Google 2010-Experiments and Changes

Google 2010-Experiments and Changes

2010 was a very interesting year for Google. Here are several examples:

Google Adwords Changes 2010- Good made a change in the way in which it handles display URLS for their Google Adwords platform. Before, you could create an ad linking to a blog using this type of URL - http://name.blogspot.com. But because the blogsphere has grown they now require the display URL to reflect the specific blog reached upon clicking the ad.

Google outlines its Display URL guidelines here. They include:

1. The display url must actually reflect the domain of your landing page so they know where they will be when they click on your link.
2. Display url within each ad group must have the same domain.
3. Display url cannot be used as another line of ad text.
4. Your display url must include your extension. (.biz, .com, etc.)
5. If your destintion url is too long, then use your home page url.


Google Fast Flip - I must say, I was really under a rock with this one. This is where Google let's you "flip" through news articles on the web, just like a handheld magazine. The Fast Flip is at the bottom of Google News and it has some quality publications. For example, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Huffington Post, Popular Science, Reuters, U.S. News and WOrd Report.

Even though people like the idea, there are still some issues that have to be worked out before avid news readers will accept Fast Flip.

The criticisms:

1. It doesn't flip pages, but slides them across the screen, making news hard to access, not easier.
2. Some are wondering if any of the Adsense units on the site will make newspapers any money.
3. Many feel the iPhone version of Fast Flip is useless. Unlike the desktop you can't read anything because the text is too small. Clicking zoom doesn't help either because it won't fit on the iPhone screen size and be actually readable. It seems Google expects you to pan around the page to read the text.

There is still hope, since Fast Flip holds a Google Labs status, which means that it has not transitioned out to being classified as a full-fledged feature of Google News. Will it make it out of the Google labs phase? Time will tell. 

These are only two examples, in the next posts, I go through some other changes and experiments.