Big Brother’s Watching You: Are Search Engines Invading Your Privacy?

You might think that seeing only advertising that you’re actually interested in doesn’t sound all bad, but the way that Google obtains the information they use for targeting their ads has a lot of web users up in arms. It might make more sense to place ads, such as the best women’s golf clubs, that are relevant to that site’s content, but Google doesn’t see it that way… instead, they sniff out your web browsing habits, and use those to show you the ads that they think you’ll want, regardless of what site you’re actually on.

So, what gives? How is Google able to invade your privacy to begin with, and what can you do to protect yourself?

Google and Your Inbox

One of the things that Google does that has privacy experts up in arms is email scanning. The sensible solution might seem to be to simply not use Google’s email service, but that won’t save you- not only is Google capable of scanning the emails of its Gmail users, it scans the emails that their non-Google-using friends send them, too. Emails are scanned for certain keywords, and advertising is placed depending on those keywords. Send an email to your mother about the wonderful juice fountain you just purchased, and chances are your sidebars will be clogged with ads for juice machines.

If you ask Google why they do this, they’ll tell you it’s only to glean information that they can use to integrate their products better, that they don’t store the data beyond a sixty day period, and that they don’t cross reference their information with cookies.

There’s only one problem with this- there’s nothing stopping them from doing any of those things. Google may say that they don’t store or cross reference data, but there’s no reason why they can’t. Do you want to trust the word of a company that’s going through your private emails?

Google Knows Your Friends, Too

Do you remember “Google Buzz?” Google Buzz was a Gmail-integrated social networking service that was supposed to be the next big thing. The trouble was, Google automatically made Google Buzz users’ email contacts visible to the entire internet, by adding them as Google Buzz friends and making them visible to all of your other Google Buzz friends. Google tried to cover their tracks by claiming that users could adjust their privacy settings, but it turned out to be too little, too late. By the time most Google Buzz users knew to make their contacts private, thousands upon thousands of them had already been made visible. The backlash against it was so severe; it prompted Google to shut the service down entirely.

The dismal failure of Google Buzz didn’t spell the end of Google’s social networking involvement, though.

Now, Google has “Google Plus”, a service designed to compete with the likes of Facebook.

One of the features of Google Plus is that it’s fully integrated with Gmail, so Google Plus users may find that they sign up for the service, and all of their email contacts are there, just waiting to be added as friends.

This might seem easy and convenient, but there’s one problem- not all of those email contacts are really Google Plus users. Instead, all Google Plus does is pull the names of the people you chat or email with, and suggest them to you as Google Plus friends. If you go to add people who aren’t signed up for Google Plus, they are sent spam asking them to sign up for the service.

Google’s Terms of Use claim that they record information about your “activity” in order to help improve the way that their products and services work. Some companies would pay top dollar to know what Gmail and Google Plus users are doing. What is Google doing to protect their users’ privacy? If the Google Buzz disaster and early stages of Google Plus are any indication, the answer is “Not much.”

Cookies Sell Your Attention

“Cookies” is a term you come across pretty frequently on the internet. They’re useful little widgets that store things like the usernames and passwords you use on your favorite websites, so you don’t have to re-enter them with every visit.

Deleting cookies means having to go through the hassle of not having this information stored for you, so many people are hesitant to get rid of them entirely. Besides, they expire after a set period of time anyway, so what’s the harm? If you’ve ever gotten a box that’s asked you if you want to save your username and password for a site you’ve visited, you’ve been given the chance to have a cookie saved on your computer.

Cookies are usually not harmful, and are created to help you, not hurt you. The trouble is, there’s one major problem with this- if all cookies stored was simple login data that would be one thing. Unfortunately, some cookies, called “tracking cookies”, store a lot more than that, and never, ever expire.

Some websites have exploited the fact that most cookies are harmless and created things capable of monitoring and recording your web browsing habits over months, or even years. Some of these cookies compile their data into a whole advertising profile that tells companies about the kind of sites you visit, which allows them to target their ads based on the things you do online.

These profiles are worth a lot of money to the right people.

Second Verse, Same as the First

One thing that all of the backlash against Google’s privacy invasion has in common is the company’s response. Every time anyone has gotten up in arms about Google’s actions, they are essentially told that their invaded privacy is their own fault. After all, it isn’t Google’s problem that Google Buzz users didn’t adjust their privacy settings, right? Google also says that they track what you do right in their Terms of Use for services like Google Plus.

While Google could technically make the argument that they haven’t done anything legally wrong, the fact that users were never explicitly warned about these privacy issues makes Google’s excuses look shaky, at best. Nowhere is this more evident than in their actions with Google Maps.

Google Maps is a useful service used by people the world over for navigation and research. The thing is, the information for Google’s “Street View” feature was obtained by unmarked vans that drove around and took pictures. This happened regardless of what was going on at the time. As a result, there were pictures of whatever people happened to be doing outdoors while Google’s vans were driving by… Sunbathing topless, breaking the law, picking your nose, it didn’t matter. It could be preserved for posterity by some stranger in an unmarked van.

When people flipped out about this fact, did Google stop their creepy stalker vans? Of course not. Legally, it was ruled that taking the photographs was an invasion of privacy, but not actually against the law. So, Google simply told their violated users that they always had the option to report content that they felt was objectionable, and went right on snapping photos. So, users have to flag the photos they didn’t like, then sit back and wait until if and when Google felt like deleting it. In the meantime, the photos stay up, and the rest of the world gets to see them.

Keep Big Brother from Watching You

Short of staying off of the internet and never leaving your house when there’s an unmarked van in the neighborhood, the easiest way to get Google off of your back is to avoid using their services. Unfortunately, as has been mentioned above, this is hardly foolproof. No matter where you go on the internet, or what you do, you leave behind electronic traces that companies like Google can use to track you whether you’re subscribed to them or not.

Accessing websites through a proxy can help put another wall between you and the prying eyes of Google. Many websites don’t allow the use of proxies, but it can help keep your visits anonymous to those that do.

Vigilantly clearing your browser history and deleting cookies can help protect you, too. You can manually delete them under “Settings” in your browser, or instruct your browser to never save them to begin with.

What do you do to help protect your online privacy?

Image © Ariwasabi , NatUlrich, Anton Prado Fotolia.com

A very interesting thing is Google will penalize the entire site if there is too much space used to display ads, especially above the fold.

Matt Cutts actually took two yellow stickies and put them on the top of a standard 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper and indicated that even if this space was just one big ad it is too much and could be impacted by Google’s new algorithm change.

Now that you know it’s not about the quantity of advertisements

Take it easy here!

This doesn’t mean you can display a lot of ads on your site, no one will recommend this for you. But, here is something strange… Google contacted me this week and asked me to add more spots on this blog because they indicate I am only showing two ad spots. I am sure many of you are getting the same advice from Google!

So, the question here is, should you go and add more ads on your blog?

Increase your revenue by deciding the best way to display your ads

Focus on content visibility, structure, layout, and navigation of your site or blog, be careful when choosing placement of ads.

Here is a video by Google that may help you increase your revenue by deciding the best way to display your ads on the page.

How you will respond to Google’s Above the Fold update?

Why? Because it violates Google’s guidelines against paid links!

So funny!

Do you imagine what could happen if Google the dictator meets Google the marketer?

Ok!

Google Can’t Keep Track of its Own Rules

Some interesting stuff has been going… Danny Sullivan was wondering:

“if Google can’t keep track of its own rules, what hope is there that third parties are supposed to figure it all out?”

Matt Cutts said in response to Danny Sullivan‘s question:

Google was trying to buy video ads about Chrome, and these sponsored posts were an inadvertent result of that. If you investigated the two dozen or so sponsored posts (as the webspam team immediately did), the posts typically showed a Google Chrome video but didn’t actually link to Google Chrome. We double-checked, and the video players weren’t flowing PageRank to Google either.

However, we did find one sponsored post that linked to www.google.com/chrome in a way that flowed PageRank. Even though the intent of the campaign was to get people to watch videos–not link to Google–and even though we only found a single sponsored post that actually linked to Google’s Chrome page and passed PageRank, that’s still a violation of our quality guidelines.

In response, the webspam team has taken manual action to demote www.google.com/chrome for at least 60 days. After that, someone on the Chrome side can submit a reconsideration request documenting their clean-up just like any other company would. During the 60 days, the PageRank of www.google.com/chrome will also be lowered to reflect the fact that we also won’t trust outgoing links from that page.

Find more on this Google+ post by Matt.

Google’s Getting More Respect!

Some people said that this action added another layer of respect to Google, they think it’s really cool!

While others have a second opinion, especially SEOs, they see it differently!

And, if you ask me what I personally think about this? My answer would be, mm.. ah.. well, I don’t know! Anyways, my personal opinion is not that important, what’s more important is your opinion!

So, you tell me what you think if you discover that Google itself is buying reviews, backlinks or what ever, then they had to punish their own product “Chrome” not to look guilty, maybe to gain respect,  or to absorb the anger of SEOs, internet marketers and small business owners!

One thing that many company websites have yet to explore is the idea of foreign languages. Although many websites are working hard to generate quality content and grab that number one spot on a Google search results page, many have ignored the possibility of foreign language options on their blog and/or website. This means, then, that this just may be the ticket to everything you hoped for in 2012.

If you are new to the blogging scene or are just starting a small business, it is probably best to learn the ins and outs of the industry before worrying about translation services. However, offering a blog in another language is actually quite simple. If you feel your company has a large presence of non-native English speakers, or your business is well-established and ready for something new, translating a blog is something to consider. Consider a few of the benefits to offering foreign language translations:

5 Benefits to Translating Your Blog into a Foreign Language

1. More people will be reading your content.

Although English is the most used language on the Internet (at 536.6 million users to be exact), many business owners do not realize that many English speakers speak English as a second language. If you allow readers to translate your website to their native tongue, chances are they would return over and over again for convenience. Things can be understood the best in someone’s native language, so you will also avoid any misunderstandings if you give your readers this option.

Furthermore, there are of course people using the Internet who do not speak English. If you allow them to translate your blog easily on your webpage, you will suddenly capture the eyes and ears of all the non-native English speakers around the world.

2. You will be able to rank higher on non-English search engines.

There is significantly less competition to get a website ranked on a search engine in a language other than English. This is, of course, because English is the most widely used language on the Internet; therefore there is more competition. With less competition, those who don’t speak English will be able to find your website easily; thus driving traffic to your site.

3. You will gain new viewpoints about your website and/or blog.

Most websites have a space for visitor feedback and suggestions. Making your content available to a wider group of people will allow for more opinions. This will allow for your website to continue to improve and grow. Furthermore, people who speak different languages and are a part of different cultures may come up with ideas that never would have crossed your mind. If the comments come to you in a different language, simply copy and paste them into Google Translate (although you will be surprised how many will actually comment in English!).

4. Duplicate Content Doesn’t Count Across Languages

You will not need to write special articles in order to get them ranked on a non-English search engine. Duplicate content doesn’t apply across languages, so you will have nothing to worry about from this angle.

5. It’s easy to setup and completely free.

In order to get your website/blog started in another language, you have to download a translation service. One of the easiest and most popular services is Google Translate. All you have to do is copy and paste this code into a Text Widget on WordPress. Once completed, your blog will have a nice drop down menu that allows readers to select a language. Most services offer more than one language (Google Translate offers 52) so you can reach a large number of people. It’s as simple as that!

The whole point of a website is to offer information and advice, so why wouldn’t you want to share that expertise with as many people as possible? Utilizing translation services is something many companies are missing, yet it is so simple to complete. If you’re ready for an improvement on your website, I highly recommend taking a few minutes and setting up Google Translate.

It is obvious that a new algorithm of calculating CPC has been developed by specialists of Pay per Click advertising service in Google.

In fact, there are many factors which influence Cost per Click, and I would like to draw the attention of readers to the most important ones only. First of all, I would like to talk about Smart Pricing. Let’s try to understand what this term means.

Google Ad Sense Smart Pricing

If you have ever used the service of Pay per Click advertising you will probably agree that it is very important for online advertisers to get high quality targeted traffic for the money they pay. This means the following:

• It is necessary to place advertisements on high quality platforms only, which have the authority and a lot of targeted users;
• People generated to a website of an advertiser from Google Ad Sense block, would be interested in the product offered and agree to purchase it in the end;
• Users don’t have to be deceived. They have to understand that they are clicking on an advertisement link;
• An online advertiser doesn’t have to pay just for clicks;
• An online marketer has to optimize an advertising budget and convert paid traffic into sales effectively.

Smart Pricing can be considered as an attempt by Google to help online marketers optimize their budgets effectively and protect them from low quality traffic. The specialists of Google Ad Sense realize the fact that there is a great deal of webmasters who place their advertisement on low quality platforms, which don’t attract targeted audience to an online business. It should be noted that clicks generated by such web pages bring no value to internet advertisers.

Smart Pricing takes into consideration a lot of factors and set Cost per Click for each type of online advertising. Let’s consider these factors.

Factors Influencing Cost per Click

Talking about important factors which have an impact on Cost per Click, special attention of webmasters should be paid to the relevancy of a website. Webmasters will definitely have higher Cost per Click if all pages of their web resource are dedicated to the same topic.

The number of impressions is also a very significant parameter. If, for example, a website is very popular and generates a high amount of targeted traffic it means that this online resource has good authority among its users. Size of a website also matters. The rule is quite simple, the more web pages an online resource contains – the better.

As it is known, Page Rank and the age of a domain is one of the main identifiers of website quality. Therefore, the older the domain name and higher its Page Rank is – the better Cost per Click is. There is another important parameter that determines Cost per Click and it is relevancy of incoming links.

So, it is good if a great deal of topic related online resources refer to your website. It is especially good if the text of incoming links includes keywords which you target. There is an opinion that CTR also has an impact on Cost per Click.

Recommendations to Increase Google Ad Sense Earnings

Content is king!

As you can see, it is a fixed expression of webmasters. It means that the main task of website owners is to provide users with interesting and informative content. Thus, improve content of your websites, attract targeted audience and do the best to provide website visitors with valuable information. Results of your work will not keep you waiting for long. You will see improvements in Google AdSense earnings within a short period of time.

Interesting content is considered to be one of the most effective ways to attract a targeted audience to an online resource and convert it into website revenue. It is not a surprise that CPC in Google AdSense depends on the theme of a website significantly. Thus, if you work in a highly competitive business sector you will have high cost per click. But you should also take into account the fact that the higher level of completion is – the more time and work will be required to achieve SEO improvement. Thus, do the best to find the golden mean between the profitability and competition of a website theme.

Selecting the right theme and key phrases for your MFA (Made for AdSense) website and you will be able to provide it with high cost per click from the very beginning.

If you use your Google AdSense account for several advertising platforms make sure that these platforms are high quality websites. The point is that low quality sites will decrease your average rate in Google AdSense. Therefore, track the efficiency of your online resources and choose the best MFA sites only.

If you enjoyed reading this post, make sure to leave a comment below and share this with your friends and followers.

In His Grip <><

COO in Global Strategic Consultants and Internet Marketing entrepreneur

So, welcome to the new way to navigate Google!

The New Way to Navigate Google

The first thing came into my mind when I saw the new drop menu in my Google account is that Google won’t give you a choice to change it as it’s the main menu of the site, this could piss off some people, but well.. I personally like it.

I remember one comment I read on my other post about Gmail, the guy asked me in the comment: how much I got paid to love and write a post about Gmail new look!

My answer is I never got paid to write about Google or review their site

I just love the new look of Gmail, I think the new YouTube look is not bad, but I love the new way to navigate Google! I think removing the old top navigation bar cleared the page, and it actually look better, at least for me, I love drop down menus because they save space on page.

Now, it’s your turn…

I know that it’s nearly impossible to make every one, so Google won’t be able to make all its users happy with the changes they make to their site.

So, honestly, what you think of the new Google drop down menu?

YouTube New Look

Google says:

Ready to get started? Your new YouTube is already shipped and waiting for you at YouTube.com, and like every new toy, we included an (instruction manual) (and video) to help.

The only thing is the instruction manual page is simply do NOT exists, and the link is broken! that page can not be found! (source: The YouTube new look )

Anyways, at least we can watch the video:

What I Like and Hate about Google

What I like about Google is they always unveiled an experimental designs and ask users about their opinions. Based on users feedback, they tweak, enhance, improve their overall designs! (but they never change it or take off the ugly parts of it)..

There is always something wrong!

While Google seems to be listening to its users, nothing really change! (or at least this is how I feel about it)! Most of the times, they are just getting feedback, but nothing really happen!

I understand that part of this because you can not satisfy everyone, but is Google satisfying the majority of its users?

YouTube New Look: Like it or Dislike it?

Many people really hate the Gmail new look, but they can not do anything about it, but what about the YouTube new look?

YouTube decides your new destination of discovering new videos and channels!

Have you discovered the new features yet?

Are you liking it?

Discover, buy and share music – 24/7, from your computer or mobile device. It is Google’s motto. Google Music is an online song streaming service and digital music store with up to 13 million tracks, available to the US public for the moment.

Google Music Signup Process

Browse @ music.google.com with your Google account (e.g. Gmail, YouTube, etc) and jump in. You will need to enter your credit card details for free track download or song purchase.

Google Music Features and Advantages

• Integrates with Android Market to offer personalized recommendations based on users collection. No sync, all music files are online. Automatic file storing. Offline playback
• option.
• Add 20,000 free songs to your library with Music manager. They support more song
• format choices than iTunes or Amazon which only supports MP3s and AAC files
• 320Kbps high quality songs/MP3s
• With Instant Mix, users can create their own playlists
• Google+ integration (share your playlists with friends on the network)
• Artists can create their own “hub” pages (think YouTube for songs!); indie talents will be able to take advantage of the increasing exposure, get their name out and build their tribes

Google already closed deals with major labels and studios, including Universal, Sony and EMI.

Rolling Stones, Coldplay and other popular artists like Shakira and Busta Rhymes plan to offer live concerts, new albums and fresh interviews exclusively for the Android platform – through Google Music.

Google Music Cons

• It requires you have an Android phone running Android version 2.2 Froyo or higher.
• Users say that deleted tunes still persist.
• There is no subscription service available like for example Rhapsody, who offers streaming for a monthly fee.
• Users need to upload songs themselves, which takes time if their library is sizable.

The Question is…

What do you think about Google Music?

With all this going, a large number or people started to create Google+ Pages for their business, however many of them doesn’t really know why they are creating those pages, some did it for the fun of it, and others did it just to secure their brand names on this promising social network.

So, here I am sharing a special roundup all the interesting stuff I was reading and watching about Google+ and it’s new Brand Pages.

1 – Google+ for Business: What You Need to Know

A very insightful video interview with about Google+ for Business from WebProNews.com:

Something I found interesting is Google+ for Business makes a lot more sense of Facebook for Business! Really!

Watch this video → Google+ for Busines

2- Why Google Plus Pages (Will) Beat Facebook And Twitter

I found this on Wired.com, here is why:

This is where Google will have an advantage over Facebook: With a broad array of services like search and Gmail and Chrome and Android, Google offers tools that are fundamental to the online lives of so many people — and these can be tied to Google+. As Google+ evolves, Google will have the means to promote its social network — and the branded Pages within it — in ways that Facebook or Twitter cannot.

Read full article: → Google advantages over Facebook

3- Google+ is Delighted to Be Underestimated by Facebook

Another very interesting video interview with Google+ VP of Product Management, Bradley Horowitz, I found it at BlogWorld’s blog.

Watch the video: → Google+ is Delighted to Be Underestimated by Facebook

 Finally: 5 Cool Tips You Should Know About Google+ Pages:

I’ve got this from Google+ business page.

1. You Can +1 a Page to Show Support or Add Them to Your Circles

We know you love some brands and businesses. Others you may want to show a quick note of support, but not see all their updates. So just drop a little +1 and keep going, or add a page to any circle you want. You’re in control.

2. No Google+ Page Can Follow You Until You Follow Them

We want Google+ to be a place you love to share. Pages cannot circle you until you follow them first. Of course, if you are in their circles, they can share great deals, exclusive coupons, product tips and hangouts, but the relationship is yours to start.

3. In Fact, Google+ Pages Can’t Even Mention You Unless You’re Connected

That’s right. The +Google+ page can’t even say your name unless you’re following. No +mention spam.

4. Google+ Pages Automatically Unfollow You If You Unfollow Them

If you remove a Google+ Page from your circles, you are automatically removed from their circles. You always are in charge.

5. You Can Find Google+ Pages In Google Search

With a new feature we call Direct Connect, just type + followed by the brand name in Google Search, and you can see pages automatically display. Type +Pepsi to see Pepsi, and +Dell for Dell. It’s that easy.

We’re very excited about the great work we’ve seen with Google+ Pages so far. So many amazing companies are here, and you can see from all the work we’ve done that we want your experience on Google+ to remain a fantastic one.

Have you created a Google+ Brand Page for your business yet?

If yes, then pass this!

Here is a post that demonstrate how easy it is to → Create a Google+ brand page for your business.

Also feel free to Circle us → Famous Bloggers on Google+

After you read and watch!

Now that you’ve got amazing resources and information about Google+ Brand Pages, I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions!

How you like it? Why you hate it? And whither you think it will be useful for your business to have a page on Google+ or not!

So, let’s get into businesses right a way!

1- Create Google+ Brand Page

The first thing you need to do it go to the create page → Create Google+ Brand Page

Note: make sure to that you are logged in to your Google+ account when clicking on the link above!

Create Google+ brand page

As you can see from the screenshot above, there is a few categories to choose from, you can create pages for:

• Local Business or Place
• Product or Brand
• Company, Institution or Organization
• Arts, Entertainment or Sports
• Other (you choose this if your page doesn’t fit in the above categories)

2- Add your Page Info

In my case I will just choose to feature Famous Bloggers as a Company, this is how I see it. So, I listed in under consulting and business services, and I set it to be publicly visible to everyone, of course I want every Google+ user to see it!

Famous Bloggers company page on Google+

Make sure to read Google+ Pages Additional Terms of Service before your proceed.

3- Hit the Create Button

Once you hit the create button, Google+ will give you a message that says “You are now using Google+ as this page. Your posts, comments, and notifications will be from this page.”, hit the OK button next to it to confirm!

You are now using Google+ as this page

Now it’s time to customize the page!

4- Customize your page’s public profile

Simply add the tagline that describe your business and set a profile photo, this could be your logo!

Customize your page's public profile

5- Get the word out!

Spread the word out about your new page by sharing it on Google+

Spread the word about the new Google+ page

Congratulations! (You are done!)

Famous Bloggers on Google+

Here is how our page looks like:

Alright, now that I’ve create the Famous Bloggers Google+ page, I know that I will be busy this week tweeking it and adding awesome stuff, circles, and links.

It would be great if you add it to your circles.

It would be awesome to get to know how yours will look like!

Start creating you own page → Create Google+ Brand Page

Good luck with your business!