SearchCap: The Day In Search, November 20, 2008
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
Google will announce today (Update: official announcement) the launch of SearchWiki, a major addition to its user interface that allows users to edit search results. When using SearchWiki, you can re-order, remove, or add web pages to the search results for any query. You can also add notes to specific listings. You have to be […]
The Google AdWords blog took the proactive approach and blogged about a beta test they are running on a small group of AdWords users. The beta is a new user interface for the AdWords management console.
Thanksgiving is almost here, and as the McGee family sits down at a table full of turkey, stuffing, and potatoes next week, we’ll do our regular Thanksgiving tradition: From A-Z, each family member takes a letter and shares something s/he’s thankful for this year. In that same spirit, here’s a list of things that small […]
Change. It is a part of life, especially on the web. Evolve or die. But some things need not change to be successful. In some cases change undermines your momentum, particularly in the field of search, where most of the traffic goes to the top couple ranked sites. One of the biggest problems in the […]
Yahoo’s oneSearch will be the “default” search engine on T-Mobile’s new Web2Go portal. Yahoo has such a relationship with T-Mobile in Europe already. In the US, Yahoo also provides mobile search to AT&T. Verizon and Google are battling for similar “default” status on Verizon handsets. Both Google and Microsoft have a relationship with Sprint.
Ars Technica reports Microsoft is now trying a new way to incentivizes searches, this time in Canada. Microsoft launched Big Ticket Search to influence Canadians to search using Live Search. Canadians can win wide range of prizes, ranging from 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer SE to gift certificates. Every time a Canadian searches at Big Ticket Search, […]
The Google Blog announced they will be discontinuing Lively, Google’s Virtual World project. In short, they said that Lively is simply “not going to pay off” and that they will be closing it down by the end of December.
Yahoo has announced that Glue Pages are now live in the US market. Barry wrote about Glue when it first appeared in India. Glue Pages are essentially structured search results, pulling content on particular queries or topics from a range of sources: Wikipedia, news, Yahoo Answers, image search, blogs (in some cases) and video. There […]
Business-to-business (B2B) blogging is be a great way to forge relationships, talk with customers and prospects, demonstrate thought leadership, and dramatically increase visibility in natural search results for targeted search terms. Done right, it ultimately drives substantial traffic when others in the media and blogosphere link to compelling or noteworthy content. Yet the Fortune 500, […]
More than 100% ROI. 31% increase in brand awareness. 30% increase in web site traffic. 22% increase in online conversion rates. Does your search marketing agency hit those milestones? If so, you’re a “best in class” company according to a new Aberdeen Group study, What Does it Take to Create Best-In-Class Search Engine Marketing? Aberdeen […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
Coming just 24 hours after the resignation of Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is saying publicly that Redmond is “open” to a “search collaboration” with Yahoo but not a total acquisition of the Sunnyvale company. The Wall Street Journal and Seattle PI report on the remarks, made during a Microsoft shareholder meeting. […]
Life is full of tough choices: Mac or PC? Mastercard or Visa? Bud Lite or Miller Lite? And choosing between two good options is never easy, as each has its own merits. Similarly, marketers have been faced with the same kind of tough choice when choosing their website design strategy: Enhance the website’s appearance with […]
The venerable local arts and entertainment guide Citysearch, which has, in the last couple of years, confronted a new generation of challengers (mostly notably Yelp), launched a broad redesign last night. The comprehensive new site introduces the ability to get more listings and content at the neighborhood level, allows users to sign in using Facebook […]
A New Odd Couple: Google, P&G Swap Workers to Spur Innovation from the Wall Street Journal reports that Google and Procter & Gamble are engaging in employee swapping. Google is known to have a very relaxed and free work environment, while P&G is known to have a very strict and rigid environment. P&G’s employees often […]
Google released a new keyword tool tonight, named the Search-Based Keyword Tool. This tool goes beyond what the other Google tools provide and tells you what keywords you are currently missing out on based on search query data from your site’s content. I spoke with Google’s Baris Gultekin, Business Product Manager about the tool. Baris […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
By almost doubling its spending on lobbying, Microsoft managed to kill the Google-Yahoo ad deal and may also have saved itself millions of dollars on a Yahoo buyout. That’s the case made by Declan McCullough today on CNET. McCullough explains that Microsoft spent about $12-$14 million per year on lobbyists between 2005 and 2007, but […]
Yesterday, while I was in Hancock Fabrics, a woman standing in front of me told the cashier she loved the store’s discussion forum. She said it helped her more than once and turned to it whenever she had a problem or was looking for ideas. What made the conversation interesting was the fact the woman in […]
In July Yahoo! launched their BOSS API, which enables you to “build your own search service”. Today, they’ve expanded the functionality of that API by adding a Key Terms feature. The technology used in Key Terms is the same used for Search Assist, which provides search suggestions and enables searchers to explore concepts related to […]
TimeWarner and Google have announced that starting today Google will make available millions of images from the Life Magazine photo archive. The vast majority (97 percent) of these images have never been seen by the public (they were sitting around in physical envelopes). These are hard-copy photographs that have been or are being scanned by […]
Wait, they already have. PaidContent posted a fairly comprehensive roundup yesterday of possible successors to outgoing Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang. (Yahoo is up in early trading on the news of Yang’s resignation, which was received favorably by most financial analysts.) PaidContent also poses the question: will the board go with a tech executive or a […]
The Google Mobile Blog announced that the Google Mobile iPhone App, now with voice search, is finally live as an update in the iTunes App store. So I downloaded this morning and decided to offer you a video demonstration of how it works. Before showing you that, let me link you to some of the […]
Yahoo has announced that Jerry Yang, Yahoo’s founder and current CEO, will be stepping down from the CEO role after Yahoo finds a successor. Jerry will resume his former role of Chief Yahoo when the new CEO comes in. All Things Digital has posted the email Jerry sent out to the company; I will include […]
In my Ad Age column last month, I joked about Google taking a “drill, baby, drill” approach in rolling out more ads everywhere on its properties. Now the latest ad reservoir to be tapped: Google Finance, as announced today on the Google Blog. You’ll find a new box as shown above sporting ads on the […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
From the “How Not To Promote Yourself” file: Google is advertising its Google Maps service on the New York subway system with a few well-placed ads that give directions between points of interest in the city. Only the directions they’re giving aren’t always right. As AdAge points out, one ad tries to help people find […]
As promised in Wall Street Meltdown: 11 Ways It Affects Digital Marketers, I’m wrapping up with a continuation of the 60,000 foot view of our industry in light of current economic turmoil. No doubt I’ll get back to the close-up view next time, but for now, to get all the bad news talk behind us, […]
Google looks to users’ needs from the Australian IT reports that Google’s Stuart Smith, their new strategic planning director of Google’s Creative Lab in New York, is seeking to change how Google develops its products. Instead of Googler’s developing things they personally find useful, Google seems like they may change that process to see what […]
Alex Chitu has compiled a list of Google’s iPhone-made and optimized web sites. So, if you want to view them on your own browser, you can, but understand that they look a lot better on your iPhone’s browser. Here is the list of URLs Alex came up with for Google’s iPhone specific web software:
AllThingsD reports that Yahoo’s previously announced 10 percent reduction in force (layoffs) is set to begin on December 10. However, the post also says that chief Yahoo, CEO Jerry Yang, is not considering leaving his post for now. (NOTE: See update, Jerry Yang Stepping Down As CEO; Resuming Chief Yahoo Role). Yahoo stock is hovering […]
Cost consciousness. Budget cuts. Workforce reductions. Hiring freezes. We’re beginning to see signs of the economic Armageddon everywhere. What a great time to be a search marketer! No, really. I’m serious. Because whatever the economic climate or business objective, search marketing is flexible enough to support it. Don’t get me wrong, I feel your pain. […]
Fires are burning in Southern California once again. Here’s an update on how to find maps of where the blazes are: NOTE: For the latest fires, see this fire maps section of Search Engine Land, where any updates are listed. Los Angeles Times: Watch the newspaper’s Google Maps account here for the latest maps. Most […]
Yesterday, arguably the top tech story of the day was Google’s introduction of voice search for its iPhone app. As of this morning, the updated app still isn’t available in the iTunes store (that’s not Google’s fault). I spoke yesterday afternoon with Google’s Mike Cohen and Gummi Hafsteinsson about the app and how it would […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
I’ve been writing monthly articles for Small is Beautiful for about almost a year now, offering observations and insights into what we’ve seen working with small and medium sized businesses from the front lines but will be winding down a bit in 2009. Our focus is still very much on serving the SMB advertiser, but […]
When Google went public in August, 2004, co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin made no secret of the company’s disdain for how the Wall St. system of analyst ratings and recommendations works. They wrote a letter saying they had no interest in trying to manage analysts expectations and keep Wall St. happy on a quarterly […]
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.
Are our brains being rewired by using the Internet? The evidence tends to be pointing that way. As somebody interested in how the mind works, I read with interest the results of a recent study at UCLA that used the sexiest research tool around today, fMRI scanning. fMRI allows researchers to see which parts of […]