View the original article here
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
Showing posts with label Google. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Google. Show all posts
Sunday, 12 August 2012
Indoor Google Maps help you make your way through museums
Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
Google+ Hangouts and the NFL: fantasy football, face-to-face-to-face
Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
View the original article here
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
Giving you a better Google
Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
View the original article here
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
Google+ app for iPad available now in the App Store
Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
View the original article here
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
The winners of the 2012 Google Science Fair
Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
View the original article here
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
Maker Camp on Google+ will be a blast!
Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
View the original article here
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
Make your mark on Google with Handwrite for Mobile and Tablet Search
Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
View the original article here
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
Google Ideas: joining the fight against drug cartels and other illicit networks
Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
View the original article here
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
Tuesday, 5 July 2011
Google in Talks with HULU as Potential Buyer
HULU has been up for bids for a little while now and latest reports are showing that Google is now one of the players looking to acquire Hulu. They are now doing some preliminary talks with them just like Yahoo and Microsoft. The LA Times article cited anonymous sources close to the situation who say that Google is interested in the advertising potential behind Hulu, as they own the rights to many TV shows and could be a great way to display some ads.
We haven’t heard much other than this little bit but this would be a huge acquisition for Google and could really help them out. Can you imagine having a Google Hulu app coming standard on all Android phones and tablets. Sure would be nice but we will see.
I still don’t like the fact that when you subscribe to Hulu you still see ads, I’d expect ads to be remove if I am a paying customer. Google could offer it free for all phones and tablets and have the same type of ads it already has now. We will report back if we here more.
[via LA Times]
)
Generated by BlogIt
BlogIt - Auto Blogging Software for YOU!
More Google+ Updates Coming This Weekend
More Google+ news has just hit the Stream over in + land for those that are having fun with us on the new social network. Over the next few days and this weekend Google plans to make a few things clear. They will be adding tips and helpful notifications to show users how to show and share others posts, and that should be live any time now.
Another update we should see rollout sometime this weekend is regarding control and privacy. The video below by one of Google’s own engineers mentions all the details and you can see that below. The update this weekend will allow us to limit our posts to be public or private, as we the users should be in control of who can and can’t see what we write.
Google has already been updating Google+ and the android app just got updated as well and you can read all about that here. You can also read our Google+ Review while you are hanging out.
[via Google+]
)
Generated by BlogIt
BlogIt - Auto Blogging Software for YOU!
Several Tips To Help You Get Started With Google Plus
The question currently being asked though is “will Plus survive in the long term or will it go the way of Wave and wither at the hands of Facebook?” (ironically Mark Zuckerberg is the most popular person on Plus right now in terms of followers).
MakeUseOf’s usual policy is not to write about closed betas unless we have invites to hand out. But with Google Plus, people are slowly being let in, a few at a time. So I’ve decided to make an exception and let you know some of the things you should know about Google’s new social network, so when you finally manage to enter, you’ll have a broad overview of how it all works.
It’s All About The Circles
The thing that people love the most about Plus is that you can categorise your contacts into different circles and then only post your status messages to the circles of people who you want to inform. So for example, you can keep your family in one circle, your work colleagues in another circle, and your friends in another. Then, for example, you can discuss your drunken night out that culminated in a stay in a police cell with a traffic cone, and only tell your trusted friends about it, safe in the knowledge that your boss or your mother will never see that status update if you don’t want them to.
When you first start using Plus, your Gmail contacts will be scanned and “suggestions” will be given to you as to who you should follow. A little envelope beside their picture means they haven’t been allowed into Plus yet but they will get status messages via email, if you want that. When you have found someone you want to add, just drag them with your mouse to the circle you want them to be in. Is there not a circle there suitable for a particular contact? Then make a new circle! Make as many as you want. Go on, go wild and make loads of circles. Live life on the edge.
Start Updating Your Stream
When you have some circles set up, you can then start to update your stream with status messages. You will soon realise that Google Plus is basically a Facebook clone but much cleaner and more minimalist. No crappy Farmville or Mafia Wars games and “what is your horoscope today?” apps. It’s just people interacting with one another. As it should be.
When you have written your status update, you have the option of attaching a photo, a video clip, a link or your geo-location. Photos can be taken from Picasa Web or your phone (more on that later) and videos from either your phone or YouTube. Then click “add circles or people to share with“, choose the circles you want to send your status update to, then click “share“.
As you can see from the screenshot above, replies are “threaded”, just like Gmail messages. So posts are easy to navigate and you can shrink / collapse posts to read the comments then move on.
Watch The Privacy Settings!
When you post a status update, you have the option of posting to one or more circles. In this case, when you publish the status, you will see “limited” at the top, meaning it is limited to the circles you have sent it to.
But you can also choose to dispense with circles altogether and publish your post to anyone who visits your public profile. This setting is called “public” and will probably be indexed on the web.
The moral of the story is, when publishing something, take extra care to ensure you are giving the post the correct privacy setting! Otherwise that hilarious tale of you and the traffic cone in the police cell will suddenly go global and you’ll find yourself a viral hit – as well as probably unemployed and disowned by your mother!
Update your Google Profile
Obviously you would like people to follow you so you have a few people to talk to. So for them to find you, you need your profile properly filled out.
Uploading Your Photos To Picasa Web & Your Plus Stream
There are two ways you can upload photos to Picasa Web and your stream. Either through your phone (those with an Android mobile phone, with at least the 2.1 OS, can get
So if you want to edit a photo that is perhaps too dark, just click on it once it’s been uploaded, then underneath the photo, you will see a small menu button called “Actions“. Drop that down and choose “edit photo“. This opens up some basic image editing tools.
Changes are shown in real time and can be undone if you don’t like any of it. Click “done editing” when you’re finished to see your revamped photo. It isn’t Photoshop but it isn’t that bad either. It makes my crappy Android camera phone look cool all of a sudden.
All Your Notification Messages On One Toolbar
This is by no means an exhaustive list of what Plus has to offer. I haven’t mentioned Hangouts for instance, which allow you to have webcam chats with your circles, or Huddles where you can do group text messaging with the Android app. But MakeUseOf will be covering all of these features in due course. The purpose of this article is just to show you the basics.
Please don’t ask in the comments for an invite because currently Google has suspended all invites. But if you are already in, please let us know what you think of Plus in the comments. Is this a Facebook killer or will Plus go the way of Wave? Is Buzz also likely to be killed off as a result of Plus?
Similar articles:
Generated by BlogIt
BlogIt - Auto Blogging Software for YOU!
Saturday, 2 July 2011
SEO With Google Sitemaps
What is a Google Sitemap?
A Google Sitemap is a very simple XML document that lists all the pages in your website, but the Google Sitemaps program is actually much more important than that. In fact, the Sitemaps program provides a little peek inside Google's mind - and it can tell you a lot about what Google thinks of your website!
Why Should You Use Google Sitemaps?
Until Google Sitemaps was released in the summer of 2005, optimizing a site for Google was a guessing game at best. A website's page might be deleted from the index, and the Webmaster had no idea why. Alternatively, a site's content could be scanned, but because of the peculiarities of the algorithm, the only pages that would rank well might be the "About Us" page, or the company's press releases.
As webmasters we were at the whim of Googlebot, the seemingly arbitrary algorithmic kingmaker that could make or break a website overnight through shifts in search engine positioning. There was no way to communicate with Google about a website - either to understand what was wrong with it, or to tell Google when something had been updated.
That all changed about a year ago when Google released Sitemaps, but the program really became useful in February of 2006 when Google updated it with a couple new tools.
So, what exactly is the Google Sitemaps program, and how can you use it to improve the position of your website? Well, there are essentially two reasons to use Google Sitemaps:
1. Sitemaps provide you with a way to tell Google valuable information about your website
2. You can use Sitemaps to learn what Google thinks about your website
What You Can Tell Google About Your Site
Believe it or not, Google is concerned about making sure webmasters have a way of communicating information that is important about their sites. Although Googlebot does a pretty decent job of finding and cataloging web pages, it has very little ability to rate the relative importance of one page versus another. After all, many important pages on the Internet are not properly "optimized", and many of the people who couldn't care less about spending their time on linking campaigns create some of the best content.
Therefore, Google gives you the ability to tell them on a scale of 0.0 to 1.0 how important a given page is relative to all the others. Using this system, you might tell Google that your home page is a 1.0, each of your product sections is a 0.8, and each of your individual product pages is a 0.5. Pages like your company's address and contact information might only rate a 0.2.
You can also tell Google how often your pages are updated and the date that each page was last modified. For example your home page might be updated every day, while a particular product page might only be updated on an annual basis.
What Google Can Tell You About Your Site
Having the ability to tell Google all this information is important, but you don't even need to create a sitemap file in order to enjoy some of the perks of having a Google Sitemaps account.
That's because even without a Sitemap file, you can still learn about any errors that Googlebot has found on your website. As you probably know, your site doesn't have to be "broken" for a robot to have trouble crawling it's pages. Google Sitemaps will tell you about pages it was unable to crawl and links it was unable to follow. Therefore, you can see where these problems are and fix them before your pages get deleted from the index.
You can also get information on the types of searches people are using to find your website. Of course, most website analytics tools will give this information to you anyway, but if the tool you use doesn't have this feature, then it's always nice to get it for free from Google.
But the best part of the Sitemaps program is the Page analysis section that was added in February of 2006. This page gives you two lists of words. The first list contains the words that Googlebot associates with your website based on content on your site. The second list contains words that Googlebot has found linking to your site!
Unfortunately, Google limits the number of words in each list to 20. As a consequence, the inbound links column is partly wasted by words such as "http", "www", and "com" - terms that apply equally to all websites (hey Google, how about suppressing those terms from the report?). That said, this list does provide you with a way to judge the effectiveness of your offsite optimization efforts.
When you compare these two lists, you can get an understanding of what Google thinks your website is about. If the words on your Site Content column are not really what you want Googlebot to think about your site, then you know you need to tweak your website's copy to make it more focused on your core competency.
If, on the other hand your inbound links don't contain any keywords that you want to rank well for, then perhaps you should focus your efforts in that direction.
Above all else, you really want these two lists to agree. You want your inbound linked words to match up to the site content words. This means that Google has a clear understanding of the focus of your website.
Additional Benefits of the Sitemaps Program
Google has even started notifying Sitemaps-participating Webmasters if they are breaking any of Google's Webmaster Guidelines. This can be very valuable information if your site suddenly becomes de-listed on Google and you don't know why.
Only Sitemaps participants can get this information, and it is only provided at Google's discretion. In fact, Google will NOT notify you if you are creating worthless websites that offer no original content, or if you are creating thousands of doorway pages that are redirecting to other web sites. Google doesn't want to give the sp@ammers any clues as to how to improve their techniques.
How Do You Get Started with Google Site Maps?
The first thing you must do is obtain a Google Account. If you already have a Gmail, Adsense, or Adwords account, then you are all set. If not, you can register an account by visiting the Google Accounts page (https://www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount).
Building your sitemap file is pretty easy to do if you are familiar with XML, and if you aren't you can always use a third-party tool such as the ones that are listed on Google's website (http://code.google.com/sm_thirdparty.html). Google also has a "Sitemap Generator" that you can download and install on your server, but unless you are fairly adept at managing Python scripts, you should probably stick to the third-party tools.
At any rate, once you have your Google Account and your Sitemap file built, the rest is very easy. All you have to do is:
1. Log into your account (http://google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/siteoverview)
2. Type your website's URL into the "Add Site" box and click on "OK"
3. Click on the Manage Sites link for the website you are adding, and add your sitemap file to your account.
Google Sitemaps - An Excellent SEO Tool
Google Sitemaps help Googlebot quickly find new content on your website. They allow you to tell Google what's important, what's new, and what changes often. The tools provided to webmasters through the program can play a vital role in helping you understand how the search engines (especially Google) view your website.
Using this information you can dramatically improve the position of your website and quickly clear up any issues Google finds. You can also use the tools provided by Google to gauge the effectiveness of your off-site optimization efforts so you can better focus your time and energy on activities that bring you the most success.
Matthew Coers is an Internet marketing expert. His website, ProfitChoice.com contains online courses designed to teach entrepreneurs how to build a website and make money online. Download his FREE Internet Marketing report, 7 Days to Website Success.
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
Google Sitemaps (AKA Webmaster Tools) Tutorial For the Non-Geek, XML Challenged Site Owner
Google recently announced a change to their "Sitemaps" program. It went from a protocol meant for Python programmers and XML wizards to a much kinder, gentler (and friendlier to webmasters) program to help get all of your pages crawled and indexed. It's called "Google Webmaster Central. The tools can now be used and understood by most small business site owners.
Google explains everything and lists Sitemaps resources at:
https://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/docs/en/about.html
To use Google sitemaps, you must first sign up for a Google Account. If you already use Google Adwords, Analytics, Gmail or other Google provided tools, you can use your existing account to submit a Google sitemap for your site. Get an account at the following URL if you don't already use Google services:
https://www.google.com/accounts/
NON-PROGRAMMER SMALL BUSINESS WEBMASTERS WANT SIMPLICITY
Many webmasters struggle to understand even the simplest HTML and meta tags and after visiting the Sitemaps program page when it was first announced in the summer of 2005, those small business site owners went away sadly shaking their heads and mumbling. They complained, "I can't even add PERL scripts to my own CGI bin and properly set permissions on page files - how am I going to install and debug a Python script on my server, run cron jobs and generate XML files?"
Apparently Google heard all that grumbling and came back with the newly released "Webmaster Central" to answer the concerns of excess complexity. They no longer require you to be a geek to get all your pages into their index. They've created tools to make the job of submitting all of your pages for inclusion in their index very much easier to handle.
http://www.google.com/webmasters/
The first listed "Site Status" tool lets you check indexing of your sites. If you enter an address into that search box and press the "Next" button, they'll return a page with a button labeled "Take me to Google Sitemaps" and encouraging use of the sitemaps tools, regardless of whether you've already submitted that sitemap or not. They'll list some minor details about the site entered such as:
Pages from your site are included in Google's index.
Some of these pages are indexed without a title or description.
Googlebot last successfully accessed your home page on Aug 18, 2006
They list "Potential indexing problems" and then state:
More details about your site may be availableBy using Google Sitemaps, you can learn more details available only to site owners, such as:
o errors Googlebot encountered while crawling your site
o top search queries that return your site
GOOGLE SITEMAPS DIFFERENT FROM HTML SITEMAPS
Let's back up for a moment though. Webmasters have been told for ten years now to build a sitemap into their web site that lists all of their pages (if it is a small web site with under a hundred pages) or at least listing major sections of their site (if they have thousands or tens of thousands of pages.) So what is the difference here?
Google sitemaps are actually XML documents (not public html pages) that hold much more information about your web pages to help Google determine several things. They list the "priority" or importance, "last modified" dates, and "change frequency" of each page. But the creation of those documents had required webmasters to install that Python script on their server. Available at:
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=137793&package_id=153422
Or webmasters had to use third party software to generate the required XML file. Google recommends a brief list of sources for third party software to help them programmatically create the XML sitemaps:
http://code.google.com/sm_thirdparty.html
I've personally tried several of those third party tools and found two of the web-based sitemap generators lacking, one of the downloaded software tools crashed my computer (and created havoc for me), so what is a small business owner without programming skills to do?
Those business owners who are non-programmer types and want to use Google Sitemaps complained that Google was favoring geeks over business owners. They wanted a simple way to submit all of their pages to Google without running cron jobs on their server and debugging Python scripts.
PLAIN TEXT SITEMAPS FILES NOW ACCEPTED
Google heard our grumbling and now allows simple lists of URL's in a plain text document. All you have to do is create that list of page files, save it as sitemap.txt and upload it to your server. Then you log in to your Google Webmaster Central (AKA Sitemaps) account and tell them the URL of your sitemap text document.
Before you submit your first sitemap URL on a domain, Google requires you to put a "site verification" meta tag on your site home page and click a "Verify" button to prove you own the site. Anyone with a Google account and access to your server can do this. You can add or remove any authorization tags placed by anyone with access to your server who is no longer authorized to see this data.
WEBMASTER CENTRAL TOOLS FOR SITE OWNERS
In the "Diagnostic" tab, there is a tool that will validate your robots.txt file, tells you which pages are restricted by that file and lists problem URL's and reasons for the problems. It also lets you make changes in a copy of your robots.txt file locally, which shows immediately how changes would affect the next crawl by all Google bots, including the Adsense and PPC landing page quality crawlers! They warn on that page that local changes don't affect your own robots.txt file and remind you to make the changes to the file on your server.
Another useful "Diagnostic" tool lets you set your preference for canonical URL's to include www or non-www versions of your site. (This last item shows how seriously the Google team takes this canonical issue.)
What other tools are provided in Webmaster Central?
Under the "Statistics" tab in Webmaster Central is are "Query stats, Crawl stats, Page analysis" links with more data on your pages. The Query statistics show your top 20 search queries that searchers have used to find your web site and your top 20 click through queries. Those data tables provide some interesting and sometimes unexpected detail about how visitors find your site and allow you to further optimize and funnel those visitors. The "Crawl Stats" promises to show PageRank and distribution of PageRank throughout your site and in comparison to other sites.
The "Sitemaps" tab simply lists your submitted sitemaps for all your sites and shows the dates "Submitted, Last Downloaded, and Sitemap Status." The status tells you if there are errors, and what they were (not allowed, external site links, 404 error page not found, etc.) I've just submitted a new sitemap on a just reserved, created and newly posted site this week and will report back on how long it took for index inclusion on that site to record the effect of early sitemap submissions.
LIFTING YOUR SKIRT FOR GOOGLE
Finally, there is a "Tools" link in the upper right corner of the "Sitemaps" page which allows you to "Download Data for all sites", "Report Spam in Our Index" and a "Reinclusion Request" link to use if you've been banned for questionable techniques. Clearly, since you are doing all of this from within a Google account, you are openly providing Google with your information and making all spam reporting and reinclusion requests under your name from within a Google account. This suggests that you trust Google with all information they hold on your sites and any complaint made about search engine spam.
Currently there are ratings tools from within the Webmaster Central site to let you tell Google if you like the tools with a smily face, a neutral face and a frowny face. This may not last as the program comes out of beta, but lets you tell them what is useful and what isn't.
Still need some help? Try joining, reading, searching and posting to Sitemaps and Webmaster Central Google Groups. Posts from webmasters get back responses from knowledgeable members. Watch for the little green "G" logo for Sitemaps team members for particularly definitive and useful recommendations.
http://groups.google.com/group/Google_Webmaster_Help
http://groups.google.com/group/google-sitemaps
Want ongoing official Google blog posts about Webmaster Central?
http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/
If you've had trouble getting all your pages indexed and want to use those informative and useful webmaster tools and reports - give Webmaster Central a try.
Copyright © August 23, 2006 by Mike Banks Valentine
Mike Banks Valentine operates SEOptimism, Offering SEO training of in-house content managers
http://seoptimism.com/SEO_Staff_Training.htm as well as contract SEO for advertising agencies, web development companies and marketing firms. http://seoptimism.com/Ad_Agency_SEO_Contracting.htm
Content aggregation, article and press release optimization & distribution for linking campaigns.
http://seoptimism.com/Linking_SEO.htm
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
10 Quick Steps to Becoming a Google Power-User
Whether you use Google, Yahoo, MSN or Dogpile, searching the web can be both rewarding and frustrating. If you don't have a few tips under your belt, you can waste needless time sorting and sifting through results which are all over the board. Everyone knows that you type words into your search engine and it returns pages upon pages of information about websites containing answers you might be seeking. Unfortunately, if you just type a few words into the search bar, you're going to receive a jumble of both relevant and irrelevant results.
So how do you pare down your Googles? Let's take a look at two of the biggest search engines: Google. Now, I'm a Google nut, but I have also used Yahoo from time to time.
Let's start with the basics on Google. You type in a couple words and viola, pages return with information. You start sifting through.
Tip #1: Get exact results by adding "quotation marks" around your search term
Most people know that if you type in more than one word, for instance, a name, search engines will return every result that contains those two words. I searched first on my name, Judith Brandy. Google brought back every website that had the words, Judith and Brandy in its title or description. It included a liquor site, people who were names Brandy with a different first name and assorted other junk that was irrelevant to my search. I was Googling myself to see where my articles had been placed. So, Brandy DVDs and Videos at Search Extreme, would not help me. Surprisingly, I popped up at the top as an ExpertAuthor on an article site and found out that a couple of my articles had been picked up on some other websites already. This was nice know, but as I scrolled down, I found relevance disappearing before I reached the bottom of page one. So I added the quotations, and viola, a much more narrow, relevant search result was returned. So the addition of quotations was a real plus.
Tip #2: Narrow the results you receive by adding a space followed by a minus signed followed by the words you want to exclude.
For example, say you want to search on Battletar Galactica, but you don't want to get every website and blog out there. You don't want to get the original Battlestar Galactica television show from 25 years ago. You want the new, reimaged Battlestar on television now. So you type into the search box "space" (that's not the word, by the way. You hit the space bar once) and then type a minus "-" sign plus the term you want to exclude like I've done below:Search term: Battlestar Galactica -original - This takes out any website that covers the 1978 original television show, Battlestar Galactica.
Tip #3: Get up-to-date stock quotes without going past the search page.
This is an easy one. Simply type in a stock symbol and it will return the company name, latest price and price chart at the top of the page, plus all relevent websites connected to it below. So I typed in GOOGLE STOCK SYMBOL to get back GOOG, then I typed GOOG into the box and it returned a chart, the open-high-low as well as other website where it can be further researched. Needless to say, Google is doing quite well. Google now has a new web browser called Chrome, geared completely to Google and Google products.
Tip #4: Type in certain questions about people and places and get answers.
Are you interested in the population of Tokyo, Japan? Or New York City? Would you like to know where Edward James Olmos or Joe Flanigan were born? Would you like to know what is "rabbit proof fence"? These are the kinds of questions you can ask Google.
Simply type the following:
"population of Tokyo, Japan" with no quotes and Google returns "Japan - Population: 127,417,244"
"population of New York City" with no quotes and Google returns "New York City - Population: 8 Million"
"birthplace of Edward James Olmos" and Google returns "Edward James Olmos - Place of Birth: East Los Angeles, California, USA"
"birthplace of Joe Flanigan" and Google returns "Joe Flanigan - Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California, USA"
"who is Joe Flanigan" you wonder? Well, type it in and you'll get an answer. "Joe Flanigan ... has long-running guest roles on numerous television series, including Profiler, First Monday, ..." and a link to where you can find out more.
Try the last one yourself. Type in what is "rabbit proof fence" and Google returns . . .
Tip #5: Find out where an area code or zip code is located quickly and easily.
Ask Google. Type - area code "610" and Google will return this answer - Area Code Look Up and ReferenceListing of the majority of Area Codes throughout the US and the world. ... 610, PA, SE Pennsylvania: Allentown, Reading, 484, 835 ... - no muss, no fuss, just the facts at lightspeed. Tip #6: Get the weather of any place in the world Type "weather plus a location" and Google will return the current weather plus, for places in the United States, four days worth of weather and a few graphic representations in 0.09 seconds. Much faster and easier than surfing over to the weather channel and looking it up. You don't need the quotation marks, by the way.
Tip #6: Google is a calculator
Type in 25 x 25 and Google will calculate and deliver you the result of 625. Instant calculations online. Divide = / and Multiply = *. Plus and minus are + and -.
Tip #7: Get the local time any place on Earth.
What time is it in Venice, Italy? Now you could surf on over to the World Time Clock, scroll through and find the country, find Italy, find the city of Venice, but why waste time? Simply type in "what time is it in Venice, Italy" and Google will return the correct answer, plus a link to where you can get more information all in 0.26 seconds. Be sure and check out Google's new web browser called Chrome, geared completely to Google and Google products.
Tip #8: Going to a foreign country? Do current monetary conversions.
Simply key the following into the search box - 23000 yen in US dollars - and Google will return a quick conversion: 23 000 Japanese yen = 196.68197 U.S. dollars. If you're headed to Asia, this is invaluable and easy.
Tip #9: Check on flights and airports.
Do you want to find out if a flight is delayed or if an airport is having weather problems? Here's an easy way to find out before you start surfing and calling. Type in the airport number for instance PHL Airport and search. The first link that pops up will take you to the AIRPORT STATUS INFORMATION which is provided by the FAA's Air Traffic Control System Command Center. The status information provided on this site indicates general airport conditions... It also provides a link to a Glossary of Air Traffic Management Terms if you need clarification.
Check on the flight is just as simple. Type the following "United 134" as an example and Google will return Track status of United Airlines flight 134 with links to Travelocity, Track status on Travelocity - Expedia - fboweb.com.
Tip #10: Google tracks Fedex, UPS and USPS packages
If you have a tracking number type it in and Google will return the latest information on your package:
- UPS tracking numbers example search: "1Z9999W99999999999"
- FedEx tracking numbers example search: "999999999999"
- USPS tracking numbers example search: "9999 9999 9999 9999 9999 99"
Google also has a spell checking option which automatically looks at your query and checks to see if everything is spelled right. Did you ever "sort of" know how to spell a famous person's name? Google's spellchecking is based on the number occurrences of all words on the Internet, so it is able to suggest common spellings for proper nouns (names and places) that might not appear in a standard spell check program or dictionary. You can also use it as a spell checker in a way.
Word Speller: If you type in a word that you kind of know how spell, Google will return "Did you mean: spell aardvark" It's not a dictionary, but it is a quick way to get words you already have an idea how it's spelled.
Google has a wealth of other features which I haven't even touched on yet. I encourage you to click on the I'M FEELING LUCKY which give you results, check out the Advanced Search which gives you many more choices and links, Language Tools which has a small translater with a good number of languages and an option to add yours. There's even a language called "Bork, bork, bork!" Go find out what it is. It's all quite interesting and will greatly expand your Google mindset. There is a lot more you can do with Google than the tips I've outlined. Check out my website link to their features page for a complete look at Google features. And even though they have a lot of features listed, I keep finding other ways to use Google. I think of this search engine as a creative entity constantly growing.
Free report on the new Google Chrome Web Browser
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
And You Thought Google Was Just a Search Engine
Everyone loves Google for searching online, but
did you know they also offer other tools for your
Web based enjoyment? Google's technicians are a
very talented group and they're constantly at work
developing new and fun services. You'll find a
complete list at http://www.Google.com/options/
Let's take a look at the many faces of Google:
1) Google Free: http://www.google.com/services/free.html
A free search engine for your website. Allow visitors
to search your site or the Web. If you select the
"safe search" option, adult themed web pages will
be excluded from any Web search results that are
shown.
2) Google Groups: http://groups-beta.google.com/
Allows you to create, join and even search other
mailing lists. Create your own newsletter/ezine
at no charge.
3) Google Answers: http://answers.google.com/answers/
More than 500 hand-picked researchers, willing to
answer any question you may have for a fee.
Prices start as low as $2.50 and go up from
there. If you're trying to do some research for
a project and are running short on time, this could
come in very handy.
4) Google Catalogs: http://catalogs.google.com
Search and browse mail-order catalogs online.
Hundreds of catalogs on a variety of topics, from
Apparel to Computers. View full contents of each
catalog right online.
5) Froogle: http://froogle.google.com
A shopping service that makes it easy to find
information about thousands of products for
sale on the Net. Find the best price and the
best place to purchase.
6) Google Image Search: http://images.google.com
Search over 880 million images. Search results are
displayed as thumbnails. By clicking on them
individually you can view the graphic at full size.
7) Local Search: http://local.google.com
Maybe you don't want to search the world; you need
to find things in your own backyard. Use local
search to find businesses and services close by.
8) Google News: http://news.google.com
If you like your daily dose of World News and
the top headlines, you can browse over 4,500
news sources here. Continually updated.
9) Google Deskbar/Toolbar: http://toolbar.google.com
This downloadable toolbar allows you to conduct
searches at Google from any website. Includes a
pop up stopper and the ability to post to your
Blogger account (if you have one).
If you prefer to search from your desktop,
download their "Deskbar" and search without
even launching your browser.
http://toolbar.google.com/deskbar/index.html
10) University Search:
http://www.google.com/options/universities.html
Looking for information on a specific school?
Google's University Search serves up admission
information, Alumni News and even course schedules.
11) Google Wireless:
http://www.google.com/options/wireless.html
If you thought you had to leave Google at home
when you're on the move you can now conduct
searches via your wireless phone. See the site
for specific directions for searching from your
device.
12) Language Tools:
http://www.google.com/language_tools
The Internet serves a global audience and English
is not everyone's first language. With Language
Tools you can translate blocks of text or an
entire Web page by typing in the URL.
13) Google Web Alerts/News Alerts:
Great for monitoring a certain topic or even your
competition. Type in a search word or phrase and
select how often you wish to be notified. You'll
receive an email when updated news on your subject
appears online.
14) Blogger: http://www.Blogger.com
Not located at Google but owned by them, Blogger
is a free service for creating your own Blogs.
Communicate with the world on your own terms.
If you use Blogger and download Google's Toolbar,
you can easily post to your Blog while surfing
the Web. This is a very handy feature. They've
also adding the ability to add photos to your
Blog and audio messages. Check out
[http://www.audioblogger.com/]
Have you ever heard of "Google Labs"? It's basically
a testing playground for the technicians who work
at Google. New ideas for tools are placed there
for the public to use and give feedback on. This
area is considered the "experimental phase" and not
all demos are guaranteed to make it out of the lab
"alive." It's a very cool place to experiment with
new tools. You'll find it at http://labs.google.com
As you can see, Google is far more then just a search
engine. Their many tools and services can help you
in your Web based travels to be more informed and
efficient. Google's runaway success stems from the
fact that they have always listened to and served
the public. You can see this in the creativity they
bring to everything they do.
Next time you need to perform a specific task online,
remember Google contains a full array of handy gadgets
and they may have just what you're looking for!
Merle has been "working" the Net for over 8 years and has a Special Gift just for you. Download my FREE E-book "50 Easy Ways to Promote Your Website". Get your copy now at http://www.WebSiteTrafficPlan.com
You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included.
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
Cracking the Google Code: Under the GoogleScope
Google's sweeping changes confirm the search giant has launched a full out assault against artificial link inflation & declared war against search engine spam in a continuing effort to provide the best search service in the world... and if you thought you cracked the Google Code and had Google all figured out ... guess again.
Google has raised the bar against search engine spam and artificial link inflation to unrivaled heights with the filing of a United States Patent Application 20050071741 on March 31, 2005.
The filing unquestionable provides SEO's with valuable insight into Google's tightly guarded search intelligence and confirms that Google's information retrieval is based on historical data.
What exactly do these changes mean to you? Your credibility and reputation on-line are going under the Googlescope! Google has defined their patent abstract as follows:
A system identifies a document and obtains one or more types of history data associated with the document. The system may generate a score for the document based, at least in part, on the one or more types of history data.
Google's patent specification reveals a significant amount of information both old and new about the possible ways Google can (and likely does) use your web page updates to determine the ranking of your site in the SERPs.
Unfortunately, the patent filing does not prioritize or conclusively confirm any specific method one way or the other.
Here's how Google scores your web pages.
In addition to evaluating and scoring web page content, the ranking of web pages are admittedly still influenced by the frequency of page or site updates. What's new and interesting is what Google takes into account in determining the freshness of a web page.
For example, if a stale page continues to procure incoming links, it will still be considered fresh, even if the page header (Last-Modified: tells when the file was most recently modified) hasn't changed and the content is not updated or 'stale'.
According to their patent filing Google records and scores the following web page changes to determine freshness.
·The frequency of all web page changes
·The actual amount of the change itself... whether it is a substantial change redundant or superfluous
·Changes in keyword distribution or density
·The actual number of new web pages that link to a web page
·The change or update of anchor text (the text that is used to link to a web page)
·The numbers of new links to low trust web sites (for example, a domain may be considered low trust for having too many affiliate links on one web page).
Although there is no specific number of links indicated in the patent it might be advisable to limit affiliate links on new web pages. Caution should also be used in linking to pages with multiple affiliate links.
Developing your web page augments for page freshness.
Now I'm not suggesting that it's always beneficial or advisable to change the content of your web pages regularly, but it is very important to keep your pages fresh regularly and that may not necessarily mean a content change.
Google states that decayed or stale results might be desirable for information that doesn't necessarily need updating, while fresh content is good for results that require it.
How do you unravel that statement and differentiate between the two types of content?
An excellent example of this methodology is the roller coaster ride seasonal results might experience in Google's SERPs based on the actual season of the year.
A page related to winter clothing may rank higher in the winter than the summer... and the geographical area the end user is searching from will now likely be considered and factored into the search results.
Likewise, specific vacation destinations might rank higher in the SERPs in certain geographic regions during specific seasons of the year. Google can monitor and score pages by recording click through rate changes by season.
Google is no stranger to fighting Spam and is taking serious new measures to crack down on offenders like never before.
Section 0128 of Googles patent filing claims that you shouldn't change the focus of multiple pages at once.
Here's a quote from their rationale:
"A significant change over time in the set of topics associated with a document may indicate that the document has changed owners and previous document indicators, such as score, anchor text, etc., are no longer reliable.
Similarly, a spike in the number of topics could indicate spam. For example, if a particular document is associated with a set of one or more topics over what may be considered a 'stable' period of time and then a (sudden) spike occurs in the number of topics associated with the document, this may be an indication that the document has been taken over as a 'doorway' document.
Another indication may include the sudden disappearance of the original topics associated with the document. If one or more of these situations are detected, then [Google] may reduce the relative score of such documents and/or the links, anchor text, or other data associated the document."
Unfortunately, this means that Google's sandbox phenomenon and/or the aging delay may apply to your web site if you change too many of your web pages at once.
From the case studies I've conducted it's more likely the rule and not the exception.
What does all this mean to you?
Keep your pages themed, relevant and most importantly consistent. You have to establish reliability! The days of spamming Google are drawing to an end.
If you require multi page content changes implement the changes in segments over time. Continue to use your original keywords on each page you change to maintain theme consistency.
You can easily make significant content changes by implementing lateral keywords to support and reinforce your vertical keyword(s) and phrases. This will also help eliminate keyword stuffing.
Make sure you determine if the keywords you're using require static or fresh search results and update your web site content accordingly. On this point RSS feeds may play a more valuable and strategic role than ever before in keeping pages fresh and at the top of the SERPs.
The bottom line here is webmasters must look ahead, plan and mange their domains more tightly than ever before or risk plummeting in the SERPs.
Does Google use your domain name to determine the ranking of your site?
Google's patent references specific types of 'information relating to how a document is hosted within a computer network' that can directly influence the ranking of a specific web site. This is Google's way of determining the legitimacy of your domain name.
Therefore, the credibility of your host has never been more important to ranking well in Google's SERP's.
Google states they may check the information of a name server in multiple ways.
Bad name servers might host known spam sites, adult and/or doorway domains. If you're hosted on a known bad name server your rankings will undoubtedly suffer... if you're not blacklisted entirely.
What I found particularly interesting is the criteria that Google may consider in determining the value of a domain or identifying it as a spam domain; According to their patent, Google may now record the following information:
·The length of the domain registration... is it greater than one year or less than one year?
·The address of the web site owner. Possibly for returning higher relevancy local search results and attaching accountability to the domain.
·The admin and the technical contact info. This info is often changed several times or completely falsified on spam domains; again this check is for consistency!
·The stability of your host and their IP range... is your IP range associated with spam?
Google's rationale for domain registration is based on the premise that valuable domains are often secured many years in advance while domains used for spam are rarely secured for more than a year.
If in doubt about a host's integrity I recommend checking their mail server at http://www.dnsstuff.com to see if they're in the spam database. Watch for red flags!
If your mail server is listed you may have a problem ranking well in Google!
Securing a reputable host can and will go a long way in promoting your web site to Google.
The simplest strategy may be registering your domain several years in advance with a reputable provider thereby demonstrating longevity and accountability to Google. Google wants to see that you're serious about your site and not a flash in the pan spam shop.
http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-1604302-10294265
Googles Aging Delay has teeth... and they're taking a bite out of spam!
It's no big secret that Google relies heavily on links when it comes to ranking web sites.
According to their patent filing, Google may record the discovery date of a link and link changes over time.
In addition to volume, quality & the anchor text of links, Google's patent illustrates possible ways how Google might use historical information to further determine the value of links.
For example, the life span of a link and the speed at which a new web site gets links.
"Burst link growth may be a strong indicator of search engine spam".
This is the first concrete evidence that Google may penalize sites for rapid link acquisition. Whether the "burst growth" rule applies to high trust/authorative sites and directory listings remains unknown. I personally haven't experienced this phenomenon. What's clear for certain though is the inevitable end to results orientated link farming.
I would point out here that regardless of whether burst link growth will be tolerated for authorative sites or authorative link acquisition, webmasters will have to get smarter and work harder to secure authorative links as their counterparts become reluctant to exchange links with low trust sites. Now Page Rank really has value!
Relevant content swaps may be a nice alternative to the standard link exchange and allow you some control of the link page elements.
So what else does Google consider in determining the aging delay?
·The anchor text and the discovery date of links are recorded, thus establishing the countdown period of the aging delay.
·Links with a long-term life span may be more valuable than links with a short life span.
·The appearance and disappearance of a links over time.
·Growth rates of links as well as the link growth of independent peer pages. Again, this suggests that rapid link acquisition and the quality of peer pages are monitored.
·Anchor text over a given period of time for keyword consistency.
·Inbound links from fresh pages... might be considered more important than links from stale pages.
·Google doesn't expect that new web sites have a large number of links so purchasing large numbers of brokered links will likely hurt you more than help you. Google indicates that it is better for link growth to remain constant and naturally paced. In addition, the anchor text should be varied as much as possible.
·New web sites should not acquire too many new links; it'll be tolerated if the links are from trusted sites but it may be considered spam.
So how do you build your link popularity / Page Rank and avoid penalties?
When it comes to linking, you should clearly avoid the hocus pocus or magic bullet linking schemes. If you participate in quick fix link exchange scams, use automated link exchange software or buy hundreds of links at once, chances are Google will interpret your efforts as a spam attempt and act accordingly.
Don't get caught in this trap... the recovery period could be substantial since your host and IP range are also considered!
When you exchange links with other web sites, do it slowly and consistently.
Develop a link management and maintenance program. Schedule regular times every week to build the links to your site and vary the anchor text that points to your site.
Obviously, the links to your site should utilize your keywords. To avoid repetition use lateral keywords and keyword phrases in the anchor text since Google wants to see varied anchor text!
Your sites click through rate may now monitored through bookmarks, cache, favorites, and temporary files.
It's no big secret that Google has always been suspected of rewarding sites with higher click through rates (very similar to what Google does with their AdWords program) so it shouldn't come as a great surprise that Google still considers site stickiness and CTR tracking in their criterion.
What's interesting though is Google is interested in tracking the behavior of web surfers through bookmarks, cache, favorites, and temporary files (most likely with the Google toolbar and/or the Google desktop search tool). Google's Patent filing indicates Google might track the following information:
·Click through rates are monitored for changes in seasonality, fast increases, or other spike traffic in addition to increase or decrease trends.
·The volume of searches over time is recorded and monitored for
increases.
·The information regarding a web page's rankings are recorded and monitored for changes.
·Click through rates are monitored to find out if stale or fresh web pages are preferred for a search query.
·The traffic to a web page is recorded and monitored for changes... like Alexa.
·User behavior may be monitored through bookmarks, cache, favorites, and temporary files.
·Bookmarks and favorites could be monitored for both additions and deletions, and;
·The overall user behavior for trends and changes.
Since Google is capable of tracking the click-through rates to your web site, you should make sure that your web pages have attractive titles and utilize calls to action so that web surfers click on them in the search results.
It's also important to keep your visitors there so make your web pages interesting enough so that web surfers stay some time on your web site. It might also help if your web site visitors added your web site to their bookmarks.
As you can see, Google's new ranking criterion has evolved far beyond the reliance of criteria that can be readily or easily manipulated. One thing is for certain with Google, whatever direction search innovation is going; you can trust Google to be pioneering the way and setting new standards!
Copyright 2005 Lawrence Deon
Lawrence Deon is an SEO/SEM Consultant and author of the popular search engine optimization and marketing model Ranking Your Way To The Bank. http://www.rankingyourwaytothebank.com
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
Napoleonic Lessons for Google & Microsoft
Napoleon Bonaparte was arguably the most strategic mind set to war. As we shall see later, his strategic brilliance, however, is equally applicable to the competitive world of Business; and in this case, Microsoft's rivalry with Google.
A little history
Microsoft, the world's largest software vendor, has been around for quite a long time. Its target market is mainly selling operating systems and office applications for the desktop computers. Microsoft products are sold to computer manufacturers, i.e. Dell Computers, who in turn install and ship Microsoft software package to the consumers. So in a sense, consumers end up writing Bill Gates a $100+ check without ever knowing it. This is how Microsoft became to dominate the computer desktop industry and turned Bill Gates into modern day Henry Ford.
Google, on the other hand, is a relatively new company. It blossomed during the dot com boom, and eventually came to dominate the online search engine business. Today, Google attracts more than 200 million unique queries on its search engine every day; statistically speaking, each query generates 12 cents for the company...that is 8 zeros multiplied by 12! Google, for the most part, profits through its search based advertisement technology known as Adwords. Adwords makes online advertisement approachable in terms of easiness and affordability. Adwords, combined with a similar technology called Adsense, made Google endless amounts of cash. Google, today, is the undisputed champion of the online world.
How they became enemies
"When you set out to take Vienna, take Vienna" - Napoleon
Until recently, both Google and Microsoft were living in harmony. The masses used Microsoft's Internet Explorer to surf Google's search engine. However, internet's seemingly unstoppable growth since the early 2000 began to attract the attention of many industries. Microsoft executives clearly saw Internet as the next big thing; possibly a market worth pursuing. Meanwhile, Google continued to make unprecedented strides within its search engine market. Having generated enough cash, however, Google took a different direction; founded by technology enthusiasts, Google began to enter various markets unrelated to its search business. Rumors began to spread that Google is building an online "free" Operating System and various other tools such as an alternative version to the dominating Internet Explorer. This, as you might have guessed, ticked off Microsoft, and it took the bait and decided to roll its war drums against Google. Microsoft, by the way, is not the only company that feels threatened by its presence. Other internet giants, such as AOL, Yahoo! and eBay, are also feeling the heat ever since Google embarked on its journey towards dominating any market of technological interest. Google innovated in markets that already existed and, surprisingly, came about to dominating them. For Microsoft, it was a threat worth neutralizing. Today, Google has its hands in web search, email, online videos, calendars, news, blogs, desktop search, photo sharing, online payments, social networking, instant messaging, WiFi, word processors, web hosting, web browser, search tool bars, spreadsheets, discussion groups, maps and more.
Before long, Microsoft, AOL, Yahoo! and eBay maneuvered to encapsulate Google's ever-growing strength. Over two hundred years ago, Emperor Napoleon, the Google of his day, found himself in a similar situation. Russia, Prussia, Austria and Britain had decided to go to war.
The drums of war
"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake" - Napoleon
Microsoft's take on this war is quite different from that of Google. Eric Schmidt, Google's chief executive, has repeatedly alleged that the online market is not a zero-sum game; in other words, it is possible for two or more players to dominate a large share of this market. Microsoft is not used to this. In the past it has decisively eliminated any competition, and taken the throne for itself. Consequently, Microsoft has publicly declared an all out war on Google.
Ironically, Google is the company that is on the attack; it has been aggressively pursuing Microsoft's market. However, using clever tactics, it has intimidated Microsoft to appear as the aggressor, while Google quietly carries on with its business. In other words, Google has lured Microsoft into a rash attack; when it ends up in disaster, Microsoft will have only themselves to blame, and everyone around them will blame them, too. Google will win both the battle of appearances and the battle on the field. Very few strategies offer such flexibility and power.
It takes more energy to take land than to hold it. Throughout history, defensive tactics have won more battles than the aggressors. After the first wave of siege, the aggressor loses the advantage of surprise attack and leaves himself exposed to a counter attack. The defender can clearly see his strategy and take protective action. Napoleon's most celebrated victory, the battle of Austerlitz was a counter attack, defeating a larger army with a kill ratio of 15 to 1. A defensive position has become the perfect way to disguise an offensive maneuver, a counter attack. Google has repeatedly asserted that it is not interested in competing with other businesses; it is a web search business only. They have used this facade to make Microsoft's concerns with the company seem paranoid; a clever move that worked. The fact remains that Google is a powerful secretive company, driven by smart people, and for a cause.
Do No Evil
"In war the moral is to the physical is as three to one"- Napoleon
In his day, most emperors preferred to hire mercenary armies simply because maintaining a healthy army of their own came at too much of an expense. Napoleon reversed this setback by recruiting young French loyalists more eager to fight for a greater France than for the money. As a result, during battle, French soldiers swiftly defeated much larger mercenary armies. My point? Bring people together around a cause and you create a motivated force.
With a 60% stake in the U.S. web search market, one might expect Google to have mottos of the kind "Let Google do the searching" or perhaps "Search fast, search Google". On the contrary, Google's motto is a simple "Do No Evil". Recently, web search companies were asked by U.S. intelligence agencies to transfer private data on user searches over to them; while other web search companies concurred with them, Google saw it as evil and denied. This decision alone drove Google's shares dwindling down several points on the NASDAQ, but Google remained true to its "Do No Evil" maxim. Google has come to be seen as a company driven not by the incentive of making money, but rather by the pursuit of knowledge through technological innovation; as a result, the company has used this justification to convince its competitors that it is not interested in defeating competition, but rather providing easier access to information for everyone, and hence making the world a better place. Google keeps its business silent and only attracts attention to the technological goodies it has brought to the masses. In fact, Google's Machiavellian tactics have worked so well that most of its users do not even know how or if Google makes money.
Google's army of 7000+ employees are loyal to the company. Over at Microsoft, the employees, especially senior executives, feel caged within the company; leaving Microsoft for Google might bring a lawsuit from the company, as it did for Kai-Fu Lee. To Microsoft's credit, Google is simply reaping fruit from the hype that Microsoft once enjoyed. Sooner or later, the quality and quantity of potential employees will inevitably decrease in size as the excitement around Google is neutralized.
Mobility through decentralized command
"Separate to live, unite to fight" - Napoleon
Genghis Khan, like Napoleon, was a master of mobility in war. In a very short period of time, his empire stretched from Korea all the way to Europe. Neither two conquerors could have expanded like they did if it weren't for mobility. Mobility was the key to decisive maneuvering during battle. Varying in size, from 15, 000 to 30, 000 men, each corps was a miniature army headed by a miniature Napoleon. Fluid, Fast, and Nonlinear. At the battle of Ulm, Napoleon completely surrounded the Austrian army within a few hours; cutting off any channels of escape or reinforcements. The Austrian emperor was forced to surrender an army of 30, 000 soldiers.
For a large company like Google, the hierarchy within the company is quite small. Google organizes employees in teams of three to five people. Each team is self directed, while the middle managers provide the required resources to support development within the teams. As a result, Google has fashioned a powerful self-directed decentralized approach towards product development. The consequence of such an arrangement is that there is no keystone employee or manager within the company. It is almost as if the company could run on its own even if it were divided into several smaller pieces. Forbes magazine described the phenomena this way: "Innovation will flourish for as long as the masses are running Google. When management forcefully steps in, the pace of change will slow." Microsoft, on the other hand, has a well known bureaucratic problem. There are over 12 layers of middle managers between executives and the developers. As a result, the company takes the course that its top managers set for it. Instead of allowing innovation to originate from developers, it flows from top level managers to code-monkeys at the lowest base. This is quite common in other companies as well. The natural tendency of a top manager in any company is to want to control the group, to coordinate its every movement, but that ends up tying the company to the past and to the slow moving armies in history. It takes strength of character to allow for a margin of chaos and uncertainty-to let go a little-but by decentralizing army and segmenting it into teams; company managers gain in mobility what they lose in complete control. A critical step in creating an efficient chain of command is assembling a skilled team that shares the same goals and values; once this is achieved, the top managers at Microsoft can contentedly allow the teams to think and direct on their own. As Joel Spolsky puts it, "The goal of any business owner should be to break his/her job into functional pieces that can be replicated over and over."
"The goal of any business owner should be to break his/her job into functional pieces that can be replicated over and over." - Joel Spolsky
Google Achilles:
"Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets" - Napoleon
Napoleon demanded unprecedented loyalty from his men. When in 1815, Napoleon escaped from Elba and returned to the mainland, King Louis XVIII sent the Fifth Regiment, led by Marshal Michel Ney who had formerly served under Napoleon in Russia, to fight him at Grenoble. Napoleon approached the regiment alone, dismounted his horse and, when he was within earshot of Ney's forces, shouted "Soldiers of the Fifth, you recognize me. If any man would shoot his emperor, he may do so now". Following a brief silence, the soldiers shouted "Vive L'Empereur!" and marched with Napoleon to Paris. The strength of his image echoed in the hearts and minds of, both, his allies and enemies. He described this himself as "I have destroyed the enemy merely by marches"
Whatever a company's strength might be, it is actually a potential weakness, simply because the company relies on it: neutralize it and the company is vulnerable. A company's task is to put its competitor in a situation in which it cannot use its advantage. Google's advantage is its brand.
"Public opinion is the thermometer a monarch should constantly consult" - Napoleon
The Wall Street judges Google's worth in terms of its shares value in the stock market. As of July 29, Google is trading at $388.12 per share, the highest bid/share I have ever heard. However, Google's out of the charts performance in the stock market is a weakness in disguise. Wall Street isn't thrilled with Google's secretive style of management, so the investor loyalty could be swayed quite easily. Google will lose its extraordinary command of the NASDAQ as soon as conditions stop favoring them. Google might have a strong user base, but its investor loyalty is at dismay. Without Wall Street's backing, Google will lose its share not only in the stock market, but in the public relations department as well. Google feeds off its brand, so any successful attack on its image will cripple the company even when it continues to generate cash.
Google depends on its hype. But hype does not stick around forever.
What Can Microsoft Do
"To extraordinary circumstances we must apply extraordinary remedies" - Napoleon
Google is successful not just for its technological innovation, but also for the command structure that makes this innovation possible and. Hence, to solely attack Google's technology is a mistake since Google will always manage to innovate with quick decisiveness, as it has in the past. Google's Achilles heel is its Adwords system; its money machine. Without it, Google can neither grow nor innovate.
The general rule for defeating any large army is to launch the attack on as narrow a front as possible. Whereas a defender must defend all their borders, an attacker has the advantage of being able to concentrate their forces at one place. By releasing, what seems to be a product every week, Google has stretched too thin. Aside from search and email, Google products are essentially at the mercy of another competitor, say Microsoft. Microsoft, with its MSN Search, cannot possibly defeat Google in search business, it is Google's core business and the company will protect it however possible. Sun Tzu stated this in the Art of War as "Put your enemies in a spot where they have no place to go, and they will die before fleeting. If they are to die then, what can they not do? Warriors exert their full strength. When warriors are in great danger, then they have no fear. When there is nowhere to go, they are firm, when they are deeply involved, they stick to it. If they have no choice, they will fight to death."
"Put your enemies in a spot where they have no place to go, and they will die before fleeting. If they are to die then, what can they not do? Warriors exert their full strength. When warriors are in great danger, then they have no fear. When there is nowhere to go, they are firm, when they are deeply involved, they stick to it. If they have no choice, they will fight to death" - The Art of War
Microsoft should adopt a partial non-competitive strategy. Instead of publicly and pragmatically target Google's main business, it should, with surgical precision, covertly attack products Google doesn't pay much attention to. Google's policy to let beta products become widely accepted organically is a weakness waiting to be exploited.
There are many non-conferential strategies Microsoft can adhere to:
1. The giant can enter markets that Google would never tackle; Microsoft's success in the gaming and music industry strengthens this point. Furthermore, Microsoft can let its allies (i.e. Yahoo!, AOL, eBay etc) confront Google in markets Microsoft wouldn't want to.
2. Google, with its recent release of Open Source project hosting, has subtly brought on its side a smart culture of developers who already dislike Microsoft. This form of passive strategy is what Google is best at. CEO Eric Schmidt once stated that a company's success lies in its programmers. Microsoft can hire more talented engineers. If there are two equally intelligent students competing for the top position, all they have to do is study 5 minutes more than the other would. Taking that one extra step in hiring employees will have a significant impact on the company's business.
3. Be more reserved. An attack kept silent has a better chance at succeeding than one that is clearly perceived and understood by the enemy. As Niccolo Machiavelli puts it "No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the enemy until it is ripe for execution."
"No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the enemy until it is ripe for execution." - Machiavelli
4. Decentralize product releases. Instead of passing product decisions through a layer of eleven managers, let the product innovation come from the engineers responsible for designing them. A much more effective road that Microsoft can take is to provide seed capital for other startups releasing products competitive to Google. This has several advantages. Startups are more focused and motivated. Microsoft wouldn't have to expend excess resources into startups since they can also rely on other VC's. Since startups can think and manage themselves, this will decentralize innovation and also rid Microsoft off its 11 layers of management.
5. As mentioned previously, Google's vital organ is its ad delivery mechanism. If Microsoft successfully releases a better system for delivering advertisements, it will decisively capture Google's hold on ad publishers. Due to Microsoft's huge hotmail user base, the company has an excellent opportunity at delivering more targeted advertisements.
6. Lastly, Google focuses a very small team, usually 3 to 5 engineers, on its beta products. Microsoft can take advantage of this by focusing more resources on similar products. Even though, smaller teams innovate faster, larger, more resourceful teams, have a better chance at success. A successful product requires the collective effort of more than just the engineering department.
"Between a battle lost and a battle won, the distance is immense and there stand empires" - Napoleon
Conclusion
Napoleon's tomb In the end, despite his genius, it was Napoleon who became overwhelmed by counter forces and lost. Unprecedented success often causes blindness. My advice for Google is to continue its rapid innovation but also put a tap on its uncontrolled product releases. As for Microsoft, despite the company's several ill conceived tactics, it has a lot of potential for improvement and much to learn from its rival, Google.
Notes:
(1) Some excerpts were taken from "33 Strategies of War".
(2) Despite the critical tone of this article, I can't help but think how dull the tech world would be without either of these companies. I will gladly take down any part of this article if anyone at, either company, is disturbed by it.
(3) I didn't write this solely for the purpose of comparing Napoleon's strategies with that of Google or Microsoft. I wanted to write a piece that gave a strategic analysis for both companies. I wish I could've written some more on this subject, but thought most readers would fall asleep. I can't write, I am an engineer.
(4) Any research on this article was done through Google. The article itself was written on Microsoft Word.
I am a jobless undergraduate studying Electrical Engineering at Ryerson University, Canada. My interests include military and corporate strategies, business, economics, history, religion/philosophy, politics, logic, technology, programming, electronics, mathematics, neurology, quantum physics, and cosmology. If you wish to contact me, I can be reached at biohazard@gmail.com, or python_kiss@hotmail.com and my website address is http://www.shuzak.com
To see this article with photos, go straight to http://shuzak.com/Personal/Napoleonic-Lessons-for-Google-and-Microsoft.php
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
How to Hard-Wire Your Site to Google
Until Bing turns into David and slays Goliath, the only search engine game in town is Google. While the other search engines can't be ignored or forgotten, when it comes to online search, Google will deliver the majority of your quality organic traffic. For webmasters and especially for online marketers, having your website virtually hard-wired to Google is a marketing Must-Do.
We are strictly talking about white hat stuff here, if you're seeking the opposite color, look elsewhere. As a full-time search engine marketer, I have learned a few things over the 10 years or so I have been working on the web. One of the most significant factors running constantly in the background has been Google. And the underlying fact that the more I intertwined my sites and content with Google, the more success I would achieve. There seemed to be a direct correlation between the two, making it a little more than ironic that the original name for Google was BackRub.
But this is not exactly rocket science territory here, Google is the biggest entity on the web, especially if you go the free organic traffic route. There are tons of ways to market online which don't involve Google at all, but for the purposes of this piece, I will be discussing ways any webmaster or marketer can better connect their site and content with Google. Plus, if it's not already obvious, also give you some reasons why this is a smart marketing strategy on your part.
The first technique you must perfect is how to get your new content into Google's Index within minutes, if not seconds. These days with social media sites this can be easily achieved. It may be as fast as your latest Tweet or Google Buzz. Google News is another easy way to instantly get your content into Google. Press releases are another immediate way to connect your content with Google. So too is something as simple as making a video and posting it on YouTube which is Google Owned. (Note - Google has recently revamped the YouTube system and provided many ways webmasters can view the linking data and stats; great source of information for webmasters and marketers.)
Actually Google will index any new site or content fairly quickly these days so you don't have to worry about it. One method I like best is using a free blog from Blogger/Blogspot (which is also Google owned) and placing links here to be indexed within minutes. To keep track of what content Google is indexing, I usually set up Google Alerts for all my main sites and my main keywords. Whenever a page is indexed in Google related to my sites or keywords, Google sends me an email. Many savvy webmasters use these alerts to find and build link partners since these indexed pages will be thematically related to yours. Using Google Alerts will make it seem like you're totally welded to Google and Google's indexing system, every second of the day.
Needless to say, keywords rule the web and Google. You must attach your content to keywords people are using to find stuff on the web and build top 10 rankings for those keywords in the search engines, especially Google. Now if you're new at this, Google gives you some valuable keyword tools you can use to see how many searches are made each month for a keyword phrase and also gives you some idea of the keyword competition you will be facing. I like using these tools here: google(dot)com/sktool and also labs(dot)google(dot)com/sets. Besides, you must start your Google courtship off on the right foundation.
Next, you must realize Google is not really a search engine but a business. The main goal of this business is to supply quality content to web users so that these users will use Google over and over again, allowing Google to attach ads and make a profit. The key to getting and keeping Google's attention is fulfilling your part of this "quality equation" with superior content which surfers want and find helpful. Make this your religion and the SEO gods, including Google, will smile kindly upon your site.
Now like any religion there are some strict rules you have to follow. In a recent WebProNews video interview, Matt Cutts said Google has (200) signals it uses to rank content on the web. Most webmasters refer to these as ranking factors, but in truth, they are really signals that your site gives off... provide the wrong signals and it could spell lower rankings. So if you want to keep your site in Google's good graces, you have to follow some simple SEO on-page rules, such as placing your main keyword in the Title, in the Heading, in the Body and in the URL. Make sure your site is easily navigated by your visitors and especially by the search engine spiders. Keep your linking structure simple, with no links more than three clicks away from your index or homepage. In my opinion, getting quality related one-way backlinks is the most important way to get top rankings in Google.
In recent years, Google has gone out of its way to help webmasters understand all these simple SEO basics. And as far as I am concerned, one resource every webmaster should be using is Google Webmaster Tools. This is a whole suite of tools and information webmasters can use in correlation with Google. Recently, in Webmaster Tools Google has made available Click-Thru data on its search engine results so that you can find out how many impressions you're getting for a certain keyword and your click-thru or conversion rate. Some webmasters are questioning the accuracy of these numbers but it will give you some indication of how well your site and content is doing in Google.
Perhaps, another just as valuable program is Google Analytics, where you're really giving Google access to all your site's information. You can use Analytics to measure different links/content on your site to see how well it preforms. More importantly you can use it to fine-tune your conversion rates in order to make more sales. I also use it to test-out different graphics, different salescopy, different site layouts... and so on. But a word of caution, don't just use Analytics, as an online marketer you want many sources of information, so regularly study your own traffic logs and raw site data. Even with Google and probably especially with Google, you should always cross-reference any data with other sources on your site and on the web. Lets not get too carried away with this Google worship thing.
I use both Google AdSense and Google AdWords with most of my sites. While as an online marketer, I know I can get 10 times more from an affiliate link rather than monies from AdSense... but over the years I have found having both types of links on sites don't significantly reduce sales. To explain further, I have tested my pages with and without AdSense, and it doesn't affect my affiliate sales even though I know I am losing some sales to AdSense. But overall, using AdSense adds to the competitiveness of my pages, if someone is looking for the lowest price and finds it in a Google ad they come away happy and will probably visit my site again or sign-up to my newsletter. Besides, AdSense is a very quick way to monetize pages which I don't have ready affiliate programs for on my sites. Plus, both AdSense and AdWords give you valuable feedback on your content's performance.
There are several other Google programs which I use to further connect with Google such as Google Docs, Google Knol and iGoogle. One must-have program is Google Accounts, which basically connects me with all my different programs within Google. I have found managing all your Google programs is much easier from this one location. I also like using Google Profiles and Google Buzz to get my content quickly into Google and onto the web. As you have probably guessed already, Google does have a lot of programs which webmasters can use to improve their content's performance. In the process, by using and intertwining your content with all of the Google programs highlighted here, you're really connecting with Google en masse.
While many marketing experts will say it is foolhardy to marry all your content to just one search engine, but I have found over the years, hard-wiring your site to Google really makes your content readily accessible in the most dominant presence on the web. Doing so not only gives your content the attention it deserves, but it can also help further your own goals. Actively positioning your site and content firmly within Google's many different facets can prove beneficial for any webmaster or online marketer. Just get that pre-nup agreement in writing first!
The author is a full time online affiliate marketer who operates numerous niche sites, as well as two sites on Internet Marketing, where you can get valuable marketing tips for free: internet marketing tools or try here free marketing courses Titus Hoskins Copyright 2010. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)