Can Microsoft Get Natural Language Search to Work at MSN?
According to John C. Dvorak of PC Magazine, Microsoft may face a tough challenge if it plans to offer natural language searching.

The biggest mess-maker will be Microsoft, which suddenly thinks this is somehow its business too. It intends to release a new search service using natural-language queries, much like Ask Jeeves. Ask Jeeves has never impressed me, and the company has invested years in this idea. What is Microsoft going to do differently?

To see how poorly natural-language parsing works, use Google's translation function. If companies can't create decent machine translation, how can they use natural language for search queries? Still, Microsoft will do what it does best in areas outside its core competency: muddy the waters.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Google Humor
Thanks to Search Engine Guide for sharing this Google cartoon.

Also see the follow-up.
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Vivisimo Adds New ClusterMed Search Engine Tool for Medical Research
Vivisimo today announced the release of ClusterMed(TM), a powerful research tool that allows biomedical and life sciences researchers to search the MedLine database far more productively and efficiently.

ClusterMed(TM) organizes the long list of results returned by PubMed(R) into hierarchical folders allowing researchers to hone in on the most relevant results quickly. By organizing results into categories, users discover the main themes relating to the subject of the query and can easily reach relevant articles buried deep in the chronological list. In addition, similar articles are grouped together, rather than scattered throughout the results.

Vivisimo is certainly one of the smaller search engine companies trying to influence the future of search technology. We asked President & Co-founder, Raul Valdes-Perez to share his views on what to expect in the future, as search engines evolve.

[Andy Beal] Tell me about the Search Engine Technology being developed that excites you?

[Raul Valdes-Perez] Technology that partially automates the intelligent reasoning that goes on in users' heads AFTER they get search results. Such technology makes users more efficient. For example:

- Build a readable, one-paragraph profile of a certain person based on their web results.

- What are the non-obvious relationships between, say, Joe Blow and Otto Normalverbraucher? This expresses an information need that starts with two distinct input topics rather than just one.

- What are the major themes in these results? (Vivisimo does this)

[AB] What do you see being devloped in the coming years?

[RV] More machine intelligence built in to the search process that acknowledges what people do after they get search results and better acknowledgement of the information overload that users potentially suffer.

[AB] Do you foresee a time when commercial search results will be seperate from information search results?

[RV] On the web, it's hard to draw a good line between informational and commercial. I don't think this will happen. But the reasons for placement should be made explicit.

[AB] Do you think that search engines will start asking for personal information in order to provide better results?

[RV] This is doubtful, except for small improvements. People have fleeting interests when searching on the web. Their actions are not as unambiguous as is, say, purchasing a book on Amazon.com.

[AB] Do you think that the search engines are in danger of providing too many results?

[RV] The problem of information overload is actually handled pretty well by simply IGNORING most information, e.g., ignore everything after page 1 of the search results, or ignore most of the books in the library, etc. But this has a cost which we can call information overloook.

The challenge is not to eliminate information overlook, which isn't feasible, but to enable users to be more intelligent in the information they elect to ignore, and to let them see more during their time allotment of say, ten minutes, than they can now.
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ClickTracks Launches New Version of Web Analytics Tool
Congrats to John Marshall and his team over at ClickTracks for the launch of v.5.0.
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LookSmart UK Officially Shuts Down
Thanks to Webmaster World for discovering that LookSmart UK is no more. Instead visitors are redirected to UK Net Guide.
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Measuring ROI with Paid Search Engine Ads
Over at Search Engine Watch, Arnaud Fischer (AltaVista product manager from 1999-2001 and currently leading search product planning for Infospace's Search & Directory division) writes about the importance of tracking ROI with PPC campaigns.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
What to Expect from Search Engines in the Future
I'm glad that there is a lot of interest in the future of search technology. I've enjoyed speaking to industry insiders and getting their thoughts on the future and now USA Today columnist Kevin Maney, offers his view.

"At a conference last week called PC Forum, Google CEO Eric Schmidt essentially told the audience what he wished Google could become.

"I keep asking for a product called Serendipity," he said, making up the name. This product would have access to everything ever written or recorded, know everything the user ever worked on and saved to his or her personal hard drive, and know a whole lot about the user's tastes, friends and predilections.

"Then when I'm typing a paper, it would know what I'm writing about and say, 'Hey, you forgot this,' " Schmidt said.

That's where search has to go. Eventually, search will be like a direct connection between your brain and all the world's information. It will grasp so much about you and your immediate circumstance that it will often know exactly what you need, perhaps even before you do. It will be an electronic Radar O'Reilly."
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Is Google Winning Search Engine Wars?
WebSideStory reported Google's share of search engine referrals increased this month. Measuring the number of referrals from a database of 25 million unique browsers, Google was the clear leader with 41%, Yahoo dipped to 27% and MSN remained steady at just under 20%. See the full details at CNet.com.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Search Engines Are Setting Their Sights on Local Search
Nice report in the LA Times discussing the evolution of local search. Why has local search faced difficulties?

The challenge for search engines is figuring out where an Internet user is. Only about 7% of searches conducted in the U.S. include a local modifier such as a ZIP Code, city or area code, according to ComScore Networks Inc., a market research firm.
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Google's New Look
It appears Google has changed their look again. Take a look at the new style homepage. Ok, so maybe it's a little early for an April Fools joke. The link actually shows Google back in 1997 and if you want to see more, head over to WebProNews.
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How Topix is Making a Reputation for Itself in Local Search
John Battelle talks with the execs over at Topix, a local advertising portal.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Overture Delivers Search Engine Ads to UK Cell Phones
Overture has signed agreements with Vodafone and Orange to display text ads on their WAP portals.

At launch, Overture will sell WAP page adverts on the mobile operators' travel portals. A mobile phone user searching for say airfare can navigate with a few key taps to an advertisers' specially designed WAP page and make a purchase by tapping a "call this number" link.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Google Is Sued by Digital Envoy
Look's like Google is starting to become the target of those looking to cash in on the search engine's success. Another company has filed a law suit against them, this time Digital Envoy claims that Google stole some technology from them.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
More on New Google Search Features
Danny Sullivan provides a comprehensive summary of the changes announced by Google today. He includes a guide to the new Ad Format, Web Alert Service and the demotion of The Open Directory.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
CEO Eric Schmidt Discusses Google Growth
Mylene Mangalindan has a great interview with Google CEO, Eric Schmidt in today's WSJ. The full article is available online to subscribers, but here is a snippet...

WSJ: You've been quoted saying that an IPO would simply be a financing event. If you're profitable, why do you need a financing event?

Mr. Schmidt: What I always say is that we are fortunate at Google that our business generates enough cash that we have not had the kind of pressure to raise money that many other companies have legitimately had. And the board had the wisdom to not do anything prematurely.

There are always other reasons to go public -- either liquidity, venture returns, the ability to do acquisitions. These are well-known. But one that typically forces it is not present at Google and we don't foresee it to be present. So we've had the luxury of thinking about this question and we continue to think about it.

We've told the company that we will run the company the same way, whether it's a private or public company.

WSJ: Has the preparation for a possible IPO gotten in the way of running the business?

Mr. Schmidt: The IPO discussion has not materially changed the way we do anything except that we're more careful within public settings. I think inside the bigger change has been that we now have hundreds of engineers and so it's not quite as informal a communication style. But that's not related to this IPO question. At the board meetings, in the management meetings, we don't talk about the elephant in the room. I know this is hard to imagine.

Update: Thanks to Gary for finding the free link to the article.
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Search Engine Companies Continue to Grow
Recent acquisitions in the search engine industry prove that the search space continues to grow.

According to CNet...

Analysts said the market fever has been driven in part by the early success of paid search services pioneered by Yahoo's Overture Services subsidiary and Google's Adwords service. Sales from keyword searches increased to 31 percent of the total $1.75 billion in online ad revenue in the third quarter of 2003, according to online-advertising trade group the Internet Advertising Bureau.
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Yahoo and MSN Build Partnership
According to CNet, Yahoo CEO, Terry Semel believes that there is room for Yahoo and MSN to work together.

"It's important...for companies like Yahoo and Microsoft to start working more together, because we have a common goal--to take a greater and greater share of the marketplace," he said, speaking to Microsoft MSN's more than to the 500 advertising clients gathered here for the software company's fifth annual ad summit.
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Dogpile Enhances Toolbar with News Feeds
Search Engine Watch features an article written by Gary Price in which he reviews the new toolbar options provided by Dogpile.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Google Adds New Search Engine Options
Just found the official Google press release that announces the new changes at Google. These include:

Google Personalized Web Search - delivers customized search results based on preferences that users specify.

New Froogle home page and search results page. The new Froogle homepage also features links to recent popular product searches, such as iPod cases or airzooka instead of categories.

A new number range (numrange) advanced search command enables users to specify that results contain numbers in a range they set.

Google News now displays thumbnail images of photos that relate to news stories.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Microsoft Adding New Tools, Could Take Years
According to USA Today, Microsoft could take up to 3 years to introduce some of the new tools it has announced for MSN Search.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
New Google Look Launched
You may have to wait until July 1st to see the new MSN interface, but you can see the new Google one today. Google has launched its much rumored new look, which includes a new Froogle tab and search engine results page.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Microsoft to Create MSN Blogbot, A Blog Search Engine
According to the Mercury News, Microsoft has announced that it will create a special search engine just for weblogs that will debut sometime in the first half of the year.

Blogbot will not index all blogs, just the ones that MSN determines provide the most useful information, a company official said.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Hang on a minute....
Is this a regurgitation of a story that ran a few months back, or have have the stories on Google become one big blur? How many times can the same thing be reported?
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Can Smaller Search Engine Companies Fill Google Void?
The Associated Press comments on the gaping whole that needs to be filled, if search engines are to index the entire web.

Users who consider Google exhaustive are only fooling themselves, experts say. Today's search engines may be capturing as little as 1 percent of the Web, largely because of how they find and index online resources.

The article features a whole host of smaller companies who claim to be able to fill the gap.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Mapquest Beta Tests Local Search Engine Tool
Gary Price reports that Mapquest is quietly rolling out a local search function linked to their maps.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Alltheweb.com Switches to Yahoo! Search
The folks over at Webmaster World are reporting that AllTheWeb.com has switched to Yahoo results.
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YukonSoft Corporation receives Internet search engine patent
And the news keeps on coming...

YukonSoft Corporation announced today the receipt of an Internet search engine patent for the Method for Indexing and Managing a Searchable Community of Non-HTML Information. The patented technology, which has been utilized in YukonSoft's Y.E.S.!(tm) software platform, allows an Internet search engine to search Internet sites and retrieve information within an e-commerce website at the product or inventory level rather than by website homepage.
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Top Ten Reasons Why Search Engine Marketing Will Grow
In true David Letterman style, Geoff Ramsey CEO of eMarketer gives his Top 10 reasons why search will grow:

10. The economy is growing.
9. Search will attract more B2B advertisers to online marketing.
8. Search is expanding to include multi-media and graphics.
7. Search will get smarter.
6. Search will expand through contextual advertising.
5. Search will grow faster outside the U.S. market.
4. The number of online shoppers and buyers continues to grow.
3. The number of searchers, and usage of search, will continue to grow.
2. Search will go local.
1. Search marketing will get more sophisticated.
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Interpreting search
CNET's Michael Kanellow takes a look at some lesser know developments in search.
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Let's start from the beginning...
Who needs a shrink, when I have Sid Yadav from Internet Explained ready to offer his couch and let me tell my story from the beginning. Thanks Sid.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
More Microsoft Search Engine News
Reuters has additional comments from Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer...

"Ballmer conceded that Microsoft made a strategic mistake when it chose to use outside companies for Web search rather than making its own investment in the up-and-coming technology.

"That's probably the thing I feel worst about," he said.

Nevertheless, Ballmer vowed that Microsoft would more than make up for lost time. "We're committed to do it very, very, very well. I think you'll see a lot of good competition in the area," he said, vowing that Microsoft would become "absolutely the best" in search.

Ballmer said it was premature to comment on whether the company will build its own search advertising technology, but said that any such effort would take a back seat to Web search."
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Microsoft Rues Search Engine Decision
The Seattle Times reports that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer regrets not getting involved with search a lot sooner.

"That's probably the thing I feel worst about over the last few years — not making our own (research and development) investment," he said.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Yahoo Buys Kelkoo, Strengthens European Shopping Search
According to Reuters, Yahoo has agreed to buy European price comparison Web site Kelkoo SA for about $575 million in cash to expand its range of Internet commerce portals.

"Commerce has emerged as a key component of search,'' said Yahoo Chief Executive Terry Semel in a statement on Friday.

Kelkoo, which has been profitable for more than a year, has long been tipped by European bankers as a potential candidate for an initial public offering or a sale to a company such as Yahoo or Google.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Could we see Google Acrobat?
I bet the above headline got you to think there's going to be a merger between Google and Adobe, didn't it? (No?, maybe I'm not as clever as I think then).

Anyway, in an ABC news snippet, Sergey Brin reveals what career path he may have taken if he had not "stumbled" into search.

"I like to do a variety of kind of acrobatic things," said Brin. "I even did flying trapeze for a little while."
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Does Ruling Suggest Problems for New Microsoft Search Engine?
The recent European Commission decision to force Microsoft to unbundle its Windows Media Player from Windows, could be a blow to the company's plans to integrate search technology into the new Longhorn operating system, according to Mercury News.

"The big question is how precedent-setting'' the decision is, said Joe Wilcox, senior analyst at Jupiter Research. ``We've got a precedent that says . . . bundling is not acceptable in some circumstances. If it could apply to media player, it could be applied to other technologies.''
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
MSN Launches New Look in July, Not New Search Engine
A couple of weeks ago we posted a link to a Reuters article that suggested that, along with changing the way sponsored listings were displayed, MSN would also be introducing their new search engine in July.

I hadn't heard this, and neither had anyone else. Today, Danny Sullivan answers the question, confirming that the changes in July are purely to the way sponsored listings are displayed and not the actual index. MSN will continue to use Yahoo for the time being.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Got Questions About the New Yahoo Paid Inclusion?
Over at WebmasterWorld, "Yahoo_Mike" (who we assume is a Yahoo employee) anwers a whole host of questions relating to Yahoo's paid inclusion and free crawl.

Some quotes:

Yahoo! still serves results to MSN. However, each portal may have slightly different configurations which can affect the results for a search. Also most portals will periodically run tests. These tests can also affect what you see between portals and even if you do the same search within a portal.

If your site is in the directory it will be also be crawled. That crawl will happen on the same frequency as other sites on the web. It should be crawled within about 7 weeks.

If you PPC budget runs out, your Site Match URLs will no longer be available until you add funds to your account. The exception is that if that same URL was previously crawled, then the URL will continue to appear because it remains in the crawler’s index.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Eurekster Discusses Combining Social Networking and Search Engine Technology
If you keep tabs on the latest search engine news, you’ll no doubt realize that we are getting closer to a merging of search engine technology and social networking. While Google may have created the sizzle with its recent launch of Orkut along with rumors that it may one day roll it into its search engine, there is a company already making headway with social searching.

Although Eurekster may technically still be in Beta testing (launched in January of this year), there is no doubt that the offspring of SLI Systems and RealContacts is making major advancements in combining social networking with search engine technology.

Eurekster makes use of its own SearchMemory™ technology which remembers the sites a user finds useful and presents them higher in the results the next time they search. Then, Eurekster lets a user and their friends share their searches and sites, so when they do a “hotel� search, for example, they'll see the hotel sites their friends also found useful, moved up in the results and marked with an icon.

I had an opportunity to discuss with Eurekster CEO, Grant Ryan the future of social searching and find out what Eurekster is doing to get a step ahead of Google, Yahoo and MSN.

[Andy Beal] Tell me about the search engine technology being developed by Eurekster?

[Grant Ryan] The Internet is a huge place - how do we know what is interesting out there? Word of mouth is the most common way for new ideas to spread and the "What's Hot" function of Eurekster allows users to see what is going on with their contacts without seeing exactly who does what. This has already worked in interesting ways. There was an earthquake in my home town and someone immediately did a search for that to find out how big it was. Two people I know who were overseas at the time saw this in the "Recent Searches" area of Eurekster and rang home to check that everything was ok. It is a great way to share information with your contacts.

We've also shown how search engines can now also remember that you or your friends liked one particular search result over the thousands of others, and deliver it on top of the results for all future searches performed by your network of contacts.

[AB] What new developments in search do you see happening in the couple of years?

[GR] We think that personalization will be the main area of improvement. Search technology has evolved from computers deciding what is relevant (e.g. Infoseek, AltaVista), to paid editors deciding what is relevant (e.g. Yahoo, LookSmart), to webmasters deciding what is relevant through link analysis (e.g. Google, Teoma).

The next logical step is that users decide what is relevant based on their knowledge and experiences. Search engines that learn and adapt results based on your behavior, giving personalized results is the next big opportunity and challenge.

Another big opportunity is local search - this is a form of personalization - delivering search results based on one's location. This is, to some extent, like merging the yellow pages with search. This has a lot of potential commercially, especially since there still are greater numbers of yellow page advertisers out there than search engine advertisers.

[AB] What impact do you see social networking having on the future of search engine technology?

[GR] Word of mouth or social networking is the most commonly used method for filtering information in everyday life. We use it every day to get recommendations for doctors, lawyers, places to stay on holiday, and so on. As the quantity of information explodes, word of mouth information filtering will become even more important. It is inevitable that this natural social process will be used to filter information on the Internet and search engines are the logical place to start.

The reason that social networks are important for information filtering is that there are billions of people in the world with different views about what is important and interesting. One of the ways we choose people with whom to associate is based on the fact that we either enjoy something about their perspectives of the world or share similar views. In either case, this is a useful way to help work out what is likely to be more relevant to you.

[AB] Do you foresee a time when commercial search results (product/services) will be separated from informational search results (white papers/educational sites)?

[GR] Yes it may head that way. I can naturally see that there will be more tabs on search engines to allow users to focus only on products or just on educational information, etc. Most users simply want to type in a search query and have results appear -- so I suspect they will continue to be mixed by default.

[AB] How do you see search engine technology impacting our use of portable technology such as PDAs and Cell phones?

[GR]I would be surprised if PDAs and Cell phones will ever be used as a primary source for searching given the requirement for small screen size. Mobile search engines of the future are likely to take into account your precise location when serving results as you are more likely to be looking for directions, local news, sport etc.

[AB] If search engine users gave up a little of their privacy and allowed their search habits to be monitored, would this allow the search engines to provide better, customized results?

[GR] Yes - if users want truly customized services then the provider has to know something about their preferences. The level of service you can get from a travel agent or investment advisor would be severely limited if you had to start from scratch every time you needed something. Most search engines assume that everyone typing in a term is looking for the same thing and give them exactly the same results!

[AB] Grant, tell us what Eurekster is doing to personalize the search experience?

[GR] At Eurekster we have developed a way to learn from your past search history and that of your contacts in a way to provide personalized and more relevant search results. There are strong incentives for search engines to keep their promises on privacy given there is more value in keeping a long term quality relationship, compared to the negative publicity and loss of customer trust.

[AB] How can Eurekster compete with Google or Yahoo?

[GR] I have been involved in the search business for over 6 years now and every year have read articles about how the search wars have been won (different companies over time e.g. AltaVista/Infoseek, Yahoo, Inktomi, Google). It is inevitable that companies will continue to come up with new technologies that offer consumers greater choice and new improvements. That is what we are doing at Eurekster, so have a play and tell us what you think -- and what features you want us to add next.

[AB] Many thanks for your time and I look forward to seeing the continued success of Eurekster in the future.

Andy Beal is vice president of search marketing for WebSourced’s KeywordRanking.com division and editor of Search Engine Lowdown.
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Which Are The Best News Sources on Google?
In a Search Engine Watch article, Greg Jarboe introduces Newsknife, a service which evaluates and ranks the quality of the news sites that show up on Google news.

According to Newsknife, "The Google News web site features major news items, each with links to hundreds of the world's news sites carrying their versions of that item. These sources are sorted by relevance by Google News. The ones they judge the most relevant are at the top for readers' easy access."
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Google Working to Introduce Voice Activated Search
Craig Silverstein spoke to ZDNet UK about the possibility of using voice activation in search.
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Google Concerned About Orkut Spamming
In a USA Today article, execs of social networking sites voice their fears for the future.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt worries that spammers will figure out how to hijack social networking. "All of a sudden, you might have a thousand 'friends' trying to sell you something you don't need," he says.

It won't be long, I'm already getting messages from people who send email offers to "friends of friends". That being said, my biggest concern would be "what the heck do we do with Orkut now?" I haven't used the site in weeks, because it has no value to me.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
News Search Engines About to Get a Lot Smarter
According to The Mercury News, Microsoft is working on a project called NewsJunkie which could help MSN compete with Google News.

Using principles of artificial intelligence and information retrieval, NewsJunkie keeps track of what a reader has already seen. It reorganizes news stories to rank those with the most new information at the top and push those with repetitive information to the bottom, or filter them out entirely.

This is great news. Can I request that they also use this technology on any email alerts you sign up for? While I love Google News Alerts, I get so many duplications each day due to the same story being repeated at different sources.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
South Korea Bans Keyword "Suicide" From Search Engine Results
Police in South Korea say they are determined to close down all suicide websites and to eliminate the word "suicide" from search engines for portal sites, after five people were found dead as a result of forming an online suicide pact. (Thanks Vigilant.tv)
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Shopping.com Files to Go Public
According to Reuters, online comparison shopping company, Shopping.com has filed for an initial public offering worth $75 million.
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WebSourced's KeywordRanking.com to Offer Pay-Per-Click Search Engine Services
WebSourced, Inc., the global leader in search engine marketing (www.websourced.com and www.KeywordRanking.com) - today announced it has signed an agreement with Did-it.com to utilize the company's pay-per-click (PPC) search campaign management technology platform, Maestro, and is also working closely with the Google AdWords(TM) program to further facilitate keyword buying. In addition, the company has secured direct relationships with other leading search engines to provide paid advertising services to WebSourced clients.

WebSourced's KeywordRanking.com division, the largest provider of search engine optimization services in the world with over 1,200 clients, will utilize Did-It.com's Maestro software to create and implement pay-per-click campaigns and keyword buys on behalf of customers.

Andy Beal, vice president of search marketing at WebSourced, stated, "This move effectively ensures KeywordRanking's continued growth in both search engine optimization and pay-per-click. We now offer clients an integrated approach to website marketing by providing them with comprehensive optimization as well as PPC services."

KeywordRanking.com uses optimization to ensure search engines can read and index client websites consequently increasing the ranking of these sites. Now, the organization is offering clients pay-per-click advertising services wherein a position in the sponsored listing section of search results is secured via payment.

Pat Martin, president and CEO of WebSourced stated, "KeywordRanking's experience in securing top placements for client websites using optimization is unsurpassed. Customers can expect to receive the same insight, expertise and proven results from our PPC service."
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Looking for the best SEO?
I don't often report on forum threads, but there is an interesting one going on at WebProWorld.com. It started off with someone asking who are the legitimate SEO companies. Naturally, members were reluctant to give specific names, which is when someone suggested searching Google for "search engine optimization" and calling the top ranked companies.

This is never a good practice and Aaron Wall of SEOBook, summarizes perfectly in his post why this is not a good idea:

"The search results are the absolute worst place in the world to look for a search engine optimization expert.

I say this, and if you search for "search marketing" in yahoo or google I rank at #1, but that means nothing. It means I was able to capture 1 term. I rank decent for "search engine marketing," "professional search engine marketing," and a ton of other terms.

Generally this means 1 of 3 things.

1.) I am an amazing source of information on the topic. OR
2.) I have no clients and spend tons of time optimizing my site. OR
3.) I have tons of money and buy links to get my rankings. I will be passing this cost on to you."

Bravo!
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Keep Track of Google Ranking Shifts
If you're obsessed with changes in Google's index, head over to RankPulse where they track more than 1,000 different keywords.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Will Google Go Public In Light of SEC Filing Deadline?
Google may be keeping quiet about their IPO plans, but according to CBS MarketWatch, they may soon face increased pressure to consider going public.

If Google has $10 million of total assets and more than 500 stockholders, it will have to file a Form 10 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, under section 12(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Both of those Form 10 triggers appear to be easily within reach of Google, which discloses 1,000 employees and stock option benefits on its Web site, and at least $50 million in venture backing as of 1999. Stock options are included in the stockholding threshold.

Such a filing will make public Google's earnings and revenue information. It would also trigger the need for other public filings such as proxy statements and annual reports.

Thanks Gary.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Voice Operated Internet Browser from Opera and IBM
Opera Software is developing a new Internet browser that allows users to talk to their computer. The new browser incorporates IBM's ViaVoice technology, enabling the computer to ask what the user wants and "listen" to the request.
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Affiliate Programs: Moneymakers or Brandbusters?
Search Engine Watch guest writer Anne Kennedy summarizes the SES New York session that discussed Affiliate Marketing.
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Time to give up and go home...
Darn it, just when the SEM industry was growing nicely, GoDaddy.com goes and releases Traffic Blazer v2.0 which offers to "increase your visibility-and your profits-in no time". All for just $29.95.

In case my dry sense of humor has passed you by, please don't be fooled into thinking that for $29.95 you can get any decent search engine results. But if you do happen to believe that, let me know, as you may also be interested in a machine I have that turns lead into gold. ;-)
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Kanoodle Uses Click Rate for Ranking Content Listings
According to DMNews.com, Kanoodle said it would begin to use click-through rates to help rank its contextual listings, as opposed to determining position based only on bid price. The new system, called ClickFactor, is very similar to Google AdWords.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
FindWhat.com Completes Comet Systems Acquisition
A little faster than their acquisition of Espotting.
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What do Google and KFC Have in Common?
They both have a secret recipe that others try to copy, according to Business Report.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Google Updates Deskbar
Thanks to Webmaster World for letting me know that Google has released a new version of their deskbar.
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Google Plans to Use Orkut in Search
Google CEO, Eric Schmidt indicated that Google will likely use Orkut technology as part of Google search results within the next 12 months, according to CNet.

Schmidt declined to comment on whether any IPO was coming for Google. "We are fortunate that our business model is such that we can generate enough cash from operations so that we have not needed to go public," he said.
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Google and Yahoo Challenging Microsoft
Finally, a fresh view on the "search engine wars". Michael Liedtke flips the typical search engine questions and asks if Google and Yahoo are a threat to Microsoft's grip on computer desktops. With the Internet becoming an intrinsic part of our lives, are we more reliant on the best search engine than we are operating system?

"The Web has created the equivalent of an operating system layered on top of the computer's operating system," said John Battelle, a former high-tech magazine publisher who is writing a book on the rise of online search. "There is some question how important that underlying operating system is going to be in the future."
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Google Indexing Private and Confidential Content
The Boston Globe reveals the type of content you perhaps don't want Google to index.

"Google kind of makes it easy to connect all the dots together," said Richard M. Smith, former chief technology officer at the Privacy Foundation. "I think Google is the biggest privacy invader on the planet, no doubt about it."

Some people have searched using the term "confidential" to find embarrassing memos.

Smith said someone might post a memo using a complex address that only insiders are supposed to know, but somebody else "inadvertently links to it, and then it's ... 'game over.'"
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Hotbot and Dogpile Release New Search Engine Toolbars
Both Hotbot and Dogpile release their toolbars today. I like the sounds of Hotbot's which includes the ability to search your hard drive for files. I'll download and let you know what I think.

In the meantime, here are Gary's thoughts.
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Accountant `Googles' Himself, Sues for Libel
A South Bay accountant is suing Google for libel.

"Specifically, the search results falsely represent that plaintiffs Maughan and/or Brown & Maughan have been disciplined for gross negligence, for failing to timely submit a client's claim for refund of overpayment of taxes, and for practicing as a CPA without a permit," according to the proposed class action filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

It will be interesting to see where this goes.
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Rivals nip at giant Google's heels
In case you missed the news. Google is successful, Yahoo is catching up and, oh yeah, MSN is getting ready to launch a search engine.

And now for something completely different...
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Who Can Take on Google?
Newsweek takes a look at the success of Google (yawn) and asks who can win the search wars. One interesting nugget; the results of a survey they conducted online:


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Google Updates Adsense Tracking
According to WebProNews.com, as part of Google’s upgrade of Adsense, the search engine giant has modified the ability in which Adsense users can track the results of their ads.
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Microsoft's MSN plans new search engine in July?
I saw the original reports that MSN would change the way is displays paid advertising on its search engine, sometime in July. Did I miss something or is Reed Stevenson using creative license in his Reuters article that starts...

Microsoft said on Friday that a new engine for its MSN Search service will start up in July.

He seems to suggest that MSN's new crawler will be introduced in July as well. Anyone else heard this?
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A Google IPO or Not?
The Boston Globe discusses the excitement surrounding a potential Google IPO and talks with anaylsts about when (and if) it might happen.
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March Madness Extends to the Search Engine
According to the New York Post, search engine companies have seen fantastic market gains in March.

"The beginning of March has arguably been one of the better times for the group," said Mark May, an analyst at Kaufman Brothers.

Someone should start a bracket for the search engines. Who will make the final four? Yahoo, MSN and Google are the #1 seeds, but who will join the top 3?
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Don't Mess With Google
A California man threatened to sell software that would cost Google millions of dollars in bogus click-thrus on Google Adwords campaigns.

Michael Anthony Bradley, 32, appeared Friday in federal court in San Jose on charges of fraud and making threats against Google in an alleged attempt to extort $100,000 from the company. A magistrate judge released Bradley on $50,000 bond on the condition he not use a computer and avoid any contact with Google.

These people have always existed, they just don't normally ask Google for a pay-off.
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Smith Barney Internet Analyst Answers Yahoo Questions
Smith Barney analyst, Lanny Baker answers New York Times' questions about Yahoo's future in search. The first question is great news to all of us involved in the search engine industry.

Q. How rapidly do you see the search market growing?

A. Even from 2004 levels, you are looking at 25 percent to 27 percent growth over the next four years.
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Yahoo's New Web Rank Determined Algorithmically
According to Web Pro News, the new Yahoo Web Rank is calculated by algorithm and not popularity (unlike Alexa's ranking which is calculated by the number of people who view the site).

PR at Yahoo flatly stated that Web Rank is not determined by the number of visitors with tool bars.
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MSN to Clearly Label Search Engine Ads
According to CNet, MSN is planning to better mark those search engine listings that have been paid for.

On July 1, MSN plans to overhaul the way its search result pages appear. The top three listings, instead of four, will be highlighted with a box, marking them as "sponsored" results. These will be sold by MSN sales staff. MSN will also replace Overture sponsored listings from underneath with one editorial staff-recommended site. Following that will appear natural or algorithmic search listings, provided by Yahoo-owned Inktomi.
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Yahoo Ads WebRank; Mimics Google's PageRank
Thanks to Internet Explained for highlighting Yahoo's introduction of WebRank to its toolbar. WebRank is a scale of 1 to 10 and appears to be very similar to Google's patented PageRank.
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More Mac Owners Using Google
I guess when you are an owner of a Mac, any kind of growth news is encouraging. So all Mac users rejoice, more of you are using Google according to Macworld.

I have to admit, I am one of those Windows people that looks at Mac users and wonders what they have, that I don't.
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Why AOL wants Google IPO to be a Success
According to Reuters, AOL has warrants to buy more than 2 million shares of Google.
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Don't Miss Tomorrow's Search Engine Newsletter
If you haven't already signed up for the SEL newsletter, you still have time to do so before tomorrow's edition. Simply enter your email address in the box on the right.

Subscribers will get the 10 hottest stories of the week and one extra story not published on the site!
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Rely on the Yahoo's Search Engine for your NBA, NHL and Other Sports Scores
If you want proof that the search engines can provide all kinds of information just so long as there is demand, take a look at the latest introduction by Yahoo.

Get scores for your favorite NCAA (basketball and football), NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB teams at the top of a results page. Simply type in the team name and "scores" into the search box. Thanks to Gary for digging this up!

Example:
Carolina Hurricanes scores
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How Google Has Become Successful Selling Ads
Fortune magazine takes a look at the success Google has had with its Adwords service and chats to Tim Armstrong, vice president of advertising sales at Google.

...the difference between how Google and everybody else approaches advertising is clear, and it flows directly from the user-centric culture that founders Sergei Brin and Larry Page inculcated in the company. "From the beginning we had the approach that the user's success drives the success of the ads," says Armstrong, "and that could not have been a more foreign concept to the advertising community."
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More Google Local News
CBS News covers the recent launch of Google Local.

"Google's goal is to connect searchers with the information they need whether it's halfway around the world or in their neighborhood," said company co-founder Sergey Brin.
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Europe Hopes to Build a Better Search Engine
According to the BBC, some of Europe's leading academic researchers will work to find a way of making search engines behave more like humans.

It is hoped that eventually the project will develop search engines that can emulate the human ability to assess the context of information presented and sort out irrelevancies before delivering the results.

Project SEKT (Semantic Knowledge Technologies) is made up of 12 partners from the world of commerce and academia. It includes BT's research wing BT Exact and the universities of Sheffield, Innsbruck and Barcelona.

If they succeed, who will own the technology? I'm guessing BT (British Telecom) will be sitting pretty.
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Viewpoint ViewBar Launches Today
You may recall back in February we reported that Viewpoint Corp had signed an agreement with Yahoo to use the new Yahoo Search technology to power a new visual toolbar call ViewBar.

Well, Viewpoint has today launched the toolbar and you can download the beta version at their website. The toolbar is great to look at and I love seeing snapshots of the sites appear within the toolbar itself. Scroll you mouse over the snapshot and it magnifies before your very eyes!


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Google Getting Ready to Dance
I've just noticed increased links to SEL, indicating that Google is getting ready to dance. Can I name this one? Sheila I think, after my beloved wife.

WebmasterWorld....I vote for "Update Sheila"!
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Yahoo Stock (YHOO) Soars on Upgrade
Mamma.com is up, Ask Jeeves is up, FindWhat.com is up and now Yahoo is up more than 5%, after Smith Barney upgraded the stock to a "buy". While sources tell me that Google is in no rush to go public, you'd think they'd be eager to jump on this growth (bubble or no).

Smith Barney upgraded the stock to a "buy," citing strong cash flows from Yahoo-branded Web sites.

Cash flow from Yahoo's own Web sites, as opposed to third-party sites, is set to grow more than 50 percent this year and expand at a 35-percent rate in 2005 and 2006, analyst Lanny Baker wrote in a note to clients.
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A Marketer's View of Search Engine Strategies New York
It'll be a few more weeks before all of the SES reports make their way to the surface. In the meantime, Jason Dowdell does a good job of providing a summary of four different sessions from New York.
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Yahoo Beta Testing News Search Engine
Yahoo is testing a new version of their popular Yahoo News. Unlike the old Yahoo News, the beta version includes more than 7,500 news sources from around the web. You can also set up email news alerts, similar to Google News, but with more features. Thanks Search Engine Journal.
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Testing Google Local
Our KeywordRanking.com tech gurus are busily testing the new Google Local. In the meantime, Gary Price has conducted his own testing and gives his thoughts.
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Google Officially Launches Local Search
Search Engine Watch reports that Google has moved its Local Search from Google Labs to beta.

Google's approach to local search involves using yellow page and business directory information from third party providers, and integrating it with information about individual businesses that is included in Google's main web page index.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
NBA Basketball and Search Engines; the Logical Partnership!
I don't think this is in the Increase Your Stock Price for Dummies book, but apparently letting the world know that an NBA team owner is also involved in a search engine stock, is good for business.

Mamma.com was up more than 28% today on news that Mark Cuban, who owns the Dallas Mavericks professional basketball team, reported to securities regulators that he owned a 6.3 percent stake in the company.

It does have a flip-side though. I hear that Yahoo is paying Kobe Bryant to keep quiet about his ownership of Yahoo stock (just kidding).
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Norton Blocks PPC Search Engine Ads
According to Kevin Lee, Norton is shipping the lastest version of Personal Firewall with a paid-listing blocker. The program effectively deletes any PPC ads such as those provided by Google Adwords and Overture.
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Want to Know Google's Opinion?
Search Engine Watch features Googlism a simple tool that allows you to enter a person's name and find out what Google "thinks" of them.
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A Host of Search Engine Polls
Phil Bradley offers the results of various polls he has been conducting. One example:

When using a search engine do you usually:
* Use the simple function with a 1 word search: 10 (5.08%)
* Use the simple function with 2-3 words: 91 (46.19%)
* Use the advanced search function with 1 or 2 words: 9 (4.57%)
* Use the advanced search function with 3 or more words: 13 (6.60%)
* Start with the simple search, then move onto the advanced search if I m having no luck: 74 (37.56%)
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Google Still Number One in Europe
According to the research from net measurement firm Nielsen/NetRatings, Google is the search engine of choice for more than 55 million Europeans, reports the BBC.

1. Google: Audience of 55,641 million
2. MSN search: 27,151 million
3. Yahoo search: 12,676 million
4. Google image search: 10,275 million
5. AOL search: 5,846 million
Source: Neilsen/NetRatings
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Kanoodle.com Battling Google for Contextual Ads
Displaced Sprinks employees are helping Kanoodle.com to battle Google in the contextual ad arena, according to eWeek.com.

In the second quarter of this year, Kanoodle.com plans to offer an automated version of ContextTarget to Web publishers, not unlike Google's AdSense program that puts its AdWords sponsored links alongside Web content.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Yahoo Faces "Booble" Type Parody
Wow, it appears that adult parody search engines are a bandwagon that companies other than Booble, are willing to jump on. Enter Yasexhoo.com who announced their "in your face Yahoo" launch today.

When asked if he's worried about lawsuits from Yahoo, Dough cites a similar twist on the popular Google.com search engine. Google did try a number of avenues to pursue trademark infringement, to great expense and with no success. "I'm really not worried about that," says Dough, "since the past has already proven there is no legal infringement."

At this time their site appears to be down. They either crashed due to increased traffic or perhaps missed the implications of using Yahoo hosting. ;-) thanks Gary
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U.S. Threatens Legal Action Against Online Gambling; Search Engines Refuse to Back Down
According to a New York Times report, federal prosecutors have begun a wide-ranging effort to curb the growing popularity of online gambling in the United States by quietly threatening legal action against American companies that do business with Internet casinos and sports betting operations based outside the country, lawyers and industry executives say.

It appears the search engines are not backing down:

Some companies, however, have not changed their policies. Yahoo and Google continue to accept paid advertisements from online gambling operations.
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New Software Makes Better Use of Search Engine Technology
A start-up called Onfolio Inc. plans to release on Monday a new form of personal information management software that makes it easier and quicker for people to use and share data discovered online.

"It's like a 'favorites' list on steroids," said Robert Scoble.
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Google Adds Korean AdWords Service
Google continues world tour.
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Who Will Sign Up For New Yahoo Paid Inclusion?
According to Craig Danuloff, it could be both geniuses and idiots.
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New York Times on Google
I wish Google would come up with a significant new announcement so that the NYTimes stops re-hashing the same old stuff over and over again. They appear to be a little obsessed with Google. The latest article discusses searching for your own name and how users are taking for granted that the results on Google are complete.
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Man held in Google stock fraud
According to SFGate.com, the FBI has arrested a Dutch native in New York for allegedly selling $2.8 million in nonexistent shares of Google.

Shamoon Rafiq, who was arrested at his home March 5, is accused of fraud as part of the scheme to sell victims shares of "Series B Preferred Stock" in Google, prior to what he described as the company's impending initial public offering, according to authorities.

If you were one of those who purchased the non-existent stock, please drop me an email. I have friends in the Nigerian royal family who would like to send you and email with an offer you won't believe! ;-)

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Think Beyond Google
Think that Google can handle all of your search needs? According to PC World, you could be missing a wealth of information if you rely on Google. They provide a comprehensive list of specialized search sites.
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MSN Continues to use LookSmart
I have to admit, I did initially miss this part of the LookSmart announcement. LookSmart is stilll going to be used by MSN to fill the gaps until they are ready to launch their own search engine.
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Yahoo's Free Crawler to be as Active as Google's
John Battelle chat's with Yahoo's Tim Cadogan about the new paid inclusion service.

...Yahoo's goal is to crawl the entire web as throughly as possible, regardless of paid inclusion.

I pointed out to him that if Yahoo could simply state that its organic crawl and resultant index was as comprehensive and fresh as Google's, then perhaps folks would see that CAP is simply an added value service for URL submission, reports, and the like. Tim responded that indeed, Yahoo stands by its index and results as the equal of Google, and again time will tell.
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Limited News Friday
I'm going to be out of the office most of Friday, so there may not be any posts. Now, if you've signed up for our weekly email update, you'll still get your search engine news fix ;-)
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Outsourcing Your Search Engine Marketing Campaign
Jennifer Laycock reports from Search Engine Strategies for Search Engine Watch. Interesting highlights:

"In case anyone hasn't noticed, search engine marketing has exploded over the last few years," said Nate Elliot, online marketing and media analyst for Jupiter Research. Elliot also pointed out that as recently as 1997, search engine marketing was only a $50,000 industry - this in contrast to the $1.6 billion (or roughly 28 percent of all online ad spending) spent on search advertising in 2003.

Jupiter Research reports that 48 percent of large marketers are currently outsourcing their SEM programs. Their studies also show that 80 percent of companies that outsourced are satisfied with the performance of their campaign (compared to just 58 percent for those that handle SEM in-house).
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Expert Insight On Search Engine Strategies
Garrett French posts quotes from different SES attendees. What did they get out of the conference?
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Yahoo Answers Questions on New Site Match Service
Over at the forums on WebProWorld, the Yahoo Search Team post answers to the most common questions asked about the new paid inclusion service.

The answer to the most common question I get asked, is in there:

Q: What if I can't afford this program? Will you have a lower priced program in the future?
A: If your primary goal is to get your site indexed and if your web site has not already been crawled by Yahoo! Search, it is possible it will be crawled in the future. As of March 1, 2004, 99% of all content in our index has been discovered via our free crawl, and our primary objective is to discover all content on the internet for free. Furthermore, we now offer a free Add URL service (http://submit.search.yahoo.com). We will continue to evaluate different product mixes and pricing models and will evolve our programs based on market demand.
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Light at the End of the Tunnel for LookSmart?
LookSmart lowered its projected adjusted loss and raised its revenue estimate for the first quarter citing growth at its core LookListings business and cost cutting.

In a press release Thursday, the internet search company said it now sees an adjusted loss of $10 million to $12 millionfor the first quarter ended March 31. In February, the company had put the adjusted figure at $12 million to $14 million. [read more at WSJ].
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Can Full Motion Ads Replace Search Engine Advertising?
According to a report in the NY Times, online advertisers are "encouraged" by the initial results of full motion ads. The ads range in length but appear just like a regular TV commercial.

Just 28 percent found them annoying - compared with 38 percent of TV viewers, on average, who found commercials annoying in three separate studies. The survey on Web commercials was paid for by the advertisers.

"I was astounded by the results," said Judy Gern, who directs the online ad campaigns of the Internet phone company Vonage for the interactive division of Carat, a media company. "There's absolutely no question we'll be doing this again."

Can I offer a word of advice? Only twenty eight percent found them annoying, because this is in it's infancy. Remember the first time you had a pop-up window appear? Wasn't too annoying back then either, was it?
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Google Fights Search Engine War on Many Fronts
It's not just Yahoo and MSN that Google has to be concerned about. There are a whole host of smaller search companies all eager to find the search giant's achilles heel, according to CNet.
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Search Engine Marketing Firm Raises $2.75 Million in Private Placement
CGI Holding Corporation (parent of search engine marketing company WebSourced and KeywordRanking.com) today announced it has raised $2.75 million in a private placement of shares.

Gerard M. Jacobs, the Company's CEO stated, "This financing significantly strengthens CGI Holding Corporation's balance sheet. The Company will pay off all its debts, including paying off the remaining amount owed to Statewide Insurance Company at a $200,000 discount. The remaining funds will be used to assist the rapid growth and expansion of CGI Holding Corporation's WebSourced, Inc. subsidiary, and as general working capital."

T. Benjamin Jennings, the Company's Chairman, stated, "With a strong balance sheet, tremendous vision and the people to execute, the future of CGI Holding Corporation has never looked better."

For further stock information (Ticker: CGIH) visit Yahoo Finance.
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The Impact of a Google IPO
Thanks to Gary Price for passing on this radio interview with Michael Malone of Wired Magazine, in which he discusses Google.

"From the West Coast to Wall Street, the white-hot glare of attention is focused on the future of a company called Google" makes you want to listen, doesn't it?
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How is SEMPO Doing?
While I promised Dana Todd that I wouldn't use my blog as a soapbox for letting the world know my views on the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO), it appears that the group is the topic of a healthy debate over at Cre8asite Forums.
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No Search Engine Stock Bubble
The search engine industry is not in a "bubble" according to MSN Money. The search engines and search engine marketing companies are flourishing, with no sign that the bubble will burst. Why such success?

“Advertisers are just now recognizing the true value of search, of having a user tell you exactly what they are looking for at the moment they are looking for it,� says Steven Sordello, the chief financial officer of Ask Jeeves.
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China's Search Engines Ready to Battle Google
China's homegrown Internet search firms said on Wednesday they were upgrading technology in a bid to take on Google.
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Sign Up For Search Engine News By Email
Don't forget to sign up for Search Engine Lowdown's weekly news update. At the end of each week, we'll email you the ten hottest stories from the search engine industry.

Keep up to date from the comfort of your inbox. Sign up using the form on the right of this page.
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Small Businesses Tap Into Search Engine Advertising
According to eMarketer.com, 11% of small and medium size businesses are currently using PPC advertising with another 34% interested in using it.


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Yahoo Launches SmartView; Sets New Standard in Local Search
It's so good to see some competition in the search space. Today, Yahoo fired another shot across Google's bow, with the launch of SmartView on Yahoo Maps. The new feature offers consumers an interactive and visual way to search for local content on the Web.

SmartView enhances the current Yahoo! Maps product by allowing consumers to choose local points of interest and attractions -- such as restaurants, hotels, movie theaters, parks, ATMs and post offices -- to customize the current map display. Once displayed on the map, expanded information, including address and phone number, pricing, user ratings (for hotels), website address and access to driving directions can be found by clicking on the identified icon.


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No Need To Obsess About Hyphens In Your Domain Name
Some interesting insights were revealed at the "Meet The Crawlers" session at Search Engine Strategies, New York. WebProNews has the juiciest quotes from that session, including:

Craig said that Google does index words from the url, but they don't have as much weight as text links. He added quickly though that you should not engineer your links for the algorithm - it's better to have your url meaningful to your visitors than use it to affect your ranking.

Tim Mayer of Yahoo seconded this. He said focusing too much on url engineering can get you into the realm of over-optimization. "As a user," said Tim, "if I see a domain with lots of hyphens it's usually a low quality site." He advised that you not push your filenames too hard, and that you have intuitive directory structures.
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Did Google Stomp on Oceana's Freedom of Speech?
Business Week looks at the controversy surrounding Google's refusal to show Ocean's ads criticizing Royal Caribbean.

More troubling still is if Oceana hadn't screamed bloody murder, Google's role as arbiter might never have been made public. No one knows how many times Google has declined to run ads that many would have perceived as legitimate exercises of issue advocacy. Google doesn't post this information, but it has refused other ads it deems violate its editorial policy in the past.
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English Courts Rule Using Trademarks in Meta Tags Legal
Could this English court ruling finally help answer the questions that surround using competitor's trademarks in your meta tags, or perhaps muddy the waters even more?
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Web-Based News Aggregator, Topix.Net Moves Out of Beta
Gary Price talks with Topix.Net CEO, Rich Skrenta about the newly launched content service.
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Searching for Public Companies Around the World
Search Engine Watch looks at The Scannery, a search engine for info on more than 12,000 public companies.

The Scannery currently contains info about more than 12,000 companies in over 50 countries. The focus is on investor-specific targets, organized by country and industry sector. Content for the database is gathered by a custom crawler, which indexes html, pdf, ppt, doc, and other format types.

The service offers numerous search options. For example, you can limit by inclusion in a particular index (SP 500, Global 1000, Euro 400, etc.) country, and/or industry.
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Yahoo Discusses Dark Side of Search Engine Optimization
Garrett French chats to Yahoo's Tim Mayer about "blackhat" optimization. Why doesn't Yahoo warn those website owners who might cross the line?

He said, "we do warn them. We ban them."

Tim also mentioned that alltheweb and AltaVista could soon have their own distinct algorithms and indices. The results will still be relevant, he said, but different.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Forrester Research Asks, ''Where Is Google Headed?''
Interesting release by Forrester...

Forrester Research Asks, ''Where Is Google Headed?''; Google's Dominance Will Weaken As Three Battles In The Search Industry Heat Up

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 8, 2004--As Google moves toward its anticipated IPO, there are limits to the company's future success. According to a new Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR) report, Google's dominance will be diluted as Microsoft and Yahoo! gain strength in the search industry.


"Google has seen tremendous growth, in terms of consumer use and paid search ad revenues. And, although it continues to be the most innovative search company out there," says Forrester Research Principal Analyst, Charlene Li, "Google can't be everything to everyone."

Although Google has a strong search following, its users visit other portal sites frequently. Google will lose ground to its portal competitors MSN and Yahoo! as both improve and expose search to their loyal users by placing search boxes near high-traffic features like Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail. Additionally, Google's biggest technology advantage -- PageRank algorithms -- will become less relevant as the Internet moves away from hypertext information to incorporate new types of content, like databases and executables, which require a different type of search.

Google will win only one of the three search battles ahead. In addition to maintaining its position as a general search utility, it will become the dominant pay-for-performance ad network, delivering the biggest and best audience through its network of publishers, including abc.com, iVillage, and nytimes.com. Microsoft will emerge as the leader in integrating structured, desktop search, powered by its newest version of Windows, due out in late 2005. Yahoo! will win the portal battle, by extending its enhanced search throughout its network, creating a satisfying customer experience.
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Overture Adds Local Search Engine Advertising
According to DMNews.com, Overture plans to release a local search advertising program in the next few months that lets advertisers set a geographic radius for the display of their search listings and participate without operating a Web site.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Yahoo And Google At Odds Over Paid Search Engine Inclusion
The Boston Globe weighs in on the issues surrounding paid inclusion. Interesting quote from Google...

There's something fishy here, and Larry Page, cofounder of Google, the world's most popular search engine, puts his finger on it. ''If you're going to charge money for something, you've got to provide value for it," Page said. ''If you say you're going to charge people, and you're not going to change the rankings, why are they going to pay?"
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Jump on the Ask Jeeves Press Wagon
The law firm that represented Interactive Search in the deal to be acquired by Ask Jeeves, has decided it wants a piece of the publicity.

Look for these other upcoming announcements...

Local furniture company provides chairs for Interactive executives to sit on, while agreeing Ask Jeeves deal.

Mount Blanc announces their pens used to sign Ask Jeeves agreement.

Starbucks provides coffee to get Ask Jeeves execs through the negotiations.
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InfoSpace To Add XML/RSS Support To Search Engine Toolbar
InfoSpace officials this week demonstrated the new features of the toolbar that support the XML feeds, both in Real Simple Syndication (RSS) and Atom formats, during an interview at Jupitermedia's Search Engine Strategies 2004 conference here. InfoSpace's toolbar will let users add the XML feeds to the toolbar's ticker, alongside scrolling news headlines and top search terms, said Leslie Grandy, InfoSpace vice president of product management.
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Ask Jeeves Extends Market Reach With Acquisition
Thanks to Mike Bazeley for asking me for my opinion of Ask's acquisition, in his latest news story...

Google, the leading search company, is widely expected to raise billions of dollars this year in a public stock offering. And Microsoft is expected to roll out a new search tool in the coming year.

Observers said Ask Jeeves had to make a big move or risk becoming irrelevant.

Andy Beal, vice president of search marketing for KeywordRanking.com, said the company needed to send a message to Wall Street and others that it intends to be a player.

"Ask Jeeves needed something,'' Beal said. "I think they were in the danger of getting further left behind. They needed to move quickly so they could maintain the pace.''
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Search Engine Lowdown Weekly News Email Update - Subscribe Today
You asked for it (well, actually Garrett French asked for it, but it's a great idea), so here it is... the Search Engine Lowdown email update.

Enter your email address (see the form in the right navigation menu) and each week, we'll email you the ten top search engine news stories of the week. Never again miss the top stories! We'll also be including a news story each week, that you won't find on this site, exclusive to email subscribers. So why delay, let us have your digits! Oh, and we won't spam you or sell your info either.
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LookSmart Fights Back at Overture
Think LookSmart is going nowhere fast? Think again! While they may have lost MSN as their marquee partner, they are not giving up without a fight. They're taking it to Overture as this email demonstrates:


Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Ask Jeeves Stock Soars 43 Percent on Acquisition News
Acquisition announcements in the search space are good for stock prices.
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Why You Need To Optimize Press Releases for the Search Engines
According to a survey by Middleberg/Ross:

98% of Journalists go online daily
92% conduct online article research
81% conduct general searches
76% are looking for sources or experts
73% go online to find press releases

Greg Jarboe suggested at Search Engine Strategies, everyone should consider optimizing their press releases to ensure that they are found by search engines and news engines. With Yahoo news attracting 19.8 million visitors in January and Google 4.1 million, it's hard to argue.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
How Links Can Benefit Your Search Engine Campaign
Garrett French (who by the way, is the coolest guy I have ever met in this industry), provides further coverage of Search Engine Strategies. This time he reports what Google had to say about links.

Garrett, hat's off to you and keep the funky photos on the site (just not the ones of me!).
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Yahoo Makes Free Search Engine Submission Available
Thanks to the guys over at WebmasterWorld.com for letting me know that Yahoo has launched its free submission service alongside the new paid inclusion option.
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Why Yahoo's New Paid Inclusion is a Natural Evolution of Business
I'm excited to publish this report from KeywordRanking.com's Search Technologies Manager, Ben Wills. He suggests the new Yahoo paid inclusion, may not be what we wanted, but that's just too bad. This is business folks, either put-up or shut-up...

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."Theodore Roosevelt

Yahoo!/Overture recently made an announcement about their new SiteMatch service as a solution for paid inclusions into the new Yahoo! search engine. Until now, business owners looking to reap the benefits of faster spidering and reindexing of their web pages expected a set price for an entire year. Yahoo!/Overture has recently changed their model to incorporate a per-click fee of $0.15 or $0.30, depending on your industry – should your SiteMatch-registered page get clicked in search results.

The feedback received from this change has, to put it lightly, been negative. Search engine marketing forums, weblogs, newspapers and even Slashdot have been in an uproar about this change.

Though this isn’t necessarily a good thing for businesses (obviously, any increase in marketing costs will be looked upon with a distasteful eye), I’m going to tell you why you should accept this change and how accepting, perhaps even embracing it, can be of benefit. First, we must accept that for the time being, this service will not be changed by Yahoo!/Overture.

There seem to be three issues surrounding this change
1 – Why are these listings not labeled as paid listings?
2 – Why should I pay more for the same service I’ve been receiving for two years?
3 – How could this NOT deteriorate the quality of their search results?

Why are these listings not labeled as paid listings?

On June 27th, 2002, the FTC set guidelines for paid placement and paid inclusion listings [http://www.ftc.gov/os/closings/staff/commercialalertletter.htm]. The FTC’s commercial alert letter clearly states:

“To the extent that paid inclusion does not distort the ranking of a Web site or URL, many of these programs provide benefits to consumers, by incorporating more Web sites - or content - into an individual search engine's database than might otherwise be the case. This can give consumers a greater number of choices in search results lists.�

“If the program distorts rankings, the program or its impact on rankings should be prominently disclosed.�

Yahoo!/Overture has clearly stated that websites accepted into their paid inclusion service will see no positive or negative benefit in their listings when search results are computed. Many people have made note of XML feeds appearing to get direct benefit in rankings in the past, but we must assume that this will not be the case with SiteMatch. I can tell you right now that should they go against the FTC’s recommendation, this would be absolutely disastrous. With the large amounts of press that Search has received over the past 2 years, an FTC accusation of distorting rankings in favor of paying websites would clearly be of great detriment. While we can always be surprised, I do feel that Yahoo!/Overture is smarter than this.

Why should I pay more for the same service I’ve been receiving for two years?

While this seems to be the most common sentiment by business owners regarding SiteMatch, it also seems to be the least mentioned in an outright manner. This is, perhaps, the easiest of the three questions to answer, and the answer is simple: That’s part of business. A business must cultivate itself to its customers’ experience. Simultaneously, it must also consider the side effect of increased revenue from each customer’s satisfied experience. A business that does not do this will certainly fail.

Overture increased its minimum bid from $0.05/click to $0.10/click over a year ago. While this was not well received at the time, people eventually accepted it, adapted their businesses to it, and moved on. It was a change indicative of many future changes forever occurring as the Search Marketing industry continues to grow.

Remember that keyword that you could purchase for $0.15/click and a year later was $1.25/click? You probably didn’t like that either, but you accepted it, moved on and made your decision as to whether or not it was beneficial to continue bidding on that keyword. Were businesses always upset with the fact that they had a fixed price per click on LookSmart? While money out of corporate pockets isn’t ever desirable, it became accepted as part of the cost of reaching the market.

The Search Marketing industry is changing. It’s been incredibly profitable for business owners because of its low cost – people have been making their entire career off exploiting the profit margins of search engine marketing for years. It is time that the search engines began to see the financial benefits of the investments they have made from gaining their user markets, improving their search results, and reducing spam.

Like it or not, it’s obvious that this is how Search Marketing is changing. It’s growing up and becoming an integral part of both Internet marketing as well as an all-around marketing strategy. Business schemata are entering our precious gold mine, and a lot of people don’t like it. The ones that understand and accept these changes will surely find ways to continue their profits.

How could this NOT deteriorate the quality of their search results?

Peter Drucker perhaps said it best: The purpose of a business is not to make a profit, but to create a customer.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. You just said that increasing prices/revenue is their motivation, but isn’t that not the main purpose of a business!?

That’s correct. Yahoo!/Overture MUST think of their true customers first. While Overture’s customers are other businesses, Yahoo!’s customer is any person who is looking for information relevant to a certain topic on the Internet. SiteMatch, as with any other paid inclusion service, allows website owners to place information which would not normally be visible to the search engines (how thoroughly search engine spiders index the Internet is a whole other issue in-and-of itself) into their databases to make them known to that search engine. While the search engines would love to crawl the Internet and update their databases every single day, they must take steps in the interim to overcome this hurdle. Is it a patch? Yes, but I doubt Paid Inclusion, as we now know it, will remain in this format forever.

On many levels, this is a good thing. On the other hand, this is also a bad thing. However, where was this uproar regarding the lack of quality in search results when MANY different Paid Inclusion services were offered a couple of years ago? Sure, there were many options, which certainly wasn’t favorable for its potential compromising of search result quality, but I would bet that the vast majority of business owners who felt that way still entered themselves into paid inclusion services.

It must also be known that Yahoo! has one of the world’s most advanced spam teams. Yahoo! has mentioned that they will be combining their e-mail and search engine spam teams to work together to bring their spam detection to a level that the world has never seen before. While it has been argued that Paid Inclusion opens the door for spam, it seems apparent that Yahoo!/Overture will be taking all of the necessary steps to maintain a tremendously high quality of search results – the kind of quality that will be absolutely necessary for their true customers.

Where to now?

Paid inclusion is nothing new – the cost per click associated with it, however, is new. The ONLY difference here is a pay-per-click fee, and that is why people are upset – the profit margins from their Search Marketing efforts have been decreased.

Rolling out SiteMatch could potentially compromise Yahoo!’s true customers. However, it will be absolutely imperative that Yahoo! does NOT compromise and does not ALLOW for the compromise of the relevance of their search results in favor of websites paying to be reindexed in their search engine on a more regular basis. I want to reiterate this: Yahoo! MUST NOT compromise the quality of their search results in favor of websites paying for SiteMatch – if they do, they are almost certain to fail.

For all of the business owners who are up in arms about this change, I offer this final quote by Friedrich Nietzsche. I do not know if this is the original quote, as I have seen many versions of it, but I feel as though this may quite capture the essence of where I stand:

“The snake which cannot shed its skin shall perish – So, too, with the mind.�- Friedrich Nietzsche
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Ask Jeeves Explains Why The Dropped XML Feed Inclusions
Gary Price prints Ask's reasoning for dropping XML inclusions:

1. Relevance. This is the main reason why we are eliminating Index Express. After considerable testing, we found that this program impacted the relevance of our search results. The reason, we believe, is that Index Express introduces structured (inorganic) data into an otherwise unstructured (organic) Web environment and the inconsistent data feeds are difficult to rank. Since our top priority remains providing users with the most relevant search results on the Web, and we have worked hard to achieve world-class search results over the past two years, we made the decision to eliminate it.

2. Revenue. We determined that Paid Inclusion – as it exists today – is not the most efficient monetization vehicle for a search engine and dropping Index Express will not have a material impact on revenue for the company. Additionally, we know that user experience drives searches, and increasing search volume is ultimately the best monetization strategy.

3. There must be a better way. Ask Jeeves supports some of the fundamental premises that paid inclusion is based on, notably the need to acquire deep-web content, and the right of search engines to share in the value they create for businesses. However, we have concluded that our Index Express program is not the right model to solve either of these issues.

It is also important to note that while Ask Jeeves is eliminating our Index Express program, we are keeping our Site Submit program in place. Site Submit allows web site owners to pay a fee, per URL submitted, for immediate inclusion of their site into the Ask Jeeves search engine, if the site passes inspection (sites are rejected for spam, porn, etc). Some customers also choose to have their sites refreshed on a more frequent basis. These are actual, organic Web sites who are simply paying to shorten the amount of time it takes for our engine to crawl their sites. We believe this program will continue to be useful to both search engines, users, and site owners. We also believe the model for this program avoids the pitfalls of Index Express, which is why this program has not historically been a hot button issue for those inside or outside the industry.
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Mamma.com Inc. Signs Letter of Intent to Acquire Digital Arrow LLC
Talk about good news, investors must be smiling.
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Cost Per Click at Search Engines To Double
Thanks to Battelle for noting that analyst, Safa Rashtchy believes that the average cost per click of PPC bids could soon be double the current average of $0.45.
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Yahoo Stakes Out Paid Search Path
Matt Hicks was all over Search Engine Strategies this week. Here is another of his reports on Yahoo's paid inclusion service.

It looks like I am one of the few to voice my concerns...

For smaller sites, the pricing model may "have gone too far," said Andy Beal, vice president of search marketing for WebSourced Inc., of Morrisville, N.C. Charging per-click fees for smaller sites is a departure from the previous programs that only charged the annual fee, he said.

The potential for higher cost leaves those smaller Web sites in a bind—face difficulty paying the extra cost or risk more infrequent crawler updates from the free crawl, Beal said. With paid inclusion, Yahoo is guaranteeing updates every 48 hours.

"Search engines have become so powerful that they're almost a monopoly," Beal said. "What choice do the business owners have but to pay?"
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Ask Jeeves To Buy Excite and iWon Search Engines
Ask is paying $343 million for Interactive Search whose websites include search engines Excite and iWon.

The price consists of $150 million in cash and 9.3 million shares of Ask Jeeves' stock, which closed Wednesday at $20.71. Ask Jeeves announced the deal before the stock market opened Thursday.
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Search Engine Wars That Nobody Can Win
At Search Engine Strategies, Danny Sullivan predicted "the Google monopoly that people have feared is over." DMNews has more of Danny's thoughts.


Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Yahoo Under Fire With New Paid Inclusion Service
With Google lambasting paid inclusion and Ask Jeeves withdrawing partially from it, Yahoo's decision to offer a paid submission service is under intense pressure.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Ask Jeeves Winds Down Paid Inclusion
Well, they're kinda winding it down. Ask is ceasing it's Index Express service which allows websites to submit thousands of pages via an XML feed. They still plan on allowing individual page submissions via Site Submit.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Best Quote From Search Engine Strategies New York
After Tim Mayer spent a few minutes carefully explaining how the new Yahoo paid inclusion service works and how it benefits search engine marketers, Jackie Jahosky of Specialty-lights.com, responded "I just don't like it", the applause she received appeared to suggest that most conference attendees agreed with her remarks.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Yahoo Announces Content Acquisition Program
Search Engine Watch does a decent job outlining the new Site Match paid inclusion service offered by Yahoo.
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Yahoo Launches New "Site Match" Paid Inclusion Service Via Overture
Just launched, Yahoo is using Overture's brand to introduce its new paid inclusion service called Site Match.

The fee is $49 per year for the first URL and a per-click fee. Your site will be included in Yahoo, AltaVista and AllTheWeb indexes.

I'm sorry, but I think this may be too much. Has Yahoo gone too far?
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
WebSourced, Inc Sees Incredible Q4 Growth, Search Engine Marketing Services Expand
You know that I work for WebSourced and KeywordRanking.com and from time to time, I use this blog to spread the good news about our company. We'll you haven't seen anything yet!

WebSourced today announced (via parent company, CGI Holding Corp), record growth in the fourth quarter of 2004. Revenues in Q4 rose 29% to $2,690,473 with earnings from continuing operations after taxes in the fourth quarter of 2003 of $785,276 or $.0358 per share. You can track the progress of CGI stock (Ticker: CGIH.OB).

Gerard M. Jacobs, the CGI Holding Corporation's CEO stated, "Our WebSourced, Inc. subsidiary is at full throttle now, and accelerating. The combination of record new sales plus an increasing residual income base of existing customers create a very positive dynamic for our future revenues and earnings. Barring unforeseen events, our first quarter 2004 revenues and earnings per share should easily exceed our fourth quarter 2003 numbers."

S. Patrick Martin, WebSourced's CEO stated, "The next few months will be exciting for WebSourced. In a few weeks we will move into our new, 30,970 square feet offices with state-of-the-art equipment, which will facilitate the continuing growth of our professional staff to meet the needs of our record customer base. We expect our Cherish.com subsidiary to begin contributing to revenue in the second quarter. And we have high hopes in regard to several potential acquisition opportunities which we are discussing. Business continues to be strong and we are very optimistic about the future."
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Search Engine Strategies NYC Starts Rolling
So far, SES NYC looks to be the biggest and baddest conference so far. There are masses of people here all looking to learn the latest trends and techniques.

We'll post any search engine news that we come across. If you're looking for coverage of SEO/SEM techniques, I know that Garrett French of WebProWorld.com is here and writing copious notes. (Garrett, if my photo looks bad, please feel free to burn it).
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

 
Quigo Secures $5m Investment
Contextual ad provider, Quigo, has secured $5 miilion in venture capital which will allow it to compete with Google (supposedly).
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