Tom Doyle

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Posts Tagged Google search

Google gets new look, it’s nice but there are somethings I just don’t get!

May 7

Posted by Tom Doyle in Internet & Computers, Online Marketing

Google rolled out their new look to the Google.ie website this morning and it’s fair to say that most people probably didn’t even notice.

Google have decided to add a bit of life and colour to their much loved search engine, which makes it a little easier to spot some of the really cool features they added a little while ago. Things like the ability to search news, blogs, books and videos are now pretty much in your face and hard to miss, unlike the “show options” link they had in the past.

They’ve also decided to style the old looking “search” button and joined it with the actual search box on the inside pages. The logo is a lot more striking and clear than it has been in the past. Overall, they are pretty much subtle changes, but they have a nice fresh feeling effect to it.

There is one change that I really don’t get the concept behind and it’s this… If you visit the homepage of Google, e.g. www.google.ie and don’t move or click your mouse OR enter a search term, all you see on this page is the logo, the search box and the search buttons (as per image below).

However, when you do interact in some way with page, whether that be a mouse over, a click or enter a search term, the other elements fade (yes fade) in (as per image below)…

For the life of me, I just don’t understand why they’ve done this. Is it someone thinking it’s funky and cool??

This is appears to be a feature that is in complete contrast to the reasons given by Marissa Mayer as to why they value their copyright notice so much… Read why Google value their copyright notice so much

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Google Experts or are they?

Jul 30

Posted by Tom Doyle in Online Marketing

Over the past few months, we’ve had a number of clients contact us here at 2bscene to inform us that they’ve been offered these great deals by so called “Google Experts”.

Not only are these Google Experts promising them the sun, moon and stars, they are also insinuating that they are better than any other SEO company out there because of the speed at which they can get you to the top of the Google search results.

Quite frankly, they’re lying. Any SEO company that tells you “they can guarantee you a number one position”, “are better than other SEO companies” or that “they have inside knowledge of how Google works”, are quite simply lying and trying to scam you out of your hard earned cash.

Any true Google Expert will know that there is no way to control the results that Google presents in it’s search results, so therefore guaranteeing no. 1 position is impossible.

Yes, there are ways that SEO experts can manipulate the search results by carrying out specific search engine optimisation techniques on and off your website – but that’s really all that they can do for you. unfortunately, there is NO magic bullet when it comes to appearing at the top of the search results in Google.

In a way I’m glad there isn’t because it would probably mean that there wouldn’t be an SEO industry there for us to work in.

So what are those signs that you should look out for if someone is offering you a great SEO deal? Well here’s a few things you should know…

  1. You won’t be cold called by a Google Expert – the best SEO companies aren’t likely to need to ring you, they will most likely have a lot of business already and if really good, will be getting a lot of business from the web!
  2. If they promise you the sun, moon and stars – such as a No. 1 spot on Google – they are unlikely to be a genuine company.
  3. Promise to get you to the top of the search results for the name of your business – only 15% or so people searching the web will look for you business name, plus it’s one of the easiest things to do in terms of SEO.
  4. If they tell you the have inside information on how Google works – they are lying.
  5. And if they tell you they are the best…. well what can I say….

It’s like everything else in life… if it sounds too good to be true… it probably is!

If you receive one of these calls (or emails) – please don’t hesitate to contact me for some advice. Or of course, if you need help with your online marketing strategy contact us at www.2bscene.ie

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Dear Google, please keep the search results as they are right now….

Feb 27

Posted by Tom Doyle in Internet & Computers

google-search-appliance
Image by jlori via Flickr

Just over 2 years ago, I took the brave decision to change our business domain name from 2bscene.net to 2bscene.ie

I did all the usual tricks from creating a 301 redirect from all the old pages, to changing as many backlinks to 2bscene.ie as I possibly could. But in reality, the change had a detrimental effect on our SERPs in Google.

I lost our top positions for “web design ireland“, “online marketing ireland” and “web designers ireland“.

I eventually got us back on page 1 for “online marketing ireland”, but could never budge past the 2nd or 3rd page for anything web design related.

I had nearly given up and even started a Google Adwords campaign to try and boost our exposure to web searchers.

The other night however, I noticed that there seemed to be some major shifts in the Google SERPS and that our site was doing pretty well. But, I didn’t want to count my chickens as it clearly looked like a Google Dance. I was right not to in  the end, as the very next day, the SERPs had reverted to their original positions.

But today, it’s back : 6th position in Google.ie – so I’m begging Google to keep it this way (although I doubt they will!)

So please please please Mr. Google – don’t change your SERPs for a while ! :)

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Geansai Gorm – the latest “Greatest SEO” competition

Oct 29

Posted by Tom Doyle in Online Marketing

Damien Mulley, via the Irish Web Awards, has launched the latest search for Ireland’s greatest SEO.

Entrants are asked to try and rank their site number 1 in Google for the gaelic phrase “Geansai Gorm” (translated to Blue Jumper).

The basic rules are that you must use a brand new domain name, none of the keywords can appear in your domain and you can’t use 301 redirects.

I’ve never been a fan of these competitions myself because for an established SEO it’s an easier task to achieve results than those that have nothing to start with. Generally an established SEO also has access to a number of strong sites that they can quickly get good links from.

Already this morning there are a number of blogs that are appearing in Google for  ”Geansai Gorm” which will make the task for the entrants that little bit harder.

It will be interesting to see who the winner will be none the less! Hopefully the winner can do the whole site “as gaelige” too!

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