Archive for February, 2009
Will New ICANN TLDs change search engines?
The following is the transcript of a response we made earlier on the Linked In group “Domain Name“. This is a non-public forum, but thought the topic was related to Search Engines, and thus worthy of publishing on Search News.
Peter Leuzinger of Net Names had asked:
“Will the gTLD liberalization by ICANN upcoming this or next year change the way search engines operates?”
Our response:
I think the search engines are already influenced by the TLDs currently in the space, and feel that this will continue to be the case, as long as the TLD is topic-specific, or region specific.
Example: The CCTLDs such as .AU and .CA are synonymous with Australia and Canada, and this is part of the localised search results presented in the search engines (for example, in google.com.au selecting the “Pages from Australia” option will display local results for Australian pages, the most common being .COM.AU websites).
.MOBI is the space for mobile phones, although I’m not sure this has been as successful as some would hope, with many companies using sub-domains, such as m.facebook.com for example.
.TEL is an interesting space to watch, and it seems Telnic have kept search engines in mind when developing the service, and also use it as part of their marketing strategy.
The .TEL service runs completely on the DNS protocol, and is attractive for the search engines to crawl and index this information due to the information being quick and relatively simple to parse.
.TEL is an online phone-book or contact system if you like, and .TEL has potential to work it’s way into the search engines as a contact information store, but with it’s ability to list keywords related to your business or service, may also be beneficial as part of a businesses SEO Strategy.
I would expect Google at the very least to implement some form of indexing and using a new TLD in an appropriate manner, as Google have gone so far as to index books, NNTP newsgroups and much more. If Google’s use of that TLD is significant, I’d expect the other players to follow.
In terms of new TLDs being launched in the coming years influencing the search engines, this really depends on a number of factors.
Firstly, I think that new TLDs can be very topic specific.
Example:
In Australia, Churches often use . ORG.AU names, because their legal status in the Country is a non-profit organisation, and the policy rules permit them to use . ORG.AU or . ASN.AU names, whereas .CHURCH or similar could symbolize much more, and the search engines would be able to then use .CHURCH names in indexing Churches in SERPS.
Possibly not the best example to follow a religious institution, however .XXX could be a well regulated space for adult-oriented content, and search engines already have the ’safe search’ function enabled by default, and could add additional layers of restriction and/or verification to ensure Adult content isn’t found by minors.
The possibilities are endless, but I feel quite strongly on a few points when I consider the introduction of new TLDs:
1. The new TLD should pose a benefit to the community at large.
2. The registry should have a good marketing campaign to educate the community at large about it’s existence and purpose (example: how many .MOBI or .ASIA domains have you seen advertised in print-media or online?). The registry should also work in conjunction with the search engines to promote the benefits of their TLD and why they should alter the way their search engine presents information to their users.
3. ICANN should not allow the introduction of new TLDs to pollute the internet.
If those three considerations above aren’t adhered to, then there is little point in launching a new TLD in the first place, as it will present little benefit, and we’ll see an increase in confusion amongst internet users.
SEO Snake Oil
I was reading an article on ‘SEO Snake Oil‘ recently posted to Search Engine Watch, and recall that isn’t the first time I’ve heard of Search Engine Optimisation being referred to as ‘Snake Oil’ , a derogatory term used by Chinese medicine practitioners for medicines or potions that make false promises, or in more modern times, the idea that the product being sold simply doesn’t do what it claims to.
The article from SearchEngineWatch defends the industry, and deals with the bad publicity and issues that Search Engine Optimisation Companies are facing in trying to promote their business, and build or retain confidence and good-will in their business.
Unfortunately there are SEO Practitioners in the market who either make false claims, or overestimate what they’re capable of delivering, or take your money and do very minimal work with very little impact on increasing traffic (the very goal of SEO). Given the price tag on some SEO Campaigns, it is understandable that some companies would have a hard time parting with their advertising dollars without assurances.
Search Engine News believes that Education is the key to building consumer confidence in SEO. Just as anyone can mow their own lawn themselves, or choose to pay for a mowing company to do it for them, a business owner can choose to do some research on SEO and online marketing and attempt to implement it themselves, or they can pay a professional to do it for them.
A few important things to remember about SEO and Online Marketing:
A good SEO Campaign may take 6 months to mature and show positive signs of success, but SEO can often be a long-term and evolving project which should be maintained and revisited regularly.
SEO is not a silver bullet. SEO is only one part of your online marketing campaign, and may take a while before you start seeing results. Ultimately, SEO is a preferred method of attracting customers through the web, because once you have a high-ranking site, visitors clicking on your link are free.
SEO is a bit more than having a few links pointed at your site, adjusting your link structure and adding content.
PPC can offer instant return on investment, but can be quite expensive, and requires close attention to ensure you aren’t bleeding your whole budget into a campaign that might be delivering very little return. You can extend your PPC Campaign through to the Google Content Network to have your adverts featured on Content-Rich websites that deal with your subject matter, product or service, and these Content Network ads are then directly targeted at your audience, with a much higher number of impressions, and often a much lower cost per click than traditional PPC displayed in the SERPs.
Online Marketing isn’t just SEO and PPC. Online Marketing may involve engaging with your audience through Social Networking, Newsletters, Viral Marketing and much more.
SEO is never guaranteed. Search Engine Optimisation can be considered a smart, but risky strategy for your business. Google and other Search Engines may change their algorithm, resulting in your rank being wiped overnight.
There is also the age-old saying “if you build a bigger mouse-trap, they’ll build a bigger mouse”, and in this I’m highlighting that you can spend months on an SEO project getting your site to the top, but if you sit on it and do little work beyond that project, changes in algorithm and other companies “out-seo’ing” your campaign may result in you losing your rank.
To protect yourself from bad SEO, be sure to follow Google Webmaster Guidelines, or check that your Search Engine Provider uses ethical search engine optimisation techniques.
To help retain your high rank in the SERPs, remember that new content is the key, so a daily or weekly blog update will keep Google and your visitors coming back to the site again and again, and as long as you spend an hour or so each week doing minor updates to content on your site, and focus on a little on-site and off-site SEO, that should help you retain your high rank.
For more info on the SEO Snake Oil article, and a very good defense for the SEO Industry, check SearchEngineWatch.com
Yahoo! Site Explorer expecting updates?
Yahoo! Site Explorer is currently down for maintenance. We suspect this could be a sign of new features being made available.
Yahoo’s site explorer is a great Search Engine Optimisation Tool to analyse traffic sources such as back-links to your site, and also the pages on your website that Yahoo! indexes.
We suspect this maintenance downtime has been planned by Yahoo! in anticipation of new updates being implemented.
We’ll be excited to see more handy search analytics tools and reporting functions made available from Yahoo, and we’ll keep you posted with any updates.
Former Yahoo Marketer Joins MSN
Scott Moore has Joined Microsoft’s search business as the U.S Executive Producer, responsible for MSNBC.com and Microsoft’s related Search Engine websites.
Scott was previously head of Yahoo!s search marketing business, and has re-joined Microsoft after four years working in Yahoo’s Media Division and begins his new role in March 2009.
Interestingly enough Moore is filling a role at Microsoft which was previously held by Jeff Dossett, and in a switch of roles, Dossett now fills Moore’s old shoes at Yahoo.
The Search Engine Business seems to be a very fluid and incestuous market, and the influences that both Dossett and Moore make in each of their roles have potential to do great things for Yahoo and MSN’s media divisions.
Scott has a background in Search Engine Marketing and will now be responsible for Microsoft’s content and programming strategy. Prior to his four years at Yahoo, Scott was at Microsoft for 10 years between 1995 - 2005, so he is rejoining the Microsoft flock, and is amongst many other key employees within Yahoo who have recently made the move to Microsoft.