I have blogged about Google a lot since firing up the Webo blog in 2006. I have decided to compile the blog posts here in one handy and easy to read page. I may add an index to the top of this page if I can find that WordPress plugin again. These posts are in reverse chronological order, starting in 2007 and going up to 2009. Again, this blog post is in reverse chronological order, so oldest posts down at the bottom. YouTube is Broken! It does seem that in years gone by Google had a lot more server issues than they do today. Just gone to YouTube.com to see the latest video clips from the top vloggers in the SEO and web design industry and it is not working. All I get is this: Internal Server Error The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request. Please contact the server administrator, web@youtube.com and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error. More information about this error may be available in the server error log. Apache Server at www.youtube.com Port 80   [...]

When Google Streetview was launched it caused all sorts of controversy. I took a good long look at it and found a few amusing things myself. Here is what I found. Google Proves that Sunglasses and a Moustache is a Good Disguise Apr 6, 2009 I just walked along Santa Monica Pier, which is impressive seeing that I am currently sitting in my house in the UK. I was using Google’s 360 Street View photos, and pretty much took a personal tour of LA. Great fun. While taking my tour I noticed that one individual did not have his face blurred. There were actually 3 or 4 photos of the same person (I assume that on the pier the Street View camera was pushed at walking pace for safety reasons) and in all the photos this chap was not blurred. But he was wearing dark sunglasses and has a large moustache. So maybe Google does not recognise this as a face. Which means, it is the perfect disguise! Man with Bushy Moustache and Sunglasses is not Blurred Out by Google One other thing I discovered while taking my tour of Santa Monica Pier (the geographer in me really loves this new [...]

This page covers Google Analytics changes and developments and it presented in reverse chronological order (latest news on top!). Google Analytics Accounts are Being Updated Nov 21, 2011  Please note – this blog post serves to vent my frustration mostly. It is a rant. If you have been using Google Analytics for a few years then you will be well aware that a major change is happening. I am so far finding this new version a royal PITA. Although the old version had its problems, it was easy to set up a dashboard that displayed useful information that I could work with. I just posted a question to the Google Analytics help forum and am now waiting patiently for an answer. I have been playing with the new version, trying to find some useful documents on how to set it up, and mostly failed so far. This is my question to Google, copied from the forum (I see no reason to re-write my own words): I am really struggling with this new version. I used to be able to get all the information I needed from my dashboard but now cannot get it to show half the info I use to work [...]

Google have updated their homepage with new drop-down and fly-out menus. Gmail continues to look more like Google+ and even Blogger has had a makeover. The less said about Google Analytics the better, but that and Adsense have also had makeovers this year. Without doubt, this has been the busiest year for Google designers. So, what is the plan? Why are they making so many changes now? The fact that everything is starting to look more like the Google+ style suggests to me that the ultimate plan is simply to unify all the major Google products under one hub – Google+. Why? Well, Google needs Google+ to ensure that it holds major market share. Although Google has the lion’s share of search today, if that is lost it loses much of its business. This has been the major criticism of Google for many years, at least from shareholders and investors. Millions of people use Gmail, Google Docs, Adsense, Adwords and Analytics daily as part of their business and then use Facebook for leisure. What Google are doing (IMHO) are attempting to create a single platform that combines all their products so that users can move from one area (business, email [...]

Google Pages are being rolled at as I type this. Google Pages are really like a combination of Google Places (Maps) and Facebook Pages. They are designed to allow people to set up causes, business profiles, fan areas etc. Pages will be created within Google+, which is Google’s new social media and social networking site. The options that I am currently aware of include (my thoughts on these added in the brackets): Local Business of Place (maybe location data in Google profiles will link to Pages). Product of Brand (probably ideal for digital media, websites, blogs etc. with no street address). Company, Institution or Organisation (although maybe this is good for websites?). Arts, Entertainment or Sports (I guess fanzines will go here along with sporting personalities and music pages. Other (no idea, anything else I guess). In Google’s words, creating a page brings you closer to your customers, fans and followers on Google+. It really makes it sound exactly the same as Facebook Pages. However, will it really be as good? One of the main benefits of Facebook Pages is that it allows you to set up a business page without it being linked in any way to your personal profile. For example, I have [...]

Highlights of the Google Job Application Infographic Google receives over a million resumes each year They hire 4000 – 6000 people each year Every resume / CV is screened Recruiters conduct initial telephone interviews if you pass …. On site interview with 4-5 people over 45 minutes Then Google managers discuss everything about you Google focusses on hiring good talent – Google looks for the “X Factor” Google is expanding fast Increased by 25% so far in 2011 with plans to add 6200 workers With 31,000 employees Google is still 1/3 the size of Microsoft Google salaries are very generous This infographic was produced by Jobvine. Source: http://www.jobvine.co.za/what-does-it-take-to-get-a-job-at-google/ Suggested Reading:Do You Need a Website? Use This Flowchart to Determine if You Really Need a WebsiteGoogle Search – the Rise of the Brands – Infographic from SEOBook25 Ways to Promote Your Business with Traditional MediaNew Google Search Results LayoutRSS Theft On The Increase? Time To Turn Off RSS?

Just seen a new Google search results layout. Rather than the traditional view with the the “cached” and “similar” links below the description snippet, now you click a big grey arrow to the right of the result to open up the preview which then has the extra details too. This all covers up the right hand adverts, so the preview is bigger. I like it, it looks neat and clean. Refreshing to see a page on Google search with no adverts on it too. I wonder what else Google have planned though. Sure this must just be a transitional view or a test. It is too uncluttered at the moment! An example: Suggested Reading:New Google Site Links are Live!What Defines an English person? Google is Being Cheeky Again!Google Adds Authors To SearchGoogle Gooooooooooal! World Cup Easter EggGoogle’s Wonder Wheel Search Tool

A while back I blogged about Google buying ITA Software. In fact, it was only in April 2011, but seems much longer ago for some reason. Anyway, today Google have given us a first look at the new product that they have put together using the ITA Software that they acquired earlier this year. If you search for flights in Google from today you should see a Flights link on the lefthand side below Everything. It is not visible yet from here (a bit outside London) but Google assure us on their blog that it is live in the USA. I just did a flight search on Google.com and flight details are displayed in the search results; For example, as search for “flights from new york to london” brings up this result:   Flights from New York, NY (all airports) to London, UK (all airports) Non-stop flights: 24–26 per day, 7h 8m duration Airlines: British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Continental, and 2 more Schedule of non-stop flights They display basic information about the flights available (number per day and duration) and also link to the main airlines. Each of the links goes to the homepage of the relevant sites. The only site which had flight details already [...]

Just heard from Pierre Far, Googler that hangs out on Google+, that the all new sitelinks have been rolled out. I just Googled “Webologist” and sure enough, there is now a page full of site links. Fantastic. This means that now when people search for a brand they are far more likely to see only the results that they are looking for and not results from other websites which are trying to out rank competitors in their own branded keywords. It used to be a case that if you searched for a newish brand you would see results from scrapers and other nasty, sneaky black hat SEO types who had built pages for Google searchers to steal traffic from other sites. Sitelinks with Descriptions and URLs Now if you search for a know brand or popular domain (or even Webologist!) you get 12 sitelinks with descriptions and URLs so that you can hopefully find your way to the information that you want much more quickly. Sitelinks are now managed slightly differently too. Rather than blocking links, as you would previously do in Google Webmaster Tools, you now demote links. Sitelinks will now be different depending on the query you type [...]

Sorry Matt Cutts, you will have to leave my Google+ circle, goodbye. I had to ditch Larry Page because I started to develop RSI from muting all his posts / photos. Now the same is happening with Matt Cutts. This evening Matt Cutts (he works for Google by the way, in the search department) posted a photo. A rather unimpressive snap of a view of a bay with some palm trees and a touch of setting sun. A standard holiday snap. This alone is nothing to worry about. But within about 2 minutes it was inundated with Matt’s fan club making comments like, wow, wooow and woaooooo. Now, I am following Matt in the hope to hear the latest vital Google search news that may assist me in my plans to eventually control the known universe through a series a annoying rants that slowly topple every obstacle in my way. To achieve this I need to master the Internet and to do that, I need to be one with Google search. But so far, it’s just holiday snaps and photos of his cat. Suggested Reading:Matt Cutts 3 Step Process to Building up a Really Good SiteGoogle Adds Authors To SearchTime To Try [...]

OK, so I have now been on Goolge+ for a whole day. Or is it 2 days? Maybe 2 days. I have found my friends and added them to Friends. I have found various people I have spoken to online before, either at great length over many years or on a few random occasions, and added them to Acquaintances. Now I am being added to other people’s circles. But I do not know why. In Facebook people will request friendship and leave a note, like “enjoyed your comments on the discussion about the 6 fingered nun who could type 120 words a minute”. On Twitter people just follow you and that seems OK, you ignore them mostly …… (ok, I speak for myself, I never really got the hang of Twitter). But in G+ (previously known as Google+, and before that, Google Plus – the name evolved today as the day drew on) it seems harder to know what to do with these people. Should you add them to a circle, or not? If not, then you will unlikely hear much from them again, but know that they are watching you …….. So, my plan: Google+ League Tables. Or maybe [...]

OK, if you have added a Google +1 button to your website you may be wondering if anyone is using it. Also, are people +1′ing your page using a browser +1 button? Well, now you can easily find out if you have your website registered in Google Webmaster Tools. There is a new menu available, called +1 Metrics, which provides you with some data on the +1ing that is going on on your site. Here is a screenshot of the date in action: Not many people are +1ing Webologist at the moment, probably mostly me! Go on, click the button! +1 me! Suggested Reading:New Google Site Links are Live!Annoying Opt Outs on SitesWhat Defines an English person? Google is Being Cheeky Again!How Google Has Changed In The Last 14 YearsRSS Theft On The Increase? Time To Turn Off RSS?

Yesterday Google made another change to search. It started included authors in the search results, taking the data from the Author Authority markup which it introduced a few weeks ago. The idea is that if you search for an author by name or even the name of their blog, you will see in the search results other content written by them. At the moment it is too early to tell if being a great author for one site will actually lift the others in search for phrases which are not directly related to your name / brand. However, this could well become a feature in the search index in time. It really does seem that Google is trying to move away from the “simple” PageRank system of ranking pages based on links (which SEOs have been exploiting for years) and moving to a more social networking, quality content and reputation ranking. Sites will rank best when people like them. Although that begs the question, in years to come, how will new sites get a foot hold at all? Maybe off-web marketing, Twitter, Google+ and Facebook will all play a much larger role. An example that Matt Cutts (Google search team) shared yesterday [...]

Do Google call it a “wall” or have Facebook trademarked that? I got an invite to Google+ (said “Google Plus”, which I still do not like). First impressions are that it is clean and quick. There do seem to be a few problems. The main feature is Circles. Every person that you know you add to a circle, or various circles. To start with you will have: Friends Family Acquaintances Following Blocked I also added Clients, Google (for 2 people I know in Google, so I can raise concerned which only they can see). So, Friends is basically like in Facebook, all your mates. Family same, but means you can say silly things to mates without your mum and sister reading them. Acquaintances are people you know but not buddies with. Most people will probably use this for work colleagues, I have also used it for other people I know online but have never met. Blocked are those that you block. I had 3 people in there already, I assume from the Wave testing a while back. Then there is Following, which is similar to following someone on Twitter or Google Buzz. I started following Larry Page and saw his comment [...]

For as long as I can remember the URL would always appear after the description in Google search. All searches in fact. Today I notice that the URL is now right below the title. This is really annoying! OK, I admit that I may adjust to the change, but at the moment it just does not look right at all. What I keep asking myself though is, why? What was the point of moving it? Maybe they just wanted people to “see” the URL sooner so that they know where they are going when they click? But it was never exactly far away. It just looks so messy at the moment. The green URL used to nicely frame the description, now the descriptions are left hanging in the air, the last words always at risk of losing their grip and crashing down into the results below. Google never do anything on a whim though, so there must be something else being planned in the Google Search bunker. But what are they planning? Will something new frame the description? Are they planning to provide more information maybe? Hover in the description and see an extended view of the page? Now that [...]