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Using data to fight webspam

Posted by Matt Cutts, Software Engineer This post is the latest in an ongoing <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/making-search-better-in-catalonia.html">series</a> about how we harness the data we collect to improve our products and services for our users. - Ed. As the head of the webspam team at Google, I'm in charge of making sure your search results are as relevant and informative as possible. Webspam, in case you've never heard of it, is the junk you see in search results when websites successfully cheat their way into higher positions in search results or otherwise violate <a href="http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35769#quality" id="jelw" title="search engine quality guidelines">search engine quality guidelines</a>. If you've never seen webspam, here's a good example of what you might see if you click on a link in the search results that's spam (click on the image to see it larger). <div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirDPtpF3pioH-F9uZ0T1FNpHd9vpdifV0E9j_buoKVuQy2DkskJB3ZqxAubtEXLj4oq-N0iUBdjTpYtADO0r91gS3W8FeHfQR7B9-ZAmbbNbo1YezDiV6o_5KbeRuxeUC8_3hYIEaMj3uw/s1600-h/webspam.gif"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216926735305016946" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirDPtpF3pioH-F9uZ0T1FNpHd9vpdifV0E9j_buoKVuQy2DkskJB3ZqxAubtEXLj4oq-N0iUBdjTpYtADO0r91gS3W8FeHfQR7B9-ZAmbbNbo1YezDiV6o_5KbeRuxeUC8_3hYIEaMj3uw/s320/webspam.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /></a> <div style="text-align: left;">You can see how unhelpful such a page would be. This example is filled with almost no original content, irrelevant links, and information that is of little use to a user. We work hard to ensure you rarely see search results like this. Imagine how annoyed you would be if you clicked on a link from a Google search result and ended up on a page like this. Searchers don't often see blatant, outright spam like this in search results today. But webspam was much more of an issue before Google became popular and before we were able to build effective anti-spam methods. In general, webspam can be a real annoyance, such as when a search on your own name returns links to porn pages as results. But for many searches, where getting relevant information is more critical, spam is a serious problem. For example, a search for <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=prostate+cancer" id="n.y3" title="prostate cancer">prostate cancer</a> that's full of spam instead of relevant links greatly diminishes the value of a search engine as a helpful tool. Data from search logs is one tool we use to fight webspam and return cleaner and more relevant results. Logs data such as IP address and cookie information make it possible to create and use metrics that measure the different aspects of our search quality (such as index size and coverage, results "freshness," and spam). Whenever we create a new metric, it's essential to be able to go over our logs data and compute new spam metrics using previous queries or results. We use our search logs to go "back in time" and see how well Google did on queries from months before. When we create a metric that measures a new type of spam more accurately, we not only start tracking our spam success going forward, but we also use logs data to see how we were doing on that type of spam in previous months and years. The IP and cookie information is important for helping us apply this method only to searches that are from legitimate users as opposed to those that were generated by bots and other false searches. For example, if a bot sends the same queries to Google over and over again, those queries should really be discarded before we measure how much spam our users see. All of this--log data, IP addresses, and cookie information--makes your search results cleaner and more relevant. If you think webspam is a solved problem, think again. Last year Google faced a rash of webspam on Chinese domains in our index. Some spammers were purchasing large amounts of cheap .cn domains and stuffing them with <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2188281,00.asp" id="nkze" title="misspellings and porn phrases">misspellings and porn phrases</a>. Savvy users may remember reading a few blogs about it, but most regular users never even noticed. The reason that a typical searcher didn't notice the odd results is that Google identified the .cn spam and responded with a fast-tracked engineering project to counteract that type of spam attack. Without our logs data to help identify the speed and scope of the problem, many more Google users might have been affected by this attack. In an ideal world, the vast majority of our users wouldn't even need to know that Google has a webspam team. If we do our job well, you may see low-quality results from time to time, but you won't have to face sneaky JavaScript redirects, unwanted porn, gibberish-stuffed pages or other types of webspam. Our logs data helps ensure that Google detects and has a chance to counteract new spam trends before it lowers the quality of your search experience. Update: Enlarged image. </div></div>

Using data to fight webspam

Posted by Matt Cutts, Software Engineer This post is the latest in an ongoing series about how we harness the data we collect to improve ou...

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Free cross-product webinar for webmasters

Posted by Jon Stona, Product Marketing Team Three of our most useful products for website owners are <a id="mrdk2" title="Google Webmaster Tools" href="http://www.google.com/webmasters/tools" target="_blank">Google Webmaster Tools</a>, <a id="mrdk3" title="Google Analytics" href="http://www.google.com/analytics" target="_blank">Google Analytics</a>, and <a id="mrdk4" title="Google Website Optimizer" href="http://www.google.com/websiteoptimizer" target="_blank">Google Website Optimizer</a>. On July 8, we're joining forces to bring you a free webinar about all of them so you can learn more about how they can boost your website when used together. Here's the trifecta: Google Webmaster Tools is a resource to gauge the visibility of your pages on Google. It shows you which of our search queries drive traffic to your site and lets you see where your site is included in the top search results. You'll even be able to identify your top content and view the words that other sites use to link to it. Google Analytics provides further insight on how people land and navigate on your site, regardless of whether they arrive through Google search, pay-per-click ads, or other means. You can see which geographical regions people come from, view your top landing pages, and compare the effectiveness of all your ads, e-mail newsletters, affiliate campaigns, referrals, and keywords on Google and other search engines. Google Website Optimizer then enables you to act on the information you've gathered about your site and make concrete improvements. After identifying your high-traffic but low-converting pages, you can test different combinations of content to determine which one most yields the outcome you're looking for. To be clear, we keep a strict wall between search and ads; your site ranking won't affect your ad placement and vice versa. Still, by using all three tools together, you'll gain a complete, detailed picture of how your site's visitors arrive, interact, and respond to changes in content or design. And if you're already using one tool, you can use your same login for the others. Our first-ever joint webinar for Webmaster Tools, Analytics, and Website Optimizer will take place: DATE: Tuesday, July 8 TIME: 9:00 a.m. PT (Pacific Time) JOIN US: <a title="Register to attend" id="mrdk14" href="http://event.on24.com/r.htm?e=113541&s=1&k=CB05AB57071FCC9968D5BAE69762C198" target="_blank">Register to attend</a> If you can't make that date, you'll be able to access an archived version of the presentation via the same registration URL. And lest you forget, you can always visit <a title="Google Webmaster Central" href="http://www.google.com/webmasters/" id="t_ha">Google Webmaster Central</a> to see everything we offer to help you build and maintain your best site. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFl_TWK0u3NPwI_szyiIBaW4BbbHc-e4hs1yDub0vrLUQIjiqaTkyvkEYIrhcx9XVzosYKTmRhEWhNyGa1t1GWriKTB_6MYXRdeEjBPTFAWaqdtlBce0Ezdf22b0s-kifoHKP5lU4RXvFa/s1600-h/gwc+image.gif"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216223514463198242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFl_TWK0u3NPwI_szyiIBaW4BbbHc-e4hs1yDub0vrLUQIjiqaTkyvkEYIrhcx9XVzosYKTmRhEWhNyGa1t1GWriKTB_6MYXRdeEjBPTFAWaqdtlBce0Ezdf22b0s-kifoHKP5lU4RXvFa/s400/gwc+image.gif" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a>

Free cross-product webinar for webmasters

Posted by Jon Stona, Product Marketing Team Three of our most useful products for website owners are Google Webmaster Tools , Google Analyti...

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Keeping kids safe in a digital world

Posted by Liz Eraker, Policy Analyst In the spirit of <a title="National Internet Safety Month" href="http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_cong_bills&docid=f:sr567is.txt.pdf" id="f_so">National Internet Safety Month</a>, we welcomed Ernie Allen, co-founder and president of the <a title="National Center for Missing and Exploited Children" href="http://www.missingkids.com/" id="riwi">National Center for Missing and Exploited Children</a> (NCMEC) to the Googleplex last week to discuss child protection issues. For those not familiar with it, NCMEC works closely with federal law enforcement across the U.S. to help prevent child abduction and sexual exploitation and to help find missing children. From serving as the clearinghouse for reports of online child pornography to issuing Amber Alerts when children go missing to reuniting families in the wake of Katrina, NCMEC is at the forefront of efforts to protect society's most vulnerable members. In a policy talk called "Beyond Milk Cartons: Keeping kids safe in a digital world", Ernie provided an overview of NCMEC's work and chatted with Googlers about the ever-changing landscape of child protection challenges shared by parents, educators, advocacy organizations, and technology companies like Google as we work to help families make smart choices online. <a title="Watch" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOC5MVDj5nk" id="b_u2">Watch Ernie's talk</a> on YouTube. Technology is an invaluable tool for addressing some of these challenges. In a recent example, a team of Google engineers dedicated their 20 percent time over the last year and a half to build <a title="cutting-edge software" href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/04/building-software-tools-to-find-child.html" id="epnr">cutting-edge software</a> for NCMEC that uses image and video recognition technology to help NCMEC analysts more effectively sort and review incoming reports of child exploitation. NCMEC analysts sort through tens of millions of images in child sexual abuse investigations, and we've tried to leverage our expertise in organizing huge amounts of data to help make their important work more automated and efficient. When it comes to keeping kids safe on the Internet, we believe that <a title="education for families" href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/common-sense-approach-to-internet.html" id="q019">education for families</a>, <a title="support for law enforcement" href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/helping-law-enforcement-to-combat.html" id="fqzu">support for law enforcement</a>, and empowering technology tools, like our <a title="SafeSearch" href="http://www.google.com/support/bin/static.py?page=searchguides.html&ctx=preferences&hl=en" id="fgab">SafeSearch</a> filter and the NCMEC software, are all critical pieces of the puzzle. Tackling online child safety issues is no small task, but we'll continue our collaboration with organizations like NCMEC, along with other partners in schools, government and industry, to take collective strides in the right direction.

Keeping kids safe in a digital world

Posted by Liz Eraker, Policy Analyst In the spirit of National Internet Safety Month , we welcomed Ernie Allen, co-founder and president of ...

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More real-time quotes on Google Finance

Posted by Matt Simmons, Market Data Gnome We're excited to let you know we're adding more real-time market data to Google Finance, Google.com and other Google properties. Starting today, you'll have access to real-time, last sale prices from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), along with those from NASDAQ, which we <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/at-long-last-real-time-stock-quotes-are.html">recently launched</a>. Here's the <a href="http://www.nyse.com/press/1214302996534.html">NYSE press release</a>. What this means is that you can now get the latest real-time stock quotes on Google for free. Wondering what Ford (F) is trading at today? Search for it on <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=F">Google</a> or <a href="http://finance.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:F">Google Finance</a> and keep the page up to have the quotes stream live. If you use iGoogle, add the Google Finance <a href="http://www.google.com/ig/directory?url=www.google.com/ig/modules/finance_portfolios.xml">portfolio gadget</a> to your homepage, and monitor all your NYSE and NASDAQ traded stocks in real time throughout the day. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPRcLkOgp_RAD4OYVIqmUOevWVTX6s8RHiYxwKNEI6hCZNrBakbXocXQPcaOu8c2JzqJxrHnKxL8NLGdUOFHuJrfsGQVng0c4Qzmuxe06pEX6Y1ajVieGjAgadhWjUwmCcsJEhBDVcyKt/s1600-h/Portfolio+Gadget.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215270065430322290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPRcLkOgp_RAD4OYVIqmUOevWVTX6s8RHiYxwKNEI6hCZNrBakbXocXQPcaOu8c2JzqJxrHnKxL8NLGdUOFHuJrfsGQVng0c4Qzmuxe06pEX6Y1ajVieGjAgadhWjUwmCcsJEhBDVcyKt/s400/Portfolio+Gadget.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a> And if you're on the road with no access to a computer, real-time, up-to-the-second price quotes from these two exchanges are available from your mobile phone as well: <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyFnMhKDR4zlcAk52ZeQ6cA7PwUT8RIj0x_oKilOvpgMO9uFVJ17EjZb385dVVy_nkeyeh2FkGCJeM3vo3pATmmqYZFPbTFqUQuDbEcszSGLX6RTIk8h2CQxB_JFdshNTTzWcwDpciMY5n/s1600-h/Mobile+Finance.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215270061125833570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyFnMhKDR4zlcAk52ZeQ6cA7PwUT8RIj0x_oKilOvpgMO9uFVJ17EjZb385dVVy_nkeyeh2FkGCJeM3vo3pATmmqYZFPbTFqUQuDbEcszSGLX6RTIk8h2CQxB_JFdshNTTzWcwDpciMY5n/s400/Mobile+Finance.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a>We hope this makes it easier for you to track your investments and make more informed and timely financial decisions.

More real-time quotes on Google Finance

Posted by Matt Simmons, Market Data Gnome We're excited to let you know we're adding more real-time market data to Google Finance, G...

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Get outdoors with GO Georgia!

Posted by Maureen Schumacher, Regional Sales Director, Atlanta Our Atlanta office recently teamed up with the Parks, Recreation and Historic Sites Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to support an initiative called Get Outdoors Georgia (GO Georgia). An effort to help Georgians get outdoors, get fit and enjoy their diverse natural resources, the initiative focuses on family-friendly, nature-based, healthy outdoor recreation opportunities throughout the state. As a founding sponsor of the program, Google will offer consultation on products including AdWords, Analytics, Maps, Earth, Picasa, Gadgets and a branded <a href="http://www.youtube.com/gastateparks" id="lsma" title="branded YouTube channel">YouTube channel</a> According to a 2007 report from the Trust for America's Health, Georgia is one of the "heaviest" states in the union, ranking 14th for adult obesity and 12th for overweight children (16+ percent of its youth overweight or obese). We're pleased that our products will play a part in an historic effort to improve the health and well-being of all Georgians. And today, we're expanding our relationship with GO Georgia by spending a day in <a href="http://www.gastateparks.org/info/panolamt/">Panola Mountain State Park</a>. Atlanta Googlers will help to restore the park and remove growth not indigenous to the area, improving the experience for Georgians and other visitors when they get out and visit the park. For more info on this forward-looking new program, visit the <a href="http://www.getoutdoorsgeorgia.org/">GO Georgia site</a>.

Get outdoors with GO Georgia!

Posted by Maureen Schumacher, Regional Sales Director, Atlanta Our Atlanta office recently teamed up with the Parks, Recreation and Historic...

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Google Code Jam is back

Posted by Bartholomew Furrow, 20% Tech Lead for Google Code Jam If you're a great sprinter, you've probably been in a few races. And if you're a great chess player, you've probably had your share of matches. But what do you do if you're a great programmer? Well, if you're looking for the rush of competition, the feeling of matching your mind up against the greatest in the world, you can't do better than Google Code Jam. The contests are intense: you'll have two short hours to solve some fiendish algorithmic challenges. You'll read a problem, write your code, download our test cases, and tell us what you think the right answers are. If you're right, it's time to move on to another problem -- but if you're wrong, it's time to make a decision. Debug, or look for an easier challenge...? <a title="Registration is now open" href="http://code.google.com/codejam" id="n2wz">Registration is now open</a>, so you can find out more about the contest, and practice on some sample problems. Practice hard! If you make it to the top 500, you'll travel to a nearby Google office for our semifinal round. If you're in the top 100, we'll fly you to our Mountain View <a title="Google's headquarters" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=1600+Amphitheatre+Pkwy,+Mountain+View,+CA+94043&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=37.735377,91.054688&ie=UTF8&ll=37.424094,-122.083361&spn=0.009253,0.02223&z=16&iwloc=addr" id="g70q">headquarters</a> to compete with the world's very best.

Google Code Jam is back

Posted by Bartholomew Furrow, 20% Tech Lead for Google Code Jam If you're a great sprinter, you've probably been in a few races. And...

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Elections in the Internet era

Posted by Bob Boorstin, Washington Director of Policy Communications Days after the close of the U.S. presidential primaries, political pundits, campaign strategists, journalists, technologists, and others gathered at our Washington office to discuss how the "<a href="http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2008/06/event-next-wednesday-first-21st-century.html" title="the first 21st century campaign" target="_blank">first 21st century campaign</a>" is changing politics as we know it. Topics ranged from the democratization of voices in the media to the power of small donors and community organizers to Lindsay Lohan's political clout. "Obama Girl" producer <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnT6YE2aNd4&feature=PlayList&p=F8096078344659E8&index=0" title="Ben Relles" target="_blank">Ben Relles</a> gave us a sneak peek at his upcoming YouTube video. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DS1I9emdXBU&feature=PlayList&p=F8096078344659E8&index=2" title="Lizz Winstead" target="_blank">Lizz Winstead</a>, co-creator of the Daily Show, gave her thoughts on TV journalism today, and why it gave rise to political comedy online and on television. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1SUua85RNQ&feature=PlayList&p=F8096078344659E8&index=9" title="Christopher Hitchens" target="_blank">Christopher Hitchens</a> shared why he thinks everyone wants to vote in an American election. And the Internet directors from the McCain, Obama, Romney and Clinton campaigns assessed the role of technology in getting out the vote. Visit our <a href="http://youtube.com/user/AtGoogleTalks" title="YouTube channel" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a> to see all of the panel discussions in their entirety (<a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=7Hf47rOwT0s" style="font-family: georgia;" title="Pop Culture Politics" target="_blank">Pop Culture Politics</a>, <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=PS3Oy2DlccU" title="Running the 21st Century Campaign" target="_blank">Running the 21st Century Campaign</a> and <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=iPSMbB8ndM8" title="Covering the 21st Century Campaign" target="_blank">Covering the 21st Century Campaign</a>) and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/citizentube" title="Citizentube" target="_blank">Citizentube</a> for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=F8096078344659E8" style="font-family: georgia;" title="1-on-1 interviews with panelists" target="_blank">1-on-1 interviews with panelists</a>. And special thanks to our friends at <a href="http://www.c-span.org/" title="C-SPAN" target="_blank">C-SPAN</a> for recording and broadcasting the panels. Check out some <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/zena987/TheFirst21stCenturyCampaignGoogleAndNationalJournal#" title="photos" target="_blank">photos</a> from the event, which we hope contributes to the conversation about the Internet's <a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/252/report_display.asp" title="growing influence" target="_blank">growing influence</a> on American democracy.

Elections in the Internet era

Posted by Bob Boorstin, Washington Director of Policy Communications Days after the close of the U.S. presidential primaries, political pund...

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