Successful Blog

Speaking of Zeitgeist–Don’t Leave Trends

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Blogger know thyself.

While you’re finding out how your readers search, why not personalize Google to find out what you might learn from your own search trends?

Just last week Google introduced Trends–a feature that lets you look at your top searches, clicks, and other info about your personal search activity. To use it, you only have to sign on to your Google account when you search.
All of the details are described for you at this page of the googleblog_blogspot.com logo.

The key features of Personalized Search offered through Trends are that it

  • Orders your search based on what’s relevant to YOU. Over time, new search results are ordered using your search history, particularly what you have clicked on in the past, to deliver more personalized and relevant results to what you are looking for.
  • Past searches–web pages you have browsed– are available to you for browsing, researching, and removal.
  • Labels and bookmarks you attach to your Personalized Searches can be accessed from any computer.

I’ve been playing with it for the last three days and here’s what the read out looks like.

Google Trends

I’m thinking this could be very useful for that “where did I see that” syndrome. No extra work, a better record. I like that.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Google Zeitgeist–Will Make ME Millions

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Think everyone’s in a foul mood?
Check Google Zeitgeist it could be true.

googleblog_blogspot.com Zeitgeist

The word Zeitgeist refers to the intellectual, cultural and moral climate of an era. It’s the taste, the outlook, the spirit of the times, so to speak. I think you can have a personal Zeitgeist as well. My own has been suffering from karma-skew all through 2005. I hope to master it in 2006, and I’m looking for every tool to do so. I think Google Zeitgeist might do the trick.

Every month Google interprets the latest search data it has collected for trends, bits of information, and patterns in user searches to make a statistical snapshot in the form of a report called Zeitgeist Watch. You can find it on the Google Blog. The information gathered by Google Zeitgeist isn’t particularly new, but where they take it is. The way they’ve thought-through Zeitgeist makes it a pleasure to behold and a joy to use. Despite my wariness of big conglomerates getting bigger, I just can’t turn up my nose at this one. It’s too much fun for a strategy fanatic like me.

Basically Google Zeitgeist lets you into the minds of Google searchers–our readers. Others attempt to do that, but Google performs it in a visually-friendly, intuitive fashion. They didn’t get to be Google, after all, by making things harder, now did they? Rather than just stopping with an alphabetical list of tags, they’ve analyzed the list into patterns of like-minded choices. This makes the bigger picture stand out.

As shown above, the Zeitgeist categories for October 2005 include

  1. Look It Up
  2. Popular Brick and Mortar Companies
  3. Popular Solo Singers
  4. What Else to Do On Line

The popular search term categories for October 2005 include

  1. Top Worries
  2. Popular Sports
  3. Popular Newsmakers
  4. Tabloid Fodder

The popular Image search categoriess for October 2005 include

  1. Popular Cars
  2. Popular Wizards and Superheroes
  3. Popular Bands
  4. Tabloid Concepts

Just by checking those three lists, we have a sense of what our readers might be thinking, and what topics might be hot. Look a little further, and find that Zeitgeist covers no less than 23 other countries beyond the US. As a person who is curious and fascinated by human behavior, this is like a major Christmas toy. It’s been out for a while now. So if you’ve not played with it yet, it’s time you give Zeitgeist a try. I can see posts in the lists for almost any blog.

But first I’m going to use Google Zeitgeist to invent a Television Game Show. It will have a 20-second song for the final round question like the one that Merv Griffin did for Jeopardy. That’s how I’m going to make millions.

Heck I bet after that the famousblog read by royalty, tycoons, and the rich and famous–Blogebrity–will move me from the C List up to the prestigious A List. Then it will be Veuvre Champagne for everyone in the Signature Room at the top of the John Hancock in Chicago. I’ll be buying and flying you all in. Which might be too nice and thereby force Blogebrity to push me back to the C List again. Oh well, I was only getting 15 minutes of fame to start with.

It’s the money I need desperately. I’ve got a kid in college you know. So the millions will come in handy. My son will use them to graduate from Georgetown. One day he will be a famous CEO of a mega corporation and maybe take of his mom in her doting old age and deterioration.

Thanks for these things will be due to Google and their Zeitgeist Watch lists–the little analysis program that made all of my dreams come true. 🙂

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Blog Construction–What’s Your Function?

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Guest Writer: James Shewmaker

I’m delighted to present this article on Blog Usability, written at my invitation, by James Shewmaker.

If you’re a regular reader at Successful-Blog, you’ve seen James’ insightful comments throughout our discussion threads. James is a visual branding consultant in Atlanta, GA. His business, which he began in 2001, is Qwerty – “Helping Businesses Become Unforgettable,” and his business blog is Qwerty.us/blog/.

Blog Construction–What”s Your Function?

Design is more than decorating. Design has to do with functionality. The form of whatever is designed needs to serve the purpose or function for which it was made.

Many bloggers are more concerned with article writing than they are with the functionality of their blog. There are a number of design factors which these bloggers overlook. However, readers are affected by how they experience your blog, and the reader’s experience is a result of how well the blog functions. If a car looks great on the outside but its engine has no power and its steering feels like driving a motor home, buyers are going to avoid this car. The same is true of the functionality of your blog.

Here are five suggestions for improving the usability of your blog.

    1. For the visitor who does not have your web assets in her browser’s cache, how long does it take for your blog’s main page to load? The visual aesthetic of your blog must be balanced against load design. This balance is determined by the purpose of your blog. If your blog is devoted to visual design such as MocoLoco or CoolHunting, then you will sacrifice speed for visuals, but if your blog is devoted to the discussion of philosophy, you should sacrifice the aesthetic for the reader’s speed of access.

    To test the load time of your blog, first erase your browser’s cache. In most browsers this can be done in the preference settings, or you can use a utility such as iClean by Allume to erase your browser’s cache. Next use a LOW speed internet connection. Just because you have broadband does not mean that your readers do. Now using a stopwatch (or a watch which tracks seconds) see how long it takes for your blog to load into the browser.

    2. Are your graphics fully optimized and have you chosen filenames and alt tags which will aid your visitors and improve your search relevance?

    Optimizing your graphics refers to using a graphics program to reduce the file size (kilobytes) of your graphics to the lowest size possible for the reader to see that which is being shown. Again the size of the file is determined by the purpose of your blog. If the purpose of your blog is not graphical, then a good target size to aim for is approximately 10 kilobytes.

    Unless you are a professional photographer, a jpeg in a blog should never have an optimization setting in the 80s or 90s. This refers to the quality of your jpeg. The best quality and largest size jpeg has an optimization setting of 100, while the lowest optimization setting is 0. In most general purpose blogs, an optimization setting somewhere between 50 and 75 should suffice. If you are producing your own images using a digital camera, it is usually advisable to take the best quality picture and then use a graphics program to optimize the quality.

    Image file names should use words from your posting separated by underlines where spaces would be.

    Alt tags not only provide text for broken links. Alt tags also provide rollover feedback in some browsers. In some browsers. placing your mouse over an image causes a small rectangle to appear which displays the content of the alt tag. This is what is meant by rollover feedback.

    Alt tags also are used by some search spiders. Search engines use programs known as spiders to index the content of websites. Different spiders use different criteria for determining web page relevancy. Alt tags are used by some spiders in evaluating the relevancy of a web page.

    3. Are you using redundant code instead of using CSS? Redundant code refers to code which contains unneccessary duplication of the code declarations. The longer you blog, the more the updating and archiving of your blog is going to be affected by bloat code. Try to eliminate table coding and font declarations as much as possible. CSS reduces the source code necessary to display your blog to a minimum.

    Using HTML to define your blog’s fonts or using tables to create your blog’s layout is the main cause of redundant code. Bloated code is often created by WYSIWIG editors, such as Frontpage, Freeway, and MSWord. If you are importing code from one of these editors into your blog’s editor you are creating bloated code.

    Another reason for avoiding redundant code and bloated code is that it can overtax the servers on your webhost. If a webhost’s servers become overtaxed it can either slow down the access to all the blogs on that server or even cause the blog service to crash.

    4. Minimalistic design in blog templates is more effective than attempting to dazzle with the exception of visual creatives, such as photographers and graphic designers. That which distracts irritates readers.

    Allow me to illustrate this by contrasting the main article page of the Wall Street Journal’s Startup Journal Online with the print article page of the same article. The print article page removes everything which might distract the eye. I am not advocating that you strip your blog’s design to this degreeâ€â€?even the navigation system is eliminated from the print page. Instead I am illustrating the difference between a complex page layout and a minimalistic page layout. The complex layout distracts the eye from the article content. While the minimalistic page layout, makes the text of the article more accessible and important.

    5. Always keep in mind that a large percentage of your audience will be reading your content off RSS or Atom readers and syndicatorsâ€â€?design your blog so that the textual content can stand on its own whenever necessary. For example, do not reference something in your blog’s sidebar without providing a link in the article text.

If you would like more suggestions on improving your blog’s functionality, Jakob Nielsen writes excellent articles about Web Usability.

And for a construction connection of another kind. If you are nostalgic about ABC’s Schoolhouse Rock, here are the words and the site connection to “Construction Junction.�

Thanks, James.
I know I couldn’t have said that better.

James will be back again soon with more.

–ME “Liz” Strauss.

FUN Finds: How to Be a Blogging Idol

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FUN Find: How To Be A Blogging Idol Instead of An Idle Blogger by Cube Management
URL: How To Be A Blogging Idol Instead of An Idle Blogger
Type of Article: How-To, First-Person Narrative
Target Audience: Anyone interested in blogging and reader behavior; Fans of Bo Bice and the TV show American Idol

cubemanagement_com

Content: To be successful at Search Engine Optimization, it’s important that you continually test out new theories and ideas. begins this how-to article. It goes on to describe how the “first person” behind this first-person narrative started a blog for each contestant on American Idol to test SEO Theory. The goal of the project was to have 1-2 sustainable blogs in place with massive traffic by the final show.

The writer divides information into Beginner Lessons:

  • Have a narrow focus.
  • Build a content base.
  • Post several times a week.
  • Use ads if appropriate.

and Advanced Techniques:

  • Blog and Ping.
  • Use conventional link building.
  • Use press release.
  • Actively solicit posts.

Two techniques this test used–building blogs that would die and using link trading markets–are not strategies that I’d sign my name to. However, this article presents an interesting story to support the writer’s claim that One doesn’t need to be a SEO ace to be able to create a blog that can generate a large number of visitors. It’s an interesting test to follow.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Google Homepage–Got Yours Yet?

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googleblog_blogspot.com homepage article

Here’s what Google says:

The personalized homepage was created to bring together the stuff that interests you from across the web. From an engineering perspective, this became an opportunity to create a framework for all types of content and information. Supporting RSS and Atom feeds was one step in that direction, and today we’re excited to start supporting richer web apps as well. With the Google Homepage API, developers can now create modules for the personalized homepage. It’s designed to be flexible and easy to use, and you don’t need to download anything to create a module. To get the ball rolling, the team’s created a few modules to add to the directory. So check these out and get started creating your own.

Have you got yours yet?

Or are you waiting for the reviews?

You can find all of the links and more about how to build your own Google Homepage at the Google blog.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles:
Google–Do You Have Something to Tell Me?
Check Google Backlinks Through Yahoo
Google Site Maps–Looking for Lancelot or Guinevere
Google Blogger–403 Forbidden–How Could You Let that Happen!
Google Zeitgeist–Will Make ME Millions

Blog Basics 2: How to Code Links

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tied wire

I found myself this week, teaching someone how to build links for the fifth time in so many months. . . . Yeah, sometimes I’m a little slow at realizing what I should be writing about.

Even if you’re a pro who already knows how to code links, you’re going to meet someone who doesn’t know. Showing someone how can be the start of a relationship. This document explains the how to of building links.

Before I begin, many people know that the quick-and-easy way to make external sidebar links is to use Blogrolling. Fewer know that the javascript of Blogrolling causes a blog to load more slowly or that search engine spiders tend to trip on it.

The healthy blog uses external linking built by hand. It takes longer to build links individually, but it’s not hard. It’s simple formula, fill-in-the-blank. Here’s the code.

The Code

  • Note the space after the first a. Note the quotes around the link.

    <a href=“http://URL”>Link Anchor Text</a >

  • Voila! Get the characters where they go and that code shows this.

    Link Anchor Text

The Code Explained: The Link Itself

“http://URL”

If you want to link to the blog itself, put the blog’s home page URL.

“https://www.successful-blog.com”

If you want to link to a specific post, code a Permalink, the permanent address of the post.

“https://www.successful-blog.com/1/blog-basics-1-comments-and-comment-policies/”

Some blog software offers a link below each post marked Permalink to take you to a post’s permanent address. In some, you get to the permanent address by clicking the title of the post. In Blogger, go inside comments. Once there, go to the top and click the title of the post.

You know you have the Permalink when the address in your browser’s address bar includes words from the title of the post.

The Code Explained: The Anchor Text

The link anchor text is the name or description you give the link. It’s a good thing not to name the same link with the same words every time. Search engines realize that humans are not consistent. See the anchor text I used to link my blog Letting me be . . . in the side bar of this Successful (and Outstanding) Blog for an example.

The little bit of extra time it takes to hand code links is good. It could be just the nudge we need to consider whether a link we’re planning is quality. The Checklist for Linking to Quality Blogs is a great test for making sure the link you’re about to build will add value and serve your readers.

There I go again talking about readers. In the end everything comes down them.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles:
Blog Review Checklist
Blog Basics 1: Comments and Comment Policies
Great Find: Tlog Blogging Tips Series