Another nail in MSN search coffin July 2, 2008
Category : SEO News, Search Engines , comments closedAs Web content has grown increasingly dynamic, some of it has also become harder to find through conventional search engines. Adobe Systems is hoping to rectify that situation somewhat with new technology it is providing to search giants like Google and Yahoo.
The software manufacturer announced yesterday that it would begin providing optimized Flash technology to leading search engines that will make rich Internet applications (RIA) and dynamic content created using Flash more easily identifiable.
“Up ’til now, Flash content just hasn’t been as thoroughly searchable as we’d like,” said Justin Everett-Church, senior product manager for Adobe Flash Player. “The text was just being pulled out in strange ways and left it looking really incomplete, as though you were reading the index of a book rather than the book itself.”
The optimized Flash technology will now allow search engines to identify text within Flash programs that would otherwise have escaped them without requiring any change in behavior on the developers’ part. The result should be millions of newly searchable RIAs and dynamic experiences, including brand experiences on the Web.
Adobe is also hoping this will convince developers to use Flash in places where they otherwise would not have, as the search problems had long been a sticking point with the program.
Using Flash “has always been a bit of a tradeoff,” said Everett-Church. “You get all the great graphics and experiences but you lose some search capability. Hopefully this will remove some of those barriers to entry.”
At least one prominent digital agency executive applauded the move, but warned developers against using this as an excuse to go overboard with Flash.
“I think this makes Flash more attractive to use, but you also have to be careful not to fall back into the old times when Flash first came on the market and people went crazy with it,” said Andreas Roell, CEO of Geary Interactive.
While a certain amount of Flash can enhance a users’ experience, too much can make a site unwieldy, ultimately turning away the consumers you are looking to engage, he said.
“Flash should add to the experience, but never be 100 percent of it,” he said. “We’re defeating the purpose of what Flash is meant to be if we get too extreme. The old principles still apply.”
That said, he applauded Adobe for addressing the biggest drawback to the popular program.
“I’m really actually very pleased that Adobe is tackling this,” he said. “Obviously there is a big drive for getting additional market share with developers, but overall I think this checks off one major problem that allows us to focus more on [serving clients].”
Microsoft, if you fail on search, try try again September 27, 2007
Category : SEO News, SEO News for Mobile, Search Engines , comments closedMicrosoft unveiled on Wednesday the 26th of September 2007, that the first major upgrade to its Live search site since it was launched over a year ago will be going live shortly, adding new shopping, entertainment and health verticals and improving video search. But most of the changes, particularly in the core search relevancy, mirror what competitors already offer.
The company demonstrated the new features at an event dubbed “Searchification” at its Mountain View, Calif. offices.
Time will tell if there search performs any better.
Tags: Microsoft, Live Search, SearchificationFinally some good news for Yahoo August 14, 2007
Category : Net News, SEO News for Mobile, Search Engines , comments closedA new study by the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index, Yahoo's score in the index rose 3.9 percent over the past year to 79 while Google's score fell 3.7 percent to 78
As for the other search engines/portals, Microsoft's score was up 1.4 percent, Ask's rose 5.6 percent and AOL's dropped 9.5 percent
Google expands online storage August 13, 2007
Category : Net News, SEO News for Mobile, Search Engines , comments closedThis new offer merges the storage of different Google products into a single storage back-end. Currently, the Picasa Web Albums as well as Gmail part of the merge. But users can expect more from Google
Google Documents (containing word processing documents, spreadsheets, etc). Premium accounts, like the one Picasa offered before, are being removed in the meantime. Now, if you need more storage for any particular application which is part of the shared storage program, you can buy some. “With a Google shared storage plan, you won’t have to worry about deleting files, pictures, or emails. After purchasing a storage plan, some of your individual Google services (e.g. email and photos) will share a single new storage space,” Google’s page reads.
The offers range from 6 gigabyte for $1 $20/ year up to 250 gigabyte for $500/ year, as the table below shows (your payment will be processed with Google Checkout; note you will not receive the upgrade instantly, and Google says it may take “up to 24 hours" for your new storage amount “to appear in all services”). This storage will be extra to the free storage you already got through different Google services. Especially for those of you for whom Gmail’s “you’ll never need to delete another message” claim was false as the inbox was overflowing, the additional 6 or 25 gigabytes may be worth it.
