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I have previously looks at a few tools to instantly see which analytics package(s) the current site is using . I have also shared a nice tool called “Wappalyzer” that detects which software the site is using and displays it in the status bar. Additionally, I have once looked at some tools to protect your privacy by using public proxies or a number of FireFox plugins and hacks . Today’s tool takes a bit of all that is mentioned above and combines that in a very convenient and usable manner. Ghostery is a FireFox plugin that is aimed to do the following: (1) It detects “web bugs, ad networks and widgets” on every page on the web; (2) It allows to block any detected web bugs trackers and thus protect your privacy. Let’s take a detailed feature overview and see it in action. Start by installing the tool here . After re-starting your browser you should see the tool icon in the status bar that shows you how many “bugs” the tool managed to detect. Click on the icon to see the details: The name of each tracker; (When you hover over the name) The URL to the tracker host, the script source and the invitation to block it: Additionally, you can instantly see the “Alert bubble” each time you open a page or a tab. The bubble contains the list of the page trackers: Of course, you can disable the bubble from options, which also allow to: Hide the bubble after the set period of time; Enable or disable the ghost count in the status bar; Enable the ghost rank (this one helps the tool build its database. It sends data of the ghosts you come across while browsing). The blocking tab allows to enable blocking of the supported bugs: Supported services include (but are not limited to): Google Analytics MyBlogLog Quantcast IndexTools SiteMeter Lijit Omniture CrazyEgg Snap Omniture Statcounter Piwik Mint Facebook Beacon Typepad Stats Lookery HubSpot Yahoo Analytics Facebook Connect Federated Media OpenAds FeedBurner Google Adsense HitTail FriendFeed Woopra ScribeFire QuickAds Doubleclick WordPress Stats WebTrends OpenAds ShareThis FeedBurner Seesmic AddtoAny, etc. Our verdict : a solid tool that can be used in the following cases: When you need to browse anonymously; When you research competitors’ tactics to see which tracking software they are using; To educate yourself of tracking systems around the web, etc. The tool was reviewed under SEJ policy . Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . See Which Trackers Other Sites Are Using with
Tags:
browser,
bubble,
facebook-beacon,
federated-media,
ghost,
ghosts,
google-adsense,
search-engine,
seo,
tool,
tools
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IFrame (inline frame) is an HTML element that makes it possible to embed another HTML document inside the main one. It has become one of the most popular ways to embed interactive and multimedia content inside the block of text. Thus, many people use it and many of them are wondering how SEO-friendly this HTML element is. So let’s overview the SEO and accessibility of an iframe: 1.
Tags:
browser,
content,
html,
iframe,
search-engine,
seo,
source,
the-iframe,
tools
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For several years now, Google and Apple have been complimentary partners. Google was expertly integrated with the Apple iPhone, and the company’s engineers work tirelessly to bring many of their services to the Apple platform in addition to the PC and Linux platforms. They’ve been pals for much of the search engine’s lifespan. Google’s chief financial officer, Eric Schmidt, was even a member of Apple’s board of directors since August 2006. And immediately after Schmidt left Apple’s boardroom this year, Google has made much more of a push into areas that have thus far been dominated by Apple and Microsoft: browsers, operating systems, music services, and now, even Google-powered phones and Google netbooks . Schmidt’s resignation from the Apple board in 2009 was a signal to many that Google would be frequently stepping on Apple’s toes and looking to them as more of a competitor than partner. With that in mind, many can’t help but wonder which company will fare better and come out on top. Apple has been around since 1976. Google was established in 1998. In terms of length of time in business, Apple has got Google beat by more than two decades. In terms of brand awareness, however, Google trumps Apple, coming in at No. 7 on Interbrand’s Best Global Brands List for 2009 . Apple comes in at a respectable No. 20. Google is no stranger to going up against more established competitors and coming out on top. Case in point – Microsoft. In terms of search, they’ve been battling it out, and while Microsoft’s latest incarnation of search – Bing – is doing extremely well ( when it’s working ), Google still has more searches, and by quite a lot. While Microsoft has an advantage in the operating system and browser markets, with the majority of computers coming pre-installed with Windows and Internet Explorer, Google’s raising some eyebrows with their Android OS and Chrome browser. Battlefront #1: Music & OnDemand
Tags:
apple,
audio,
browser,
firefox,
game,
microsoft,
mobile,
music,
search,
search engine news,
search-engine,
thoughts,
windows,
zune
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Google will be opening up its Chrome Extensions Gallery to the public sometime in the next week according to two sources and TechCrunch, possibly during the Add-On-Conference where Google Chrome is a sponsor of the event. Google Chrome had opened up its Extensions Gallery to developers in November, and the gallery seems to almost be ready for prime time. The addition of extensions to Google Chrome will not just make many casual users of Google Chrome happier, but also lead to customization of the browser which will lead to expanded usage and more user loyalty. Essentially, Extensions are to Chrome what Addons are to Firefox. Apparently, the Extensions Gallery will be much like the Chrome Themes Gallery. It will be a page that lists a bunch of extensions and has a button to one-click download the ones you want. Presumably there will also be a link to learn more about what each extension actually does. Initially, Extension support will only be for the Windows-based version of Chrome. Even though the launch of the beta version of Chrome for Mac is imminent, that version will not have extension support built-in. However, the latest builds of Chromium (the open-source browser that Chrome is built off of) for Mac does support extensions, and even has an extension manager that works. It would appear that the Linux build of Chrome will support extensions whenever that beta is available. Personally, I’m incredibly excited to see the collection of Chrome extensions which make my job easier roll out, including SEO and search marketing oriented extensions. One such extension which has been Shareaholic , one of my favorite social media extensions which assists in the sharing of sites to cross pollinate social media networks. Here’s a preview of their Chrome extension (also from TechCrunch ). If you have an extension for Chrome, you can upload it to the Google Chrome Extension Developer Dashboard . What Extensions or current Firefox Add-ons do you want to see added to Chrome? Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . Google Chrome Extensions Launching this
Tags:
browser,
chrome,
collection,
during-the-add,
extensions,
firefox-add-ons,
google-chrome,
linux,
seo,
sharing,
Social Media,
tools,
windows
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This is an additional post in my series on managing several online identities . This post looks at the 3 ways to be logged in different account on one site with FireFox. CookiePie CookiePie is a Firefox extension that enables you to maintain different cookies storage in different tabs and windows: Download and install the tool; Use the tab’s context menu to enable CookiePie and login to any site on this tab; Open a new site, go to the same site and login again. There were some problems for me with Gtalk (with the tool being on Gtalk behaved in a strange way) but with other sites it worked pretty well: CookieSwap CookieSwap enables you to easily swap all your cookies so that you can be logged in to multiple web e-mail accounts (like Gmail and Yahoo! mail) as different users at the same time and quickly switch between them. Note: When swapping profiles with CookieSwap, the cookies in all tabs and all browser windows are changed at the same time. This means that your web login to sites like gmail will change in all the tabs at once (so it is not exactly being logged in in two accounts at the same time; it is rather switching between accounts with one click of a mouse). How this extension works: Right click on the CookieSwap area of the Status Bar Panel (lower right corner of the browser) to bring up the CookieSwap menu. Select a profile (let’s say ‘Profile1′) Go to a site requiring a login and login; Bring up the CookieSwap menu again and select a different profile (let’s say ‘Profile2′) Open a new tab and go to the same page page. Note: Don’t click on a link in the current open page. Instead, hand type the URL…like www.gmail.com, or use a bookmarked entry for the site. Notice the site doesn’t recognize you as the previous user. Login with a different username if you want. Use the CookieSwap menu to go back to Profile1 and again surf to the web e-mail’s main page. It recognizes you again as the original user that logged in! Use Different FireFox
Tags:
browser,
cookie,
cookies,
cookieswap,
different-fire,
firefox,
manager,
search engine news,
search-engine,
tool,
tools,
yahoo
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There may be various reasons why you might need to track a web page: (1) You can use page trackers instead of an RSS reader to monitor new front page stories; (2) You can track Digg category pages to watch the dynamics; (3) You can track Google “Past 24-hours” results to monitor your competitors, etc. This post lists 3 handy FireFox addons that will help you monitor any page and notify you of changes in various ways: Follow2
Tags:
browser,
icon,
notification,
search-engine,
seo,
tool,
tracker,
tracking
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Google’s fascination at making the web faster stretches on to the Webmaster Tools via Site Performance analytics feature. Site Performance which is currently under Webmaster Tools Labs provides you with various information that indicates how fast your site loads from the user’s end. Site Performance gives you the average page load time of the different pages comprising your websites or blogs. It also provides you with appropriate suggestions that you can do to improve problem areas of your sites loading performance. Google collects your site’s performance data from users who are using Google Toolbar and have enabled PageRank feature. Site Performance is a pretty cool feature of Webmaster Tools. It’s quite interesting to see how your websites and blog design affects your site’s performance. For instance, if you’re using a generic WordPress template, Site Performance can tell you whether multiple Javascripts and CSS templates are actually affecting your site loading time. You may also install the Page Speed Browser-On from your Webmaster Tools account. This browser add-on will help you evaluate the performance of your pages as well as suggestion on how to improve them. Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . Google Adds Site Performance Feature to Webmaster
Tags:
browser,
from-the-user,
pages-as-well,
search engine news,
the-performance,
user,
webmaster,
webmaster-tools