SEL: 12.2003

Vodafone selects FAST to power Mobile Search

FAST are pretty happy with themselves after making this announcement.

"The Mobile search deployment by Vodafone is just another example of how FAST's enterprise platform technology can be adapted for supporting mobile standards such as WMl and WAP on the device and presentation side," FAST spokesman Peter Gorman told internetnews.com.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Online retail sales surge in Christmas week

Shoppers flocked to the Internet for their last-minute gift buying, ringing up $950 million in total online sales, according to ComScore.

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Yahoo reveals top searches in 2003

Yahoo has released its Top 10 Searches of 2003, with KaZaA and Harry Potter topping the list.

The Yahoo! 2003 Top 10 Searches:

1. KaZaa
2. Harry Potter
3. "American Idol"
4. Britney Spears
5. 50 Cent
6. Eminem
7. WWE
8. Paris Hilton
9. NASCAR
10. Christina Aguilera

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Shopping online is getting easier

The Raleigh News & Observer printed an interview with me that discusses how online shopping tools work and the advantages and disadvantages of using them. While the format was very basic (they wanted a simple overview), it worked out well. Here is the interview:

Perhaps you had this problem during a recent online shopping search for the perfect holiday gift: You knew the exact item you wanted to buy, but searching the Web for the best price was overwhelming. Shopping bots come to the rescue. Don't know how to use them? We turned to WebSourced's Andy Beal, vice president of marketing at the search engine marketing company [KeywordRanking.com], to get a little know-how on these online tools, designed to help ease shoppers' struggle finding the best price and online retailer. WebSourced's Beal knows a thing or two about the sites. The 29-year-old British native is an avid shopper -- both on and off line. And he's a key player working to expand the 58-employee Morrisville firm that helps companies get better positioning on all type of search engines, including shopping comparison sites. He talked with staff writer Samantha Smith about how shopping bots can help transform the online shopping experience.

Q. For those who haven't used them, what is a shopping bot?

A. A shopping bot is basically a tool that aggregates different online stores that sell products so that a consumer can have one point of access to multiple stores to compare products, pricing and shipping costs. Really, it helps them get the best deal -- the best product at the best price.

Q. What a strange name. How was it derived?

A. Shopping bot is not a name that I would commonly use. I would call it a comparison shopping tool. Shopping bot is a better description for the actual technology used to collect information. Shopping bot conjures up an image of the technology that one of these sites would use to go out and collect the information about the stores. Search engines have what we call robots, which go out and collect the information.

Q. How long have shopping bots been around, and when did they start becoming an effective online shopping research tool?

A. They've been around in some form or another for seven or eight years, but they started becoming really effective about three years ago. There has been a lot more competition among the comparison shopping tools. Companies have better technology so that it has become easier for someone to use one of these comparison shopping tools to get results they want.

Q. Why are shopping bots becoming more popular?

A. These days, there are a lot more stores online than there used to be. It's easier and faster for companies to create an online presence than it has been. You've got small mom-and-pop shops coming online, plus you've got large companies that are going straight to an online presence. It's becoming more difficult for the average consumer to keep a handle on all of these and make sure they are getting the best deal. So rather than carrying out their own research to see what's the best price, they can go to a comparison shopping tool to compare the price.

Q. What are some of the most effective or popular shopping bots and why?

A. If you absolutely know the product you want and you are looking for the best price, then shopping.com or pricegrabber.com are the best. If you know the type of product you want but you don't know the price, model or manufacturer, and you want the best price, then probably epinions.com would be good. Epinions.com is unique because one of its strengths is that it offers a lot more reviews. You may not necessarily find the best deal, but it allows people to post reviews. If you want something more obscure, then shopping.yahoo.com is good. It has a lot more small stores. You are more likely to get the mom-and-pop shops. Different comparison tools have different strengths, and some have different tie-ins.

Q. What are the advantages of bots?

A. They show you the product. You can get a review of the product. You can type in your ZIP code and get an estimate for the shipping cost. You can see if the product's in stock. There's nothing worse than going through the order process only to be left in limbo for two weeks because the product wasn't ever in stock. The information available now is so much better.

Q. What are the disadvantages?

A. Sometimes you'll often go to a store and the product will be out of stock, yet the comparison tool won't show that. Sometimes the comparison won't accurately show the shipping charges. Sometimes you'll see a product and it has a great price, but the product is really used or refurbished.

Q. Are there things that you can't find using shopping bots?

A. When you start looking for something obscure it gets really hard. If you are looking something that's personalized or a trinket or a collectible, it gets really hard to find those particular products because part of the reason there's not enough competition.

Q. What sort of new trends did you see during the holidays?

A. The traditional search engines -- Google, AskJeeves, Yahoo -- are paying a lot more attention to shopping searches, and they started getting involved in this area of search. Google recently launched Froogle.com. It's their shopping tool. They're taking their formula for success and applying it to a shopping-comparison tool, hoping that brand trust will be strong enough to provide for their shopping comparison tool.

Q. How do they make money?

A. A lot of the comparison tools charge the stores to be listed. So they'll say, OK, we'll charge you for product placement, say 30 cents for every product, or they charge on a per click basis.

Q. Are there unknown or little-known features that many users don't realize are available?

A. Some shoppers don't realize that a lot of the sites have a rating on a store. It's important to look at that because there's nothing worse than thinking you're getting the best deal, but the store only has a one-star rating and they mess up the delivery or they don't have the product in stock.

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FindWhat.com and Espotting delay merger

The proposed merger has been delayed by one month and will now take place on January 31st, 2004. Let's hope there are no further skeletons in the closet.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Why Google Should Go Public

There are still many articles around speculating on whether Google will go public or not. For example the New York Times suggests:

"It will be exciting on a scale of Netscape," said David Menlow, president of IPOfinancial.com, a research company in Millburn, N.J.

I spent the holiday reading "Bill Gates Speaks", a twist on the normal biography format, with most of the content being made up of Gates' own quotes. After reading the book and looking back at the successes Microsoft has had (especially with IE knocking out Netscape), I firmly believe that Google should go public soon and capitalize on its reputation now, before Microsoft makes any announcements regarding the launch of its own search engine technology.

Google will never again see a more beneficial time to do an IPO than now. It is currently at its strongest. That will all change when Microsoft unleashes MSN search.

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Australian Search Engine Planning IPO

Everytime if try and use Mooter.com, the server is too busy and my search fails. However, they must be doing something right as this report suggest they are preparing for an IPO.

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Paid Inclusion Needs to Change its Ways

According to Internetnews.com, if paid inclusion is to see future growth, it needs to change its pricing model. Quoting from a Jupiter Research report:

"Paid inclusion programs that currently have a cost-per-click pricing component must eliminate it, as the model has a fundamental and inherent conflict of interest," the report said. For one, it continued, until paid inclusion programs are solely based on a time-based pricing model (i.e., an annual fee per URL), uncertainty and doubt will continue to cloud the industry."

The key finding of the report said spending on paid inclusion will decline by about one-third next year, from $167 million this year, to $110 million in 2004. This is due to the loss of revenue by LookSmart after its contract with MSN expires in January.

The report does forecast revenue rising in the sector to $293 million by 2006.

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Merry Christmas

Search Engine Lowdown will be taking a break for Christmas. We hope you have a wonderful Christmas and receive everything you wish for.

We'll be back on December 29th.

Andy Beal

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Search Engine Contextual Ads Gain Momentum

Seach Engine Watch has another report from the San Jose Search Engine Strategies conference. This time they take a look at contextual ads.

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Barron's suggest Google IPO will spark Tech sector

Someone please ask Google to file their IPO already. There are only so many times you can report on the same speculation. Barron's offers its opinion:

"Beyond the shadow backlog looms something even larger, or at least more exciting: a potential filing for Google, which has gathered cheerleaders from the Valley to the canyons of Lower Manhattan. The Mountain View, Calif.-based Internet search-engine firm is expected to offer at least $2 billion of stock in the early part of 2004, which would value the company at about $20 billion.

Better yet, say venture capitalists, investment bankers and expectant corporate chiefs, Google's debut could open the floodgates to a torrent of tech IPOs. Some have even gone so far as to call a prospective Google filing "Son of Netscape," a reference to Web browser Netscape Communications' landmark offering in 1995. Netscape's shares shot up 108% to 58.25 in their first day of trading, and the IPO market -- and the Internet -- haven't been the same since."

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PPC Search Engine Advertising - Managing Your Costs

Fortune takes a look at search engine advertising and discusses the benefits of PPC compared to the spirraling costs.

"Most businesses, however, can't afford that looky loo, and they're discovering that keyword bidding isn't figure skating: You don't always need to be No. 1 in the rankings to take home the gold. 'We've found that as a general rule it's better to be No. 2 or 3,' says David Kim, director of online marketing for Hotwire.com, a travel website with $110 million in annual sales and 20,000 keywords (at presstime it had agreed to be acquired by Barry Diller's InterActive Corp. for $665 million). 'First place can be a nonefficient buy. You'll often get a lower conversion rate.' That's because users will impulsively click on the first link in the listings without really asking whether it's what they want. So being No. 1 means shelling out more for poorer-quality leads than the No. 2 or No. 3 bidder. "

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Mergers and Acuisitions for the Search Engine Industry

Mediapost.com suggests that mergers and partnerships in the search engine industry will heat-up.

"People are starting to smell success," suspects Greg Stuart, president and CEO of the Internet Advertising Bureau, who believes that these recent deals represent a positive transition that will position the industry for future growth and stabilization.

Despite the arguably imbalanced focus on search, David Hallerman, senior analyst at eMarketer, affirms that recent acquisition activity reflects the fact that "companies are seeing possibilities for expanding their use of the Internet for marketing."

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Local search engines the future of search?

According to dmnews.com...

"Local paid search advertising is on pace to generate $2.5 billion in 2008, according to a new research report.

In a study expected to be released today, The Kelsey Group estimates that locally targeted listings are the next frontier for paid search, tapping into the 10 million small- and medium-sized businesses in the U.S."

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Grokker search engine interface making the news

Grokker, the new aggregator of search engine information, continues to make the news headlines. Personally, while the interface will appeal to hard-core researches, I do not believe that it will ever become trully popular. Maybe they'll prove me wrong.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

More popular searches from 2003, courtesy Google

Google offers what if feels were the most important search requests of 2003.

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What type of IPO for Google?

With no initial public offerings on the calendar for the rest of the year, talk has turned to 2004 and increasing speculation over an anticipated Google offering.

"When the Internet search engine company finally does go public, perhaps sometime in the first half of next year, some are suggesting the expected $16 billion offering might be made in a "Dutch auction," as opposed to the traditional Wall Street route through investment bank underwriters."

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Watching Search Engine Marketing Dials and Gauges

Are you tracking your web site traffic? You should be.

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Google apologizes to all

In case you missed it, Google apologized for making your Christmas anything but "merry".

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Google Expands AdSense Language Support

Thanks to Michael Wong for this update.

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Breaking the Google addiction

Bill Thompson of the BBC, asks if Google has become an addiction. While the popular search engine won praise for its innovative search capabilities, has Google gone too far?

"In my opinion, Google today is far from the great search engine it was in those far-off days, yet I still use it.

Perhaps it is simply that Google has become the Coke of the web. Sweet, available everywhere, and the first choice of the consumer.

The fine wines and elegant cordials are still available, of course, but Coke outsells them all, just as Google outranks other, more refined, search tools.

Like that other dominant American brand, McDonald's, you seem to know where you are with a Google, and for some people familiarity will always be important.

2004 will be the year I break my addiction to Google and improve the quality of my searching. I owe it to myself. "

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The Best Web Site Analytics Tool of 2003

If you're looking for the best web site analytics tool available, our vote would go to ClickTracks. If you are still using WebTrends or another analytics provider, head on over to the ClickTracks site and download their free trial. Their unique graphical interface ensures that checking your web logs is a fun, intuitive and valuable experience.

Once you've had a chance to enjoy the product, visit SmallBusinessComputing.com and let them know that ClickTracks gets your vote for their annual Excellence in Technology award.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

GoogleGuy Says

Keep track of the famed "GoogleGuy" (an employee at Google who often posts on message boards). Visit GoogleGuy Says.

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Local search giant, Citysearch unveils new look

Citysearch has re-designed their site to provide a fresh clean look and also open up more opportunities for sellings ads.

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The "Secret System" of Search Engine Advertising

Search Engine Watch publishes another report from the San Jose SES conference.

"Some of search advertising's more prominent spokespersons gathered to share their profession's grievances at the Search Engine Strategies conference in San Jose this past August, speaking on the panel, "Search Economics - Advertiser Roundtable" along with addressing the shared concerns of search advertising specialists worldwide."

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Who's been visiting Google?

Bill Clinton, Gwyneth Paltrow and Al Gore are just some of the celeb's who have recently visited the Googleplex.

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Is paid search spending out of control?

According to eMarketer, online ad spending will reach $6.9 billion this year, with paid search engine advertising taking a large piece of that. But is paid search spending out of control?

"The dark side of paid search emerges from its hypergrowth -- and the media and industry hype surrounding search," says eMarketer Senior Analyst David Hallerman. "Today's sharp gains for search could well be unsustainable. There's no denying that paid search is effective. Yet at the same time, a sizeable share of the ad money put into paid search is stealing from budgets potentially allocated to other effective forms of online advertising, such as rich media."

When you take paid search out of the spending equation, total US ad spending in the first half of 2003 actually dropped by 14.7% compared to the first half of 2002.

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The Best Search Engine Article of 2003

If I had to pick just one article that clearly summarizes what has happened to the search engine industry over the past 12 months, my vote would go to this Time feature. I encourage all SEL readers to digest the information it contains. If you don't read the entire article, at least read these extracts..

"This year Google will make an estimated 30% profit on revenue approaching $1 billion"

"Google's greatest asset right now may be not its technology but its brand â€” and Internet brands are notoriously volatile. (AOL's trajectory suffices as the cautionary tale to end all cautionary tales.) And just when Google is looking increasingly beatable, search is becoming increasingly profitable. You can't leave a tasty pie like that on the windowsill without attracting a few bears. The fairy tale is about to turn into a war story."

""We're learning a lot. This is a really hard computer-science problem. In fact, our engineers say this is the hardest computer-science problem they've ever had to face." [Kirk Konigsbauer, general manager of the project] But if there's one thing Microsoft is good at, it's entering profitable markets late and strong â€” just ask Netscape, Apple or IBM. If Microsoft integrates its new search engine into MSN, its Internet service provider, and Longhorn, its next-generation operating system (E.T.A. 2006), the game may be over."

"I think search is clearly among our company's most important strategic initiatives," says Jeff Weiner, Yahoo's senior vice president of search and marketplace."

"Nothing is more valuable than the user at the moment of desire," says Gartner analyst Whit Andrews. "When a user searches, that user has a demand. At that moment in time, they want."

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More buzz about a Google IPO

MercuryNews.com takes another look at what might drive a Google IPO.

"Some critics wondered whether Google had missed the boat earlier this year, when market hype around search technology -- and the massive advertising dollars attracted to it -- first boosted the stocks of public companies, most notably of competitor Yahoo.

But Google might have the last laugh, timing things instead for the presidential election. There's an accompanying thesis: Google's IPO will pull other companies along in its wake.

The wacky days might be over, though.

Take the holiday bash. For the past two years, the event was held in a tent outside of Google's small offices. This year, it was held at the company's new slickly transparent campus, formerly the headquarters of Silicon Graphics -- a move that itself is symbolic of the rise and fall of corporate stars."

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Kanoodle hires Sprinks staff, competes with Google

Pay-Per-Click engine Kanoodle plans to build a paid-listings business to rival Google's, having hired three former executives from the company's newly acquired Sprinks. Read the press release.

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New research on web site user satisfaction

Cre8pc Blog has coverage of Jupiter Research's report on web site usability.

Kim Krause suggests "If you're going to put a website on the Internet, it's like owning a car or having a human body, or being in a relationship. It takes maintenance. Communication. Testing new ideas. Understanding how it works. Paying attention."

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Google Labs - come play in Google's playground

If you need more than just the regular Google search, why not head on over to Google Labs? Here you'll find a mass of ideas, all designed to make life easier.

Some highlights include:

Google Viewer - View search results as scrolling web page images
Search by Location - Restrict your search to a particular geographic area
Keyboard Shortcuts - Navigate search results without using your mouse

If you need something even more obscure, Google has many other offerings including:

Google Uncle Sam - search U.S. Government pages
Google Microsoft - search Microsoft related web pages
Google University Search - restrict your searches to the University of your choice

While you may not find yourself using these tools on a regular basis, they are fun to test out.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Google Introduces Book Searches

Search Engine Watch is reporting that Google has finally implemented the rumored "book search" function.

"Google has launched an experimental program that indexes excerpts of popular books, blending the content from these works into regular Google search results.

Google Print differs from Amazon's recently introduced Search Inside the Book program, which makes the full text of books available online to readers. By contrast, Google is indexing only a small excerpt from each book, typically taken from the inside cover, jacket reviews, author biographies or the book's introduction."

An example of how the results would look can be seen for Bulfinch's Mythology.

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New Search Engine Interface, Grokker, makes more headlines

Fortune decides that Grokker is worth exploring. The downloadable tool, allows those serious about their research to getter better results from the search engines.

Says R.J. Pittman, CEO of Groxis: "Google has indexed several billion pages, but there are between 550 and 600 billion in total on what's referred to as the invisible web or deep web. Within a year Grokker will have ten times the reach of Google in terms of available web pages."

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Google conspiracy theory that wouldn't die

Over in Scotland, The Herald discusses how local businesses there have been effected by the Google "Florida" update.

"One school of thought is that Google is exploring new ways of boosting revenues ahead of a planned flotation next year.
Businesses can already pay to secure prominent positions on the listings through Google's AdWords service. Conspiracy theorists claim the dot.com is using the upgrade, called the Florida update, as part of a longer-term strategy to force more firms to pay for an appearance."

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Google tees up Froogle product-search arm

Over at CBS Market Watch, Bambi Francisco takes a look at the recent efforts by Google to step-up the use of its shopping search engine, Froogle.

"the products that Froogle ranks are based on specifications, or the name of the product, as well as Google's "ranking software" that lists products according to relevance. Relevance is not measured by how well an item is selling. Relevance is determined by Google's software."

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Survey Result: Users Prefer Organic Search Results to Paid Listings

According to WebAdvantage.net...

"When asked about the relevancy of search engine sponsored links and advertisements, business searchers responded that even when clicked on, paid links do not yield the best results.

[most] respondents feel that they find the information that they are looking for less than 40% of the time through sponsored links, and the search engine business searches go to first is Google, which 66 percent of the respondents say they use most."

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Could paid search engine ads be blocked?

It's the shining hope of Internet advertising -- and one software company is delivering the tools to destroy it. The target: paid search on the Net. These are the ads that appear next to search results when someone types in, say, "hiking boots." Paid search has grown into a $2 billion industry, one that is fueling Yahoo!'s (YHOO ) comeback and Google's upcoming IPO.

And Ed English wants to put the kibosh on it. He's the CEO of InterMute in Braintree, Mass., which makes AdSubtract PRO 3, a $29.95 program that blocks ads. On Dec. 8, English released a beta version of the software that gives Web surfers the option of calling up search results void of ads and sponsored links. "It's as if you put white-out over all the ads," says English. The final version should hit the stores in January.

Screenshot of search results without PPC ads (click for large view)

Net advertisers are running into such defenses at every turn. Free programs that block ads on Web sites are spreading fast. And spam filters threaten to zap even legit e-mail ads. This double whammy has pushed many advertisers toward paid search. The ads are usually relevant and attract lots of clicks. But given a choice, how many search-engine surfers would opt to welcome the ads? We'll soon see. (As reported in Business Week.)

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Want to know how Search Engines make money?

Search Engine Watch publishes a report from the San Jose conference this August, focussing on the topic of how search engines make money.

"We believe the most relevant results come from naturally crawling the Web," said Sheryl Sandberg, Vice President, Global Online Sales and Operations for Google.

So why do they offer Adwords then? Are they just cashing in? Let me know your thoughts.

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Lycos announces 100 most popular searches for 2003

The Lycos 50 with Aaron Schatz, has announced which search requests were the most popular during 2003. Some interesting entries:

No.4. - Paris Hilton (never heard of her until about 3 weeks ago)
No.24 - Clay Aiken (no sign of Reuben on the list)
No.32 - Viagra (beat No.33 Marijuana; maybe if people didn't use the latter, they wouldn't need the former?)
No.93 - Adaware (perfect for getting rid of all that spyware)

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WebSourced retains top PR Agency to promote search engine and online dating services

WebSourced, Inc., whose divisions include KeywordRanking.com (search engine marketing) and Cherish.com (online dating services), has retained French/West/Vaughan to provide high-level public relations services.

S. Patrick Martin, CEO of WebSourced, added, "The divisions of WebSourced are raising the bar in their respective fields. French/West/Vaughan is experienced in marketing industry leaders, and we are tapping into that talent as our business moves into 2004."

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LookSmart Adds Keyword Bidding to LookListings

LookSmart is hanging in there.

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Will Google take over our lives?

BusinessWeek.com has an interesting article that suggests that Google may become even more important than just search.

"I woke up this morning and Googled my dry cleaner to see if my shirts were done. Then I Googled the weather to see what to wear to work. Before breakfast, I Googled my stocks to see how they did yesterday, and then I Googled the supermarket for sale prices and to schedule a delivery, right from Google. I Googled the movies playing at theaters near my house, and then I told Google to e-mail me with travel itineraries to Paris from June 24 through June 31. In short, it's just another good Google day here in 2006, in an all-Google world."

Science fiction? Maybe not, Google has recently added the ability to track your packages with UPS and FedEx. Business Week suggests that Google may consider adding other convenient options.

"Google could introduce a service that allows Web surfers to enter a Zip code and "movies" to receive a link to MovieFone.com with a listing of local films. Google wouldn't really need to ask MovieFone's permission because the service is publicly available and easy to program into Google in the same manner as the FedEx service.

Yes, such a Google service would probably mean extra traffic for MovieFone.com. And that would be good for MovieFone, right? Perhaps not. The interaction takes from MovieFone at least one prime advertising asset, the usual initial visit to MovieFone's home page, and instead awards that impression to Google. That's because the movie-listing seeker will skip right to the MovieFone hyperlink with their Zip-code-specific information. And as more traffic arrives from Google, that would give it more leverage to ask MovieFone for a referral fee. That's not hard to envision if Google become a public company with a responsibility to, above all, boost profits."

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WebmasterWorld.com surpasses 250,000 Google messages

Congrats to WebmasterWorld.com for having the largest Google forum online. They just passed 250,000 posts and with the current flux at Google, show now sign of slowing down.

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Companies to spend more on search engine marketing in 2004

According to InternetNews.com, companies are getting set to spend more on online advertising in 2004. Search engine marketing will share in that growth.

"online sales lead generation methods that show growth in 2004: search keyword purchase (58 percent compared to 2003's 49 percent); and search engine optimization (63 percent compared to 2003's 53 percent)."

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More Google Florida update theories

Could the recent acquisition of Applied Semantics by Google be a reason for the recent update? Is Google using their technology? Read another "best guess" theory over at Search Engine Guide.

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Turn search engine results into maps with Grokker

If you think that Google et al are too basic when its comes to displaying search results, maybe you should take a look at Grokker. This downloadable tool allows you to search multiple search engines (although not Google) and display the results in a dynamic interface.

For example, your search for Paris gives you categories like â€œHistoryâ€?, â€œMuseumsâ€?, â€œUniversitiesâ€? and â€œHotelsâ€?. Click on â€œHistoryâ€? and youâ€™ll find a category called â€œToursâ€? that lists all the historical tours of Paris. Grokker makes research simple because it does the work for you.

Screenshot of Grokker interface

Grokker costs $49 for a single user license, but they offer a free trial too. While those demanding searchers will enjoy testing the interface, it's not as quick and easy to use as simply going straight to the search engine.

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Google Adwords implements auto-optimization

Google has announced that AdWords advertisers, who have multiple ad groups, will benefit from auto ad optimization.

"If one of your ads in an Ad Group performs better than the others, wouldn't you want to know about it and display it as frequently as possible? Ad optimization does this for you. All you have to do is create multiple ads within an Ad Group. We'll automatically monitor the CTR of each ad and show the better performing ads more often than ads with lower CTRs."

Seems like a good move. Advertisers get more click-thrus and Google gets more click-thru revenue. However, if Google truly wants to help Adwords buyers, why not monitor the conversion rates of an ad? After all, Google did set up conversion tracking for its advertisers. It would be more beneficial to them to have ads that convert well, shown more often. But then again, this doesn't benefit Google, so maybe we wont see that option.

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Shopping.com announces most popular shopping searches

Jumping on the "hot Chistmas searches" bandwagon, Shopping.com releases interesting information on the hottest product searches.

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Google makes enhancements to shopping engine, Froogle

In a Search Engine Watch report, Chris Sherman reports Google has been working on a new look for its Froogle shopping search engine and hopes the service will be embraced by consumers and store owners.

Google is also now actively encouraging merchants to take advantage of its free feed program, according to Craig Nevill-Manning, Senior Staff Research Scientist & Engineering Manager. Though Google continues to crawl the web looking for product information, using the feed allows merchants to provide Google with much more accurate information that can be updated at any time.

Google has no plans to charge merchants a fee for submitting products via the feed. Instead, the company will monetize Froogle by displaying ads from other merchants on result pages.

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More acquisitions in the search engine industry

Atlas DMT, an advertising technology provider and an operating unit of aQuantive, Inc., today announced the acquisition of Pay-Per-Click management company, GO TOAST.

"Search has always been a central component of our digital marketing offerings. This segment, however, has emerged in importance and become increasingly sophisticated," said Brian McAndrews, president and CEO of aQuantive, Inc. "To best serve the growing list of Atlas DMT clients, we felt it was necessary to strengthen our commitment to the rapidly growing search engine marketing segment. GO TOAST does that and more."

You know an industry has become hot when the companies involved start getting acquired. The search engine industry has certainly grown-up in the past 12 months with technology and ad agencies in particular looking to "buy" their way into the space.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Has Google created Generation G?

An article in the USA Today takes a look at how discerning kids have become when it comes to toys at Christmas.

"As members of the Google generation, today's children have facts at their fingertips."

Yikes! Did we go from generation "x" to generation "g"?

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Thoughts from Search Engine Strategies Chicago

Over at About.com, you can read a more informal review of the recent SES Chicago conference.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Google continues to test new interface

It appears Google is continuing to test new layouts for its search results. We first reported that Google was testing different formats back in September.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Can Google IPO kickstart the market?

Could a Google IPO spark the rest of the economy?

"An eye-popping deal like Google's could be enough to help snap the IPO lull, said Michael Moe, chief executive of ThinkEquity, a high-tech investment bank in San Francisco.

'A lot of investors put their hands on a hot oven and got burned so they are being very careful about going close to the oven again,' Moe said. 'Google's IPO could be the catalyst that helps bring people back.' "

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Google adds new feature - track your Christmas packages

Google has added to its additional features by allowing searchers to track FedEx and UPS packages.

According to the Google help notes, a user could simply type "fedex" followed by a space and a FedEx tracking number to get the latest information on the location of a package.

For UPS packages, users can simply enter the tracking number and get up-to-the-minute information.

Ask Jeeves is already planning its response and hopes to have tracking for Bubba's Shipping'n Things wrapped up in time for 2008.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Are you seeing more updates at Google?

I've noticed that Google results have been fluctuating over the past 48 hours, with some old rankings coming back up. Let me know what you have seen via the "comments" below.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Time to try Ask Jeeves

I am a long-time fan of Google (well 3 years is a long time in these circles) and have always trusted their search results. However, after seeing the results of the Florida update and hearing more and more positive feedback about Ask Jeeves, I am considering switching allegiances.

Shock, horror!

I plan to have the Ask toolbar running alongside the Google one and plan to compare results and user-experience over the next few weeks. I am already impressed with the tabs that Ask uses (both visible and invisible) and the chances are, I may end up unistalling the Google toolbar altogether.

If anyone at Ask reads this, let me tell you the one hesitation I have (and probably shared by others). While I know that I will only ever see a small fraction of Google's 3.5 billion indexed pages, they have done a great job of convincing me they have the best index. Ask has the best interface and is more user friendly, but whenever I use their search, I have this nagging doubt that perhaps I might be missing a resource that I would normally find at Google.

Ask Jeeves may have better results and they may have a better interface, but they need to do a better job of convincing the world that size doesn't matter (behave!). When I use Ask, I need to feel 100% confident that I am getting the best possible results. If they can do that, I believe you will see them gain a far greater market share in 2004. And with the recent calamity at Google, the path may be a little easier too.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Need another SEO blog fix?

Aaron Wall has moved his blog to SEOBook.com and the new site has a fresh look to it. While you'll get mostly the same information that you see at SEL, Aaron does a great job of playing "devils advocate" to my posts. If I post something controversial, he'll have something to say.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

What does Google recommend for dropped sites?

Garrett French asked Marissa Mayer, the Director of Consumer Web Products at Google, and asked, "What should people do if their sites were totally dumped from Google?" Her response?

"If you dropped in rankings, go back and look at who you linked to and who's linking to you. If any of these people are using spam techniques, they're the reason your site no longer appears on Google."

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Most popular searches at Ask Jeeves

If you want to know which search terms are most often entered at Ask Jeeves, check out Jeeves IQ.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Ah-ha parent, Marchex Inc., planning IPO

Marchex Inc., the parent company of Enhance Interactive (formerly ah-ha.com) and TrafficLeader, is hoping to raise $35 million in an initial public offering.

If successful, it would be the first Seattle-area Internet company to conduct an IPO in more than three years.

For the first nine months of the year, Marchex posted revenues of $15.5 million and operating cash flow of $2.1 million. The company was unprofitable for the period, although it did not disclose a figure.

It has grown from just a handful of employees to a staff of 166.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Google to open research center in India

Google plans to hire 100 engineers to staff its new R&D center in Bangalore, India.

Google has been looking to expand the pool from which it selects employees with computer-science and engineering backgrounds, he added, and realises it will be restricted in that goal if it requires those employees to work in the US, because many people canâ€™t obtain work visas.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Google Adwords under fire for excluding words

Jan Mackenzie president of The National SE-club has collected more than 3000 complaints from Google advertisers which, according to him will soon result in a 30-million-claim against Google.

Googlesâ€™ Adwords customers discovered the reason why so many keywords donâ€™t work in Adwords : Google has disabled many keywords that are not Trademarked at all. Examples are : home depot, beer and casino. Generic Terms that can be found in dictionaries can never be trademarked. Nobody can protect words like house, casino, church, beer, water, milk, hardware, home depot, furniture. But Google already disabled many of those keywords in their advertising program. Nobody understands why Google immediately disables a keyword after a complaint from a company claiming that the keyword is their trademark. Even without proof that it is a protected Trademark.

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Ouch! LookSmart losing two more partners

I like LookSmart, so I hope they can get themselves back on their feet. They quietly announced the loss of two more partners this week; Sprinks and Inktomi.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

LookSmart to cut fifty percent of staff

According to DMNews.com, LookSmart is planning to cut 50% of employees due to the recent loss of it's MSN partnership. This announcement comes just days after the news that the company would be closing its UK office.

I'll be checking the job boards for any LookSmart staff looking to move to North Carolina.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Search Engine Strategies Chicago - Outsourcing SEM

Chris Sherman moderated the "Outsourcing SEM" session which was designed to assist business owners in making the decision to hire a search engine marketing company or not.

Nate Elliott, Associate Analyst for Jupiter Research had some of the most fascinating statistics of the conference. Allow me to share:

$6.3 billion was spent on online marketing in 2003, with $1.6 billion of that going to search engine marketing.
Search engine marketing has grown by 50%, as a share of spend, during the last year alone.
By 2008, total online marketing spend will reach $14.5 billion with more than a third going to SEM.

So that's the growth of SEM taking care of, lets take a look at PPC buying.

24% of companies, spending more than $1m per year on online marketing, buy more than 1,000 keywords thru PPC engines.
Of those, 50% have trouble managing their keywords and 48% outsource the management (2% must be in PPC limbo).
Between 68% and 84% (depending on size of company) track the click-thru rates of their PPC campaigns.

How many companies outsource their SEO/SEM marfketing?

According to Elliot, 39% of those who outsource are "very satisfied" with their choice, yet 16% do not use any third party SEM company.

To add a twist to the session, Josh Greene from Road Runner (a division of Time Warner) gave his thoughts on choosing an SEM company. Greene employs three different SEM companies, as his company insists on redundancy, should one company fail for any reason (they don't work on the same sites...at least I hope they don't). Greene also confirmed that they are charged 15% of their PPC spend by their management company.

Greene offered two sources to consider when selecting an SEM/SEO company:

1. Get referrals from your ad agency/pr firm.
2. Ask your clients who they use for their SEM campaigns.

Dan Perry of the Career Education Program (I think) suggested that you should assign an individual within your company to act as a point of contact for any external SEO company you work with. This, he said, would ensure a smooth working relationship for both parties.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Search Engine Strategies Chicago - Site Clinic

I enjoyed participating in the first Site Clinic session with Jill Whalen and Mikkel deMib Svendsen. After overcoming some technical problems (we didn't have an Internet connection, which is kind of important, if you plan on reviewing attendees websites), we were up and running and helping audience members address issues with their web sites.

There appeared to be two problems that dominated the issues:

1. Not enough keyword dense text on the site. Many sites had a lot of graphics, but didn't mention the keywords they were trying to target.
2. Session i.d's were also showing up for a lot of the sites were reviewed. For these businesses, it wasn't that the sites were badly optimized, they were simply preventing spiders from accessing all of the content by insisting on session i.d's (the search engines cannot accept session i.d's and so the sites were not letting the spiders crawl the site). I spoke with one of the companies afterwards and explained how they should overcome the issue and you could see the light bulb go on.

What surpised me is that some of the sites had issues other than search engine optimization. There were sites that could have increased rankings and sales by simply implementing a new site design.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Search Engine Strategies Chicago - Ask Jeeves Keynote Address

Ask Jeeves President, Steve Berkowitz began the last day of the conference discussing the current trends he had identified within the search engine industry. Obviously delighted to be allowed to come out from under Google's shadow, Berkowitz offered his vision for the future, with a slight bias towards Ask Jeeves (although it certainly made a refreshing change from all of the Google hype).

Surveying the audience, Berkowitz asked a number of questions including:

"How many of you believe that we have a butler serving up the search results each time?". The amusing question turned surreal when a few people actually raised their hands. I hope they were joking, otherwise Ask has a lot of work to do.

Berkowitz provided some interesting statistics that I wanted to share with you.

82% of Internet users who have more than 2 years online experience, use search engines on a regular basis.
Only 40% of those users, who have use the Internet for less than one year, searched wih any regularity.
The average search engine users visits 2.8 search engines each month.
Despite the influx of "tabs" on search engines (e.g. news, shopping, weather), less than 1% of users actually click on them (probably why Danny Sullivan believes that search engines will have to use "invisible tabs").

Listening to Berkowitz, you could certainly tell that the President of the 5th largest search engine believed that 2004 might be the year for them. With the recent changes at Google upsetting the flow, many people are starting to look at the alternatives. Ask Jeeves has the technology and the interface to fill that gap.

I wonder if you type "miserable failure" over at Ask Jeeves, does it show Google as #1???

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Did someone mention a Google IPO?

It was reported in Barron's a few months back that Google might be considering an IPO because of an SEC rule that forces private companies, which exceed a certain number of shareholders/stock-option holders, to divulge financial information. If Google met that threshold, the report concluded that the world's largest search engine might as well go public.

CNET rekindles the story (probably cos there hasn't been any new news on the subject, so they might as well refurbish the old stuff).

"It might compel Google to go out earlier than they want, put a deadline on them," according to one corporate attorney who asked to remain anonymous. "It's a pain in the neck to have the burdens of being a public company without the benefits of a publicly traded stock."

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

More SES news

Garrett French was one of many editors who asked me to write daily coverage of the San Jose SES, back in August. He obviously thought he missed out on all the fun as he is here at the show and sending in his own daily reports at WebProNews. Pleasure to meet you Garrett!

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Search Engine Strategies Chicago - Wednesday briefing

There really werenâ€™t a lot of new developments to share from Tuesdayâ€™s seminars, most of the topics were the same as the San Jose event, which I covered in my report from that show.

Google reps were scarce, with those manning the booth reluctant to talk about the recent update despite the constant requests from attendees. Google really was keeping a low profile at the event, not wanting to send their normal engineers to speak. As one of my co-workers put it, Google simply sent the â€œsacrificial lambsâ€?.

At the KeywordRanking.com booth, things were buzzing constantly. Despite our constant reminders to the world that we are the largest and most successful SEO company in the world, it took being the first SEO company to ever sponsor the event, at the highest level, for many of our peers to finally concede that perhaps we were right all along.

Meet the KeywordRanking.com booth staff

The winner of our LCD Monitor giveaway was Stephanie Leffler, CEO of Monster Commerce who was delighted when we shared the news to her. Thanks to Yahoo for helping us to draw the winner.

Our cocktail party on Tuesday (again a first for an SEO company at the event) was a huge hit with hundreds of attendees enjoying complimentary food and bar. It was a great opportunity for some of our staff (we took 11 to the event) to mingle with marketers, webmasters and search engine employees.

Ah-ha.com has changed its name to Enhance Interactive. The popular PPC company obviously saw the successful re-branding of GoTo.com to Overture and decided it could do the same. Their new logo looks great.

I was glad to have the opportunity to meet with Mike Grehan for the first time. Our paths had not had the opportunity to cross at previous events, so I am glad he come over to say â€œhiâ€?. Mike is the new Managing Director if iProspect UK and being a fellow Brit, he is obviously a very nice guy.

It seems the â€œSearch Term Researchâ€? presentation I gave, was well received by attendees. Many thanks to all of you who stopped me and expressed your appreciation for the content shared.

Tomorrow brings an eclectic group of topics and Iâ€™ll be assisting Jill Whalen and Mikkel deMib Svendsen with a â€œSite Clinicâ€? session early in the day.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Search Engine Strategies Chicago - How the industry has grown

If you needed an indication of exactly how far search engine marketing has come in the past 6 months, consider the response when Danny Sullivan asked an audience of more than 600 search marketers, â€œHow many of you remember when Yahoo would display directory listings ahead of crawled results?â€? While the change to separate directory and web results took place only last year, approximately 80% of those in the Sullivanâ€™s keynote address to the Chicago SES, could not recall the old format. Maybe a few people were too shy to raise their hand, but I was still shocked by the response.

Search engine marketing has grown dramatically in popularity over the past few months and a venue switch from Dallas to Chicago brought a fresh influx of marketers new to the obsessive rituals and tweaking of search engine marketing.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Search Engine Strategies Chicago - Auditing Paid Listings Report

The Auditing Paid Listings session allowed attendees to learn more about steps that can be taken to protect Pay-Per-Click advertisers from rogue or fake click-thrus.

Kevin Lee (Did-It.com) suggested that the more tech savvy the industry you operate in, the more likely you could become the victim of excessive clicking by a competitor. Lee also suggested that those PPC users who feel they have been the victim of click fraud, should use a reverse look-up tool to determine the IP address of the fake visitor.

Lee also went on to discuss tactics that competitors take to fool PPC management companies into deactivating bids. With some PPC managers automatically cancelling bids for terms that have low conversion rates, Lee said that competitors plan attacks that click on a listing multiple times, obviously not making a purchase and hence causing a low conversion rate. Once the conversion rate for a bid dropped below a certain level (say 0.5%) the bid would be deactivated by the PPC manager. This would leave the way open for the competitor to bid unchallenged.

Lee did warn that web site owners should check other factors that could cause low conversion rates before jumping to conclusions. An example he gave, showed how conversions could still take place if the visitor called Customer Service to order or actually went to the company's physical store.

In closing, Lee offered links to third party click-auditing companies.
www.WhosClickingWho.com
www.KeywordMax.com/click_auditor.html

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Search Engine Strategies Chicago - Advanced Link Building Forum Report

Considering all of the speculation surrounding how Google might now be interpreting links, it is no wonder that the Advanced Link Building Forum was a popular stop for attendees.

Debra Mastaler, owner of Alliance-Link.com had some interesting advice and tips to share. Some questions she answered included:

Should you buy or sell links?
Sure! But avoid using trademarked terms like "Page Rank" when doing so and insist on using keyword rich text links in your ad.

Will DMOZ listings get you a special PR boost?
No.

Are expired domains a good source of link popularity?
Not anymore. The search engines have gotten wise and stopped this.

Will links from penalized sites damage my Page Rank?
No. They neither help nor hurt, besides, you have no control over who links to you.

Mastaler also suggested that you select something other than "Links Page" when creating a page for outbound links. A "Resource Page" with articles and info that compliment the links, is more effective.

If you've moved your site to a new domain, a 301 redirect will go a long way in transferring links and Page Rank.

Greg Boser at WebGuerrilla, also suggested that you use alternate text when including keywords in links. Asking 100 web sites to link to you, using the same keyword, might raise a red flag.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Search Engine Strategies Chicago - Organic Listings Forum Report

As you would expect, the Organic Listings Forum was a popular session, with many attendees looking for any info on the recent Google update.

In a forum set-up, Mike Grehan (iProspect UK), Anthony Muller (Range Online Media) and Brett Tabke (WebmasterWorld) took questions from an energetic audience.

Tabke suggested that there was currently "no consensus on the Google update". Audience members insisted that that informational sites had taken rankings from commercial offerings. The panel didn't agree with this, citing many instances where commercial sites were still ranked.

Tabke was also asked if he thought sites had lost rankings due to too much keyword density. He didn't believe that was the case. Tabke did suggest that Google had the ability to collect lots of data from those users who installed the Toolbar.

Mike Grehan outlined his theories on the recent update. He explained that there are two different types of search engine algorithm.

1. PageRank - which is not keyword dependent when calculating search results (i.e. it considers inbound links, but not what keywords are relevant to those links). He explained that this was faster to implement on 3 billion pages.
2. Hits - which is keyword dependent and considers the communities that your site resides in. This is slower than PageRank.

Grehan believes that Google is trying to implement Hits and compete with technology that has been used for a while by Teoma.

Other topics were discussed during the morning session, they included:

Google engineers confirmed to Grehan that dynamic sites are not a problem for Google, they just spider them a little slower so as to not drain resources. Tabke added that while there are no spidering issues with dynamic URLs, people are more likely to link to a static URL than one that contains a long, complex string.

The recent Google bomb directed towards President Bush (miserable failure) also made the session. It was suggested that this collective linking effort shows how important keywords in an inbound link can be.

(Just realized that I mentioned the country's leader and b0mb in the same sentence. Oh well, maybe the FBI will increase my page views)

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Search Engine Strategies Chicago - Sold Out

Search Engine Strategies Chicago has officially sold out, according to event organizers.

There is definitely a buzz at this event and it looks set to be a great success. With speakers from Google, Yahoo and Ask lined up, we should get some interesting info. I spoke with the Yahoo rep setting-up their booth and she is very well prepared for all questions regarding the switch over to Inktomi results. I believe her rehersed response starts, "At Yahoo, we are always looking at ways to improve the user experience..." I bet Google's is the same.

Stop by the KeywordRanking.com booth (opposite Premier Plus co-sponsors, Yahoo) and enter to win a great prize.

The conference kicks off tomorrow, and we'll post regular updates and news exclusively at Search Engine Lowdown.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Google conclusions

So, the dust hasn't quite settled on the "Florida" update, but there are some things that appear to be solid assumptions.

First, it appears that Google hasn't implemented the changes in an attempt to switch users to Adwords; either that or they are doing a great job in making us think they are sincere.

Secondly, individual sites haven't been singled out by the update. If your web site lost its rankings, it is unlikely due to a penalty against you (unless you have been spamming).

It is likely that Google will implement the new algorithm across all results at sometime in the future, especially as they are being shamed each passing day over at Scroogle.

Who will come out on top?

1. Those web sites that target more than just a few search terms. Your site should be relevant for more than just the generic phrases.
2. As I have always said, relevant links are the key, not just any link. Look at SEL, we've jumped to a PageRank of 7 with just 39 links, but each one of them is from a relevant site and not a single one solicited.
3. With Google now stemming search results, we no longer have to worry about whether to target the singular or plural search terms.

Don't panic, continue to make your site relevant for targeted search terms and don't employ spam techniques and you should weather the "florida" storm.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

What Happened To My Searches On Google?

With all the changes with Google's search results, are search engine users still getting the best results? Danny Sullivan (hats off to that man) pumps out another article, this time looking at the effects for Google users.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Froogle Links At Top Of Google Web SERPs

According to Webmasterworld Google has started showing Froogle results at the top of search result pages (thats to SearchEngineBlog for the link).

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

LookSmart UK to shut shop

Thanks to Kalena for pointing me in the direction of this announcement. I hope that LookSmart can continue to add new US partners to keep operations going there.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

LookSmart Signs New Sponsored Search Partners

LookSmart continues its rebuilding process with the announcement of new sponsored search partners that include SearchFeed, myGeek and ABC Search. Hardly high-profile, but it's a positive move.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Speculation On Google Changes

If you are a Search Engine Watch member, you can read an in-depth analysis of what has happened over at Google. Some interesting points:

* Has Google implemented its LocalRank technology. Effectively only taking into account relevant inbound links when calculating a site's rank.
* Did they plan to launch a new algorithm in two phases? Introducing an algorithm with LocalRank is very processor intensive. Did Google launch the new algorithm on popular searches first, with the intent of applying to all searches at some future date. That would explain why only some search terms are impacted.
* To make matters more confusing, Google also added stemming to its algorithm. This means that a search for "factory" would also show site listings that include "factories".
* Is Google using the "Hilltop" algorithm which places more weight on larger authoritive web site links.

It appears all of the above have been included in the recent update. This mass update to the algorithm has obviously been noticed by more web site owners than normal. The advice by many is to not panic and continue to ensure that you optimize your web site in accordance with commonly accepted practices and avoid spam.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Google Dance Case Studies

Search Engine Watch provides some interesting Google Dance Case Studies.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Google update questions answered

Danny Sullivan gives his view on many questions being asked about the recent "Florida" update at Google.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

More Google IPO speculation

Need to get your Google IPO fix? Internetnews.com rekindles the story.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Danny Sullivan answers your Google Florida update questions

Not there yet, but keep an eye on SearchEngineWatch.com for Danny Sullivan's updates on the recent Google update.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Funniest Google Florida quote

Access Business News reports on the latest Google Florida update.

According to their source, Patrick Wagner owner of "one of North America's leading boutique search engine optimization and e-marketing companies" the reason for the update is...

"Google had choices, they could spend millions of dollars to increase its already bulging capacity and hire the extra personnel needed to manage that or they could simply clean house and reduce the number of sites listed,"

Does anyone get the feeling that he believes that all of Google's rankings are determined by eager staff, sitting at terminals, ready to serve up the freshest results for you? Doesn't he know that Google uses Pigeons for the task?

And people raise eyebrows when I say that companies don't want to work with boutique SEO firms anymore.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Google's Florida update; did they implement the Hilltop system?

Looking for a different theory on the Google update? Webworkshop.net has an article that suggests that Google used a filter similar to the Hilltop system.

"Hilltop employs an 'expert' system to rank pages. It compiles an index of expert web pages - these are pages that contain multiple links to other pages on the web of the same subject matter. The pages that end up in the rankings are those that the expert pages link to.

We see many search results, that once contained useful commercial sites, now containing much more in the way of information or authority pages. That's because expert pages are much more likely to point to information pages. We see that the results with and without the -nonsense word are sometimes different and sometimes the same. That's because an expert system cannot handle all search queries."

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Businesses share their views on Google Florida update

SEL readers are beginning to express their views and concerns on the recent Google "Florida" update. Let us know yours.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Google asks U.S. court for ruling on trademarks

Reuters weighs in on the trademark story too.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Google makes first move, asks Court to rule on trademark advertising

According to News.com, Google has decided it is sick of being sued for trademark infringement resulting from its Adwords services. It has asked a San Jose, CA. court to rule on how far a trademark can be protected by the owner.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

How to get listed on Shopping Search Engines

Nice summary of the costs for getting listed on the most popular shopping search engines.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Happy Birthday Search Engine Guide!

Search Engine Guide celebrates its 4th birthday!

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Real Estate Brokers scramble for Google exposure

More fallout from the recent Google update.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Andy Beal To Lead this Months Triangle AMA Meeting

When I agreed three months ago to provide a search engine marketing seminar for the local chapter of the American Marketing Association, I tried to think of a catchy headline. I came up with "Can Google Find Your Site?", boy was that prophetic. I'm sure the event will be standing room only in light of the recent developments.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Ask Jeeves Reveals the Hottest Products for the Holiday Season

Ask Jeeves has revealed the hottest toys for this Christmas. Interestingly, they have declared themselves the #2 search engine on the web.

Did I miss something???

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Google changes anger UK web businesses

The recent changes at Google are upsetting UK business owners too!

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Interview with the Ask Jeeves

Ever wanted to have a conversation with a search engine? Check out this interview with Ask Jeeves.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Google Update Messiahs, do they need help?

Over at ChriSEO, Jill Whalen's recent comments about the Google update are given a British "tongue-in-cheek" review.

Being from England originally, I hope that my comments never give Chris the same headache, then again maybe his site is the blog equivalent of Spitting Image (eighties UK puppet show), if you're in it, you've made it. ;-)

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Is the Google deskbar worth downloading?

The Register gives its thoughts on the practical uses of the recently launched Google Deskbar.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

More Google update thoughts

Over at Traffick.com, Andrew Goodman offers his thoughts on the speculated filter implementation by Google. His summary of the situation:

"So maybe Google's process is essentially a two-stage one:

1. Target "commercial" queries for a "roiling of the waters" - re-rank all sites falling under certain "commercial" queries, depending on the perceived value of that term as measured by its value within the AdWords program;

2. Attempt to make a global judgment as to which of the following "types" a site or page falls into:

* informational/discussion/educational/governmental
* navigational/search/portal
* company
* store
* affiliate seller
* other

Goodman adds, "It's certainly no mere "speculation" that Google is up to something along these lines. There is enough evidence that points to certain patterns over and over again. The shortest path to the truth seems to be the following rule: "where there is a critical mass of advertisers, Google has chosen to re-rank the index."

I agree with him that we will see a shake-out of a lot of "shady" SEO companies who cannot recover from this Google change. At KeywordRanking.com, we have never let our clients rely on just a handful of highly-coverted search terms, instead helping them to achieve rankings for hundreds of variations. Maybe this filter will encourage others to do the same.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Search engine lesson for Kiwis

Stuff.co.nz manages to condense the last 10 years of search engine technology development into about 500 words. I almost didn't link to the article in protest for not quoting Kalena Jordan. :-)

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Viewmark to introduce new web metrics application

Viewmark will introduce Cyberneering, a marketing-oriented web metrics and customer insight process application at the upcoming Search Engine Strategies Conference in Chicago.

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

Espotting selected by UK's Lastminute.com

UK PPC company, Espotting has announced a partnership with Lastminute.com.

A lastminute.com branded pop-under page will be served to users leaving the hotels channel of the site without purchasing, and will display Espotting's top 5 keyword specific listings to the corresponding channel.

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Blogging survey results show Google News popular source

Interesting survey results over at Blog News for Bloggers. Of interest, 33.8% of those surveyed say they use Google News as a source for blog entries.

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Ask Jeeves expected to get Google sales boost in Q4

Looks like Ask Jeeves will see revenues increase thanks to its partnership with Google Adwords.

"Google's price-per-click is up 7 percent or more over the September quarter. Google accounted for 61 percent of Jeeves' sales in that period. That means sales from Google could be even higher in the holiday quarter. [SoundView analyst Jordan Rohan] estimates that Google contributes about 64 percent of Jeeves' sales this quarter."

That might go up further as online retailers try to compensate for lost Google rankings from the crawler results.

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FindWhat.com Announces Strategic Relationship With Verizon

FindWhat.com will provide contextual ads to Verizon's SuperPages directory web site.

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Might Google be sued for latest algorithm change?

Adding fuel to the "did Google make this change to encourage people to use Adwords" fire, this Reuters story explains how businesses will suffer because of lost Christmas sales.

"Talk of an initial public offering has helped fuel allegations that Google made the ranking changes to pump up its all-important advertising revenues ahead of a stock sale."

If Google has indeed implemented a filter that impacts only highly searched phrases, can it be justified. How long before businesses form a class action law suit against the search engine? After all, this does appear to be discrimination and companies have lost money. If Google bows under the pressure of the pharmacy industry, might it not also cave in to the might of Internet companies adversely affected by the recent algorithm change?

Is this Price Gouging on Google's part? In many States, increasing the price of an essential resource, during a crisis or critical event is considered to be price gouging, with severe penalties. With Christmas just 3 weeks away, could the implementation of a filter, that basically forces more website owners to use Adwords, which in turn drives up the cost-per-bid, be considered price gouging? With Google impacting about 75% of all search engine results (they supply results to Yahoo and AOL), shouldn't Google be under the scrutiny of the same laws that impact public utility companies?

I'm a big Google fan and use a lot of their offerings (toolbar, deskbar, blogger etc), but when a company can make a change that appears not to be uniform across all results, we should take a long hard look at said company to determine their intent.

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What click-thru rates can you expect on search engines?

According to search engine Gimpsy, 69% of search engine users click on a result in the first 10 listings. You can add your thoughts over at the Cre8asite Forums.

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Search engines play big part in Christmas shopping

According to The New York Times, online shopping will increase this year and the search engines will be largely responsible.

"This year, about 81 million people â€” up from 73 million last year â€” are expected to make online purchases"

"This year, the way people use the Web is different," said Ken Seiff, chief executive of Bluefly.com, a discount clothing retail site that is increasing its search advertising. "When someone wants to know something, the first thing they think of is Google or Yahoo or MSN. It could be who is this person, what is that country, or where do I find a black cashmere sweater."

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Will Invisible Tabs work for the search engines?

SEWatch.com takes a look at whether search engine users will ever fully utilize search tabs. Danny Sullivan thinks not and suggests that "invisible tabs" should select the most appropriate category for you.

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Search Engines Limit Ads for Drugs but Ease Rules on Sex

The New York Times weighs in on the Google ban on drug related advertising. For those of you who have been wondering...

"Google said that despite its more restrictive drug advertising policy, its main search results would continue to list all sites found for a drug term, whether or not the site was a licensed pharmacy."

The story also looks at AOL's relaxed policy on sex-related ads.

" search for a sexual term on AOL returns a page noting that the search might produce "adult" content. This page gives the user two options. The first, presented in larger type, offers to hunt for the term using "Adult Search Fantasy Finder," which is described as "an independent adult search service." The second choice is to use AOL's own search service, which is provided mostly by Google."

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Google's ban on drug ads filters thru

News that Google will no longer accept Adwords listings from unlicensed online pharmacies, is starting to filter thru to the general media.

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Did Google implement a filter on its search engine?

Danny Sullivan weighs in on the recent Google update "Florida" and suspects that a filter may well have been implemented. He provides a walk-thru of before and after results and suggests that the rumors that Google is targeting popular phrases maybe more than a conspiracy theory.

Danny plans to follow up more closely on Wednesday, but it appears that Google will have a lot of explaining to do at next weeks SES conference.

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Google removes online pharmacy advertising

Following in Overture's footsteps, Google has decided that it will no longer allow Adwords listings for unlicensed online pharmacies.

While this may be good news, brace yourselves for an influx of spam email as the online pharmacies figure out how to reach customers.

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What started Google's logo tradition

When and why did Google start customizing its logo.

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...the search industry queries new media