The SEO Blog

For 40 minutes today Google search users were unable to access search results due to ‘technical problems’.

During Saturday 31st January search results were flagged as potentially harmful and users were shown a message to warn them that the site “may harm your computer”.

Searchers that tried to click on the link they wanted were referred to another page that asked them to try another one.

The fault was diagnosed as a ‘human error’ and affected the Search Engine giant for about 40 minutes.

“What happened? Very simply, human error,” wrote Marissa Mayer, vice president, search products and user experience, on the Official Google Blog.

Google works closely with stopbadware.org to ascertain which sites install malicious software on people’s computers and merit a warning.Stopbadware.org investigates consumer complaints to decide which sites are dangerous.

The list of malevolent sites is regularly updated and handed to Google.

When Google updated the list on Saturday, it mistakenly flagged all sites as potentially dangerous.

“We will carefully investigate this incident and put more robust file checks in place to prevent it from happening again,” Ms Mayer wrote.

Link Building is a popular and rewarding activity in the world of Search Engine Optimisation. Deep Links are often given a higher value than home page links.  Here is why:

• You can target the specific keyword.  Usually your deeper pages will be more specific about the content you are communicating to your site visitor.  If Google knows about this page it will be able to give it a higher relevance.

• It is easier to push up your internal pages than a whole site.  If you are promoting many products or services then its easier to push single pages than the whole site under the umbrella of the home page.

• Overcrowding the home page with links isn’t good practice.  It looks ugly as well.

• Site Visitors get to your home page by typing in your publicised URL.  Let them find deeper content through Google’s search.  It’s quicker for them and they don’t have to wear their mouse buttons out doing so.

• The inner pages are usually more relevant so point people at them from external sources.

With any link building process anchor text is key for both internal and external links.   Make sure that the anchor text is relevant.

So, on your next link building campaign, why not consider linking back to the deeper pages on your site.  You will see a difference.

Domain names are often a hot topic of discussion when it comes to Search Engine Optimisation.

Generally speaking, a domain name that contains keywords will help give the site a rankings boost.  This is similar to the fact that web pages with relevant names (i.e. those that have keywords in the actual name of the page) will help.

Again, with all things SEO, you should always consider your site visitors first.  What do I mean by this?  Basically, don’t cram your domain name full of keywords if it doesn’t make sense or relate to your products and services.   Keep it short and concise like www.london-hotels.co.uk

Speaking of London hotels (and having just been there for a short break myself) this is the perfect example of how the domain name plays an important part in rankings.  Go ahead, type in ‘London hotels’ into Google.  What do you see?

There are always going to be people out there, both SEO’s and non SEO’s who will debate the fact that a domain name isn’t that important, and on it’s own I would probably agree.  However, used as a single cog in the SEO machine it can play a very powerful part in the SEO journey.

What do you think about the importance of domain names in SEO?  Discuss….

We (well, Ian) were recently asked to submit some SEO information for an article written by Figaro Digital.  Although this isn’t the finished article (we are hoping for a copy of that during February) here is a snapshot of what we said…

Q. What do you believe to be the current SEO ‘hot topic’?

It can sometimes be difficult to keep on top of the latest SEO trends if you don’t eat, sleep and drink Search Engine Optimisation.  We believe that Web Site content will always be the primary topic for SEO, afterall, Google wants to direct people to relevant web sites based on their search criteria.  The next biggest ‘tick’ on our SEO list is building up awareness of your site through social content sites such as Digg, Mixx and stumble.

Q. What do you think 2009 (and the future) holds for SEO? Do you predict any trends?

2009 is going to be an interesting year.  Late on in 2008, Google introduced the Search Wiki facility to their search results.  The search Wiki enables Google users to re-order search results, essentially putting their favourite sites at the top of their results.  This means that, for all the SEO in the world, the SERP becomes irrelevant.  It should be noted though that the Search Wiki is only activated when a search user has a Google account and is logged in .

Q. Do you believe this to be the year of mobile and/or local search?

For smaller businesses local search is now becoming an important part of their marketing plan.  Over the last few years many businesses have struggled to promote themselves effectively.  SEO has been somewhat ‘ignored’ by smaller businesses as they often thought they would be overshadowed by the larger companies with a huge marketing budget, but research shows that more and more people are being more specific with their search phrases and these include areas or regions such as “Staffordshire Plumber”.

Q. Would you agree with those that say ranking is a thing of the past and that the future of SEO is universal search?

Universal Search was introduced by Google in 2007 and is a system that blends results from its news, video, images, local and book search engines among those it gathers from crawling web pages.  What we are finding is that more and more businesses are turning to new media formats to promote themselves on the web.  Gone are the days of just having a web site with text, images, flash and PDFs.  Ready-made audiences on sites such as YouTube are being utilised to capture peoples imagination and Universal Search plays an important part in crawling this material and listing it if relevant to the search criteria.  However, this doesn’t mean that ranking is dead.  A web site with a high page rank, therefore classed as relevant and popular, is equaly as important when it comes to the Google Searches, however Google uses Page Rank as just one of many factors when indexing your web site.

Q.  In your opinion, has Google’s trademark policy overhaul had as bigger effect as people first thought?

Google has become ‘the brand’ when it comes to search, and its amazing to see the referall figures for web sites when it comes to analysis.    In 2008 Google was reported to have an all time high 76% of the search market I the UK.  It is also claimed that it will have a 90% market share one year from now, something that no search engine has ever acheived.   Google has become, and is becoming, bigger than anyone ever expected and to add to this, it is becoming more and more important in the world of targetted marketing.

Q. Do you believe SEO will become, if it isn’t considered so already, a prominent digital marketing medium? Do you think, this year, SEO will become more or less prominent than in previous years?

The big industry players have been using SEO as a successful marketing tool for many years.  Examples of this are Internet based businesses such as Amazon and Play.com.  SEO is now bringing advantages and benefits to smaller businesses through Local Search and in the current global financial climate SEO could make or break many businesses.

Q. Do you think the current economic climate will effect how SEO is used? For example, do you think search will become more price sensitive?

Absolutely, Yes.  Internet based companies have proven that they can offer cheaper prices that bricks and mortar stores, and therefore have become more successful than their high street counterparts.  The demise of UK high street stores has shown that not having an Internet presence can be fatal.  Of course just having a web site is only the start, and that is where SEO comes in.  SEO not only helps people find a web site.  It begins with researching the performance of key words to actually help drive relevant traffic to your site.    We have seen many price comparison web sites appear over the years, mainly with insurance and utility companies all trying to get the attention of the next potential sale.

Q. Do you think SEO is, and will continue to be, an ever-changing field, which is only ever going to get more complicated?

Google has evolved massively over the last 5 years and as research continues into Search trends it will continue to change.    To remain a market leader in Search, Google has to make sure that it is delivering content to its search community that is relevant and trust worthy and to do that it has to change with the times.

Naturally this can make life difficult for SEO’s, and it highlights the impotance of staying of top of tools and techniques to achieve the best possible search position for your site(s)

Q. What do you consider to be the advantages and / or disadvantages of SEO?  Do you see SEO acting as an effective/ineffective marketing strategy for 2009?

SEO is vital to any business with an Internet presence, and indeed will prove to be vital for anyone considering an presence on the web.  Over the last 12 months we have seen an SEO project literally save a businesses from going under.

Like any marketing strategy though it shouldn’t be considered as a quick single fix to all your problems.  SEO can take time (the biggest disadvantage if the client’s expectations are not managed by the SEO), no particular position can ever be gauranteed and search algorhytms do change.  It’s not a short-term task; it’s a long-term commitment both on the part of the SEO and the businesses that hire them.

Of course, some of the above is simply matter of opinion.  Maybe you don’t agree, or have different ideas?  Discuss……