Organic Search

While we’ve remarked before that Google is blind, it turns out that the search behemoth is not satisfied with this handicap and foresees a future where the engine is able to algorithmically ascertain an images identity based on similar images in its database. Freaky, huh?

Search Engine Journal covered the story, which links up to a TechCrunch article with both more information on the research as well as the originating PDF.

While there are a few jabs at how “SEOs” will need to begin optimizing graphically optimizing images, the further implications are really much more sophisticated than what we expect from traditional search. After all, it’s only a few leaps from being able to algorithmically understand images to being able to do the same for videos, and tapping into the vast resources of images on the web that are currently NOT optimized for search opens up some really interesting doors.

Does it mean anything to you now? Not really. Just prepare to be embarrassed when your alt text bears no resemblance to the image it portrays… and Google gets smart enough to catch you!

Alright, so many many people are out their saying it. But we won’t. Nuh-uh. Not the “R” word.

But, say, hypothetically speaking of course, that such an unnameable thing WAS happening to the economy. How would this affect your web strategy?

If you’re smart, you’d say not at all. Even better, you’d say, I’d put more money towards my web campaigns.

Why’s that? Because dollar-for-dollar, web marketing is far more cost effective than traditional advertising. You can look at analytics, site data, SERPs and your bottom line and see tangible benefit for top organic search rankings, good social media exposure and effective paid search campaigns.

SEO is also a low cost-of-entry service. We’re just one of thousands of SEO and marketing blogs out there providing tips on how to make your site work for you. We certainly don’t advocate going at it alone (reading a book on mechanics doesn’t mean you’re ready to rebuild an engine) but your good understanding with our seasoned experience combines for brutally effective marketing strategies for your business, even during tough times.

It also provides the ability to adapt quickly, identify opportunity, and go with what works while shucking what doesn’t. A television or radio campaign may cost thousands to set up, and changing the message mid-stream is nearly impossible. Changing your Google AdWords keywords, ad, landing page, target market and spend takes seconds. Far-reaching sweeps in organic rankings take more time, but keeping any eye on Analytics allows for a hawk-eye view of the future.

Let’s face it. Even if spending money is short, the internet’s not going anywhere. Of all the places to invest in your business, making sure you’ve got a solid future on the internet — from its organic face to its reputation via links and social networks — is the most effective way to stay stable even if the ground should wash out.

Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft all announced this morning that they’re supporting an addition to the Sitemaps protocol that makes it easier for site owners with multiple subdomains to manage sitemap files.

In the past, you were forced to maintain an XML sitemap in the same domain as the domain which it referred to. i.e. www.hallme.com would have a sitemap for this domain, and blog.hallme.com would also need its own sitemap hosted on its own domain. There was no way to specify that we wanted blog.hallme.com to have a sitemap hosted on www.hallme.com, nor could we for www.hallblog.com.

For most site owners, this isn’t much of an issue, but if your business consists of multiple web properties, or many subdomains, the management of the sitemaps protocol could be quite a chore! (Imagine a scalable CMS such as wordpress.com).

The update makes life a lot easier for webmasters in these situations. Now, you can host all of your sitemaps for multiple domains at a single domain, and then use your robots.txt file to point search engines to the location of the correct sitemap.

So let’s say we want www.masterdomain.com to have the sitemap for subdomain.masterdomain.com. All you need to do is add the following line to the robots.txt file on subdomain.masterdomain.com:

Sitemap: http://www.masterdomain.com/sitemaps/subdomain.masterdomain.xml

On the same token, www.masterdomainblog.com could have this line added to the robots.txt:

Sitemap: http://www.masterdomain.com/sitemaps/masterdomainblog.xml

For the average small business, this is an interesting, if useless feature, but for businesses spanning multiple web properties, with subdomains, or for businesses like ourselves who manage sitemaps for hundreds of clients, the new update is welcome news indeed!

By now you’ve already hear that Microsoft has made an incredible bid of $45 billion to pick up Yahoo. Some call it an offer Yahoo can’t refuse, but what does it mean for your business online?

While in general monopolies have never proven to be great for the little guys, a combined Yahoo-Microsoft effort would either produce a viable competitor to the Goog or continue a tailspin of diminishing relevance, leaving Google the #1 search engine by default, not choice. With Google already enforcing strict policies about paid links and essentially defining how thousands of webmasters develop their sites, the latter situation would create a hazardous environment for business owners who have desires for their sites that at odds with Google’s policies.

Now to Google’s credit, their standards for websites are generally pretty good ones — build sites for users, avoid using duplicate content, have a reliable site, etc. However, what checks and balances will there be if the organic search world is a one-company show? Especially as Google stretches its fingers into acquiring information and media properties, the neutrality of this web behemoth is going to become ever more a subject of scrutiny… and legitimate concern.

On the other hand, even a more influential Google will have to contend with the emerging power of social networks, which is exactly where a Microsoft-Yahoo would be strong. The savvy website owner — that is, you — will be wise to keep working on a site which drives in diverse sources of traffic, and answers all of the questions your customers typically have. Though it’s also not a bad idea to make an appearance in social media circles!

Well all know that technology changes will abruptly alter how we approach web marketing, and though the tactics will differ depending on how organic search companies butt heads, the bottom line will always be reaching your customers. Keep speaking the message your customers want to hear — no matter the medium — and success will follow you.