Google caffeine update, there is changes on the search front

Google has recently started to implement a new major update called "the caffeine update" which, at first glance, seems to be bringing changes mostly to the way Google gathers and updates information for their indexes. Google describes this update as the "next-generation architecture for Google's web search". You will find an explanation by Google at  http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/our-new-search-index-caffeine.html

Based on the information released it appears the main motivation behind this update is to allow Google to work with more up to date information by crawling / visiting websites faster, more efficiently, hence more often, in order to review changes and updates made to any site or document much quicker than at present, and in turn offer more up to date information. It is quite possible that this update will change more in the background, in the way Google works to review and store information but according to them the actual ranking of websites should not change much.  Of course, only time will tell.

After spending much time on the web looking for further information it seems quite obvious that the way the search engine displays its results is about to change and has already started to change with most searches now displaying videos, news, maps, images throughout the search result with more additions on Beta version such as a search through your own social medias which I came across a few days ago. Though I am not sure if this is part of the actual update as some of those have started appearing before the news of the update, it seems there are definite changes on the cards.

Google also mentions download speed which may affect ranking of a site. The importance of clean mark up (HTML for instance) may also, at some stage, play a bigger role into ranking, one could speculate. Considering Google seems to be bringing emphasis on the time they spend spidering any document, poor mark up can only result in slowing this process down in the same way it may slow down a browser trying to render a page, having to guess and compensate for poorly formatted mark up.
Could this be the start of web designers living by the W3C’s recommendations (World Wide Web Consortium) being rewarded for the care they bring to their work, lets hope!
For a long time, we have been advocates of producing websites which are W3C compliant for a number of reasons including SEO and download speeds, not to mention accessibility and good practices. Of course this takes more time to produce for something the client won’t even notice in most cases but it may mean better ranking in the future. Not to mention the possibility that the government may one day force companies into having their sites more accessible, after all it is already law with one of our neighbours, the UK.

Based on some reports, regularly updated websites could also be rewarded for their work.

An interesting tool I have found on the web is http://www.comparecaffeine.com/search-ie.php which allows you to view your ranking prior and after the update, I am not sure how accurate this tool is however. I have looked at a couple of searches bringing us visitors and the ranking is pretty much the same.

Caffeine update or not, in the past few days we have received a couple of reports from customers letting us know that their ranking had seen temporary variations. On our own site I have noticed one search where our site normally does well, to being relegated several pages down. Two days later the ranking was back better than it was before.
According to a couple of users on a Google group I use, that is something they have also noticed.  Is it related to the update, I am not sure. So far the sites have gone back to their original ranking, in some cases better.

As always, we might have to wait until the dust settles to draw any real conclusions.

Setting up a mail account on Outlook

In order to assist our customers setting up and managing their email accounts we have put together an updated step by step document.

But why not let everyone else use it if it can help! 

All should apply to all POP 3 accounts, just get your crediential from your host.

Click here to access it.

A great way to add your blog post to multiple sites!

With our brand new site now launched, we took the opportunity to add links to our faceBook and Twitter account.

As a company, it can be quiet time consuming to post news or posts to several sites, for instance, your blog, FB, Twitter, LinkedIn etc so I have been on the look out for a tool that would do just that for us.

I came across  Twitterfeed.com which allows you to add new blog posts, in our case, from our site, directly to Twitter, faceBook and more using our RSS feed, what a life saver!

The interface is easy to use and very nicely presented and the feeds are updated every hour.

Enjoy!

Beware of companies offering page 1 guaranteed on Google

It has been brought to our attention by a number of customers recently that companies, mainly located abroad, are ringing businesses in Ireland in order to sell them Google adWords advertising and guaranty appearances on page 1 on Google for a set monthly fee.

The companies in question introduce themselves on the phone in a way that lets people believe they work for Google and offer them the guaranty that their site will be visible on page 1 of Google for a set monthly fee which based on the reports vary from €90 to €500.

This practice doesn’t appear illegal as far as we can see (but we are not lawyers!!) but is something that will cost you much more that if you were advertising with Google directly. By nature, Google ads will be placed on page 1 anyway (based on bids, ads, competition etc), in rotation with other ads. Using such agencies simply means paying them large fees hidden into commissions on pay per click. Based on one recent report a monthly fee of €120 was providing an estimated €15 of clicks only.

Of course, many SEO companies offer genuine services and will assist you with Google adWords, just be careful if you receive direct calls from Google promising you the moon!

We are now just minutes from Dublin city!

With our main offices ideally located in Kells, in the heart of Meath, less than a week ago, Dublin was a good hour and 15 minutes away, some 70 kms East.

Thanks to the opening of the new M3 motorway, the journey to the M50 from Kells is now reduce to some 35 minutes, bypassing Kells town itself, Navan and the dreaded bottle neck that Dunshaughlin has been for years at peak times.

The entrance to the motorway is a kilometre or so away from our offices and we feel this will open further opportunities for us to bring our web design and graphic design services to Dublin city centre.

I have not had the opportunity to go to Dublin via the new road since its opening 5 days ago but could not resist taking a peak over the week end and took the drive to Navan town.

It looks and feel great of course, very few cars on it at the time, I wonder if the toll is putting people off!

The latest version of our site is now live!

It took us several weeks to design, even more to develop but finally the 2010 version of our site is live.

Launched with a brand new design the site now includes a section on branding which we have been offering for a couple of years but did not have on our site.

We have also changed the way our portfolio can be viewed, with an alternative for the older browsers,  linked to Twitter, faceBook and LinkedIn and are in the process of revising text and content which is expected to take us a few more days.

We are also in the process of extending our customer area so customers can access a knowledge base with various information and review progress on their projects.

A brochure request has also been added and login to our content management system has been integrated directly from our site.

Finally, our new blog, manageable from the content management system has been added to the site.

A big thanks to Robert for the design, Catherina and Yvonne for their contribution in bringing the 2010 site together.