home james SEO & PPC Monthly Digest

Presenting a new series of blog posts from home james - the most important stories in search and SEO for the last month, all in one easy to digest post.

Google rolls out large algorithm change – more emphasis on TrustRank

We, like most UK-based search agencies, have been experiencing some fluctuation in rankings since the start of the month, and this is why. Google has now rolled out a major algorithm update, nicknamed “Vince”, to the UK. It’s been live over the pond for about 6 months, and features the increased influence of something known as TrustRank. This is factor in the ranking decision, and can be aligned to PageRank. However, rather than just counting the number and quality of links to a website, TrustRank measures how close those links are to “known sources of trust”. Of course, Google hasn’t published this list and never will, but it’s a good guess that sites like the BBC and Wikipedia are amongst those. Noticeably, big brands are doing well out of this – many of them are closer to these sources of trust than your average Joe’s website, and have more coverage in the news.

Google takes aim at Microsoft, squeezes trigger & announces the Chrome Operating System

Following the launch of the Chrome browser 9 months ago, that’s already gained 30 million regular users, Google has now taken aim at Microsoft’s core business – operating systems, namely Microsoft Windows. You may be familiar with it, it’s on around 95% of the world’s computers! However, as Google suggests, the way we run computers on Windows was designed way before the web had as big a part to play in our day-to-day lives as it does now – Chrome OS will be built as a web-centric operating system, with everything focused around the internet. The biggest bullet for Microsoft to swallow though will be the price, Google’s Chrome OS will be FREE. It’ll be available from the 2nd half of 2010 onwards, starting on Netbooks (the newer, small laptops). Read the official line here.

Bing takes 0.5% of Yahoo’s search market share

According to comScore, June’s US market share shows Microsoft’s new Bing search engine gaining on Yahoo. Whilst 0.5% might sound small, it’s still millions and millions of searches and it’s likely to be a similar story here in the UK too. But will it continue after Microsoft’s multi-million pound marketing budget runs out for it?

Google announces figures for Q2 2009 – profits up by 18.4%!

When many large corporations are struggling with the economic downturn worldwide, the continued strength of Google is shown again, with year-on-year Q1 revenue up by 3% and now Q2 profits up by 18.4%! “These results highlight the enduring strength of our business model and our responsible efforts to manage expenses in a way that puts us in a good position for the economic upturn, when it occurs.”, said Google CEO Eric Schmidt.

Yahoo – Microsoft deal on search now likely

Rumours are aplenty that this week will see Yahoo & Microsoft announce a deal on search, with Bing having underlined the latter’s commitment to search, following several failed deals earlier in the year. With talks ongoing, the deal may well be structured around Yahoo sub-contracting it’s search business to MS, with an element of display advertising involved too. Whatever the outcome, it’s likely to alter the search landscape significantly.