Monthly archive for February 2010
Is Google Caffeine MIA?
Posted Thursday 25th February 2010 by Ben J
The question on everyone’s lips in the SEO world at the moment is ‘where is Google Caffeine’? Announced in August, Caffeine was described as a large-scale change to the Google infrastructure and, naturally, there would be some testing required. In this regard, Google took the unprecedented step of allowing developers access to a sandboxed version of the algorithm so that they could test their results and positions. Many SEO specialists reported better results in the sandbox and were waiting with bated breath for it to go live and Matt Cutts wrote a blog post in November claiming that “the full Caffeine roll out will happen after the holidays”.
How Twitter Stats Compare To Facebook and Buzz
Posted Wednesday 24th February 2010 by Craig H
On Monday Twitter revealed how it has grown since 2007, and how much activity the social media service is seeing at the moment. There have been some reports that suggest usage of Twitter is waining, but Twitter’s own data tells a different story.
Twitter Activity Rates
It is problematic to compare activity on Twitter with runaway social media leader, Facebook – as well as Buzz – because the users carry out distinct actions on each platform. But the new data states that Twitter registers approximately 50 million tweets a day, which equates to 600 per second. This is compared to 700 Facebook status updates per second, and the most recent data from Buzz states there are 55 Buzz posts per second.
Google announces DoubleClick for Publishers
Posted Wednesday 24th February 2010 by Allison
Google has updated its DART for Publisher ad publishing platform and announced DoubleClick for Publishers. This new ad-serving technology is designed to help web publishers generate the most ad revenue possible from their online content through selling, managing, delivering and tracking directly and indirectly ads sold on their websites.
It will be divided into two parts; one version of DFP will be targeted at large corporations, and the other will target smaller businesses.
Future of SEO Depends on Mobile Technology
Posted Monday 22nd February 2010 by Kerry
Effective search engine optimisation has always been geared towards creating high quality relevant content to please both search engines and internet users; but with the evolution of search rapidly heading towards the use of touch screen mobile devices, the balance is shifting. SEO strategies are focussing more on user experience and that means that the way sites are developed will have to change with the mobile touch screen search platform in mind.
Google Buzz Privacy Storm
Posted Wednesday 17th February 2010 by Allison
Google has faced a storm of criticism since launching its networking service Buzz last week.
There has been much media hype about the privacy flaws in Buzz, including the fact that any user of Gmail joined Buzz automatically without being asked first whether they wanted to opt in, and were then linked to people that they emailed most frequently.
Criticisms of the service have included women claiming that abusive ex-husbands could now follow their every move online, and a US privacy watchdog group has lodged a complaint with US regulators because it says Buzz breaks consumer protection laws.
Kevin Smith’s Twitter Carries Too Much Weight For Southwest Air
Posted Tuesday 16th February 2010 by Ben J
If anyone in Hollywood knows how to leverage social media for their own nefarious ends, it’s indie supremo Kevin Smith. The writer/ director behind hits such as Clerks, Mallrats, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back and most recently Zack & Miri Make a Porno has over 1.6 million followers on Twitter and used the platform to express his displeasure at being ejected from a Southwest Airlines flight for being ‘too fat’.
Google Buzz: 5 Points For, 5 Points Against
Posted Friday 12th February 2010 by Craig H
Few of us in SEO or indeed any part of the internet marketing community can afford to miss the significance of Google’s foray into the world of social media with its Buzz platform. In this post we’ll summarize some of the main arguments for and against the new kid on the block that are currently popping up around the net. Buzz content is intended to be indexed by Google in search, so it is a hot topic among SEO specialists.
Google launches Google Buzz
Posted Wednesday 10th February 2010 by Allison
Google’s latest social network Google Buzz launched this week, pitching directly against popular rival sites Twitter and Facebook.
Google Buzz is directly integrated with Gmail and, although not yet available to all users, is expected to be rolled out into all accounts within a week. 
Buzz appears to be a hybrid of existing networking sites; there are the intimate networking facilities particular to Facebook which allow communication and sharing between those already connected to each other, and the mass-broadcast opportunities offered by Twitter.
PPC Back to Basics
Posted Friday 5th February 2010 by Neil E
It may seem slightly strange to backtrack and go back over the basics of Pay Per Click advertising but if you fail to get the basics right then you have no chance of achieving your set goals.
There are a number of companies that seem to instigate a Pay Per Click campaign without realising the extent of the commitment that you need to make. If you enter into anything half heartedly then you should be prepared to fail, you certainly shouldn’t expect to achieve the results you desired.
Microsoft Cha-ching; Less So For Bing
Posted Thursday 4th February 2010 by Craig H
The success of the Windows 7 Operating System is the main reason why Microsoft posted $19.02 Billion dollars of revenues this fiscal year – up 14 percent on the previous year’s 16.63 Billion turnover.
Bing Profits Down
The company’s Online Services division (which includes online advertising and Bing) made 581 million dollars compared to 609 million dollars in the previous year. Whilst these figures are perhaps not as desirable as they could be, Bing is nevertheless making steady gains in search market share. Recent high profile deals with HP, Dell and other brands, as well as Verizon (mobile) are impressive for their PR value, but they will make little in-roads into Google’s lofty position in both PC and mobile search.
