This Week’s Industry News

Compiled By Rocket Clicks

Google Can Now Read And Index AJAX, JavaScript

The day has finally arrived where GoogleBot can now crawl and index AJAX and JavaScript languages. This update, which allows Google to catalog Facebook and Disqus comments and more effectively read content behind both web scripts, was confirmed on Twitter by the Morpheus of Google, Matt Cutts.

Source: Search Engine Land

Google May Not Like Facebook, But They Sure Love Its User Comments

Google has started indexing Facebook Comments on websites, and the popular third-party commenting feature has started showing up in Google SERPs for related keywords. The verification test conducted by Search Engine Land revealed that comments in the XFBML format have a higher tendency to rank.

Source: Search Engine Land

Google Goes Fresher Than Subway

Google’s search algorithm received a freshness update that will provide the most recent (and relevant) information about your search query. The search engine estimates this will impact around 35% of searches, mostly involving current events, sports scores, or hot gossip topics. Basically, it saves you the time of changing the time frame in the left sidebar.

Source: Google Inside Search Blog

Google Ads Show Up At The Bottom Of SERPs

Infinite search scroll testing aside, Google has officially confirmed it will be showing AdWords ads at the bottom of search results pages. This will lead to a change in name for “Top vs. Side” ads to “Top vs. Other,” and could impact advertisers that have normally had their ads show up on the second page of Google’s SERPs. It could also provide some interesting insight into click-through rates for bottom-page results.

Source: Search Engine Land

Bing Webmaster Tools Updates Some Useful Features

Duane Forrester introduced some significant improvements to Bing Webmaster Tools on the Bing Search blog earlier this week. Among the changes:

• Crawl details have been expanded to include inbound links from any URL (including 300, 400, and 500 codes), as well as URLs labeled with Robots.txt and Malware headers.
• Email alerts for everything from malware notification to crawl requests are now available.
• Although de-activated by default, Bing now includes URL normalization suggestions and a doubled amount of query string parameters (25 to 50 items).
• DNS verification for your account’s domains is now Bing-enabled.
• adCenter Data assimilation includes an average cost-per-click column in the Traffic data section.

Source: Search Engine Land

In Terms Of Lead Generation, SEO > PPC, Social Media

According to the 2011 State of Digital Marketing Report, SEO is the top lead driver for both B2C and B2B online marketers, edging out PPC and social media initiatives. The company behind the report (Webmarketing123) surveyed around 500 U.S. marketers, 67% of which were identified as specializing in B2B marketing.

As Internet marketing continues to grow at a rapid pace, so does its spending priorities. Social media marketing will get the biggest boost in funding over the next year, as 60% of respondents plan to increase their budget efforts in that space. This is followed by SEO (53% increase) and PPC (40% increase).

Source: Search Engine Land

In The Spirit Of The Season, Google Opens User Ad Preference Center

Google is attempting to assuage user fears about personal privacy by adding a section to its user ad preference center that offers a user-friendly explanation for personalized ad targeting. While the targeting options can already be modified, Google is also placing a scroll-over link above search and Gmail ads that allows users to read a similar reason for displaying those ads.

Source: Search Engine Land

About That Single Digit (Not Provided) Data Promise From Google…

Search Engine Land has reported that some Google Analytics accounts have already felt the effect of Google’s keyword encryptions, including their own (around 12%). While Google claimed the change would only result in a single digit loss in keyword data, quite a few sites have reported anywhere between a 7-14% drop in data. SEOmoz recently reported a 21% (not provided) number, but that could be inflated because of the general nature of their traffic coming from professional Google users.

Source: Search Engine Land

Google Changes Look Of Places Position In SERPs

Local search results will look a little different than expected from now on, as Google announced an altered layout to its Google Places pages in the results of any localized search query for a specific restaurant or business. The new look displays the relevant business information directly under the Places map on the right side of the page, along with submitted pictures of the business. Anytime you eliminate a previously necessary click, it’s a good thing for the user.

Source: Search Engine Land

While People Cry Foul Over Google’s ‘Bias,’ Bing Chuckles In The Other Corner

A recent study from a professor of law and economics at George Mason University has found that the perception of Google’s bias towards its own products in SERPs is somewhat overblown. Likewise, Bing may actually favor Microsoft on a more frequent scale (14.3% of first results were Microsoft-related, whereas Google’s rate was 6.7%). Of course, this study contradicts one from Harvard earlier this year that determined widespread search engine bias.

Source: Search Engine Land

Google Opens “GoMo” To Help Build Mobile-Friendly Websites

Google is doing its best to mobilize websites, which helps Google benefit from growing mobile Internet use. The new “GoMo” program allows businesses to view a tutorial for building a mobile site, select their site preferences so Google can suggest ways to optimize their mobile site, and view how their site would look on a smartphone. And of course, it links to Google’s mobile site builder.

Source: Search Engine Land

Firefox And Bing Strike Up Deal As Google Partnership Expires

Bing is now the default search engine for Firefox, as the browser’s deal with Google is set to expire this month. You can also install a Bing Search add-on to further integrate Microsoft’s search engine into your Firefox experience.

Source: Search Engine Watch

The Rel=Author Tag Includes Google +Information

Google + has been integrated into the rel=author tag, most notably among journalists. The writer’s mug shot is displayed under the URL on the left side of the result, while information about said author’s Google + profile. The new feature includes a circle count, an add to circles link, the number of comments people have added to the link on Google’s social network.

Source: Search Engine Land

Google’s AdWords Keyword Tool Changes Competition Bar To ‘High, Medium, Low’ System

The Google AdWords Keyword Tool is now ranking competition on a high, medium, and low scale, as opposed to the previously visible green bar. The exact measured level of competition is still available per a downloadable report, and the change is meant to make AdWords easier to use for businesses.

Source: Search Engine Watch

Google Webmaster Tools Is The Pest Removal System For Your Duplicate Content

Google Webmaster Tools recently announced a notification system that alerts site owners when it detects duplicate content across your domain. This makes it easier to detect and fix any twin URLs by using your preferred canonical link.

Source: Search Engine Land

If At First Google SERPs Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again

Sometimes a simple Google search doesn’t return much useful information, so re-searching with similar terms may not seem worth the effort because similar pages are likely to be displayed. However, Bill Slawski examines a Google patent that would allow the search engine to omit previously seen results for that modified search. It’s also possible that Google may just replace the sites that you did not click on in the first search.

Source: SEO By The Sea

Doctors Use Search Engines When Diagnosing Patients

Believe it or not, doctors often look to search engines as a primary resource when determining a patient’s diagnosis. According to an American Medical Association survey of its members, Google, Yahoo, and Bing come in as the third most popular consultation source for medical information.  Search engines are used more than reference books, professional conferences, and free online services such as WebMD.com.

Source: Washington Post

Has It Ever Been A Good Idea For Civilians To Go After Drug Cartels?

Apparently hacktivists have not learned from No Country For Old Men. In what may very well be the dumbest Anonymous flip-flop on record, the hacktivist group opted to poke a gun-wielding, habitually violent bear that is Los Zetas, a powerful Mexican drug cartel. This comes just a few days after they called off the online hit. Apparently the threat of death isn’t large enough to deter Anonymous from wreaking online havoc.

Source: Talking Points Memo

Notable Commentary

That’s All Out Of Bubblegum

An Anthology Of Internet Trends

There are so many useful pieces of information in the Internet Trends 2011 that it would be hard to parse out the most important parts in this run down. Instead, go ahead and read through it if you have the time.

Analysis By: Mary Meeker, KPCB

How Siri Is Changing Mobile Search, And How To Prepare It

There’s no doubt that Apple’s new voice recognition software, Siri, is going to impact how products and services are discovered through iPhone mobile searches. Sherwood Stranieri runs down some reasoning behind’s Siri’s influence, and why it’s going to innovate mobile Internet marketing.

Analysis By: Sherwood Stranieri, Search Engine Land

Perception Is Reality When It Comes To What A Client’s Values In Your Work

Matthew C. Egan of SEOmoz poses an interesting theory about how a client’s perceived value of SEO work is just as important, if not more so, than the actual value provided. Professional Internet marketers understand the value in what they do, but how we view ourselves sometimes doesn’t match with how a client views us.

Analysis By: Matthew C. Egan, SEOmoz

Google Analytics Data In A Google Doc Custom Report

Jamie Steven offers a tutorial for crafting a custom Google Doc spreadsheet by simply running a Google Analytics report. He also provides an easy-to-use template and steps for connecting the two programs.

Analysis By: Jamie Steven, SEOmoz

INFOGRAPHIC: Mobile In 60 Seconds

Ever wonder about statistics on smartphone usage broken down by the per-minute average? Search Engine Journal has published a pretty interesting infographic that shows just how many angry birds are launched at pigs (208,333 minutes played) and how many ads are clicked (4,111 per minute).

Analysis By: Melissa Fach, Search Engine Journal

Canonical Backlink URLs In Local Search And Business Directories Saves Precious Link Juice

Link juice is the currency of link building, and anytime you can consolidate it into one index-friendly URL it’s going to help your website. Rick DeJarnette explains how to clean up your business’ online profile by canonical linking, especially if you have many websites running across multiple domains.

Analysis By: Rick DeJarnette, Search Engine Land

Important Practices For Video Metadata Optimization

Video SEO is becoming increasingly important as movin’ pictures grow in popularity on that there Interweb. In his debut column on Search Engine Watch, Terry Van Horne runs down some best practices for metadata optimization for YouTube videos.

Analysis By: Terry Van Horne, Search Engine Watch

Promoted Tweets Can Be Great For Increasing Brand Awareness

Promoted Tweets have rightfully been a popular news subject over the past few months, as Twitter continues to make a case for its own sustainable profitability. Ron Schott has six tips for using Promoted Tweets as effectively as possible.

Analysis By: Ron Schott, Search Engine Watch

A Eulogy From Steve Jobs’ Sister

In what will be our last link to a Steve Jobs eulogy, his long-lost biological sister offers some insight into her first and everlasting impressions of the innovative tech mind. Much of how Jobs operated as a businessman and private person can be found in his autobiography, but the people closest to him often knew Jobs better than he knew himself.

Analysis By: Mona Simpson, The New York Times