I’m not seeing it yet, but Google was nice enough to include a picture of what the new bar will look like in their blog post.

The new Google bar will sit in the same place as the black bar did but links to various services will appear in a new drop-down menu. If the service you need does not appear in the menu, simply hover over the “More” link at the bottom of the list.

What do you think about Google's latest rounds of design changes? Are they an improvement over the way Google products used to look?

To learn more about the new menu, Google has released the following video or visit their Help Center.

Many companies regularly use humor in their marketing efforts.  Old Spice comes to mind, with their ridiculously funny spots featuring Isaiah Mustafa, and recently Fabio (although I’d contest the latter isn’t as funny as the originals were, but I digress…) Since Google dominates the search engine market in America, it’s a good bet that when they change up their home page with a doodle, or add a couple of Easter eggs in the mix, people will notice.

Even though these tricks provide no real value for web SEO, they’re fun to play around with, talk about, and especially blog about!

FEELING LUCKY TRICKS

1. Google Gravity

A site created by web developer Ricardo Cabello.  At first glance, it looks like the familiar Google home page, but suddenly all the elements of the page fall down.

2. Google Sphere

Here’s another one from Cabello.  The Google logo and search bar are in the center of the page, and all the other elements are orbiting around them.

This algorithm update follows several Panda updates and last year’s caffeine update, which focused on the speed of indexing new content.

If I search for [olympics], I probably want information about next summer’s upcoming Olympics, not the 1900 Summer Olympics (the only time my favorite sport, cricket, was played). Google Search uses a freshness algorithm, designed to give you the most up-to-date results, so even when I just type [olympics] without specifying 2012, I still find what I’m looking for.

Several searches appear as normal, in my quick review. One that stands out is a search for Las Vegas (We’re attending Pubcon next week). It shows a few more universal search components (maps, images, news, etc.). One another unrelated search, I noticed that Google+ Circle information is beginning to appear next to a picture of those in my circles.

As social indicators and author rank continue to be of interest, we see the correlation of people and their interests rollout as important search factors within Google. Bing, as the decision engine, seems to be lagging behind in this space but I’m expecting more in 2012. Just a gut feel at this point.

Privacy and SSL encryption are important to a lot of internet users. Google recognizes this and is always looking for ways to improve online security for its users. A major announcement was published yesterday on the Google Blog, touting enhanced search privacy for signed-in users.

Last year, Google introduced an encrypted search service for those who opted to use it. Now that same service will be the default search experience for users signed-in to their Google Accounts, redirecting them to https://www.google.com. According to Evelyn Kao, Product Manager at Google, the change will encrypt search queries and the results page. “As search becomes an increasingly customized experience, we recognize the growing importance of protecting the personalized search results we deliver,” wrote Kao. For those not signed in or for those who don’t have a Google account the secure site can still be accessed by navigating directly to https://www.google.com.

What does this mean for Analytics?

Currently webmasters are able to see when a visitor arrives via Google, complete with the query. Once this change rolls out, that search query will no longer be available. Those visits will still be attributed to organic search, but webmasters will see “not provided” in place of the actual search query.

Search query data will still be available in an aggregated list through Google Webmaster Tools and will show the top 1000 search queries bringing in traffic over the past 30 days.

Several Googlers estimate this change to impact a minor amount of website visits, and Matt Cutts estimates the impact to be as small as a single-digit percentage.

What are your thoughts? Is this a good or bad change for webmasters, business owners, and search marketers? For searchers?

For example, if a result’s page consists mostly of a structured list, Google will show “a list of three relevant rows or items underneath the result in a bulleted format.” Google also plans to include an approximate count of the total items listed on the page.

In the past week, Google has launched rich snippets for music and +snippets for those using Google+ and the +1 button. Keep an eye out as Google plans to make more improvements to snippets in the future.

In just a short time, the Google +1 button has reached over 4 billion daily views. That number will most likely continue to rise with the announcement of 2 new features.

Share directly with Google+ circles
As of yesterday Google+ users can easily share a webpage with a designated circle by using the +1 button. Simply click on the +1 button as usual and look for the “Share on Google+” option. From there leave a comment, specify a circle and share your link.

+Snippets
Snippets have also been added and “automatically include a link, an image, and a description in the sharebox.” Google is calling these “+snippets.” Seeing a snippet along with a link makes the content more engaging when a link is shared. Along with this change Google is giving publishers the opportunity to customize their snippets, giving them the ability to determine what is displayed.

Both of these changes are rolling out over the next week and should encourage the sharing of more content via Google+. And as daily views increase and Google receives more feedback, I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of the changes to Google+ and the +1 button. Stay tuned.

Social Search features links shared by your friends on the web based on the relevancy to your search. An annotation will show up under the link stating where the link appears and which of your friends shared it.

In order to see Google+ posts in your search results you must be signed into a Google account and the posts must be public.

Changes are coming to Google Product Search. According to the announcement on the Google Merchant Blog, new feed specifications and policies will go into effect starting Sept. 22, 2011. Merchants who fail to comply will find their products missing from Google Product Search.

The changes line up with Google’s goal “for shoppers to quickly and easily find the information they need on Google Product Search – and in turn to send more shoppers to our merchants.” Google has put together a document outlining the changes for each specific country affected by the changes. Merchants in the U.S. should be aware of the following requirements:

• Availability: Whether an item is in stock or not, Google would like users to be able to find your product. Google will now require the [availability] status be listed for all of your items.
• Google Product Category: Google has added a new required high-level attribute called [google product category] that contains the category of the item in Google’s taxonomy. This is in addition to the current [product type] attribute.
• Images: Google is making [image link] a requirement and encourages you to submit up to 10 additional product images through [additional image link], thus improving the visual representation of your products.
• Apparel: In order to create a better experience for product variants such as dresses or shoes that are available in multiple colors or sizes, Google is asking you to include information like [size] and [color] in your product feed. In addition, they require you to provide [gender] and [age group].
• Data Freshness: Google will continue to regularly check feeds for accuracy of pricing, availability, and general product information. They will take action against accounts that violate their standards.

To see the complete list of changes for the United States and prepare for the upcoming changes, refer to the following resources:

• New Google Product Search feed specifications
• Summary of attribute requirements in table form
• New Google Product Search merchant policies
• Tips for submitting apparel products
• List of changes to feed specification

Fishkin’s company is a leading provider of search engine optimization software and his efforts to get websites to rank in Google have compelled Fishkin to delve deeply into why some sites show up No. 1 as others don’t even make it into the top 100 search results.

Utah is the only spot in North America that SEOmoz will visit during MozCation. Next Fishkin is off to Brazil, Peru and Spain.

SEO.com: Do you and Cutts have a pretty interesting relationship?

Fishkin: “Interesting” is a very good adjective to describe it. He is a good guy, but … I want to be very transparent and open.”

SEO.com: Will you characterize your interaction with Google since starting your career in SEO?

Fishkin: Early in my career I struggled for a long time to figure out how Google ranked pages and why some things ranked and some things didn’t … It’s frustrating to those in the (SEO) industry and it’s frustrating to me too.

The reason that I am frustrated with them is that I don’t feel there is a conflict. We’re on the same team as Google. I’ll use a football analogy; Google is a quarterback refusing to use us — all its great receivers. Throw the ball and let people like us move it forward for you.

SEO.com: How does Google view SEO companies?

Fishkin: My bias would be that I think Google views the situation more risky than it really is … So they operate from a perspective of fear.

SEO.com: What’s your major beef with the search giant?

Fishkin: They’re not transparent. We’re very open, and if Google would go that one step to be much more transparent they would earn a lot of people’s trust and they would earn a lot of forgiveness when they screw up.

SEO.com: When has Google “screwed up” in the past?

Fishkin: Google spam is a huge problem.

SEO.com: How is SEOmoz more open with information than Google?

Fishkin: There is not very much that we would not make public. Clearly, transparency has been really good for us. I’ll tell you our revenue, the number of users who have a pro account. I’ll tell you the sources I am pursuing for venture capital financing.

And that’s exactly what I would do with all the results I care about.

April 1, 2011

GOOGLEPLEX– An attempt by an SEO technician to obtain the coveted Google search algorithm has ended in tragedy. It is believed that John Cerchingin, a former SEO specialist at Utah-based SEO.com, died this week after catching a glimpse of the code.

Cerchingin was pronounced dead at the scene.

Obtaining the algorithm had become the man’s obsession, said Ash Buckles, president of SEO.com.

“It’s the Holy Grail of SEO,” Buckles said about the code. “Obviously, the firm that obtains the algorithm first will propel all of their clients to the top of the search results with ease. Other SEO companies would find it difficult to compete.”

SEO geeks everywhere have sought the algorithm for years. Google uses the code to determine which sites rank highest during online searches.

SEO specialists have sacrificed lots in their attempts to obtain the algorithm. But until now the quest hadn’t claimed any lives.

Before Cerchingin, nobody searching for the algorithm made it farther than the Googleplex guard shack. However, video has surfaced on You Tube showing Cerchingin deep inside the Internet giant’s Silicon Valley headquarters.

“This is it,” Cerchingin said on the video. “Matt Cutts said no SEO firm would ever obtain the algorithm … Google has finally met its match.”

Cutts is Google’s search engine optimization expert.

On the video, Cerchingin is inside a storage closet. He appears to be alone shooting the film himself.

“I am inside the bowels of the devil,” he said softly.

Cerchingin explained that he entered Google headquarters from the roof. The video showed where ceiling tiles were removed, allowing him access to the closet.

“Who knew that the algorithm was stored in a shabby broom room,” Cerchingin said.

The plan unraveled when Cerchingin connected to equipment in the closet. Excited to finally obtain the algorithm, the SEO technician can be seen briefly at the end of the film hunched over near the suspected algorithm after the camera is overcome by a flash of light.

The authorities said the results from an autopsy may not be available for several weeks.

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