging, so feel free to ask us questions as we blog. We will publish the archive below after the session is completed.

  Deep Dive Into Analytics

  
  

Emily Chang

• 

  Mint Plaza 081610

  Posted: August 17th, 2010, 6:43am CEST by Emily Chang

  Tags:  Living  

Official Google Webmaster Central Blog

• 

  To err is human, Video Sitemap feedback is divine!

  Posted: August 17th, 2010, 12:06am CEST by Maile Ohye

  Tags:  webmaster tools  

  Webmaster Level: All
  
  You can now check your Video Sitemap for even more errors right in Webmaster Tools! It’s a new Labs feature to signal issues in your Video Sitemap such as:
  

  • URLs disallowed by robots.txt
  • Thumbnail size errors (160x120px is ideal. Anything smaller than 90x50 will be rejected.)

  
  
  
  Video Sitemaps help us to better crawl and extract information about your videos, so we can appropriately feature them in search results.
  
  Totally new to Video Sitemaps? Check out the Video Sitemaps center for more information. Otherwise, take a look at this new Labs feature in Webmaster Tools.
  
  Written by Jackie Lai, Video Search Team

Emily Chang

• 

  Internet consumption trends

  Posted: August 16th, 2010, 9:45am CEST by Emily Chang

  Tags:  Bookmarks  

  Steve Rubel has an interesting article in AdAge, although I would argue that innovation, simplicity and utility have always been dominant trends even with PC internet browsing. I do think that the scale in which we consume has rapidly changed and the “always on” generation views content and connectivity as ubiquitous. Technology is just catching up to our expectations.

  Within five years global internet consumption on mobile devices will surpass the same activity on PCs. This sounds like good news. It’s natural to think that browsers on the third screen (phones) and the fourth screen (tablets) will simply replace time spent in front of the same on a PC. That’s not the case.

  Mobile devices, by their nature, force users to become more mission-oriented. As more internet consumption shifts to gadgets, it’s increasingly becoming an app world and we just live in it. Innovation, fun, simplicity and single-purpose utility will rule while grandiose design and complexity will fall by the wayside.

  via It’s Time to Prepare for the End of the Web as We Know It – Advertising Age – Steve Rubel.

Official Google Webmaster Central Blog

• 

  Video Sitemaps: Understanding location tags

  Posted: August 16th, 2010, 12:41am CEST by Maile Ohye

  Tags:  sitemaps  

  Webmaster Level: All
  
  If you want to add video information to a Sitemap or mRSS feed you must specify the location of the video. This means you must include one of two tags, either the video:player_loc or video:content_loc. In the case of an mRSS feed, these equivalent tags are media:player or media:content, respectively. We need this information to verify that there is actually a live video on your landing page and to extract metadata and signals from the video bytes for ranking. If one of these tags is not included we will not be able to verify the video and your Sitemap/mRSS feed will not be crawled. To reduce confusion, here is some more detail about these elements.
  
  Video Locations Defined
  
  Player Location/URL: the player (e.g., .swf) URL with corresponding arguments that load and play the actual video.
  
  Content Location/URL: the actual raw video bytes (e.g., .flv, .avi) containing the video content.
  
  The Requirements
  
  One of either the player video:player_loc or content video:content_loc location is required. However, we strongly suggest you provide both, as they each serve distinct purposes: player location is primarily used to help verify that a video exists on the page, and content location helps us extract more signals and metadata to accurately rank your videos.
  
  

  URL extensions at a glance:
  .nobrtable br { display: none }
  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Sitemap:	mRSS:	Contents:
  <loc>	<link>	The playpage URL
  <video:player_loc>	<media:player> (url attribute)	The SWF URL
  <video:content_loc>	<media:content> (url attribute)	The FLV or other raw video URL

  
  NOTE: All URLs should be unique (every URL in your entire Video Sitemap and mRSS feed should be unique)

  
  If you would like to better ensure that only Googlebot accesses your content, you can perform a reverse DNS lookup.
  
  For more information on Google Videos please visit our Help Center, and to post questions and search for answers check out our Help Forum.
  
  Posted by Nelson Lee, Product Manager, Video Search

Search Engine Roundtable

• 

  Daily Search Forum Recap: August 11, 2010

  Posted: August 11th, 2010, 11:00pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Forum Recap  

  Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.

  
  

• 

  Announcing SphinnCon Israel 2011 - January 9, 2011

  Posted: August 11th, 2010, 3:49pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Engine Conferences  

  I am so excited to announce that we are bringing SMX SphinnCon Israel back for a 3rd year to Jerusalem, Israel. This year, the event will take place on Sunday, January 9, 2011. We are hosting the event at a Inbal Hotel, a really nice hotel in Jerusalem, place I have personally stayed several times and highly recommend.

  Having it at the Inbal let's us fit over twice as many people. But I strongly recommend you register early, because each time we announce the event, it is sold out within 1.5 months. So please, I beg you, register now, this way you guarantee your seat at the SphinnCon event.

  We are currently offering an early bird discount of $75 per ticket. To qualify for that discount, again, you should register now. The $75 will be available up until we announce the sessions and the full agenda. After that, the price will go up.

  Attending SphinnCon Israel will give you a full day event, unlike in the past where it was only a half a day. In addition, it will include refreshments throughout the day and a full service lunch, catered by the Inbal hotel. We will have the best speakers in the SEO, PPC, SEM, Social Media space presenting and networking at the event. We will deliver the best SEM related networking in the region. Plus, it will be a lot of fun - so please register early.

  We currently have Answers.com as an early sponsor for the event. The Inbal Hotel will be our Wifi sponsor. I am looking for additional sponsors, if you are interested, please email sphinncon@rustybrick.com and I can send you details. The sponsorship packages are very inexpensive and will return a really nice ROI for your business. Outside of that, if any Israel-based SEO, SEM, Analytics, Social Media company wants to help support this extremely important event, please do contact us.

  Want to speak? We are working on the agenda now, so feel free to find out how to speak at searchmarketingexpo.com/sphinncon.

  I wanted to thank my posse for helping me organize this event every year. They include Ophir Cohen, CEO, Compucall Web Marketing, Branko Rihtman, SEO & R&D Specialist at WhiteWeb, Gilad Sasson, Director of Search & Online Marketing at Nekuda, Eli Feldblum, Founder & CTO at RankAbove, Mayer Reich of RankAbove and many others. So thank you all!

  
  I urge you to register as soon as possible before all the seats are taken. Register at searchmarketingexpo.com/sphinncon by clicking on the "Ready to Register? CLICK HERE" icon at the top right. You will be taken to rustybrick.com/sphinncon and asked to register and pay over there.

  Don't miss out, register today at searchmarketingexpo.com/sphinncon.

  Event Quick Details:
  Date: Sunday, January 9, 2011
  Time: 8:00am to 5:30pm
  Venue: Inbal Hotel
  Location: Liberty Bell Park 3 Jabotinsky Street, Jerusalem 92145
  Cost: $75 early bird special
  Max Attendance: ~500 people

  
  

• 

  Google Can't Find The Original Source Of Content?

  Posted: August 11th, 2010, 3:39pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Google Optimization  

  Since the MayDay update there have been a spike in complaints about site's with stolen content outranking the sites they stole the content from.

  This is an old issue, which Google was typically not too bad at handling. You have 5 web sites, one web site wrote the content first, then the other four snatched the content from the original source. Google was typically good at knowing who was the original source and ranking that original source higher, independent of which site had more PageRank and authority.

  Since MayDay, it appears that original source detection has gone a bit haywire.

  There is a large WebmasterWorldthread and a new DigitalPoint Forums thread with constant complaints about Google ranking scraper sites above the original source.

  Is it Caffeine or MayDay related? Is it that Caffeine is discovering content faster on the scraper site, thus giving them the original source credit (if it works that way)? Or is it a ranking algorithm change with MayDay, finding original source credit less valuable then other criteria?

  Tedster's theory:

  It comes from Mayday giving good rankings to "sites" they feel are more popular - and therefore better over all destinations for the search user. The emphasis used to be more on the "page" rather than the "site".

  Have you found this to be a larger issue since MayDay/Caffeine?

  Forum discussion at WebmasterWorldthread and a new DigitalPoint Forums.

  
  

• 

  Google SSL Search Not Working In Safari 5

  Posted: August 11th, 2010, 3:34pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Google Search Engine  

  Here is an interesting bug that I was able to replicate. Google SSL search and reportedly Google.com search yesterday, was/is not working on Apple's Safari 5 web browser.

  We have some complaints about it at Google Web Search Help:

  So I am running Safari 5 on my MacBook Pro and just recently when I type something into the Google search bar and hit enter, the Google search bar page reloads with no results. I type the same thing into the search bar and hit enter...and then it finds some results for me. This is quite annoying to have to type in what I am searching for twice in order to do a search. If this bug is not fixed I will be switching to another search engine. I hope that I do not have to do that.

  Googler Sarah H. chimed in and said:

  Thanks for reporting this bug and for providing the details.

  As we look into it will you please reply back with the URL you get after the unsuccessful search but before the successful second attempt? That will be helpful because I am not able to reproduce what you're experiencing.

  I was personally able to replicate the issue using Google SSL search in Safari 5. Here is a screen cast of that:

  Forum discussion at Google Web Search Help.

  
  

• 

  Daily Search Forum Recap: August 10, 2010

  Posted: August 10th, 2010, 11:00pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Forum Recap  

  Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.

  
  

• 

  SES San Francisco 2010 Live Blog Coverage Schedule

  Posted: August 10th, 2010, 9:41pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Search Engine Strategies 2010 San  

  
  Search Engine Strategies San Francisco 2010, the first SES SFO (formerly known as SES San Jose), is next week. We will be providing live blog coverage of the event on Tuesday, August 17th through Thursday August 19th.

  Not only is SES at a new location, it seems like the logo and branding may have changed as well. The new logo is on the top right of this post.

  Old Logo:

  Live blogging SES San Francisco are veterans Keri Morgret of MyNextCustomer, Ben Pfeiffer & Shanon Woodruff of RankSmart and myself. I wanted to thank the volunteers before the conference, they will be helping out hundreds of SEOs who can't attend.

  Here is out SES San Francisco 2010 Live Coverage Schedule:

  Tuesday, August 17 - Day 1
  9:30-10:45am
  Opening Keynote - Jeffrey Hayzlett, Celebrity CMO Former Kodak CMO covered by Barry Schwartz
  11:30-12:30pm
  How Large Advertisers are Accelerating their SEO with Social Media covered by Shanon Woodruff & Keri Morgret
  Search: Where to Next? covered by Ben Pfeiffer
  1:30-2:30pm
  Digital Asset Optimization covered by Barry Schwartz
  Meaningful SEO Metrics: Going Beyond the Numbers covered by Keri Morgret & Ben Pfeiffer
  Introduction to Information Retrieval on the Web covered by Shanon Woodruff
  3:00-4:00pm
  Link Building Basics covered by Ben Pfeiffer
  Content Marketing Optimization covered by Shanon Woodruff & Barry Schwartz
  Deep Dive Into Analytics covered by Keri Morgret
  4:15-5:15pm
  Developing Great Content covered by Shanon Woodruff
  Introduction to Remarketing covered by Ben Pfeiffer & Keri Morgret

  Wednesday, August 18 - Day 2
  9:30-10:30am
  Keynote - BJ Fogg Author, Persuasive Technology covered by Keri Morgret & Barry Schwartz
  11:00-12:00pm
  News Search Optimization covered by Shanon Woodruff
  Bringing SEO In-House: The Pros and Cons covered by Ben Pfeiffer
  Crossing the Digital Divide: The Leap From Search to Display covered by Keri Morgret
  1:00-2:00pm
  It's All About the User: Search Insights for Your Site covered by Barry Schwartz
  Search, PR & the Social Butterfly covered by Shanon Woodruff, Ben Pfeiffer& Keri Morgret
  2:30-3:30pm
  Real-Time Storytelling covered by Shanon Woodruff
  Link Building in August of 2010 with Jim Boykin covered by Ben Pfeiffer
  Competitive Research covered by Keri Morgret
  3:45-4:45pm
  Ad Innovations @ SES SF covered by Ben Pfeiffer
  B2B Search Marketing Tips covered by Keri Morgret
  Twitternation & Automation covered by Shanon Woodruff & Barry Schwartz
  5:00-6:00pm
  How to Become a Link Magnet covered by Ben Pfeiffer & Barry Schwartz
  Beyond the Click: What Shoppers Need Now covered by Shanon Woodruff
  
  Thursday, August 19 - Day 3
  9:30-10:30am
  Keynote - Tim Ash, Author, CEO, SiteTuners.com covered by Keri Morgret & Barry Schwartz
  10:45-11:45am
  PPC or SEO? The Ultimate Search Marketing Battle covered by Shanon Woodruff & Ben Pfeiffer
  Enterprise Level SEO covered by Barry Schwartz
  12:00-1:00pm
  Social Media 101 covered by Shanon Woodruff
  Duplicate Content & Multiple Site Issues covered by Ben Pfeiffer
  Search Marketing Toolbox covered by Keri Morgret
  2:00-3:00pm
  Social & the Marketing Mix covered by Shanon Woodruff
  Ads in a Quality Score World covered by Keri Morgret
  3:15-4:15pm
  Killer Facebook Marketing: Do's and Don'ts covered by Ben Pfeiffer & Keri Morgret
  4:45-5:45pm
  Advanced Paid Search Tactics covered by Keri Morgret

  That is our live blogging schedule - it is subject to change last minute.

  
  

• 

  Google Updates AdSense Layouts

  Posted: August 10th, 2010, 3:30pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Google AdSense  

  It has been a while since we have seen an update to the Google AdSense unit layouts. But today that has changed, Google announced new layouts are coming to the leaderboard, medium and large rectangles units. Here is a picture of the change:

  The changes include:

  • Leaderboard (728x90): the title, description, and URL are now arranged in rows instead of columns (except in the case when only one ad is showing)
  • Medium and large rectangles (300x250, 336x280): the URL is now in the same line as the title
  • Font size changes on some units

  Did you notice any changes on your sites? Good or bad?

  Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

  
  

• 

  Google Images Redesign Doubles Schools Bandwidth Bill

  Posted: August 10th, 2010, 3:23pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Google Search Engine  

  A few weeks ago, Google launched a redesigned Google Images that lets searchers discover more images faster. There were complaints from Webmasters and some from searchers who don't like change.

  Today, I spotted a very interesting complaint via Google Web Search Help. The complaint comes from a school in New Zealand with 1,200 students. Their Google Image Search data usage has more than doubled their weekly bandwidth fees.

  The school administrator said, a typical week of bandwidth consumption at the school is about 17GB. Since the Google Image Search redesign, their bandwidth consumption has been 39GB! That is a 130% increase in bandwidth usage and that increases cause and responsiveness of the rest of the network.

  Interesting complaint, don't you think?

  Forum discussion at Google Web Search Help.

  
  

• 

  Police Raid Google South Korea Over Wireless Data Collection

  Posted: August 10th, 2010, 3:15pm CEST by rustybrick

  Tags:  Other Google Topics  

  Remember how Google got themselves in trouble over storing data collected via those Street View cars?

  Well, there are reports via places like the New York Times and BBC that South Korean police raided Google and took files, hard drives and documents.

  The police say, "we will investigate Google Korea officials and scrutinize the data we confiscated today." We intend to find out what kinds of data they have collected and how much. We will try to retrieve all the original data illegally collected and stored through domestic Wi-Fi networks from the Google headquarters."

  Forum discussion at Google Blogoscoped Forums.