Top Google Keywords Drive Search Engine Traffic

Google Knol: What are the Marketing and Optimization Implications?

Google has recently announced a new service they intend to offer to the online masses. It is called Google Knol (a Knol is their word for a unit of knowledge) and it is being seen and described as a direct competitor to the widely used and highly ranked Wikipedia.

In recent years Wikipedia entries for any number of topics can be found in the top or Google's search engine results, which naturally leads to huge amounts of traffic.

Traffic that goes to pages that very conspicuously do not contain any of Google's ads.

Google is, of course, drawing criticism for this new offering. Then again, Google would probably draw criticism if they managed to develop a clean burning alternative to fossil fuels.

But in this case they are drawing fire from the Internet community in general and the marketing community in particular. This is not a new criticism, however. With the acquisition of services like Blogger and YouTube, Google has been slowly but surely moving away from their original goal of simply indexing the world's content to providing it. Many are pointing out the inherent conflict of interest here. Google naturally claims that they will not attempt to edit or verify the articles, or Knols, nor will they give any special weight to the Knols simply because they are hosted by Google.

Nevertheless, there are many, many businesses out there that depend on search traffic for their business and livelihood. The thought that a search engine might be introducing system that may or may not have a significant skewing effect on what should theoretically be impartial results. If Google can turn Knol into the preferred social knowledge site and generate the kind of traffic that Wikipedia does, that will mean countless visitors that will be subjected to Google's ads. Given that opportunity, is it any wonder that people would be skeptical about claims that deny the existence of preferred content?

So if Google Knol takes off, what does that mean for the marketing community? Is this going to be a new platform for marketers to employ? Or will it be something that changes the way we do our normal online marketing?

A lot of that will depend on a few things. Early on in Wikipedia history it was a popular target for Internet marketers, until it started using the no follow tags in their outbound links. So suddenly it was less attractive from an SEO standpoint, though some still attempt to use it for the traffic it could generate. (Although overt marketing and advertising attempts will get you banned from the service.) So the first question will be whether or not Knol allows an author to include outbound links that will enhance the rankings of off-page websites.

But regardless, there is more to online marketing than gathering links. There is also branding and building trust and/or notoriety within your individual industries. And some of the features of Knol might provide the opportunity to do so.

One of the major differences between Wikipedia and Google Knol is that Knol focuses on highlighting the authors, as compared to the anonymous collaboration model of Wikipedia. By doing so they are hoping to create a sense of responsibility and credibility that their competition doesn't share. The opportunity here is to establish oneself as the specialist in that area.

Where Wikipedia allowed open access to an article for the community to edit or update, that won't be the case for Knols. Instead of a group effort on a single article, Google plans to have any number of articles (Knols) on the same topic. They seem to assume that the most relevant, authoritative, or popular articles will naturally float to the top of the heap.

So here is a new thought. As search engine marketers are we going to find ourselves optimizing and developing campaigns for single articles? The thought of optimizing a Wikipedia entry would plausibly make one laugh. Why would you optimize it? What would be the point? It's just information. And it ranks fine for what it is. Who cares if it ranks higher than another similar entry?

This won't be the case with Knols. If a Google Knol is all about authoritative authoring, and if the most authoritative articles are supposed to float to the top, how long before optimization techniques determine authority?

If, indeed, optimization tactics can have this sort of effect, how badly will that damage the supposed credibility they're trying to create? Will Google be ready for something like that? Will the inherent branding and traffic benefits be enough to justify SEO on a Knol?

Only time will tell.

Andy Eliason is a writer at Main10, an Internet marking and development firm. They offer a range of SEO services that evolve as the Internet marketplace changes. For more information visit: http://www.main10.com/ or http://www.main10.com/advertising/internet_marketing_advertising.php

Build Your Own Keyword Content Rich Website in 5 Minutes
Content is king. Millions of web users search daily for fresh, relevant content, and now your previously unused domain names can provide exactly that. WhyPark.com provides the following benefits that domain parking cannot even touch: --You choose the keywords that are relevant to your domain name - WhyPark.com does the rest! --REAL Content, articles and press releases are displayed on your completely developed web site --Fresh content is added to your web site daily. The only content that appears on your web site is directly related to the keywords that you've chosen. --Visitors will bookmark and come back over and over again to read new articles on the subjects that interest them and brought them to your site in the first place.

MORE ARTICLES:

David Levin Joins Clinipace as Vice President of Marketing
Experienced healthcare software executive joins company to spearhead expansion. Clinipace, a growing on-demand clinical research software company, announced that David Levin has joined the company as Vice President, Marketing. Levin reports to Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Williams, and directs product marketing and management, corporate communications, and customer experience.

Nanostream Launches Services Organization to Reduce Assay Development Time in Early Drug Discovery
Launches new services business/appoints new Chief Operating Officer to head services business unit.

Jazz in the Park is a Can't-Miss Event on St. Simons Island
Beginning Memorial Day weekend and lasting into September, Jazz In the Park, on the lawn of the St Simons Island Lighthouse, provides concerts by the best local and regional jazz musicians

Nutritional Business Merger Shakes Up Network Marketing Industry
Kyäni Inc., recently announced their merger with Enliven International. Kyani is one of the fastest growing nutritional networking marketing companies in the United States.

Pitfalls Of Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is an excellent way to earn money, however there are several pitfalls that you'll need to be aware of. Just earning money alone is not enough for most people. The next logical step is to try to earn more money by doing less work.

Internet Marketing And A Future Financial Focus
One of the prime motivations for Internet marketing is that you don?t want to be in the same place you are right now - in 12 months In every business the predominant idea is to set goals that help you conduct business smarter, learn lessons faster and bring more business to your site

Keyword Use That Goes Beyond The Search Engines
by Karon Thackston © 2006, All Rights Reserved

Using Rawhide Lamp Shades For Rustic Lamps to Create Southwestern Decor
Rustic lamps with rawhide lamp shades are often found in log homes and in western interior design to enhance rustic furnishings and add true country design to any room When visiting the southwestern states, you will no doubt come across the warm glow of rawhide lamp shades used as part of the interior design of many public places

Habitech Design & Development Works, LLC Awarded Silver Medical Design Excellence Award
Habitech Design & Development Works, in collaboration with TRICOR Systems, designed and engineered an award winning product for Milestone Scientific. This new product technology has provided Milestone to expand their market penetration and sales.

Well-Rounded Affiliate Marketing Strategy Tips
Well-Rounded Affiliate Marketing Strategy Tips by Jeremy Lytle

New Hammock Chair Site Gets Into the Swing of Online Blogs
Business owner Jim Wertz opens www.HammockChairsByJim.com, an online distributor of comfortable hammock furniture, with a companion blog at www.HammockChairsByJim.net to discuss his problems with the buying public.

Use The Internet To Search For A Used Honda Civic
You can use the internet and your home computer to quickly and easily search with private sellers and used car dealers for a Honda Civic. As this is a very popular choice of car you are able to search through what could be hundreds of vehicles depending on how far you wish to travel to view the car.

Finally: A Comprehensive Guide to Best-practice Email Marketing
SitePoint announces the release of The Email Marketing Kit, a comprehensive, step-by-step professional email marketing resource compiled by industry expert Jeanne S. Jennings. Choke full of best practices, recommendations and case studies, this is the definitive reference manual for corporate and business marketers.

Re:modern Design Receives Green Business Certification in San Mateo County's Pilot Program
Sustainable modern design company, Re:modern, is one of the first companies in San Mateo County to become certified as a Bay Area Green Business.