Search Engine Strategies - Chicago
SES Chicago starts December 9th. As usual, there will be representation from most of the major search engines.

Search Engine Lowdown will be there and we hope to post regular updates to keep our readers informed of the very latest news and developments.

To make sure we get answers to the questions that are important to you, please post in our "comment" section any questions you would like us to put to the search engines. Andy Beal will then track down the search engines and get the answer straight from the horses mouth. Any answered questions will be posted here!
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Happy Thanksgiving
Search Engine Lowdown would like to wish all its readers a happy Thanksgiving.
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Google update and online business
New York Post Online Edition discusses the impact of the recent Google update.

Congrats to Serge Thibodeau for the quote.
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Shopping Search Engines Rev Up for Holidays
As we head towards Black Friday, here's an interesting article on shopping comparison tools and search engines.
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Espotting news
You know it's a slow news day when Espotting issues a release that announces the introduction of Customised Service Guidelines for Tier 1 advertising agencies, and I get excited. ;-)
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Page and Brin's Google Blog
Thanks to SearchEngineGuide.com, I can now read Google founders, Page and Brin's Blog.

Oh and by the way.....it's not really their blog, but fun anyway.
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Google on the rader
Another article making the rounds, discusses the rise of Google and the critics it has attracted along the way. I mentioned in a previous post about the conspiracy theorists surfacing, well this article discusses those too.

I have to go now, I think Google is recording every keystroke I make at Blogger ;-)
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WebSourced Signs New Office Lease and Plans for Continued Growth
WebSourced, whose divisions include search engine marketing (www.KeywordRanking.com) and online dating (www.Cherish.com), plans to move into the new 30,000 sq. ft. premises, located on Perimeter Park Drive in Morrisville, North Carolina, sometime during the first quarter of 2004. The new location will allow the company to continue its incredible growth and increase the number of employees.

“This new building is the perfect solution to our rapid growth,� said Andy Beal, vice president of marketing for WebSourced [that would be me]. “Not only will the new location allow us to hire additional employees to meet the demands of our KeywordRanking.com and Cherish.com divisions, but will also allow us to build on our reputation of being a family friendly company.�

Plans for the new office space include basketball and racquetball courts, employee restaurant and the option to add a day care facility.

“We are delighted to have assisted WebSourced in finding the perfect location for their growing company,� said Hooker Manning of Duke Realty Corporation. “Their plans for the space will create one of the most unique office environments in the area.�
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Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization Debuts
SEWatch.com reports on the San Jose launch of SEMPO, the organization for search engine marketers.

I have to admit, for me, the jury is still out on this organization. I'm trying hard to not pass verdict on SEMPO, but I've yet to see any benefit they bring to the credibility and promotion of the industry. I know they have lots of resources for members and maybe some SEO's get a lot out of that, but in terms of promoting the industry, I'm just not seeing it yet.

Maybe SEMPO's message is muddled. If they are there to provide information and resources just for their members, then they are succeeding. However, they also position themselves as the organization that promotes SEM to the masses and raises the profile of SEM, that is something I have not yet seen.
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CNET Ranks as Top Converting Search Engine at Consumer Electronics Sites
In an independent study of millions of visits to Web sites selling consumer electronics and gift items, visitors from CNET.com's search engine had the best visit-to-order conversion ratio. CNET's conversion ratio was 28% higher than the conversion rate from the next most efficient search engine.

CNET topped the list with 1.64 % of all visitors converting to immediate orders, followed by AOL (1.28 percent), Overture (1.25 percent) and iWon (1.15 percent).

Do you sell consumer electronics? Which search engine converts best for you? Leave me your comments.
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Yahoo preferred over Google for Christmas shopping
In a recent study consumers were asked which search engines or shopping portals they visited to find online stores over a one-week period. The study showed that 40 percent went to Yahoo's search or directly to Yahoo Shopping. Google ranked second with 37 percent of the traffic. EBay came in third followed by Microsoft's MSN, Amazon.com, Ask Jeeves and BizRate. Two percent of those surveyed said they went to either Time Warner's AOL Shopping or Shopping.com.
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Some sensible thoughts on the Google algo change
Barry Lloyd offers the most sensible and logical analysis of the recent changes with the Google algorithm. While others are claiming "the sky is falling", Lloyd is far from the Chicken Little crowd.

I'm sure that Danny Sullivan is preparing his thoughts (and inside knowledge) as we speak. In the meantime, SEL will keep you updated with any sensible theories.

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Who rang the NASDAQ bell? The Ask Jeeves butler did it
Steve Berkowitz, CEO of Ask Jeeves, rang the NASDAQ bell today to commence trading. If you look at the left of the photo below, you can see he brought his butler!


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Google Code Jam winner is...
Who won the Google coders contest? Bazac Weblog has the answer.
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Microsoft plans to integrate hard drive search
Microsoft has confirmed that it plans to build a product that will not only search the web, but also your computer files.
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November 2003 Google Update & Dance
Serge Thibodeau offers his thoughts on the latest Google algorithm change.

The biggest message at this stage? Don't panic!
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Dayparts & Other Search Engine Paid Listings Evolutions
Light news day...fortunately, SEWatch.com has a recap of micro-managing paid listings, from the San Jose conference.
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Jonny Wilkinson most popular web search
Almost on topic ;-)

After winning the Rugby World Cup for the first time ever, UK search engines are being bombarded with searches for "Jonny Wilkinson", the player who kicked the drop-goal in the final minute of extra time.

In a country obsessed by Football and Basketball, it took a search engine article to bring me up-to-date on Rugby. ;-)
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Lost your Google rank? You're not alone
A wave of panic has swept over the SEO community during the past week. It seems Google's Christmas present to the world is to make adjustments to their algorithm and confuse everyone.

You can bet that we'll see more regular changes from Google as pressure builds from rivals Yahoo and MSN. They need to keep their index pure and provide the best results possible. Unfortunately this does mean that they sometimes miss the mark and end up penalizing even the most relevant sites.
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Top Five Search Engine Optimization Myths
Shari Thurow takes a look at what she considers to be the top SEO myths.

Normally, writers who make the statement about all guarantees being bogus, get me fired-up. Shari, however, does agree that some companies offering guarantees, are ethical...

"Are all these myths applicable all of the time? Of course not. Some SEO firms offer money-back guarantees. They do this because they're confident they'll get results, not because they practice unethical techniques."

KeywordRanking.com was one of the first companies to offer a full-money back guarantee. Since then, many others have made the same claim in an effort to win clients, despite their poor performance. When we speak to prospective clients, our guarantee is rarely the sole reason we are selected. We provide references, demonstrate our success and even invite clients to come in and meet everyone of our 55 expert staff.

We have now set a new standard in SEO by including in our contracts a "Statement of Ethics", promising we will never use spam tactics.
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Lycos adds Shopping to its Sidesearch Tool
Just in time for the holidays, Lycos has added a shopping search to its Sidesearch tool. Downloading the tool, allows you to seek a second opinion for any searches you make. The new option adds 14,000 shopping sites.

A search for DVD Players on any of the major search engines, for example, provides listings from the initial search, as well as second opinion product results from Lycos Side Search, giving users immediate access to hundreds of price comparisons, product reviews and ratings for thousands of products. When users select a search result from Lycos Side Search, the main browser displays that page.

"Since its launch in July, Side Search has helped to drive unique users back to Lycos Search as evident in recent Nielsen/NetRatings numbers stating Lycos continues to reach one out of every four Internet users each month," said Steve Gross, vice president of marketing for Terra Lycos. "Lycos Search has also experienced significant growth in unique monthly users, page views and time spent online, according to the most recent comScore Media Metrix numbers from October 2003."
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Got to give LookSmart credit
Since they lost the Microsoft partnership, LookSmart has been hard at work trying to re-discover itself.

According to their press release LookSmart "today announced that it has launched the Internet's largest full text article search capability, delivering access to 3.5 million articles from more than 700 publications. The new service, which replaces LookSmart's FindArticles publication database, will be available via a dedicated "Articles" tab on LookSmart.com."
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Online retail sales up 27 percent
If you've carried out your Christmas optimization changes, you'd better get a move on. Online sales rose to $13.3 billion last quarter.
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PageRank of 7 still holding
My fingers are still tightly crossed, but it looks as though the latest Google update is starting to settle down. SEL looks like it will keep its new PageRank of 7/10. Thanks to everyone at KeywordRanking.com for their support in this fantastic effort.
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WebmasterWorld.com Announces Orlando Internet Marketing Conference.
I've not had a chance to attend a WebmasterWorld.com conference, but I hear they provide a lot of valuable information.
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As Google grows, critics emerge
I think it was a couple of months ago that I warned that it wouldn't be long before Google became to big for its own good. Stories like this are either true (meaning people are starting to dislike Google) or trying to become a self-fulfilling prophesy (they want people to dislike Google).
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Why Google won't reignite the IPO market
According to Fortune, Google's IPO (if it ever happens) will not be the spark the market needs. Making a valid point, the journalist points out that Google will do well, because...it's doing well. Making an IPO will only benefit other strong profitable companies and will do little to help start-ups that have yet to be cash-flow positive.
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Yahoo to enter the Search Engine Optimization market
Interesting article (thanks Kalena) highlights efforts by Yahoo that would suggest their interest in competing with search engine marketers. Well, the rumors are true. Here is an email sent out by Yahoo's HR department and exclusively obtained for SEL readers:

"I am in the HR dept. here at Yahoo. Your name had been referred to me and I wanted to contact you re; a position that we have just opened in our Search & Marketplace business unit"

The job description included lots of references to SEO/SEM, including:

"Maximize profitability of Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts... Intimate understanding of search engine and user acquisition economics. 2+ years experience in Search Engine Marketing (SEM) or Search Engine Optimization (SEO)."
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I need a vacation
Oh the joys of planning a Hawaii vacation
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Yahoo Agrees to Acquire Hong Kong Software Firm
Yahoo said it would purchase 3721 Network Software Co., a closely held developer of Chinese language-based technology for searching the Web, for up to $120 million in cash.

The U.S.-based Internet portal firm said it would integrate 3721 Network Software's technology into its Asia-targeted Web products.
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Avoid being caught blogging at work
If you read blogs or edit blogs at work, when your company doesn't allow it, check out the Web Fire Escape.
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SE Watch continues its look at local search
Danny Sullivan continues his series of articles on local search technology. This offering looks at Citysearch.com.
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Overture Launches ROI Tool
Overture has launched its new Marketing Console, which allows its customers to measure conversion rates of campaigns.

Google launched a similar offering a couple of months ago. I'll give it about two weeks before Google launches something new to keep Overture on its toes.
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Did Vivante.com beat Google and MSN to local search?
As local search becomes big news, new search engine Vivante, claims to have beaten Google and MSN to the punch.
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Does Google have a political affiliation?
Warning: read this article only when you are ready to tackle a dry political story about Google crossing party lines.
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Gift basket retailers losing Google rankings
Interesting article discusses whether Google's focus on inbound links as a way to combat spam, could be back-firing. It seems a company called Gift Services is dominating "gift basket" related terms because they have dozens of web sites all linked to each other.

"Customers are getting tricked - they really are," said Pam Monroe, founder of A Gifted Basket (www.giftedbasket.com) in San Diego. But Craig Bowen, president of Gift Services, says his company has done nothing wrong. "We have always had separate Web sites with separate marketing campaigns," said Mr. Bowen, adding that the company had been operating since 1997. "This isn't something we did for Google."

That last quote, "This isn't something we did for Google." could be what saves the company from a Google penalty. After all, us SEOs and the search engines frown on any tactic that is implemented purely to get better rankings. If the company has always had dozens of sites, they may well get away with it. We'll have to wait and see. One thing is for sure, they under the Google microscope now.
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Remote access your PC using GoToMyPc.com
Time to let the world know about a product that I cannot be without when on the road. GoToMyPC.com allows you to access your office computer from any other computer worldwide, whether on a laptop, pda or the airport Internet terminal.

The interface could be a bit sharper when connecting and it can sometimes hang, but they have a free trial and it is the best available.
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No longer a secret
The News & Observer has blown my cover...I'm closet bargain hunter! Those that know me, know that I have to own every tech gadget on the planet otherwise I can't sleep at night and I have to get a good deal.
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Overture cleans up its drug problem
Overture, said Tuesday that it filtered the last of its advertisements related to online pharmacies or pharmaceutical drug sales on Monday, and it notified advertisers over the weekend that it would cease selling the ads.

The move comes in response to lobbying from U.S. pharmacy trade group the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) and Drugstore.com, a major Overture advertiser and one of the Net's biggest online pharmacies.
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You know Google is big when...
... it becomes the attention of conspiracy theorists.

Did talks between Microsoft and Google take place? Is Gates lying, is the The New York Times lying or is someone at Google simply trying to increase media attention ahead of an IPO?
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AOL buys media search engine Singingfish
Just a couple of days after I spot an article that seems to be nothing but self-promotion of the author's company, Singingfish, they get snapped up by AOL.

Maybe that explains the influx of SEO articles that are veiled company infomercials, all these companies are looking to get bought out. ;-)
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Zero to Seven in 3 months
Google has recently updated and, assuming it holds true, Search Engine Lowdown now has a PageRank of 7/10.

My sincere thanks to all of our readers and a special thanks to those of you who have linked to this site. I hope to make continual improvements to the content and format to ensure this is the (second) best search engine resource site on the net.
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Search Engine Strategies discounts courtesy of KeywordRanking.com
KeywordRanking.com is providing a 50% discount for the Chicago SES conference for all new clients who sign up before December 1st.
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Internet market-share wars
Bambi Francisco provides her views of the battles that will be fought between the search engines in 2004.
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Search engine Mamma.com partners with Quova
Quova will provide Mamma.com with technology which enables the meta-crawler to instantly determine the state and country of each visitor to www.mamma.com and deliver advertising content tailored to that area through its own proprietary search and banner distribution network.
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Survey: Google largest search engine in the world
According to OneStat.com, the top search engines worldwide, based on usage share:

1. Google 56.1%
2. Yahoo 21.5%
3. MSN Search 9.4%
4. AOL Search 3.7%
5. Terra Lycos 2.3
6. Altavista 1.9%
7. Askjeeves 1.6%
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AOL jumping on the toolbar wagon
According to News.com, AOL has been e-mailing surveys to prospective customers to judge consumer response to the idea of an AOL toolbar.

The product, which has the working name "Netscape Navigator," looks like a compass with names of different services--such as "movie showtimes," "yellow pages," and "shopping"--encircling a Google Web search bar, according to an image Barron's Online posted. The product borrows its name from Netscape's well-known browser.

No timeline for launching the toolbar has been set.
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Microsoft Tests Answer to Google News
Software giant Microsoft is testing its answer to Google's popular news aggregator and search site. 'MSN Newsbot', on MSN UK, France, Spain and Italy, signals at least one of Microsoft's intentions as it seeks to build out its own search technology.

Newsbot aggregates headlines from over 4,000 sources on the Internet, apparently provided by partner Moreover Technologies. Headlines are clustered by topic and displayed based on algorithms Microsoft established, the company said in a FAQ about the beta service. Those algorithms consider the number of sources covering the story, when the story was published, and how many people have looked at a particular story.

'MSN Newsbot is in its first stages, available in beta at this time,' said Karen Redetzki, MSN product manager. 'It is expected that more countries will be added over time.' [read full article]
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Yellow Pages taking on Search Engine Marketing
BellSouth has announced the launch of Real Search Engine Solutions, a service that claims to help companies increase their search engine visibility.

LookSmart will provide the back-end service and support, which is welcome news to a company that is trying to re-invent itself.

I was going to include a link to the new service, but I couldn't find it anywhere on the search engines. ;-)
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Using a PDA to search Google?
Simply go to www.google.com/ie and use a version that is designed for a PDA's smaller screen.
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MarketingSherpa.com reports 80% of Consumers Hate Flash Intros
Surprise, surprise! Maybe now clients will listen to us (and not their webmaster) when we tell them that Flash intro's not only hurt SEO campaigns but also alienate visitors. [read report]
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Internet shopping still strong for Christmas
According to eMarketer.com survey respondents plan to conduct at least some of their Christmas shopping online.

More than 80% of those survey said they will buy at least 10% of the Christmas gifts online, with 25% indicating that more than 50% of their gift buying will be via the internet.


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Google getting sued again?
Kalena Jordan claims to have some inside information over at her search engine news blog

"heard a rumor from a very reliable source that a large online retail company in Pakistan has just launched a lawsuit against Google for alleged violation of their own TOS via the closure of the company's AdWords advertising accounts."
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Has Google peaked?
According to a Forbes report, Google may have already seen the peak of its growth.

"Forrester Research principal analyst Charlene Li estimates that U.S. spending on paid-placement advertising -- the main source of ad revenue at Google and its key rival, Overture Services Inc., the pioneer of paid-search -- was $878 million in 2002, and would nearly double this year.

'The big bang is happening over these couple of years. We see growth declining quickly,' Li said. In 2004, Li sees spending on paid-placement growing about 40 percent to $2.4 billion, then tapering off into the middle or low teens in 2007 and 2008."
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Is Multimedia the missing search engine link?
...or is this article just a plug for Singingfish?
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Microsoft never had talks with Google
Microsoft has not had merger discussions with Internet search engine Google, as was widely reported, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates says. "We've never been in any talks with Google about any acquisition thing in any way, shape or form," Gates told USA TODAY last week.

On Sunday, Gates kicked off the Comdex technology convention here with his annual address that lays out Microsoft's road map for the coming year. This year, the focus is on getting tech devices of all types to work well and easily together, Gates says.

A strong search function — which helps people find documents wherever they're stored — is part of that "shared computing" vision. But Gates says Microsoft is developing its own technology, not looking to buy Google's. "We made that decision a year ago," he says. Microsoft demonstrated a prototype at the show.
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Google Adwords changes spark revolt
It seems many Adwords users are not happy with the recent change by Google to include broad matching on keyword bids.
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Whatever happened to...
...Paul J. Bruemmer of Web Ignite? If you know what happened to one the most prolific SEO article writers of 2001-2002, please leave me a comment.
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Yahoo Q3 results
Things still looking rosey over at Yahoo, as they announce strong quarterly earnings.
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Understanding Search Engines
If I ever want my parents to finally understand what is I obsess over each day (minds out of the gutter, I'm talking about search engines), About.com has the perfect resource. This excellent article explains in layman's terms exactly what a search engine is.
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Google Toolbar suffering from the "burps"?
You may have noticed that the Google Toolbar is not showing a PageRank for the pages you are visiting, it is "grayed out". You're not the only one, it seems that forums around the world are getting worked up over the issue.

Claims of the demize of Google's PageRank are rife, but could it just be a burp? (a brief error with the Google servers which causes the toolbar to be gray). Cre8asite forums, is just one of many with opinions on the subject.
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Why web site copy should be user AND search engine friendly
Jill discusses why writing copy for a website should be both attractive to users and spiders. I totally agree.
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Espotting inks deal with British ITV television station
Hot of the wire.

Espotting has struck a deal to power both search and content across the ITV Network of sites, replacing Overture as their paid listings provider. The ITV network includes all of their sports and entertainment sites. ITV is the UK equivalent of CBS or NBC and reaches about 7.5% of all UK Internet users.

Let's see if this deal is enought to keep FindWhat interested in completing the acquisition/merger.
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LookSmart's LookListings offers incentive to attract customers
In an attempt to convert regular LookListings to the new PPC based Sponsored Listings, LookSmart has contact all of its client base and offered $15 of free click-thrus. Simply enter the code 15FREE to get the credit.
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The UK view of Google and Microsoft
A take on the recent Google/Microsoft news from across the pond.
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Search Engine Optimization Basics Part 5 – Optimizing Content
This is the latest article in the "Back to Basics" series. Previous articles include the importance of search engine marketing (SEM), effective keyword research, title tag formats, Meta tag use, as well as submissions. In this topic, we take a look at changes you can make to the content of your site to further improve search engine positioning.

Over the past few months, search engine optimization (SEO) has become more mainstream, with many companies considering this form of marketing for the first time. The amount of information on the topic of SEO has increased dramatically, with many new authors stepping forward to pen guides that explain how to optimize a website. Yet even with this increased awareness, it still amazes me the number of business owners that still believe tweaking titles or adding keywords to Meta tags is all that is needed to increase search engine visibility.

Optimizing your page content

In previous articles, I have endeavored to provide a beginner’s guide to making these changes; now it’s time to turn our attention to perhaps one of the most important aspects of any SEO campaign, optimizing your page content. The only problem with this topic is, where do I start? There are so many changes that can be made to a web page’s content that I could easily fill ten articles on the subject, so you can see my dilemma in trying to condense my advice into just one single piece. But that is what we shall do; after all, this is a “Back to Basics� series.

So, where do we start? What is the most important change a Webmaster can make to a page in order to improve search engine positioning? To find the answer, we simply go back to the very first article in this series, where we discussed effective keyword research. When researching your industry, competitors and most requested search terms, you identified the keywords that are the most regularly used by your target audience. You’ve used them in your title and Meta tags, but their most important use is on the actual page content, the text you display on the pages you are trying to get positioned.

Include your targeted search terms

So many times, I have seen web sites that fail to mention any of the search terms they are trying to achieve rankings for. They’ll have lots of graphics and may also have good levels of text on the page, yet the company still fails to include the exact phrase that is important to them. For example, if you’re trying to achieve rankings for the term “desktop computer supplies,� make sure your content has that exact phrase present in it. It is of little benefit to say something along the lines of, “The best selection of accessories for your home computer� when trying to target “desktop computer supplies.� While you may pick up points for having text that is on the same theme, you won’t achieve your best search engine rankings unless you include liberal occurrences of the exact phrase you are trying to target.

Checking keyword density

Your next question is likely to be “How often should I mention each search term?� A well- optimized page should include at least 250 words of text. Within that text, aim to achieve between 5-15% frequency for the term you are trying to target. Not sure how to calculate search term frequency? Check out www.searchengineworld.com/cgi-bin/kwda.cgi, a great little tool that will show you the keyword density of each one, two and three-word phrases on any page within your web site. Make sure that you place your most important search terms in text located towards the top of your page and also try not to target more than 5 phrases within any block of text (the more phrases you try to target, the more text you need to achieve a high frequency).

Also look for opportunities to make links out of search terms located within your page text. In the example of “desktop computer supplies,� consider making one of the occurrences of this phrase a hyperlink to the most relevant page within your website; it will give you a little push in your ranking efforts.

The impact of keyword proximity

If you’re unable to include the exact phrase within your page text, which can often happen when the targeted search term is not used in the course of normal syntax, try at least to keep the words within close proximity. For example, you could use “Discounted supplies for desktop computers.� While it is not as valuable as including the exact phrase, it at least contains the targeted words, albeit in a different order. The search engines, while preferring to display pages that match search terms exactly, have shown propensity to display web pages that have the targeted words within close proximity, if not the exact order they were searched.

Search terms should be pervasive

While the paragraphs of text within your web page offer the best opportunity to include search terms, make sure you don’t miss the many other opportunities scattered among your content. For example, look at the text contained within the headings of each page and make sure they contain the most relevant search term for your content. Also, consider the navigation menu that you use and look for instances where you can include a relevant search term. How about the text you use under each product description? I’ve seen websites where the most dominant two-word phrase on a product page was “Sale Price.� Ouch!

As you can see, the text you use on each page is vitally important when trying to achieve better search engine positioning. However, adding keywords to your content is not enough to get your web site to the coveted “#1� position. There are many other factors that need to be considered, including many that don’t involve the content on the page, but as we are looking at the page content, here are a few quick tips:

· Don’t bury your keyword-rich content at the bottom of the page. The search engines consider where the text is located on a page when determining your site’s relevancy. Google will believe that text pushed to the bottom of your site, in a small font, can’t be that relevant to your business.
· Don’t overdo things. While having no search terms in your text is disastrous, having too many could have an equally negative impact. Stick to your 5-15% frequency.
· Remember the user experience. While your SEO efforts will help improve your search engine rankings, don’t sacrifice the usability of your web site. Ensure that it is easy to navigate and that all of your keyword-rich text still makes sense to the average visitor.
· Add one or two targeted search terms to the ALT tags of any image that links to another page within your website. Search engines have shown they consider ALT tag text when the image contains a link to another page.
· Don’t go overboard with the use of “H1� tags or bolded text. While they can help improve your search engine positioning, less is more.


Walk before you run

Hopefully, the above advice will assist you in modifying your most important pages to increase search engine visibility. When you feel you have made all the basic changes to the text of your site, you’ll find many articles that discuss fine-tuning your page layout and content. Search engine optimization is a continued process and you’ll no doubt drive yourself crazy if you try to optimize every single aspect of your web site. Simply remember to keep your site relevant and make sure you have covered all the basics before advancing to more complex techniques.

Written by Andy Beal
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Are search engines considering outward links?
Netimperative has an acticle that is supposedly penned by Ask Jeeves VP of production and technology Chris Martin.

In the article Martin explains, in layman's terms, what a search engine is looking for when ranking a website and how an algorithm works. All pretty standard stuff, except for one sentence that sparked my interest:

"Checking where the site is also referenced elsewhere - and 'spidering beyond the page', going to other linked sites, then going back to the original site and checking the association"

When discussing "links" most SEO folks talk exlusively about inbound links (sites pointing to you) and none consider the impact of ourward links. Now, Martin could just be referring to a filter that helps to cut down on "link-farming" by making sure that your not linking to a site that is acting as a link-farm. However, he may also have let slip an important development in SEO.

Does a website rank higher if it is linking to other sites that match it's industry? Share your thoughts in the "comment" section below this post.
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CitySearch in talks with Google, Yahoo & MSN
InterActiveCorp chief Barry Diller said Tuesday that his company's CitySearch unit is in talks with the three biggest Internet search engines to bring them "sponsored" local advertising.

Speaking at a Webcast meeting with investors, Mr. Diller said CitySearch is being courted by Google Inc., Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp.'s MSN. The talks center on so-called sponsored search advertising, in which businesses pay the search engines to have their Web sites listed prominently among search results. If a deal is struck, CitySearch would provide the search engines with sponsored search ads from local businesses.
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Help with Google's API
You may have heard mention of Google's API (Application Programmable Interface), but what exactly does it do? Serge Thibodeau takes a look.
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The Art of Advanced Link Building
Search Engine Watch reports on the Link Building session at the San Jose conference.
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Does your website meet usability guidelines?
While search engine marketing can help drive traffic to your website, what you show your new visitors has an equal impact on conversions. Kim Krause, owner of Cre8asiteforums has just published a great ebook entitled Please Ring Bell For Service. This concise guide provides useful information and tips for improving the usablility of your site.
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Search engines giving up drugs?
Continued coverage of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy's pressure on search engines to restrict the display of prescription drug ads.
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Happy Birthday to computer viruses
This week computer viruses celebrate 20 years of causing trouble and strife to all types of computer users.
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Search engine company, WebSourced finalist for top award
WebSourced, Inc., the parent company of KeywordRanking.com was today shortlisted as a finalist for the NCEITA "21 Awards" for "Top Growth Company of the Year".
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A search engine toolbar for your company?
Ever wished you could have your own branded search engine toolbar? With the help of Visicom Media you can design your very own toolbar, complete with your company's own logo.

The company claims some impressive clients, including AltaVista and Netscape and offers a lot great features including a pop-up blocker and word highlighter.

Your very own, branded toolbar will set you back $995.
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Google unveils browser - media goes crazy
It seems as though the media cannot get enough of Google. The CA based search engine announces the launch of a new taskbar search, and journalists from all over the world go a little crazy.

Is Google in danger of a media burn-out? Knowing the brain-power of Google's employees, I bet the taskbar search was built over lunch with very little R&D involved. I can just see Sergey Brin and Larry Page, sitting down and saying "The whole world is waiting for our IPO announcement, let's launch that taskbar we have sitting around, and watch the media go crazy." With all Google news, being "top news", it won't be long before Google experiences burn-out.

I love this industry, but if I am getting tired of the relentless stream of Google news, then others must be sharing the pain.
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NBC, Overture to sign search deal
NBC has announced a two-year deal with PPC search engine Overture.

Under the deal, NBC will display the company's pay-per-click text ads in a specially marked "sponsored" section atop site results. Financial terms were not disclosed.
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Google launches desktop search
Google is testing software that lets people navigate the Web without opening up an Internet browser, placing itself in a field that Microsoft has designs on--desktop search.


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No Blog Friday
No blog on Friday (unless I can piggy-back a wi-fi "hotspot") as I have to meet with a $31 billion company and explain why we are the best SEO firm for them.
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KeywordRanking.com parent, WebSourced, Inc., reports huge increase in revenue and profits
Just in case you doubted that WebSourced's KeywordRanking.com is the largest SEO in the world, we released our Q3 numbers today.

$2,084,230 in sales and $539,722 in profit for the third quarter.

S. Patrick Martin, WebSourced's CEO stated, "Websourced has really hit its stride, achieving record income before taxes of $539,722 in the third quarter of 2003. Our reputation for excellence in search engine marketing is spreading, attracting clients such as NBC, Real Networks, Alaska Airlines and Monica Lewinsky.
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Mamma.com parent, Intasys posts Q3 profit
Intasys Corp. (INTA) swung to a profit from a loss in the latest quarter and said its results demonstrate the continuing growth in all services provided by its Internet media and search engine subsidiary, Mamma.com Inc.

Third-quarter net was $213,762 or 3 cents a share on more shares outstanding versus a loss of $75,462 or 2 cents a share a year earlier.

In a news release, Intasys said revenues totaled $2 million in the latest quarter compared with $886,642 a year ago.
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Google Toolbar wins award
Google Toolbar wins AIIP Technology Award.
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WebSourced's KeywordRanking.com, the Largest Search Engine Optimization Company in the World According to Buyers' Guide.
PRESS RELEASE:

The Internet marketing arm of WebSourced, Inc., leads 120 other companies in the MarketingSherpa “Buyers’ Guide to Search Engine Optimization Firms: New 3rd Edition�.

Research Triangle Park, NC – (November 5, 2003) – WebSourced, Inc.’s (OTCBB: CGIH) KeywordRanking.com division, the global leader in search engine marketing, has been listed as the largest search engine optimization (SEO) company in the world by MarketingSherpa’s “Buyers Guide to Search Engine Optimization Firms�.

In a survey of 120 search engine optimization companies from around the world, KeywordRanking.com emerged as the largest company in the industry with 54 full-time, dedicated SEO employees and more than 1,050 actively managed optimization clients. The guide, in its third edition, also noted KeywordRanking.com’s impressive client list that includes NBC, RealNetworks and Alaska Airlines.

Commenting on this achievement, KeywordRanking.com’s vice president of search marketing, Andy Beal said, “We are delighted to receive validation that we are the world’s largest search engine optimization company. We have seen fantastic growth in this industry over the past couple of years and it shows no sign of letting up�. Beal added, “As search engine optimization evolves from a boutique industry, more and more companies are becoming less satisfied with boutique SEO firms. They appreciate the resources a large company can bring to their online marketing campaign.�
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More Consumers Online This Holiday
As Christmas approaches, more consumers are going to conduct research and purchase gifts online. Read the report.
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Google to Index the Entire Internet in 2006?
ChriSEO takes a look at the possibility of Google indexing the entire Internet.
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Lycos sues Overture.
"In a complaint filed in Massachusetts federal court on Oct. 17, Lycos, the Web portal unit of Spain's Terra Lycos, said Overture breached a services agreement requiring Overture to gain Lycos' consent if control of their relationship were to be turned over to a Lycos competitor.

Lycos said Overture neither sought nor obtained Lycos' consent to continue their pact when it was bought by Yahoo.

Yahoo's oversight of the relationship ``leaves Lycos in an untenable position by which it is dependent on a major competitor for an essential service,'' Lycos said in the complaint. ``Overture will inevitably disclose Lycos' confidential and trade secret information to Yahoo!, and indeed, on information and belief, Overture has already done so.''
Lycos declined to comment on the suit, which seeks damages and $800,000 in fees it says Overture has failed to pay."

Lycos plans to start using Google Adwords in place of Overture.
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Google Faces Fight Over Ads & Trademarks In France
That man, Danny Sullivan, is back again with his thoughts on the issue of trademarks and search engine advertising.
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Why the Microsoft bid for Google shouldn't surprise you
Danny Sullivan discusses why the Microsoft talks with Google was not a surprise to anyone, except maybe the newspapers.
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New Marketing Sherpa Guide to SEO Firms released
Buyers' Guide to Search Engine Optimization Firms: New 3rd Edition has been released today.

According to the Guide, KeywordRanking.com (the company I work for) is the largest dedicated SEO company on the list (and I assume the largest in the world). With 54 dedicated SEO staff and 1,050 optimization clients we lead 119 other SEO companies. (sorry Market Leap, but the 3,000 you claim to manage with 9 members of staff must mean you've included the $39 automated paid inclusion customers)

The report has decided to abandon its controversial "ranking" of SEO companies, instead taking the safer route of telling marketers what traits to look for in a SEO company.
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Ask Jeeves introduces shopping search engine
Chris Sherman reports on Ask Jeeves launch of shopping search technology to compliment its Smart Search features.

"Product-related searches require a different approach than general Web searches," said Jim Lanzone, vice-president of product management for Ask Jeeves, Inc. "We developed Smart Search for Products to be a logical and comprehensive way to find the product information that people actually need."
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Yahoo modifies look, mirrors Google
Yahoo has stepped up its bid to draw search engine traffic from Google by making changes to the search box located on the homepage of the popular portal.

News.com reports that Yahoo added tabs for searches related to Images, Yellow Pages and Products. These appear alongside a Web search tab, which is how the portal now labels its standard search field. The design change mirrors the file-folder look of competitors including Google and helps get Web surfers started on targeted searches immediately, instead of forcing them to delve into the site.
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Why an SEM RFP Is a Mistake, Part 2
ClickZ publishes the second part of Frederick Marckini's "Why an SEM RFP Is a Mistake".

I'll bet $20 that everything recommended in the article matches the processes used by his company ;-)

That being said, it's a good article for those of you looking for a way to handle RFPs. However, I'd suggest being honest with yourself, if you don't have the time, knowledge or resources to complete a RFP you probably couldn't handle the account anyway. If they are demanding at this stage, think how demanding they will be if you win the account. RFPs have been the preferred conduit of out-sourcing for decades and will likely continue to be used by large corporations, who know no other way.

I hope we do someday see the last of RFPs, in the meantime, if you receive any that you don't want to respond to, please send them my way!
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Ask Jeeves names Steve Berkowitz as chief executive, chairman
Ask Jeeves Inc named President Steve Berkowitz as chief executive, effective Jan. 1. Berkowitz will succeed A. George Battle, who was named executive chairman, the company said Monday.

Battle will replace Chairman Garrett Gruener, a co-founder of the Emeryville-based company, who will continue as a director.
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eBay's Whitman: Google Is Not a Threat
Meg Whitman, chief executive of online auctioneer EBay Inc., on Monday downplayed speculation that its chief business partner, the popular Google search engine, was poised to become its biggest rival.

Talk is rife that Google is seeking to diversify its business after it emerged late last month that the five-year-old search engine is considering an initial public offering of shares in a flotation that could value the firm at $25 billion.
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Even Microsoft wants G5s
Everyone's talking about Michael Hanscom and the photo he took of this shipment of Apple Macs being delivered to Microsoft HQ.
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Microsoft continues to recruit search engine specialists
Looks like Paul Ryan (who presented on the same topic as me during the San Jose, SES), has moved from Overture to Microsoft. According to this WSJ article, Ryan will help Microsoft build their new search technology for MSN.
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Nestle buys Google?
After wading thru story after story reporting the Microsoft bid for Google, what a breath of fresh air this story is.

My favorite part?

"Sources close to the deal disclosed that Google CEO Eric Schmidt was coerced into accepting the deal with Nestlé. Mr. Brabeck is alleged to have placed a large bowl of Nestlé Crunch Pieces in front of Mr. Schmidt during their discussions, refusing to allow him to eat any until agreeing to the takeover, while promising a free lifetime supply upon completion of the deal."
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Microsoft, Google could cook up deal
USATODAY.com jumps on the Microsoft/Google bandwagon with their story. Same old stuff here apart from one paragraph of interest:

"Google more than any other has shown that a successful business can be built around search. Despite the e-commerce hype, the No. 1 activity online is search, says Jupiter Research's Matthew Berk. Search accounted for six of the top 10 most visited Web sites in September, Nielsen/Net Ratings says."
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Why Microsoft won't buy Google
According to silicon.com reports of Microsoft buying Google are exaggerated (agreed) and that if Microsoft is interested in Google, it is likely to wait until the company goes public and then make a move.
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