Thoughts on the “new” Google

Every time Google does something different, the SEO and SEM worlds feel it. Algorithm changes require different approaches in the way search engine marketing is done. After all, it’s Google, arguably the “be all, end all” of search engines.

Well, there was another earthquake this week. This one was bigger than most. First, it was the announcement of Google +, the search engine’s king answer to Facebook. One can only hope this social network won’t suffer the fate of Google Buzz. According to the Washington Post:

“Circles lets you group your contacts — e.g. friends, work, family. Like Facebook, this features lets you share information with groups of contacts instead of hitting everyone with your latest update at once. Sparks acts like an RSS reader or Facebook news feed, letting you input things you’re interested in and pushing relevant content to you. Hangouts features live group video chats, aiming to foster spontaneous meetings with up to 10 people. You can also alert certain groups of friends when you’re hanging out.”

Alas, Google + is currently invite only and, well, there are no invitations being doled out.

The one change that every Googler can see is the “new” Google. It’s still the same Google, but almost looks completely different. “Just enough” of a change, said one member of the WebDrafter team.

The first thing that caught our eye was the black bar at the top. The front page, for the most part, looks relatively the same. The differences really attract notice on the results pages.

Google Instant, or searching as you type, has gotten a little faster. The former gray search box is now blue. Much like the smartphone app, you can now search by voice, eliminating the need for fingers.

It really isn’t that much of a change, but the new Google is in many ways totally different from what Google used to be. It’s taking all facets of the Internet together and merging them. It’s in many ways a perfect mesh of the mobile and desktop versions,.

And of course, there’s A Google A Day.

You get a question, you Google to find the answer and then a story is shared. A nice, fun feature for those who really love searching the Internet. One has to wonder though: Have all these changes been rolled out because the Android OS, a Google creation, has become the number one mobile OS? Has Google finally reached its peak?

We hope not. 

Hartmann Well Drilling Website Design by WebDrafter.com

The goal for the new www.HartmannWellDrilling.com was to produce a web design that honored Hartmann Well Drilling’s past, but look toward its future. This is most exemplified in the Flash header, which displays past and pictures of the MN well drilling company’s equipment. The rustic look makes this site yet another of our favorites, while we’re also proud of the SEO and SEM efforts being utilized.

Want to honor online your company’s accomplishments? Get in touch with www.WebDrafter.com to get your free website design quote.

Link Building FAQ

Here are five of the most common questions the WebDrafter.com staff gets about link building:

What’s a backlink?

Backlinks (incoming links, inbound links, etc.) are incoming links to a website or page. Every time you post to Facebook or tweet a link, you are giving the site a backlink.

What’s their importance in SEO?

The generally accepted theory is that the more backlinks a site has, the better it will rank on Google, Yahoo and Bing. While a good number of backlinks is still needed to rank high on search engines, recent changes have stressed quality over quantity, and sites with original, well-written content have begun to rank higher over ones with thousands of backlinks.

Is there good backlinking vs. bad backlinking?

Yes. One of the more popular, “black hat” tactics involves commenting on blogs and forums with good Google PageRanks (PR). You’ve probably seen these comments, the one that add nothing to to the conversation, are vague or have nothing to do at all with what is being discussed. Many so-called SEO practitioners do this only for the backlink, knowing the good PR gives them a valuable inlink. However, this is nothing more than spam and may hurt rankings (we’ll get to that in a little bit).

If you’re going to post on blogs and forums for a backlink, then find ones that cater to your industry or specialty and have a high PR. Become part of the conversation and offer your input. This way is much more enjoyable as you’ll find pleasure in building links, and much less frustrating to users who comment for enjoyment.

Can backlinks harm SEO efforts?

Yes. In February, JC Penney was punished by Google and lost many of its rankings. JC Penney hired an SEO firm who got them top placements for terms like “bedding” and “area rugs,” but the problem is that these links were done through blog spam and paid links designed to fool Google’s algorithm. WordStream had a great post on this debacle.

Links need to be built naturally and over time to be beneficial to your SEO efforts. You can’t just go on a massive link spree and do thousands of backlinks in a short period. Link expert Eric Ward explained it like this in a recent Search Engine Land post:

If a site launches in response to a disaster, like GulfOilSpill.org, then 4,000 links is to be expected and is totally natural. But if you have a two year old bingo site with 121 links and you suddenly add 4000 new links in a very short period of time, chances are your bingo site will go bye-bye. It’s not likely to have been natural. 

Should I buy links?

It should be noted that paid links don’t refer to advertisements, like those on Google AdWords. They refer to those that are bought and sold only for the PR.

Paid links can quickly give you high Google rankings. However, it’s not recommended you buy links, although there are plenty of sites out there that will gladly sell you one. There are two types of links out there: follow and nofollow. Paid links with the nofollow attribute (pretty much a way to tell search engines, “Don’t follow us”) are OK in Google’s book.

Google looks at paid follow links as cheating, and developers are working constantly to develop tools and ways to find these links. From Google Webmaster Central:

Google and most other search engines use links to determine reputation. A site's ranking in Google search results is partly based on analysis of those sites that link to it. Link-based analysis is an extremely useful way of measuring a site's value, and has greatly improved the quality of web search. Both the quantity and, more importantly, the quality of links count towards this rating.

However, some SEOs and webmasters engage in the practice of buying and selling links that pass PageRank, disregarding the quality of the links, the sources, and the long-term impact it will have on their sites. Buying or selling links that pass PageRank is in violation of Google's Webmaster Guidelines and can negatively impact a site's ranking in search results. 

Not all paid links violate our guidelines. Buying and selling links is a normal part of the economy of the web when done for advertising purposes, and not for manipulation of search results. Links purchased for advertising should be designated as such.

Got link building questions? Get in touch with WebDrafter.com today about our link building services.  

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WebDrafter.com is proud to highlight the website redesign of www.CarbideConstruction.com.

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Why Twitter Is a Great Search Engine

When companies talk about SEO and search engine marketing, they are talking mainly about getting your site high rankings on the Big 3: Google, Yahoo and Bing. However, as Twitter continues to grow, it will be more than just a microblogging platform, but a search engine that can compete with the current search engine kings.

Twitter is a great search engine for Internet users because you will find only the most pertinent issues of the day. Apple apparently agrees, as it recently made Twitter the official social media service for iOS5, the latest version of the software that runs the iPhone, iPad and its other portable devices. The two will be integrated to the point that many results will come from Twitter, skipping over traditional search engine results.

For example, here's a screen shot of the Twitter search results for "cars":

We get a healthy mix of information, news and promotion, as well as a Dane Cook joke. It might not seem like that much of a change from Google or Bing SERPs, but this is what real people are talking about in real time. Twitter is essentially searching human interaction.

Here is what appears when you query "cars" in Google:

What appears is whatever the search engine robots have deemed most important, taking out the human element.

That's not to say Google, Yahoo and Bing aren't important for great search engine optimization efforts. You can't not focus on them. But, services like Facebook and Twitter are becoming more important for businesses to use to find out what potential customers are talking about, so they too can get in on the action. As more people sign up for Facebook or start Tweeting, you will need to have your business follow suit, lest you fall behind.

Delta Construction Website Redesign by WebDrafter.com

WebDrafter.com is proud to showcase the website redesign of www.DeltaConstruction.biz.

Delta Construction provides general contractor services to areas in Minnesota and Kansas. To view all their offerings, visit www.DeltaConstruction.biz.

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