What Can We Learn From 2006's Top Searches?

Here I present the Top 10 Takeaways From 2006's Top 10 Search Queries. First, a quick recap of the Top 10 queries in 2006 across each of the Big 3 engines.

Yahoo

1. Britney Spears
2. WWE
3. Shakira
4. Jessica Simpson
5. Paris Hilton
6. American Idol
7. Beyonce Knowles
8. Chris Brown
9. Pamela Anderson
10. Lindsay Lohan

Msn

1. Ronaldinho
2. Shakira
3. Paris Hilton
4. Britney Spears
5. Harry Potter
6. Eminem
7. Pamela Anderson
8. Hilary Duff
9. Rebelde
10. Angelina Jolie

Google

1. Bebo
2. Myspace
3. World Cup
4. Metacafe
5. Radioblog
6. Wikipedia
7. Video
8. Rebelde
9. Mininova
10. Wiki

So what can we take away from this smorgasbord?

• Naughty or nice? The Frienemy keeps us guessing. While knowing what queries increased in volume over last year is interesting, wouldn't it be nice if Google played along for once and gave us hard data by which apples-to-apples comparisons could be made? At any rate, assuming that the searches that topped Yahoo and MSN were also tops on Google (if not steady risers year over year), it's worth noting that...

• Search engines are not yellow pages. Notice that the top searches (again, in terms of absolute queries) are not destination Web sites, they are people or topics. And they're not transactional, they're informational. It appears the long tail of the Web is attached to a very good-looking celebrity head. So, I think it follows that...

• One of the major search engines should go on an acquisition spree of TMZ.com,, TheSmokingGun.com, DrudgeReport.com, etc. I mean, seriously, if this is all people are looking for, why not just own the gossip content and keep consumers within your domain? Oh, yeah, it's not that easy because ... 4. We need to find a way to monetize these queries. And I'm not just talking about marketers selling movies, CDs, T-shirts, etc. For many marketers, there is value in having your brand associated with these queries--just as there is value in having your product associated with a celebrity. The key to unlocking and measuring that value lies in continued research around search impressions and engagement metrics. And, traditionally, where have marketers been able to generate the deepest levels of engagement?

• Video. The seventh biggest gainer on Google's list (with video site Metacafe clocking in at No. 3). And, no doubt, one of the main forms of content consumers were looking for when searching celebs and athletes. Mark my words, 2007 will be a watershed year for video search. From deeper integration of YouTube into the Google machine to continued innovation by specialty players like Blinkx, to heavy pushes from AOL and others, video search will continue to get smarter and more popular. And, while it may not happen in '07, it won't be long before we are searching video content on our TVs the same way we do on our computers. Which reminds me...

• Search advertising must remain relevant and non-interruptive. With the plethora of Hollywood content available on TV and in print , why are so many people turning to search engines to get their fix? Because it's easy to find what you want without being bombarded by ads. We must maintain the sanctity of search real estate, especially as we expand into other channels. And, even though consumer intolerance of irrelevant push advertising is universal...

• We must understand, respect, and leverage International nuances. Bebo, Rebelde, etc. There's a lot of innovation happening outside the U.S. For marketers with global footprints, it's crucial to customize search programs to match the mindset of consumers in foreign countries. And this means more than just translating copy into different languages. It means truly immersing your brand into the local culture.

• Welcome to the social. More than just a witty tagline for the Microsoft Zune, this invitation sums up the state of the Web as we head into 2007. Just about every query on Google's list relates to some sort of Web 2.0 application. With new content being published every second by anyone with Internet access, search takes on a heightened role of connecting consumers with the content they desire, as well as that which they did not know existed. And that's not search's only role...

• Search can be a great PR tool. With Web entries often mentioning negative news, from drug use to divorces, 2006's most searched individuals certainly could benefit from some positive spin. How better to get your side of the story in front of inquiring minds than by intercepting them at the point-of-query, before they have a chance to find those racy photos or read that police report? After all, at the end of the day...

• The more things change, the more they stay the same. Even though the Internet has enabled us to easily create our own content and meet people all over the world who share our unique tastes and preferences, we're still obsessed with the same old, er, young, celebrities. Applying this adage to our world, the more things change with algorithms, distribution, quality scores, inventory, and specs, the more the basic best practices of search marketing will remain the same. So, as we look ahead to 2007, let us resolve to stay the course and continue spreading the gospel. It won't be long before all content is searchable and all advertising is query-centric. With the insight gleamed from why people are searching, not just what they're searching, we'll be properly equipped to guide the penetration and convergence of search into all forms of media.
  Best wishes for the coming year. May your search for health, happiness, peace, and prosperity yield strong (and relevant!) results.

Top 5 Ways To Increase Your Google Page Rank.

Page rank this word really hurts sometime but still if your website is ranked by google things fall in place quite easily for you as compared to others.After a long research on google page rank and going through a lot of articles by some professional bloggers,websites I prepared a note on google page rank and that's what i have listed out here.

Google Page rank is based on back links. Back links are Links pointing to your website from another website. The more back links you have the higher your PR will be.

1. Join forums, forums are a great way to achieve links to your website. In most forums you are allowed to have a signature and in your signature you can put a link to your website. But another important note to look on is making sure the forum is somewhat related to your website. You will still get credit if it's not, but if it's related to your website than you will be accomplishing two tasks at once.

You will be advertising for your website (bringing in targeted traffic) You will also be building your websites presence. Your websites presence is very important to your survival.

The more people see, or hear about your website the more credibility you will have and this increases your chances of having these visitors come back and possibly become leads.

2. Submit to search engine directories. Search engine directories are a good way to get a free link to your website. They also increase your chances at being listed higher on popular search engines like Google, and overture.

Most search engine directories allow you to submit to their website for free. This will allow you to increase your web presence by being listed on another search engine, and it will also be a free link.

Remember the more links you have the higher your PR will be

3. Using ezine ads (or newsletters). Creating an ezine will probably be the most beneficial step you can take to increasing your web presence. When you create an ezine you will be able to keep visitors coming back to your website for more by using signatures and giving special deals.

Ezine's will also allow you to increase your back links. By creating an ezine you can submit your information about your ezine to an ezine directory. This directory will than link to your website(thus giving you a free link).

4. Creating and publishing articles. Articles are an easy source of generating new traffic. You can include your signature in your article. This will bring in more traffic from article submission directories.

Your signature usually consists of 4 to 8 lines. Usually the first line would be the title of the website that you are trying to advertise. The last line would be the link to the website and the lines in between these would be a sales pitch to draw your viewers into your website

5. Links from related websites. Gaining links from related websites can be one of the most frustrating tasks you can attempt.

They are very easy to find, but can be somewhat difficult to obtain links from.

To find related websites, all you have to do is go to a search engine... say Google... and type in your subject. Maybe your website is based on ford mustangs.

You go to Google and type in ford mustangs, than you look around for pages that are somewhat related to your website. After you have done this (which should be very easy) you have to contact them in some way to get your link posted on their website. This can be the most difficult task because a lot of webmasters ignore e-mail's from people requesting links because they don't see the importance of it at the time. Some other reasons could be that they are rarely online, or they delete spam mail and sometimes delete their important emails in the process.

Important note: When looking for link partners don't just link with websites that have a page rank of 4 or higher. Link with anyone and everyone you get a chance to. If you link to someone that has a page rank of zero, this will not hurt your page rank. It will only increase it because you are getting a link back to your website. Google doesn't look at your back links page ranks to determine what yours is going to be. It simply looks at how many back links you have.

So if Google one day decided to link to a website that was just created and this website has a page rank of 0 and has a domain that goes something like this: mywebsite.geocities.com it's page rank wouldn't increase even though Google's page rank is 10, it's rank would still be zero because it would only have that one back link.