May 2008
May. 30, 2008 at 7:57pm
Expand Customer Relationships As Search Engines Evolve User Experience
Last week, Microsoft Live Search expanded the description that appears below Wikipedia results and added navigational links to major headings within the Wikipedia article. Google has long been gently mocked by the search marketing community for ranking Wikipedia results highly for a large percentage of queries, but the general searching population tends to find these results useful. Microsoft must have found that their searchers find Wikipedia results particularly valuable for their queries to have implemented special treatment for them.
Below is the Wikipedia result for the query breakfast at tiffany's on Live Search. The description that appears below the title is twice as long as standard descriptions and links to sections within the Wikipedia article are listed horizontally below the text.
Below more details about the expanded Wikipedia listing, as well as on the overall trend of all the major search engines showing increased details on the results pages and what that might mean for site owners who are worried about lowered click-through rates.
By Vanessa Fox 
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See Related Stories In: Google: Universal Search, Microsoft: Live Search, Search Features: Enhanced Listings, Yahoo: Search Monkey
May. 30, 2008 at 3:10pm
SearchCap: The Day In Search, May 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
May. 30, 2008 at 2:58pm
Twelve Simple Ways To Write Search-Friendly HTML Code
This morning I was handing off a project to a developer and found myself ranting about the common mistakes developers make when coding HTML. These boneheaded mistakes can cause search engines to choke when it comes to indexing your websites. And its easy to avoid making these mistakes. Here's how:
By Jonathan Hochman Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: SEO: General
May. 30, 2008 at 12:11pm
Search in Pictures: Condoleezza Rice, Google I/O & Big Purple Buttons
In this week's Search In Pictures, here are the latest images culled from the web, showing what people eat at the search engine companies, how they play, who they meet, where they speak, what toys they have, and more.
By Barry Schwartz Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: Search In Pictures
May. 30, 2008 at 10:09am
Outing Google Merchant Search
A reader sent us an example of the new Google Merchant Search live and in the wild. What's Google Merchant Search? After a little poking around, it appears to be a new but unannounced program in beta where people can comparison shop services like loans.
Here are the Google Merchant Search FAQs, and here is a demo page. From the looks of it, you can compare loan providers, you can pick a vendor and then speak with a lender - all through this system.
By Barry Schwartz Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: Google: Web Search
May. 30, 2008 at 10:07am
For Obama The Online Marketer It's All About Google
Democratic presidential candidate Barak Obama's online organizing and fundraising successes are perhaps unprecedented. He's also the query volume king, among the candidates. But how does he do as an online marketer? We might not know his CTRs or how his campaigns "convert" but now we know where he spent his money. According to US Federal Election Commission records, examined and parsed by ClickZ and further explored by PaidContent, Google has won the lion's share of the candidate's online spending.
By Greg Sterling Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: Google: AdSense, Google: AdWords
May. 30, 2008 at 8:36am
Google Updates Browser Favorite Icon
I reported that Google has updated their favorite icon on Google.com, from the old multi-colored boxed in "G," to a single blue lowercase g.
New Favorite Icon:
Old Favorite Icon:
By Barry Schwartz Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: Google: Logos
May. 30, 2008 at 8:23am
How Google Tests & Tests Search Interfaces
We're all guinea pigs in Google's search experiment from News.com covers Google's Marissa Mayer presentation at the Google I/O conference. In her speech, she discusses the various tests they perform to increase searcher activity and responsiveness.
Here is a bullet list of what I found to be the most interesting insights from that presentation:
By Barry Schwartz Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: Google: User Interface
May. 30, 2008 at 7:15am
Human Hardware: The Subconscious Side of Search
In the last column, we explored some studies that indicate that conscious will might not be the cause of our actions, but instead might be just one of the effects of a motivator still undefined. Conscious will could simply be a feedback mechanism that helps us keep track of our actions and hides the degree of unconscious activity involved in our day to day activities. Conscious will allows us to keep thinking we’re rational, logical beings.
By Gord Hotchkiss Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: Just Behave
May. 29, 2008 at 4:23pm
SearchCap: The Day In Search, May 29, 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
May. 29, 2008 at 4:13pm
Yahoo!'s Frazier Miller To Keynote SMX Local & Mobile In San Francisco July 24-25
Driving traffic - and ultimately sales - from local search is an opportunity for marketers who know the tactics, techniques, and players unique to this rapidly growing, specialized internet marketing field. The goal of 1-in-5 searches is to find something locally, according to Yahoo!'s research.
SMX Local & Mobile is the only event 100% dedicated to preparing marketers to profit from this opportunity. If your mission is to drive more traffic to location-specific businesses, SMX Local & Mobile provides an intensive crash course of tips, tactics, and techniques for success. SMX Local & Mobile is being held July 24-25 in San Francisco.
By Search Engine Land Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: SEM Industry: Conferences, SMX & SMN Alerts
May. 29, 2008 at 1:00pm
Got A Great Organic SEO Tip? Pitch & Go To SMX Advanced!
Last week, tickets sold out for our SMX Advanced show happening in Seattle on June 3 & 4. There are currently nada tickets left other than for our Developer Day and expo passes. But I have exactly one chance for someone seeking a full access pass to still go. You can take part in the Give It Up session on the last day. Greg Boser is coordinating it and already has five great people participating. But we talked this week and figured we can add a sixth speaker. Want to take part? Send a message to greg AT 3dogmedia.com with what you'll share. It has to be a great tip. Get in touch by today. He'll be picking by tomorrow.
By Danny Sullivan Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: SMX & SMN Alerts
May. 29, 2008 at 9:32am
All Things D: The Search Edition
There's a ton of search-related news and intrigue coming out of the Dow Jones "All Things D" conference in Southern California. Let's start with the ridiculous remark from IAC's chief Barry Diller that "Google is irrelevant to us." That's only true if Diller doesn't care about search revenue. Google is essentially the source of that revenue for IAC.
By Greg Sterling Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: Ask: Ask 3D, Business Issues: General, Google: Critics, Google: General, Microsoft & Yahoo Merger, Microsoft: Business Issues, Search Engines: Facebook, Yahoo: Business Issues, Yahoo: General, Yahoo: Partnerships, Yahoo: Search Ads
May. 29, 2008 at 8:36am
Mythbusting: Why Video Should Be A Core Search Marketing Tool
During the past year-plus of working with scores of small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) on testing and then launching online video advertising campaigns, we have compiled a short list of common myths associated with online video advertising, implications for search, and what it means to the SMB sector.
Gleaned from our own experiences, as well as a substantial combination of news, discussion and hype surrounding the online video ad sector, we thought it would be useful to identify and dispel the most commonly held myths about online video and SMBs. So, in the spirit of late-night talk shows, and without further ado, here the list:
By Glenn Pingul Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: Small Is Beautiful
May. 29, 2008 at 8:28am
Google Climbs To The Top Of Everest With Special Logo
Today, if you visit Google, you may notice a special logo commemorating the anniversary of the first ascent of Mount Everest. As most of you know, Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth. Today, 55 years earlier, on May 29, 1953 at 11:30 a.m. local time, Edmund Hillary from New Zealander and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay from Nepal reached the summit of Everest.
By Barry Schwartz Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: Google: Logos
May. 29, 2008 at 8:26am
Help Search Engine Land Improve -- Take Our Fast Reader Survey
Search Engine Land ran a reader survey recently to help our advertisers know who comes to the site. Now I have a different one that I'd really encourage everyone to take. This is designed so that we know what readers like in terms of content and how we can improve things going forward. It's fast to do, plus you could win a ticket to our upcoming SMX East show. The survey is here. Please give us your thoughts!
By Danny Sullivan Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: About Search Engine Land
May. 29, 2008 at 7:55am
Meta-Tag Optimization Tips: A Search Usability Perspective
I know. I know. Seasoned search engine optimization (SEO) professionals might yawn and roll their eyes when the subject of meta-tag optimization comes up, as they might think, "Meta-tag optimization is SO 1990s."
Personally, I think meta-tag content gets a bad rap because, in the past, many SEO professionals and website owners exploited meta-tags to achieve undeserved search engine visibility. As a result, the tags' content was devalued in favor of other criteria. Overall, though, if you look at the big picture, meta-tag abuse contributed to the evolution of better, more accurate ways for determining the "aboutness" of web documents.
As an SEO professional, I optimize meta-tag content because there are multiple reasons to use meta-tags on web pages and other files, apart from ranking purposes.
By Shari Thurow Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: 100% Organic, SEO: General, SEO: Titles & Descriptions
May. 29, 2008 at 6:58am
Searching The Web For News Video
Recent data from comScore Video Metrix shows that consumers viewed 11.5 billion online videos in March of 2008, a whopping 64% gain versus March of 2007. This means that 73.7% of the US Internet population is now watching video online. While videos of pandas sneezing on YouTube make up millions of these monthly video views, consumers are also increasingly turning to the Internet to watch news video. But how are consumers finding the wealth of news video content available on the Web? And are search engines playing a major role? DoubleClick Performics, in partnership with ROI Research, recently conducted the Searching for Video News Study to gain some insight into how consumers are using search to find news, as well as if they're getting what they're looking for.
By Eric Papczun Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: Search Engines: Video Search Engines, Stats: Popularity, Video Search
May. 28, 2008 at 6:39pm
Is Your Site Social Media Friendly?
You should consider many factors when getting involved in Social Media Marketing, such as the quality of your content, your domain name, and who is submitting your content. But there is almost always one thing I find myself looking at before any of the above conversations even begin: the design.
You need to make sure your site is designed and performs in a way that is suitable for social media.
Most social communities are not filled with web novices or beginners. They are filled with internet savvy individuals, who know what a site should look like, and more importantly, which sites are legit and which sites are just spammers trying to look legit.
Below are some tips and suggestions that you can apply to your site, to make it social media friendly.
By Brent Csutoras Permalink 0
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See Related Stories In: Let's Get Social, Social Media Marketing
May. 28, 2008 at 3:33pm
SearchCap: The Day In Search, May 28, 2008
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
