Entries from May 2007 ↓

Google is launching a major change to their search and its called Universal Search.

Basically, you know those tabs you see when doing a search on Google like maps, images, books, etc. Now they are going to implement results from those search components directly into the SERPs you do when searching on Google.com.

A few examples are:

Try berbatov where you will see the a Youtube video entry around rank 3.

For images, they have decided that it obstructs too much with the search results to implement them into the SERPs so they remain at the top and bottom of the results like a search for Darth Vader

What this means for SEO is that with the increase of exposure to the other elements of search, SEOs will have more options to get to the Google first page. Additionally, whereas before a first page rank 9 ranking maybe be good enough, you are now on the second page.

Expect to see some activity with regards to SEO for images and videos to take advantage of this Google upgrade and also more work to get a higher ranking for web search to make sure your site stays on the first page.

Personally, I feel this is a great change for Google if it works out. Search has been calling out for an upgrade and this is a good start. Google has said that they are still in the process of rolling out the upgrade and changes are to be expected so with one swift silent move, Google puts the excitement back into the search engine optimization industry.

Now, where did I put that camcorder…..

Here at Xenyo, we run a few websites out of interest and for experimentation purposes. We’ve even dabbled in a few made for adsense sites … of course for experimental purposes….

Anyways, what I wanted to post about is what I think is important when creating a new concept for a new website. We like to make good websites when we can as to us it represents that greatest chance of success so this post is about creating a website that you can be proud of and have fun doing.

But what about all those MFAs raking in the cash I hear you ask. Well the successful ones which is less than 1% of the total has a very serious advantage of having vast SEO/marketing knowledge and resources behind it.

If you go down this route than all the best but you’ll be going up against seasoned pros as well as countless newcomers that have heard the stories of these sites making thousands and they seem Sooooooo easy to make. Unless you have a a great strategy, luck and money then I don’t recommend you going down this route as apart from being hard, its boring.

Oks, so what do you do? Preferably, you have an interest and preferably that interest is one that is in a good niche. It doesnt have to be one of the so called high payout ones like loans, cars and whatever but if your favourite pastime is discovering the worldwide varieties of toilet papers then maybe you should consider expanding that niche to Toilet utilities.

The reason why it’s important that the niche is important is that there will be down times like when your site isnt getting much search engine love or worst still gets too much search engine attention resulting in a penalty. Time when your motivation will be put to the test. In those times, it helps to be working on something that you enjoy anyways because work on it you must in sunny days and rainy days. Oh, the knowledge of the niche that you have already and the community of your associates also helps to kick things off.

Here are some steps to get you started.

1. Dont Start!!
Hmm, thats a weird first step but its true. So many webmasters think of a niche and then throw up their wordpress and maybe a forum and hope lady luck is with them. Do the first step is STOP … you need to think about what your site is and what your site will be.

2. Your Mission
First think about the goal of your site. What I find good is to limit yourself to 2 sentences to describe the mission of your site. thinking about this will give you ideas on how to begin your site.

3. Key Advantages
List out your skills and your resources. What will be the key advantage that your site will have over its competitors? Is there something important that your competitor sites are lacking that you can implement on your site? Can you provide knowledge on your site that no one else can?

If you can’t think of any key advantages then what is so great about your site that will make people stick around?

4. How people use your site
Can I start working my site now?

No … think about how people will use your site first, what are you main sections? Can you simplify things? The golden rule is not to have anything on your site that is not necessary. I think this section needs to be discussed in more detail in future posts but before you start working on your site, it is invaluable to spend time with a notepad and think away.

5. Work on your site to your Mission
When working on your site, keep going back to your mission as thats what you want your site to be and thats what you think will make your site a success.

According to his comment on Matt’s blog, he finally confirms the Page Rank update that we had recently.

Matt Cutts Said,

May 8, 2007 @ 7:44 am

Harith:
- Yup, there was a toolbar pagerank update a week or two ago.
- I think Adam said that he was willing to investigate reports of problems. I’ve passed on 1-2 sites to the toolbar folks to check into, but for the most part it was a relatively normal toolbar pagerank update.
- I haven’t given up hope that I’ll still add to my “how to report paid links” post with some examples of the sorts of reports that are helpful, but let’s keep that conversation over on that post.

However, he does mention as we pointed out that the update seemed to have a few problems. Whether or not these problems will be fixed is unknown but knowing Google, I’d doubt it.

They’ll probably just make the next TBPR update a bit earlier.

As a follow up to my previous post on SEO and Human nature, we look at an example of the beginning of a SEO myth.

It all starts in an Internet Marketing Forum ……

Strong Minded SEO:
Google prefer’s green sites!!!! I recently changed my site design and my SERPs dropped drastically. The only thing I changed was the background colour from green to black. Whats more… after seeing the drop I changed it back to Green and boom .. I am back on the first page.

Member A:
Could it be something else that affected your SERPs?

Member B:
Actually, the same happened on my site when I changed the background to light green.

Member C(This one has 5 posts):
Yes, Google prefers light green however a darker shade is ok. You run the risk of getting thrown in the sandbox if you go for the exact optimal of green.

Experienced Poster:
Background colour has nothing to do with SERPs.

Strong Minded SEO:
It does, it a proven fact

Member C:
Wow thx .. cool, I didnt know that. Can I ask if you can give me the exact shade of green?

Experienced Poster:
Background colour has nothing to do with SERPs.

Member D:
Look experienced poster, its been proven if you dont have anything to contribute then shut up.

At this point the experienced poster gives up whilst the findings of this thread appears in other forums and even makes its way to some SEO blogs.