The new Google CheckOut Service

June 30, 2006

This new service (Google Checkout)just out yesterday is touted by Google as a faster, safer and more convenient way to shop online.

Instead of managing multiple online accounts and passwords, a shopper can now quickly and easily buy from stores across the web and track all orders and shipping in one place.

Even though Google assures that their fraud protection policy covers users against unauthorized purchases made through Google Checkout, I am not convinced that the security of one stop shopping will really appeal to many.

For starters the service uses the same Google account credentials that you use for email. While having a single location for all internet orders makes makes sense, Gmail (and other Google services) users will have to beef up their passwords and change them often. As opposed to form filling up your financial info in several websites, you will be doing so in just one,….one successful ‘crack’ at your password is enough to open up your financial world to thieves and fraudsters.

Your password must therefore be as strong as it possibly can be.

Here are some password tips:

Selecting a good password is an important part of password security. The key is to find a password that is easy for you to remember and hard for others to guess.

Your password must be easy to remember but tough for others to guess. To create a strong password follow this guidelines:

- Do not include your login name in your password at all.
- Use both uppercase and lowercase letters e.g. (KaNNaTVs).
- Include both letters and numbers e.g. ($1KaNNa36A%TVs). Note: Use of spaces is a good idea too.
- Avoid using your name, common names, birthdays and/or dictionary words. Most passwords can be ‘Brute Forced’ using a dictionary attack

The Google Checkout service is otherwise another great idea by Google as the company leads innovation on the internet. It will probably be very successful, but the jury is still out.

Good Luck!

P/S - The above mentioned password techniques should be adopted by every webmaster to protect their websites. Your control panel and FTP credentials must be made hard to guess…deliberately, for the password to your web server account is your first line of defense against malicious hackers.

Written by James Opiko · Filed Under E-Biz, Search Engines, Web-Dev-Design | Leave a Comment

Search Engine News Summary - 06.28.2006

June 28, 2006

Navisso.com is a new search engine
Google gets computers to hear TV.
Major Web browsers getting facelifts.
Yahoo Messenger allows users to share services.
Google’s Orkut hit by data-stealing worm.
Microsoft upgrades instant messenger.
Google set for big share of UK ad revenues.
Google loses UK managing director.
Google launches new Shakespeare site.
Google releases Google News in Arabic.
An interview with Google’s Eric Schmidt (video).
Updating Google’s corporate philosophy.

Written by James Opiko · Filed Under Search Engines | Leave a Comment

Yahoo has the answers, Google still searching

June 28, 2006

“Google may be the king of search, but in one area at least, Yahoo is kicking Google’s can around the block. The upstart Yahoo Answers has blown by the venerable Google Answers (venerable at least by Internet time, having been around since May 2002), and seems to be drawing rave reviews from analysts and users alike.”

….article continued

Written by James Opiko · Filed Under Search Engines | Leave a Comment

Discover the linking structure of your competitors

June 28, 2006

You probably know that inbound links to your web site are very important if you want to get high rankings on Google, Yahoo or other major search engines.

If you want to get high rankings for a special search term then you have to optimize a web page for that search term. In addition, you have to get many links from other web sites that point to the optimized web page.

50 links can be better than 500 links

A web page with 50 inbound links can have better rankings than a web page with 500 inbound links.

In addition to the number of links, the quality of the links is also important. Links from related web sites that contain the targeted keyword are better than general links from unrelated sites. There are many other factors that influence the quality of a link.

Analyze the linking structure of your competitors

If your web page cannot be found in the top 10 results for your keyword, then you should analyze the linking structure of the top ranked web pages:

- How many inbound links do the other web pages have?
- Are the other pages linked from .gov and .edu domains?
- Which web pages exactly link to your site and which web pages link to the top ranked pages?
- Are these pages different? What do you have to change?

You should also analyze the web pages that link to the top ranked pages:

- Do these pages use the keyword in the links?
- Do these pages use the keyword in their file names?
- Do these pages use the keyword in their document titles?
- Do these pages use the keyword in their body text?
- Which other keywords are used in the web pages that link to the top ranked pages?
- The right linking structure is the key to your success

Getting the right links to your web site is the key to high search engine rankings. Many webmasters focus only on getting as many links as possible. That’s your chance.

If you know which links you need then you can get better results with fewer links. Focus on quality instead of quantity.

Unfortunately, it is difficult and time-consuming to analyze the linking structure of the top ranked web pages. For that reason, use the Top 10 Inbound Link Optimizer.

The Top 10 Inbound Link Optimizer analyzes the linking structure of the top 10 ranked web pages and it tells you exactly which links you need to leave your competition behind. It tells you in plain English sentences what you have to do to optimize the links to your web site.

You need the right links to get high rankings on Google, Yahoo and other important search engines. IBP’s inbound link optimizer helps you to find the best linking structure for your web site as quickly as possible.

If you also use IBP’s web page optimizer to optimize the content of your web pages then it is very difficult not to get high search engine rankings for your web site.

Article: Courtesy - Axandra Weekly Newsletter | SEO Facts

$Google\'s PageRank and Beyond : The Science of Search Engine Rankings$ $A Beginner\'s Guide to Search Engine Placement and Ranking$