During the a Search Engine Q&A session at the SMX East conference in New York this week, Yahoo officially announced that they have stopped supporting the meta keywords tag as an ranking factor in their web search algorithm. Yahoo was the last major search engine to openly admit that it was an element of their search ranking results.

Yahoo Web Search No Longer Supports The Meta Keywords Tag

But did they really quit supporting the keyword tag? Maybe not…

At WebRanking, we are dedicated to our own continuing education in the industry we have been apart of for over a decade. So when I recently discovered the “Essentials of Online Marketing” course that is offered through the Online Marketing Institute, I decided it was time to brush up on a few internet marketing areas that fall outside the search box.

On September 27, 2009, Google turned 11 years old. In honor of this special day, Google.com created a special logo that was only displayed on their site on the Sunday. They even added an extra “l” the their name in the logo – Googlle.

Googlle's 11th Birthday Logo

Wow, where did the time go? Here are several of the past birthday logos.

Old Salt

To find the Pirate Search ya’ll first have to follow some clues and go on a little search of your own…

Congratulations Chris & Welcome Owen!

On behalf of the entire WebRanking staff, I would like to congratulate Chris Lister and his wife on the birth of their baby boy, Owen. Congratulations and welcome on the new addition! We wish you all a happy and healthy beginning on your new adventure.

My first born is now officially 3 days overdue. Am I patiently waiting? Heck no, not in the least. I’ve seem to have turned into a hyperactive child in need of his Ritalin at the end of a three day candy binge waiting for his habitually late sleeping parents to finally get out of bed on Christmas morning. Except I’m not even sure what day my Christmas is going to fall on. Yeah, I really am that bad off.

Facebook was making a little news on Monday, as they launched a new search interface that allows members to view all posted results from the entire network of registered Facebook users, or just results from current Facebook friends. This new “Everyone” filter is very similar to Twitter’s search feature, as it allows you to monitor the entire Facebook network for information and updates on real time news and events. This feature was tremendously popular during the recent Iranian elections, as it allowed users to stay up to date when information from other, more traditional media outlets was scarce.

Facebook Social Network

After several false starts, today Microsoft and Yahoo announced a 10 year deal which will see Microsoft power Yahoo search while Yahoo will “become the exclusive worldwide relationship sales force for both companies’ premium search advertisers,” according to a joint statement released by both companies. This new agreement is expected to go into effect sometime in 2010.

Bing Search Engine

Yahoo

Yesterday morning I received an email with a link in it to a new cnet article titled “Link exchanges: The poor man’s SEO”. Since link popularity building is an integral part of any search engine optimization campaign, I had to see what this longstanding publication had to say on the subject. I was more than a little shocked when I read the second sentence:

“Everyone else has to rely on the poor man’s search-engine optimization: the link exchange.”

I could hardly believe that cnet would seemingly recommend to website owners to participate in trading links to increase search engine rankings. There are many other free and low-cost link building alternatives that are actually endorsed by SEO professionals.

CNET News

Anyone doubting the power and pull of social media needs look no further then the impromptu gathering last night / this morning at Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square, where through the power of Twitter and Facebook, a crowd of thousands showed up to hang out with the elusive and hilarious Dave Chappelle.