简体中文
EnglishGoogle Docs is Back in China
9
Mar
Mar
Bye Bye website, Hello website. in China you live knowing that at anytime a website can disappear (i mean, get blocked), and another one can appear, released by the chinese authorities.
Today, we have a good news, you've been crying for months about that document you just finished typing when google docs was blocked, well, you can have it back now, google docs is unblocked in china.
Is it linked with the fact that google is threatening to close down in china ... who knows!
Still, stop crying, your google docs are back in china, you can re-start working again, you have no more excuses ;o)
Google's self SEO Audit
4
Mar
Mar
Google has just published a SEO Audit (Search Engine Optimization) which analyzes 100 Google product pages, and the results are not as good as expected... it seems Google is not so good at optimizing their own websites (at least, not like seo pros).
Title Tags
Title tags: "html <title>" is one of the most important part of a webpage SEO, well, only 10% of their product pages actually follow "SEO Best practices". Indeed, most of their pages contain only the product name without any keywords or relevant tagline.
Meta-description tags
About meta-description tags, 67% of them are missing. That's why some of Google products appear on search engine result pages (SERP) without any relevant information or keywords.
For example:
To be efficient on search engines result pages, it is necessary to use the right keywords on title tags and put relevant content on meta-descriptions. Without these elements, it's difficult to understand what is the aim of your pages, and in this case, what is the Google Sky service all about? ;o)
Headings
About headings, Google say that 43% of their "<h1>" tags need improvement. h1 tags are important for SEO and usability because they state what a page is about. Many Google pages use "<h3>" or custom font styling tags instead of "<h1>" !
Permanent redirections
Google's SEO audit also points out some issues in their permanent redirections and most of them are linked to the trailing slash. Indeed, some of their product pages are accessible through "www.google.com/PRODUCT1" and some others with "www.google.com/PRODUCT1/" without redirecting. So when those 2 URL are crawled by search engines, that content is indexed twice creating a duplicate content issue.
Images
The audit from Google shows that 39% of their logo images don’t link to appropriate URLs, furthermore, some of them link to nonexistent URLs (404 error pages!). Additionally, 18% of Google’s products logos don’t have an "alternative text" tag, which is required by the W3C coding standards.
Google likes SEO now !
Google seems to be more and more interested in optimizing their own products so we guess that they will fix these mistakes very soon. However, optimizing the "on page factors" (the text and content on your web pages) is not enough.
If Google decides to follow our SEO practices, they could rank on the first position for queries like "search engines" on Google.com...
That’s why I invite Google engineers and everyone who is interested in SEO to subscribe to our RSS feed and to follow our blog.
Follow that link to download the Google SEO Audit
Google Buzz Frequently Asked Questions
22
Feb
Feb
Buzz Privacy FAQ
Q0: What part of Buzz is opt-in and what part is opt-out?
A0: Here is what is opt-in:
- Posting things to buzz
- Having a public profile (opt-in required in order to post)
- Having public following/follow lists
- Following people manually
- Being listed publically as a follower/followed on someone else's profile if they choose to list this information (opt-in required in order to post)
Here is what requires you to make a choice (to opt-in or opt-out, neither being the default)
- Following people Google suggests (was originally opt-out, but Google made a change which is being rolled out starting after 13-Feb-2010)
- Seeing any kind of buzz stuff in Gmail (was originally opt-out, but Google made a change which is being rolled out starting after 13-Feb-2010)
Here is what is opt-out:
- Being followed
- Seeing posts of those who you follow
Q1: What can the general public find out about me?
A1: If you have ever posted a Buzz or created a Google Profile, here's how to see what others can find out about you:
1) Go to http://www.google.com/
2) Click "Sign out" in the upper-right
3) The page will reload and show your public profile. This is what others can find out about you. It includes any your name and any Public Buzz posts that you have made.
If you have not ever posted a Buzz or created a Google Profile, then the general public cannot find anything out about you.
Q2: What can other Google users find out about me?
A2: All items from the answer to Q1. In addition, if you have ever posted a Buzz or created a Google Profile, then it depends on a Profile setting that says "Display the list of people I'm following and people following me"
If this is checked, then other Google users can see how many followers you have and how many people you follow. They can also see the photo, name, and public profile of each follower and followed.
If this is not checked, see Q1 for the answer.
If you do not see this checkbox, it is because you have never posted something on Buzz before. In this case, your following/followers lists are private.
Independent of this checkbox, if you have ever posted a Buzz or created a Google Profile, then if someone views the profile of one of the people who follows you or who you follow, they will see you listed as being followed or as being a follower (assuming the person whose profile is being viewed has opted to display these lists)
Q3: What can my followers find out about me?
A3: Nothing beyond the answer to Q2
Q4: What can the people I follow find out about me?
A4: If you follow someone, they will know your name, even if you do not have a public profile. In addition, see the answer to Q2
Q5: If a person is a Gmail Contact of mine, does that change what they can find out about me?
A5: No, unless you happen to have shared more information on the "Contact Info" tab of your Google Profile specifically with this contact. This is not the default and will never be turned on for you automatically.
Q6: If I am a Gmail contact of someone, does that change what they can find out about me?
A6: No
Q7: Is there any way for someone who does not already know my email address to find it out through Buzz?
A7: In order for this to happen, your Google Profile URL must end in your username, like http://www.google.com/
When your Google Profile ends in your username, people will know that if you are a Gmail user, your email address is username@gmail.com. There is no way for them to know whether you are a Gmail user or not, though.
Given this, if you follow someone, or they follow you, or you post a Buzz that they can see, then they can click on your name to go to your Google Profile, see the URL, and know your gmail username. In addition, if someone posts a buzz with an @reply that mentions you, anyone who can see that buzz will be able to go to your Google Profile, see the URL, and know your gmail username.
Q8: Who can see my Buzz posts?
A8: In order to post something on Buzz, you have to have a public Google Profile.
When you post something on Buzz, it is either Public, or it is private and visible only to an explicitly defined set of people from your Contacts.
If you make a Public post, everyone in the world can see it, so it really doesn't matter if someone you don't like is following you, because even if they weren't following you, they could see that post on your Google Profile.
If you make a private post, you have chosen who can see it. If you don't choose this person that you don't like, they won't see it. If you choose them, then they can see it (whether or not they are following you)
If you or someone else use an @reply, that person will then be added to the list of private recipients for the Buzz
Q9: If I make a private post, can people who receive it see who else has received it?
A9: Yes, they can. It's like a "cc:" and not a "bcc:"
Q10: How do I block someone who is following me?
A10: Click on Buzz on the left side of Gmail under Inbox. After that, on the right side of Gmail, at the top you should see your picture (if you have one), followed by your name, something about "connected sites", and then something about followers (all on one line).
Click the last link on that line that refers to "X follower(s)" and a popup will come up.
In the popup, you will see people's pictures and names listed.
On the right of their name, click "Block"
* Note that this ability to block everyone from this list changed on 11-Feb-2010 and may not be available to all users yet.
Q11: Can I stop people who I have not previously blocked from following me?
A11: No. Only people that you have previously blocked are prevented from following you. Everyone else can follow you (until you block them)
Q12: Can I block someone before they follow me?
A12: Yes, by going to their Google Profile page and clicking "Block" on the right. If they do not have a profile yet then you cannot block them before they follow you.
Q13: Can I block everyone (or lots of people) from following me all at once?
A13: Not while still using Buzz. If you delete your profile (by editing it, and the clicking "Delete profile" at the very bottom), random people will no longer be able to follow you because they cannot find your profile (and you won't be able to post new buzz's). But if they already know your email address, they can still follow you using that.
Q14: If I use Buzz, can people search for my name on Google Search and find my Profile?
A14: Yes, they can. If you edit your profile and uncheck "Display my full name so I can be found in search", you will not be able to post buzz's anymore
Q15: How do I get rid of Buzz?
A15: Follow these steps:
1) Delete your profile by going to http://www.google.com/
2) Block all of your followers (See Q10)
3) Stop following everyone that you follow.
4) Disconnect any connected sites that you have setup in Buzz (via the Connected Sites link next to your name in Buzz from Gmail)
5) Turn off Buzz in Gmail by clicking on "turn off buzz" at the bottom
Alternatively, go to your Settings in Gmail and select Buzz, and click the "Disable Google Buzz Completely" link at the bottom, which does the same thing as the above (the Buzz Settings section is being rolled out starting after 13-Feb-2010)
Q16: How can I post a private Buzz to someone if I do not know their email address?
A16: If you follow someone, Buzz will automatically create a contact for them under "All Contacts", which may not have their email address, but will have their name and profile URL.
If you then create a contact group with this person and post privately to it, that person will be able to see it, even though you do not have each other's email addresses.
Q17: Why can I follow someone who does not have a Gmail address or Google Account?
A17: Although you follow them, they of course cannot post any content for you to see unless they create a google account.
A google account can be created with any email address, not just an @gmail.com or @googlemail.com address.
So they could create a google account with their existing email address and begin buzz posting, and then you would see it.
Thus, your following someone who does not yet have an account is kind of like a following in anticipation of the future creation of an account.
It just so happens that the only way for someone without gmail to post on buzz is via a mobile phone. But in the future, such people will be able to do it via their computer.
Q18: How can I unblock someone?
A18: There is no way to see a list of people that you have blocked.
In order to unblock a person, you need to find them again. They need to have a public profile. If they do not, you cannot unblock them.
You can find them in one of 3 ways:
1) Inside of Gmail with Buzz
a) Go to Buzz
b) Click on "Find People" to the right of "Buzz" (which is below your picture)
c) There is a box under the text "Follow more people"
-------take path I if you know their email address -----
d) If the person is a Gmail Contact of yours, click on "Contacts" to the right of "Follow more people"
e) Type their name or email address into the box under "Follow more people"
f) Select the person and click "Add"
* Note: if they are not a contact, just add them before trying this
------or path II if they have a public profile ------
d) If you do not know their email address, type their name into the box under "Follow more people" and click Search
e) Hopefully they will be found, and then click "Add" next to them
----------------------
g) Close this window
h) Reopen this window from "Find People"
i) In the list of people, click on the person's name
j) It will bring up their page. To the right of their picture will be an "Unblock" link
2) By searching on Google.com (if they have a public profile)
a) Go to google.com and search for their name
b) If their profile shows up in the search results, click on it
c) You should see an unblock link on their profile page
3) If you know their profile URL (and their profile is public)
a) Go to that URL
b) You should see an unblock link on their profile page
Google Buzz Video Presentation with English Subtitles
10
Feb
Feb
google buzz is the new attempt from google to enter the social networks sector. it's right within gmail (so you need first a gmail account to use it), and it seems well thaught.
google buzz works also with twitter, flickr, picasa, google reader and other feeds.
Of course (but is it a good idea?) it is not linked with facebook! the king in the world of social networks. i guess when you want his thrown, you don't help him increase his authority.
here under, the text of the video, for those of you who don't have flash insalled.
- The first thing we all do when we find something interesting is share it!
- More and more this kind of sharing takes place online
- google buzz is a new way to share photos, videos, updates, and more...and start conversations about the things you find interesting
- it's built right into gmail and uses the friends you've already made
- there is nothing to set up you're automatically following the people you email and chat with the most
- you can chose to share publically with the world or privately to a small group of your closest friends
- buzz goes beyond status messages, it automatically pulls images from links, plays videos inline, and let's you flip your photos the way there are meant to be seen. Big and Fast
- you can connect other sites you use like Picasa, Flikr, Google Reader and Twitter so your friends can keep up with what you're doing around the web
all in one place - buzz makes sure you see the stuff that matters most
- the best part about sharing is getting responses to your posts, buzz sends this comments to your inbox to make sure you don't miss them, you can respond right from there to keep the conversation going
- if you want to make sure your friends see something, you can send it straight to their inbox by adding them with an AT reply
- you sometimes see recommended buzz from people you are not directly following
- buzz identifies posts that may interest you, or are popular among your friends
and recommends them to you so that you don't miss out - and it works on your phone, so you can keep up with what your friends, or people near you, are buzzing about
when you are out in the real world, you usually wanna say something about where you are, buzz makes this easy - so try it out, click the buzz link in gmail to get started
or visit buzz.google.com to learn more
Google.cn in China is now G.cn!
21
Jan
Jan
Google china, while might still be leaving, is now advertising offline and online for its new web address G.cn
go on, just try this google new chinese url by clicking here g.cn
It's actually just a redirection 301 to this address http://www.google.cn/webhp?source=g_cn
As you can see, there is a source tag at the end of the address so that the google guys eventually know how many people are using g.cn and how many are still using google.cn, that let's them see two things :
1) If their advertising is efficient, to make people aware of g.cn
2) If the new address is used, because people might still type google.cn thanks to old habits.
Google, don't do Evil
What I also noticed is that they advertise on... their homepage. Wasn't that the sacred page of google, free of advertising, sometimes even free of everything.
And they do it in a very suprising way. Offline, they use buses, which is totally ok. but Online, They use a kind of subliminal advertising: when you reach their homepage, you see a big G.cn for less than half a second! People around me had it and didn't even notice it, because it disappears in the blink of an eye.
What the hell is going on at google china?
ps: thanks to cedric from pharos education for the picture. And Guys, if you have a camera and picture something interesting, feel free contacting me!
pps: those of you who tried g.com, well, it doesn't work, i tried it too ;o)
Google advertising offline... in China!
18
Jan
Jan
oddly enough, I was in a bus saturday in beijing when i saw another bus advertising for google maps!
A bit weird when you know that google has big chances to leave china. That probably means that people at google china didn't know about google closing down its beijing offices. well...
thanks tim for jumping on your camera when i was shouting to take the picture ;o)
Google China is Closing!
13
Jan
Jan
google china is closing, which means no more google.cn ! crazy! yes but true.
google is doing it officially for protecting users information, but they give in depth explanations here :
googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/new-approach-to-china.html
(i just put the address and not the link because i don't want this blog to be blocked, but you can copy the address and go read if you want to learn more, this website is blocked in china though).
Yes, i know, they said they will close ONLY if they cannot provide uncensored results, but the chinese government is not going to allow that, for sure. (anyone who lived in china knows that :)
"we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China."
So, that means google china WILL close.
1) This will increase baidu market shares, for sure.
2) Some people who used to use google.cn will use... google.com, yes, that's the point, other google's around the globe are NOT blocked in china.
google has a market share of 20% here in china, that makes them second after baidu. The move is certainly going to make them lose money... but, this will improve their image outside china (USA and Europe), because it's a kind of going back to their "don't do evil" motto.
Will I still be able to search in Chinese?
yes, of course, you can use chinese on any google around the globe, and any language actually. you can search in chinese in google.com
or you can search in french on google new zeland, that won't change.
It's just that the search results are not the same, if you type nihao (in chinese characters) in google.com and google.cn, the google.cn results are adapted to a chinese audience. if you type "rent appartment" in google.co.uk, you want a UK website, if you type it in google.us, you want a USA website.
The real question now is: Why are they closing down google china? Is it only the reason they gave? Hard to tell...
what will THEM do?(THEM is our SEO company by the way :), as always, we will adapt...
to read more about Google closing in China it :
- Google May Close China Site After 'Highly Sophisticated' Attack
Google : this space intentionally left blank
11
Nov
Nov
My google home page today showed "this space intentionally left blank" and actually, it was blank, just the logo, the search box and this sentance. At first, i thaught my computer was suffering piracy, or that i had a problem with my eyes, or maybe someone is making a joke.
No, it was actually really google who was writing this "this space intentionally left blank", they were testing. actually, according to the palo alto company, they test from 50 to 100 different combinations of pages all the time, on a small number of users. And some times, you're just one of them. This morning was my turn.
so, no need to call the police, the army, to erase your hard disk and then crash it with a hammer. If that happends to you, it's just google testing its homepage (does that mean they used me as guinea pig... well, whatever...)
ps: for the french readers of this blog, and i know there are many, "guinea pig" = "cobaye" in french. yes, i know, i thaught "cobaye" was en english word too.
What does Google Know about ME? Google Dashboard
6
Nov
Nov
What does Google Know about ME? well, don't look, it's scary... but at least, google took the option of showing us, which is a step in the right direction.
You've seen horor movies, scary scenes, you red george orwell's 1983, and now, you'll see google dashboard...(ok, i exagerate, but i am mediterranean, so... you can't blaim me).
just click here and you'll know what he knows about you : https://www.google.com/dashboard/ actually, he shows just a piece of it, apparently, the work is still under progress for showing the rest.
so, are you scared? did you know about it? awnser in the comments.
ps: i know, george orwell's book title is "1984", but i just wanted to check that you were paying attention. by the way, you can subscribe to them rss feed here
Google and Ajax
15
Oct
Oct
We can hear and there that Google might soon index the ajax content in your website.
How?
Actually, in most of url, you can have an # (hash), which is traditionally used as an anchor (an internal link in your webpage) eg.: www.myswebsite.com/manual.html#overview will send you the overview part of the page called manual.html.
But with the use of Ajax, very often, when you have a # in your url, it is for ajax to execute one of the parameters included in the javascript (js).
For, Google tells developers to use #! instead of # to allow the search engine to interpret this as ajax, and not as an anchor.
Cool! Does it mean my full ajax website content will be ranked in Google?
Calm down and relax, this is not as easy as it appears for:
- Developers will have to modify all of their ajax scripts first
- The content sent to Google must be interpreted as html, but this job, Google says, has to be done by the server of the website, which means that every website will need a headless browser, which means that:
- Developers will have to implement one on your website (which is costy and takes time)
- You will need a big bandwidth to interpret the ajax content (since it has to read the ajax content, transform it in valid html, and send it to the search engine)
- For Google asks the websites to interpret the ajax content for him (it would need for Google too many server capabilities to calculate it by their own), webmasters will be able to make fake contents: one for a human reader, one for a robot reader; which might creates troubles.
the good news anyway is to know that Google is trying to find a solution for indexing ajax website, but long is the way before it is really working.
(Besides, Google already knows some pieces of javascript...)
