Rapid Google Indexing

In August 2007, Matt Cutts (a Google software engineer) wrote a post about Google's minty fresh indexing picking up new content within a matter of hours. This was a good read and a good way to read how Google's indexing has changed over time.

I have to admit I thought this applied to more authoritative sites - not smaller blogs like this one (good things come in small packages though) :-).

So I was pleasantly surprised to see my last two blog posts being picked up at lightening speed.

My post on Burger King's 6 Pack launch was picked up in the hour, but my post this morning about Honda's skydiving advert was picked up in just over 30 minutes.

Here's the proof. You can see the post went live at 9:36am...

....and Google picked up the new post in 34 minutes....

Now that is minty fresh indexing!

But alas, the last screen shot also highlights one of my personal bug bares. Blogger doesn't allow you to provided unique META tags for individual blog posts. Instead, Google picks up the main description tag in the template which then gets used for every blog post. Blogger/Google team, if you're listening - please make this happen! It will only help the user experience!

Update!.....I've been doing some testing with a few recent posts, and Google has lived up to expectations once again. My most recent post on high oil prices hitting the airlines has been indexed in 9 minutes;

Round of applause Google.

Honda Jump Skydiving Advert

Honda looks set to take TV advertising to a new level this evening, as they attempt a live skydiving ad.

They skydiving ad, which looks set to be unbranded is meant to build interest ahead of a new Honda car launch. There are snippets of information about the skydiving advert, including a teaser blog - Difficultisworthdoing.

Honda has been promoting the strapline "Difficult is Worth Doing" on outdoor media, but still provides no clue as to what the advert is actually for.

The ad is set to air live on ITV1 and Channel 4 tonight. It is believed the jump will be taking place in Madrid, but Honda also have a follow up advert - aptly named Jump - which was filmed in California.

I guess we'll keep an eye on the TV for more info!

PS. Anyone seen the Brains advert that advertises Drench water? Yet another YouTube hit. As you can tell I like my quirky adverts, from the Cadbury's Gorilla ad, through to the Sony Bravia bouncing balls advert.

Burger King launches 6 Pack

One of the first stories I read this morning caught my eye. Burger King is set to launch a burger that can be shared between 6 people.

Affectionately called the 6 Pack, Burger King is rolling out what it claims to be the first burger made for sharing in an attempt to take on the fast-food pizza chains.

I know the Burger King 6 pack is meant to be for sharing, but at £4.49 by itself or £5.69 as part of a meal I know plenty of people who will have this for themselves. Surely Burger King is simply aiding obesity, not trying to prevent it?!

Looking for flights? Use Kayak

I travel. A lot. I've taken 32 flights so far this year (thanks Outlook Calendar) and probably visited the easyJet and BA websites more times than I care to remember.

On the plus side, it also gives me license to promote a site that makes my life easier. Kayak.co.uk is a travel search engine with a difference. It's simple, clutter free and designed on cool technology rather than just a profitable business plan. Kayak searches across all the major airline websites to find the best possible fares.

Kayak.co.uk is accurate. Flying from Edinburgh I know which carriers fly to which destinations and at which times (sad, I know). Kayak hasn't been wrong on price once. That's a good track record.

I also like their Fare Buzz which shows the lowest fares to a particular destination. Equally as useful is their Best Fare Trend tracker which shows the highs and lows of a chosen flight route for the previous 90 days.

Check out the screen shot below. It shows the date for which the lowest fare was found for a return flight between London and New York;

And even better - the screen shot below shows the best fare for the same journey throughout June. Those of you looking to travel to New York - go on the 19th June!


Last but not least, if you have a iGoogle page or another RSS reader you can keep track of your favourite or planned trips with their customised RSS feeds. If you're planning on a trip from London to New York in June, I'd suggest you subscribe to and keep and eye on this RSS feed!