Note: Watch our exclusive interview with Google’s Matt Cutts at 1pm Pacific/4pm Eastern at live.webpronews.com.

A lot of people wondered why Google would keep PageRank in the Google Toolbar, where it still sits to this day. Search enthusiast Barry Schwartz of Rusty Brick speculated that Google would not want to remove it because PageRank is “too much of their branding.” After some words from Google’s Director of Research, Peter Norvig today, however, I’m not so sure that’s the case.

Note: Watch Norvig’s keynote address here (or view our liveblog of the event), and our exclusive interviw with him here:

Norvig said at SMX today that PageRank is still one thing that is “overhyped,” and that Google never felt that it was such a big factor. They have always looked at all available data, combining every available signal and tiring to figure out the best way to combine them.

Norvig also said that it may be time for some re-branding with regard to PageRank. There may be a different term in the pipeline. “There’s a technical formula that’s PageRank, which is the way of judging the links between pages, and that’s just one component of how we rank the pages and you get your final search results. There’s all these other things that come in, but they don’t have a catchy name. So some people apply PageRank to mean all the components that give you the final ranking, and that’s where we get confused. So probably we need some other term for that…We’ll get some marketing guys on it.”

I don’t know how seriously the company is considering this, as Norvig seems to simply be speaking off the cuff, but given the company’s repeated emphasis on a lack of emphasis on PageRank, it would not be surprising to see them change the name. However, the problem with that could be, that these same PR-obsessed webmasters would just become obsessed with the re-branded term.

WebProNews will be doing a live interview with Google’s Matt Cutts today at 1pm Pacific/4pm Eastern at live.webpronews.com. Perhaps he will offer his thoughts on the subject.

Do you think PageRank needs a different name? What would you call it? Give your suggestions here.

About the author:
Chris Crum has been a part of the WebProNews team and the iEntry Network of B2B Publications since 2003. Follow WebProNews on Facebook or Twitter. Twitter: @CCrum237

[Article Courtesy: WebProNews]

For example, the Australian Open is going on right now and here is me typing [aus] into Bing.

Google already does this with their search suggestions, so it is nice to see Bing go this route as well. Now, Bing will have to deal with questions about censorship of trending topics.

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

Article appearing courtesy of Search Engine Roundtable

Here, spyware on a user’s PC monitors the user’s browsing to determine the user’s likely purchase intent. Then the spyware fakes a click on a Google PPC ad promoting the exact merchant  the user was already visiting. If the user proceeds to make a purchase — reasonably likely for a user already intentionally requesting the merchant’s site — the merchant will naturally credit Google for the sale. Furthermore, a standard ad optimization strategy will lead the merchant to increase its Google PPC bid for this keyword on the reasonable (albeit mistaken) view that Google is successfully finding new customers. But in fact Google and its partners are merely taking credit for customers the merchant had already reached by other methods.

Do you consider click fraud a big concern?

Edelman details all of the specifics about his dicovery, pointing to an example perpetrator – Trafficsolar, which he blames InfoSpace for connecting Google to. He also suggests Google discontinue its relationship with InfoSpace and other partners who have their own chains of partners, making everything harder to monitor. In his example, he finds an astounding sevenintermediaries in the chain between the click and the Google ad itself.

“Furthermore, Google styles its advertising as ‘pay per click’, promising advertisers that ‘You’re charged only if someone clicks your ad,’” says Edelman. “But here, the video and packet log clearly confirm that the Google click link was invoked without a user even seeing a Google ad link, not to mention clicking it. Advertisers paying high Google prices deserve high-quality ad placements, not spyware popups and click fraud.”

As Andy Greenberg with Forbes points out in an article, which brought Edelman’s findings to the forefront of mainstream exposure (and likely to Google’s attention), Edelman has a history of criticizing Google, is actually involved with a lawsuit involving misplacement of Google ads, and has served as a consultant to Microsoft, but maintains that this research is not funded by Microsoft or a company involved in that lawsuit. Greenberg reports:

As for its ability to detect the new form of click fraud, Google has long argued that it credits advertisers for as much as 10% of their ad spending based on click fraud that the company detects. While the company wouldn’t comment on Edelman’s TrafficShare example, a spokesperson wrote that the company uses “hundreds of data points” to detect fraud, not just clicks.

In a report last October, click fraud research firm Click Forensics measured click fraud at around 14%, significantly higher than Google’s estimates. But even Click Forensics may not be counting the sort of click fraud Edelman accuses TrafficSolar of committing. Because Click Forensics’ data is pulled from advertisers, the company can’t necessarily detect click fraud that is disguised as real customers and real sales, according to the company’s chief executive, Paul Pellman. Pellman believes, however, that the kind of click fraud Edelman discovered is likely mixed with traditional click fraud to increase the scheme’s traffic volume while keeping it hidden.

Click Forensics’  own Steve O’Brien says “it was probably a fairly low-volume scheme to begin with.  It’s limited to machines of users that are infected with spyware who also visit select Google advertisers…It’s a problem, but probably not a huge one.  What would make it more serious is if there were another version of the spyware that simply clicks on paid links in the background without the user’s knowledge…”

As for Edelman’s suggestion that Google sever ties with Infospace and the like, O’Brien doesn’t think it is worth going that far. “A better solution would be for Google and InfoSpace to deal only with reputable partners who provide verified, audited clicks to ensure advertisers get what they pay for,” says O’Brien.

Though Click Forensics appears to downplay the threat compared to Edelman’s own analysis, it shows the increasing sophistication with which fraudsters are carrying out their plots. Good times.

Article by Chris Crum, appearing courtesy of WebProNews

[photo: PoliTech]

We at Solid Radicle wish Google all the very best.

• Choose your preferred domain
  When confronted with duplicate content, search engines will generally take one version and filter the others out. This can also happen when multiple domain names are involved, so while search engines are generally pretty good at choosing something reasonable, many webmasters prefer to make that decision themselves.

• Reduce in-site duplication
  Before starting on cross-site duplicate content questions, make sure to handle duplication within your site first.

• Enable crawling and use 301 (permanent) redirects where possible
  Where possible, the most important step is often to use appropriate 301 redirects. These redirects send visitors and search engine crawlers to your preferred domain and make it very clear which URL should be indexed. This is generally the preferred method as it gives clear guidance to everyone who accesses the content. Keep in mind that in order for search engine crawlers to discover these redirects, none of the URLs in the redirect chain can be disallowed via a robots.txt file. Don’t forget to handle your www / non-www preference with appropriate redirects and in Webmaster Tools.

• Use the cross-domain rel=”canonical” link element
  There are situations where it’s not easily possible to set up redirects. This could be the case when you need to move your website from a server that does not feature server-side redirects. In a situation like this, you can use the rel=”canonical” link element across domains to specify the exact URL of whichever domain is preferred for indexing. While the rel=”canonical” link element is seen as a hint and not an absolute directive, we do try to follow it where possible.

Still have questions?

Q: Do the pages have to be identical?
A: No, but they should be similar. Slight differences are fine.

Q: For technical reasons I can’t include a 1:1 mapping for the URLs on my sites. Can I just point the rel=”canonical” at the homepage of my preferred site?
A: No; this could result in problems. A mapping from old URL to new URL for each URL on the old site is the best way to use rel=”canonical”.

Q: I’m offering my content / product descriptions for syndication. Do my publishers need to use rel=”canonical”?
A: We leave this up to you and your publishers. If the content is similar enough, it might make sense to use rel=”canonical”, if both parties agree.

Q: My server can’t do a 301 (permanent) redirect. Can I use rel=”canonical” to move my site?
A: If it’s at all possible, you should work with your webhost or web server to do a 301 redirect. Keep in mind that we treat rel=”canonical” as a hint, and other search engines may handle it differently. But if a 301 redirect is impossible for some reason, then a rel=”canonical” may work for you. For more information, see our guidelines on moving your site.

Q: Should I use a noindex robots meta tag on pages with a rel=”canonical” link element?
A: No, since those pages would not be equivalent with regards to indexing – one would be allowed while the other would be blocked. Additionally, it’s important that these pages are not disallowed from crawling through a robots.txt file, otherwise search engine crawlers will not be able to discover the rel=”canonical” link element.

We hope this makes it easier for you to handle duplicate content in a user-friendly way. Are there still places where you feel that duplicate content is causing your sites problems? Let us know in the Webmaster Help Forum!

Post by John Mueller, Webmaster Trends Analyst, Google Zürich, courtesy of Google Webmaster Central

Search Engine Optimization Company (SEO Company India)

Solid Radicle Solutions
351, Powai Plaza, Opp. Pizza Hut, Hiranandhani Gardens, AS Marg, Powai. Mumbai – 400076. MH. INDIA.

Email: jaish@solidradicle.com
Office No.: +91.22.42153550
Website: http://www.solidradicle.com

Social Media landscape is where marketing professionals would like to jump into, but have to essentially contemplate whether it’s a blog, or social network site or any other media or video site that the company needs to embark. Also they would not like be left alone from the social media bandwagon, as they can see their competitive peers engaged. But the inherent irony associated with it is :

1. Technology changes which need to be kept a abreast every time.
2. Viral Marketing failure vis-à-vis the success stories.
3. New Social Media sites being launched everyday and to determine the best or hot site.
4. Most importantly the metrics issues.

If these are the deterrents to your deciding, then the factors that need to be kept in check or under consideration would arise from drawing a simple synergy by assessing your buyers, your target market and the competition faced.

Firstly, you could begin with conducting a survey of your clients and gain insight to their engagement with social media the level of participation. Where is it that they would go on web to know and learn about new services and products, or what are their most frequented blogs, online associations etc. Based on which you could determine the sites which have an appeal to your clients, the frequency of conversation and the quality of posts which helps determine relevancy with relation to your business. Also it would get you first hand info about the set of clients who might be strong influencer’s or maybe just trend followers.

Secondly its imperative to know what is the competition upto. Here start off with knowing competitor activities with context to their web presence, their services or products on relevant sites. Are they on the social media vehicles like blogs, forums, networking sites and have they connected with the clients initiating them to comment. More importantly are they syndicating content to destination sites.

Once you have the information on the factors enumerated above you would have just the right market tactics to get your company strategically positioned on the social media landscape and with less likely hood of being drawn into the latest frenzy.

Internet Marketing (Web Advertising) aims at creating visibility, brand awareness and increasing sales to generate profits. The best part being, binding together the creative aspect to the technical know-how of the internet, right from design, development, implementation, advertising and monitoring of sales. Internet Marketing (Web Advertising) encompasses a wide array of services each having its own methodologies.

To begin with,
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) which is SEO and PPC, Advertising – display or text based or interactive,
Marketing – e-mails or newsletters or behavioral or affiliate,
Online Reputation Management,
Online Market Research and
SMO inclusive of blog & viral marketing.

Internet marketing (Web Advertising) draws a media strategy to address the specifics at the various stages of client engagement, incorporating an array of aforementioned services (single or multiple, with recommendations to compliment each of the stages) and Web2.0 strategies based on the organization’s business model.

Advantages of Internet Marketing (Web Advertising):
1. Wide audience reach
2. Fraction of traditional media costs
3. Personalized marketing messages
4. Behavior or Interest based targeting
5. Greater accountability
6. Campaign metrics- tracking, measuring & testing
7. Lesser Advertiser Risk
8. Performance based model availability

Disadvantages:
1. Use of newer technologies
2. Low speed internet
3. Complicated and heavy web pages
4. Security concerns for transactions
5. Personal information privacy

Online companies have come up with innovations like stronger encryption enabling conversion of the data to cipher, which cannot be intercepted without authenticated authorization into the program, thus taking care of security and privacy constraints. Internet Marketing has found favor with the music, movies, banking and the advertising industry.

So profound is the effect of online advertising, that within a short span it has grown to billions of dollars, with growth registration of 69% in 2007, 60% in 2006 and 69% in 2005. The average internet advertising growth has been 65% as against the 19% growth for the rest of traditional advertising media industry. The 2008, PriceWaterHouseCooper’s report states, web advertising in India will be Rs.4.5 billion this year end. Globally, the total revenue for the internet earnings is pegged at $44 billion. Moreover, Google’s results for the last financial belied expectations of the NASDAQ, which is a clear indication of online advertising being on the right track and of having rapid growth for the years to come…….

The term was first coined around 2004 by Chris Anderson to describe the niche strategy of certain business of online music, online books and movies. Products being digital, these businesses reaped significant profits since they were not faced with the distribution and inventory cost issues. Most of these businesses got aware to the Long Tail principle that, its just not about pushing the market with hits that are popular to many, but mining many a unpopular, to quite a few. Please see the graph below for further clarity.

We normally tend to equate mass market with quality and demand, while in fact it just represents domain familiarity, advertising impact and a time based appeal. Factually, whether it’s a hit or a miss both are on a equal footing, as they happen to be entries into a online database which can be accessed on demand. Our assumptions of popularity are based on a poor supply-demand match due to inefficient distribution. With the advent of online distribution and retail we are into a world of abundance, which in turn is revealing service related truths on the multi –faceted wants of the customer, thus fuelling more algorithmic recommendations based on the feedbacks, leading to more sales.

The sheer size of the Long Tail is what’ really amazes me. Combine enough non-hits on the Long Tail and embark on a market bigger than the hits.

Barnes & Noble carried around 130,000 titles on an average. But more than half of Amazon’s book sales are from outside its top 130,000 titles, which implicates the fact that, the market for books that are not even sold in the bookstore is larger than the market for those that are sold. If only we can get over the economics of scarcity, the potential book market appears to be twice as big.

The same is true for all other aspects of the entertainment business, a comparison of online and offline businesses clarifies it : An average Blockbuster would carry around 3,000 DVDs. Yet a fifth of Netflix rentals are outside its top 3,000 titles. Rhapsody streams more songs each month beyond its top 10,000 than it does its top 10,000. In each case, the market that lies outside the reach of the physical retailer is big enough and getting more bigger.

Google, illustrated Long Tail idea to investors way back in 2005 and makes most of its money off small advertisers (the long tail of advertising), and so does eBay with a tail of niche and one-off products. Google and eBay have discovered new markets and expanded existing ones.

The Long Tail fundamental can be applied to the PPC and the SEO. The inventory of obscure, yet valuable keywords is inexhaustible, for the pay-per-click campaigns, hence it is extremely encouraging to use the concept of Long Tail to have an ever-larger keyword buys. Not to be missing out broad matching on Google. It is reported that the traffic has a better conversion when tapped into the tail. The best or dirty ( you decide) part is that the Long Tail concept can also be applied in a much better way for keyword optimization by having loads of good quality content leading to better ranking in the natural results and getting a sizable traffic which could be a possible relief from running paid campaigns.

Since queries forming the keywords for the Long Tail are illustrated behind the head. Online businesses need to harness both ends of the curve. Great Long Tail businesses drive customers further by following the contours of their likes and dislikes, fueling their exploration of the unknown.

This is the power of the Long Tail.

The Search Engine Results Pages, displays the Title, a user usually reads the description which follows and then decides whether to visit the site or not. A good meta description tag can boost the page rankings on some engines for the targeted search terms. Incase of Flash, Frame or All Image sites that have no content some engines use meta description tag as a site’s summary on their search engine results pages. Hence it is required to make its contents crisp and enticing to the user, thus improving the click through ratio.

Meta Description Tag as it appears in your website’s HTML code:
Some search engines do not give very high prominence to the meta tag description, but then it also is the tag supported by some search engines. Google ignores the meta description tag and instead will automatically generate its own description for this page. Others like Teoma, MSN, HotBot, Yahoo supports it partially.

Guidelines to be followed:

1. Avoid excessive keyword repetition as some of the search engines consider it to be spam.

2. Focus more on the sequence of keywords and place the important terms in the beginning of the meta description tag to form a logical sentence.

3. Make it a point to have an unique meta description tag for each web-page, using the keyword phrases that are relevant to that web page.

4. To avoid truncation by search engines keep your meta description tag to a maximum of 225 characters, if possible limit it to 150 characters.

Its certainly worth the effort to create crisp, compelling keyword rich meta description tags optimization, if it can lead to a better listing in the search engine result pages and higher click through ratio.