By Kevin Newcomb , August 12, 2008
Today's Top Story:
Aaron
Shear
Content? Content. Content!
BIG BIZ
It's become the mantra for SEOs, and the standard advice for all site owners, regardless of the Web space they're in. It's time we review the advantages of content, and where it may be applicable.
» Full story
» Print version
Search Engine Watch Experts Columns
News from the Search Engine Watch Blog
Mark
Jackson
Proper SEO and the Robots.txt File
AU NATURAL
There are many good reasons to stop the search engines from indexing certain directories on a Web site and allowing others for SEO purposes. By taking a good look at your Web site's robots.txt file and making sure that the syntax is set up correctly, you can avoid some search engine ranking problems.
» Full story
» Print version
Yahoo and Google to Launch New Privacy and Ad Capping Features
Posted by Nathania Johnson Aug 11, 2008
Yahoo has announced that it will be offering an opt-out function for customized advertising to searchers by the end of the month.
The announcement comes as Yahoo has responded to a Congressional letter seeking information about data collecting and online advertising practices. You can read Yahoo's full response here.
Google has also ...
» Continue reading
Yahoo Snags Search Ad Marketshare Gain at Google's Expense
Posted by Nathania Johnson Aug 11, 2008
Analytics firm Covario says Yahoo gained paid search advertising at the expense of Google in the second quarter of 2008.
Covario also said that paid search has gone through a "compression" period, where growth has declined from 52% to 43%.
"Our client roster inspired us to launch this analysis series due to ...
» Continue reading
Online Publishers Turning to Ad Networks to Sell Unused Inventory
Posted by Nathania Johnson Aug 11, 2008
Online publishers are increasingly turning to ad networks to sell unused inventory, according to a study released by the International Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Bain & Company.
In 2007, ad network accounted for 30% of total ad impressions, up fro 5% in 2006.
Two reasons were given for the growth:
Interviews with online ...
» Continue reading
Facebook and Hi5 Lead Global Growth Among Social Networks
Posted by Nathania Johnson Aug 12, 2008
comScore has released data showing explosive growth rates for social networking sites Facebook and Hi5 globally, with 153% and 100% respectively. With worldwide social networking growth rates at 25%, that certainly is a big piece of the pie.
Facebook's biggest percentage growth came in Latin America, at a whopping 1055%. Meanwhile, ...
» Continue reading
Google Opens Up Cryptography Toolkit, KeyCzar
Posted by Nathania Johnson Aug 12, 2008
Google has released its cryptography toolkit, KeyCzar, into open source. They hope the move aids developers in conducting the difficult task of providing solid security on their web sites.
"Cryptography is notoriously hard to get right and if improperly used, can create serious security holes. Common mistakes include using the wrong ...
» Continue reading
MIVA Reports $6.5 Million Second Quarter 2008 Loss
Posted by Nathania Johnson Aug 12, 2008
MIVA, who yesterday rejected an acquisition bid from online video search engine blinkx, has posted a $6.5 million loss for the second quarter of 2008. MIVA CEO and President Peter Corrao tried to keep things in perspective for shareholders and Wall Street:
"The most recent quarter has been a transitional one ...
» Continue reading
MIVA Rejects blinkx Acquisition Offer
Posted by Nathania Johnson Aug 11, 2008
Last week, online video search engine blinkx, apparently feeling inspired by Microsoft, made an unsolicited bid to acquire online advertising company, MIVA.
MIVA has responded by saying Thanks but No Thanks. Here's the official word:
"After careful evaluation, the MIVA Board believes that blinkx's proposal significantly undervalues MIVA's assets, including our technology, ...
» Continue reading
Broadband Subscriptions Drop 51%; Cable Sells More than Phone Co's
Posted by Nathania Johnson Aug 12, 2008
Broadband subscriptions dropped 51% since last year, according to data released by Leichtman Research Group. Only 887,000 subscribers were added to a group of companies comprising 94% of the market. Cable companies accounted for 670,000 of those additional subscriptions.
The numbers also seem to support research from the University of Minnesota ...
» Continue reading
IAC Split Will Occur August 21; 'When-Issued' Trading Begins Tomorrow
Posted by Nathania Johnson Aug 11, 2008
Ask.com parent company IAC announced last November that they would spin off four of their properties and become 5 separate companies. The other four companies will be HSN, Inc., Interval Leisure Group, Inc., Ticketmaster and Tree.com, Inc.
Now, Reuters is reporting the split will occur on August 21.
Meanwhile, the NASDAQ has ...
» Continue reading
Video Search Engine Optimization (VSEO) session at SES San Jose
Posted by Greg Jarboe Aug 11, 2008
SES San Jose 2008 gets underway in a week. One of the sessions on Day 1 that may draw a crowd is the one on Video Search Engine Optimization (VSEO).
To give you a sneak preview of the session, Byron Gordon of SEO-PR interviewed Matthew Scheybeler, the CTO of blinkx, ...
» Continue reading
John McCain Outspending Barack Obama in Search Engine Advertising
Posted by Greg Jarboe Aug 9, 2008
According to an exclusive story in the National Journal Online, John McCain has outspent Barack Obama for two consecutive months in search engine advertising.
Written by Lucas Grindley, the story, entitled, "McCain buys his way to top of Google," cites Nielsen Online data that shows McCain bought 7 million "sponsored search ...
» Continue reading
Search Engine Watch Forum Discussions
Volatile Rankings Lately Aug 11, 2008
Has anyone been getting volatile rankings lately. On a couple of our sites we have been seeing ranking positions changing multiple times a day over the last few days, with today being the most volatile. Starting on friday we had a ranking go from about 14 up to ...
» Join the discussion
SES SJ 2008 Meetup Aug 12, 2008
I am attending SES San Jose alone this year and I don't know anyone else who is going, I was wondering if anyone was in a similar situation or anyone else who would like to meet up and attend some sessions and the amazing parties together. I know that ...
» Join the discussion
Establishing A Process for Implementation of Optimized Content Aug 7, 2008
This thread is for discussion related to the SEW Crossfire Column published today: Oil and Water? SEOs Versus Content Owners (http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=3630472)
Please share your thoughts, questions and experiences.
» Join the discussion