Getting Online - Free

Well well well... wonders never cease, so here goes. Google have now offered free websites to those in South Africa under the Wozaonline domain.

For those that don't know, Woza is a local term that means essentiall "come", so it's an invite for business to get online. For gratis! Oh, that's for free.

So... obviously I had to try and jump on the band wagon and include mine. I've claimed to be The Google Whisperer so we'll see how that goes down over time. I've oficially opened it to public, but there's little content on there as of yet.

Bill Gates on Google in China

I love some of the comments on the whole Google vs China standoff. Actually can you even call it a standoff? As Bill quite rightly points out, Google have yet to actually do anything. So they've said a lot, taken a moral stand... and, haven't actually followed anything through. Hey, way to go Google! Or not!

Bill Gates doesn’t get the fuss everyone’s making over Google’s recent threat to stop censoring search results in China.

“They’ve done nothing and gotten a lot of credit for it,” Gates said Monday during a visit at The New York Times.

“What point are they making?” Mr. Gates asked. “Now, if Google ever chooses to pull out of the United States, then I’d give them credit.”

Gates’ comments come just days after current Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was also critical of Google’s stance. Both Gates and Ballmer pointed out that many countries have questionable laws and policies.

Lest Sergey Brin and Larry Page are losing sleep over these verbal jabs, let’s point out that Gates also defended Google when asked if he considered them a monopoly: “I wouldn’t call anyone a monopolist.” (searchengineland.com)

Really I'm just waiting for Google to actually pull out of China, they won't because they're still making money. Will they un-censor their results? Nope because then China will simply block them anyhow. Lets face it, while Google may have an economy that many countries just couldn't refuse, China aren't really that concerned. Well that's just my $0.02.

The Curious Case of Argleton

Tin Foil Hat Time!!!

The curious case of "Argleton, Lancashire". Is it or isn't it? That seems to be the question on everyone's lips right about now. According to Google Maps Argleton does exist. Pity it looks like it's just a field in the middle of nowhere - or more accurately the middle of Aughton and Aughton Park.

Could this be Google trying to catch potential spammers by having anyone advertising at this location immediately flagged? Could this have simply been an error by those at Tele Atlas? I think there may be more to this than meets the eye.

But regardless, I tend to get a little nervous when Google starts to do strange things. What really is their motive. What really is their ultimate goal. I've got my tin foil hat, do you?

Google Are Hiring

It would seem that Google are once again hiring and looking for the brightest and talented individuals to join their company. While they claim to be the greatest company to work for, I'll reserve judgment for when I have the chance...

So according to the Ads placed at M.I.T, the image posted contains a phone number to call. If you can crack it... let me know ;)

No, Your Website Should Not Be Number One!

How many times have you been asked why a website is not at, "number one in Google?" Only to have a look at it and very quickly realise that the site has some very simple yet huge flaws. I guess the easiest answer to this one is, "while your product may be the best (or at least you think it is), if you don't explain this to Google (I'll include the other engines too) it'll never know."

If the site is made up entirely of flash (and no it's still not being indexed properly), even if it is beautiful, you'll not be found. If the search engines aren't able to find the individual pages... you'll not be found. If you think you've been clever and copied a competitor - because they're number one... you'll not be found, ever!

Ah, so this brings me to the next question how do I get to number one in Google? My stock standard answer to this one is, "If I knew that answer Google would pay me an awful lot to say nothing!"

But the reality is the answer is much longer. We do know how to get to the top of Google. It's the sum of several factors and then some. But while some still punt the magic bullet that is search engine submissions and guaranteed number one spots the rest of us will just have to keep on telling folk that their site simply doesn't deserve to be number one in Google.

But... I'll can certainly show you how you can get a lot closer.

Google and More Antitrust Issues

The Italian government is currently checking Google for antitrust violations. Several newspapers in Italy are claiming that when they told Google not to list their content on Google News, Google also delisted their results from the rest of the Google search engine.

Google have been called a scraper among other things. But looks like the news industry have had a lot more to say on the matter than many other industries. But could that be because print media is dying off? It seems that they won't go with out a fight.

While it hasn't been proven that Google did actually delist these sites I don't see what the problem is really. Much like Microsoft having to remove IE from Windows. Why? Don't get me wrong, I'm really not a fan of either of these companies, but it's their index/OS, so let them do what they want. If you don't like it, don't support them. As an end user it's that simple. If they really are a monopoly, then let the government take care of it... (yeah, I know can't really rely on them)

While I don't really see the problem, I'm going to hope that Google do feel the hard end of that stick. If only to feel what it's like when everyone want's your blood - kinda like they did to Microsoft (payback's a bitch - ain't it?).

Google OS

Well it's hot news right now, trending at Number 1 on Twitter, Google have announced that they are going to be introducing the Google Chrome OS. Yay... or perhaps not?

*Okay, a quick disclaimer, I'm not a Google Fanboy. I do believe them to be evil and slowly we're all letting them take over the world.*

Okay, so that said. This is fantastic news for those in the netbook industry. Not only do these products need to be cheaper, the need to be running on fewer resources. In theory then, why not simply build a system that requires most of the hard processing to be done by another machine? The internet allows exactly that to happen. With the multitude of other free offerings from Google (like Maps, Docs and Gmail to name a few) you already have a good deal of what you already need by simply logging into your Google account. Could this be an on boot setting?

Okay, all that excitement. Should Microsoft be worried? I wouldn't think so right now. While they've not exactly set the world alight with their netbook offerings (I believe this to be the most competitive market at this time) I think they're more interested in what Google will offer than fear what they will offer at this time.

One part that kind of makes me wonder however is, "How will Google make money out of this deal?" Well if you're doing all of your computing online then you'll need to have a steady stream of ads, right? Google are an advertising company the bottom line is how they show a profit.

I'd turn this about and argue that they can't really create a true OS. If they did, they would once again offer choices to the user. Choice of programs they run, perhaps Open Office? Choice of Browser, perhaps Internet Explorer. But more importantly and even while you have a browser you'll always (we hope) have this choice, the choice in search engine, perhaps Ask.com. You see, if you automatically log into Google, all of those products offered by Google offer Google Search (that's a lot of Google).

Oh... and isn't locking your browser into your OS a bit of a problem? Okay, I know that there are many legal points there that I no doubt just don't get... and personally I think Microsoft should have won that one. I don't see Google offering a full OS for that reason.

There are tons of pro's and con's at this time for both Windows (Gasp! yes... that's right pro's too) and another type of OS. But if I were Microsoft I would simply keep working on Windows7 and IE8. Bing has already impressed me, so I'm really expecting much from them this time round - the first time in a very, very... long time!

The battle may not yet have begun, but have the Chrome Wars just started?

Cuil, Remember Them?

Hey, finally some news on Cuil, you remember Cuil don't you? The Google killers with the largest database of indexed pages in the world. Oh... not? Don't worry, I'd forgotten about them entirely too. Especially after the recent re-branding of MSN and Live search to Bing (which I'm am quite fond of).

Well it seems that Cuil have decided that it's time to innovate. As reported by Matt McGee on Search Engine Land - it would seem that Cuil have now added Maplines to their search results. This makes for a much more interesting results page as displayed in a search for George Orwell.

While Google keep the monopoly on simple search, could it be that the other providers have decided that if you can't beat them, start a new game? Ask.com brought out their 3D search (which has faded away), Microsoft eventually consolidated everything into Bing which is a lot more interactive, even offering a blurb on sites and now Cuil change it up a little. I can't help but feel sorry for Yahoo! as they really are lagging now (dead duck or just lame I wonder). I don't see people changing their search habits anytime soon, but the internet changes pretty quickly, what will Google do to counter this?

Is Google Evil?

"Do no evil"

"In business, evil refers to unfair or unethical business practices. Firms that have a monopoly are often able to maintain the monopoly using tactics that are deemed unfair, and monopolies have the power to set prices at levels which are not socially efficient. Some people therefore consider monopolies to be evil. Economists do not generally consider monopolies to be 'evil' though they recognize that certain business practices by monopolies are often not in the public interest." - Wikipedia

Are Google a monopoly? I'd say yes. By definition (on Wikipedia - so take it with a pinch of salt) that would mean that Google are indeed Evil.

Google have often been said to "do no evil". Promoting free access to information for all. Arguing that ISP's shouldn't limit access to information. While I'm all for a free and fair internet and information at my fingertips, I am concerned at what the cost of "free" is. Power corrupts... absolute power corrupts absolutely.

"There are no free lunches!"

Or so I'm told. So if they aren't charging me money for this service what is the cost really? I came across an interesting article on "The Plot to Kill Google" - the real Google killers (so much for cuil - anyone heard of them since their launch?). However many do have compelling arguments as to why Google shouldn't be trusted.

While all of that is a good decent argument, I guess one should be pleased that someone is trying to monitor Google's activities.

On the other hand, it could be worse: Google Press Release
Okay so those are just for humor's sake. But imagine if they were actually true. Which is more evil. I guess we'll just have to keep an eye on the almighty Google for now.

By the way, all information was found searching with Ask.com

Google AdWords

Well, Google have done it again. Upgraded another great service. Only problem I see however is that with each and every update the service comes to a crawl.

Google AdWords have now had yet another update. The interface while more appealing and easier on the eye has gone the same way of the Analytics. Only problem is now it takes about 5 times longer for me to load. I think Google have forgotten that we in South Africa just don't have the connection speeds that Europe or North America do. A pity because when running multiple accounts it seems that things simply aren't working at times.

Okay the "previous interface" is available, for now. And while the "New Interface(Beta)" is still in Beta, why do they default to it. I guess with the enforced changes and updates of other popular sites such as Facebook. But possibly the most annoying thing for me at this time... the horizontal scroll! I've always hated it, always will! Okay so it overlaps just slightly, I still need to scroll to confirm the average position of the ads.

Google please offer those of us that have poor connections to view the older versions of these services. Yes, I know that we may even be missing out on some functionality, but at the end of the day I'd rather have limited functionality than none at all.

April Fools

Well the 1st of April has come and gone. Many tried to play pranks, some tried to avoid them and no doubt many are still claiming that they weren't fooled but were simply playing along ;) right...

Sometimes however fact really is stranger than fiction. But not with the addition of CADIE. This Panda was going to revolutionize many Google products by quietly doing all the mundane chores that you don't like. Removing red-eye from Picassa or answering email on your behalf. The actual homepage for CADIE was amusing, it looked like something from GeoCities, or pretty much anything designed (if you call it that?) in the late 90's early 2000's. Bright, in your face and flashing every little available pixel.

On the flip side... Google now announce that they are due to cut some 200 jobs. I guess it's not always fun and games - even at Google.

Barry Schwartz, an avid Mac fan, of Search Engine Round Table even found time to set up the BSOD for Windows visitors. Ha... Although I can say I've been working on this machine for almost 2 years and never had a BSOD - I can't believe it myself ;)

Google Code

Telling Google what to index might not be a figment of webmasters imagination for that much longer. I recently came across a few lines of code explaining that you can tell Google not to index parts of your page. This could prove to be quite useful.

Don't index word:
fish <!--googleoff: index-->shark
<!--googleon: index-->mackerel

Don't use link text to describe target page:
<!--googleoff: anchor--><A href=sharks_rugby.html>
shark </A> <!--googleon: anchor-->

Don't use for snippet:
<!--googleoff: snippet-->Come to the fair!
<!--googleon: snippet-->

Don't index any:
<!--googleoff: all-->Come to the fair!
<!--googleon: all-->

Now I'm not sure if any of this works just yet. I'm still testing, but I imagine that Google will for the most part ignore these comments. We know that the Google bot pretty much tries to read all the code on a page including scripts. But if the snippet comment works at least we might be able to use a description that might be useful.

Watch this space...

Too Cuil for You

Well it's been some time since the Google killer Cuil was launched and I've not heard much since. Launched to much fanfare and expectation I think this has to be the largest flop seen in years. I wonder just how much was put into this development in time and money? I wonder if any of the investors would be getting anything back?

As I've not used this search engine (mostly as I found it to be useless at launch) I can't comment too much on the accuracy of the search results but do know that the images displayed still don't quite match up. Nice try though. I think Google, Ask and even Live have better image results blended into their universal search.

Perhaps in time they will be able to make sense of "the largest directory of indexed pages". But for now the results seem to be outdated, irrelevant and at times just wrong. Was this what we expected of the ex-Googlers? Perhaps this is a prime example of why they are Ex Google folk?

SEO in a Nutshell

SEO in a Nutshell... an optimised website aimed at pleasing the search engines to gain the best possible placing in the SERPS (Search Engine Results Pages)for relevant and often searched words and phrases.

Go on, read that again...

According to Wikipedia:
(SEO) is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results. Typically, the higher a site's "page rank" (i.e, the earlier it comes in the search results list), the more visitors it will receive from the search engine.

Okay firstly never confuse that "page rank" with PageRank. Confused already? Don't worry, if you hear of anyone talking of PageRank (named after Larry Page Google co-founder) just ignore them. The only one who knows the true PageRank of any page (yes each page of a website gets its own PageRank) is the Googlebot. What is important is your position in the SERP's, to a degree.

As the search engines continue to try to provide the best possible (read most relevant) search results to each visitor, many searches using the same phrases may actually result in different results. This is usually due to geo-location, after all, if I were looking for my nearest fish and chip shop I would hope the search engine realises that I'm searching for a fish and chip shop in Westville, South Africa. Google have done a fantastic job with this by pretty much offering every country out there their very own version of Google. Often the searcher won't even realise that they are being routed to Google.co.za or Google.co.uk instead of Google.com. All 3 of those will return different results for the same search. It is now possible and quite probable that searches in the same country will return different results.

Enter SEO. While the goal remains to rank well and be found. The difficult part is ranking well for often searched terms that will actually lead to conversion. This means that the website needs to not only rank well but actually generate traffic that will eventually result in a sale, lead, sign up... or what ever the purpose of your website may be. With this in mind 10 converting visitors from 100 in total is better than 1 converting visitor from 1000 visitors. Quality is more important than the quantity of traffic.

Redefined: SEO is the practice of generating quality traffic to a website to increase business.