Some folks may already know this but I didn’t.
If you like, when you open your internet browser, you can have it open to more than one home page at one time at start-up.
Depending on your browser (and I think this trick only works with the VERY latest versions of most popular web browsers), you can usually set your opening home page under “Preferences” or “Options”. Then in the bar where you type in the address of what you would like to have as your home page, you add the trick.
On your computer, in your symbols area (usually found in the drop down window of Word and its heading “Insert”) is a vertical straight line symbol that is not an “l”. I’ll show you here but your computer might not have its own equivalent as mine does; the symbol is | .
So the trick is to put your first favorite home page (as an example, Google) then that | symbol (and I don’t know its proper name , if you do, please share with the class) and then the next web address (as an example, audio’connell Voice Over Talent).
So in your homepage set up bar you would type http://www.google.com | http://www.audioconnell.com . When you hit save, close your browser and open it again, there should be two tabs that open up in that order to the pages you set. I think you can probably do 3-4 of those start up web addresses in your start up.
Now for the conundrum.
I set my tabs recently to open on each of the most popular search engines (as ranked by Hitwise: Google, Yahoo, Bing (the progeny of a recent search merger agreement between MSN and Yahoo although Yahoo.com still exists), and Ask.com. The reason for this arrangement is I’m trying to just randomly check some of my search placements on these sites as a bit of an experiment – the web is my main business pipeline (it’s the store, if you will) so it’s important.
The challenge that I’ve seen recently, always known about and have in common with everyone with cares about SEO and SEM is that there is no consistency in how search engines rank sites in order of importance. 3 search engines, 3 different ranking systems and usually three varying placements depending on key words, links, etc.
As just a user of these search engines, one likely cares not a fig about what comes up, assuming their search contains the most reputable, qualified providers of service/product/information that they’ll need. They check the front page, maybe the second and move on.
As a business trying to get their message out there, it’s a bit of a challenge. The important word in this next sentence is “supposedly”: Google is supposedly more key word based in their search algorithm while Bing is supposedly more links based. Ask.com strikes me as very Google-ish in my algorithmic naiveté and Yahoo is Bing so who the heck is Yahoo and I am the Walrus, koo-koo-ka-chew!
I get that if all the search engines searched the same way, there probably wouldn’t be need for so many; even WITH their various search methodologies, there probably isn’t a need for so many. So I do what most folks do and default to Google. But it still bugs me that I have to be so many things to so many search engines.
This last sentence reads back to me as a bit of a whine. That’s not good.
Unless it puts me at the #1 position for the keyword “whine”, which would be fine especially if I get search points for rhyme; to end this post now I think it’s time.
Tags: bing, commentary, internet, silliness, yahoo // 3 Comments »
