Following years of second-class citizen status, Flash content is now being welcomed into Google’s index.  A post on the Official Google Blog introduced the algorithm update (the wording indicates that it is currently live) and a second post on the Google Webmater Central blog presented list of anticipated questions and answers.

From the announcement post:

Now that we’ve launched our Flash indexing algorithm, web designers can expect improved visibility of their published Flash content, and you can expect to see better search results and snippets.

This is undoubtedly a step in the right direction, but there’s still a good deal of ground to cover.  While .SWF files will be indexed, it will only be for text content contained within the .SWF file.  Content that is pulled in by a .SWF for presentation as opposed to be included in the .SWF will be indexed separately.

As it is described in the Q&A post, the code which parses Flash files will essentially be acting like a user.

We’ve developed an algorithm that explores Flash files in the same way that a person would, by clicking buttons, entering input, and so on. Our algorithm remembers all of the text that it encounters along the way, and that content is then available to be indexed.

There are obvious limitations to overcome, in my mind specifically with the inability to index dynamic content (content pulled in from a database or external XML file), but this is a big move in the right direction, and its been a long time coming.

Thanks to Chris ‘Ubergeek’ Hill for emerging from vacation long enough to pass this info along.

The board of ICANN unanimously approved sweeping changes to the rules governing domain extensions today. The broad based changes allow top-level domains (.com, .org, .edu, etc.) to be created without restrictions previously in place.

The new posture opens the door for almost any domain suffix imaginable, likely with .sex and .xxx leading the way. With most memorable names consumed under “.com,” that this ruling will pave the way for more descriptive suffixes, such as “.resort” or “.books”.

The AP reports that new TLDs won’t surface for several months. Regulation? Domains will need to be proposed to ICANN at which time they will go through a review phase allowing anyone to raise an objection.

Welcome to the next domain rush. Or maybe not. Citing ICANN, Ars Technica reports that “if approved, registering the TLD will cost anywhere from $100,000 to $500,000.” Maybe it’ll be the domain rush for everyone but the little guy.

In review of a few clients’ analytics this month I kept running across an inbound referrer I hadn’t seen befoere: msplinks.com. First, I just went to msplinks.com, and saw that there is nothing but a blank page there. After trying a few of the URLs from Google Analytics, one worked. It was this one:

http://msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LnJlZGJ1bGxmbHVndGFndXNhLmNvbQ==

And this was the page it returned:

So msplinks are outbound redirections originating at MySpace. But, what is the problem that this truly solves for MySpace? They say it is a security measure, but is it (in whoel or part) to reduce MySpace usage merely for SEO purposes?

I know two places: Sphinn and gooruze. Both are created by online marketers for online marketers. Sphinn takes a Digg-like approach whereas gooruze takes a more social route. If you’re in the industry, both are worth a look.

My gooruze page: smcandrew.gooruze.com
My Sphinn profile: smcandrew on Sphinn

My group provides Search Engine Optimization and we spend a reasonable amount of experimentation time to see what we can do to sway search engines into our good graces.  A good deal of the sites we take under the knife have URLs with a history and web sites to match which are in Google’s index.  Achieving relevant Google rankings takes a few weeks on the outside.

For web sites that are hosted on brand new domains it takes more time.  If you’re remotely into online marketing, you’re likely aware of the Google Sandbox (also known as the Sandbox Effect).  We’re used to seeing a two to four month Google Sandbox period.  If you’re not, here’s a layman’s explanation from Wikipedia:

The Sandbox Effect is a theory used to explain certain behaviours observed with the Google search engine. The Sandbox Effect is the theory that websites with newly-registered domains or domains with frequent ownership or nameserver changes are placed in a sandbox (holding area) in the indexes of Google until it is deemed appropriate before a ranking can commence.

The Google Sandbox is a topic of speculation in SEO circles Some say it doesn’t exist at all, that it’s purely a function of mathematics.  Whether or not the Google Sandbox is real, or rankings simply don’t come do to algorithmic computation,we generally don’t expect to see Google rankings for a couple of months at least as we’ve observed it to be a good rule of thumb.

Enough back story.  Where’s this site that got indexed and ranked on a new domain in less than a week for keyword phrases?  You’re looking at it.

I purchased the domain http://www.onlinemarketingperformance.com a few weeks ago.  I had the DNS server pointed to SEDO until the middle of last week when I allowed it to redirect itself to GoDaddy and to show an actual web site.  After putting a few posts up, a co-worker commented on a couple of posts (which was kind as I only had three to speak of at that time).  Which was odd; I hadn’t told anyone about the blog yet.

Today I decided to see if my site was showing up in Google’s results for keyword phrases.  I searched on “online marketing performance” and was surprised to see my site ranking on page 4.  To be clear, this is only when I search with the phrase in quotations.

I also tried my name “Scott McAndrew” and there I am-the 21st result; top of Page 3 (without the quotation marks).

I then tried a phrase comprised of keywords from a blog post title: “poking beyond facebook” (without the quotations).  Page one. Fifth result.

I didn’t do anything special.  I’ve heard that web sites can be shown on Google in the few days after launch, but that they then fall off into the Sandbox.  I’m going to periodically check Google for the phrases above and see what happens.  I’m curious to see if the site gets dropped off the SERPs or if it stays.

In case the Sandbox isn’t a fairy tale; that I continue to have placement in the SERPs; that I happened to have set up my blog more elegantly than I though I did, I’ll post the process I went through.

Related reading about the Google Sandbox elsewhere on the web:

• Google Sandbox Defined (Search Engine Roundtable)
• Google Sandbox: Frequently Asked Questions (SEO Chat)
• How to beat the Google Sandbox (SEOmoz)