TechCrunch reports that Google has aided in the arrest of an Indian man who wrote in an Orkut community, “I hate Sonia Gandhi.” Sonia Gandhi is a politician in India. Google reportedly handed over IP information to the Indian government, to help the government track down and arrest this individual. The man was charged under […]
There are a handful of companies that have been building local product inventory databases, many of them under the radar. They include Krillion, NearbyNow, Shopatron, Where2GetIt, Channel Intelligence, and ShopLocal. Krillion was the first to start syndicating that data. But NearbyNow is now going to take its billion product database and make it available in […]
Google has announced that they will now support the ability for advertisers to track their ads using third party advertising tags. This new feature is only available within Google’s content network (aka AdSense) and only available for North America based advertisers. In the past, the only way to track your impression data was to trust […]
Over the past week, YouTube has announced the addition of several features. In a recent YouTube blog post, YouTube announced the addition of search suggestions on YouTube.com, the import of your Google contacts, and a new and improved notification system for video comments. Plus, the Google Blog announced the addition of demographic statistics to YouTube […]
In my colleague Matt Lester’s recent Search Engine Land column, he discussed ten tips for a more effective paid search campaign. For this article, I’ll follow up Matt’s advice with ten tips to help you develop a more effective search engine optimization (SEO) campaign. But before we dive into the tips, let’s briefly look at […]
What would Sunday afternoon/evening be lately without more intrigue in the MicroHoo drama? Today was no exception as Redmond issued a cryptic statement that says it’s offering to join forces with or acquire some of Yahoo — potentially the search business — in a deal short of the total acquisition previously contemplated.
I love Google’s special holiday logos, which typically honor unique individuals or special holidays. Today Google has a special logo recognizing the birthday of Bauhaus (“house of building”) founder Walter Gropius. But it’s a weird tribute. In some respects, the logo can be seen as a rendition of the Googleplex headquarters in Mountain View. If […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
Other than discussion of online advertising revenues, it’s an all-Google day for Search Biz: rumors of Google Mini being replaced by a hosted solution, a “public art” protest about Google doing business with the Chinese government, and speculation about the future of consumer marketing at Google.
I’ve been playing around with Yahoo!’s slick new SearchMonkey Application Platform which was first introduced by Amit Kumar, Director of Product Management at Yahoo! Search, at the SMX West conference earlier this spring. Yahoo! hosted a Developer Launch Party yesterday in Sunnyvale to open the platform up to all developers. I created an example application […]
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.
Google has offered the capacity to search real estate listings for a long time. For example, when entering queries such as “homes for sale in San Francisco,” a “one box” result used to show pull-down menus for “location” and “listing type.” Activating these boxes would then lead into a specialized “Google Base” screen that allowed […]
iCrossing reported noticing that Google is showing a green user interface within the Google Directory search results and also, in some occasions, for main Google web search results. The most shocking green interface is when you look and compare the typical blue bar to a green bar when Google is showing yellow ads. Here are […]
Google has a special logo up on the home page today, a laser logo. The logo links to search results for first laser, which shows image results at the top, followed by search results from the University of Chicago, Wikipedia, and then Propeller.com. Why does Google have a laser logo up today? 48 years ago, […]
In The Trenches is a weekly spotlight of tips, tricks, and news about the tools search engine marketing professionals use to give them a leg up on the competition. Today: Search engine accreditation programs, today’s in-depth look, “Google Tools, Part 2,” and this week’s free tips and tools.
You know what you’re doing, right? We are all rational beings. We are all blessed with huge neocortexes and use them on a regular basis. This is especially so when we do something as thoughtful as use a search engine. Our rational loop is kicked into high gear. Right?
Dear Carl. We here at Yahoo got your letter telling us how much we suck. We think you suck more And let us tell you why. That’s the short summary of Yahoo’s response to Carl Icahn’s letter yesterday telling Yahoo he will fight to oust their board and do a deal with Microsoft, assuming Microsoft […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
As Danny reported earlier, Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is making a proxy move to oust the Yahoo board in an effort to reignite takeover talks with Microsoft. Just a few minutes ago a press release was issued by Icahn explaining his intentions and rationale.
Today, Yahoo! is making its SearchMonkey developer platform publicly available and is kicking things off with a launch party and a developer challenge. As we noted a few weeks ago when SearchMonkey launched in private beta, Yahoo! is encouraging the use of microformats and semantic web standards by providing an infrastructure that developers can use […]
Yahoo just started redirecting people in the UK who are trying to reach Yahoo.com instead to its Yahoo UK web site, something that Google has done for a long time. With the change, this seemed a good time to revisit how all the major search engines may intercept people trying to reach their ".com" versions […]
Google’s LatLong Blog announced new ways of finding more content on Google Maps, including geo-tagged YouTube videos, pictures from Panoramio, and localized Wikipedia content. We already covered the Google Maps Explore feature, but let me take you through similar content by way of the new “More” button. Lets travel to the Union Square area of […]
When optimizing URLs for high rankings, little attention is given to optimizing the URL for maximum clickthrough. Yet the URL undeniably affects searcher clickthrough rates in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages), as demonstrated by MarketingSherpa in their eyetracking study published in the 2008 Search Marketing Benchmark Guide. Specifically, MarketingSherpa found that short URLs get […]
In a move that is interesting and perhaps even surprising for several reasons, IAC/Ask is buying Lexico Publishing Group, which owns and operates “iconic” domains Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com and Reference.com. These sites get most of their traffic through direct navigation and will increase Ask’s reach by 145 million unduplicated users (or 11 percent). Ask is saying […]
In about three weeks, I’ll be asking Microsoft president Kevin Johnson, who oversees the Windows and Online Services division, questions relating to search as part of his keynote at our SMX Advanced search marketing conference in Seattle, June 3-4. I want your help! What questions would you like to see him address? Give me your […]
More rumors about yesterday’s news that Carl Icahn may want to take control of Yahoo. He apparently plans to nominate 10 directors to replace Yahoo’s board later today, reports the Wall Street Journal, using an unnamed source. But Microsoft might no longer be interested in Yahoo. Plus, that Google-Yahoo ad deal? Turns out Google might be nervous that Yahoo might […]
One of the reasons search marketing is so effective is that it delivers information on products and services to people who are actively seeking them out. People enter search terms into a search engine and the engine provides sites and ads that are relevant to the terms. This arrangement is beneficial for the user because […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web
When writing about Powerset this week, I covered how its hopes to gain Wikipedia users was complicated by the fact that Wikipedia itself gets so many people from search, rather than direct navigation. New stats (PDF) from Nielsen Online reaffirm this — four of the five top referring sites to Wikipedia are search engines, with […]
Hitwise released the latest statistics for search engine share in the United States for April 2008. Google has again hit a new high, jumping up 0.65% from the prior month’s high, to 68% of the US search market. Microsoft and Yahoo hit all-time lows — though Yahoo, at least, only drops by 0.1% further from […]
Summize has already turned into my preferred tool to search for what people are saying on Twitter. Now it’s gained a way to see what people are twittering about near a local area. Say I want to see what’s been happening in Newport Beach, California, in terms of Twitter activity. To do a local search, […]
Does the world need more travel sites and search engines? UpTake (formerly Kango) thinks so. Travel is one of the most developed and “mature” verticals online. It’s also one of the most competitive segments. However, there’s still considerable frustration in doing online travel planning notwithstanding the plethora of tools and sites out there — or […]
Google has announced a new earth imagery update has been pushed out to their mapping product. With that update, Google has updated their Manhattan images, which includes higher quality images, better naming of specific buildings and areas, plus Google has begun blurring the faces of people in their street view images. The “new face-blurring technology” […]
Many B2B search marketing programs are designed to generate online registrations, inquiries, and leads. Typically, something of value (such as a white paper, product demo, or presentation) is offered in exchange for personal contact information. Today I’ll offer three tips to enhance the value of these downloadable assets and generate more online registrations.
When you hear the phrase “in-house SEO expert” or “in-house SEO,” certain things immediately flash to mind. There’s the glamour bits built around the perceptions fostered from hearing of six-figure salaries, or direct involvement in big projects and depth of contact many in-house search marketers seem to have within the executive workings of their companies. […]
Reports are that Carl Icahn has acquired about 3 percent of Yahoo’s shares, apparently in hopes of taking over the company. And then? Well, you know — maybe go back to Microsoft. Except Microsoft may no longer want to talk, plus that poison pill of a Google-Yahoo ad deal still lurks out there. More below, […]
A new survey from ClipBlast! about how people find video content has started a discussion about search and how it relates to entertainment content. In the survey, ClipBlast! asked 1000 online consumers if they had a preferred method for finding video content on the Web. Of those surveyed, almost half had no preferred method, indicating […]
As the competition in search becomes more sophisticated, refining tactics becomes more important than ever. For online retailers, bidding by margin is all but essential. Every firm has a different marketing objective: some look for maximum ROI and some are willing to spend to break even in hopes that future orders will drive the profit, […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web
If you’re using Digg as a linkbaiting tool, then you’re perceived as a villain. Everyone from Digg itself, to the community, to other self-proclaimed social media experts thinks you’re the bad guy. Even though good linkbait provides value to the community (because who doesn’t like remarkable content?), if they know you’re putting up the […]