Google's new Layout : How it Affects You

---

Google have just roled out a new layout with more in-depth search options down the left hand side of the page. The choices in this column aren't necessarily new, they've been available for some time.

Some of the options will already be familiar to users such as maps, videos, images & news since they've been available (and still are) along the top of the results page for a while now.

However the new additions to these search options are critical - they have been available for a while, but only if you went looking for them in the sub menus at the top of the results pages.

These new options include Blogs, Updates, and Discussions.

Blog Search

Google Blog Search (http://blogsearch.google.com) has been around for some time although people will notice it more now. If you want to find the latest blog post / opinion / review for a product or site then this is surely the easiest way to find it without specifically intending to use the blog search engine from the outset. If you needed another reason to start a business blog, surely this is it!

Updates

The updates option in the Google results pulls data from the real time search results (sites such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Google Buzz, etc.) It's now more important than ever to be listed in the real time search results - Get a Twitter account!

Discussions

This option returns results from the forums, Q&A sites & help sections. Helping out and answering questions in forums and message boards has always been a great way to get noticed and build a reputation in your industry, but now that there's a dedicated search option ... isn't it essential that you encorporate it into your online marketing strategy?

It's worth baring in mind that each of these options have sub-options to return and sort data by freshness (last 24 hours, last week etc.), length and also by location.

Therefore if you're running a local SEO campaign this could be a potential goldmine of relevant traffic!

Hyphens or Underscores? Which is Best?

---

Another age old SEO / webmaster question ... should I use hyphens (dashes) or underscores in my page names eg. my-page vs. my_page.

Matt Cutts from Google states that it does make a difference as hyphens (dashes) are treated as seperators whereas underscores are not.

However he also says not to worry too much if your site is currently doing well, certainly don't go changing all your pages just because of this post. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

But sure, if you're designing a brand new site structure, stick with hyphens - they look better and are easier (IMO) for people to remember and type (and they help Google to recognise seperate words).

A disclaimer: Like everything with SEO - just because this is currently the case doesn't mean it'll stay like this forever ... in fact this video was originally posted in February 2009 ... so they may have included underscores as seperators now too .... but I'd still stick with hyphens.

Paid Links & Buying Links

---

Buying links or paying for links (which pass PageRank) has been officially forbidden by Google & is against their TOS.

That means that any links you buy or sell with the intention of gaming the search engines can potentially damage your site or even get it removed from the search engine's index.

Buying links isn't necessarily prohibited, Google rightly state that it is "a normal part of the economy of the web when done for advertising purposes, and not for manipulation of search results." and that "links purchased for advertising should be designated as such."

There are a few ways to do this but the most effective is to use the rel="nofollow" tag to tell the search spiders not to follow that particular link & not to pass any PageRank (reputation) along with it.

So, stop building sites just to gain PR & therefore to sell links & bring your online money making efforts into the 21st century!

Don't believe me? Here is Google's official stance.

Start Youtube Video at Specific Time

How To: Start a Youtube Video at a Specific Start Time

---

Here's how to start a youtube video automatically at a given time. This method also works with Facebook embedding!

Find a video you wish to share. Copy the video URL (address) :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTG3FlEv4VQ

Now we have to slightly reformat the URL so that it becomes

http://www.youtube.com/v/aTG3FlEv4VQ

Next simply work out (in seconds) where you want the video to start. To start at 1 minute & 30 seconds, use 90 seconds & add this to the end of the new URL.

&start=90

So the complete URL becomes:

http://www.youtube.com/v/aTG3FlEv4VQ&start=90

Then simply copy and paste this into Facebook!

Autostarting the video

Automatically starting a youtube video is simple! All you need is another parameter tagged onto the end of the URL ... here's the code:

&autoplay=1

Where 1 is the number of times you wish the video to autoplay.

So to start the above video automatically at 90 seconds the complete address would be:

http://www.youtube.com/v/aTG3FlEv4VQ&start=90&autoplay=1

Enjoy!!

Number Google Search Results - How To

Individually Number Google Search Results

---

So you know how to increase Google search results to 100. But what use is that if you only know that the site you're looking for in three-quarters of the way down the page?

This requires no additional plugins or software ... we're just creating a bookmark.

Individually Number Google Search Results for Internet Explorer

• Create a bookmark to any page. Name it something useful like (Number Google Results).
  


• Open Internet Explorer (IE)
• Select Favourites > Add to Favourites
• Right click the Favourite and choose Properties
• Input the following code in the URL box (it may give you a warning about Javascript - just ignore it).

To use, just search for something on Google then open the favourite menu and click the bookmark you created in Step 1.

Individually Number Google Search Results for Firefox

• Create a bookmark to any page. Name it something useful like (Number Google Results).
  


• Open FireFox (FF)
• Choose Bookmark this Page (or use Ctrl + D)
  
• Select Favourites > Add to Favourites
• Right click the Favourite and choose Properties
• Input the following code in the Location box.

To use, just search for something on Google then open the favourite menu and click the bookmark you created in Step 1.

Must Have Free iPhone Apps

My Must Have iPhone Apps

---

I am not ashamed to admit that I was a very late adopter of the iPhone. I've always liked Apple products, their design, simplistic yet powerful UI and their marketing is simply brilliant.

What I didn't like about Apple was the people who bought their products & the way that everything was 'cool' just because it had an Apple logo .... this attitude may have stemmed from my private school education where everyone came in with a new phone every week ... I just didn't get it ... if it worked and did what you wanted it to do, why change?

That said, I now don't know what I'd do without my iPhone .... it is the central hub of my digital life. So here are my must have iPhone apps (in no particular order) ... some you'll have heard of, others possibly not ... but all of them are great (and all 100% free!)

Runkeeper

Link: www.runkeeper.com
Cost: FREE

This app tracks your exercises via GPS (if you're outdoors) and plots it on a map. It then sync's it automatically with your profile on the website so you can keep track of distance & calorie burn.

MyFitnessPal

Link: www.myfitnesspal.com
Cost: FREE

I use this in conjunction with Runkeeper, they don't automatically sync but hey-ho we can't have everything, can we? Plus it only takes a few seconds to transfer the data.

This is both a calorie counter with a huge database of predefined foods and an exercise / weight tracker.

Dropbox

Link: www.dropbox.com
Cost: FREE

We've all been out and about and get a phone call asking for a document but it's on the laptop at home and you'll send it when you get back (invariably forgetting to send it).... not anymore!

Dropbox at it's most basic is a folder on your computer & whatever is in that folder is automatically synced to your online account & is therefore available on any device or computer.

With the dropbox app your documents are always with available and you can view and send your documents straight from the app.

Facebook

Link: www.facebook.com
Cost: FREE

This is probably installed on 90% of the iPhone's out there, but I've actually found it makes me go on facebook on my phone less & pretty much never from my laptop.

The new iPhone OS will enable multiple app running (or you can get it now by jailbreaking your iphone) so that should make things like chatting easier.

Echofon (Twitter)

Link: www.echofon.com
Cost: FREE

I love Twitter (follow me if you like @agseo). This free app gives great control & access to all of Twitters features including sending photos, geotagging tweets & seperate @you mentions.

It really baffles me what more I could want that I'd be willing to pay for in a Twitter app?


GrabRadioLite

Link: www.grabradioworld.com
Cost: FREE

GrabRadio is a radio application for the iPhone. The lite (free) version only gives a handful of stations but it's got BBC Radio 1 on there so that's all I wanted it for :)

Sky News

Link: www.sky.com/news
Cost: FREE

Everyone wants to catch up with the latest news at some point, don't they?
Just wish it had the ability to tweet stories directly from the app.....

MoBank 2.0

Link: www.mobank.co.uk
Cost: FREE

This great free app links to your bank account and gives you real time access to your statements, balance and accounts .... handy to see just how much money you don't have :)

You can also pay for things directly from the app ... it's totally secure too!

Wordpress

Link: www.iphone.wordpress.org
Cost: FREE

Just for the blogger / site admin side of things but this free app from Wordpress allows you to quickly and easily edit / create blog posts & admin comments from your iPhone - basically anything you can do via a laptop can be done on the go from the app!


Other notable apps I have installed:

Skype

Link: www.skype.com
Cost: FREE

Free voice calls (only when connected via WiFi) and instant messaging. Again, falls down from the lack of multi-app running... will be great when it can be run in the background.

F1 2010 App

Link: http://www.formula1.com/mobile_services/live_timing.html
Cost: FREE

All the geeky data you'll need. Car positions on track, lap times, best lap, sector times, track status (flags), straight line speeds, safety cars & even air humidity and pressure readings!

Just be sure to watch the race as well as your phone!

Tap Tap Revenge 3

Link: www.tapulous.com/taptap
Cost: FREE

Guitar hero style finger jamming for free! Download loads of free tracks (really good ones, too) and of course there is the option to purchase tracks.

2 player & online play are good too.


Do you use these apps, got any must have's yourself that I may have missed? Post a comment & let me know!

Creating Multiple Sites - Pointing to Main Domain

---

Here's another question I see time and time again on the SEO forums:

"Should I create multiple small (one page) sites focused on a single keyword and then point them to my main domain?"

Here's why this is largely a waste of time:

When you build a new site it starts at zero. Zero content, zero backlinks, zero visitors & zero reputation.

Therefore for every new site you build for a keyphrase you'll have to build dedicated backlinks, content and promotion strategies for each site.

If you build 10 new sites then you're creating 10 times the amount of work than simply creating a dedicated, keyword focused page on your existing site.

Don't forget, if you've done it right you're existing site will already be indexed, established, have some good backlinks and be getting spidered regularly.

Don't waste your time with small keyword focused sites, just create a new page on your existing site and optimise that well!