I’ve been in the middle of a few PPC and SEO projects today and have been using Google almost every minute of the day.  Around 4:30 CST today Google updated their page design.

Google’s old page design:

Google’s new page design:

I was still able to pull up the old design in Chrome.  I was checking some cookie tracking, and right after I removed all cookie data from Firefox, I noticed the new design.  And I’ve been clearing my cookies frequently the past couple of days to re-test tracking, so this is a very recent update from Google.

Search Filters

Google is now putting a column of filters on the left of the SERPs – but they are the same as the ones along the top-left.  They have, however, added a “recommended tools” section below that that allows users to choose page images, or fewer or more shopping results.  Users can then click “more options” and filter by timeframe, geo-location (you set your location just below the search box), standard view and timeline (very odd), or a few more standard page options.

Geolocation Filter

When I searched for “shoes” and used the “nearby” filter, Google pulled out the top results and replaced them with local listings – mostly superpages and citypages.  But there were a few results from local stores in my area that would not have come up on page 1 without this filter.  And after I chose “nearby”, options to refine my location filter even further appeared, including the ability to choose a custom location, or my default location.  I could also choose to filter by city, region or state.

Timeline filter

The first thought I had was “useless”.  Unless I’m doing some research for a mid-term or my thesis, I don’t want to get the complete history of shoes because I’m probably looking to buy some new ones.  Here’s ascreenshot below, and let’s see how long this option lasts:

Recency Filter

Google’s options to filter by time looks like their big answer to integrate comments and social conversations.

More filter options

The other two filtering options of note are the Page Images (showing thumbnails of images on the page) and Page Preview (shows a preview of the page to the right of the Title & Description).  Both of these features are not new for a search engine.  I consulted with a startup-search engine that had a good implementation of the page preview feature in early 2007.

Google Page Images

Google Page Preview

The big picture for Search Engine Marketing

What I did notice is that each time I chose a new filter, the ads reloaded, meaning a new pageview for each advertiser on the page.  And Ads were not filtered; they were either reloaded or removed on certain filters like the timeline.  This means every advertiser received another impression each time, without further filtering the ads.  Unfortunately, might mean lower Click Through Rates and lower Quality Scores.  I’ll be watching my campaigns closely to see if there are any changes as more Google users are switched to the new interface.

Popularity: 20% [?]

A targeted, responsive, op-in (fully CANSPAM compliant) email list can springboard your new internet business to success faster than you can imagine. Here’s how I used WordPress to put together a 1 page site to collect emails and provide a little content until I have time to get to them.

There are two domains that have been sitting in my registrar account for quite a while now, but I haven’t done anything with them.  The finished sites are BassOutfitter.com and FanChair.com – they are build using the same process, so don’t expect much difference (it’s just a splash page, rememter).

So why should you take the time to set something like this up?  Several reasons:

• Domain age – the age of a domain is considered to be a small factor for SEO.  All things equal, take two domains targeted for the same keyword, and the older domain will rank higher.  Of course all things are never equal, but every little bit you can do helps when your are trying to rank well in the SERPS.
• Content – I can provide a small amount of targeted content on the site.  It’s just the domain name in an H1 tag, META info, and a couple of paragraphs, but that’s all I need right now to put three good, targeted keywords on the page several times.
• I am collecting email addresses.  Opt-in email lists are a great way to increase revenue for your site.  By building a targeted email list, you can greatly increase your profit per visitor by gathering long-term, repeat customers.
• I’m too busy right now.  Yep, but one site is an extension of work I’m already doing… the next evolution, if you will.  The other is a business idea that I’ve been thinking about for years, and am very excited about once I can get to it.

The Rundown:

Here’s a quick step-by-step to tell you exactly what I did.  Hopefully you can put this to good use on some of your dormant domains.

1. Install Wordpress & do the standard config stuff (permalinks, blog name, analytics & other basic stuff)
2. Install a Theme I like – I chose one that would have a good, strong content page with a wigitized sidebar and footer.
3. Build my “Action Page” – Create a new page and put a little content telling users that visit the site what is is about, when it’s coming, and a call to action.  Mine was sign up for an email when the site launches.
4. Set Static Page – Go to Settings > Reading and set the front page to your Action page.
5. Remove Navigation – You don’t want any other pages on the site – only the one with the call to action.
6. Install Opt-In Plugin – Set up one widget that can collect email addresses.  MailChimp has a good Wordpress plugin.  Then set this as the only widget in the sidebar.

That’s it. Now you have a great looking placement page that will work for you collecting email addresses while you build your site.  Check mine out here:

BassOutfitter.com - Bass Outfitter will carry the stuff that we use personally and recommend. Great fishing gear, killer lures, awesome accessories, and all the stuff you need to catch a lunker.

FanChair.com – Fan Chair will bring you the best stadium seat available.

Popularity: 67% [?]

Ray Stevens Rocks!

Popularity: 6% [?]

That’s right, it’s been way too long since my last post.  What have I been doing? Well, my last actual post was near the end of September, and since then I have

1. Changed jobs
2. Built & launched 3 WordPress blogs and 2 Magento stores.
3. Working on a rebuild of 2 ecommerce sites I own & building a brand new ecommerce store for a great domain I picked up.
4. Incorporated my business and built a corporate site for that.
5. Managed a ton of advertising spend for my clients
6. And a spent a ton of time with my family – both happy and sad situations.

But MattMauldin.com has been neglected.  The first nine months of 2009 went pretty well, and I like writing because it keeps me on the lookout for interesting topics when I would otherwise be playing Brickbreaker on the Blackberry.  Even my twitter account was quiet.

Here are a few New Year’s Resolutions I have for MattMauldin.com:

• On good post per month – “good” is subjective and the only point of view that counts is mine.
• 5 tweets per week minimum – because a list of tweets are posted here weekly, as you can tell for the previous several pages.
• Finish the Wheel of Time posts by Spring – This post topic was leading up to A Memory of Light (see here), but I didn’t complete all the posts. I did, however, read all the books (yay for me).
• Updates on MattMauldin.com – Find a replacement plugin for Simple Tags unless it is updated in the next week or so because it doesn’t work with WP 2.9; and find a replacement plugin for Twitter Tools because it skips weeks or double posts for a single week.  Any suggestions?
• Begin sharing a little more about items 1 through 5 above.  Sorry, #6 is all mine.

OK, now the goals are specific, written, and measurable.  We’ll see how they go.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Here’s an excerpt from the local news that I had to share with you:

Fort Worth police tell NBCDFW that when the 71-year-old man saw the female deputy coming toward him he dropped the trimmer and ran into the house in the 9800 block of Watercress Drive.

The man came back outside in shorts, that were unzipped, and told the deputy he’d done yard work in the buff before and thought his yard was private enough that no one could see him.

The deputy pointed out that the problem was some privacy slats were missing from his chain-link fence and he lives across the street from a park and along a busy road.

That’s freakin hilarious.  It doesn’t stop there, though.  Here’s part of the actual police report:

Since CIT1 had the weedeater in front of him, Deputy Rowland did not observe CIT1’s genitalia; However, upon CIT1 observing Deputy Rowland he took off running toward the south door of his residence.  Upon CIT1 turning around to run Deputy Rowland observed CIT1’s buttocks.  Deputy Rowland yelled at CIT1 to stop.  However, CIT1 sat the weedeater down and ran into his home.  Deputy Rowland observed that CIT1 did not appear to lock the door as he simply opened the screen door and ran inside.  Deputy Rowland remained at the East Gate and yelled for CIT1 to come outside to speak to him.  In a few moments CIT1 exited the residence.  He had hurriedly put on a pair of tan shorts which were unzipped, revealing the fact that he was wearing no underwear.

OK, that’s awesome.  The police then had to check the man’s record to see if he was a sex offender.  It turned out negative, so the naked man received a Class C misdemeanor citation.

The Texas penal code 4201 A-10 states that a citation should be issued for exposing “his anus or genitals in a public place and (being) reckless about whether another may be present who will be offended or alarmed by his act.”

I’m still trying to find out what makes me laugh harder?  This story or the Texas “penal” code?

Popularity: 11% [?]