Topic: Web design

RIP A/B Testing

Gather all ye family, friends, webmasters and digital marketing executives. We’ve come here to celebrate the life of the now outdated A/B Testing process, which has finally succumbed to the inefficiencies that have plagued its process. What was A/B? How many of us truly knew what A/B Testing was? Allow me to briefly introduce the […]

SEO ranking factors: What’s important, what’s not

This week, Google celebrated its 19th birthday. A lot has changed in nearly two decades. Rather than relying primarily on PageRank to evaluate the quality of web pages, Google now uses a whole array of techniques to suggest a wide range of content in response to queries, from simple direct answers to multimedia audio and […]

4 domain name registration myths debunked

The internet is generally the first place people look for information on just about everything. That’s why when you register a domain name, or several, it’s an important step for making sure businesses can be found — even without a website. To help eliminate some of the most frequently encountered misconceptions about domain name registration, […]

SEO

Introducing The New Search Engine Land!

Notice anything different today? I sure hope so, because we’ve just launched the new Search Engine Land website! This is Search Engine Land’s first redesign since March, 2011. Our sister site, Marketing Land, has also been relaunched. While both sites obviously look different (more on that below), let me begin by talking about what hasn’t […]

Reskin

A reskin is a branded image that replaces the background of a website. It literally means putting a temporary skin for an advertiser over the top of your website’s design (hence the term re-skin). Often sold as part of a Sponsorship or Homepage Takeover, these ads can be very effective if costly. Reskins are always […]

Bing Testing New Search Results Design

Bing is testing a new search results layout that changes the color of the logo from gray to the yellow/orange, changes the color of the search button and removes the gray background color from the right side rail. Bing has also cleaned up the interface, giving it a tighter but more open look, while keeping […]

What Do Users Really Think Of The New Google Design?

When Google started testing the new look for its search results pages which ditches the shading behind the ads and replaces it with yellow “ad” icons, contradictory outcries of this sort began popping up, “Ad click-through rates are going to plummet because the ads are too obvious with those bright icons.” “The ads look like […]

Google’s New Look Search Results: Still An Experiment

More and more searchers, SEOs, webmasters and advertisers are seeing the new Google design test we’ve covered here a couple times where the ads blend in more to the search results and the font size is larger and the underlined links are gone. Last night, at Search Marketing Expo West, Google’s head of search, Amit […]

Yelp Supersizes Its Local Profiles, Makes Them Less Busy

Yelp has redesigned parts of its web UI to make them more visual and to surface more information. In particular business profile pages have been changed to emphasize images, featured user reviews and key pieces of local content, all of which are now more prominent. The changes are not yet live for me, which is […]

300×250 – MPU

An MPU is a display ad unit that is 300 pixels wide by 250 pixels tall. It is commonly called a 300×250 or MPU but is also known as a Med Rec, MREC, or Medium Rectangle. MPUs are the most popular ad unit in online advertising. This is because they typically perform best for advertisers, […]

Google Alerts Get A Shiny New Redesign

Google flipped the switch this morning on a new design for its Google Alerts emails. The change brings Google Alerts closer in line with Google’s general aesthetic. The emails now have a similarly clean look-and-feel to the card-style layout that’s becoming so prevalent in Google search results, Google Now, on Google’s mobile apps and elsewhere. […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 23, 2013

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Use Google Keyword Research To Target The Long Tail In Local Search There’s something of a void where local business marketing is concerned. Local marketers understand they need to target keyword […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 20, 2013

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: England’s Lulworth Cove Tops Bing’s List Of Most Popular 2013 Homepage Images Bing has released its ten most popular homepage images of the year, with England’s Lulworth Cove off of the […]

A Round Up Of Today’s Thanksgiving Themed Search Engine Homepages & Logos

While’s Google’s Thanksgiving Day logo may have the best music, it’s not the only site to celebrate the holiday. Here’s a quick round up of Thanksgiving themed homepages and logos from a few popular search engines: Bing’s Homepage: Yahoo Thanksgiving Logo: Ask.com: Dogpile: Google’s Homepage and Video of Its Thanksgiving Day Song: [youtube width=”560″ height=”315″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGspoOoK69s#t=40[/youtube]

Yahoo’s Most Recent Homepage Updates Roll Out In Select European Countries & South Africa

Launched last February in the US, Yahoo has rolled out its new homepage in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the UK, Ireland and South Africa. According to the announcement posted on Yahoo’s UK blog, the new homepage will display consistently across desktop, mobile and tablet devices. Yahoo says the new homepage is both “functional and intuitive” […]

New Foursquare Homepage Offers Context, Time-Sensitive Recommendations

In its continuing bid to become more useful and to differentiate from competitors such as Yelp and Google, Foursquare introduced a redesigned homepage this week. There’s a signed-in and signed-out experience. The major difference between the two is friend activity and personalization. The new homepage shows recommended or popular nearby businesses, as well as places […]

The Great Fade Out? How The Search Engines Stack Up On Ad Backgrounds In SERPs

A few weeks ago, Barry Schwartz reported that Yahoo was testing ad background colors — a pale green instead of pale blue. The search engines frequently test ad background colors in the SERPs. Google has tested blue, green, purple, and yellow variations. What struck me in looking at the Yahoo test, though, was how faint the background colors on […]

Google’s Matt Cutts On Hidden Text Using Expandable Sections: “You’ll Be In Good Shape”

In the latest video answer from Google’s head of search spam Matt Cutts, he answers a question about “hiding” text in JavaScript/AJAX-like expandable menus. Matt said that generally this practice is acceptable within Google’s webmaster guidelines, if and only if, it is being done in a non-spammy way. Use of expandable content sections is very […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, March 4, 2013

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: SMX West Starts Next Monday in San Jose; Register by March 10 and Save The clock is ticking! Search Engine Land’s – SMX West begins next Monday in San Jose, CA. […]

Yahoo Testing A New Home Page Design

Yahoo appears to be testing a new home page design. Techno-Net captured it on a video and posted that video on YouTube for all to see. Here are the changes I noticed in this new design test: Cleaner User Interface Search Bar Sticks At The Top Left Menu Bar Is Static Remove Story Blocks In […]