The Rank Magic Blog

Google: Two New Search Features

June 28, 2009 ::: Google recently announced a couple of minor improvements in Google search results: better lists of related searches at the bottom of the listings, and longer and better descriptions of the pages that appear in the listings. This is part of Google's attempt to improve intent-based search: their ability to better understand what you're really looking for, despite how you may have phrased your search. Google says:

As for longer descriptions in the listings, we should see them when we search for longer queries which people are doing more of now. They'll display more text so they show more of the keywords used in the search and display how they are used on the page.

Welcome New Clients

June 23, 2009 ::: Sometimes the best of intentions go unfulfilled. It's been our intention to highlight the businesses of some of our new clients in this blog, but prior to last month, the last time we did so was way back in June of last year. In April we began to catch up a bit,  and we'd like to introduce some more clients who've joined us since then.

• List It For a Buck has online classifieds for only a buck apiece.

• Humphrey's Insect Control offers expert home pest control and extermination in New Jersey.

• Bumperguard is a great new product to protect your bumper from dents and scratches in parking lots and on-street parking.

• Bograd's Fine Furniture is an up-scale tradition in New Jersey.

• ASK Productions helps you find your pursuit of happiness through Instantaneous Transformations.

• Dr. Rose's Remedies provide natural treatment for many pet skin conditions.

YouTube and SEO

June 19, 2009 ::: Do you have video on your web site? Are you thinking about it? Often a short video can be a more effective selling tool than any amount of text. Especially if you're in a face-to-face business, how better to convince people they want to do business with you than to let them see you, hear you, and in the process learn why they'll be comfortable and secure doing business with you?

 

You can leverage videos on your site by placing them on YouTube as well. ReelSEO reports on the Search Engine Strategies conference in Chicago with a bunch of YouTube video SEO tips.  They also have some observations from the Search Engine Strategies conference in New York on YouTube Ranking Factors. If you plan to have videos on YouTube, these two articles are a great place to start.

 

Refuse to Participate in the Recession

June 14, 2009 ::: When the economy slows to a crawl, the vast majority of your competitors instinctively hit the brakes on their their sales and marketing. They see money for promoting their businesses as expenses and not investments. As a result, your competition drastically reduces expenditures for sales, search engine optimization, direct mailing, advertising, trade shows, promotions, and so on. Now is the time to hit the gas instead of the brakes, and establish a lead on them they may be unable to make up later.

 

Read more by sales trainer Bill Todd here.

Introducing Google Base

June 10, 209 ::: Google Base, currently in Beta mode, is essentially Google’s version  of eBay, Craig's List, and Shopzilla all rolled into one. It allows eCommerce vendors to submit pretty much anything, ranging from products to services to events. These listings are then displayed in Google One Box Results and also in Froogle (now called Google Product Search) results. OneBox results are normally displayed for products, and are sometimes displayed above organic search results and sometimes a little further down the page. Google will display only three OneBox results for any given keyword you type in, so there's fierce competition for a top three spot. You can view these OneBox results yourself by typing a product into Google; try “Gibson guitars”. Look for the section headlined  "Shopping results for Gibson guitars".

 

 

Learn more on the BestRank blog.

FAQ Pages Could Boost Your Google Rankings

June 7, 2009 ::: People are searching for longer and longer phrases these days, often entering an entire, question. With that in mind, WebPro News reported that Keith Hogan, VP, Technology at Ask.com offered a piece of advice for online businesses:

Top  10 Positive Rankings Factors

June 3, 2009::: Here's a quick list from SEOMoz.org of the top 10 things that help your rankings. Out of a list of several dozen factors rated by 37 SEO experts, these ten got the most consistent thumbs up. Each item ion the list below links to a description and discussion of it at SEOMoz.

Other blogs of interest

The Computer Lady