Tag Archives: Google

Google’s Upcoming Reliance on the Average Person

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In the end, links will have to take a back seat to the next big ranking signal, which I believe will be mentions. Just talking about your new George Foreman grill will be enough to add to the Foreman Grill website’s search rankings, particularly in your online social circle and within the profile Google has on our preferences and likes.

Most people don’t have their own website to post links on and search engines are relying on those few to determine popularity. Sooner or later, Google and the rest will realize that every conversation has keywords and relevance that add meaning and value to the online world.

The Web Explained: Facebook Future

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Social media has untapped power. It’s the power of people, really.

Google is realizing the next big search clues can only come from social media like Facebook and Twitter. Here are some quotes:

“A lot of the searches that Google is really bad at – commerce and travel, for example – can get really good really fast if you can look at… data from friends about those very things. I don’t need pages and pages of results. Just a nice hotel in Paris that a friend vouches for. Or a movie I’ll enjoy. Or the right set of pots and pans.”

Google search results will do in a pinch, but you listen to your friends more than random pages on Google. And you probably talk more with your friends and family on Facebook than you do anything else.

The Web Explained for the Average Person: Who Will Buy Twitter?

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Twitter is up for sale. Twitter is willing to sell out for $8 Billion or so. Facebook and Google were in low level talks with Twitter in mid February.

Facebook might want it to eliminate a growing rival but Google might connect it with their other services.

How does this affect you? The fewer options you have, the more your communication channels and certain terms and conditions will be dictated to you. What if Facebook wanted to start charging you for every time you accessed Facebook on your phone? It’s unthinkable now but what if Facebook becomes the new USPS? What choice will you have then? Maybe it will not ever come to that result, but you should be aware that it is possible.

The Web Explained for the Average Person: Naughty, Naughty JC Penny

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JC Penny hired an SEO firm which used techniques outlawed by Google and Google slapped JC Penny after the NY Times outed them.

JC Penny results were penalized by dropping the results by 6 pages for luggage.

Also, Forbes and other companies just got caught, too.

Now Overstock is in trouble, too.

Basically, Overstock offered a discount to colleges if they would promote Overstock’s items. This is a problem because colleges usually have .edu sites which Google ranks with more weight than .com sites, and so links are more valuable from colleges.

The interesting thing is that competitors are ratting each other out. Are we entering a time when the best thing you can do to improve your own website rankings is to report your competition? If so, everything a company does needs to be in good morals and in good faith to mitigate those times when it even looks like they did something naughty.