Beanstalk's SEO News Blog

That's right, there's currently an update underway with results on Google.com appearing to be drawn from two different datacenters. There doesn't seem to be anything major taking place but rather just a minor algorithm shift. That said, the frequency on these updates on Google certainly points the direction they are going.

Webmasters can no longer count on their results to hold steady for more than a week-or-two. This is not to say that website can't remain in high positions for lengthy periods of time, jsut that an exact position is unlikely to hold in an environment where algorithmic updates are common.

I'm just discovered a great little tool. While this tool won't help you with you're rankings it may save you some headaches (it did for me) and best of all ... it's free. :)

If you've ever had a file that you needed to email to someone but found it to be too large (the family vacation video for example) then this is the tool for you. Developed by the same folks that brough us the File4Ward remote PC access software (the tool that allows one to access their computer easily and securely and have files from it emailed to any email address (handy when you've forgotten an important file on your home computer that you need to that important meeting in 10 minutes or if you're travelling and forgot to bring home something from your work computer).

Well now they've developed this tool to let you send large files to others. What it does is uploads the file to their server securely (you can even password protect the file if you wish) and then emails the recipient with the download link (you'll have to contact them with the password if applied, that's what makes it secure). You can use this tool (it's online so don't forget to add it to your favorites) by visiting their site at Large Files ASAP.com.

There's a great article currently appearing on the SEO News homepage by vertran SEO Jim Hedger that is recommended reading for anyone optimizing their own sites or, perhaps more importantly, considering hiring an SEO firm to do it for them.

The article, entitled "15 Shades of SEO Sp@m" covers the top 15 forms of commonly used search engine and SEO sp@m tactics. I was happy to see that it includes such points as search engine submissions and the unethical practice some firms have of charging their clients for this virtually unnecessary service.

This article is highly recommended reading for those just learning the ropes or those about to hire a firm and who should thus know what to look out for. you can read the article on the SEO News homepage at http://www.seo-news.com/.

Well it appears that Google's at it again. What appears to be yet another update (and a significant one in some cases at that) looks to be starting on various Google datacenters. Also included in this update should be a backlink update as the backlink counts on various centers appears to be shuffling between two different numbers.

From initial analysis this update appears to be restricted to an algorithm update. The backlink counts don't appear to be affecting the new results. A point to note, Google pick up new backlink counts internally on an ongoing basis. Link PageRank, the only make this data public periodically but they are using new backlinks in their results as they are detected.

For the web-obsessed out there (and we know who we are right?) there's a great tool to help you quickly and easily monitor multiple datacenters. Best of all ... it's free. McDar provides a free tool to search accross multiple datacenters simultaneously. You can find this tool at http://www.mcdar.net/dance/index.php. Very useful and I would recommend adding it to your Favorites (or "Bookmarks" for those of us who use Firefox).

As many of our clients are already aware, I was subjected to the unfortunate circumstance of having my van stolen - complete with laptop, work computer and a ton of other things one would take on a week-long working vacation.

As anyone with children would know, the most important things though are the things that have little value. The stuffed animals, the favorite toys, etc. Well we've just been informed by the police in Vancouver that while the computers have of course been taken, the kids toys and cloths are still there. They kept their eyes out and found it within 24 hours of the theft.

And so I would like to give sincere thanks to the Vancouver City Police for helping us retrieve the things that can't be replaced. As for the computers, cameras, etc. - that's what insurance and backups are for.

There's a great article by Jason Miller, staff writer for WebProNews on the upcoming increase in Microsoft's push for the search market.

Microsoft's counter assault to AdSense (adCenter) will be launching in full force in June, up from the 20% of paid listings it currently provides in the MSN search results. Microsoft unveiled it's adLab yesterday.

While it's not up yet the adCenter will be available shortly at http://advertising.msn.com/searchadv/. This story will shed some light on this important move by Microsoft at this relatively early point in what's sure to be a major battle for the eyeballs of the world by these two giants. You can read the full article on the WebProNews website here.

While we do generally restrict our blog posts to news related to SEO, search engines, etc. it does occasionally happen that we stumble upon something funny or interesting that we feel we have to share, whether-or-not it happens to relate to the ranking of your website. Today is such a day.

Thanks to all our visitors, clients, and the wonderful search engines that keep us so busy I've only just today had the opportunity to read through some of the "entertainment newsletters" that I'm subscribed to (in this case I'm referring to a Dilbert newsletter (yes, I'm THAT geeky) from back in November (and yes, I really don't get to the "computers are for entertainment" part of things very often ... thanks Jagger ;)

In his newsletter Scott Adams (the cartoonist responsible for Dilbert) noted that they're currently giving away a free eBook version of his book, "God's Debris". Being the geek that I am I immediately downloaded it and over my lunch began to read it (and yes again, I sit at my computer during lunch. Truly - there is no hope.:)

Thus far the book's a very good read. It's only 136 pages and the font size is big so it'll be quick too. For anyone interested you can download a free copy of the eBook here.

Enjoy. :)

Just as a head's up, we've been seeing some significant fluctuations in the current rankings on Google and there appears to be some fluctuation of PageRank going on as I type this blog entry.

This is likely the beginning of the update that Matt Cutts (software engineer for Google) was referring to in his blog about an update early in January.

As the first update after Jagger we can be certain that it will be big and include some very interesting changes to the way rankings and perhaps even PageRank are calculated.

Keep watching this blog and/or signup for Beanstalk's month newsletter to keep updated on the latest news and goings on with this update and other important SEO topics.

For all the Google-watchers out there (you know ... those of you visiting the site or reading this blog :) here's a head's up ... There's Something About Google.

When I walked in this morning I found that the current results had changed dramatically (much to the favor of Beanstalk I might add). of course I got very excited at the current events and immediately messenged a few of my contacts in various parts of the world. Sadly, only those in the west seemed to be seeing the same thing as me.

I then went to check the BigDaddy server (Google's testing server for algorithm updates as indicated by Matt Cutts (software engineer for Google) on his blog (highly recommended reading by-the-way). BigDaddy gave a completely different set of results than either of us previous two.

So it appears that if the update hasn't started yet it's very close. Matt also predicted (remember, he works at Google) that the update would be occuring in early January which matches my prediction and a note in a previous blog entry, they generally occur on a Thurday or Friday (my personal reason for this being that it's inconvenient to SEO's - the real reason probably being that this time gives them a chance to adjust any issues before the majority of work-related searches begins again on Monday).

Just to inconvenience my personally it's sure to happen on Friday night. I say this because I have family plans for the weekend and this would be the single most inconvenient time possible. ;)

So the update is coming. Enjoy the show and good luck. I'll be reporting back on Monday (perhaps sooner if something VERY big happens) so be sure to add our blog to your favorites so you'll have easy access to new updates on this and other major search engine events.

I should also note: in case there's any confusion, the image is NOT one of Google co-founder Sergey Brin caught in a compromising pose. In fact it is a Fireworks image combining an image of Brin (copyright Google, Inc.) the Google logo (again, copyright Google, Inc.) and the DVD cover from the movie "There's Something About Mary" copyright FOX).

For those of you that are regular visitors to Beanstalk's SEO blog or website you may have noticed that on December 12, 2005 we put a hold on accepting new clients. This hold has been lifted though we will only be accepting 4 to 5 (depending on the size) new clients between now and the end of January.

We keep our client list limited in order to insure that the quality control is high in all the sites we work on. The "downside" of the guarantee - we have to make sure we do a good job on every site we optimize.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

I was recently asked if there was a tool to check if a domain was blacklisted or not (the person asking the question was deciding whether to buy a domain name that had previously been owned, had a 0 PageRank however there were no links to the site either).

The answer is yes and this resource will give you mroe than that in regards to domain name information. The resource Im talking about is whois.sc.

Run a whois search on this site and you're receive an enormous amount of information on that domain, including whether it's blacklisted or not. :)

Their Domain Explorer is excellent for people who want some tips on good domain names. You simply enter a word(s) and itwill provide lists of available domain names that contain it. Remember though, keyword stuffing domain names DOESN'T WORK (and it just looks silly). Sometimes a hyphen is OK (of course I say that ... look in your address bar) but there's a big difference between beanstalk-inc.com and beanstalk-seo-services-guaranteed-search-engine-positioning-optimization-internet-marketing-firm.com. ;)