In an apparent move intended to be evil, Google have just rolled out a new SERP interface. First impressions are: Although it seems to have more space, it also seems to make everything harder to read Ads are very much more ‘discreet’ (ie they blend in with the ‘organic’ listings) The Goooooooooogle pagination no longer […]
Just how accurate is Alexa? We compare Google Analytics to Amazon’s ‘Web Information Company’
Alexa vs Reality I’d always wondered how closely Alexa’s traffic graphs mirror reality. In a recent article on how the Sun’s traffic was diving uncontrollably, I used an Alexa comparison graph to illustrate my point but I’d never really put the time in to measure its statistics. I think it’s about time that I did. […]
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but please don’t forget about IE8 this winter
When OK! Magazine relaunched its website recently, I wasn’t expecting much. Another (somewhat) high profile responsive site that completely disintegrates in IE6, IE7 & IE8. Remember that for users of windows XP, IE8 is the latest Internet Explorer browser that they can access and is still the 2nd most popular IE browser, with 25% of […]
The Sun gets spanked by google for cloaking
A few weeks ago I wrote an article on how The Sun allowed GoogleBot to access its site. It appears that this was in contravention of Google’s terms and News International have subsequently revoked GoogleBot’s privileged access, which has resulted in no more access for sneaky chaps like me and a further plummet in traffic for […]
Browse The Sun’s content without paying?
I was wondering how Google indexed The Sun’s content but managed to get through the paywall the other day and thought I’d visit the site as GoogleBot, doubting really that my childish ruse would work. It seems, however, that The Sun’s paywall really needs a bit of love and attention to stop people circumventing it. […]
Is Google really Professor Marvel? The new Image Search unmasked
Last week saw Google unveil some exciting new developments with their Inside Search 2011 talk. One of them caught my eye – the amazing Google Image Search. As you can see from the video below, the guys from Google upload an unindexed image of a solitary figure on a barren landscape. Miraculously, they upload this […]
A Brief History Of Search Engines And SEO
Most search engines were created in the days when the web was in its infancy, when pages were little more than plain text and hyperlinks. Search Engine developers made spiders that read through html in order to determine how relevant a page was to any particular search term. In 1994 this was somewhat easier than […]
Google SiteClinic London 2011
Last night, I attended the first London Google site clinic at TechHub in London. Tickets were limited to the first 175 people to sign up, so when I arrived with 15 minutes to spare, the air was thick with with excitement. Californian accents floated through the air mingled with the sounds of furious keyboard tapping […]
Mac Web Based Till System – Considerations & solutions
The initial momentum for the till system came from not being able to find suitable solutions out there to suit our needs. To that end, here are is an incomplete list of things I need a till system to do: Act like a Casio till. Simples. Ability to connect to current online toy shop, and […]