Google Maps has had a somewhat chequered history until recently. An example of a high visibility problem was that the Golden Ears Bridge in BC only appeared on Google Maps some 9 months after the bridge had been open and almost 3 years after construction started.
MapQuest, the competitor owned by AOL, was only a little better but that was no excuse for this less than stellar performance.
The Golden Ears Bridge across the Fraser River in British Columbia has been in operation for 9 months now. It was being constructed for almost two years before that. Unfortunately it has been invisible in Google Maps until now. Many have commented on the invisibility of the Golden Ears Bridge, which is a major landmark. Although repeated messages have been sent to places where Googlers congregate such as the Google Maps Forum, the organization seemed blind. As usual, they seemed to be relying on computer-generated data rather than inputs from humans.
It was said that the reason for the delay was that the Golden Ears Bridge had not been included in the database used by Google Maps. One of these is maintained by TeleAtlas. However the Bridge was added to the database as of March 31, 2010 and still there was no change. MapQuest, the Google Maps competitor, was not asleep at the wheel and almost immediately included the Golden Ears Bridge in its directions information.
It was only this morning that finally Google has registered the Golden Ears Bridge in its database. Use Google Maps to help you find the way across the Fraser River from Langley to Pitt Meadows and here is the route that Google will provide.
It was good to finally see the Bridge taking up the important role it now has in Fraser Valley transportation. However in a somewhat ironic announcement, Google later in the morning announced that it was now Keeping Canada’s map current.
The map of Canada is constantly changing – new roads are being built, highways are being renamed, and bike trails are opening. To keep up with all these changes, we’ve started using new map data in Canada. This new base map is built from a wide range of sources, just as we recently announced for the US in October. In Canada, we’ve made use of data from organizations such as the National Hydrography Network and Canadian Council on Geomatics. Once again things like satellite imagery and Street View were also helpful to make a rich, thorough base map.
That’s all very well. However if only they had worked more promptly in synchronizing with their existing map database contributors such as TeleAtlas, perhaps the Golden Ears Bridge would have been on our screens at least a month earlier.
As we mentioned back in December, Google still had not found the Golden Ears Bridge across the Fraser Valley here in British Columbia. It took two years to build it and it had been open six months but there was still no sign on Google’s Maps. The Google spiders may get a new blog post in its database within minutes but apparently they rely on others for their map data. Even though there were many human comments pointing out this serious omission, none of that seemed to get through.
Tele Atlas, one of the map suppliers, informed those who wished to know just after midnight this morning that they have now included the Golden Ears Bridge in their database.
You can confirm that if you are a MapQuest user because here is the route they will show you going from Langley to Maple Ridge here in British Columbia.
Unfortunately perhaps Google Maps only works West Coast Office hours.
If you check directions from Langley to Maple Ridge with Google Maps, they are still showing the same picture as before.
If you do not find that circuitous route too appealing and look for an alternate route then here is their Plan B on the right. That is no better since it uses the Albion Ferry that closed down some 9 months ago.
So until further notice, residents in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia would be well advised to use MapQuest in working out their travel plans. After all, the Golden Ears Bridge is a most elegant bridge, has lots more capacity for extra traffic and really changes how one should get around.
I’m sure Google Maps will get to this soon so watch this space for further travel advisories on the Golden Ears Bridge.
If you spot that Google Maps has finally found the Golden Ears Bridge, why not let us know in the comments here.
Update: It took a further month before Google Maps added the bridge.
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As someone who has migrated more and more strongly to using Gmail as my principal e-mail service, I am now frustrated by the forced insertion of Google Buzz. In fact prior to this, the Google Gmail spam elimination process seemed very effective in leaving only Gmail messages that I wished to receive. The labeling system allowed me to store most messages that came in in a very efficient retrieval system. Now the incessant buzz is adding in a whole cloud of irrelevance. It is no accident that Buzz rhymes with fuzz. Your simple, clean Gmail Inbox is becoming increasingly fuzzy.
I am not the first to complain. Immediately after its introduction, many were hoping that Google would offer Buzz independently from Gmail. According to Danny Sullivan,
Google says it may allow people to participate in Google Buzz without having it integrated within Gmail, in addition to offering a combined Gmail service. That may be a welcome move for users of both products, especially in light of the substantial privacy concerns voiced this week about Google Buzz.
“It’s clear that interest in Buzz may extend beyond the current Gmail base, and we’re open to serving that community,” said Bradley Horowitz, Google’s VP of Product Marketing, when Danny SullivanI spoke to him about some Buzz issues. Horowitz stressed that Google would still offer a version of Buzz within Gmail, in addition to any independent version. “We think that Buzz within Gmail is a great experience, and we’ll keep offering that as well,” Horowitz said.
Unfortunately that independent version has never appeared even now six weeks later. Still there is no way of easily separating out Buzz items from the regular Gmail stream. Any examination of items such as Sent Mail will list together sent messages and Buzz comments or status messages. Since Buzz by its nature is more voluminous, this makes it really difficult to home in on the regular e-mail items.
The only way to avoid this confusion between buzz items and regular e-mail is to switch off the display of Buzz entirely within Gmail. It is a pity that it cannot be segregated but Google offers no choices here.
It is annoying to have many Buzz updates appearing as emails to the Gmail account. If you want to turn off or remove the Google Buzz from Gmail then there is no way to do it easily. The only way to maintain one’s sanity is to avoid creating any buzz items whatsoever. Others may see buzz items that your applications such as Twitter or Facebook create. However if you decide to create buzz items within Google Buzz directly, then at that point you will be polluting your Gmail stream. That price is too high for me and perhaps for many others.
To an extent, the problem is the new Google regime whose tagline is Mobile First. If you check out how Google Buzz will work on your mobile phone, then it makes a lot of sense.
Introducing Google Buzz for mobile: See buzz around you and tag posts with your location.
We are announcing Google Buzz, a new product that integrates with your Gmail inbox and makes it easy to start rich conversations about the things you find interesting. Google Buzz lets you share web links, photos, videos, and more with those who are important to you. Rather than simply creating a mobile version of Buzz, we decided to take advantage of the unique features of a mobile device – in particular, location. We go through many experiences when we’re on the go, and while there are lots of ways to share these experiences with your friends or even the world, there isn’t always an easy way to let your audience know where you are when you post. Your location brings valuable context to the information you share.
You’re on the go. You want to know what is going on around you and Buzz can provide that window on the world. In a way it is like Twitter on steroids. If I was using Buzz only on my smart phone, then I would not be complaining.
My rant concerns only how Google Buzz overruns your Gmail when you are working on your PC. Google would like me to pay more attention to Buzz so it insists on linking it inextricably with my Gmail. The only choice I am left with is to bury it. That may well be the solution for many other Gmail users.
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Google Maps is severely broken if you are a resident of the Fraser Valley in British Columbia. The Golden Ears Bridge has now been open for 6 months yet it is not taken into account in the Google Maps service.
If you were unaware of this, just try a few requests for directions with Google Maps and you will see what I mean. The most upsetting one is how to get from 200th Street in Langley, BC to Maple Ridge. In real life there is a magnificent new bridge that whisks you directly across the Fraser River and has you there in minutes. It took two years to build and it’s been in heavy use for the past 6 months. There even is a picture of the Golden Ears Bridge in the Google Street View service.
It is quite clear that many people within Google must be aware of this major omission. There have several discussions on the Google Maps Forum, starting almost immediately when the bridge opened. This is one of the Forums on which Googlers spend a good deal of time, given the frequent glitches that are found in Google Maps.
Nevertheless, here is what Google Maps will show you today.
It gets even worse if you move a little to the east. Try going from a point 1 kilometer to the east to Maple Ridge and this is what Google Maps suggests you do.
It involves using a ferry that has now been closed for 6 months following the opening of the Golden Ears Bridge.
How could a major corporation like Google leave a major online property ‘broken’ for so long? It is not that they have not been told.
On June 16, someone asked in the Google Maps Forum, Could you please add The Golden Ears Bridge to the Langley, Pitt Meadows Map.
There is a new major bridge that links Langley, BC and Pitt Meadows, BC, a route which used to be taken by a small ferry. It’s a pretty major change to the infrastructure of the Lower Mainland with many new roads linking to it. It would be great if you could update the maps in the area to reflect it.
The Google response ran as follows:
For Google, it is up to TeleAtlas as they provide the basemap. A request has been made but they will not say when it will be updated. It is the same for the other major supplier of basemaps, Navteq. Users are encouraged to visit http://www.teleatlas.com and http://www.navteq.com to report changes to encourage them to update the basemap sooner rather than later.
Six months later and still nothing has been done. The curious thing is that if you do a search for the Golden Ears Bridge, you can stumble on a Google street view of the bridge.
This seems a major blot on Google’s claims to catalogue the world of information. Perhaps since they have not monetized Google Maps, it does not get the attention it deserves. I have raised the issue again in a Google Maps Forum discussion. I’m not expecting a quick response on this.
In some ways it’s a more fundamental problem. Google is highly product-directed rather than being customer-centric. They work very hard on developing good technology. They really need to adopt a customer-centric attitude and make sure they are delivering what customers need.
It’s fine for them to hide behind their computers and insist that only computer-based processes must handle everything and they will not intervene. However there are probably 0.0000001% of issues where human intervention is required and human judgment must be exercised. The recent major embarrassment for Google with the adulterated image of Michelle Obama in the Google Image search was one such.
I would suggest that this inability to use Google Maps for many journeys for residents in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia is another when it persists for 6 months. Such a major problem in customer service should really get on to the radar screen of the Google CEO. I’m sure the Michelle Obama image problem did.
Update: Google Maps still had not added the Golden Ears Bridge in March 2010 although Mapquest had. It took a further month before Google Maps added the bridge.
via CrunchBase
Many use Google almost as a second brain, so it may be good news to hear that it is getting a caffeine boost. The Google Webmaster Central Blog was somewhat more low-key in inviting developers to Help test some next-generation infrastructure.
For the last several months, a large team of Googlers has been working on a secret project: a next-generation architecture for Google’s web search. It’s the first step in a process that will let us push the envelope on size, indexing speed, accuracy, comprehensiveness and other dimensions. The new infrastructure sits “under the hood” of Google’s search engine, which means that most users won’t notice a difference in search results. But web developers and power searchers might notice a few differences, so we’re opening up a web developer preview to collect feedback.
Matt Cutts gave it more of a marketing push in giving More info on the Caffeine Update. In fact it is not one of their typical ongoing updates but it may produce very different results. The word caffeine comes up only in their method of getting feedback.
Here’s how to give us feedback: Do a search at http://www2.sandbox.google.com/ and look on the search results page for a link at the bottom of the page that says “Dissatisfied? Help us improve.” Click on that link, type your feedback in the text box and then include the word caffeine somewhere in the text box. Thanks in advance for your feedback!
From the checks I have done, results often seem very similar but what was done fast is now done even faster. Others like Dave Naylor seem to be finding few differences either.
The only case where I saw a marked difference was for a recent blog post (only 3 days old). That was a BPWrap post entitled, Stop Your Email Newsletter Being Junk – A Case Study. In a regular web search for ‘ip reputation email junk’, among the first 100 entries (of a total of 158,000 entries), the BPWrap blog post was there but preceded by a ca.loadedweb.com item and a digg.com item that related to that post.
In the ‘caffeine’ search, the other two did not appear in the first 100 (of a total of 181,000 entries). The actual blog post was included and a new item referring to the blog post appeared later in the list. That was a Squidoo page entitled Opt-Out! Freedom From Junk Mail and Phone Calls. To my mind, this is a more useful item than the directory type entries that had appeared in the regular search.
It would be wrong to make any inferences from only one result but perhaps others can use this finding as a hypothesis to be tested. Oh and I did give Google my caffeine feedback.
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Any local business should be easily findable in Google since many customers may use Google when they are trying to find a store or supplier. There is a Google Local Business Center, so you might think there was nothing easier than to add in your business coordinates there. Unfortunately that is not always the case. There are some distressing SMBs case studies mentioned in a Cre8asite Forum discussion. It is not just businesses that are affected. It can even happen to hospitals with much more tragic results.
Unfortunately Google does not seem to be willing to put in resources to ensure the veracity of the data. A number of people have been trying to get Google’s attention on this and the following are some of the more vocal:
Google does not have a local search facility as such. Rather within its universal search process, if Google guesses that local results might be beneficial it shows some within the total set of results. It is somewhat fuzzy in application but it presumably is the best Google can do with its fixation on a single search box. How much easier if Google followed the Yellow Pages approach, also used by its competitors, of having one box for the product/service and another for the location. Instead they go for the much more technically challenging single-box approach.
An additional way of flagging where your business is located is to use geotags on each of your web pages. This is basically the precise latitude and longitude for the location that is associated with the web page. You can find them using a Geotags locator. They can be handled invisibly using meta tags or can even be displayed on the web page if you wish. The geotags for this web page for example are 49.17467; -122.62195.
If you are not yet happy with the way the Google Local Business Center has referenced your place of business, what is the best approach for you. Rather surprisingly, the only way is to get more citations in as many other local directories as you can. Even though some of them are decidedly flaky, for example Yellow Pages, Google applies its algorithm to such questionable data. It’s not quite, Garbage In, Garbage Out, but the results might sometimes get you scratching your head..
The following is a list of references you may wish to use to maximize the chances that Google can find you correctly. They were featured in a Guide to Canadian Citations for Local Search by David Mihm.
He also added some citation sources not specific to Canada
The problem is that Google is relying on computer algorithms to handle this local data. Unfortunately there are often errors in the data that only can be corrected by a human review. Thankfully some of the above sources do have such a review process.
The CityDirect Network is particularly good in this respect. SMM BC is featured in the Langley Direct directory. This only occurred after a call from a staff member of CityDirect who verified that the business really did exist and operated out of the named location.
If your business is not yet featured in the CityDirect Network, I would highly recommend it. You can sign up via this membership link. You can have a free listing or you can pay for an enhanced listing. Once you have entered all your data, you will be called by a representative to confirm the validity of the data that you have entered. It seems to be a process that runs very smoothly.
The other bonus is that this may be a way of getting the Google local search process to get additional knowledge of where your company is located. That is indeed another major advantage. Plus you are featured in the CityDirect Network where other human visitors may find you. See you on the Map.
If Phishing is a new term to you then please read this post. Wikipedia will tell you that “phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.” Often it may look like a message from your bank, or it could be Paypal or eBay. The phisher does not know whether you really have an account, but tries everyone in the hope that some may fall from it.
Here is one of the best phishing exploits I have seen. I have now twice received a message apparently from Google within the past three days that read as follows:
When you click on the link, then you see the familiar Google Gmail Welcome page.
Except that this is not the regular Google page. If you look up at the address field, you will find the URL is on the domain, 
.
Checking WhoIs for this page you will find that the administrative contact is the following person.
Undoubtedly if I had keyed in my Gmail username and password, that gentleman would have had access to my Gmail account and could do whatever he wished with it. Needless to say I immediately changed the password, in case he had already been there.
This is a particularly difficult one to spot, so it is important to be extra vigilant. Google has some good information about Messages asking for personal information. It also provides more detailed information about Suspicious results and strange behavior: Phishing attacks in other words.
You can forward such phishing Gmail messages to phishing@google.com and can send the Phishing URL to the Google Phishing team using their Phishing Report. Google also provides a link to Stopbadware.org, where you can learn more about malware that can infect your computer.
Some phishing attacks are not too difficult to spot, often including spelling mistakes and somewhat curious links. This particular current Gmail phishing incident is highly professional and the only clue is that URL address when you click on the apparent Google link.
Please spread the word rapidly. If you are on Twitter, then please ReTweet the message below.
Undoubtedly many people will be taken in.
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Given recent Google pronouncements with respect to the nofollow tag and PageRank sculpting, it is prudent to limit the number of comments that blog posts receive and methods are discussed to do that.
Blog authors often agree to differ on the subject of comments. Some feel it is essential to have a dialogue going with their readers through comments. Others are turned off by all the spam comments that can often be added and so avoid comments.
An additional issue with respect to comments is whether comment authors should be allowed to have a link back to their own websites. WordPress by default inserts a nofollow tag on such links, given the risks of spam entries. Those who feel commenters should be allowed to have a link can use a WordPress Dofollow plug-in which removes that nofollow tag.
Google has then made this subject more complex by suggesting that paid links should be flagged with a nofollow tag since they should not influence search engine rankings.. Some SEOs have then decided they would use the nofollow tag to modify the PageRank flow within their website: this was labeled as PageRank Sculpting. A Google comment at the SMX conference in Seattle ten days ago has now further thrown everything into confusion.
The Matt Cutts comment that sparked this discussion, as reported by Lisa Barone, ran as follows in the You&A With Matt Cutts session:
It seems like you supported PageRank sculpting a year ago and now it seems like you don’t support it anymore. Why is that and will it become a negative indicator?
No, it won’t hurt your site. You can do your links however you want. You can use it to eliminate links to sign in forms and whatnot, but its a better use of your time to fix your site architecture and fix the problem from the core. Suppose you have 10 links and 5 of them are nofollowed. There’s this assumption that that the other 5 links get ALL that PageRank and that may not be as true anymore (your leftover PageRank will now “evaporate”, says Matt.). You can’t shunt your PageRank where you want it to go. It’s not a penalty. It’s not going to get you in trouble. However, it’s not as effective. It’s a better use of your time to go make new content and do all the other things.
Andy Beard has clearly stated what is needed. In asking Can Comments Kill Your PageRank?
I do have some thoughts though:-
1. I think we need a strong statement that external links with nofollow would not cause PageRank to evaporate.
2. Nofollow is a simple solution for user generated content and comments, but if it has any effect of PageRank disappearing, we are going to lose the links on tons of blogs totally. It would be a sad day that an action by Google reduced the interlinking of the web.
…
5. Links that lead to pages blocked with robots.txt and other hanging pages really need to be nofollowed. I think we need to know that in that situation PageRank wouldn’t normally evaporate, but I can understand why that might not be confirmed.
As yet, there has been no clarification on this issue from Google.
It is interesting to note that Webmasters do handle Comments differently. Michael Gray with his latest entry, The Big Fat RSS Lie, adopts what seems to be his normal policy in displaying, Comments on this entry are closed.
On the other hand, the Daily SEO Tip blog actively seeks comments from as many as possible, as with the latest post:Let’s Create the Ultimate List of Keyword Research Tools by Ann Smarty. This seems to be the approach that most blog writers adopt.
What is the best policy given what Matt Cutts had said. One possible line of reasoning is set out in a post on a PageRank Null Hypothesis. This would suggest that all links are included in a first phase PageRank population. This means that the more links one has from a blog page (including comments), the lower PageRank contribution that each outlink carries. This argument might suggest avoiding comments to limit the number of outlinks.
Conversely, comments often add useful content that is of interest to readers. The resulting post and comments then has more content which may rank better in keyword queries. This suggests that it may be better to have a balance allowing a number of comments but cutting these off after a certain time.
Given the above, the Comments Policy on the SMM blogs has been changed. To capture worthwhile comment content while avoiding the more spammy comments, comments are now closed off after 21 days.
In order not to lose the possibility of useful comments after 21 days, the Google Friend Connect Social Bar has been added to the bottom of every SMM blog post so that visitors can comment there. Such comments would not be part of the Web page content for search engine ranking terms but it does mean that other visitors can read the further comments. Hopefully this gives the best of both worlds.
Here is a short video introduction to the Google Friend Connect Social Bar:
In the lucrative search market, Google may have the lion’s share but Yahoo and Microsoft, the other major players, are continually seeking ways to undercut that dominance. Now we hear that Microsoft Plans Major Ad Push Around New Search Engine; Is The Name Bing?
AdAge previously reported that Microsoft was planning a major ad campaign to promote a relaunch of Live Search this spring. It now says that Microsoft will spend between $80 and $100 million on advertising, almost double the amount typically spent on the launch of a consumer product. The campaign will span TV, print, and online. It is so large that ad firm JWT is actually hiring while most of its competitors are shedding employees. AdAge says the campaign will “focus on planting the idea that today’s search engines don’t work as well as consumers previously thought by asking them whether search (aka Google) really solves their problems.”
Google would strongly refute that message, perhaps by pointing out that it offers More Search Options.
We have spent a lot of time looking at how we can better understand the wide range of information that’s on the web and quickly connect people to just the nuggets they need at that moment. We want to help our users find more useful information, and do more useful things with it.
We are announcing a new set of features that we call Search Options, which are a collection of tools that let you slice and dice your results and generate different views to find what you need faster and easier. Search Options helps solve a problem that can be vexing: what query should I ask?
That approach may well counter the Microsoft challenge. After all powerful advertising campaigns do not necessarily mean that the new Microsoft Search – Bing, Kuomo or whatever it is called – will be any better than the previous Live Search that has been notoriously erratic.
What Google Search Options may not do is help in the more heated arena where Google battles Facebook.
Google increasingly sees social networks such as Facebook as challengers to its search engine. As people search out advice online for everyday, personal decisions, the standard list of links served up by Google is not seen as intimate or trustworthy. For decisions such as choosing a restaurant or a day care provider, social networking sites or known review sites have an advantage, said Google Group Product Manager Ken Tokusei. Such sites offer information from friends or acquaintances, and users tend to trust that information more.
Google does allow users to add opinions to search results but this approach really has not gained any traction. However I believe the key battle-ground is regular search where Microsoft will pitch its Bing. I believe Google is in a position to adopt an approach that the others will have a very hard time matching. This will be outlined in a follow-up article entitled, Google Can Continue To Dominate Search With A Customer-Centric Strategy.
Please make sure you have subscribed to the RSS News Feed so that you can see the follow-up when it is published.
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