ineedhits's Gooruze Blog http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/ ineedhits's Gooruze Blog Copyright 2010 Gooruze en-uk Our Weekly News is Changing - What Do You Want? ineedhits - http://www.ineedhits.com/free-tools/blog/uploaded_images/newandimproved-770925.jpg That's right... we think our Weekly News newsletter is looking a little dated, so it's about time for a refresh. The re-vamped newsletter will be launched in the next month... so look out! Here's where you can help! We want to hear your thoughts and ideas - after all, you're the ones who read it each and every week. We already ...
That's right... we think our Weekly News newsletter is looking a little dated, so it's about time for a refresh.

The re-vamped newsletter will be launched in the next month... so look out!

Here's where you can help! We want to hear your thoughts and ideas - after all, you're the ones who read it each and every week.

We already have some great new features and articles up our sleeve (not to mention the fact that it's going to look super cool), but we would really like to know what you want from the newsletter.

Is there something missing in our newsletter you would like to see included? Or do you not like the color scheme we have going on currently? (Don't worry it's on our list of changes too!)

Leave any ideas in the comments section below and we will be sure to add it to the list of improvements.
]]> http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135547/ http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135547/ Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:08:00 -0800 Google Boosts the Coverage of Local Listings ineedhits Google have expanded - http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2009/02/1000-is-new-10.html their local business listings on Google Maps to boost the number of clickable search results from ten to hundreds of businesses. Instead of just plotting the first ten search results on the map, Google now includes hundreds of other businesses across the map using small red circles. For example, the search for "coffee in Seattle" now ... expanded their local business listings on Google Maps to boost the number of clickable search results from ten to hundreds of businesses. Instead of just plotting the first ten search results on the map, Google now includes hundreds of other businesses across the map using small red circles.

For example, the search for "coffee in Seattle" now returns the following map showing hundreds of businesses across the local area:



You can click on any of the circles to get more information about the business they represent, essentially giving many more local businesses first page exposure on Google maps. It should be noted that the top 10 listings will still appear as pins on the left hand side of the map.

This is great news for businesses with local listings as it now gives you even more exposure across Google maps and in local search results. It should make it easier for local customers to find your business and also see specific areas where related businesses are grouped together.

If you're a local business without a Google maps listing, now is the time to get included!
]]> http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135269/ http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135269/ Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:36:00 -0800 Google Boosts the Coverage of Local Listings ineedhits Google have expanded - http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2009/02/1000-is-new-10.html their local business listings on Google Maps to boost the number of clickable search results from ten to hundreds of businesses. Instead of just plotting the first ten search results on the map, Google now includes hundreds of other businesses across the map using small red circles. For example, the search for "coffee in Seattle" now ... expanded their local business listings on Google Maps to boost the number of clickable search results from ten to hundreds of businesses. Instead of just plotting the first ten search results on the map, Google now includes hundreds of other businesses across the map using small red circles.

For example, the search for "coffee in Seattle" now returns the following map showing hundreds of businesses across the local area:



You can click on any of the circles to get more information about the business they represent, essentially giving many more local businesses first page exposure on Google maps. It should be noted that the top 10 listings will still appear as pins on the left hand side of the map.

This is great news for businesses with local listings as it now gives you even more exposure across Google maps and in local search results. It should make it easier for local customers to find your business and also see specific areas where related businesses are grouped together.

If you're a local business without a Google maps listing, now is the time to get included!
]]> http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135200/ http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135200/ Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:36:00 -0800 Tired of Your AdSense Font? Now You Can Change It ineedhits - http://www.ineedhits.com/free-tools/blog/uploaded_images/google-adsense-757795.PNGUntil now, there has been a lot of discussion about how to change your AdSense font type to better match the layout of your site. In response to this feedback, Google are now allowing all advertisers to change the font face of the text in their ad units. This move makes sense for Google as they have previously - ... Until now, there has been a lot of discussion about how to change your AdSense font type to better match the layout of your site. In response to this feedback, Google are now allowing all advertisers to change the font face of the text in their ad units.

This move makes sense for Google as they have previously recommended advertisers match the color scheme and layout of ads to their site for the best results. Google are only providing three options for the choice of font (Arial, Times New Roman and Verdana) but this should cover the font style used across a large majority of pages.

To customize the font face across all your AdSense units, visit the 'Ad Display Preferences' page and select a new account-wide font face. Alternatively, if you wish to change the font on only some of your ad blocks, you can change this while editing or creating new ads:



If you've seen increased click-through or revenue from your site since changing the font, let us know in the blog comments below!
]]> http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135270/ http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135270/ Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:26:00 -0800 Tired of Your AdSense Font? Now You Can Change It ineedhits - http://www.ineedhits.com/free-tools/blog/uploaded_images/google-adsense-757795.PNGUntil now, there has been a lot of discussion about how to change your AdSense font type to better match the layout of your site. In response to this feedback, Google are now allowing all advertisers to change the font face of the text in their ad units. This move makes sense for Google as they have previously - ... Until now, there has been a lot of discussion about how to change your AdSense font type to better match the layout of your site. In response to this feedback, Google are now allowing all advertisers to change the font face of the text in their ad units.

This move makes sense for Google as they have previously recommended advertisers match the color scheme and layout of ads to their site for the best results. Google are only providing three options for the choice of font (Arial, Times New Roman and Verdana) but this should cover the font style used across a large majority of pages.

To customize the font face across all your AdSense units, visit the 'Ad Display Preferences' page and select a new account-wide font face. Alternatively, if you wish to change the font on only some of your ad blocks, you can change this while editing or creating new ads:



If you've seen increased click-through or revenue from your site since changing the font, let us know in the blog comments below!
]]> http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135201/ http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135201/ Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:26:00 -0800 Yahoo! Gets Moving Again with Yahoo! Mobile ineedhits - http://www.ineedhits.com/free-tools/blog/uploaded_images/yahoomobile-740687.jpg Although its name lacks creativity, Yahoo has announced - http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/press/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=365403 an exciting new mobile experienced called Yahoo! Mobile. It will be available on the mobile Web, as an application developed for the Apple iPhone and for smartphones from Nokia, RIM, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Motorola as well as those powered by Windows Mobile. "We believe the new Yahoo! Mobile will ...
Although its name lacks creativity, Yahoo has announced an exciting new mobile experienced called Yahoo! Mobile.

It will be available on the mobile Web, as an application developed for the Apple iPhone and for smartphones from Nokia, RIM, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Motorola as well as those powered by Windows Mobile.

"We believe the new Yahoo! Mobile will transform the way millions of mobile users around the world will interact with the Internet," explains Marco Boerries, executive vice president, Yahoo! Inc. "Yahoo! Mobile will enable users to create their own Internet starting point on their mobile device so they can better discover, connect to and stay informed about the people and things that are important to them."

There are a variety of new features for Yahoo! Mobile including:
  • Yahoo! oneSearch - Yahoo!'s award-winning mobile search service providing the most current, relevant answers you need.
  • Today - The most interesting stories buzzing on the Internet right now, selected by Yahoo!'s editorial team.
  • Yahoo! oneConnect - Yahoo!'s service designed to provide consumers everything they need to stay in touch with the people about whom they care:
Email: Access to Yahoo! Mail and other popular email service providers, including Gmail, Windows Live Hotmail and AOL Mail.

Pulse: Access to their social networks, including Bebo, Dopplr, Facebook, Flickr, Friendster, Last.fm, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube.

Yahoo! Messenger: An upgraded version of Yahoo!'s popular mobile instant messaging service.

Yahoo! Address Book: Keeps consumers' contacts always handy and in sync.

Yahoo! Calendar: View, add and edit appointments when users are away from their PCs.

  • Yahoo! News - Breaking headlines across popular topics.
  • Yahoo! onePlace - Access and manage your favorite content, all from one location including news topics and sources, RSS feeds, weather conditions, sports scores, stock quotes, websites/blogs, horoscopes and movie theaters.

There are also some new features specifically for the smartphone version. You can check them out here.

Although it will be the second quarter of 2009 before we can all use this application, I'm excited to see its success- after all, Yahoo! could really do with some success after a disastrous 2008.
]]> http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135033/ http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135033/ Thu, 19 Feb 2009 23:42:00 -0800 Yahoo! Gets Moving Again with Yahoo! Mobile ineedhits - http://www.ineedhits.com/free-tools/blog/uploaded_images/yahoomobile-740687.jpg Although its name lacks creativity, Yahoo has announced - http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/press/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=365403 an exciting new mobile experienced called Yahoo! Mobile. It will be available on the mobile Web, as an application developed for the Apple iPhone and for smartphones from Nokia, RIM, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Motorola as well as those powered by Windows Mobile. "We believe the new Yahoo! Mobile will ...
Although its name lacks creativity, Yahoo has announced an exciting new mobile experienced called Yahoo! Mobile.

It will be available on the mobile Web, as an application developed for the Apple iPhone and for smartphones from Nokia, RIM, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Motorola as well as those powered by Windows Mobile.

"We believe the new Yahoo! Mobile will transform the way millions of mobile users around the world will interact with the Internet," explains Marco Boerries, executive vice president, Yahoo! Inc. "Yahoo! Mobile will enable users to create their own Internet starting point on their mobile device so they can better discover, connect to and stay informed about the people and things that are important to them."

There are a variety of new features for Yahoo! Mobile including:
  • Yahoo! oneSearch - Yahoo!'s award-winning mobile search service providing the most current, relevant answers you need.
  • Today - The most interesting stories buzzing on the Internet right now, selected by Yahoo!'s editorial team.
  • Yahoo! oneConnect - Yahoo!'s service designed to provide consumers everything they need to stay in touch with the people about whom they care:
Email: Access to Yahoo! Mail and other popular email service providers, including Gmail, Windows Live Hotmail and AOL Mail.

Pulse: Access to their social networks, including Bebo, Dopplr, Facebook, Flickr, Friendster, Last.fm, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube.

Yahoo! Messenger: An upgraded version of Yahoo!'s popular mobile instant messaging service.

Yahoo! Address Book: Keeps consumers' contacts always handy and in sync.

Yahoo! Calendar: View, add and edit appointments when users are away from their PCs.

  • Yahoo! News - Breaking headlines across popular topics.
  • Yahoo! onePlace - Access and manage your favorite content, all from one location including news topics and sources, RSS feeds, weather conditions, sports scores, stock quotes, websites/blogs, horoscopes and movie theaters.

There are also some new features specifically for the smartphone version. You can check them out here.

Although it will be the second quarter of 2009 before we can all use this application, I'm excited to see its success- after all, Yahoo! could really do with some success after a disastrous 2008.
]]> http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135271/ http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135271/ Thu, 19 Feb 2009 23:42:00 -0800 Google Now Tracks Phone Calls & Live Chat! ineedhits - http://www.ineedhits.com/free-tools/blog/uploaded_images/phonecomputer-761010.jpg Tracking the clicks and conversions on your website just doesn't seem enough these days for the team from Google Analytics (GA). They have released two new add-ons - http://analytics.blogspot.com/2009/02/two-cool-integrations-telephone-leads.html to GA which allow you to track your phone leads and live chats. Teaming up with Mongoose Metrics, Google Analytics will now track the phone number called, the duration and date ...
Tracking the clicks and conversions on your website just doesn't seem enough these days for the team from Google Analytics (GA).

They have released two new add-ons to GA which allow you to track your phone leads and live chats.

Teaming up with Mongoose Metrics, Google Analytics will now track the phone number called, the duration and date of the call, by using one of the defined toll free numbers.

Geoff Gillis from the Google Analytics Team explains more:

The service works by provisioning a trackable number and assigning that number to a hidden web page on your site containing your Google Analytics tracking code. When a phone call to the tracking number is connected, the technology will place a web browser visit to your hidden tracking web page and in this way insert the phone call event back into your Google Analytics account. Each phone call generates a unique visit which is clearly labeled inside of Analytics.

In order to track live chat interaction, Google Analytics has implemented LivePerson which allows you to interact with customers live via chat. Live Person created a GA integration that allows users to track conversions after chat, and also creates the following reports:

  • Map Overlay Report which displays volume and quality metrics of live chat interactions by geographic region
  • Search Engines Report: Reveals the sources and keywords that drive interactive chats (and resulting conversions)
  • Reverse Goal Path Report: Lists the navigation paths that lead to the most chats

I think this is a great initiative by Google. Not only is this a great tool for comprehensive lead tracking for businesses, but it also gives Google Analytics another point of difference from its competitors.

Do you think there are offline conversions that could be tracked by Google Analytics? Feel free to let us know below.
]]> http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135272/ http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135272/ Thu, 19 Feb 2009 23:34:00 -0800 Google Now Tracks Phone Calls & Live Chat! ineedhits - http://www.ineedhits.com/free-tools/blog/uploaded_images/phonecomputer-761010.jpg Tracking the clicks and conversions on your website just doesn't seem enough these days for the team from Google Analytics (GA). They have released two new add-ons - http://analytics.blogspot.com/2009/02/two-cool-integrations-telephone-leads.html to GA which allow you to track your phone leads and live chats. Teaming up with Mongoose Metrics, Google Analytics will now track the phone number called, the duration and date ...
Tracking the clicks and conversions on your website just doesn't seem enough these days for the team from Google Analytics (GA).

They have released two new add-ons to GA which allow you to track your phone leads and live chats.

Teaming up with Mongoose Metrics, Google Analytics will now track the phone number called, the duration and date of the call, by using one of the defined toll free numbers.

Geoff Gillis from the Google Analytics Team explains more:

The service works by provisioning a trackable number and assigning that number to a hidden web page on your site containing your Google Analytics tracking code. When a phone call to the tracking number is connected, the technology will place a web browser visit to your hidden tracking web page and in this way insert the phone call event back into your Google Analytics account. Each phone call generates a unique visit which is clearly labeled inside of Analytics.

In order to track live chat interaction, Google Analytics has implemented LivePerson which allows you to interact with customers live via chat. Live Person created a GA integration that allows users to track conversions after chat, and also creates the following reports:

  • Map Overlay Report which displays volume and quality metrics of live chat interactions by geographic region
  • Search Engines Report: Reveals the sources and keywords that drive interactive chats (and resulting conversions)
  • Reverse Goal Path Report: Lists the navigation paths that lead to the most chats

I think this is a great initiative by Google. Not only is this a great tool for comprehensive lead tracking for businesses, but it also gives Google Analytics another point of difference from its competitors.

Do you think there are offline conversions that could be tracked by Google Analytics? Feel free to let us know below.
]]> http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135034/ http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135034/ Thu, 19 Feb 2009 23:34:00 -0800 Yahoo! and Microsoft Finally Outperform Google - Almost ineedhits - http://www.ineedhits.com/free-tools/blog/uploaded_images/googleyahoomsn-793669.jpgIt's almost as rare as hen's teeth to hear that Yahoo! and Microsoft did better than Google at anything - but alas, January's "share of search" results are one of those occasions. Now before anyone gets too carried away, they haven't overtaken Google in terms of search share - they just gained some ground in a month where Google ... It's almost as rare as hen's teeth to hear that Yahoo! and Microsoft did better than Google at anything - but alas, January's "share of search" results are one of those occasions.

Now before anyone gets too carried away, they haven't overtaken Google in terms of search share - they just gained some ground in a month where Google dropped some.

According to comScore, Google dropped 0.5 percentage points to sit at 63% of all US searches in January 09. In the scheme of things not exactly the worst result. However given their never ending march towards 100% - it will surprise many.

On the other hand, Yahoo! and Microsoft will have surprised many also, by finally regaining some share of the market they've been losing over the last few months.

Yahoo! increased its share of the market by 0.5 percentage points, to sit at 21%, while Microsoft grew to 8.5% (up 0.2 percentage points). The trend for Microsoft was also echoed over in France where it was the top growth performer - with an improvement of 5.5% according to AT Internet Institute.

There's nothing here that's going to have a drastic impact on search as we know it, and my guess is that the trends will return to normal in Feb 09. But when you're Yahoo! and Microsoft, you have to celebrate any wins you can when it comes to search.
]]> http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135009/ http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135009/ Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:08:00 -0800 Yahoo! and Microsoft Finally Outperform Google - Almost ineedhits - http://www.ineedhits.com/free-tools/blog/uploaded_images/googleyahoomsn-793669.jpgIt's almost as rare as hen's teeth to hear that Yahoo! and Microsoft did better than Google at anything - but alas, January's "share of search" results are one of those occasions. Now before anyone gets too carried away, they haven't overtaken Google in terms of search share - they just gained some ground in a month where Google ... It's almost as rare as hen's teeth to hear that Yahoo! and Microsoft did better than Google at anything - but alas, January's "share of search" results are one of those occasions.

Now before anyone gets too carried away, they haven't overtaken Google in terms of search share - they just gained some ground in a month where Google dropped some.

According to comScore, Google dropped 0.5 percentage points to sit at 63% of all US searches in January 09. In the scheme of things not exactly the worst result. However given their never ending march towards 100% - it will surprise many.

On the other hand, Yahoo! and Microsoft will have surprised many also, by finally regaining some share of the market they've been losing over the last few months.

Yahoo! increased its share of the market by 0.5 percentage points, to sit at 21%, while Microsoft grew to 8.5% (up 0.2 percentage points). The trend for Microsoft was also echoed over in France where it was the top growth performer - with an improvement of 5.5% according to AT Internet Institute.

There's nothing here that's going to have a drastic impact on search as we know it, and my guess is that the trends will return to normal in Feb 09. But when you're Yahoo! and Microsoft, you have to celebrate any wins you can when it comes to search.
]]> http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135273/ http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135273/ Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:08:00 -0800 Yahoo! Unveils New Rich Ads in Search ineedhits Well you have to give them credit for trying... Yahoo have just released an enhancement to their paid search advertising service - Rich Ads in Search - http://www.ysmblog.com/blog/2009/02/18/your-ads-richer/. While the functionality is not exactly groundbreaking, it does push paid search in an interesting direction. Yahoo!'s hoping the enhancement to their paid search advertising will help them more effectively compete with the ... Rich Ads in Search.

While the functionality is not exactly groundbreaking, it does push paid search in an interesting direction. Yahoo!'s hoping the enhancement to their paid search advertising will help them more effectively compete with the likes of Google.

Yahoo! commenced testing of Rich Ads in Search in the last quarter of 2008 and purport that advertisers "saw click-through rates rise by as much as 25 percent. They've also seen improved brand exposure and conversion rates."

At this stage the program is only being offered to a limited number of advertisers (e.g. Pedigree) and agencies such as Razorfish.

According to the release post, the program lets advertisers:
  • Post images and video, which can increase the branding impact of search advertising. Pedigree has added video to its campaigns, for instance.
  • Create deep links to relevant pages, which can help drive conversions directly from the Yahoo! search results page.
  • Include boxes within the listing that lets users search for their desired product or a store location directly without additional navigation. Esurance’s listing lets users enter their ZIP codes from the results page for insurance quotes.
  • Show their logo, which enhances user trust.
I love the idea of deep links and integrated search within paid listings, and the video is a strong interactive improvement. It's great to see Yahoo! innovating - but at the end of the day, until they can offer the same reach as Google, they'll have their work cut out for them.
]]> http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135274/ http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135274/ Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:33:00 -0800 Yahoo! Unveils New Rich Ads in Search ineedhits Well you have to give them credit for trying... Yahoo have just released an enhancement to their paid search advertising service - Rich Ads in Search - http://www.ysmblog.com/blog/2009/02/18/your-ads-richer/. While the functionality is not exactly groundbreaking, it does push paid search in an interesting direction. Yahoo!'s hoping the enhancement to their paid search advertising will help them more effectively compete with the ... Rich Ads in Search.

While the functionality is not exactly groundbreaking, it does push paid search in an interesting direction. Yahoo!'s hoping the enhancement to their paid search advertising will help them more effectively compete with the likes of Google.

Yahoo! commenced testing of Rich Ads in Search in the last quarter of 2008 and purport that advertisers "saw click-through rates rise by as much as 25 percent. They've also seen improved brand exposure and conversion rates."

At this stage the program is only being offered to a limited number of advertisers (e.g. Pedigree) and agencies such as Razorfish.

According to the release post, the program lets advertisers:
  • Post images and video, which can increase the branding impact of search advertising. Pedigree has added video to its campaigns, for instance.
  • Create deep links to relevant pages, which can help drive conversions directly from the Yahoo! search results page.
  • Include boxes within the listing that lets users search for their desired product or a store location directly without additional navigation. Esurance’s listing lets users enter their ZIP codes from the results page for insurance quotes.
  • Show their logo, which enhances user trust.
I love the idea of deep links and integrated search within paid listings, and the video is a strong interactive improvement. It's great to see Yahoo! innovating - but at the end of the day, until they can offer the same reach as Google, they'll have their work cut out for them.
]]> http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135010/ http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135010/ Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:33:00 -0800 Targeting Customers in Different Countries: Do it the Right Way! ineedhits Got customers in different countries who you want to specifically target? This can be a difficult task, and one which was also the topic of discussion - http://www.highrankings.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=39202 recently on the HighRanking Forum. Barry Schwartz over at Search Engine Roundtable weighed into - http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/019404.html the discussion advising that it is best to have "two different sites on TLDs (top level domains) ... discussion recently on the HighRanking Forum.

Barry Schwartz over at Search Engine Roundtable weighed into the discussion advising that it is best to have "two different sites on TLDs (top level domains) that match that country. So if you want to target the US and the UK, have one US site on the .com and one UK site on the co.uk and make sure your content is localized for that market."


However HighRanking administrator, Randy takes this concept further by adding:

When you're using a .com domain name you're not really targeting the US market. You're targeting the entire world. It's one of those double-edged swords we get/have to deal with. In that .com is a worldwide competition. Not a US one.

The good edge of the sword being that since pretty much all US based sites use .com (as opposed to the almost never used .us) you end up with decent worldwide rankings if you get good rankings you can see from your PC from a US location. The bad edge of the sword being that if you can't compete in a worldwide market, you're basically screwed. Then the only thing left to you is your very, very localized market

If you have had experience in this area and wish to share your advice, feel free to do so below.
]]> http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135275/ http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135275/ Sun, 15 Feb 2009 19:36:00 -0800 Targeting Customers in Different Countries: Do it the Right Way! ineedhits Got customers in different countries who you want to specifically target? This can be a difficult task, and one which was also the topic of discussion - http://www.highrankings.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=39202 recently on the HighRanking Forum. Barry Schwartz over at Search Engine Roundtable weighed into - http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/019404.html the discussion advising that it is best to have "two different sites on TLDs (top level domains) ... discussion recently on the HighRanking Forum.

Barry Schwartz over at Search Engine Roundtable weighed into the discussion advising that it is best to have "two different sites on TLDs (top level domains) that match that country. So if you want to target the US and the UK, have one US site on the .com and one UK site on the co.uk and make sure your content is localized for that market."


However HighRanking administrator, Randy takes this concept further by adding:

When you're using a .com domain name you're not really targeting the US market. You're targeting the entire world. It's one of those double-edged swords we get/have to deal with. In that .com is a worldwide competition. Not a US one.

The good edge of the sword being that since pretty much all US based sites use .com (as opposed to the almost never used .us) you end up with decent worldwide rankings if you get good rankings you can see from your PC from a US location. The bad edge of the sword being that if you can't compete in a worldwide market, you're basically screwed. Then the only thing left to you is your very, very localized market

If you have had experience in this area and wish to share your advice, feel free to do so below.
]]> http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/134809/ http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/134809/ Sun, 15 Feb 2009 19:36:00 -0800 Google News Tips: Cleanliness, Explicit Dates & Image Formatting ineedhits We know some of you write great news articles on your business and industry for your site, but there is just one problem - trying to get Google to index your site for your news can be tricky. But news publishers take note, Google have released 8 tips which will help Google News better crawl your site. These tips are some ...
These tips are some of the more frequent pieces of advice they dish out. So although some might sound familiar, it's always helpful to have a refresher.

Here they are:

1. Keep the article body clean
If your article body is broken up by tags, ads, sidebars or other non-article content, we may not be able to detect the actual article body, and reject your article as a result.

2. Make sure article URLs are permanent and unique
If you reuse article URLs, our system may have difficulty crawling and categorizing your stories. In addition, make sure your article URLs have at least three digits that don't resemble a year (for example, 5232 is ok, but 2008 is not.)

3. Take advantage of stock tickers in Sitemaps
Google News Sitemaps allow publishers to specify stock ticker symbols for companies mentioned in individual articles. Using these symbols helps us better identify the subjects of your articles.

4. Check your encoding
We occasionally see articles that declare themselves to be encoded in one format (say, UTF-8) and are actually encoded in another (say, ISO 8859-1). Don't do this. It hurts us.

5. Make your article publication dates explicit
Please make the actual publication date of your articles explicit. You can do this by placing the article date and time in the HTML, between the title and the body. Dates on article pages can be in most common formats, but for sitemaps, we ask that you use the W3C format; e.g. 2008-12-29T06:30:00Z.

6. Keep original content separate from press releases
As you may know, Google News labels press releases distinctly in order to alert our users that the article they're about to read is a press release. If your original news sections have links to press releases, adding the rel="nofollow" attribute to all links that point to your press release articles will ensure that they're labeled correctly.

7. Format your images properly
To help Google News identify your images and crawl them along with your articles, use fairly large images with reasonable aspect ratios and descriptive captions. Make sure to place them near their respective article titles on the page and make the images inline and non-clickable. Images in the JPEG format are more likely to be crawled correctly.

8. Article Titles in Google News
Make sure the title you want appears in both the title tag and as the headline on the article page. In addition, don't hyperlink the headline on the article page - after all, your reader is already there!

So... what did you think of these tips? Did you find them useful and relevant for your website? Feel free to let us know by leaving a comment below.
]]> http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/134810/ http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/134810/ Sun, 15 Feb 2009 19:28:00 -0800 Google News Tips: Cleanliness, Explicit Dates & Image Formatting ineedhits We know some of you write great news articles on your business and industry for your site, but there is just one problem - trying to get Google to index your site for your news can be tricky. But news publishers take note, Google have released 8 tips which will help Google News better crawl your site. These tips are some ...
These tips are some of the more frequent pieces of advice they dish out. So although some might sound familiar, it's always helpful to have a refresher.

Here they are:

1. Keep the article body clean
If your article body is broken up by tags, ads, sidebars or other non-article content, we may not be able to detect the actual article body, and reject your article as a result.

2. Make sure article URLs are permanent and unique
If you reuse article URLs, our system may have difficulty crawling and categorizing your stories. In addition, make sure your article URLs have at least three digits that don't resemble a year (for example, 5232 is ok, but 2008 is not.)

3. Take advantage of stock tickers in Sitemaps
Google News Sitemaps allow publishers to specify stock ticker symbols for companies mentioned in individual articles. Using these symbols helps us better identify the subjects of your articles.

4. Check your encoding
We occasionally see articles that declare themselves to be encoded in one format (say, UTF-8) and are actually encoded in another (say, ISO 8859-1). Don't do this. It hurts us.

5. Make your article publication dates explicit
Please make the actual publication date of your articles explicit. You can do this by placing the article date and time in the HTML, between the title and the body. Dates on article pages can be in most common formats, but for sitemaps, we ask that you use the W3C format; e.g. 2008-12-29T06:30:00Z.

6. Keep original content separate from press releases
As you may know, Google News labels press releases distinctly in order to alert our users that the article they're about to read is a press release. If your original news sections have links to press releases, adding the rel="nofollow" attribute to all links that point to your press release articles will ensure that they're labeled correctly.

7. Format your images properly
To help Google News identify your images and crawl them along with your articles, use fairly large images with reasonable aspect ratios and descriptive captions. Make sure to place them near their respective article titles on the page and make the images inline and non-clickable. Images in the JPEG format are more likely to be crawled correctly.

8. Article Titles in Google News
Make sure the title you want appears in both the title tag and as the headline on the article page. In addition, don't hyperlink the headline on the article page - after all, your reader is already there!

So... what did you think of these tips? Did you find them useful and relevant for your website? Feel free to let us know by leaving a comment below.
]]> http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135276/ http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135276/ Sun, 15 Feb 2009 19:28:00 -0800 Sneak Peek: New Google SearchWiki for AdWords ineedhits Only a few months ago, Google had the SEO industry re-thinking the future of search when it unveiled SearchWiki - http://www.ineedhits.com/free-tools/blog/2008/10/google-launching-searchwiki-you-control.aspx - user controlled search results. Well now Google are testing SearchWiki for AdWords. Imagine that - user controlled search advertising. At this stage, it appears that the tests are restricted to US users, with early reports of the SearchWiki [x] appearing ... SearchWiki - user controlled search results.

Well now Google are testing SearchWiki for AdWords. Imagine that - user controlled search advertising.

At this stage, it appears that the tests are restricted to US users, with early reports of the SearchWiki [x] appearing along side AdWords headlines (see screenshot below).

The introduction of SearchWiki for AdWords could open up a can worms for Google advertisers, and with no official report from Google at this stage, the rumor mill has been busy speculating on its impact.

Whilst Google will surely respond with a formal announcement in due course, here's some of my musing on the potential consequences of SearchWiki for AdWords:
Quality Score:
It does beg the question "will changes to ads via SearchWiki impact AdWords quality scores?" If Google can bypass the obvious opportunity for abuse, it is conceivable that it will feature in the quality score calculation at some point.

User Engagement:
I still haven't read any reports on what level of engagement Google is experiencing with SearchWiki for organic results, but I would hasten to say that it will diminish quickly, once the buzz has subsided.

With that in mind, I think SearchWiki for AdWords will receive even less user interest. If you don't like an ad, will you bother to block it or rate it down? Probably not. Youre more likely to ignore it rather than rate it.

Managing Abuse:
Any user controlled element of a search engine is open to some level of abuse. If SearchWiki for AdWords ends up impacting AdWords quality scores and therefore click costs, then the potential abuse will be far more concerning.
I think in the short term, SearchWiki for AdWords, if it gets a proper release, will be just a way for users to customize their experience from a visual point of view. It's not likely that Google are going to tamper with their primary revenue source and upset advertisers.

What do you think? Would you bother to block or rate Search ads? Share your thoughts below:
]]> http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/134803/ http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/134803/ Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:50:00 -0800 Sneak Peek: New Google SearchWiki for AdWords ineedhits Only a few months ago, Google had the SEO industry re-thinking the future of search when it unveiled SearchWiki - http://www.ineedhits.com/free-tools/blog/2008/10/google-launching-searchwiki-you-control.aspx - user controlled search results. Well now Google are testing SearchWiki for AdWords. Imagine that - user controlled search advertising. At this stage, it appears that the tests are restricted to US users, with early reports of the SearchWiki [x] appearing ... SearchWiki - user controlled search results.

Well now Google are testing SearchWiki for AdWords. Imagine that - user controlled search advertising.

At this stage, it appears that the tests are restricted to US users, with early reports of the SearchWiki [x] appearing along side AdWords headlines (see screenshot below).

The introduction of SearchWiki for AdWords could open up a can worms for Google advertisers, and with no official report from Google at this stage, the rumor mill has been busy speculating on its impact.

Whilst Google will surely respond with a formal announcement in due course, here's some of my musing on the potential consequences of SearchWiki for AdWords:
Quality Score:
It does beg the question "will changes to ads via SearchWiki impact AdWords quality scores?" If Google can bypass the obvious opportunity for abuse, it is conceivable that it will feature in the quality score calculation at some point.

User Engagement:
I still haven't read any reports on what level of engagement Google is experiencing with SearchWiki for organic results, but I would hasten to say that it will diminish quickly, once the buzz has subsided.

With that in mind, I think SearchWiki for AdWords will receive even less user interest. If you don't like an ad, will you bother to block it or rate it down? Probably not. Youre more likely to ignore it rather than rate it.

Managing Abuse:
Any user controlled element of a search engine is open to some level of abuse. If SearchWiki for AdWords ends up impacting AdWords quality scores and therefore click costs, then the potential abuse will be far more concerning.
I think in the short term, SearchWiki for AdWords, if it gets a proper release, will be just a way for users to customize their experience from a visual point of view. It's not likely that Google are going to tamper with their primary revenue source and upset advertisers.

What do you think? Would you bother to block or rate Search ads? Share your thoughts below:
]]> http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135277/ http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135277/ Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:50:00 -0800 Google Japan Caught Buying Reviews; Gets Penalized! ineedhits - http://www.ineedhits.com/free-tools/blog/uploaded_images/google-japan-713573.PNGThis has to be one of the more bizarre SEO stories of the year. Google have penalized one of their own sites, Google Japan, after they were caught paying bloggers to write positive reviews about their services. Google have taken the drastic move of dropping the PageRank of Google.co.jp from a 9 to a 5 after reports emerged, and ... This has to be one of the more bizarre SEO stories of the year. Google have penalized one of their own sites, Google Japan, after they were caught paying bloggers to write positive reviews about their services.

Google have taken the drastic move of dropping the PageRank of Google.co.jp from a 9 to a 5 after reports emerged, and Google Celebrity Matt Cutts stated, "I expect that to remain for a while."

So how did this come about? Let's look at the story of Google Japan.

Firstly, it should be noted that Japan is one of the few countries where Google is not the dominant search engine. Yahoo! rules in Japan with 51.2% market share compared to around 39% for Google.

In order to compete with Yahoo!, Google have been releasing a number of Japan only services, including a recent widget for blogs that displays the top 10 hot keywords from Google Japan searches.

To let people know about this service, Google hired internet marketing company CyberBuzz to promote the keyword feature in a pay-per-post campaign. This effectively means Google was paying bloggers to write about and praise their new service - something that's strictly forbidden in their webmaster guidelines.

After this story was uncovered across various blogs, Google's Matt Cutts came in and confirmed that Google Japan would be penalized. He stated:

"Google.co.jp PageRank is now ~5 instead of ~9. I expect that to remain for a while."
Google Japan have since offered an apology for the incident, which has been translated by Asiajin:

Google Japan is running several promotional activities to let people know more about our products.

It turns out that using blogs on the part of the promotional activities violates Google's search guidelines, so we have ended the promotion. We would like to apologize to the people concerned and to our users, and are making an effort to make our communications more transparent in order to prevent the recurrence of such an incident.
If there's been one positive for Google out of this, at least they will be seen as enforcing their rules fairly, even against themselves!
]]> http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135278/ http://www.gooruze.com/members/ineedhits/blog/135278/ Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:26:00 -0800