Industry News

Just look at what’s been recently published on the Official Google Blog:

Today we’re excited because Google Suggest will be “graduating” from Labs and available by default on the Google.com homepage. Over the next week, we’ll be rolling this out so that more and more of you will start seeing a list of query suggestions when you start typing into the search box.

So, the Google staff claims to be excited about this news. Now should we be excited about it as well? I’m going to share with you some random thoughts (and predictions) on this subject: (more…)

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Google has announced that over the coming weekend it would be implementing their Google Suggest suggestion feature on the main page of Google. Suggest in essence feeds you propositions for a search term in real-time as and when you type. It is indeed an exhilarating and innovative feature; with many an implication to Search Engine Optimization as exists today.

The ‘long tail keywords’ is what is going to effect a change on Search Engine Optimization in a big way. Long-tail keywords are characteristically 4 to 6 keywords in length. And these are words that in all probability will not come into sight on Google Suggest. Google will only show comparatively popular keywords based on what was recently typed.

(more…)

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It all boils down to convenience, and for some people, picking up their hard-earned AdSense earnings thru Western Union Quick Cash is the way to go. No more waiting for checks in the mail or for bank clearance. Now, Google has added even more countries for this payment method, including Bulgaria, Egypt, Lithuania, Morocco, and Taiwan, bringing the total number to 14. If you’re interested, here’s the full list of countries currently in the program: (more…)

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People are spending more and more time on the Internet, and yet most companies are slow to spend their advertising dollars online. As the undisputed leader in the industry, Google is trying to find ways to lure more ad spending on their network by improving their product offerings. After acquiring DoubleClick and retiring its referral ads program, Google made another announcement about its advertising arm. In a bid to enhance the functionality and quality of their ads, the following features are going to be made available in the coming months: (more…)

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Did you notice that Google and Digg have been sharing several headlines lately? Take a look at blogs, news sites and forums on our industry and you’ll find several references either to Digg’s acquisition by Google or to Google’s experiments with a Digg-like SERP interface.

Despite the fact that Google gave up on the Digg deal (for good or only temporarily?), the googlesphere is still excited about this topic. But…

Does Google need Digg?

Is Digg an essential tool for Google’s Internet dominance arsenal? It doesn’t seem to be the case.

* Google is already used by the vast majority of websurfers. Digg, despite its popularity, still looks like a small club dominated by a few privileged members.

* Digg lacks diversity; most links on it are of a geek-oriented nature. Google, on the other hand, can lead users to any type of site they want to see. This efficiency is the reason why it rules the search engine market.

Do Google users need Digg-like features?

How would those impact our search experience? Would such features give us the power to find more (good) sites in less time?

* Perhaps Google intends to use our own votes as a basis to bring us more customised results over time. However, isn’t it what our search history is for? At least, this is what’s been implied by a post at Google’s Official Blog.

* If you think a social voting system could effectively reduce manipulation of search results by suspicious webmasters… forget it. All social media sites are manipulated in some way (bury brigade anyone?). Why would a “social Google” be different?

Let’s see how the whole Google-Digg (or “Giggle,” as suggested by some good-humoured guys out there) case will evolve — if at all. Whenever I find any substantial news on this thought-provoking subject, I’ll write more about it.

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While researching for the blog on PageRank I was about to publish in place of this one, I landed on Patently-O, a patent law blog that had this post: The Death of Google’s Patents?

I’ve read through it a couple of times and being a Google fan, I find myself in a state of fix!! What I understand from all the legaleses they have on that page is that, The US Patent and Trademark Office is in the process to invalidate not just Google’s Patents but all patents in the software industry and many other cutting-edge fields related to IT and software like bioinformatics as well! This will hit the patent on celebrity intellectual properties like Google’s PageRank along with hundreds of other software patents held by other software companies. The loss in revenue generated by this line of patents for the nation’s depleting reserves is still not in the picture.

As a common man, I am trying hard to understand the logic behind the new development and the opinion of the office, process inventions generally are unpatentable unless they “result in a physical transformation of an article” or are “tied to a particular machine.” If common sense prevails at the PTO someone will realize that the new rule would lead to a massive confusion among inventors and businessmen on the role of PTO as their protectors.

Of all the software patents that will go down, I believe Google PageRank will be the last most of us would like to see take a fall. It enjoys an entirely different level of popularity and nurtures more than one multi-billion dollar industry. The financial implications not just in the US, but worldwide when PageRank technology will not remain patented are beyond calculations.

It would be interesting to know what you all think about this development.

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For the longest time, traditional news wires have been the preferred choice when it came to disseminating information. They can send releases where it matters - newsrooms, trading desks and websites - quite fast. But although they may be efficient, they can also be costly. Calls for alternative means have been getting stronger in the past few years, thanks in part to the rapid development of the Internet. Just recently, the US SEC has finally responded. Companies may now solely use their websites and blogs to meet public disclosure requirements under Regulation FD (Fair Disclosure), as long as they follow a new set of guidelines to be released by the commission. Chairman Cox has this to say: (more…)

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AdSense has always been ideal for small blogs as barrier to entry is so little. As long as you can get some traffic going, you can start making money right away, albeit probably not much in the beginning. However, there are changes in Google’s AdWords program that may tip the scales in favor of the bigger, more established websites. From Google’s Adsense blog:

“One of the main changes is the ability for advertisers to be more specific with their ad targeting through a combination of contextual targeting and placement targeting. As you may know, contextually targeted ads will appear on your pages if an advertiser’s keywords match your content, while placement-targeted ads will appear if an advertiser has specifically selected your ad placement or site. Now, advertisers can target your site or placements, but can also specify keywords for them so that their ads only appear in the most relevant pages. These ads will still need to compete with the available inventory of ads for a particular placement, and so only the highest-paying, most relevant ads will appear on your pages. At the same time, you’ll still be able to use your Competitive Ad Filter to prevent ads from specific URLs from appearing.”

Google contends that this will mean more relevant ads for your site’s visitors and increased advertiser confidence, resulting in greater ad spending. These may be true, but mostly for those sites that are already popular. It remains to be seen if this will lead to a major shift in advertiser preference (big sites vs long tail). I guess it will all depend on this new model’s effectiveness.

“In addition, while advertisers previously could only change their bids for all ads running across multiple sites, they can now adjust their bids for individual sites. This means that advertisers can spend more of their budgets on the specific AdSense sites which perform well and generate high-quality leads for the advertiser.”

With this recent development, I see scraper-type sites nearing their extinction. As for blogs, they will now have to be more competitive with their site branding to get noticed, and targeting a lucrative niche will become even more important. Google’s certainly keeping us on our toes.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll have to look for a purple cow.

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Will the new search engine that being discussed throughout search engine forums be able to topple the giant?

The Name
Well let me start off by saying the name alone is a loser in my eyes. Im not sure the term “Cuil It” will be replacing the more elegant souding “Google It” anytime soon.  But that isn’t to say there still isn’t hope for this new competitor.

“Cuil is an old Irish word for knowledge. For knowledge, ask Cuil.” - Cuil.com

Ok so there is meaning behind the madness but people aren’t necessarily harping on meaning. People like names that are catchy and that can roll off their tongues. 1 point Google, no point Cuil.

The Design
The homepage leaves much to be asked for with a black background (cmon guys we all know that a black background will not appeal to the masses) with blue and grey text. I would have to say it looks more industrial than anything search engine related, but let’s not stop there.

Next let’s take a look at an inner page. A simple search for “php tutorials” produces the following:

Now I know change can be good but when it comes to people digging to find a solution in as little time as possible then the organization of the results must be in a highly user-friendly and familiar format. Cuil fails to achieve this with their column laid search results.

What do you think?
I have merely scratched the surface on my Cuil.com review and am now opening it up to you all to let us know your view on the different aspects of it. Feel free to pay Cuil.com a visit then share your views with us.

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Everyone has been saying that Knol is the new Wikipedia. But is this comparison fair — or at least accurate?

I’m going to tell you what I think.

Knol is the new Squidoo

Let me tell you why I think so:

• A single topic can be discussed in multiple knols, exactly as seen on Squidoo’s lenses. Wikipedia, like any encyclopedia, only allows one entry per topic.
• Everyone can edit Wikipedia. Lenses can only be edited by their respective lensmasters. Knols can only be edited by their respective authors, or upon their approval.
• Knollers are given full credit for their work, just like lensmasters. Wikipedia’s articles can’t have their authorship claimed by any individual.
• Knols can be rated and commented on; this also happens on Squidoo’s lenses. Wikipedia’s entries can be flagged for revision and are regularly reviewed by contributors, but this is much more of a behind-the-scenes activity.

With so many similarities between Knol and Squidoo — and so many essential differences between Knol and Wikipedia –, I must return to this post’s title: why is Knol compared to Wikipedia? And why isn’t it compared to Squidoo instead? (more…)

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