Seizing the opportunity June 2, 2006

 

The Value of Expired Domains June 2, 2006

 

From the Search Engine Roundtable:

"One practice used by search engine optimization companies that has remained relatively below the radar is the purchase of expired domains with good inbound links that are still active. The general theory is that the Google PageRank is still "alive," meaning that it is not only visible through the toolbar representation but actually still counting in the Google ranking algorithm results of that particular URL."

I couldn't agree more, and in fact have been predicting the sale of such domains for the last three years or so. Apparently no-one was listening!

But as the Search Engine Roundtable commentary notes, if or when it becomes successful, the engines (aka Google) will stamp on it more or less immediately.

Need I say it again. Tricks don't work.

Usually.

Expired Domains and Their Link Building Value

 

Optional AdWords notifications June 2, 2006

 

From Inside AdWords:

"As an Inside AdWords blog reader, you're likely looking for tips and updates about AdWords, but have you ever wished that this information was more tailored to your account? If so, you may want to consider signing up for a few of our AdWords Notifications located in the Account Preferences section of the My Account tab."

My first reaction on reading this was "great"! But when you take a look at the available notifications, you'll see one glaring omission.

New features.

I recently complained that Google AdWords never mention their new features, and said that I would try to do so.

Well I've done one better. With the use of NotePage Software's excellent FeedForAll software, we've now setup an RSS feed that will detail all of the AdWords changes that we happen upon, along with our own commentary, based on our experiences.

Note that there will only be postings as and when new information becomes available.

Google AdWords News XML feed

Google AdWords Changes HTML page

 

Forget JPEG - welcome WDP June 5, 2006

 

From UK based The Register:

"Microsoft is making a pitch for the jpeg picture market with a rival Windows Media Photo format which will be supported in Windows Vista and made available for XP users.

The new format was revealed in crisp detail yesterday at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference in Seattle, where Windows Media Photo program manager Bill Crow showed a pic at 24:1 compression that "visibly contained more detail in the Windows Media Photo format than the JPEG and JPEG 2000 formats compressed at the same level".

24:1?

I'm impressed.

About time a new digital format came along. But if it catches on, how long will it take before we start seeing the format on digital cameras? The hardware manufacturers will be watching this with interest. So should software developers.

Microsoft reveals rival to jpeg

 

New browser wars ahead? June 5, 2006

 

ars technica write on the forthcoming IE 7:

"After years of letting Internet Explorer 6 languish with no new development, prompting criticism from both outside and inside the company, Microsoft promised that they would shift their priorities and deliver a steady stream of updates to their venerable browser."

All very well and good, but is this going to prove to be too late?

I haven't seen the existing beta yet, but my understanding is that aside from security, the main new feature is tabs. Er... how many years has Opera been going for? Does the name Firefox ring any bells?

There's no doubt that Microsoft have clout like no-one else, but time is against them. Every single day that Firefox and Opera users continue to use their browsers of choice makes it less likely that they'll change. Aside from the early adopters, the majority of users will stick with what they're already using, unless there's a very compelling reason for them to move. Everything I read suggests that IE 7 just isn't compelling enough.

Microsoft preps IE 7 Beta 3 for August

 

Usability - discuss June 5, 2006

 

Thanks to the Search Engine Roundtable for some useful links to "thought provoking discussions on web design and programming that meet human requirements":

Features don't matter anymore, Welcome to the Age of User Experience

Contextual Usability?

Should links still be underlined and blue?

Happy reading.

Officer Usability and General SEO

 

ClickTracks Appetizer - Web Analytics Day June 7, 2006

 

Regular readers of this blog will have heard me praise ClickTracks before. It's head and shoulders above any other log analysis tool, and believe me I've worked with a few over the years!

Their free version, ClickTracks Appetizer, isn't a trial version, but is instead a stripped down version of their main product. However, on June 8th, ClickTracks will turn on additional advanced features in Appetizer, that coincide with their current instruction topic. See below.

So on Thursday, Appetizer users will have full use of features including the funnel report, robot report, campaign report, advanced labelling and more. And the icing on the cake? This month the funnel report will be available for seven days after the Web Analytics Day.

So if you're not already using a version of ClickTracks, now is the time to do so. And set some time aside on Thursday. Lots of it.

As for the instruction topic, ClickTracks offer regular free online classes. Well worth a look.

The more cynical are probably wondering what the catch is. There's no such thing as a free lunch, right? Right. But there is such a thing as a free snack, and the fact is that you can fill yourself up on free snacks just fine.

The catch doesn't exist, but the product serves as very effective bait. And believe me this bait tastes good!

Online Classes

ClickTracks Appetizer

 

Google Spreadsheets June 7, 2006

 

Yes, Google have put together another new tool, and this time it's a web-based spreadsheet application. Online, the consensus seems to be: Microsoft won't be happy. As CNET News puts it:

"As the pieces come together, there's little doubt that Google is quietly providing Web-based versions of the Office applications upon which Microsoft has built an empire."

The initial reviews suggest that this is an excellent tool for new users of spreadsheet programs who have no need to for advanced features, and who don't want to pay for software. According to certain analysts, Microsoft has no reason to be worried, because hardcore Excel users won't abandon ship.

Not yet, anyway.

Google guns for Microsoft

 

Firefox extensions June 7, 2006

 

Using Firefox without taking advantage of the many excellent extensions that are available is a little like, well, driving a car in first gear. You might eventually get to where you're going, but it's not going to be quick and you won't enjoy the experience.

About.com have put together a list of their own top ten extensions. I can't say that I use all of them, but I'm going to have a look later and see if they're right for me.

Personally, I love Jill Whalen's Favorite Firefox Extensions (and use most of them), but some of them might be a bit too SEO-related for the average user.

Either way, explore those extensions - you won't regret it.

(PS: I still use Maxthon most of the time, but Firefox is great for certain tasks. Just in case you're wondering.)

The Top Ten Best Firefox Extensions

 

Download Windows Vista June 9, 2006

 

You probably know this already, but the Beta 2 is now available for public download. You might want to check the Get Ready page first, and then follow the links from there.

Get ready - download Vista

 

A tool for the long tail June 9, 2006

 

In the most recent issue of our newsletter, we wrote about the long tail and why less popular but more targeted keywords can be so valuable.

Well, the people over at Connors Communications have put together a tool that's supposed to help you identify your long tail keywords so that you can use them to bring in even more traffic.

Have I tried it? No, but it looks interesting. Of course, you could also just use a web analytics program, look at the smaller keywords that are bringing you traffic, and put together your own list. If My Long Tail works, it simply saves you the extra step, as far as I can tell.

My Long Tail

 

No more features, please June 9, 2006

 

I really like this little article. It's not exactly new or groundbreaking, but it is crisp, clear and to the point. What's it all about? The age of the user experience, where features matter less than how the user feels when using the product. The 10 fundamental rules include "More features isn't better, it's worse", because "only nerds get a kick out of reading feature lists".

Harsh, perhaps, but well worth a read. Next time you're thinking about adding that cool new feature to your application, why not rethink it and polish what's already there?

Why features don't matter anymore

 

3D monitors arrive June 12, 2006

 

Forget flat screen - the future is three dimensional, apparently. Several different companies are already manufacturing and selling monitors that provide a 3D viewing experience - and with some of them, you don't even need to wear those silly glasses.

Fascinating. There are photos, too, if you're interested.

Forget the glasses--3D monitors ready now

 

More instant messaging attacks June 12, 2006

 

According to an article on ClickZ, attacks on IM clients have increased significantly as more and more businesses begin to use them. In May, traffic on IM clients increased by 138 percent - and the number of attacks went up by 500 percent.

""What we are seeing is the ongoing trend that we observed through all of last year, that the bad guys are more and more using IM to deliver spyware, worms, and viruses," said Andrew Lochart, senior director of marketing at Postini."

Worth keeping in mind, methinks.

IM Attacks Rise

 

More Vista June 12, 2006

 

Have you been playing around with Vista yet? Or did you decide to spend the weekend outside, enjoying the sunshine? Well, either way, if you want to read more about Vista, CNET News have put together a nice collection of articles on the subject ranging from "Now the testing really begins" to "Microsoft goes comic route with Vista".

If you've still not had enough, this is the place to go.

Putting Vista to the test

 

What makes each engine tick June 14, 2006

 

Aaron Wall of SEO Book has put together a nice long article which takes you through the different preferences of the top four search engines: Google, Yahoo, MSN and Ask. If you've been tearing your hair out because you rank well on one but not on the others, you might just find the answers you're looking for here (answers, but not necessarily a perfect solution!).

It's a very long article, but the brief version at the beginning is very good. Essentially, Aaron says that Google is the leader when it comes to deciding who's relevant and who's a spammer (no surprises there), Yahoo is reasonable but still vulnerable to link spamming, MSN is easy to rank at and manipulate, and Ask has such a limited share of the market that they're not worth spending much time on.

I agree. But go ahead and read the whole thing, it's very interesting.

Defining Search Engine Relevancy - 2006

 

Google photo publishing June 14, 2006

 

Google is set to launch a new Picasa feature that lets you share and organize approximately 1000 "wallpaper-sized" photos on the web (with the option of paid upgrades). To begin with, this will only be available to a limited number of Gmail account holders (sign up now and it might be you!), but you won't need to Gmail to view the photos.

I hope it will take off. If it's faster than Flickr, I'll probably like it.

Picasa Web Albums

 

What time is it? June 14, 2006

 

A cool new (or at least, reasonably recent) Google feature that is likely to prove useful for most of you. You know how you're always trying to work out what time it is in different parts of the world, because you're phoning someone in Sydney/Chicago/Copenhagen and you don't want to wake them up? Well, Google has made it ridiculously easy. Just type "time in Sydney" in the search box and you'll see the answer instantly.

I love it.

Google shortcut for time

 

Google listens to your TV? June 16, 2006

 

In the future, you might be able to connect your TV to your computer, let Google listen in to your choice of program, and show you targeted adverts and information.

Shudder.

Is it just me, or is that only one step removed from plugging yourself into both appliances, sit back, and let any information "that might interest you" wash over you for ever and ever.

Maybe it's because it's Friday and I'm fed up, but this idea holds no appeal whatsoever.

Google listens to screen routine

 

Corn Flakes from Amazon June 16, 2006

 

It's June, but I thought this was an April Fool's joke when I saw it. Amazon is launching an online grocery store - yes, seriously. On their site, they make their intentions clear:

"At Amazon Grocery, you'll find longtime staples, from Kellogg's to Jiffy Pop. You'll find new entries, such as Kashi cereals and Kraft Easy Mac microwavable snack packets. And when we carry a brand, we'll try to carry every flavor available: not just the most popular flavors of Jell-O, but all flavors, from apricot to wild strawberry and the 70 flavors in-between."

Jiffy Pop? Easy Mac? Jell-O? If these indeed are edible products, I'm guessing this grocery thing will only be available in the states, for now.

There's an article about this new Amazonian adventure on Ars Technica, and I was surprised to read a statement about how online grocery shopping is likely to give people flashbacks of failed experiments like Webvan. I assume this means that online grocery shopping still has a long way to go in the US? Odd, because in the UK there are a number of different alternatives - we use Ocado all the time, and it's remarkably easy and reliable.

Amazon launches online grocery store

 

Ad Scheduling in Google AdWords June 16, 2006

 

Did you know that you can now schedule when your ads will be displayed in Google AdWords?

If not, then you're probably not subscribed to our Google AdWords News feed.

There's also an HTML version for those of you who haven't yet embraced the warm, fuziness of RSS.

 

Personalisation and the art of making money June 16, 2006

 

We recently signed up a new client for our long term services. During our initial phone consultation, he mentioned that he had explored our website, and really liked the look of what we had to offer, our testimonials, and how we do business.

He also mentioned that when he found our About page, the information there persuaded him that we were the right people. Why? It could have been my debonair good looks, and the fact that they are clearly starting to rub off on Aaron and Karin. Or it could have been the personalisation.

He specifically pointed out that he liked putting faces to the names, and that the little pieces of personal information made us all seem more human. If only he knew.

Karin has been pushing personalisation for quite some time now, and she clearly hit the nail on the head. I myself have always known that the principle was an important one, but have never had such concrete proof. Solid evidence in the hand, or more precisely in the bank account.

In our Competitive Edge newsletter we always finish each issue with a less serious "On a lighter note" section, that also includes a little more of my (insert your adjective of choice) personality. More than a few people have commented on this, and it clearly goes down well.

Business doesn't have to mean a dry, bland, plastic-edged lack of character. A little bit of personalisation can go a long way.

 

Google payments? June 19, 2006

 

This is something people have been anticipating for a while already, but it looks as if it's finally being tested. On Thursday, Google declared that they are now trying out a system that will speed up online purchases, but that is targeted at advertisers rather than general consumers.

They've not exactly been generous with information, other than saying that "it's not like PayPal at all".

It'll be interesting to see how this shapes up.

Google tests online payment system

 

Dmoz difficulties June 19, 2006

 

Many people are having trouble getting their sites listed in Dmoz - it's frustrating, but there doesn't seem to be much you can do about it. You submit your site, then you wait, and wait, and wait. At the end of all that waiting, you still might not be listed.

Luckily, there are some things you can do to increase your chances. Now, don't get too excited - most of them are fairly obvious, but this article from ISEDB might be worth a read anyway, particularly if you're getting really bored by all the waiting, or if you're thinking about submitting a new site.

Personally, I think the best piece of advice is this: "The editors at dmoz have told me that people should submit their site and forget it."

Annoying, but oh-so-true.

Getting listed in DMOZ. Not as easy as we'd like it to be.

 

Google fooled by spammy new site June 21, 2006

 

This is a story that is making waves on the web. A three-week old Moldovian site with content that consisted purely of scraped copy and PPC ads managed to get five billion pages indexed and ranked on Google. That's right, three weeks old, and five BILLION spammy pages.

It seems to have worked quite well, too, because Alexa took notice and ranked it among the 2,000 highest traffic sites on the web.

What makes this particularly interesting is that although Yahoo and MSN also fell for this tricky, they didn't fall anywhere near as badly as Google. MSN only indexed 62 pages, compared to Google's five billion (if that figure doesn't strike you as impressive, John Battelle points out that this was the entire size of the Google index just over a year ago).

You may have come across these pages, too - they had weird URLs stuffed with numbers and letters. They've since been removed from the Google indexed, but you can only wonder about the amount of money that was made before that happened.

How Billions of Bogus Pages Undermine Search Engines, Advertisers and The Web

 

Cold and quick June 21, 2006

 

Scientists in the US recently demonstrated the world's fastest silicon-based microchip, which can operate at speeds up to 500 gigahertz. That's right, five hundred. Impressive.

Tricky to reproduce in a home environment, though, since they had to use liquid helium to super-cool the chip in order to break the world record.

Nevertheless, the scientists are hoping that this could eventually speed up wireless networks.

Cool.

Chilly chip shatters speed record

 

Weekend warning June 23, 2006

 

It's Friday - if any of you are planning on roaming the open plains with your mobile phone to your ear this weekend, keep an eye out for thunderclouds. An article on the BBC says that mobile phones can lead lightning current directly through your body.

"If you're struck by lightning on its own it will flash over your body but if you're holding a phone it will internalise and cause much worse injuries."

Ouch. Stay off your phones this weekend.

Mobile phone risk during storms

 

Google and Adobe, yawn June 23, 2006

 

The latest in a looong series of Google "relationships", they have now signed an agreement with Adobe to distribute the Google Toolbar with the Macromedia Shockwave Player.

The agreement also states that the toolbar will be offered as part of other Adobe product installations in the future.

I'm not sure that I like all this Google force-feeding. People started using Google because they provided the best search results, and that's why they're still at the top today. If someone wants the Google toolbar, it's not exactly difficult to get hold of - they seem to be pushing it on their homepage every other day, too. Do we really need to have it thrown at us from every conceivable direction? I think not.

Google, you're starting to bore me.

Adobe Signs Multi-Year Distribution Agreement with Google

 

Google currency check June 23, 2006

 

A while ago, we showed you how to check what time it is in different parts of the world with the help of Google. Today, we learned that you can do the same thing with currencies - and we think you'll find this every bit as useful as we did.

Want to know how much a $100 is in UK pounds? Just Google it.

Brilliant. Thanks to Tim Hodgson for the tip!

 

Maxthon, the Chinese choice June 26, 2006

 

Regular readers of this blog will know that Maxthon is my browser of choice, mainly because I love how easy it makes tabbed browsing. What I didn't know was that it's also hugely popular in China, but for an entirely different reason. CNET News reports:

"[Maxthon] has attracted millions of users in China for functionality that can funnel traffic through a Web proxy and circumvent government controls on information in search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN, Baidu.com and other popular sites or Internet service providers in that country."

Interesting - but it's worth noting that this is not a feature that Maxthon actively promotes, simply a shortcut that has spread among Chinese surfers.

I was also pleased to hear that Maxthon are releasing a new version this summer, which will include a picture-in picture feature similar to that of some TVs, enabling you to browse several sites in parallel. Very cool.

No, we're not affiliated with Maxthon in any way - I just happen to think it's the best browser out there! And believe me I've tried a few!

Maxthon: China's hip browser

 

People ignore banner ads - no, really June 26, 2006

 

ClickZ is reporting on a new eye-tracking study which has discovered that website visitors avoid viewing banner ads. Naming it "banner blindness", the study claims that people simply ignore bright flashing ads and other irrelevant content.

I think anyone who's attempted a banner ad campaign in recent years would have been more than happy to tell them that, without the help of any eye-tracking. The (lack of) results speak for themselves.

However, what I found interesting was this part of the article:

"Though the eye-tracking study casts doubt on banners, it supports the effectiveness of one category: search. "People do look at sponsored links on search pages and images on search pages," said Pernice Coyne. "They really look for words that match what they are searching for."

Again, I could have told them that - but it's nice to have a study that backs up my own findings!

Research: Internet Users Plagued by 'Banner Blindness'

 

Interested in Office 2007? June 28, 2006

 

You can now take it for a "test drive". Microsoft have released a quasi-web-enabled version of Office 2007 that runs within a browser, giving you a chance to try it our without installing the beta.

Cool. And people are eager to try it, too - apparently the waiting time was 150 minutes yesterday. At the time of writing this, however, there was no problem, probably because everyone is asleep in the US.

Microsoft launches online Office 2007 preview

 

Google feeling the heat June 28, 2006

 

Have you been noticing a decline in the quality of Google search results lately? I myself have noticed an increase in the number of spam results (and I use Google a LOT), although our own rankings remain more or less where they have been for a long time.

And the masses are starting to grumble. The gist of the grumble seems to be something along these lines:

"Why the &/¤#"& are Google so busy pushing out new products when their search results are getting worse by the day?"

Last week, we told you about the spammy site that managed to get five billion pages indexed in Google in only three weeks. That's part of what's making people angry, even though Google have tried to explain it away by claiming that it was simply "tied to a data push".

Of course, the problem is that there are no great alternatives to Google. As one angry commenter put it :

"Google's search is nearing pathetic. Their only saving grace is that everyone else's search is even more pathetic."

I think this is a movement that will grow, and I think Google had better get their act together and turn some of their focus back on what they do best - search.

Everything is Broken

 

TuCows weigh in! June 30, 2006

 

At least I know that someone's reading this blog.

Bob Gibson from TuCows emailed in, after reading our People ignore banner ads - no, really entry from a few days ago.

Bob was very agitated. Okay, not really. If you've met Bob you'll probably find it hard to picture him really agitated. But he did disagree with a number of the issues that I raised, and as someone who works on the other side of the fence (in terms of advertising), I'm always interested to hear what he thinks.

Even if he disagrees with me :-)

Bob's point/s?

"Banner Blindness on "Smiley Offers, Punch The Monkey and all that garbage exists BUT if the offer and call to action is relevant and compelling the ROI for the advertiser can be VERY strong."

Fair enough. Perhaps I'm a little guilty of over generalising. Ironic, when statements such as "Google AdWords doesn't work" and "marketing is a waste of time" raise my blood pressure so much. I take his point.

"If the ROI for a banner campaign is what you describe above we would not be sold out every month on all our key Home Page and Windows Download Library inventory. Eye tracking sounds like an interesting measurement but it pales in comparison to measuring the cost per lead and cost per sale that banners generate."

Good point.

"I think you will find if you ask any of the key players (your clients) in the shareware space who "get it" a properly measured banner campaign is an excellent compliment to a CPC search campaign on Google or Yahoo."

Okay, okay. You win. I agree.

Bob - I'm sorry. You're right. Banner advertising can work. It's all about location and placement.

By the way, you may want to take him up on the following offer:

"I would be happy to assist any of your clients find positive ROI with a well rounded campaign of search keywords AND banners. ;-)"

He also linked to an interesting podcast on how to go about advertising shareware

Interview with Bob Gibson and Greg Weir, Tucows Content Division

 

Google AdWords changes galore June 30, 2006

 

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you'll already know that I have mixed feelings when it comes to Google AdWords. I think the concept is superb, the execution slick, and the results achieved worth every cent and minute spent. But I have more grievances with their interface than time to list them, and think that their new features are often to confuse account holders as much as help them.

The latest change is a classic example.

What's actually been changed?

Any of the long awaited features that account holders have been asking for? No.

Any bugs and/or minor irritations been addressed or fixed? No.

Better performance? No.

Any new features at all? No.

To see exactly what has been changed, you should subscribe to our Google AdWords News feed:

Google AdWords News Feed.

An HTML version is also available here:

HTML version of Google AdWords News.

But the principle of what has been done bothers me. Again.

For a long time I've held the view that Google don't want their advertisers to get too comfortable with the system. The more people know how to work it, the less they have to spend on their advertising. You don't need to be a genius to work out that this may not be in Google's interests.

All they've done here is basically move around the interface. A lot. Nothing new, nothing significant, just yet another instance of "get to know your way round" all over again.

Sheesh.

As software developers, when's the last time you released an update that included no new features, just a brand new interface.

It's one of those things that make you go hmmmm. Or growl.

What has changed on my Ad Group pages?