Posted by randfishA long time ago (at least, in web years), search engine optimization required specific targeting practices for each of the engines. For Hotbot, you'd need to place two repetitions of every keyword side-by-side in your meta keywords tag, while for Northern Light, a picture of at least one dancing baby in the bottom right-hand corner made all the difference Nowadays, most SEO is done with the same set of search-friendliness and search targeting standards in mind. Using keywords intelligently without stuffing, making static, easily crawlable URLs, building content that people are likely to link ...

Posted by Jane CoplandThere is absolutely nothing wrong with making up new words for something that, as it stands, can't be properly named or described with existing language. Quite simply, this is how languages evolve and grow, and it would be next to impossible to name everything with words that already exist. However, there should be a reason behind naming, coinage and the general invention of new words. On top of that, there should be a conscious effort not to invent words that can easily turn into annoying memes, or which become just plain laughable. This is not to ...

Posted by randfishA report on the "Natural Born Clickers" (NBCs from now on) was released today by Starcom, Tacoda & Hitwise. The data points to some head-scratchingly bizarre figures about the people who click on paid display advertisements (emphasis below mine):...heavy clickers represent just 6% of the online population yet account for 50% of all display ad clicks. While many online media companies use click-through rate as an ad negotiation currency, the study shows that heavy clickers are not representative of the general public. In fact, heavy clickers skew towards Internet users between the ages of 25-44 and households with ...

Posted by Esteban_PanzeraGoogle has got lots and lots of uses, and one of them is to define words. It can be done either by typing in "what is keyword" (only 1 definition will appear), or by typing "define: keyword".Google defines this function on their patent as:A system and method for providing definitions is described. A phrase to be defined is received. One or more documents, which each contain at least one definition, are determined. The phrase is matched to at least one of the definitions. One or more definitions for the phrase are presented.What ...

Posted by randfishMystery Guest and I were talking over dinner tonight about how ours (the current 25-30 year old age group) is essentially the last generation to experience a pre-Internet childhood. If you turned 18 after ~1999, your upbringing was probably impacted, at least in part, by the rise of the web (at least in regions with high Internet penetration rates). What will we tell our children about those fanciful days before search engines, websites and on-demand knowledge wrapped themselves into our collective psyches?Let's explore:Looking up Facts in an Encylclopedia or Dictionary At my house growing ...