Google, Yahoo, Microsoft remain leaders in list of top web properties

In its report for September 2011, comScore named Google’s U.S. websites as the most frequently visited pages in the country with more than 218 million unique visitors. Marketers should take this as their cue that search marketing can pay off, as it serves a large portion of Google visitors.

In keeping with previous months’ reports, Yahoo and Microsoft sites ranked second and third respectively. While search is a major driver for these companies, use of their popular email services and other products is also critical to their success.

Social media websites Facebook (fourth), LinkedIn (30th) and Twitter (33rd) were also in the top 50. Compared to August 2011, only LinkedIn saw any change, moving for 31st to 30th.

For marketers, the popularity of these websites demonstrates the possibilities offered by social media marketing and SEO campaigns, as search and social continue to grow.

Brafton recently reported that Microsoft is trying to push Bing, its search engine, aggressively. Speaking at the Web 2.0 Summit this week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer urged users to give Bing a try, since, as he says, results yielded by Google and Bing are identical about 70 percent of the time.

Search marketing alert: Ballmer urges users to try Bing

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said at the Web 2.0 Summit that search users should give Bing a try, citing the fact that results of Google and Bing searches are the same 70 percent of the time. This is an interesting approach to selling Microsoft’s search service, but at least it lets marketers know that SEO for Google will generally yield similar results on Bing.

While Ballmer may be correct, it’s unlikely that users, perfectly happy with Google as their default engine, would start using Bing. Ballmer also said that Bing is “getting stronger” with improvements aimed at tailoring search results to specific users.

However, Ballmer’s claim that Bing has become the No. 2 player in the search market due to its superior performance is slighlty misleading. It is true that Bing is the second most used search engine based on most recent number for Experian Hitwise. But the agreement between Bing and Yahoo to use Bing’s algorithm to power Yahoo queries is largely responsible.

Aside from his belief that the engines are typically the same, Ballmer said Bing’s results will be better 15 percent of the time and Google’s will be more relevant as frequently. Supporting the use of his own product makes sense, of course, but Ballmer did not offer any real reason for users to make the switch.

Ballmer’s derision of Google expanded to Android as well, saying “You don’t need to be a computer scientist to use a Windows Phone, but I think you do to use an Android phone.”

While the comment drew laughs from the Web 2.0 Summit, Brafton recently reported that Android is the most popular mobile operating system on the market, claiming more than 43 percent. Windows Phone 7, Microsoft’s mobile operating system, represents 5.8 percent – leading one to wonder whether or not there are disproportionate amount of computer scientists among the American population.

Page speed affects few searches, but SEO campaigns should still test

In a recent Google Webmaster Help video, Google director of search Matt Cutts said that only one in 1,000 websites are negatively impacted by truly poor site speeds, but web administrators should still test to ensure their site operates optimally to maximize SEO.

According to Cutts, Google uses toolbar data to assess a website’s speed, and it will hurt a page’s SERP standing should the site be chronically slow. Brafton has reported that Google’s Page Speed Online tool can help marketers get a sense of their sites’ speeds. In general, Google has been aggressive about punishing websites that offer a low-quality user experience. This refers to every aspect of a page, including its load time, content and any other element.

Cutts said in this video that site speed affects few pages, but he reminded marketers that boosting performance always makes a product better, which will make the user experience better.

“We’re looking at what it looks like for real users,” Cutts said in the video. “If you have a lot of users that are having an overall slow experience then that could affect the overall rating.

“It’s always good to see if you can move a little bit faster and try to return results to users a little bit faster. It makes your users happier.”

Citing another video from Cutts, Brafton reported that the primary goal of Google’s SEO advice is to improve the overall user experience on the web. With this in mind, marketers should focus on creating relevant site content and optiminizing their search experience to see positive SEO results.

MC Hammer trumpets latest entry into search engine battle

MC Hammer, the recording artist that rose to fame in the early 1990s, was at the Web 2.0 Summit this week to launch a new search engine, WIREDoo. As Hammer said at the event, the search engine boasts an algorithm and concept far different from those of current leaders in the market, and there could be significant SEO implications if the performer’s portal takes off.

According to Information Week, which conducted a test using the term “90210,” Google results dealt mostly with the famed television series, while WIREDoo yielded information about Beverly Hills, California.

CNET reported that WIREDoo is more of a deep search tool, aimed at providing direct information. Whereas Google has drawn praise and succeeded by including contextual elements into its search results, WIREDoo strives to yield literal search results.

MC Hammer said in his Web 2.0 Summit presentation that the engine is not necessarily a competitor to Google, but a different approach to scanning the web for data. Using the term “relationship search,” Hammer said that the engine produces results that have direct relevance to the term. Searches for “cars” will show links to insurance companies and traffic laws.

WIREDoo is still in beta and not currently available to the public, and Hammer offered no specific timetable for its release.

It seams as though WIREDoo is more of an advanced database aimed at providing simple, easily understood and navigated information to users than a search engine in the vein of Google and Bing.

When the service goes live, users may gravitate toward it when in need of basic statistical information. However, Google’s method reveals similarly strong information when prompted directly. Cutting into Google’s market share has been almost impossible for Bing, the current No. 2 engine. Brafton recently reported that Google regained market share last month for the first time since the Yahoo-Bing alliance took effect.