Google +1 - Much Hype and Nothing More

Google launched +1 button to much hype and publicity.

Here's what Google +1 offers (or doesn't):

1. +1 to make Search Results more Relevant - or so they say. Aside from being a copy of Facbook's 'Like' button, there isn't much to Google +1. Just Facebook, you can see your friends recommendations after you sign in.
2. Affects on Search Rankings - Highly unlikely! Google "might" incorporate +1 recommendations in the search results in the future but it's not happening any time soon. And when it does, who do you think would jump at the opportunity the most? SEOs of course! And then there will be another story of SEO spamming etc etc.
3. Incorporating Twitter Results - Google said no to that already! They're already showing Twitter results through their search engine, you think they're crazy to give Facebook and Twitter all the credit? :P
4. Flickr Recommendations - While it's not visible now, but Google says that it will use data from Flickr for its +1 recommendations.
5. Third Party Effects on Search Results - When Google considers Twitter and Facebook in its search results, it's sure to take direct recommendations from its very own +1, but that's for future use they say.

What Google is Doing

• Competing with Facebook - LOL! Google is known for this, aren't they? I think they believe in the philosophy... If you can't beat em, join em ;) Has to be so, since Google has the habit of buying anything that shows even a bit of competition and when they can't do that, they try and compete. Just like they 'tried' to do so with Twitter by launching the (oh-so-failed) Buzz.
• Trying for a Google Community - Millions of users stay logged in to Facebook 24/7, and with a good reason too. Facebook is highly interactive and has a lot to offer. Who would want to stay online on Gmail all this time? Unless you're a crazy SEO... I can already hear collective whines! 
• Effects on SEO - Since Google announced that it will consider +1 recommendations in the search results and it's likely to effect site rankings, don't you think that will create a mass black hat out break? Well they are calling for it! People can easily create so many Gmail accounts, log in and +1 their sites. Or ask their friends and family to do that same from their dozens of accounts. How is that going to help with authentic results?

Sometime I wonder if Google even thinks before launching stuff like this or maybe they just do it for the sake of competition!

Twoogle: The Google bought Twitter story

Reports are that Google is almost ready to take over Twitter. Latest news suggests that Google will soon be acquiring (btw that's just a nice way of saying 'take over' in Google terminology)Twitter. Talks are still in the early stages, although some are suggesting that the deal being signed by both parties has nothing to do with any acquisition, but is rather about the collaboration of the two companies on real-time search. And although Erich Schmidt,Google CEO, called Twitter a 'poor man's email system' (check PC World for details), he still wishes to 'acquire' it.

Rumors are that there is now a Twoogle in making. Sounds like a mutant movie sequel. LOL!

Honestly! Is it fun? Calling companies names and then taking over them? Hmm... come to think of it, maybe it is. That's why some call it the hostile take over. Google is, and possibly will remain, the smartest businessman in the whole world wide web. Yes, and while I say it with a scorn, you and I both know that it's true. Google will stop at nothing... especially not when its integrity is being threatened. The company has a habit of taking over anything that threatens it (as I mentioned earlier in Twitter the Google Killer). I've said it time and time again and i'll say it one more time... Google is taking over Twitter! Arrrrrrrgh!... Need I say more?

Apparently Google has some wicked plans up its sleeves for Twitter (details on PC World). Perhaps its a good thing.. at least we know that Google has ended up making search much better. But I really want to know why Google can't stand a little competition. Really Google, WHY???

SEO Basics for Google - Past, Present & Future

There are a few basic functions that SEOs around the globe have been doing for past several years and are still required to do. These constitute the basis of the new personalized search launched by Google. And whether we like it or not, these have quite a good chance of remaining just as important in the future too.

So if you are an SEO, here are the SEO Basics you must still do for a website:

1) Tiresome Keyword Research
2) Tedious Industry Analysis
3) Boring Competition Research
4) Creating Meta Tags (page titles, descriptions and keywords)
5) Producing a Website Usability Methodology

Can the SEO Basics go Stale for Google any time soon?
With the latest developments many have started to question the significance of these SEO basics. Most wonder if it's time to throw the traditional search out of the window. I'd say, not yet and I'd give you 3 reasons as to why...

First, because you need to go through these basics if you want people to believe that your site is authentic.
Second, because it still helps to get your site in the search results where users notice.
And Last and most importantly Google has worked too hard and too long to instill these basics in their search algorithm. They've made an empire out of these basics, so to say and there is no way that they are letting go of this any time soon. So all this said and done, there is really no need to worry, at the present or in the near future, about the SEO basics going stale ;)

Twitter - a Google Killer. Really?

Question is, can Twitter be a real challenge to Google?

Well, lets just say that it depends largely on what you perceive as "Google's capability" of taking a challenge. And what Google takes as a challenge in reality.

At the moment many are debating whether Twitter search can kill Google search or not. Before we jump to any conclusions let's take a brief look at the facts...

Drawbacks of using Twitter Search:
While Twitter search is popular and gives you ample of opportunity to search real-time chat topics, there are still many out there who don't know how to use it. Better yet, at the moment twitter search is much easier to manipulate with spam.

What Google Search offers:
Quality, spam free search results that offer you a blend of web results along with news, press results, blog results and videos.

Having said that, lets move on to What Else Twitter is Offering:
Twitter is more or less like an online SMS service, keeping you connected to millions and allowing you to follow updates and chat online. This makes Twitter all the more addictive. Also, only recently it was discovered that in order to improve its search Twitter is now focusing on adding a Q&A section soon. A very smart move indeed, as Q&A sites have quite an appeal.

To Cut the Long Story Short:
A growing trend shows that while Google gives more authentic results than Twitter, people now prefer to log on to Twitter search long before they search Google for anything.

Moral of the Story:
It didn't take Twitter too long to become a verb and with so many positive changes being made in Twitter, it won't be long before it hits big. Ok fine, so may be it can't do better in search (yet... or as searchenginewatch reports) than Google and its possibly not the Google Killer most of us are rooting for but it's growing fast and admit it or not... people are beginning to prefer Twitter over Google now. So that makes Twitter dangerous for Google on so many levels.

Possible Condescending Ideas of Google:
I bet Google can't wait to get it's hands on Twitter (they just always have to own anything that threatens their popularity!). Who knows, perhaps at this very moment Google is cooking up some devious plan to acquire twitter altogether. Argh! I just hate Google take-overs! :8

Got a Question? Ask Google!

Here's a funny illustration I came across some time back. Honestly gives you the jest of why Google is the best search engine there is ;) Well, it does work for most people and we'd rather have people asking stupid to Google than us, wouldn't we? Yes, we would! Problem solved!

Color Filter on Google Image Search

Google has recently added another new feature to its image search, the Color Filter. The Google Image Search Color Filter allows you to select the color in order to select the images you wish would appear in the search results. Although this function was available before, however a code was required for that which could be placed in the URL of the query page in order for the specific results to be filtered. But now with the new feature readily available all you have to do is click a color and get filtered results.

You can also use the color filter in your own image searches. All you have to do is search for something like you normally would, then on the results page click on the 'All colors' drop down bar to choose a color of your choice. It's an interesting feature (unlike some of Google's special features) and will hopefully be a useful one, especially when you want a filtered search.

Interesting Alternative Google Logos

Google generally comes up with new logos for special holidays etc... However only recently I came across some very interesting alternative logos of Google. These have obviously not been created by Google themselves, but they are totally fun and absolutely creative. So scroll down and take a look at some of the fake holiday alternative Google logos. Enjoy! :)

Gargoyle Day Logo

Googol Logo

Guess WhoOgle Logo

L33T Speak Logo

Lego Logo

Google Pacman Logo

Giggle Day Logo

Google Eye Examined Month Logo

Google Behavior Search - To frusturate or not to frusturate?

With search engine position and rank being dead, website owners seem to be finding other more comprehensive concerns with Google search and its new shift. While some expert seem to be claiming that traffic has become the #1 Google concern with the personalized search, many others beg to differ.

Google's Personalized search is keeping track of your IP Address and several other search factors. Of course with this there is no way that searches will remain relevant, if anything, in any way what so ever. The Behavior based Google Search is taking into account, apart from your IP Address, your most visited pages, previously visited pages, the types of searches you conduct and not to mention the geo-location. So now your searches will more or less be tailored to fit your needs. Or will they really fit your needs at all?

This new behavior-based search might not always be able to give you the exact answers to all your queries. And by always I mean whenever you feel like searching otherwise...

Suppose you are used to searching for various kinds of banking needs and generally spend all day long searching for these specific needs and techniques. And say that you are a huge movie buff also. Now for instance one day you forget the name of this actor who came in a certain movie. What do you do? You will Google of course... and type in a general search for the actor. What do you get? Well with Google's Personalized search you are more likely to get data more or less similar to your earlier work related searches. Why? Because this behavior-based search
of Google's will probably not be able to distinguish between work queries and your movie-actor based search. Thus... you are likely to get frustrated with the kind of results you will get. So typically classic-Google-beta-frustration style... ain't it?!!!

Reminds anyone of Google's Monopoly... ahem.. adventures from the not-so-distant-past? Seriously, I think it's just another one of those growing-the-business attempts. Humph!

Google Personalized Search Trends 2009

... just taking a short break from the SEO/Landing page series to give you the latest on Google. And of course with the frusturation much of this is likely to cause, this update remains quite apt to our Murderous March theme ;)

Come another year and we find yet another one of Google's drastic changes launched in full force. Welcomed? I wouldn't really count on it... but of course Google is only doing all this for our search benefit, as always. Duh!

What Google's Personalized Search is offering? Quite simply...

• customized search
• no more login to personalized search necessary
• no more web page ranking
• importance given to traffic
  
• more strictness for spammers

oh and before I forget, there is also this

• Google Behavior-Based Ads thingy (details SearchEngineLand)
  

It's being claimed that Google search is now 'supposedly' becoming more universal and we are likely to see plenty of changes in the traditional SEO theory. Yawn! Yawn! That's what they always say... Remember last year's drastic algorithm changes in Google and the frustration it caused? Not to mention the Google Dance? Ya well, with this behavior based search of Google's , get ready for some more of those dance routines, I'd say.

What Google Tool You Should NOT Worry About?

Google Page Rank. Quite simply don't worry about this one. It doesn't matter and probably never will!

Did you know that some of the best websites, with quality content, sitting at the top of Google results DON'T have a very BIG page rank? So quite frankly Google Page Rank doesn't really matter! And I just couldn't have put it more simply :)

Googlism - Google's Little Goo Devil!

Googlism... Google's web application which queries the text from the search engine itself to show you what Google supposedly 'thinks' about anything and everything. More or less it tells you who, what, when or where 'your query' basically stands. For instance, try writing the name of... say any of Google's competitor's in the search field (suggestion: hotmail or yahoo) and then click Googlism. The answers will be... funny, yes... but quite reflective of Google's devilish thought process I'd say ;)

What Googlism offers are what they call the 'nuggets of wisdom'. These are more or less the public's opinions and thoughts... since Googlism is said to be picking up data from your bookmarklets. So basically Google is just letting you know what 'you' (as public) think about various sites, or people or objects. Or so they want us to believe... as always };> No surprises there! The way it seems is that this 'cool' application is just picking up the 'Goo' off other stuff, searching it through 'Google' and offering it to you calling it 'Google-ism' (sorry for being so crude :s) I mean, how else can you justify its 'thinking' capabilities, huh?

The tool however is quite popular due to its so-called 'humor generation' factor and you can't help but waste a minimum of 10 minutes while you're at it. However, updates are that Googlism isn't quite receiving its fair share of fresh data from Google anymore and most results are some what old. Oh well... that's another googlish tool for you!