List of Google services and tools - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It's pretty amazing when you think about how many Google Services exist for users, everything from finance to specialized services to email and travel planning. The wikipedia page referenced goes more in depth into these services (80+% of them in beta), and gives you a complete picture of Google's masterplan, as of yet.

I do find many of there services incredibly useful and relevant, and many others redundant or quite trivial for advanced use. I think it's Google covering their bases when it comes to a variety of their users and human behaviors online. Obviously, Blogger is one of my favorit tools and gmail is quite smooth. The Google Base Beta is becoming a favorite of mine, but still has quite a few bugs and it's patterns of use (in terms of SEO) are not well known, making this a bit of an enigma...

Google Calendar

Yet another Google application setting itself up to become an important appliance for Google's users. It is actually quite useful in the fact that it may be generated by buckets so you can have multiple calendars for different functions or just one for all. I am poised to take a more indepth look at this tool to see it if it integrates into Outlook or allows direct integration with Gmail, Google Base and other Google specific tools.

Look out folks, next might be Google's own personalized E-shop... perhaps Google and Amazon really will be close fitting for this endeavor...

GoogleBase Integrated With Google SERPs-- Frog Blog Search Marketing Guru

What was interesting about this whole topic is that Google is testing its Google Base offering in the SERP and that the pattern by which it posts specific search terms is not known or even discussed on forums or blogs related to SEO. I know I've been using the Google Base interface for submitting real estate, events and even services. The listings look great, are easy to modify and do come up rather well in Google Base searches. The only thing I would like to and intend on studying is how Google or Google Base determines a search term should be utilized for the SERP results. For instance as is mentioned in this article, "houses for sale", "apartment for sale", and "los angeles real estate" all show the Google Base form on the SERP at top, however when you search for other locations or offerings that would be in Google, they don't necessarily come up in the results.

In time it will become clear, and perhaps they might also be simply testing out a few chosen terms, thus making it relatively impossible to be sure that a theory can be applied. Check me up in a later date when I will be discussing my findings on this matter and how it can be applied to SEO related efforts.

Wiser About The Web

This article dated on the 27th of March (Today is the 21st...), is pretty indicative of the trends surounding online marketing and SEO/SEM. I've been involved in the online world for over 12 years now and I have seen quite a few things progress. One of them is definately online tracking. This is a definate read if you are interested in the sorts of data advertising agencies and Search marketing firms acquire. If you couple those measurements with the metrics data search engines like Google and Yahoo collect/provide, you can see how truly little annomity we have online. Scary though, but the complete truth.

Google Music Search - Tool for Audiophiles

Yet another great tool in the Google Arsenal, Music Search. Although I am not sure if this is new, I just found out about this about a week ago and although it is a fledgling technology, the promise is there. Next best thing to add to this tool to make it a killer app is to be able to play a sound byte/sample off of the search page (probably using AJAX). This would make the experience very fluid and probably allow Google or affiliates to make immediate purchases (which I know I've fallen victim to... and many others will also.).

Kinderstart Vs. Google - Who will Win? Who Cares?

Reading this article about Kinderstart's suite against Google, it becomes immediately appearent that online marketing can be cutthroat and at times innane. In this case, I can understand the upset that Kinderstart must have experienced when 80% of its revenue was lost and 70% of its traffic vanished, however, on the same note, Google makes these updates often and that is one of the majoy risks of operating with a dependancy on one site / search engine, or portal.

Operating in the SEO/SEM space, professionals like myself understand that updates can certainly "shake things up", but we move on and determine a new strategy to shift the reality of search engine filtration to our favor. As the profession grows up, we will understand how to more effectively implement a strategy that can work well for years at a time and be augmented slightly to maintain the effect.

This lawsuit seems quite lame in my opinion as any one of my clients, or me for that matter, could go around suing Google willy'nilly for similar results, but in our minds, we know better. Shame on Kinderstart for starting a battle that is unjust, and hopefully nothing beneficia comes of this site for Kinderstart.

Technology is a tool, not an end. There ends my rant.

Google Offers SEO Selection Guidelines

As interesting a topic as this is, it holds so much in terms of emphasis for the growth and development of the SEO profession. After the search engines and concerned "netizens" began policing search engine abuses by black and grey hat SEO's back in 1999/2000, the profession began its movement to become a true profession which could garner salary and reputation worthy of the effort and improvement brought forth. No movement was greater however, than over the past 2 years where it became outrageously obvious that Search engines were clamping down on black hats, concerned "netizens" were not accepting the abuse anymore, corporations were more aware of the implication of "spamming" search engines and overall SEO professionalism became a true virtue.

While I and many others have always stayed true to white hat tactics, for quite some time there was angst over the popularity and widespread underground approval or "whatever it takes" tactics for SEO's. I can safely say that the search engines: Google, Yahoo!, MSN and others are indeed doing a great job at improving algorithms in this way and that the SEO community is beginning to get serious on improving reputation and actual optimization of websites, the way it should have always been... is now becoming a reality.

About time.

Microsoft launches revamped search engine

Yet another article about the Microsoft initiatives to improve beyond Google's status as the defacto search engine of current. The good thing here, is that, now there are a couple more details about their new engine, plans for the near future to burst onto the scene ahead of Google and also a name for their new technology. Microsoft dubs their brand spanking new web search application, "live".

Set to be replacing the current MSN engine technology, "live" will be running through a undetermined length test-phase on www.live.com and once deemed read to launch, will replace http://www.msn.com engine. Features planned to improve the technology beyond that which exists right now is tabbed searches conducted simultaneously in one window, smart pane technology which will allow for display of more or less result information according to user specifications/needs, and image searches in tandem with copy and information searches. A great possibility also lies in more natural searches conducted off of logical questions as opposed to keyword based searching which is not completely considered natural.

Now, it will definately become appearent that if this becomes the star of search, I and other SEO specialists will be looking into new ways of designing search term optimization patterns, and could
A) create a more accessible method of penetration into search results or
b) be detrimental to search tactics and be more of an uphill battle to get results from optimization efforts...

At this time, we will just have to study, analyze and wait to find what the future brings.

Microsoft says better than Google soon | Reuters.com

I am certainly interested in this bit of news as Microsoft is making a really big claim and the correlation between their efforts with their Small Business Directory and the effects seen in the market with that directory has improved. The fact that Microsoft's Bcentral directory has been placed as one of the more important directories from a position of not even being known over the past 10 years, shows me and perhaps the rest of the SEO / SEM community that they are serious in positioning their search services in front of competitors.

The question, will they succeed, is yet another issue. After all they are facing two giants, Yahoo! and Google. Google of course being the most proactive and R&D focused competitor, willing and able to try everything to dominate the search market.

The most intreguing thing at this time for me is how Microsoft intends to be better than Google's 100+ point site analysis. What could they tweak or add on to their algorythm to improve search relevance and thus beat out the functionality and quality of results that Google churns out? I am sure this is on the mind of every SEO professional who has read the article.

All we can do at this point is wait and see.

Submitting to Google and Yahoo Local

Although links are the focus of link building, it is important to grab at opportunities that are considered traditional. Although getting a local listing (like the yellow pages) is somewhat traditional, there is a new spin on the quality since now there are identical ways to get info listed online. Superpages is a good example of an online yellow pages that supports internet listings and searches.

Get listed at Google and Yahoo! local to see some extra, qualified traffic. You'll need location information for your offices, a phone number to list, a description of what you do or sell, an email address and website. For Google, you'll might want to use your Google account, which you already have if you've signed up for Gmail, Adwords, Google Sitemaps or any other online based Google product. Local search is becoming more important to your business so start by using their form and verification process. Basic Local Yahoo listings are free of charge just like Google Local.

My Favorite SEO Tools - Professional Picks

Since there are many good tools to conduct SEO / SEM campaigns, I felt like sharing some of my favorites, and in doing so, I believe they are the best in the industry. I hear from many SEO professionals that getting a good sampling of keyword search stats comes down to the use of a tool like wordtracker, and while it is useful, it doesn't quite have the right feel for me. To collect the searches conducted on a term or "like" term, I use Yahoo! /Overture's Keyword tool instead of wordtracker. The searches performed can be compaired against a search done in MSN, Yahoo! or Google to get the success factor by comparing the ratio of competitive results to searches performed per month. Obviously, the more searches performed to the least competitive results, is what any good SEO looks for.

For link building campaigns or determining the history of links from a site / client, I like the link reputation tool. It can be slow at times, but overall, I do find it useful and enlightening. Furthermore, Seochat's Pagerank search can be used to find high pageranked sites that are link building opportunities. The best part about this is that Seochat publishes a plethora of useful tools, all in one spot.

Other tools include:

Don't have or want the Google toolbar? Use Seochat's Pagerank Lookup.
Want to get your site up to par with SEO like symantic structure and "rules", try sitening's SEO analyser (a definite killer app) . Honorable mention does go to the developers of another SEO analyser which with a little more tweaking, might catch up to Sitening's tool.
Looking to see how many pages of your site or client site are indexed by the major engines? Try the index report tool.
To find a list of robots crawling websites, check out the robots list.
Dont necessarily want the robot list, but do want the robot user agents?
An alternative to Seochat's link popularity tool is this one.

In conclusion, these tools make the process of acquiring SEO statistics and data, easier and allow for a more complete "picture" or the situation you are facing in your optimization battles. Use them, they will definately help and provide a way to track results.

Section 508 Checklist

I found an excellent resource for 508 compliance checking. If you need to understand how to code or recode your website to be 508 compliant, then I would certainly check this site out to learn how. Right now, I am using the checklist to compare my coding process with current sites developed to learn how I can better my code and pass compliance. I would from this point on, code any and all new sites to be compliant from get-go.

Although you or I may never need a screen reader to understand a webpage, there are many who do, and to make things pleasant for our visitors, everyone must be considered (to a reasonable degree of course... I don't plan on supporting 640x480 resolution or the like.).

It's alwasy wise to do a 508 validation checkafter you are done coding elements to see if everything has been coded/recoded properly. Looking for a simple understanding of the section 508 compliance standard?

Feel free to comment, add or suggest other useful tools, articles and tips.
[Image above searched on Google Images and source found on http://www.insecure.org/]

Making the Switch to XHTML from HTML 4

Although XHTML has been around for a long while, many websites have not been made to be XHTML compliant and as a matter of fact, not 508 compliant... This poses issues as the major search engines like Google, Yahoo!, MSN and ASK are starting to or will be adhering tightly to standard coding which has been brought up to speed with usability, accessibility and "clean code", and at this time of writing the standard is XHTML.

While I will admit in many ways it is easy as web coding professionals with many years of experience to continue coding HTML 4, as it is easier, but there are many reasons why we should not. First, HTML is clunky and quite honestly, poorly coded and heavy. Second, if you are serious about promoting your website, services or products, then you must keep up with search engine trends and Internet standards with regard to demand.

What is XHTML?

XHTML is an acronym for Extensible Hypertext Markup language and is comprised of a mix of the best elements from HTML and XML, indeed a hybrid. XHTML was developed to create a stricter standard for web pages, to reduce incompatibilities between browsers, and to create a universal standard for document format which could be used on different platforms, devices, etc.

XHTML is Prime

The best thing about XHTML is that it is almost the same as HTML. While you cannot get away with lazy coding practices, it may actually be better for coders since the page coding is kept to a minimum and layouts are cleaner.

Changes in XHTML Vs. HTML

There are several main changes to the way an XHTML page is formed that HTML has never conformed to:

• All tags must be lowercase

Example: <font> NOT <Font> OR <FONT>

• Each page must have a defined DOCTYPE declaration


• Documents must be properly formed


• All tags must be well formed

Example: <br> must now be <br> AND <img alt="" src="a.gif" /> is now <img alt="" src="a.gif" /gt;

• Certain attibutes have been made obsolete


• The name attibute is different now

Example: <img src="a.gif" name="name" /> MUST NOW BE <img id="name" src="a.gif" />

• Attributes cannot be shortened


• All tags must be properly nested

About DocType

There are three types for XHTML: Strict, Transitional and Frameset.
Here are examples of those DOCTYPE declarations -

Strict

Strict is to be used if the page markup is very clean and is much more difficult to adhere to.

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3c.org/TR/XHTML1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">

Transitional

This is to be used if you still require certain use of HTML or if you prefer your code to be somewhat loose (while adhereing to XHTML standards of course).

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3c.org/TR/XHTML1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">

Frameset

If you use frames, this is the declaration for you.

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Frameset//EN" "http://www.w3c.org/TR/XHTML1/DTD/xhtml1-frameset.dtd">

Note: The declaration should be used in the very first line of your XHTML page. Since the DOCTYPE declaration is a comment tag in essence to older browsers, you do not have to worry about any such related issues.

In addition to making tags lowercase, adding alt attributes to every image (they can be empty) and not shortening attributes (ie: <input type="checkbox" name="true"> NOW IS <input type="checkbox" href="http://www.website.com" named="true">, but now it must be formed like: <a href="http://www.website.com">.

There are other things to take not of when it comes to validating for XHTML, but these elements are some of the biggest and most common to adapt. Changing these to be XHTML compliant will certainly make the process easier and swifter. Good luck and Good Coding!

BlogShares - Web Site Design Company

I found an interesting site that I've never seen prior. BlogShares is a website that lists blogs in almost the same fashion that the NYSE does with money stocks. So instead of stoking in companies, there is a perceived value and trade cost for blogs online. I think it is a fun concept and will participate... Love to check out new fun websites afterall, I am in the web biz. Our Blog is bring traded under BlogShares - Web Site Design Company and is valued as of this writing at b$1000 (b$ is blog bucks).

Anyone else have any experience with this website or a similar website?

Just When I thought it was Safe to Blog Again...

A blog, right here on blogger, labelling itself as the Nexium Blog, is filling itself with garbage posts that use a bunch of expensive vocabulary words to fill in the page. At the end of every post is a link to a Gambling site.

Clearly this is BLOG-SPAM, and I have seen it once before, almost similar in style... I think it may even be the same person because I swear I saw one of those gamling links before. While this certainly is not related to Website Design or SEO, I felt that it was importnat to mention... After all, it abuses the trust online that we should foster, not ravage.

Additionally, This is a "black hat" tactic for gambling SEO. Clearly not smart and a waste of space, time and an abuse to all who belong.

What do you think? Feedback is appreciated.

Google Acquires Measure Map

Measure Map seems to be a really useful tool for tracking visits, posts and blog use. Now that it is part of the Google universe, It is yet another reason to use Google. Funny thing is that their "invitation" form (posted on their homepage) seems to be using AJAX, the very same implementation technology for Google Suggest.

While right now this is a "cool" tool, it certainly can be as useful or more so than Google's Urchin, for Blogs, of course. While Measure Map is primarily focused on a blogger's use, I am sure SEO firms and professionals will be picking up the tool for Optimization and tracking purposes. While it lacks the complete functionality of an integrated analytics application, no doubt, with an API set, it may just do the trick...

I m waiting to be invited to check out the tool in all of it's glory. Wish me luck.

Yahoo Testing New Homepage

Yahoo! is trying something new... Apparently it's with a new design and the functional use of AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript And XML). I remember when DHTML was considered the hot acronym, after all, it is not a new technology but a combination of scripting language, document coding and remote access to data stores.

In my opinion the combination that AJAX provides in terms of functionality and design will propel it to be of great use (and not just in personal sites). DHTML was a fad and didn't last long before being reconsidered as a has-been, but AJAX is actually useful and for the most part, conforms to standards.

It will certainly be of interest to me, and I will be posting more on AJAX and it's functional/designing uses for website design and development.

Additionally, for anyone interested in a tutorial on AJAX check out these resources:
http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/AJAX:Getting_Started
http://www.yourhtmlsource.com/javascript/ajax.html
IBM AJAX Tutorial : Part 1 / Part 2

Let me know what you think about these tutorials, perhaps even your take on the tech combo itself and implications on the web. After all, I have seen and really loved the Google suggest tool that uses a bit of AJAX guruism.

Matt Cutts on Google's International Web Search Spam Removal Initiatives

It's been a fact that Google has been improving search engine algorithms to detect "search spam" such as doorway pages, hidden text, and other cloaking techniques that belong to the fray of "Black Hat" SEO firms and professionals. Just a minor digress... Living some time as a "white-hat hacker" it was appearent that the term "Black Hat" refered to the hackers that caused malicious damage and were purely after profit as opposed to the clean motives of the "White Hat", looking to save the day by abiding by guidelines or honor...

As a white hat SEO, I understand that it can be tempting to try using cloaking techniques that at the moment work, but can easily be offset by the understanding that with risk comes consequence, and in Google's case, it is pretty severe! Right now those black hat SEO firms could be reaping the dough and traffic, then one day, ZERO. Not one visit, not one conversion. Now that is a painful online death.
(Reaper image above from a Salon.com Blog)

Search Engine 101: How to lose a Search Team

Although this story is quite hot of the press, it seems that the Lycos Search Engine has laid off it's team. Through the years as MSN, Yahoo! and Google came up from the dirt into the highest ranks of search, Lycos, Hotbot and more just seemed to wither into nothingness. I do remember a time when I refused to use google and stuck to hotbot... that is until hotbot began to issue irrelevant results and too much advertising!

I have to say, sometime around 1997 Lycos had an awesome FTP/file search tool which was quite short lived, and needless to say, I too had no reason anymore to use them. Although this report could be taken to mean that the folks working on search are considered to be in the dangerous plumes of job loss, industry-wide, I feel it is simply the mis-mangement of a Search Engine Superstar-wanabee.

Alas, Lycos has joined the living dead, and it is only a matter of time before it collapses into the clutches of a real Search Engine superstar, or worse yet, dissipates into absolute and dark nothingness.

Website Facelift

Hello everyone.

The past month has involved many new changes to the site in terms of W3 validation of XHTML and CSS. Not only has it been a pain in the rear, but a serious look at the structure and quality of the site itself. I've been in the business of designing and developing web sites for years and have concentrated my time on good old HTML, so making the transition to XHTML and CSS has been a bit difficult.

As anyone redeveloping a site knows, there is always rom for improvement and it never seems to be perfect (not even for the time-being), so we often overcompensate by making "pretty" graphics to cover up our code (::).

The good news is that after running the site through a couple of SEO and code validators, the site's main page scored high in SEO quality and validated at 100% for XHTML transitional and CSS. The next logical step is transfering the table structure to CSS and making changes to score a XHTML strict validation.

Until next time, try a couple of these great tools online:
http://www.ranks.nl - Page Density Analyser
http://www.w3.org - HTML, XHTML and CSS validators
http://www.seochat.com - SEO related tools such as "pagerank lookup", "link popularity", "future pagerank" and "google dance" tools.