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Why Can’t I Ever Find What I’m Looking...

This post is not for the seasoned Googler.  If you are an SEO or a web designer, if you use Google on a daily basis, or–heck–if you’re under the age of 25… chances are that you already know most of what I’m going to talk about here.  But we have a lot of clients that are still novices in the world of the web.  So this post is for them.  

So….”Why can’t I ever find what I’m looking for on Google?”  I get that question a lot.  More than you know.  And it used to puzzle me to no end, because I am able to very consistently find what I’m looking for on Google. 

I used to think that maybe the people who say they can’t were just searching for different things than I am.  But I guess I spend more time working with search engines than the average person, and that might be giving me an unfair advantage.  Perhaps the biggest reason you might not be able to find what you want is that you’re doing it wrong. 

Sorry, let me back up.  Google’s search algorithm is the most sophisticated of all the engines.  It’s very, very smart.  But we still need to help it along now and then by better describing what we’re searching for. 

1. Drill Down

Let’s talk first about how many words you’re including in your search.  As we discussed in this previous post, one-word searches are a thing of the past.  If you’re only using one word in your Google query, then chances are you’re going to struggle mightily to find what you need.  Here’s a good rule of thumb:  The more information you give Google on what you need, the better the odds are that they’ll return a result that helps you. 

If what you’re really searching for is a how-to guide on setting up your surround sound home theater system, you wouldn’t want to search for just the word “sound”.  Go ahead and try it… I’ll wait.  See, what you get for that search on Google isn’t helpful for your true need.  You get some definitions of “sound,” some official sites for radio stations or company’s with “sound” in their name, some free sound effects sites, and more stuff that won’t actually help you install that new killer sound system in your living room. 

So we need to drill down.  How about typing “surround sound system?”  This query is more specific, so Google returns results that are a bit more pertinent… but still not helpful for what you ultimately need.  You get sites that want to sell you a “surround sound system,” you get sites that explain how surround sound works, you get some buying guides, and one site that claims to tell you “how to buy and set up” a surround sound system. 

Good.  We’re getting closer. 

But we don’t want to buy one–we already bought the thing.  We don’t need to know how surround sound works (the science behind it)… we just want to hear it. 

So let’s just tell Google what we want to do, in as specific a way as possible.  Type “how to set up surround sound home theater system.”  Viola!  Like magic Google returns 10 listings on the first page of results that offer assistance in setting up a home theater system.  Awesome.  Great job, Google! 

But you see how we had to help them get there, right?  We were too vague at first.  So the first rule of finding what you want on Google is to be as specific as possible. 

Helpful Tip:  Another great way to drill down is to type a location name, particularly if you’re searching for a local service such as a CPA, mechanic, or dentist.  Typing “dentist” won’t help you find one nearby, but typing “dentist Nashville” will–assuming you live in Nashville, obviously.  So use place-names.  They are terribly helpful for getting accurate results.

2. Operators

Google’s search engine can take special commands.  Operators are commands in your query that tell Google to only return a certain kind of result.  A lot of them you probably know already. 

• For instance, the “+” character.  This operator forces words to be coupled together in a query.  So if you’re searching for chocolate animals, and you put the “+” character between the two words, your results will consist only of sites that have both those words on the page. 
• You can also use the “+” sign to have Google calculate basic arithmetic for you.  Typing 3654 + 7557 yields the actual sum of 11211–click here to see it yourself. Replace the plus sign with an “x” and you’ll get the total of those two numbers multiplied together–it’s 27,613,278 if you’re too lazy to click the link. 
• The minus character (“-”) eliminates certain words from results.  So if you want to know about bass–the fish–and want to filter out any results related to the musical version of the word “bass”, you could type “bass -music” into Google and get a list of results for pages containing the word “bass” but not the word “music.” 
• How about quotes?  Do you use quotes when you search?  You should, particularly if you want to find a site that has the exact phrase you type verbatim.  A great example of this is finding the name for a song you know only a partial lyric for.  I do this all the time.  Maybe you remember those commercials a few months back for the Apple Video iPod Nano, where the singer in the video sang, “1, 2, 3, 4, tell me that you love me more?”  So type in “1, 2, 3, 4, tell me that you love me more” into Google and guess what?  Every result is related to that song, the singer, or the commercial.  I was able to find out right away what the song was called (it’s called “1 2 3 4″) and who sang it (a new artist named Feist) in a matter of seconds.  And lots of people did this, by the way.  That song was the number one iTunes download in a matter of a week or so after the commercial started airing. 
• Use the “or” operator to cover multiple versions of the same word or phrase.  This is especially helpful when a word has more than one spelling (like “donut” or “doughnut”) or when someone or something has multiple names (like “Puff Daddy” or “P Diddy“). 

3. Advanced Operators

Google will give you all kinds of information if you just know how to ask for it. 

• Want to see how many websites link to yours?  Type “link:yourwebsitedomain.com” (obviously, you’ll want to replace “yourwebsitedomain” with your actual website domain).  Here, let’s try it with our official company website.  Typing “link:www.kbsweb.com” in the Google search box returns only sites that link to ours.  Looks like there are 502 websites linking to ours.  Hey–that’s more than I would have guessed. Want to see something neat?  Try the link command with Google’s website, typing “link:www.google.com” and see what you get.  Yup.  Over 3 million pages that link to Google’s home page.  Boy have we got some catching up to do, eh?
• What if you want to search only on one specific website.  For instance, Yahoo.  You can use the “site:” operator to restrict the Google results to a specific root URL.  So typing “sports site:www.yahoo.com” will only return results that are Yahoo pages that deal with sports. 
• Use Google as a dictionary, and find definitions for new words in a snap.  Maybe you need to know the definition of “hypothyroidism.”  If so, type “define: hypothyroidism” into Google and you’ll get a list of multiple definitions. 
• The “related” operator is handy for finding sites that are similar to one you already know.  So, you know Google is a search engine.  Say you want to find some more search engines, maybe some you’ve never heard of.  Just type “related:www.google.com” and you’ll get a whole list.  So nice of Google to provide a list of their competitors, don’t you think?
• Do you trade in the stock market?  The “stocks:” operator will treat everything that follows it as stock ticker symbols.  So typing “stock:yhoo” yields all sorts of information about Yahoo’s stock. 
• Find movie reviews and show-times with the “movie:” operator.  Type “movie:cloverfield” as an example, or just click here. 
• How about weather?  Yup.  Just type the word “weather” and add a city name or a zip code to see the latest forecast. 
• You can use Google for currency conversions.  Want to know how many U.S. Dollars you can get for your 500 Euros?  You can.  Just type “500 Euros to Dollars” into the search box and you’ll have your answer.  ($739.80 if you don’t feel like clicking). 

There are tons of operators other than the ones I mention here.  In fact, here’s a very handy site that has a huge list of all the various ways you can search for information on Google.  Or you can go to Google’s own official help center.

I hope this article helps you feel empowered to be a better Googler.  I hope that these tips will help you get more accurate results so that you never again have to say “Why can’t I ever find what I’m looking for on Google?”  Perhaps instead you’ll be saying, “Why am I so awesome at finding whatever I need on Google?”  I know I ask myself that question every morning when I look in the mirror.  Now, you can be just as awesome. 

So go.  Spread the news.  Google is a powerful tool, standing by night and day to assist in connecting you with the very information you need.  Sometimes we just need to provide better information up front to help it along.  Your training is complete, grasshopper. 

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Posted by Jeremy Scott | 0 Comments

The TSA is Blogging!

So blogging is a big deal.  Everyone’s doing it, even us (you’re reading our blog right now).  If you don’t have a blog, you’re behind the trend, right? 

So it should make perfect sense that the Transportation Security Administration launched a blog yesterday.  The TSA, if you didn’t know, is the organization that attempts to ensure that you don’t board an aircraft with a lighter or a big bottle of shampoo or any other deadly weapon. 

Okay, they’re looking for guns and bombs and knives too.  And by all accounts they do an excellent job.  Wait…. no…. maybe that’s not right.  Sometimes they let fake bombs through.  But hey….with millions of air travelers a day, they can’t be expected to catch everything, can they?  What’s the harm in a fake bomb getting through the security checkpoint anyway?  I mean….it’s a fake bomb… not a real one. 

Oh, wait.  But if a fake one can get through, then probably a real one could.  That would be bad.  Hmmm. 

Maybe the TSA annoys you by patting you down every time you go through screening.  Maybe they annoy you by unwrapping your Christmas presents you packed in your suitcase during the holidays.  Maybe they annoy you by not stopping fake bombs.  Regardless, if you want to give them some feedback, The TSA is blogging now, and you can now leave them a comment.  They promise they’ll be reading them and reacting to them:

“We will incorporate what we learn in this forum in our checkpoint process evolution,” Hawley wrote. “Our postings from the public will be reviewed to remove the destructive, but not touch the critical or cranky.”

So they’re also going to censor the comments, deleting the “destructive” ones.  Not sure what qualifies as a destructive comment, but I’m guessing it would be vulgarity or threats.  Apparently, the critical and cranky comments are allowed.  But when I went to the blog, which you can find here, I saw 162 comments on the main post, and I had to scroll pretty far through them to even find some negative feedback. 

I find that hard to believe.  I think people are generally quite negative.  I also think people are generally not satisfied with the TSA, whether or not it’s fair.  I don’t want to be a conspiracy theorist, but I think there should be more negative comments on the blog than we’re currently seeing.  But maybe the word hasn’t gotten out yet.  Right now, many of the comments seem to be coming from actual employees of the TSA–screeners–and they seem to be very supportive and encouraging. 

Not everyone feels so supportive:

“This will just make it easier for them to receive complaints for them to ignore in the name of national security,” said David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association.

I say:  at least they’re trying something.  At least they’re trying to improve their feedback system and trying to reach out to consumers.  At least the TSA is blogging.  I think more government agencies need to blog, like the CIA and the FCC and the White House staff.  Everything can be improved with the help of a blog–imagine the comments people would leave on that blog!

Anyway, if you want to let the TSA know what you think of the job they’re doing, head on over to their brand spanking new blog and leave them a comment.  I can’t promise it will do any good, but it can’t hurt. 

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Posted by Jeremy Scott | 12 Comments

Wal-Mart is Trying to Put Us Out of Business With ...

What do you think of when you hear the words “Wal-Mart?”  Discount retailer?  Grocery store?  Evil corporate giant? 

How about “Search Engine Specialists?”  Yeah, me neither.  But that’s not stopping them from trying to sell you SEO services.  SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.  It’s the process of rewriting your website’s code and content to better communicate with the search engines–the end result being that you rank better on search engines like Google for your targeted keyword phrases. 

We know a bit about SEO–and by “a bit” I mean “a great deal”–and we’ve helped many clients acheive higher rankings for their website.  It’s not rocket science, but it’s a time-consuming, detailed process that can take plenty of time.  The industry average for cost on a typical SEO project is well over $1000.

Wal-Mart is selling “Online Marketing” services for as low as $30/month. Think about that. 

Honestly, I shouldn’t have expected anything different from them.  I have bought jeans from Wal-Mart just because they can offer me jeans at a rock-bottom price (usually under $15).  They’ve built their business on rock-bottom prices.  Usually they can do so because they are buying in bulk and they’re buying cheap products that are (often) made in China. 

But is SEO work the same as buying a pair of jeans? Wal-Mart is fine for buying my Cheetos, my Wranglers, and my deodorant.  But I like a little expertise and value from my marketing expenses, thank you very much.

Let’s look at their website for more detail.  It says that, for your $30/month, you get the following:

-Profile creation tool with unlimited updates  
-Profile distribution to major search engines and online Yellow Page directories like YPGuides.
-Hand submission of your website URL to the major search engines and directories

Now allow me, for a moment, to take these one by one.  First of all, what is a “profile?”  I have no idea.  It is a Wal-Mart creation.  I’m assuming they will build a profile of your company in their own database and allow you to update it.  But it’s not a common SEO term.  It’s fluff.

The second item they give you for your thirty bucks is…drumroll please….submission of your business profile to a bunch of yellow pages directories.  Ugh.  Look, you can follow your heart here, but I don’t think yellow pages websites are much of a value.  People who trust the yellow pages brand name are just using the book.  People who have embraced the web as an information-finder are savvy enough to be using Google and Yahoo, and they’re not just going to the yellow pages site out of some sort of brand loyalty.  So, ultimately, I don’t think having your “profile” (whatever that is) submitted to the yellow pages sites is worth your time or money.

Lastly, they’re promising to “hand-submit” your site to the major search engines.  Wow.  Okay, so hand-submitting a site to Google or Yahoo used to be a common SEO step.  But the engines have evolved to a point where it’s no longer necessary.  If you launch a site, the engines will find it.  You simply don’t need to hand-submit.  Even if you did need to (or want to), once you’re included in the index of a search engine there really isn’t any reason to submit again.  So Wal-Mart is going to sell you a monthly service that no longer needs to be done, and when it did need to be done it was only a one-time thing. 

Save your money.  I know $30 a month sounds like a deal, but try to resist.  I mean, I’ll sell you some bottled  air for $30–one new bottle of air each month for one low monthly price.  You’d get about the same value as you would with Wal-Mart’s SEO services. 

SEO is a time-consuming thing.  It’s an ongoing thing.  It’s not a quick-fix.  And it’s WAY more than just creating a mysterious profile, sending that profile to spammy yellow pages sites, and performing the archaic and unnecessary task of hand-submitting a site to the engines.  SEO is done on the page…on your actual site. You can’t just submit your site to some yellow pages and expect to rank on the first page for anything you want.  There’s a reason your site doesn’t rank number 1…and that’s because someone else who paid more than $30/month got an experienced SEO Specialist to move ahead of you and into that spot. 

I don’t know what’s more ridiculous… that Wal-Mart is selling SEO services, or that many people will buy this worthless service because it’s cheap and it’s from Wal-Mart.  If you want  your website marketing to come from the company that specializes in cheap prices and long lines, then by all means…go right ahead.  Just know that you’re reading the blog of a company that can offer professional SEO services–services that will actually make a dent in your search rankings… services that we will fully explain and lay out in advance.  It will cost you more than $30 a month, but you’ll get a lot more value. 

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Posted by Jeremy Scott | 2 Comments

Britney Spears is Good for the Economy…Reall...

Here’s a brand new reason to care about the welfare of Britney Spears:  She’s good for the economy.  Really good.  Like… $120 Million-a-year good. 

Yeah, you read that right.  According to this article, it is estimated that Britney Spears adds between $110-$120 Million to the U.S. economy per year….and that’s when she’s not out on a concert tour. 

Clearly Britney is popular–she’s the most-searched phrase on the Internet for 2007 (and 5 of the 6 previous years as well).  And everyone groans when I mention that… as though they feel someone or something else deserves our national attention.  And I’m sure there’s some truth in that.  But you can’t say she’s not pulling her weight in terms of the economy. 

Here’s a longer article that goes into detail on why she’s worth so much to us in terms of dollars.  See, Britney’s mere existence creates jobs and puts food on the tables of many. 

There are the papparazi photographers who take her picture (and follow her around all day).  Then you consider the magazines that print those photos, and the subscriptions and sales dollars they bring in.  Don’t forget that she’s also a singer, whose albums have made a ton of money for her label, her PR people, and her managers.  She’s been in movies and music videos, has her own perfume, and even starred in her own reality show.  When you break it all down, you can easily see how they arrived at the $120 Million figure.  And if she were on a concert tour, then that number would climb even further, with tour employees, merchandise sales, venue revenue, and so on. 

But the lion’s share of the money she adds to the economy is related to the magazine/tabloid industry.  From the article:

Spears is just one of many stars driving the growing multibillion dollar celebrity news industry. But the Spears story in particular, with a new twist nearly every week, has become a very profitable sub-sector unto itself.

“Britney is the most bankable celebrity out there right now, and she has been for the past year,” said Francois Navarre, founder of the paparazzi agency X17.

And the people who buy those magazines and read them online are the same people who search for her enough online each year to make her the most-searched phrase.   As depressing as it may be, there’s no denying the demand for Britney-related information.

So now I come to the issue of having a vested interest in her well-being.  If anything bad were to happen to her that would cause her popularity to wane…it would be bad for the economy.  And the economy can’t take too many more hits right now, if you know what I mean. 

So maybe instead of groaning when we see her on the cover of another magazine or wishing she would go away…perhaps we should count our blessings.  She may be a train wreck… but she’s a profitable one, at least as far as the U.S. economy is concerned.  I don’t know how much you add to the national bottom line, but I bet it’s not as much as Britney. 

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Posted by Jeremy Scott | 5 Comments

You Still Cannot Read the Wall Street Journal Onli...

Rupert Murdoch, the Chief Executive of NewsCorp (which recently purchased the Wall Street Journal) has announced that, contrary to industry trends, the newspaper will not offer all of its content online to people without a subscription. So if you’re hoping to read the Wall Street Journal online for free, you’re out of luck.

Which means that the headline of this post might as well be “I Will Continue to Get My News from Sources Other Than the Wall Street Journal.”

The web changed things, folks. Every newspaper groaned and whined as they slowly realized that there was enough free news online that people simply weren’t willing to pay a subscription fee to access a paper’s website. Heck, real-world subscriptions have continued to take a nosedive over the last few years as well. And why not? I know that I can go to Google and search the news section by topic and location and find just about anything I need to know in the world of news. Why would I pay for a paper or online newspaper subscription?

But Murdoch is betting that folks see some extra value in the Wall Street Journal name, so while he is going to offer more free content on the site, there will still be premium features and services that only come with a $99/year subscription. Here’s a quote:

“The really specialized (material) giving the greatest insights, that will still be a subscription service.”

I hear tell they have some finance insight that is apparently of great value. Great. Good for them. Know what? There are tons of free finance-advice sites that I can go to. I have a hard time believing that the Wall Street Journal has cornered the market on insights. I don’t read the Wall Street Journal…never have. But I know that some people who do read it are pretty devoted to it. Maybe their writers have some unique insight into the world’s news that other newspapers’ writers don’t have… but I’m struggling to see the value.

Instead, what I see is an old-world media magnate who wants to cling stubbornly to an archaic business model. In the world of the web, advertising dollars are everything. Advertising is the fuel of the web, and that’s why you see more and more free content online that you used to have to pay for in the real world. Like cable television shows that you can now stream for free on sites like Comcast’s Fancast or at Hulu.

As recently as a few years ago it was a big deal when shows like Lost started streaming episodes online for free the day after they aired. Networks realized that as long as their shows get viewers, it doesn’t matter if they come from TV or online. And viewers equal advertising dollars.

There is no better time of year to discuss this issue than now, with the Super Bowl coming up. It is the mother of all advertising-driven events. The Super Bowl is viewed by more than 100 million people, and yet you don’t have to pay a penny for it. It’s the biggest event of the year in terms of viewership and popularity and buzz….but it’s entirely free. Why do you think that is? It’s because the NFL is not stupid. And by making it free to everyone instead of a pay-per-view event like a boxing match, they get more viewers. And more viewers means they can charge even more for ad time ($2.6 million this year).

Look, there are thousands of new rich people who made their money by starting a website and getting enough traffic to it that they could sell advertising. There’s a 17-year-old gal who makes $70,000 a month from advertising by giving away free “skins” for MySpace profile pages. So the old-school business model would be to charge a few bucks a pop for each MySpace skin. But that wouldn’t be nearly as popular a site as one that touts “free MySpace skins.” The new business model is “give stuff away, and then sell ads.”

And you would think that Murdoch would get this, since his NewsCorp owns MySpace (and paid hundreds of millions of dollars for it). And MySpace is a site that’s free to use. Free to its over-180-Million users. So how are they monetizing it? Advertising.

Geez, I’m repeating myself so much that even I’m starting to think I’m a broken record.

So it just baffles the mind that you still cannot read the Wall Street Journal online for free, and won’t be able to do so anytime soon. And that this news comes on the heels of this article that talks about how newspaper websites are soaring in terms of readership. I’d be tempted to call it a shame, if I couldn’t just go find my news for free at… oh…. any other news site on the Internet! Don’t mistake my ranting for anger. I have no ill will toward Mr. Murdoch or his fancy newspaper. And if they can get people to pay $99/year to read the “special insights,” then more power to them. They are among the more popular subscription sites on the web.

But how many more people would bookmark the site and read the Wall Street Journal online if it were free?

UPDATE:  Here’s a new article detailing another way that the Wall Street Journal demonstrates their disdain for web users.  Apparently, they recently set up accounts so that you can’t have simultaneous logins on separate computers for one account.  So if you log in at home, and forget to manually log out (closing the browser doesn’t do it) and then try to log in on your work computer… you’re stuck.  The system locks your account and you have to call in on a telephone to get it reset.  Ugh.  What a mess.  I really don’t think the WSJ understands how to deal with the Internet or its users. 

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