Google to Open Research Center In Shanghai from the Wall Street Journal reports Google is planning on opening a research and development center in Shanghai, China in an effort to gain market share from Baidu. The R&D center is expected to open on June 25, 2007, with a focus on researching Chinese-language Internet searches. Previously, […]
I thought the easiest way to share the results of the Chinese Eye Tracking study might be in a Q&A format, as that’s what most research programs tend to be anyway. I’ll cover off some of the highlight findings in this column, but the full report will be available on our site next week. On […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
Google Webmaster Central product manager Vanessa Fox is heading for pastures new — jumping over to become product team lead at real estate start-up Zillow. She’ll be overseeing the development of new ad, feed and email products there. Vanessa talks about the move more on her blog, saying:
My mobile phone company in the UK is T-Mobile, and I had to laugh when I was flipping through the latest in-house magazine I got from them. Apparently, as the headline of an advertorial tells me, "Search Engine Optimisation vital to enable business to compete online." And to learn more, I’m told to check out […]
I had to love the contrast in two items that hit my feed reader today: one where a talk by Google’s chief internet evangelist Vint Cerf was declared off-the-record by Google, upsetting some people, then another where Google CEO Eric Schmidt was at an off-the-record event but said he wanted the event video uploaded as […]
Last month in Video Hits Google Universal Search & Google Video Now Live With Meta Search?, we covered how Google Video was morphing into its new role as a meta search engine. Now reports of new video sources have emerged.
Let’s face it, in a world where almost every conceivable metric of analyzing your website traffic is available to you, the only metric that really truly matters is conversions. Click through rates, page views, time spent on site, number of pages read, entrance and exit points, abandonment; all of these metrics are fantastic, but if […]
“Local Search” has been defined as search on Internet yellow pages and mapping sites. But it can equally be defined as a process by which consumers use the Internet for research to help them make offline buying decisions. In that sense it has very broad implications across a range of online categories and vertical segments. […]
I had a great time doing our first conference, SMX Advanced, last week in Seattle. Tons of coverage came out of the show, while the attendees learned a lot, had fun networking and enjoyed some good food. Need to remember what happened? Want to hear about what you missed? Search Marketing Expo – SMX Advanced […]
This week, eBay Live is happening in Boston, but the event is likely to be overshadowed by a fascinating and fast-developing controversy between the auction giant and Google. Rumors from ComparisonEngines.com and other sources last night and earlier today reported that eBay had pulled its ads off Google to protest a planned party (now cancelled) […]
As with many other areas of the business, the decision to ‘make or buy’ applies to the search engine marketing function. Whether you decide to go with an outside agency, or develop and train a dedicated in-house team depends on whether search is considered a core component of your business. The SEMPO State of Search […]
Our newest Search Engine Land column, In House, launches today. In House takes an insider’s look at the life of search marketers who work for large or multi-national organizations. Columnists write about technical challenges as well as the cultural, organizational, budgeting and other issues that arise while working within a large company. Unlike other Search […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
In a release out today, comScore is reporting on traffic and its distribution to various local search and Internet yellow pages sites. Yahoo is pronounced the market leader, with a 22.4 percent share of all “IYP searches.” The company’s local search leadership, according to comScore has been consistent since comScore started tracking the category. However, […]
The Google Custom Search blog announced an interesting new feature that allows you to tell Google to customize the search results of your Google CSE based on who you link to within your site. Google will look at who you link to, then use that information to add content that your custom search engine searches […]
ninemsn, a joint venture between the Microsoft and Australia’s Publishing and Broadcasting Limited, has launched a new, ad-supported mobile service called “mobilise.” It will feature news and branded content from ninemsn, as well as IM, mail and local search content and capabilities. The “off deck” service is going to be free to consumers and will […]
Brady Forrest at O’Reilly Radar writes about a new startup, Everyscape, which is seeking to take ordinary photographs and knit them into a “3D” image display for cities. According to Forrest, the company has been around since 2002 and received funding in 2004. Using a mixture of proprietary technology, professionals and community the site hopes […]
The Google Analytics blog announced that they are taking Google Analytics out of beta and adding several features based on customer feedback. The features include:
Facing unfavorable content on page one in the search engine result pages (SERPs) for your brand terms can be a challenge. Today’s article discusses a strategy that allows you to mobilize all of your company websites to jump to the top of the SERPs so that your company dominates page one for your brand phrases… […]
Jason Calacanis has announced Mahalo Greenhouse, a way for users to get paid for writing their own search results for the Mahalo people-powered search engine. The Greenhouse FAQ gives more details on the program, where if accepted, you can earn $10 to $15 per submission.
Yahoo is distributing payments in the Online Merchant Systems class action settlement over alleged flaws in its bidding system.
When it comes to B2B search marketing, what’s the best strategy—Organic search engine optimization or pay-per-click search advertising? In large part, it depends on what you’re selling, your budget, your company’s investment philosophy, and searchers’ actual behavior.
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. But before the news, a request! When Online Marketing Blog had a poll for best search podcast recently, I was one of the few that did NOT beg, plead or cajole listeners to vote for […]
Yahoo shareholders defeat exec pay/perform link from Reuters reports Yahoo’s shareholders have defeated proposals to cut Yahoo CEO Terry Semel’s salary and to practice anti-censorship policies in China and establish a human rights committee.
The Google Webmaster Central blog announced the addition of a few new features to Webmaster Central Tools. The main feature is a new form where you can report paid links that you find on various sites. This feature was discussed at the Search Marketing Expo conference and provides a more formal way of reporting paid […]
Google announced that it and many other computer and Internet heavyweights have joined together in the global Climate Savers computing initiative launched by the World Wildlife Federation. The idea is to improve the efficiency of computer hardware and data centers so that they require less power and give off less heat. Here’s the Google Blog […]
During the “Better Ways” panel last week at SMX someone in the audience asked for advice on convincing big corporations to embrace social media marketing. At the time my answer was that there would be a lot of education involved and you should also let them know that you’ll be actively monitoring their reputation to […]
Following in the recent footsteps of Technorati, which morphed into a multi-media search engine, podcast search engine Podzinger has added video and rebranded itself EveryZing, a stronger and (paradoxically) less confusing brand. Google introduced video into Google.com results with the roll out of Universal Search and the new Ask3D prominently features video (search provided by […]
How to Handle a Google Penalty – And, an Example from the Field of Real Estate from Rand Fishkin has a nifty little chart explaining how to handle a Google penalty. The flow chart takes you through several questions, and based on a yes or no answer, different steps are given to follow. Let me […]
When a searcher has reached the point of typing an extremely explicit, product-oriented query into the search box, the odds are good that they’re ready to buy. For example, I’m just about ready to purchase a Kodak Easy Share V705 digital camera. A few weeks ago, my searches were far more generic, and the search […]
There are two projects going on today to see if we can survive without the major search engines. The first project is for searchers, to see if they can search alternative search engines without using the five major engines. The second project is for search marketers, to see if they can generate enough traffic and […]
Google’s Campaign Against Bad Commercials from Internetnews.com reports Kim Malone, the director of Google AdSense, as saying she wants to make TV ads less “annoying.” When Kim Malone was questioned on how Google plans on taking the “non-intrusive” nature of search ads and contextual ads to the TV ad model, she said, “it’s going to […]
YouTube to test video ID with Time Warner, Disney from Reuters reports that Google’s YouTube is ready to begin testing their video fingerprinting tool on Time Warner and Walt Disney video content. The tool will be ready for testing in a month and will help prevent copyrighted materials from making its way to YouTube. The […]
The major PPC engines offer the ability for advertisers to show their ads on both search and content networks. However, those networks are very different from a consumer engagement process, and they should be treated very differently. To provide a quick recap, with the search network, an advertiser bids on a keyword, and if the […]
In response to an EU letter over data retention, Google has announced that it will now anonymize server log data after 18 months, rather than the previous maximum time it had announced of 24 months. It is also reconsidering how long its cookies last. It’s nice to see Google make such a fast, responsive move, […]
Google, as expected, has added a new report type to give AdWords advertisers the ability to see the exact sites their ads are displaying on within Google’s content network. These Placement Performance reports will detail the domain, URL, impression, click, conversion and cost data for each site an ad appears on. Unfortunately, the site-by-site detail […]
Wired is reporting on a lawsuit filed in US District Court in Texas against Verizon and its now spun-off directory division Idearc. The suit (PDF file) claims infringement of patent 5,930,474, “Internet organizer for accessing geographically and topically based information.” This goes to the essence of many if not most local search sites online today. […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web:
Pay per phone call (PPCall) probably qualifies as something of a disappointment to date. While there has been adoption by advertisers and some good results, revenues have not kept pace with early expectations (which, admittedly, I helped create). In mobile it’s a natural business model and that may be the arena in which PPCall ultimately […]