IndustryThe Search Engine Update – Number 223 – June 21, 2006

The Search Engine Update - Number 223 - June 21, 2006

Search Engine Watch editor Danny Sullivan's recap of top search engine stories from the first half of June 2006.

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In This Issue
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+ SEW Forums Turns Two
+ Google’s Eric Schmidt In Featured Session At SES San Jose
+ Top Stories
+ More From The Search Engine Watch Blog
+ Daily SearchCast: Search News Via Podcast
+ Our Search Newsletters & Feeds
+ About The Newsletter

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SEW Forums Turns Two
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Our Search Engine Watch Forums turned two years old this month. We recently surpassed the 10,000 members mark and have well over 80,000 posts on search engine optimization and the search marketing industry. All of the SEW Forums staff would just like to say thank you to the entire search marketing community for supporting the forums and helping us grow to this point. We’re looking forward to the year ahead. If you haven’t been by, check out the forums and our many discussions. And come join the celebration in our forum thread, Happy 2nd Birthday SEW Forums!

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Google’s Eric Schmidt In Featured Session At SES San Jose
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I’m very pleased to announce that Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt will be in a featured session at our upcoming Search Engine Strategies San Jose 2006 show this August.

“A Conversation With Eric Schmidt” will happen from 10am to 10:45am on August 9, the third day of our four day show. During the session, I’ll be talking with Eric about how Google is growing and dealing with challenges and issues in search, especially given its stature as the leader in the space.

Eric’s session hasn’t yet been posted to the conference agenda, but that will change shortly. You’ll find full details about the event at the SES San Jose 2006 web site.

We’ve also got a number of search marketing & networking events beyond San Jose, including some topic-specific ones. Here’s our full list:

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Top Stories
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Below is a recap of major articles from our daily SearchDay newsletter and important Search Engine Watch Blog postings since the last newsletter. Want to receive these stories daily or via RSS/feed? See the Search Engine Watch Newsletters & Web Feeds page for sign-up instructions.

=== June 21, 2006 ===

Google AdSense Tests CPA Ads, Commission Based Ads – Some AdSense publishers have been invited to partake in AdSense ads that pay based on action, like an affiliate network. See also: eBay AdContext To Promote Auctions Via Contextual Based Ads.

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The Search & Branding Tug-Of-War, Again – From the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival, news once again of traditional ad buyers worried that search is going to rob their budgets while search engines planning to do that theft try to distract with a “search is a brand thing” message.

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Chinese Authorities Temporarily Shut Down Two Large Chinese Portals – Two of the largest Chinese portals have been temporarily shut down by the Chinese authorities for not passing a “an on-the-spot censorship test.” See also:

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Hacking Flickr – You can do a lot more with Yahoo’s popular photo sharing site Flickr than simply upload your own photos and browse images created by other users. A new book in O’Reilly’s popular ‘Hacks’ series shows you how.

=== June 20, 2006 ===

Who’s Who in Local Search – Although the major services get most attention, there are dozens of players in the local search space and lots of opportunities for search marketers use to highly targeted services to reach users looking for local products and services.

=== June 19, 2006 ===

Google Yanks Sites 5 Billion Pages After Spam Complaint – Several domains were able to seemingly get billions of pages of spam in Google with a couple of weeks. See also:

=== June 16, 2006 ===

Bill Gates To Work Part Time at Microsoft in 2008 – Bill Gates has given up his “chief software architect” role now and will be stepping down to be a part time employee and chairman in July 2008.

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AdWords Ad Scheduling Officially Launches – Google AdWords officially launched their new ad scheduling, enabling advertisers the ability to schedule the appearance of their ads based on both time of day and day of the week.

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Search Engine Forums Spotlight – Links to the week’s topics from search engine forums across the web: Marshall Simmonds, the NYTimes & Acceptable Cloaking – What Are The 200 Signals Google Uses To Rank Pages? – CMS and SEO – An Unhappy Relation – Strategy for Domains In Multiple Languages – Is There Really a Google Sandbox? and more.

=== June 15, 2006 ===

Getting The New York Times More Search Engine Friendly – Online newspapers have often ignored search engines, or viewed them with mistrust, relying on the power of their brands to drive traffic. That attitude is changing dramatically at the New York Times, and with powerful effect.

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Google Relaunches US Government Search, Now With Personalized Home Page – Google launched its search engine for US government information, informally known as Google Uncle Sam, many years ago. It’s been running since at least 1999. But now the service has received an update giving it a personalized home page and formal branding as Google US Government Search.

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Yahoo Sued For Trademark Infringement Using Google AdWords – Yahoo has been sued by lovecity.com for bidding on the lovecity.com trademark in Google AdWords.

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Netscape Aims To Be Digg 2.0, Slashdot 3.0 With Community News Model – AOL is trying to revive its flagging Netscape brand by turning it into a Digg-clone or Slashdot 3.0, if you will, a community-built news portal.

=== June 14, 2006 ===

Understanding Searcher Behavior – Searchers interact with search engines in a variety of ways, and understanding searcher behavior is an increasingly important aspect of effective search marketing.

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Looking At Links After Looking At Patents – “Bill Slawski Interview” over at SEO Buzz Box is well worth a read. Aaron Pratt’s got a great set of questions that he puts to Bill, who in turn has very clear, good responses that show how the original Google notion of links as votes has become complicated for both Google and search marketers. See also:

=== June 13, 2006 ===

MySpace Looking To Auction Search To Google, Microsoft or Yahoo – MySpace-owner News Corp’s Chief Operating Officer Peter Chermin said MySpace plans to “auction off our search business of of the three biggest, Google, Yahoo and MSN, and see the best we can get.” See also: SimplyHired Powers MySpace Jobs.

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Google Earth: An Emerging ‘Geobrowser’ – Google Earth is more than a way to get maps. An entire community has grown around it and is getting stronger. See also:

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Search Companies Energetically Seeking Electricity – The Wall Street Journal reports that the search companies, including Microsoft, Yahoo, Ask and possibly Google are looking to find cheap electricity to power all the computers and hardware that power the companies by moving to remote locations. See also:

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A Real Estate Vertical Search Roundup, Part 2 – The conclusion of our roundup of a number of the most popular new real estate search verticals. See also:

=== June 12, 2006 ===

Google GBuy Launch Later This Month To Challenge PayPal? – Google Payments may be expanded for any merchant to use outside of Google Base by the end of this month. See also: Schmidt Talks On Staying In China, GBuy & More.

=== June 9, 2006 ===

Microsoft Expands Windows Live Book Search With Two Universities & Submission Service – Microsoft announced that the University of California and University of Toronto Libraries will be participating in the Windows Live Book Search program….[MORE”

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Google Paper Explains Listening To Your TV Can Help It Put Ads & Info On Your Computer – There are many people discussing a recent patent Google was awarded for picking up on ambient audio from your TV and pairing those sounds to your computer to serve up ads based on what you are watching

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Google Calls On Users To Lobby For Net Neutrality – Google cofounder Sergey Brin might not have been able to lobby all the US senators he wanted earlier this week to stop a bill that threatens net neutrality. But Google still has a big stick to wave — its users.

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Search Engine Forums Spotlight – Links to the week’s topics from search engine forums across the web: What Top 5 Skills Would You Study to Become a Better SEO? – Brin Says Google Compromised Principles – Is Reciprocal Linking Dead – June 2006: Start of the Traditional Summer Slump, and more.

=== June 8, 2006 ===

Look Out Wikipedia, Here Comes Yahoo Answers! – New stats add fuel to the idea that Yahoo Answers is perhaps becoming a social interacting phenomenon like YouTube or MySpace. A look at the service’s growth and how it works, with a special section for Search Engine Watch members on how Yahoo is building traffic for Yahoo Answers plus how search marketers can appropriately tap into the area. See also: Yahoo Answers Launches “Ask the Planet 2006” Campaign

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More From The SEW Blog
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Below are posts from the Search Engine Watch Blog since the last newsletter and not mentioned above. Want to keep up on daily news from the blog? Visit the home page or subscribe to the blog feed. Note that references to “I” may becoming from any of the Search Engine Watch staff who post to the blog.

=== June 21, 2006 ===

Google AdSense Tests CPA Ads, Commission Based Ads – Some AdSense publishers have been invited to partake in AdSense ads that pay based on action, like an affiliate network.

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The Search & Branding Tug-Of-War, Again – From the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival, news once again of traditional ad buyers worried that search is going to rob their budgets while search engines planning to do that theft try to distract with a “search is a brand thing” message.

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Nielsen//NetRatings Stats Keep Google On Top In May 2006 – Last month, Nielsen/NetRatings had Google hitting the 50 percent mark of percentage of searches handled in the United States (when rounded up from 49.8%). This month, Google slips back down very slightly to 49 percent….[MORE”. See also: Hitwise: Google Nearing 60% Of Queries In US.

=== June 20, 2006 ===

Microsoft, Google & Others Call For Unified Federal Privacy Protection – Microsoft, Google and other tech companies, are unified federal approach to consumer privacy….[MORE”

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Google Pulls Question About Google From Google Answers – A question on Google Answers about Google gets removed by Google….[MORE”

=== June 19, 2006 ===

Google’s Mobile Operations Expected To See Largest Growth – Google’s mobile division, which is based in London, is expected to “become the biggest driver of new business” for Google….[MORE”. See also Google’s UK Chief Kate Burns Leaving For More Family Time.

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Ask.com Sponsors NBC’s Treasure Hunters – Ask.com backing contestants in a new NBC show named Treasure Hunters….[MORE”

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Google To “Internationalize” All Products – Google has asked University of Limerick based in Ireland to help find an “experienced localization guru” to help localize and “internationalize” all of Google’s products….[MORE”

=== June 16, 2006 ===

Sibastien Billard Asks Danica Brinton Questions About Ask – Danica Brinton, head of International Product Management and Localization for Ask.com, was interviewed about the blog search by Sibastien Billard very recently….[MORE”

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Schmidt Talks On Staying In China, GBuy & More – Conde Nast Portfolio, a new business magazine out next year, landed a nice coup of having Eric Schmidt speak yesterday at its launch party. Here are some things worth highlighting to me….[MORE”. See also: Schmidt: Google Still A Tech Company Despite The Billboards.

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Yahoo To Reduce Search Ad Minimum Bid In UK To 5p? – I reported this morning at the Search Engine Roundtable that Yahoo may be reducing the minimum bid price from 10p to 5p. A WebmasterWorld member claimed to read the news in Interactive magazine that Yahoo will be reducing the minimum bid due to competition from Microsoft.

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Riya To Expand Into Web Image Search – Riya will expand to a web image search service. Currently, Riya allows you to upload a photo, define the photo as matching a particular person and then it tries to scan other photos to figure out if other photos in your collecton match that person….[MORE”

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Google Analytics Launches Blog – Google Analytics has launched the Google Analytics Blog to provide product update news, bug fixes, and probably some how to posts….[MORE”

=== June 15, 2006 ===

Big.com Gets Ask Results, Toolbar – I mentioned how useful Big.com was back in October, making it easy for those with low vision to see things more clearly thanks to its big fonts. Brad Haugaard, the project manager over there, dropped a note to say there’s been some changes to improve the service….[MORE”

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The Dilbert Google Logo Story – Remember the Google Dilbert logos? If you do, and you want to read the story behind it, check out Doug Edwards’ post at Xooglers….[MORE”

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SEMPO & Fair Isaac Team Up To Study Click Fraud – SEMPO and Fair Isaac have teamed up to study PPC click fraud. Fair Isaac is the organization that developed FICO scores to measure of credit risk, a service used by most credit agencies….[MORE”. See also Clickbot.A Click Fraud Network Dismantled.

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New Yahoo Publisher Network Changes Focus on New Publishers – Yahoo Publisher Network released a new version of the control panel today which focuses on helping a new user get the most out of Yahoo, both within and outside the Publisher Network realm….[MORE”

=== June 14, 2006 ===

Google’s Complete Plays Of Shakespeare Less Than Compleat – It is now possible to explore Shakespeare with Google, says the company: “The complete plays of Shakespeare” now at your fingertips. Well no, not exactly. I’ve spent some time playing around with this resource and it’s less than impressive for a number of reasons….[MORE”

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ShopWiki Launches Search By Color – ShopWiki this morning launched its ‘Search by Color’ feature which lets consumers quickly and easily filter search results by color….[MORE”

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Forecasted Online Ad Spend Is Corrected Upwards – TNS Media Intelligence (which tracks online display advertising spend) has increased their forecast for 2006….[MORE”

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Japan To Build Own Search Engine With 30 Japanese Companies & Government Help – Japan is going to be building out their own search engine after conducting a focus group on the idea….[MORE”

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New York State Sends Warning On Google Video Service – The New York State Consumer Protection Board is warning parents about Google Video having content not safe for children…[MORE”

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Google Introduces Picasa Web Albums – Google has enhanced its desktop-based Picasa photo organizing program by offering users the ability to upload albums and easily share photos with others….[MORE”

=== June 13, 2006 ===

Yamanner Worm Targets Yahoo Mail Users – Silicon.com reports on a Yahoo Mail worm named Yamanner that comes in the form of an email named “New Graphic Site.” When you open the email, it infects your computer and spreads the worm to your Yahoo Mail address book.

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A Look At 20 Googlers Via Orkut – Philipp Lenssen complied a list of 20 Googler Orkut profiles. Orkut is Google’s social networking software, and many Googlers have profiles and accounts with Orkut. Some of the 20 compiled by Philipp include; Sergey Brin, Adam Bosworth, Jeff Huber, David Krane, Marissa Mayer and more. Nice work!

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New Flavor Of Expand & Collapse Results – Google is now testing a new expand and collapse feature within its search results….[MORE” See also Google Images Home Page Design Test.

=== June 12, 2006 ===

‘Search: Thy Name Is Google’ – A new report on search behavior point out that everyone can do better in more efficiently providing relevant results to users. However, the report confirms that until something better and more relevant comes along, for now “Search, They Name Is Google”….[MORE”. See also: The Downside Of Google?.

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Reflecting On Direct Hit, The Google Rival – Gary Culliss, formerly of Direct Hit, talks cashing out of search early on back when Direct Hit and Google both started….[MORE”

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Trovetopia – Yahoo Shopping Test Bed Site – Trovetopia turns out to be a test bed for Yahoo APIs rather than a shopping site Yahoo intends for consumers….[MORE”

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Google Founder “Ron Google” Helps Jessica Alba At MTV Movie Awards – A clip from last night’s MTV Movie Awards shows Jessica Alba having “Ron Google,” the inventor of Google, comment on if she’s really that popular….[MORE”

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MSN Windows Live Launches News & Local Live Answers – The MSN Search blog announced that MSN Search now supports news specific and local specific “live answers”….[MORE”

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Google Video Movers & Shakers (AKA Zeitgeist) – Movers & Shakers feature is a page that shows you the most popular videos at Google Video….[MORE”

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World Cup: Google Does The Logo Thing; Yahoo & Ask Have Smart Shortcuts – Google’s sporting a special World Cup-version of its logo in honor of the start of the World Cup today, while Yahoo and Ask are offering special results that come up after World Cup-related searches. A round-up of what’s going on….[MORE”. See also: US, UK Searchers & The World Cup

=== June 8, 2006 ===

Yahoo Photos Upgraded, Beta Available -Yahoo Photos has a new beta offering tagging and other features….[MORE”

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New Link Building Guide – There’s a new guide going over how to build links in 2006….[MORE”

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The Top 100 Companies Searched Most On Hoover’s Web site – Hoover’s released the Hoover’s 100, the top 100 companies searched most on at the Hoover’s web site. The top ten are; Wal-Mart, Apple, Proctor & Gamble, Dell, Microsoft, GE, Starbucks, Johnson & Johnson, Google and IBM, respectively. To view the full top 100, visit The Hoover’s 100.

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Google Browser Sync For Firefox – Google announced a new Firefox plugin named Google Browser Sync. The Firefox extension allows you to “synchronizes your browser settings including bookmarks, history, persistent cookies, and saved passwords across your computers….[MORE”

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IceRocket Sale To Think Is Off, Sort Of, – That deal for Think Partnership to purchase blog search engine IceRocket? Formally, it’s expired — though both sides are still talking.

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Daily SearchCast: Search News Via Podcast
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Want to keep up with the latest in search news while you’re on the go? Try our podcast, The Daily SearchCast. It’s a 10-15 minute recap of the previous day’s news. How to tune-in?

  • Subscribe to our main SEW Blog feed, and you’ll receive the podcasts automatically when we alert readers to them each day.
  • Subscribe to our special podcast feed, and you’ll receive an alert only about new podcasts that we’ve posted.
  • Tune into WebmasterRadio.FM, where we go out live at 11:30am Eastern and then repeat at 2pm Eastern. The show archive at WebmasterRadio is here.
  • Listen via our Odeo channel, where it’s easy to see our past shows and hear them by using little play buttons right within your browser.
  • Listen online or subscribe for MP3 player downloads via our Yahoo Podcasts channel.
  • Listen via iTunes 4.9 or higher. Click here and you should find the show will load automatically in iTunes, if you have it installed. If not, then see further instructions here.

Here are the last two days’ worth of shows:

You can find all shows from previous days listed on the Daily SearchCast home page. Just select any file to download it and listed on your computer or digital audio device.

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Our Search Newsletters & Feeds
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News each day, throughout the day, alerts of new discussion threads from our Search Engine Watch Forums and more — we have a newsletter or feed that covers all of these. See our Search Engine Newsletters & Web Feeds for a full rundown on everything we offer, as well as special buttons to let you subscribe via news readers such as Rojo, My MSN, Bloglines, Feedster, Newsgator, Pluck and My Yahoo. Thanks to FeedBurner for providing our feed tracking and management services!

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About The Search Engine Update
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The Search Engine Update is a twice-monthly update of search engine news. It is available only to Search Engine Watch members. Please note that long URLs may break into two lines in some mail readers. Cut and paste, should this occur.

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