In response to sometimes loud and angry user feedback, Google News has tweaked its home page tonight — and one of the new features is very reminiscent of the old version of Google News. Just announced tonight are several feature changes to how the Google News home page looks and works. The most noticeable is […]
SEO professionals often confuse information architecture (IA) with website development. Here are fundamental IA skills every SEO should know, and how SEOs can in turn contribute their knowledge to a successful site architecture.
Today, Google News is undergoing its first major redesign since being launched in 2002. Gone is the default “section” view, replaced instead by a “news stream” view of stories. Creating a personalized collection of stories has been made easier, as is the ability to share stories with friends and others via email, Twitter, Google Buzz […]
This never happens to me. Until now. While writing my earlier piece, Google News Tests Editors’ Picks, I went to Google News on the off-chance that I’d be able to see the “limited test” of editors’ picks. Nope. As expected. But totally unexpected was that I’ve been opted-in to a test of a completely new […]
Confused about why Google was showing a picture on its home page today. Apparently, plenty of people were, some to the point of being upset. In reaction, Google’s dropped the feature. Marissa Mayer, Google’s vice president of search products and user experience, confirmed the change via an update to the official Google blog post that […]
If you visit Google today, you may notice the home page is a bit different. About a week ago, Google began letting users to upload their own background images on Google.com, to help them customize the Google home page. To drive more awareness to this feature and to inspire users to change their home page, […]
“Download time” and “speed” are terms that often confuse SEO professionals, web designers/developers, information architects and usability professionals alike because of various interpretations. A number of items influence download time, including but not limited to:
So you’ve assessed the feedback from your surveys and usability tests, analyzed the site within an inch of its life for obstructions in the customers’ paths, fixed the glaring errors and now you are ready to start devising some tests that will send the site into overdrive. However, if you are trying to explain your […]
Are you getting bad or conflicting SEO advice from landing page and conversion specialists? Keep your ears open for these deadly SEO sins.
Yahoo has announced a fairly substantial overhaul of how Yahoo Answers looks and works — and as a semi-regular user of the site, I’d say these changes are very welcome. The primary functional changes involve a new set of navigation tabs and a new way of browsing the categories on Yahoo Answers. The four new […]
If you go to Google.com and type “hamburgers,” “shoes,” “candy,” “grills,” “beer,” and hundreds of other terms of ambiguous local intent, Google will almost always show you local results on a map that’s tied to your IP address. But type in “seo,” “seo company,” “web design company” and several terms related to these two types […]
Tim Cohn spotted that the Google Advertising Professionals Search is now live. It can be accessed at adwords.google.com/professionals/search and lets you search for certified AdWords professionals based on location and budget. After you conduct a search, you can narrow your search even more by checking off additional services offered by the agencies in Google’s database. […]
After a couple months of testing, Google has confirmed that it’s switching to a home page that fades in as it loads. The rest of the text and links on the home page will only appear when a user moves his/her mouse.
The Google Mobile Blog announced that Google News on the iPhone, Android and other smart phone devices has a new design. The new design looks more like the desktop version of Google News with minor changes to make it fit better on the smartphone screens. The new design has more stories and images, has personalization […]
Facebook Fan Pages are gaining popularity due to their high adoption rates among Facebook’s 300+ million users. Currently more than 10 million users become fans of Pages each day. However, the basic fan page layout is quite cookie cutter, so adding some simple modifications can really make a Fan Page standout and land those valuable […]
Billed as the first major redesign in a decade, Microsoft has introduced a dramatic new look and feel for the MSN portal. The redesign simplifies and cleans up most elements on the site. Among other things, it makes video more central, incorporates Facebook and Twitter, creates a dedicated new local area and emphasizes search. MSN, […]
On October 6th, we reported on Google’s fading home page, which just showed the user a Google logo and a search box. Then after a gradual amount of time, the search boxes and other various links and navigational elements faded in. Since then, Google has seemed to test two alternatives to this new home page […]
Google has made a series of announcements today about its Custom Search Engine service, including a new integration with Wikipedia that substantially changes the search experience on that site for users who opt-in. Other Custom Search announcements today include new custom themes and layouts, as well as better support for “rich snippets.” More on those […]
TechCrunch reported that Google is testing a new home page that fade in the various links and buttons after a second or two. Here is the video that demonstrates this limited Google test: I emailed Google, but have yet to receive a response as to why Google would test this type of home page. I […]
The paint might still be drying, but you can take the new Google News for a spin. It has a mix of aesthetic and functional changes, all of which Google announced earlier today. If you remember last week’s news about Google’s new story display pages, you’ll recognize this week’s changes to the category pages. “Top […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
Most books on search marketing focus on either the technical aspects of SEO or paid search, or on how to adapt traditional marketing strategies to the web. Web Design For ROI, by Lance Loveday and Sandra Niehaus, is unique in its sharp focus on making your web site accomplish what should be its primary goal: […]
Cuil, the search engine that launched to great hype last year and seems to have disappeared since then, announced changes to its design, content, and backend today. When Cuil launched last summer, the site’s design was one of its primary distinguishing features — it used a three-column layout that gave equal weight to a variety […]
The Google AdSense blog has added the font selection preference for publishers. Publishers can now pick between Arial, Times, and Verdana font types and they will be present on all of their Latin-based character units. Publishers can pick the font style two different ways within the AdSense console. They can go to the “Ad Display […]
Search Engine Land turned two years old this month. In that time, our content has blossomed. We run nearly 20 columns on search marketing issues, routinely post multiple brief items per day about breaking search news along with regular long, in-depth analysis or “How To” stories. Our old design didn’t serve to present this content […]
Life is full of tough choices: Mac or PC? Mastercard or Visa? Bud Lite or Miller Lite? And choosing between two good options is never easy, as each has its own merits. Similarly, marketers have been faced with the same kind of tough choice when choosing their website design strategy: Enhance the website’s appearance with […]
The venerable local arts and entertainment guide Citysearch, which has, in the last couple of years, confronted a new generation of challengers (mostly notably Yelp), launched a broad redesign last night. The comprehensive new site introduces the ability to get more listings and content at the neighborhood level, allows users to sign in using Facebook […]
Yahoo News is inviting its throngs of readers to try its next version, which has new design and content features. Readers will immediately notice a wider footprint on the new Yahoo News, as well as larger text and other new design elements. Content has also been rearranged, with easier access to the most popular stories […]
The Live QnA blog announced that the Live QnA question and answer site has been updated with several feature and design releases. Here is a brief overview of those changes:
Google’s finally added a privacy link to its home page, explaining in 613 words why the company apparently can’t have more than 28 words on its home page. So important is this number that adding the privacy link was an issue that had to go up two Google’s co-founders. Please. On the same day that […]
Search Engine Land will be going through a redesign in about two months, which we think will make it easier for people to find the vast amount of content we have here and publish each day. Our design and development spec is all set. Now it’s just time to find a company or companies to […]
Coming back from our SMX Advanced conference last week, I found myself doing some soul searching. How was it that some people could wonder if advanced SEO means spamming search engines? And have I been contributing to this confusion? For the record — no, advanced SEO doesn’t mean you have to spam. Not in my […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
You should consider many factors when getting involved in Social Media Marketing, such as the quality of your content, your domain name, and who is submitting your content. But there is almost always one thing I find myself looking at before any of the above conversations even begin: the design. You need to make sure […]
The most important thing you can do when talking to an SEO client (be it your boss in your company, or a different company you consult for) is to learn how to explain SEO in the simplest terms possible. When you are dealing with a non-SEO type, use the 30 second rule: explain it clearly […]
After weeks of Microsoft testing a new home page design for Live.com, the new design seems to be live now. When I visit Live.com, I see:
In part 1 of What SEO/SEM Professionals Should Know About Website Usability, usability experts Peter Morville and Susan Weinschenk answered the question, “What should SEO professionals know about usability?” For this installment, website usability guru Jakob Nielsen and Kim Krause Berg share their observations and perspectives. Enjoy! Jakob Nielsen’s formula for website success “The main […]
Google Video has undergone yet another redesign. Both Google Blogoscoped and Google Operating System have detailed coverage with screen shots of the new design and how it compared to the old design. Tools For Your Video Career by Duncan at TechCrunch has an outstanding rundown on tools you can use to make your video producing, […]
YouTube has announced the addition of a new statistic that can be found in your video “YouTube Insights” section named “Discovery.” Discovery is basically a report showing you how people discovered and viewed your video, a form of referral reporting. In addition, as TechCrunch reports, YouTube has redesigned their video page.
Google Blogoscoped reports Google Japan has a new design being pushed out to their users. The new design can be seen at this IP location and contains tab links to other Google properties. Here is a screen capture of the new design: