Tag: Google

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Google Add the +1 Button to AdWords Ads

Google is really pulling out all the stops when it comes to pushing the new +1 button. Now Google will be +1’ing AdWords ads. In fact I am seeing them already.

“The +1 button itself will appear next to your headline on search ads. Personalized annotations will appear beneath your Display URL. For example, Maria +1’s a page selling a neat laptop holder on a website. When a search ad
with that same URL appears, her friend Sam might see the ad with the note “Maria and 28 other people +1’d this.”

With the +1 button Google is banking on increased growth in the social sector. With your connections and friends now able to personally, via the +1 button, recommend sites and products ads are now instantly more relevant and personal.

Make sure as you allow the +1 button results to show up in your Google.com search results that you understand that others can see sites that you +1 and that this results can be tied to your name.

For AdWords, I would imagine that +1 button votes will count heavily into the hidden quality score factors in the months to come. Google may never tell us about this, but with relevancy being the code word for all Google does, I expect +1 to be SERP and ad changing pretty quickly.

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Watching New Meta Tags

I am always on the watch for new meta tags that are being tested by search engines. I like to be an early embracer of new technology. If you are unsure of what meta tags are in common place use right now, here is a great primer and list for you to consider using on your website.

Two new meta tags that I am watching and just getting ready to implement on my own site are two that Google released recently mainly for use on Google News. They are syndication-source and original-source. These two tags inserted in your source code in the head tag allow you to notify search engines that you are the creator of content on your website. You can read more information about both in this interesting article.  Why not just use the canonical tag? Well, Google says it best and here is the quote:

“We felt the options currently in existence [the canonical tag] addressed different use cases and were insufficient to achieve our goals. The more accurate metadata that’s out there on the web, the better the web will be.”

Google is pretty clear that they are just using these new tags for Google News right now, but if you are a unique informational content author such as myself, it is a good thing to make your content as the originator so that scraper sites that steal your content will not get credit for your hard work. Google does say that they are evaluating the wider use of these meta tags, but has not embraced them for you use in their regular index.

Here is how you would actually use the tag in your head tag code:

meta name=”original-source” content=”http://www.mccordweb.com.com/weblogs/2011/04/23/watching-new-meta-tags”

I personally feel that I will most likely use both to just cover all bases, but remember these tags are not being widely used right now by Google’s index. Will they use it? Possibly, but I am willing to try anything to tag my content as my own.

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Google Toolbar PageRank Indicator is Bogus

I have several customers who monitor their website’s Google Toolbar PageRank. In fact, they do not take action on links unless the site has a favorable Google Toolbar PageRanking.

First off, it is important to understand that Google does not show your real organic PageRank in the Google Toolbar. Additionally, the PageRank in the Google Toolbar is not the same as PageRank on Google.com. Confused yet?

Here are the quick notes you should remember about the Google Toolbar PageRank indicator:

  • PageRank changes by page and not by website.
  • Each time Google crawls your site your Google.com PageRank may change.
  • For each search query entered on Google.com, Google delivers the pages in order of true PageRank not Toolbar PageRank.
  • Toolbar PageRank is not the same as PageRank.
  • Google does not show the real PageRank for any site so as to prevent SEO firms from working the system.
  • I have found that Google updates Toolbar PageRank infrequently sometimes once in six months.
  • A Toolbar PageRank of three could not carry the same real world Google PageRank as other three rated sites, there are more factors at play.
  • A high Toolbar PageRank does not mean a high Google.com PageRank.
  • You can probably now disable your Google Toolbar if you were using it for SEO position referencing.

I have found a terrific article at The Search Engine Journal that really digs deeper into this topic and would highly recommend that you read it. It debunks some of the misconceptions webmasters and website owners have had about the importance of the Google Toolbar PageRank. I personally do not use the Google Toolbar PageRank indicator for any decisions about my own website.

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Add a Star or +1 on Your Google Searches to Share What You Like

Google has made some pretty cool updates on their search engine recently namely the +1 and the star option. These new enhancements to personalized your search results allow you to highlight what you like and then share the information with others in your social network.

As for stars, you don’t have to keep track of the things you star, Google does. In fact when you star something Google synchs it with your Google Bookmarks and Google Toolbar. Once you star something, the item will appear at the top of your search window allowing you to find the information you want to revisit quickly.

Google says: “With stars, you can simply click the star marker on any search result or map and the next time you perform a search, that item will appear in a special list right at the top of your results when relevant,”

Pretty cool! With stars you are actually ordering your search results the way you want! I am seeing stars now on my Google.com search pages already. Another thing Google rolled out recently was the +1. Now this enhancement I have not seen yet, but it looks powerful. The +1 is kind of like stars on steroids. Here, your social network will be able to see what you have +1’ed. Websites will even be able to add +1 buttons almost like Facebook Like buttons.

What I find interesting about both new enhancements is that Google will be using this aggregate information to move search results higher on the Google.com organic placement page. Based on that information, you’ll want to keep an eye on stars and +1 activity as this new technology matures and becomes more widely used on the Web.