Highlights from the SEW Blog: July 23, 2007

By Kevin Newcomb, Search Engine Watch, Jul 23, 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

• SEW Experts: Creating Synergy in Your SEO Efforts
  Mark Jackson discusses the key components of successful SEO, showing you how on-site optimization efforts work together to accomplish a common goal.

Search Advertising

• SEW Experts: Boosting CTRs in a Search Fragmenting World
  Tony Wright reports further on the fragmentation of search with reader-submitted tips and some of his own. Here's what you can do to keep your CTRs up.
• Report: Click Fraud Up to 15.8% Last Quarter
  According to the latest Click Fraud Index report from Click Forensics, the overall industry average pay-per-click fraud rate rose to 15.8 percent for the second quarter of 2007. This is an increase from 14.1 percent for the same quarter in 2006 and 14.8 percent for Q1 2007.
• AdSense Adds CPA Ads With CPC, CMP Ads
  CPA had been offered as a beta to a number of advertisers but it seems a bunch more are seeing this on their sites.
• Google Expands Newspaper Ads
  Google has opened up its Print Ads program to all AdWords customers, giving them the ability to purchase ads in approximately 225 U.S.-based newspapers.
• Microsoft adCenter Adds Negative Keyword Tool
  After a false start last month, Microsoft this weekend upgraded adCenter and gave advertisers the ability to add negative keywords at the campaign level, instead of just at the ad group level within campaigns.
• ToDou: China's YouTube Adds Advertising, Gets Venture Capital
  ToDou, the Chinese equivalent to YouTube, announced the launch of an ad serving platform, as well as the acquisition of $19 million in venture capital.
• Yahoo Buys Part of Indian Ad Company Tyroo
  The purchase of a major portion of Tyroo, the Indian online ad company, is seen as a further push into the fast growing Indian market.

Linking Issues & Social Media

• Link Building is a Permanent Investment
  I occasionally end up speaking with webmasters who thing of link building as an activity that you do for a while, and then you stop, or slow down. It's a mistake, and it's not one that you want to make.
• SEW Experts: Creating Link Love With Informational Videos
  Sage Lewis gives some advice for creating B2B videos that can create a lot of link love.

Analytics & ROI

• SEW Experts: The Guts of an Enterprise-Level Web Analytics Audit
  Chris Boggs gives you the lowdown on a site side analytics audit, to help you overcome one of the biggest problems faced by large companies: knowing how to interpret Web analytics data.
• SEW Experts: Analyzing Data to Lower Your CPA
  Eric Enge takes on the challenge of optimizing a PPC campaign, showing you one way to lower your cost-per-acquisition by analyzing the data.
• It Takes More Than A Village
  As anyone publishing a web site knows, you have a front row seat when it comes to observing a multitude of visitor behaviors. Yet, when it comes to advertising, we continue to profile site visitors in such an unsophisticated manner.
• BidClix Closing Doors July 31
  BidClix, recently purchased by aQuantive, will cease to exist on July 31.
• Interview with Unica's Rand Schulman
  Eric Enge sits down with Rand Schulman to speak at length about recent events in the web analytics industry.

Local & Mobile Search

• SEW Experts: Getting Started in Local Search
  Gregg Stewart introduces a new column, Local Search, with information on how to get started in finding cost-effective leads and developing a media plan.
• Hyper-Local Gets a Vote of Confidence
  Dallas based Hyper local news and events site Pegasus News has announced it will be acquired by Fisher Communications.
• Google Confirms Mobile AdSense Beta
  The monetization product for mobile publishers is currently in a limited beta test.
• Local.com Acquires PremierGuide
  Local.com has picked up B2B local directory provider PremierGuide for a about $2 million. PremierGuide offers white-label business directories to local publishers, such as newspapers, radio and TV stations, and regional sites.
• Google Readies To Photograph America
  Gizmodo has posted pictures of an armada of cars with mounted photo equipment taken at Google HQ.

Vertical & Specialty Search

• Google Planning Mobile Media Search Engine?
  Google is reportedly planning to launch a mobile media search engine to help consumers find and buy ringtones, games and other mobile content.
• Best of the Web announces B2BSoftware.com
  Best of the Web has expanded their offerings by entering the vertical search market with the launch of B2Bsoftware.com.
• FoodieView Is Recipe Search Engine, Restaurant Review
  If you have some chicken breast in the fridge and want a new way to cook them, then FoodieView.com may be the search engine for you.
• Home Design Vertical Search
  Convera and Nielsen Business announced earlier this month that they are partnering on a new vertical search engine for the Kitchen and Bath industry. The site can be found at KitchenandBathSearch.com.
• Blinkx to Include Content from Pyro.TV
  Over the past few months the video search marketplace has resembled a homesteading land rush, as video search players strike deal after deal with content sources and aggregators.

Small Business/Big Brand SEM

• SEW Experts: Don't Panic Over Sudden Traffic Changes
  Aaron Shear tries to ease the fears of a sudden algorithmic traffic change. Shear has been there, done that, and provides some advice for meeting panic from the executive suite.
• Microsoft Adds Ask Sponsored Listings to Office Live Ad Management
  Using adManager, small businesses can buy and manage search ads from a simplified interface. Previously, the ad options were Microsoft's MSN Network and Live Search.
• Google to Offer Hosted Custom Site Search for Businesses
  Google has launched a program offering small businesses hosted site search with its Google Custom Search Business Edition, an enhanced version of its Custom Search Engine (CSE) service launched last fall.

In-House & Outsourcing

• SEW Experts: Housebreaking the Search
  Kevin Ryan struggles with search marketing for grown-ups.

SEM Industry Issues

• Incisive Events Coming This Summer
  Coming up are three Search Engine Strategies events, and one ClickZ Specifics event which may be of interest to some of our readers.
• Google-DoubleClick Deal Faces Congressional Scrutiny
  Google execs will be called to defend the potential $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick before both House and Senate Subcommittees
• Google Results Good, But Not Good Enough?
  Google reported its second-quarter results yesterday, which showed rapid revenue growth and strength in its business. Unfortunately for Google, expenses rose more than analysts expected, and profits fell short of expectations.
• Yahoo Q2 Post Slight Decline, Yang To "Put Back On Winning Path"
  Despite posting a slight decline from last year's numbers in their Q2 report yesterday, Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang intends to put the company back on "a winning path."

Searching/Search Technologies

• Speak Softly And Carry A Big Stick
  So who is quietly trying to solve your search and discovery problem? Librarians.
• Matt Cutts Seeking Search Bugs
  Matt Cutts is asking for anyone that is aware of any search engine bugs to post them in comments on his blog.
• Google Sets Expiration on Cookies
  Instead of the permanent expiration date of 2038, they will now auto expire after 2 years of non-usage.

More from the SEW Blog

• Gmail Holding A T-Shirt Design Competition With Sweet Prizes
  Gmail with online "do-it-yourself" t-shirt design/printer Threadless has started a competition to design the Gmail t-shirt.
• Google Responds To Aussie Fraud Claims
  Google Australia says it believes these claims are without merit and vows to defend against them vigorously.

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.

• The Bizarre Economics of Search Marketing Services, SEOmoz
• Seeing Through the Bearishness About 'Hyperlocal', Traffick
• Search Engines and Favoritism, Google Operating System
• Search Engines Take Privacy Issue Seriously, Search Engine Journal
• 5 Pros and Cons of SEO Consultant vs Agency, Online Marketing Blog
• ClickZ Relaunches, Mike Grehan Reloads on Universal Search, Cre8pc
• Aftervote will end Mahalo, DaveN
• Yahoo! Continues Down “The Path”, SEO Revolution
• Spotting the Once Sacred Cows, Metamend
• Understand SEO pricing and get a good SEO company, Improve the Web
• Facebook, Why Marketers Should Pay Attention To It, Search Marketing Gurus
• Is Facebook Worth the Hype?, Read/Write Web
• Customer Surveys: A Powerful Link Building Tool, Search Engine Land
• The New Rules of Marketing and PR (and SEO), ClickZ
• Questions for Facebook VP of Media Sales Mike Murphy, ClickZ