Below, a recap of stories posted today to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with other items we've spotted but not blogged separately:
From The SEW Blog...
- Smarter Launches Visual Search
Seems that just last week I mentioned a shopping comparison engine launching a color search feature. Well, this week it's Smarter's turn to take the colorful spotlight. Smarter.com today launched visual search. Visual search can be found by clicking on the Clothing & Accessories tab or by searching for any product within that section. Right now it's is a bit hidden as the consumer has to click on a small link under the header. Differentiator here is that Smarter's visual search is all about clothing. Users select gender, then a top (shirt, sweater, etc.), then a bottom (pants, shorts, etc.),... - SnapShot: A Better Version Of Alexa
Compete, Inc. is a B2B firm that conducts consumer-oriented research for large clients. Now the company has released SnapShot, a free tool that anyone can use. It operates like Alexa or Google Trends to display relative traffic, as well as several other metrics such as page views and time on site. Here's an example.... - Google Buys Wiki Maker, JotSpot
The Google Blog announced that they have bought JotSpot, a Wiki maker software solution. JotSpot updated their site to include an FAQ on Google, while Google has turned off signup for the service and locked it down to invite only. You can sign up for JotSpot at the www.jot.com, luckily, I am already signed up with them. Gary Price explains that the "financials are NOT being disclosed."... - Ask.com's Revenue Increases 62 Percent
IAC posted Q3 earning results, and part of that included results for Ask.com. Bloomberg reports that Ask.com's revenue increased 62-percent but at a cost of $2.1 million. The $2.1 million more than doubled from their previous operating cost.... - SideStep Buys TravelPost
SideStep acquired TravelPost for a combination of cash and stock. TravelPost will become a wholly owned subsidiary of SideStep. According to the press release, "TravelPost.com has grown into a leading source for unbiased user-generated hotel reviews and ratings, travel news, information resources and travel blogs. The company has excelled at organizing travel information to improve the way people research and shop for travel." TravelPost, with over 500,000 hotel reviews on its site, might be the smartest little travel site you've never heard of. The coolest feature is the ability to filter hotel reviews by Age, Gender, Budget, and Trip Purpose.... - Google Asks Microsoft To Give Users A Choice
Forbes reports that Google meet with the European Union the other day about antitrust issues. They asked Microsoft to give users a choice when selecting their default Internet search engine. The article explains, "Google refused to say if changes Microsoft has already made to its upcoming operating system, Vista, have gone far enough." You may also want to read Danny's long write up on the release of IE7 and search engine default battle.... - Belgium Slaps Google With $43.2 Million Fine
Gary Price points to a Poynter.org report showing that Google has been fined €34 million (about $43,231,000 USD) for not removing all of the Belgian publisher's content based on a court ruling. Google claims they could not find all the publishers and asked the publishers for help in identifying the content that has to be removed.... - 15GB Gmail Accounts?
Google Operating System reports that some users of Google Apps for Your Domain are noticing that they have 13GB more space then they originally had. Google Operating System asks if Google is just being "generous" or is this an initial "promotion for a paid service."... - More Details On YouTube & Google Acquisition
Blog Maverick has some intimate details on the Google YouTube Deal from a "trusted anonymous author" in a message board. Here are some of the excerpts:... - Google Video Shares Ad Revenue With Video Authors
News.com reports that Google is sharing most of the ad revenue earned on select Google Videos with the contributors of those videos. Specifically, the authors of the "The Diet Coke & Mentos Experiment II" (which is really cool) will be getting "most advertising revenue generated by the latest video." Pretty cool.... - Yahoo Adds Yahoo Store Authentication For Site Explorer
The Yahoo Search Blog announced that if you run a Yahoo Store, you can now easily authenticate your site with Yahoo's Site Explorer. The step by step how to can be found at Authenticating your Site for Yahoo! Site Explorer.... - Garrett French Leaves MarketSmart Interactive
Andy Beal reports that Garrett French has left MarketSmart Interactive. Garrett, I believe, is the last of many well-known and respected individuals who have worked at MarketSmart Interactive to leave. Jason Dowdell was first then highly respected Andy Beal was second, then Heather Lloyd Martin left, then Mike Grehan resigned and now Garrett has left. You can keep up with Garrett at http://www.garrettfrench.com/.... - Health Searchers may be Getting Bad Medicine
Most health searchers don't bother checking the source or date of the information they find online, according to a new report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Even so, a majority say that they are comfortable using this information to alter their own health-related behavior or to share with others. More on the findings released in this report in today's SearchDay article, Rampant Malpractice Among Health Searchers....
Headlines & News From Elsewhere
- Google, Yahoo, Ask.com & Dogpile's Halloween 2006 Logos, Search Engine Roundtable
- Google gets US antitrust nod for YouTube purchase, Reuters.com
- Search Marketing : Most Cost Efficient Customer Acquisition Tool, Search Engine Journal
- Tailoring Ads to Email Users, Google Has Some Poor Fits, WSJ.com
- French publishers target Google Book Search, PC Pro
- Eric Schmidt's "Truth Predictor" Theory - A Horror Story for Politicians?, Search Engine Roundtable
- Multiple Gmail Signatures, Google Blogoscoped
- Top 13 Halloween Sites, Searches and Destinations, Search Engine Journal
- Condé Nast/Wired Acquires Reddit, Techcrunch
- Agency Groups Get Jump On Google-style TV Ads, Yahoo! News
- Putting the "Howl" in Halloween, Ask.com Blog
- Should Search Engines "Hold Users' Hands?", Search Engine Roundtable
- Google Security Intern Raided by FBI for Fake Boarding Pass Site, Threadwatch
- Arse, Bollocks and Bull. PPC and SEO!!, Threadwatch.org
- When an Action Comes Around, You Must Track It, SEOMoz
- Link Building Idea: Become the Expert with a Collection of Interviews, Justlilien
- Page or Brin Purchase NY City Apartment For $30 Million?; Google Testing Newspaper Print Ads Again; Mazda 'Craves' Clicks From Honda & More!, Daily SearchCast
- Getting the most out of Google Desktop, Google Desktop Blog
- Wanted: AdSense user feedback, Google Analytics Blog
- Microsoft's Live Search Being Gamed Still, Search Engine Roundtable
- Comedy Central banned from Google's $1.6bn AV club, The Register
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