NewsThe Search Engine Report September 3, 2002 – Number 70

The Search Engine Report September 3, 2002 - Number 70

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/. 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=ser09

Please note that long URLs may break into two lines in some mail readers. Cut and paste, should this occur.

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In This Issue

+ Search Engine Strategies Comes To Munich
+ Google: Can The Marcia Brady Of Search Stay Sweet?
+ Inktomi Increases Size, Introduces Anti-Proximity
+ German Search Engine Resources
+ Terra Lycos To Launch Paid Placement Network
+ Search Engine Resources
+ SearchDay Articles
+ Search Engine Articles Review
+ List Info (Subscribing/Unsubscribing)

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Hello Everyone–

It’s been one of those terrible weeks. First I sat down to begin working on the newsletter, only to find myself so ill that I needed to lie down. The next day, it was my computer that got ill, showing me a new dreaded blue screen of death I’d never seen before, this time in Windows XP. Microsoft, here’s a tip. Make it the default behavior that the blue screen actually stays up for more than one second, so it’s easier to understand exactly what is wrong!

Of course, understanding that my “hive” file was damaged didn’t help. It turned out to be unrecoverable even when using the mystery Recovery Console, since a password was required that did not match what I knew it to be. “Must be a virus,” said the folks at Dell. Hmm — isn’t that what Norton Antivirus that loads at start-up is supposed to be protecting me from? Well, apparently it could be many things.

Who cares — the end result was another day gone, as I enjoyed the always fun task of reinstalling my operating system and essential software. No, don’t send me info on mirroring my system. I know I should do it. At least be happy that NO DATA WAS LOST. One thing I’m religious about now is backing up every day.

Lest you think you’ve tuned into www.Lockergnome.com, that great source for Windows tips, let’s dive into search engines. The bulk of my work for this issue has focused on a giant article about the role Google plays in the current search universe. Is Google too powerful? Are there things to fear? These are questions being raised more and more, so I felt it worthwhile to take some time out and examine some of the issues.

Ironically, while I’m critical about people being too Google obsessive in the article, it also means that this issue is pretty focused on Google. We’ll return to a more varied set of stories next time!

While speaking of Google, for the past week or so, I’ve noticed that Google’s logo is completely messed up on its results page. Normally, something like that causes me to get a stream of email from others seeing such oddities, but not this time. So, I asked Google. It turns out that a few other people have also been getting the strange logo, and these are all NTL internet access customers in the UK.

Unfortunately, by the time Google figured this out, it was the weekend in the UK. Google’s tried anyway to reach someone at NTL and get them to flush its network cache but has not yet had a response. Google says it will keep trying, so NTL users, hang in there.

Changing topics, for years — literally years — various people have asked if Search Engine Watch has an affiliate program. I’m happy to say that the answer is finally, “Yes!” The program allows you to link to Search Engine Watch and earn a 10 percent referral fee if visitors from your site become Search Engine Watch members. More details about the program can be found below.

Please note that there is a specific caveat about creating “doorway pages” solely designed to pitch Search Engine Watch memberships. One of my pet peeves about affiliate programs is the amount of search engine spam they generate. I certainly don’t want to contribute to this madness. However, this caveat shouldn’t pose a problem to anyone with original and substantial content, who hopes to support that content through affiliate earnings.

Search Engine Strategies Comes To Munich

Search Engine Strategies continues on its 2002 tour, this time coming to Munich on Oct. 17 & 18. As with all SES shows, there will be a variety of sessions about improving editorial listings in search engines and how to advertise effectively on them. There will also be an emphasis on German search engine marketing. Both search engine marketing experts and representatives from major search engines themselves will be speaking. Search engines confirmed so far include AltaVista, Espotting, FAST, Inktomi and Overture. A full agenda can be found below:

Search Engine Strategies Munich
http://www.intmediaevents.com/sew/munich02/

For those in North America who missed our recent San Jose show, you have a last chance this year: Dallas, on Dec. 11 & 12. You can sign-up via the URL below to be informed when the conference agenda is ready.

Search Engine Strategies Dallas
http://www.intmediaevents.com/sew/fall02/

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Google: Can The Marcia Brady Of Search Stay Sweet?

Does search dominance by Google mean that the company is destined to be hated, in the way that Microsoft endures a poor reputation due to its dominance of operating systems, office software and browsers? Such a fate is not preordained, especially given that Google faces plenty of competition. But in a “Google, Google, Google” world, it can be easy for people to forget that Google competitors exists, which puts more pressure on the company. In recent weeks, the search engine has been banned by China, seen a third-party try to capitalize by selling Google’s “PageRank” ratings, been accused of censorship and selling out its listings and even had a dispute over its ad policies with Body Shop founder and political agitator Anita Roddick. A look at these issues and more, just some of the new challenges Google’s popularity has posed for the company.

Resources

The 2023 B2B Superpowers Index

whitepaper | Analytics The 2023 B2B Superpowers Index

8m
Data Analytics in Marketing

whitepaper | Analytics Data Analytics in Marketing

10m
The Third-Party Data Deprecation Playbook

whitepaper | Digital Marketing The Third-Party Data Deprecation Playbook

1y
Utilizing Email To Stop Fraud-eCommerce Client Fraud Case Study

whitepaper | Digital Marketing Utilizing Email To Stop Fraud-eCommerce Client Fraud Case Study

1y