spencerhoyt.com

It’s hard these days to talk about Google without bringing up something negative. In the last 4 months since the Big Daddy update Google has been scrambling to fix numerous problems. Well they did it again!

Barry Schwartz is reporting that Google is revealing some of their spam info in the cached versions of their results see below:

pacemaker-alarm-delay-in-ms-overall-sum 2341989
pacemaker-alarm-delay-in-ms-total-count 7776761
cpu-utilization 1.28
cpu-speed 2800000000
timedout-queries_total 14227
num-docinfo_total 10680907
avg-latency-ms_total 3545152552
num-docinfo_total 10680907
num-docinfo-disk_total 2200918
queries_total 1229799558
e_supplemental=150000 –pagerank_cutoff_decrease_per_round=100 –pagerank_cutoff_increase_per_round=500 –parents=12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23 –pass_country_to_leaves –phil_max_doc_activation=0.5 –port_base=32311 –production –rewrite_noncompositional_compounds –rpc_resolve_unreachable_servers –scale_prvec4_to_prvec –sections_to_retrieve=body+url+compactanchors –servlets=ascorer –supplemental_tier_section=body+url+compactanchors –threaded_logging –nouse_compressed_urls –use_domain_match –nouse_experimental_indyrank –use_experimental_spamscore –use_gwd –use_query_classifier –use_spamscore –using_borg”

This is an excelent way to help understand how ranking actually takes place.

Google is debuing their new much-anticipated Gbuy system today which has been refered to as the PayPal killer. Gbuy is Googles attempt to create an online wallet to save you time from entering the same finacial information into multiple websites.

Is this anything new?
10 years ago Microsoft created a simplified system called MS Wallet and you also have this ability with the Google toolbar so I have to ask, what is new about Gbuy??? The press seems to get their panties in a twist any time Google launches a new service, but will Gbuy really make a difference?

I am watching Gbuy with a close eye, but as of now I see no reason to celebrate this new “revolutionary” system.

The last few months many people have speculated over what Google Base actually is. Google Base was launched quietly about 3 months ago and much confusion has spread as to how we can actually utilize this new feature. In a nutshell GB is a free online classifieds that allows anyone to list a product for sale. That got me thinking, doesn’t Froogle do something similar? Well with today’s news that Google Base Replaces Froogle Merchant Center it is now official that we know Google’s intentions.

What will this bring?
Many Exciting things will happen with the merger of these 2 features. Google Base will easily allow almost anyone to offer their products online without much SEO work. The downside is that few people shop Froogle, but in time this will be a major plus for you bargain hunters.

Not all business owners need an optimized website. Most companies that sell a local service usually do not fit the profile for website optimization. For example my local hairdresser could care less if her salon was listed in Google. But, with the changing scope of the Internet being everywhere, my hairdresser would like her name to come up when someone types in Lafayette Hair Salon into their mobile phone. Local search is a perfect fit for her type of business.

Local Search is one of the untapped markets in Search Engine Optimization. Every website should be optimized for local search now to be prepared for the future of search. As more and more people start to use mobile devices to surf the Internet the need for having a local listing is a must.

Why?
For starters 60% of Comit Technologies customers see most of their leads come from people searching “THEIR CITY + KEYWORD” Wouldn’t it be wise to have your website come up when someone types in Lafayette Search Engine Optimization?

But How?
Well most search engines have their own local search registration where anyone can go and register their business and provide their address, but who has the time to go through this process. The easiest way to get picked up in the local searches is to put your physical address on every webpage of your site. This simple technique not only tell the search engine where you are but, it increases your local search relevancy since your city/state is plastered on multiple pages.

Once you have added your address to every page you need to verify that the search engines know your location. To do this I recommend using the Auto link function in the Google Toolbar. Another way would be to ask your local yellow pages to ensure that they are linking to your website. Yellow Pages have always been an industry leader when it comes to local search.

Want more tips?
Contact Comit Technologies today and ask about our SEO Consulting Services.
Sincerely,
Spencer Hoyt

This is a very good question that one of our readers asked us to address. Website speed is an important factor to not only SEO, but to increasing conversions.

When SE spiders come to your site to index it’s content they typically have a very limited amount of time to index your website. The faster your server response time the more information the spiders will get. One way around this for Google is to use the Google Sitemaps utility. Google Sitemaps is an XML file that you place on your server that tells Google where all of you pages can be found and how often they are updated. I suspect the other major SE’s are working on something similar, but we will have to wait.

Buyer conversion rates can also be affected dramatically by the speed of your server. The longer your website takes to process pages the longer your clients have to change their minds about making a purchase with you.

How do I find out what my speed is?
An easy way to see how well your server ranks in comparison to all other servers is through the Alexa Toolbar. Using the toolbar anyone can click on the more info button to read some interesting statistics on their website.

Comit Hosting is an affordable way to increase your websites visibility. Our servers are in the top 10% in terms of server speed and are SEO Certified!

Good Luck,
Spencer Hoyt