Google is sure screwed up! If you search for me by name Google shows that there are 100's of results - guess what it places as #1 - a page that ceased to be mine back in 2000 (4 years ago!). To top it off the page, web host, company, domain, etc. all ceased to exist back in 2001.

There must be a lonely link out there pointing at that old webpage and on the strength of that alone Google ranks this non-existant page #1.

I have long thought Google's results - at least for competitive commercial terms - were garbage but this is a bit ridiculous.

As I stated in another post I believe google is giving more credit now to the age of the domain and the links assocaited with it.

------------------
The Best Real Estate Agents in Las Vegas and Atlanta in the Las Vegas Real Estate Market Atlanta Real Estate Market offering Las Vegas Homes for sale and Atlanta Homes

I had something in my email this morning regarding a discussion of that very thing at one of the seo forums. It seems more and more people are realizing that Google's heavy reliance on links is leading to bad results (and a boost for Google's Adwords profits of course).

I wonder if Google is smart enough to see what is coming? If they are we will be in for another big algo change.

How dare Google manipulate their business practices to increase profits!

(sorry, couldn't help myself)

------------------
Telecom Sales and Service Manager
RE license coming soon

You have the right attitude - far better than the large group of people out there who believe Google is focused on providing better search and not on bigger profits.

If more people realized Google was a business and not put it up on an alter to be worshiped perhaps we would not all be following Google's every twitch because currently every twitch still affects our own bottom lines more than it should.

The funny thing is that we all promoted Google heavily in order to steer people away from their blind devotion to AltaVista and Yahoo (then using Inktomi)- both used to be good but turned bad just like the path Google is on. Now we are facing the same situation with Google and it is time to stop the Google promotion and move on .... Next!

Well I have been looking at my logs very close over the last 2 weeks and I can say that google traffic is falling.

My MSN traffic is almost equal with google right now. Using my Yahoo and MSN traffic I have a 2 to 1 ratio of more traffic from those 2 search engines compared to google.

I personally feel that most of the traffic from google is other real estate agents or webmasters hitting the website.

Google is about to shoot themselves in the foot, while trying to increase profits for their investors, results have become less and less relevant to push more people to adwords. Google knows that realtors have to market themselves either by natural results or adwords, since google has caused real estate terms to become less relevant, more and more realtors are going to adwords.

Google is not stupid, but they are getting greedy and IMHO MSN will knock them off within the next year.

------------------
The Best Real Estate Agents in Las Vegas and Atlanta in the Las Vegas Real Estate Market Atlanta Real Estate Market offering Las Vegas Homes for sale and Atlanta Homes

When google offered their IPO they were already past their prime

------------------

Competition has arrived for Google: http://beta.search.msn.com/
Looks like Google copycat, but returns better results and I am sure that MSN will take a good share from Google market.


------------------

Both companies have the cash behind them so its going to be very competitive. It will end up resulting in better searches. Internet users are quick to switch services if they find something better.

------------------
Real Estate Website Content | Black Diamond Real Estate | Turner Valley Real Estate | Real Estate Website Developers

MSN won't take the google throne. What they may do though is not Yahoo out of second place. The problem with msn is that its msn. If the search engine turns out like their operating systems, google has nothing to fear.

------------------

"MSN won't take the google throne."

That's like saying IE will never knock out Netscape... When MSN builds THEIR search INTO THEIR operating system (which runs over 90% of the home machines in the world), which will be only a matter of time, you better believe the MSN search will the king sitting in that throne!

As much as I don't like MSN, their products, or their business practices, you better not under estimate their power and what they can do.

My advice would be, do everything you need to get your site optimized for MSN... or else.

google has feedback now for the February update

With the recent February update Google has also decided to open up a feedback channel. If you have comments about the update you can mail them to feb05feedback@googlegroups.com

got this from www.ozzu.com

just to mention something about google and something that was posted, yes google is a business, they have leaned on other businesses to push those adwords, which truthfully are not that profitable to the smaller business man. and i think honestly, some of their keywords pricing have been rigged, how could somebody just starting a website, bid 4.00 a click, thats just logically unreasonable.

msn taking over google, most likely not, there are other factors that are taking place right now as well.
1. google is buying up all the fiber optic cable that was laid down in the 80's and 90's that has been unused
2. google has a strong partership with mozilla
3. it is rumored that google is positioning themselves to develop an operating system
4.there are many who have a distate in their mouth for msn.

so i can see where it could be deceptively apparent that google would lose to msn, but in all reality, IMO, this will never happen.

later,