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I’m always looking for ways to make my site stand out, so for the past month, I’ve been researching software that will allow me to create screencast tutorials for my website.In case you’re unaware, screencasting is the process of recording actions on your computer screen and publishing the recording in a video format.Since I have […]
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Last week, Microsoft Live Search expanded the description that appears below Wikipedia results and have added navigational links to major headings within the Wikipedia article. Google has long been criticized by the search marketing community for ranking Wikipedia results highly for a large percentage of queries, but the general searching population tends to find these results useful. Microsoft must have found that their searchers find Wikipedia results particularly valuable for their queries to have implemented special treatment for them.
Below is the Wikipedia result for the query breakfast at tiffany's. The description that appears below the title is twice as long as standard descriptions and links to sections within the Wikipedia article are listed horizontally below the text.
Below more details about the Wikipedia listing, as well as on the overall trend of all the major search engines showing increased details on the results pages and what that might mean for site owners who are worried about lowered click-through rates.
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Google Merchant Search has quietly launched as a test program to compare products and services in shopping comparison engine fashion. Google Merchant Search is a test feature, apparently in the UK, and is not available for every search. You may see it when conducting some searches but not others.
Lead gen providers like Bankrate.com in financial services, one of Google’s largest customer segments, can’t be too pleased with Google offering a free service that competes indirectly with theirs.
Our friends over at SearchEngineLand had the story first with “Outing Google Merchant Search” as if GMS were in the closet.
Here’s the view from Google and their FAQ for Google Merchant Search.
What is Google Merchant Search?
Google Merchant Search is an easy new way for you to find products or services from providers who match your needs.
What products or services are supported through Google Merchant Search?
The service is currently only available for secured loans from financial services providers.
How do you choose which providers to show me?
Our search results are based on the criteria you provided in your request; we compare your request with our list of participating providers, and show those that are most relevant for you. Participating providers pay Google when someone requests a quote through this system.
How does Google connect me to the provider?
You submit your contact details and request a time to speak to the provider. A Google operator will call you at the appointed time, then connect you with the provider. Because we do not share your contact information with the provider, they won’t be able to contact you again about your request unless you decide to give then your contact details.
How much does it cost to use Google Merchant?
This service is free for the user (the person searching for services). Please note that when calling the free phone number from a mobile phone, operator or carrier charges may apply.
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A reader sent us an example of the new Google Merchant Search live and in the wild. What’s Google Merchant Search? After a little poking around, it appears to be a new but unannounced program in beta where people can comparison shop services like loans.
Here are the Google Merchant Search FAQs, and here is a demo page. From the looks of it, you can compare loan providers, you can pick a vendor and then speak with a lender - all through this system.
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This morning I was handing off a project to a developer and found myself ranting about the common mistakes developers make when coding HTML. These boneheaded mistakes can cause search engines to choke when it comes to indexing your websites. And its easy to avoid making these mistakes. Here’s how:
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Democratic presidential candidate Barak Obama’s online organizing and fundraising successes are perhaps unprecedented. He’s also the query volume king, among the candidates. But how does he do as an online marketer? We might not know his CTRs or how his campaigns “convert” but now we know where he spent his money. According to US Federal Election Commission records, examined and parsed by ClickZ and further explored by PaidContent, Google has won the lion’s share of the candidate’s online spending.
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The Google Website Optimizer blog is serving up a helpful tip on testing widgets and other site accessories.
They gave an example of a popcorn company that tested their current trust seal against an upgraded one they were being pitched. The test also included a factor where there was no seal shown to visitors.
Having no seal at all performed poorly. But there was little difference between the old trust seal and the upgraded one. The popcorn company was able to put their money to better use than having a new seal on their site.
Do you test your widgets? Have any tips? Leave your advice in the comments!
Related Reading:
SEO Conversion Testing: Advanced Search Engine Optimization
Testing Landing Pages Includes Testing Best Practices
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Consumers are shifting from “what to buy” category searches to “where to buy” phrases. With that specificity comes a higher propensity to purchase. In today’s Vertical Search column, “Winning the Local Search Battle,” local search expert Gregg Stewart looks at some of the publishers who are winning the local search charge.
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When Google announced the addition of video units to Adsense, it only rolled out the program only to U.S. Adsense users. A month later, the program was expanded to the UK, Ireland and Canada. Now, the program includes 8 additional countries, and here they are:
France
Italy
Spain
Australia
Netherlands
Poland
New Zealand
Japan
Hat tip to Australian SEW reader David Webb, who noticed the change.
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I reported that Google has updated their favorite icon on Google.com, from the old multi-colored boxed in “G,” to a single blue lowercase g.
New Favorite Icon:
Old Favorite Icon:
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