Google Easter Eggs and Jokes: Google’s Funny Side

Living proof that search engines can have fun

Google's take on Atari Breakout, one of the search engine's best known Easter eggs.
One of Google’s best known Easter eggs: their take on Atari’s Breakout. Seen here is a game in session.

Over at Net66, some egg-citing news about Cadbury’s Creme Egg café in London has inspired our latest entry.  Many of you may be familiar with easter eggs in DVD or Blu Ray titles as well as the chocolate variety.  In the search engine world, Google’s easter eggs and jokes are just as familiar as the Smarties or Buttons eggs you remember. Continue reading “Google Easter Eggs and Jokes: Google’s Funny Side”

GM Broadband Speeds Stuck in the Bus Lane

Greater Manchester broadband speeds still stuck at traffic lights

The state of Manchester's broadband speeds, expressed as a traffic jam on Chester Road junction.
Nowhere Fast: The state of Greater Manchester’s broadband speeds could be pretty similar to the state of our city’s roads, as seen on a congested Chester Road junction. Image by Anthony O’Neil, 2015 (Creative Commons License – Some Rights Reserved).

The Northern Powerhouse, whether you think of it as a meaningful attempt to invest in Northern England or a throwaway gimmick, seems to be stuck in the internet slow lane. According to the Manchester Evening News and OFCOM’s Connected Nations report, Manchester has some of the slowest broadband speeds in Northern England. Most of the slower speeds have been concentrated in residential properties throughout the city centre. Continue reading “GM Broadband Speeds Stuck in the Bus Lane”

IE Insecurities Sends Users Closer to the Edge

Internet Explorer 8, 9 and 10 no longer supported

Windows 10: likely to have Edge as its default browser.
The look of Windows, 2016 style: the tenth version of Microsoft’s operating system, likely to have the Edge browser. Image by Okubax, 2015 (Creative Commons License, Some Rights Reserved).

 

From last Tuesday [12 January], Microsoft has discontinued support for Internet Explorer versions 8, 9 and 10. Security issues and susceptibility to hacking attacks have rendered the three browsers obsolete. This leaves IE11 as the only browser from the Internet Explorer stable to retain support. Edge now succeeds IE, with Windows 10 being the first operating system to support the new browser. Continue reading “IE Insecurities Sends Users Closer to the Edge”

Net66 at 12: A Dozen Reasons to Celebrate

Net66’s progress from bedroom to city centre premises

Happy Birthday Net66
Not our birthday cake unfortunately, but the work of johndoeforty1’s from 2008 (Creative Commons License – Some Rights Reserved). Still, it looks gorgeous and has least one-fifth of your Five A Day on top of its icing.

 

In the last twelve years, the SEO world has changed dramatically.  We have seen search engines and algorithms come and go; the demise of IE6 and the rise of Google Chrome; and, most importantly, the rise of social media.  Back in 2004, social media meant MySpace and LiveJournal.  After the flurry of the DotCom Boom, the internets started to grow up (though found time for cat pictures and video clips). Meanwhile, from a spare bedroom in Heywood, Lancashire, came Net66. Continue reading “Net66 at 12: A Dozen Reasons to Celebrate”

Facebook Professional Services: A Yelp Killer?

Review section builds on paid advertising options

"A picture is worth a thousand critics" - this could be true of Facebook and Yelp reviews.
If a picture paints a thousand words, a review can make or break a dozen conversions. Image by Marc Falardeau, 2011. (Creative Commons License – Some Rights Reserved)

For many people, our chosen plumber, bakery, takeaway or minicab firm can be determined by word of mouth. Sometimes, the odd status update on Facebook can sway our preferences.  A review site like Trip Advisor or Yelp is another source.  Since yesterday, Facebook became another source.  Through Facebook Professional Services, it offers access to customer reviews, with links to each company’s Facebook pages. Continue reading “Facebook Professional Services: A Yelp Killer?”

RankBrain Explained: Google’s AI Based Algorithm

Could RankBrain be Google’s Ask Jeeves killer?

RankBrain Algorithm = Death of Ask Jeeves?
Could RankBrain be the algorithm that ruins Ask Jeeves? This enigmatic billboard photographed in San Francisco by John Trainor in 2007 could be poignant today. (Creative Commons License – Some Rights Reserved).

Over the last four months, Google have been quietly working on a new artificial intelligence based algorithm. Known as RankBrain, it aims to settle pub arguments and revolutionise semantic search. As well as being able to search for ‘Dorking’, you can also ask Google, ‘How far from Dorking to London’. Continue reading “RankBrain Explained: Google’s AI Based Algorithm”

Google Search Location Filter Axed

Lack of demand cited as reason behind discontinuation

A useful yet underappreciated part of Google’s search tools has been axed with little protest this week.  The Google Search Location Filter allowed its users to filter results by location.  For example, browsers living in the United States were able to narrow results down to State level.  They could search for products and services within Detroit and narrow results down to businesses in Michigan. Continue reading “Google Search Location Filter Axed”

Racist Restaurant Reviews “Accelerating Gentrification”

Derogatory Yelp reviews having impact on neighbourhoods

Good or bad reviews can make or break restaurants.A study from the City of New York University has looked at more than 7,000 Yelp restaurant reviews with some shocking results.  Sharon Zukin, the sociologist behind the study, and her team have noticed some racist leanings in a number of reviews.  In their findings, published on the Journal of Consumer Culture website:

  • Pejorative terms used in restaurant reviews;
  • Some restaurant reviews welcoming gentrification;
  • Fears over trendier outlets elbowing out traditional eateries in their neighbourhood.

Continue reading “Racist Restaurant Reviews “Accelerating Gentrification””

Google Algorithm Updates Through The Ages

From Google Dance to Penguin in fifteen years

Google Campus2 cropped
The Googleplex, as photographed in 2007. Image by Sebastian Bergman. (Creative Commons License – Some Rights Reserved).
In its seventeen year history, no other search engine has had the same cultural impact as Google. Not to mention numerous businesses like ours, whom have thrived on the back of Stanford’s greatest export. Like Tannoy and Hoover, its name has become a verb (as in “I need to google the nearest pizza place”). Continue reading “Google Algorithm Updates Through The Ages”

Net66 says: ‘Prepare for Penguin’

Only 24 indexing days till Christmas – and 31 till 2016

King Penguin Chick at Salisbury Plain
Stand out from the crowd: we at Net66 have proven success with whatever algorithm Google sends our way, from the Florida Update up to Penguin.

Winter has come to Manchester courtesy of Storm Clodagh.  For December, it is usually colder in these parts, but the weather has been more autumnal.  This apart from 80 mph winds in nearby Rochdale and Denton and heavy rain throughout the UK.  At this moment, too warm for seeing penguins in Albert Square, yet Olaf and Elsa managed to appear in Stalybridge (but that was for a Christmas lights switch-on). Continue reading “Net66 says: ‘Prepare for Penguin’”

Net66 Would Like to Thank Our Client

Net66 like to be there for our clients and strive to go above and beyond what “traditional companies” would do. We never ask for anything in return other than a continued business relationship.

That’s why it’s always nice when we receive something back from our clients. The Space Collective have been working with Net66 for years now and enjoy a great relationship with ourselves. We’ve presided over the rebuild of two of their websites and successfully optimise both of them. Continue reading “Net66 Would Like to Thank Our Client”

Net66: Typically Irish Google Doodle for St Patricks Day

As we all know Google LOVES making Doodles. None more so for special occasions and what a special occasion it is today.

Today, if you’re unaware, is St Patrick’s Day. St Patrick is the best know Patron Saint of Ireland and observations are held every year on the anniversary of his death to remember him. Or, if you’re a more modern observer of St Patrick’s Day, to make everything Green and drink Guiness until you’re…well, green.

Google are celebrating a bit more conservatively than the vast majority of people and has published an animated .gif of 6 little four leaf clovers having themselves a merry little jig. Continue reading “Net66: Typically Irish Google Doodle for St Patricks Day”

Whiteboard Friday: Keep Calm and #followrand



#followrand

In our series review of Moz we are calling “Keep Calm and #followrand” today we are going to look at Whiteboard Friday.

In itself Whiteboard Friday is a genius of an idea in terms of marketing but profoundly simple, some guy (usually Rand but not always) stands in front of a whiteboard, on the whiteboard there is the topic of conversation for the week and the guy (or girl) will talk through the content on the Whiteboard for usally around 10 mins and it’s published every Friday, hence Whiteboard Friday. In terms of topic Moz will take an online marketing subject, any subject be it SEO, Social, Analytics or Sales Funnels.

What I’m most grateful for from Whiteboard Friday is I seldom have time to just stop and actually start a journey that ends up with learning something and think strategically about what I am doing. Unfortunately in an SEO environment the overwhelming majority of your time is spend doing SEO which leaves little time for keeping up to date which is critical in such a fast paced industry which most of you will understand.  That all makes time itself a precious resource. Unless Google have just done a mammoth algorithm update, which is actually a great name for an Algorithm Update (hint, hint!) some weeks there isn’t enough think time in the week to begin to look at ‘what’s happened on planet SEO in the last 7 days?’ Continue reading “Whiteboard Friday: Keep Calm and #followrand”

Keep Calm & #followrand





followrand
Introducing our “Keep Calm and #followrand” graphic. Each of the four images +1 can be uniquely downloaded (see the links at the end). Inspired by Rand Fishkin’s very English looking twirly moustache. Partly a touch of very English humour but also more seriously both by the prominence of Rand and Moz within the SEO community, so we thought we’d run a series of posts to review the top 5 features of Moz with the graphic to promote the series.

For those of who who don’t know, other than stating where have you been? Mr Rand Fishkin himself has been a vital personality in the SEO sphere for many years, indeed I remember hearing Rand speak at a SMX conference years back while I was just a wee bright eyed and bushy tailed SEO freelancer. Rand started Moz, or what was called SEOMoz back then and now is no doubt the premier suite of SEO tools available to SEO’s and non-SEO’s alike. We also quite liked the notion of promoting Rand’s Britishness, although of course (and sadly) he’s not British!

We’ll be publishing a series of reviews with what we think are the best 5 features of Moz and we’ll also be writing some follow up pieces. The SEO sphere has been shaken in the last couple of years, particularly though not exclusively by the Penguin updates. For me personally Moz has always been a place of stability in all of the chaos that working in SEO involves. Continue reading “Keep Calm & #followrand”

Net66: Google Releases Annual “A Year In Search Video” Check Out These Trends

Google has taken a look at the past years search and put together a nifty little web page and video looking at all of the search trends in 2014.

One of the trends Google focused on was Sport. And what a year for sport it has been. There’s been the World Cup, the Sochi Games, La Decima and more.

In fact one of the questions that trended most in 2014 was “What is La Decima?”, which is, of course, the 10th European Cup/Uefa Champions League Cup for Real Madrid. They finally won their 10th trophy with the last one coming in the 2001/02 season over 10 years ago.

Off the topic of Sport there were the more serious trending topics such as ebola and the Malaysian Airlines plane that vanished into thin air.

Ebola caused the 5th highest spike in search traffic in October this year, despite initial reports of Ebola all the way back in March. This coincided with the virus’ first appearance in Spain and most likely had the whole of Europe searching on the topic. Continue reading “Net66: Google Releases Annual “A Year In Search Video” Check Out These Trends”

Net66: Google Releases Festive Search Bars

Google LOVES a doodle, and this year it looks like they’re not letting the chance to throw one out there get away. They’ve already released a feature rich Santa Tracker, and now they’ve updated their search bars for queries relating to Christmas, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah (Chanukkah).

These bars are triggered when either of the seasons festivals are included in a search string. Check them out below of search for yourself. [Christmas] [Hanukkah] [Kwanzaa] Continue reading “Net66: Google Releases Festive Search Bars”