| |
|
|
| Webmaster Resources: Search Engine Optimization Information | |
|
|
|
Yahoos Back!
I was all set to write an article predicting the future of search engines, when Yahoo dropped Google and replaced it with its own engine. Now that's big news. In less than twenty-four hours, Google went from about 79% of the market share to about 51%, almost overnight. And what a welcome relief it is too! Being #1 in Google was great, but when you had the misfortune of dropping even a couple of positions you really felt it. Now there will be more stability; if you drop in Google today, your hits from Yahoo will remain consistent. What is the new Yahoo? Last year, Yahoo bought the AltaVista, Fast, and Inktomi search engines. The new Yahoo results are none of these. Many people are saying that the results come from a new Inktomi because the results are similar; but the results are also similar to all the other search engines out there. In comparing these engines, it seems to me that Yahoo's results are from a brand new engine. Maybe they took parts and ideas from all the search engines they bought - maybe they even took the best parts - , but whatever they did, the result is something completely new. Which search engine is better? I will be comparing Google and Yahoo for the terms "music", "art prints and posters", "Bahamas real estate", "mosquito nets", and "liposuction". The other search engines all hold less than 4% of the market share (except for MSN which uses Yahoo's Inktomi), so I won't be considering them. Here is what I found in the top 10 results for each keyphrase: Music Yahoo offers a lot of music resource sites. Information about music from different sources such as magazine, TV and other music news sites are found 6 times in the top 10 results. It also offered downloading and file sharing programs 3 times. The 10th result was an audio player program site. Google has a lot more diversity. There were 3 music resource sites (but no magazines), one downloading program, one CD store, one radio station (Yahoo radio), one music directory, and the 10th result was an audio player program site. Google also had 2 sites in its top ten that were of no value whatsoever; MP3.com which just has one page stating that they no longer offer the services that they used to (with links to their parent company), and music.com, which is nothing more than an email gathering site for a newsletter (not a single link on the entire page). Google's diversity is a big bonus, but the 2 spam/junk/useless sites really hurt it. The results? Yahoo 1, Google 0. Art Prints And Posters Yahoo offers 6 stores, while Google offers 5. The other links are all affiliate spam with no content whatsoever (just links to stores), with the exception of one of Yahoo's links, which has some biographical content about artists. So Google has 5 spam sites, and Yahoo has 3 and a half. Yet another round goes to Yahoo. Bahamas Real Estate For this keyphrase, I found results between Google and Yahoo to be quite similar. The only differences were sites by actual realtors and sites that were simply property listings. Both types of results are useful, with Google having an edge in realtors. Google had some lower quality sites, but the information was just as good even though they did seem less professional. On the other hand, Yahoo did have one site that was nothing more than a links page from another realtor's site. Big boo boo. This one goes to Google. Mosquito Nets It seems to me that someone searching for "mosquito nets" wants either A) to buy them, or B) to learn about them, so I was expecting to find either stores or information about mosquito nets. Yahoo showed me 6 stores and 2 informational pages. The other results were a search result page (not a good result) and an inner page from a previous result (also not a good result). Google gave me 7 stores and 3 charitable organizations (one of which was a store as well). The other 2 charitable organizations were a news article outlining what they had done regarding mosquito nets and information about mosquito nets. So even though I didn't necessarily want the latest news about what a charity did regarding mosquito nets, I think getting the same site twice from Yahoo (not to mention the search result page) is the bigger no-no. Google wins this round. Liposuction I expected to find information about liposuction, liposuction organizations and either doctors or centers where you can have liposuction done. What I got was a lot of "how to find a doctor" sites, with a lot of good information. Yahoo results included 3 sites doubled. This is a problem that killed AltaVista in the late 90's. Hopefully they will have it fixed soon. Other than the 3 doubled sites, the results included 4 informational sites, 2 sites for finding doctors and one poorly written article about the history of liposuction. Google gave me 4 good informational sites, 2 good "find a doctor" sites, one recent article about liposuction for people in the industry, one site with very poor information one written by a single doctor and one site that was nothing more than a directory. Google gets this round as well. Overall, it looks like Yahoo needs to fix its doubling of sites and Google needs to clean out some spam (poor sites). And The Winner Is... You! Having two good search engines to choose from makes searching that much better for everyone. It also makes getting listings better. It also makes marketing better. It also makes traffic to your site steadier. The only way this could have been worse is if Yahoo's results sucked, and they don't. They seem just as good, if not better, than Google's. So rejoice, and enjoy a more dynamic world of online searching! About The Author Shawn Campbell is an enthusiastic player in the ecommerce marketplace, and co-founded Red Carpet Web Promotion, Inc. (http://www.redcarpetweb.com/). He has been researching and developing marketing strategies to achieve more prominent listings in search engine results since 1998. Shawn is one of the earliest pioneers in the search engine optimization field. Contact: shawn@redcarpetweb.com
Add to these social bookmarking sites: 
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The Easiest Way to Your Google Sitemap Google Sitemaps is a new tool for website owners and publishers, released by Google themselves. It allows you to submit a sitemap (a document that contains links to every page of your site) from your own homepage in . Whats with the Competition? Ever Heard of Cooperation? I attended the SES Expo in San Jose, CA the other day. It was an hour from my home in Larkspur, CA just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Search Engine Optimization Tips For 2005 - Part One Anybody who has their own website or is involved in business online understands the importance of SEO or search engine optimization. Higher rankings equal more traffic. Search Engine Optimization - Enhancing Web Site Visibility I've had several prospects and clients say to me "I want my web site to come up on top in search engines." And some have been contacted by an SEO company asking for lots of money and claiming that they can guarantee top search engine results, which in many cases is just false promises. Get Personal With Google Anyone who's been on the net any time at all knows that Google has been the search engine of choice for many for a while now. Whether that continues remains to be seen, but for now, with MSN still in development and Yahoo going through some growing pains, many still feel that Google is the leader. Common Sense Approach to Search Engine Optimization Most web surfers start their sessions at a search engine or a web directory. There are a number of different methods you can use to capture their traffic and drive it to your site:Stick to the big names: The two largest directories: Yahoo! (http://www. Absolute & Relative Links How Do They Rank? The question for this article is whether or not you should use "absolute url's" or "relative url's"? Not only that, this article researches whether or not Google ranks these methods differently.Absolute: You use the entire url pointing to the designated page. Twelve Steps to Higher Search Engine Placement Recent studies suggest that more than 80% of new visitors to any web site get there as a result of a search engine query. If this study is to believed, it certainly suggests that working to get high rankings in the search engines might be the most effective thing you can do to bring traffic to your site. Googles Trap, DMOZs Nap, And Yahoo!s Crap On November 16th, 2003, Google commenced an update (the Florida update) which had a catastrophic effect for a very large number of websites and, in the process, turned search engine optimization upside down. It is common to give alphabetical names to Google's updates in the very same way that names are given to hurricanes, and this one became known as "Florida". How To Conceal Your Website's "Fingerprint" From The Search Engines The internet marketing industry is now flooded with various page and portal generators.In the good old days the gateway page generators did very well, earning a lot of money for many people. Link Popularity In today scenario when we talk about Search Engine Optimization, we also talk about one of the most important aspect of SEO, which is Link Building. But there are different types, aspects and limitations of Link Building, which would be discussed now under1. 2 Powerful Ways To Capitalize on Your Search Engine Traffic Many marketers know that search engine marketing is among one of the best methods to get visitors to their websites. It's a profitable way to reach new subscribers and new customers. New Site and Sandbox: How to Get Rid of It You have put lot of sweat in making your site. Now you want it to engender revenues and only source of traffic is search engines. Promoting Home Business: Tips to Increase Web Site Sales You've selected an appropriate Online Business Opportunity. That is not ALL!To run a successful online ecommerce Home business, getting the targetted users to visit your site and converting them into customers is the first and foremost thing. Adding City Names At The End Of Your Keywords Can Bring You More Profits In recent times, I have been closely studying keywords that have famous city names at the end of them and what I have discovered is nothing short of amazing. My research started off with pay-per-click ads. One Way Linking Campaigns II There is a way to generate links with the content that you have not as yet created. For this contact the established authorities (writers, publishers ) in your domain area & let them know that you are available as a resource for researching & writing on any topic from the chosen domain. Making Money with Popular Search Engines With so many internet and home business opportunities on the world wide web nowadays it is very confusing as to know which ones are scams and which are not.However, even though I am sure that most of the money making schemes advertised have their merits, it would give the entrepreneur great peace of mind to know that he was building an internet business in conjunction with a credible and high profile corporate. Link Building in Light of Vision-based Page Segmentation The days of basing a successful link building strategy on link quantity and anchor text alone may be numbered. The link popularity theories behind PageRank and Hilltop remain important, but major search engines are continually adding new elements to their link algorithms to improve search relevance. Google vs. Yahoo -- How To Rank High On Each One Google likes incoming links, especially links from high-ranking, on-topic pages that include keywords in the link text. Google doesn't like over-optimized, high keyword densities and over use of keywords in headings, etc. No Cost Search Engine Marketing As a matter of fact, I recommend NOT wasting money on pay inclusion in most cases because it doesn't offer enough of an advantage (and many times the fees give you absolutely no advantage - the only exception are the few sites that guarantee placement within a specific timeline). Focus your online marketing and gain positive and targeted traffic without paying out for "expedited listings" or "submission software.
|
| Home | Site Map |
|
| © 2008 | |
