Google Improves Search Refinement and Adds Longer Snippets using Orion Technology!

Filed under: Updates — Tags: , , , , — Poorani Prithiviraj @ Friday, March 27th, 2009

On the 24th of February, Google made the announcement of two new improvements made to their search results. These Google search improvements included:

1. an expanded list of useful related searches – the terms found at the bottom, and sometimes at the top, of the search results page.

For example, if you type in something like “sydney restaurants guide” in to the search box on Google; at the top or bottom of the results page, you will see ‘Searches related to sydney restaurants guide’ which provides more relevant key phrases.

What Google have done is they’ve deployed a new technology based on the 2006 acquisition of “Orion” which can better understand associations and concepts related to a particular search. (more…)



Google’s Vince Update

Filed under: News, SEO — Tags: , , , , , , — AL Wright @ Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

Google’s Matt Cutts is brushing Vince’s update off as one of 300-400 per annum but webmasters and SEOs have turned their attention to Google CEO Eric Schmidt who publically stated in October 2008 that the internet is fast becoming a “cesspool” where false information thrives and “brands are how you sort out the cesspool.” It’s also been noted that the net’s founder, Tim Berners-Lee, has been making similar statements of late which leads everyone to believe that Google is giving brands a helping hand in the search results by creating an algorithmic brand element. (more…)



Don’t like the New Facebook? Customise It!

Filed under: Social Media — Tags: , , — Kate Reuvers @ Monday, March 23rd, 2009

Facebook is constantly changing, much to the chagrin of many users. Why are they changing? Who knows? Is it because Facebook is trying to:

· Keep up to date with the times?

· Make using Facebook easier for its users?

· Keep in-line with ever changing technology such as Internet on the mobile?

Whatever reason the changes are here to stay (until they change again) and until then here are two things you can do to customise your Facebook page and hopefully make it more tolerable. ;-) (more…)



Reflections on Ad:Tech Sydney 2009

Filed under: Conferences — Tags: , , , , , , , , — David Boyd @ Thursday, March 12th, 2009

The Outrider Sydney team were amongst the record number of visitors at this year’s ad:tech Sydney. Here’s what our team are saying about the ad:tech presentations that they attended.

The Relevance Of Twitter

Having been on Twitter for about six months prior to this but really not participating I was really glad to go to this session.

Relevance of Twitter session

Relevance of Twitter session

Twitter certainly is becoming a powerful medium online in the United States but the panel of speakers including Mike Hickinbotham of Telstra expect that Twitter will become more and more used and useful here in Australia as a means of engaging with real people and real customers.

The list of Australian brands on Twitter just keeps growing, making it harder to write off Twitter as a fad and more of a force. Household name brand including the ABC, AFL, BigPond, Domino’s Pizza, Fairfax, Jetstar, NRMA, Rio Tinto, Virgin Blue, Vodaphone and even Westpac are on Twitter. Certainly, time will tell if Twitter grows in its revelance here in Australia.

For those who didn’t attend but wish they did, check out speaker Laurel Papworth’s coverage of the session on her blog where she kindly includes the slideshow used for her part of the presentation. (more…)