The Battle of Ranks

In searches, like all things in life, rank matters. This competitive nature is the catalyst for people to want better things in life, and of course in this modern age, technology continues to outdo itself when it comes to rankings.

Speaking of online computer technology, Microsoft is a distant third at 5% as compared to search engine giant Google which has the majority of share at 70% and Yahoo with 20%. In an effort to claim back its “heyday status” of being the undisputed leader in the computer industry, Microsoft unveiled its own browsing algorithm system called BrowseRank.

BrowseRank was primarily created to enhance user searches by giving more relevant results and hopefully for Microsoft, it would eventually outdo Google's PageRank. This new algorithm system was the result of the collaboration of Microsoft's researchers and scientists from Asian universities.

So whats is the essence of BrowseRank?

1) Human Behaviour - Browserank uses human behaviour in interpreting how relevant the site is. There are millions of webusers compared to webmaters which would give a more democratic result on searches. This would also mean that site manipulation is less likely, but take note, web users can be manipulated also into going into a site by advertisement hype. So results for BrowseRank can be temporal or time bound.

2) Search Relevance - contrary to PageRank, Browserank does not take in account the number of links associated to a particular site but takes into consideration the number of times a user visits a page and how long they are actually staying on that particular page. For example, users spend a long time on social networks like Facebook but as compared to Adobe.com, it has a better PR than Facebook. Why? Because it a lot of links pointing to its site.

PageRank on the other hand have some advantages over BrowseRank mainly on economic level. Moreover, it has the ability to police links and strip site of its PR.

Both algorithm system has issues looming over it and would be better combined to create a very enhanced and relevant search result. Unless someone makes the effort to do that, the "battle of ranks" will continue.

QuestKeys: A Workaround for the Long URL Tangle

This was an article by TechNewsWorld, Billy Canu our CEO was interviewed for:

By Jack M. Germain
TechNewsWorld
Part of the ECT News Network
05/06/08 4:00 AM PT

Startup QuestKeys has a unique take on Web searching and linking. Instead of dealing with long URLs, QuestKeys provides a downloadable toolbar that users can access to quickly find and share favorite pages without being floored by the many links a typical search engine brings up. Getting noticed in a sea of unique search tools may be among the challenges lying ahead for QuestKeys.

Daniel Allen sees a problem faced by Web surfers: How to share long URLs (universal resource locators) with others and quickly locate favorite Web pages or documents without wading through lists of browser bookmarks?

Allen and his wife, Mary Jane, are both self-taught programmers, among other professions. Their answer to the above problem is QuestKeys, a new approach to finding and storing links to Web sites and other digital information using their HyperTransfer Engine and QuestKeys.com.

A QuestKey is a word, number, symbol or phrase that links directly to a Web page when entered into the QuestKeys' HyperTransfer Engine. Each QuestKey is a hypertext link.

Users download the QuestKeys toolbar to their browser and enter the designated QuestKey. The HyperTransfer Engine then goes to the associated hypertext link where the Web page or other data is stored on their own Web site. Those users without their own Web pages can create them through QuestKeys.com and link directly to those pages. QuestKeys offers its users free access to create as many QuestKeys as they need to organize their Internet experience.

QuestKeys users can do more than just bookmark a Web site. They can direct family, friends and others to password-protected links. The QuestKey owner can also allow public access to enhance business marketing by linking to advertised products and services.

"It takes only 35 seconds to set up QuestKeys in the browser. We make it easier to organize Internet content," Daniel Allen, QuestKeys' CEO, told TechNewsWorld.

What It Does

In one place, QuestKeys lets users perform many of the tasks that usually require multiple Web sites and services. The basic hyperlink transfer concept provides users with a feature already available in similar offerings such as TinyURL.com. The tinyurl browser toolbar provides a shortcut method to eliminate typing overly long URLs that often break when pasted into e-mails as hyperlinks.

However, the HyperTransfer Engine the Allens created goes beyond simple bookmark shortcuts. For instance, it allows users to create Web pages that showcase home videos, literature, music, resumes, job listings, coupons, news, images, sales listings, trailers, music videos, business contacts and even script novels.

"It's becoming a virtual business card. Users include their QuestKey on their contact information," he explained. "We've instituted a marketing program that gives store owners a decal saying, 'My name is my QuestKey.'"

Eventually, he hopes his QuestKeys will replace the popular saying "Google me."

Big Crowd

Despite the innovative concept behind QuestKeys, the Allens' startup endeavors face an uphill battle in getting noticed by potential users. The Internet is filled with numerous alternative search methods. Part of the quest for the QuestKeys technology will be to avoid getting lost in the crowd.

That could prove to be one of the Allens' greatest hurdles. They have to figure out how to work QuestKeys into users' minds. The big question is, can QuestKeys get to the point that it has even a fraction of the instinctive familiarity that established search engines have achieved?

"Most [search alternatives] don't provide the 'go-to-it-on-instinct' that Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) or Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) provides. They try to achieve this by similar design styles. The Web provides a platform for people to create new business ideas every day. The question is, are these people doing the market research to find users to support their new ways to search?" Billy Canu, CEO of search engine optimization firm SEOhaus, told TechNewsWorld.

Starting Point

The concept behind QuestKeys grew out of Daniel's frustration when he tried giving directions over the phone or in person to a Web site. This was an ongoing problem for him and his wife, both of whom run other businesses.

To eliminate any further confusion, he created the HyperTransfer Engine to replace long URL names with simple numbers, symbols or phrases. Thus, QuestKeys are for users who know where they're going and want to get there fast.

Solving that problem was an outgrowth of Allen's two personal philosophers. "Don't talk; just do" is one. The other is, "Anything that can be thought can be done."

The Challenge

So far, Daniel said he has not experienced much in the way of challenges other than the actual programming. He and his wife maintain a physical storefront in California for a music and film studio. The QuestKeys business was just an extension of other virtual services. They created dozens of exchange markets on line, copyrighted several source codes and registered numerous trademarks.

The Allens are self-taught programmers, having learned PHP (hypertext preprocessor), JavaScript, Flash and HTML (hypertext markup language) programming languages over the past two years, he said. With this new understanding of dynamic Web page design and development, they only had to figure out how to create the transfer engine.

"The only obstacle was the programming. Knowing how to ask the right questions takes a three-dimensional approach in thinking," he explained.

Working on the coding issues involved so many different ways of coming at the the solutions. Eventually they got over the stumbling blocks, he said.

Revenue Source

To seed a source of profit from the fledgling business, Daniel designed what he dubs the "In Between Advertising Engine." This engine allows advertisers to show their wares in-between every transfer. This is the unused space that Internet users see while waiting for a Web page to load.

On QuestKeys transfers, this space is filled with ads. Much like cable TV ads, advertisers can purchase advertising slots in one or more regions in different time configurations, he said. The technology allows users to sell or lease their QuestKeys advertising space to other vendors.

QuestKeys first launched in the United States and Canada in February 2008, has now populated over 500,000 QuestKeys and is still growing, he said.

Competitive Edge?

As vast as the search engine opportunities are on the Internet, Daniel is confident there's ample room for his unique slice of the action. Others in the business do not disagree with his view.

"Today, the world of the Web is changing dramatically. Search engines to date are all about how to search and how to find -- the search and find model," Venky Harinarayan, cofounder of Kosmix, told TechNewsWorld. Kosmix is an alternative search engine targeting three verticals: health, autos and travel.

Both broad and narrow models work for consumers and are complimentary, he said. For instance, if you want to look for "Hillary Clinton," a traditional search engine is best. However, if you want to look for "castles in Barnsley," a categorization engine like RightTrips.com might you better. Those Web surfers who do not want to get lost in a lot of links and want to have a view of everything in one place might find a Kosmix topics page best, he suggested.

Getting Noticed

Despite growing demand for new search methodologies, QuestKeys could find itself lost in the growing collection of services on the Internet. For instance, other upcoming trends have already gone into full effect, such as video and image searches provided by the big-league search engines like Google and Yahoo, noted SEOhaus' Canu. Instead of just finding an article, people can find the pictures and videos they need for a favorite topic.

Another huge trend right now is the Questions and Answer search. An example of this is Answers.com which provides a community of answers to questions that commonly get searched on the Internet, Canu explained.

What are the best chances of QuestKeys getting noticed by Web surfers in search of a better way? Besides search engine optimization, getting on sites like StumbleUpon.com is a good start, according to Canu. It allows its 5 million members to share different niche and innovative Web sites to get noticed. Also getting on social book marking sites like Digg or Reddit can help propel a site.

Simple SEO 101

How do you explain the "Link Concept" to a non-seo person?

Your answers will vary depending on the audience type you will be speaking with. Though you may know a lot about SEO(Search Engine Optimization), it takes a certain skill set to let someone understand the ideas behind being highly ranked and the critical need for links. It's like doing an advertising pitch or explaining to a child the "birds and the bees". How well you present will show how quickly you can get the idea across for that big "AHA" moment you want your audience to have.

The analogy that i have found most helpful is:

Torch vs. The Bat Signal



So imagine this, your inbound links are like a light from a torch. It is the equivalent of having a link from a PR0 or PR1 site, its not a lot of power and therefore you will not be seen on the Search Engines as competitive enough to shine. While having links come from a well ranked page is like having the powerful light from batman's bat signal!

Clearly enough, the bat signal can and will illuminate the night sky and can be better seen from afar more than a torch light. Evidently, your site will be better ranked and be seen by more. Right? Right!

There are various ways to explain these things to any group.

Happy 10th, Google!

Every time I use Google for searches and whatnots, I always look forward to seeing their logo. Why? Because it’s the only search engine that changes their logo for every season, celebration and event in a colorful way! Today, I saw another interesting design to their already countless logo’s - a party theme!

Today, September 27, 2008, Google celebrates its 10^th birthday, not with a bang but with a project – "Project 10 to the 100th". Instead of the search engine giant receiving a gift, they’re the ones who are giving back to the community… with one requirement – Each individual must help elicit change.

In a span of three months, Google will award $10M to the top five world changing concepts from anyone who dares, regardless of the size or scope. These funds will be used to help these finalists realize their best ideas.

Contest categories evolve around humanitarian nature – helping elicit change in people’s lives from the most basic to the most sophisticated technology.

You may wonder why Google came up with this kind of project so Managing Director for Google, Andy Berndt shared the reason behind:

"Never in history have so many people had so much information, so many tools at their disposal, so many ways of making good ideas come to life. Yet at the same time, so many people, of all walks of life, could use so much help, in both little ways and big."

And with the most apt parting message from Google – MAY THOSE WHO HELP THE MOST WIN.

Is CUIL, CooL?

I was once approached by a colleague-friend about this new search engine, CUIL. We had a sort of a bet if it will be the next technology to snatch Google’s crown for the best search engine on the web. I, being a Google user for the longest time, of course bet my top dollar to Google.

For those who have not heard of CUIL (I know there are still a lot out there), what is CUIL?
CUIL pronounced as “cool” is a Gaelic word which means knowledge or wisdom.
It’s a new search engine which is the brainchild of ex-Google staffer Anna Patterson, who by the way developed TeraGoogle indexing system and hubby Tom Costello, a search engine developer for Stanford University and IBM. TeraGoogle is still being used by Google up to the present.

CUIL was supposed to surpass any search engine on the web with 120 million indexed pages. It has three times the capacity of any search engine today (though Google say it has a Trillion but only index those that are useful).

It has a very fresh layout and aside from its indexed pages, it also managed to impress me on its paging style. Both the top and bottom page margins freeze up when you scroll up and down so you won’t lose sight on the pages while browsing. These offering are a unique feature which hasn’t been developed yet by other search engines. CUIL also has the ability to let you see the content in two to three columns, an option which Google, Yahoo and MSN doesn’t offer. The specific results tab is a cool feature also when you search for a general keyword like “test”. The best feature though so far, which most users would clamor is its Privacy. CUIL never store personal identifiable information on its database. Though, most would prefer this, it’s unlikely to be enough for users to switch from their search engine of choice.

But here is the best part: the true acid test for a search engine is its search results.
CUIL has a distinctive approach to indexing websites. It focuses on the content of each page instead of ranking them based on popularity, as Google does. That may make sense in theory — after all, the most popular restaurants, for example, rarely serve the best food — but it is precisely the model that Google broke away from in order to give users more relevant results. That could explain why a CUIL search on "insomnia" directs the user to the American Insomnia Association rather than to the Wikipedia entry on the subject pulled up first by most other search engines. And for this alone, CUIL falls way short of the industry's leaders, and even, for that matter, of many startups.

On top of that, CUIL only managed to come up with only a web search engine, when Google, Yahoo, MSN and others have search tabs for news, photos, maps and business information. These requirements are considered a basic for any search engine with dreams of competing against the “biggies” in the search engine industry.

And the worst part was, the search engine crashed on launch date, while millions of visitors were well on its way to using it. In short, what looked like a successful public-relations launch is backfiring because the product has failed to meet the lofty expectations that it created. The hype turned into a backlash for its unimpressive performance which could leave long term damage to its name. Backed by reputable investors that have reportedly invested $33m, CUIL will now have to go into damage control instead of riding the momentum, and hope that users and the industry will give it another chance once it works out its kinks.

So, did I double my money? You bet I did!

What's the difference between Alt Tags and Image Text?

I recertly received this question from a friend of mine in the SEO Industry.

To answer the question both tags are geared to inform the visitor of information on the site. Alt tags have been recognized by Google as the more important of the two when it crawls the page. Both can still suffer from keyword stuffing so making sure the density is correct can still be vital.

Alt Tags: Display alternative (alt) text when the browser does not load a photo image for whatever reason, security levels, browser settings. Example: Picture of a Tree does not load it will say "Pine Wood Tree" to show that a picture of a "Pine Wood Tree" should be shown if the browser did load the image.

Image Text - Is a hover over statement about describing the image in greater detail. For example a picture of a Pine Wood Tree may have a hover over describing the picture, "Pine Wood Tree in Colorado Mountains"