Last Tuesday, September 2nd, Google released its open source browser Chrome to an expectant public.  Word of the pending release was inadvertently leaked by the search engine (who also celebrates its tenth birthday this month), raising the level of expectation even higher.

But now that the browser is available for use, what does it offer when compared to other software application such as Microsoft®’s Internet Explorer™, Apple®’s Safari®, Mozilla® Foundation’s Firefox®, and Opera Software’s eponymous Opera™ browser?

Before we detail some of the features of Chrome, we should first mention the slight issue with Chrome’s initial end-user licensing agreement (EULA).  Google removed the portion of its EULA for Google Chrome that caused users concern.  The term stated that Google would retain, “[…]a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive licence [sic] to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services.”  This language was almost immediately replaced with:

“[…]You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services.”

Unfortunately, the EULA matter wasn’t the only hiccup of note for Chrome.  On Wednesday the U.S. Computer Emergency Response Team (US-CERT) issued a warning to Chrome users about a potential security risk in the new browser’s default settings.

US-CERT notes that the browser’s default settings accept all downloads without prompting users.  This allows for the possibility of an attacker placing malicious applications on a user’s system without any previous warning.  In addition, downloaded files can be opened with a single click, which could allow a user to inadvertently open a malicious file.  US-CERT advises users to turn on the “Ask where to save each file before downloading” option within the “Minor Tweaks” tab in the browser preferences in order to mitigate the security risk.

So, now that users are more comfortable with downloading and installing Chrome, and now that they know how to better safeguard themselves from potential risks, how is Chrome a better browser?

To start with, Google’s Chrome is fast, feature-rich and stable.  Then there are Google’s in-house innovations like JavaScript handling, the multi-threaded engine, and the task manager.  And then we come to the new interface features and usage, many of which come from the other browsers.

Not only does Chrome utilize Safari’s WebKit engine, it also receives referrals from Firefox’s Google search bar.  Additionally, much of Chrome has been open-sourced.  But while the inspiration and the underlying mechanics of Chrome have apparent parents in the likes of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Opera, many of the features of Chrome have Google’s touch.  For example:

• Bookmarks: Maintaining your bookmarks is made easier by importing them from another browser and getting an easy view of your bookmarks through a new blank tab.  You can also type part of a bookmark name or URL into the Omnibox (address bar) to have Chrome “fetch” it.  Bookmarking a page is just as simple as clicking the star icon next to the Omnibox.
 
Figure 2: the bookmarking star next to the Omnibox in Chrome

• Search History: By opening a new tab in Chrome you can see a tiled view of your most visited websites.  Clicking the full history link at the bottom of the view will allow you to see your browsing history by date and time.  You are even able to enter in a search to find a site by any part of the site’s name or URL.
 

Figure 3: The Wikipedia home page as seen using Google’s Chrome (dated 09022008)

•Tabbed Windows: A new window can be created at any time by dragging a tab off of the Chrome bar.  You can even drag and drop tabs between separate Chrome windows.  External links will open in a new tab directly to the right of the tab you’re viewing.  Additionally, you are able to create an application shortcut from any tab.  Perhaps the best part of the new tabbed window functionality is that if a web page malfunctions it only crashes the tab, not the whole browser.

•Updated Omnibox (Address Bar): With Google’s Site Suggest built into Chrome, you can either guess the website you are looking for using keywords or enter the URL directly.  In order to access the Google search engine itself, simply type in a question mark (?) before your keyword or key phrase.

•More Robust Utilities: Chrome offers a whole suite of utilities to help you manage various applications and add-ons.   The task manager shows you what tabs are running and the resources consumed.  Chrome’s inspector tool enables you to see a web page’s structure, JavaScript performance, allows you to make cascading style sheet (CSS) changes live.  Additional utilities include being able to launch a separate JavaScript debugger console for each tab and viewing the source of a web page with color coded markup and source code URLs as live links.

What makes Chrome a great new tool is that the user experience is fast, simple and intuitive from the start.  The speed and ease of use is likely to help users become more productive.  With its new and improved Internet browsing features, Google’s Chrome makes it simpler and quicker for browser users to find the content they are looking for.

When people write content for their website, they may not be taking Search Engine Optimization into account. SEO copywriting is a technique in which you target a specific keyword and write the text in a way so that the searcher can understand it and search engines can find and index that page. This can be a daunting task for most web copywriters.  With the tips below, you will be on your way to having a more SEO friendly website.

Keyword Research – Do a little research before you start writing.  Do your products or services go by a more common name?  Are people searching for these terms? How competitive is it?  These are all questions that can be answered by doing keyword research.  Think about your products or services and target the most relevant keyword for that page.  A good starting point is Google’s free keyword tool. https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal .  This will help you to find the most relevant keyword for each page.

Amount of Text – Each page should contain 200-600 words.  This is the right amount of text to get your message across and to insert your keyword enough times (Keyword Density).  I recommend staying below 600 words, because readers tend to have a short attention span. Keep your text short and to the point and you will find you are better off

Keyword Density – Keyword density is a measure of how many times a specific keyword appears in the copy of a page.  A good target to have is 4% keyword density.  To achieve a 4% keyword density on a page of 200 words, you would need to use that word 8 times.  You might think this is a lot, but you can use the keyword phrase in titles, sentences and in bulleted lists.  To check your keyword density as you write your page, you can use this cool tool: http://live-keyword-analysis.com/ .

Page Purpose – Think about the purpose of each page on your site.  Is the information useful and something your users would want to know, or is it there just for the sake of having a page?  If each page has a specific purpose and keyword target, that page will have a better chance of being indexed and becoming a conversion point for the user.

Write for your user – Some people will comprise page copy to appeal to the search engines.  This is not the best idea.  You ought to think about who is using your site and write for them.  Search engines aren’t buying your products or services, people are.  Take them into account when writing.  After all, what good is being number one if you turn your customers off once they get to your site!

I once heard a great oil painter say, “Unity with variety makes great pictures.” My first thought was, “How on earth can you have unity with variety? It seems like a contradiction.” From then on, I started really looking at the world around me, I began to see what he was talking about.

For example, in nature, a row of trees look similar, but still have variety in the branches, leaves and sizes. Clouds on a beautiful day will be off-white against a blue sky, but will have variety in sizes, shapes and distances. Consider the human face, we are used to seeing 2 eyes, 1 nose and 1 mouth, but there are differences that make us distinctly unique.

Lets take a closer look at this concept in a graphic example. Below we have 3 content boxes which represent areas which could possibly link to sections of a website. First of all, notice the similarities of these simple and uninspired boxes. We don’t know what to look at first and may not even be compelled to read the text at all. The boxes have the same shape, fonts, colors, and format. Boring.

Below are the new graphics which have been spiced up a bit with variations in color, font sizes and distances, but still have unity of shape, fonts and effects. We clearly know what to look at first, starting with the orange box labeled “1”. This is the main emphasis of the group. Then, we proceed to look at “2” and “3”.

Another thing to keep in mind when using graphic elements is unity with your website. Notice how I didn’t randomly choose orange, teal, and gray as my new box colors, I picked them because they are specific to the MoreVisibility website and will therefore strengthen branding.

Until next time, look at the world around you and be inspired by the beauty and wonder nature has to offer.