The New Official DMOZ Blog

The Official DMOZ Blog


DMOZ has launched their own blog now. i wonder if this has anything to do with the disappearing of the DMOZ homepage from the Google listings?

Google Goes Outside

Google Uses Outdoor Billboards To Promote Goog411

Interestingly, Google has chosen to use outdoor billboards for initial promotion of its new 411 service. We'll see if this proliferates. Currently, I get the feeling that if you're not online very much, you don't have the same perception of the Google brand as you would if you were constantly surfing the web.

This has significant implications for the over-40, rural demographic that probably doesn't spend that much time perusing websites or buying adwords. Are those the people more likely to use 411? Or, as SELand observes, is this completely a location thing, an attempt to get people's attention when they're at the place where they're most likely to use 411?

I think it's a mix. Those getting their direction from billboards are more likely to be older, less online-savvy users, and therefore Google wants to not exclude those people. However, billboards are probably also more effective media for 411 ads, simply because of their location - people see them while in cars, which is the time when they're most likely to use 411.

Google News Indexing Ads On UK News Site

Google News May Index Your Ads

SELand noted today that Google News has been indexing a certain Nationwide ad ("Nationwide" the insurance company) in actually SERP listings for news titles. It's very interesting, and bad, but for some reason the text of the ad is showing up under headlines on the SERP for things like the UK kidnapping of Madeleine.

I don't think this is a widespread danger, because it's only happening for one site - InTheNews.co.uk. Anyway, there is something screwy about the way that Overture has chosen to display the ads on the site's pages. It just doesn't seem like a good design choice. Plus, the width of the ad has made a scroll bar necessary in my browser. Check it out.

The Changing Amazon

I'm sure I'm the last to notice this, but it looks like Amazon.com has done a pretty extensive redesign of their site. The ultimate useful site from the popular design book Don't Make Me Think! has made a major change to the tab-driven design that originally made the site so easy to navigate. They do acknowledge that their difficulty in designing their sight in a usable way stems from their expansion to over 40 categories of goods sold on their site. The new site, still in a testing, or beta, phase, does away with the old all-tabbed navigation and opts for a tidy pull-down menu.

I did take 2 minutes to look at the source code of the navigation elements of the pages, and it looks like a pure CSS and JavaScript pop-down menu. All of the elements are always present, and JavaScript changes the display attributes on mouse events. I'm sure you get the picture without me explaining it. In case you're interested, here's a cool example of a menu you can create with CSS and JavaScript.

We'll see how this affects Amazon's status as the most usable major Marketplace website out there. What will their customers and partners think?

Can't Ignore the Drama

YouTube - University of Florida student Tasered at Kerry forum



I decided that I just could not ignore the news that is going on in real life - a student gets tasered for being overly outspoken at a John Kerry event on the campus at the University of Florida.

Looking at it with social media in mind, it is truly incredible. Instantly, the Youtube video was posted by the Gainesville Sun, and in 4 days it's been viewed over 1.5 million times. It has 20,751 comments on Youtube. There are 70 video responses. It's a national media blockbuster on news channels.

My personal opinion is... well, I don't want to give people too many reasons to dislike me...

Going back to the 1.5 million views in 4 days... That's 375,000 views/day. That's about 15,625 views/hour. That's about 260 views/minute. And that's just with the 1 video from Gainesville Sun - I'm not even thinking of all the copies that are floating around the internet.

Since the video is about 6 minutes long, one could say that at any single moment over the past 4 days, 1,562 people have been watching the video from the Gainesville Sun simultaneously.

The Sens Take on the Googs

Google-DoubleClick Senate Hearing To Begin Next Week

As I said before, I don't think it's likely that the government will block the merger of Google and Doubleclick. I think the reasons for anti-trust action are too technical for the average person to care, and people translate to votes. This drastic action would not have a payoff of popularity with the general public, in my opinion. Even though the FTC is supposedly insulated from the voters, they still answer to politicians. And this is why I think that Google-Doubleclick will continue forward as the new organizers of the world's information.

Google Acting Screwy

Just now, I was trying to view the Adwords campaigns that I'm managing, and I got a page with the following message from Google:

The AdWords account interface is temporarily unavailable due to system maintenance. AdWords is expected to be down from approximately 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM PDT [?] on September 8, 2007. Please note that your campaigns will be running normally during this short period of downtime, which only affects your account management pages. We apologise for any inconvenience.

It's probably nothing, but I just thought it was worth noting, since today is September 20th.

Splitting Traffic, not Hairs

SearchEngineWatch: Split Traffic, Raise Conversion Rates, Repeat, Multiply

This is a very good article by Eric Enge over at SE Watch. It's very well laid out, and all the terms are defined for those of us that are still novices. As most PPC experts out there will attest, it is very important to segment your traffic, and find out what about your site is successful.

Superpages / Idearc Continues With Plans For World Domination

Superpages Parent To Acquire InfoSpace Directory Sites - SE Land

Lately, it looks like I could just start a Superpages/Idearc blog, and constantly have new things to write about. Idearc is poised to make Superpages into the world's largest online directory site with the just-announced purchase of InfoSpace's directory assets. That leaves the former online giant Infospace with just their search and mobile assets, raising questions about the company's future.

This also raises questions about the future of Superpages. The purchase was a large one - $225 million - an indicator of the big plans Idearc must have for its new acquisition. What sort of site can we foresee from Superpages? Or, is it more likely that Idearc will just continue the Switchboard site as it currently is?

Presidential Thoughts

Old Dudes Dig Fred [ClickZ]

This is an interesting, if brief, post over at ClickZ's blog about presidential hopeful Fred Thompson. Of note, though is the mention that Republican Ron Paul's campaign site has garnered the most traffic from social networking sites like Facebook, Flickr, and MySpace. Of course, Obama and Hillary are next in line, but does anyone else out there think this is strange? I would think the younger, more internet-savvy voters would be the ones visiting Obama or Hillary's sites - not those perusing the site of a libertarian.

All That Shift

The Online News Shift and Hyperlocal Content | Searchviews

A very interesting development - the LA Times, one of the big-time players in print media, is planning to eventually become a primarily online news source. This is at the expense of their print business. Seeing that the future of news will be in so-called hyperlocal content and other online media, they are saying that their print publication will eventually shrink considerably. This comes as some have labeled the newspaper as "web-stupid", possibly a very telling designation for our times.

I'll write more later - it's late, and I'm busy.

People at SuperPages / Idearc Read This Blog!

I just thought this was cool, so I decided to post about it...

After my morning rant about Superpages, I was surprised (shouldn't have been) to find evidence in my server logs that I was briefly showing up in searches involving the keyword "superpages".

However, I was also surprised to see that the people clicking through to this blog did so from the Idearc offices in Dallas, Texas.

[The screenshot of my analytics software, showing the ISP and location of this user, has been removed. I decided that was a little much.]

So, maybe that means that they'll change the entire layout and architecture of their website because of my previous post. Right.

Superpages Keeps Making Me Think!

Superpages Acquires 'LocalSearch.com' Domain - SE Land

Interestingly, Superpages has purchased another locally-focused domain name. Superpages is interested in branching out, but I would like to see them do more for the discipline of vertical search.

In its present interface, Superpages, like YellowBook, does not do much for you that a plain old paper edition of the Yellow Pages can't. Whether you use Advanced Search or the plain old search bar at the top of the page, you are not taken directly to the businesses you want. I put in [HVAC repair] in my city, and was pointed to a list of categories that would "refine my search". There are 109 businesses listed for "Heating & Air Conditioning Service & Repair", but only 99 listed for "Air Conditioning Service & Repair". Aren't those the same thing? Are businesses cross-listed, or did the website somehow separate the two categories?

There are far too many questions here. Don't make me think!

Anyway, since it's 100 degrees outside, I'm not to keen on the category that begins with "Heating", so I click the second choice. Behold I have a list of contractors. But where do I click? The business names are red, italicized font, with no click-ability. That seems like it would be the place you would want people to click. However, the "Click Here" is hiding over to the right.

Then, after further inspection, I realize the "names" are actually titles chosen by each company. They're not actually business names, but rather catch phrases that are supposed to make me notice each one individually. What tipped me off? I noticed that "Home Cooling Estimates" looked like a pretty weird business name.

And then, lo and behold, some "business names" actually are click-able.

Evidently, usability is not the name of the game here.

Another Style Update

I thought I'd post just to say something about the obvious fact that things look a bit different around here. I decided to change the layout and color scheme - yet again. This time, I genuinely believe this look is better and more suited to the blog.

However, I didn't just decide to change things for change's sake - I was forced to.

"Forced?" you say. Yes - forced. While there was no gun to my head, some things I had done to the raw code in the layout of my blog were making the whole thing go haywire. I was unable to ad or manipulate certain widgets that should not have given me any problems at all. Without going into too much detail, I'll just say that it was a big enough nuisance that I just decided to start things over and give the thing a new look. That's the persistent person that I am!

Enjoy.

Put Yourself on the Map, Google Analytics

Website Optimizer Gets an Update

Amid all the updates and fanfare for the steadily improving Google Analytics service, there is one glaring omission, and that is the Google Map. We have the ability to see a "Map Overlay" of our visitors, showing us primarily where the people came from, but the map lacks the functionality of Google's own maps, which would actually be useful in this application.

Maybe this is part of Google's agreement not to divulge personal information of website visitors, such as I.P. addresses. An exact location, I suppose, may also fall within that agreement. Who knows?

Selling Links what the worst that can happen

Selling Links what the worst that can happen

All I can say is, Dave, please read your posts before we do. That title doesn't even make sense!

He does raise some good questions, as always, though.

Finally!!! Search in the place you'd most expect it

Official Google Reader Blog: "We found it!"

It looks like the millions of pleas for a searchable Google Reader have finally reached the ears of the Google gods. At long last, we now have the ability to search within Google Reader.

When they label the post "We found it!", it makes me wonder what they are trying to communicate. Did they just now remember how to do the one thing that they are good at? Did they create the functionality, then lose it, and then find it again?

Anyway, it seems like this was one feature they should have placed within the Google Reader gadget from the start. Their post makes them sound oblivious to the fact that most people saw this as a glaring omission to this point.

How Search Engines Will Grow

SEOmoz | Where are Search Engines Most Likely To Innovate?

Above is a very quick and interesting look at how search engines might change and grow over the coming years, posted by Rand over at SEOmoz.

Personally, I see vertical search as the area with potential that has been developed the least, and therefore has the most potential for growth. I say this with sites like Magicyellow.com, Yellowbook.com, and ServiceMagic.com in mind, because these are the big players in the game of "who-ya-gonna-call" in the online world. These are the cats throwing the most money into offline advertising and branding, in efforts to push people onto their sites and use their listings.

Basically, these sites are also the reasons that I say the area is under-developed. Case in point: if you need a plumber, and you want to find one online, these days you go to Magicyellow or Yellowbook (or place your own home-service-related website here). You plug "plumbers" into the search box, along with a location, and press Enter, and you are given a results page that has a long list of plumber-related services.

Sidenote: if you're on Magicyellow, you're only given a list of the categories that most closely match your search. Do you want "plumbers" or "Plumbing Drain & Sewer Cleaning"? Will one give you better results because it sounds more specific? Are they really different categories, or just different names listed for the same group of businesses? In spite of the poor interface, I click on "plumbers"... and get a page full of ads! What's the difference between "Premier Advertisers", "Preferred Advertisers", "Sponsored Listings", and "Courtesy Listings"? Did the courtesy listings people pay to get their business listed, or are they provided as a "courtesy" of some sort?

Anyway, when you do get to the list of plumbers, there is no added value - the experience gives you the same benefit as looking up plumbers in the phone book (on paper!). There's a list of companies, and you still have no idea which is best for you. As I said, you might as well just open the phone book.

And don't get me started on sites like ServiceMagic. Here, you don't even get to look at the list - you have to submit your personal information into cyberspace, then wait while the website contacts plumbers "for you". Are you kidding? That's not the internet! That's not what the internet is supposed to be. I want to pick the service myself! I can be my own 411 - just give me the required information!

More on this later... I'm at work, and this is starting to take up more time than I thought it would.

What You Say Is As Important as What You Pay

What You Say Is As Important as What You Pay | Modern B2B Marketing Blog | Marketo

This is a very interesting, and brief, post about the importance of targeted landing pages. I was very surprised to learn that only a quarter of all PPC ads take users to targeted landing pages.

Japan Is Getting its Foot in the Door

Japan Begins Government-led Search Research [SearchEngineWatch]

This is an interesting development. Normally, I would be saying that any government-led foray into anything business is probably going to go very slowly and not do nearly as well as a private establishment could.

It's my opinion that governments are supposed to take us in directions that businesses will not be able to. There are several reasons that business communities don't do things - usually the reason is that there is not a good way to make a profit from providing a service. Other times, the service is something that everyone needs, and there is no business big enough to take on the task. Public transportation is a good example of a service that, in most areas where it is provided, fits these two characteristics.

However, governments all over the world actively direct their own economies. America has farm subsidies. There is OPEC. And Japan looks like it is trying to push its economy forward in the area of search. I think it's a good thing for them, because, at least from the looks of it, someone in the Japanese government has sat down and taken a good look at where the technology market is going. This is an intelligent move by government, and I hope it does well for Japanese businesses.