Google Adwords was acting all funny today as for some searches you could see the max CPC, the P value and the alpha. I did multiple searches on other companies but in order to respect the rights of these companies, I will not disclose the provided CPC by Google. However, it was very interesting to see these numbers, and one has to wonder if Google is doing this by purpose. The way these numbers looked were far from something that’s been done by accident, so is it possible that Google is thinking of disclosing some information about their advertisers?

So I hear a lot of SEOs claim to be completely against link buying from text link brokers, but then go ahead and recommend this technique to their corporate clients. Text links are hit and miss these days as Google is trying to crack down on this practice, but I wonder what percentage of SEOs these days use this technique for their corporate client. If I had to guess, it’s probably a significant number. Maybe as high as 60% or higher. But one things is for sure. Link buying is not a long term strategy and true link building through link baits is much more successful in the long run. But sometimes all the corporate guys need is quick results.

Feel free to share your thoughts on this controversial issue.

I was just checking the latest tennis news on Google, and I decided to search for the news on Mr. Roger Federer. To my surprise, I saw a quote from him on the top of the results page.

This is very interesting as you can get a short overview of what has been happening without really going and reading the body of the news. It’s another one of those little things that Google does to keep you on Google for a second longer.

If you have worked in a corporate environment, you have probably heard this saying: “SEOs can’t be SMOs.” For some reason companies look at SEOs as old school guys whereas SMOs are the new cool experts. However, the notion that SEOs are simply not made to do SMO is nothing but a fallacy. Search engine optimization and social media optimization go hand in hand. In fact, if you know SEO, it will be easier for you to understand the significance of SMO to your online channel. I personally look at SMO as SEO 2.0. They are one and the same.

This is the question that many keep asking, and to be honest Google has not really been clear about. If you read their webmaster’s guide to SEO, Google states that you should not use unauthorized programs such as Web Position to check your ranking. That is all fine and dandy until you read the whole story behind Google Web API. In essence, you are allowed to use Google API to check your ranking as long as you are making less than a 1000 queries. I personally believe that abusing Web Position could have some effect on your rankings but her are the mind boggling questions:

1. If you are limiting the No. of times people can access your DB, then why would you ban them for putting load on your servers?
2. If my competitors get Web Position and keep running it every few hours, would it get me banned?

As far as using Web Position goes, I think using it once a week or once every two weeks should be fine. But don’t push your luck by checking your rankings every single hour.

Checking your ranking is one measure that can help you figure out whether you are actually making any progress. It will also help you to understand who is doing better than you are and how you can potentially compete with those guys. There are many professional ranking tools out there (e.g. Webposition). Some of them are good, some others useless. The free tools are usually worthless when it comes to checking rankings. I personally have seen very few accurate ranking tools, so I was excited when I found out that Aaron Wall had released a Rank Checker tool for Firefox. I generally trust Aaron’s tools as he spends a lot of resources to offer useful SEO tools to his readers and beyond. Having said that, the Rank Checker is seriously flawed as the Google rankings that I get from it are not accurate. For instance, for the word business card, my site is ranked in the top 10, but according to Rank Checker, it is not in top 30 on Google. I have tried it for multiple keywords and in almost every case, the ranking I get on Google is different from the one Rank Checker gives me. The tool definitely has a huge potential. It’s easy to use and easy to install. Best of all, it works with Firefox which is a big plus for me (I hate IE, I can’t help it). I would give this tool 4.5 out of 5 if the ranking for Google was accurate, but right now I can’t go over 3.

I have read a few April Fool’s Jokes in my lifetime. Some of them are really obvious. Some of them tricky, and some very funny. Matt Cutts’ Joke for this year was very obvious but very funny. iPhone having a Sata interface, I get that. But connecting it to light bulb? Now you tell me if that’s not hilarious.

One of the hottest issues of the digital era is the privacy of online users. In essence, Internet companies such as search engines retain data to sometimes provide better information to their audience. CNET had a great article about Europeans’ attempt to limit the amount of time that the companies should hold on to their users’ information. Below is the diagram courtesy of CNET News:

It’s funny that Google never really gets rid of the data after 18 months. Of course, if you believe in the theory of Google World Domination, then you can certainly understand them.

Microsoft is getting pretty desperate for Yahoo! They want to wrap up a deal as soon as possible, but at the same time do not want to give an inch to Yahoo! Microsoft is now threatening to lower its bid and go straight to the Yahoo! investors. Well, the deadline is 3 weeks, says Steve. Yahoo! wants to avoid getting taken over by Microsoft, but at this point it seems inevitable.

Finally after a few months of waiting for this book, ultimate guide to SEO was released and shipped by Amazon this week. I just got my own copy so I can’t tell much about the content of the book until I read it, but it looks very promising so far. I asked author a few days ago about an advanced copy, but unfortunately there was nothing available or so I was told. From what I have seen so far, this book is perfect for beginners. But that’s it! If you are an expert already or if you are looking to learn SEO Black hat tactics, check blogs and don’t for these techniques in books. This book is certainly good, but I still consider Peter Kent’s book the top dog in this category.