Is Google still a Search Engine?

[SlowBlink]

I've been doing the Adsense thing for a few months now and still haven't made it anywhere in the ranking, I know it takes work and time. The funny thing is I've overlooked the basic purpose getting lost in the marketing part. If I type my full name into Yahoo I get the first two spots. When I type my name into Google I get people with the same last name and endless variations. Shouldn't Google still work as a basic search engine or is it now based on where you rank if you want to be found?

Would I rate higher in Google if I didn't use adsense at all? Seems counter to what they started out as. I know I double check with Yahoo now if it doesn't show up in google and sure enough it's working more efficiently.

[TheHoff]

Your domain is not yet 3 months old; this is the primary reason you don't rank on Google. They value age more than Yahoo! or MSN. So until you hit a certain period, probably 4 or 5 months of age in your case, you won't be able to rank for even the most basic terms unless you start receiving more in-bound links.

The first question to ask is, why do you want to rank for your own name? I understand that you're just testing the waters to see if your domain shows up, but your primary objective should be to rank for more valuable keywords that people will actually search for, such as "art photography vancouver" or "fine art photographer canada"

All of your in-bound links should use variations on those keyphrases when they link to you. This is the single most important thing you can do to improve your natural search engine marketing.

The conspiracy theory is that if G is receiving your dollars in Adwords, why would they be in a hurry to rank you naturally? I do think it is just a conspiracy and there are often much bigger reasons a site does not rank.

(btw, you'll receive my consult invoice shortly)

[TeeJay]

Thats an excellent point, I think you could very well be right - Google certainly seems to have drifted from its original intentions.

TJ

[SlowBlink]

That's my new domain. I liked my old one better but found out the company that registered it owned it and then tried to gouge me on renewal. That's another story.

I get the ranking order thing. I don't expect to see any results for at least another three or four months but when I type in my full name independent of any related meta data it still doesn't show up. I get the ranking for fine art photography which I'll have to work for but I think if someones looking for me by my name it should come up. They seem to be placing ranking above the basic search function.

Not a complaint, just an observation. I hope you're going to knock off at least 10% for the Foot on the fee. :)

[TheHoff]

Why are your < no frames > tags empty?

Look at what Google has cached as your page:

http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:K5F5PRPBM_EJ:www.robertgbrowne.com/+site:robertgbrowne.com&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=ca&client=firefox-a

A big fat blank; so in Google's eyes, your page is empty. :) Hope that helps.

[TheHoff]

oh and you're #4 for: robert g browne

You're ranking for the 3-word phrase -- you'll come up for the 2-word in a month or three and fixing the page will move it faster if you repeat your name a few times on it.

[SlowBlink]

Oh crap, I forgot about that. That's the problem with frames in Dreamweaver you get the frames and not the index. Fixed with a snapshot of the mainframe. Thanks man!

Well I've moved up a bit anyway. I still have to read up more on the tags and tweak em.

[theflyingkiwi]

Thats an excellent point, I think you could very well be right - Google certainly seems to have drifted from its original intentions.

TJ

I wouldn't go that far. I still use google to find fixes for any IT related problems.

I also test search engines for using 4 simple key words. Some which a seach engine will more than likely ignore.

these key words are photography on the net

now since this site has three of those words in the url, you would think that should come in first on the 3 search engines I tried. They where google.com, yahoo.com, search.msn.com (and MS wonder why it's getting no where with searches)

google.com is the only one that had photography-on-the.net first. the others either had it listed 3rd or lower.

Google search words by links, if a web site is linked a 1 or 2 times from other web sites, then it's not considered popular. if however if a web site is linked 500x from other web sites then it's ranking is going to be higher. This is how google searches.

[TheHoff]

Well I've moved up a bit anyway. I still have to read up more on the tags and tweak em.

Screw tags. Proper keyword density is king (of course behind in-bound links and internal link text). Title tag is the only one that has meaning nowadays because it is still used as the link in the search results. Description is sometimes used but not counted for ranking purposes. Everything other meta is useless for rank.

...Google search words by links, if a web site is linked a 1 or 2 times from other web sites, then it's not considered popular. if however if a web site is linked 500x from other web sites then it's ranking is going to be higher. This is how google searches.

I can't dispute the first part of your post (Google is still the best for coming up with tech answers) but all three major engines use the same in-bound link metrics as Google these days. There are technology differences between them but they all count the number of times a site is linked from other pages and try and determine the importance or relevance of that link.

[theflyingkiwi]

oh ok. I wasn't to sure how the rest do it.

However I still use google. it gets me the results that I am after. and it's simple and easy to look at.

the rest just seem to try and make it more flasher, to give the impression it's better.

[440roadrunner]

I must admit, I use Google far more than anything else, but on the other hand, I was VERY upset at their bull**** deal awhile back wherein they agreed to certain censorship in order to do business in China. Kinda makes you wonder what ELSE they might be filtering "for me"

[SlowBlink]

Thanks for the tips Hoff, I'll read up on what you're talking about and get to work on them. :)

Mark: I still use Google and think it's the best going. I've recommended it since the beginning and won't stop. The ranking system they use is the best for weeding out the crackpots and useless links.

If I type in Robert Browne Photography I get the results I expect, thousands of us.

What surprised me was typing in my full name and getting Prime Minister Gordon Browne instead of my name which is a perfect match.

i didn't intend this as a bash Google thread.

[theflyingkiwi]

that's ok. bashing is a frav internet pass time :) not by me of course.