Search engine optimization is starting to become a lot like the stock market: some of your investments pay off quickly, some don't ever pay off, and others go great for years and all of a sudden are worthless.
If you find that your search results are not what they used to be it may be because of all the changes regarding the search engine market. Every search company is trying to differentiate themselves in this crowded market and this is stirring up rankings.
A month or so ago, Microsoft launched Bing which was promised to provide better results than ever before. They also partnered with Yahoo, meaning webmasters no longer have to optimize their site for Google, Yahoo and MSN (Bing) to ensure they are getting maximum exposure. Now there are just two big dogs, but there is going to be a wrench thrown into the mix.
Google is launching a new search engine named Google Caffeine. Caffeine claims to deliver faster and more accurate search results and the launch could slow Bing's growth.
The public can test Caffeine to see where a site ranks or see what the differences are. It is not nearly as large a change as what Bing was, but it may have some large implications to your website traffic. One of the enhancements will revolve around getting real time data. As news breaks or new content is published it will be added to Caffeine almost immediately.
Google's Caffeine Sandbox
Search engine optimization
Google and Bing are claiming to focus more on crawling of relevant content and reliable websites. This means more time should be spent on boosting your website's content and making sure the structure of your website is sound. There are several things your webmaster can do to make sure you are visible to both Google's Caffeine and Bing.
One of the areas that is being de-emphasized is backlinks. Using the old Google and MSN, backlinks were king; the more links you had to your website the higher ranking you would receive. This caused a problem in the industry because you could literally buy your way to the top. While backlinks are still very important, having website content that is relevant is even more important.
Finally, the age of your website is more important. New websites are being penalized and older domains are being rewarded. There is really nothing you can do about this aspect, just make sure to register new domains as early as possible and don't switch domain names if you can avoid it.
This article was provided by LogicBright CRM - Online contact manager
Showing posts with label Bing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bing. Show all posts
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Some insight into Bing, and why you may actually like it
Not all search engines are created equal, if they were Google wouldn’t have over 60% of the worlds search market. But is Bing a Google killer or just another search with a few gimmicks?
At first glance, Microsoft’s msn.com replacement looks surprisingly familiar. It has a search box in the middle of the screen, some links along the top to sign in or create an account and other links that access "images, videos, shopping, news, maps and travel." So, upon first look, it seems that Microsoft spent 100 million dollars to create… Google! But this is really where the similarities stop.
Bing is livened up by a crisp background image that links to some interesting facts and videos about the pictures when you rollover certain areas. Neat, but it is not exactly going to make Bing the search engine of choice.
So how about their search results?
Search results are displayed in the same format as Google and even their results are similar. When I searched for "Kyocera Kansas City" Tekniq popped up as #1 on both search engines. But on Bing I was able to hover my mouse over a little symbol to the right of the results and see a text preview of the page and what the page links to. This little feature could be handy, but with high speed internet it’s probably just faster to click and go to the site to see it yourself.
So where does it really excel?
Bing may be similar in appearance and functionality to Google for searching, but where Bing really dazzles is with its other programs.
1)Bing Images
Bing allows for better image searching and displaying. You can customize the layout of the images and there is no flipping through pages to see more results, simply scroll down and more images appear.
Bing also has a "Show similar Images" link on every image. This is great for finding the type of image you want. So if you want an image of a person talking on a phone, you can type in "phone" and then find the image that you want and click "Show similar images" and you will see more like that image.
2)Bing Videos
Bing has a searchable video service that has video’s from youtube, ABC, BBC and other sites. It also has a quick preview feature where you can roll over the video and it will start streaming it immediately so you can preview the video before even clicking on it.
3)Bing Shopping with cashback
Perhaps one of the best features that Bing has is their shopping feature. It is easy to use and similar to Google shopping but they have a cashback program that pays you up to 10% for buying from certain vendors.
Some of their prices seem to correspond to the wrong products, but one can only assume that it is because the service is new. If they fix this then why would you ever shop online any other way?
4)Bing Maps
Bing’s mapping feature is leftover from live.com. But if you have never checked it out, I think you may be impressed. It has great satellite and areal imagery that let you view your house from all four angles instead of just a bird’s eye view. It also has a plug-in that you can install to access true 3d mapping.
Though it doesn’t have an answer to Google Streets, it is still a nice tool and good in its own right.
Bing really does deliver some impressive features without losing what most love about Google. If Google doesn’t respond to some of these features by making changes of their own, then Bing may be something to reckon with. My guess is that Google responds in a big way and is able to leverage their name to once again increase their market. But for now, Bing may be the search engine of choice.
At first glance, Microsoft’s msn.com replacement looks surprisingly familiar. It has a search box in the middle of the screen, some links along the top to sign in or create an account and other links that access "images, videos, shopping, news, maps and travel." So, upon first look, it seems that Microsoft spent 100 million dollars to create… Google! But this is really where the similarities stop.
Bing is livened up by a crisp background image that links to some interesting facts and videos about the pictures when you rollover certain areas. Neat, but it is not exactly going to make Bing the search engine of choice.
So how about their search results?
Search results are displayed in the same format as Google and even their results are similar. When I searched for "Kyocera Kansas City" Tekniq popped up as #1 on both search engines. But on Bing I was able to hover my mouse over a little symbol to the right of the results and see a text preview of the page and what the page links to. This little feature could be handy, but with high speed internet it’s probably just faster to click and go to the site to see it yourself.
So where does it really excel?
Bing may be similar in appearance and functionality to Google for searching, but where Bing really dazzles is with its other programs.
1)Bing Images
Bing allows for better image searching and displaying. You can customize the layout of the images and there is no flipping through pages to see more results, simply scroll down and more images appear.
Bing also has a "Show similar Images" link on every image. This is great for finding the type of image you want. So if you want an image of a person talking on a phone, you can type in "phone" and then find the image that you want and click "Show similar images" and you will see more like that image.
2)Bing Videos
Bing has a searchable video service that has video’s from youtube, ABC, BBC and other sites. It also has a quick preview feature where you can roll over the video and it will start streaming it immediately so you can preview the video before even clicking on it.
3)Bing Shopping with cashback
Perhaps one of the best features that Bing has is their shopping feature. It is easy to use and similar to Google shopping but they have a cashback program that pays you up to 10% for buying from certain vendors.
Some of their prices seem to correspond to the wrong products, but one can only assume that it is because the service is new. If they fix this then why would you ever shop online any other way?
4)Bing Maps
Bing’s mapping feature is leftover from live.com. But if you have never checked it out, I think you may be impressed. It has great satellite and areal imagery that let you view your house from all four angles instead of just a bird’s eye view. It also has a plug-in that you can install to access true 3d mapping.
Though it doesn’t have an answer to Google Streets, it is still a nice tool and good in its own right.
Bing really does deliver some impressive features without losing what most love about Google. If Google doesn’t respond to some of these features by making changes of their own, then Bing may be something to reckon with. My guess is that Google responds in a big way and is able to leverage their name to once again increase their market. But for now, Bing may be the search engine of choice.
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