The Click Quality Council, a group of online advertisers, advertising agencies and click quality monitoring firms formed to propose and help establish standards for search advertising quality, has proposed eight principles for ensuring industry-wide click quality. The principles are the result of a six month effort by independent members of the ad-hoc group to identify the key elements needed to deliver adequate quality in pay-per-click advertising campaigns. The eight principles include: Advertisers should never pay for double clicks or repeat clicks from the same session. Advertisers sho [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Legal: Clickfraud | SEM Industry: Organizations

PC World has released the results of its most recent search engine shoot-out, and surprise, surprise, found that "Google is indeed the best search engine." However... This wasn't just a casual test, and Google wasn't the best across the board with all types of queries and content. The author tested 55 services in six categories: general (text info), video, mobile/local, news, images, and blogs. The goal was to simulate how "real people" searched, so no special commands or modifiers were used. In the text category, the real surprise was in the two search engines that bested Google: AlltheWe [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Strategy | Stats: Relevancy

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web: From Search Engine Land: Ask.com To Launch Contextual Advertising Product Ask.com is launching a new sponsored listings contextual product and will go live the week of May 21st. The Ask contextual product will initially launch within IAC's own network of sites including Match.com, Ticketmaster, Evite and Citysearch and will then expand to trusted third party publishers. Individual publishers will most... Google Maps Introduce User-Generated Content When Google launched its person [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | SearchCap

Virus Writers Taint Google Ad Links from the Washington Post covers a report saying that consumers trying to reach some legitimate sites might be getting infected with malicious software when they click on ads at Google. The software tries to "steal passwords and other sensitive information from infected PCs," the article says. Google has reportedly removed the ads. In addition, I reported a possible exploit where hackers can gain access to your AdWords account and potentially serve ads under your profile. Postscript: Google responded saying an "incident this week served as an important re [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords | Legal: Security

Via BetaNews, Yet another Microsoft search exec calls it quits from All About Microsoft covers how Microsoft's Live Search is losing another key executive -- general manager Dane Glasgow. Glasgow is said to be leaving for more time with his family and to purse non-profit interests. Former search chief Christopher Payne left at the end of March, replaced by Satya Nadella, who started on April 19th. [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Microsoft: Bing | Microsoft: Employees

In my last column I explored b-to-b marketers' changing perceptions toward search marketing and predicted a continued trend in rapidly increasing b-to-b search budgets—at the expense of traditional marketing channels. Today I'd like to talk about why this shift is occurring. First, let's start by looking at the top challenges identified by business marketers and explore how search marketing is particularly well suited to solve these problems. Top B-to-B Marketing Challenges As part of Forrester's Marketing Effectiveness Survey, conducted in the second quarter of 2006, the res [...]

Related Topics: B2B Search Marketing | Channel: Search Marketing

Building Contractor Sues Google for Indexing Consumer Complaint from Wired highlights yet another case where a someone wants to sue Google over how they are listed. Cases like these have lost in the past, but people keep trying. In this case, New Jersey building contractor RSA Homes is upset that a search for "RSA Homes" returns a page from Rip Off Report that is critical of RSA Homes in bold. The result looks like this: RSA Homes demanding that Google remove the page. It remained up. Back in October of last year, Eric Goldman reported how Google won a similar suit filed by Ma [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Google: Legal | Legal: Crawling & Indexing

Properazzi is a multi search engine that scans property websites and provides access to over 1,800,000 properties for sale or rent in 45 European countries. Searchers can limit searches to particular towns or countries, by price, keyword and sale or rental. A Google powered map allows another method of locating a particular place or region. Individual property entries are limited to the information provided by the originating website, but they include price (obviously), usually a photograph and a description of the property. Clicking on the property takes the searcher through to the originati [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Search Engines: Maps & Local Search Engines | Search Engines: Other Search Engines | Search Engines: Outside USA

Google gets in on 'Intel Inside' campaign from News.com reports that Google and Intel worked together to build, what I believe to be, an add on to their reseller and channel intranet, enabling resellers to easily market their Intel based computers via Google AdWords. The "co-marketing initiative" should allow these resellers to "easily buy keyword-based search advertising and online display ads for branding through Google's AdWords system." The "virtual marketing storefront" will go live on April 29th and will contain "a suite of tools" a set of "pre-approved ad templates" to help aid these [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Google: Partnerships

When Google launched its personalized mapping tool, My Maps, the company said it would soon be integrating user-generated content. It appears that is now happening on many Google Maps searches (hat tip to NLC Marketing Blog). Here are some example searches:Museums, New York Seafood, London Bistros, Paris At the bottom of the results pane on the left (scroll) is a link to "user-created content." Clicking through gives you a parallel map populated with third-party pushpins. Some of this is professional content and some is from individuals. For example, in my "Seafood, London" search above, th [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Local | Google: Maps & Local

The relationship between enterprise search company Autonomy and video search company Blinkx has always been confusing. PaidContent.org now reports that the "weirdly secretive relationship" (I agree) is getting clearer. Autonomy is to exercise an option to take over Blinkx, then appears to be spinning some consumer-facing search technology that its owns (and I believe Blinkx was licensing) into an independent company Blinkx, that will go public in London. The Financial Times goes into more details on the deal, plus Autonomy offers a press release here. It all still seems as clear as [...]

Related Topics: Business Issues: Acquisitions & Investments | Channel: Video | Search Engines: Video Search Engines | Site & Enterprise Search

Google surpasses Microsoft as world's most-visited site from the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Google is now more popular than Microsoft, in terms of worldwide visits. According to comScore, Google had a million visitors more than Microsoft in March 2007. Google had 528 million unique visitors, while Microsoft had 527 million visitors in March. Not only is Google more popular in traffic numbers, as we reported earlier this week, Google also passed Microsoft as the most powerful brand, according to one survey. Postscript From Danny: comScore has yet to post figures itself. Watch here [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Strategy | Stats: comScore | Stats: Popularity

YouTube has a clip from the popular TV cartoon The Simpsons showing Marge "googling" herself: Here's the clip itself: "629,000 results. Wow, and all this time I thought 'googling' yourself meant the other thing," exclaims Marge. She then appears to click into Google Maps to see her house, where husband Homer is sunbathing naked on a hammock in their backyard. The clip apparently comes from the most recent episode to air in the US, called "Marge Gamer." More about that episode here and here. Hat tip to Valleywag. [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Google: General | Google: Parodies | Search & Society: General

Google to Sell Online Ads on China Telecom Web Sites from Bloomberg reports that Google has won the right to sell ads on 400 local business directory sites owned by China Telecom, China's biggest internet service provider. This deal is expected to help Google close in on Baidu and Microsoft's share in online ad revenue within the Chinese market. Reportedly, both Baidu and Microsoft wanted this deal with China Telecom. Microsoft does have an agreement for China Telecom to partner with search on general directory sites. That continues, the article says. [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Google: Outside US | Google: Partnerships

General Motors' OnStar Division and MapQuest have announced a partnership (see the video and related info on how it works) that allows OnStar subscribers to plan their trips via MapQuest and then send those directions to their cars. The service is called "Web Destination Entry" and will reportedly be made available to roughly 2 million OnStar equipped vehicles in 2007 and 3 million more by 2008. Users plan trips via MapQuest and then, effectively, "send to car" (as they would their mobile phones). Directions are downloaded and played back via voice, turn-by-turn. Up to five destinations c [...]

Related Topics: AOL: MapQuest | Channel: Local | Search Engines: Maps & Local Search Engines | Search Features: Cars | Search Features: Send To Phone

Ask.com is launching a new sponsored listings contextual product and will go live the week of May 21st. The Ask contextual product will initially launch within IAC's own network of sites including Match.com, Ticketmaster, Evite and Citysearch and will then expand to trusted third party publishers. Individual publishers will most likely have to wait until next quarter to gain access to this contextual product. Current Ask Sponsored Listings advertisers will be automatically opted into the contextual network, but will have the option of opting out before the product launches. In addition, [...]

Related Topics: Ask: Sponsored Listings | Channel: SEM | Search Ads: Contextual

As we reported last week, Google is now including news results in web search results when your query terms trigger relevant results. The results are clearly marked with a link for "News results for..." above the news results, as shown here: I've asked Google how the new changes will affect algorithms. Stay tuned.... [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Google: News | Google: OneBox, Plus Box & Direct Answers

Which blogs have the most feed subscribers from Self Made Minds is an excellent rundown on top blogs according to the number of RSS or feed subscribers they have, according to FeedBurner. Search Marketing Blogs by RSS Subscribers from Lee Odden at the Online Marketing Blog takes the idea and focuses it on search blogs. Below, a bit more on how this starts to turn FeedBurner counts into a preferred currency for blogs seeking respect -- plus how to tap into the feed counts for some FeedBurner-hosted feeds, even if they aren't published online. FeedBurner is a great feed management service tha [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | SEM Industry: Blogs & Forums | SEO: Blogs & Feeds | Stats: Popularity

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web: From Search Engine Land: Ad Agencies Partnering with Search Marketing Firms (or Not) At the recent Search Engine Strategies Conference in New York, agency executives spoke candidly about their experiences working with search engine marketing (SEM) firms. What's working? What's not? And most importantly, how can agencies and search marketers work together to better serve clients? Here's a re-cap of "Outsourcing Anonymous: Why... Search Marketing Agency Pricing Models Pricing [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | SearchCap

At the recent Search Engine Strategies Conference in New York, agency executives spoke candidly about their experiences working with search engine marketing (SEM) firms. What's working? What's not? And most importantly, how can agencies and search marketers work together to better serve clients? Here's a re-cap of "Outsourcing Anonymous: Why To Admit You Hired An SEM Firm (Or Not)," one of the many interesting and compelling sessions that went down at SES: Agency Transparency Sara Holoubek, a free-agent consultant, moderated the session. She asked the agency panelists to comment [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | SEM Industry: Conferences | SEM Industry: In House | SEM Industry: Outsourcing