Posts on State of Search about ‘Google’

Google Removes Social Circle Data

Google-Social-404

Google Search Plus Your World is all about social data. Many things Google does in social is aimed at getting information from you so they can build up your profile and return you search results and other related information which is personalised for you, based on your social graph.

To do that Google needs to know your social graph. It needs to know how you connect to entities and to other people. In some of my presentations I showed some of what Google knew of you because Google gave that information away, for free. Now it seems to have pulled the social circle data. There is no announcement and you can still find the search result, but the page itself gives a 404. (more…)

New Google Interface Tests Show Up

Google-Interface-Test

We know that Google is constantly testing new stuff. Whether it is a new feature or a new design, they always test ‘in the wild’, meaning that actual users get the new features or design to see how they respond.

Now a new test has shown up, one which is mainly about the User Interface, the design of the search result page. In particular the navigational part. In this design the sidebar is completely gone and we see a new type of top navigation. (more…)

Paid Google Shopping – Another Step Towards Google’s Master Plan

Mr Burns Holding a Google Shopping Logo and being Evil

Whether you call it Google Products, Google Shopping or Froogle (yeh I forgot they called it that before, too) things are about to change in a BIG way, again! Google has always been seen as a level playing field where small and huge companies alike could compete on equal terms. Google Products (that’s what I’ve always called it) was a big part of creating this level playing field and was a fantastic free service that allowed retailers of all sizes to display their products in the organic SERPs. It was another reason that we all fell in love with Google – they helped David fight Goliath. It didn’t matter that you didn’t have a ‘Nike’ sized search budget because results were driven on the basis of relevance and quality – things we could all control with good content and a solid search strategy. In fact, Google’s early “shopping” system allowed retailers to sell their products online even if they didn’t have a website. It was an all-inclusive service that was available to everybody, at zero cost. It was perfect, it was progressive and despite being quite difficult to use, retailers loved it. (more…)

Google Supporting Gay Marriage With Easter Egg?

google-gay-doodle

A few weeks ago Eric Schmidt told a group of Dutch students that Google always tries to be impartial when it comes to political matters. They feel they shouldn’t take stand and even though Eric Schmidt has been linked to the Democrats before and Obama has spoken at Google, they claim not to have a preference.

On one matter however Google has always been clear: it supports the gay community and gay marriage. Sergey Brin actually took a pretty solid stand towards Proposition 8 in California in 2008.

At the moment the discussion about gay marriage again comes up in the US and it might seem as if Google again is taking stand. The fact that its in the news is actual a coincidence with what happens if you do a search for “Gay” or “Gay marriage” on Google you will get this result:

As said, this is not directly related to the news, it is something which Google has done in different formats over the years as you can see on the screens on Michel’s post on his own blog. But it is a nice coincidence for those supporting the purpose.

Google+ Snippets Show up in Site Connected Search Results

Google wants Google+ to be a succes, after all it is the idea that everything Google does moves over to the Google+ infrastructure. That means the more people use it, the better. Also because that is the data that Google gathers to then give us back information in for example the search results which is tailored to our needs.

As Maile Ohye explained in a video earlier this week one thing which is important here is trust. As searchers we want to see what the people we trust are sharing. As a website owner we want people with authority to share our content. And in search all the identity and trust levels are integrated.

Today I did a search on Google and found the result below:

(more…)

Google+ is about Identity: Intimacy, Interaction and Interests

integration-identity-Google+

We know that Google+ is here to stay. Google has chosen the ‘social’ direction and is not intending to leave that direction. Which means we should look at Google+ and see how it can help us and our brand.

Mahle Ohye of Google made the video below in which she explains what Google+ really is and how it can help you build your reputation. An interesting video (which covers some of what I will be talking about at A4U Expo next week). Let’s take a look at some of the things Ohye says. She talks about Identity, Search and how you can make it work for your brands reputation. (more…)

How To Connect Your Google+ Pages and Website

google+-pages-search

Authority is one of the main aspects on which Google is focussing. And authority comes in different ways. There is the authority of those around you, there is the authorship, which has another big reason for Google: to determine which content belongs where. On top of that Google makes sure you are indeed connected to a Google+ page, which means they are able to much better determine your connections.

And then there is the connection with your Google+ Business Page, which also has ‘authority’ which you can make stand out in the search results. And content you put on your Google+ page also shows up in for example the search results.

Until now getting your content connected to your Google+ (business) page and showing your image in the SERPS was quite a difficult process. Especially if you want content which is on your website to be connected to your Google+ page and showing up connected in the search results.

But now Google has made things easier by creating an easy method of linking your website to your Google+ page. (more…)

Euro 2012: Google Streetview Lets You be There

Euro-2012-stadiums

So Euro 2012 is well under way, the first matches have been played, each country knows where it stands. Our traveling blogger Jo has already seen the first matches with locals, keep an eye on that. There is a lot going on around the games and there are many fans from the different teams present in the Ukraine and Poland. However, most people watch the games from home or in the pub. They don’t get to see the stadiums from inside.

Luckily there is Google Streetview. Somehow the Streetview cars have made their way inside the stadiums and they took pictures. You now can virtually walk around the grounds on which your countries team is playing. We’ve lined them up for you below.

Ukrain stadiums

NSC Olimpiyskiy (Olympic Stadium), Kyiv 

Donbass Arena, Donetsk 

Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv

Arena Lviv

Poland Stadiums

National Stadium, Warsaw

Municipal Stadium, Poznan

PGE Arena, Gdansk

Municipal Stadium, Wrocław

A Sign of Things to Come

google-shopping-bag

I think for many people that have been doing this business for a while, but last week marked a milestone we have expected Google to do at any minute – and to be honest I can truthfully say its come a lot later than I thought it would. In a symbolic move Google announced that Google Product Search (ex Froogle) is getting a brand new name – that of Google Shopping. However that is not the big news – Google Shopping comes with a twist – and a significant change in direction for Google – with Google Shopping now following the framework of other recent Google products such as Google Compare by moving to a paid model. Yes – moving forward Google Shopping is being moved towards a paid inclusion model – which for me suggests the writing is on the wall for a number of previously ‘safe haven’ search opportunities towards a model more in line with Google’s new ‘commercially focussed’ mindset – and even more away from the mantra and philosophy of the Google that burst onto the scene over a decade ago. (more…)

Noticed Something? Google’s Panda Had a Refresh

Panda-dance

Even though Twitter and Facebook now seem to be a continuous stream of webmasters asking if other webmasters have seen drops or changes in their rankings it still is an indication of something changing at Google’s algorithms. Webmasters and especially SEOs are constantly looking for signals to find out if Google is ‘up to something’ again.

The ‘rumors’ got stronger this weekend with webmasters seeing changes again and yesterday Google confirmed that indeed something was going on: Google’s Panda Update has had a refresh on June 8th, so before the weekend.

Google immediately added to their tweet that less than 1% of searches would be affected in the US and about 1% world wide. This indicates it is a small update, but knowing the number of searches being done on Google (towards 3 billion a day) it might still be an interesting number of searches being affected.

Update, not algorithm change

It is important to know that this is not a new algorithm change. It is a refresh, which means the same algorithm is run again. Different sites can be hit, but it is not as if this changes the rules again.

Google is now on a schedule which has an update to Panda and Penguin every six weeks or so. So the next refresh (this one was numbered 3.7) we can expect end of July.

A Look Inside the Google London Offices (With Electric Chair!)

London-Office-intro

Have you ever wondered what it is like inside the new Google offices in London? Well some people may have even been there, or maybe you got a job there. Others have no idea what they look like however.

Well stop wondering, we have seen pictures before and no below you can find pictures from what is said to be (unconfirmed, but it sure looks like it) the new London offices. They are probably closed today, most like many offices in London because of the Queens’ Jubilee, but here’s your chance to look inside. Are you jealous? And did you find that one awkward one, an electric chair..? (more…)

Google Changes Behaviour Chinese Search Engine

chinese-flag

Google this week reported they had reports from users on the mainland of China that the search engine (rerouted through Hong Kong) is not always consistent and reliable, this depends from query and browser.

Users are getting errors on a regularly basis saying that the search engine is not available or that the connection was reset, if this happens users can’t access Google for a minute or longer. In the video below Google gives a demonstration of the phenomenon.

After receiving these reports from users Google went searching for problems in their own systems but after thoroughly doing research they didn’t find any problems. It turned out the interruptions where related to certain search queries, as you would guess: censorship, even though Google doesn´t use this word (on purpose I guess). That’s why Google decided to adapt the search engine and do something about these interruptions, warning users that there is a chance for an interruption.

When a user from the mainland of China types in query from which Google thinks (knows) that the query will cause an interruption Google will mention this below the search bar. The user then knows the risks and can continue with the search or can edit the query. To learn more users can click the link in the message to a help centre article. Screenshot from the homepage below.

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