Posts About ‘News’

No More Subscriber Stats, Robots.txt and Site Performance in Webmaster Tools

Ever since Larry Page re-took possession of the CEO position at Google we have seen more products and features being killed than developed at Google.

Under the name of “Spring Cleaning” Google announced another few features to be dismissed, this time in the Google Webmaster Tools. In the next two weeks we will be saying goodbye to features like Subscriber Stats, Robots.txt and Site Performance.

The features are mostly features which are not very much used by experienced SEOs. Setting up a robots.txt is basic 101 for most SEOs and they won’t need Google’s help for that. So taking that down makes sense. (more…)

“Zip Open” Google Today in Honor of Gideon Sundback

We usually don’t pay that much attention to the Google Doodles here on State of Search. There is nothing much to learn from them after all ;) . But in some cases you have to make an exception because they are simply that brilliant. Today is one of those days.

Google today is celebrating the the birthday of the zip’s inventor Gideon Sundback. If you go to Google you can ‘zip open’ the Google homepage which will then show results for the search on Gideon Sundback. You can let the zipper run down the centre of the page with your mouse. Once you let go the page opens. (more…)

Saw A Rank Drop This Week? It Could Be Google’s Fault Says Matt Cutts

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If you keep a close eye on Twitter, Facebook and Google+ when it comes to developments around Google and SEO you might have noticed this week that there was a lot of talk about rankings and updates. People were suggesting there was another Panda Update coming up or even taking place at that specific moment or that this was the effect of the “over optimization” penalties that have been discussed a lot lately.

They came to that conclusion based on the sudden drop in rankings they saw for their websites. The “Is there a Panda Update going on?” type of tweets therefore were quite massive the past few days. It turns out that there was no Panda Update, no ”over optimization” Update or anything in that matter. It turns out Google made a mistake: some sites were marked as parked when they were not. (more…)

Facebook Slowly Rolling Out Facebook Offers, Watch Out Groupon

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It seems as if Facebook has started to slowly roll out Facebook offers. It seems as if they are contacting advertising clients who now are the only ones who can use it.

Facebook also published the video below on their YouTube channel explaining what Facebook offers is. Facebook has been testing offers for a while and has had different types of services just like this, but this time the Social giant seems serious. Rolled out like this Facebook Offers could mean a huge competitor for Groupon. (more…)

Google+ Making Major Changes to Design

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Google just announced a major redesign for Google+. The Google+ pages now look a lot more like for example Facebook.

There is a major focus on the new navigation which is much more focussed on ease for the user. Google says:

One of the first things you’ll notice is a new way to get around the stream. Instead of static icons at the top, there’s a dynamic ribbon of applications on the left. This approach comes with lots of perks, but some of our favorites include:

- You can drag apps up or down to create the order you want
- You can hover over certain apps to reveal a set of quick actions
- You can show or hide apps by moving them in and out of “More” (more…)

Yahoo To Be Operating in Three Groups Says CEO

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After the 2,000 lay offs last week at Yahoo it was just a matter of time before more clearness would come regarding the future of Yahoo!. Today Kara Swisher got hold of an internal e-mail sent by Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson which explains where Yahoo is going: three primary divisions.

The memo was sent today to all Yahoo employees and shows that Yahoo is not being sold to any company but is simply restructuring and refocussing. The memo also makes clear that search is not a focus on Yahoo anymore, but that is nothing new. (more…)

Email and PDF Google Analytics For All Users In New Interface

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It has taken a long time for Google to integrate this but the company finally announced that sharing reports by email and export rapports to PDF is now available for all users of the new interface. The new options were announced last month but as usual the roll out goes in phases. Also the beta label is still on it because Google is still working on some finishing touches.

If you are currently using the option to schedule a report to send to clients then this is the time to slowly start migrating these reports to the new interface. All scheduled emails in the old interface are not automatically available in the new interface because Google practically build the new system from the ground up.

This means you have to set all scheduled rapports again if you still want to send them. It will be a while before the old interface will sunset and by that time Google of course will send you a notification but if you have a lot of clients it might be good to start early.

On the other hand this also has a advantage (look at the bright side): you now have a moment to clean up all your scheduled rapports because maybe some mails can be dropped :-)

New Options

With the new system you also have some new options. First you can now decide which day to sent the rapports and you can set an end time under the advanced options (don’t know why this is advanced), for example you can set that you want to stop sending emails after six months.

Bing Desktop Puts Bing On Your Desktop

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In a surprising move, at least to me, Microsoft made Bing Desktop, a little piece of software (1.4 MB) to add the search engine to your desktop. After downloading and installing the software there will be a small search field at the center of your desktop. After typing a query and hitting enter the browser will open with the results in a new tab.

The search field is designed to give quicker access to the search engine but I wonder if users who have a browser window opened most of the time will actually use the software. It does also remind me off the Windows Gadgets which are not developed or supported actively anymore.

By default the search field is placed in the middle of the screen but in the settings there is an option to place the field at the top of your screen. In that case you can simply move your mouse to the top and the search field becomes visible. Also you can drag the field to the left of right.

Everyday a new Wallpaper

Next to search the software has another feature where it can be used for: wallpapers. If you use Bing you will see a different background-image everyday on the homepage. Bing Desktop lets you connect to these pictures. By activating this feature in the settings the picture used on the homepage of the search engine will also be set automaticly as your wallpaper and this will also change every day.

Bing Desktop can be download here and is only available for Windows 7 users. Would you use Bing Desktop to search? Or would you use the software for the wallpapers?.

Official: Google Affiliate Network Launches in UK

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Following a 4 year wait since Google Affiliate Network (formely DoubleClick) was established, today sees the offical UK launch of Google Affiliate Network, launching exclusively with our friends over at A4u. Following rapid growth in the US Google will be bringing its Affiliate Network across Europe soon, but initially the UK will be the base for activity as it starts the important step of understanding the unique needs of the local markets before expansion is continued.

You can look forward to the integration of many Performance technologies including Coull’s Video Advertising Network, Ring Revenue’s call tracking system, plus a host of data insights. Other Google technologies such as Google+, analytics and adsense will be key integrations, likely to make a very attractive offer to affiliates as Google battles for network market share. (more…)

UPDATE: Official: Yahoo To Lay Off 2,000 and Being Sued: A Facebook SetUp?

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Update: Yahoo now officially announced it will indeed be laying off 2,000 people.

According to Kara Swisher of AllThingsD, who is usually very well informed, this week could be a week of major changes for Yahoo. One of the older search brands in the industry is supposedly making a lot of changes, starting with about 2,000 lay offs in the next few days.

Is this the end of Yahoo as we know it? Will the company be restructured or will there be a maybe surprising other move, like a sale? At the same time as Yahoo is having its own issues they are being sued as a counter reaction by their partners Facebook over patents. To say that Yahoo is in rough waters in an understatement.

A few years ago Yahoo was the center of attention when both Google and Microsoft tried to buy the former search giant. This ended not with a sale but with a partner deal with Microsoft. This deal was made by the Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz who has always been a source for news, because there was always something going on.

With her departure things seemed to have calmed down, but behind the scenes her CEO successor Scott Thompson is as busy or busier than Bartz restructuring the company. According to AllthingsD this will result in 2,000 lay offs this week. And that is just the start. (more…)

Who Says Facebook Is Not A Sales Tool? 40% Of Small Businesses Use It That Way

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Social Media is not regarded as a sales tool. Most people will tell you not to expect too much of it if you want to use Social Media that way. After all, Social Media is a platform which will help gain you visibility, not sales. Right?

You might think that, but as it turns out it could be a very useful sales tool after all. At least, that is what 37% of small businesses say when asked about Facebook sales. They state that Facebook Commerce is their sole sales channel.

The respondents were all customers of social commerce platform provider Payvment, who performed this research last month. They were asked about how they use Facebook and how they liked it. Some results were interesting. (more…)

Google Might Let You Change The Links In The Black Navigation Bar

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Coming right after the experiment which was discovered earlier this week that hides the left navigation from the search engine by default is the news / rumor / hope that Google, in the future might let you customize the links to the different products in the black navigation bar.

Google Community Manager Kelly Fee posted this on Google+

“The larger question here is about customization of that bar and I can tell you and everyone else that customizing the product navigation links is a popular request from our users, and it’s something we’re looking into.” (more…)

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