Google Street View: Making Hong Kong Easier to Navigate

It’s nice to have Hong Kong’s blueprint displayed online with the launch of Google Street View Hong Kong Edition. The city comes after Japan, Singapore and Taiwan. Along with Hong Kong’s launch is also Macau’s debut. For the uninformed, you can access this feature using Google Maps, find an address (try Time Square, Lan Kwai Fong or Ladies Market.

Time Square, Causeway Bay

Queens Road Central

Ladies Market, Mong Kok

Nathan Road, Kowloon

Tsing Ma Bridge

Kings Road, North Point

Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

Tuen Mun Road & Ting Kau Bridge

Sai Kung

Island East Corridor

Tai Tam Road

Tsing Kwai Highway, Kowloon

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10 Most Read SEO Hong Kong Articles of 2009

Happy New Year from SEO Hong Kong!

Just before we put 2009 totally behind us, SEO Hong Kong presents its most read blog posts of that eventful year:

1. Giordano’s Online Shopping Site
A review of how Giordano organizes its website and implications on search engine marketing.

2. Broadway Electronics: When Competitor Steals Your Traffic
A brief examination on how a search for ‘broadway’ electronics queries displayed a competitor’s (Fortress’) website appearing on top of search results.

3. Learning from Langham Hotels Social Media Experience
A blog post that describes how a social media campaign transpired and explores how could such mistakes have happened.

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Is the Future of Google Organic Search Not So Bright?

Have you noticed that some search results yield way too many paid search ads and local map listings above the fold? Take a look at the search results for the search phrase hong kong hotels. Note that the presence of paid search ads and Google Maps listings took almost all of the valuable browser property above the fold.

Traditionally, 70% of search result space has been devoted to organic search results,

While this is not yet happening on most search queries, this phenomenon applies to the more generic terms (say hotels) that imply local listings (hong kong hotels). Organic search results for these terms are pushed towards the bottom of the page, effectively losing its prominence.

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My Ideal Ranking Factors for Web and Local Listings

Something’s playing around my mind while I was on my way home from work. I recalled a search for “web design hong kong” earlier. On top of search results page is a collection of web design businesses, their phone numbers and Google map plotting the approximate location of these businesses.

Unfortunately, the results failed to impress me. It is easy to notice that some businesses listed are based in China, by merely looking at their telephone numbers.

Heck, I was searching for “web design hong kong” and there are sites found within the search results coming from China? That’s how Google sees it (or fails to notice other designers in the neighborhood). Not that Hong Kong had few web design firms, maybe a lot without knowledge about Google Local and their ability to display their businesses on Google Map.

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Wrong Google Map Address

Sometimes Google Map gets it wrong.