| Our Sponsors: |  | |
|
|  |
| Our Partners: |  | |
|
|  |
| Search Engine Optimization Article |  | Has Google Lost the Plot?With the help of MSN, recently I've been reminiscing about the Google of old. Remember those days? When you could take a good quality site, add a few keywords, get a few incoming links and bada-bing, bada-boom, it'd be #1 on Google? Remember the old days, pre-Florida, pre-sandbox? The days when we, as search engine optimization specialists, didn't feel like a private schoolgirl smoking in the bathroom? When we didn't feel like the iron fist would come crashing down at any moment? Yes, those were the good old days. And MSN has finally brought them back, though on a much smaller scale.
Google hit it right on the nose back then. Search results were almost never irrelevant - venturing to the second page of results was an event that drew gasps. There was never, ever any reason to leave Google and search for the same query on another search engine. Satisfied users the world over, it was the search engine of choice almost everywhere searches were conducted. I myself never strayed from Google, I was loyal and I was rewarded for my loyalty with consistently relevant results.
But has Google taken their quest for perfection a few steps too far? Case in point: http://www.jimmylerner.com - this web site is the official site of an author. Search on MSN for his name, “jimmy lerner†and his web site is the top result. Now, try the same search on Google. The top results are pages devoted to reviewing his book, book stores selling his book, a press release I sent out to announce his new site and a few times I've even seen sites show up in the top ten that simply have a link to his site from theirs and are completely unrelated. His site has been jumping from the second page to the first and back again.
This begs the question, optimization or no optimization, what, exactly, is the problem with a quality, informative web site reaching number one for a search query that is probably conducted specifically to find that exact site? Has the focus and aim of Google changed from offering relevancy to satisfied searchers to simply impeding the progress of SEOs? Is Google's main concern now, to stop individuals from helping a site reach number one? It can seem that way, can't it? And I can only say one thing about it. Bad move, Google.
I've heard a few people say that it's just a transition period. That all web sites are in the same boat, everyone's waiting to see the fruits of their optimization labour. Perhaps this is true, and perhaps over the next little while we will see changes at Google that make our jaws drop, impressed at the level of perfection we never thought possible. But I think maybe Google needs to re-focus their energies. Take the focus back to the user, not the SEOs. Get back to the near-impeccable relevancy level before I start using MSN to learn about all my favorite authors.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Courtney Heard is the founder of Abalone Designs, a search engine optimization company in Vancouver, Canada. She has been involved in web development and marketing since 1995 and has helped start several businesses since then in the Vancouver area. More of Courtney's articles are available at http://www.abalone.ca/resources/.
|
|
|  |
|  |
|  | SEO - http://www.seo-watch.com Seo Watch is an online marketing company specialized in search engine optimization and marketing campaigns for google yahoo and msn. - more |
 | Search Engine Optimisation Ireland - http://www.redcardinal.ie Red Cardinal provides search engine optimisation, search engine marketing and Internet marketing consulting services. Increase your ROI from search marketing - drive traffic to your website, convert visitors into customers. - more |
 | Search Engine Optimisation Service - http://www.site-promotion.info Site promotions helps you submit your website to over 20 web directories and search engines free of charge. Website promotion tools and tips also provided. - more |
 | seo northampton - http://www.easiserv.com Specialising in domain name registration services, web design, graphic design, domain name registration, website and webhosting services company based in Northampton, UK - at affordable prices. - more |
 | Search Engine Marketing Company - http://www.submitshop.com Submit Shop Profession SEO Company offering affordable SEO Services including quality link building and directory submission services - more |
 | Web Design Services - http://www.forwardslashmedia.co.uk/ Forward Slash Media is one of the fastest growing Web Design companies in the UK. Based in Bristol and specialises in making web sites that deliver ROI. - more |
 | Affordable Seo - http://www.howtodoseo.com We are a professional outsourcing company based in the North West of England. Our aim is to provide you with the best and most reliable workers from around the world all at a fraction of the price that you would normally pay here in the Uk. - more |
 | Buy Internet Business - http://www.ebusinesstogo.com/ Professional Web services include pre-built Websites, premium private label suites, Web marketing tutorials and tools. - more |
 | SEO India, SEO Reseller - http://www.profitbysearch.com/ SEO India is Dominated by ProfitBySearch, A Search Engine Optimisation(SEO) Company India Specializing in SEO Reseller Services India, SEO Services India, PPC Management, Outsource Search Engine Optimisation, Pay per Click Management, Link Building, and Pay per Lead Services. - more |
 | Senopsis - Search Engine Marketing Specialists - http://www.senopsis.com/ We specialise in various online marketing services from SEO to PPC campaign management and more. We work very closely with our customers to ensure we achieve the best results and we offer a money back Guarantee. Get a free online quote Now! - more |
 | web design, web site design - http://www.vijayinfo.in Professional website designer Go for Custom web site design at affordable price and be unique. Seo services - Vijayinfo - more |
 | SEO expert - Affordable seo service - http://www.seohouse.co.uk SEOHouse offers affordable, professional SEO services that include website evaluation, complete link building solution, guaranteed google indexing, directory submission services, social bookmarking services etc. Contact us today for better ranking tomorrow! - more |
 | SiteSpring - Sarasota Web Site Design - http://www.site-spring.com SiteSpring is a sarasota web site design company based out of Sarasota, Florida with a diverse portfolio of web design websites, e-Commerce websites, web Hosting websites, search engine optimization, SEO, sarasota domain names and sarasota design websites. - more |
 | SEO Consultant Services London - http://www.europahost.net Europahost: London web consultants and designers offering a range of web services from building and hosting sites to search engine optimisation. - more |
|
|  |
|
Items 1-20 out of 139 displayed.
Total records: 139
|
|