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:
- How Do I Use Sphinn?
Sphinn is a little over a year old now and the Problogger blog has a tutorial for beginners on how to take advantage of the highly popular Internet Marketing social news site. The article is broken down to history, how to get started, how to navigate the site, and how to submit an article. Some pitfalls are discussed, but ultimately the value of Sphinn is seen: For users, the benefits are being able to locate - Webmasters Report December 2008 Google SERP Changes
It's December, the last year of 2008, and webmasters have started guessing what's up with Google this month once again. New sites are fluctuating with their rankings; one webmaster reports that his new sites (2 months old or less) are showing up in the top 10 and then 12 hours later, they're not even in the top 1000. It seems that this is a cycle. Some say it's just a sandbox. Another observation relates to - Poll: Average Search Is Not Ready For Google's SearchWiki
A few weeks ago, Google launched SearchWiki to the public, making all Google searchers who are logged in, advanced searchers. I was surprised by this, so I asked you guys, do you think the average searcher is ready for this. After 150 responses, the results are in. 124 (or 82.67%) of you said, no, the average searcher is not ready for the Google SearchWiki. While only 26 (or 17.33%) of you said, yes, the average - Google's SearchMash Is Now A "Dinosaur"
Remember Google's SearchMash? The search engine they used to test wild and fun stuff for advanced search features? Well, as TechCrunch noted a week or so ago, Google stopped the testing at SearchMash.com. Now if you go to http://searchmash.com/ you will see this message: Why did Google kill it? Well, maybe it had to do with Google launching SearchWiki a few days prior? Maybe it has to do with Google cutting costs or maybe something - Google Mobile Maps Asking English Users to Accept Swedish TOS
There are confirmed reports at Google Maps Help that users downloading the new Google Maps 2.3.2 to their phones are being asked to accept the terms of service before using it. The only issue is that the terms of service (TOS), in some cases, are coming up in a different language then the language the user knows. For example, an English user said he opened it and the terms of service look to be in - Does The Alt Tag Improve Search Engine Rankings?
We know Google recommends using alternative text for your images. But does that mean your rankings will improve in the search engines if you use the ALT attribute? That is the question at WebmasterWorld. Forget about what is "best practices" or what is nice to do, but does it actually improve rankings? The thread is not sure. We do have moderator, Robert Charlton, speak up and say: I've seen some boosts from the alt text
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- SYNC ANNOUNCEMENT: BlackBerry OS 4.5 users please disable contact sync, Google Mobile Help
- Digg CEO says company's not for sale, News.com
- Sandbox is currently down, Google Groups
- Adwords consultant and access to my acct, AdWords Help
- Google Period of Austerity Puts The Pressure on Growth Efforts, WebmasterWorld
- Matt Cutts stating that TrustRank is Google's secret, Search Engine Watch Forums
- MySpace Brings Ad-Supported Video Clips To Mobile Devices, WebmasterWorld
- What about a sub-category on accessibility?, Webmaster Help
