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:
Organic Search
- Remapping Dynamic URLs to Static URLs can Increase Traffic
Our second case study has been brought to us by PlumberSurplus.com. In this case study we explore what happens with all the URLs on a site are changed. - Page Rank Obsession
If you want to position for yourself for success now, start thinking about your users first, before worrying about the search engines. - Google Blog Search patent application reveals keys to ranking
A patent application for Google Blog Search reveals some of the factors that can impact ranking.
Search Advertising
- Yahoo Renews Click Fraud Prevention Efforts
Yahoo today put a renewed focus on fighting click fraud by appointing Yahoo vet Reggie Davis as the new VP of marketplace quality. - Google to Test Pay-per-Action Ads
Google today announced a limited beta test of pay-per-action advertising, a new pricing model for certain AdSense ads on its content network that pits the company squarely against affiliate programs. - Minus Expenses, Yahoo and Google Ad Revenues Are Similar
While it is well known Google has higher search market share, recent analysis of profits show Yahoo’s ad revenue is a lot closer than the market share would suggest. - Medio Launches PPC Mobile Search Ad Network
Mobile search provider Medio Systems has launched a new pay-per-click (PPC) text advertising platform. - Google’s Site Targeted CPC Getting Testing
The instructions for how to set up a site targeted CPC campaign have been added to Google’s FAQs.
Linking Issues & Social Media
- Nofollow and Social Media Sites
There was a lot of discussion not too long ago when Wikipedia decided to Nofollow its links, but many people may not realize that Nofollow is used on other social media sites as well. - Can you Automate Link Development?
Using automation in link development is an attractive concept. The idea of getting bunches of links with minimal effort is compelling, but it’s not real.
Analytics & ROI
- Dennis Mortensen in Podcast: Click Fraud is between 2% and 4%
Going on data from more than 4,000 clients, the COO of Index Tools pegs the level of click fraud to be in the 2% to 4% range. - Move Over Dave Pasternack. Travelocity’s Glueck Wants the Hot Seat
Travelocity’s CMO Jeffrey Glueck is now under the spotlight, following his comments that it is a waste of time buying nonbranded search terms and that measuring ROI of search is not possible.
Vertical & Specialty Search
- NewsCorp-NBC Deal Matters, But Not As Google-YouTube Killer
This consortium isn’t meant to be a Google-YouTube killer or a portal that does everything, but should create some critical mass. - AOL, MSN, MySpace And Yahoo! Strike Deal for Video
This everyone-but-Google distribution network could provide advertisers and users a powerful alternative to YouTube. - IAC’s Horan Shares Local Strategies
Peter Horan, CEO of IAC/InterActiveCorp Media and Advertising, shared elements of IAC’s local content strategy in his keynote address Wednesday at the Kelsey Group’s local search conference. - SideStep and EveryClick Team Travel Searches, Charity Donations
The travel search engine just announced a partnership with EveryClick.com, a UK-based search engine with social responsibility, giving 50% of gross revenues to charities. - Get Some Video Ad Accountability
The biggest players are still scratching their heads about how to define and quantify accountability, based on what we heard at ClickZ’s Online Video Ad confab on Monday. - No More Video Island for About.com
Vertical publishers like About.com have clearly evolved in the last year. They used to think about video as a separate island, but now they want all media integrated within their sites. - Extreme Vertical: SupplierSearch – a Furniture Search Engine
SupplierSearch is a furniture industry-specific search engine developed by Furniture Today and Kellysearch, the business-to-business search engine. - Yahoo Increases Reach of OneSearch
Yahoo today made its OneSearch mobile search product available to all WAP-enabled devices, broadening the reach of the service to more mobile Web users. - Yahoo Finance Market Share 52 times Bigger than Google Finance
Last month, I asked: “Is Google News the Tail Wagging the News Search Dog?” Today, I’d like to follow up by asking: “Is Google Finance the dog that didn’t bark?” - YouTube Announces 2007 YouTube Video Awards
Now is your chance to vote for 2007 YouTube Video Awards, honoring the best user-created videos of 2006.
Small Business/Big Brand SEM
- Microsoft Researchers Show How Advertisers Are Funding Search Spam
Researchers at Microsoft and U.C. Davis show the path whereby the ads of legitimate web site owners come to be shown on spam pages. - Innovectra Launches LeadStream
The new local search product combines the personal touch of a telesales force with the automation and tracking synonymous with search advertising.
In-House & Outsourcing
- Let “First Principles” Guide Your Strategy
First principles form a core set of working assumptions, hypotheses, and key beliefs about a single area of interest. Marchex’s Matthew Berk suggests letting all dialogue, all thinking, and all subsequent labor derive from a set of first principles.
SEM Industry Issues
- Microsoft Names New Search R&D Lead
Satya Nadella, who’s currently heading the Microsoft Dynamics team, will move out of that role to lead a newly formed Search and Ad Platform Group within the Platform Services Division. - SEMPO 2007 Officers Named
The Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization has announced its 2007 officers, and Dana Todd’s not one of them. - Google Wins in KinderStart Case
Google has come out on top in a case filed last year by KinderStart.com, in which the kid-friendly search engine and parental advice site accused Google of “downgrading its search-result ranking without reason or warning.” - Google’s New Text Link Ads — Hotornot?
Some people worry that a new ad format included in the pay-per-action program has crossed a line.
Searching/Search Technologies
- February Share of Search Numbers Are In
February share-of-searches numbers are in from comScore and Nielsen//NetRatings, with Google widening its lead over Yahoo once again, though the two had different findings for the direction of Yahoo’s share. - Google Makes Plus Box Official
The “Plus Box” feature, which was spotted in November and which Matt Cutts blogged about in December, is now an official feature in Google SERPs. - AOL France Drops National Search Engine Exalead For Google
AOL France will drop the national search engine, Exalead, for Google.
More from the SEW Blog
- Google Blog Bar Proving Popular
Launched last week, the Google Blog Bar has proven popular and received quite a bit of feedback, according to Google. - Microsoft is Down, but Don’t Count Them Out
Microsoft has clearly stumbled in implementing its search and online advertising strategies. But should we count them out just yet? - Lycos Rebranding As Jubii in US
Having lost the rights to its own name in the United States, Lycos Europe is rebranding itself as Jubii for the US market. - Google Hires SideKick Team To Build GPhone
Google has apparently hired the team that developed the T-Mobile SideKick device. - Website Pros Acquires Submitawebsite
Website Pros, a Web design and marketing firm targeting small to mid-sized businesses, has acquired SEO consultancy Submitawebsite. - Britney Can Use K-Fed To Find Bars and Rehabs
Okay it could be the sign of the apocalypse — or just another example of bad arbitraging — but K-Fed has a search engine. - Gmail Blocking Yahoo Groups Emails
It seems Google does not like Yahoo Groups, and the problem still has not been corrected after 3-4 days. - Comcast Playing Hardball with Google?
Either Comcast is shopping its business, or it’s looking for a better deal with Google. In either case, Comcast wins in this situation. - “Microsoft Sucks,” According to Scoble
Former Microsoft Live evangelist Robert Scoble is now criticizing the company’s performance.
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.
- Local Search, Usability and the Power of Brand, Screenwerk
- Search Marketing Includes Giving The People What They Want, Cre8pc
- How to Get Backlinks, ProBlogger
- The Most Overlooked & Affordable Keyword Research Method, 10e20
- SEO for AJAX, Johnon.com
- Wasting Time or Clearly Incompetent – The SEO Consulting Debate, SEOmoz
- The Enormous list of Linkbuilding tips, articles and resources, Cornwall SEO
- Anatomy of a new site’s ranking process, SEO Scoop
- Google: Sergey Brin on ad revenue knob, ZDNet Digital Markets
- Social Networking and SEOcialista Revolution. Metamend
- Merchant Circle Can Kiss My Consumer Ass, Sugarrae
- Hakia Takes On Google With Semantic Technologies, Read/Write Web
- Is JotSpot Google’s Glue?, Google Operating System
- Restaurateurs threatened by Social Media, and what to do about it, Web Strategy by Jeremiah
- How To: Get a SEO Blog to Digg’s Front Page – The 6 C’s, Brandon Hopkins
- Google Tests a New Design for the Homepage, Google Operating System
- The world’s first carbon free search engine, Picsearch
- Ultimate Web Analytics Comparison Resources, Web Analytics World