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One of the major changes in Google over the past few months is the increased implementation of customized search results. Publicized in July 2008 on the Official Google Blog, customized or personalized search results deliver website listings according to the searcher’s location, past & recent history. As Google states in some of their search results’ fine print,
When possible, Google will customize your search results based on location and/or recent search activity. Additionally, when you’re signed in to your Google Account, you may see even more relevant, useful results based on your web history.
This means that, if you search for securities lawyers, it will likely return lawyers within what Google determines to be your location. Another example would be that if you have searched for Philadelphia car accident lawyer in the past, visited a site and quickly returned to Google, it’s likely your quick abandonment of that site in the past will result in its demotion within your Google results in the future.
“Ok,” you say, “but everyone pretty well already knows that Google is customizing search results.” You’re right. There’s been a lot of chatter (1, 2, 3) about the issue for some time now. The extent to which they harvest & connect information is still to be determined but one thing is for sure: the idea of a “universal” set of search results is quickly becoming antiquated. SEO professionals have been talking about the use and uselessness of ranking reports for some time now, but the increased customization of search engine ranking pages now forces clients (like lawyers) to recognize that rankings vary, so website traffic and conversion of that traffic into a phone call or contact form submission is a much better, more quantifiable marker of success. As Mark Jackson with Search Engine Watch says,
“The best thing you can do now is to start focusing on a different measurement of success. Don’t focus on search engine rankings. Focus on ROI, conversions, and overall traffic.”
Since a lot my day centers around what attorney is found for what keyword, this issue is extremely important to me and SEO agencies like the one I work in. Most law firms are still absolutely focused on rankings and what they show up for. The SEO Ranking Report is a standard, expected part of legal and almost any other type of SEO services. Most agencies are prepared to deliver the traffic and conversion metrics, but the client conversations to re-set ranking display expectations will be very difficult. Imagine trying to explain to a client that they’re not showing up when they search Google because they (themselves) have searched it too much without clicking on their own listing?
Anyone with any thoughts? Oh, and what am I, as a user of the Bruce Clay SEOToolSet, supposed to think about their dedication to the quality of their ranking report product when Bruce Clay himself is reporting the imminent demise of the ranking report?
Written by jclayc on May 25th, 2009 with 1 comment.
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A question that I sometimes encounter: “Is my site optimized for the ______ (Firefox, Opera, etc.) web browser? ” Now, with Google’s Chrome browser entering the fray, it’s bound to spawn a whole new round of the same question. This kind of browser optimization should always be checked but, before you invest hours into re-coding your site to work correctly in Firefox or Chrome, you should know the market share to balance your consideration.
StatCounter.com is a wonderful, free web analytics program that is highly recommended. Who knew they had a blog? Well they do and, in it, they’ve revealed the latest stats on Global Browser Market Share, as it has been claimed by Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and “Other” top browsers (Flock, Opera, etc.):
IE FireFox Safari Chrome Other
Aug 28, 2008 68.17% 24.66% 2.83% N/A 4.33%
Aug 29, 2008 67.81% 24.78% 2.84% N/A 4.57%
Aug 30, 2008 65.41% 26.38% 3.04% N/A 5.17%
Aug 31, 2008 64.49% 26.91% 3.06% N/A 5.56%
Sep 01, 2008 66.92% 25.26% 2.99% N/A 4.84%
Sep 02, 2008 67.58% 24.36% 2.91% N/A 5.06%
Sep 03, 2008 67.81% 23.54% 2.70% 1.11% 4.87%
Sep 04, 2008 70.87% 21.26% 2.48% 1.15% 4.25%
Very interesting that it’s Firefox and “other” users who presumably compose the 1.15% now claimed by Google Chrome. To me, it indicates first adopters are the only ones using Chrome so far. The numbers for Firefox (at 21.26% on September 4, 2008) are more intriguing… there may be some “techie” skew in the sample set but not much. Chrome’s numbers show us that. At approximately 20% of market share, Firefox has nearly doubled its user base since my recollection of one year ago.
Chrome and Firefox share the same Mozilla browser core, so there shouldn’t be any major difference in the way they render your pages. The message is clear, though, if you have an error in Firefox, you should invest the time and labor to fix it for the sake of 20% of market. If a Chrome-specific error arises, explore what browser optimization would be necessary to fix the issue, but take a wait and see approach for the next few weeks.
Ultimately, if you’re not able to correct a browser-specific issue, a USER-AGENT browser redirect will be necessary with different landing pages for different browser versions.
[Full Global Browser Market Share stats]
Written by jclayc on September 7th, 2008 with 2 comments.
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It’s July 4th, so I was out in my garage working on my car, listening to WABC 770. A radio ad for search engine optimization (SEO) came on, believe it or not. This post isn’t about the permeation of SEO into the fabric of B2B but, rather, about the guarantee offered in the ad. (I really thought these guarantees had gone away a long time ago.) The provider’s SEO guarantee was this: if they don’t get top 10 rankings for you you don’t pay again until they do. Sounds good, right? This pitch has been around for at least 8 years – when I first encountered it. What’s the trick?
The firm guarantees that you pay them and, if after 90 days, they don’t have top 10 rankings for X of your keywords on the top search engines, you don’t pay until they do. The SEO guarantee “trick” lies within the small print.
Let’s say you have 100 keywords. They’ll guarantee 10, maybe 20 top ten rankings. Ok, so count on them being the worst keywords on your list. But even that’s not so bad. The big payoff (for them) is in the definition of “top search engines”: you think Google, Yahoo and MSN. They will define the group as something like Google, Yahoo, MSN, Looksmart, Lycos, Dogpile and other lesser engines. The problem(s):
- the “B level” search engines included easily give the SEO firm the rankings they need to satisfy the guarantee… with little value to the site owner
- even #3 search engine MSN can easily show rankings in 90 days, but it delivers less traffic volume than will satisfy most site owners
- there is often the ability for the SEO firm to simply pay for sponsored search “rankings” to satisfy the guarantee
So buyer beware…
I’m sure not all SEO guarantees are a rip off… although Google recommends that you reject them, clearly stating “No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google. Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings…” And we won’t even get into how SEO is about more than rankings (it’s about ROI). But I wanted to make lawyers and other search engine optimization service consumers aware of how guaranteeing rankings should be a warning sign, not reassurance.
Have a happy 4th of July!
Technorati Tags: SEO
Written by jclayc on July 4th, 2008 with 5 comments.
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It’s the day before Christmas, so I thought I’d post something entertaining: the SEOmoz Unusual SearchTerms from the Month of November. Hilarious… take a look if you’re a search nerd like me.
Have a happy new year.
Written by jclayc on December 24th, 2007 with no comments.
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We’re all guilty of “ego surfing” every once and a while (searching your name in Google and seeing what comes up). For some, it’s scary to see how much of your life is documented online. For others, it’s a nice ego boost to see your name “up in lights” within Google’s search engine results pages. Either way, a quick search of your name will turn up who’s saying what about you online.
Turning my attention to attorneys – is it hard to imagine an attorney would be interested to see what others are saying about him/her? Well, sure. But let’s take this a step further and learn a few things from ego surfing. How about a few recommendations on getting the most out of your profiles online:
- In your initial search, make sure you put your name in quotes (eg “Your Namehere”) to specifically return results for you and not a mixture of your first and/or last name. Do the same for your law firm’s name, if different from your own.
- Once you’ve pulled up the search results, my next tip is to make sure that the first page of information that’s returned contains correct information. No, you can’t change others’ opinions about you, but double check that the address and phone information printed along with your name will actually reach you or your office.
- If you don’t see too much online about you, your practice or your cases, there are a few sites that should be high on your list for building your name online. Yes, you are effectively “brand-building” your name and, thereby, your firm’s visibility.
- Finally, if you’re the type that’s interested in actively TELLING THE WORLD about what you’re up to, top options include:
Yes, there are those who love to document the minutia of their lives for their mothers to read… but there are also those that carefully manage their name and “reputation” online to maximize the impact of search in client development. Whether you’re an old timer who’s still scared of what’s being said online or on the cutting edge, it’s important to learn from what you see when ego surfing and take action as necessary.
Technorati Tags: ego surfing, search engines
Written by jclayc on November 25th, 2007 with no comments.
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I wrote a more extensive post on FeaturedSystems.com, but I wanted to put put a buzzword on your radar: Android. Google and the Open Handset Alliance have announced they will be publishing an open source mobile device platform (software and/or hardware) to support user and dealer customization of the devices. Very interesting. Instead of tacking iPhone head on, they’re positioning themselves to provide the “operating system” everyone will want to load.
Technorati Tags: Android, Open Handset Alliance
Written by jclayc on November 14th, 2007 with 2 comments.
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