Google is testing out a feature in their search results pages which replaces the URL in a result’s snippet with the name of the website on which it appears. So; for instance; a SEO Global Expert article titled “Google +1 button: Few things you must know,” which has a URL that looks like this: www.seoglobalexpert.com/blog/2011/06/google-1-button-few-things-you-must-know/; would only display SEO Global Expert instead of the URL.

This was reported first by Alex Chitu at Google operating system; working off a tip from David from Making Money with Android. It appears that even within the test; users are not seeing this happen for every result.

According to Chitu, “David, who noticed this change, says that he searched for [madvertise] and ‘most of the results looked normal, with the website title, snippet and URL. However; two search results displayed the website name instead of the URL.’”

Image credit: Google Operating System

We are yet waiting to hear back from Google on plans for this feature and/or the extent of the testing.

As a user; I am not certain this change would be an improvement. If you can view the domain name, you can tell what the website is and at times the structure of the URL itself can give you an idea of what type of page you are actually going to be landing on; particularly if the result comes from a website which you are familiar with.

I will be amazed if Google turns this into the norm for all search results but it will be interesting to view if they roll it out on a wider basis.

It is undoubtedly clear that as a general rule, people will complain when websites are redesigned. Some redesigns draw more criticism as compared to others and this would be just a minor adjustment to Google’s current design. Yet; I cannot exclaim that I have ever seen anybody complaining that Google shows URLs in search results and I would bet that certain will complain if they are removed.

Stay tuned with SEO Global Expert for more updates.

Last week; a report came out that Google had acquired Admeld for about $400 million. While the price has not been confirmed yet; Google did officially proclaim the acquisition today.

Google’s VP of display advertising; Neal Mohan; wrote on the Official Google Blog:

To help major publishers get the most out of the rapidly changing and growing display ad landscape, we’ve signed an agreement to acquire Admeld, a New York-based yield optimization firm.

There are lots of different ways that they can sell their display ad space. Often, they’ll sell space directly to advertisers or agencies, using an ad server to actually deliver and measure the ads (like Microsoft’s Atlas, AOL’s AdTech, DoubleClick’s DFP, Yahoo’s APT, OpenX, Zedo, 24/7 Real Media and others). Alternatively, they’ll make their ad space available indirectly—to hundreds of ad networks (like Advertising.com, Specific Media, Collective, 24/7, ValueClick, Vibrant, AdSense, Undertone and others), each with thousands of advertisers, or to various advertising exchanges or technology platforms (like Yahoo’s Right Media, OpenX, DoubleClick Ad Exchange, ContextWeb, AdBrite, AppNexus and others) that match them with ad buyers (like ad networks and demand side platforms) who represent advertisers, in real-time marketplaces.

Some publishers also work with a “yield optimization” provider (such as Rubicon Project, Pubmatic and others) that supplies technology to select ads from across these many indirect options, while providing personalized service and support. In a very complex and rapidly growing display ad landscape, that’s what Admeld does.

By combining Admeld’s services, expertise and technology with Google’s offerings, we’re investing in what we hope will be an improved era of flexible ad management tools for major publishers. Together with Admeld, we hope to make display advertising simpler, more efficient and more valuable, provide improved support and services, and enable publishers to make more informed decisions across all their ad space. These are all things our publisher partners have been asking us to further invest in. Of course, Admeld will continue to support other ad networks, demand side platforms, exchanges and ad servers, to yield the best possible results for publishers.

CEO of Admeld; Michael Barrett led global sales at fox interactive media;

Co-Founders Brian Adams and Ben Barokas held senior positions at AOL and as well as Chief Media Officer Jason Kelly was VP of strategy and revenue for Time Inc. Digital. It is this veteran leadership which the company plays up in its pitch.

“When I joined Admeld as CEO about 13 months later, the company had dozens of clients, most of whom reported at least a 100% increase in their revenues from ad networks,” exclaims Barrett on the AdMeld Blog. “What’s more, the team had learned that technology, while the foundation of Admeld, wasn’t the full solution. In truth, publishers didn’t want just another platform. They wanted a partner who understood their business and could help them use technology to navigate this increasingly complex space. This mix of expertise and technology still resonates with publishers today, and it will always be the cornerstone of Admeld’s approach.”

“Over the last two years in particular, display advertising has undergone more innovation than in the previous ten years combined,” he adds. “RTB, data management, private exchanges: the space has come a long way, but despite all the progress, it still has a long way to go. Our goal, together with Google, is to continue to move display advertising forward and ensure that publishers stay on the cutting edge.”

The deal must yet go through regulatory review. During this time; the two companies will remain independent from one another.

Stay tuned with SEO Global Expert for more updates.

As you may know; the Google +1 button has become available for webmasters, website owners and as well as publishers to include on their content and many rushed right in to do just that. Why not? After all it impacts your website’s visibility in search and with the continuously changing Google algorithm anything to help out in this department is welcome to most websites.

Here is a list of few things that we think any website interested in utilizing the Google +1 button must know:

• The +1 button will undoubtedly influence search rankings. Here is the exact quote from Google’s David Byttow; from when the feature was first announced: “We’ll also start to look at +1’s as one of the many signals we use to determine a page’s relevance and ranking, including social signals from other services. For +1′s, as with any new ranking signal, we’ll be starting carefully and learning how those signals affect search quality over time.”

• Google exclaims that publishers could see “more, and better qualified traffic coming from Google” as potential visitors view recommendations from friends and as well as contacts beneath their search results.

• Once a user clicks the button; a link to the content appears under the +1′s tab on user’s Google Profile.

• Google recommends clicking the button when you “like, agree with, or want to recommend” something to your loved ones.

• +1′s are public by default. Google might show them to any signed-in user who has a social connection to one. Users can choose not to have them exhibited publicly on their Google Profile; however.

• There are different sizes and styles of the button which you can utilize on your website.

• The button is even more customizable if you want to get more technical.

• While Google recommends that you utilize the button where you think they will be most effective in terms of placement around your content; the company recommends above the fold, near the title of the page, and close to sharing links. Google also exclaims it can be effective if you put it at the end of an article as well as the beginning.

• If you try to +1 a private URL; it will not work; according to Google.

• While everyone can view aggregate annotations, signed in users can also view personalized annotations from people in their Gmail/Google Talk Chat list, My Contacts group in Google Contacts, and people they are following in Google Reader and as well as Google Buzz.

• Google has austere policies for publishers which they exclaim they will utilize to govern use of the +1 button. Below noted are these policies in their entirety:

Publishers may not sell or transmit to others any data about a user related to the user’s use of the +1 Button. For the avoidance of doubt, this prohibition includes, but is not limited to, any use of pixels, cookies, or other methods to recognize users’ clicks on the +1 Button, the data of which is then disclosed, sold, or otherwise shared with other parties.

Publishers may not attempt to discover the identity of a +1 Button user unless the user consents to share his or her identity with the Publisher via a Google-approved authorization procedure. This prohibition includes identifying users by correlating +1 Button reporting data from Google with Publisher data.

Publishers may not alter or obfuscate the +1 Button, and Publishers may not associate the +1 Button with advertising content, such as putting the +1 Button on or adjacent to an ad, unless authorized to do so by Google.

Publishers may not direct users to click the +1 Button for purposes of misleading users. Publishers should not promote prizes, monies, or monetary equivalents in exchange for +1 Button clicks. For the avoidance of doubt, Publishers can direct users to the +1 Button to enable content and functionality for users and their social connections. When Publishers direct users to the +1 Button, the +1 action must be related to the Publishers’ content and the content or functionality must be available for both the visitor and their social connections.

Google may analyze Publishers’ use of the +1 Button, including to ensure Publishers’ compliance with these policies and to facilitate Google’s development of the +1 Button. By using the +1 Button, Publishers give Google permission to utilize an automated software program (often called a “web crawler”) to retrieve and analyze websites associated with the +1 Button.

• According to Search Engine Land; while they may yet be a while away; Google will bring in analytics for the button, to exhibit webmasters info on geography, demographics, content and as well as search impact. Apparently Google is working with launch partners to make certain that reporting is accurate before they offer it on a wider scale.

Stay tuned with SEO Global Expert for more updates.

When we Google brought in the +1 button in March; Google search undoubtedly took a small step in a vital direction. Search results can be more helpful and as well as more personal; when recommendations from the people you completely trust are there to guide your way.

The +1 button can help out publishers as well. As potential visitors view recommendations from their friends and  as well as contacts beneath Google search results; you could witness more and better qualified, traffic coming from Google.

From the time when they announced +1; Google has got many requests from Google search users and as well as webmasters alike for +1 buttons in more places than just search results. This is why today Google is making the +1 button available to websites across the internet. At times you want to recommend a webpage after you have visited it. After all; how do you know you want to recommend that great article on Spanish tapas if you have not read it yet?

You will also start to notice +1 buttons on other Google properties like  Android Market, Blogger,Product Search and as well as YouTube.

Adding +1 buttons to your webpages is an exemplary way to help your content stand out in Google search. By giving your visitors more chances to +1 your pages, your search results and search ads might show up with +1 annotation more often; helping out users see when your pages are most likely to be helpful.

To begin; visit the +1 button tool on Google Webmaster Central. You will be able to configure a tiny snippet of JavaScript and add it to the webpages where you want +1 buttons to appear. You can pick out from a few different button sizes and styles; so choose the +1 button which best matches your website’s layout.

In the common case; a press of the button +1’s the URL of the page it is on. Google recommends few easy ways to make certain that this maps as often as possible to the webpages appearing in Google search results.

If your website primarily caters to users who are outside of US and Canada then you can install the +1 button code now; the +1 button is already backed in 44 languages. However; remember that +1 annotations currently only appear for English search results on Google.com. Google is working on releasing +1 to searchers worldwide in the future.

If you have users who love your content then encourage them to spread the word. Add the +1 button if you want your website to be prominent with a personal recommendation right at the moment of decision; on Google search.

Stay tuned with SEO Global Expert for more updates.

It is official. Google and Bing include social signals which are links which get tweeted on Twitter when   determining rankings in their search results. This was inveterated by Danny Sullivan in his December 1, 2010 post on Search Engine Land and it was likely a factor for a while before that.

To put this novel factor in perspective; Google utilizes hundreds of signals to determine how it must rank a website. These include inbound links to the website, the title tag of a web page, and website pace.

Getting people to link to your website is really all about having incredible content that people would like to share, whether on their blogs or websites, or on Twitter. As Google and other search engines increasingly take note of social activity and the links shared on websites like Twitter, having a good social media presence will become increasingly vital for ranking well in search results.

A number of companies have been employing social media as a part of their marketing strategy. Now that social activity has so much impact on search engine optimization; companies which take SEO gravely know that they must utilize social media as part of their plan for getting onto the first page of search results.

How Can I Utilize Twitter To Help My Search Engine Optimization?

The ways of search engines are undoubtedly mysterious, and people are always trying to figure out which particular tactics will help more than others. But just as we know that other ranking factors are considered in light of giving searchers the best information for their queries, you can bet that search engines will elevate the finest content on the social networks – particularly the content which is shared by real people who have influence.

Based on case studies; the more quantity and quality of tweets that link to your website, the more of a lift you can expect to witness in your search engine rankings for the linked-to page or pages.

Mind the Text

When you tweet a link, it is likely that search engines utilize the text which you enter to determine what your link is about. It is very akin to the way that search engines regard anchor text on web pages – the text on which a link is built tells the engines what the linked page is about. This in turn can help out the linked page rank better for the keywords which are contained in the anchor text.

Who Exclaims?

Who links to you on Twitter matters. You almost certainly know already that it is more beneficial if influential tweeple – “people” in Twitter-speak – tweet about you, or retweet your tweets, because they will reach out to a wider audience. The akin is true for the search engine optimization value of Twitter. Google and Bing both exclaim that they look at the author’s authority or quality when evaluating links which appear in tweets.

The search engines are mum on how they determine author quality, but here are certain indicators of authority that search engine optimization experts think search engines consider:

*Presence of a portrait. Spam accounts often do not have one.

*Has the account been verified? Did the individual confirm their email address?

*More followers.

*Quality followers

*Ratio of following to followers.

*It may be better if the URL in someone’s profile does not match the domain they are tweeting about because then it is certain that the person is not engaging in self-promotion.

*Twitter handles that does not have numbers.

*A bio with complete information.

*Engagement.

*Included in lists created by quality tweeple.

*The PageRank of a Twitter profile

The notion of author quality is much like PageRank for web pages. If a webpage has 100 links, each from a different webpage with a PageRank of 0, then they probably provide the akin search engine optimization value as a single link from a web page with a high PageRank. A link tweeted by a well-followed person on Twitter will be worth more for your reputation and as well as your search engine optimization than 100 tweets from spam-y bot accounts.

Something you must remember is that utilizing bots or cheap labor to craft a ton of Twitter accounts and tweet links to your website would be nothing but a spam-y waste of time and as well as money. You will not get any search engine optimization value and you could end up being identified as a cause of Twitter spam.

What Can One Do For Encouraging Tweets and Links?

1. Create incredible content which people will want to share.

2. Make it easy for people to tweet and share your content.

3. Engage with your followers and attract new, quality ones.

4. Keep tabs on who has mentioned or linked to you and thank them.

What Do We Know About Twitter and Search Engine Optimization?

Case Studies

The people at one website noticed the website suddenly ranked on the first page for a particular keyword right after the website was linked to by a prominent Twitter account – one with more than 350,000 followers – and that tweet was retweeted more than 100 times.

In a recent experiment; people were asked to link to one page from their website, or tweet a link to another page. The outcomes so far? The page which was linked in 522 tweets outranked the page which was linked 646 times across 36 different websites. It showed up as the first result for a particular keyword search.

Points of Order

Search engines take note of public Twitter accounts only. If you view the lock symbol, and you have to request to follow someone, their tweets will not help out anyone’s search engine optimization.

Websites still matter. You must continue to build good backlinks to your website to guide more people to your website and for ranking well in search. Links from Twitter are a novel tool to help your search engine optimization, but they can only do so much.

For website owners; it certainly makes sense to think about earning links in the social networks and as well as on websites and blogs. Do not leave the advantages of sharing on the social web on the table.

Stay tuned with SEO Global Expert for more updates.

Adding a blog to your website is undoubtedly a big decision; but it is something which every company must consider. A regularly updated blog can certainly give people a reason to visit your website more often and there are seo benefits of keeping a company blog as well.

Perhaps you have thought about beginning a blog for your company; but you are not certain it will be worth the extra work. Here is a rundown of seo advantages which will help you out in deciding.

More content for search engines

Most websites have a moderately limited number of webpages and a limited number of words per webpage. Adding a blog means you can regularly craft rich content and as well as include the keywords which you are trying to rank well for in search results. By creating a blog you will be giving search engines more pages and content to crawl on your website; and more opportunity to view your important keywords.

For every blog post that you write; you are giving yourself the opportunity to add content containing five to ten novel keywords. Few of these keywords could actually be longer phrases containing keywords which you are already trying to rank well for in search results.

These longer phrases; called long tail keywords by SEO experts can be easier for you to rank well for. This is because; as a keyword phrase gets longer there are fewer instances of it in search engine indexes. In effect; there is less competition for top rankings in results for searches on those keywords.

For instance; a gardening supplies website could add a blog which offers gardening advice. Perhaps the company wants to increase their online sales of bulbs. Of course; the website will have pages vending out spring bulbs, autumn bulbs and as well as summer bulbs. The blog could also have posts about spring bulb planting mixtures, autumn bulb soil amendments, bulb planting tools, summer bulbs for shade; and many more topics which surround the word bulbs.

Every one of those phrases around bulbs is another keyword phrase. By adding lots of posts which include these phrases; the gardening supplies website would be signaling to Google that it has plenty of details about bulbs. The website’s pages would show up higher in more searches which include the word bulbs.

The more pages of your website that you can get into the top slots of search engine results; the more potential visitors you will have.

Updated content for search engines and as well as people

Search engines do not like it when we allow websites to get out-of-date. Having a blog encourages individuals to update their websites more often.

When a novel URL is added to your sitemap from a blog entry then search engines have a reason to come back to your website; crawl its pages and possibly adjust their rankings of your pages. If your content just sits there and is never updated then search engines have no reason to re-crawl your website.

Updating your blog frequently will give your visitors a reason to return often to view what is new. It gives them a reason to subscribe to your RSS feed as well. If you update your blog with information about your novel products or new uses for your products then you could certainly generate more sales.

Link Power

One of the key elements of seo is links; not just inbound links to your website but as well as outbound links from your website to others.

When you link to other websites; you show search engines that you are trying to offer a good user experience for anyone who visits your website by sending them to other information resources which you have judged to be valuable. Because links are how search engines discover new webpages; you are also doing those other websites a good turn.

You can link to vital pages on your website from your blog. Doing this signals to search engines which pages have information that you think your blog readers will find valuable. While this will not automatically shoot your webpages into the no. 1 spot in search results; linking to pages within your own website will help out search engines in noticing the connections between your pages and their content.

Look out for duplicate content

If there is one thing you must not do with your blog; it is duplicating content from another page of your website or even worse from someone else’s website. Search engines try to evade returning duplicate content in search results. If your webpages are seen as mere duplicates of other web content; then search engines can rank your pages lower than they would otherwise.

There are; however; times when it is helpful for your audience to republish material from another website. This is called syndication. You must always obtain permission from the author and attribute the material to the original resource; with a link back to the original article. Pages with content you have syndicated from others may never rank as well as pages where you publish your own original content but you are providing a good experience to your visitors. This is never a bad idea.

To conclude; a blog is an exemplary way for you to keep your website content fresh, boost up your rankings in search results and as well as give people a reason to visit your website frequently. You do not have to be a slave to your blog and there is no law exclaiming that it has to be updated daily or even weekly. Begin with once a month; and grow from there.

Stay tuned with SEO Global Expert for more updates.

From its release; HTML5 has undoubtedly brought about a lot of buzz and as well as excitement. It is also been called a ‘flash killer’; but exactly what does that mean?

What is flash?

Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform which is utilized to deliver animations, rich media and as well as user interactive content through internet browsers. It has been the power behind video and audio content online for many years and other innovations have made it possible to utilize flash in animated blog headers, games, interactive tools and advertisements.

One truly inimitable example is WebMD’s symptom checker; which utilizes flash to help out users in diagnosing their symptoms. To narrow down their symptoms; users just have to click the appropriate area on the human body diagram.

What is HTML5?

HTML5 is the latest specification of the browser markup language. In summary; there is nothing great about HTML5 in terms of rich media, except for the addition of novel elements which enable the native handling of multi-media content from within a browser, without the requirement for third-party tools.

Certain browsers like Google Chrome, Safari or Firefox 4 already have backing for certain HTML5 elements built-in. However; certain elements are yet not backed and may not be for a while yet. HTML5 may be “the novel black”; but a wider adoption is still required in the internet community.

Why is HTML5 being advertized as a replacement for flash?

Flash is extremely versatile; but for it to be delivered to your browser; you must install a flash player. And because it needs a third-party tool; it is open to vulnerability. This issue is at the heart of the newest controversy and the attempt to replace it with HTML5.

The adobe flash player has a history of a number of security vulnerabilities over the years. In fact, a new vulnerability was discovered in the software just lately:

“Adobe says that this vulnerability is a serious one that could cause a crash and potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system. There are reports that this vulnerability is being exploited in the wild in targeted attacks via a Flash (.swf) file embedded in a Microsoft Word (.doc) file delivered as an email attachment, targeting the Windows platform.”

The ostensible semi-unobtrusive warning to update “your version of adobe flash player” which appears when you begin your browser is an ideal indicator of just how often adobe plugs holes in its software. And while these vulnerabilities appear innocuous and rarely affect the average user; they are very grave issues that can cripple your browser and as well as your computer.

Steve Jobs crafted quite a stir when he very blatantly exclaimed that flash is “proprietary, unreliable and not secure, and its performance drains battery life”. He then downrightly refused to consider including backing for Flash on iOS – the mobile operating system which powers the line of apple mobile devices.

Later on; YouTube publicly announced that their library of movies will be deliverable through HTML5; as an experimental delivery method. The goal was to eventually deliver all their content in HTML5.

Vimeo quickly followed suit with its announcement to switch to HTML5:

“What’s the HTML5 player, you ask? Simply put, it’s an alternative to our current Flash player that looks and works almost exactly the same way. What are the benefits?

• The player loads right away — no more spinning butterfly thingy

• You can jump anywhere in the video, without having to wait for it to buffer

• Smoother, less jumpy playback (we hope)”

Will HTML5 be able to overtake flash?

In truth; it is extremely tough to say. HTML yet has many issues with various mediums; particularly video. Few of the biggest problems incorporate permissions and privacy issues.

As HTML5 literally just enables the playback of video or audio content; companies which produce proprietary content will not be able to address the licensing and permission issues associated with it.

While eliminating the requirement for third-party software has its advantages; it is highly unlikely that flash will ever be completely eliminated. There is yet a huge portion of population who utilize early versions of internet explorer and netscape. It works well and is widely utilized; so the cost of replacing these systems is just not feasible for most people and businesses; not to mention the learning curve involved.

Should you make the switch? Not necessarily. If you are redoing your website, content or applications no then it certainly could not hurt. However; be aware that changes are yet possible. So; if you make the switch; make certain that you have the ability to update your coding as required. Otherwise; the benefits likely do not justify the cost of switching over.

Stay tuned with SEO Global Expert for more updates.

Google’s Matt Cutts utilized a novel webmaster video to share his thoughts on alternative search engines blekko and duckduckgo. Long story short; he thinks you must check them out and notice what you like and what you do not like about them.

The discussion was incited by a question submitted to him; asking what he thinks about blekko. “In general, I love when new search engines launch,” he exclaims. “It’s always cool to run a few queries, and see how do they score things differently than we would score things.”

“I think it’s fantastic to have a lot of competition,” he says. “I think it’s good for users, as long as people are competing on a level or fair playing ground.”

I can without a doubt hear the critics of Google’s own competitive practices getting geared up to chime in already.

On blekko’s slashtag strategy; Cutts exclaims that; “It’s unclear it will catch on, because it is some amount of work to build those individual restricts or groups or collections, but they do a relatively good job of showing auto complete, and sort of suggesting tags you might want to add.”

“I love when new search engines launch. I think competition is great,” he reiterates. “It keeps us on our toes. It makes sure that we’re doing the right things. I highly encourage people to check out both Blekko and DuckDuckGo. See what you like, see what you don’t like. Certainly with power users, it will certainly have some amount of appeal, and then time will tell.” Read more at Google’s Matt Cutts Encourages Users To Check Out Blekko and DuckDuckGo

“The wonderful thing is that everyone has different philosophies about how to improve search, and how to make search better,” he adds. “So this is another company trying out their idea – their philosophy, and we’ll just see how well it works.”

Below are a few interviews which we did earlier this year with blekko co-founder and CEO Rich Skrenta and as well as duckduckgo founder Gabriel Weinberg about their search engines. They will give you an idea of their search philosophies:

Last week, blekko announced few new privacy features; like a novel 48-hour data retention policy. Certain users will like that either way.

Stay tuned with SEO Global Expert for more updates.