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Google 2 & 3 showed 107,000 results
Google showed 108,000 results
Google listed my site position 5
Google 2 & 3 listed my site 6
Has the update begun for Xmas?
Anybody else see anything?
I usually see the changing results produced when the google dance occurs - thought this diference I saw on Google, & Google 2 & 3 was the start.
whoops! figures should have been Google: 1,080,000 & Google 2 & 3: 1,070,000
would'nt have been a very competitive search term with only 100,000 results!
Edited: Nick's too fast for me
however, have a nice XMas :)
A few years back, I owned a website, selling collectable widgets. I had ordered and received shipment of a new product, I'll call it the "Collectable Cast Iron Blue Widget".
This is how the story goes:
I added the "Collectable Cast Iron Blue Widget" to my website as follows:
"Collectable Cast Iron Royal Blue Widget"
This limited edition collectable is made of heavy cast iron and for the first time ever is available in royal blue! Only 2,000 of these were made in blue, comes with a certificate of authenticity, order your Cast Iron Royal Blue Widget today for only $199!
The listing included a large photo showing the bright blue colored widget and also a spec list, showing "Color: Royal Blue" & "Material: Cast Iron" among many other specs.
The amazing thing was that in the first week we received over 700 emails, asking things like:
"What color is the Collectable Cast Iron Royal Blue Widget?"
"Is the Collectable Cast Iron Royal Blue Widget made out of plastic"
"How much is the widget, and what color is it?"
"Is the Collectable Cast Iron Royal Blue Widget, really blue?"
"Can I get the Collectable Cast Iron Royal Blue Widget in red or green?"
Now granted, this particular widget and others like it are almost always black, grey or brown and many are made of plastic, but I went to great lengths to present the information and photos showing that the widget was in fact blue and made of cast iron.
I have clients contact me all of the time, asking how to make their content easier to find or understand, because they too are getting emails asking things like:
"What state is your New Jersey Widget Company located in?"
"Does the New Jersey Widget Repair Company, fix widgets?"
and dozens of other questions, of which the answer is often written across the top of the page in big bold red letters!
I guess my point is that surfers, customers, visitors, whatever you want to call them, will rarely pay any attention to your TOS, Guidelines, etc. Many customers will ask a question faster than they will pay attention to the information presented right on your website, right in front of their face.
I guess there's one in every crowd, it seems like everyday someone is posting actual urls, keywords or starting posts like this. Even though the guidelines have been laid down and are easy to find, they just fail to pay attention to them.
My guess is that, even if you put a big red title at the top of the forum stating a few simple rule, like this, you would still have people doing the same thing.
Maybe this is a discussion for a different forum, but I thought that since this is a wasted thread anyway, I would share my story.
Happy Holidays All!
I've witnessed the same phenomenon in nearly six years of running travel-related editorial sites. On my "Contact us" page, I state very clearly:
Because of time constraints, we cannot answer travel questions, plan your itinerary, help you trace your ancestors, obtain tourist literature for you, provide shopping advice, or supply homework help.In short, we aren't reference librarians or personal travel advisors; our mission is to provide articles and Web links for do-it-yourself travel planning.
You'll find answers to most questions in our articles or at the sites that we link to. To find those, use the navigation links at left or the search box at the bottom of each page.
So what happens? We still get e-mails from people who want hotel recommendations or local transportation advice, help in planning itineraries, genealogical assistances, travel brochures, help in tracking down shops or product sources, and answers for term papers.
Some people just don't like to read, or maybe they think they deserve special treatment.
There were too many words in your reply so I didn't have time to actually read it so can you make it easier on me by telling me the end of the story so I don't have to read the words? What color was it? ;)
