Earlier this year there was some guessing as to when Google would make something of the slice of AOL they purchased. Nathan had a tidbit of news and a realistic idea as to what Google might be working on. The idea was to marry AOL Instant Messenger, aka AIM, into the same chat interface found in Gmail. That way Gmail users could also chat with their AIM buddies without having to sign into AIM using their external chat client.
Well, nearly a year later, two years after a joint press release said something like this would happen, that idea has become a reailty. First thing this morning when I signed into Gmail and went to set my online status to unavailable, I found a familiar icon in my list of options. The AIM icon shows up near the bottom of the menu, allowing Gmail users to sign into AIM and access their buddy list in the same Chat area of Gmail.
Once you have selected “Sign into AIM”, a small new pop window appears. Simply sign in using your AIM username and password and your buddy list will be imported into your Chat list. When you are all finished or wish to sign out of AIM, click the drop down arrow to change your status and the text changes to “Sign out of AIM”.
If a user in your Chat list is online using AIM, you will see the AIM icon to the right, and if they are using an away message you will see their status color as orange and their away message will display below if applicable. This new addition to Gmail brings Google another step closer to simplifying, yet improving the online user experience. This is useful for the user who is not on their own computer, i.e., at the library, in a computer lab or a friend’s house. It would also not require users to have the AIM client installed on their computer.
Ryan Douglas manages Paid Search and Comparison Shopping Engines for PlumberSurplus.com, an online retailer of home improvement products including Bathtubs, Sump Pumps, and Bathroom Sinks.
December 5th, 2007
Posted by
Ryan Douglas |
Products, Talk, Services, AOL, Gmail, Email |
no comments
Today is Google’s 9th birthday, you can check out their festive home page logo with the “G” turned into a “9″. Way to go Googlers!
While it has been suggested in the past that the official date for Google’s birthday is September 7th, I think it’s safe to assume Google recognizes the 27th as their actual birthday. A discussion was started on Search Engine Land last week regarding the possibilities of other dates being Google’s actual birthday. Want to say thanks to Google for all they’ve done over the years? Why don’t you leave some comments on SEMSunday’s 5 Reasons to Celebrate Google’s Birthday.
Ryan Douglas manages Paid Search and Comparison Shopping Engines for PlumberSurplus.com, an online retailer of home improvement products including Kitchen
Faucet, Access Door, and Sump Pump categories.
September 30th, 2007
Posted by
Ryan Douglas |
Culture, Search, General |
2 comments
I regularly research Google’s search engine result pages for keywords in our vertical. Along with monitoring our paid advertising, universal search results and organic rankings, I’m interested in keeping a watchful eye on the competition. Along with paying attention to anything smart their doing, I’m definitely on the prowl for sneakiness. Recently, I came across the following page one results on Google for the keywords Access Panels.
The first result, www.accesspanels.net, seemed suspicious. The description, coming from the site’s meta description, seemed a bit spammy, as the two sentences are nearly identical and little care has gone into fully utilizing this content to help searchers. Based on my experience with these keywords, it also surprised me that a .net domain extension had made it to the top spot. Also, I didn’t remember coming across this site before during general competitor research. The domain name was obviously a big plus, in that it mimicked the search, but it still didn’t pass the smell test.
Clicking through to the site gives the impression that it’s an affiliate or possibly a spammer. The appearance, organization and user interface leaves something to be desired. Not a lot of original quality content jumps out. Using a .net tld extension, along with other non .com extensions, on a domain made up of popular keywords is often employed by affiliates or spammers targeting those searches. The sites look and feel, as well as its architecture, hints toward a template application or a run-of-the-mill HTML editor. Another characteristic I noticed was that the information in the footer pertaining to copyright dates appears outdated. It doesn’t take much attention to maintain current dates in this area but an affiliate or spammer may be less inclined to spend their time keeping the boilerplate current.
Finally, and most interestingly for this example, www.accesspanels.net doesn’t sell anything. The header logo and every product listing links out to another domain, www.ameraproducts.com, run by AmeraProducts, Inc. who seems to actually sell product online.
One of the first cursory checks I do while investigating for malicious activity is a “Select All” using CTRL + A. Although this technique won’t catch more sophisticated types of black hat spam, like links hidden in counters, it’s an easy, quick, and useful check to notice blatant hidden text right off the bat. Here is the same site after a CTRL + A.
As you can see, a bunch of hidden texts appears near the top of the site. A quick look at the page’s source code, shows the hidden text being manipulated by coloring it white and placing it in front of an almost all white background image.
Now, it’s one thing for a spammer, affiliate or otherwise, to build spammy sites with hidden text in order to rank well for popular keywords and then link out to a retailer. The retailer may not have any relationship with the spammer. The retailer likely has little, if any, control over the spammer. If the spammer is an affiliate via a third party network, like ShareASale, the retailer can stop paying commissions and report the affiliate to the network, but they can’t likely force the spammy affiliate to stop linking to them.
However, what’s happening here is much more fishy.
First, as you can see in the screenshot below, www.ameraproducts.com links back to the spam-filled www.accesspanels.net stating “visit an informational website about Access Panels & Doors at www.accesspanels.net”.
Second, both domains are registered to AmeraProducts, Inc. as shown in their WHOIS records.
Third, Both sites have the same logo in the header.
Fourth, the email address in the footer of the spam-filled www.accesspanels.net is webmaster@ameraproducts.com.
Fifth, the out of date boilerplate in the footer of www.accesspanels.net reads “© Copyright 1999-2004 AmeraProducts, Inc. All Right Reserved”.
It’s not a long stretch to assume that www.ameraproducts.com is associated with, if not behind, the Number 1 ranked, albeit spam-filled, www.accesspanels.net.
Examples like this offer internet retailers a sobering perspective on black hat competitors. A few issues bubble to the top:
- Honest, white hat retailers are put in a difficult position. If even the most diligent and honorable search engine optimization strategies can be thwarted by easy, simple, dirty tactics like this, retailers have a tough fight ahead. Every time a spammer is knocked down by the search engines, another can quickly rise up and take its place. Frustrated or impatient retailers may begin to wonder if they have a chance at the top rankings if they’re not practicing dirty tactics.
- Websites using hidden text, such as www.accesspanels.net, or practicing other spam techniques will eventually be caught by Google and other search engines. It may not be today, but over time Google’s algorithms, along with their human talent, will learn and grow and become more sophisticated at identifying and dealing with sneakiness. However, in the meantime, the honest e-commerce players lose valuable traffic and conversions.
- If you come across a website that is using hidden text, or other deplorable black hat SEO methods to acheive high organic rankings, take a moment to report the website to the Google Spam Report. With the help of retailers, Google can further improve their search results by removing spam which ultimately improves the experience for their, and your, users.
- Not only does a spammy website face the danger of being caught and reprimanded by Google, which may include being removed from their index, but websites such as those registered to AmeraProducts, Inc. face the harm of having their unethical tactics publicized and their company’s reputation damaged.
Ryan Douglas manages Paid Search and Comparison Shopping Engines for PlumberSurplus.com, an online retailer of home improvement products including Kitchen
Faucet, Access Door, and Sump Pump categories.
September 18th, 2007
Posted by
Ryan Douglas |
Search Optimization, Spam, Search |
2 comments
Google has begun to notify merchants using Google Checkout that Google Checkout pixel tracking was temporarily disabled from July 10 to July 18 due to an issue associated with system maintenance earlier in the month. Pixel tracking allows internet retailers to send Google Checkout conversion data to third parties. While disabled, the feature was unable to report conversions. Many online merchants have worked hard to integrate Google Checkout data with comparison shopping engines, affiliate networks, analytics vendors, third party bid management firms and others. Google has been contacting affected merchants via email and leaving the notification of third parties in the hands of those merchants. The notification to merchants states “To help you account for traffic generated by your affiliate and SEM partners during this time, we’ve generated and attached a report for you that identifies the total sales volume and number of transactions associated with each of your online marketing partners.”
Merchants who have yet to implement Google Checkout pixel tracking are obviously not affected. The report provided by Google is helpful, however, internet retailers who depend on real time accurate conversion data to perform functions like calculating affiliate commissions, measuring CSE and PPC ROI and automating bid management in paid search campaigns are likely to have done so without accurate data. The notification well after-the-fact is likely troubling to many retailers and third parties who depend on timely conversion data to make decisions and work with one another. Moreover, merchants deciding between alternative payment systems such as Google Checkout, PayPal Express and BillMeLater would be wise to research the dependability of each system, along with other factors, before making a decision.
A list of conversion tracking vendors can be found in the Google Checkout Merchant Help Center.
Ryan Douglas manages Paid Search and Comparison Shopping Engines for PlumberSurplus.com, an online retailer of home improvement products including Kitchen
Faucet, Access Door, and Sump Pump categories.
Original photo by webmacster87 under CC license
September 7th, 2007
Posted by
Ryan Douglas |
Checkout, Services |
one comment
