7 Things I Want from Google - NOW!

I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want. What I want is for Google to stop photographing street corners in Manhattan and give me a few much-needed tools! Here's a list of 7 things I want from Google for Christmas (or better yet, July 4th).

1. Search my Google Reader - Hello!? Google, your main thing is, um, Search. Well, someone had to say it. Listen, all I want to do is search my feeds. Is it too much to ask? Why are you making me star everything I might want to go back and look at? Punks.

2. Blogger. Where do I even START?

a. Customizable title and meta tags right there on the post interface.
b. More templates and easier to customize!
c. Accepting the templates I've found elsewhere. There are some super-nice and super-talented people who've created super-great templates but I can't get them to work.
d. Google Analytics right there in the Blogger Dashboard. I know, I know, that's just CRAZY TALK!
e. Let me transfer my blog to another Google account. I changed my name when I got married but you insist on referring to my maiden name.
f. RSS feeds. Now that Feedburner is being added to your harem, let's have all of their options right there in the Blogger dashboard. Including stats.
g. Basically become everything I love in Wordpress, but go one step further and don't make me upload a bunch of plugins. Oh and drag-n-drop EVERYTHING would be icing on the cake.

3. Gmail - I want to be able to reply to emails sent to certain filters automatically using the email address it was sent to. Right now I have to manually change it.

4. Google Talk - Support AIM so my husband doesn't have to download AIM (doesn't that just screw with your computer!) or Trellian. I like it when he uses plain old G-talk b/c it tells me when he's typing :) Otherwise, sometimes I think he's not responding to me.

5. Break up with Wikipedia - So many instances of inaccuracies have been documented, it's a wonder you guys still think this is what the users should find on the first page of results.

6. Index Wordpress better. Too many Wordpress sites are having pages fall into the Supplemental Index. Vanessa Fox is all like "Don't use nofollow" but Google doesn't offer many alternatives. But she's right. I don't want to nofollow my category pages b/c I'm trying to optimize them for the long tail. Figure out what a sidebar is, already!

7. Calendar. Maybe it's just me, but I've never once received a reminder for the events I set up on my calendar.

Technorati: seo, google, gmail, wordpress, blogger

Google Unifies and Broadens Main Search Page

Google has announced that it will be unifying its search system to include universal search results, not just those from Web pages. This significant change means that users will now get search results from news sites, Blogs, video services as well as numerous other relevant sources.

Up until now, each of these categories has stood alone, which meant searches had to be repeated to pick up all the possible search results. The new expanded search results will soon be available via a series of tabs that will appear on your Google search results page. Initially the changes will only affect Web searches done on Google.com in English.

Google Introduces New Blog to Track the "Geoweb"

The team over at Google Maps introduced a new Blog this week. The Blog, entitled “Google Lat Long,” is described as a “Geo Blog” that will help readers stay abreast on the latest changes and developments to Google Maps, Google Earth, Google Local and the APIs available for Google’s mapping services.

Google Earth and Maps Director John Hanke has kicked off the Blog with an inaugural post highlighting some recent developments in what he terms as the “Geoweb,” which by his own definition includes any embedded maps, local search, geo-tagged photos, user-generated Blogs and wikis, in addition to Google’s own geo-related offerings.

Hanke points out that there is no clear, set-in-stone agreement on just what exactly the “Geoweb” actually is (or should be), but feels that it “will evolve substantially over the next few months and years as we (the geo ecosystem on the web) collectively figure out how these "earth browsers," …and other user-generated geo content all interrelate.”

Hanke outlines new offerings from Google, including the new “My Maps” feature from Google Maps that allows users to easily create their own custom map of virtually any location in the world. Google Earth was also recently updated with a new beta build of version 4.1.

Another recent Blog feature includes astonishing Google Maps images of Greensburg, Kansas, the town that was literally wiped off the map earlier this week by a catastrophic F-5 tornado.

Google Lat Long is officially up and running, so be sure to check it out!

Yahoo Ups the Ante in Online Advertising

In an on-going effort to remain competitive with ever-evolving search leader Google, Yahoo is increasing its stake in the online advertising arena by turning its 20 percent hold in Right Media Group, purchased in October of 2006, into full ownership.

Right Media has become a high-stakes leader in the online advertising industry, allowing advertisers and online publishers to interact in online ad sales in a manner similar to eBay, offering an innovative open exchange to help buyers and sellers trade digital media more efficiently. Participants are able to make direct transactions with one another at fair market value.

Yahoo reportedly paid $680 million in cash for the remaining 80 percent of Right Media ownership.

Yahoo! chairman and CEO Terry Semel said in a statement that the acquisition of Right Media will further Yahoo's goal to create the industry's most open, accessible and vibrant advertising marketplace. This will then help democratize the buying and selling of digitally enabled advertising.

The purchase of Right Media falls right into accordance with Yahoo’s long-term business plan to build the industry's foremost advertising and publishing unit, in addition to its traditional search offerings.

Google announced just weeks ago that that it had agreed to purchase DoubleClick for $3.1 billion. Google also has a new partnership with EchoStar for TV advertising.

Google Surpasses Microsoft as the World's Most Uniquely Visited Web Site, and Most Valuable Global Brand

Google.com is now officially the most visited web site in the world - this according to measurements taken by leading global internet information provider comScore. Google’s 528 million unique visitors were just enough to steal the top spot from Microsoft, which was close behind with 527 million unique visitors.

Yahoo came in an admirable third place with 476 million, followed by Time Warner with 272 million and eBay with 256 million unique visitors.

The fact is that with Google’s increased array of products beyond just traditional search including a much improved Google Maps, Google News, and Google Video, more and more and people are sticking around and utilizing some of the other services Google has to offer. Google’s 2006 acquisition of YouTube, the world’s most popular video sharing portal, also most certainly played a big role in their increased rating.

In a separate annual online survey by Millward Brown, the Google brand is now valued at approximately $66.4 billion, making it the most valuable global brand ahead of previous brand leaders like GE, Microsoft, and Coca-Cola.

March 2007 Search Engine Rankings – Google Continuing Its Reign

Leading global internet information provider comScore has released its official monthly report of user activity across all major competitive search engines.

For the month of March 2007, Google once again maintained a strong hold on the number 1 position capturing a whopping 48.3 percent of the U.S. search market (3.5 billion total searches). This is up 0.2 percent over the 48.1 percent that earned Google the top spot in February.

Yahoo also maintained its not-so-close second place ranking with 27.5 percent of all U.S. searches (2 billion total searches, down 0.6 percent from February). MSN held steady in a distant third place with 10.9 percent (798 million total searches, up 0.4 percent) of search traffic, followed by Ask.com with 5.2 (379 million total searches, up 0.2 percent) and AOL with an even 5.0 percent, which was up a slight 0.1 from February (368 million total searches).

Overall, Americans conducted more than 7.3 billion online searches during the month of March. This is up a 6 percent from just a month ago, and a staggering 14 percent increase from March of 2006.

Paid Links roundup

Last weekend, Matt Cutts ignited the blogosphere with talk of reporting paid links. Here are links to what's being said out there in blogland.

• Would You Report Paid Links? Search Marketing Gurus
  
• Paid Links Under Scrutiny by Google Again Search Engine Land
  
• Revisiting Paid Links SEO Buzz Box
  
• Google vs. Paid Links TheVanBlog
  
• Why Google Shouldn't Punish Us for Their Incompetence SugarRae
  
• I am Not a Link Communist Revisited: Perspectives on Buying Links Stuntdubl
  
• If I Were Google, Here's What I'd Do About Paid Links Small Business SEM
  
• Matt Cutts: I Hate My Job SEO Loser
  
• The Real Reason Google Doesn't Like Paid Links SEO Book
  
• Google Paid Links - Google Sliding Down The Slippery Slope of Evildom Andy Beard - Niche Marketing
  
• Matt Cutts Invites Humans to Snitch Out Paid Links SearchRank
  
• Paid Links Brouhaha SearchGrit
  
• Why Does Google Hate You? SearchAnyway
  
• Matt Cutts of Google on Paid Links Again
  
• Google's Motives are Selfish and So are Yours and Mine Half's SEO Notebook
  

The most entertaining of all the blogs has been JLH Design, who is having a little fun at Google's expense:

• I Submitted My Spam Report
  
• In Other News
  
• PageRank 8 Links for Sale
  

technorati: seo, paid links, google, matt cutts

Answering Alister Cameron

Today Alister Cameron was the guest blogger on Problogger. He dug into Google's patent for Blogsearch which is borderline Big Brother. At the end, he posed questions for readers which I will attempt to answer here.

1. Does it make sense to have Blogsearch separate from the main Google search engine? That's a tough question to answer. On the one hand, a niche search engine for blogs is highly useful. Where I get concerned is how Google handles blogs in its "regular" engine.

2. As Google Blogsearch gains in popularity, will new (or adjusted) SEO strategies emerge along with it? In Alister's post, he talks about how tagging, inclusion in Blogrolls, and even links in emails and IM are factors in Blogsearch. So I think the strategy should be a fusion of SEO/SMO.

3. How many people actually use Google Blogsearch (http://blogsearch.google.com)? I tried to find this information out by plugging it into Compete. It defaulted to Google.com. So then I plugged in the url for the Blogger based Blogsearch (search.blogger.com), but there wasn't enough data from Compete's users to offer traffic estimations.

4. Do you use it? I do use it! I have a personal movie-related blog and I use Blogsearch to get links for roundups. I've also found my posts listed in the first page of results for Blogsearch but nowhere to be found in Google. My blog is new, so it might still be stuck in the sandbox. Could it be that there's no sandbox for Blogsearch?

5. How do you find Google Blogsearch compares with Technorati? I've found far better results on Blogsearch. Having said that, Technorati is probably searched more, so it might make more sense to optimize for that.


Speaking of which: seo, smo, social media optimization, blogsearch

Google Expanding Its Reach into Television Advertising with EchoStar Deal

Google has been doing a lot of talking recently about the idea of expanding into television advertising. Now, it’s finally happening. Google just signed a multi-year ad distribution deal with satellite television giant EchoStar. Echo Star Communications Corp. is the parent company of DISH Network.

EchoStar has agreed to make a “significant amount of ad inventory” available to Google, who will then turn around and sell the commercial advertising spots using an automated system.

After achieving tremendous success in the pay-per-click online advertising market, Google has continually stated plans to broaden its distinctive brand of cost-effective, highly-targeted advertising into various offline markets such as television, radio and print outlets.

This new exclusive television advertising system developed by Google will automate the process of buying and selling ads on all of EchoStar’s 125 satellite channels throughout the United States. EchoStar is presently testing the service. It should be available commercially sometime within the next month or so.

Yahoo Mail to Offer Users Unlimited Email Storage Space

Since the introduction of Gmail in April of 2004, the competition for email users between Google and Yahoo has been on-going. Upon its inception, Gmail users could take advantage of a whopping 1GB of storage space, which was a huge step up from the 4MB of storage space that accompanied a new Yahoo Mail account at the time it was introduced. Yahoo is now up to the 1GB limit that Gmail started with. Gmail currently allows users 2.8GB of storage space.

Now, as part of their 10-year anniversary celebration, Yahoo is proposing giving its email users an unlimited amount of storage space. This would in part be to thank loyal Yahoo Mail users for their business, but I would guess that it’s also a bold initiative on Yahoo’s part to help persuade some Gmail users along way to make the switch to Yahoo Mail.

For the average email user this change will probably go unnoticed, since most of us don’t ever reach the storage capacity as it is. But for those Gmail users that rely on email on a daily basis for business or personal use, unlimited storage space from Yahoo Mail will be a tempting offer. This will certainly put a great deal of pressure on Google to match the idea.

Though storage space with the new Yahoo Mail will be unlimited, Yahoo is also careful to point out that it will have anti-abuse limits in place to protect users and help to prevent misuse of the program. Yahoo plans to gradually roll out the new email plan over the next several months.

Google Increasing Consumer Privacy Protection

Google has announced that it is now taking steps to significantly strengthen its consumer privacy protection standards in the coming months.

Google currently collects information on Web searches, such as the keyword queries, Internet addresses and "cookies" used by Web sites and advertisers to track Web surfing habits; information necessary for tailoring a users search to his or her specific interests, as well as ensuring that Google’s search offerings remain as simple and convenient as possible for their loyal users.

This data is then stored in computer data centers throughout the world. In response to fears expressed by some privacy advocates and government regulators as to the dangers of this information ever being publicly exposed, Google is now taking steps to obscure the information about Web users' search habits after 18 to 24 months that could potentially be used to identify individuals. This will give Google the time needed to collect the data they need, while protecting a users privacy at the same time.

Google has also said it is taking additional steps to integrate privacy protections into other widely used Google products. These include an "off the record" feature in its Google Talk instant message system making it easier for users to temporarily disable the automatic archiving of conversations, and a "pause" feature in Google Desktop software that scours the contents of a user's computer to make it easier to search for documents and other information.

Google Blog Search Gets Makeover @ Blogger

The Google Blog Search within Blogger has a new look, as well as the option of restricting the dates from which you would like to search. The look is unfortunately not carried over to Google Blog Search over at Google.

For the date sort options, check the right sidebar. This feature is carried in both Blogger Google Blog Search and regular Google Blog Search.

(via Blogger Buzz)

Technorati tags: google, blogger, search

Google: Virus Alert

No, not a computer virus.

Apparently the staff physician over at Google issued a memo telling employees to stay home if they're sick. One of our account managers was directed by her doctor to stay away from the office for 48 hours so as to not spread the germs.

I've been sick for what seems like forever. But after trying to rest all last weekend, I got a bit stir crazy. Can't seem to shake this thing, whatever it is. But it's vicious.

And I can't blame the doctors for their directives. When both of my kids were sick a few weeks back, their physician said the practice was crazy busy. It didn't help them that the kids got sick on different days resulting in two different appointments. Then again, I did keep them home and later my husband and I both got sick. I stayed home when I initially got sick but when I returned to the office I heard the sound of sniffles abound before I had the chance to "Achoo" all over the place.

So what's your opinion? If sick America stayed home, would fewer people get the bug?

Technorati tags: virus, flu, sick, cold, google, online marketing, search engine marketing, internet marketing