August 6, 2009

My Cheese Just Moved

I've been referred to as an agent of change quite a number of times in my professional career. Not just since I moved into online marketing, but long before, when I worked in broadcast media. Much as broadcast was a very fast-moving medium, it never seemed to change direction much. You had to wait for major innovation such as cable and satellite and digital to see real change being effected.

I came online with my first internet consultancy business way back in 1995. It suited me well, although it was way ahead of its time, because, taking clients online involved a huge amount of change. Change in technology, change in culture, change in relationships.

Some people easily accept change and some people simply don't want to. If you've read the book "Who Moved My Cheese" (where the headline to this blog post is taken from) you'll know exactly what I mean.

So, having been responsible for helping to effect change with my clients for almost fifteen years online and ten off, it's time for my own big change. And that's why, seemingly out of the blue, you find me making my first of many posts to come here at Search Engine Watch.

I'm extraordinarily proud to be making a major move from the agency world to the world of publishing and events by joining Incisive Media's interactive division.

I've long been associated with its three online-powerhouse brands, Search Engine Watch, ClickZ and the global conference and expo series Search Engine Strategies. As a long-standing contributor as both writer and speaker, I'm delighted to have been offered an executive position working with this hugely talented team.

And the timing is perfect. As I gaze into my crystal ball I see change, change, change in the online marketing world. No more so than in the field of search marketing. As one surge of technology that got the industry off the ground gives way to the next, change is inevitable. It is perhaps the most exciting period in search to date.

And as the industry changes, we'll change with it, covering new developments in business and technology. As will ClickZ and Search Engine Strategies. We'll look different with a new coat of paint, start to sound different, and strengthen our thought leadership in the industry.

But wait... Before I hear the gnashing of teeth from those who don't feel comfortable with change and like things just the way they are, nothing's going to happen overnight. This is subtle and gradual change, so all your usual goodies and faves are going to be exactly where you expect them to be.

But as I work with my colleagues Matt McGowan, Stewart Quealy, Anna Maria Virzi and Kevin Newcomb (names most readers and conference goers will be familiar with), we'll be spearheading new initiatives and developing the most timely and relevant content as the industry races ahead.

And for me, it's a feet-first exercise as I jump on board just as the largest search marketing extravaganza on the planet is about to begin. This annual San Jose event is the biggest and brightest of its kind on the West Coast, and is always a highlight in the marketing conference calendar.

As literally thousands of industry folk converge under the glorious California sunshine, we'll be presenting the usual vast array of tracks, sessions, speakers and topics. If it's happening in search, you can bet we'll be talking about it next week.

And I, for one, will surely be talking to as many people as I can. Search Engine Watch is the granddaddy of SEO/SEM newsletter/blogs, Search Engine Strategies is the longest running event of its kind,and ClickZ is royalty in the online marketing space. So what would you like to see change, or hang dearly to your bosom and never let go for that matter?

I'm pumped up and raring to go. And totally thrilled to be part of future new developments with the Incisive Interactive crew.

SES next week - be there!

Posted by Mike Grehan at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)

January 28, 2009

SEW/ClickZ Authors Among SEMMYs Finalists

The finalists have been announced in the Second Annual SEMMYs Awards recognizing the best blog posts in search marketing, social media and related areas. Congratulations go out to all the nominees, and especially to our own Search Engine Watch bloggers and experts who were nominated:

Local Search: Google’s Carter Maslan and Eric Enge talk Local Search, Eric Enge, Stone Temple Consulting

Design & Usability: Three Reasons Your Visitors Don’t Convert to Leads, Bryan Eisenberg, ClickZ 25 Design Best Practices for Your Small Business Web Site, Carrie Hill, Search Engine Watch

Please head over to the SEMMYs site and vote for your favorites.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 2:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

April 11, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: April 11, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• We May Not Want Standards But FTC May Give Us SomeThe standards debate may be in full swing in our industry - but the decisions may be soon taken out of our hands if the FTC continues to define allowable advertising practices.
• Yahoo Execs Bad Mouthing AOL!Guess Yahoo does not want to partner with anyone these days... well apart from their biggest competitor Google.
• AdWords Launches New Conversion Tracking ToolA new update to AdWords tracking has been reported by the guys over at AccuraCast. Seems they have improved the conversion tracking allowing users to separate different things to track to conversion.
• As Wifi expands, local and mobile search continue to emergeLately, there have been a swarm of announcements regarding Wifi coming to some previously unconnected spots. So what does this mean for Search Engine Marketers?
• Microsoft Updates Live Maps and Virtual Earth 3DMicrosoft has announced 11 major updates to their Live Maps and Virtual Earth 3D.
• Trellian Acquires Addme.comTrellian, the company behind SEO Toolkit and Keyword Discovery, has announced its acquisition of SEO tools provider Addme.com.
• SEW Experts: Standards? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Standards!We don't need SEO standards to define our operation for us; we simply need to hold ourselves to a higher standard of business.
• SEW Experts: SEM Tools of the ExpertsThere are a variety of SEM tools available to search marketers. You should be able to find something to fit every need, and every style.
• SEW Experts: Think Universal, Act LocalMuch of the discussion around Universal search, or blended search, focuses on video and images. But local search may be a more important factor; one that has the greatest impact in blended search results.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Branding as a Direct Response PPC Search Byproduct, ClickZ Experts
• Marketing to the Media, ClickZ Experts
• The Creation of Draft SEM Standards, Ian McAnerin
• How Web Application Developers Can Ensure Their Sites Are Findable in Search Engines (SEO for Webdevs), Vanessa Fox
• Is Yahoo the Odd Man Out?, NY Times Bits
• 38 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started In Marketing, Conversation Marketing
• Sixty Cent Branding: How One Minute of Effort Sparked This Post, Search Engine Guide
• How To Excite People About Web Analytics: Five Tips., Occam's Razor
• The 5 Biggest Mistakes I Made In My First Year Blogging, Court's Internet Marketing School
• Spite is Not a Marketing Strategy, Search Engine Guide
• SEM Job Criteria of the Not So Distant Future, SEMpdx
• Powerset: Don't call us a search engine, VentureBeat

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 4:55 PM | Permalink

SEO Mos Def Busted by WA State Atty General: $450,000 Penalty Looms

SEATTLE – A Washington-based company that sells search engine optimization (SEO) services to small businesses is prohibited from selling or advertising them to new customers under the terms of a settlement announced by Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna.

While the SEO standards debate rages, the search marketing industry continues to be perceived as purveyors of snake oil and predators of small business owners.

SEOMoz honcho Rand Fiskin denies that SEO standards are needed while raging against Internet Advancement to no avail for more than two years:

"All in all, this is one of the most despicable players I've seen in the spam/scam SEO game. It disgusts me to think of the thousands of dollars companies are paying every day to these clowns to get services that carry no business or marketing value whatsoever. These guys are going on my big time sh-t list."

That was in February, 2006 before hundreds of additional complaints were filed against SEOMOz competitor, Internet Advancement.

Under the agreement filed in King County Superior Court, Internet Advancement must allow its customers to exit existing contracts. The SEO firm's Web site is still online so advertising apparently doesn't include a Web presence.

So will the lawsuit put the SEO firm out-of-business?

Amazingly, no.

The agreement allows Internet Advancement to offer search-engine optimization services to existing customers. The company may provide Web site design services to new customers, as well, provided such services don't include the creation of metatags or keywords or submission to search engines.

The agreement states that Internet Advancement cannot:

* Advertise or offer search optimization (SEO) services to new customers;

* Misrepresent its success rate, ability to provide top search-engine rankings or increase Web traffic or its number of repeat customers;

* Fail to disclose all material contract terms before customers have agreed to pay for services;

* Fail to respond promptly to consumer complaints, refund requests or other requests for services or information;

* Charge customer credit cards without authorization;

* Fail to process requests to cancel service or bill consumers after they have cancelled contracts;

* Represent that a customer isn't entitled to a refund because the customer performed changes to the source code of his/her Web site unless a third-party technical expert confirms that the changes were made or authorized by the customer.

More astonishing: Google, Yahoo, MSN , AOL and Ask have allowed their logos to be used on the Internet Advancement Web site.

Internet Advancement of Redmond, which also does business as 4GreatBuys.com, was accused of misrepresenting its ability to provide top search engine rankings and increase Web traffic, even after being sued by Washington State.

The defendants admitted that some of the violations had occurred and agreed to the new settlement filed today in King County Superior Court, but denied that all of the alleged violations were part of a repeated pattern. They will pay a $118,386 civil penalty and $35,959 in attorneys' fees. The defendants also agreed to comply with a lengthy list of injunctive provisions or else be slapped with an additional $450,000 penalty.

According to today's settlement, Internet Advancement guaranteed that a customer's Web site will appear within the first 25 links on major search engines, such as Google, Yahoo and AOL, when Internet users search for specific keywords.

Customers paid $999-$3,000 in “set-up” fees and a $149 monthly fee.

SEOMozzer Rand Fishkin disagreed with SEW Expert Chris Boggs, blogging that "I think you (Chris) need to have some statistics to back up the point that the public is 'increasingly victimized by unscrupulous practitioners of SEO.' To be honest, my personal anecdotal experiences suggest that it's actually falling from a height in 2004-5, but without data to back it up, it seems like a fallacy to claim that 'fact' to help bolster your argument."

Small businesses filed 82 complaints about Internet Advancement with the Attorney General's Office between Oct. 28, 2004, and March 10, 2008. The Federal Trade Commission and Better Business Bureau also received complaints.

All righty then.

REFUND REQUESTS Internet Advancement agreed to a refund program. Customers eligible for refunds fall into three categories:

1. All current and former customers who filed complaints filed complaints with the Washington Attorney General's Office between Aug. 11, 2004, and the settlement date. The company must contact these customers and offer them a full refund of all funds paid to defendants, including fees for past and future services.

2. Existing customers who signed contracts within the last nine months. They will be offered the opportunity to cancel their contracts and receive refunds of all pre-paid fees. Customers in this category will be contacted by e-mail within one week and must respond within 30 days to be eligible for a pro-rated refund for set-up fees and all pre-paid fees for future services.

3. Existing customers who signed contracts more than nine months ago have until June 7, 2008, to contact the Attorney General's Office request a refund. They are eligible for a pro-rated refund for set-up fees and all pre-paid fees for future services. Washington customers who fall into this category should file a complaint online or contact the Attorney General's Office at 1-800-551-4636 (in-state calls only) or 206-464-6684 to be included in the refund and cancellation program. Out-of-state customers can call 206-464-6684. The Attorney General's Consumer Resource Centers are open to take calls Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. PDT. their office between Oct. 28, 2004, and March 10, 2008.

“The Attorney General's Office has repeatedly proven that we won't tolerate deceptive advertising by companies that sell products or services online,” McKenna said in a statement. “Despite our 2004 lawsuit against Internet Advancement and the company's promise to provide good customer service, small businesses steadily complained about its services. Today's settlement forbids Internet Advancement from advertising search optimization services to potential customers and requires it to comply with a refund program for unsatisfied businesses.”

The Attorney General's Office sued Internet Advancement in August 2004, accusing the company of violating the state Consumer Protection Act and Unsolicited Electronic Mail Act.

The parties settled with a stipulated judgment in which the company promised to change its business practices. But the state alleged the company continued to engage in essentially the same unlawful acts that gave rise to the original lawsuit. In November 2007, the Attorney General's Office filed a petition to enforce the court order issued three years earlier.

The petition accused Internet Advancement and three of its officers, CEO Todd Wickham, president Ken Committee and secretary and treasurer Ernesto Villamor, of misrepresenting the company's ability to provide top search engine rankings and increase Web traffic.

They were also accused of making unauthorized charges to consumer credit cards, failing to honor guarantees and refunds, unfairly structuring cancellation policy terms and making false statements concerning the company's standing with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and the Attorney General's Office.

Senior Counsel Paula Selis, an assistant attorney general who leads the Consumer Protection High-Tech Unit, said she believes the company will comply with the new terms.

“Internet Advancement can continue to do business provided it complies with our consumer protection laws,” Selis said in a statement. “To be sure that happens, our settlement contains very specific terms and conditions on how Internet Advancement should operate and provides for substantial financial penalties should the company commit another violation.”

But then each and every time Charlie Brown believed Lucy wouldn't pull the football away at the last second.

Posted by Kevin Heisler at 1:42 AM | Permalink

April 10, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: April 10, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Google CEO to MicroHoo: We'll Bank on FrankGoogle CEO Eric Schmidt has reportedly named legendary Bubble 1.0 i-banker Frank Quattrone as an adviser to help reverse engineer the Yahoo-AOL and MSN- MySpace entanglements.
• Video Search Is a False MessiahVideo search is not about words, optimization or getting into the traditional web search engines. Instead, he says we must look to video consumers and more collaborative approaches.
• Digging deeper into the social press releaseA fair portrait of the social press release -- warts and all.
• Majority of U.S. Adults Uncomfortable About Search Engine Data CollectionA majority of U.S. adults are uncomfortable about search engine data collection practices.
• eMarketer Releases Mobile and Online Advertising ProjectionsThis year, US mobile ad spending is expected to reach $1.7 billion, up from $878 million last year. Meanwhile, online spending is expected to continue growing, but the rate at which the growth will occur will decline, at least for a few years.
• IAC to Launch a Flurry of Niche SitesIAC, parent company of Ask.com, is planning to launch several new niche sites that incorporate search and social media. First up is RushmoreDrive.com, which has already launched and is targeted at the African-American community.
• Microsoft to Fight Search Spam by Analyzing EmailMicrosoft was awarded a patent it applied for nearly 4 years ago, to fight search spam based on external elements, like "electronic documents," or email.
• SEW Experts: Link Building Strategies: Apprentice EditionGreat content is only half the battle. Don't forget the other half: getting the word out about your great content.
• SEW Experts: Bringing the SEO Teacher to YouBesides SEO books, online training, and in-person training, there's another option for teaching your staff about SEO: bring a consultant to you.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Is Social Going Mobile?, ClickZ Experts
• Five Fundamentals of Integrated Marketing, ClickZ Experts
• Ex-Yahoo Exec Banks on Small Site Ad Platform Trend, ClickZ News
• Predictive Advertising Targets Consumers on Purchase Data, ClickZ News
• Blended Search: A Year Later, Search Engine Land
• The Open Way Yahoo Could Do a Search Deal With Google, NY Times Bits
• Start making sense: The semantic Web, The Economist

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:53 PM | Permalink

April 9, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: April 9, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Yahoo to Test Google Ads – Take That, Mr. Ballmer!Yahoo announced today that it will begin a limited test of Google Inc.'s AdSense for Search service.
• Google Will Not Kill the Agency Star, Says Publicis CEOWhile the business model for advertising agencies needs change, Publicis CEO Maurice Levy says that agencies will adapt and not become obsolete. Levy says that agencies are the ones who develop the creative, something that companies like Google, Microsoft and Yahoo do not provide.
• Yahoo Gets Investor Support on Efforts to Fend Off MicrosoftMicrosoft's gamble that Yahoo investors will support their takeover of the search engine may already be backfiring. According to published reports, Legg Mason, Yahoo's second largest investor is standing behind Yahoo in its efforts to fend off Microsoft.
• IndexTools acquired by Yahoo!Yahoo has acquired IndexTools, a leading web analytics company.
• Why search engine marketers should attend SES Toronto 2008Search engine marketers on both sides of the Canadian – American border should attend Search Engine Strategies Toronto, which is being held at Metro Toronto Convention Centre June 17-18, 2008.
• SEW Experts: Making Yahoocrosoft a RealityThe quibbling of two secondary competitors, while another lengthens its lead, has resulted in the downfall of many in the past. Yahoo and Microsoft would be wise to learn from those past mistakes.
• SEW Experts: How to Measure Customer Satisfaction with Web AnalyticsIn a world where more Web transactions require multiple site visits, a measurement of satisfaction can tell you the likelihood of a visitor coming back to your site when they're ready to buy.
• Yahoo Flickr Flicks: Who's Got Short Shorts?Yahoo Flickr launched videos tonight with a press release and a small yellow badge - an asterisk that adds "AND VIDEO" to their tagline: "Share Your Photos."
• Others' Trademark Terms In Meta Tags Illegal: Georgia Court RulesThe 11th Circuit Court of Georgia ruled the use of others' trademarks in meta tags infringes trademark laws.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Content Optimization: Keyword Effectiveness Indicators, ClickZ Experts
• The Invisible Back Channel, ClickZ Experts
• Seven Step Interactive Marketing Analytical Framework, Part 1, ClickZ Experts
• Yahoo Makes Ultimate Concession, Tests Google Ads, ClickZ News
• Yahoo Buys IndexTools, Could Leapfrog Google Analytics, ClickZ News
• U.K.'s Online Ad Spend Continues Steady Climb, ClickZ News
• Six Mistakes B2B Marketers Continue to Make With Organic Search, Search Engine Land
• 5 Steps To Develop In-House SEO Functionality, Search Engine Land
• Why Are We Still Talking About Click-through Rates?, Socialized
• Web Developers: Please Stop Using the Hx Tag as a Design Element, E-Marketing Performance
• How to Target the Right Social Media Sites, Problogger
• What Happened To "Fake It Until You Make It"?, Bruce Clay Blog

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 4:53 PM | Permalink

April 8, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: April 8, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Could the Term "SEO" Become Trademarked?If you read the headline and thought it was just a teaser to get you to read this post, think again. SEOs really do have a new trademark issue to worry about.
• Google Responds to FTC's Self-Regulatory PrinciplesWhen concerns over data collection and behavioral advertising arise, it seems that the glass half empty people are the loudest. But in a recent response to the FTC's Self-Regulatory Principles, Google has pointed out the impact that online advertising has had on the economy.
• adCenter Advertiser Blog Explains Keyword Match TypesIf you've been in need of an explanation of keyword match types for your PPC campaign, you're in luck. The adCenter Advertiser blog has published a post that offers up a detailed explanation of keyword match terms as well as some tips for your paid search strategy.
• March Search Market Share Numbers Begin to Trickle InSearch engine marketers love their data, so grab a cup of coffee and mull over the numbers released by Hitwise and Compete.com for the search market in March 2008.
• Types of Social Media Content - A Conceptual OverviewIf social media success = 1/2 social network + 1/2 quality content ... an understanding of both social network building and content development is necessary.
• SEW Experts: How to Tell if Your Domain is BannedOftentimes it is difficult to tell whether a domain name is banned or penalized by a search engine. Or perhaps the domain name is neither banned, nor penalized. It could be, you just managed to screw up your site.
• SEW Experts: Keep the Lines of SEO Communication OpenIn large organizations, development teams don't always retain what they've learned about SEO. Without regular communication about SEO issues, you're destined to repeat past mistakes.
• SEW Experts: Google Road Kill: Will the Pulitzer Prize Live to Be 100?On the 92nd anniversary of the Pulitzer Prize, prizewinners and publishers are fiddling while the newspaper industry is burning.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• What Online Engagement Means to Your Web Site, ClickZ Experts
• New Index Reveals Surprising Ad Pricing Trends, ClickZ News
• No Optimizer Left Behind, Graywolf's SEO blog
• Introduction to Memetics: What is a Meme?, Dan Zarrella
• The Difference Between Rock Stars and Rockers, Social Media Butterfly
• Engagement: What Is It?, SiteLogic
• Engagement: What Is It?, Web Analytics Demystified
• Why Most SEOs Can't Do Reputation Management, Search Engine Journal
• Best of the Web Adds DMOZ Editors to Directory Team, Search Engine Journal
• Search Marketing By The Book, Search Insider
• Legitimate, Useful Subversion For Search Engine Marketers, Search Engine Land

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:53 PM | Permalink

April 7, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: April 7, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• News Flash: A Google Product Came Out of Beta!Google has announced that its AdWords API is out of beta.
• European Group Wants to Cut Search Engine Data StorageAlmost a month after the EU approved Google's DoubleClick acquisition, officials from 27 EU nations have unanimously adopted a proposal that could force search engines to reduce the amount of time they store personal information.
• The Offline Benefits of Online AdvertisingThe offline effects of online advertising has been a curious issue in the search engine marketing industry over the years. But according to published reports, new study conducted by comScore is shedding more light on the issue.
• Yahoo Unveils Details of New AMP Advertising PlatformIn the midst of firmly responding to Microsoft's ultimatum, Yahoo has released details of the new AMP advertising platform.
• Yahoo to Microsoft: We Already Dumped YouAfter Microsoft issued its ultimatum to Yahoo this weekend, giving them three more weeks before things get ugly, Yahoo's board of directors responded this morning, reminding Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer that it already rejected Microsoft's offer, and Yahoo still thinks Microsoft's offer is too low.
• Microsoft Gets Tired of WaitingMicrosoft is apparently tired of waiting for Yahoo to respond to its unsolicited takeover bid, and has issued a deadline of April 26 for Yahoo to come to terms on an acquisition agreement, or face a hostile takeover.
• SEW Experts: A Look at Demographic Bidding for AdWordsGoogle's new demographic bidding for content campaigns seems to promise much better control over where ads are served, and hence better ROI.
• How to (Actually) Earn Money (Now) with Social Media (Really): Part 2Short term financial success in social media can be a multi-layered enigma, ranging somewhere between daunting and infuriating.
• HackerSafe & The Power of TrustThere are no universal truths about what to test on a landing page. However, there are common themes that work well across a range of industries. One of these is the use of trust and credibility indicators.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Yahoo Names Ad Network Platform, Signals Summer Rollout, ClickZ News
• Spock.com Pacts With Google, Plays With Ad Networks, ClickZ News
• A Deeper Dive Into adCenter, ClickZ Experts
• The Future of Advertising: A Conversation With Jeff Einstein, Part 2, ClickZ Experts
• Average Search CPC Data by Category for March 2008, ClickZ Stats
• Spy On Competitors, But Don't Copy Their Mistakes, Search Engine Land
• SEO Standards Debate is Back - But Something's Missing, SEOmoz
• Google - Long Term Thinking in an ADD World, Marketing Pilgrim
• Using Site Search Keyword Data to Create Related Content, SEO Book
• Latest Interview: Kirsten Rasanen, Stone Temple Consulting
• New Compete.com search share numbers show surprising surge for Live Search, LiveSide.net
• Keyword Match Types, AdCenter Community
• Keyword Segments within the Conversion Funnel, Shimon Sandler

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:47 PM | Permalink

April 4, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: April 4, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Google Updates Trademark Rules for UK/Ireland AdWordsBeginning on May 5, 2008, the AdWords trademark policy for the UK and Ireland will change. The new policy will be aligned with the current one established in the United States and Canada.
• Optimization Tips for PDFs: Great Advice for B2B Search MarketersPDFs are particularly significant in B2B marketing, which makes optimizing them for the web is an important piece of SEO strategy in that sector. Thankfully, Galen de Young of Francis Marketing has a new post on optimizing PDFs on their B2B marketing blog.
• Google Opens Up About Spectrum AuctionThe gag order on details surrounding the recent FCC spectrum auction has been lifted, and Google is revealing some behind-the-scenes information about their participation in the bidding.
• Microhoo's Second Date Doesn't Go Very WellExecutives from Microsoft and Yahoo reportedly met this week, but both sides came to the much anticipated second date with stubborn stances.
• SEW Experts: SEO Standards Signal the Maturing of Our IndustryCall them standards, rules, advice, best practices, or whatever you want, but they're a necessary step in the evolution of the search industry.
• SEW Experts: Recruiting the Right People for Your SEM BusinessIf you've been a one-man operation until now, hiring your first employee is a major milestone. However, making the wrong choice can seriously impact your business.
• SEW Experts: Leveraging Traditional Media Placements in an Online WorldOnline media and Internet-based search continue to grow at the expense of their offline counterparts, newspapers and magazines. Because media placement options are continuously growing, smart local marketers need to leverage this major transformation of how people consume media in some creative ways.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Is Organic Search Enough?, ClickZ Experts
• SES Toronto Speaker Info - Reminder, Traffick
• Human Hardware: Dunbar's Number, Search Engine Land
• New Middle-of-page Google Onebox Type?, Google Blogoscoped
• Are You Giving Users Features They Don't Want?, Bruce Clay Blog
• Risky Advice on Evading Adwords Display URL Rules, SEO Fast Start
• 7 Questions to Ask When Planning a Website Redesign, SEO Space

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 4:48 PM | Permalink

April 3, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: April 3, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Is Google Looking to Kill Affiliate Marketing?Google had started their version of affiliate marketing some time ago with their CPA ads. But grabbing experienced affiliate marketing consultants could turn this into the hope they once saw in it.
• Recent Google Updates Have SEOs ScramblingLike a celebrity sitting down with Barbara Walters, Google News has decided to clear up rumors surrounding how articles are included and ranked.
• Former Citysearch CEO Heads to IdearcFormer Citysearch CEO Briggs Ferguson has been tapped to become President of Internet/Web products and pay-for-performance advertising at Idearc.
• Yahoo Unveils Upgrades to Mobile Search PlatformYahoo has announced upgrades to its mobile search platform, oneSearch. The 2.0 version of the service includes brand spankin new features to make searching on the go a little easier.
• Yahoo! also Loses Rock Star; Music VP Ian Rogers Moves to Start-upTwo months after acquiring FoxyTunes, and setting in place a bold new plan for Yahoo Music, Vice President Ian Rogers has resigned from Yahoo Music to join stealth start-up TopSpin Media.
• SEW Experts: Afraid to Link Out? Think AgainBoth people and search engines place more value on information that cites multiple sources. By refusing to link to other sites you are harming your site's relevance and ability to gain links.
• SEW Experts: Don't Be Afraid of Social Media -- Your Customers Aren'tSavvy big brand marketers know that the junction of social media and e-commerce, or "Socialommerce," is the next big thing. But many are wary, and want to sit back and see how it plays out.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Data Assumptions, Part 1: The Big Three, ClickZ Experts
• Do You Need SEO Standards For Your Company?, Search Engine Land
• Diagnosing Site Infrastructure Issues: The Big List Of The Best Firefox Plugins, Vanessa Fox
• Is the Influence of Bloggers Overrated? Umm....No., Search Engine Guide
• Search Engine Marketing Bootcamp: Make Sure the Search Engines Can Read Your Site, Search Engine Guide
• Is Your SEO Firm Outsourcing Your Work?, Online Marketing Blog
• SEO Aware Wordpress Publishing, John Andrews
• The Only 4 Web Analysis Questions You Need, Digital Alex

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 4:48 PM | Permalink

April 2, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: April 2, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Google Gets Out of the SEO BusinessGoogle is getting itself out of a somewhat sticky situation by deciding to sell Performics Search Marketing, which it acquired as part of the DoubleClick deal.
• Work With Your IT Staff, Not Against ThemBy equipping IT with SEO knowledge, they can truly understand the problems that search engines face with your site, and then come up with their own solutions that are technically feasible (and they are willing to implement).
• Title Tag Copywriting Tips for Newbie SEOsThe title tag is one of the most important pieces of content when it comes to search engine optimization.
• Medio to Add Mobile Content PartnersMobile search and advertising company Medio Systems has announced the launch of a new content partnership. The Medio Mobile Content Partner Program will add high-quality content to the over 300 existing feeds on Medio by signing companies who are strong in a given niche.
• Reinstalling My PC, Part 1: Top TimesaversSince I'm rebuilding my home PC, I've come up with a list of about 15 programs I really need on my computer to be good at my job.
• Google Loses Rock Star CIO to EMI MusicDouglas Merrill, Google CIO and VP of engineering, has accepted a new gig: president of digital at struggling EMI Music, home of the Beatles and former home of Radiohead.
• SEW Experts: How to Survive a Recession In SearchIf you listen to the media, you'd know that a recession is nigh, and you should be locking yourself up in an underground bunker and hiding out for the next year. If you're a bit more selective in what you choose to believe, you may be thinking it would be wise to be prepared, in case an economic downturn does come.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• When Does Social Media Matter in SEM?, ClickZ Experts
• AzoogleAds Becomes Epic, But Retains Azoogle Product Name, ClickZ News
• Ask SEMpdx: In-house or Outhouse? What Criteria Should a Company Use to Decide How to Handle its Search Marketing Needs?, Search Engine Guide
• Rumor: eBay to Sell Skype to Google?, Praized
• Megachart & Analysis: Google Management Changes, 2000-2008, Search Engine Land
• Google Update Dewey - Google Confirms Algorithm Change, Search Engine Land
• How to Prevent SEO Bloat from Overcrowding Your Marketing Campaign, Search Engine Guide
• Foundation Friending - Step 2 of the Authority Building Process, Search Engine People
• Are You Building Your Personal Brand?, Bruce Clay Blog

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 9:43 PM | Permalink

April 1, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: April 1, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• ChaCha Refocuses Business Model on Mobile Text SearchChaCha is refocusing its business to center around its mobile voice and text search business.
• Microsoft to Stay Firm in Original Yahoo OfferAccording to published reports, Microsoft is unlikely to raise its bid for Yahoo. It seems that Microsoft doesn't think Yahoo's recent projected revenues provide any reason to raise purchase price from the original $31 per share offer.
• SEW Experts: Should Your SEO Strategy Target the Head or the Long Tail?If you're focused on ranking for that one major keyword, having a deep Web site full of great content is necessary to achieve authority in the eyes of the search engine.
• SEW Experts: Small Business SEM Takeaways from SES NYSearch Engine Strategies New York had something for everyone, including tips for small business marketers.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Digital Marketing Optimization: Conversion, ClickZ Experts
• Internet Ad Spend Grows in 2007 as U.S. Lags Overall, ClickZ News
• Social Media Marketing Tactics and Resources, Online Marketing Blog
• Making Sense of the Numbers, Endless Plain
• Recessions Can Teach Valuable Marketing Lessons, Stepforth SEO
• Keeping Clients After the Bulk of the On-Page SEO Work Is Finished, Stephan Spencer
• Event-Based SEO - Fish Where The Fish Are, Local SEO Guide

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 4:43 PM | Permalink

March 31, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: March 31, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Will We Pay More For Google's Fewer ClicksThe drop in AdWords clicks over the past two months has created a bump Google's ongoing success. But not to worry, CEO Eric Schmidt told Business Week, people will eventually pay more for the better quality clicks.
• Standards Is A Dirty Word For Search MarketersFor the past two weeks our industry has been debating the need for standards, many of the regular blogs have weighed in as have most of the major players in our space.
• Google + DoubleClick = 69% of Online Advertising MarketWhen Google raised concerns over a possible Microsoft-Yahoo merger, it may have just been the pot calling the kettle black. According to new stats released by Attributor, Google's acquisition of DoubleClick gives them a whopping 69% of the online advertising market share.
• Even for Google, Conversions Matter More Than ClicksWall Street is acting with caution when it comes to Google based on months of reporting that the search engine giant's paid search clicks are declining. But Google insists that the click reductions are due to improvement in the quality of the ads, not because Google is somehow losing its luster.
• Geary Interactive Acquires Fathom OnlineFull-service digital marketing agency Geary Interactive has acquired Fathom Online, a search engine marketing firm.
• Yahoo Wants Women NowYahoo just announced Shine, and is hopping on the bandwagon that says women are a great target. Why now?
• SEW Experts: Content Ad Campaign Keyword Strategy RevisitedThe keywords you choose for a content ad campaign should play a different role than they do for search ads. That's a point that's often tough for search advertisers to grasp.
• Constructive feedback on online reputation managementcompanies probably do not need 'War Rooms' today and instead incorporate reputation monitoring as a regular course of business.
• China Antimonopoly Law Could Derail Microsoft/Yahoo Deal, GoogleThe Chinese government is activating legislation that may give problems to the possible Microsoft Yahoo purchase.
• Is Google's Price Drop A Reflection Of Recent Media CoverageThe value of Google's stock has taken a bit of a beating recently from their high of $747 last year to yesterday's close at $438. Is pervasive critiquing of Google having an impact of investors' confidence?

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Search Engine Results, Blogs, and Credibility, ClickZ Experts
• Survey: Consumers Familiar with Behavioral Targeting, Don't Love It, ClickZ News
• Boston.com Drops Axciom for Local Search, Signs with Google, ClickZ News
• FriendFeed, The Centralized Me, and Data Portability, TechCrunch
• Update on PR Sculpting Question from Google Webmaster Help Groups Call and Matt Cutts, Jaan Kanellis
• Public perception, don't leave home without it., Metamend
• Blog Marketing Tips Even the Professional Bloggers Won't Share - Tip #1, Marketing Pilgrim

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:43 PM | Permalink

Standards Is A Dirty Word For Search Marketers

For the past two weeks our industry has been debating the need for standards, many of the regular blogs have weighed in as have most of the major players in our space. The discussion has been heated at times and while the idea has gotten the attention there definitely has not been any accord.

At the end of February, Chris Boggs and I started an exchange on the topic. We had suggested prior to this that there was a need for standard definitions of the various measurement terms and while this may be a peripheral part of the discussion is could have been a good starting point.

In the past week Jill Whalen of High Rankings outlined why we should not or cannot standardize search marketing, stating "Industry market forces and the search engines themselves will eventually dictate what best practices are and are not."

Jill I have to disagree with the statement - never let the fox guard the hen house. The search engines should not dictate our standards - they set their rules and we work with and around them. We work for the client not the engines. You mention that but use it to say no standards... that last point supports not letting the engines set them more than there is no need.

Lisa Barone of Bruce Clay makes the argument that there is a "need to outline what SEO is and what it means to optimize a Web site. We need to establish best practices, what the risk is for abandoning them, and what all these different terms that we throw around actually mean."

From these two articles we have seen many people weigh in with some interesting comments.

Kalena Jordan, a fellow Aussie and founder of Search Engine College, has been very vocal recently on anything about standards. Her blog Ask Kalena came out against the recently launched SEMCompare that gathers user reviews of search firms - "trouble with a capital T" - but she does offer an alternative. "Creating standards is not going to get rid of shoddy SEOs or make them switch hats. Education and publicity has always been the solution".

Kalena while I agree that education is important for maturing our industry, I think your response encompasses where we are right now. We see the issue differently. There are really many parallel areas and some of the discussion has been about definitions which do need to be standardized and then behaviors which may not need a standard given the creativity of our industry.

The ever controversial Michael Martinez of SEO Theory suggests we need to drop the term search engine optimization altogether. Come on Mike we know we are not optimizing search engines but rather the sites the engines rank and include in their databases.

But I do agree with your opinion that "skepticism is important while laying the groundwork for further study by all."

Kim Krause of Cre8asite Forum brings up an interesting question for the topic. "Just out of curiosity, who would enforce standards? How would they be enforced? Are they intended to be?"

Kim I don't think there is a need to police standards, more to outline them so customers can have an idea of what to look for as well as new people in our space have an idea of where to start.

Okay I left many comments and commentators out but hopefully this brings the major views together. Without some guidelines we leave our industry in the "Wild Web" stage that has been there from the beginning when porn and spam was the major effective marketing areas.

We have come a long way... in my opinion it is time to become more structured and accessible.

Posted by Frank Watson at 3:56 PM | Permalink

March 30, 2008

China Antimonopoly Law Could Derail Microsoft/Yahoo Deal, Google

As the New York Times detailed yesterday the Chinese government is activating legislation that may give problems to the possible Microsoft Yahoo purchase. The new Chinese law would "give Chinese regulators authority to examine foreign mergers when they involve acquisitions of Chinese companies or foreign businesses investing in Chinese companies' operations. Beijing could also consider national security issues, according to a report by the official news agency Xinhua.," NYT reported.

Given that China now has the world's most internet users and all three of the major search engines are involved in the country there could be impact for all of them.

Apart from the Alibaba ownership that Yahoo has, Google also has invested money in Baidu. These economic influences on the engine could impact censorship decisions and other actions.

Posted by Frank Watson at 2:13 AM | Permalink

March 28, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: March 28, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Does Google Allow Good Google Bombs?To some, it appears that Google has painted itself into a corner with its reliance on linking for its ranking algorithm. The lines between legitimate SEO, paid links, and Google bombs are becoming increasingly blurred.
• New Google Webmaster Tool Aids Robots.txt CreationFor the coding-challenged, creating a robots.txt file for instructing search engine spiders on the preferred way to crawl your site has not always been easy. Thankfully, Google has created a robots.txt generator as part of its Webmaster Tools.
• Wordtracker Enhance Their Free Trial OfferThe keyword research tool providers are offering a 1-week trial of their entire service and have released an accompanying 7 day video tutorial on how to get the best out of your Wordtracker account.
• SEW Experts: Social Media: One Size Does NOT Fit AllSpending time on linkbait or viral ideas can drive traffic to a site. However, if the same attention isn't given to preparing what to do with the traffic, the only remaining value is links, many of which don't pass juice.
• SEW Experts: What Matters Most to Travel Search Marketers in 2008?Now that we're nearly through the first quarter, it's time to check in on the accuracy of the many predictions for the future of search.
• SEW Experts: The SEO Copywriter: Wordsmithing the WebCombining both technological know-how and a strong command of the written word, agency SEO copywriters are the front-line troops of any SEO initiative.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• We Do Need SEO Standards, Lisa Barone
• 5 Tips on Social Media Advertising, Online Marketing Blog
• 10 Things To Expect from a Good SEO Firm, Ramblings About SEO
• Microsoft adCenter - Where's The Revenue?, Search Engine People

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:55 PM | Permalink

March 27, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: March 27, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Conversion Rates & The Value Of Outsourcing SEM/SEOAccording to a new study, outsourced conversion rates are much higher. It may be that agencies that are specialists in a particular area see a wide cross-section of accounts and industries among their clients, and thus should be able to do a better job.
• Google Ad Clicks Up, Down and Flat in Feb., Depending on Who You AskAccording to today's headlines, clicks on Google ads are dropping, flattening and experiencing a slowdown in growth - all at the same time!
• Google Launches YouTube Insight - Google Analytics LiteToday Google video search engine YouTube launched a free Web analytics tool. Think Google Analytics Lite: it's essentially a way to see how popular a video is over time combined with a global map that shows where it's popular.
• SEW Experts: Creating a Link Building SystemWe, as industry insiders, often lose the pulse of the real world. Sometimes, we all need to take a step back and look at things from a new perspective, and realize that the majority of marketers are not immersed in search marketing as we are.
• SEW Experts: Read Any Good SEO Books Lately?Some people are looking for the right book to learn everything there is to know about SEM. Unfortunately, it doesn't exist. Still, there are several books out there that can help further your understanding of search marketing in general, or do a deep dive on a specific sub-topic.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• What's the Fuss Over Local Search Anyway?, ClickZ Experts
• We Don't Need SEO Standards!, Search Engine Land
• Blogging - Step 1 of the Authority Building Process, Search Engine People
• What "Internet Marketers" Can Teach Search Marketers, SEO Fast Start
• Employer expectations are unrealistic for many search jobs, SEO Woman

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:25 PM | Permalink

March 26, 2008

The Smartest Marketer at SES New York?

Here's a tough question: Who's the smartest marketer of the 8,000+ attendees at SES New York?

My first nomination: Jennifer Laycock who did a terrific training session post-SES and spoke eloquently at the conference.

What caught my eye during the conference: a ripped-from-the-headlines post-click search retargeting campaign that Search Engine Guide did during the height of the Eliot Spitzer scandal - and the topic everyone was cracking jokes about during panels and at the bar(s).

I was on Graywolf's blog and clicked thru to a New York Times article and here's what appeared, courtesy of Casale Media.

Who cares about contextual relevancy when your ads appear on the #1 story in the New York Times?

More important, who's your nomination for the smartest marketer at the show?

Posted by Kevin Heisler at 4:13 PM | Permalink

March 25, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: March 25, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• World's First Search Engine for Meetings: WorktopiaThe only thing worse than attending a corporate meeting is planning one. For those with the thankless job of planning corporate meetings, there's Worktopia.
• Yahoo Gets REAL About Job SearchesIn an effort to improve access to job seekers and assist recruiters, Yahoo announced today the launch of "R.E.A.L., a patent pending search ranking system that is based on Relevance, Engagement, Availability and Location," for Hotjobs.
• How to (Actually) Earn Money (Now) with Social Media (Really): Part 1Leveraging digital assets and hot social channels for long-term SEM benefit has now become SEO 101. However, your boss or client may need to be convinced that investing in another layer of content management system (CMS), content, and conversational networking WILL in fact yield measurable financial results soon.
• Microsoft Tries to Compete with OpenSocialMicrosoft has announced a partnership to create data portability across 5 social networking sites. Facebook, Bebo, Hi5, Tagged and LinkedIn are all part of the arrangement, which will "exchange functionally-similar Contacts APIs."
• Google, Yahoo & MySpace Team Up for OpenSocialYahoo, MySpace and Google have pledged their support to open standards for social media development and data by joining together to form the OpenSocial Foundation.
• Google's New Wifi Push Will Drive Mobile SearchThere's unused "white space" lying between the regulated TV signals and Google has big plans for them. In new lobbying effort, Google is asking the FCC to auction the unused airwaves to establish faster internet access that has a wider reach. Expanding Wifi will have major implications for mobile search.
• Twitter: Welcome to my Google NightmareTwitter may give Google a run for its money. Twitter's one more way, though, that Google knows everything about you.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Change Your Address In The Google Plusbox In 5 Simple Steps, Search Engine Land
• Which Is Better - PPC or SEO? How One Company Increased Traffic 60% After Ditching PPC for SEO, Search Engine Guide
• Sorry Andy, You're Wrong: Google ‘Search Within A Site' Is A Big Deal, Ciaran Norris
• How to Analyze the Internal Power of Your Website, Search Engine Journal
• http://www.seomoz.org/dp/seo-industry-survey-results, SEOmoz
• Facebook Pages & Local Search Engine Optimization, Local SEO Guide
• The black art of web science, Information World Review

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 10:25 PM | Permalink

March 24, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: March 24, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Stupid SEO SpammersLesson #1: Don't spam people with your SEO services. Lesson #2: Definitely don't spam people who write for SEW and have close relations with spam blacklist owners about your SEO services.
• Lifetips Escalator Pitch, SES NY 2008Byron White, the president and founder of LifeTips, helped us launch a new feature at SES NY 2008: The Escalator Pitch.
• Matt McGowan in Times Square, Day 1 SES NY 2008John Connor Mulligan of SEO-PR interviewed Matt McGowan, the Global Vice President of Marketing at Incisive Media, on the first day of SES NY 2008
• Google News Unveils Two Updates to Comments FeatureGoogle has just made SEO-PR (that's Public Relations, not PageRank) harder and easier at the same time!
• New Google Mobile Search Feature Gives Your Thumbs a RestDo you dream of searching Google for local information with your mobile phone without having to use your thumbs? Soon, you may be in luck.
• Yahoo Cloud Computing with 4th Largest Supercomputer in WorldYahoo announced an agreement today with Computational Research Laboratories (CRL) to support cloud computing research.
• Is Twitter the New Google Alternative?When searchers can't find something on Google, they might turn to another search engine like Yahoo, Windows Live or Ask. Or they might turn to one of the growing answers sites. But lately, more and more people are turning to Twitter. Yes, Twitter.
• Google's Demo Targeting: No PanaceaLast week, Google announced its full demo targeting offering. On the surface, it's worth a try by advertisers who want to reach or exclude, say, 18-24 year-olds. It's not a targeting panacea.
• SEW Experts: Non-Text Contextual Ads: Quality Score and Bidding StrategyRunning banner ad campaigns on Google's content networks requires different thinking than text ad campaigns -- thinking that's surprisingly counter-intuitive. There's no way for a content-matching algorithm to judge the relevancy of an ad group to a landing page, when there's no text in the ad copy.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Adversarial Information Retrieval -- That's Spam to You and Me, ClickZ Experts
• The Mobile Phone as a Marketing Platform, ClickZ Experts
• SEO + Semantic Web = SEO++, Chief Marketing Technologist
• Online Marketers: Stop Funding Virtual Blight, Search Engine Land
• Is Microhoo A Done Deal?, Search Engine Land
• New Guidelines for Questionable Products, Yahoo Search Marketing Blog
• The Quality Impact, Yahoo Search Marketing Blog
• SEO Opinions, SEO Facts, and SEO Wisdom, John Andrews
• Questions for Lynda Clarizio, President of AOL's Platform A, ClickZ

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:25 PM | Permalink

March 20, 2008

Google Increases Lead in Share of All American Searches

comScore qSearch data for February portrays Google as PacMan. Microsoft-Yahoo combined share of searches shows an Incredible Shrinking Search Engine.

In February share of searches, PacMan Google gobbled the ghosts of search engines past. Microsoft Windows Live and Yahoo resemble mere shadows of their former selves.

comScore qSearch stats for February 2008 showed Americans conducted about 10 billion core searches, a 6 percent drop from January.

Don't panic, Wall Street.

People haven't stopped searching in droves.

February is the shortest month even when it's Leap Year. That's what caused the sequential drop last month.

In February, Google increased its share of core searches. Across all Google Sites, Google grabbed 59.2 percent of all American searches. Yahoo Sites finished second (21.6 percent). Microsoft Sites (9.6 percent) finished third.

AOL (4.9 percent) and Ask Network (4.6 percent) rounded out the top five.

Google Sites saw a .7 percent increase in share of searches. Yahoo Sites dropped by .6 percent. Microsoft Sites fell by .2 percent.

As always, comScore stats on the five major search engines include partner searches and cross-channel searches. Searches for mapping, local directory, and user-generated video sites not on the core domain of the five search engines aren't included in core search numbers.

Posted by Kevin Heisler at 12:13 AM | Permalink

March 11, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: March 11, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Your Baby's Ugly - Why You Need Landing Page Optimization NowAll new parents think their drooling, wailing, wrinkled little midget is beautiful - and that's as it should be. The same seems to be true of landing pages.
• Visual Search Engine Searchme Launches Private BetaSearchme employs Adobe Flash and Flex to create a user interface that displays results as web page screenshots.
• EU Approves Google DoubleClick DealThe EU approved Google's acquisition of DoubleClick today and Google's ready. The $3.1 billion deal went through despite concerns over privacy and antitrust issues.
• Google Plays Down Paid Search Decline; Seeks Display Ad DominanceEver since news broke about a slowdown in growth of paid click advertising, Google's stock has been falling -- drastically. But yesterday, sounding like a schoolboy with an exposed weakness, Google's Tim Armstrong offered up a "We meant to do that" defense.
• Murdoch to Yahoo: I'm Just Not Into YouAt the Bear Sterns conference in Palm Springs, Florida, this morning, News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch said that News Corp will not be bidding on Yahoo. While admitting that it would be fun to beat Microsoft, Murdoch affirmed his loyalty to Google.
• Online Reputation Management Crisis? Preparation Is the KeyIn many cases, a reputation management campaign can take months to complete. Addressing underlying issues and replacing negative content with more favorable pages takes time. But by being prepared ahead of time for a reputation management crisis, you can cut down that time considerably, and get more immediate results.
• SEW Experts: Don't Get Stung By Compliance IssuesInternal and external oversight is essential for quality control of large Web sites, but can make things complicated for SEO plans.
• SEW Experts: Creating Synergy in Your SEO EffortsThere's not one single thing that can make your Web page show up in the top of the search results. But there are several little things that can.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Search and the Transparent Revolution, ClickZ Experts
• Omniture Summit: Trends in Analytics, ClickZ Experts
• Barry Diller To IAC Troops On Eve Of Court Fight With Liberty Media, paidContent
• Mike Grehan Joins Acronym Media as Global KDM Officer, Search Marketing Gurus
• Mistaken Identity - A Reputation Management Problem, Endless Plain
• Dr. Phil Would Tell You That Stubbornness Won't Get You Higher Rankings, SEO Chicks
• Political Online Conferences Do Not Embrace Traditional Search Marketing, SEM Geek
• Latest Interview: Tim Ash, Ramblings About SEO
• Search Biz: Google Stock Hits New Low; News Corp Says No On Yahoo, Search Engine Land
• The “Nuclear Disaster” At SXSW Was Nothing More Than A Witch Burning, TechCrunch

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 10:57 PM | Permalink

New Clues in Search for UNC Student Murder Suspect: New Surveillance Camera Photos

The search for the murder suspects in the killing of UNC-Chapel Hill student Eve Carson continues. New photos of one suspect are shown here.

Police released two new photos Monday night of a young man wearing jeans and a black coat inside a North Carolina convenience store.

Chapel Hill Police Chief Brian Curran said the man appears to be the same person seen in two ATM surveillance photos released Saturday.

The suspect is seen in the black & white photos wearing what's thought to be a vintage Houston Astros cap. The ATM card of slain UNC student Eve Carson was used when all four photos were taken, according to Chapel Hill police.

UNC trustees have offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Carson's killer. People with information should call the area Crime Stoppers at (919) 942-7515. Callers may remain anonymous. The Crime Stoppers Web site, here.

A tribute by the University to Eve Carson's life, here.

Police arrested a suspect in the murder of Auburn student Lauren Burk yesterday. The crimes are believed to be unrelated.

Posted by Kevin Heisler at 1:21 AM | Permalink

March 10, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: March 10, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Google Defends Security PolicyDouglas Merrill, Google's VP Engineering, published an impassioned defense of Google's security policy.
• Cable Firms Collaborate to Compete with GoogleExecutives from the six major cable companies have been gathering at monthly meetings in an attempt to offer national advertisers innovative methods of reaching their customers.
• BoomTown Calls Out TechCrunch: No Google-Digg BuyoutIt seems that Digg's canoodling with bankers Allen & Co. is more along the lines of delegating the task of handling incoming interest rather than putting a "For Sale" sign up at its San Francisco offices.
• The New Multitaskers: Kids Split Attention Between TV, InternetA new study on social networking by Grunwald Associates reveals that kids are no longer glued to the television. Now, while the tube is on, many kids are also splitting their attention between the TV and the Internet.
• Introduction to Search Engine Marketing at SES New York 2008It's hard to provide "a clear and concise overview of the key concepts involved in Search Engine Marketing" when half of them have changed significantly since last year.
• Panama or AdCenter? Microsoft Has Already DecidedIf its proposed acquisition of Yahoo goes through, don't expect Microsoft to rush to integrate Yahoo's technology into its platform.
• CAPTCHA Systems are Under AttackShould spammers ever succeed in breaking through CAPTCHA, a lot of social media web sites and blogs are going to have a big, big problem. Now, Virtual Blight reports that this is on the verge of happening.
• Best Web Site Traffic: PPC vs. SEO (Search Engine-Optimized) SitesHow does your PPC traffic compare to natural search traffic and direct navigation? A study by Engine Ready finds that that type-in traffic is the highest converting and "most valuable" traffic.
• SEW Experts: Every Picture Tells a Story: Non-text Contextual AdsLike contextual text ads, image ads must distract the user and sell a product quickly.
• Jason Calacanis TechCrunched in Techmeme: Deathmatch at SES New YorkDuncan Riley of TechCrunch fame bodyslammed Jason after his Calacanis.com post on how to run a startup.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• How to Avoid a Crash Landing, ClickZ Experts
• The Future of Advertising: A Conversation With Jeff Einstein, Part 1, ClickZ Experts
• Re-localization Opportunities - Local 2.0, Read/Write Web
• Online Reputation Management: Living Radically Transparent with Andy Beal & Dr. Judy Strauss, Online Marketing Blog
• What Did Ask.com Really Say?, Marketing Pilgrim
• Site Structure - SEOs Going Fishing Without Any Bait, Andy Beard
• Seven Habits of Highly Effective Web Searchers, About.com Web Search
• Headlines Are For Humans, Titles Are For Robots, Barry Welford
• A Call To The Local Searcherati: Embrace Small Business Brief, Convert Offline
• What should you spend on an SEO audit?, SEM In-House
• Questions to Ask When Assessing Web Analytics, Web Analytics Demystified
• Calacanis Kerfuffle, Revenews
• Everything I know about Social Media I saw in a British Pub, SiteLogic
• The Good, The Bad & The Pay-Per-Click Ugly, GrokDotCom
• What killer app will drive brand advertisers online?, Forrester
• Utah Amends Trademark Protection Act (But Only After Some Drama), Technology and Marketing Law

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:51 PM | Permalink

Naked Conversations

Today the Compete.com blog invites readers to Get Naked with Matt McGowan (Incisive Media, VP of Marketing).

In an in-depth interview, Matt discusses several key trends in the search marketing universe:

1. Blended Search

2. Social Media

3. Mobile Search

4. Analytics

Great. But here's what everyone wants to know:

Compete asks--and Matt answers--the question on the inquiring minds of all search marketers:

Who should we get naked with next?

We hear there are some great parties planned during SES New York...check 'em out.

Posted by Kevin Heisler at 5:01 PM | Permalink

March 8, 2008

Jason Calacanis TechCrunched in Techmeme: Deathmatch at SES New York

Jason Calacanis has owned the front page of Techmeme--the world's most influential technology and Web 2.0 news aggregator--for the past 18 hours and counting.

Another Civil War in Silicon Valley? Well, it's war anyway--even if not civil.

Aussie Duncan Riley of TechCrunch fame bodyslammed Jason after his Calacanis.com post on how to run a startup. Duncan said "Calacanis Fires People Who Have A Life." So far, 164 comments on TechCrunch about firing anyone who's not a workaholic ...

Jason got up off the canvas, charged his opponent Valleywagged, and parried Duncan's jabs by updating his post, How to save money running a startup by revising his VC deathmatch coda. http://www.calacanis.com/2008/03/07/how-to-save-money-running-a-startup-17-really-good-tips/

By then Duncan had tagged out: Allen Stern delivered a sidekick to Jason's solar plexus that sent him all the way to Starbucks country: Working at Mahalo is Like Prison Except We Gots Better Coffee.

Jason Calacanis "Electrified Cage Deathmatch Bar Room Brawl" at SES New York in the SOLD OUT (Not Paris) Hilton in New York the day after St. Patrick's Day.

Note: See it live! SES On Demand Video will be available to Search Engine Watch members only after the SES New York Deathmatch.

Celebrities on the front row: Kevin Ryan, John Battelle, Andrew Tomkins, Nick Carr, Gordon McLeod and many, many more.

Tickets on sale now!

Posted by Kevin Heisler at 11:50 AM | Permalink

March 7, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: March 7, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• How to Go Beyond Linkbait : SES NYCReciprocal links - good or bad? If done properly, they can still be a good SEO tactic.
• Microsoft in Hot Pursuit of GoogleAt the Mix08 Conference in Las Vegas, Microsoft loudly declared its intentions to increase its share of the search market.
• Yahoo Maps Announces UpdatesYahoo Maps announced Wednesday that an update was rolled out, which includes several data and style improvements.
• Pentagon Bans Google Mapping Vehicles from Military BasesThe Pentagon has banned Google from driving their mapping vehicles on military bases after detailed street views of Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, appeared on Google Maps.
• Why Digg's Worth $200 Million or More to GoogleDigg IPO? No. Digg FSBO. For Sale By Owner. Again. The auction for social search engine Digg begins when Microsoft and Google make their bid.
• SEW Experts: Has Google Already Won?With the imminent demise of Yahoo and Ask.com, Google seems to have cemented its near-total control of search. The monopolization of our industry is fast becoming a reality, and yet the users of search are oblivious.
• SEW Experts: Sales and Your Search Marketing Agency - Part 1Now that you know how to win the right search marketing clients, it's time to look at one of the most important areas of your business -- how to make sales.
• SEW Experts: Social Media Meets Local SearchDespite the growing traffic to social networks, local search tools for users of those sites are surprisingly few and far between. That doesn't mean you shouldn't stay active in those communities.
• AdWords Announces, Explains Load Time Usage In Quality ScoreThe AdWords blog just announced the details of the inclusion of page load times in calculating Quality Score.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Everything I know about Social Media I saw in a British Pub, Site Logic
• Google will have 90% search market share in the US one year from now, Calacanis.com
• Who will stop Google from going to 90% market share?, Skrentablog
• Pull PR - Combining SEO and Public Relations, Online Marketing Blog
• In-house SEO Startup Guide, SEM In-House
• Sometimes Fixing a Site Means Breaking It First, Search Engine Guide
• Search's Impact on Brand Metrics, ClickZ Experts
• Utah Pleases Google with Trademark Law Change, Frustrates Utah's 1-800 Contacts, ClickZ News
• Social Networking and E-mail Marketing Converge, ClickZ Experts
• Average Search CPC Data by Category for February 2008, ClickZ Stats

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:29 PM | Permalink

March 6, 2008

UNC Student Body President Eve Carson Shot, Killed: The Way We Live Now

UNC Chapel Hill senior Eve Carson was shot and killed early Wednesday morning.

Police are calling the murder a random act of violence. Carson's roommates reported seeing her about 1:30 a.m. at their home the day of the shooting.

We're observing a moment of silence in memory of the UNC student body president murdered yesterday. I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Search engine news can wait.

Instead we'll look at how search engines have eliminated the last vestiges of privacy, turned private lives into public figures, and created a global community that can celebrate and honor an ordinary life.

Chapel Hill police said the body of Eve Marie Carson was found lying at the intersection of Hillcrest Road and Hillcrest Circle about a mile from campus at approximately 5 a.m. No identifying information was found at the scene -- no ID card, keys, purse, or wallet.

Investigators said officers found Eve Carson, a 22-year-old senior from Athens, Ga., after gunshots were reported in the area. Police spokesman Lt. Kevin Gunter told "The News & Observer" of Raleigh that Carson had been shot several times, at least once in the head.

Police found Carson's vehicle, a blue 2005 Toyota Highlander with Georgia plates, after receiving a tip Thursday afternoon from a witness who spotted it near Franklin Street in Chapel Hill.

Lauren Burk, an 18-year-old Auburn University student from Marietta, Ga., was found wounded by a gunshot on a roadside Tuesday night, about five miles from the school. She died later at a local hospital.

Her car was found burning in a parking lot on campus.

No one knows whetther the co-ed murders are linked. In the past, the UNC shooting would have been a brief segment on national television news; a CNN pundits' exchange, and the inevitable "48 Hours Mystery" segment.

ABC News, though, has received more than 200 comments online from readers.

USA Today ended its breaking news story with "Here's a Facebook page from her successful campaign (for UNC student body president.) The USA today reporter linked to her inauguration speech video on YouTube, showing her welcoming students back to campus.

The photo of Eve Carson on USAToday.com? An "Image taken from YouTube."

Other TV news sites featured slideshows: "Pictures Of Eve Carson." Links helped searchers put together a better picture of her life:

Link: Video Of Carson's Inauguration As UNC Student Body President Link: Message From UNC Chancellor About Carson's Death Link: Eve Carson Memorial Page On Facebook

Today, with millions of people searching for information on Eve Carson, social search engines provide a way to celebrate a life. I found one photo on FlickR tagged "eve carson." The photo shows "A bagpipe player promoting Eve Carson for student body president."

The most moving photos online show Eve Carson working with impoverished families in Ecuador. Take the time to watch "The Gifts of Poverty," on the Morehead Scholars and Alumni site. You can listen to Eve Carson sharing her experiences in her own voice.

The multimedia slide show was produced by students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The credits: Nancy Donaldson, photography editing; Ray M. Jones, audio editing; Pailin Wedel, audio gathering; and Ashlie White, photography.

People all over the world will be touched by Eve Carson's too-brief life as they search for answers about her death.

The author of Enders Game Orson Scott Card wrote in his sci-fi novel Speaker For The Dead that we would one day celebrate lives by speaking the truth about an ordinary life. To Speak for the dead, one must first unravel the web of secrets surrounding lives. One must speak not only for the dead, but for all humanity.

Eve Carson's Inauguration Speech as UNC Student President

Eve Carson was a Morehead-Cain scholar and a North Carolina Fellow, taking part in a four-year leadership development program for undergraduates.

As UNC student body president, she served on the university's Board of Trustees.

The Morehead-Cain provides a full four-year scholarship to the UNC Chapel Hill that includes an annual stipend that covers full tuition and all other normal expenses, including student fees, housing, meals, books, supplies, travel, laptop computers for all entering freshmen; a fully funded, four-year Summer Enrichment Program; and funding to pursue a gap year before starting college.

The total value of the scholarship over the four years is approximately $140,000 for out-of-state residents.

A premed student, Carson majored in political science and biology, taught science at a Chapel Hill elementary schools, studied abroad in Cuba, and spent summers volunteering in Ecuador, Egypt and Ghana, according to AP reports.

More than 5,000 students mourned her death at a campus memorial service.

Posted by Kevin Heisler at 10:32 PM | Permalink

Search Headlines & Links: March 6, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• EU Approval of Google's DoubleClick Acquisition is ImminentThe EU is reportedly planning to approve Google's $3.1 billion acquisition of online advertising powerhouse DoubleClick.
• Google Serves Up Search Within Search ResultsYesterday, Google announced that it is rolling out its new Search within a Site feature. When searching for specific sites instead of keywords, users are able to conduct a secondary search of those sites within Google results.
• Ask.com Stands Behind SearchThe reports of Ask.com's death have been exaggerated. Despite widely circulated reports to the contrary, Ask.com claims to be committed to search, and not just for middle-aged women in the Midwest.
• SEW Experts: Has Yahoo Lost Its Yodel?It seems like only yesterday that Yahoo was the darling of the Web. Is Jerry Yang really ready to throw in the towel and partner with Microsoft?
• SEW Experts: SEO Link Building: Budget Stretcher for Online Retail and E-Commerce SitesLet's face it: most e-commerce sites primarily consist of a shopping cart on steroids. Whether you're selling clothing, car parts, luggage, or even cameras, your approach to link development matters most.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Goodbye Ask.com: A Brand Evangelist Hangs It Up, Bruce Clay Blog
• Search Community Reaction to Ask.com New Search Strategy, Search Engine Roundtable
• Obit: A West Coast Digerati Deadpools Ask.com, Search Engine Land
• 7 Reasons We Will Miss Ask.com, Metamend
• Advertising.com Launches CPC-based Video Ad Product, ClickZ News
• Google Adds Analytics Support for Audio Ads, ClickZ News
• Are Consumers Warming Up to Mobile Ads?, ClickZ News
• Google Analytics Benchmarking Feature, Data Sharing & Audio Ad Charting, Search Engine Land
• Using Differentiators in Keyphrases: What Every Search Engine Optimization Company Needs to Know, Search Engine Guide
• Reviews and Ratings for SEM Companies, Marketing Pilgrim
• What a Bon Jovi Concert Can Teach You About Internet Marketing, Search Marketing Gurus
• 5 Common misconceptions about the Google Website Optimizer, SEO Scoop

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:37 PM | Permalink

March 5, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: March 5, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Yahoo Launches Fire Eagle: Location SharingFire Eagle shares your location information with services and applications that you choose. This location information is obtained from the web or your mobile device.
• Microsoft Research Unveils Three New Search ProjectsTwo projects, SearchTogether and CoSearch, are aimed at collaborative search while SearchBar assists the individual searcher.
• YouTube, Wikipedia, Facebook: Most Popular Social Media Sites in UKNielsen's data, released today, proves that reports of social media's demise in the UK may be unfounded.
• Yahoo Fires BackYahoo is taking its time setting a date for its annual meeting, since if there's no annual meeting, there can be no vote by shareholders, bolstered by Microsoft, to replace Yahoo's existing board with a more Microsoft-friendly one.
• Yahoo Desperately Seeking Suitor: Time WarnerWith a Microsoft proxy battle expected soon, Time Warner's emerging as a white knight for the Sunnyvale search engine. Or as a delaying tactic to put off the Yahoo annual shareholder meeting.
• Google: The Spy Who Loved MeWeb search algorithms are improved by the "wisdom of the crowds" drawn from the "logs of billions of previous search queries."
• SEW Experts: The Beginning of the End? Or the End of the Beginning?ComScore's recent data showing flat paid search growth for Google led many in the media to declare that the paid search sky was falling. But the rush to judgment was wrong, and there are other factors involved.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• SEM's Elusive Long View, ClickZ Experts
• The Next Step for Behavioral Targeting: Social Media?, ClickZ Experts
• Google Sales Exec Sandberg to Join Facebook as COO, ClickZ News
• Omniture's SiteCatalyst Turns 14, ClickZ News
• Spot Runner Takes Full Service Approach, Looks to Build Sales Staff, ClickZ News
• Google Tests Additional Search Box Within Search Results, Search Engine Land
• SEO Site Audit: A Wise Investment For All Companies, Search Engine Land
• Link Building Secrets Revealed, Pole Position Marketing
• Pros and Cons of Hiring SEOs, Online Marketing Blog
• Yahoo In Control Of Open Search, Search Insider
• Vote Which Charity Gets the Money @ IM-NY SES Party sponsored by BOTW, AimClear
• An Interview with Jeremiah Andrick of Live Search Webmaster Tools, Stepforth SEO
• What is the Third SEO Question?, Webmama
• UK SEO Census - 8 Bloggers (And Me) Under the Microscope, Apple Pie & Custard
• There is more to Social Media than Sexy Buzzwords, Brian Chappell

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:45 PM | Permalink

March 4, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: March 4, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• 7 Deadly SEO Questions for Google's Matt Cutts"Among search geeks and online marketers, Matt Cutts is like an internet god."
• Ask.com to Cut 8%, Revamp Search PlansAsk.com will reportedly stop trying to compete directly with Google as a mainstream search engine, and will instead focus on targeting niches where it feels it can prosper, based on the way users are searching with Ask.com now.
• Facebook Hires Sandberg to Make Microsoft's $240 Million Investment Pay OffIn the strange bedfellows game in tech, the Google exec will help Microsoft profit from the $15 billion Facebook valuation Microsoft's $240 million investment created.
• Yahoo Announces onePlace at CeBITYahoo took advantage of the CeBIT conference in Hamburg, Germany to announce the forthcoming launch of onePlace, a content management solution developed as part of the company's growing mobile services.
• Spot Runner Buys Weblistic: Local Search on Video SteroidsToday Spot Runner announced its acquisition of Weblistic, a provider of local online advertising, in an all-stock transition.
• Virgin Charter Launches Vertical Search EngineSir Riichard Branson launched a new vertical search engine, Virgin Charter, that promises to revolutionize high-end corporate travel and last minute luxury travel.
• Gates Talks Smack - Google Talk Crack"In terms of Google, not to overstate it, but they really don't understand the special needs of business."
• SEW Experts: Small Business Growing? Know When to Let GoIf you're spending more time on search marketing than actually running your business, it might be time to outsource.
• Dr. Seuss Created Google - Here's ProofDr. Seuss is the Genius behind Google. Here's proof: Goo Goo + Goggles = Google. ((goo + goo) - goo))+ (goggles - g squared - s) = google.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Digital Marketing Optimization, ClickZ Experts
• Mapping the Complete Path to Success, ClickZ Experts
• Online Market Research Giant TNS Snaps Up Boston's Compete, ClickZ News
• 10 Interactive Marketing Tips from Barack and Hillary, ClickZ Experts
• Danny Sullivan Tackles Search 3.0 and 4.0 in SMX West Keynote, Search Engine Land
• Ignorant Customers Happier With Their Choices, AttentionMax
• How Analytics Can Help You Debunk a Perceived Failure (or Not), E-Marketing Performance
• When is Click Through Rate Important in B2B Paid Search?, KO Marketing
• SEO Is The Worst Thing Ever Invented, Vanessa Fox
• Are we ready to create SEO standards?, SEO Theory
• Bee's Do It, Even NonProfits Do It. Let's Do It, Let's Fall In Link Love, The Link Spiel
• The Future of Social Networks at Graphing Social Patterns, Read/Write Web

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:59 PM | Permalink

Deathknell for Gary Gygax D&D

Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, died on Tuesday morning in his home. The news was reported first in the forums of Troll Lord Games, publishers of Gygax's "Lejendary Adventures and Castles & Crusades" books. His son Ernie Gygax broke the news to the community.

Obviously, Search Engine Watch played a very small role in the Dungeons & Dragons universe.

Yet the Web changed gaming forever and the passing of board games into the digital realm was noted here.

Rolling dice? Replaced by clicking mice.

On November 16, 2005, Zach Rodgers of Search Engine Watch - in the "Midweek Blog Potables" roundup - noted the transition of D&D to an online game.

Zach wrote, "The buzz continues on Dungeons & Dragons' move to the Web. The original RPG (role-playing game) brand joins the online pack. Could be a great comeback story or a tower of suckitude."

Posted by Kevin Heisler at 4:52 PM | Permalink

March 3, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: March 3, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• IM-NY SES Party Bash Info: Vote Which Charity Gets the Cash!Each year coinciding with a major SEM conference, The Internet Marketers of New York throw a Manhattan bash to benefit a deserving charity.
• Does Page Layout Affect SEO?Bill Slawski is reporting that Yahoo is joining the ranks of MSN and Google in an attempt to incorporate page layout into its web search algorithm.
• Compete Acquired by TNSToday, London-based market research firm TNS announced its acquisition of web analytics and digital intelligence company, Compete Inc.
• Ad agencies should slide on down to SES New YorkWhether you work at one of the top 10 ad agencies on Madison Avenue, or you head up an Internet advertising agency in Silicon Alley, you folks could use "a little churching up."
• 48 Practical Questions to Qualify Prospective Search Marketing VendorsDon't Get Bamboozled! We've all heard anecdotes regarding the unfortunate results of under-qualified or downright deceptive SEM vendors.
• SEW Experts: Contextual Advertising Best Practices: Banners and Video AdsReady to step out of your contextual advertising comfort zone? The world of graphic and video advertising may seem scary at first, but the rewards can be huge.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Coordinating Organic, Paid Search Efforts, ClickZ Experts
• In Survey, Social Media Marketing Takes a Corner Office, ClickZ News
• DoubleClick to Power Vertical Ad Networks, ClickZ News
• The research skills killer, Information World Review
• Internet elevator heads for higher consciousness, Information World Review
• Danny Sullivan Tackles Search 3.0 and 4.0 in SMX West Keynote, Search Engine Land
• Mahalo : Like It or Not, It's a Good Service for Web Users, Search Engine Journal
• Canada, It's Time to Beat London! (SES Toronto is Coming, Traffick
• How to Prioritize Your Optimization, FutureNow
• comScore Paid Search Data & How The Sky Might Not Be Falling, Search Engine Land
• What's Google's Strategy?, Mike Moran
• The Importance of Page Layout in SEO, SEO by the Sea
• Microsoft Tracking Search and Browsing Behavior to Find Authoritative Pages, SEO by the Sea
• SMX West Session Coverage - Key Takeaways, SearchRank
• SMX West 2008 - Fast Debrief, Ramblings About SEO
• Trusting Wordpress Plugins and "SEO for Wordpress", John Andrews
• A Chat with Hakia's CEO Dr. Riza C. Berkan, Alt Search Engines
• Rumor: Microsoft about to unveil web-apps strategy, Rough Type
• Does search volume predict success?, Endless Plain

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:35 PM | Permalink

February 29, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: February 29, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Yahoo Lagging On Indexing Sites?Yahoo has had good conversion numbers for many of us, and if the efforts to add more content are not being recognized by Yahoo then time may be better spent improving existing pages.
• Would Ask be Ask?If Ask dismantled its Teoma engine, would Ask still be Ask? The simple answer to this existential question is no.
• SEMPO Running Agency Salary SurveyHaving successfully completed an in-house search marketers' salary survey, the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization is conducting an online salary survey of agency-based search marketers.
• Google Content Network Ads Performing Better?Many agencies that advertise on Google's content network have seen improved results over the past six months.
• The Google Killer - comScore (SCOR) Doomsday ScenarioComScore did what Yahoo, Microsoft, Facebook, and Digg only dreamed of. ComScore killed the search engine star.
• Google Yahoo MSN Live Sitemaps: Cross-Hosting Grokked by SEOs for SEOsWith sitemaps cross-hosting (or cross-submission), Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft cracked open the door for corporations to outsource search engine optimization.
• SEW Experts: Standards for SEO and SEM: The Time is NowThe question comes up often in search marketing circles: Is now the time for search engine marketing standards?
• SEW Experts: Drowning in Red Tape: SEO and Pharma RegulationsIn many industries, regulatory issues can add considerable complexity to an SEO implementation. The challenge is not to let that complexity get in the way of a campaign's success.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• How to Prioritize Your Optimization, ClickZ Experts
• Affiliate PPC Brand Bidding: Right For You?, ClickZ Experts
• Surviving Your Competitors, Part 1, ClickZ Experts
• SMX West Day Three Coverage, Search Engine Land
• Andrew Shotland - Local SEO Interview 5, SEO Igloo

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 7:00 PM | Permalink

February 28, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: February 28, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• 7 Ways Brands Can "Get Social"Many brands are wary of exposing themselves on social media sites, but as anyone who's been involved in social media for more than five minutes knows, they're too late.
• Schedule optimization for SES New YorkThe biggest Search Engine Strategies conference of the year will be held the week of March 17 in New York City.
• Yahoo Changes Minimum Bid Policy on Search AdsInstead of setting all minimum bids at $0.10, Yahoo will now allow the market to set a variable minimum bid.
• SEW Experts: Google is an Optimist. Newspapers are Pessimists.The Internet is a speeding freight train. If newspapers, and for that matter all traditional media, don't begin immediately to think drastically different, the train will pass them by.
• SEW Experts: Online SEO Training OptionsThere are both benefits and drawbacks to taking an online SEO training course.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• New Features and Phones Drive Local Mobile Ad Growth, ClickZ Experts
• Microsoft Acquires YaData for Customer Segmentation, ClickZ News
• Yahoo to Offer Behavioral Targeting on Newspaper Consortium Sites, ClickZ News
• Interactive Advertising Isn't Confined to the Web, ClickZ Experts
• SMX West Day Three Coverage, Search Engine Land
• Sitemaps.org Update: You Can Now Store Your XML Sitemap Files Anywhere!, Search Engine Land
• Are Yahoo and Yelp Dating?, Small Business SEM
• Does Your Site Have Sex Appeal?, Search Engine Land
• The Real Story: Why ComScore's Google Clicks are Flat, SEO Blackhat
• Yahoo: Microsoft Bid Has Been a Distraction, Search Engine Journal
• Google Finally Updates Webmaster Tools External Link Data: February 2008 Update, Search Engine Roundtable
• Advanced SEO Course Review - SEMPO Institute, Online Marketing Blog
• We're Sorting Through Some Crazy Google/Yahoo Rumors, TechCrunch
• Keynote Conversation: Search 3.0, Search 4.0 & Beyond, Search Engine Roundtable

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:00 PM | Permalink

February 27, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: February 27, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• "Googlewash" Is Googlewashed by Online Reputation DefendersGooglewashing now appears to be the domain of online reputation management companies.
• Google News UK Sorting News Without Bias?Can the flap of a butterfly's wings in the Googleplex set off a tornado in the top UK news and media sites?
• SEW Experts: The TV Writers -- And the Buzz -- Are BackThe end of the TV writers' strike holds some meaningful lessons for search marketers.
• Spamalot? Yahoo! Buzz Is Not Your Holy GrailYahoo! Buzz promises to squash spammers with a team of spam cops: the Yahoo! Buzz Editors.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Content Optimization, ClickZ Experts
• Social Media Metrics, ClickZ Experts
• Denuo to Advise Blinkx on Video Search and Network Ads, ClickZ News
• Otto Digital's Mendez Launches Optimization, Marketing Firm, ClickZ News
• SMX West Day Two Coverage, Search Engine Land
• Lessons Learned As An In-House SEO Consultant, Search Engine Land
• Leveraging Search To Meet B2B Challenges, Search Engine Land
• Google's Ranking Advice in Blended Search at SMX West, Natural Search Blog
• Search Marketing Tips from Online Marketing Heroes, Online Marketing Blog
• Analyzing Your Competitor's Backlinking Strategies, Search Engine Journal
• Microsoft Picks Up Israeli Ad-Targetting Software Startup YaData for a Reported $20 Million to $30 Million, TechCrunch
• "Your Company + Sucks" is Your Worst Enemy, or Best Friend, Search Engine Guide
• Searching for Better On-Site Search Usability, Search Engine Guide
• Shaking Out the Bad Websites in Google, John Andrews
• How many angles are you looking at keyword research from?, Jennifer Slegg
• Yahoo! Loses Mobile Giant Opera to Google; Did Google Just Buy a Mobile Browser?, Read/Write Web
• Information About the Class Settlement in the MIVA (FindWhat) & Lycos Click Fraud Case, The Alchemy of Search

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:46 PM | Permalink

February 26, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: February 26, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Google Maps User Reviews to NeighborhoodsGoogle Maps and Google Earth are teaming up to provide User Reviews and refinement by Neighborhood in local search results.
• Many See AdSense Income DroppingWe've been hearing and reading a lot of reports about decreased income from AdSense.
• Matt Cutts' Google NoIndex Discussion Gets InterestingThe ongoing discussion of the ways you can stop search engines from indexing specified pages and the use of the noindex meta tag was the topic of Matt Cutts blog the other day.
• Hilary Clinton Accused of Obama Turban Warfare in Universal SearchBlended search - the combination of the universal searches for Obama turban photo, Barack Obama news stories, YouTube Obama Girl videos and buzz-worthy blogs have created a political firestorm ignited by Internet search.
• Yahoo Buzz LaunchesYahoo, in desperate need of good buzz these days, today launched Yahoo Buzz, promising to uncover and deliver the most interesting and relevant content from Web sites across the Internet to the Yahoo homepage.
• Yahoo to Allow Publishers to Improve its Search ResultsIn another move toward openness, Yahoo is creating a platform to allow site owners to create plug-ins that its visitors can add to their Yahoo search accounts to see enhanced listings from that publisher in Yahoo Web search results.
• SEW Experts: Global SEO Strategy: Advanced Search for Large EnterprisesMany companies have chosen to expand overseas with the growing global economy. With this, each multinational must develop a search marketing strategy for each new international market, which also fits into a holistic global search strategy.
• SEW Experts: SEO Site Clinic: American ExpressYou might expect large companies to adhere to basic best practices in SEO, usability and accessibility. But you'd be wrong.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Social Media and Web 2.0, ClickZ Experts
• Overseas Search Execs Say Microsoft Should Look Beyond Yahoo, ClickZ News
• SMX West Day One Coverage, Search Engine Land
• Ask.com Adds More Sponsored Ads, Pushing Organic Results Below Fold, Search Engine Land
• The UK is not behind the US in Search, Andrew Girdwood
• Surprise, Surprise: SEO Works, Marketing Pilgrim
• Update To Google AdWords "Automatic Matching", Search Engine Roundtable
• How Depending on Quality Content Can Actually Cost You Links, Search Engine Land
• SEO Isn't Just For The Big Boys, SEO Scoop
• Don't try this at work! 8 things NOT to do with your web analytics, Endless Plain
• Organizational Structure of a Search Team, Shimon Sandler

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 9:24 PM | Permalink

February 25, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: February 25, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Flickr photo sharing awards for SES London 2008Search Engine Strategies London wrapped up last week and the 2,000 attendees have returned to work with a new understanding of how Google's universal search is incorporating images as well as videos, news, maps, books, and websites into a single set of results.
• Media Spend on Search, Verticals, Continues to GrowSearch made up 31 percent of the $735 million in media billings in 2007 by Microsoft-owned Avenue A | Razorfish, second only to ads on vertical sites at 39 percent of spending.
• Kelsey Group Predicts Growth in Interactive, Directional AdsInteractive advertising revenue in the U.S. will grow from $22.5 billion in 2007 to $62.4 billion by 2012, according to a new Kelsey Group report.
• SEW Experts: Google AdWords Contextual Advertising Mystery SolvedReaders have tried running placement-targeted campaigns, and found many AdSense publisher sites don't seem to be available to them. David Szetela shares a way to work around issues with Google's discovery tool.
• How It Came To This: Virals vs. MicrosoftMicrosoft's Kevin Johnson e-mailed his team detailing Microsoft's interest in the Yahoo merger, and the benefits the company and its employees will gain if the deal goes through.
• SEO Shenanigans Bury Digg, Trip StumbleUpon, Poison Delicio.us?Steve Rubel comes out against "SEO shenanigans" and their corruption of social media in his Micropersuasion blog.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Smaller Sites Scored in 2007 as Pricier Portals Snubbed, ClickZ News
• Local.com Has High Hopes for Beefed Up Sales Team, ClickZ News
• Blogging for Search Engine Optimization, ClickZ Experts
• Atlas Unveils Multi-Channel Attribution, ClickZ News
• Steve Rubel Attacks SEO's Use of Social Media - The Pot Calling the Kettle Black?, Marketing Pilgrim
• The 3 "Impossible" Conversations for Corporations, Web Strategy by Jeremiah
• Give Google your feedback on NOINDEX, but read this pamphlet beforehand!, Sebastian's Pamphlets
• The final nail in the coffin of sponsored blog themes, BlogStorm
• New Yahoo Buzz Screenshot Preview, North Rock
• Interview of Nicholas Carr on The Big Switch, Blogging, & the Internet, SEO Book
• Search Engine Strategies Conference in New York (SES NYC), Johnon

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:24 PM | Permalink

February 22, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: February 22, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Yahoo Says, "You Like Me, Right Now, You Really Like Me"Like Sally Field, Yahoo recently felt the love and respect of "the academy" -- Keynote Academy. They earned #1 Keynote rankings for “Search Assistance and Suggestions” and "Homepage Appeal."
• The Tao of Crafting Strategic SEM PartnershipsEvery professional needs someone. This timeless axiom is especially relevant to both those who consume and those who provide search marketing services.
• Google's Brin Calls a Microsoft-Yahoo Tie-up "Unnerving" Yesterday Google co-founder Sergey Brin described the Internet doomsday scenario if Microsoft wins its Yahoo takeover bid.
• SEW Experts: The Ginsu Guide to Search AnalyticsThe ability to track online (and in many cases offline) advertising to offline conversions has been the biggest hurdle in measuring ROI for many Web-based or Web-involved businesses.
• SEW Experts: How to Market Your Search Engine Agency - Part 2Although we're in the business of marketing, there are many different things to consider when writing your own marketing plan.
• SEW Experts: How Search Marketing Slays Seasonality in TravelThe most sophisticated advertisers in online travel rely on years, even decades of data collection and analysis to formulate their marketing plans.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• European Regulators Delay Verdict on Search Data Storage, ClickZ News
• Error Page Best Practices, ClickZ Experts
• PPC Search: Create, Influence, Capture, and Harvest Demand, ClickZ Experts
• Lessons Learned from the Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World Contest, Greg Boser
• Avoiding SEO Brain Freeze Part One - Hunting For Keyword Phrases, TalentZoo
• SEO Shenanigans Pose a Clear and Present Danger to Social Media, Micropersuasion
• Adwords' New "Automatic Matching" - Don't Fall For This!, SEO Fast Start

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 11:53 PM | Permalink

February 21, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: February 21, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Search Engine Strategies London -- Day Three Coverage of SES London's final day from around the Web.
• comScore Search Engine Rankings: Google Up, Double Digit Growth for MSN LiveAmong the Top 50 properties worldwide some surprises surfaced this month in the monthly search engine rankings as comScore reported total searches grew at a 7.9 percent clip.
• Google to Offer AdSense Video UnitsGoogle today opened up its 9-month-old pilot program to allow qualified publishers to put video ad units on their sites.
• SEW Experts: 5 Ways to Discover Link Building IdeasComing up with great link building ideas can be a challenge. It requires creativity, research, and thinking outside the box.
• SEW Experts: Social Media and Online Commerce: Birth of SocialommerceWith all the media attention focused on Microsoft's not-so-friendly takeover bid of Yahoo, a below-the-radar acquisition target proves why social commerce is the future of search.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Google Launches AdSense for Video Beta Program, ClickZ News
• The Online Dollar Store, ClickZ Experts
• New Ad Networks Service Industry Trends, ClickZ Experts
• The Art Of Growing An In-House Search Marketing Team, Search Engine Land
• Moving to Dallas Interactive Marketing Firm VIZION Interactive, Bill Hartzer
• Do You Link Dope or Incestuously Link?, The Link Spiel
• It's About the Customers, Yahoo Search Blog
• Local Search Keyword Analysis, Convert Offline
• 9 Things to Think About When Buying a Web Analytic Solution, Endless Plain
• 50 Questions to Evaluate the Quality of Your Website, Search Engine Journal
• John Andrews: An Atypical Interview (SEMpdx Searchfest 08), SEMpdx
• Calling all alternative search engines!, Alt Search Engines
• Friend Spam Is The Worst Kind Of All, TechCrunch
• Openads Now OpenX; Former AOL CEO Jonathan Miller Joins As Chairman, TechCrunch
• 7 Ways to Use Keyword Analytics to Your Advantage, SEO.com
• Adwords' New "Automatic Matching" - Don't Fall For This!, SEO Fast Start
• Local Search: Organically Speaking, SEO-space
• 5 Ways to Better Leverage Your SEO Firm, Online Marketing Blog

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:52 PM | Permalink

comScore Search Engine Rankings: Google Up, Double Digit Growth for MSN Live

Rich search engines got richer in January in the monthly search engine rankings. Among the Top 50 properties worldwide some surprises surfaced this month as comScore reported total searches grew at a 7.9 percent clip.

Sites owned and operated by Google enjoyed 7.7 billion searches. No shock, maybe awe.

Yahoo sites again came in a distant second (2.5 billion searches) -- again growing at less than half Google's overall 8 percent rate.

Google.com grew even faster - 9.4 percent. YouTube's modest 2.6 percent growth rate slowed the core search engine down.

Microsoft sites at 1.1 billion searches means a combined Microsoft-Yahoo would only total 3.6 billion searches.

Key takeaways:

Long discounted as a player, MySpace when combined with other Fox Interactive Media properties outpaced the fast-growing Facebook. Not enough to make Yahoo shareholders lust for a MySpace swap, though.

As social media, Facebook appears invincible.

Yet viewed as a social search engine or people search engine, Facebook looks, well, more human.

AOL, also reportedly in talks with Yahoo, registered less than a billion searches, totaling 903 million for the month. Still not the most attractive dance partner.

Biggest surprise: MSN Live had double digit increases: 10.5 percent on a base close to one billion searches. Anyone who counts out the Redmond giant in search needs to sit up and take notice.

Yahoo and Microsoft stockholders certainly will.

Posted by Kevin Heisler at 12:40 PM | Permalink

February 20, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: February 20, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Search Engine Strategies London – Day TwoSearch Engine Strategies London has wrapped up Day Two and the 2,000 attendees have adjourned until this morning. Meanwhile, the bloggers, videographers and photographers covering SES London have posted another batch of blog posts, YouTube videos and Flickr photos.
• Google Tightens Restrictions on AdWords Display URLsBeginning April 1, Google will no longer make exceptions to its policy requiring advertisers to match the display URL in an AdWords ad to the landing page to which it leads.
• Microsoft-Yahoo Fight Heats UpMicrosoft's unsolicited bid to acquire Yahoo is heading down an unpleasant path. This week, Microsoft is reportedly undertaking a proxy fight, sending letters directly to shareholders to garner enough support to oust Yahoo's board of directors and replace them with a merger-friendly board.
• SEW Experts: Landing Page Optimization for SEM: Design and ExecuteAs a search marketer, you need to understand landing page optimization because it impacts your results. Higher conversion means a bigger impact for everything you do with search, and the availability of more dollars to invest back into search marketing.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Around the Horn With the Big Three Engines, ClickZ Experts
• Privacy and Behavioral Targeting: How Much Data Is Too Much?, ClickZ Experts
• The research skills killer, Information World Review
• Local Search in London: Andrew Day Evangelizes Online, The Kelsey Group
• SEO for Businesses With Multiple Locations In The Same City, Local SEO Guide
• Latest Interview: Avinash Kaushik, Ramblings About SEO
• Just Give Me a Search Engine That Competes!, Bruce Clay Blog
• Local Search Must Be A Priority Bruce Clay Blog
• Local Search: Defining Your Place in Local Markets, SEO-space
• The YouTube vs. Google Key Phrase Test, Fathom SEO
• Internet Marketing Plan, Dixon Jones
• David Mihm - Local SEO Interview 2, SEO Igloo
• Lowering The Google Red Flag - Sidestep The Cash Hungry Bull, Andy Beard

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 8:31 PM | Permalink

February 19, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: February 19, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Search Engine Strategies London -- Day OneSearch Engine Strategies London 2008 is underway. With Day One under our belts, we're happy to share some of the coverage of the event from around the Web.
• Ralph Wilson's Introduction to Search Marketing at SES LondonRalph provided a clear concise introduction to the lingo and processes for organic and paid search.
• SEW Experts: How To Outrank Your SEO CompetitorsClients and readers often ask why a site that's younger, smaller, or just plain "uglier" outranks them. There really isn't a simple answer.
• SEW Experts: American Express Axes Ellen DeGeneres: Au Natural On Amex SiteSEO success lives or dies in the proper execution of necessary SEO components. Recommendations alone don't make your site rank.
• Does Pay Per Click Make SEOs Lazy?"Most people are too lazy to spend years researching their topic, years building a brand, years building links, and years building social and customer relationships." writes Aaron Wall. "But if someone sees me ranking in the organic results, they can't just clone it unless they know SEO well, and are committed for the long haul."
• Meta Tags As Persuasive ContentRecently we've been told that Meta description tags are pretty much useless, as far as SEO goes. But in SEO PR, descriptions are worth their weight in gold.
• SEO, Social Marketing & ScientologyAn anonymous group trying to spread a negative message about Scientology is behaving much like an SEO or social media marketer would when marketing a client in the search engines and social platforms.
• The Speed Of The Web: Do We Realize How Far We Have ComeWith high speed connections and wireless access, we have come a long way in a very short time.
• Hello Google PornPorn transmitted on Hello.com, a Web site owned and operated by Google, helped catch an alleged predator in South Carolina.
• Social Media Buzz Pocket Mining: The New Keyword ResearchKeyword research's social-climbing step sister, "Buzz Pocket Mining" is not-so-quietly becoming the 800 pound gorilla next door.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Data-Driven Marketing, ClickZ Experts
• A Big Roundup Of Link Building Tools, Search Engine Land
• Virtual Blight & The Ten Commandments For Online Marketers, Search Engine Land
• Yahoo Makes Big Customer Satisfaction Gains In Search, Search Engine Land
• A Chat with Analytics Guru Jim Sterne, SEM Clubhouse
• SES London 2008 Interview - Piers Stobbs, Endless Plain
• Pre-SES London interviews: Piers Stobbs, comScore, SEMPO Global Search Blog
• On Leaving Yahoo, Brad Horowitz
• How to Build a Bad Ass Brand in 5 Easy Steps, SEO Chicks
• Should You Really Care What Bloggers Are Saying About Your Business?, Search Engine Guide
• Make the Most of SEO Competitive Research : Evaluating the Competition, Search Engine Journal
• The Fallacy of SEO Celebrity, Online Marketing Blog
• The Desire for Fame in the SEO World, SEOmoz
• Mike Blumenthal on the Local Search Market & Strategies for Local SEO, SEOmoz
• Increasing the Value of Conference Moderators, Dan Perry

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:15 PM | Permalink

February 15, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: February 15, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Win a Free Pass to SES New York with the SES Affiliate ProgramIf you're planning on going, you probably want to tell your clients, readers, and friends. To make that worth your while, we've teamed up with Pepperjam Network to create the Search Engine Strategies Affiliate Program.
• Seven reasons to slip over to Islington for SES LondonSo, why would you want to slip over to Islington for a few days to attend Search Engine Strategies London? Let me give you seven serious reasons.
• SEW Experts: Google PageRank: SimplifiedGoogle's PageRank may be the single most divisive element in the search optimization game.
• SEW Experts: The Great Nofollow Link Debate of '08What started as a way to stop comment spam three years ago has turned into one of the most controversial topics in search.
• SEW Experts: Universal Pictures: Optimizing Video for SearchWe hear a lot about universal search and how it will keep SEO professionals on their toes with constantly evolving ranking algorithms. So how can local online advertisers take advantage of universal search?
• Google to Test Video Ads on SERPsMarissa Mayer, Google's VP of search products and user experience, said that just as video ads are not effective on pages of text-based search results, text ads are not effective on search results with more multimedia elements, like Google's universal search results.
• Microsoft Shuffles Execs, Berkowitz to ExitMicrosoft packed a number of promotions and departures into the press release. Most notable among them is the departure of Steve Berkowitz, who left Ask.com to join Microsoft nearly two years ago.
• Tag your Photobucket , Picasa and Flickr photos: SES London 2008If you're going to Search Engine Strategies London next week, bring your camera or cameraphone, and don't forget to tag them with "SES London 2008."
• YouTube New Features - A Marketer's PerspectiveIt's been an interesting week for YouTube this week--especially for those of us working in SMO or SMM (social media marketing), who spend our days marketing clients through YouTube videos.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Search Gets Creative, ClickZ Experts
• Vote Now for the Future of Search, ClickZ Experts
• Newest Newspaper Ad Network Attempt Raises Same Old Questions, ClickZ News
• Microsoft Reorg: Berkowitz Out, McAndrews Adds Duties, ClickZ News
• AOL Deal with Citysearch to Boost Local Ads for Platform A, ClickZ News
• EU Regulators Could Toughen Restrictions on Search Data Storage, ClickZ News
• The Ultimate Visual Guide to Google Ads and Formats, Clix Marketing
• The New Basics of Marketing, Inc.com
• Fredrick Marckini iProspect Exclusive SEO Interview with Dan Horton, DaveN
• Fool's Gold Link Exchange for Local Search Domination, aimClear
• Stop Waiting for SEO Heroes and Make Great Stuff, Finding the Sweet Spot
• The Kinds of Search PPC Arbitrage That Are Not Dying, SEO Book
• New White Paper Released - SEO for Wordpress Blogs, Blizzard Internet Marketing
• SEO Metrics - Search engine marketing metrics, SEO Theory

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:30 PM | Permalink

February 14, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: February 14, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• AOL to Distribute Citysearch Content, AdsAmidst all the secret talks of mergers and deals between the top search players, AOL and IAC have agreed to a distribution deal.
• Adult Films Vivid Asks Google, Yahoo to Protect KidsVivid CEO Steven Hirsch, speaking at Yale University, will call on Google and Yahoo to take measures to keep explicit material from children, according to a company press release.
• Yahoo Mails Letter to Shareholders: Full TextYahoo mailed a letter to shareholders outlining the reasons the Board believes Microsoft's proposal significantly undervalues Yahoo and isn't in the best interests of Yahoo stockholders.
• SEW Experts: Search Engine Marketing Career DevelopmentWhy would anyone want to become an SEM professional? Well, it's a hot, growing, in-demand field, and everyone wants a piece of it.
• SEW Experts: SEOs, Don't Just Do Something, Sit There!The Internet has changed everything for everyone. If you don't believe and act on that, you won't survive, plain and simple.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Local Searchers Hunt for Ideas, Not Categories, ClickZ Experts
• Some Yahoos Jump, Some Are Pushed as Layoffs Commence, ClickZ News
• Placecast Offers Location-Based Targeting, with a Twist, ClickZ News
• The Inconvienent Truth About Social Media Marketing, Search Engine Land
• 7 Things I Love About Small Business SEO, Search Engine Land
• 5 Lesser Known Google Analytics Features, Online Marketing Blog
• Death of SEO Transparency, Search Engine Journal
• Social Media Tactics Series: Reaching the Spectators, PR-Squared
• New to Analytics?, Endless Plain
• SEO: An SEO Red Flag?, The Mad Hat
• Link Building - One of the Best ROI Tactics of 2007 - Study Shows, Linkworth
• 37% of Google AdSense Publishers Earned Over a $1,000 in 2007, Search Engine Roundtable

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:49 PM | Permalink

February 13, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: February 13, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Yahoo Layoffs Top 1,000 Employees in U.S.Yahoo layoffs may top 1,000 employees before the U.S. mass layoff ends.
• Largest Legal Vertical Search Engine Launches: Public Library of LawThe world's largest legal vertical search engine launched today in a partnership with legal research provider Fastcase.
• Doodle 4 Google: Artsy-Craftsy March MadnessGoogle pits kindergarteners against high school seniors in a Darwinian graphic arts contest to design a Google logo.
• YouTube Channel launched for SES London 2008The television writers strike drove a record number of restive viewers to the Internet in December.
• UK search marketing survey goes liveOnline publisher E-consultancy in conjunction with search agency Neutralize (*\*) are conducting follow up research to last year's UK Search Engine Marketing Benchmark Report.
• SEW Experts: Landing Page Optimization Defined for SEMSearch marketers need to be concerned about landing page optimization because it can multiply the impact of your search marketing campaigns.
• SEW Experts: The Search Monopoly TransformsGoogle, Yahoo, and MSN have been going at it like cats and dogs in the press. Much of the hype surrounding the three tech powerhouses coming together in the United States centers around a monopoly discussion.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Chicken Soup for the SEO Soul, ClickZ Experts
• Social Media: Made for a Recession, ClickZ Experts
• Yahoo Boosts European Mobile Search Presence with T-Mobile Deal, ClickZ News
• Yahoo Acquires Maven, Video Syndie and Ad Firm, ClickZ News
• Behavioral Targeting: Paving the Way to Integrated Marketing, ClickZ Experts
• How 404 pages work in Google Toolbar Beta 5, Matt Cutts
• Sophistication Will Be Search Industry's New Master, AttentionMax
• Update your crawler detection: MSN/Live Search announces msnbot/1.1, Sebastian's Pamphlets
• “SEO Building Permits” - An SEO's Presence Throughout A Design Project can Prevent Expensive Tear-Outs, Finding the Sweet Spot
• Online Reputation Management, Ethical or Not?, Fionn Downhill
• Pepperjam Announces Exclusive Launch of Search-Engine Strategies (SES) Affiliate Program on Pepperjam Network, Pepperjam
• Drupal SEO in under 5 minutes, Brian Chappell

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:55 PM | Permalink

February 12, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: February 12, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• You Must Be 21 to View This Site: Yahoo Searchlight AwardThe third annual Yahoo Searchlight Award winner: "Partay" the whitest boys in the room hip-hop video promoting the responsible consumption of Smirnoff Raw Tea by search marketing firm Outrider.
• Yahoo OneSearch T-Mobile vs Google vs NokiaThe players change partners as the mobile phone is fast becoming the gateway to the Internet, Wireless Web and local search.
• Find Your Dream Job with the New SEW Job BoardsIf you're reading Search Engine Watch, it's likely that your skills are in demand, or soon will be, if you're just starting out. To help you make the most of your search marketing skills, we've launched the Search Engine Watch Job Board.
• SEW Experts: High Performance SEO Requires Fast Load TimesMany large companies assume that site speed isn't very important to the overall user experience, but they'd be wrong.
• SEW Experts: Microsoft Responds to Yahoo: a Micro, Who Cares?Who wins or loses the Microhoo battle won't change the mission of most search marketers: helping clients or employers acquire leads and customers, and generating online sales.
• SEW Experts: SEO Outsourcing: Don't! Until You Read ThisOne basic rule in life: it's difficult to buy things you don't understand. SEO can be difficult to understand, especially for marketing folks who'd rather put the search budget into PPC campaigns.
• One basic rule in life: it's difficult to buy things you don't understand. SEO can be difficult to understand, especially for marketing folks who'd rather put the search budget into PPC campaignsCNN will soon launch iReport.com for citizen journalists. News sharing is a natural next step, because people already send far more videos and images than CNN could ever show online or on air.
• Microsoft Won't Take "No" for an AnswerMicrosoft made it clear that it would continue with its plans to acquire Yahoo, one way or another.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Solutions for Yahoo (Besides Microsoft's Money), ClickZ Experts
• The Technology of Connections, ClickZ Experts
• Holding Agencies Accountable, ClickZ Experts
• Online Advertising Grows by 27 Percent in 2007, IDC Says, ClickZ News
• Link analysis done right, SEO Theory
• Forrester: Blow your money on social marketing, E-Consultancy
• Google Webmaster Team's Booklet, Beu Blog
• What is your web analytics communication strategy?, Web Analytics Demystified
• Spare The Rod, Spoil The Client, SEM Portland
• Web traffic - an offline example, SiteMost
• How You Shouldn't Ask for a Link, Search Engine Roundtable
• Do You Recognize Today's (tomorrow's) Affiliate Marketer?, John Andrews
• SEO Request for Proposal RFP, Vizion Interactive

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:30 PM | Permalink

February 11, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: February 11, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Israeli Town Suing GoogleGoogle is being sued by a northern Israeli town because Google Maps claims it was built on an old Arab village.
• What's it Really Like to Work at Google?Google Analytics Evangelist Avinash Kaushik shares what it's like to work at Google, hang out with the beautiful people, dream in color, and manufacture atomic-powered ideas from intellectual metal.
• Another AOL Exec LeavesAOL says aloha to strategic ad exec Dave Morgan, founder of AOL-acquired Tacoda.
• The adventure of going to SES London for the first timeAbout half of the attendees at the Search Engine Strategies 2008 Conference & Expo in London will be going to the event for the first time.
• Yahoo Formally Rejects Microsoft BidThe board believes that Microsoft's proposal substantially undervalues Yahoo.
• SEW Experts: Google AdWords Targeting: Expect More, Pay LessGoogle AdWords placement-targeted campaigns on the content network can be a useful tool, if you can find the sites that support it.
• AOL Yahoo Talk Merger - Microsoft RebukedThe i-banks are advising Yahoo on mergers with media and technology firms that might snatch Yang & Co. from the jaws of Microsoft.
• Yahoo Board Escapes MS Bear Hug: Yahoo Jitsu!Rumors are rife that Yahoo may tag out in search, tapping its former tag team partner, Google, to crush Microsoft.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Search, That Was Mighty Sociable, ClickZ Experts
• Managing Your Career in Digital Advertising, ClickZ Experts
• Images In Blended Search, Ramblings About SEO
• What, Exactly, Are Google AdSense "Other" Relevancy Factors?, Search Engine Land
• Creating Firefox Quick Search Bookmarks, Sugarrae
• Diggbait, Linkbait, Flagship Content and Authority, Chris Garrett
• Is Search Marketing Different for Multinationals?, Mike Moran
• Wikimedia's 2007 Financials Posted, TechCrunch
• How Many Internet Marketers Does It Take To Change A Light Bulb?, Hubspot
• Matt McGowan Interview: Lowdown on SES New York 2008, Online Marketing Blog
• NoFollow: An SEO Red Flag?, Search Engine Journal
• Link Building and Development Mistakes - Treetrunks and Houses on Stilts, Gray Wolf SEO
• Part One: What Is Yahoo! Answers?, Small Business SEM

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:42 PM | Permalink

February 8, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: February 8, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Google Map Business Categories, Unraveling the Black Box Blumenthal has published research which seems to offer a solution to help garner placement in coveted Google Maps business categories.
• Decision Time for Yahoo?Today's the day Yahoo's board will make a decision on how to proceed with Microsoft's takeover bid.
• Y! Live is Dead! Long Live Yahoo! LiveYahoo! Live, the experimental live video service, debuted and crashed today.
• SEW Experts: How To Market Your Search Engine AgencyYou'd think that being in the marketing business would mean you were an expert at marketing your own business. In reality, it can be a struggle to keep a regular pipeline of sales leads.
• SEW Experts: Tracking and Analytics 101The lack of uniform analytics definitions creates problems for marketers.
• SEW Experts: The 411 on Local Search Data for BusinessWhen incorrect listing information for your company finds its way into the local listing database of some data provider, it can start spreading like wildfire from local search site to local search site.
• SEOs of the World, Unite!anuary was a bad month for SEO reputation. Will February be SEO Groundhog Day?

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Yahoo, in Search of a Miracle, ClickZ Experts
• Google Bashes Microsoft's Yahoo Bid, ClickZ Experts
• SEM Firm Applies Century-Old Linguistics Law, ClickZ News
• Time to Change Blades in Occam's Razor, ClickZ Experts
• Top 10 Search Terms in 10 Categories, January 2008, ClickZ Stats
• Do Directory Submissions Still Hold Any Value?, Search Engine Guide
• Microsoft Live Search Core Relevance Program Management Director Eytan Seidman Moves On, Search Engine Land
• Is It Too Late for Yahoo?, NY Times
• Should IAC Merge With AOL?, NYT Bits
• Top Ten Online Marketing Tactics, Online Marketing Blog
• How to Determine the Effectiveness of Your Internal Link Structure, SEO Book
• What Does Social Media Have to do with Search? Plenty, Bill Hartzer
• Super Bowl 2008: Fumbling Through Social Media, SearchViews
• The Evaporating Yellow Line between SEO & Social Media, aimClear
• Analyzing the Reputation Problem Before Engaging., Endless Plain
• Throwing mud in your own SERPs, Search Engine Tigers
• Paid Search Ads and FDA Guidelines, Catalyst Online
• 23 Top online retailers analytic packages revealed, Brian Chappell
• Driving up placement targeting earnings, Inside AdSense
• The Page 2 Bump, Local SEO Guide
• Are Trade Shows a Waste of Time and Resources?, The Lonely Marketer
• Social Media - How to Measure Marketing Effectiveness, Hubspot
• How To Start Domaining The Right Way, The Mad Hat
• How Social Media is changing the online landscape, Social Media Optimization
• The 4 P's of Marketing Online, 10e20

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:29 PM | Permalink

February 7, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: February 7, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Courts Need Consensus on Trademark Law and SearchThere's a bit of confusion in the courts surrounding keyword advertising, and overall search engine marketing issues.
• What Do Users Get on Google News Local Search? Zip.Google Local News search may not be canceled like the 90210 TV series, but it's not ready for primetime.
• Aches & Pains Map Shows Where It Hurts: Yahoo-Microsoft and GoogleThe Aches and Pains Index map graphically depicts areas of higher or lower levels of weather-related pain, but seems to fit today's search engine climate as well.
• SEW Experts: Coffee, Tea, or Link Love?Developing links for a business-to-business (B2B) site can be a challenge.
• SEW Experts: Why Search is Still Prehistoric - Part 2Many search marketers were disappointed with the Yahoo Panama release, finding it to be more of a catch-up to Google than a leap forward.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Recession Proof: How to Help Your Customer During a Downturn, ClickZ Experts
• In Deal with Loopt, CBS Mobile to Sell Location-Based Ads, ClickZ News
• IAB to Unveil Lead Gen Guidelines for Publishers, ClickZ News
• Super Bowl Ads No Longer Stand Alone, ClickZ Experts
• The Message Is the Medium, ClickZ Experts
• Strike business gold in local search, iMedia Connection
• I Jeff Quipp Am Not an SEO ... I'm an Authority Builder, Search Engine People

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:36 PM | Permalink

Aches & Pains Map Shows Where It Hurts: Yahoo-Microsoft and Google

The list of search engines is shrinking. Yahoo-Microsoft? The hottest topic.

Search engine market share? The fulcrum of the hostile MS-Yahoo bid -- and one of the most popular searches in Google, Yahoo, MSN, and Ask.

On Super Tuesday, we found a way to watch Presidential primaries on a search engine: a mashup of Google Earth and twitter / twittervision, with a Google Gadget and iGoogle thrown in for good measure. Still, keyword Meta Tag, meta tags, and meta keywords remain our stock in trade here at Search Engine Watch.

So when Gary Price, Ask.com director of Online Information Resources and editor, ResourceShelf and DocuTicker, pinged us with a Weather Channel-MSN Virtual Earth mashup, we couldn't resist providing a fresh angle on the Microsoft-Yahoo hostile bid.

The Aches and Pains Map on weather.com shows Google feeling no pain from the MicroHoo hoo-hah.

Yahoo investors and employees -- in the yellow area - don't appear to be suffering in Silicon Valley.

In contrast, Microsoft - rebuffed by Yahoo - seems to suffering from high levels of aches and pains. The Microsoft Virtual Earth map of aches and pains (a Google Earth competitor) shows Redmond virtually in the red zone.

The Aches and Pains Index map graphically depicts areas of higher or lower levels of weather-related pain. Locations in the orange regions can expect above normal levels of aches and pains. Areas shaded in yellow will have normal levels, and gray regions will be below normal.

So if you don't like the weather, wait until tomorrow. It'll change, just like Google's share of searches - and there's still nothing you can do about it.

Posted by Kevin Heisler at 1:01 AM | Permalink

February 6, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: February 6, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Social Media Could Thrive In a Recession, Says ForresterA report from Forrester out today says this time online and social media marketing could escape budget cuts if a recession does emerge.
• Super Bowl Advertisers Fumble on SEOThe advertisers who spent millions on TV airtime during Super Bowl 42 should have spent a little more of their budget on basic search engine optimization.
• Yahoo Desperately Seeking SuitorWith limited options, Yahoo board members face increased pressure to accept Microsoft's hostile bid.
• SEW Experts: How to Engage Customers in Search MarketingRelationships between businesses and customers are changing. Search marketing can no longer operate in a vacuum, but is just a part of the bigger marketing picture.
• SEW Experts: 2008: Google, Yahoo and MSN Join TogetherThis just in: Microsoft, Google and Yahoo have agreed to combine forces to create MicroGooHoo, a universally accessible platform to provide clearly unbiased information access points for all humanity. Or maybe not.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• In Defense of Narrow-Minded SEM Shops, ClickZ Experts
• Using Behavioral Targeting to Survive and Thrive in a Weakened Economy, ClickZ Experts
• Adapting to Consumer-Controlled Surveillance, ClickZ Experts
• How to Uncover the Fundamental Information Necessary To Plan A Strategically Successful SEO Campaign, Part I, Search Engine Guide
• Link Building Sucks! Here's What You Need To Do About It, Cape Cod SEO
• The Butterfly Growth Model, Skelliewag
• 5 Ways to Build Amazing Client Karma (And Boost Your Business), Freelance Switch
• How To Interpret What Your Clients Want, SEO Chicks
• Super Bowl Ads Still Missing the Online Picture, SearchViews
• LinkedIn Announces New Research Platform, O'Reilly Radar

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 8:53 PM | Permalink

Search Headlines & Links: February 6, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Social Media Could Thrive In a Recession, Says ForresterA report from Forrester out today says this time online and social media marketing could escape budget cuts if a recession does emerge.
• Super Bowl Advertisers Fumble on SEOThe advertisers who spent millions on TV airtime during Super Bowl 42 should have spent a little more of their budget on basic search engine optimization.
• Yahoo Desperately Seeking SuitorWith limited options, Yahoo board members face increased pressure to accept Microsoft's hostile bid.
• SEW Experts: How to Engage Customers in Search MarketingRelationships between businesses and customers are changing. Search marketing can no longer operate in a vacuum, but is just a part of the bigger marketing picture.
• SEW Experts: 2008: Google, Yahoo and MSN Join TogetherThis just in: Microsoft, Google and Yahoo have agreed to combine forces to create MicroGooHoo, a universally accessible platform to provide clearly unbiased information access points for all humanity. Or maybe not.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• In Defense of Narrow-Minded SEM Shops, ClickZ Experts
• Using Behavioral Targeting to Survive and Thrive in a Weakened Economy, ClickZ Experts
• Adapting to Consumer-Controlled Surveillance, ClickZ Experts
• How to Uncover the Fundamental Information Necessary To Plan A Strategically Successful SEO Campaign, Part I, Search Engine Guide
• Link Building Sucks! Here's What You Need To Do About It, Cape Cod SEO
• The Butterfly Growth Model, Skelliewag
• 5 Ways to Build Amazing Client Karma (And Boost Your Business), Freelance Switch
• How To Interpret What Your Clients Want, SEO Chicks
• Super Bowl Ads Still Missing the Online Picture, SearchViews
• LinkedIn Announces New Research Platform, O'Reilly Radar

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 8:53 PM | Permalink

February 5, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: February 5, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Yahoo! Acquires FoxyTunesWhile all eyes are still focused on Microsoft's proposed purchase of Yahoo, Yahoo has already made its first (real) acquisition of 2008 by picking up Israeli-based FoxyTunes.
• Boost Organic Results. Link Build with Social MediaThere are hundreds of social communities other than blogs. These niche' player-communities can be terrific venues to engage readers of similar ilk, make friends, drive focused micro-busts of traffic, and build links.
• Microsoft-Yahoo: No Mention of Publisher DealsWith all the news about Microhoo, no one's mentioned how current content deals with publishers might change -- for better or worse.
• Breaking News: New Leadership at Efficient FrontierSearch engine marketing firm Efficient Frontier today appointed Ellen Siminoff chairman of the board and named president James Beriker as the new CEO and director.
• SEW Experts: Don't Waste Money on a So-Called SEO Specialist?A publication sent to American Express small business cardholders suggests that SEO is a waste of money.
• SEW Experts: 4 Ways Google AdWords Can Increase Small Business ProfitsCarrie Hill outlines four key areas most new-to-PPC marketers overlook that cost them money.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Web Analytics: Insights From the Front Line, Part 2, ClickZ Experts
• AOL Buys Widget Tech Firm to Boost App Ads and Analytics, ClickZ News
• News Corp Not Interested in Buying Yahoo, ClickZ News
• When Linking Experts Go Underground, Search Engine Land
• Forget the Tail - Focus on the Head for SEM, Webmama
• PageRank Is The Primary Google Search Ranking Factor, Andy Beard
• How Long Does it Take to Rank in Google? How Many Hours do I Have to Work Each Day?, SEO Book
• Why Didn't Microsoft Try to Buy Google?, SEO-space
• The Convergence of Online and Offline Networking, SiteLogic
• Marketers in a Social Network World, Chris Brogan
• 9 Ways to Stand Out As A Conference or Tradeshow Speaker, Influential Marketing Blog
• 5 Worst Practices in Web Analytics, Web Analytics World
• Mysterious Google Interface Design, SEO by the Sea
• Super Bowl Ads: 2008 Was No 1984, Conversation Agent

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:00 PM | Permalink

Breaking News: New Leadership at Efficient Frontier

Search engine marketing firm Efficient Frontier today appointed Ellen Siminoff chairman of the board and named president James Beriker as the new CEO and director.

In her four years as CEO, Siminoff grew Efficient Frontier from a team of eight to a leading search marketing technology and professional services company with 170 employees managing $450 million in annual search spend for 250 advertisers worldwide. As chairman, Siminoff will continue to guide and participate in the growth initiatives and the company's strategic direction.

Efficient Frontier was the first search marketing firm to apply portfolio management theory (Wall St. equity trading algorithms) to the optimization of paid search listings. Efficient Frontier's algorithms use historical data to model all possible bid combinations across a portfolio of keywords to allocate budget optiimally. The best possible return on investment? The so-called “efficient frontier.”

In a statement, Siminoff said Efficient Frontier has reshaped the SEM industry by applying advanced technology keyword optimization. Efficient Frontier pioneered the management of millions of keywords in Google's invisible bid landscape, bringing predictive modeling to opaque search marketplaces.

The next generation of Efficient Frontier's platform will enable clients to apply algorithms to emerging media auction marketplaces, including display and social search engines, as well as optimize advertising spend across multiple channels.

As CEO, Beriker will be responsible for the overall management of the business. His charge? Drive growth, product innovation and global expansion.

Prior to Efficient Frontier, Beriker held vice president, senior vice president and GM positions at online marketing services firm ValueClick and the ValueClick Media, Mediaplex, Commission Junction and PriceRunner brands.

Beriker was also the founder and CEO of Search123, a paid search engine that launched in October 2000 and was acquired by ValueClick in May 2003. Prior to Search123, Beriker practiced corporate law, representing early and mid-stage technology companies and entrepreneurs.

I had lunch with Jim a couple weeks ago when he was in New York. He outlined his vision to make Efficient Frontier the dominant worldwide optimization platform for all digital advertising. When he says EF is well on its way to achieving this goal, he's giving notice that the digital advertising platform race won't be Google-DoubleClick vs. Microsoft/Aquantive -- with or without Yahoo, the company where Siminoff made her reputation as a dealmaker.

Part of the founding executive team of Yahoo!, Ellen Siminoff led business development, corporate development, and the small business and entertainment business units. Ellen has served on the board of directors for online ticket broker, StubHub, and is currently on the boards of US AutoParts, BuildDirect, 4Info, and Journal Communications. Ellen graduated Stanford's Graduate School of Business with an MBA and has a bachelor's degree in Economics from Princeton University.

Geoff Yang, Efficient Frontier director and founding partner of Redpoint Ventures noted Siminoff's skills as a dealmaker and innovator. He praised her leadership in building the largest independent SEM provider in the world.

"Efficient Frontier's success is a testament to Ellen's unquestionable dedication and leadership talents, and cements her standing in the Silicon Valley as a company builder and thought leader,” said Yang in a statement.

Look for more discussion in Techmeme.

Posted by Kevin Heisler at 1:25 AM | Permalink

February 4, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: February 4, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Social Media 2.0 - Witness for the DefenceThe web has changed the way we access information and people have discovered the power of voice. Should a press release be a part of this social Web?
• Just the First ShotBuying Yahoo is firing the first futuristic shot in tomorrow's war; Yahoo is just the beginning for Microsoft. And the war is not for search advertising space.
• Microsoft Research Lab in Cambridge Isn't Ivory TowerMicrosoft's researchers do not work in an ivory tower where basic research doesn't have a business imperative.
• Microsoft Won't Beg or Steal; Will Borrow to Buy YahooMicrosoft's CFO said the company would likely borrow to pay for the cash portion of its Yahoo bid, a first in the company's history.
• Does Social Media 2.0 deserve a second life?Is Marketwire's Social Media 2.0 press release another meatball sundae?
• SEW Experts: Search Marketing Trends That MatterSearch optimization and advertising is gaining its rightful place among marketers' tools.
• SEW Experts: How to Target Sites in AdSenseDavid Szetela shares tips for creating placement-targeted campaigns (originally called site-targeted campaigns).
• Microsoft Fires Back at Google: Who's Playing Monopoly?Microsoft fired back at Google, in essence promising to "Do No Evil" after acquiring Yahoo.
• Google Weighs in on Microhoo: It May Be Evil"It's about preserving the underlying principles of the Internet: openness and innovation."
• Microsoft-Yahoo: All About Search, Not E-mail AssetsTim O'Reilly views Microsoft-Yahoo as a Web 2.0 play with the combined company dominating free (Web 1.0) online e-mail services.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Advertisers Welcome Possible Yahoo Sale, But Fear CPM Hikes, ClickZ News
• Yahoo Bid May Bring Microsoft New Antitrust Battles, ClickZ News
• Balancing Aesthetics, SEO in Web Site Development, ClickZ Experts
• What a Microsoft Acquisition of Yahoo Means to Webmasters & Web Publishing Business Models, SEO Book
• Google - Average Number of Words Per Query have Increased! beu blog
• Interview with Google's Adam Lasnik, Stone Temple Consulting
• Use Lifetime Visitor Values To Raise Bids While Increasing Profits, Search Engine Land
• Getting Good Reviews for your B&B, Inn or Hotel - Chat With An Innkeeper, SEO Igloo
• Learn SEO: Competitor Analysis, Learning SEO Basics
• Agencies Managing Affiliate & Search campaign's together, BlogStorm
• What is the Second SEO Question?, Webmama
• Why SEO collective wisdom lacks credibility, SEO Theory
• AOL Buys Goowy Widget Creator, Marketing Pilgrim
• Search Engine Optimization For Your Flash Site, Bruce Clay Blog
• Nofollow Killed Google Social Graph API 3 Years Ago, Andy Beard
• Some Suggestions from Google About the Content Network, eWhisper
• Microsoft and Yahoo: TKG's Take, The Kelsey Group

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:30 PM | Permalink

February 1, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: February 1, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Microsoft Wants to Buy Yahoo: Convergence, ContinuedThere have been rumors of late about some sort of Microsoft/Yahoo hookup -- and here it is. Microsoft just tendered a $31/share bid for Yahoo. All of Yahoo.
• Paid Search Advertising Drives Microsoft Bid for YahooMore relevant search results and social media innovations won't solve the problem of Google's dominance in paid search advertising.
• MSN and Yahoo Merged: How Would It All Mash Up?Aside from the potential effect on Yahoo/MS investors and the American Economy (which will be reported on ad nauseum), the implications for the search marketing industry could be massive and exciting.
• Yahoo Board, Sans Semel, to Consider Microsoft BidFormer CEO and chairman Terry Semel stepped down as chairman last night.
• The Other Side of the MS/Yahoo DealWhat would this merger mean in term of a search experience, organic results and news content?
• Super Bowl Advertisers Mostly Unprepared, Search-wiseAdvertisers pony up big bucks to create and air an ad during the Super Bowl, then fail to prepare for the inevitable searches for their company and ads.
• SEW Experts: Why All Links Are Paid Links in the Travel TradeThe paid links debate isn't so black and white. The question of what truly constitutes a paid link, and what qualifies as advertising, will continue to be a huge point of contention.
• SEW Experts: Rewriting URLs: SEO for CMS, E-Commerce, and Dynamic SitesThere's as much confusion and controversy surrounding URL rewriting as Darwin's theory of evolution.
• SEW Experts: Optimizing the Planet: SEO on a Global ScaleWhen building an SEO team to provide global services, it's necessary to recruit skilled, multilingual SEO experts -- no easy task.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Microsoft Stuns Industry with $44.6 Billion Bid for Yahoo, ClickZ News
• Yahoo's Revamped AT&T Deal Aligns with Display Ad Network Goal, ClickZ News
• More Ways Than Ever for Big Game Watchers to Vote on Ads, ClickZ News
• Nonprofits, Google Grants, and Search, ClickZ Experts
• The Average Conversion Rate: Is It a Myth?, ClickZ Experts
• Zvents Launches New Local Search, Local SEO Guide
• Local Search - The Business Model, Convert Offline

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:51 PM | Permalink

Paid Search Advertising Drives Microsoft Bid for Yahoo

The Microsoft conference call yielded little new information about the details of the Yahoo bid. Steve Ballmer stressed that scale and efficiency in online advertising platforms would drive the success of the deal. Microsoft execs said R&D innovations would drive breakthroughs in vertical search, mobile search, social search, and natural language search.

Nice thought; won't work in the marketplace.

More "relevant" search results and social media innovations won't solve the problem of Google's dominance in paid search advertising. Microsoft-Yahoo still need to beat Google brand equity and searcher loyalty. Search is a habit. For some, search is an online addiction.

Switching costs may be low --and search engine alternatives are "one click away" - but Microhoo will still need to win over the Google ravers and junkies.

When Microsoft or another suitor finally buys Yahoo , no one need feign surprise. The Redmond giant finally went public with a formal buyout offer because the Yahoo board (sans Semel) won't fight back. The last bid was rumored to be $50 billion. Today's offer comes in at $44.6 billion because Yahoo stock price dropped below $20 per share.

Look for other bidders to force Microsoft to pay a higher premium. While display advertising is a key driver for creating two super-portals on one efficient ad serving and ad management platform, Microsoft-Yahoo would never win government approval unless Google had achieved what some call near-monopoly leadership in paid search.

Yahoo Panama -- Yahoo's paid search auction algorithm and search ad platform would move to Redmond even if the Yahoo engineers remain in Silicon Valley. MSN adCenter is innovative, but Yahoo Panama improved topline revenue -- although not as much as Wall St. and Jerry Yang would have liked.

Some reports had attributed Microsoft's urgency to close a Yahoo deal to Google's successful bid for DoubleClick. Formal negotiations between the two companies are clearly driven by Google's dominance of paid search and share of searches. Today's conference call confirmed that Google's dominance in paid search advertising -- pegged at 75 percent of worldwide paid search share by Kevin Johnson,

The revenue engine that drives search engines is auctioned paid search (PPC) advertising. As Pay-Per-Click advertising has evolved, traditional banner ad networks suffer from consumer banner blindness. That's led to the rise of behavioral targeting, or more accurately, "search re-targeting" -- another key driver of today's deal.

Neither Yahoo Search Marketing nor MSN adCenter has made significant inroads in creating a search management or web analytics platform to rival those of Google. Microsoft's acquisition of DrivePM, for example, through the Aquantive acquisition was immaterial to MSN search and online advertising revenues.

Microsoft and Yahoo have held informal talks for years -- with neither company making inroads against Google. As recently as May, Yahoo has turned down an unconfirmed offer worth $50 billion to Yahoo shareholders. On the call, Steve Ballmer said the companies have been in talks for $18 months, and confirmed that Jerry Yang had nixed his initial offer, citing timing as the reason.

Given Yahoo's share price, it's unlikely Yahoo shareholders will give Yahoo execs more time to turn around the company's fortunes. Terry Semel's resignation from the Yahoo board last night removes the last vestiges of his controversial reign as Yahoo's chief.

So the pundits and reporters who attribute Microsoft's bid to ego -- "stung" by the success of Google's DoubleClick bid -- don't understand the fundamentals of paid search. Steve Ballmer does -- and he knows he can't beat Google without adding Yahoo's critical mass. It's not about winning or losing a bid for a rival's ad serving platform.

Yahoo and MSN couldn't solve the paid search puzzle. Now, it's costing both companies billions.

Posted by Kevin Heisler at 7:44 AM | Permalink

January 31, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: January 31, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Google in Wall St. Matrix: Faces Red or Blue Pill DilemmaThe message from Wall St. to Google rang as clear as the opening bell today. Unfortunately for Google, it was finally "For Whom The Bell Tolls."
• Search Comes Full Circle?Reading the search headlines these days, it may seem like we've gone a long way to get right back where we started: human-generated search.
• Google's Marissa Mayer Looks Beyond Universal Search to Social SearchIn an interview with VentureBeat, Google VP Marissa Mayer says that social search is one avenue Google is pursuing to improve relevance in future iterations of its search engine.
• Search Marketers Share Their 2008 Wish ListsWe asked several search marketers what they would most like to see from search engines in 2008.
• CrazyEgg: New Free SEM/SEO Analytics Tool Blows My MindCrazyEgg analyzes site visitor behavior in ways I didn't think possible -- and presents the results in a strikingly powerful, engaging manner.
• SEW Experts: Recession-Proof Your Business by Building LinksCan you feel the nervousness in the business community? Even search -- the golden child of marketing -- has been getting pushed around by the market.
• SEW Experts: How To Educate Search Staff from ScratchEducating employees in SEO and PPC marketing can seem impossible when they have no search background.
• Is EU Softening On Online Activites, AcquisitionsSeems the European Union is becoming more sensitive to the workings of the internet. Recent rulings have changed their once strong position about its impact on Europe and its people.
• Yahoo Strategy from the Yahoo Magic 8 Ball?Here are the 5 most important questions Wall St. analysts asked and Yahoo executives answered about Search.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• What Online Auto Advertisers Can Learn From Real Estate, Travel, ClickZ Experts
• Seevast Builds Vertical Ad Networks with Hybrid Ad, Content Distribution Unit, ClickZ News
• As Consolidation Wave Settles in, Baby AQuantives Keep Hatching, ClickZ News
• How To Tell A Prospective PPC Client their Paid Search SUCKS!, SEM Geek
• Reality Check - Social Media Advertising, Webmama
• Zvents makes Local Search pop!, Software Abstractions
• Making a Good Impression With About Us Pages, Search Engine Land
• 5 Reasons Why Rankings Are A Poor Measure Of Success, Search Engine Land
• Google's Marissa Mayer: Social search is the future, Venture Beat
• 11 Experts on Link Development Speak Out, Sugarrae
• Is SEO Possible Without Inbound Links?, Search Engine Roundtable
• Is Influencer Theory Garbage?, SEO Book
• Search and Traditional Marketing, Ramblings About SEO

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:42 PM | Permalink

SEW Experts: Recession-Proof Your Business by Building Links

Can you feel the nervousness in the business community? Even search -- the golden child of marketing -- has been getting pushed around by the market. In today's Link Love column, "Recession-Proof Your Business by Building Links," Sage Lewis warns that search marketers need to wake up and stare reality in the face.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

January 30, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: January 30, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Search Engine Market Share: comScore's December ScorecardGoogle increased its slice of the growing global search pie in just-released search engine market share stats from comScore.
• 1,000 Yahoo Layoffs and 4 Key Yahoo Trends for CEOsImproving the quality of traffic with domain controls and ad quality filtering promise to improve lead quality and advertiser ROI over time. The cleanup, though, limited Yahoo's revenue growth in Q4.
• Microsoft adCenter Partnering With WSJDNMicrosoft has announced it will provide the advertising for the Wall Street Journal Digital Network (WSJDN), which includes Barrons and marketWatch as well as WSJ.com.
• Who Are The Real Online Influencers?The prominent players in our space may not have the impact they think they have.
• Where's The Online TV Search?TV networks have started delivering deep inventories of video clips and longer-form videos online. That sounds great until you want to actually find something.
• SEW Experts: The Day the Agency Model DiedEndless possibilities might not be the best way to label the latest round of partnership redefining. It will end, just maybe not how the agencies would like.
• SEW Experts: The New Age of Search MarketingOne of the more misunderstood parts about the Web environment today is just how much the user is in control.
• Hospitality Social Media Marketing: Influence Critical Customer ReviewsMore and more search marketers lay awake at night, in pools of sweat, freaking out about losing brand control in light of user-generated content.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Five Getting-Started Blog Questions, ClickZ Experts
• Microsoft Signs WSJ Digital for Contextual and Search Ads, ClickZ News
• Net Income Down in Q4 and 2007, Yahoo Promises Profound Changes in '08, ClickZ News
• The 19-Hour Website Analysis, in 20 Minutes or Less, E-Marketing Performance
• Twitter Packs- a Way to Share Interests, Chris Brogan
• The Big B2B PPC Mistake, Search Engine Land
• Search Engine Reputation Management: Setting & Managing Expectations, Search Engine Land
• SEO Tools: Firefox Addons for Search Engine Optimization, Online Marketing Blog
• How to Successfully Moderate a Conference Panel, A Comprehensive Guide, Web Strategy by Jeremiah
• Dear Google: 2000 Called, It Wants Its Ad Format Back, Read/Write Web
• Why Most Public Relations Firms Aren't Great Social Media & Blogging Experts, SEM Clubhouse
• Be an SEO White Witch or Face Meltdown, aimClear

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:18 PM | Permalink

January 29, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: January 29, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• SEO for Reputation ManagementOne way to combat the threat of negative branding is through a reputation management strategy, which can begin with search engine optimization (SEO).
• Google Bar Codes and Three Martini LunchesSearch marketing firms have a tremendous competitive advantage over traditional ad agencies. Managing campaigns based on ROI is second nature.
• Balogh Named New Yahoo CTOAristotle "Ari" Balogh, 43, was named CTO for Yahoo today.
• Marchex to Distribute Ads from Superpages AdvertisersAdvertisers who buy placements on Idearc's Superpages.com local search site will now be able to get the added distribution over Marchex's network of more than 200,000 vertically-focused local sites, as well as more than 50 partner ad networks and vertical sites.
• Measuring PR in cold, hard cashCounting press clips has been a bogus PR metric for more than 20 years. So, what are the right PR metrics in the age of search engines?
• SEMPO Nominees for Board of DirectorsThe Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization has announced the nominees for its 2008 board of directors.
• SEW Experts: The Future of Search: All the Media That's Fit to Be GoogledThe battle between search engines and human beings has moved to a new stage where online advertising and search ads are overtaking the search engine.
• SEW Experts: Online Retail SEO: Holiday Shopping SeasonalityThe Q4 holiday season makes or breaks the success of online retail. Yet many companies don't realize how important the holidays are for SEO.
• SEW Experts: SEO Millionaire: Who Wants to Be One? - Part 2Last week, we challenged SEOs to identify which of the big three travel sites has a canonical issue. Now we give you the answer.
• Search not understood and used in PR campaignsPR experts recognize that social media has changed the practice of PR. Search, however, is not part of the PR lexicon yet.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Women Users, Search Strength Drive Health Focus for IAC and Others, ClickZ News
• Warm Up to Web Site Optimization, ClickZ Experts
• Who Really Could Buy Yahoo And Succeed, Smart Keywords
• SEM Skinny: The Dirty Little Secret of the SEO Industry, TalentZoo
• Interview with Peter "Dr. Pete" Meyers, Distilled
• Spying On Your Paid Search Competitors, Search Engine Land
• Don't Forget to Charge!, Gonzo SEO
• Google Says EDU Links Are Not Better Links, Search Engine Roundtable

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:53 PM | Permalink

January 28, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: January 28, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Property of Google? No! The Google of PropertyJust when you thought the days of aspiring Googles had ended, vertical search took on a life of its own.
• Facebook Ads & Applications: Critical SEM Learning CurveIf your business or agency's search marketing department has dismissed Facebook applications & paid ads, as outside of your product's demographic, think again.
• SEW Experts: Inside AdWords and Contextual Advertising: The Tipping PointOnce the ugly stepchild of online ads, contextual advertising has shed its "remnant inventory" reputation.
• Facebook Drops Another HurdleStill looking for some attention from the social networks? Facebook delivered a new client library on Friday afternoon, which makes your widgets easier to launch in their ecosystem.
• Google Enigma: Code Cracked by CarrNick Carr asks the question every forward-thinking executive has top of mind: Should innovation-minded managers view Google as an exemplar – or a freak?

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Search and the Changing Face of Public Relations, ClickZ Experts
• Online Political Ad Spending Forecasts Lack Clarity, Consistency, ClickZ News
• Yahoo (YHOO) Going Forward With "Drastic" Layoffs--Source, Silicon Alley Insider
• Quintura Launches Site Search Widget, Software Abstractions
• Why SEOs should care about the US spectrum auctions, Distilled
• Little Miss Anti-Popularity Rides Again, SEO Chicks
• Gary Price on the Soul of Ask, Pandia
• Social search is all about trust, Venture Skills
• Page Not Found (error 404): Rules of Engagement, Webmama
• Modern SEO as Competitive Webmastering, Johnon.com
• Latest Interview: comScore's James Lamberti, Ramblings About SEO
• Google Shows More Results in the Local OneBox, Google Operating System
• Hints That Europe Will Let Google Buy DoubleClick, NYT Bits
• Why Local Businesses Should Be Like The Jerk, Search Engine Land
• When is Usability More Important than SEO?, Search Engine Guide

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:33 PM | Permalink

January 25, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: January 25, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Google Position 6 Smack-Down: Filter, Penalty, or Bunk?A creepy “Position 6” Google SERPs punishment pattern has emerged, where pages which should dominate the organic SERPs somehow place at lowly #6.
• SEW Experts: Mobile Local Search: A Perfect StormLast week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) showcased the first few devices that run Google's much anticipated Android operating system.
• SEW Experts: PPC 101 Writing Successful CreativesWriting ads for search engine advertising is almost like writing headlines. It requires an ability to distill information into attention-grabbing, character-restricted words.
• SEW Experts: Win the Right Search Marketing Clients - Part 2For a search marketing agency, especially one just starting out, choosing the right clients can make or break your business.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Moving Beyond Campaign Efficiency to Campaign Effectiveness, ClickZ Experts
• Free Textbook on Yahoo! Search Marketing, Clix Marketing
• Matt Cutts: Industry Leaders Are Incapable Of Performing Editorial Discretion, Smackdown
• adCenter Account Structure, adCenter blog
• Redirects: Permanent 301 vs. Temporary 302, Stepforth SEOMicrosoft reports 30% growth in revenue, LiveSide
• Avoid Scope Creep Money Pit SEM Jobs, aimClear
• The Blurring of Business Strategy and Search Strategy, Webmama
• Mahalo Traffic Growth Vulnerable To Google Penalty, Natural Search Blog
• Microsoft's ‘Gatineau' Analytics Shows Statistics by Age, Gender, Occupation, and Geographic location, eWhisper
• Duplicate Content - Thinking Inside the 'Big Box' Stores, SEO Speedwagon
• 10 Reasons Why You Should STILL Be Using Facebook, SEO Chicks
• Study: Search Marketing In Prime Spot To Play Major Role in Political Spending, SEMGeek
• SEO Is The High School Cheerleader, The Van Blog
• Why Jason Calacanis For a Third Time at SES?, Search Marketing Gurus
• Five Strategic Steps for the Modern SEO, Ramblings About SEO
• Even More Advice for Startup CEO's, Sugarrae
• Optimizing the Fortune 100 - Enterprise SEO, Marketing Pilgrim

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:00 PM | Permalink

January 24, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: January 24, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Google Takes Gold and Silver in Japan: NTT DoCoMo and KDDIGoogle partnerships with the #1 and #2 mobile carriers in Japan forces Yahoo and MSN to compete for the bronze.
• What search engine marketers should know about event marketingFor search to ‘get respect' among senior management and marketers, we must align and integrate with traditional marketing.
• Google AdWords Beta Testing Demographic BiddingSeems Google is taking advantage of some of the DoubleClick features already.
• SEW Experts: Why Search Is Still PrehistoricSearch is evolving as universal search or blended search results crawl into the SERPs, but it's still primitive.
• SEW Experts: Link Building Case Study for Luxury HotelsOpportunities for creative link building solutions are plentiful. Just solve a user problem, like a concierge at a luxury hotel.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Quantcast to Build Products, Staff with $20 Million Funding Round, ClickZ News
• An Open Letter to CFOs, ClickZ Experts
• Face It, Mobile Marketers, You're Not Normal, ClickZ Experts
• Social Media, A Lateral Approach to Marketing, Web Strategy by Jeremiah
• What's in store for mobile advertising?, Going Cellular
• Give Me Some Skin: Ask Gets More Personal, Ask.com Blog
• Google Health Login Page, Google Blogoscoped
• Digg: New Algorithm Changes Digg the Blog

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:58 PM | Permalink

January 23, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: January 23, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Search Engine Stocks Taking A BeatingAcross the board, the search engines are being hit just as bad as every other stock on the international exchanges.
• Interview: Craig Newmark on Online Real Estate Part 2Part 2 of Promediacorp CEO Avi Wilensky's one-on-one with Craig Newmark on online real estate.
• Microsoft Launches New Ad Campaign for Live SearchIn the spirit of its Ms. Dewey experiment, Microsoft has launched a new site, Left vs. Right, which pits opponents from two sides of the political spectrum.
• Google Turns to Publicis to Increase its Madison Avenue SavvyGoogle and Publicis are more than a year into a relationship where Google's technology smarts and Publicis' media planning expertise are being shared to the benefit of both companies.
• Baidu Sets Out to Conquer JapanChina's most popular search engine has launched its long-anticipated Japanese portal.
• SEW Experts: There's More to Keyword Strategy Than the Long TailChoosing which keywords you want to chase in your SEO strategy can be a challenging task. Go after terms that are too competitive, and you might not get there in time, or at all. Go after terms that are easier to rank high for, and you're likely to get there much faster, but at what cost?
• SEW Experts: A Gloomy Searchonomic ForecastA step back shouldn't equate to repeating past mistakes. Much in the same way our weak dollar and inevitable recession can't be remedied by short-term tax rebates and cutting interest rates, Yahoo can't get fixed by cutting off its arm to spite its face.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• SEMDirector Branches Out from Search, Changes Name, ClickZ News
• SEM's Midlife Crisis, ClickZ Experts
• Google's Remove URLs Feature Removes For 90 Days Only, Search Engine Roundtable
• Link Buying: Reviewed and not Guaranteed is the line in the sand., Jim Boykin
• SEO 101: Valuing SEO-Conscious Web Design, cshel
• What is the First SEO Question?, Webmama
• Predictions on the Social Graph for 2008: Charlene Li and Jeremiah, Web Strategy by Jeremiah
• The only constant in search optimization, SEO Theory
• More Web 2.0 Ideas for Local Search Sites, The Kelsey Group
• Building A Career In Search Marketing, Search Engine Land
• Building Smarter Landing Pages For Stronger Leads, Search Engine Land
• Direct Visitors vs the Google Machine, SEO Book
• Yahoo's “Universal Search” and Vertical Search Suggestions, SEO by the Sea
• Whoops! Ask.com complaint to FTC is an EPIC mistake, News.com
• Getting More Conversions from Organic Search Traffic, Search Marketing Sage
• Blogging: Social Media is Not Only About Social Media Sites, Techipedia
• Recession & the Economic State of the Search Marketing Industry: An Interview With An Economist, Square Oak

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:53 PM | Permalink

Search Engine Stocks Taking A Beating

Across the board, the search engines are being hit just as bad as every other stock on the international exchanges. Guess the ability to measure profitability for the buyers of search products, the growing numbers of users and the attraction of Fortune 500 companies to their usage has not kept our industry's lights from dimming.

The only saving grace is that it is not a dotcom bubble.... we are possibly on the brink of a global recession.

The last two weeks have been particularly rough on Google and Yahoo - with both at serious lows.

It will be interesting to see what Yahoo has to say at their quarterly report January 29th, considering they are supposed to be making major layoffs over the next couple of weeks. Even Alibaba - the Chinese Ebay - could not sustain the jump of their initial IPO late last year and help one of their major investors (Yahoo owns 35 percent of Alibaba). The layoffs are also being done by Yahoo China which Alibaba owns in the deal the made with Yahoo.

"Yahoo is navigating the waters of Internet advertising like a goldfish evading a shark, in the form of Google," the Wall Street Journal commented.

Funny Google has not been faring any better. They have fallen back from 741 late last year to under 550 today.

The surprising thing about this is search can be measured better than any other form of advertising, so users can be proactive - a major plus that can be a great plus for companies even if a major recession unfolds.... let's see what Jerry Yang has to say next week.

Posted by Frank Watson at 6:09 PM | Permalink

January 22, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: January 22, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Two New Ways Google Teaches You to Market on GoogleGoogle has come out with two new educational tools for advertisers and search marketers.
• SEW Experts: SEO Millionaire: Who Wants to Be One?What separates the winners from the search engine losers? That's the one question you need to ask SEOs who give you the standard advice you hear again and again.
• SEW Experts: HTML Title Tag Defines Your SEO StrategySearch engine optimization for small business starts with a title tag.
• Yahoo Layoffs Downsized to HundredsYahoo job cuts won't be as severe as rumored this weekend. Kevin Delaney of The Wall Street Journal reports sources close to Yahoo put the estimated number of layoffs in the hundreds.
• StumbleUpon Death Threats in eBay Social NetworkSearch marketers can enrage diehard members of social communities who want to keep marketers at bay. The result? Death threats, cyberterrorism, obscene language, cyberharassment, and calls for suicide.
• Say Goodbye To WebSideStory: Omniture Shareholders Approve Visual Sciences PurchaseLast week Omniture shareholders approved the acquisition of Visual Sciences and in essence started the burial process for WebSideStory.
• SEMDirector Rebrands as Covario In Race for Interactive Advertising PlatformSearch engine marketing technology firm SEMDirector today rebranded as Covario to reflect the depth and breadth of its performance management technologies.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Search and Reputation: Your Brand Standing Is Your Shelf Landing, ClickZ Experts
• Web Analytics: Insights From the Front Line, Part 1, ClickZ Experts
• Presidential Hopefuls Display Online Ad Maturity, ClickZ News
• Quattro Unfurls Self-Serve Mobile Ad Product, ClickZ News
• Free eBook from Google: AdWords Textbook, Clix Marketing
• How to Select a Paid Search Management Application, 10e20
• Is Conversion Rate Enough? It's A Good Start, Now Do More!, Occam's Razor
• 10 Things Yahoo! Search Must do to Become Relevant, SEO Book
• Hey Yahoo... Is Anybody Home? Are You There?, SEO-space
• Reader Poll: Is Facebook Losing its Luster?, Online Marketing Blog
• Thoughts on SEO Ethics, Ramblings About SEO
• Latest Interview: Incisive's Kevin Ryan, Ramblings About SEO
• Getting a Search Engine Optimization Education, SEO by the Sea
• Marketers fall Victim to our Own Disease: Spoon Sized Wisdom, Out of My Gord
• Get a promotion by lowering your traffic, Endless Plain
• Marketing During a Recession? Get The Wind at Your Back., Finding the Sweet Spot
• Will Vertical Search Crush the "Do Everything" Search Engine?, Raven SEO Tools
• Why PPC Advertisers Should Prefer Parked Domains, Apogee Weblog
• Continuing the privacy discussion at the European Parliament, Google Public Policy Blog
• Results from Google Fridge Giveaway, Dan Perry

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:51 PM | Permalink

January 21, 2008

SEMDirector Rebrands as Covario In Race for Interactive Advertising Platform

Search engine marketing technology firm SEMDirector today rebranded as Covario to reflect the depth and breadth of its performance management technologies. Covario's platform enables global brands to manage not only search advertising but other interactive media, including display advertising. For the search industry, it's a wakeup call that "SEM" as a specialized service faces increasing competition from interactive advertising.

The race for a comprehensive online marketing platform includes the search engine platforms that will likely incorporate elements of recent technology acquisitions. Microsoft, for example, will leverage its investment in Aquantive's Atlas technology to improve the capabilities of MSN AdCenter. Google's recent acquisition of DoubleClick gives the search giant the ability to close the marketing loop with DART, Google AdWords, and Google Analytics in an enterprise marketing platform.

Covario enables advertisers to understand the relative effectiveness of paid search advertising, natural search optimization, and interactive advertising in a single dashboard.

“Covario,” a play on the word “covariance,” a measure of the strength of the correlation between two or more sets of random variables, reflects one of SEMDirector's competitive advantages: proprietary technology that enables marketers to make intelligent decisions in 24-7 search auctions with myriad variables. Those decisions are based on actual performance in the search engines, rather than media buyers' intuition.

Last week Russ Mann, Covario CEO, told me too many prospective clients and executives thought "SEM" referred only to paid search or PPC. Covario, along with a handful of leading search firms, offers a window into organic search performance too.

Covario focuses on designing products and solutions which bring unity and order into the interactive marketing management process. “Today interactive marketing is a fragmented discipline in which marketers work with many different vendors to develop and execute marketing programs," said Suresh Vittal, Forrester Research senior analyst. "But as the number of channels and programs grow, this situation becomes untenable.”

Forrester Research is placing its bets on the preeminence of online marketing suites to provide a single view of all marketing channels to centralize ad optimization and create an online partner ecosystem.

Covario as SEMDirector focused on building out technologies to manage paid and natural search. Covario's strategy focuses on the estimated 40 percent of online marketing budgets currently spent on display advertising.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) accidentally tipped savvy search marketers to the company name change by listing SEM Director CEO Russ Mann as CEO of Covario, Inc. in their committee rosters.

Social networkers may have seen the employees who made the switch earlier, too.

Posted by Kevin Heisler at 7:58 AM | Permalink

January 18, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: January 18, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Google Generation A Myth: Here's WhyWhen people are looking for reliable information, they don't trust and use search engines quite as much as you think.
• Yahoo Search Spotlight Awards Live in New YorkYahoo hosts the 3rd Annual Searchlight Award showcase on February 12 in New York City.
• RSS Feed Subscription Bonanza Was Fool's Gold…Bummer!Phony RSS feed subscription count turn out to be a FeedBlitz problem.
• Microsoft Expands its PPC adCenter Content NetworkLaunched with little fanfare late last year, Microsoft's adCenter Content Network initially only included Microsoft web properties. Now there are signs they're opening up the network to include some high-quality publishers.
• Kickin' Off the SEM Crossfire with Frank the TankOver the course of SEM Crossfire, Frank Watson and Chris Boggs will take hot button issues and provide a cross section of opinions – ideally allowing readers to make more informed decisions.
• SEW Experts: Top 5 Search Engine Marketing Trends 2008Many of the trends in 2008 will mean more competition – and more opportunity – for search marketing agencies.
• SEW Experts: Online Reviews: Tips, Tricks, and Secrets for Advertisers and PublishersThe importance of reviews and ratings – positive and negative – can't be overstated in local search. In terms of consumer motivation, it's all about informing others or rewarding a business for its excellent product/service.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Jupiter Report Predicts Continued Growth in Local Online Advertising, ClickZ News
• The Publisher Opportunity in Search and Contextual, Part 2, ClickZ Experts
• Seven Years of Change, Seven Years of Staying the Same, ClickZ Experts
• A "Meatball Sundae" Meet Up, ClickZ Experts
• Scanning Barriers on the Search Results Page, Search Engine Land
• The Theory of Search Engine Optimization, SEO Theory
• Universities Are Failing the Next Generation of Great Internet Marketers, Search Marketing Sage
• Firefox Plugins I Can't Live Without (Updated), cshel
• 20 Analytics Tools For Blogs, Online Marketing Blog
• 17 Ways You Can Use Twitter: A Guide for Beginners, Marketers and Business Owners, Dosh Dosh

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:47 PM | Permalink

January 17, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: January 17, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Is Google Having Severe Growing Pains?Seems our favorite nine-year old is having severe growing pains lately. And fellow relatives, we are all being impacted by the growth spurts lately.
• Searchable Social Media and Adding to the Global ConversationRising Voices, a citizen media outreach initiative of the Global Voices, has just released the first of a series of planned guides, An Introduction to Citizen Media.
• Google.org Reveals Five Focus AreasGoogle's philanthropic arm, Google.org, today announced the five core initiatives that it plans to focus on over the next five to ten years.
• Measure Blog Success without Spending a Fortune20 outstanding blog analytics tools that won't break the bank.
• Selling CEOs on Search Engine MarketingWhat's the biggest mistake any search engine marketer can make? Blowing a presentation to decision-makers.
• SEW Experts: Search Engine Year-End Predictions: 2007 ScorecardLast year, many industry watchers made search predictions for 2007. So how did some search gurus do?
• SEW Experts: PPC.edu: Learn AdWords, Yahoo Search, adCenter OnlineSEO can take months or longer to get the results you're looking for. What's the alternative? PPC advertising.
• Hugo Guzman: Ode To Search OptimizationSEOBook guest blogger Hugo Guzman of Zeta Interactive wrote an inspiring ode to our industry today.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• What Drives Local Search Directories?, ClickZ Experts
• Microsoft in Ad Deal with Financial Publisher EDGAR, ClickZ News
• As Big Brands Embrace Digital, Digital's Branding Power Wanes, ClickZ News
• Google Hooks Students with Online Marketing Challenge, ClickZ News
• That's a Spicy Meatball, ClickZ
• When Should You Outsource Your Pay-Per-Click Campaigns?, Search Engine Land
• Sour Grapes and Bad Vibes Fester in the Search Marketing Industry, Cre8pc
• SEO Kaleidoscope: Exploring the various facets of search engine optimization, SEO Book
• Loopt Launches Mobile Location Based Application Platform, TechCrunch
• Twitter, Facebook called on for higher purpose, News.com

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:53 PM | Permalink

January 16, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: January 16, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• SEMPO State of the Search Marketing Industry Survey Now OpenSEMPO is once again gathering feedback from search marketers for its annual State of the Search Marketing Industry Survey.
• Google American Idol: Competition For AdWords Local Search TalentSearch marketing firms and in-house teams often have a hard time finding qualified PPC employees. Now Google may change all that by challenging students all over the world to compete with others in an AdWords marketing competition.
• SEW Experts: Search Doesn't MatterIs Google the Microsoft of the new millennium? Does search matter the way IT did four years ago?
• SEW Experts: What's Your Link Building Marketing Mix? - Part 2You've probably heard about Google's war on paid links. In a nutshell, Google banned paid links; and SEOs split in two camps over the move. What's a CMO to do?

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• The Wonderful World of Widgets, ClickZ Experts
• Making Social Media Work in 2008, ClickZ Experts
• Romney Camp Stakes Out Web Ad Innovations in Primary Run. ClickZ News
• Why You Should Reveal SEO Secrets To Clients, Search Engine Land
• The vital non-search part of search, Think About Search
• Maturity is Knowing You're not All That, John Andrews
• 10 Surefire Signs an IT Fiefdom Is Ruling Your Marketing Roost, aimClear
• Creating Passionate Readers, Skelliewag
• Google Analytics 101 (Part 1), Inside AdWords
• Sitemaps FAQs, Webmaster Central Blog
• Is Google Filtering Reviews or Reviewers?, Convert Offline
• Measuring Conversion, Endless Plain
• 6 Easy Ways To Get Eaten By the GOOG Monster, Performancing

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:19 PM | Permalink

January 15, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: January 15, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Cheap Computing Will Change EverythingAuthor Nick Carr says that in the same way cheap electricity changed society 100 years ago, cheap computing is in the process of changing society today.
• Wired Or Tired: West Coast SEMers Infighting Getting AttentionPersonally, I am hoping it is just like the rapper wars – more for the publicity than actual animosity.
• CMOs & VPs: Beware of IT Fiefdoms Ruling Marketing RoostIf your company has more than $10 million in revenue, consider whether it's prudent now to separate the IT and Internet marketing departments to avoid SEM pitfalls.
• SEW Experts: Google Universal Search Makes SEO More PowerfulSearch marketers need to understand universal search before their competitors do.
• SEW Experts: Search Engine Conferences: Where CMOs Meet Social MediaAny SEM education most marketing executives got in business school is outdated, at best.
• SEW Experts: Search Engine Marketing on the Efficient Frontier - Part 2Mention the word "algorithm" and media buyers and online marketers flee for cover. But the list of SEM firms and technology providers that offer proprietary technology with sophisticated algorithms is growing.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Mobile Marketing's Wild Years to Yield a Gold Rush, ClickZ News
• Microsoft's Atlas Delivers Ads to Shopping Carts, ClickZ News
• What's In a Number?, The Kelsey Group blog
• Who's Paying Attention to PPC Ads?, Searching Beyond the Paid
• The Three Biggest Mistakes in Search Marketing, Yahoo Search Marketing Blog
• Government Steps Up Efforts To Access Any Email or Web Search Data, SearchRank
• Are You Accidentally Blocking Ask.com on Old Websites?, Finding the Sweet Spot
• Optimizing for Blended Search: What You Need to Know, SEO-space
• Inside the 5 Badges of the Conference Caste System, Influential Marketing
• Paid Search For Big Sites, 10e20
• YP Contemplating Suicide by SEO, Convert Offline
• Why Aren't Local Ads Coming Online?, Screenwerk
• How I Screwed Up My Search Engine Optimization - SEO Content Mistakes Made by the "Expert", Junta42

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:43 PM | Permalink

Wired Or Tired: West Coast SEMers Infighting Getting Attention

So Danny posted an article about how Wired was allowing direct links in their wiki - no big deal I thought - I figured it would get their attention and the hole would be closed. End of story.

Well apparently Wired was inundated with link drops over the weekend and people saw the post as a little irresponsible - even though Danny posted a quick apology. I worked with Danny here at Search Engine Watch for a bunch of years, as well as attended and spoke at SES conferences and consider him a friend - maybe not mates but definitely someone I like and admire.

I believe Danny when he says the post was a mistake and not done to cause Wired problems. I have posted things like that over the years.... sending an email and writing about things that need to be addressed. Readers look for bloggers to keep them informed.

But it was the strong reactions of a number of West Coast SEMs that made this story more than a footnote in things quickly fixed in our industry.

Everyone loses in this type of bickering situation. I know all the major people involved and respect their talents - but I had to laugh when I saw one of those "East Coast vs West Coast" rapper things last night after having read a bunch of this.

The discussion about no follow usage that is interspersed in the comments and posts is one worth reading.

Personally I am hoping it is just like the rapper wars more for the publicity than actual animosity. There has been a fair amount of comments and posts written about it over the past two days, but not that amount you would expect given the players. But I think it is who is involved that has most people correctly sitting this one out.

I am not taking sides. I just thought the dynamics of it all was worth taking a look at - hopefully so we can gain something from it and maybe avoid similar backlashes in the future.

Posted by Frank Watson at 1:23 PM | Permalink

January 14, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: January 14, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Search Engine Optimization 2008: Silence of the Lambs?Mike Grehan says that SEO is stuck in a time warp and not keeping up with the search engines themselves. What do you think?
• Search Engine Watch Welcomes Great New BloggerMarty Weintraub, president of AimClear, joins our team of search marketing and social media optimization experts.
• iPhone Google Search News and Google iPhone Search NewsGoogle announced new improvements to the "integrated Google experience" on iPhone. Call the GOOGiPhone upgrade what you like. It's still all about search.
• Facebook: Not Where To Search For All Lost BuddiesI don't believe that people-search is the key strength of Facebook, until critical mass is reached.
• SEW Experts: How To Use Google Site Exclusion Tool to Increase ROIAll Google AdWords content campaigns have dead wood. Google Content Network sites that display your ads but deliver few clicks or conversions rob you of profits.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• The Diminishing Value of the SEO Shop, ClickZ Experts
• Why Local Ads Aren't Coming Online, ClickZ Experts
• Hoping for Nevada Win, Obama Targets State Voters in Search Ads, ClickZ News
• Fast deal muddies Microsoft search strategy, Information World Review
• CES: Interview: Jeff Weiner, EVP-Network Division, Yahoo: ‘You'll See This Stuff In ‘08', paidContent
• Lecturer bans students from using Google and Wikipedia, The Argus
• Facebook: The Entire “60 Minutes” Segment, BoomTown
• Trying to Fine-Tune Yahoo, NY Times
• Microsoft executive changes, Don Dodge
• Live Search Maps for Wordpress, Windows Live Maps Blog
• Google Responds to Search Engine Patent Lawsuit, Marketing Pilgrim
• There's No Such Thing As A Worthless Link, Search Engine Land

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:35 PM | Permalink

January 11, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: January 11, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Google Conversion Optimizer Out of BetaGoogle has expanded its Conversion Optimizer bid management feature to make it available to all advertisers.
• Is the AdWords Competitor-bidding Party Over?1-800-Contacts is trying to force a legal ruling that could put a chill on the widespread practice of PPC advertisers bidding on competitors' trademarks.
• Don't Worry About That Economic SlowdownThe search ad marketplace “sky” won't fall when our economy slows or possibly kicks into a recession this year.
• Bitten by Sarah Jessica Parker in Google CheckoutYou can buy "Sarah Jessica Parker" but you can't get Bitten by her. Sarah Jessica Parker (the keyword phrase, not the actress) can be found in Google Checkout Trends. "Bitten by Sarah Jessica Parker?" You're out of luck with Google Labs' new tool.
• SEW Experts: Google AdWords 101: Landing PagesLast time, we looked at the basic steps to set up a Google AdWords campaign. Now we'll show you how to use A/B testing to improve it.
• SEW Experts: Local Search Lives or Dies by User ReviewsIn the old days, consumer opinions regarding personal experiences with businesses were passed around in a practice known as "Word of Mouth" marketing.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• The Publisher Opportunity in Search and Contextual, Part 1, ClickZ Experts
• Life-Stage Marketing (Forget the Love Beads), ClickZ Experts
• The Google Webmaster Central Blog: A Retrospective, Vanessa Fox
• Google AdWords Conversion Optimizer is Out of Beta, Clix Marketing
• Five Link Building Challenges to Overcome, Search Engine Guide
• In House SEO Salary Survey Results, Search Engine Guide
• 15 Reasons to Get Connected and Work Online, Anywired
• Weak, BusinessWeek, Mike Moran
• When Small Business Shouldn't Act Like a Small Business, E-Marketing Performance
• Yahoo Serving Images in Sponsored Search Listings, Search Engine Journal
• Why We Need Many Metrics to Answer the Same Two Questions, Jonathan Mendez
• SEO Job Interview Questions, The Mad Hat

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:31 PM | Permalink

SEW Experts: Google AdWords 101: Landing Pages

Last time, we looked at the basic steps to set up a Google AdWords campaign. In today's SEM Crossfire column, "Google AdWords 101: Landing Pages," Frank Watson shows you how to use A/B testing to improve it.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

January 10, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: January 10, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Search Marketing Makes an Attractive CareerA position as an in-house search marketer is not necessarily a quick path to riches, but it's worth considering, according to a new survey from SEMPO.
• Google Entertains Real Estate Industry At NYC OfficesThe Real Estate Connect conference is in New York this week and participants were invited to hang out at Google HQ East last night.
• Will Newspapers Compete with SEOs and SEMs?The Kelsey Group analysts get Search. Today their analyst team published 2008 Local Search trends and developments.
• YouKu.com: Online Video-Sharing Strong in ChinaThe site has seen a 20-fold increase in its daily video views and daily unique visitors since its formal launch in December 2006.
• Ask Shuffles ManagementJim Lanzone, CEO of Ask.com since April 2006, has left the company to serve as an entrepreneur-in-residence at a venture capital firm.
• SEW Experts: Top 5 SEO and Link Building Challenges for 2008Google's public attack on paid links has caused a flood of scared Webmasters who are scared to link to other sites.
• SEW Experts: Free Big Brand Marketing and Other Facebook ProblemsEven successful third-party applications don't generate a dime for Facebook, leaving the social platform cut out of the revenue loop.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Pew: Video Sharing Sites Go Mainstream, ClickZ
• Kelsey Analysts Predict, The Kelsey Group
• Semantic Web: What Is The Killer App?, Read/Write Web
• Deconstructing real Google searches - why Powerset matters, Software Abstractions
• Local SEO 2008 Predictions, Local SEO Guide
• Rules for Making Predictions, Bronte Media
• How to Spot Trends and Give Yourself an Edge, SmallFuel Marketing
• The Great Link Building Mystery Unplugged, SEO Theory
• A Search Product CEO - Necessary To Win The Search Engine Game?, Search Engine Land

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:19 PM | Permalink

January 9, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: January 9, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Choose your Racecourse at SES LondonThey say that every horse has an ideal course they like to run. Greg Jarboe outlines the various tracks available to the many kinds of search marketing horses at SES London, coming in February.
• Pew survey finds increased use of video-sharing sitesThe Pew Internet & American Life Project has just released a new report which has found that 48% of Internet users have been to video-sharing sites such as YouTube and the daily traffic to such sites on a typical day has doubled in the past year.
• What's Next for Terry Semel?When Terry Semel joined Yahoo as chairman and CEO in May 2001, he left behind the investment firm he started, Windsor Media. According to a report from paidContent.org, Semel is reviving that company, and taking some Yahoos with him.
• SEW Experts: Local Search RevelationsNews flash: people buy stuff on the Internet. It's too bad people still buy a lot more stuff anywhere but on the Internet.
• SEW Experts: What's Your Link Building Marketing Mix?Do you have a linkbuilding plan that can be integrated into your comprehensive marketing strategy?
• Microsoft adCenter Add-in for Excel - Keyword Research GoldThe free tool, still in beta, is a culmination of research conducted at their Pac Rim adLab.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Microsoft's Bid for FAST Could Lead to Ad Deals, ClickZ News
• Webmaster Tool Wish List for 2008, ClickZ Experts
• Where SEO Belongs In The Web Site Development Cycle, Search Engine Land
• Google Maps Making Inroads Against Leader, Mapquest, Hitwise Intelligence
• The SEO Success Pyramid, Small Business SEM
• SEOs must Coordinate with Designers too, Ramblings About SEO
• Are You a White Hat or Black Hat Web Analyst?, Search Marketing Gurus
• Stop Words Are Dead! Did I Miss Another Memo?, SEO Fast Start
• Microsoft's acquisitions chief leaving the company, Todd Bishop
• 3 Tips for In-House Search Engine Marketers, John W Ellis

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:02 PM | Permalink

January 8, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: January 8, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Microsoft Offers $1.2 Billion For Norwegian Search CompanyThey may not have Google's market share but Microsoft does not seem to be stopping its acquisition of more properties in the search space.
• The Paid Search Presidential PrimariesIn honor of today's New Hampshire primaries, we decided to hold our own Paid Search Presidential Primaries.
• Google Inks PPC Deal with ReachLocal for SMBsGoogle's local reach rarely exceeds its grasp. Google signed a new partner that raises the stakes in local search and puts IYPs on alert.
• SEW Experts: Small Business SEM New Year's ResolutionsOne of the big challenges to gaining search rankings and marketing yourself online is deciding "what's next."
• SEW Experts: There is no Guaranteed Search Engine RankingIf a company ever finds a way to guarantee organic search engine rankings, that company will undoubtedly go public and have a market cap approaching that of Google's.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• The Google Fridge Giveaway, Dan Perry
• Ten Common Objections to Social Media Adoption and How You Can Respond, Read/Write Web
• The Lazysphere and the Decline of Deep Blogging, Micro Persuasion
• Yahoo Life Has Been A Long Time Coming, TechCrunch
• Bombshell: Google and Facebook Join DataPortability.org, Read/Write Web
• New Year's Resolutions For Your PPC Campaigns, Search Engine Land
• MSN Talks Webmaster Tools, WebProNews
• GlobalThoughtz is Released, SEO-space
• The AdWords Content Network - Better Than Ever, PPC Discussions
• Big Company Search Marketing, Mike Moran
• Local Media Issues to Watch in 2008, Local Media in a Web 2.0 World
• The flow of information at the Googleplex, Google Blog
• Never, Ever, Pay For Traffic, Market Motive
• Stomp the Google AdWords Expanded Broad Match Problem, Clix Marketing PPC Blog
• Yahoo's David Filo on Yahoo, Joe Duck

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:57 PM | Permalink

Google Inks PPC Deal with ReachLocal for SMBs

Google's local reach rarely exceeds its grasp. Google signed a new partner that raises the stakes in local search and puts IYPs on alert.

ReachLocal, a provider of local online marketing solutions for small and medium-sized businesses (SMB), will announce a strategic alliance with Google today to become an authorized reseller of Google's AdWords PPC advertising program.

The deal gives ReachLocal a leg up on competitors in local search who won't benefit from the same status in the Google ecosystem. There's a long track record of authorized resellers of search engine advertising products succeeding in the hyper-competitve PPC channel.

While ReachLocal, like many SEMs offers customer service and AdWords account set-up, management, and optimization, the firm's competitive advantage in the marketplace is a dedicated direct sales force. Many companies in the highly-fragmented local search space -- including the search engines -- cannot market to local search prospects cost-effectively.

Small and medium-sized enterprises enabled Google AdWords to leapfrog past Overture (now Yahoo Search Marketing) as the leading pay-per-click (PPC).

AdWords user-friendly interface and self-serve model gave local businesses a national platform to market their products and generate leads.

Then big brands and national advertisers woke up. Small and medium-sized enterprises felt the squeeze of higher keyword costs and lower ROI. Bid management platforms gave national advertisers an advantage with sophisticated bidding tactics based on ROI.

Now even small and medium-sized enterprises can manage PPC with return on advertising spend goals.

The Google AdWords reseller agreement won't solve the problem of cost-effectively managing search marketing campaigns for business owners who have small PPC budgets but high ROI expectations.

ReachLocal's Google agreement steps up the competition for SMBs -- and that's great news for local search.

Posted by Kevin Heisler at 9:46 AM | Permalink

January 7, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: January 7, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Yahoo CEO Says They Want To Become Internet's Indispensable Starting PointJerry Wang outlined his vision of Yahoo's future as the "internet's indispensable starting point" at CES.
• Wikia Search: Wikia Dream? Or SEO Wake-Up Call?Wikia Search is a project to *build* a search engine, not a completed search engine. So the comparison to Google on day one is just mistaken.
• How Will Wikia Grow The Index?We would be interested in knowing the game plan for developing a substantial index over time. It's not just about numbers, although a billion or two could help with a 2009 launch.
• Wikia Search Requires Your HelpRight now, Wikia is more concept than reality. The plan is to apply collaborative tools to build a better search engine than Google.
• SEW Experts: Increase ROI: Google Performance Placement ReportsGoogle's new Placement Performance report can help you fine-tune your content campaigns to make sure you're getting the most out of your ads.
• China Limits Video, Audio Podcasts To State Run SitesThe Chinese government plans to restrict all video and audio content on sites starting next month.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• How 2007's Key Search Trend Will Impact 2008, ClickZ Experts
• Why SEOs Will Kill Wikia Search, Marketing Pilgrim
• What Does 2008 Have In Store For Local?, Search Engine Land
• Googler's Bet Goobles On Predictive Markets During Their Free Lunch, Search Engine Land
• Video: Flipping the 80/20 Business Rule, Search Engine Guide
• Google on Reading Text in Images from Street Views, Store Shelves, and Museum Interiors, SEO by the Sea
• What Was the Most Improved PPC Program in 2007?, Search Engine Roundtable
• Why SEMPO is Worse than the Defunct Search Marketing Associations, SEO Book
• Is Google Knol Really a Wikipedia Rival?, Bill Hartzer
• Why Can't Google Be More Like Ask.com?, SearchRank
• 2008 The year of Reputation Management?, Endless Plain
• Prediction Markets at Google, Battelle's SearchBlog
• Search Spend Laps Display Advertising, Alchemist Media
• Clix Marketing's Favorite PPC Blogs, Clix Marketing
• Queen Of Links - Debra Mastaler Interview, LinkJuicy
• My plea to Google - Please sanitize your REP revamps, Sebastian's Pamphlets
• 8 AdSense resolutions for 2008, Inside AdSense

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:33 PM | Permalink

January 4, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: January 4, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• InfoSpace Seeks Search Engine Market ShareNow that InfoSpace has cleared away other business lines and staff, they just re-committed to online search.
• SEW Experts: Google AdWords 101The Internet is overflowing with high-level discussion of how to plan a search advertising campaign. But sometimes, a new advertiser needs to know the actual steps of setting up an AdWords campaign and look into the methodology of setting up ads and A/B testing.
• SEW Experts: Win the Right Search Marketing ClientsAs a new search marketing firm, what kinds of clients will best fit your business?
• SEW Experts: New Search Engine Trends, Old SEO Troubles in 2007With advances such a universal search and the explosion of social media, 2007 was quite a landmark year for search marketers. For all of its breakthroughs, a few bad habits still remain from years past.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• 2007 PPC Search Retrospective, ClickZ Experts
• The Year of the Disconnect, ClickZ Experts
• Behavioral Targeting Firms to Reassess Self-Regulation Rules, ClickZ News
• Introducing NonProfits on the Web and Cre8tive Tomorrow Forums, Cre8pc
• Social Media and Reputation, SiteLogic
• A Challenge for the Google Ph.D.'s : Explain THIS!, Johnon
• The Google algorithm isn't changing and hasn't gone awry, BlogStorm
• It's not a penalty if …, SEO Theory
• Beyond ALT Text: Making the Web Easy to Use for Users With Disabilities, Nielsen Norman Group
• Googlebot In Aisle Three: How Google Plans To Index The World?, Search Engine Land

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:09 PM | Permalink

January 3, 2008

Search Headlines & Links: January 3, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• ChaCha launches text service at Sundance Film FestivalThe “human-powered search engine” now lets users text questions of any kind to a ChaCha guide and receive text answers on their cell phone.
• Ask and LookSmart Send Out Click Fraud Settlement LettersLetters were sent out yesterday for a class action suit that both companies are trying to put behind them.
• Ask.com introduces voice-activated capabilities to mobile search serviceThe new "Click to Speak" feature lets people speak their location and desired destination to receive directions on their web-enabled mobile devices.
• SEW Experts: Search Engine Marketing 21st Century ManifestoAs Web marketers, our time has come. We must stand up to our clients and demand they build sites worth linking to.
• SEW Experts: SEO.edu: Can You Learn SEO From a Book? - Part 3Search engines give SEOs the 4 PRs for submitting sites: press releases, product releases, proper rules, and PageRank. But these alone won't solve SEO problems.
• SEO Company CEO Arrested, Jailed: Accused of Foreclosure ScamTraffic Power earned an infamous reputation as a search engine optimization firm, allegedly using "black hat" tactics that may have resulted in bans by Google, Yahoo and other search engines. Now Traffic Power's CEO is behind bars for allegedly running a housing foreclosure scam.
• Wikia Search Engine To Launch Test Version Jan. 7Wikia founder Jimmy Wales said last year that this open source, community-driven program would eventually challenge Google.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Local Search's 2008 Outlook, ClickZ Experts
• The Google Challengers: 2008 Edition, Search Engine Land
• How SEO Has Evolved Over The Years, Search Engine Land
• ISPs Collect User Data for Behavioral Ad Targeting, ClickZ News
• Report Predicts Higher Graphical Ad CPMs, More Growth for Search and Ad Networks, ClickZ News
• Seven Top Online Marketing Trends for 2008, ClickZ Experts
• Is Yahoo Being Prepped for a Sale?, Seeking Alpha
• Why Social Marketing is Critical to the Internet Marketing Mix, 10e20
• Interview With Terry Plank SEMPO Institute, Online Marketing Blog
• Remainders from 2007: Good Stuff I Didn't Get to Yet, SEO by the Sea
• A Complete List of the Many Forms of Web Marketing for 2008, Web Strategy by Jeremiah
• Why Deciphering The Truth From Speculation In SEM/SEO Is Important, SEMSpot
• Internet Marketing Ninja Interview with Jim Boykin, Online Marketing Blog
• Get Up to Speed on the Paid Links Debate, Search Engine Guide
• Queen Of Links - Debra Mastaler Interview, LinkJuicy

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:30 PM | Permalink

January 2, 2008

SEO Company CEO Arrested, Jailed: Accused of Foreclosure Scam

Traffic Power earned an infamous reputation as a search engine optimization firm, allegedly using "black hat" tactics that may have resulted in bans by Google, Yahoo and other search engines.

Now Traffic Power's CEO is behind bars, jailed for allegedly running a housing foreclosure scam.

Search Engine Watch reader Julie Vazquez tipped us off to the online news story and video by KVBC investigative reporter Mitch Truswell.

Truswell interviewed Carolyn Ellsworth with the Nevada Secretary of State's office, who said at least sixty homeowners thought Marlon -- at times using four different aliases and 45 corporations to allegedly buy homes -- could help save them from foreclosure. But he didn't really buy the house or pay off the mortgage, according to Ellsworth, who told KVBC that Marlon would get the rightful owners out of the house under false pretenses and would, instances, rent the houses to tenants.

KVBC's report invites viewers who recognize Matt Marlon as the person who tried to buy their house or they thought bought their house, to call the Nevada Secretary of State's Securities Division at 702-486-2440.

Matt Cutts confirmed that Google has removed traffic-power.com and domains promoted by Traffic Power from Google's index because of search engine optimization techniques that violated Google webmaster guidelines.

Cutts advises clients or former clients of Traffic Power with site(s) not in Google, to learn what steps to take to be reincluded in Google's index.

In December, Traffic-Power's litigious CEO, Matt Marlon, was profiled by Dave Kesmodel in The Wall St. Journal , while the SEO firm's tactics have been discussed in the Search Engine Watch Forums, Threadwatch and other industry forums.

Posted by Kevin Heisler at 11:25 PM | Permalink

Search Headlines & Links: January 2, 2008

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Which Industries Really Like Sponsored LinksWhen advertising on destination sites, some industries prefer sponsored text links while others are less focused on them.
• AdSense Adds Newbie CentralIn their ongoing efforts to help educate their users the Google AdSense team has added Newbie Central - "the complete resource center for newly approved AdSense publishers."
• Presidential Candidates in Need of SEO HelpThere are glaring holes in search strategy on virtually all of the sites of major candidates and minor players on both sides of the aisle.
• SEW Experts: Vertical Search: B2B Survey Says ... Blazing HotA look at Convera's recently released Vertical Search Report.
• SEW Experts: 2008 Wish List: Search Engine Hangover CuresThe new year is always a time for looking forward, and while last week's column focused on the old, we kick off the year with a wish list for 2008.
• Network NeutralityIf the telcos succeed in violating network neutrality, it will blow up the web experience as we know it.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Web Audience Measurement Clouds Build, Few Signs of Clearing in '08, ClickZ News
• Social Marketing in 2008: An Icarus Story?, ClickZ News
• Social Media: Window Dressing or Community Building?, ClickZ Experts
• Adventures in Searchandising, Part 3, ClickZ Experts
• Predictions 2008, John Battelle's SearchBlog
• Inside Information: Interviews With In-House Search Marketers - Part 2, Search Engine Land
• Why This Blog is a Failure, John Andrews
• Social Media Barnacles Will Slow You Down, Cornwall SEO
• When is a Link a Paid Link?, SEO Chicks
• Writing Effective PPC Ads Is All About Seeing The Big Picture, SEM Geek
• Ron Paul as America's First Long Tail Candidate, The Long Tail
• Marketing, broadcast, advertising to change forever in 2008, SEO and Tech Daily
• Knol & Personalized Page Rank: Incursions or Future Google SEM Essentials?, AimClear Blog
• Why 2008 will be all about blended search and not mobile, Locally Type
• Seven Optimization Approaches Google Killed Last Year, Search Engine Roundtable

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:00 PM | Permalink

December 28, 2007

Search Headlines & Links: December 28, 2007

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected this week's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Search Blogs Awards Voting Is OnSearch Engine Journal's 2007 Search Blogs Awards have been posted, and the voting has begun.
• An Open Letter to Google Engineering: Please Slow Down a LittleWe appreciate the fact that you introduce valuable new features so frequently. But please: slow down a little, and spend a bit more time on bug testing.
• Defining Search in 2007This year could be defined by social media, blended search, or even the changes in SEO. All told, 2007 is mainly the year that search continued to mature and fit in with other marketing disciplines.
• Poor Market Less Impact On Online Marketing Of Real EstateThe subprime debacle and poor economic growth has not impacted the online marketing of real estate, at least as far as online condos sales seem to indicate.
• Facebook Search Engine: Livin' the Vida Local OnlineThe Facebook search engine has reached the tipping point for global brand building online.
• Google Misses the Mark with Reader Shared ItemsThis might make the folks at Facebook feel better about the whole Beacon privacy fiasco.
• A Look at the Top Searches of 2007A look at the most popular, up-and-coming search terms of 2007.
• SEW Experts: 7 Tips for Training Link DevelopersWe all know the vital role of backlinks in search engine visibility. So how do you train your link building team?
• SEW Experts: Social Search Engine Face-off: Facebook vs. MySpaceBrand marketers need to understand whether they are missing the train, or jumping on the wrong train.
• YouTube Ads Broadcast Google Laser Targeting: RIP SEMGoogle and YouTube have taken the Art of Subliminal Advertising and Science of Behavioral Targeting to new heights.
• SEW Experts: Large Enterprise SEO: CMS Duplicate ContentFor large sites, CMS-created duplicate content obliterates SEO.
• SEW Experts: Google vs. the WorldRound 1 goes to Google/DoubleClick and the U.S. FTC. Round 2: Will the EU strike a blow for global privacy?
• Interview with Microsoft's Mike NicholsWith Microsoft's recent set of releases, their new video search engine was unveiled for the first time.
• Try A Little Social Media In 2008Make a resolution: Try participating in social media next year. While your site remains important, your visitors aren't only finding you through typical search engines.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Defining Success: How to Set Web Goals for 2008, ClickZ News
• GPhone To Debut In February?, TechCrunch
• Digg Traffic Has Questionable Value For Most Niche Publishers, Publishing 2.0
• EU: Microsoft's Last Stand Against Google's Acquisition of DoubleClick
• Out With the Old, ClickZ Experts
• Two Search Budgets for One Business?, ClickZ Experts
• Analysis of Kayak.com and Sidestep.com Merger, Compete Blog
• 2007= The Year of Facebook, SEO Chicks
• Rubber Chicken Award - (aka The Columbo) Top 10 Finalists - Vote now, Understanding Google Maps & Yahoo Local Search
• Top 3 Problems of Social Media, GrokDotCom
• A Few Guiding Principles for when you're new to Web Analytics Management, Web Analytics Demystified
• Send Me Your Search Predictions for 2008, Cartoon Barry
• AdSense inspiration, Inside AdSense
• A Post-Google Fraternity of Investors, NY Times
• Predict This! 2008 is going to be…, Metamend
• 10 marketing resolutions for 2008, Church of the Customer
• 2008 Web Predictions, Read/Write Web

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:07 PM | Permalink

December 21, 2007

Search Headlines & Links: December 21, 2007

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• BitDefender Finds Google AdWords Hijack TrojanSeems there is a trojan out there that can replace Google AdWords with other ads, loaded when a person visits an infected website running AdWords.
• Comparing Kayak and SideStep Businesses, For The Last TimeWith the recent announcement that Kayak will acquire SideStep, we wanted to examine the two travel search businesses and what they bring to the party.
• SEW Experts: How to Market SEO to HumansHow do you explain your job to the people you meet at a holiday party?
• SEW Experts: SEM Agency: Uphill Battle? - Part 2After deciding to go out on their own to start a search marketing agency, the main stumbling block for many people is a lack of organizational skills.
• SEW Experts: Online Travel SEM Addictions: Web 2.0, Paid Links, Social MediaIn today's rapidly changing search marketplace, ideas and technology move faster than the speed of light. Search marketers need to catch up, if they can.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Search Engine Heavies Pay Up to Settle Gambling Ad Prosecutions, ClickZ News
• Despite FTC Approval, Google/DoubleClick Deal Still Subject to Scrutiny, ClickZ News
• FTC Proposes Self-Regulation Rules for Behavioral Ad Players, ClickZ News
• Possible Remedies in Europe's Decision on Google/DoubleClick, ClickZ News
• PPC, Backwards and Forwards, ClickZ Experts
• The Un-Siloing of Media, ClickZ Experts
• Is Your Marketing Out of Sync?, ClickZ Experts
• Best of Jim - 2007., Jim Boykin
• Why Many of the Best SEO Ideas Are Not Found on Popular SEO Blogs, SEO Book
• Google Knols and Opportunity, Graywolf's SEO Blog
• Analysis: The FTC clears our acquisition of DoubleClick, Screenwerk
• SEO Theory Search Engine Optimization Quick Reference Guide, SEO Theory
• Look Out, Yahoo. Microsoft Is Aiming at Google and May Hit You Instead!, Boomtown
• If Paid Search Isn't Working Then You're Doing Something Wrong, Search Engine Land
• The Google Monopoly Begins, Microsoft Watch

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:26 PM | Permalink

December 20, 2007

Free Google Flip Video Camcorder --No purchase necessary

OK, strike "no purchase necessary." Free Flip video camcorder: "big purchase necessary?"

Google gave big-time advertisers and SEMs (whose clients spend big) a Flip Video Ultra Series camcorder with recording time up to 30 min. and 1GB internal memory.

Search marketer Shimon Sandler recorded an Oscar-worthy short film (YouTubed) of his Google Video Ultra gift being unwrapped. You'll watch the film again and again, if only to get into the Xmas spirit of green envy that children of all ages feel during the Holiday Season.

Google Flip flopped with all the SEMs who only received Google 2GB USB memory cards instead of the Google Flip (with MSRP of $149.99!). The 2GoogleByte USB card was described by our friends at SERoundtable as more or less a lump of coal -- way inferior to last year's Google gift gadget: a sweet digital picture frame.

It would seem only the FTC approves of Google acquisitions these days.

Here at Search Engine Watch, we'll be providing the P.O. Box for Google Customer Returns and the address of the secret Google Gift Exchange location.

Posted by Kevin Heisler at 6:46 PM | Permalink

Search Headlines & Links: December 20, 2007

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• FTC approves Google's acquisition of DoubleClickThe FTC's investigation focused on antitrust issues, and in its clearance opinion released today, explicitly rejected any current or potential competition concerns.
• Search Engine Visibility and Crawlability of Dynamic SitesHuge databases that generate Web site content on the fly can be the bane of search engine spiders' existence.
• IBM introduces free smart email search softwareWhile search engines still can't help you find your missing car keys, prescription glasses or remote control, IBM Research has invented a “smart” email search solution that can figure out what you are trying to find, even when you aren't so sure yourself.
• SEW Experts: Link Building Case Study: Santa ClausIs Santa Claus a savvy Web marketer?
• SEW Experts: SEO.edu: Can You Learn SEO From a Book? - Part 2The general consensus from the SEO community and Search Engine Watch readers: learning SEO solely from a book doesn't cut it.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Local Search: The Rodney Dangerfield of Online Marketing, ClickZ Experts
• Take Social Networking a Step Further, ClickZ Experts
• AT&T Goes Nationwide with Ad-Supported Directory Assist, ClickZ News
• Google & Human Quality Reviews: Old News Returns, Search Engine Land
• SEO Is Not An Option, It's A Requirement!, Search Engine Land
• List of Regional Search and Interactive Marketing Associations, Online Marketing Blog
• 5 Typical Website Obstacles, SiteLogic
• Ten Paid Link Strategies Approved by Matt, Marketing Pilgrim
• Top 10 Most Influential Blog Posts for 2007, Cape Cod SEO

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 3:30 PM | Permalink

December 19, 2007

Search Headlines & Links: December 19, 2007

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Google's Feed Indexing PolicyGoogle is officially not going to index any feeds, with the exception of multimedia feeds such as podcast feeds.
• Shopping Search Engine Providing Online Safety TipsSortprice - a price comparison search engine - is doing its part this holiday season with a guide to safely purchasing online without falling victim to identity theft.
• Microsoft Cofounder Paul Allen Bidding Against Google For WiFi AccessAllen heads an investment company called Vulcan Capital and is a majority shareholder in U.S. cable operator Charter Communications.
• SEW Experts: Large Enterprise SEO: Content DevelopmentSEO for Large Enterprises means content development on a massive scale.
• SEW Experts: Yahoo, Facebook, Life and DeathThe holiday season is a time for sharing, spending time with family, and the time for writers everywhere to hopelessly pontificate about the coming year.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Adventures in Searchandising, Part 2, ClickZ Experts
• Product Research Through Social Networks, ClickZ Experts
• Environmental Group Uses Google Grants to Target Iowa Voters, ClickZ News
• Paid Search Planning: Do You Really Know Your Customers & Your Market?, Search Engine Land
• The People Inside Google's Black Box, NY Times Bits
• Forced Verticals: You Are Not Spam if You Are the Only Option Available, SEO Book
• Is This the 11th Hour for Thin Affiliate Sites, Graywolf's SEO Blog
• Is The Mainstream Media Hurting or Helping The Search Industry?, SEM Geek
• Local & Social Media Predictions for 2008, Praized
• Finally, a Twitter Measurement Tool that works, Jeremiah Owyang

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:54 PM | Permalink

Microsoft Cofounder Paul Allen Bidding Against Google For WiFi Access

Paul Allen, Microsoft cofounder, has registered to bid in the upcoming auction for the 700-megahertz spectrum scheduled for January 24, 2008. This is the same auction that Google has shown much interest in developing.

"Allen heads an investment company called Vulcan Capital and is also a majority shareholder in U.S. cable operator Charter Communications," Reuters reported.

Posted by Frank Watson at 11:26 AM | Permalink

December 18, 2007

Search Headlines & Links: December 18, 2007

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Google Listening To SEW Blog? Offers Video SitemapsA few days ago SEW Blogger Deborah Richman wrote an article about how tough it was to find videos through the search engines. Yesterday Google announced it now offers Video Sitemaps. Coincidence? Maybe.
• Microsoft adCenter Offering Affiliate ProgramadCenter will pay a bounty for each new advertiser people bring to the Microsoft PPC program.
• Matt Cutts Video on ALT attributesMatt Cutts has posted a new video about ALT tags in images, outlining the basics about how they should be used, and why they are helpful.
• SEW Experts: SEO Conversion Testing: Advanced Search Engine OptimizationThe C-level executive doesn't often understand A/B Web site optimization. What do you do, then, when the CxO asks you to explain it?
• SEW Experts: Search Marketing on the Efficient FrontierMicrosoft bought Avenue A | Razorfish and Atlas Search. Google, buying Performics. Where does that leave Efficient Frontier?

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• IAB Forecast Affirms Ad Spend Momentum Fueled by Europe, ClickZ News
• Future of Online Advertising in Flux, ClickZ Experts
• How Can Small Business Compete in a Highly Competitive Paid Search (PPC) Market?, Search Engine Guide
• Can Search Usage Predict Election Outcomes?, Yahoo Search Blog
• GOOG-411 isn't what you think, Googling Google
• Calls For An Internet Upfront Appear 'Overstated', paidContent
• What Google Knols Can Teach You About Google's Philosophy, Graywolf's SEO Blog
• What Google Knols Can Teach You About Google's Philosophy, LiveSide.net
• Can Blogs Do Journalism?, Publishing 2.0

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:37 PM | Permalink

December 17, 2007

Search Headlines & Links: December 17, 2007

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Who's Google Taking On with Knols?It seems Google's goal with Knol is to take back some of the traffic that Wikipedia is getting from Google searches
• Is Google The Borg or Big BrotherGoogle is growing and the question of whether or not it has become too invasive (or persuasive) is one that needs to be answered now.
• Sep Kamvar Discusses PersonalizationAccording to Google's engineering lead for personalization, the personalization algorithms currently in use by Google currently use two signals: search history and location.
• SEW Experts: Search Marketing Skills: Tips, No TricksWhat are the most important skills needed to break into the search business?
• SEW Experts: B2B Marketing, Road Rules for Content AdvertisingB2B marketing is tough. B2B search marketing is even tougher. The most challenging form of B2B marketing, without a question, is content advertising.
• AdSense Ad Review: Good for Advertisers?AdSense publishers will be able to view ads that advertisers have directed to their sites via Placement Targeting, and choose to block ads they don't feel are "relevant" to their site visitors.
• Still Tough To Find Videos!Despite all the search options available, only 33% of consumers find videos to watch through search engines.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Let's Talk About Links, ClickZ Experts
• Politics and Search Engine Position, ClickZ Experts
• Medio Takes Mobile Search Ad Network to U.K. and Europe, ClickZ News
• Firm Trades Public Relations for SEO, ClickZ News
• Top 9 Things Customers Don't Care About- From A Gen Y-er's Point Of View, Active Rain
• Anatomy & Optimization Of A Local Business Profile, Search Engine Land
• You Can't Compete With the Big Guys? You Sure About That?, Search Engine Guide
• Changing What You Want to Get Out of Social Media, Search Engine Guide
• 11 Steps to Successful SEO for Your Business, Search Engine Guide
• SES in the New Year; New York, London and Everywhere Else, Search Engine Strategies Blog
• Semantic and Personalized Search are Fool's Gold, Alt Search Engines
• Jimmy Wales Responds, Battelle's SearchBlog
• Why Are Companies Giving Up On SEO and Forcing SEM?, SEM Geek
• Tracking URLs that pass link juice, Dixon Jones
• Google Knol: Competitors Respond & Time To Limit The Aggregators?, Search Engine Land

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:31 PM | Permalink

December 14, 2007

Google Banned All Jobs: Is real? Or he brewed brouhaha?

Google ban on AllJobs. Global blog-hysteria. What's the real story?

To get the scoop, I turned to Eli Felblum, CEO of global SEO firm RankAbove, after his preso at Dave Burstein's Web Video Summit. His take: blogger-brewed brouhaha.

Elie said the whole fervor over the AllJobs.co.il delisting is just another overreaction to two of the oldest ...

SEO Myths #1: off-page optimization can hurt sites #2: there's such a thing as too much SEO, or over-optimization

AllJobs was temporarily removed but went back up quickly. Today -- indexed in both Google and Google.co.il.

Eli noted even Alljobs' top rankings are back: #2 in Google Israel for “jobs” and #1 for “חי׀וש עבודה”, which means “find work” (a popular search in Israel). Keyword “AllJobs” in Israel returns both the site and the Ha'aretz story about it being delisted.

Why it got penalized is another matter. Blogger Uri Breitman claims the site had too many backlinks (154,311 via Yahoo's Site Explorer). Eli translated Uri's SEO myth: Alljobs was allegedly guilty of “עודף קידום אתךים”, or “too much SEO.”

An "aha!" moment? Hardly. More like haha.

The truth: Google and other major search engines have stated they'll penalize or punish Web sites that don't follow their guidelines. Web sites that pay close attention to SE guidelines (or too much attention) do not generally receive penalties.

So I asked Eli if he'd share his view on link building for large enterprises. Would a site with, say, millions of inbound links raise a red flag? He said, "Do something wrong on your site—like the hidden text on the BMW site—and you get banned. Do too much of something right—like the excessive breadcrumbing on About.com—and you get rewarded, or at least tolerated."

"No search engine can EVER penalize backlinks. If any SEO firm ever got confirmation certain backlinks hurt or delisted a site, it would be open season for malicious placing of those backlinks to their competitors' and their clients' competitors' sites."

Good point. So the most likely cause for the temporary delisting?

"AllJobs did something wrong on-page. Google called them out with a penalty; they contacted Google and resolved it; and all went back to normal. Most likely, AllJobs tried a new SEO firm who told them to make some spammy, black-hat change to the site (no trace remains, but I'm guessing doorway pages). They did it, got penalized, claimed innocence at the hand of an evil SEO firm, and got reinstated—with a warning to use ethical firms from now on, no second chances."

Key takeaway for CMOs: Worry about what's on your page, and check search engine guidelines before making any change your SEO company recommends. Make sure there's complete transparency and you know exactly what they're doing.

Let me know if you want to hear more from Eli -- one of the rising stars in SEO. What do you think ... should we invite him to join the SEW Experts writing crew?

Posted by Kevin Heisler at 7:02 PM | Permalink

Search Headlines & Links: December 14, 2007

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• AdSense Introduces Ad Review CenterGoogle has added the ability for publishers to preview the ads that will run on their sites and to block those they don't want to appear.
• 'Knol' - Google Unit of Knowledge - Expert Authors GatheringSeems Google has turned its eyes on the Wikipedia space and has a spin that may get a lot of attention from knowledgeable authors.
• SEW Experts: Online Video Finds Local SearchHow should local business and national advertisers selling locally think about incorporating video and video search into their ad arsenals?
• SEW Experts: Local Search Lead Gen: Yellowpages.com Ingenio-us StrategyLate last month, AT&T purchased pay-per-call search platform and advertising network Ingenio. What does this mean for AT&T Yellow Pages and, more importantly, Yellowpages.com?

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Privacy Hounds Up Ante on Google/DoubleClick Deal, ClickZ News
• Top 10 Reasons to Double Your Search Budget for '08, ClickZ Experts
• How to Embrace Multichannel Behavior, ClickZ Experts
• Interview: Jeremy Allaire, CEO, Brightcove: We Made Multiple Bets, and The Platform Side Won, paidContent
• Competitive Search Engine Optimization, Bruce Clay blog
• 'Point and Shop' With Nokia, Local Mobile Search
• Should All These Searches Be Forgotten?, Search Engine Land
• Path Intelligence Monitors Foot Traffic in Retail Stores By Pinging People's Phones, TechCrunch
• Paid Links are Bad... No, Good... No, Bad..., SoloSEO
• Will Google Replace Some Ads with Organic Search Results?, SearchViews
• Running a stumble viral marketing campaign, Venture Skills
• Google goes Black Hat with Doorway Page Program, John Andrews
• Mobile Ad Forecasts Too Rosy?, Local Mobile Search
• Google Trends Works For SEO, Local SEO Guide
• 7 Ways to Use Google Knol, Small Business SEM
• Web Site Usability Developers Have No Idea What They're Doing, Cre8pc

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:35 PM | Permalink

December 13, 2007

Search Headlines & Links: December 13, 2007

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• What's Old Is New AgainThere's a hot new ad unit that all the search marketers are talking about: banner ads.
• SEW Experts: Link Building: DIY In-House vs. OutsourcedA white hot debate started last week when Justilien Gaspard presented five reasons to take link building in-house.
• SEW Experts: Brand Strategies for Search Marketing - Part 3Eric Qualman explores the intricacies of the ongoing maintenance/optimization of your brand search terms.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Congressman Laments Cold Shoulder from Google, ClickZ News
• Mobile Firm Aims to Capture Off-Deck Ad Dollars, ClickZ News
• Compete to Provide Competitive Search Analytics, ClickZ News
• A Small Business Year-End Web Site Checklist, Search Engine Land
• Google-DoubleClick Merger Encounters More Setbacks On Capitol Hill, paidContent
• Scoop: Google Analytics Updates - Compare Data Points, Marketing Pilgrim
• Google Answers to Relaunch as Google Q&A, Google Operating System
• Highlights from the Search: 2010 Webinar, Out of My Gord
• 7 Ways Your Page May Be Described in the SERPs, High Rankings Advisor
• What Social Media Isn't - 10 Misconceptions, Search Marketing Gurus
• Farewell Onsite Advertiser Sign-up, Inside AdSense

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:35 PM | Permalink

December 12, 2007

Search Headlines & Links: December 12, 2007

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Putting the "Social" in Social Media MarketingReaching out to bloggers and building a relationship with them can go a long way in improving your social media efforts, your search ranking, and your overall marketing plan.
• Newsknife ranks top news sites in Google News for 2007Newsknife has just produced a ranking of the Top News Sites of 2007, based on its study of the listings of over 3,800 news sites in Google News through the past year.
• Google Mobile Search G-Force: Android Trojan Horse?Is the Google Android software stack Google's gift to the telcos, or a Trojan Horse?
• AdWords Editor 5.0 Having ProblemsSeems there are some minor install problems with the latest version of AdWords Editor.
• Microsoft Acquires UK Mapping ProviderMicrosoft significantly expanded its mapping capabilities in Europe with the acquisition of Multimap.
• CSI Google Could Be New TV ShowSeems a Google satellite camera may help with information in a murder investigation in Australia.
• Yahoo Finance Partners With CNBCIn another move geared toward building their niched portal/community efforts, Yahoo has partnered with CNBC to increase the information available at Yahoo Finance.
• Facebook Applications and Promoting Your SiteOne of the interesting frontiers in the market today is the role that widgets and/or Facebook Applications (and soon OpenSocial applications) can play in your overall marketing strategy.
• SEW Experts: SEO Hell, a CMS ProductionLarge scale Web sites with a content management system (CMS) face different SEO problems than smaller Web sites.
• SEW Experts: Google Mobile Search Gamble: Everybody Wins?If you had billions of dollars lying around, what would you do with it? Google has billions, and has turned its attention to the upcoming FCC auction for Spectrum 700-MHz.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Ad Council Goes Social Route to Prevent High School Dropouts, ClickZ News
• Internet Ad Spend Remains Strong; Other Media Show Weakness, ClickZ News
• Google Expands YouTube Ad Partner Program, ClickZ News
• Microsoft to Sell Ads on CNBC.com, ClickZ News
• Hidden Gems in Google Webmaster Tools, Part 2, ClickZ Experts
• Facebook Fallout: Balancing Innovation, Information Use, ClickZ Experts
• How Changes to the Way Google Handles Subdomains Impact SEO, Search Engine Land
• LinkedIn Opens To Developers; So Does Friendster, paidContent
• Search is a tactile art., Think About Search
• Stupid Black Hat Discussions, John Andrews

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:04 PM | Permalink

December 11, 2007

Search Headlines & Links: December 11, 2007

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Interview with Microsoft's Grad ConnA detailed look at the unique nature of Health Related searches.
• SEW Experts: Social Media for SEM Savvy Small Biz OwnersSocial media campaigns and traffic generally have lower conversion rates -- especially from sites like Digg, StumbleUpon, and Reddit. A huge percentage of visitors from those sites will never buy anything. The challenge, then, is monetizing the traffic.
• SEW Experts: What's in a (Domain) Name? Take 2As much as some people would like to have the industry more regulated and standardized, SEO is both art and science. The art part includes opinion.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• AOL's Platform A Combines Tacoda, Network Sales Forces, ClickZ News
• Clearspring Unveils Widget Ad Network, ClickZ News
• MSN Adds Display Inventory to Mobile Portal, ClickZ News
• Web Analytics 2007: Tools Diversify, Vendors Consolidate, ClickZ Experts
• Search Engine Strategies is Alive and Well, Metamend SEO Blog
• PageRank wrecked the web, Rich Skrenta
• Google Patent on Anchor Text and Different Crawling Rates, SEO by the Sea
• Internal linking technical tips for SEO, SEO Theory
• B2B Search Marketing: Lose the Lingo, Remember the Buyer, B2B SEO
• Hide and Speak: Letting the Spiders Back in to Bento Yum, Search Engine Guide

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:55 PM | Permalink

December 10, 2007

Search Headlines & Links: December 10, 2007

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• It's All in the LinksAccording to Matt Cutts, it really doesn't make much difference to Google whether you choose subdomains or subdirectories for your site.
• The Human Equation: Giving Back Internet Style at SES ChicagoThe World Wide Web has changed how we do everything, including (potentially) the way we give back to our community. But, what do nonprofit organizations look like in the Web 2.0 world?
• Online TV forecast sees huge growth aheadNew research by Informa Telecoms and MediaSome forecasts 38.4 million homes worldwide will receive TV via the Internet by 2012.
• SEW Experts: Search Engines, Silos, SES SolutionsNot long ago, it was easier to justify the existence of disparate marketing functions, each working within its own domain. Today, consumers move between touch points with ease and expect consistent and meaningful messages to be delivered on their terms.
• SEW Experts: Content Advertising Best Practices in ActionIn previous columns, David Szetela advocated turning off your content ad campaigns. Now he puts together all of the best practices he's shared in an example of a campaign that will finally perform, equipping you to turn your new and improved content campaigns back on.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Conference Coverage Recap: SES Chicago & PubCon Vegas 2007, Search Engine Roundtable
• 2008 Outlook: No Sign of a Cooldown in Local Online Ads, ClickZ News
• Search-Engine-Friendly Content Management, ClickZ Experts
• Questions for Frazier Miller, General Manager of Yahoo Local, ClickZ Features
• Search Engine Results Pages Turn Into Destinations, ClickZ Stats
• Are Outdated Policies Squashing Your Brand Evangelists?, Search Engine Guide
• LinkedIn Announcement: The Good News and The Bad, Read/Write Web
• Link Value Factors, Wiep.net
• A Three-Part Primer on Search Spam, Mike Moran
• Live Search survey hints at upcoming changes, LiveSide.net
• Understanding Bids and Budgets, Yahoo Search Marketing Blog
• Google Local Symposium: Listen Carefully, It is Google, The Local Onliner
• B2B Search Marketing: What to Do When Abandonment Rates Continue to be High, B2B SEO
• Anchor Intelligence To Audit Click Fraud, TechCrunch
• An On-page Optimization SEO Checklist, SEO Theory
• Collarity and the Implicit Social Graph, Collarity Blog
• Librarians on Social Networking, Resource Blog

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:51 PM | Permalink

December 7, 2007

Search Headlines & Links: December 7, 2007

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Thoughts on Don Schultz's Keynote at SESHis presentation focused on providing some perspective on the maturity of the search industry.
• Google Improves AdWords Location TargetingGoogle AdWords advertisers now have new options for location targeting of their ads.
• Top 10 stories from SES Chicago – Day 4Looking through more than 30 news stories and blog posts from Thursday, Dec. 6, here are the top 10 stories from SES Chicago on Day 4.
• SEW Experts: Wherefore Art Thou SEO?With so many so-called search professionals on the market today, it's easy to pick one that's inept -- or even unscrupulous.
• SEW Experts: SEM Agency: Uphill Battle?Our new and ever-changing industry presents some unique challenges.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Search: More Options, More Money, More Media, ClickZ
• Online Retailers Fail Customer Experience 101, ClickZ
• Information Is a Competitive Advantage, ClickZ
• Search Conference Coverage 2007: SES Chicago Day Four & PubCon Vegas Day Three, Search Engine Land
• Google to Begin Treating Subdomains as Folders: Max 2 Results Per Search, Search Engine Roundtable
• SES Chicago, Day 4 Coverage, Search Engine Strategies
• 125 Social Bookmarking Sites : Importance of User Generated Tags, Votes and Links, Search Engine Journal
• Google Changes Site Exclusion Process: Confusing Advertisers, Search Engine Roundtable
• SES Chicago 2007 - So You Want To Be a Search Marketer, SearchRank
• 5 Methods to Track Offline Conversions - and Plug Huge Marketing Budget Leaks., Finding the Sweet Spot
• High-level Marketing VPs Value SEO - A lot, Fathom SEO

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:11 PM | Permalink

December 6, 2007

Search Headlines & Links: December 6, 2007

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Yahoo Adds Support for Page-Level Exclusion Tags for Non-HTML DocsYahoo is giving webmasters more control over page-level directives to its Slurp crawler for non-HTML files.
• Google Improves AdWords TroubleshootingGoogle has upgraded its Ads Diagnostic Tool, a tool that allows AdWords advertisers to determine why their ads may not be showing on a given SERP.
• SEW Experts: A Convenient Truth: To Link Builders With LoveThere's no doubt link building is a win-win. The only way to acquire relevant and meaningful links is to provide some value to the Internet community.
• SEW Experts: SEO.edu: Can You Learn SEO From a Book?It's challenging to learn search marketing. Since the rules are made by the search engines and their algorithms, all we can do is try the tactics we learn from others and see what works and what doesn't.
• Podcast & Audio SearchPreparation was the name of the game at today's Search Engine Strategies Chicago “Podcast & Audio Search” session.
• Top 10 stories from SES Chicago – Day 3It's Day 3 at Search Engine Strategies Chicago and it's getting hard to keep up with all the stories coming out of the conference and expo.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Retailers Should Use Local Search to Snag Holiday Shoppers, ClickZ Experts
• Content Delivery Meets Social Marketing, ClickZ Experts
• 'Tis the Season to Be Social: Five Ways to Tap Into Social Shopping, ClickZ Experts
• Facebook Widgets Targeted by New Advertising.com Program, ClickZ News
• Search Conference Coverage 2007: SES Chicago Day Three & PubCon Vegas Day Two, Search Engine Land
• Implicit on my mind, Yahoo Next
• SES Chicago, Day 3 Coverage, Search Engine Strategies
• 5 Free Search Engine Optimization Tools Available Online, Search Engine Journal
• Using Social Profile Pages To Your Advantage, SEO Scoop
• Google Poisoning, SEO Speedwagon
• Using ALT attributes smartly, Webmaster Central Blog
• Keyword Expansion for Local Category Search, Local SEO Guide

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:32 PM | Permalink

December 5, 2007

Search Headlines & Links: December 5, 2007

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Thoughts on Seth Godin's keynote at SESWatching Seth on stage is like watching a nightclub entertainer. And it is entertaining.
• Who Holds the Keys to Video-Related Ads?Nielsen will release a service enabling broadcasters and cable networks to control and make money from their online video distribution.
• SEW Experts: Always Rank No. 1 in Google: Custom SearchImplementing a Custom Search Engine won't change your organic search engine rankings. But it will give you the flexibility to make your listing the top result on every SERP when visitors conduct a search from your site.
• SEW Experts: SEM Brand Reputation ManagementThe cold harsh reality for those who have ever purchased traditional media is: it happens. How fast can you pull your ads?
• Top 10 stories from SES Chicago – Day 2Looking through the 50+ news stories and blog posts from Tuesday, Dec. 4, here are the top 10 stories from SES Chicago on Day 2.
• Hitwise to launch paid and organic search toolsHitwise has added several new features to its Search Intelligence product, including Paid and Organic and Fast Moving Search Terms data.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Google's Armstrong Outlines Five-Year Plan for Offline Ad Sales, ClickZ News
• Europe Paves the Way for Global Web Ad Spending Growth, ClickZ News
• Hitwise Adds Paid and Organic Search Data, ClickZ News
• Adventures in Searchandising Part 1, ClickZ Experts
• E-Marketing Effectiveness: Think Lowest Common Denominator, ClickZ Experts
• Meatball Sundaes & the Smelly Old Guard, AimClear Blog
• The Unfiltered Reality of SES Chicago, AimClear Blog
• Eurekster Emerges From Beta A Different Product Than When It Started, Search Engine Land
• Search Conference Coverage 2007: SES Chicago Day Two & PubCon Vegas Day One, Search Engine Land
• Exclusive: Technorati Relaunches To Focus On Core Blogging Audience, TechCrunch
• Edit your photos! On Flickr!, Flickr Blog
• Yahoo Interviews: Jeff Weiner, EVP & Scott Moore; SVP: Super Mass vs. Super Niche, paidContent
• Zuckerberg Allows Facebook Users to Evade Beacon, NY Times
• MSN/Live Ponies Up About The Referrer Spam, SEO Scoop

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:30 PM | Permalink

December 4, 2007

Search Headlines & Links: December 4, 2007

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Google Launches Local PlusBoxThe Local PlusBox appears as a plus sign and hotlink to a Google Map appearing after an AdWords ad in the top position.
• Big Site, Big Search at SES ChicagoThis unique session at SES Chicago explored the role and shape of search marketing in large and even global corporations.
• Top 10 stories from SES Chicago – Day 1It's only Day 1 at SES Chicago and there are already 40 stories coming out of the conference.
• SEW Experts: Choosing the Best Domains for Search Engine VisibilityWhat's in a name? Search engine visibility starts with buying the best domains.
• SEW Experts: SEMs Get 'No Respect' No MoreAt Search Engine Strategies Chicago, keynote speaker Don Shultz told search marketers in no uncertain terms that they need to start thinking differently about what they do.
• SEW Experts: Measuring Cyber MondayIs it seasonality, or the effect of your SEO efforts?

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Online Ad Spend to Continue Growth Through 2010, ClickZ
• Federated Media to Broker Ad Deals in Facebook Apps, ClickZ
• IAB, WAA: Different Audiences, Different Missions, ClickZ
• The Keys to the Mobile Kingdom, ClickZ
• Jimmy Wales on the role of Wikipedia in society, Information World Review
• Secret mailing list rocks Wikipedia, The Register
• Live Search Conference Coverage 2007: SES Chicago Day One, Search Engine Land
• Honk If You Loved Your Web Site Experience, Cre8pc
• Is Result Diversity Enough? Search Offers a Reflection of What?, SEO Book
• 12 Product Page Conversion Strategies That Shant Be Ignored, Search Engine Guide
• A Slippery Slope: Google Owns a Search Engine Optimization Company, Search Engine Guide
• 5 Questions for Matt Creamer, SearchViews
• Bring back the Butler!, Alt Search Engines
• Are You A Canonical Fascist? Stand Tall!, SEO Speedwagon
• Adwords Impression Share Exact Match: Fact or Fiction?, SEM Geek
• Why PPC is Making Me Love SEO, AU Interactive
• Hiring a consultant? Use an audit to start., Market Motive
• Search and Display: Perfect Together, Yahoo Search Marketing Blog
• Silly Rabbit, Tricks are for Black Hat SEOs, Hubspot
• Matt Cutts of Google on Mission to Remove PageRank from Toolbar, Search Engine Roundtable

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:45 PM | Permalink

December 3, 2007

Search Headlines & Links: December 3, 2007

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• SES Wit and Wisdom: The Don of MarketingIf not yet the godfather of search marketing, he's definitely our HL Mencken. Brilliant, funny, brutally honest.
• SEMPO Brings Search Engines Together for EducationSEMPO, the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization, is bringing representatives from Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft to its annual meeting for a round-robin discussion of each company's latest issues and initiatives.
• Google Makes Paid Link Guidelines Crystal ClearToday in both the Webmaster Central blog and on Matt Cutts' personal blog, the topic of paid links is discussed in detail.
• Can Better Tools Make Up for Less Traffic for Microsoft?Microsoft is hoping that new tools it's launching today at Search Engine Strategies Chicago will allow advertisers and webmasters to make the most of limited traffic.
• Online Information Show this Week in LondonWhile many search marketers in the U.S. are headed to Chicago or Las Vegas this week, our UK readers should not feel left out.
• SEW Experts: How Google, Yahoo Content Ad Matching Really WorksIf you think you know how Google and Yahoo perform content ad matching, you may be surprised.
• SEW Experts: SEM Mentors: The ApprenticeThe search marketing industry needs to take responsibility in solving the search marketing staffing crisis, like this SEM apprentice turned mentor.
• SES: 4 Best SEO panels picked by SEW Expert JacksonSearch Engine Watch Expert Mark Jackson recommends his top 4 must-see SEO panels at Search Engine Strategies Chicago.
• SES Chicago is attracting a crowd of bloggers and journalistsIn the past couple of days, a small army of bloggers and journalists have indicated that they're heading for SES Chicago.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• TurnHere to Create Local Business Videos for Superpages, ClickZ
• ComScore Study Reinforces Online Reviews' Impact on Offline Sales, ClickZ
• The Big SEO Learning Curve, ClickZ
• The New Digital Altruism, ClickZ
• Google Bans Ads For (Most) Paid Links Marketplaces, Google Blogoscoped
• JotSpot to Spawn Google Sites - Can it Make Intranet CMS Dinosaurs Extinct?, Read/Write Web
• Latest Yahoo Org Changes: Scott Moore Adds Entertainment, Broady Out; LMC Splitting Up, paidContent
• Internet Ad Spend Set To Overtake Radio In '08, Magazines By 2010: Report, paidContent
• Why Google is bidding in the 700MHz wireless spectrum auction, Don Dodge
• SES Chicago: Catering to Clients both Big & Small, Online Marketing Blog
• SES Chicago: Traveling Locally To Ensure Clients Are Found Universally, Online Marketing Blog
• Admission of Guilt Will No Longer Be Required For Google Reconsideration Request, SEO Scoop
• Less PageRank Floating Around In SEO Niche, SEO Scoop
• Foosball at SES Chicago!, Stone Temple Consulting
• 4 Web Analytics Tips for SEM, Search Marketing Gurus
• Facebook's Chamath Palihapitiya Keynote at SES Local/ILM:07, Search Marketing Gurus
• Local Keyword Research Laying the Foundation for Success at SES Local/ILM:07, Search Marketing Gurus

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:32 PM | Permalink

SES Wit and Wisdom: The Don of Marketing

Opening Keynote this afternoon: Don E. Schultz, Professor (Emeritus-in-Service), Integrated Marketing Communications, Northwestern University & President of Agora, Inc.

Some quick hits from a conversation I had with the Don (not The Donald). If not yet the godfather of search marketing, he's definitely our HL Mencken. Brilliant, funny, brutally honest. His quotes: audience food for thought and candid questions.

Here's Don on Truth, Knowledge, and the American Way:

Search destroyer: "All marketing theory is based on a push marketplace. Marketers develop material and messages to push out faster, in more volume. What does the search model do? Destroys the push model. I, as a consumer, can go anywhere I want online."

How to fix traditional marketing models: "Blow 'em up and start over."

Biggest marketing problem: "Measuring campaigns separately and independently. TV versus radio versus newspaper versus online. The premise is consumers only doing one thing at time. We don't have any ways to measure multitasking behavior."

How marketing problems are solved: "There are lots of people throwing lots of money at it with no clue."

Jack Welch: "The era of Welch may be over. Leaders aren't pioneers who won the West. There's a leveling of leadership and much more interaction."

Social networks: "Social networks are there to certify and validate: I am here. I am alive. I am part of a group. I perform as part of a system."

Mobile Search: "We've defined search in Western terms. The U.S. is a Third or Fourth world country when it comes to mobile. We have five cellular protocols. The rest of the world is on one. We're idiots."

UPDATE: After the presentation, Janelle Landis of Sendtec told me, "best keynote ever."

Missed the Don? Catch him LIVE on video in the Search Engine Watch members section. Coming soon.

Posted by Kevin Heisler at 12:09 PM | Permalink

December 1, 2007

Jason Calcanis: "...I'm One of the Best SEOs."

ILM 07, packed house, on stage Jason says, quote, he's one of the best SEOs." No joke. Mentions Bruce Clay as another. Congrats, Bruce. You've hit the big time. Jason has at least one SEO client on Page 1 of Google -- his Brit bulldogs Taurus and Toro's "los angeles dog trainer." Kelsey Group's Krasilovsky had a very funny, well-mannered "Kal Kan Is" on a tight F-bomb leash: Jason only dropped maybe one onstage. Good boy.

He also claimed (again) SEO industry leaders failed by allowing search engine optimization to get a "smarmy" and "spammy" SnakE Oil rep. Jason wants "good SEOs" to rebrand as "Traffic Optimizers." Why didn't we think of that?

Yo, JasonDawg, Daaaaaaamn, you represent. You could be the first T.O. of SEO.

So now Jason's got mad SEO skillz and Mahalo human search engine, no doubt Kal Kan Is: "One of us! One of us! One of us! Gooble gobble, gooble gobble! …"

Posted by Kevin Heisler at 1:49 PM | Permalink

November 30, 2007

Search Headlines & Links: November 30, 2007

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Facebook Alters Beacon programFacebook has apparently seen the light, making changes to the Beacon program to make it an opt-in program, rather than an opt-out one.
• Strategic Link BuildingGetting links from authority sites and earning trust from others in your space can pay off more than getting even a large number of other links.
• Google experimenting with Digg-like featuresA test in Google Experimental lets users influence the search experience by adding, moving, and removing search results.
• SEW Experts: Local Search: Competing All Over the Map - Part 2While Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft battle for online mapping domination, another competitor is fortifying its position quietly off to the side.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• IYP Exchange Aims to Grab National Ad Dollars for Small YP Sites, ClickZ
• It's 10 p.m. Do You Know Where Your Brand Is?, ClickZ
• Facebook Retreats on Online Tracking, NY Times
• SES Chicago Interview: Kevin Ryan and Kevin Heisler, Online Marketing Blog
• Reputation Management and Your So-Called "Expert" Self, Cre8pc
• Download Your AdSense for Search Top Query Data Before Google Deletes It, Search Engine Roundtable
• Search And The Moral Imperative, Search Insider
• Passing The Tactical Torch To The New Kids, Search Insider
• What Every SEO Company Should Know about Keyphrase Choice, Search Engine Guide
• Anne Kennedy Talks About SES Chicago, Search Marketing Gurus

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:43 PM | Permalink

November 29, 2007

Search Headlines & Links: November 29, 2007

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• YellowPages.com Explains Ingenio AcquisitionYellowpage.com CEO Charles Stubbs made a surprise appearance at ILM:07/ SES Local today to talk about AT&T's acquisition of call tracking provider Ingenio.
• Citysearch Partners with MerchantCircleCitysearch expanded its reach to small business advertisers and added small business content to its local guides through a deal with the social media network for local businesses.
• Yahoo Europe Gets New Hire, Facing Possible ClosingThough Yahoo Europe has been given until the end of the first quarter next year to improve their numbers or face closing, their new hire of a former brand manager for BlackBerry and telephone service provider Orange shows they do not plan on going out without giving it a hard shot.
• Yahoo Fine Tuning Panama Tools, Launches Campaign Tune Up and MoreYahoo has announced some tweaks to the Panama paid search product including campaign tune up tools.
• Yahoo to Distribute Contextual Ads on PDFsAdvertisers on Yahoo's Content Match network may soon see their ads appearing alongside Adobe PDF (portable document format) documents.
• Google Using Doodles To Viral and Brand MarketA promotion to hold a competition for the Google Doodle that will adorn the Australian search results next January 26 helped push their brand in the Australian market.
• News Sites Look For More Control Over Search ListingsA number of the leading online news publishers are looking to get greater control over how and what news of theirs gets listed in search results.
• Are Your Eyes Open to the Changed Advertising Ecosystem?Books are food for the mind. Some merit gobbling down quickly; others are to be read more slowly, nibbled at and savored. Kevin Lee's new book should be read carefully and thoughtfully, for there is a lot of nutrition for the mind between the covers.
• Organic Results Showing Many Malware Sites, Google Expunges ThousandsSeems companies using malware are starting to get good placement in the organic SERPs (search engine result pages), according to numerous reports this week.
• SEW Experts: 5 Best Reasons to Build Links In-HouseIt's tempting to outsource link development, but that may not be the best move for your site.
• SEW Experts: Brand Strategies for Search Marketing - Part 2Once you convince your executives to buy your own brand terms, how do you properly manage and measure them?

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Mutually Assured Success, ClickZ
• Google Digg-Style Experiment, Googlified
• Local Search Engine Marketing: Overcoming Advertisers' 3 Fears, Convert Offline
• TMP Local Search Research, Take Two, The Kelsey Group
• Matt Booth's 2008 Predictions for The Yellow Pages Companies, Local SEO Guide
• Has Google's relationship with CitySearch changed? and other Maps insights, Mike Blumenthal
• Judy's Book Lessons Learned, Screenwerk

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 11:56 PM | Permalink

November 28, 2007

Search Headlines & Links: November 28, 2007

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• SEO Is Not a One-Time EventToo often, companies "approve" SEO only to treat it as a one-time hit, or a short-term project. Months or years later, when they asked someone else to "do" SEO for them, it is discovered that the company had laid none of the basic foundation for SEO.
• Google Maps Add Collaboration Features, Terrain MapsGoogle Maps has gained some more features from Google Earth this week, including the ability for a group to collaborate on map updates, and the addition of a terrain maps feature.
• What are exhibitors exhibiting at SES Chicago?A lot of people will be coming to see what the exhibitors are exhibiting on the show floor. But, what will they see?
• Defense of the social media press releaseYesterday afternoon, the prosecution asked, "Is the Social Media Press Release a Meatball Sundae?" A short time later, the defense made its case.
• Strumpette testifies in social media press release trialWith the opening arguments out of the way, the prosecution will now call its first witness to testify.
• YPA Adds Mobile to Local Search GuideAt The Kelsey Group's Interactive Local Media 2007/Search Engine Strategies Local show today in Los Angeles, the Yellow Pages Association launched a mobile section to its Local Search Guide.
• Take Advantage of the Offline RushAs an online advertiser, you can actually take advantage of the Offline Rush -- and maybe stretch your holiday ad budget as well.
• SEW Experts: SEO for Widgets: CLIQ Case StudyThe search marketing world continues to expand in all sorts of ways. In an SEO strategy, widgets can be extremely effective gaining exposure for the content and tools featured on a site.
• SEW Experts: Understanding the Global Search Marketplace - Part 2Searches are up all over the world, and it's an interesting juxtaposition to think of the rest of the world as "emerging" compared to North America and Europe.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Hidden Gems in Google Webmaster Tools, Part 1, ClickZ
• What Bubble?, ClickZ
• Online Video Ranking: MSN/Live Surge, Competitors Sink, Compete
• Google Content Network Tips: Part 2 - Targeting Options, Environments, and Ad Formats, Inside AdWords
• Detecting more “undetectable” webspam, Matt Cutts
• 9 Paths of SEO Enlightenment, Part I, Search Engine Guide
• Press Release SEO Tips, Online Marketing Blog
• SEO Linking Gotchas Even The Pros Make, Andy Beard
• Structure Search Coming To Yahoo, Search Engine Land
• Music Search Engines Tread Fine Legal Line, TechCrunch
• Brightcove Gives Up on Consumer Video, Read/Write Web
• Source: Yes, LinkedIn and News Corp. are working on a deal, Venture Beat
• How to Structure a Microsoft - Yahoo Deal, Silicon Alley Insider

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 11:50 PM | Permalink

November 27, 2007

Search Headlines & Links: November 27, 2007

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Social Media + Press Release = Meatball Sundae?A meatball sundae is the unfortunate result of mixing two good ideas. In this case, the meatballs are the press releases and the sundae toppings are the Technorati tags, Digg buttons, del.icio.us bookmarks and other Web 2.0 features.
• IBM enhances free enterprise search softwareIBM has unveiled a new release of the free IBM OmniFind Yahoo Edition enterprise search software.
• Matt Cutts Videos on Search SnippetsGoogle engineer Matt Cutts recently recorded a video taking a detailed look at how Google constructs a "search snippet," the information about your site returned in search results.
• SEW Experts: SEO for New Web Site LaunchThe first step in any SEO initiative for new sites is to set realistic expectations and goals.
• SEW Experts: SEO and Usability: Use 'em or Lose 'emMaking sure your small business Web site is user- and search engine-friendly is a challenge.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Ranking the Search Engine Results Page, SEO-space
• Five Mistakes When Asking for Links, WWW Observer
• The Importance of Keywords Meta Tag in SEO, Search Engine Journal
• Black Monday Shopping & Local Search Engine Optimization, Local SEO Guide
• Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Local Search, Local Biz Bits
• Why You Shouldn't Trust Social Media To Search Marketers, Social Media Explorer
• Future Now's 2007 Retail Customer Experience Study, GrokDotCom
• 5 Ways Google Might Monetize Natural Search Results, Jonathan Mendez
• When Bad Reviews go Good, SiteLogic
• Is Google Spiking the Kool Aid With The Content Network's Domain Ads?, SEM Geek
• 7 Steps to Get Your New Site Indexed in 24 hours, SoloSEO

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:26 PM | Permalink

November 26, 2007

Search Headlines & Links: November 26, 2007

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Seth Godin Interview - What's a Meatball Sundae?Seth had offered some criticism of SEO in the past, but it turns out that the real criticism Seth has is not of SEO, or SEOs. It's more focused on what happens when people start thinking that SEO is a magic bullet.
• SEW Experts: Knowledge Gap: CEOs, CMOs, VPs and SEMWhen your CEO, CMO, or other decision-maker knows a little bit about SEM, you've got trouble.
• SEW Experts: The 5 Commandments of Content AdvertisingContent algorithms operate in ways that are counter-intuitive, and to some extent different than the search engines' explanations imply. Before you get into content advertising, you need to know what to do, and what NOT to do.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Social Networks Set Sights on U.K. Market, ClickZ
• Tools for Competitive Search Intelligence, ClickZ
• The Politics & Policy Of The Google-DoubleClick Acquisition, Search Engine Land
• The Thanksgivings of a Search Marketer (2007 Version), SearchRank
• Why We Have to Keep Doing Market Research, Out of my Gord
• R/WW Thanksgiving: Thank You Google for Open Social (Or, Why Open Social Really Matters), Read/Write Web
• Part 2 - The Genesis for a Successful Online Marketing Campaign, Stepforth SEO
• URL Structure and SEO, SEO-space
• SEO & Ninja LinkBuilding > A Chat with ‘We Build Pages' Jim Boykin, Hobo SEO
• Are Your Landing Pages Lean, Mean Conversion Machines?, Online Marketing Blog
• Techniques that Always Work?: Who Uses Dynamic Keyword Insertion, Traffick
• $110 Million Annually is Wasted by Google With the "I'm Feeling Lucky" Button, Search Engine Rountable
• The Inevitable Evolution of SES Chicago, AimClear Search Marketing
• Landing Pages and Google's Website Optimizer Patent Applications, SEO by the Sea

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 11:07 PM | Permalink

November 21, 2007

Search Headlines & Links: November 21, 2007

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• BidHero Brings Analytics to PPC Bid ManagementBid management for PPC campaigns has become more complicated with the introduction of "quality scores" by the major ad platforms.
• Privacy Group Takes on FacebookPrivacy watchdog MoveOn.org has posted an online petition demanding that Facebook respect the privacy of users by making it easier to opt out of the "Beacon Ads" program.
• SEW Experts: How to Integrate PPC and Display AdvertisingPay-per-click (PPC) or display advertising? You don't always have to choose one or the other.
• Discover Your Video SearchVideo search providers agree that indexing and searching through millions of online videos isn't the real challenge facing them.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Think Global, Act Local Training Class at SES Chicago, SageRock
• Starting from Scratch: A Paid Search Primer, Rimm-Kaufman Group
• Google Transfers A LOT of Domains, ResourceShelf
• Microsoft, Google and Yahoo Acquisitions Compared, O'Reilly Radar
• The Sinister Reason Why AT&T Acquired Ingenio, Marketing Pilgrim
• Why We Can't Judge Relevance, Marketing Pilgrim
• They're Dead, Jim, Search Engine Guide
• The Google Set-Top Box (Think Android For TV), TechCrunch
• What Google has planned for Jaiku?, Jonathan Mulholland
• Domaining 101 - Part 2 - Buying domains, Whizzbangs Blog
• Local Search - The Last Mile in Marketing, Metamend
• Cre8asiteforums: What We'll Cre8 in 2008, Cre8pc
• The bleeding at WebTrends continues, Web Analytics Demystified
• Making Social Connections and Selling Cookies, NY Times
• The Social Media Manual: Read Before You Play, Search Engine Land
• Are Your Customers Looking For A Problem?, Search Engine Land
• Thankful for PageRank Updates, Blended Search, ClickZ
• Insider Information: Interviews With In-House Search Marketers, Search Engine Land
• Does Image Search Traffic Convert?, Search Engine Journal
• What's the Difference Between a Subdomain and Domain?, Search Engine Roundtable

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 11:26 PM | Permalink

November 20, 2007

Search Headlines & Links: November 20, 2007

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Oodle 2.0: Improved Classifieds SearchWith a new release it's dubbed "Oodle 2.0," the classifieds search engine has greatly improved its search functionality and user experience.
• Senate Subcommittee Cautions FTC on Google-DoubleClick AcquisitionU.S. Senators are urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to look with a critical eye on Google's planned acquisition of DoubleClick.
• Google Custom Search Engines Go InternationalGoogle has expanded its Custom Search Engine program internationally. Now it's available in 40 languages, and in close to 80 countries worldwide.
• SEW Experts: On Page vs. Off Page SEOOff-page SEO factors are getting all the attention these days. But good, old-fashioned, on-page factors are also vital for every SEO project.
• SEW Experts: Slow Growth in Search? Long Tail Keyword SolutionsWhen building a new startup, you initially see search marketing boom year over year. Inevitably, that growth will slow. The first step in reversing the slow growth trend is to admit your search campaigns may have hit a wall..
• SEW Experts: Global SEM Growth Leaves U.S. SEOs BehindNow that search engine marketing has become a global game, the need for translation services for Web sites has never been greater.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• OpenSocial Has Been Good To Plaxo, TechCrunch
• AOL Launches 'Ticker' Ads, New Video Player, ClickZ
• Declining Conversion Rates, ClickZ
• Digital Ad Firms See Deals En Route To ‘One-Stop' Status, paidContent
• How Do You Value Social Media?, Search Engine Guide
• The Irony Behind an Image Search Result, Google Operating System
• 20 Essential Blog Directories to Submit Your Blog To, Search Engine Journal
• Five Ways Negative Reviews Help Your Online Reputation, Marketing Pilgrim
• Yelp SEO Analysis: Part Two, Local SEO Guide
• Keyword Research Tools for SEO & Social Media, TopRank Online Marketing Blog
• Open Letter To Senators Hatch & Kohl About Google-DoubleClick, Search Engine Land
• What's Wrong with Market Research, Out of my Gord
• Social Media - Social Means Conversation so Ask Me, Don't Annoy Me, Search Marketing Gurus
• Review of Microsoft Live Search Webmaster Center, SEO-space
• The 3 Pillars of SEO, SEM and their Relationship, McAnerin Muse
• Why Paid Search Ad Creatives are Overrated, SEM Geek
• Does Close Enough Really Count?, LocalPoint
• Piper Jaffray Global Internet Summit, The Kelsey Group Blog
• How to Convince a CEO to Enter 21st Century Internet Marketing, HubSpot
• What's After Facebook Or Is The Migration Over?, Social Media Explorer
• Some Clarity About the Ingenio Acquisition, Screenwerk

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:00 PM | Permalink

November 19, 2007

Search Headlines & Links: November 19, 2007

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• AdSense Video Units To Launch In UK, Ireland and CanadaPublishers will be able to show videos from YouTube content partners in ad units on their sites.
• Google Gets Its Court Date In AustraliaAustralians are taking Google to court over the lack of clear division between paid and organic search results. The courts set a date for the hearing in June.
• Yahoo Could Be Selling European UnitsSeems Yahoo is unhappy with their European marketing efforts, the new head of Yahoo's European business Toby Coppel told the Financial Times.
• AT&T To Acquire Pay Per Call Company IngenioAT&T announced plans to acquire Ingenio whose Pay Per Call technology they intend to integrate with YellowPages.com.
• Bloglines Eric Engleman InterviewedOne of the more interesting aspects of the interview was learning about the search functionality built into Bloglines.
• User-Edited Locations on Google MapsGoogle Maps users now have the ability to edit locations on Google Maps for all users to see.
• Poynt Gives New Local Search Option for Windows Live Messenger UsersMultiplied Media has teamed with Idearc to deliver Superpages.com's full directory of local U.S. business listings over instant messaging platforms.
• SEW Experts: Search Marketing Staffing CrisisThere's a tradeoff most people face in the process of hiring a search marketing team: hire people with less business experience who are likely more familiar with search, or hire people less familiar with search who have more business experience.
• SEW Experts: Content Advertising Explained - Part 3Content ads need to work harder than search ads to distract the reader's attention from the Web site content that attracted them in the first place.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Study: Adjust Holiday Ad Campaigns for Online Crunch, Offline Rush, ClickZ
• Are Analysts Wrong About Online Ad Growth?, ClickZ
• Adversarial Information Retrieval -- That's Spam to You and Me, ClickZ
• Great, Free Consumer-Research Tools, ClickZ
• I Know All About SEO, Ask the SEO Guru
• SMX London Recap, Search Engine Land
• Google Magazine?, TechCrunch
• Search and aggregators set to dominate, Information World Review
• Yahoo Could Close Poorly-Performing European Properties; Third Party Search Partnerships Coming?, paidContent
• Barack Obama's Speech at Google, Google Blogoscoped
• Advertiser 2.0, Yahoo Search Marketing Blog
• Google "Wikifies" Maps To Improve Local Data, Search Engine Land
• Scalability and Human Capital in SEO, Shaving Occam
• Northern Light to Integrate Meaning Extraction into Business Search, Bill Hartzer
• Microsoft Will Show You Your Competitors' Numbers, Smart-Keywords
• Yahoo Site Authentication: What it Can Do For You, SEO-space
• Jody Nimetz on Emerging Trends in B2B Social Networking, SEO-space

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:54 PM | Permalink

November 16, 2007

Search Headlines & Links: November 16, 2007

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Microsoft Exec Claims They Will Have 30% Search Market ShareKevin Johnson, president of Microsoft's platforms and services division, said he thinks Microsoft can get a 40% share of the search market in the next 3-5 years.
• Thanksgiving Turkey, Image Search, and Missed OpportunitiesWith Thanksgiving less than a week away, I fully expected that finding an image of a choice roasted turkey would be as simple as firing up my browser turning to either Google or Yahoo image search. To my surprise this was not to be.
• The 10 Most Common SEO MistakesThere are surely hundreds of different ways that people can mess up their sites. Based on our experience from working with scores of clients, here are the most common problems that we find.
• Clickable Areas on AdSense RedefinedGoogle has redefined the clickable area of its text ads to make only the ad's title and URL clickable, instead of the whole block of text.
• SEW Experts: Local Search: Competing All Over the MapGoogle Maps, launched with AJAX functionality, draggable maps, and satellite imagery in late 2005, started an "arms race" in development of new features and functionality.
• SEW Experts: Brand Strategies for Search Marketing - Part 1Whether you're an agency, consultant, or in-house search expert, it's likely that you will eventually need to answer this key question from your CEO: "Why would I buy my own brand terms? Aren't we are already listed at the top of the search engines?"
• SEW Experts: A Winning SEO Plan to Create Buzz, Traffic, LinksHow do you engage users, create buzz and generate links all at the same time?

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Are You Really Ready for Black Friday?, ClickZ
• Are Social Networks the New Networks?, ClickZ
• A Web Analytics Breakthrough (That May Never Be Used), ClickZ
• Domain Names and SEO, SEO.com
• 7 Ideas For Social Media And Business, The Lonely Marketer
• Death of the Big Media In-House SEO?, Local SEO Guide
• Challenges of Scaling Big PPC Management for Small SEM Shops, aimClear
• An Example of Automated Accessibility Testing, SEO Theory
• Mobile Advertising Revenue Forecast: North America and Western Europe, 2007-2012, Opus Research
• Why SEO's Hate Internet Explorer E-Marketing Performance
• PPC Outsource or In-House? Rules of thumb, Rimm-Kaufman Group
• Guide to Twitter as a Tool for Marketing and PR, Online Marketing Blog
• An Example of Automated Accessibility Testing, Joe Dolson
• Onpage SEO: 7 Tips That Are Easy to Implement, Performancing
• An Insider's Perspective on the Multi-Billion Dollar Domain Name Industry, Domain News
• Early Feedback on Google AdSense Click Area Change, Search Engine Roundtable
• 5 Ways Small Business Can Benefit From Social Media/Networking Sites, Search Engine Guide
• Designing the Perfect Small Business Marketing Conference, Search Engine Guide
• 8 Things the Search Industry Can Teach Small Businesses, Small Business SEM
• Improving Your Ad Copy, Yahoo Search Marketing Blog
• ChaCha: A Bad Idea Poorly Executed, Raises $10 Million, TechCrunch
• Fundamental principles of keyword analysis, SEO Theory
• What Does Google Think About Linkbait?, Small Business SEM
• Did Yahoo Search Change How They Handle 301 Redirects?, Search Engine Roundtable
• 8 qualities to look for when hiring an in-house SEO, Sean McGinnis

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:08 PM | Permalink

November 14, 2007

Search Headlines & Links: November 14, 2007

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• What Can Local Learn from Universal Search?Local content providers can learn a bit about self-promotion by following the search engines' lead.
• Using Google Trends to target cities with press releasesA simple yet clever strategy to make sure that your press releases are seen by cities and regions that are looking for your specific keywords.
• Only Searchable At Your LibraryWhile I'm a big fan of libraries and even remote access for patrons, it's troubling that the public-at-large cannot access these holdings -- or quickly discover them through commonly used search engines.
• Myth Busting: Affiliate MarketingThere is a persistent belief out there by many that affiliate marketing is bad. The truth is that it's all in the packaging, and whether or not your site adds any value.
• Vanessa Fox is on the MoveVanessa Fox, formerly the driving force (and friendly face) behind Google Webmaster Central, is on the move again.
• SES Webcast Today: How Large Enterprises Effectively Integrate Paid & Natural Search MarketingThe one-hour session, part of the Search Engine Strategies Webcasts series, focuses on what the best and brightest CMOs are doing right -- and why no corporations have the answer yet.
• SEW Experts: Bid Management Lookback OptionsOne of the key factors when using bid management tools is how far back in time you need to look at the data to get meaningful results for each keyword
• SEW Experts: Understanding the Global Search Marketplace - Part 1The search world is expanding. Global players like Google, Yahoo, Baidu and Microsoft are competing to be the single resource for accessing information.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• What Power Searchers Do and Don't Tell Us About User Behavior, ClickZ
• M:Metrics Launches Mobile Ad Tracking Service, ClickZ
• Dynamic Ads in VOD: Slouching Towards Emergence, ClickZ
• Advertising Placements by Industry and Top Sponsored Links, October 2007, ClickZ
• Zillow Teams With Yahoo's Newspaper Consortium – Without Yahoo!, The Local Onliner
• SEO Press Releases for Local Search, Local SEO Guide
• Business.com Research Reveals B2B Search Marketing Best Practices, Bill Hartzer
• Publish Your Full RSS Feed and Build Links at the Same Time, Bill Hartzer
• Google Transit trip planning in Europe, Google LatLong Blog
• Past Time For MSN To Pony Up To The Real Truth About Referrer Spam, SEO Scoop
• Surprise: eSnips May Monetize Better Than Digg, Read/Write Web
• Google's Paid Search vs. Organic Results – A Rickety Wall of Separation, Search Engine Guide
• Beyond Local Listings: Can you bring real local communities online?, LocalPoint
• The Google Advanced Search that Could Have Been, SEO by the Sea
• The State of the SEO Market in 2007, SEO Book
• How To Manage In-House SEO When Your Team Is Ignoring You, Search Engine Land
• View Wall Street Journal Online articles from Digg, Digg the Blog

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:40 PM | Permalink

November 13, 2007

Search Headlines & Links: November 13, 2007

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• Do You Know What's Really Causing Your Results?Sometimes, gains in ROI from a PPC campaign could have been even better, if you could identify the point of diminishing returns.
• Report: UK Small Businesses Shy Away from SearchA majority of small businesses in the U.K. are not investing in search marketing, but those who do are seeing an increase in sales.
• Yahoo Adds 9 Asian Countries To Mobile SearchYahoo is now offering its mobile search product in Chinese and has added nine new partners in the Asian market.
• Live Search Shopping Feature CommentaryThe Live Search blog highlighted some additional aspects of their shopping search engine.
• SEW Experts: How To Choose an SEO Agency and WhyWhen pricing SEO services, many companies have a hard time getting a handle on what they should pay.
• SEW Experts: Keywords First - New Web Site SecondWhere do you start once you have an idea for a new online venture? If your goal is to build it and they will come, then you need to start with keyword research.

Headlines & News from Elsewhere:

• Quantcast Brings on CMO, Expands Outreach to Publishers, Advertisers, ClickZ
• Engagement: The Definition Debate, ClickZ
• Death, Social Media, and Remembrance, ClickZ
• Google is Changing the Definition of a "Click" on AdSense Ads, Search Engine Roundtable
• Microsoft launches Live Search Webmaster Portal beta, LiveSide
• The Web in Google's Mobile Browser, Google Operating System