Despite the fact that Microsoft finally walked away from its takeover bid for Yahoo (a subject we’ve touched upon previously… not to worry, we’ll talk about the fallout as well), Yahoo continued with their “business as usual” approach. Yahoo Search partnered with McAfee, a leading web security company, to scan search results for dangerous websites.

While this step is new for Yahoo, it’s not new to the world of web search – Google introduced a similar protection in 2006, though the Google SafeSearch feature was aimed at screening for sites that contain explicit (i.e. adult-oriented) material, removing such sites from search results. Yahoo’s SearchScan feature takes safety to the next level.

Yahoo SearchScan uses McAfee’s SiteAdvisor technology to warn users about “potentially risky sites”. The service, which is switched “on” by default within the Yahoo Search page, warns users if they are about to click on a website that hosts viruses, spyware and spam. The warning appears as an on-screen alert, as shown here:

The service is currently available as a free beta for Yahoo Search users in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and Spain

Yahoo’s SearchScan alerts users to the following security concerns:

• Browser Exploits / Hacking Risks – These types of sites can harm a user’s computer or install malware simply with a visit to the site. Such sites may use methods like browser hacks to infect a computer without any action on the user’s part.
• Dangerous Downloads – These sites may offer downloads with dangerous software like viruses or spyware embedded in them. This often comes bundled with other free downloads like screensavers, ringtones, games, or other software. SearchScan will display warnings next to search results for sites that offer such potentially dangerous software.
• Unsolicited Email – Users sharing email addresses with these types of sites may result in unsolicited or spammy emails. These sites may request users for their email address but then either send them unsolicited email, or in some cases, make users email addresses available to multiple domains to send users email. SearchScan will alert users to scanned sites that send unsolicited e-mails or inappropriately share e-mail addresses with third parties

Industry analysts at research firm IDC estimate that 67% of all computers have some form of spyware installed without a user’s knowledge . As viruses, spyware, adware, and other types of malware programs are often “hidden” inside innocuous-looking programs such as screensavers and toolbars, the Yahoo SearchScan feature helps to educate search engine users and web surfers in general to sites that may expose their computers to a security threat or may flood their inbox with spam. This enhancement to the Yahoo search engine, along with the dust settling from the Microsoft takeover falling through, can help Yahoo Search users surf the web a little more easily.

In our next installment of optimizing Meta Data for a website, we look at the Description Tag. This tag is often the first description of a page the Search Engines and searchers will see. The Search Engines will see it when they crawl the page, and the searchers will see it when they have results displayed in the search results. If this tag is not utilized or left blank, the Search Engines will go else where on the site to find information to give to users in the search results, which means you have no control of what the searcher sees. By writing effective Description Tags, you have the chance to tell the Search Engines, and searcher what your specific page is about.

Tips for writing Effective Description Tags
When writing Description Tags, it is important to keep the searcher in mind. Writing unique and descriptive tags will help convert lookers to clickers. Research what is being displayed for your targeted keyword and then write a description that is appealing and different from the others displayed. This can be difficult so here are some quick tips to help in the process:

• Include Keywords – 2 times if possible. If two times doesn’t make sense or is not readable, don’t force it, once will do.
• Be Unique – What makes you different from your competition? Highlight these aspects in your Description Tag. It is also important to make it unique from all of the other pages on your site. Each page needs a different Description Tag.
• Be Creative – This is your chance to capture your target audience. Think about whom that is and write your tag in a way that will engage them.
• Limit to 180 Characters including spaces.

Like other Meta Tags, Description Tags are just a piece of the SEO pie. You are now one step closer to having a more optimized website.

If I had to single out the most difficult objection I hear from prospects it would be the fact that we don’t offer guarantees. Time after time, I hear a story of someone who has been burned by one of these SEO firms who “guarantees” everything under the sun and fails to deliver. Did they read the fine print that mentions the SEO firm would be selecting the keywords for the top 10 placements? For example, Mary Smith, a realtor in South Florida may expect to show up for “Boca Raton Realtor”. However, the guarantee is she shows up in the #1 position in Google for “Mary Smith realtor Florida who specializes in foreclosures on Dixie Highway in Boca Raton”. Sure it’s relevant, but is anyone going to type that into the search bar? Also, how can a company even guarantee results when they have absolutely no control over it? I still think it’s a ridiculous guarantee, no matter how obscure the terms may be.

I also see dozens of ads that say “we will submit you to 30,000 search engines!!” Are there even 30,000 engines? Wouldn’t you rather be in the top 3 engines that handle approximately 90 percent of web search traffic?

What about a guaranteed ROI? “If I am going to spend $10,000 to optimize my site, how much money am I going to make?” Because there are so many variables to consider, there is just no way to estimate your ROI. I can’t predict what position you will arrive at for your keywords. I can’t predict your click through rate based on that position. What if you are in the #1 position in Google for your desired keywords but the searcher who arrives at your site leaves within 3 seconds? Does your search engine positioning really have anything to do with ROI? When you purchased that billboard on the highway did you determine how much money you would make? Sure, I can give you an estimate of how much traffic will pass your billboard, but I can’t tell you how many drivers are going to dial the phone number they read on that particular advertisement.

The problem is that the internet is still in its infancy and there are so many people who are uneducated with the ins and outs, and do’s and don’ts of internet marketing. There is no way to determine your return on investment when you optimize your website. Optimization should be viewed as the foundation of a site, or a work in progress for future growth. And the next time someone asks me about a guarantee, my answer is going to be “I guarantee that if you select an SEO Firm who offers you a placement guarantee, you will call me in about 6 months to fix that mess!”