SEO and Web review 2008 (January 2009)
Hello! Welcome to another Webfly podcast.
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Here we are into a bright, shiny new year. So now is a good time to take a look at what hit the headlines in the world of SEO and the Internet over the last 12 months.
First up in our review of the year is the Go Compare blacklist fiasco. In January, the high-profile comparison site was temporarily blacklisted - sinking down and out of Google almost overnight. Be warned! Listen to your SEO people - bad practice has consequences.
In May, Google changed its Trademark words policy, so now you can set up AdWords that appear when someone types in a protected brand name. Great for search engine marketing.
Not everyone was happy about the Trademark Words change and fashion giant, Louis Vuitton was so unhappy that they promptly filed papers and took Google to court.
Talking of crime and punishment, this year ‘fake’ reviews became illegal under UK law. So don't even think about making up any customer reviews online or in print and get expert help before you start!
Meanwhile everyone else was talking! Yahoo! had talks with Microsoft and Google had talks with Yahoo! The only people not talking to each other were Microsoft & Google. And the only thing everyone agreed on was that Google is the winner!
Microsoft found time during the talks to launch a cashback incentive scheme that gave US customers rebates on goods purchased from selected retailers via Live Search.
In June, Google announced that it could now read Abobe Flash in the same way as html text - great for SEO!
But there was trouble on the horizon for Google when Street View, its real-time map feature ran into problems in the US over invasion of privacy and in Europe it contravened the EU Data Protection Directive.
This year, it was time to shake up the old rules for ICANN, who announced that from early 2009 we will all be able to invent our own top level domain names! Goodie!
August saw the launch of Google Insight which gives you the chance to look at detailed worldwide popularity stats for any given search term.
Microsoft went shopping and came back with Ciao, the e-commerce comparison site and meanwhile, sick of all the talking, Yahoo! got busy and sold off their own comparison site, Kelkoo.
Facebook eventually broke into the Top 5 most visited sites in the UK for the first time, knocking the BBC back to sixth place.
And finally…
Google launched its long awaited new browser - Chrome. Faster and more flexible it looks set to become the new standard.
Phew! A busy year!
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