January 2008
Jan. 31, 2008 at 6:13pm
SearchCap: The Day In Search, January 31, 2008
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
By Danny Sullivan 
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Jan. 31, 2008 at 6:11pm
Google Revenues Up 51 Percent, Social Networking Monetization "Disappointing"
Google posted Q4, 2007 revenues that represented 51 percent growth vs. 2006. Quarterly revenues were $4.83 billion, compared with $3.21 billion a year ago. However, earnings and revenue per share fell short of analyst consensus estimates. The headline that everyone is repeating is that social network monetization is not performing as well as hoped by Google (interpreted chiefly as MySpace traffic).
Below are more revenue numbers, slides, and selected highlights from the Q&A portion of the call.
By Greg Sterling Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: Google: Business Issues
Jan. 31, 2008 at 2:57pm
Internet Yellow Page Video SEM: Worth The Effort?
Informational videos are an excellent way for local businesses to get positions with the natural search engines, through the trend toward blended or universal search results which mix video in with traditional results. Videos are also becoming an attractive way to bring in leads, sales, and new customers from viral and social marketing. While most search engines and marketers have adopted a "wait and see" attitude with local video products, the major internet yellow pages have taken the initiative, offering some interesting opportunities for search marketers to jump in early when competition is relatively scarce.
By Grant Crowell Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: SEO: Video Search, Search Ads: Video, Video Search
Jan. 31, 2008 at 2:53pm
Video Search: New Column From Search Engine Land
Our newest Search Engine Land column, Video Search, launches today. Video Search looks at how search engines index videos, and explores the unique search engine optimization techniques that can make videos visible in search results.
Our video search columnists are:
Grant Crowell, CEO and Creative Director, Granttastic Designs
Bob Heyman, Chief Search Officer, Mediasmith
Eric Papczun, Director, Natural Search Optimization, Performics
Sherwood Stranieri, Director, Natural Search, SMG Search
In today's debut article, Grant Crowell looks at the fledgling effort by Internet Yellow Pages sites to offer videos for local merchants and service providers—how the program is working, and what could be done to improve the results for advertisers. Read on in Internet Yellow Page Video SEM: Worth The Effort?.
By Chris Sherman Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: About Search Engine Land, Video Search
Jan. 31, 2008 at 1:25pm
Report: Click Fraud Up 15% In 2007
Click Forensics, the company that maintains the Click Fraud Index, a network that monitors and reports on data gathered from more than 4,000 online advertisers and their agencies, has released its most recent quarterly report on click fraud.
The company found that the overall industry average click fraud rate rose to 16.6 percent for Q4 2007. That’s up from the 14.2 percent click fraud rate for the same quarter in 2006, and 16.2 percent for Q3 2007.
The major search engines have typically disputed the findings issued by Click Forensics, claiming the numbers don't account for discounted clicks—clicks the search engines do not charge for or that are refunded into an advertiser's account. Last March, Google even went on record saying that Click fraud is just 0.02% of clicks.
By Chris Sherman Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: Legal: Clickfraud
Jan. 31, 2008 at 12:13pm
Google's Marissa Mayer On Social Search / Search 4.0
VentureBeat has a nice Q&A with Google's Marissa Mayer on how the search engine is considering using social data to improve its search results -- what I've described as "Search 4.0" as a generational jump in my Search 3.0 article from earlier this year. Some highlights below:
By Danny Sullivan Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: Google: OpenSocial, Google: Web History & Search History, Google: Web Search, Search 4.0, Search Engines: Social Search Engines
Jan. 31, 2008 at 10:01am
Making a Good Impression With About Us Pages
Sipping on a cup of coffee on a Wednesday morning in the lounge of the local bowling alley last summer, surrounded by shop keepers and insurance salesmen and other small business owners, I hand out my business card. Most of these merchants have actual places I can visit, while all I have are pages they can stop at. It's a meeting of the local Main Street Association, and most of the attendees are located on Main Steet.
I'm less than a block from Main Street, but I might as well be miles away. I have no receptionist. I have no sales counter. There's no waiting room or window display or open sign. I'm an online business person, and my web site is the portal people use to enter my business.
I'm at the meeting because I'm interested in my community, and I'd like to volunteer my services to help the local merchants learn more about the online world, and how it can help them. But first, I have to get them to listen to me, to trust me as someone who knows what he is talking about. My business card has my URL on it, and so does my letterhead, my invoices, my emails, and anywhere else I can think of that might let people know where they can find me.
But what do they find once they visit?
By Bill Slawski Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: Small Is Beautiful
Jan. 31, 2008 at 9:29am
Vote Now For SMX Search Bowl's Search Marketer Team
The nominations are in, and now it's time for search marketers to vote on which two people should represent SEMs against the major search engines in the SMX Search Bowl search trivia contest, which happens at our SMX West three-day search conference next month in California.
The nomination round happened last week, and now SEOmoz has a voting form up. Cast your vote! Below, more about the contest and the finalists.
By Danny Sullivan Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: SEM Industry: Community, SEM Industry: Conferences
Jan. 31, 2008 at 8:37am
New "Show Search Options" Broadens Google Maps
As the Google LatLong Blog reports, Google has added a new "show search options" link beside the main search box in Google Maps. This is a very interesting development for several reasons. It's a pull-down menu that allows you to narrow or expand results for the same query and more easily discover non-traditional content in Google Maps.
By Greg Sterling Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: Google: Maps & Local
Jan. 31, 2008 at 7:35am
Google's Founders & CEO Promised To Work Together Until 2024
Google CEO, Co-Founders Made Long-Term Promise from the Wall Street Journal reports Google's founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and Google's CEO, Eric Schmidt, said they would work together until the year 2024.
Google spokesperson Jon Murchinson told the Wall Street Journal that the "informal pact" between the three top Googlers was made one month before the Google IPO in August 2004. The pact was that they would all work at the company for "at least 20 years." This pact adds to the feeling that the company culture at Google is not about cashing out, at least not for Page, Brin, and Schmidt, although other Googlers have taken their winnings and moved on to other things.
By Barry Schwartz Permalink 0
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Jan. 31, 2008 at 7:12am
5 Reasons Why Rankings Are A Poor Measure Of Success
Are you still measuring your SEO success by the rankings you obtain? If so, you need to stop—right now!
Here's why:
By Jill Whalen Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: 100% Organic, SEM Tools: Web Analytics, SEO: General
Jan. 30, 2008 at 3:29pm
SearchCap: The Day In Search, January 30, 2008
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
By Barry Schwartz Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: SearchCap
Jan. 30, 2008 at 10:32am
Google Universal Search: 2008 Edition
It's just over a half-year since Google launched Universal Search, its method of blending results from its own various topically-focused or "vertical" search engines. Since that time, the system has evolved. In particular, Google Universal Search now fills more than just 10 spots on the page, while shopping and blog search results are among new resources being included. Below, a look at these and related changes.
By Danny Sullivan Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: Google: Maps & Local, Google: OneBox, Plus Box & Direct Answers, Google: Universal Search, Google: User Interface, Search 3.0
Jan. 30, 2008 at 10:26am
SMX West: Preview Our Upcoming Conference In Sight & Sound
Search Engine Land's first three day search marketing conference -- SMX West -- is only about a month away. Thinking about going? We've got a great program lined up, and I've just finished a podcast giving those interested an audio preview of what to expect. Check it out here (MP3 file). It runs for 37 minutes.
Our Meet SMX: The Search Marketing Expo Conference Series video is now also available for those who want a more visual preview of what to expect. It runs about 4 minutes, and you can view it here on YouTube or using the embedded player below:
By Danny Sullivan Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: SEM Industry: Conferences
Jan. 30, 2008 at 10:24am
Visualize Earthquake Data In Google Earth
The US Geological Survey and Google are now making global earthquake data available in Google Earth as one of the layers under "Places of Interest."
By Greg Sterling Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: Google: Earth, Search Engines: Government Search Engines
Jan. 30, 2008 at 8:56am
Scientologists Google Bombed Or Not?
Just days after the one-year anniversary of Google's Google bomb fix, a new Google bomb may have gotten through -- dangerous cult, bringing up the Scientology web site, as shown above. But is it really getting past the fix? Considering one of the targeted words is being used on the page itself, it's hard to say.
By Danny Sullivan Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: Link Building: Link Bombs
Jan. 30, 2008 at 8:44am
Search Engine Reputation Management: Setting & Managing Expectations
The euphemistic phrase "reputation management issue" describes what happens when you have a problem arise in search engine result pages. Whether it's the result of an algorithm change, bloggers, or social media sites jumping on negative news or other negative linking bandwagons, reputation management issues are a major pain for brands.
When this happens, frustrations can run high, and you bear a lot of weight on your shoulders to fix the crisis, keep the unfavorable sites at bay, and make clients happy. One of the key things you need to master quickly when this occurs is setting and managing client expectations.
By Jessica Bowman Permalink 0
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Jan. 30, 2008 at 8:40am
Yahoo Earnings Mixed, Company To Go Through With 1,000 Job Cuts Amid Uncertain 2008
Despite the hopes of many and rumors that Yahoo would post "strong" earnings, Q4 2007 results (PDF) were mixed, and net income was down from a year ago. In addition, CEO Jerry Yang said the company faced "headwinds" in 2008 and offered weak guidance but promised a return to growth in 2009. Investors were unhappy, and stock was down at one point 10 percent in after-hours trading (this morning it has recovered).
Total revenue in Q4 was $1.83 billion, which represented 8 percent growth of the same period a year ago ($1.7 billion). Full year 2007 revenues for Yahoo were $6.97 billion. Simultaneously, Yahoo announced it would be cutting 1,000 jobs, which is at the low end of the rumored range.
By Greg Sterling Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: Yahoo: Business Issues
Jan. 30, 2008 at 8:20am
SEMPO State Of SEM Survey, SEOmoz Industry Survey, & SEMMYS Need Your Help
There are three surveys underway right now for the search engine marketing industry looking for participation. SEMPO and SEOmoz are both running surveys to collect data on the search marketing industry, while the SEMMYS are a more fun look at search marketing articles up for awards.
By Barry Schwartz Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: SEM Industry: Awards, SEM Industry: Community, SEM Industry: General, SEM Industry: Organizations
Jan. 30, 2008 at 8:02am
The Big B2B PPC Mistake
It’s been said that the three rules of marketing are brand recognition, brand recognition, and brand recognition. Given that, marketers spend considerable funds and resources to ensure that people recognize their brands and connect with them. In other words, brand matters. Yet, when it comes to PPC marketing, the importance of brand gets a little fuzzy—especially for B2B marketers.
From my experience, branded keywords tend to play a relatively small role in the PPC efforts of many B2B marketers. In fact, the number of B2B companies actually leveraging their brands in PPC appears to be quite low. The reason? Many B2B marketers feel that their customers and prospects already know their brand and/or how to find them; or that their sales force is already speaking with anyone they could envision as a client. Ultimately, they feel that spending money on branded PPC search ads would be a waste.
Unfortunately, they are mistaken.