Google is forever releasing new features, most of which aren’t really of interest to the general user however today, things change. Google have added new search options. The next time you search for something, click ‘Show Options’ in the blue bar. Now you have a number of filters you can use to refine your search. These filters do make life easier but they are also the start of something big.

Type filters include: Video, Forums and Reviews

Time Filters include: Recent results, Past 24 hours, Past week, Past Year

There are also related searches and a ‘Wonder Wheel’

The type filters are going to make life easier for searchers to find what they are looking for and will be useful but won’t require changes from website owners. If you do run a searchable forum however, I would recommend your results display correctly in date order. To do this, go onto google and type:

Site:http://www.yoursite.com/forumdirectory

Then use the options to sort by date. Talk to your web designer about your choices if they don’t display as you would expect. Some coding changes may be required.

The time filters are the most important. The more recently your content was updated or added to, the higher you will appear… it’s as simple as that! If you don’t edit your site content regularly, add news articles, blogs etc. you will appear right at the bottom. Every time you add new content, you jump back to the top of the queue. So it’s important that you can and do edit your website and regularly!

What can you do if you have just a few pages of information for your company? Consider adding a Blog. A blog (like this one) is an easy-to-use list of articles grouped by category and keywords. It’s easy to find and construct content and could make a HUGE difference to your exposure. You’re obviously an expert at something, else you wouldn’t be able to run a business based on it!

If you have a community based site, consider opening the forums to all if locked down. Make sure Google can see it so posts are indexed regularly and listed in their search.

The final features are fun to play with and will actually help sites get better rankings even with less Search Engine Optimisation in place.

Have a play around, have fun and keep your website current.

The searches have been counted and verified, the results are in. Google Zeitgeist 2008 announced today the top google searches for 2008.

Globally, the top 10 fastest rising search terms were:

1. sarah palin
2. beijing 2008
3. facebook login
4. tuenti
5. heath ledger
6. obama
7. nasza klasa
8. wer kennt wen
9. euro 2008
10. jonas brothers

In the UK, the top risers:

1. iplayer
2. facebook
3. iphone
4. youtube
5. yahoo mail
6. large hadron collider
7. obama
8. friv
9. cam4
10. jogos

The UK’s top google searches were:

1. facebook
2. bbc
3. youtube
4. ebay
5. games
6. news
7. hotmail
8. bebo
9. yahoo
10. jobs (the only search term here showing any indication of this so called recession)

While our diets are not improving with the fastest rising recipe searches being:

1. cupcake
2. meatballs
3. rocky road
4. crumble topping
5. eaton mess
6. pork belly
7. rhubarb fool
8. lemon posset
9. honey comb
10. beer batter

So what do we want from the internet? Spot the age old questions coming top of the ‘Top of mind’ section:

What is…

1. what is love
2. what is life (Life is… not looking at Google)
3. what is java
4. what is sap
5. what is rss
6. what is scientology
7. what is autism
8. what is lupus
9. what is 3g
10. what is art

Who is…

1. who is obama (Where have these people been hiding?!?)
2. who is mccain
3. who is palin
4. who is lil wayne
5. who is miley cyrus
6. who is dolla
7. who is jonas brothers
8. who is chris brown
9. who is biden
10. who is martin luther

…and how to…

1. how to draw
2. how to kiss
3. how to write
4. how to cook
5. how to tie
6. how to hack
7. how to run
8. how to cite
9. how to paint
10. how to spell (The actual 10th entry was ‘How too Spele but google’s logic kicked in once again)

More people wanted to know how to draw than how to kiss? I suppose one is a perfectly safe natural thing… the other one is kissing… think I’ve got it the wrong way round? read about the kiss of deaf from the BBC. (Who said the TV licence wasn’t worth the money?)

So there we have it, the British don’t seem too bothered by the current credit crisis if this is anything to go on, but are certainly keeping up with World news, playing games and networking. Interestingly enough, this is even before checking their emails… Of course the stats are flawed for this kind of statement as it doesn’t count bookmarks or remembered URLs.

Well this is my last blog of 2008, I’m spending the last two weeks on the tropical island of Mauritius. Happy holidays, merry Christmas and thank you to all those readers, contacts, clients, and so on who have helped Zako Media stay afloat for 2008.

Well this one came completely unannounced. The power of Google is such that they no longer need to build up hype, it just spreads around like wildfire. I present to you. SearchWiki.

If you are a logged in google user (either of Gmail, documents, calendar or one of their zillion other services) you now alter the search results. If a site isn’t coming up which should, you can use a link at the bottom to add it directly to page 1… instantly. If a link isn’t relevant, you can use the arrows next to it to drop it down or remove it and keep the good content up top… instantly.

Now don’t get too excited, before the click wars begin, this isn’t a Google-wide change… that would be anarchy… in fact only you can see those changes, and only when logged in to your google account, but from any computer.

Why is this useful?

As Google’s search results change on a second by second basis, it can be hard to keep track on every useful site and page. Our bookmarks are filling up with sites we forget exist and things are becoming harder to find.

Now rather than bookmark it, move the link higher in the results so that the next time you look, it’s right there.

Business uses? practically none, but the next bit really caught my attention…

As well as moving Google search results, SearchWiki allows you to add notes and comments to the results. The last link underneath the site address drops down a little textbox. Again everytime this result appears in your search, you’ll get instant access to your own notes. This is useful as above but with one difference… everyone can see them… They have to click a link to, but they are visible. This means you can start adding notes not only to other’s sites but to your own. An extra few lines to promote your business and show people why your link is much better than anyone elses.

It does mean you can also comment on your competitors… This approach is not recommended as Slander and Libel cases are on the increase against digital bloggers and public internet authors.

Keep an eye on this one, perhaps with user generated results, Google may wish to start allowing the data to influence overall results… What better relevancy test than through the masses. There have already been numerous picture games associated with Google played around the world by millions of people. Only a percentage knew that they were actually describing image content for google’s image search. Google’s wonderful viral allowed it to index billions of images accross the globe in a matter of weeks.

Watch this space. In the meantime, here’s Google’s Lead Designer talking about SearchWiki:

Well Goohoo has been and gone. Google stepped out of the deal due to the restrictions Yahoo! were trying to apply. Yahoo! understandably doesn’t want to lose out to it’s biggest (winning) rival after all.

Jerry Yang, CEO of Yahoo! seems to have re-offered Yahoo! to Microsoft. For those not in the know, Microsoft attempted to purchase Yahoo! earlier this year. They couldn’t agree on figures and Microsoft eventually slammed the door. Now Yahoo! has gone back with the lost puppy look and is waiting for Microsoft (or another bidder) to throw them a bone.

The current search share of the engines looks something like below:

Over the past two years, Google has gone from strength to strength, Yahoo! is it’s next biggest competitor closely followed by Microsoft and Ask. If Microsoft did acquire Yahoo!, it would significantly increase the muscle behind the defence against Google but would still have to claim around 20% more of the market share to rival Google.

Microsoft have the advantage of being able to set live search to default on their own software, however their street cred isn’t great and users are converting to Mozilla Firefox (which defaults to Google) and Google’s own browser, Chrome (never guess which search engine they favour)

So how can Microsoft gain it’s software advantage? They need to fix Internet Explorer, make it follow the same web standards as Firefox. They may have another plan up their sleeves however…

Hotmail users on Chrome will be familiar with the message ‘We don’t support your browser upgrade to IE’ Everything worked regardless so it was just an annoyance. Microsoft have just upgraded Hotmail and low and behold removed the annoying message! However Google Chrome users are now unable to send/reply to messages due to a faulty Javascript editor… Even despite Wikipedia reporting the roll-out to Chrome on the 4th November 2008. Is this a simple oversight or was there some Malice in the decision to not support Chrome? Some Firefox 3 users have also reported problems.

I don’t like the idea of Microsoft buying Yahoo! however I think Google needs some decent competition! Their staff live in cushy offices with massage chairs, slides, poles and all sorts of games! It employs 20,123 members of staff and pays for them to relax! They need to be put to work to stay ahead of the possible Microhoo! conglomeration!

 

Website Accessibility

2.2 (p7): “The Disability Discrimination Act makes it unlawful for a service provider to discriminate against a disabled person by refusing to provide any service which it provides to members of the public.”4.7 (p39): “From 1st October 1999 a service provider has to take reasonable steps to change a practice which makes it unreasonably difficult for disabled people to make use of its services.”

2.13 – 2.17 (p11-13): “What services are affected by the Disability Discrimination Act? An airline company provides a flight reservation and booking service to the public on its website. This is a provision of a service and is subject to the act.”

5.23 (p71): “For people with visual impairments, the range of auxiliary aids or services which it might be reasonable to provide to ensure that services are accessible might include … accessible websites.”

5.26 (p68): “For people with hearing disabilities, the range of auxiliary aids or services which it might be reasonable to provide to ensure that services are accessible might include … accessible websites.”

Hotels have lifts, shops have ramps, even London underground is making an effort. (although much work still needs to be done.)

Is a website not accessible? How do you make a website accessible?

Blind people cannot read a computer screen, but many are online. How? They use a screen reader to read the page. Text content NEEDS to be in order in the code for this to work, also images should not be used for content, and any flash should have a text alternative.

Coming away from the extreme, many people in the UK are long-sighted or have difficulty reading, particularly on the back-lit screen. To combat this, the text colour should contrast the background, should be large enough or be re-sizable. You should also take into account the number of colourblind men there are out there, particularly when some colours are indistinguishable.

If you rely on video or audio files, you should provide a text alternative for the deaf.

Flash websites are BANNED! however some flash elements with text equivalents are still allowed… they are usually unnecessary. If a site must be in flash, a full HTML version should be provided, the second html site is also good for google as flash can’t be seen.

“This seems a bit like political correctness gone mad, can you be sued?”

In a word, yes. The RNIB has approached two large companies with regard to their websites. When they raised the accessibility issues of the websites under the DDA, both companies made the necessary changes, rather than facing the prospect of legal action (in exchange for anonymity).

The DRC launched a formal investigation into 1000 websites, of which over 80% were next to impossible for disabled people to use. They issued a stern warning that organisations will face legal action under the DDA and the threat of unlimited compensation payments if they fail to make websites accessible for people with disabilities.

In short, if you operate a website, this applies to you. Generally speaking, little will need to be done (if anything) to make your site accessible, speak to your web designer today or contact us for advice.

You can also check your site free on http://wave.webaim.org/

While not 100% accurate, it will give a good idea as to how much work will be needed. Have a chat to your web designer if you think your exposure could be increased.

Can I also tell you a secret? Google factors website accessibility into it’s algorythm. An accessible website will rank more highly than an in-accessible one with the same content.