search – Clix

Recent Posts from Google+ Now in Search Results

Clix — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 18:30:35 +0000

Google makes some changes that get a lot of attention while others fly under the radar.

When you consider that Google’s search algorithm gets updated almost twice a day on average, that’s bound to happen. But sometimes it’s the little changes that can make a big difference either in the way search rankings are affected, how people search, or how search results are presented. One recent addition is of the last variety, a tiny place to the right of search results that highlights Google+ activity with a Recent Posts section.

In fact, the integration of Google+ with Google’s search has been going on for a while now, but always on the sly, with little additions here and there. In fact, even on Google’s own page on the subject, they have to use a digital magnifying glass to show where the Google+ links are hiding in search results.

Wait, hold on, what is Google+ anyway?

Google+ is Google’s own social network. From the time it was first introduced it has been an experiment. For example, the “circles” feature is an easier way to control what you see from others and what they see from you, as opposed to Facebook’s ‘friends’ approach.

But the whole thing never really caught on. Now, however, Google has been integrating so much of its features into Google+ that it’s becoming a significant part of search, meaning businesses are starting to take notice. For example, now that Google Places has been made a part of Google+, it’s essential that your business listing on Google+ gets verified. Additionally, activity plays a big role on any social media channel, but independent research suggests that Google favors Google+ when it comes to search (as you would expect).

Source: Moz (Click for full-size)

So businesses are being strong-armed into using Google+?

More or less.

But it’s not so bad. Since Google still controls around two-thirds of the search market, all of these little changes increase your visibility, making it easier for potential customers to get a feel for how good of a resource you are.

Let’s look at a couple examples:

First, let’s stick with Google’s example of National Geographic. If we type National Geographic into Google, we see a list of results from National Geographic’s own website, its YouTube channel, news, etc. But on the right there’s a box specifically for National Geographic (from the Knowledge Graph).

(Click for full size) (my highlighting)

Surprise! Part of that Knowledge Graph is Google+. There’s a button to “follow” their page, a link to their page with their number of followers, a link to their Wikipedia page, and, yes, below all of that, Recent Posts. These aren’t recent posts to a blog on their website, but recent posts to their Google+ page. But remember, you can always share your activity such as a new blog post on social media. So if you post something new on your website, link to it on Google+. That way when someone searches for you, your new material is right there in front of them.

Now for the exception: This box currently only shows up when searching for a specific business or entity like National Geographic, not something general like “nature magazines.”

That’s great for a huge international magazine, but what about my local business?

The exact same thing happens for local businesses. Remember Google’s “carousel” feature I told you about a while ago? When you click on one of the carousel results, it alters the entire search to search for that specific result. To use the example I used in the earlier post, clicking on one of the results for “donuts in Chicago” will change the search so you get results only for that specific donut shop.

And guess what? That box on the right pops up. If the business has a Google+ page, you will see much the same information as we did for National Geographic, perhaps including Recent Posts. But depending on your business, you may have other information, such as hours, price range, reviews (now with a 5-star scale!)…

The information in the box for this donut shop is quite different from National Geographic. (Click for full-size)

Some of this information is also the same for a service-oriented business like a law firm. Here’s an example from one in Seattle chosen at random.

(Click for full-size)

See the reviews? The photos? The recent posts? All of that is pulled from this firm’s Google+ page.

Go ahead, Google yourself and see what your results look like.

Well, great. Another social media page to manage.

Yes, but it doesn’t have to be such a chore! Software like Hootsuite can make your life a lot easier by allowing you to post to all of your social media pages at once. You can even schedule posts.

And if you already use Clix for SEO, we’re here to help or take care of it for you!

The post Recent Posts from Google+ Now in Search Results appeared first on Clix.

Google Updates Search 65 Times

Clix — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 14:19:00 +0000

Matt Cutts tweeted yesterday, “If you care about search, heads up! 65 search quality changes for August and September: http://goo.gl/NZQOc.” Naturally, we care about search and wanted to post the changes that we think are the most important to search. For the full list of updates, click here.

PROOF!

I filtered our most important updates into two categories: Local & Quality.

Local

Name: LTS. [project “Other Ranking Components”] Google improved their web ranking to determine what pages are relevant for queries containing locations.

Our Take: If you search for a keyword containing a locale such as st louis, what can you expect to get back from Google? Your results should take into consideration the entire metropolitan area, right? It’s a subjective concept, but what if you were to search Google using a keyword that contains ballwin or even manchester ave.? Then, the search itself becomes more objective – more exact. Proximity is a tough concept to take into consideration because it all comes down to preference. How far are you willing to drive? How much are you willing to pay for shipping? Do you really want to do business with someone 30 miles away? Or, 300 miles away? This update objectively takes into consideration your location and hopes to provide you with better results.

Name: nearby (August). [project “User Context”] Google improved the precision and coverage of their system to help you find more relevant local web results. Now Google is better at identifying web results that are local to the user, and rank them appropriately.

Our Take: This local update is one of many. The focus of this one is to provide users with a more relevant local search experience. Google bases its local search on IP addresses, keyword terms and manual location targeting (i.e., when one manually changes their location). At one time, Google may have missed relevant content, but this update aims to change that.

Name: #83377 (August). [project “User Context”] Google made improvements to show more relevant local results.

Our Take: Not much information is provided here, but this update is relative to improving the quality of local search results by showing relevant listings.

Name: #83406 (September). [project “Query Understanding”] Google improved their ability to show relevant Universal Search results by better understanding when a search has strong image intent, local intent, video intent, etc.

Our Take: Understanding intent is an extremely important component of search. This update aims directly to improve Google’s capacity to identify intent and provide results that are relevant answers.

Name: #81360 (September). [project “Translation and Internationalization”] With this launch, Google began showing local URLs to users instead of general homepages where applicable (e.g. blogspot.ch instead of blogspot.com for users in Switzerland). That’s relevant, for example, for global companies where the product pages are the same, but the links for finding the nearest store are country-dependent.

Our Take: Ok, so this one is more interesting than applicable. It’s a nice example of how Google is segmenting local and catering search to locales, regions and countries.

Quality

Name: #82862 (August). [project “Page Quality”] This launch helped you find more high-quality content from trusted sources.

Our Take: If anything, this update reminds us that low-quality sites are on their way out the door.

Name: #83442 (August). [project “Snippets”] This change improved a signal Google uses to determine how relevant a possible result title actually is for the page.

Our Take: Hopefully this spells the end for sites that use title tags blatantly misrepresenting their content.

Name: #82279 (August). [project “Other Ranking Components”] Google changed to fewer results for some queries to show the most relevant results as quickly as possible.

Our Take: This update is not far-reaching. However, we like how it’s focused and cuts out the fat.

Name: #83709 (August). [project “Other Ranking Components”] This change was a minor bug fix related to the way links are used in ranking.

Our Take: What does Google consider to be minor? Ah, yes, who knows. But, this is a little reminder that a poor backlink profile is going to kick your online campaign in the rear end sooner rather than later.

Name: #84010 (August). [project “Page Quality”] Google refreshed data for the “Panda” high-quality sites algorithm.

Our Take: Yes, the panda has been updated for its 20th time. This begs the question, when is Zebra coming out?

Name: #83689 (August). [project “Page Quality”] This launch helped you find more high-quality content from trusted sources.

Our Take: This update is similar to #82862.

Name: #84394 (September). [project “Page Quality”] This launch helped you find more high-quality content from trusted sources.

Our Take: This update is similar to #82862.

Name: #83901. [project “Synonyms”] This change improved the use of synonyms for search terms to more often return results that are relevant to the user’s intention.

Our Take: Searching is not a matter of exact match. This is evident if you have a background in PPC. Google takes into account synonyms to match what you “meant” (or, to at least try…).

If you would like to see the full list of updates, please click the link at the top of the page.

The post Google Updates Search 65 Times appeared first on Clix.

Google Updates Search: Six Degrees of Bacon

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 22:08:07 +0000

SEOs have been waiting for the latest update to Google search. Far from the feared Penguin update that we are anticipating, this change is quite delicious. Bacon Number (yes, that is the official name) calculates the degree of separation of actors and actresses from Kevin Bacon.

The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon is a theory that any celebrity can be linked to Kevin Bacon by six or fewer degrees of separation. Bacon’s extensive resume and reputation for working with just about everyone makes it difficult to find an actor with a Bacon Number over 2 or 3.

To find the Bacon Number of an actor, just type “Bacon Number” (without quotation marks) followed by the actor’s name.

The result utilizes Google’s Knowledge Graph to create a simple list at the top of the results page.

There are some qualms about what qualifies a person to have a Bacon Number. Anne Frank, for example, has a Bacon Number of 3, despite never having appeared personally in a film. In this case Google has applied the use of her photo in an educational film for a personal experience. Personally, I don’t think that should count.

Searches for celebrity Bacon Numbers reveals some other surprising connections.

Snooki, yes Jersey Shore Snooki, has a Bacon number of 3.

Kevin is not impressed.

Justin Bieber’s is 4. Even former Cardinal’s player Albert Pujols has a 4 ranking!

What are some more surprising Bacon Numbers that you found? Let us know in the comments!

The post Google Updates Search: Six Degrees of Bacon appeared first on Clix.

“Things, Not Strings”: Google Introduces Knowledge Graph

Fri, 18 May 2012 15:34:56 +0000

Wednesday, May 16, Google announced yet another change to its search. The Knowledge Graph is intended to connect relevant information to the implication of connected characters. The “things, not strings” approach implies that the search engine can actually interpret the meanings behind words and give relevant responses based on previous searches and related content.

The goals of this latest endeavor are simple: provide the answers that searchers are looking for and eliminate irrelevant information. The connective properties of the graph mean that the user will be shown relative information that does not necessarily contain the original search keywords. In this manner Google will transition from an “information engine” to a “knowledge engine”

Connecting the Dots:

Suppose I want to find out who constructed the St. Louis Gateway Arch. My search term, {St. Louis arch}, generates a list of organic search results as well as a Knowledge Graph side bar. Here, I am treated to a map, summary, and brief facts about the construction, height, architect, and style.

In addition to this information about the structure itself, Google presents a list of searches that have been used by others who found the same topic. The theme, in this case, seems to be St. Louis attractions. The search engine recognizes that because I was looking for information about the arch I might be interested in the same local attractions as other users.

Summary:

The other goal is to help searchers find a summary containing the most likely information that searchers want. This will vary based on the topic. Let’s say I’m searching for Kate Middleton (I’m a sucker for royal wedding information). In the summary I’ll see a brief Wikipedia clip about why she’s important (she’s married to Prince William) as well as links to related categories including her family members, Alma matter, and media appearances. For a person, these categories remain fairly consistent with some exceptions. The summary of the Queen, for example, also includes her net worth and full name.

Finding Right Information:

Let’s say I want to know more about The Hunger Games. A search for {hunger games} brings up knowledge graph results. In addition to the related searches and summary, the search engine recognizes that {hunger games} could refer to either the literary series or the 2012 film. Enter the “results about” box. In this location the meanings of the search are broken down. In this manner searchers are directed to the specific information they seek without having to sift through a plethora of uncategorized results.

What Does It Mean?

As a St. Louis Search Engine Optimization company, we are constantly trying to stay in line with what searchers are trying to find and deliver the best, most relevant information. The integration of Knowledge Graph will, without a doubt, assist users in this endeavor.

Do you think Knowledge Graph will improve search? Let us know in the comments!

The post “Things, Not Strings”: Google Introduces Knowledge Graph appeared first on Clix.

Search Engine Spring Cleaning

Fri, 04 May 2012 17:35:53 +0000

So, you want to find information using a search engine. Unfortunately, as a consequence of Penguins, Pandas, and a layout that doesn’t necessarily provide the smoothest navigation, there’s a chance what you’re looking for won’t be found on mega search engine Google. Following the de-indexing of blogs and the crack down on “black hat practices” even those St. Louis SEO companies that practice “white hat” strategies have suffered.

In the wake of the Google overhaul it’s time to do a little Spring-cleaning of our search engine preferences. The following are the top search engines that are most likely to find what you’re looking for: Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo. You might notice that Yahoo doesn’t quite make the cut. Yahoo has become the MySpace of search engines. It worked for a while and built a well-known brand, but it has since been overtaken by bigger, better engines with more flash to attract users.

A quick evaluation of the things that matter to search users reveals which search engines are more likely to continue to experience success and which are not.

What to Evaluate:

Percentage of Ads:

Personally, the number of ads on search pages can turn me off to the content. I want results that deserve to be at the top of the page, not necessarily those that have paid to be there. (+/- 1)

Availability of Related Terms:

Suggestions for related terms are helpful for finding additional content related to a topic. (+/- 1)

Tracked Search:

According to the Pew Internet & American Life survey in February 2012, 65% of those polled would not approve of having their searches tracked and used for personalized results. (+/- 1)

Collected Information:

73% of those surveyed believe that collecting information and using it to generate search results is not acceptable because it may limit results. (+/- 1)

Targeted Ads:

The use of targeted advertising is not okay with 68% of users because it is perceived as an invasion of privacy. (+/- 1)

User Experience:

The over-all usability of a search engine to find results quickly is the most important element to users. (+/- 5)

The Old Names:

Google:

Category:	Summary:	Score:
Percentage of Ads:	In a search for “steak restaurants in st. louis” 50% of the results above the fold on Page 1 are advertisements.	-1
Related Terms:	Google offers no related terms above the fold. There are, however, related terms listed at the bottom of the page.	+1
Tracked Search:	Google automatically tracks what users are searching for. Unless you utilize some form of in-private browsing (and let’s face it, who really uses those settings?) your information is being kept.	-1
Collected Information:	See above.	-1
Targeted Ads:	Google’s use of paid advertising means that the ads you see are related to the search term you have entered. While this doesn’t mean that your Google search preferences wont be used to target you elsewhere on the web, on Google itself you are unlikely to notice.	+1
User Experience:	Overall, the user experience on Google is difficult to analyze. It depends, primarily, upon the individual. While I don’t personally like a combination of maps, business listings, websites, and reviews presented on a single page with different formats others might find it the best way to navigate.	+3
Total Score:		+2

Bing:

Category:	Summary:	Score:
Percentage of Ads:	Above the fold only 45% of the results are advertisements.	+1
Related Terms:	Bing provides 8 related searches on the first page.	+1
Tracked Search:	Bing, like Google, tracks the searches that its users enter, as well as searches that occur across the web.	-1
Collected Information:	Bing uses the information it collects to design the rankings for its results, however this is limited by its lack of a social platform such as Google+ that targets searches to users rather than IPs.	-1
Targeted Ads:	If you’re logged in to Facebook or another platform connected to Bing its likely that you will see your search terms recycled in ads, however this will not be obvious on Bing itself.	+1
User Experience:	Overall, the results presented by Bing are easier to navigate than those presented by it’s competitor, Google. The results followed a uniform layout broken up only by the addition of a small local results section. Additionally, websites including comparative reviews were listed higher than the restaurants themselves.	+5
Total Score:		+6

Up and Coming:

DuckDuckGo:

Category:	Summary:	Score:
Percentage of Ads:	Above the fold only 12% of the results were advertisements or paid results (1 out of 8).	+1
Related Terms:	DuckDuckGo does not offer any related terms.	-1
Tracked Search:	DuckDuckGo’s primary marketing push is that it, unlike Google and Bing, does not track search information. It’s privacy policy outlines its commitment to keeping the privacy of users protected.	+1
Collected Information:	See above.	+1
Targeted Ads:	Because users’ information is not tracked or collected it cannot be used to target advertising.	+1
User Experience:	DuckDuckGo does not incorporate pages. The results appear on a single page that lengthens as users continue to scroll for more results. It’s a little difficult, using this system, to remember exactly where you are over the course of a search. DDG does not incorporate maps or business listings. The listings themselves rank reviews and third party sites higher than the actual St. Louis restaurants, however, so users are likely to find what they are looking for.	+2
Total Score:		+5

Upon evaluating the aspects above, I have decided I’m treating myself to a steak dinner.

Just kidding. Actually, it appears that the more effective search engines are not, in fact, owned by Google. It remains to be seen whether the competitors can over come the incredible branding of the search giant and steal the glory of the most used search engine. The most daunting challenge for Bing, DuckDuckGo, and others will be the simple fact of conversion from a site that has monopolized the industry since 1998.

The post Search Engine Spring Cleaning appeared first on Clix.