Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Submit Your Google Sites Sitemap to Google Webmaster Tools
The Google team has just announced that your Google Sites web site -- that is, the sites.google.com properties -- can be submitted to Google Webmaster Central. This fixes a bug with verification that we reported on June 16. Google has written up a help document on how to submit your site but also how to verify it. Great news for those hosting their sites on Google properties; you weren't left in the dark! Forum discussion - Microsoft Live Search Gets an Interactive Redesign
In case you didn't know, Microsoft Live Search has been redesigned: WebmasterWorld members are appreciative of the new change. It's different and unique. But wait ... there's more. If you hover your mouse around certain areas, you can see where Microsoft is headed: Their goal: to emphasize other features of search. Right now, there's an emphasis on Botswana, but forum members suppose that Microsoft will switch up the images a bit and offer different searches - How Do You Tell Your Client about the SEO Work You're Doing?
How does one who may sell SEO services in the future give away information without giving away too much information (and fearing that the client will run away with the proposed strategies and implement them himself/herself?) That's a difficult situation and one I think a lot of people find themselves in. They are compelled to sell themselves by proposing a strategy but are afraid it can backfire. However, many clients who solicit the advice of - What are the Most Important Search Engine Optimization Practices?
A Cre8asite Forums forum member asks the community about their biggest pieces of advice as it relates to search engine optimization. What are those tips? When you start doing SEO, write down every thing you do and monitor results closely. If you make a change, write that down too -- and continue reviewing. If you work with clients, you may want to opt in for an NDA so that they don't "reuse any specialist codes - Is the Search Industry that Cuil?
Earlier this week, the Cuil search engine (from past Googlers) was launched, ridiculed by the SEO community and just about everyone else. In a Search Engine Land post, Barry showed the "relevancy" of the images as related to notable figures in the search industry. Barry Schwartz (yes, our Barry) is the renown psychologist, Danny Sullivan is the race car driver, Dave Naylor is a can of spam, and I'm a photo of a scantily clad - What Is Considered a "View" in YouTube?
Ever wonder how exactly Google/YouTube counts a "view" in YouTube? Is it each time a video page in YouTube is opened? Is it each time a video is played? Does "Autoplaybacks" count? YouTube Anna, an official YouTube representative has confirmed that "autoplaybacks" do not count towards the view count of a video. She said, View counts are important to the community and are a reflection of the interests and intents of video viewers. Autoplaybacks are - Yahoo Publisher Network Payout Decrease an Error
Earlier this week I reported that Yahoo publishers noticed a major pay decrease from within the Yahoo Publisher Network. I asked then, "Do you think Yahoo is skimming their publishers or do you think it is a temporary reporting glitch?" Well, it turns out to be a reporting glitch. An official Yahoo representative, YahooPete, replied to the WebmasterWorld thread saying: This was the result of a technical issue that affected Content Match Thursday afternoon. The - Google Maps Reincludes "Fix Incorrect Marker Location" Feature
Maps Guide Sirene announced in a Google Groups thread that Google Maps has finally added the "fix incorrect marker location" back to the Google Local Business Center. If you login, and edit your business listing, you will see a link that reads, "Fix incorrect marker location" on the right side of the page. Clicking on that link will open up a smaller window that looks like this: Then you can click and drag the red - Google Webmaster Tools Incorrectly Reporting Some 404 Errors
A Google Groups thread has confirmation from Google that Google's Webmaster Tools may be reporting incorrect 404 status reports. In fact, for this site, Google has reported over a 150 pages not found, in the webmaster tools section. The fact is, most of those pages are not reporting a 404 error and are functioning just fine. I have a screen shot of one of the pages of the report at Flickr. One of the 150
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- distributing malware, Google Groups
- AdWords Starter Kit Updated (v1.0.1), Google Groups
- Comparing Search Engine Performance: How does Cuil Stack Up to Google, Yahoo!, Live , Sphinn
- Google contemplating VC arm, WebmasterWorld
- PR update followed by increased Google traffic, WebmasterWorld
- Protect Your Reputation Via FriendFeed, Sphinn
- The "Google PageRank Is Stupid" Thread, DigitalPoint Forums
- Why is Google trying to destroy me?, DigitalPoint Forums
- Yo-Yo Effect - Observations and Understandings, WebmasterWorld
