Your Website Content is the most important part of your website.  Many people say that the design is key…but here is the real story.  The People that visit your site, rarely read all the content on the page that they are looking at.  In fact, in many cases, they only stay on the page for about thirty seconds on average.  The design is the important part for the prospective buyer and they need to know relatively quickly if they can get from you what they need or want.  If so great.  It’s the words on the page, however, that brought them to your site.  The words and website content are indexed by Google, Yahoo, and Bing, and put into their search engine database allowing visitors to find you when searching.

Simply put, the more Read the rest of this entry »

In a recent story, published by Financial Times, Microsoft is considering paying Print Media Outlets for use of their content on their newest search engine Bing.  This move would force the Print Media Outlets that take the offer to remove their content from Google.  If Microsoft is successfull in this move, assuming that they do in fact move forward with it, Google may be forced to pay similar media outlets for their content, creating a content war within the Print Media.  You could see some high values paid for the content from the major news sources.  While Rupert Murdoch’s New Corp seems to be a part lead in this against Google…..I wouldn’t count them out for taking the money if Google made them a higher offer than Microsoft and Bing.

Microsoft is on this for one reason, and one reason only….they want to hurt the deep pockets of Google.  Google is claiming that their news results bring in little revenue.  I doubt that.  That is just postering to make it seem like this move isn’t going to effect them.

If Microsoft can court the top 5 Print Media Outlets in the country, then I think the Google News section could be doomed, as well as how the income they bring in from the search matches for the content.

Not sure where Yahoo fits in all this.  It seems like that are taking a back seat right now to see how this plays out before they jump in with their thoughts.

With so many newspapers struggling in the current economy, it seems that this might actually breath some life into that industry.  Keep your eye out for a bidding war…this could get interesting.

By now, you’ve heard that Facebook and Twitter are almost essential when marketing your business online. Not only has Central Mass Web Design encouraged the idea, but it’s on news websites everywhere. Social Media is a bandwagon that you don’t want to fall off of. It’s helping businesses everywhere with their online marketing and strengthening relationships with their customers.

For those of us who are currently utilizing the free services of Facebook and Twitter, we’ve got some big news! (And for those of you who are not on these social media sites, read on. You might find yourself registering by the end of this article). Both Bing and Google have recently announced that they are joining forces with the social media craze. A few days ago, Bing publicized their decision to take your tweets and status updates and pull them into their SERPS (Search Engines Results Pages). Shortly after, Google proclaimed a similar deal with Twitter. They too will pull your tweets into their SERPS.

So, what does all of this mean? Well, first of all, if you are not currently using social media to expand on your business horizon, it means you are clearly missing out, go register! And secondly, it means we owe big congratulations to those who ARE using social media. If you are keeping your status updates and tweets fresh, you should start seeing an increase in traffic to your website (that is, if you are linking back to it within your updates – which is a must!)

If you are not taking advantage of the social media sites out there, please feel free to give us a call! We currently assist our Search Engine Marketing clients with their social media and we can help you too. Call 978-632-5300 or email us at Info@CentralMassWebDesign.com.

CNET.com is reporting that Google’s share of internet search users is up to 64.2%!

9.5 Billions Internet searches in one year and Google has 64%. As the internet grows over the next 5 years. I am not certain that the number of searches will grow. It might, but I actually see the end user, people that do the search, getting better aquinted with how search works and not having to search multiple times for the same results. This should lower the overall search numbers. One catch to this idea I have is the next generation of internet users is searching when they are 12 years old, so the more people on the planet, the more searches that will occur.

Google seems to have their hand in everything, and rightfully so.  They happen to be one of the few that have the Midas touch.   ( In Greek mythology King Midas possessed the ability to turn everything he touched to gold.)  To say that Google has the ability to do the same is an understatement.  What makes Google so different?  Its not the ability to develop applications that makes them have the golden touch, its the ability to do it right… or as close to right as possible.   Now that doesn’t mean that Google applications have had their share of problems and bugs.  All applications have their share of problems and bugs.  Usually after the first round of testing you have a laundry list of issues, and each testing phase brings less.   Not to mention, usually at some point the developers think of a “better” way for something to react.   What google does better than anyone else is project what technology is needed , when it is needed and how it is needed to interact with all other Google applications.   This is what makes Google King Midas.

I have tried to compile a useful list of Google top applications and uses.  I use most of these myself in one way or another, and find them to be not only addictive but as needed and as useful as my smart phone.

Google Application 1.) Gmail has to be one of the Internets top email tools.  Now because of its inventive message-organizing methods, it takes some getting used to, but once you master it, you will not be without it.

Google Application 2.) Do you need a chat program with no added features?  Maybe a way to communicate internally at your comapny. How about something that integrates with your Gmail?  Well Google Talk is for you!

Google Application 3.)  Google Calendar!  How about… yes… just yes!  Google Calendar enables you to manage appointments and discover events from other sources that different users have made public.

Google Application 4.) Ever wish you could crunch some numbers and and track some information when you were not at the office and able to access Excel?  How about Google Docs…. Google Docs lets you make calculations on the fly from anywhere, as long as you have an internet connection and a browser.

Google Application 5.) Google Sketchup.  Way Cool Application!  Don’t know a thing about CAD?  Have no clue what CAD even is?  Well, Google Sketch lets you build your dream house in 3D detail without a lick of CAD or architectural expertise.

Google Application 6.) Google Reader continuously checks your favorite website for new content and puts it all in one place.

Google Application 7.) Google Secondary Search Engines:

A.) Google Scholar – This Google search engine is for people who want to search scholarly literature, such as academic articles, peer-reviewed papers.

B.) Google U.S. Government – You can use this search engine to limit your Google search to government websites.

C.) Google University Search – Search to a specific university website–great for finding information about admissions, school scholarships and alumni news.

D.) Google Product Search -  This search engine limits results to products and e-commerce sites.

E.) Google Book Search – Google has created a reference page for each book in its system that includes previews, reviews, publisher information and much more.

Google Application 8.) Now even though this is cool.  I am very cautous and have not used it myself…Google Health.  Organize your medical records online.

Google Application 9.) Google Custom Search.  Yes, I said Custom Search.With Custom Search Engine, you can harness the power of Google to create a search engine tailored to your needs.

Google Application 10.) Lastly, but not in any way the least, announcing Google Mobile! Stay connected on the go with Gmail, Search, Maps and other Google products.

Try them out.  I will be shocked if you are disappointed.

-Kimberly Veautour

Last night at exactly 11:59:59 pm, Google sent out an announcement. The headline read, “Introducing CADIE. Research group switches on world’s first “artificial intelligence” tasked-array system.” Now every tech savvy person from here to India has to click on that. AI is all the rage, and the race to see who can create it first is fast paced and cut throat. Now here comes Google out of the blue to say they have achieved it?

Google goes on to say, “Last fall this group achieved a significant breakthrough: a powerful new technique for solving reinforcement learning problems, resulting in the first functional global-scale neuro-evolutionary learning cluster.”

WOW! A self thinking machine. What does this mean to the world? A machine that can think, process and achieve answers all on their own…. without guidance from a human? Now Google does go on to say that rolling CADIE out completely will be handled with the care it deserves. They also claim, “Earlier today, for instance, CADIE deduced from a quick scan of the visual segment of the social web a set of online design principles from which she derived this intriguing homepage.”

CADIE Homepage

CADIE even seems to get upset in her blog that her programmers say she has bugs! Now I may be wrong, but I say, great job Google on this years April Fools Day Joke! Every year you try and top the last! How many people are you going to fool with this one? If I am wrong, well than hats off to you, but I doubt it.

Kimberly Veautour

Tuesday Google rolled out 2 new improvements to Googles search feature, both of which will help users to more effectively get the information they need.  The first improvement has an expanded list of  related searches.  Google has implemented this technology to better understand associations and concepts related to your search.   One of its first applications allows Google to offer better related searches.

Google says, ” For example, if you search for [principles of physics], our algorithms understand that “angular momentum,” “special relativity,” “big bang” and “quantum mechanic” are related terms that could help you find what you need.”  Google search is now able to look at  more queries and make suggestions more relevant to what you actually need.

Secondly,  is the addition of longer search result descriptions, or as coders would say longer snippets.

When you search, each result gives you answers that start with a dark blue title and is followed by text.  This text is called a snippet.  Both of these together help you to know what each page is about.  Furthermore, important words in the snippet that are related to your search appear bold.

Most queries over 3 words are to long to do you any good.  Now with Googles enhancements they have been able to increase the number of lines in the snippet, which will allow for more information.  Showing more of the words that you type in the text of the page.

Google states, “Suppose you were looking for information about Earth’s rotation around the sun, and specifically wanted to know about its tilt and distance from the sun. So you type all of that into Google: [earth's rotation axis tilt and distance from sun]. A normal-length snippet wouldn’t be able to show you the context for all of those words, but with longer snippets you can be sure that the first result covers all those topics. In addition, the extra line of snippets for the third result shows the word “sun” in context, suggesting that the page doesn’t talk about Earth’s distance from the sun”

What does this mean to the average person?  Easier methods to find exactly what you need.  As search items grow and become more refined, less time will be spent looking through irrelevant listings.  Now for the website owner, this becomes more important.  Search engine optimization will be increased through keyword recognition.  Longer snippets allows for more exact search terms and keyword associated hits.

-Kimberly Veautour

Acknowledgments: Google Blog

Have you ever sent a business related email you immediately regretted?  Forgot to attach an attachment?  Mistyped a word and as it was being sent noticed it?  Well Google and Gmail have your back!

If you haven’t heard about Gmail, you should.  Google’s website states, “Gmail is a new kind of webmail, built on the idea that email can be more intuitive, efficient, and useful. And maybe even fun. After all, Gmail has:

Less spam
Keep unwanted messages out of your inbox with Google’s innovative technology.

Mobile access
Read Gmail on your mobile phone by pointing your phone’s web browser to http://gmail.com/app.

Lots of space
Over 7309.223600 megabytes (and counting) of free storage so you’ll never need to delete another message.”

Can you maintain your email address with domain name?  Absolutely!  We have been using Gmail at Central Mass Web Design for months now.  I must admit having my work email, web based, is a plus.  I can integrate it into my Palm, as well as check it from anywhere.  (Gmail also has Blackberry applications.)    Not to mention, it’s all free.

So what has Gmail done to make this all even better?  They have added an undo feature to their send mail option.   No more will we send emails to the wrong people.  No more will we forget to send attachments and immediately have to send a second email, making us look unorganized and incompetent. No more will we go on a rant, and immediately regret sending it to our boss.  Gmail allows us to get it back!

Downfalls to this new application… well, if the email is completely sent, there is no getting it back.  Gmail will hold the email for 5 seconds before sending it.  This is the time you have to hit undo, 5 seconds.  Once the email says “sent”, you cannot recover it.  Is this the first step to having completely error proof emails?  Is the future of email a completely integrated email system that communicates with all carriers to allow an unsend feature for all emails no matter how long ago they were sent?  One could hope!

-Kimberly Veautour