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Google Voice Number Porting Now Live (For Real This Time)

2011-01-25T10:48:00.000-08:00

Last week, after nearly two years of waiting, Google Voice finally enabled number porting — the highly requested feature that lets you transfer an existing phone number to Google’s powerful telephony service. And then, just as everyone was getting excited, the feature disappeared. But now it’s back.

Turns out last week’s number porting launch was just a test (which is why Google didn’t announce it). Given the logistical hurdles involved it’s not really surprising that Google wanted to kick the tires first, and now it looks like they’re pleased with the results. Google Voice number porting is going live today for all existing accounts, and new accounts will be able to use number porting in the next few weeks.

The feature costs $20 to enable, and it comes with plenty of strings attached. When you port your number away from your carrier, you’ll likely automatically cancel your existing contract and will be charged an early termination fee that can run hundreds of dollars. It’s possible to avoid this fee by getting a new number from your carrier and keeping the contract alive, but that process will involve calling the carrier (likely more than once) to help you through the process.

Once you’ve agreed to plenty of warnings and paid your $20, your number will be transfered to Google Voice within 24 hours. You won’t miss any calls, but there’s a three day window where you may be missing text messages.

It’s a hassle, but, having gone through it myself, I think it’s totally worth it. Whether you like being able to more effectively screen your calls, or you have multiple phones, or you just like making phone calls from Gmail (which is awesome), Google Voice packs a lot of power, and it’s likely going to become even more useful over the coming years.

Google Voice Is About To Take Off: Number Porting Coming Soon For $20

2011-01-25T10:46:00.000-08:00

We’ve been huge fans of Google Voice for quite a while now — it makes screening calls and managing multiple phones a breeze — but there’s always been a huge thorn in its side: it didn’t allow people to port their existing phone numbers over. In other words, in order to take advantage of all of Google Voice’s benefits, you’d have to get a new phone number. Now, after years of waiting, that’s finally changing: Google has quietly enabled number porting for Google Voice.

Update: Google tells us that this is currently just a test available to some users and is not rolling out to everyone yet. However, it seems likely that a wide scale launch is coming soon.

Here’s a statement from Google:

“We’re continually testing new features to enhance the user experience. For a limited amount of time, we’re making the Google Voice number porting process available to users. We don’t have any additional details to share at this time, but plan to offer this feature to all users in the near future.”

The feature was first noticed by Engadget, and I’m seeing it in my Google Voice account as well. The process appears to be fairly straightforward (and yet terrifying at the same time): tell Google your existing cell phone number, agree to some strongly worded warnings, pay $20, and you should be in business.

You can see screenshots of the process below.

Oh, about those warnings. Transferring your number to Google Voice isn’t exactly painless — depending on your current carrier agreement you may have to deal with some steep early termination fees (ETFs) that can run hundreds of dollars. That means you should think twice about doing this (as the warnings make clear). And all of you who are about to buy shiny new Verizon iPhones may want to consider doing so under a new phone number, so that you can transfer your existing number to Google Voice.

This could be a turning point for the service. Up until now many people have only been able to take advantage of a limited set of Google Voice’s features (namely, voicemail) because they didn’t have a way to port their ‘real’ phone numbers over. Google Voice supports deep integration with Android, and comes pre-installed on stock Android builds, so plenty of people are going to be exposed to it, too.

I’ve been using Google Voice with my primary phone for over a year now, after the team offered to port my phone number over to the service (I was under the impression that it would be released for ‘everyone else’ much sooner than this). My experience has generally been quite positive, save for a series of downtime issues a couple months ago.

Yes, Google Voice will probably be a bit confusing to some people — it takes some getting used to the idea that one number can ring multiple phones. But think about where this is heading. Right now, you can make and receive phone calls using your Google Voice number directly from Gmail (which is awesome). Now imagine being able to do the same from your Google TV (which sports Android), your tablet computer, or any other Internet-connected device. It’s not there yet, but it’s only a matter of time.

mod_rewrite htaccess Tricks

2011-01-16T19:45:00.000-08:00

This article, Stupid htaccess Tricks, covers just about every htaccess “trick” in the book, and is easily the site’s most popular offering. In addition to this htaccess article, you may also want to explore the rapidly expanding htaccess tag archive. Along with all things htaccess, Perishable Press also focuses on (X)HTML, CSS, PHP, JavaScript, security, and just about every other aspect of web design, blogging, and online success. If these topics are of interest to you, I encourage you to subscribe to Perishable Press for a periodic dose of online enlightenment ;)

General Information [ ^ ]

.htaccess Definition ¹ ^

Apache server software provides distributed (i.e., directory-level) configuration via Hypertext Access files. These .htaccess files enable the localized fine-tuning of Apache’s universal system-configuration directives, which are defined in Apache’s main configuration file. The localized.htaccess directives must operate from within a file named .htaccess. The user must have appropriate file permissions to access and/or edit the.htaccess file. Further, .htaccess file permissions should never allow world write access — a secure permissions setting is “644”, which allows universal read access and user-only write access. Finally, .htaccess rules apply to the parent directory and all subdirectories. Thus to apply configuration rules to an entire website, place the .htaccess file in the root directory of the site.

Commenting .htaccess Code ^

Comments are essential to maintaining control over any involved portion of code. Comments in .htaccess code are fashioned on a per-line basis, with each line of comments beginning with a pound sign #. Thus, comments spanning multiple lines in the .htaccess file require multiple pound signs. Further, due to the extremely volatile nature of htaccess voodoo, it is wise to include only alphanumeric characters (and perhaps a few dashes and underscores) in any .htaccess comments.

Important Notes for .htaccess Noobs ^

As a configuration file, .htaccess is very powerful. Even the slightest syntax error (like a missing space) can result in severe server malfunction. Thus it is crucial to make backup copies of everything related to your site (including any original .htaccess files) before working with your Hypertext Access file(s). It is also important to check your entire website thoroughly after making any changes to your .htaccess file. If any errors or other problems are encountered, employ your backups immediately to restore original functionality.

Performance Issues ^

.htaccess directives provide directory-level configuration without requiring access to Apache’s main server cofiguration file (httpd.conf). However, due to performance and security concerns, the main configuration file should always be used for server directives whenever possible. For example, when a server is configured to process .htaccess directives, Apache must search every directory within the domain and load any and all.htaccess files upon every document request. This results in increased page processing time and thus decreases performance. Such a performance hit may be unnoticeable for sites with light traffic, but becomes a more serious issue for more popular websites. Therefore, .htaccessfiles should only be used when the main server configuration file is inaccessible. See the “Performance Tricks” section of this article for more information.

Regex Character Definitions for htaccess ² ^

#: the # instructs the server to ignore the line. used for including comments. each line of comments requires it’s own #. when including comments, it is good practice to use only letters, numbers, dashes, and underscores. this practice will help eliminate/avoid potential server parsing errors.
[F]: Forbidden: instructs the server to return a 403 Forbidden to the client.
[L]: Last rule: instructs the server to stop rewriting after the preceding directive is processed.
[N]: Next: instructs Apache to rerun the rewrite rule until all rewriting directives have been achieved.
[G]: Gone: instructs the server to deliver Gone (no longer exists) status message.
[P]: Proxy: instructs server to handle requests by mod_proxy
[C]: Chain: instructs server to chain the current rule with the previous rule.
[R]: Redirect: instructs Apache to issue a redirect, causing the browser to request the rewritten/modified URL.
[NC]: No Case: defines any associated argument as case-insensitive. i.e., "NC" = "No Case".
[PT]: Pass Through: instructs mod_rewrite to pass the rewritten URL back to Apache for further processing.
[OR]: Or: specifies a logical "or" that ties two expressions together such that either one proving true will cause the associated rule to be applied.
[NE]: No Escape: instructs the server to parse output without escaping characters.
[NS]: No Subrequest: instructs the server to skip the directive if internal sub-request.
[QSA]: Append Query String: directs server to add the query string to the end of the expression (URL).
[S=x]: Skip: instructs the server to skip the next "x" number of rules if a match is detected.
[E=variable:value]: Environmental Variable: instructs the server to set the environmental variable "variable" to "value".
[T=MIME-type]: Mime Type: declares the mime type of the target resource.
[]: specifies a character class, in which any character within the brackets will be a match. e.g., [xyz] will match either an x, y, or z.
[]+: character class in which any combination of items within the brackets will be a match. e.g., [xyz]+ will match any number of x’s, y’s, z’s, or any combination of these characters.
[^]: specifies not within a character class. e.g., [^xyz] will match any character that is neither x, y, nor z.
[a-z]: a dash (-) between two characters within a character class ([]) denotes the range of characters between them. e.g., [a-zA-Z] matches all lowercase and uppercase letters from a to z.
a{n}: specifies an exact number, n, of the preceding character. e.g., x{3} matches exactly three x’s.
a{n,}: specifies n or more of the preceding character. e.g., x{3,} matches three or more x’s.
a{n,m}: specifies a range of numbers, between n and m, of the preceding character. e.g., x{3,7} matches three, four, five, six, or seven x’s.
(): used to group characters together, thereby considering them as a single unit. e.g., (perishable)?press will match press, with or without the perishable prefix.
^: denotes the beginning of a regex (regex = regular expression) test string. i.e., begin argument with the proceeding character.
$: denotes the end of a regex (regex = regular expression) test string. i.e., end argument with the previous character.
?: declares as optional the preceding character. e.g., monzas? will match monza or monzas, while mon(za)? will match either mon or monza. i.e., x? matches zero or one of x.
!: declares negation. e.g., “!string” matches everything except “string”.
.: a dot (or period) indicates any single arbitrary character.
-: instructs “not to” rewrite the URL, as in “...domain.com.* - [F]”.
+: matches one or more of the preceding character. e.g., G+ matches one or more G’s, while "+" will match one or more characters of any kind.
*: matches zero or more of the preceding character. e.g., use “.*” as a wildcard.
|: declares a logical “or” operator. for example, (x|y) matches x or y.
\: escapes special characters ( ^ $ ! . * | ). e.g., use “\.” to indicate/escape a literal dot.
\.: indicates a literal dot (escaped).
/*: zero or more slashes.
.*: zero or more arbitrary characters.
^$: defines an empty string.
^.*$: the standard pattern for matching everything.
[^/.]: defines one character that is neither a slash nor a dot.
[^/.]+: defines any number of characters which contains neither slash nor dot.
http://: this is a literal statement — in this case, the literal character string, “http://”.
^domain.*: defines a string that begins with the term “domain”, which then may be proceeded by any number of any characters.
^domain\.com$: defines the exact string “domain.com”.
-d: tests if string is an existing directory
-f: tests if string is an existing file
-s: tests if file in test string has a non-zero value

Redirection Header Codes ^

301 - Moved Permanently
302 - Moved Temporarily
403 - Forbidden
404 - Not Found
410 - Gone

Essentials [ ^ ]

Commenting your htaccess Files ^

It is an excellent idea to consistenly and logically comment your htaccess files. Any line in an htaccess file that begins with the pound sign ( # ) tells the server to ignore it. Multiple lines require multiple pounds and use letters/numbers/dash/underscore only:

# this is a comment

# each line must have its own pound sign

# use only alphanumeric characters along with dashes - and underscores _

Enable Basic Rewriting ^

Certain servers may not have “mod_rewrite” enabled by default. To ensure mod_rewrite (basic rewriting) is enabled throughout your site, add the following line once to your site’s root htaccess file:

# enable basic rewriting

RewriteEngine on

Enable Symbolic Links ^

Enable symbolic links (symlinks) by adding the following directive to the target directory’s htaccess file. Note: for the FollowSymLinks directive to function, AllowOverride Options privileges must be enabled from within the server configuration file (see proceeding paragraph for more information):

# enable symbolic links

Options +FollowSymLinks

Enable AllowOverride ^

For directives that require AllowOverride in order to function, such as FollowSymLinks (see above paragraph), the following directive must be added to the server configuration file. For performance considerations, it is important to only enable AllowOverride in the specific directory or directories in which it is required. In the following code chunk, we are enabling the AllowOverride privs only in the specified directory (/www/replace/this/with/actual/directory). Refer to this section for more information about AllowOverride and performance enhancement:

# enable allowoverride privileges

<Directory /www/replace/this/with/actual/directory>

AllowOverride Options

</Directory>

Rename the htaccess File ^

Not every system enjoys the extension-only format of htaccess files. Fortunately, you can rename them to whatever you wish, granted the name is valid on your system. Note: This directive must be placed in the server-wide configuration file or it will not work:

# rename htaccess files

AccessFileName ht.access

Note: If you rename your htaccess files, remember to update any associated configuration settings. For example, if you are protecting your htaccess file via FilesMatch, remember to inform it of the renamed files:

# protect renamed htaccess files

<FilesMatch "^ht\.">

Order deny,allow

Deny from all

</FilesMatch>

Retain Rules Defined in httpd.conf ^

Save yourself time and effort by defining replicate rules for multiple virtual hosts once and only once via your httpd.conf file. Then, simply instruct your target htaccess file(s) to inherit the httpd.conf rules by including this directive:

RewriteOptions Inherit

Performance [ ^ ]

Improving Performance via AllowOverride ^

Limit the extent to which htaccess files decrease performance by enabling AllowOverride only in required directories. For example, ifAllowOverride is enabled throughout the entire site, the server must dig through every directory, searching for htaccess files that may not even exist. To prevent this, we disable the AllowOverride in the site’s root htaccess file and then enable AllowOverride only in required directories via the server config file (refer to this section for more information). Note: if you do not have access to your site’s server config file and also needAllowOverride privileges, do not use this directive:

# increase performance by disabling allowoverride

AllowOverride None

Improving Performance by Passing the Character Set ^

Prevent certain 500 error displays by passing the default character set parameter before you get there. Note: replace the “utf-8” below with the charset that your site is using:

# pass the default character set

AddDefaultCharset utf-8

Improving Performance by Preserving Bandwidth ^

To increase performance on PHP enabled servers, add the following directive:

# preserve bandwidth for PHP enabled servers

<ifmodule mod_php4.c>

php_value zlib.output_compression 16386

</ifmodule>

Disable the Server Signature ^

Here we are disabling the digital signature that would otherwise identify the server:

# disable the server signature

ServerSignature Off

Set the Server Timezone ^

Here we are instructing the server to synchronize chronologically according to the time zone of some specified state:

# set the server timezone

SetEnv TZ America/Washington

Set the Email Address for the Server Administrator ^

Here we are specifying the default email address for the server administrator:

# set the server administrator email

SetEnv SERVER_ADMIN default@domain.com

Improve Site Transfer Speed by Enabling File Caching ^

The htaccess genius over at askapache.com explains how to dramatically improve your site’s transfer speed by enabling file caching ³. Using time in seconds* to indicate the duration for which cached content should endure, we may generalize the htaccess rules as such (edit file types and time value to suit your needs):

# cache images and flash content for one month

<FilesMatch ".(flv|gif|jpg|jpeg|png|ico|swf)$">

Header set Cache-Control "max-age=2592000"

</FilesMatch>

# cache text, css, and javascript files for one week

<FilesMatch ".(js|css|pdf|txt)$">

Header set Cache-Control "max-age=604800"

</FilesMatch>

# cache html and htm files for one day

<FilesMatch ".(html|htm)$">

Header set Cache-Control "max-age=43200"

</FilesMatch>

# implement minimal caching during site development

<FilesMatch "\.(flv|gif|jpg|jpeg|png|ico|js|css|pdf|swf|html|htm|txt)$">

Header set Cache-Control "max-age=5"

</FilesMatch>

# explicitly disable caching for scripts and other dynamic files

<FilesMatch "\.(pl|php|cgi|spl|scgi|fcgi)$">

Header unset Cache-Control

</FilesMatch>

# alternate method for file caching

ExpiresActive On

ExpiresDefault A604800 # 1 week

ExpiresByType image/x-icon A2419200 # 1 month

ExpiresByType application/x-javascript A2419200 # 1 month

ExpiresByType text/css A2419200 # 1 month

ExpiresByType text/html A300 # 5 minutes

# disable caching for scripts and other dynamic files

<FilesMatch "\.(pl|php|cgi|spl|scgi|fcgi)$">

ExpiresActive Off

</FilesMatch>

* Convert common time intervals into seconds:
300 = 5 minutes
2700 = 45 minutes
3600 = 1 hour
54000 = 15 hours
86400 = 1 day
518400 = 6 days
604800 = 1 week
1814400 = 3 weeks
2419200 = 1 month
26611200 = 11 months
29030400 = 1 year = never expires

Set the default language and character set ^

Here is an easy way to set the default language for pages served by your server (edit the language to suit your needs):

# set the default language

DefaultLanguage en-US

Likewise, here we are setting the default character set (edit to taste):

# set the default character set

AddDefaultCharset UTF-8

Declare specific/additional MIME types ^

# add various mime types

AddType application/x-shockwave-flash .swf

AddType video/x-flv .flv

AddType image/x-icon .ico

Send character set and other headers without meta tags ^

# send the language tag and default character set

# AddType 'text/html; charset=UTF-8' html

AddDefaultCharset UTF-8

DefaultLanguage en-US

Limit server request methods to GET and PUT ^

# limit server request methods to GET and PUT

Options -ExecCGI -Indexes -All

RewriteEngine on

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_METHOD} ^(TRACE|TRACK|OPTIONS|HEAD) RewriteRule .* - [F]

Selectively process files according to server request method ^

# process files according to server request method

Script PUT /cgi-bin/upload.cgi

Script GET /cgi-bin/download.cgi

Execute various file types through a cgi script ^

For those special occasions where certain file types need to be processed with some specific cgi script, let em know who sent ya:

# execute all png files via png-script.cgi

Action image/png /cgi-bin/png-script.cgi

Security [ ^ ]

Prevent Access to .htaccess ^

Add the following code block to your htaccess file to add an extra layer of security. Any attempts to access the htaccess file will result in a 403 error message. Of course, your first layer of defense to protect htaccess files involves setting htaccess file permissions via CHMOD to 644:

# secure htaccess file

<Files .htaccess>

order allow,deny

deny from all

</Files>

Prevent Acess to a Specific File ^

To restrict access to a specific file, add the following code block and edit the file name, “secretfile.jpg”, with the name of the file that you wish to protect:

# prevent viewing of a specific file

<files secretfile.jpg>

order allow,deny

deny from all

</files>

Prevent acess to multiple file types ^

To restrict access to a variety of file types, add the following code block and edit the file types within parentheses to match the extensions of any files that you wish to protect:

<FilesMatch "\.(htaccess|htpasswd|ini|phps|fla|psd|log|sh)$">

Order Allow,Deny

Deny from all

</FilesMatch>

Prevent Unauthorized Directory Browsing ^

Prevent unauthorized directory browsing by instructing the server to serve a “xxx Forbidden - Authorization Required” message for any request to view a directory. For example, if your site is missing it’s default index page, everything within the root of your site will be accessible to all visitors. To prevent this, include the following htaccess rule:

# disable directory browsing

Options All -Indexes

Conversely, to enable directory browsing, use the following directive:

# enable directory browsing

Options All +Indexes

Likewise, this rule will prevent the server from listing directory contents:

# prevent folder listing

IndexIgnore *

And, finally, the IndexIgnore directive may be used to prevent the display of select file types:

# prevent display of select file types

IndexIgnore *.wmv *.mp4 *.avi *.etc

Change Default Index Page ^

This rule tells the server to search for and serve “business.html” as the default directory index. This rule must exist in the htaccess files of the root directory for which you wish to replace the default index file (e.g., “index.html”):

# serve alternate default index page

DirectoryIndex business.html

This rule is similar, only in this case, the server will scan the root directory for the listed files and serve the first match it encounters. The list is read from left to right:

# serve first available alternate default index page from series

DirectoryIndex filename.html index.cgi index.pl default.htm

Disguise Script Extensions ^

To enhance security, disguise scripting languages by replacing actual script extensions with dummy extensions of your choosing. For example, to change the “.foo” extension to “.php”, add the following line to your htaccess file and rename all affected files accordingly:

# serve foo files as php files

AddType application/x-httpd-php .foo

# serve foo files as cgi files

AddType application/x-httpd-cgi .foo

Limit Access to the Local Area Network (LAN) ^

# limit access to local area network

<Limit GET POST PUT>

order deny,allow

deny from all

allow from 192.168.0.0/33

</Limit>

Secure Directories by IP Address and/or Domain ^

In the following example, all IP addresses are allowed access except for 12.345.67.890 and domain.com:

# allow all except those indicated here

<Limit GET POST PUT>

order allow,deny

allow from all

deny from 12.345.67.890

deny from .*domain\.com.*

</Limit>

In the following example, all IP addresses are denied access except for 12.345.67.890 and domain.com:

# deny all except those indicated here

<Limit GET POST PUT>

order deny,allow

deny from all

allow from 12.345.67.890

allow from .*domain\.com.*

</Limit>

This is how to block unwanted visitors based on the referring domain. You can also save bandwidth by blocking specific file types — such as .jpg, .zip, .mp3, .mpg — from specific referring domains. Simply replace “scumbag” and “wormhole” with the offending domains of your choice:

# block visitors referred from indicated domains

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>

RewriteEngine on

RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} scumbag\.com [NC,OR]

RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} wormhole\.com [NC,OR]

RewriteRule .* - [F]

</ifModule>

Prevent or allow domain access for a specified range of IP addresses ^

There are several effective ways to block a range of IP addresses via htaccess. This first method blocks an IP range specified by their CIDR(Classless Inter-Domain Routing) number. This method is useful for blocking mega-spammers such as RIPE, Optinet, and others. If, for example, you find yourself adding line after line of Apache deny directives for addresses beginning with the same first few numbers, choose one of them and try a whois lookup. Listed within the whois results will be the CIDR value representing every IP address associated with that particular network. Thus, blocking via CIDR is an effective way to eloquently prevent all IP instances of the offender from accessing your site. Here is a generalized example for blocking by CIDR (edit values to suit your needs):

# block IP range by CIDR number

<Limit GET POST PUT>

order allow,deny

allow from all

deny from 10.1.0.0/16

deny from 80.0.0/8

</Limit>

Likewise, to allow an IP range by CIDR number:

# allow IP range by CIDR number

<Limit GET POST PUT>

order deny,allow

deny from all

allow from 10.1.0.0/16

allow from 80.0.0/8

</Limit>

Another effective way to block an entire range of IP addresses involves truncating digits until the desired range is represented. As an IP address is read from left to right, its value represents an increasingly specific address. For example, a fictitious IP address of 99.88.77.66 would designate some uniquely specific IP address. Now, if we remove the last two digits (66) from the address, it would represent any address beginning with the remaining digits. That is, 99.88.77 represents 99.88.77.1, 99.88.77.2, … 99.88.77.99, …etc. Likewise, if we then remove another pair of digits from the address, its range suddenly widens to represent every IP address 99.88.x.y, where x and y represent any valid set of IP address values (i.e., you would block 256*256 = 65,536 unique IP addresses). Following this logic, it is possible to block an entire range of IP addresses to varying degrees of specificity. Here are few generalized lines exemplifying proper htaccess syntax (edit values to suit your needs):

# block IP range by address truncation

<Limit GET POST PUT>

order allow,deny

allow from all

deny from 99.88.77.66

deny from 99.88.77.*

deny from 99.88.*.*

deny from 99.*.*.*

</Limit>

Likewise, to allow an IP range by address truncation:

# allow IP range by address truncation

<Limit GET POST PUT>

order deny,allow

deny from all

allow from 99.88.77.66

allow from 99.88.77.*

allow from 99.88.*.*

allow from 99.*.*.*

</Limit>

Block or allow multiple IP addresses on one line ^

Save a little space by blocking multiple IP addresses or ranges on one line. Here are few examples (edit values to suit your needs):

# block two unique IP addresses

deny from 99.88.77.66 11.22.33.44

# block three ranges of IP addresses

deny from 99.88 99.88.77 11.22.33

Likewise, to allow multiple IP addresses or ranges on one line:

# allow two unique IP addresses

allow from 99.88.77.66 11.22.33.44

# allow three ranges of IP addresses

allow from 99.88 99.88.77 11.22.33

Miscellaneous rules for blocking and allowing IP addresses ^

Here are few miscellaneous rules for blocking various types of IP addresses. These rules may be adapted to allow the specified IP values by simply changing the deny directive to allow. Check ’em out (edit values to suit your needs):

# block a partial domain via network/netmask values

deny from 99.1.0.0/255.255.0.0

# block a single domain

deny from 99.88.77.66

# block domain.com but allow sub.domain.com

order deny,allow

deny from domain.com

allow from sub.domain.com

Stop Hotlinking, Serve Alternate Content ^

To serve ‘em some unexpected alternate content when hotlinking is detected, employ the following code, which will protect all files of the types included in the last line (add more types as needed). Remember to replace the dummy path names with real ones. Also, the name of the nasty image being served in this case is “eatme.jpe”, as indicated in the line containing the RewriteRule. Please advise that this method will also block services such as FeedBurner from accessing your images.

# stop hotlinking and serve alternate content

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>

RewriteEngine on

RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^$

RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://(www\.)?domain\.com/.*$ [NC]

RewriteRule .*\.(gif|jpg)$ http://www.domain.com/eatme.jpe [R,NC,L]

</ifModule>

Note: To deliver a standard (or custom, if configured) error page instead of some nasty image of the Fonz, replace the line containing theRewriteRule in the above htaccess directive with the following line:

# serve a standard 403 forbidden error page

RewriteRule .*\.(gif|jpg)$ - [F,L]

Note: To grant linking permission to a site other than yours, insert this code block after the line containing the “domain.com” string. Remember to replace “goodsite.com” with the actual site domain:

# allow linking from the following site

RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://(www\.)?goodsite\.com/.*$ [NC]

Block Evil Robots, Site Rippers, and Offline Browsers ^

Eliminate some of the unwanted scum from your userspace by injecting this handy block of code. After such, any listed agents will be denied access and receive an error message instead. Please advise that there are much more comprehensive lists available this example has been truncated for business purposes. Note: DO NOT include the “[OR]” on the very last RewriteCond or your server will crash, delivering “500 Errors” to all page requests.

# deny access to evil robots site rippers offline browsers and other nasty scum

RewriteBase /

RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Anarchie [OR]

RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^ASPSeek [OR]

RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^attach [OR]

RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^autoemailspider [OR]

RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Xaldon\ WebSpider [OR]

RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Xenu [OR]

RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Zeus.*Webster [OR]

RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Zeus

RewriteRule ^.* - [F,L]

Or, instead of delivering a friendly error message (i.e., the last line), send these bad boys to the hellish website of your choice by replacing theRewriteRule in the last line with one of the following two examples:

# send em to a hellish website of your choice

RewriteRule ^.*$ http://www.hellish-website.com [R,L]

Or, to send em to a virtual blackhole of fake email addresses:

# send em to a virtual blackhole of fake email addresses

RewriteRule ^.*$ http://english-61925045732.spampoison.com [R,L]

You may also include specific referrers to your blacklist by using HTTP_REFERER. Here, we use the infamously scummy domain, “iaea.org” as our blocked example, and we use “yourdomain” as your domain (the domain to which you are blocking iaea.org):

RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^http://www.iaea.org$

RewriteRule !^http://[^/.]\.yourdomain\.com.* - [F,L]

More Stupid Blocking Tricks ^

Note: Although these redirect techniques are aimed at blocking and redirecting nasty scumsites, the directives may also be employed for friendly redirection purposes:

# redirect any request for anything from spamsite to differentspamsite

RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^http://.*spamsite.*$ [NC]

RewriteRule .* http://www.differentspamsite.com [R]

# redirect all requests from spamsite to an image of something at differentspamsite

RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^http://.*spamsite.*$ [NC]

RewriteRule .* http://www.differentspamsite/something.jpg [R]

# redirect traffic from a certain address or range of addresses to another site

RewriteCond %{REMOTE_ADDR} 192.168.10.*

RewriteRule .* http://www.differentspamsite.com/index.html [R]

Even More Scum-Blocking Tricks ^

Here is a step-by-step series of code blocks that should equip you with enough knowledge to block any/all necessary entities. Read through the set of code blocks, observe the patterns, and then copy, combine and customize to suit your specific scum-blocking needs:

# set variables for user agents and referers and ip addresses

SetEnvIfNoCase User-Agent ".*(user-agent-you-want-to-block|php/perl).*" BlockedAgent

SetEnvIfNoCase Referer ".*(block-this-referrer|and-this-referrer|and-this-referrer).*" BlockedReferer

SetEnvIfNoCase REMOTE_ADDR ".*(666.666.66.0|22.22.22.222|999.999.99.999).*" BlockedAddress

# set variable for any class B network coming from a given netblock

SetEnvIfNoCase REMOTE_ADDR "66.154.*" BlockedAddress

# set variable for two class B networks 198.25.0.0 and 198.26.0.0

SetEnvIfNoCase REMOTE_ADDR "198.2(5|6)\..*" BlockedAddress

# deny any matches from above and send a 403 denied

<Limit GET POST PUT>

order deny,allow

deny from env=BlockedAgent

deny from env=BlockedReferer

deny from env=BlockedAddress

allow from all

</Limit>

Password-Protect Directories ^

Here is an excellent online tool for generating the necessary elements for a password-protected directory:

# password protect directories

htaccess Password Generator

Password-protect Files, Directories, and More.. ^

Secure site contents by requiring user authentication for specified files and/or directories. The first example shows how to password-protect any single file type that is present beneath the directory which houses the htaccess rule. The second rule employs the FilesMatch directive to protect any/all files which match any of the specified character strings. The third rule demonstrates how to protect an entire directory. The fourth set of rules provides password-protection for all IP’s except those specified. Remember to edit these rules according to your specific needs.

# password-protect single file

<Files secure.php>

AuthType Basic

AuthName "Prompt"

AuthUserFile /home/path/.htpasswd

Require valid-user

</Files>

# password-protect multiple files

<FilesMatch "^(execute|index|secure|insanity|biscuit)*$">

AuthType basic

AuthName "Development"

AuthUserFile /home/path/.htpasswd

Require valid-user

</FilesMatch>

# password-protect the directory in which this htaccess rule resides

AuthType basic

AuthName "This directory is protected"

AuthUserFile /home/path/.htpasswd

AuthGroupFile /dev/null

Require valid-user

# password-protect directory for every IP except the one specified

# place in htaccess file of a directory to protect that entire directory

AuthType Basic

AuthName "Personal"

AuthUserFile /home/path/.htpasswd

Require valid-user

Allow from 99.88.77.66

Satisfy Any

Require SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) ^

Here is an excellent method for requiring SSL (via askapache.com ³):

# require SSL

SSLOptions +StrictRequire

SSLRequireSSL

SSLRequire %{HTTP_HOST} eq "domain.tld"

ErrorDocument 403 https://domain.tld

# require SSL without mod_ssl

RewriteCond %{HTTPS} !=on [NC]

RewriteRule ^.*$ https://%{SERVER_NAME}%{REQUEST_URI} [R,L]

Automatically CHMOD Various File Types ^

This method is great for ensuring the CHMOD settings for various file types. Employ the following rules in the root htaccess file to affect all specified file types, or place in a specific directory to affect only those files (edit file types according to your needs):

# ensure CHMOD settings for specified file types

# remember to never set CHMOD 777 unless you know what you are doing

# files requiring write access should use CHMOD 766 rather than 777

# keep specific file types private by setting their CHMOD to 400

chmod .htpasswd files 640

chmod .htaccess files 644

chmod php files 600

Disguise all file extensions ^

This method will disguise all file types (i.e., any file extension) and present them as .php files (or whichever extension you choose):

# diguise all file extensions as php

ForceType application/x-httpd-php

Protect against denial-of-service (DOS) attacks by limiting file upload size ^

One method to help protect your server against DOS attacks involves limiting the maximum allowable size for file uploads. Here, we are limiting file upload size to 10240000 bytes, which is equivalent to around 10 megabytes. For this rule, file sizes are expressed in bytes. Check here for help with various file size conversions. Note: this code is only useful if you actually allow users to upload files to your site.

# protect against DOS attacks by limiting file upload size

LimitRequestBody 10240000

Secure directories by disabling execution of scripts ^

Prevent malicious brainiacs from actively scripting secure directories by adding the following rules to the representative htaccess file (edit file types to suit your needs):

# secure directory by disabling script execution

AddHandler cgi-script .php .pl .py .jsp .asp .htm .shtml .sh .cgi

Options -ExecCGI

Usability Tricks [ ^ ]

Minimize CSS Image Flicker in IE6 ^

Add the following htaccess rules to minimize or even eliminate CSS background-image “flickering” in MSIE6:

# minimize image flicker in IE6

ExpiresActive On

ExpiresByType image/gif A2592000

ExpiresByType image/jpg A2592000

ExpiresByType image/png A2592000

Deploy Custom Error Pages ^

Replicate the following patterns to serve your own set of custom error pages. Simply replace the “/errors/###.html” with the correct path and file name. Also change the “###” preceding the path to summon pages for other errors. Note: your custom error pages must be larger than 512 bytes in size or they will be completely ignored by Internet Explorer:

# serve custom error pages

ErrorDocument 400 /errors/400.html

ErrorDocument 401 /errors/401.html

ErrorDocument 403 /errors/403.html

ErrorDocument 404 /errors/404.html

ErrorDocument 500 /errors/500.html

Provide a Universal Error Document ^

# provide a universal error document

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d

RewriteRule ^.*$ /dir/error.php [L]

Employ Basic URL Spelling Check ^

This bit of voodoo will auto-correct simple spelling errors in the URL:

# automatically corect simple speling erors

<IfModule mod_speling.c>

CheckSpelling On

</IfModule>

Instruct browser to download multimedia files rather than display them ^

Here is a useful method for delivering multimedia file downloads to your users. Typically, browsers will attempt to play or stream such files when direct links are clicked. With this method, provide a link to a multimedia file and a dialogue box will provide users the choice of saving the file or opening it. Here are a few htaccess rules demonstrating the technique (edit file types according to your specific needs):

# instruct browser to download multimedia files

AddType application/octet-stream .avi

AddType application/octet-stream .mpg

AddType application/octet-stream .wmv

AddType application/octet-stream .mp3

Instruct server to display source code for dynamic file types ^

There are many situations where site owners may wish to display the contents of a dynamic file rather than executing it as a script. To exercise this useful technique, create a directory in which to place dynamic files that should be displayed rather than executed, and add the following line of code to the htaccess file belonging to that directory. This method is known to work for .pl, .py, and .cgi file-types. Here it is:

RemoveHandler cgi-script .pl .py .cgi

Redirect visitors to a temporary site during site development ^

During web development, maintenance, or repair, send your visitors to an alternate site while retaining full access for yourself. This is a very useful technique for preventing visitor confusion or dismay during those awkward, web-development moments. Here are the generalized htaccess rules to do it (edit values to suit your needs):

# redirect all visitors to alternate site but retain full access for you

ErrorDocument 403 http://www.alternate-site.com

Order deny,allow

Deny from all

Allow from 99.88.77.66

Provide a password prompt for visitors during site development ^

Here is another possible solution for "hiding" your site during those private, site-under-construction moments. Here we are instructing Apache to provide visitors with a password prompt while providing open access to any specifically indicated IP addresses or URL’s. Edit the following code according to your IP address and other development requirements (thanks to Caleb at askapache.com for sharing this trick ³):

# password prompt for visitors

AuthType basic

AuthName "This site is currently under construction"

AuthUserFile /home/path/.htpasswd

AuthGroupFile /dev/null

Require valid-user

# allow webmaster and any others open access

Order Deny,Allow

Deny from all

Allow from 111.222.33.4

Allow from favorite.validation/services/

Allow from googlebot.com

Satisfy Any

Prevent file or directory access according to specified time periods ^

Prevent viewing of all pictures of Fonzi during the midnight hour — or any files during any time period — by using this handy htaccess ruleset:

# prevent access during the midnight hour

RewriteCond %{TIME_HOUR} ^12$

RewriteRule ^.*$ - [F,L]

# prevent access throughout the afternoon

RewriteCond %{TIME_HOUR} ^(12|13|14|15)$

RewriteRule ^.*$ - [F,L]

Redirect Tricks [ ^ ]

Important Note About Redirecting via mod_rewrite ^

For all redirects using the mod_rewrite directive, it is necessary to have the RewriteEngine enabled. It is common practice to enable themod_rewrite directive in either the server configuration file or at the top of the site’s root htaccess file. If the mod_rewrite directive is not included in either of these two places, it should be included as the first line in any code block that utilizes a rewrite function (i.e., mod_rewrite), but only needs to be included once for each htaccess file. The proper mod_rewrite directive is included here for your convenience, but may or may not also be included within some of the code blocks provided in this article:

# initialize and enable rewrite engine

RewriteEngine on

Redirect from http://www.domain.com to http://domain.com ^

This method uses a “301 redirect” to establish a permanent redirect from the “www-version” of a domain to its respectively corresponding “non-www version”. Be sure to test immediately after preparing 301 redirects and remove it immediately if any errors occur. Use a “server header checker” to confirm a positive 301 response. Further, always include a trailing slash “/” when linking directories. Finally, be consistent with the “www” in all links (either use it always or never).

# permanently redirect from www domain to non-www domain

RewriteEngine on

Options +FollowSymLinks

RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.domain\.tld$ [NC]

RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://domain.tld/$1 [R=301,L]

Redirect from http://old-domain.com to http://new-domain.com ^

For a basic domain change from “old-domain.com” to “new-domain.com” (and folder/file names have not been changed), use the Rewrite rule to remap the old domain to the new domain. When checking the redirect live, the old domain may appear in the browser’s address bar. Simply check an image path (right-click an image and select “properties”) to verify proper redirection. Remember to check your site thoroughly after implementing this redirect.

# redirect from old domain to new domain

RewriteEngine On

RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.new-domain.com/$1 [R=301,L]

Redirect String Variations to a Specific Address ^

For example, if we wanted to redirect any requests containing the character string, “perish”, to our main page at http://perishablepress.com/, we would replace “some-string” with “perish” in the following code block:

# redirect any variations of a specific character string to a specific address

RewriteRule ^some-string http://www.domain.com/index.php/blog/target [R]

Here are two other methods for accomplishing string-related mapping tasks:

# map URL variations to the same directory on the same server

AliasMatch ^/director(y|ies) /www/docs/target

# map URL variations to the same directory on a different server

RedirectMatch ^/[dD]irector(y|ies) http://domain.com

Other Fantastic Redirect Tricks ^

Redirect an entire site via 301:

# redirect an entire site via 301

redirect 301 / http://www.domain.com/

Redirect a specific file via 301:

# redirect a specific file via 301

redirect 301 /current/currentfile.html http://www.newdomain.com/new/newfile.html

Redirect an entire site via permanent redirect:

# redirect an entire site via permanent redirect

Redirect permanent / http://www.domain.com/

Redirect a page or directory via permanent redirect:

# redirect a page or directory

Redirect permanent old_file.html http://www.new-domain.com/new_file.html

Redirect permanent /old_directory/ http://www.new-domain.com/new_directory/

Redirect a file using RedirectMatch:

# redirect a file using RedirectMatch

RedirectMatch 301 ^.*$ http://www.domain.com/index.html

Note: When redirecting specific files, use Apache‘s Redirect rule for files within the same domain. Use Apache‘s RewriteRule for any domains, especially if they are different. The RewriteRule is more powerful than the Redirect rule, and thus should serve you more effectively.

Thus, use the following for a stronger, harder page redirection (first line redirects a file, second line a directory, and third a domain):

# redirect files directories and domains via RewriteRule

RewriteRule http://old-domain.com/old-file.html http://new-domain.com/new-file.html

RewriteRule http://old-domain.com/old-dir/ http://new-domain.com/new-dir/

RewriteRule http://old-domain.com/ http://new-domain.com/

Send visitors to a subdomain ^

This rule will ensure that all visitors are viewing pages via the subdomain of your choice. Edit the "subdomain", "domain", and "tld" to match your subdomain, domain, and top-level domain respectively:

# send visitors to a subdomain

RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^$

RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^subdomain\.domain\.com$ [NC]

RewriteRule ^/(.*)$ http://subdomain.domain.tld/$1 [L,R=301]

More fun with RewriteCond and RewriteRule ^

# rewrite only if the file is not found

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f

RewriteRule ^(.+)special\.html?$ cgi-bin/special/special-html/$1

# rewrite only if an image is not found

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f

RewriteRule images/special/(.*).gif cgi-bin/special/mkgif?$1

# seo-friendly rewrite rules for various directories

RewriteRule ^(.*)/aud/(.*)$ $1/audio-files/$2 [L,R=301]

RewriteRule ^(.*)/img/(.*)$ $1/image-files/$2 [L,R=301]

RewriteRule ^(.*)/fla/(.*)$ $1/flash-files/$2 [L,R=301]

RewriteRule ^(.*)/vid/(.*)$ $1/video-files/$2 [L,R=301]

# broswer sniffing via htaccess environmental variables

RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Mozilla.*

RewriteRule ^/$ /index-for-mozilla.html [L]

RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Lynx.*

RewriteRule ^/$ /index-for-lynx.html [L]

RewriteRule ^/$ /index-for-all-others.html [L]

# redirect query to Google search

Options +FollowSymlinks

RewriteEngine On

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} .google\.php*

RewriteRule ^(.*)$ ^http://www.google.com/search?q=$1 [R,NC,L]

# deny request according to the request method

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_METHOD} ^(TRACE|TRACK|OPTIONS|HEAD)$ [NC]

RewriteRule ^.*$ - [F]

# redirect uploads to a better place

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_METHOD} ^(PUT|POST)$ [NC]

RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /cgi-bin/upload-processor.cgi?p=$1 [L,QSA]

More fun with Redirect 301 and RedirectMatch 301 ^

# seo friendly redirect for a single file

Redirect 301 /old-dir/old-file.html http://domain.com/new-dir/new-file.html

# seo friendly redirect for multiple files

# redirects all files in dir directory with first letters xyz

RedirectMatch 301 /dir/xyz(.*) http://domain.com/$1

# seo friendly redirect entire site to a different domain

Redirect 301 / http://different-domain.com

WordPress Tricks [ ^ ]

Secure WordPress Contact Forms ^

Protect your insecure WordPress contact forms against online unrighteousness by verifying the domain from whence the form is called. Remember to replace the “domain.com” and “contact.php” with your domain and contact-form file names, respectively.

# secure wordpress contact forms via referrer check

RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://www.domain.com/.*$ [NC]

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_POST} .*contact.php$

RewriteRule .* - [F]

WordPress Permalinks ^

In our article, The htaccess rules for all WordPress Permalinks, we revealed the precise htaccess directives used by the WordPress blogging platform for permalink functionality. Here, for the sake of completeness, we repeat the directives only. For more details please refer to the original article:

If WordPress is installed in the site’s root directory, WordPress creates and uses the following htaccess directives:

# BEGIN WordPress

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>

RewriteEngine On

RewriteBase /

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d

RewriteRule . /index.php [L]

</IfModule>

# END WordPress

If WordPress is installed in some subdirectory “foo”, WordPress creates and uses the following htaccess directives:

# BEGIN WordPress

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>

RewriteEngine On

RewriteBase /foo/

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d

RewriteRule . /foo/index.php [L]

</IfModule>

# END WordPress

Random Tricks [ ^ ]

Activate SSI for HTML/SHTML file types: ^

# activate SSI for HTML and or SHTML file types

AddType text/html .html

AddType text/html .shtml

AddHandler server-parsed .html

AddHandler server-parsed .shtml

AddHandler server-parsed .htm

Grant CGI access in a specific directory: ^

# grant CGI access in a specific directory

Options +ExecCGI

AddHandler cgi-script cgi pl

# to enable all scripts in a directory use the following

SetHandler cgi-script

Disable magic_quotes_gpc for PHP enabled servers: ^

# turn off magic_quotes_gpc for PHP enabled servers

<ifmodule mod_php4.c>

php_flag magic_quotes_gpc off

</ifmodule>

Enable MD5 digests: ^

Note: enabling this option may result in a relative decrease in server performance.

# enable MD5 digests via ContentDigest

ContentDigest On

Expression Engine Tricks: ^

# send Atom and RSS requests to the site docroot to be rewritten for ExpressionEngine

RewriteRule .*atom.xml$ http://www.yoursite.com/index.php/weblog/rss_atom/ [R]

RewriteRule .*rss.xml$ http://www.yoursite.com/index.php/weblog/rss_2.0/ [R]

# cause all requests for index.html to be rewritten for ExpressionEngine

RewriteRule /.*index.html$ http://www.domain.com/index.php [R]

References

REFERENCES
http://perishablepress.com/press/2006/01/10/stupid-htaccess-tricks/

Google Introduces More 45° Imagery

2011-01-16T05:45:00.000-08:00

Between them, overhead satellite images and Street View photos tend to provide Google Maps users with a pretty complete picture of an area. But - following in Bing's footsteps - Google began to offer 45° imagery last year, and today, Google introduced images of ten new areas.

Miss the initial announcement? 45° imagery is about the same as what Bing Maps labeled a "Bird's Eye" view: just a diagonal, rather than straight-down, look at buildings and landscapes. It's not available even close to everywhere yet, but you can find the option under the "Satellite" tab when 45° pics have been taken.

As for what's new, people who live in or plan to visit California should be pleased to hear that there's coverage of Contra Costa County, Escondido, Long Beach, and Van Nuys.

Otherwise, fresh pictures are available of Albuquerque, NM, New Orleans, LA, Norfolk, VA (example above), San Antonio, TX, St. Petersburg, FL, and Tucson, AZ.

A post on the LatLong Blog stated, "We wish you well as you embark on your virtual trips around the U.S. viewing these and other interesting sites. And stay tuned because there's plenty more to come in 2011!"

Will Search Drive Mobile Ad Revenues?

2011-01-15T07:35:00.000-08:00

Last month, BIA/Kelsey released its annual mobile forecast. It projects mobile ad revenues in the U.S. to grow from $490 million in 2009 to $2.9 billion in 2014, a compound annual growth rate of 43 percent.

But more interesting than the total revenue pie is the breakdown of formats that drive this growth. SMS and display ads currently lead in revenue but are projected to be eclipsed by the faster moving mobile search ad category over the next five years.

By the Numbers

So why is that? There are intricate formulas to devise these projections, unique to the way that each of these formats are bought and sold. Inputs include search volume, ad coverage, page views,CPCs, CPMs, etc.

Aggregate revenue for top mobile ad networks are also used to confirm figures. Along these lines, Google's announced $2 billion global mobile run rate was affirming, given its estimated 60 percent share of the U.S. mobile ad market (including AdMob).

But looking back over why search ad revenue will accelerate so rapidly, a few interesting theories arise. First, it's projected that the mobile web is expected to grow at a faster pace than the native apps that have erstwhile ruled the smartphone environment.

Because search is the front door to browser-based experiences, this bodes well for search volume and thus revenues. Add in the fact that the immediacy and commercial intent of mobile users drives search ad "CTRs and CPCs higher than desktop equivalents.

Back to the premise that the mobile web will grow faster than apps, this is a bone of contention as the industry-wide "apps vs. mobile web" debate rages on. This is also one of the increasing points of friction between Apple and Google.

Google's core search business compels it to push for a world where the browser is the front door. Comparatively, Apple's app-centric universe spreads content and features into little self-defined buckets where search isn't quite as necessary.

This is much behind Google's outspoken support for the mobile web and its own practice to "develop first" for the mobile web for products like Gmail, Latitude, YouTube, and others.

World Wild Web

But more so than Google's sway and the rest of the factors above, it could really just end up being a combination of economics and improving mobile browsers that push users and developers toward the mobile web.

Things like HTML5 allow developers to build mobile websites, (a.k.a. web apps), with features previously reserved for native apps. And it's much cheaper to build a web app and reach many more users across platforms.

As these factors take hold, the point is that we'll see more and better content fill the mobile web. By comparison, it now resembles the Wild West environment we saw on the desktop 15 years ago, where content is lacking, hard to find, and under-optimized.

Mobile ad network Chitika reports that only 4 percent of top online domains have optimized mobile sites. It's no wonder why most mainstream mobile users flock to app stores instead.

But this could all change as many of the factors above coalesce and as more content comes online. In parallel, we'll also see mobile users get better and more comfortable at searching the mobile web -- just like they did on the desktop over the past decade.

And don't forget parallel technologies that will make searching easier such as voice and visual search. This includes bar code scanners, voice search, and other inputs that are more intuitive than tapping a tiny keyboard.

Google, again in support of boosting mobile search volume, has made lots of investment in these areas, such asGoggles and voice actions for Android. It even announced that a surprisingly high 25 percent for its mobile searches executed with voice.

To tie all of this to a monetization engine, Google is increasingly adding options to AdWords to build mobile search campaigns. In 2010 it launched mobile pay-per-call ads and hyperlocal ad targeting.

Repeating History

Through all of this, we'll start to see the mobile web become a much more functional, substantive, and friendly place to search. Monetization will follow.

Don't forget, desktop computing over the past five years shifted from being a client-centric environment to one that's more browser-based, where content and software reside in the cloud. We'll see a similar shift in mobile.

Not to be so down on apps -- they aren't going away any time soon. If anything, Apple's move to bring them to tablets and now the desktop will ensure a solid future. But the mobile web will see faster growth.

That of course means more search volume. Combined with higher CTRs and CPCs than desktop search, it becomes a matter of arithmetic to plot a fairly healthy roadmap for mobile search ad revenue.

Google Goggles Now Solves Sudoku For You

2011-01-15T07:18:00.000-08:00

Google today released a new "faster and smarter" version of image search app Google Goggles for Android. In addition to boasting better barcode/QR scanning and recognition of print ads in newspapers and magazines, Goggles 1.3 also solves Sudoku puzzles.

Barcode/QR Codes: When shopping, hover your phone over the code, and within a second, Google says Android phones will vibrate and present you with search results featuring product reviews, in-store availability, and price comparison.
Magazine/Newspaper Print Ads: With this new feature, you can take a picture of an ad using Goggles, which will return web results about the product or brand. Google said this feature works on all print ads that have appeared in major U.S. magazines since August 2010, and is much bigger than Google's November marketing experiment involving Buick, Disney, Diageo, T-Mobile, and Delta Airlines.
Solve Sudoku: Now a novice can beat a world champion Sudoku player. Simply take a picture of the puzzle you're working on, and Goggles will provide the solution. This video shows how it works:

Posted by Danny Goodwin on January 10, 2011 3:05 PM

New Google Voice Search Announced (and 25% of Searches Are Voice)

2011-01-15T07:09:00.000-08:00

Today at a press event at its San Francisco office, Google unveiled Voice Actions for Android, an evolved and more intuitive way to search for information on a mobile device.

Of course this includes Web search, like Google’s voice search on the iPhone. But these new features (Android 2.2) have a much broader reach. Phone numbers, business names, songs, calendar items and a host of content — both locally and in the cloud — can be accessed with voice commands (full list here and video after the jump).

Google also demonstrated the improving quality of its speech-to-text processing with demos of e-mails and text messages that were prompted, completed and sent, all using voice. Of course this happened within the indoor confines of a demo setup, but it’s nonetheless an important step forward for voice.

All Coming Together

Generally, voice search will continue to grow, as we examined in a recent report. Google’s continued development and Apple’s acquisition of Siri are also indicative of the levels of investment and innovation happening. Putting things in terms of Apple and Google is also relevant for another aspect of voice: apps vs. mobile Web.

In this ongoing debate over which offers a better development choice for mobile publishers, Apple is pushing for an app-centric world while Google — motivated by its core search business — wants a world where the browser is the front door to connected mobile experiences.

In this light, voice search could be a boon for the mobile Web camp. One of the things preventing mobile Web growth is the degree of finger tapping required to navigate to mobile Web sites. This is contrasted with the navigability and pretty packaging of single-purpose apps.

But the point is, voice search will make Web browsing a lot more intuitive and bring it to times, places and users (read: mainstream) where typing on a tiny screen doesn’t fly. Of course some of these new voice actions have nothing to do with Web search and some even tie into apps like navigation or music (i.e., Pandora).

But getting users broadly accustomed to voice pushes the ball forward for Google’s efforts for more intuitive search inputs. This again is supportive of efforts to create a more browser-based mobile universe that’s reliant on search — rather than apps — as the “front door.”

Keep Talking

All this wasn’t explicated today but immediately apparent is how it fits in with Google’s grand scheme. Google Director of Product Management Hugo Barra also espoused cloud computing (versus locally stored content and data) as a driver.

A chart showed how smartphones trend roughly 10 years behind PCs in computing power. But wireless connectivity and computing infrastructure in the cloud will accelerate this. All things cloud ties back to its strategy of less dependence on locally stored content.

Another notable, and surprisingly high figure buried in his presentation: 25 percent of queries on Android devices use voice search. That’s pretty high … and it will only go higher.

Mobile PPCall Simplified: A Conversation with Google

2011-01-15T07:03:00.000-08:00

Some of you may remember Google's 2006 experiment to embed click-to-call links in local search results. Little green icons indicated you could be connected via Google; when clicked, a window prompted you for your phone number then called and connected you to the business.

It didn't get far and was never monetized. But now the idea is making a comeback through a mobile pay-per-call program launched last month. True to most high-end smart phones, users tap phone numbers to activate a call. But now, numbers in Google sponsored links are monetized on a per-call basis.

The idea is that click-to-call – and the pay-per-call business model behind it – makes a lot more sense in mobile than on the desktop. From a user perspective it's more integrated, given that the mobile device is, after all, a phone. From an advertiser perspective, calls from on-the-go mobile users can be valuable.

This is especially true in certain advertiser categories that prefer phone calls over clicks, such as trade services or anyone booking appointments and reservations by phone. Calls can also carry a premium in categories where there are high-value leads, such as autos.

Get Them While You Can

This is why some businesses that opt in for this program will be getting a bargain (AdWords opt-in process explained here). Google is charging the equivalent rate per call as clicks generated from the same ads. This is mostly done for simplicity, according to Google Product Manager Surojit Chatterjee.

"It's probably a bargain for advertisers in many verticals who pay a lot more for phone leads," he said. "But we wanted to keep it simple. If you have a local ad with AdWords, it's easy to turn on the click-to-call link for high-end mobile devices like Android and iPhone."

For large advertisers on top of their SEM game, it could likewise be a bargain. The program is an offshoot of Google's Local Extensions – the AdWords feature that lets advertisers specify details for their locations. Those with many locations can have the correct details appear based on a searcher's location.

In mobile pay-per-call terms, the closest location's number automatically shows up in the ad. This is important, not only to call the right business, said Chatterjee, but increases overall ad performance. Specifically, ads that include local phone numbers are being clicked between 5 and 30 percent more than those without.

This isn't just the phone number itself being activated more often, but the URL CTRs were also higher – surmised to be a result of the legitimacy and local relevance that these phone numbers lend to the overall ad.

Additionally, ads that get more calls will receive a higher quality score, just as they do with clicks. So not only are they priced the same, but they have the same impact on future rankings. Chatterjee asserts this is to prevent "punishing" ads that might get less clicks because they're getting more calls instead.

K.I.S.S.

Activating and tracking pay-per-call in the existing AdWords "workflow" is hoped to be an additional appeal. Chatterjee alludes to a separate science that could develop around building ad groups that are meant to drive mobile calls specifically.

"If you look at traditional pay-per-call, it's a bit hard to tie calls to keywords and campaigns," Chatterjee said. "Here you can go into AdWords and segment your campaign performance by click type, and see per-campaign, per-ad group, or per-keyword, how many calls you got."

(Also see what Yext is developing in this area)

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The question that remains, however, is whether Google will eventually decouple the call monetization from AdWords clicks. Like all things Google, there's no way to know for sure. But it could start to monetize calls separately after it gets the ball moving among mobile advertisers.

For now, bundling them together falls right in line with Google's general strategy for simplifying mobile options within AdWords. For maximum scalability and appeal to early stage mobile advertisers, the thinking goes, keep it simple.

"We already had Local Extensions, we just made it available and clickable on high end phones," Chatterjee said. "Create a campaign once, and it shows up in many places. The goal is to make things simple and scalable and this is just one example. Hopefully we'll see more."

Google on Click-to-Call

2011-01-15T06:58:00.000-08:00

Today I had the chance to chat with Dan Rubinstein, head of SME product initiatives at Google. Among many other things in the rapidly shifting online local marketplace, we spoke about Google’s integration of click-to-call links in all its local business listings in Google Maps. Though this was announced on the Google Blog late last week, I held off on blogging about it knowing that my scheduled call with Rubinstein would make for a more substantive post.

The background, in case you haven’t seen or read about it, is that the company will add small “call” icons to all its business listings in Google Maps. Like the click-to-call functionality integrated into Microsoft’s Windows Live Local, this opens a JavaScript window that allows users to type in a phone number. The system, powered by Google Talk and Skype, then initiates a call between the business and the entered number (both phones ring). Users can opt for Google to save their numbers to make subsequent calls easier, and they can save the business numbers in their phones if they have caller ID.

This was expected by many including us, given Google’s past experimentation with click-to-call and its partnership with Skype (eBay). We expect the next step to be an accompanying business model that will involve pay-per-call likely an auction-based system integrated with AdWords that will have similar economics as pay-per-click. This will not only have utility for users in eliminating the step of picking up and dialing a phone, but more importantly it will help Google address a segment of the small-business marketplace that prefer calls to clicks (and those that wish to be charged based on calls rather than clicks). These include mostly service businesses that are better equipped to turn a call into a conversion than a click (as opposed to retail or any business with product information or e-commerce functionality).

“Certain businesses that aren't online would prefer a phone call versus a visit to their Web site or a purchase on their Web site if they don't have that,” said Rubinstein. “So there are certain models that make sense for pay-per-click advertising and certain businesses that prefer the phone as an interface. We're in early stages and just launched this recently and we're going to see what we learn from it.”

For now, Google has integrated click-to-call links into all business listings in order to test the system and gain traction for the product. We expect pay-per-call to follow closely behind, and to play a big role in Google’s small-business advertising growth.

For more on click-to-call and on Google’s future plans in local, we’ll post a podcast of my discussion with Dan Rubinstein on our home page. For even more from Rubinstein, he’ll give a keynote address on day 1 of The Kelsey Group’s ILM ‘06 conference next week in Philadelphia. We hope to see you there.

Google Mobile Ads Go Hyperlocal

2011-01-15T06:52:00.000-08:00

Surojit Chatterjee announced today on Google’s Mobile Ads Blog that the company has launched a new format for hyperlocal mobile ads.

After searching for a business, ads will now tell you how far the closest location is, indicated by both text and a collapsible map view. This builds on Google’s Local Extensions program that allows businesses to enter their address information so that the location closest to the user is shown.

This is particularly relevant for businesses that have many locations: Phone number and address info for the closest branch or franchise will of course have more relevance (read: higher click performance). It’s also very relevant for mobile, where local commercial intent is higher than desktop search.

Not only will a proximity reading increase local relevance, but I’ll speculate that the presence of this information will also lend credibility to the ad. The name of a nearby town and a recognizable area code is something that should increase clicks, just as it did with Google’smobile pay-per-call initiative.

Overall, it’s a logical move for mobile ads, and for Google’s strategy to entice more advertisers into mobile. This goes for new advertisers and its existing base of AdWords SEM advertisers. It also goes for both click campaigns as well as calls, where simplicity has been an adoption imperative.

Chatterjee will be able to discuss this and other Google mobile local ad initiatives at our upcoming Interactive Local Media Conference in December in Santa Clara, California.