Highlights from the SEW Blog: Apr. 23, 2007

We’ve collected all the search marketing news from selected posts to the Search Engine Watch blog in the past week, along with recent search-related headlines from around the Web.

From the SEW blog:

Search Advertising

• 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.

Linking Issues & Social Media

• 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.

Analytics & ROI

• Video Interview with Avinash Kaushik of Google Analytics
  Sage Lewis of SageRock has posted a video interview with Avinash Kaushik of Google Analytics, as part of a series of interviews he did at SES New York.
• Yahoo Analytics Getting Attention
  Though they have owned Keylime — an early analytics and bid management company — since buying Overture, Yahoo has not really pushed this product until now.

Vertical & Specialty Search

• 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.

Small Business/Big Brand SEM

• Today’s Featured Expert Columns
  Today’s columns: Compliance Continued: Creating Internal Links for Organic Success; and Branding Isn’t Just for Big Businesses

In-House & Outsourcing

• In House Issues: When You Can’t Afford an SEO Rockstar
  Companies are having extreme difficulties finding an hiring qualified SEO talent, and paying higher premiums for an experienced SEO is intimidating to many businesses.

SEM Industry Issues

• 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.

Searching/Search Technologies

• 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.

More from the SEW Blog

• Google Income, Profits Up
  Google reported its first-quarter financial results today, with profits up 69 percent to $1 billion, or $3.18 a share, on revenues of $3.66 billion, up 63 percent year-to-year.
• Yahoo Profits Up, Search Percentage Down
  March was a bad month for Yahoo, though their stock price is not being effected by it.
• Yahoo and PayPal Join To Challenge Google Checkout
  oining with PayPal, Yahoo will offer an express check system that can be seen as a solid challenge to the Google alternative.
• Yahoo, United Online Renew Contracts
  Yahoo will provide sponsored search and web search results for NetZero, Juno and BlueLight.
• Does Ask Need Soul – Launching ‘Black’ Online Community
  The community, and the initiative IAC is making into this specific ethnic niche, will be headed by Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. and headquartered in Charlotte, NC.
• PR.com adds Yahoo News to press release distribution
  Other enhancements include social bookmarking, distribution via regional channels, file attachments, and a PDF version of the release.

Search Headlines

We report the top search marketing news daily at the Search Engine Watch Blog. You’ll find more news from around the Web below.

• Social Media Optimization: Are SEOs Part of the Problem?, Search Engine Roundtable
• has sma-uk gone?, Threadwatch
• Is social networking dead? Nope. We’ve only just seen the beginning. Here’s why, Sensemaking
• UPDATE: Performics President Responds to Speculation Over Google – Performics Dissolution Rumor, Pepperjam Blog
• Happy National Look Alike Day, SEO Industry, Small Business SEM
• Do We Want to Measure Time Spent?, Biznology
• Google Facing FTC Privacy Complaint, Marketing Pilgrim
• Relationship Brokering in SEO, SEO Hotline
• An Interview with Lisa Barone, Karl Ribas
• SEO Algorithm Roundup: AOL, Ask, Google, Live, & Yahoo!, SEO Theory
• Utah Search Law Could Aid State’s Auto Dealers and Pharma Brands, ClickZ
• Stay In and Read this Weekend; There’s a Ton of Great Stuff, SEOmoz
• Google Rules The Market For One Reason…, Bruce Clay Blog
• IAB Questions comScore, Nielsen//NetRatings Metrics, Marketing Pilgrim
• New Google AdWords Dashboard Looks Like Yahoo Panama, Search Engine Journal
• Why Selling SEO Services is Typically a Bad Business Model, Threadwatch
• News Analysis: Microsoft General Counsel on DoubleClick and Antitrust, Battelle’s SearchBlog
• Time For Google To Give Up The Fight Against Paid Links?, Search Engine Land