Search Technology archive at Conceptualist.com, By Sahar Sarid

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Will Advertisers EVER Get It?

Published on July 18, 2008 in Business, Domain Names and Search Technology. 1 Comment

If you knew users are searching for you, should you make an effort to help them find you?

It just occur to me we’re light years away from mainstream to remotely get internet traffic. I wrote few times in the past about how we think, from generic terms to specifics.

Few minutes ago I visited again Google and typed a number of generic/descriptive terms, terms which apply to many companies. Let’s take few for example here:

McDonald - One paid result by YellowPages.com.

Fleming - No paid results

Global - One irrelevant paid result

ABC - One irrelevant paid result

A1 - No paid results

Now you probably thinking to yourself something along the lines of “These are very generic/descriptive/wide search terms!” and you are absolutely right. They are also being searched more than specifics. Why? Because the way we think!. In short, many are typing these search terms looking for specifics but remembering generics. So why is this of any importance? Because if businesses got it they would try their best to filter the traffic somehow. For example, on a search for “A1″ a business with a similar name can (and should!) advertise their business in paid results, clearly indicating what he does, hence filtering traffic.

I’m looking at many of these search terms and just wonder to myself, will they ever get it? It is as clear as daylight to me we’re very far from where we all want to be. Now we can all look at this and say “small businesses. They will get it later” but truth is, I’m referring to major businesses as well, many who simply do not target generic and descriptive search terms not understanding that much of that traffic is actually looking for them, whether they like it or not.

Some food for thought..

Sahar

It’s The Pageviews, Stupid!

Published on March 4, 2008 in Business and Search Technology. 0 Comments

Via Search Engine Land:

Tamar tipped me off to people seeing secondary search boxes in the Google search results. I see them myself now. For example a search on amazon returns this search box directly under the snippet but above the URL, here is a picture:

This one is a classic lesson from Yahoo, but toned down (Yahoo does the content/portal feel). The idea: Keep them inside Google, serve more pages, hence more ads.

In other news, Google hit bottom, my take on it is this is a direct result of biting the hand that fed them (arbitrage players, adsense publishers).

SEOKER: Google hijacking 404 error pages

Published on February 12, 2008 in Business, Domain Names, General and Search Technology. 0 Comments

Via SEOKER.Com:

This morning I installed the Google Toolbar beta version on one of my computers and my oh my - there is something that can have huge impact to many webmasters. Google grabs the 404 error code returned to the web browser in certain situations and instead of displaying the 404 error page of the website you are on, it creates a custom 404 error page - made by Google. The “new”? 404 error page “�conveniently’ includes a Google search box and if used by a visitor will drive the visitor away from your website. Even worse - the search box is pre-populated with data from the initial URL query on your website. Imagine a situation where kind of sensitive data is send to Google that way. Even normal data would make it to Google that way and we all know what Google does with data. For me as a webmaster this is a major intrusion into my own intellectual property. My normal 404 error page is effectively disabled by the Google Toolbar. This is bad.

Today’s Search Is A Paradigm Addiction

Published on February 4, 2008 in ASSISTA, Business and Search Technology. 0 Comments

What is a Paradigm Addiction?

What occurs when a paradigm and its most ardent supporters are addicted to the paradigm to the point where they lose the realization that they are even in a paradigm at all? Ardent paradigm supporters have equated paradigm survival with their own personal survival, and will manipulate and control a society in order to prevent any social or cultural advancement out of the existing paradigm, ignoring or suppressing public knowledge of anomalies, equating perception of anomalies to “personal abnormality” in order to intimidate populations to remain within the status quo control paradigm. Addiction to a paradigm results in either paradigm death or death of those who maintain the paradigm.

While playing with ASSISTA, visiting a number of pages, I came across the above quote. I believe The words here describe exactly the current Search industry, where Search is taken for granted, where nothing else exist. Couple of years ago I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read in some reputable publications that “Search is solved!”. It became to me even more clear we’re in a Paradigm Addiction mode when Microsoft, a company with some of the smartest developers on earth, believe the only way to move forward against Google is to buy Yahoo, a technology dinosaur.

What happened to innovation? What happened to thinking of Search in different ways? Is today’s Search satisfactory? Can search results be personalized? Can search results be better organized? How can Geo targeting help you further find relevant information? What about what you searched for five minutes ago, is it of the same importance of information you worked with five years ago, and should that information be part of the equation in present search activity? How about Global results, live translations of relevant material? And cycles? Can search take sales cycle in consideration when searching for a product? The list of questions go on and there’s no doubt I don’t know all, never will. What I do know though, when everyone accepts the status que, opportunities arise.

An example of a paradigm shift during today’s paradigm addiction is Wikipedia. In an age of algorithm and control Wikipedia defied the odds by doing the exact opposite, and winning.

Why is this important? I would like to encourage others to think of what else is possible. There’s no doubt in my mind future Search is not anything close to today’s Search. As Search is the biggest game in town today, solving these issues, even a small part in the whole equation, can change the world for the better. And wouldn’t you want to be a part of that? I know I would.

Have a great day!

Sahar

Traffic Is Today’s Crack Cocaine, You’re A Crackhead, And Google Is Your Server

Published on February 1, 2008 in Business, Domain Names, General and Search Technology. 6 Comments

(image source)

So what do I know about Crack Cocaine? Not too much. Until few minutes ago I didn’t know these terms either but quick visit to the “server” and I learned the lingo pretty quickly.

So let’s examine this notion a little further. Following questions and information is from the United States Department of Justice, National Drug Intelligence Center.

What Is Crack Cocaine?

Crack cocaine is a highly addictive and powerful stimulant that is derived from powdered cocaine using a simple conversion process. Crack emerged as a drug of abuse in the mid-1980s. It is abused because it produces an immediate high and because it is easy and inexpensive to produce–rendering it readily available and affordable.

Google:
1. Highly Addictive -> you cannot run your business without traffic.
2. Powerful stimulant -> Potent traffic provides better conversions
3. Immediate High -> Check your stats!
4. Inexpensive to produce -> Couple of programmers in a basement and you have an algorithm.

How is it produced?

Crack is produced by dissolving powdered cocaine in a mixture of water and ammonia or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). The mixture is boiled until a solid substance forms. The solid is removed from the liquid, dried, and then broken into the chunks (rocks) that are sold as crack cocaine.

Google:
1. Cocaine+Water+Baking Soda -> In Google’s case, organic results, affiliates, buzz
2. Boiled until solid substance forms -> Google users use organic results until they are ready to purchase
3. Chunks -> Adwords inventory
4. Sold -> Adwords clicks

What does it look like?

Crack typically is available as rocks. Crack rocks are white (or off-white) and vary in size and shape.

Google:
1. Rocks vary in size and shape -> Adwords boxes, sponsor listings, banners, etc

How is crack abused?

Crack is nearly always smoked. Smoking crack cocaine delivers large quantities of the drug to the lungs, producing an immediate and intense euphoric effect.

Google:
1. Nearly always smoked -> Log on to your Adwords account
2. Large quantities of the drug -> Google keyword inventory
3. Immediate and intense effect -> Sales conversions

Who uses crack?

Individuals of all ages use crack cocaine–data reported in the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse indicate that an estimated 6,222,000 U.S. residents aged 12 and older used crack at least once in their lifetime. The survey also revealed that hundreds of thousands of teenagers and young adults use crack cocaine–150,000 individuals aged 12 to 17 and 1,003,000 individuals aged 18 to 25 used the drug at least once.

Crack cocaine use among high school students is a particular problem. Nearly 4 percent of high school seniors in the United States used the drug at least once in their lifetime, and more than 1 percent used the drug in the past month, according to the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future Survey.

Google:
1. Individual of all ages -> Individual of all ages
2. 12-17 and 18-25 age groups at least once -> Business owners
3. High school students -> Web professionals

What are the risks?

Cocaine, in any form, is a powerfully addictive drug, and addiction seems to develop more quickly when the drug is smoked–as crack is–than snorted–as powdered cocaine typically is.

In addition to the usual risks associated with cocaine use (constricted blood vessels; increased temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure; and risk of cardiac arrest and seizure), crack users may experience acute respiratory problems, including coughing, shortness of breath, and lung trauma and bleeding. Crack cocaine smoking also can cause aggressive and paranoid behavior.

Google:
1. Addictive -> Addictive
2. Quick addiction -> Organic results
3. Various health risks due to use -> Various health risks due to reduced revenues/margins, late payments.
4. Aggressive/Paranoid behavior -> WHO? WHAT? WHAT? WHAT THE @#$ ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? JERK!

What is it called?

Google:

(Click image to enlarge)
(Source)

Is crack cocaine illegal?

Yes, crack cocaine is illegal. Crack cocaine is a Schedule II substance under the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule II drugs, which include PCP and methamphetamine, have a high potential for abuse. Abuse of these drugs may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence.

Google:
Illegal -> Not yet but at this rate..
Abuse may lead to psychological issues -> Do you know of any sane webmasters? Exactly!