Highlights from the SEW Blog: Apr. 2, 2007

By Kevin Newcomb, Search Engine Watch, Apr 2, 2007

We've collected all the search marketing news from selected posts to the Search Engine Watch blog in the past week, along with recent search-related headlines from around the Web.

From the SEW blog:

Organic Search

• Google Wants Your Spam Reports
  The Google Search Quality Team posted an update on spam reporting, detailing what Google does with the spam reports.
• Neil Patel Teaches Jason Calacanis SEO
  In response to Jason Calacanis's comments about SEO, Neil Patel has shown Calacanis that even basic SEO actions can improve your traffic.
• Yahoo Directory Links Gone from Search Results
  Yahoo has removed the "category" links, derived from the Yahoo Directory, from its previous position in its search results.

Search Advertising

• Google Prepping BT Network?
  Are Google's moves to expand its footprint into new areas a precursor to launching a behavioral targeting network?
• Microsoft Eyeing DoubleClick?
  Microsoft may be among the suitors hoping to acquire DoubleClick's online ad-serving platform.
• Data Analysis Must Look Across Channels
  Paid search does not exist in a vacuum, and it should not be looked at that way when it comes to data analysis.
• Judge Approves Yahoo Click Fraud Settlement
  A judge has approved the proposed settlement reached nine months ago in a class action case brought against Yahoo by Checkmate Strategic Group in June 2005.
• Panama Working Better Than Expected?
  After Yahoo CEO Terry Semel crowed last week about the success of Panama, a Wall Street analyst now adds to Yahoo's merriment with news of even more success.
• Google Finds Less is More
  Google is finding that out in respect to the number of ads it shows on certain search results pages. This kind of thinking is not new to search engines.

Linking Issues & Social Media

• Link Checking at Live Search Has Been Disabled
  The link:, linkdomain: and inurl: commands have in fact recently been disabled at Live Search due to mass automated usage.
• Reciprocal Linking Should Still be a Component of Your Web Marketing Strategy
  Is reciprocal linking dead? Of course not. What should be history is the practice of requesting reciprocal links for the purposes of improving search engine rankings.
• MySpace Making $30 Million Per Month From Advertising
  According to a report just released, MySpace are making over $30 million a month in ad revenue - 30-40% of which should be AdSense.

Analytics & ROI

• What Makes Us Search Online To Buy Offline?
  According to a recent National Retail Federation study, a whopping 93% of offline shoppers spend time online first, including 35% who regularly research and another 58% who occasionally research online before buying in person.
• Online users finish more stories than print readers
  According to the Poynter Institute’s Eyetrack study released today at the American Society of Newspaper Editors conference, online readers finish news stories more often than those who read in print.
• Bryan Eisenberg Talks about Persuasion Architecture
  Bryan, and his brother Jeffrey, are the leading proponents of "Persuasion Architecture," the notion that you need to model and understand your customers in order to persuade them to buy what you are selling.

Vertical & Specialty Search

• Voting Helps Dining Search, But Not Enough
  Voting is one of the methods that we all accept for refining search results. While voting helps from a directional standpoint, results won't be perceived as accurate or relevant by everyone who sees them.
• Yellowpages.com Launches Text-based Mobile Local Search
  Yellowpages.com today announced text-based local search tool for mobile devices.
• WebFetch, new meta search engine, launches in UK
  In addition to web search results from Google, Yahoo Search, MSN Search, and Ask.com, WebFetch also offers image search, audio search, video search, news search, a business finder, and a people finder.
• ZipLocal Brings Local Search 2.0 to Canada
  The site is a combination of Citysearch and Yellow Pages, with a lot of neat functionality, and a product road map that could make it much more.
• Local Video Advertising on the Move
  At The Kelsey Group's Drilling Down on Local '07 conference, video took center stage, with a palpable difference from past shows in the amount of chatter on and off the stage about local video advertising.
• YouTube Adds New Functionality for Categories
  New functionality will let users organize clips around designated categories.
• NYT Reviews Google's Offline Media Efforts
  Seems the bigger publishers like NYT are pleased with the efforts to date, while Google is pleased as they are nearly double what they expected.
• Yahoo News Partners With Major Newspaper Publisher
  The McClatchy Company, third largest newspaper publisher in the United States, will provide International news for the Yahoo News platform.
• Yahoo Launches Mobile Publishers Services
  Yahoo is releasing some tools for publishers to submit their content to the OneSearch index or Yahoo Mobile Media Directory, and to sign up to show ads on their mobile sites from the new Yahoo Mobile Ad Network.
• Sports Search Engine Even Has Gambling Info
  Enth.com has announced a partnership with Stats LLC - a leading sports statistical data source - and is beta testing a vertical search engine.
• Balihoo Demoing Advertising Industry Search Engine
  Balihoo's search engine is designed to speed the process of locating media opportunities for media buyers and planners.
• TV Guide Joins the Video Search Race
  TV Guide will launch a test version next month of an online video search tool that allows viewers to find clips and full episodes of TV shows now being posted on the Web.

Small Business/Big Brand SEM

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In-House & Outsourcing

• Do You Speak Programmer?
  Just because search marketers and programmers happen to speak the same language, doesn't mean they are communicating.

SEM Industry Issues

• Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Google?
  Who's afraid of Google? Not Topix.net's Rich Skrenta, that's for sure. In his Skrentablog yesterday, he outlines 12 tips for up-and-coming search engines who want to take on Google.

Searching/Search Technologies

• Slurp's Change of Address
  Yahoo's web crawler, affectionately known as Yahoo Slurp, will move from its domain of inktomisearch.com to crawl.yahoo.net.
• Baidu Launches Japanese Search Engine
  The Chinese search engine, partially owned by Google, has launched Baidu.jp -- a Japanese search engine.

More from the SEW Blog

• NYIM Throwing SES Charity Event
  New York Internet Marketing (NYIM) is throwing a charity event on Monday April 9th from 7-10 pm to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House.
• Yahoo Mail Turns 10, Offers Unlimited Storage
  One of the biggest and oldest free email services announced it will be offering unlimited storage beginning in May.
• The YouTube Video Contest – And the Winners Are ...
  The votes are counted for the first ever YouTube Video contest, which was designed to honor the best user-generated video of 2006.
• Watch Bill Gates Fight Larry Page
  Neil Patel has created the Search Engine SmackDown game, where the bigs of search engines battle each other.
• Kinetic Results Now Dexterity Media
  Dallas-based search and social media marketing firm Kinetic Results has rebranded itself as Dexterity Media, and founding partner Kevin Ryan has left the company.
• Idearc Launches TV Campaign
  The local search space is heating up, and now one player is moving the fight to TV.
• Is Google Planning to Expand in Beantown?
  It looks like Google's shopping around for space in Boston or nearby Cambridge.

Search Headlines

We report the top search marketing news daily at the Search Engine Watch Blog. You'll find more news from around the Web below.

• About the New Orleans imagery in Google Maps and Earth, Google Blog
• Local Search: More Is Not Always Better, Search Engine Land
• How Did You Learn SEO?, SEOmoz
• Microsoft bCentral Submit It Deadline Announced, Marketing Pilgrim
• Link Bait vs Digg Bait, Online Marketing Blog
• Quintura - Are UI Innovations Enough?, Read/Write Web
• Search Tip: Audit Your Cost Data, Rimm-Kaufman Group Blog