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Google Custom Search Engine Management Bug

On January 6, 2010, In SEO, by rustybrick

For those of you who use the Google Custom Search Engine (Google CSE), you may have run into an issue with modifying the settings for your custom search engine this morning and yesterday.

A Google Custom Search Help thread has confirmed reports of a bug that prevented users to maintain their Google CSE. There are several reports of the issue in that forum, but here is one report:

Today (january 06, 2010) when i access the URL http://www.google.com/cse/manage/all?auth=[BIG AUTH KEY HERE] to manage my custom search engine, i get ‘Server Error’:

We’re sorry.

The service you requested is currently unavailable.

Also the XML with the custom search results doesn’t work. I have a Business Acoount attached to my search engine. Thanks!

Google employee, Prathap Reddy, confirmed the issue and wrote:

We are aware of the issue; We are working very hard to fix this as early as possible.

This is an intermediate issue and will be addressed as early as possible.

I personally tried it myself and it seems to work fine. I guess at the time I tried it, it was working.

Forum discussion at Google Custom Search Help.


For those of you who use the Google Custom Search Engine (Google CSE), you may have run into an issue with modifying the settings for your custom search engine this morning and yesterday.

A Google Custom Search Help thread has confirmed reports of a bug that prevented users to maintain their Google CSE. There are several reports of the issue in that forum, but here is one report:

Today (january 06, 2010) when i access the URL http://www.google.com/cse/manage/all?auth=[BIG AUTH KEY HERE] to manage my custom search engine, i get ‘Server Error’:

We’re sorry.

The service you requested is currently unavailable.

Also the XML with the custom search results doesn’t work. I have a Business Acoount attached to my search engine. Thanks!

Google employee, Prathap Reddy, confirmed the issue and wrote:

We are aware of the issue; We are working very hard to fix this as early as possible.

This is an intermediate issue and will be addressed as early as possible.

I personally tried it myself and it seems to work fine. I guess at the time I tried it, it was working.

Forum discussion at Google Custom Search Help.



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Google Real-Time Search: a Review

On January 4, 2010, In SEO, by Search Engine Optimization, Google Optimization - RSS Feeds

You may have heard of Google s latest effort to provide the freshest most relevant results to searchers. It s called Google Real-Time Search. How has it changed what will turn up where on the search engine results pages And is it really an improvement …

IT Training Programs Get The It Skills That Gets Jobs! Further Your Career Today

You may have heard of Google s latest effort to provide the freshest most relevant results to searchers. It s called Google Real-Time Search. How has it changed what will turn up where on the search engine results pages And is it really an improvement …

IT Training Programs Get The It Skills That Gets Jobs! Further Your Career Today

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Google’s Blue Interface (AKA Jazz) Being Seen By More Searchers

On January 4, 2010, In SEO, by rustybrick

In November, we reported on the Google Blue Jazz interface, a new Google user interface Google hopes to push sometime this year. Technically, it is not named Jazz, but I think that is the name that might stick. Only a few Google users saw the interface. But ever since the New Years period, I have been seeing more and more reports of users seeing the interface.

Here is a picture of the front page:

Google Blue Jazz Interface

Actually, a reader sent me some crisp pictures of the various pages. You can see them all at http://twitpic.com/photos/Chrisway.

Anyway, the main thing here is that it is not “new” in that it was announced a few months back. But expect more and more people to see it in the upcoming weeks and/or months.

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorldand DigitalPoint Forums and many other threads which prop up at Google Web Search Help.


In November, we reported on the Google Blue Jazz interface, a new Google user interface Google hopes to push sometime this year. Technically, it is not named Jazz, but I think that is the name that might stick. Only a few Google users saw the interface. But ever since the New Years period, I have been seeing more and more reports of users seeing the interface.

Here is a picture of the front page:

Google Blue Jazz Interface

Actually, a reader sent me some crisp pictures of the various pages. You can see them all at http://twitpic.com/photos/Chrisway.

Anyway, the main thing here is that it is not “new” in that it was announced a few months back. But expect more and more people to see it in the upcoming weeks and/or months.

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorldand DigitalPoint Forums and many other threads which prop up at Google Web Search Help.



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Malware in 2010 : Hiding in Google Search Results

On January 4, 2010, In SEO, by rustybrick

No one will deny it, not even Google. Viruses, malware, spyware and so on, is currently a major issue on the Internet. Google and other search engines has stepped up how they detect and block malware from showing up in their index. But now, in 2010, expect it to get a lot worse. Expect those who produce malware to not look to just infect computers, but to look to get around Google’s malware detection techniques and infect even more computers.

A WebmasterWorld thread has reports of more and more malware getting through Google’s filters. For example, we reported a major malware breach using the keyword phrase blackberry news via CNN as some sort of 302 redirect malware hack. Google finally removed it, but I wonder how many computers were infected by that?

The WebmasterWorld thread is discussing several people’s experiences with recent malware infections they or friends received via a Google search.

I know Google is doing what they can to prevent this, but it is hard to keep up. So just be wary of what you click on via email, Google, Facebook and so on. The best prevention is being smart.

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.


No one will deny it, not even Google. Viruses, malware, spyware and so on, is currently a major issue on the Internet. Google and other search engines has stepped up how they detect and block malware from showing up in their index. But now, in 2010, expect it to get a lot worse. Expect those who produce malware to not look to just infect computers, but to look to get around Google’s malware detection techniques and infect even more computers.

A WebmasterWorld thread has reports of more and more malware getting through Google’s filters. For example, we reported a major malware breach using the keyword phrase blackberry news via CNN as some sort of 302 redirect malware hack. Google finally removed it, but I wonder how many computers were infected by that?

The WebmasterWorld thread is discussing several people’s experiences with recent malware infections they or friends received via a Google search.

I know Google is doing what they can to prevent this, but it is hard to keep up. So just be wary of what you click on via email, Google, Facebook and so on. The best prevention is being smart.

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.



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Video Recap of Weekly Search Buzz :: New Years Day 2010

On December 31, 2009, In SEO, by rustybrick

itunes-subscribe-video.pngIn our New Years day video recap, I covered the last week of 2009 in search at the Search Engine Roundtable. I first showed off the various logos for New Years by Google, Yahoo, Bing, Ask.com and many others. Google also had a PageRank update on New Years eve. Google uses ccTLDs over server location. Google slapped SEOs by dropping them and web designers from the local pack. Bing’s MSNBot is up to no good again, crawling fake file names. Google AdWords advertisers feel paralyzed. Increase your click through rate with women in thongs in your Google ads. Google launched the advertising professional search feature. Google had a weird bug related to the September 11 attacks. Finally, Google’s porn filter had some issues this week. That was the last week of 2009 in search at the Search Engine Roundtable! Happy & Healthy 2010!

FYI – Sorry for the volume, you will have to crank it up to hear me.

Make sure to subscribe to our video feed or subscribe directly on iTunes to be notified of these updates and download the video in the background. Here is the YouTube version of the feed:

For the original iTunes version, click here or to see the YouTube version in higher quality, click play & hit “HD.”

Search Topics of Discussion:
New Years:

Google SEO:

Bing SEO:

Google AdWords:

Google Issues:

Please do subscribe via iTunes or on your favorite RSS reader. Don’t forget to comment below with the right answer and good luck!


itunes-subscribe-video.pngIn our New Years day video recap, I covered the last week of 2009 in search at the Search Engine Roundtable. I first showed off the various logos for New Years by Google, Yahoo, Bing, Ask.com and many others. Google also had a PageRank update on New Years eve. Google uses ccTLDs over server location. Google slapped SEOs by dropping them and web designers from the local pack. Bing’s MSNBot is up to no good again, crawling fake file names. Google AdWords advertisers feel paralyzed. Increase your click through rate with women in thongs in your Google ads. Google launched the advertising professional search feature. Google had a weird bug related to the September 11 attacks. Finally, Google’s porn filter had some issues this week. That was the last week of 2009 in search at the Search Engine Roundtable! Happy & Healthy 2010!

FYI – Sorry for the volume, you will have to crank it up to hear me.

Make sure to subscribe to our video feed or subscribe directly on iTunes to be notified of these updates and download the video in the background. Here is the YouTube version of the feed:


For the original iTunes version, click here or to see the YouTube version in higher quality, click play & hit “HD.”

Search Topics of Discussion:
New Years:

Google SEO:

Bing SEO:

Google AdWords:

Google Issues:

Please do subscribe via iTunes or on your favorite RSS reader. Don’t forget to comment below with the right answer and good luck!



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Google Toolbar PageRank Update (New Years 2010)

On December 31, 2009, In SEO, by rustybrick

Almost exactly like last year, Google is pushing out a New Years PageRank Update now. Mid-December we reported PageRank shifts or penalties and today, there are wide spread reports of a PageRank update in the Google Toolbar.

It is a bit funny, because last New Years, we reported in mid-December a PR shuffle and then on December 31, 2008 we reported an official PageRank update in the toolbar. It is almost exactly the same way this year. Today, December 31, 2009, we are reporting the 2010 New Years PageRank update.

The last toolbar PageRank update before today was in October. Like I always say, Toolbar PageRank is not of great use to SEOs. It is often months out of date and does not determine a rank of a web page. So please do not obsess over Toolbar PageRank.

For those who saw their toolbar PageRank go up, congrats on the ‘badge’ and here is to an even higher PR in 2010!

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld, Google Webmaster Help, Search Engine Watch Forums and DigitalPoint Forums.


Almost exactly like last year, Google is pushing out a New Years PageRank Update now. Mid-December we reported PageRank shifts or penalties and today, there are wide spread reports of a PageRank update in the Google Toolbar.

It is a bit funny, because last New Years, we reported in mid-December a PR shuffle and then on December 31, 2008 we reported an official PageRank update in the toolbar. It is almost exactly the same way this year. Today, December 31, 2009, we are reporting the 2010 New Years PageRank update.

The last toolbar PageRank update before today was in October. Like I always say, Toolbar PageRank is not of great use to SEOs. It is often months out of date and does not determine a rank of a web page. So please do not obsess over Toolbar PageRank.

For those who saw their toolbar PageRank go up, congrats on the ‘badge’ and here is to an even higher PR in 2010!

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld, Google Webmaster Help, Search Engine Watch Forums and DigitalPoint Forums.



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Google Removes SEOs from Local One Pack in Search Results

On December 31, 2009, In SEO, by rustybrick

In an updated Google Maps Help thread, Joel H. from Google said Google has dropped most of the local results in the Google web search pages for SEO and Web Design related queries. Yes, you heard me right – Google has decided to intentionally not show a local pack for queries that are related to SEO or web design and include a local qualifier. Example searches include [web design 10010], [web design suffern], [seo 90210], [new york seo companies] and so on.

Google first removed web designers from the local pack in November. Then they claimed it was a bug related to a fix for an Orlando Dodge dealership, but that is not true, according to Joel.

Yesterday, Joel from Google said:

Earlier thread, Brian (BB- baseonballs) [a Googler, btw] noted that this may be related to a known issue regarding the display of local search results on google.com. After further investigation, they are slightly different, and I’ll explain our intent.

Today, we’re intentionally showing less local results for web design / SEO queries. For example, [web design sacramento] doesn’t display local listings today. We believe this is an accurate representation of user intent. In some cases, we do show local listings, however (as NSNA/php-er noted) [web design in bellingham]. I’m sure some of you feel we should be displaying local results for queries like [Web Design Vancouver]. I understand that concern, but based on our understanding of our users, we feel this is the right decision for now.

I’ll give the usual disclaimer that we’re constantly working on improving the user experience and results will vary over time. So, this could change in the future, but I wanted to be explicit about what we’re doing today.

Yea, Joel said that. Of course, the logical thoughts by SEOs on this matter is that Google really does hate SEOs. This may be the last Google vs. SEOs controversy of 2009.

Forum discussion at Google Maps Help.


In an updated Google Maps Help thread, Joel H. from Google said Google has dropped most of the local results in the Google web search pages for SEO and Web Design related queries. Yes, you heard me right – Google has decided to intentionally not show a local pack for queries that are related to SEO or web design and include a local qualifier. Example searches include [web design 10010], [web design suffern], [seo 90210], [new york seo companies] and so on.

Google first removed web designers from the local pack in November. Then they claimed it was a bug related to a fix for an Orlando Dodge dealership, but that is not true, according to Joel.

Yesterday, Joel from Google said:

Earlier thread, Brian (BB- baseonballs) [a Googler, btw] noted that this may be related to a known issue regarding the display of local search results on google.com. After further investigation, they are slightly different, and I’ll explain our intent.

Today, we’re intentionally showing less local results for web design / SEO queries. For example, [web design sacramento] doesn’t display local listings today. We believe this is an accurate representation of user intent. In some cases, we do show local listings, however (as NSNA/php-er noted) [web design in bellingham]. I’m sure some of you feel we should be displaying local results for queries like [Web Design Vancouver]. I understand that concern, but based on our understanding of our users, we feel this is the right decision for now.

I’ll give the usual disclaimer that we’re constantly working on improving the user experience and results will vary over time. So, this could change in the future, but I wanted to be explicit about what we’re doing today.

Yea, Joel said that. Of course, the logical thoughts by SEOs on this matter is that Google really does hate SEOs. This may be the last Google vs. SEOs controversy of 2009.

Forum discussion at Google Maps Help.



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Can You Optimize for Stop Words in Search Results?

On December 30, 2009, In SEO, by rustybrick

A HighRankings Forum thread asks an interesting SEO question. The question is, can you optimize for stop words in Google or other search engines?

His particular example seems flawed, in that he is calling IT a stop word and it is stopping him for optimizing for the query [it companies]. However, when I search for [it companies] in Google, it does seem to figure out, IT here stands for information technology.

But in general, is there a need to optimize for stop words? Do we have more examples of cases? If so, can it be done?

Here is a poll:

Can you SEO for stop words?(polls)

Forum discussion at HighRankings Forum.

Update: See Jill’s comment below for the issue this SEO has in the thread.


A HighRankings Forum thread asks an interesting SEO question. The question is, can you optimize for stop words in Google or other search engines?

His particular example seems flawed, in that he is calling IT a stop word and it is stopping him for optimizing for the query [it companies]. However, when I search for [it companies] in Google, it does seem to figure out, IT here stands for information technology.

But in general, is there a need to optimize for stop words? Do we have more examples of cases? If so, can it be done?

Here is a poll:

Forum discussion at HighRankings Forum.

Update: See Jill’s comment below for the issue this SEO has in the thread.



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Google Movie Search Returns Weird 9-11 Message

On December 29, 2009, In SEO, by rustybrick

A search in Google for [movie: nine nyc] directs you to a Google Movie results page. It shows you the typical movie theaters in that area and movie times, as you would expect. However, it also shows “Showtimes for September 11 attacks” in the blue bar under the search box.

That, to me, is incredibly weird. Here is a picture:

September 11 Attacks Message in Google

Also, others are reporting a search in Google for [movie: nine ny] directs you to a Google Movie results page. It shows you the typical movie theaters in that area and movie times, as you would expect. However, it also shows “Showtimes for US Airways Flight 1549″ in the blue bar under the search box.

Google Movies Shows Flight 1549

The US Airways Flight was the one that safely emergency landed in the Hudson River in New York.

I am not sure why these weird, cryptic messages are coming up in Google Movie search.

Forum discussion at Google Web Search Help.


A search in Google for [movie: nine nyc] directs you to a Google Movie results page. It shows you the typical movie theaters in that area and movie times, as you would expect. However, it also shows “Showtimes for September 11 attacks” in the blue bar under the search box.

That, to me, is incredibly weird. Here is a picture:

September 11 Attacks Message in Google

Also, others are reporting a search in Google for [movie: nine ny] directs you to a Google Movie results page. It shows you the typical movie theaters in that area and movie times, as you would expect. However, it also shows “Showtimes for US Airways Flight 1549″ in the blue bar under the search box.

Google Movies Shows Flight 1549

The US Airways Flight was the one that safely emergency landed in the Hudson River in New York.

I am not sure why these weird, cryptic messages are coming up in Google Movie search.

Forum discussion at Google Web Search Help.



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