Mike Dobbs

Google is at it again, recently making an update that alters the description area of some natural results rankings pages. The change will only affect certain types of pages – and it’s a relatively small adjustment – but it should encourage webmasters to pay closer attention to their HTML coding structures, tagging semantic and strategy around utilizing advanced markup.

Pages affected will be those that render listed items or structured content links within the page (i.e. a retailer with an online catalog). The Meta description tag remains an important element for SEO, but the latest update could supplant or ignore this tag in the SERPs, depending on the page’s code or structured format.

As shown in the above example, any page with a laundry list of links and/or paginated items can be affected by the update. We’ve noticed more and more affected listings over the past few weeks, and Google has confirmed that the changes are not a test and will continue to roll out globally within results. Read the full article »

Today, Google announced the launch of the +1 button for websites, a feature that enables site visitors to “+1″ content directly from pages themselves (vs. within Google search results). The news comes on the heels of Twitter’s announcement of its own button for websites, and signifies larger trend of social platforms integrating more closely with publishers’ digital destinations.

Mashable has already implemented the +1 button on each of its posts.

While the news might cause some marketers to wonder why they should add yet another button to their websites, the Google +1 has added weight as it ties back to natural search rankings. Long story short, brands can’t risk being left behind in the Google natural results, and the +1 button will allow them to capture the natural relevance they deserve. Webmasters can get started immediately.

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Google is making a concerted effort to socialize its roster of products, as evidenced by a new incentive program for all employees who innovate in this area — no matter what product team they claim (this according to a recent leaked memo from CEO Larry Page).

The Google Places product team seems especially motivated in this mission. Over the last few weeks, several social elements have been integrated into Google Places:

• Google hotpot’s recommendation engine for Google Places
• Latitude’s social check-in and loyalty status program for Google Places
• Popular products are available at specific Google Places

The developments come on the heels of the announcement of Google +1, which incorporates more social data into its natural algorithm while displaying more information to users who are logged in. But while +1 might have some connections with Google Places and the aligned brand URL of a Places page, those specific Google Places are scored with ratings and review data, not +1 accumulations.

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According to eMarketer, this year, 46% of retail sales will be influenced by the web – but more than 90% of total retail transactions will take place in stores, from small neighborhood boutiques to national chains. These statistics set the stage for Google’s latest announcement that the engine will now display in-store product inventory status for certain retailers as they head into the holiday season crunch.

We already know that mobile search queries are on the rise, and Google cites 20% of searches on Google are related to location, while Microsoft claims 53% of mobile searches on Bing have a local intent. In addition, Smartphones are often GPS-enabled with full browser capabilities that are similar to a desktop like search experience. So, Google’s latest local search enhancements are just one example of the engines expanding their offerings to mirror consumer habits.

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Since the joint announcement a few weeks ago, I’ve been returning to Bing Search daily, hoping to get a glimpse of the new Facebook integration. I’m normally a Google user, yet the idea of taking my friends along with me during search discovery just seems natural, if not logical.  And, while I’m probably the exception and not the rule, most of my real relationships are also solidified on Facebook. As Facebook continues growing user adoption rates, a mirroring effect of our real and digitized social lives is becoming analogous for many online users.

With this latest Bing rollout, our digitized Facebook friends will support Bing Search as we do keyword queries. I envision three of my good buddies hovering over my shoulder at home, pointing, debating and telling me which links might look interesting on a search results page. Maybe they see a web URL they’ve already visited or have Liked themselves. Now, in this virtual scenario produced by Bing and Facebook, my buddies are probably less of a distraction to my ears (or stress levels), and more so a subtle support group for my search and discovery process within Bing.

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This week Yahoo! made some key changes to its search interface that the company says is just the first in a series of advancements that will bring searchers more content – and more “entertainment” in one central place. As Mashable’s Stan Schroeder noted on CNN.com, the updates give Yahoo! a more curated feel, suggesting to users specific content ahead of serving a long list of links. In many ways, this style is not unlike that of Google’s Short Answers.

For specific types of information – e.g. a user in search of media and entertainment topics – Yahoo! delivers a rich carousel of answers for specific information types that doesn’t require the searcher to exit Yahoo.com to get the answer or more information. Yahoo! has subscribed to this concept for awhile now, but the engine seems to have taken it to the next level in display by enriching the user experience within its own results pages. For example, Yahoo! already provided short answer boxes around certain queries (e.g. a pro athlete) above standard results that aggregate facts via Yahoo! Sports for example. The updates announced this week stem from the same concept.

Here is a quick summary of the enhancements:

News & Entertainment Shortcuts: Searchers can now view trailers, listen to songs, browse photos and view real-time conversations around queries. For example, when searching for the artist “Kanye West,” Yahoo! now delivers a dynamic box above traditional natural and sponsored results that includes top stories and photos, multimedia content and tweets by and about the artist.

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Google has rolled out a significant change in their natural search algorithm, announced last Friday.  According to industry bloggers, the new change might be connected to a Google’s patent submitted last May: Query rewriting with entity detection (U.S. Patent 7,536,382).

Historically, a Google keyword search (brand or non brand) would only result in a single subdomain such as ‘www.yourdomain.com’ appearing one or two times within the natural rankings.  But today, the number of ranking opportunities for a single subdomain (and consequently a portfolio of subdomains) has expanded to an unknown limit. Therefore, if a given domain according to Google’s judgment (algorithm) provides multiple results across unique URLs, the domain might rank numerous times. This update shakes up the natural rankings and potential domination strategies for certain types of search queries, those with a “brand plus” combination.

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