By Elisabeth Osmeloski
Editor, Search Engine Watch
Copyright (c) 2007 Incisive Interactive Marketing LLC
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In This Issue
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+ Upcoming Search Engine Strategies Events
+ Editors’ Notes
+ Top Stories Since Our Last SE Update
+ Special Message from Elisabeth
+ Our Search Newsletters & Feeds
+ About The Newsletter
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Upcoming Search Engine Strategies Events
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Editors’ Notes
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This is our first edition of the SE Update since going to a once per month publication schedule. That means there’s a large amount of headlines and search topics for you to digest in this issue. We’ve been evolving the organization of the newsletter topics steadily over the last few months, but we are always open to reader feedback in terms of content and layout of the newsletter.
For those of you haven’t yet seen the news, I am programming the upcoming SES Travel conference in Seattle, Washington July 26-27, 2007. The agenda should be posted shortly on the site and stay tuned to the SES blog for more details about the show and speaking slots available.
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Since Our Last SE Update:
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Below is a recap of major articles from our daily SearchDay newsletter and important Search Engine Watch Blog postings since the last newsletter. Want to receive these stories daily or via RSS/feed? See the Search Engine Watch Newsletters & Web Feeds page for sign-up instructions.
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Organic Search
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=== SearchDay: May 17, 2007 ===
Will Universal Search Mean Universal Domination? – Will the increased relevance from Google’s new universal search process leave other search engines in the dust?
=== SearchDay: May 16, 2007 ===
Should SEOs Care About Wikipedia? – Wikipedia is not a search engine, and links from Wikipedia no longer count towards increasing your link equity – but there are still plenty of reasons to pay attention to Wikipedia.
=== SearchDay: May 10, 2007 ===
SEO for Blogs and Feeds – At Search Engine Strategies in New York last month, a panel of experts weighed in on the best practices of optimizing blogs and feeds for search engines.
=== SEW Experts: Au Natural===
Blog Your Way to the Top – Mark Jackson takes a look at the benefits of blogging on your Web site.
Socializing To Increase Natural Search Traffic – Learning to write effective copy that enages the social aspect of the Web is one step to natural search engine rankings, says columnist Mark Jackson.
Rules of Engagement: Creating Effective Content> – Columnist Mark Jackson draws the line between effective copywriting and copy written solely for optimization.
The Golden Rule of SEO: Content is King – The foundation of any successful optimization program is engaging the user through quality content development.
Should Paid Links Influence Organic Rankings? – Mark Jackson reacts to recent commentary on filtering paid links out of search engine ranking algorithms. Is it even possible? You be the judge.
=========================== From the SEW Blog: ===========================
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Paid Search
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=== SearchDay: May. 2, 2007 ===
With Growth, Paid Search Gets Complicated – For big companies, managing search advertising campaigns is no longer just about bidding wars.
=== SearchDay: Apr. 18, 2007 ===
Google, Yahoo Speaking More Freely on Click Fraud – With many legal restrictions behind them, the search engines are enjoying their newfound freedom to share details of their click fraud-fighting efforts.
=== SEW Experts: Search Ads ===
Ego Bidding Gone Wild – What happens when the ego gets in the way of smart bidding and positive ROI? Tony Wright talks about the danger of ego-bidding and how to stop a client from bidding their business into the ground.
Capitalizing on the Last Minute Holiday Shoppers – Upset you missed Mothers Day this year? Your mom probably was upset as well. But it’s not too late to take advantage of last minute marketing opps for Dads and Grads. Here’s how.
Microsoft AdCenter: Hear My Plea – Tony Wright lets off some steam, recapping some of AdCenter’s most recent failures and begs the team: stop the madness!
The Google World is Growing: Should Advertisers Be Scared? – Tony Wright takes a critical look at the rapid reach of Google power, and questions how growth will have long lasting impact on the advertising world.
Paid Search, Trademark Legalities and Liability — Oh My! – Tony Wright offers a fresh perspective on search advertising, and the trouble bidding on trademarked terms can bring. One lawyer, savvy in search advertising, provides some legal insight on how search marketers can handle problems that arise.
=========================== From the SEW Blog: ===========================
- Fair Isaac Click Fraud Report Spreads False Alarm
Media reports saying Fair Isaac Corp. (FIC) reported industry-wide click fraud at 10 to 15 percent are not accurate.
- Fair Isaac Pegs Billed Click Fraud at 10-15% – IN VERY LIMITED CASES
Preliminary data from a study by Fair Isaac Corp shows that, in the limited cases it was able to study, 10 to 15 percent of billed pay-per-click traffic was likely to be click fraud.
- AdWords Gets Its Day In Court
American Blind and Wallpaper Factory’s suit against Google’s AdWords will be heard in November.
- AOL on Ad Technology Buying Binge
A day after it announced it would acquire Third Screen Media, a mobile ad technology provider, AOL has now acquired a controlling interest in ADTECH, a German ad network with display ad and e-mail marketing capabilities.
- Google Audio Ads See Broad Release
Google is in the process of making Audio Ads available to U.S. AdWords advertisers.
- Is Segmentation Next Big Thing In Web Marketing?
It is an important element in the marketing mix, though at times a tricky one to apply to search.
- Yahoo Being Sued For Faulty Ad Platform
This one should not get too far, and if it does Yahoo may as well get out of search.
- Bid4Spots Radio Ad Auction Launches in U.K.
Bid4Spots, a competitor to Google Audio Ads, announced plans to launch an auction for remnant radio ads in the U.K.
- Google Print Ads Now in AdWords Console
Andy Beal at Marketing Pilgrim has posted screenshots of the new Google Print Ads interface in the AdWords console.
- Is Microsoft Driving Low-Quality Traffic to its Search Ads?
Microsoft is running ads through IntelliTXT, the much-maligned inline text ad provider. Traffic from those ads does not seem to convert well for some.
- Yahoo Panama Announcement Shows Up Multiple Account Difficulties
When you have all sorts of international accounts (remember Yahoo gives a different account for each country), and in some cases multiple accounts in those countries, it gets tough.
- Google, Yahoo Respond to Click Quality Council Guidelines
The search engines are taking the issued under advisement, while pointing out that they have already begun to address many of the items on the list.
- Microsoft Ad Revenues Up 23%
Advertising revenue grew by 23 percent, and the company is actually ahead of last year’s monetization goals for adCenter.
- Google Adding Print Purchasing to AdWords Interface
To improve their sales numbers for print media, Google is adding a Print Tab to AdWords accounts.
- DoubleClick Takes Ad Exchange on the Road
Apparently DoubleClick’s new ad exchange is a bit more than vaporware, or a pretty bow to put on the package to entice potential acquirers.
- Click Quality Council Outlines 8 Principles of Click Quality
The Click Quality Council, an anti-click fraud group created by PPC auditing firm Click Forensics, has issued a set of eight principles it feels are necessary to produce quality clicks.
- Ask to Launch Contextual Ad Network
Advertisers buying search ads in Ask.com’s Ask Sponsored Listings (ASL) program will soon have the option of buying contextually-targeted ads on IAC-owned sites and third-party publishers.
- Google Builds AdWords Storefront for Intel Resellers
Beginning next week, Intel’s channel partners will be able to plan and buy AdWords campaigns via a custom storefront created by Intel and Google.
- Google’s Long March Towards Taking Over the Advertising Universe
Google continues to invest in extending its advertising reach to include more formats and mediums. It clearly wants to become a one stop shop for advertisers of all sizes and in all mediums.
- AdWords Announces Preferred Bidding Feature
This new feature allows advertisers to specify the average cost per click or CPM (cost per thousand impressions) they want to pay within their AdWords campaigns.
- Microsoft Announces Changes To adCenter
The most intriguing part of their announcement is that they are basing the changes on “user’s likely intent.” How you measure intent is one I will have to get the Microsoft people to explain to me.
- Yahoo and Newspaper Consortium Expand Ad Partnership
Yahoo and 12 leading U.S. newspaper companies struck an agreement to use Yahoo as their paid search partner, and bring local newspaper content to 150 MM U.S. visitors per month.
- Google Audio, Clear Channel Ink Deal
Google and Clear Channel Communications announced a long-term agreement Sunday to place advertising for its online customers on more than 675 Clear Channel radio stations.
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Linking Issues & Social Media
=== SearchDay: May 9, 2007 ===
Social Media Marketing Do’s and Don’ts – At Search Engine Strategies in New York last month, some top social media marketers shared the tricks of their trade.
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=== SEW Experts: Link Love ===
Link Safari: Gear Up for a Hunting Expedition – Link building columnist Justilien Gaspard offers strategic tactics and advice on finding high-value trusted links to create the right linking neighborhoods and associations, including examples of NASA giving links to the travel industry.
You Can Build It, But They May Not Come Social media columnist and optimization expert Sage Lewis discusses the painful prospect of having killer content that no one will read.
Hot Today, Gone Tomorrow: Link Building for the Long Term – Justilien Gaspard takes a look at the long-term results of popular link building tactics and explores why successful link building is just good marketing.
Prevention is the Best Medicine: Don’t Let Viral Campaigns Get Sick and Die> – Sage Lewis diagnoses problems with the most feverish trend in link building – viral marketing campaigns.
Blogging to Gain Back Links – Beginning a blog as a way to attract links and new traffic is hard work, but your site can reap huge rewards from the effort.
=========================== From the SEW Blog: ===========================
- Interview with YouTube on Partner Program
Grant Crowell talks with YouTube’s Head of Product Marketing Jaime Byrne about the expansion of their revenue-sharing partner program to select users.
- Why Wiki?
Wikipedia is not a search engine, and links from Wikipedia no longer count towards increasing your link equity – so why should SEOs care about Wikipedia?
- SEOs Seeing Effects of Google’s Paid Links Algorithm?
UK SEO Dave Naylor says his clients are being impacted by a Google algorithm to penalize buyers and sellers of paid links.
- Podcast on Winning on Digg with Neil Patel
Neil Patel and Eric Enge have put together a two-part podcast series on how to succeed on Digg.
- Matt Cutts’ Paid Links Update
The head of Google’s Webspam team, has added some clarification to his post about Google’s treatment of paid links.
- Starting a New Link Campaign
Good link building always starts with identifying the targets.
- Tomi Poutanen Talks About Social Search
Eric Enge talks with the senior director of product management for Yahoo Answers and del.icio.us.
- More Search Marketers Weigh in on Paid Links
Li Evans has collected the opinions of 10 search marketers on buying links for clients, and on sites that sell links but don’t indicate they’re paid links.
- NoFollow, or MightFollow?
Loren Baker at Search Engine Journal has asked Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Ask.com to explain just what nofollow really means to them.
- Adam Lasnik on Paid Links
Google’s spam fighter provided Eric Enge with some insight into Google’s thinking on paid links, what their objectives are, and how they view Nofollow.
- YouTube to Pay Top Users
Google’s YouTube will begin paying top users for the video content they submit under a new revenue sharing partner program that will let the creators share in AdSense revenue generated by their videos.
- Eric Ward Podcast on Link Building
Eric Enge and Eric Ward recently recorded a podcast on link building, focusing on personalization and Google’s new spam reporting moves.
- ClickZ Specifics Event in May: Social Media
A social media-focused ClickZ Specifics event taking place in New York this month may be of interest to search marketers.
- Google Goes to War on Paid Text Links
Google engineer Matt Cutts posted a series of blog posts on Saturday, attacking hidden links, links in WordPress themes, and paid links. A firestorm of protest suggests he may have gone too far.
- Google ranks The Colbert Nation #1 for “giant brass balls”
Stephen Colbert’s viewers, who have already been banned by Wikipedia, have now mastered the art of googlebombing.
- Google Adds Link Tools, Renames Froogle
Google made separate announcements today upgrading its recently released anchor text reporting tools, and renaming Froogle to Google Product Search.
- MySpace to take on Google News and Digg
MySpace is going into the news search business with a new service that will scour the internet for stories and let users vote on which ones receive the most exposure.
- Blogging to Gain Back Links
Beginning a blog as a way to attract links and new traffic is hard work, but your site can reap huge rewards from the effort.
- The “Bon Mots” of Social Search
It’s clear we’re wrestling with how to define, and then motivate effective participation in, socially-driven search.
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Analytics & ROI
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=== SEW Experts: By The Numbers ===
Winds of Change: Technical SEO Raises Results – A case study on how implementing SEO elements on a luxury hotel site brought real results in both traffic and revenues.
showPage.html?page=3625795″>Maximizing Existing Site Traffic to Improve User Retention – Eric Enge reviews the improved SEO performance and user experience created by some relatively simple upgrades in technology.
How Well Can You Guess the Right Keywords? – Eric Enge reveals suprising results from the ultimate keyword challenge put on by the Wordtracker keyword research service.
9 Ways to Make Money on Analytics – Nine may be the magic number, as Eric Enge gives a sampling of effective analytics tools and ideas to make the most of your data.
=========================== From the SEW Blog: ===========================
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Search Engines, Tools & Technology
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=========================== From the SEW Blog: ===========================
- Google Planning Query Enhancements
The first is a technique that will add a supplemental query that Google’s algorithm determines may return more relevant results. The second is cross-language information retrieval (CLIR).
- Google Experimental to Offer Sneak Previews
Leading-edge users can now sign up for tests of potential new features or interfaces.
- Google Goes Universal, Adds Navigation
a query from Google.com will now show results from Google’s vertical search engines, and a universal navigation bar has been added to all of Google’s pages.
- Start.com Stopped
Microsoft is shuttering Start.com, its experimental interface launched in February 2005 that developed many of the features that ended up in the Live.com start page.
- Forget Demographics Google May Soon Offer Psychological Profiling
Google has submitted a patent for psychological profiling of users. The patent outlines the ability to profile game users by their chat conversations and other text-based interaction with the games.
- News from the Google Shareholder Meeting
Google held its annual shareholder meeting yesterday at the Googleplex.
- Search-Related Legal Updates
Santa Clara University law professor Eric Goldman, on his Technology and Marketing Law blog, has updates on several search-related laws or lawsuits this week.
- Coverage from SEW Live — Columbus
Our latest SEW Live event took place today in Columbus, Ohio.
- Yahoo and Microsoft: A deal made in heaven or hell?
Do Yahoo and Microsoft really need each other? PC Magazine weighs in on the debate with dueling opinions.
- Ask Brings the Algorithm Mainstream
Ask.com’s recent offline advertising campaign is shifting into high gear to build up buzz around Ask’s upcoming Edison algorithm.
- Google Gets Personal with iGoogle
Google’s new iGoogle Personalized Homepage service includes a variety of new features, and more insight into where Google is going with personalized search.
- 6% of Web Sites are Real Estate Related
A February 2007 Netcraft survey says that of the 108 million sites on the web, academics estimate 6% of these are about real estate.
- Microsoft Live Search Loses Another Exec
Dane Glasgow, general manager for Live Search, is leaving the company to work for various nonprofits and spend more time with his family.
- RightDot Awarded US Patent for Web site Verification Process
The new technology could allow search engines to clearly distinguish between official and non-official Web sites through visual, audio or embedded identification on Internet search page site descriptions.
- Ask CEO Explains “The Algorithm”
Ask.com’s CEO Jim Lanzone issued a statement explaining the new campaign that includes the intriguing ad copy: The Algorithm Constantly Finds Jesus.
- The Algorithm Constantly Finds Jesus
This is either going to be the best viral marketing effort for a search engine since Gmail, or Barry Diller is going to have a lot of problems.
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Vertical & Specialty Search
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=== SearchDay: May 1, 2007 ===
A Perfect Storm Hitting News and Media – Hitwise has charted the path of a perfect storm brewing between search engines, news aggregators, blogs and social media sites.
=== SEW Experts: Vertical Search ===
You Can Win On YouTube By Optimizing Comments – Vertical columnist Grant Crowell shares tips for making YouTube work for you as a search marketing strategy.
500 Reasons the Travel Search Industry is About to Explode – As in blow up, or expand greatly, in a good way for search marketers and consumers alike, says Elisabeth Osmeloski
B2B Issues: How to Beat Out Competition with Keyword Intelligence> – Jessica Bowman focuses on competing in a business to business marketplace, and offers tips on how to refine your keyword strategy in this vertical space.
=========================== From the SEW Blog: ===========================
- Will Universal Search Drive Growth of Google’s Vertical Search Properties?
Exposing other search tools through the traditional web search interface should increase usage of these vertical search tools.
- Online News Is Hottest Video Search Category
According to data released by ClipBlast video news is the fastest-growing category on the Video Web.
- Yahoo Researcher Declares Semantic Web Dead
“There is simply no hope in enforcing a complete set of semantics for media (or content) annotation on the web as a whole.”
- PR News survey finds online video is underutilized
A new survey conducted by PR News and Medialink reveals that PR pros aren’t using online video as often as they’re watching it.
- Krugle Announces a Code Search Appliance
Enterprise customers that maintain large source code bases behind the firewall can benefit from Krugle Enterprise.
- ChaCha Partners with blinkx for Video Search
ChaCha, a search engine that search engine that uses human guides to enhance its search results, has announced a partnership with video search engine blinkx for multimedia content.
- It’s Raining Search Engines
It looks like 2007 will be the year of the niche search engines.
- Autobytel Selects Kosmix as Vertical Search Partner
Autobytel has selected Kosmix to power an auto-focused vertical search engine on their “next generation consumer automotive Web site,” MyRide.com.
- New Local Search Site: LocalGuides
The site lets users create lists of favorite local businesses, then share those guides with other users.
- Google Mobile Search Ad Checker Improved
The search page may not be pretty but it appears to be functional.
- Yahoo OneSearch Adds 7 More Countries
The mobile application is now available in several Southeast Asian countries.
- Exalead Enhancements to Image Search
The French search provider has been actively rolling out new features as of late.
- Google Cleans Up Google News
Some recent housecleaning at Google News has resulted in the removal of some controversial foreign news sources that appeared to be gaming the Google News algorithm.
- Last.fm and Music Video Search Tools
The music video search niche is being filled by a growing number of tools for the music video enthusiast.
- Travel Search Overview: Informative or Commercial?
We check in with the travel search engines profiled two years ago.
- Microsoft Takes Stake in CareerBuilder
Microsoft has acquired a minority equity stake in job search engine CareerBuilder, owned jointly by newspaper companies Gannett, Tribune and McClatchy.
- Yahoo Enhances Travel Maps
Yahoo has added some mapping features to Yahoo Travel, using AJAX to add layered images right on a Yahoo Map.
- blinkx Adds French VODEO.TV Content
Through a partnership with VODEO.TV, a video-on-demand French language portal, video search engine blinkx has added 1500 hours of French television content to its index.
- Sphere revamps its blog search site
Sphere has revamped its blog search site to focus more on recent activity, and surfacing related content to search queries from Sphere widget partners
- Technorati includes “Authority” ranking of blogs
Before last Friday, Technorati’s ranking was by the number of inbound links. Now, it’s by “Authority.”
- Online Journal analyzes Belgian newspaper dispute with Google News
The Belgian newspaper group’s dispute with Google News is a reality check for newspapers.
- Google Launches New “Geo” Blog
Google has started the Lat Long Blog, focusing on Google Earth, Maps, Local and APIs.
- Event Search Engine: Oyaka.com
Have a date in mind, go here and see what events are listed in your area.
- Local.com on a Roll
Local.com has announced new enhancements to its SERPs, days after it launched its Local Verified ad placement product and weeks after the LocalPromote landing page product launch.
- MyQuest: India’s Exclusive Local Search Engine
MyQuest.com is looking to dominate the local search space in one of the world’s most populous countries.
- Yahoo Brings Mobile OneSearch to Canada, Europe
Yahoo today launched its OneSearch mobile search application in Canada and five countries in Europe
- Microsoft Buys Mobile Ad Firm
Microsoft has acquired Paris-based mobile ad network ScreenTonic, which serves text and display ads to mobile phones and devices in Belgium, France and the U.K.
- Citysearch Updates Site, Adds Video
IAC-owned local search site Citysearch has redesigned its site, and has added new features like improved recommendations and video.
- Quintura For Kids: Another Search Engine For Kids
The space is a tough one and I think possibly one that has overreached itself.
- SearchQB.com: A Great Google Custom Search Example
An innovative use of Google Custom Search – SeachQB.com – launched last week before the NFL Draft. The site plans to be “the search engine of choice for football scouts, GMs, journalists, and gridiron fanatics”
- Wiki Search Adds Jabber Founder to Team
Jeremie Miller, founder of the open instant messaging service, is joining the Wiki Search project.
- Google (but not Google News) indexes Belgian newspapers again
Copiepresse’s Belgian French-language newspapers from are back in Google, but they are still in talks about Google News, one of the main parts of their dispute.
- Google Helping State Government Sites Get Indexed
Google has teamed up with four state governments – Arizona, California, Utah and Virginia – to make public information on their Web sites more searchable.
- Google News adds button to Google Finance
It appears that this new button is designed to boost traffic to Google Finance, which lags Yahoo Finance by a wide margin.
- PBS Content Now Searchable on blinkx
Video search engine blinkx has added PBS streaming video content to its index.
- Genie’s Searching For Gamers
Gaming has become GenieKnows’ lead offering, and is even presented as the default search on their site.
- Active Athletes In The Lead
Maybe there is a point where verticals can be connected to create critical mass.
- Superpages.com Revises Ad Algorithm
Using an algorithm that makes it more closely resemble Google’s AdWords and Yahoo Search Marketing’s Panama platform, Superpages will begin ranking ads based on criteria like relevance and performance, in addition to bids.
- Images and videos appear at top of Yahoo News results
Over the past two days, images and videos have started to appear at the top of results pages for relevant queries on Yahoo News.
- NearbyNow in 100 Cities by the Holidays
Local search company NearbyNow has built a unique model that helps shopping mall retailers bring in foot traffic by putting their product info and inventory online.
- After a Few Financial Hoops, Blinkx Plans to Go Public
After navigating a series of financial hoops with enterprise search player Autonomy, privately held video search engine Blinkx will wind up as a public company on the London Stock Exchange.
- Yahoo, Gracenote Provide Lyrics For 100,000s of Songs
Yahoo and Gracenote announced a joint venture that will provide hundreds of thousands of song lyrics through Yahoo Music.
- TV Fans Can Now Reach for blinkx Remote
Video search engine blinkx has just introduced a tool, blinkx Remote that will let TV users find full-length TV programming available on the Web.
- Interview with blinkx CTO & Founder on blinkx Remote
Suranga is betting that his company’s new tool will revolutionize people’s viewing habits on the web.
- Will Filtering Solve YouTube Copyright Problems?
Google’s CEO said in an interview at the National Association of Broadcasters conference that Google is close implementing a filtering service that would prevent copyright content from being uploaded to YouTube.
- Pizza Search Engine Slow To Deliver
Artistically it looks decent, but as far as giving you what you need fast and clean, lets just say, in the old days you would be getting the free pizza.
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SEM for Small Businesses
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=== SEW Experts: Little Biz===
Emphasizing Your Assets As A Small Service – Small business columnist Carrie Hill illustrates why bigger isn’t always better, how small companies can win big with converting visitors from their Web site.
Do-It-Yourself Directory Research and Evaluation – Building links and traffic via directory listings is a both critical and confusing for small business owners managing their own SEM. Follow these steps to success in developing your own directory links.
=========================== From the SEW Blog: ===========================
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In-House & Big Brand SEM
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=== SearchDay: May 8, 2007 ===
Handling Search Marketing in Large Organizations – Paid search and organic optimization require different strategies when working to bring them into large organizations. Melanie Mitchell shares her experience of setting up the SEM/SEO practice inside AOL.
=== SearchDay: Apr. 25, 2007 ===
In House SEO for Big Brands / Big Sites – While the actual SEO techniques between small sites and large sites do not necessarily change, the hurdles one has to clear can be worlds apart.
=== SearchDay: Apr. 19, 2007 ===
SEMDirector Offers Accountability to Enterprise SEMs – Search marketing is growing in complexity for enterprise-scale advertisers, and SEMDirector aims to help them get the most from their search efforts.
=== SEW Experts: In-House ===
Tips for Your First Day In-House– Jessica Bowman has the inside scoop for those SEO’s ramping up for their first days as an in-house SEO.
Hit the Ground Running with In-House SEO – Once you’ve made the decision to hire an in-house SEO, the hard work really begins. Learn how to ease the new employee into your organization for maximum results.
You Can’t Afford Michael Jordan, But You Can Get a Strong SEO Leader Finding qualified in-house talent these days is a major struggle for companies looking to expand SEM efforts. Jessica Bowman offers tips on how to go about hiring the right SEO people for your organization.
=== SEW Experts: Big Biz ===
Convincing the Executive Team to Invest in SEO – Aaron Shear shares tips on how to get the executive management team to buy into the idea of search marketing.
A/B Testing is Not as Easy as Learning Your ABCs – Aaron Shear discusses the challenges enterprise sites face when attempting to A/B test for performance in search marketing.
Mission Possible: Managing Millions of Keywords> – Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is measuring the performance of a massive keyword set. Aaron Shear provides insight on approaching the project and suggests enterprise tools to get the job done.
=========================== From the SEW Blog: ===========================
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SEM Industry Issues
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=== SearchDay: May 3, 2007 ===
Lotus Alumni Are Impacting Search – Lotus Development Corp. changed the business world in the 1980s and ’90s. Now its former employees are helping change the search industry.
=== SearchDay: May 3, 2007 ===
Driving SEO Outsourcing Success – Some marketers think that outsourcing the management of their SEO campaign means they can sit back and wait for the results to be delivered. Unfortunately, such thinking is delusional.
=== SearchDay: Apr. 26, 2007 ===
The Gentrification of the Search Industry – Changes in Search Engine Strategies over the years mirror the changes in the industry, which seems to be moving from early adopter phase into the early majority phase.
=== SearchDay: Apr. 24, 2007 ===
Trust is at the Core of the New Web Marketing – Search marketing, and Web marketing overall, is changing. Marketers must understand the value of trust and relationship-building to keep up.
=== SEW Experts: Outsourced ===
The Large Agency SEO Client – How Does this Beast Differ?– Agency insider Chris Boggs talks about the challenges of working with large corporations and big brands.
An Inside View of the Agency – Chris Boggs breaks down some common roles within agency teams, and explains the approach to working alongside others.
=========================== From the SEW Blog: ===========================
- Microsoft to Acquire AQuantive
The company announced plans to acquire digital marketing agency aQuantive for $6 billion.
- WPP Snaps Up 24/7 Real Media
Ad agency holding company WPP has acquired 24/7 Real Media for $649 million, keeping it out of Microsoft’s hands.
- Yahoo’s New Mission
“To connect people to their passions, communities, and the world’s knowledge.”
- News from the Google Shareholder Meeting
Google held its annual shareholder meeting yesterday at the Googleplex.
- Search-Related Legal Updates
Santa Clara University law professor Eric Goldman, on his Technology and Marketing Law blog, has updates on several search-related laws or lawsuits this week.
- Coverage from SEW Live — Columbus
Our latest SEW Live event took place today in Columbus, Ohio.
- Yahoo and Microsoft: A deal made in heaven or hell?
Do Yahoo and Microsoft really need each other? PC Magazine weighs in on the debate with dueling opinions.
- Press Releases Can Be Good, But When They’re Bad They’re Ridiculous
Misleading press releases can make it difficult for potential SEO customers to know who to hire.
- Yahoo and Microsoft Planning Merger Talks?
A little unfounded speculation for a Friday: Microsoft was allegedly asking Yahoo to consider a merger, but then it wasn’t.
- What will be the Downfall of Google?
Andrew Goodman recently discussed a way that Google could lose its stranglehold on the search market.
- Google Fights Back in Viacom/YouTube Copyright Suit
Google denies all allegations in the lawsuit filed by Viacom in March for $1 billion as a result of alleged copyright infringement on YouTube.
- Yahoo to Acquire Right Media
While many people are spinning this as a defensive move sparked by Google’s planned acquisition of DoubleClick, it’s really more of an offensive strike.
- Google and DoubleClick’s Integration Hurdles
There’s just no way that a conflict of interest would not arise, or at least the appearance of a conflict, which would be just as bad for Google.
- Utah Legislators Doing Research — After They Passed the Law
After passing a misguided Trademark Protection Act that will ban advertisers from using the trademarked terms of their competitors to target ads to Utah users, Utah legislators are now apparently talking to the companies involved and realizing they may have made a mistake.
- Is Zunch Communications’ Bankruptcy a Sign of Things to Come?
Zunch is spinning this bankruptcy as a part of a larger trend coming to the industry, but others say that’s not the case.
- Google Changing Tune on Performics?
Google’s no longer saying it has “no plans” to sell off Performics, once it acquires DoubleClick.
- Google/DoubleClick Deal Shakes Things Up
The deal is being lauded by some as a strategic imperative, while apparently already facing pressure on the anti-trust and privacy fronts.
- Where Content’s Not Free
In a world where content’s not free, there are many professional publishers who meet niche needs.
- Addressing the Rights Holders
At the recent SIIA conference, many traditional publishers heard Yahoo appeal directly to their interests. At the same time, there’s no mistaking that Yahoo competes with publishers.
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Special Message from Elisabeth
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I’ve been responsible for the editors’ notes in this newsletter since last December. It has been an enjoyable experience, and I’ve received many positive comments over the last several issues. For that reason, I’m sad to say, this will the last issue of the SE Update I will put together. My last day as editor of “Search Engine Watch” is May 25, 2007. It’s been terrific being a part of SEW for three years, from launching the discussion forums in 2004, to bringing the local SEW Live! networking series to five cities, and expanding my editorial duties over the last year, including the recent launch of SEW Experts. I’m happy to say traffic to the site is strong, if not at an all-time high, due to the fantastic work of our bloggers, columnists, and Search Day contributors. News Editor Kevin Newcomb deserves much of the credit for those areas as well, since joining the site in January. I leave this newsletter and the daily editing duties in the hands of a capable staff, and wish them the best of luck.
What’s next for me? I’m joining a start-up in the travel vertical based here in Salt Lake City, founded by a few people with long-time search industry experience. After years of agency work and freelance consulting, as well as my time at SEW on the editorial side, I’m looking forward to being the in-house director of online media, managing the content development strategy and online marketing programs for vacation rentals at zonder.com.
The timing is fantastic, as I now get to practice what I preach, particularly as I’m still programming our first SES Travel in Seattle, WA, July 26-27th. It’s shaping up to be a great event, with a ton of buzz from speakers and prospective attendees. I hope to see many of you at that event and others in the SEM conference circuit.
˜Elisabeth Osmeloski
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