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Flashing Google
Jonathan Fischer | July 3rd, 2008
Google, in its never ending quest for web dominance has just announced its new algorithm designed to index flash content. This comes as a huge delight to many web developers who develop websites in Flash, since previously; flash content was not indexable by search engines. In the past, developers had to present content in a variety of different ways to ensure the site was properly indexed, if they chose to develop the site in Flash. This new algorithm will be able to index textual content contained within SWF files, such as Flash menus, buttons and banners, and self-contained Flash websites. While this is obviously a great enhancement to Google’s already substantial indexing algorithms, I feel that a complete reliance on flash degrades the overall quality of a site. Don’t get me wrong, Flash can be spectacular, but in and of itself…not so much. As cliché as it is to say, regarding web design the best route is generally everything in moderation. A well rounded site with solid textual content in addition to Flash content designed to enhance the aesthetic aspect of the site is going to benefit from this new algorithm. The problem arises with sites which rely completely on Flash content. Flash should never be a substitute for good old fashioned text based content, but rather, an additional aspect to a site’s overall content. A completely Flash site can now be expanded, by creating comprehensive SWF text files essentially describing your Flash content. Flash has become an integral part Continue reading…
[Ctrl]+[Microsoft]+[Del]
Jonathan Fischer | May 28th, 2008
There has been a lot of discussion recently about Microsoft’s bid for Yahoo and subsequent bid withdrawal, followed shortly thereafter with talks of the possible acquisition of Yahoo’s search business. All of this hullabaloo begs the question, why? And the obvious reason is that Microsoft, and even Yahoo for that matter, lag considerably behind Google in the paid search advertising market. By buying/merging/acquiring Yahoo, Microsoft intends to give Google a run for its money. I’m not sure anyone actually believes that this is possible, but more importantly does it even matter? The value of advertising online has been clearly realized by all involved, especially Google the dominant market leader. Why spend the billions of dollars and years of restructuring and R&D to take on an adversary well entrenched with a high ground position? If it was up to me, I wouldn’t. Instead I would rethink, regroup, and innovate. Forfeit the paid search empire to Google and move on to the display search market. Just so everyone is on the same page, a display ad is a graphical advertisement. It can be a static picture ad, video, or multimedia presentation. They aren’t dependent on what someone searches for, but rather are delivered by the content on the page someone is viewing or preferences the browser/site has cataloged about the user. In other words, highly targeted, pretty ads. The paid search advertising market is still growing at an incredible rate, it’s expected to double by 2012, but display advertising is expected to Continue reading…
An Apple a Day…
Jonathan Fischer | April 16th, 2008
Prompted by a recent article on Yahoo and the email chain that followed, I have decided to further explore health in the workplace. The Yahoo article described alternatives to diet soda consumption offering fewer calories and no artificial sweeteners. More bluntly, drinks which are better for you. There are many myths and misconceptions about what is “good” for you. The “8 glasses of water per day” is a perfect example of this. While drinking 8 glasses of water is not bad for you, there is no scientific rational for this exact amount, nor is it clear where this concept even originated. Soda is an easy target when declaring common food and beverages bad for your health. I think we all realize that soda is probably not the best drink for a healthy lifestyle, but c’mon! It’s so good! Once it hits your lips it’s so good! The main reason those in the know warn against soda consumption is because of its content of high fructose corn syrup. A common sugar substitute, HFCS is found in almost every food product imaginable today. It is an extremely cost effective artificial sweetener, but it is high in calories and provides almost no nutritional value. Soda is also very acidic, which will cause your body to strip calcium from your bones in order to balance out your internal ph levels. We have a lot of soda here at work and if somehow this article persuades you to swear off soda you may say to Continue reading…
Recession Good For SEM?
Jonathan Fischer | March 26th, 2008
In recent months, the US economy has taken a turn for the worse. The lucrative “housing bubble” of past years has metaphorically burst, the stock market is exhibiting even more instability than usual, and long standing financial institutions have crumbled under the ever increasing weight of defaulting loans. All are interrelated and I point them out because they are clear signs that the US economy is in a period of slow down. Realistically, it is more a period of normalization from the over abundance and overreach of years past. Prices at the pump will easily soar beyond $4.00/gallon this summer causing a far reaching chain reaction on the economy. This has already begun to play out in certain industries. Just last week, Delta Air Lines said it is going to offer voluntary severance payouts to roughly 30,000 employees–more than half its work force–to deal with soaring fuel prices. Unemployment will no doubt rise and more Americans will be left looking for work that isn’t there. So how is Search Engine Marketing, an industry dominated by businesses with small advertising budgets, going to remain unscathed and possibly flourish? With more Americans losing their jobs, people will turn to the only alternative they have to sustain a decent living: the Internet. One could argue that the most economically effective way to market a small business is through online advertising. It is the only place where a relative newcomer or innovative start up can actually compete with industry heavyweights. For a couple hundred Continue reading…
