Is it really May already? I guess time flies when you're working hard. Or something. The latter part of the week was a bit slow, but we still have a lot of great news for you, starting with a PageRank Update!
Google PageRank Update
That's right, my friends, we've observed a Google Toolbar PageRank update and some people are very happy to see it. Still, as commenter Rob Abdul points out, it really doesn't mean much.
Google Sitelinks Update
Along with a PageRank update came a Google sitelinks update. Other people are happy to see this too. A few problems have arisen, but nothing too serious, so carry on.
Google Leaks Ad Scores
Earlier this week, a few people reported leaked Google AdWords scores by the name of Pscore, mCPC, and thresh. We're not really sure what they mean and Google has no comment, according to Loren Baker of Search Engine Journal. What we do know is that they're related to ranking.
Google's Spider is Tired
As am I. But computers are supposed to work harder than humans. Yesterday, we reported news of Googlebot not crawling as often. But in this particular case, it was actually not an issue of the spider in general but the person's website. If your site is not easy to access, Googlebot won't come as often. That said, good hosting is critical! However, we're also quick to note that this may not necessarily be isolated to one guy's slow website. It may be an overall issue where we need word from Google.
META Keywords: Who Cares?
The verdict is in for a META keywords case: they don't matter, according to the US courts. The word used is "immaterial." But that's really a ruling that they made based on Google. What about other search engines? Did they forget? Or were the lawyers on the case not well-educated in area of search?
Get Your Google TV Ads Today
All US advertisers: your time on TV is coming up. Google has opened TV ads to those of us American people and there's a promotion where you can get up to $2000 off. What a bargain!
Mapping the World with Googoel and Yahoo
Yahoo has added circles to local search, and Barry has a video explaining how it's done. Ask.com has had this for awhile; I remember Gary Price explaining it to me over the phone. That man was really passionate about the technologies Ask has had to offer. :(
On the other hand, you know that a person like me loves schwag, but I'd never hide schwag forever. But the stickers are now gone! It seems like we'll never get these cool pieces of Google history. Google, it's time to print out more, mmkay?
And finally, Google has combined driving directions with street view so you can see where you're going before you get there.
VisualRank is Coming
We had PageRank. Now we're going to see VisualRank, Google's new way of weighing similar images. Will it kill SEO? Nah. Two out of three commenters think it's a good idea but wanted it earlier.
Search Conference Controversy Ensues
The battle of SES vs. SMX is continuing on Sphinn. Kevin and Danny are head to head with commentary that has been updated as recently as this morning. I love both SES and SMX guys, so obviously, I'm keeping my head out of this, but for the record, we reported on it here because the thread itself had a lot of comments and we thought it'd be relevant to the search industry at large.
Artist? Check iGoogle Themes
Google is pushing out artist themes for iGoogle to personalize your search experience even more. Not a bad idea.
Have a great weekend!
