Google unveiled its latest search enhancement, appropriately titled "Universal Search".

Google's Universal Search will change the landscape of SERPs forever by integrating all of its various search verticals into one search engine results page. From here forward if you enter a search query, relevant results from Google Maps, Google Images, Google Video, Google Blog Search, Google News and the other search categories will start appearing above the main web results.

In keeping with Google's ongoing efforts to deliver the most relevant and reputable results to searchers - from a searcher's view point this is big news because these results make the main search engine results page more intuitive and user-centric.

Universal Search makes it possible to navigate to different pages to find "all" relevant content about a particular query. Whether you're looking for a local business, or trying to uncover a new video, all of these searches can be performed from the one "Universal" place.

If I were a betting man I would put money on the other top search engines deploying similar tactics in the near future. Hats off to Google again! Now lets get to the task of creating search engine friendly pages with other search engine verticals in mind to take advantage of these opportunities for increased exposure that Universal Search offers!

 

Good Ole' Organic SEO

Here we go again... revisiting an all too familiar argument among developers and SEO Professionals - and the debate continues.

But, since it is still worthy of discussion I will venture into the topic of Dynamically Generated Pages vs. Static Pages as it relates to Organic Search Engine Optimization.

Dynamic Web Pages

Most dynamic web pages are generated in response to queries run against databases within the website. When a visitor comes to your website and looks for 'peanut butter and raspberry jam sandwiches', it is this database that supplies the response by building the page from a specified template and returning the results from the database that match the variables in the query.

Certified Organic SEO

While the search engines are getting better at reading them, dynamic pages are created on the fly with technology such as ASP, Cold Fusion, Perl and the like. These pages function well for users who visit the site, but they don't work well for search engine crawlers (spiders).

Why? Because dynamically generated pages don't actually exist until a user selects the variable (s) that generate them. A search engine spider can't select variables, so the pages don't get generated properly -– and therefore can’t be indexed as easily as static pages.

The biggest problem is that search engine crawlers such as GoogleBot cannot always read the entire dynamic database of URLs, which either contain a query string (?) or other database characters (#&*!%) known to be search engine spider (crawler) traps. Because search engine crawlers have problems reading deep into a dynamic database, they’ve been programmed to detect and ignore many dynamic URLs.

Static Web Pages

In contrast, static web pages with static URL's in their navigation hierarchy tend to fare much better.

Why? Because there is a real page with real content linked via real hyperlinks that make it simple for search engine spiders to crawl the site in its entirety.

Again, as Google (Yahoo!, MSN/Live) endeavor to return the most relevant results possible in their SERP's. It only makes sense that their means of delivering the most relevant possible results in their Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) are based upon the data collected by the search engine spiders.

Content Management Systems (CMS) are great for reducing steps for employees - but at what price to your ranking in the search engines?

Want Good Ole' Fashioned Search Engine Friendly Results? Roll up your sleeves and do some Good Ole' Fashioned Organic SEO on Static Web Pages.

The answer is clear - Ethical Organic SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and Organic Web Design

Google's suggestions for Quality Web Pages fall under three basic criteria:

1. Provide relevant and substantial content

2. Treat a user's personal information responsibly

3. Develop an easily navigable site

Seems like good guidelines to me :) If you desire ethical web design & development and approved Organic Search Engine Optimization...

David Williams Provides

Ethical Organic Search Engine Optimization and Web Design

Organic SEO Professional Using Only Approved White Hat Tactics

Effective copy writing is the first step to promoting your web site in your internet marketing endeavors.

We have recognized an increasing trend in search engine behavior that will one day change the way web pages are written and developed. Pages that used to rely heavily on keywords and metatags to lure traffic will soon become a thing of the past.

Trust me on this one as I go on the record to say that soon, the search engines will look at and

review the written copy of the page to determine the page relevance and value to the search query.

When this happens - Effective SEO will become what we have been encouraging since day one. Always write for your clients first - Content is Crucial and Content is King.

The Kelsey research group published these statistics and trends:

• 74% of households use the Internet as an information source when shopping locally.

• Approximately 45% of local searches had a buying intent.

• The percentage of respondents who used yellow page directories decreased from 75% to 62%. (If you have a yellow page ad, it is time to consider buying a smaller ad and shifting your marketing dollars to the Internet.)

As local business owners you need to take action now. You need to keep your existing customers, and gain new customers, so you need to be found where they are searching. Local Search Marketing is where your future clients and customers will come from.

So where do you start?

Well, go back to the first paragraph of this article and you'll notice that Local Searches are now over two years old. It is still free to modify your listings with:

• Google Local

• Yahoo Local

• and so on...

These complimentary features of local search and a little initiative on your part and you'll be well on your way.

David Williams is proud to be a small business owner in the United States

Small Businesses in the United States

(defined as independent businesses with fewer than 500 employees):

• Represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms.

• Employ half of all private sector employees.

• Pay more than 45 percent of total U.S. private payroll.

• Have generated 60 to 80 percent of net new jobs annually
  over the last decade.

• Create more than 50 percent of nonfarm private gross
  domestic product (GDP).

• Supplied more than 23 percent of the total value of federal
  prime contracts in FY 2005.

• Produce 13 to 14 times more patents per employee than
  large patenting firms. These patents are twice as likely as
  large firm patents to be among the one percent most cited.

• Are employers of 41 percent of high tech workers (such as
  scientists, engineers, and computer workers).

• Are 53 percent home-based and 3 percent franchises.

• Made up 97 percent of all identified exporters and produced
  28.6 percent of the known export value in FY 2004.

Sources: U.S. Bureau of the Census; Advocacy-funded research by Joel
Popkin and Company, Jan. 2002 (see www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs211.pdf);
Federal Procurement Data System; Advocacy-funded research by CHI
Research, Inc., Feb. 2003 (see www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs225.pdf);
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey; U.S. Department of
Commerce, International Trade Administration.

BusinessLaw.gov has been incorporated into Business.gov. Before launching your business, be sure to check on specific laws and regulations in your area.

Small Business Administration

Google Canonicalization?

"What is a canonical url? - Sami Manhattan, New York

Answer:

Dear Sami,

Canonicalization is indeed an odd word; that found its birthplace within Google.

Canonicalization is the process of picking the best url when there are several choices, and it usually refers to home pages.

For example, most people would consider these the same urls:

www.example.com
example.com/
www.example.com/index.html

But technically all of these urls are different. A web server could return completely different content for each of the different urls listed above.

When Google “canonicalizes” a url, they try to pick the url that seems like the best representative from that set.

For More info on the post:
http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/seo-advice-url-canonicalization/

All the best,

Dave

We offer two great FREE Whitepapers for you to download and employ as brainstorming tools. You can get your FREE Web Site Planner and Getting Started Guide from DavidWilliams.Biz on our Free Whitepapers Page

And I would be remiss if I didn't at least extend you an offer to serve as both your Web Developer AND SEO Firm. If I've already put this much thought into it - imagine how hard I would work for you if I was paid :)

Thanks Again for visiting us!

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