SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION SEO COMPANY

The whisper going around the Tech Giant playground at the moment is that Bing might potentially take over from Google as the default search provider in the Safari browser in the new iPhone operating system. This rumour has been floating around for while but as the release of the new iPhone OS draws nearer then it might be a good time to look at the implications for SEO and its benefactors.

Currently, Google is estimated to spend around $100 million per year for the privilege. It’s anyone’s guess as to the price Microsoft would pay for the opportunity. Here we see two competing search entities go head to head for a very lucrative deal that would certainly pay massive dividends to the victor. But what does it mean for the little guy? If every iPhone user in the world was converted to using Bing then how much impact would that have on the importance of ranking in Bing’s mobile search? A massive one I’d say. If Bing pulls this deal off then we will be facing a large change in the market share Bing have currently in mobile search.

At this stage I don’t believe there is a need to reassess your online marketing strategy. The rumours are just that, rumours; however it does pay to be aware. Microsoft is denying everything. Google might not be interested in staying in bed with Apple considering they are bigger competitors in the mobile arena now with Google Android. Either way, keep your ears out as any battle between giants can get interesting. Even more interesting is the fact that such an alliance between Microsoft and Apple could prove to be a decisive strike against Google.

We have all heard of post traumatic stress disorder, road rage, and clinical depression. What most people haven’t heard of is closer than you think, and something that potentially has effected or will affect us within the week’s end? No, it is not World War 3 or WMDs it’s cause and cure are much closer to home.

It is called Computer Stress Syndrome (CSS)…

It is well known in the IT support industry, and most of the time techies are fighting off angry customers wielding mice, and other reachable objects. This is mainly due to computer hardware or software failure, commonly known as either Bill Gates, or Microsoft. Other known technical problems include:

• Telstra tech support;
• Optus sales;
• Dell hardware replacements and;
• Apple iTunes.

Although these problems are few and far between, there are many solutions that can be an easy fix, or a long winded problem resulting in more CSS. I decided to tackle these problems to shine a light on the industry knowledge of IT support. These have been handed down from generation to generation, from techie to techie from Mr. Gates to no one.

I would like to say that I am very solution orientated, so in order to find a fix, we must first ask the questions. What are some problems we have all faced?

• The computer is taking a long time to load;
• The website is taking a long time to load;
• The printer doesn’t print;
• THE PRINTER DOESN’T PRINT!!!
• My inbox is full of spam;
• The CD, or these days the DVD player isn’t loading the DVD;
• I deleted a file accidently;
• Word crashed and I lost my assignment, and the list goes on…

So this is what we have all been waiting for… What are the solutions?

1. TURN THE COMPUTER OFF AND ON AGAIN – This solves 99% of all problems…
2. Buy a new keyboard, because the one you have has recently been smashed to bits.
3. The mouse is still working, but someone has put tape over the laser.
4. Go for a walk!! (Simple yet effective)
5. Stop drinking so much coffee
6. Upgrade your internet connection, Dialup isn’t fast enough anymore.
7. Buy a new computer, or format and reinstall the one you are currently using. And the final solution is…
8. RELAX, it is a machine that uses 1’s and 0’s, it doesn’t hate you, or have a vendetta. Most computer problems are user based. Take a break, relax, and come back when you have calmed down, then and only then, try and search for a solution using the world’s largest database… The internet.

Last week’s expected decision on the controversial Google Books Library Project by a US federal judge has been postponed. The judge told a crowded courtroom last week that he will listen with an “open mind” to the arguments for and again Google’s settlement with authors and publishers about the right to scan and publish book titles. U. S. District Court Judge Denny Chin walked into the courtroom at the U. S. Court of the Southern District New York with a tall stack of comments from each of the parties, and stated: “To end the suspense, I’m not going to rule today. There’s too much to digest”.

The Google Books Library Project aims to make it easy for people to find relevant books online. Google’s objective with this project was to enable people to find books that they couldn’t normally find as might be the case with out of print books. The homepage for the project states that the ultimate goal is to “work with publishers and libraries to create a comprehensive, searchable, virtual card catalogue of all books in all languages that helps users discover new books and publishers discover new readers”. Google, which has yet to present their case to the judge, have emphasised that the number of books included in the settlement is a small portion (3%) of all the titles in the world. They plan to make 20% of the catalogue free and if they choose, users can purchase the rest from Google.

The project has been under much criticism since its inception from competitors such as Microsoft and Amazon who argue that allowing the project go ahead will basically mean giving Google a license to profit from orphan works and get an unfair advantage. Other critics include some library groups, authors and other competitors. Another concern is that nothing in the settlement would protect users’ personal habits and information from being tracked for behavioural advertising. “The proposed Google book settlement is not a philanthropic effort to bring literature into the 21st century and bridge a literary divide,” opponents Microsoft, Amazon and library groups wrote in a recent filing through the Open Book Alliance. “This de facto exclusive license will provide Google with an enormous advantage over its search competitors.”

There are advocates for this plan such as the University of Michigan who praised the deal because they believe that most of the books in the settlement are scholarly works that are collecting dust on university bookshelves and wouldn’t otherwise be read. Other advocates include blind support groups who say that making publications available online means that people will have easier and cheaper access to works that are hard to come by today.

The settlement is part of Google’s ambitious effort to put the entire world’s books online, aiming to eventually be the main source for searching and buying titles.

A little while ago we reported that Microsoft was thinking outside the box, and looking at using the Family Guy show and creators to promote their new Windows 7 in a different way. This lasted all of less than 2 weeks, with Microsoft announcing that they are pulling out of the partnership.
After making the decision to align with the edgy show, what would cause the Microsoft executives to baulk? How about:

“riffs on deaf people, the Holocaust, feminine hygiene and incest”

We congratulated Microsoft on attempting something different, as they have long held the reputation of being a few steps behind the cutting edge advertisers, however this isn’t likely to change. After their reputation took a massive hit with the epic fail that is Vista, it’s going to take an out of the box solution to kill some of the upstart operating systems.

In previous blog posts we have looked at how advertising may have to change in the wake of viewer’s watching habits changing. To help launch the new Windows 7, Microsoft have enlisted Seth MacFarlane and the Family Guy crew to create a specific show which will have product placement instead of ads.

Microsoft has been mocked for some of their initial Windows 7 ads (which featured an awkward Tupperware style party for Winows 7), however this attempt is outside the box, and has potential to succeed. The show will not stop for ads, however will feature an undetermined number of references and cut away sections to the Windows 7 product.

Microsoft has said that they will have their own copywriters and marketing people involved in the writing of the episodes, I’m sure to ensure that the Family Guy staff keep on target, and don’t use Windows 7 as the target of too many parodies.

Whether this works or not remains to be seen, however we applaud Microsoft for thinking outside the box, and attempting something different. For more information, check out this post.

After an 11 percent drop in second-quater profits and a 12% drop in share prices, Microsoft has announced that it will slash 5000 jobs as a cost cutting measure. They have also declined to issue forecasts for profit for the rest of the year.

“We’re certainly in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime set of economic conditions,” Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said during a conference call. With less access to credit, businesses and consumers are spending less and stretching the life span of their existing computers.

This article on theage.com.au goes into more detail about the move, which is the first of it’s magnitude in the company’s 34 year history.

Have you ever found it frustrating to write a Microsoft Office document, email it to co-workers, wait for them to make edits, make sure your edits aren’t  discarded, then edit again, wait for everyone to re-read and then re-email the latest copy around?  I’m running out of breath, this all sounds a little confusing?

With Microsoft’s new web-based Office application, we won’t be running out of breath. Microsoft has designed a new application where users can access web-based office functions via Office Live Workspace, an online addition to Microsoft Office. The move comes as an attempt to compete with the growing popularity of Google’s online document storage/collaboration service Google Docs.

“Microsoft will begin a public beta test of what it calls the ‘Office Web applications’ later this year. They will allow users to create and edit new documents online from within a web browser”, said Justin Hutchinson, group product manager for Microsoft’s Office Client division, when interviewed at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Hutchinson believes this is a noteworthy change from the capabilities in the beta of live workspace currently available. 1.5 million people have signed up for the beta since it was released saying that this live Workspace marked the first provisional steps by Microsoft to put its profitable Office franchise on the web. And I believe there is no more need for Microsoft Office on your desktop computer…. What do you think?

For more information please check out the source article on Computerworld.

Apple has come out with a couple of clever retorts in response to the now abandoned Bill Gates / Jerry Seinfeld series of ads run by Microsoft, previously posted about here and here.

The first one takes a hit at Microsoft for throwing money at advertising instead of fixing Vista’s problems;

The second pokes fun at Microsoft not mentioning any of their product names in the adverts at all;

Both ads are more entertaining than the Microsoft ads in my book - mostly because “taking the piss” out of something is always a great way to get a chuckle.

Microsoft has released an experiment where users are given the option to move around organic search results, as well as share them with friends and add comments to listings. You will have to register using Windows Live ID to take advantage of U Rank, from which you’ll be able to move, copy, add a note and delete results.

 Below is an image of the options.

With the ability to share your modified results, will this start a trend of social search? No one really knows but it’s definitely interesting. Click here for more details on this new development.

Facebook announced on their blog yesterday that they have now integrated searches on Live.com into the Facebook search box for all US residents. This is a further extension of thepartnership Facebook has with Microsoft that dates back to 2006 when Microsoft first started displaying their ads on the social networking site.

We’re always working on innovative ways to make your experience on Facebook more useful. Toward that goal, today we’ve added Microsoft Live Search to your Facebook search experience (for people in the US). This is the first step in giving you the ability to find content from across the web while using Facebook.

By integrating web search into Facebook, you can increase the information available to share with your friends, family and coworkers on the site. For example, your friend may invite you to an event at a new restaurant. Without leaving Facebook, you can check out the details of the restaurant on the web. Or, say you see photos in your News Feed about a friend’s recent trip to Dubai. Inspired, you can search the web for more information about travel without having to leave Facebook. Along with your search results, you may also begin to see ads for products, services or other things that are relevant to your query.

The feature means that when a users starts typing a search term into the search box they are given the option of searching Facebook or searching the web - meaning users can search without leaving the site. When doing a search of Facebook itself, the results page will have an extra tab of “web” results that a user can click to regardless. Of course relevant ads from Microsoft Adcenter are also displayed with the search results.

The feature is working on my profile also, however the results are very different to those I would recieve searching through NineMSN.