Omar Kattan - search in a nutshell

Google’s Keyword research tool found at https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal has been updated to include actual number of searches per keyword and suggested keywords.  This is a fantastic development for both paid (PPC) as well as natural search (SEO) campaigns as we can factor Google’s data into the keyword research projects conducted for clients.

More imprtantly, this update will enable us to measure Google’s data against a client’s very own analytics data to begin to understand the synergies between paid and natural search and to better advise how to spend our client’s money for maximum ROI (return on investment).

 Some of the benefits of the new functionality in the Google Adwords tool: 

• Discover high-traffic keywords to include in AdWords campaigns.

• Maximise ROI by analysing CPC and search volume data side by side.

• Identify niche keywords to be be included in Adwords campaigns.

• Analyse average search volume figures to get a better understanding of keyword seasonality.

The official Google Adwords Blog has further information on this new development.

Adobe recently announced it is has developed its Flash technology to enable search engine spiders to read the content within it.

In the past, search engines like Google were able to pick out links embedded in Flash files but unable to index the content within the Flash file.  So even though humans were able to read the content, search engines couldn’t actually see it.

Last week all this changed when Adobe (owners of the Flash technology) announced that new technology within their product will allow search engines to read all content within a Flash file.

What does all this mean?

For Flash developers, this is a Godsend.  They will now be able to continually create beautiful Flash sites regardless of the fact that it was previously “unfriendly” to search engines.  But is it search friendly now? The answer is no. 

Even though search engines will now be able to read content within a Flash file, the fact that it is usually only one file with loads of content crammed into it makes it unfriendly to search engines. 

Search engines like sites that are multi-paged, with content categorised into folders/subfolders with a broad to narrow keyword mapping structure (ie the homepage targets the broadest keyword (most general) and as you go deeper into the site the keywords become more narrow (more specific or “long-tailed”).

Final ruling on Adobe’s new Flash technology…

Well the jury is still out on this one but my guess is that Flash sites will still lag behind their much leaner HTML cosines in the search engine result pages (SERPs).