Dec 9 2011
According to worldwide StatCounter statistics, Google’s Chrome Browser has just slipped above Firefox to become the 2nd most used internet browser. Despite being the youngest browser in the game, Chrome quickly became a favorite among web and design professionals. It’s fast, it’s light, it gets out of your way. And now it’s #2 in the world. Not bad for a 3 year old.
Nov 10 2011
Steve Jobs must be celebrating beyond the grave. After the next release, Adobe will no longer develop Flash for mobile browsing beyond bug fixing and limited on-going support. This doesn’t mean Flash is entirely gone, but it does signal the beginning of the end of Flash as a relevant platform for web use.
Mobile usage increases daily and is expected to surpass desktop internet usage by 2014. Android OS devices, which are known for supporting Flash, are starting to overtake Apple’s iPhone in number of units sold. Why would Adobe decided to stop supporting Flash now?
Feb 24 2010
By now you’ve all had a chance to see, use and read countless articles on Google’s latest and greatest, Google Buzz.
For anyone that’s not aware, Google launched Buzz in early February. Buzz is a new social networking platform that is meant to start conversations about the things you find interesting. The most interesting features are: that it’s built into GMail, you can connect sites you already use, see updates in real-time, share publicly or privately with your followers, and the capability to see photo/video thumbnails with each post. Sounds Awesome, right!
Well…maybe. Now that the privacy issues have been hammered out let’s take a brief look into if it really “works” for users.
Oct 7 2009
October 6, 2009 is the end of the meta-keywords era, as Yahoo! – the last major search engine to support the tag – has finally announced they’ve dropped all support for it. The announcement was made during the “Ask The Search Engines” session at SMX East in New York, wherein Yahoo! stated they actually phased out support in their algorithm a month ago.
What does this mean to you?
It means that those fancy little meta-keywords you’ve used to increase search traffic and page rank is all for naught (officially). With Yahoo! throwing in the towel, none of the major search engines – such as Google, Bing, Ask, and Yahoo! – provide support for the tag anymore. Sites that have relied on meta-keywords, will in fact notice a slight drop in page rank, and perhaps a drop in new traffic from search engines. Since this has been a long-coming phase-out, the change shouldn’t be that dramatic. However, many firms that claim to provide SEO services, do in fact leverage this method more than any other.
How can you adapt?
Search engines use deep, ominous, unknown algorithms to determine what sites they’ll serve up when a query has been made by a user. While we don’t know all that they look for, we do know things they like. Some things you should start considering are:
This should be a quick hit-list you can use to call up your current SEO firm and see exactly how adequately their search services are, and take necessary steps to rectify any potential issue you may encounter with these new changes. Of course there are many many other ways to improve SEO performance, however the bottom line in SEO is about text, links, popularity and reputation.
Jul 29 2009
In case you haven’t already noticed, let me be the first to direct to the new Twitter home page.
Notice anything different? Twitter has redesigned the page, and put absolute focus on a new feature headlined by “See what people are saying about…” followed by a search bar. Results are generated by finding users who have posted “tweets” including your search term/phrase.
What is the significance of this occurrence? Simple. Twitter has finally taken the first step in unseating Google as the dominant organic search site. You may think I’m crazy in this belief, but I am willing to bet that sooner or later, Twitter will in fact overtake Google as the #1 online search service (sorry Bing).
The reason? Results aren’t based on some ominous algorithm cooked up by the crew in Mountain View California. Instead, results are compiled by information from people just like you and me. Why would this happen? I’ll give you a good example: About a month or two ago we had a terrible thunderstorm come through Atlanta, that happened to spawn a number of tornadoes along the way. My satellite reception in my home became non-existent, and power was eventually lost. In order to keep aware of the location of the tornadoes, and the storm system in general, I grabbed my iPhone, launched Tweetie, and performed a search for “tornado”. Immediately I received hundred of tweets detailing the events happening around the city from the perspective of everyday people.
Long story short, Twitter made it possible for me to stay informed of current events in real time, without the need for editorialized news services. The difference between traditional search, from Google’s perspective, and a Twitter search has everything to do with the timing of the results. A Twitter search can generate results only seconds old, whereas high ranking Google results, have been made possible due to ongoing SEO initiatives.
So, in closing, do you agree? Is Twitter > Google? How do you see the search game unfolding?
Morrison is a hybrid marketing communications firm whose expertise is in helping clients market to intelligent audiences in complex marketplaces. Everything we do is driven to make sales happen. We call ourselves “Sales Acceleration Marketers.”
