Yahoo Go, Google TV & Traditional SEO

Yahoo Improves, Opens Up Mobile Platform

Yahoo used the CES show going on in Vegas this week to announce that they’ll be revamping and relaunching their mobile Go application. Once the new version hits, third party developers will be able to create their own widgets to run inside the platform. Hmm, competing with Android much? Definitely! TechCrunch reports that a software development kit will be released within the next few weeks and that eBay, MySpace and MTV have already created their own Yahoo Go applications. Sweet.

Besides just the new and improved widgets, the updated version of Yahoo Go is also said to feature an improved user interface that will simplify the browsing experience, better shortcuts, a brand new personalized home page to display emails, calendar notifications, etc, and display ads. Yey ads!

Overall, good for Yahoo. I’ve never used the Yahoo Go platform myself, but major props to them for playing on their strengths, opening it up to outside software engineers, and encouraging mobile users to download the software and live their mobile lives in Yahoo. I may just go try it out.

Google TV Sets Are On Their Way!

News broke today that Google had partnered with TV maker Matushita to develop an HDTV set that comes complete with a direct link to YouTube and Picasa. Wow! Because that’s what the people want-an immediate connection to YouTube’s catalog of poorly constructed videos and their online photo gallery. Wait, that’s not what you want? Yeah, me neither.

I’m still trying to figure out the value for Google here. I suppose Matushita gets to tout that its TVs come with direct Google (!), but where does Google win? They already know what shows you’re watching thanks to their partnership with the Dish Network. Is this really going to give them any new information? I don’t get it. Feel free to heal me of my stupidity in the comments.

Make New Friends, But Keep The Old

A fun Cre8asite forums thread asks if new and shiner is better. The thread itself talks mostly about software and design issues but, as with all things, I prefer to bring it back to search engine optimization (that is what we do here, you know). It’s a good reminder that even though we’re encouraging clients to engage in social media and looking to blended search, it doesn’t mean it’s time to stop practicing traditional search engine optimization. It’s always going to be important that businesses create a site that is usable, properly siloed, targets the proper terms, etc.

Just because social media and its ilk are this year’s shiny new baby, doesn’t mean it should be the only member of your family (I’m stretching that analogy, aren’t I?). Properly SEOing your site ensures that you’re ranking for the terms that are important to you, that you’re able to meet all of your business objectives, that you’re not dependant upon costly PPC, and that you keep your conversions costs as low as possible. There’s a reason search engine optimization has been around and growing for 10+ years. It’s because it works, so don’t forget about it.

Fun Finds

WebProNews posted a great interview with Product Manager of Live Search Webmaster Tools Jeremiah Andrick. The interview is filled with fun information and the editing job by WebProNews is hilarious. Also, Mike McDonald is sporting a cowboy hat and letting the Kentucky accent fly. What more could you ask for?

WebMetricsGuru talks about the stress of blogging and its tendency to turn people into micro-celebrities, whether they want to be or not.

Jeff Quipp shared some good tips to avoid foggy blogging. I’m not sure what "foggy blogging" is exactly, but his tips are pretty useful. :)

Lisa Barone is a writer, content marketer & VP of strategy at Overit Media. She's also a very active Twitterer, much to the dismay of the rest of the world.

See Lisa's author page for links to connect on social media.