Absolute or Relative URLs in Google

JohnMU clarifies the benefits of using absolute and relative URLs.

Absolute URLs:
+ help keep the links pointing to your content if someone were to copy
it (*)
+ help keep the links pointing to your domain name if you cannot
select a canonical (can’t do 301 redirects)
+ help make sure that you’re pointing to the right URL even if you
move things around (say for stylesheets or graphics)

- cannot be tested on a staging / testing server (eg locally) (unless
you insert the links dynamically)
- makes it hard to move content (unless the links are inserted
dynamically)

Relative URLs:
+ make it easy to move content around
+ make it easy to test locally and on a staging server

- are easy to break if linking to content that isn’t moved as well
(stylesheet, graphics, etc)
- an evil scraper would have less work (*)

+ More

Algorithm Tweaking Holiday

It is interesting/annoying watching competitors who have spammed their way into Google appear one minute in the top 5 search results, then drop down further on the page. They are always around like flies, hitting it daily to try to find that one overlooked technique that is either not currently known or would destroy search quality if it was tweaked to much algorithmically to rid it from search.

Bouncing around in search is not just reserved for spammers, something as small as changing some text or links on you homepage can send you into a loop so be careful if you are optimizing your site during times when you make the most sales via organic search.

What unstable search results do for those of us who sell products online is confuse the people looking for stuff in organic search. When the Google serp is in such crazy, constent flux you bounce around for your important “keywords” and lose sales. I do not see this type of chaos going on in Yahoo!, I know… you cannot even compare the two search engines or can you?

I wish more people searched using Yahoo! then I wouldn’t have to be so dependent on one search engine that is honorably trying to do better than the rest. Maybe Google should have an algorithm tweaking holiday a few months out of the year or not tweak certain areas that require seasonal attention!