The Search Engine Report, September 4, 2001, Number 58
===================
About The Report
===================
The Search Engine Report is a monthly newsletter that covers developments with search engines and changes to the Search Engine Watch web site, https://www.searchenginewatch.com/.
The report has 175,000 subscribers. You may pass this newsletter on to others, as long either part is sent in its entirety.
Did you know that there’s a longer, more in-depth version of this
newsletter? The twice-monthly “Search Engine Update” newsletter is
just one of the many benefits available to Search Engine Watch members
Learn more about the advantages to becoming a member at this page:
https://www.searchenginewatch.com/about/subscribe.html?source=ser0109
Link for AOL users:
Membership Sign-Up Info
Please note that long URLs may break into two lines in some mail readers. Cut and paste, should this occur.
===================
In This Issue
+ Site News
+ Search Engine Strategies Coming To Dallas
+ GoTo Speaks Out On FTC Complaint
— (full story online, link provided)
+ Inktomi Expands Inclusion Partners
— (full story online, link provided)
+ Image Search Faces Renewed Legal Challenge
— (full story online, link provided)
+ Forget Smart Tags; TopText Is Doing What You Feared
— (full story online, link provided)
+ We’re In The Money, Says Google
— (full story online, link provided)
+ Excite May Be Out; FAST Has Further Layoffs
— (full story online, link provided)
+ Search Engine Strategies Conference Coverage
— (full story online, link provided)
+ AltaVista Regional Listings Left To Rot
+ Google Seeks Usenet Posts
+ SearchDay Articles
+ Search Engine Articles
+ List Info (Subscribing/Unsubscribing)
========================
Hello Everyone–
There was a lot of news for this issue, so I didn’t get to finish up some site updates about power commands and special features at search engines that I’ve been working on. I’ll be back at this and hope to finally get it finished, shortly. However, you will find that the Checking Your URL and Measuring Link Popularity pages are in fairly good shape. They cover the latest ways to find your URLs in search engines or to discover those linking to you. Both are listed below:
Checking Your URL
https://www.searchenginewatch.com/webmasters/checkurl.html
Measuring Link Popularity
https://www.searchenginewatch.com/webmasters/popularity.html
In the Search Engine Facts area, the pages about power searching, the at-a-glance guide to features, and some other pages have a mixture of new and old information, so be forewarned. I had to move them out earlier than expected, due to some technical reasons that I won’t bore you with. Again, I do plan to finish these up shortly.
Search Engine Facts
https://www.searchenginewatch.com/facts/
In the Search Engine Reports area, I’ve updated the Search Engine Sizes page, which shows Google now having 1 billion pages indexed, a new benchmark. The Jupiter MMXI Europe Ratings was updated for France, Germany and the United Kingdom. I’ll be updating the additional countries later this month — I’ll probably do them all on a continually rotating basis, since there are so many to track. For the three I’ve done, the trend charts show pretty clearly how well Google is growing and AltaVista is plunging. MSN is also doing well, as is Ask Jeeves, in the UK. I expect to post new Jupiter Media Metrix Ratings for the US later this month, also. All the pages mentioned can be found via the URL below:
Search Engine Reports
https://www.searchenginewatch.com/reports/
========================
Search Engine Strategies Conference Coming To Dallas
Did you miss the Search Engine Strategies conferences held earlier this year in Boston and San Francisco? Don’t worry! You’ve got one more chance in 2001. On November 14 & 15, Search Engine Strategies will be coming to Dallas, Texas.
The conference features two entire days devoted to marketing your site on search engines. Sessions are designed to bring beginners up to speed on promotion issues, while there are also in-depth sessions designed for more advanced marketers.
Those interested in sponsoring or exhibiting should contact Frank Fazio Jr, [email protected], for more information. Those interested in attending can sign-up via the URL below to learn when registration is open and when the conference agenda will be posted.
Search Engine Strategies
http://searchenginestrategies.com
Use the email box on this page to be notified when the conference agenda is ready.
========================
GoTo Speaks Out On FTC Complaint
At last month’s Online Advertising Forum, GoTo’s CEO Ted Meisel fired back at the complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission over paid listings on some search engines. His comments were both right and wrong on many points. The full story can be found via the URL below:
GoTo Speaks Out On FTC Complaint
The Search Engine Report, Sept. 4, 2001
https://www.searchenginewatch.com/sereport/01/09-goto.html
========================
Inktomi Expands Inclusion Partners
In conjunction with last month’s Search Engine Strategies conference, Inktomi announced a number of new partners who are reselling its paid inclusion programs. A rundown on the new partners, as well as a refresher on the programs, can be found via the URL below:
Inktomi Expands Inclusion Partners
The Search Engine Report, Sept. 4, 2001
https://www.searchenginewatch.com/sereport/01/09-inktomi.html
========================
Image Search Faces Renewed Legal Challenge
If Les Kelly has his way, image search engines will face tough legal restrictions over what they can list similar to how Napster has been constrained over linking to MP3 files. A look at the issues behind his appeal that comes up this month in a case involving image search engine Ditto.com.
Image Search Faces Renewed Legal Challenge
SearchEngineWatch.com, Aug. 22, 2001
https://www.searchenginewatch.com/sereport/01/08-images.html
========================
Forget Smart Tags; TopText Is Doing What You Feared
Bad press got Microsoft to recently abandon plans for “Smart Tags” that turned words on web pages into hyperlinks that it or others could control. However, another company’s system to do this, called TopText, is live, growing in popularity, and has some site owners up in arms.
Forget Smart Tags; TopText Is Doing What You Feared
SearchEngineWatch.com, Aug. 22, 2001
https://www.searchenginewatch.com/sereport/01/08-toptext.html
========================
We’re In The Money, Says Google
Google’s profitable and has been so on an operating basis for the past two quarters, the company says. Along with being profitable, the company also has a new chief executive officer, Dr. Eric Schmidt. The full story can be found online, via the URL below.
We’re In The Money
The Search Engine Report, Sept. 4, 2001
https://www.searchenginewatch.com/sereport/01/09-google.html
========================
Excite May Be Out; FAST Has Further Layoffs
The future looks dim for Excite@Home, which operates the Excite search engine. The company has creditors calling in their loans, putting it into possible bankruptcy. Meanwhile, FAST Search has had its second round of layoffs this year. The article below provides more information:
Excite May Be Out; FAST Has Further Layoffs
The Search Engine Report, Sept. 4, 2001
https://www.searchenginewatch.com/sereport/01/09-excite.html
========================
Search Engine Strategies Conference Coverage
A number of articles out of last month’s Search Engine Strategies conference have been appearing, and links to some of them are available via the URL below:
Search Engine Strategies Conference Coverage
The Search Engine Report, Sept. 4, 2001
https://www.searchenginewatch.com/sereport/01/09-ses.html
Search Engine Strategies
http://searchenginestrategies.com
If you missed it, the next Search Engine Strategies conference will be November 14 and 15, in Dallas. The agenda and information for hasn’t yet been posted, but you can leave your email address to be notified when everything is ready.
=========================
AltaVista Regional Listings Left To Rot
It turns out that AltaVista hasn’t updated its regional indexes since April of this year, and the situation is likely to continue for the next two or three weeks. The plan is for all AltaVista sites to use one master index, rather than having separate country-specific indexes, as operated in the past. When this happens, the regional search results should become fresher.
AltaVista May Leave Users Searching
IDG, Aug. 29, 2001
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,59983,00.asp
Excellent summary of what happened to AltaVista’s regional sites.
Where Have Your AltaVista Listings Gone?
About Web Search Guide, Aug. 29, 2001
http://websearch.about.com/library/searchtips/bltotd010829.htm
Explains how the problems with AltaVista’s regional listings were uncovered.
========================
Google Seeks Usenet Posts
Not content with having Usenet posts back through 1995, Google is seeking out older information to add to its collection. In particular, it is seeking those with NetNews CDs that were published from 1992 through 1995 and is offering a finder’s fee for them. More information about the recovery project can be found below.
Google Groups: Help Us Complete the Usenet Archive
http://groups.google.com/googlegroups/archive_hunt.html
Google Groups
http://groups.google.com
New at Google
SearchDay, Aug. 27, 2001
https://www.searchenginewatch.com/searchday/01/sd0827-news.html
News about recent reading enhancements to Google Groups.
=========================
SearchDay Articles
=========================
Here are some recent articles that may be of interest, from Search Engine Watch’s daily SearchDay newsletter:
Twelve Cool Sites and Tools for Searchers
SearchDay, Aug. 30, 2001
https://www.searchenginewatch.com/searchday/01/sd0830-roundup.html
Display thumbnail images of search results, translate terms in dozens of languages, find related sites based on what you’re viewing — check out the dozen sites and tools covered in this roundup.
=========================
Carrier Pigeons for the Web
SearchDay, Aug. 28, 2001
https://www.searchenginewatch.com/searchday/01/sd0828-blogdex.html
Blogdex is the 21st century kin to Rothschild’s famous carrier pigeons, serving as a terrific advanced warning system for emerging trends and web content that’s often difficult to find by other means.
=========================
BrightPlanet Upgrades LexiBot
SearchDay, Aug. 22, 2001
https://www.searchenginewatch.com/searchday/01/sd0822-lexibot.html
BrightPlanet, the company best known for its often-cited study of the “deep web,” has released version 2.0 of its LexiBot Software.
=========================
AltaVista Launches Trusted Feed Program
SearchDay, Aug. 16, 2001
https://www.searchenginewatch.com/searchday/01/sd0816-av-trusted.html
AltaVista’s new Trusted Feed program offers unprecedented control to webmasters, allowing submission of 500 or more URLs directly to the search engine via an XML feed.
=========================
Reader Tips 1
SearchDay, Aug. 15, 2001
https://www.searchenginewatch.com/searchday/01/sd0815-sdtips1.html
SearchDay reader tips on Google, quotation marks, link building.
=========================
All About XML
SearchDay, Aug. 14, 2001
https://www.searchenginewatch.com/searchday/01/sd0814-xml-nl.html
XML, or Extensible Markup Language, has finally graduated from being a promising idea to a real technology that’s transforming the web in new and powerful ways.
=========================
Keeping Up with the Patent Office
SearchDay, Aug. 7, 2001
https://www.searchenginewatch.com/searchday/01/sd0807-patent-alert.html
PatentAlert searches the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office database on your behalf, and sends you emails that include descriptions of patents in the fields of your choice.
=========================
On the archive page below, you’ll find more articles like those above, plus have the ability to sign-up for the free newsletter.
SearchDay Archives
https://www.searchenginewatch.com/searchday/archives.html
=========================
Search Engine Articles
=========================
Designing Web Ads Using Click-Through Data
Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox, Sept. 2, 2001
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20010902.html
Usability expert Jakob Nielsen experiments with ways to increase clickthroughs on paid listings at Google.
=========================
Find Everything Faster
PC World, Sept. 2001
http://www.pcworld.com/features/article/0,aid,55383,pg,2,00.asp
Comprehensive review of search services, along with product testing. Google comes out on top as a “Best Bet.” FAST and Lycos also show strong scores.
=========================
Trademark Holders Don’t Automatically Win Similar Domain Names, Federal Judge Rules
The Legal Intelligencer, Aug. 31, 2001
http://www.law.com/cgi-bin/gx.cgi/AppLogic+FTContentServer?pagename=law/View
&c=Article&cid=ZZZREUR61RC&live=true&cst=1&pc=3&pa=0
&s=News&ExpIgnore=true&showsummary=0
Just because you hold a trademark doesn’t mean you are entitled to take a domain name that makes use of the mark away from someone else, a US judge rules. This is especially the case, when there is little likelihood of confusion between web sites. Also, note that at the very end, the ability for people to easily find a trademark holder’s site via search engines plays an important role. It was deemed as mitigating any initial confusion if users end up at the “wrong” site by entering the domain name
=========================
Search start-ups seek Google’s throne
News.com, Aug. 28, 2001
http://investor.cnet.com/investor/news/newsitem/0-9900-1028-6985191-0.html
Looks at how Teoma and Wisenut hope to challenge Google (not to mention Inktomi and FAST) in the search space. Both services are impressive, but keep some things in mind. Every new service to come along talks about how they can do it faster and more cheaply. Also, Inktomi and FAST’s paid inclusion programs do not give pages a ranking boost, so saying they offer “pay for prominence” isn’t really correct.
=========================
A Case (of) Sensitive Search
About.com Web Search Guide, Aug. 23, 2001
http://websearch.about.com/library/searchtips/bltotd010823.htm
A look at the state of case sensitive searching at various search engines.
=========================
New uses for Internet address system could strain it
SiliconValley.com, Aug. 17, 2001
http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/svfront/025550.htm
Some fear that adding new top level domain names will bring the current system crashing down around us.
=========================
How to net results in search-site seas
USA Today, Aug. 13, 2001
http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/bonus/qa/2001-08-13-search.htm
A look at paid placement on search engines, along with tips for searching better.
=========================
Internet portals wrestle for ad dollars
MSNBC, Aug. 12, 2001
http://www.msnbc.com/news/612080.asp
Three remaining major portals — AOL, MSN and Yahoo — are fighting it out even harder to capture advertisers and be number one.
=========================
The Atomz website search engine
Pandia, Aug. 9, 2001
http://www.pandia.com/sw-2001/45-atomz.html
Review of using Atomz’s software-free site search solution.
=========================
Google gains popularity among Russians
Europemedia.net, Aug. 7, 2001
http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=4947
Russians are growing to love Google, which probably makes Google cofounder and Moscow-native Sergey Brin pretty happy. Also mentions Russia’s three major search engines, for those interested in the line-up there
=========================
Search by Date at AltaVista and Google
About.com Web Search Guide, Aug. 6, 2001
http://websearch.about.com/library/searchtips/bltotd010806.htm
Searching by date sounds great, but when the dates may have little to do with when the page was actually authored, it may not be so helpful. On the other hand, it can help you determine how fresh or stale a search engine’s listings are.
=========================
Search Engine Optimization FREE!
Wired, Aug. 6, 2001
http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/01/23/index1a.html
This how to guide on optimizing your web site has been updated with tips from Google. If you read it before, reread page 5 for new tips.
=========================
The Search Engines’ Little Secret
BusinessWeek, Aug. 6, 2001
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/aug2001/nf2001086_115.htm
Commentary on the issue of labeling paid listings at search engines.