Recently SEOmoz posted about running a test that proved their thesis that nofollow PageRank sculpting still works (while actually only proving issues with sample size & methodology). But the issue of “proving” things with SEO publicly is typically a misguided one.
It is so hard to control variables in tests, and even if you could set up a control set many test types would be isolated to fictional words. But the issue with that is that the relevancy algorithms can change based on your location, the location where a particular keyword is commonly searched from, how many other competing results there are for that query (and what those other sites are changing while you test), and whatever algorithm shifts happen in Google while your test is going on (like promotion of certain vertical databases, baking in new pieces to the relevancy algorithms, improvements in related vocabularies, introduction of new penalties and filters), etc etc etc
How Do You Do Local SEO?
It’s quite clear that local SEO will be *one* of the places to be in 2010 and beyond. Need convincing?
Check out:
- Google and Yelp’s failed deal – If local search was unlikely to see a decent ongoing up tick, Google might not have as much interest in acquiring a site like Yelp. Even if Google was just buying Yelp out to remove competition for it’s own local stuff, it still shows an acknowledgement that local search is quite important.
- Google’s Flat Rate Local Adwords Pricing Model aimed at local businesses
The 2009 most searched lists just keep coming, this time from voice mobile search provider, Vlingo:
- YouTube
- MySpace
- Weather
- Movie Times
- Yellow Pages
- MapQuest
- craigslist
- White Pages
So where are the Michael Jackson searches? Vlingo president and CEO Dave Grannan explains:
Unlike traditional Web searches that focus on specific search terms such as ‘Michael Jackson’ or ‘Twilight,’ our data shows that on mobile phones, people tend to search for specific destinations sites and resources. Mobile Web search is very popular on Vlingo, accounting for over 20% of all usage. Based on our users’ top searches, we are seeing mobile extending far beyond SMS and voice communications to encompass multimedia and social networking.
StumbleUpon has had quite a year. They bought themselves back from eBay and launched a URL shortening service, among other things. Now, they’re revealing the most stumbled sites for their historic year that was 2009.
Here they are, broken down by category:
Arts
Jim Jarmusch Quote – 278K Stumbles
Aled Lewis Illustrations – 253K Stumbles
Pepsi Logo Response – 229K Stumbles
Bizarre/Oddities
99 Things You Should Have Seen On The Internet – 471K Stumbles
Scary Good Facepaint – 374K Stumbles
Slightly Warped Curiosities: Gibraltar Airport – 352K Stumbles
Food/Cooking
Google thought it had a right to own Groovle.com, so it took it’s case to the National Arbitration Forum (NAF). (The NAF is an international arbitration service accredited by ICANN.)
But the NAF didn’t agree with Google that Groovle could be confused for the search giant. Groovle does use Google’s custom search. It also provides a service where you can skin your Google homepage with a photograph (similar to Bing without the hotspots).
Still, Groovle just didn’t sound or act enough like Google to warrant the domain being handled over to the folks at Mountain View.
Indeed is a job search aggregator. If you conduct a job search on Indeed, it will pull opportunities posted to a variety of job boards including Career Builder, Dice, etc. as well as corporate sites.
Today, they’ve revealed the fastest growing job opportunities for 2009.
- Cloud Computing
- iPhone
- Corporate Social Responsibility
- Blogger
- Pediatrician
- Hospitalist
- Social Media
- Speech Language Pathologist (SLP)
With high unemployment rates in the past year, many have chosen to look at new careers. This list may help you find a new path if you’re struggling to find work.
If you uploaded pictures of your family on Christmas Day to Facebook – or updated your status to dish on all your new goodies – you weren’t alone.
For the first time ever, Facebook ousted Google for most visited site in a day. Or at least, so tweeted Hitwise.
It makes sense. No longer were people frantically searching for presents. The big day arrived and it was time to be social, not searching.
via Mashable
Posted by randfish
What a year! From traveling to software development, saying goodbye to old friends and growing the team with new ones, we’ve had a tremendously exciting 12 months at SEOmoz. To celebrate, next week, on Wednesday, January 6th 2010, we’ll be hosting an informal meetup at the Elysian Brewery on Capitol Hill in Seattle, WA. Everyone from the Seattle technology, startup and SEO community is welcome to attend, and we’ll be hosting a special guest, Distilled’s Will Critchlow (who’s chosen the worst possible time, weather-wise, to visit our fair city). Please RSVP via the Google form below!
Consumer Watchdog and the Center For Digital Democracy contacted the FTC to halt Google from buying AdMob on anti-trust and privacy grounds, according to Tech Crunch.
Tech Crunch includes a letter written to the FTC co-signed by representatives from Consumer Watchdog and the CDD. The highlights of the letter include:
The proposed deal would substantially lessen competition in the increasingly important mobile advertising market.
In addition to the anti-trust issues, the spectre of the combined Google/AdMob raises substantial privacy issues.
The Nexus One aka Gphone will only be sold by Google when it is offered to the public next month, according to T Mobile. The two companies will share support for the phone and T Mobile will be the carrier for the phone.
This should provide an interesting test of Google’s ability to sell a physical product and manage support for it. Given the limited support for their other products, this could be the challenge of the year for Google.
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