Holiday SEO News: Google Has Been Very Busy

by Kerry Dean on 12/07/2009 at 3:33 pm in SEO

I don’t know if you have noticed all the recent search industry headlines, but Google is dominating the news with several new features and updates. And they have done it all within the past 30 days. Here is a quick snapshot of Google’s newest additions and updates in the 2009 holiday season:

• Update! Dec. 8: 5 new features for Google Analytics
  If you are an analytics junkie, check this out. Google Analytics is supercharged.
• Dec. 7: Google launches real-time search
  Check out the scrolling bar in the SERPs for this result
• Dec. 4: Google announces personalized search results for anyone who uses Google
  Apparently, Google will set a 180-day cookie on your computer and serve you personalized results – whether you are signed in or not! Wow.
• Dec. 3: Google switches to fading homepage
  Cool. I guess.
• Dec. 2: Google releases PageSpeed report in WebmasterCentral
  This feature is actually very helpful, and my clients love it. Also, it finally gives us proof that Google cares about page speed just as much as users do.
• Dec. 1: Google adds supersized images to universal search results
  Rather than one row of images, Google displays a big image on the left and two rows of smaller images.
• Dec. 1: Google adds geography data to search results (in the URL/breadcrumb area)
  I have not seen this one very often, but in the SERPs, it tells you what country the website is hosted in. I think.
• Nov. 30: Google Caffeine goes live on one data center
  And here it is: http://209.85.225.103/. But it only returns Caffeine results about 50% of the time.
• Nov. 23: Google Product Search rolls out 3 new features
  You’ve probably noticed the new “One Boxes,” but here’s a link that should show you what I mean.
• Nov. 18: Google SERPs: Breadcrumbs instead of URLs
  I think these will be an SEO game changer. It gives your search result more chances for a clickthru.
• Nov. 12: At WebCon, Matt Cutts announces site speed will be a new organic ranking factor
  We have always been concerned with this factor for usability, but it looks like it will soon be a ranking factor, too.
• Nov. 10: Matt Cutts says Google Caffeine will go live after the holidays
  I’m glad they chose to wait until after the holiday season. Don’t mess with stuff during the holidays!

Oh and also, today Google CEO, Eric Schmidt, joined Twitter (@ericschmidt). How about that?

In conclusion, Google has been very busy this holiday season. The good news is that every one of these items has an impact on SEO. It looks like 2010 is going to be an awesome year , chock-full of new stuff to do! Thanks, Google!