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Figure 2-4

Google and MSN Live Search also contain this functionality. It can be accessed in both using the same

linkdomain:

syntax, but at the time of writing they don’t provide very accurate information.

Google Trends

Google Trends is a tool from Google that provides the statistics regarding the volume of keyword searches

over various time periods. Data are available going back to 2004.

The Google Trends service lets you partition data by language and region and plot multiple key phrases

on one graph. This can be used to track and anticipate traffic for a particular period (see Figure 2-5). The

service is available at

http://www.google.com/trends

.

Figure 2-5 shows the Google Trends report for “SEO” as of 8/30/2006.

Alexa Rankings

Alexa Rankings attempt to rank all web sites globally by quantity of traffic. The traffic rankings use sta-

tistics based on data gathered from the Alexa Toolbar and other tools connected to the service. The serv-

ice is provided by Alexa Internet, a subsidiary of Amazon Incorporated. Yahoo! is ranked number one at

the time of this book’s writing.

The statistics aren’t generally accepted as accurate, and many speculate that the rankings are subject to

manipulation and skewing as a result of a limited dataset. In general, the statistics are more accurate with

higher ranking sites (those with

lower

numerical rankings). Despite these caveats, Alexa Rankings can be

used to get a handle on increasing traffic trends, and they are generally fun to watch.

Figure 2-6 shows the Alexa Rankings page for

http://www.seoegghead.com

, at the date of November

21, 2006.

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Chapter 2: A Primer in Basic SEO

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