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Danny Sullivan recently spoke at Jupitermedia’s Search Engine strategies show and outlined the state of the Search Engine Optimization industry. Here’s the article: Keynote: Don’t Forget SEO

Google, the Verb

If you’re worried about you as a brand, Googling yourself might not be a bad idea. Here’s a great article on the subject. In addition, it’s the world’s newest verb.

Have you been Googled lately?

At the end of 2003, I predicted that the search engine world was in for a major restructuring. Mostly, I believed that Google had shown it’s Achilles heel with the much debated Florida update. Now, others are beginning to see what I was talking about. DMNews.com is quoting Danny Sullivan, a leader in the search engine world, in this article: Google Search Monopoly Is Ending, SES Keynote Says.

In the last two weeks, Yahoo has dropped Google’s results and several other SE’s are making moves toward Google’s dominance. Stay tuned!

The public is getting better at finding the information they’re needing. This continues to be true with respect to the search engines. Here’s a great story about the latest research into how people use search engines: Most people use 2 word phrases in search engines according to OneStat.com.

Two and three word phrases account for 58.19% of all searches online. If you’re not sure how your keywords are affecting the traffic to your website - we can help.

To quote a post I read the other day about the state of what we know now about Google’s Florida update; “one word - themes.” This is something that has been coming for a while and harkens back to the old mantra of content is king.

Here is a great piece on the idea of a theme for a website: Search Engine Theme Pyramids. Check it out.

If any of you have found your Google rankings suddenly not what they used to be - you’re not alone. On November 15th, 2003, Google implemented the so-called “Florida” update. Needless to say, rankings and rants have been all over the place. Theories vary and tempers in the Search Engine community are rampant. What I can advise is that we should all hold our breaths until after the first of the year. There are those who feel that this is a “bug” in Google’s algorithm.

Here is an article by Leslie Rhode: A Statistical and Experimental Analysis of Google’s Florida Update. He has some interesting theories and analysis on what happened.

Also, you can watch WebmasterWorld.com’s forums that are hot on this topic. Here’s a great one for an overview: What The Early Research is Showing - Florida Update 2003.