IndustrySearch Headlines & Links: October 19, 2006

Search Headlines & Links: October 19, 2006

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…

  • Danny’s
    On
    Vacation

    After I post the daily search headlines next, I’m officially on vacation for
    the next two weeks. Barry Schwartz will own the blog, so to speak, in that
    he’ll be doing most of the posting while I’m away. I’ll still be poking at
    stuff for the SES Chicago conference, if you’re a speaker or waiting to hear
    back from me on that. Other than that, I’m off to California with my family,
    to remind my boys where Daddy’s from…….

  • Publishers & Authors Consolidate Lawsuits Against Google

    MarketWatch reports that a judge has consolidated two different cases against
    Google to make the process quicker and more “streamlined.” Book publishers and
    book authors have joined together to battle Google on the legal from for
    copyright infringement allegations over Google’s Book Search Project….

  • Searching Via Internet Explorer 7 & The Battle To Be The Default Search Engine

    Now that Internet Explorer 7 has been released in final format, I wanted to
    look at how search is being handled within the browser. There’s been lots of
    discussion and worries about this in the past. Speculation time is over;
    reality is here. In this article, how the IE7 search box works, how you can
    change it and how Google and Yahoo’s toolbars behave within it to try and
    maintain their default status, once gained. The biggest difference with
    Internet Explorer 7 is the one that’s been most discussed, a visible search
    box built into the “chrome.” In the picture…
  • Google
    Hires Pizzella Of GSA’s FirstGov

    FCW.com reports that Google hired M.J. Pizzella to work at Google’s Herndon,
    VA office to “help Google better understand and solve the government’s
    technology needs.” Pizzella worked as the associate administrator of GSA’s
    Office of Citizen Services and Communications and was directly responsible for
    government’s official search engine, FirstGov’s most recent redesign. Her
    title at Google is senior business development manager at Google
    Enterprise….
  • United
    Press International Selling PageRank

    Threadwatch reports that the United Press International is selling links based
    on PageRank values. If you visit the advertising section, specifically for
    text links you will clearly see UPI marketing those text links to manipulate
    rankings and not for direct traffic building purposes like this: The benefits
    they list include “increasing Page Rank” and “improving search engine
    results.” Plus UPI listed out pages, with their current PageRank values and
    backlink counts for marketing reasons. I have posted a screen capture at
    Flickr to document the full page it before Google removes all value from the
    links on this site. :-)…
  • Click
    Fraud Dropping Amongst Google & Yahoo

    News.com reports on a new Click Fraud Index study that shows the click fraud
    rate dropping from 12.8 percent to 11.9 percent in the 3rd quarter amongst
    top-tier PPC engines. Second-tier engines have realized an increase in click
    fraud with 23.2 percent from 20.3 percent. Overall, click fraud is down at
    13.8 percent from 14.1 percent, quarter to quarter….
  • Display
    Your adCenter Ads On Microsoft’s Content Ads Network

    The adCenter Blog has an open invitation to register for U.S. Content Ads. So
    if you are an adCenter advertiser and you want your ads to be found on
    Microsoft’s contextual network, you can apply for an invite here. Note, this
    is not for publishers to sign up with Content Ads, but for advertisers to sign
    up to place their existing ads on Content Ads. I have already begun testing
    Content Ads myself. More details on content ads here….
  • Google
    To Set Up 2nd R&D Office In Israel

    Reuters reports that Google is going to open a second research and development
    office in Israel. This office will be located in Tel Aviv, the current office
    is based in Haifa. Yossi Matias, “a scientist and expert on algorithms,
    databases and Internet technologies,” will head the Tel Aviv office up says
    Reuters. Matias previously worked at Tel Aviv University and as a research
    scientist at Bell Laboratories. The Tel Aviv office should be opening in early
    2007….
  • Verizon
    Announces SuperPages Spin Off, To Be Called “Idearc”

    Ending several months of speculation Verizon announced yesterday that its
    SuperPages unit would be spun off as a separate company, to be called,
    somewhat awkwardly, “Idearc Inc.” According to a BusinessWeek article the name
    is a combination of “idea” and “arc,” words that Verizon told the magazine
    “symbolize how the directory business connects buyers and sellers.”…
  • More On
    Instant Answers, from Microsoft

    Part two of our four-part series on “instant answers” provided by Ask’s Smart
    Answers, Yahoo’s Shortcuts, Google’s OneBox results and Microsoft’s Instant
    Answers is featured in today’s SearchDay article, A Closer Look At Microsoft’s
    Instant Answers. SEW correspondent Brian A. Smith offers an in-depth look at,
    appropriately enough, the Microsoft’s Instant Answers featured on its newly
    launched live.com search engine….
  • Google
    AdWords Releases Website Optimizer for Advertisers

    Google AdWords has released a new tool for advertisers to enable them to
    easily test conversions on varying landing pages, headlines and ad copies. The
    tool then shows advertisers the testing results, including graphs, allowing
    them to chose the best converting ad options for their campaigns. Interested
    advertisers can sign up for the beta here, although only a small number of
    advertisers will be accepted. You can also learn more on the Inside AdWords
    blog….
  • Ask.com
    Using Paid Search On Google As Promotion

    I reported at the Search Engine Roundtable that Ask.com Advertises on
    Google.com To Promote Search Quality of Engine. A search on Raccoon brings up
    an AdWords ad that is marketing Ask.com’s search results. Specifically, if you
    click on the ad, you are taken to a search for the same keyword, Raccoon at
    Ask.com. That search result sports a nice Ask Smart Answer. It is nice to see
    Ask.com using paid search in this fashion to promote their own search
    engine….

Headlines & News From Elsewhere

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