The New York Times reports that Google is losing Andrew McLaughlin, Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs, to the Obama administration. He'll be the administration's deputy chief technology officer, serving below the recently appointed CTO, Aneesh Chopra. McLaughlin has been with Google since January 2004. His earlier work included time as VP and Chief Policy Officer for ICANN. Google's ties to the Obama administration are no secret. Last fall, CEO Eric Schmidt endorsed and campaigned with Obama, then turned down the CTO job while serving as an advisor to the President-elect. [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Google: Business Issues | Google: Employees

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Finally, Yahoo 360 To Be Shuttered In JulyMore than 18 months after first saying that Yahoo 360 would close, the company has finally announced a date: July 13, 2009. Why the delay? Yahoo’s announcement says they’ve been looking for a way to preserve its users’ content: “Before we could retire 360, we had to find a sustainable and adequate solution for your personal information. [...] Open Letter To Google & The AP: Reveal [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | SearchCap

More than 18 months after first saying that Yahoo 360 would close, the company has finally announced a date: July 13, 2009. Why the delay? Yahoo's announcement says they've been looking for a way to preserve its users' content: "Before we could retire 360, we had to find a sustainable and adequate solution for your personal information. We know how important your blog entries and profile information is to each of you, and we wanted to be able to maintain the integrity of this content." Yahoo 360 users will be able to blog on the recently beefed up Yahoo Profiles, or can use an export [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Yahoo: Business Issues

Discussions between Google and the Associated Press about renewing their content licensing deal continue, I assume, but all's quiet recently on the negotiation front. I want to disrupt that. It would be wrong in this particular case for both parties to reach a deal where "terms are not disclosed." The future of journalism, as well as Google's own reputation, deserves for things to open up. After threatening a lawsuit against Google several years ago, AP won its first licensing deal with Google in 2006. Google was at pains to stress this wasn't a deal designed to gain the rights to mere [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Features: Analysis | Google: Business Issues | Google: News | Legal: Copyright | Legal: Crawling & Indexing | Top News

This week at Google I/O, Google talked a lot about the evolution of the technological capabilities of the web. HTML 5 is ushering in new era of browser-based development and applications. Eric Schmidt, Google CEO, kicked things off with, "My message to you is that this is the beginning of the real win of cloud computing, of applications, of the internet, which is changing the paradigm that we’ve all grown up with so that it just works … regardless of platform or hardware you’re using." Which is great and all, but if "the web has won", as Vic Gundotra, VP of Engineering at Google procl [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Features: Analysis | Google: APIs | Google: SEO | Google: Webmaster Central | SEO: Flash | Top News

While SEO is a part of our daily lives, the process of digging into keyword research hasn’t gotten any easier. Yet, as we know, keyword research is critical to any SEO effort. While you may find the process of uncovering and selecting the most appropriate keywords for optimizing your site to be fairly painstaking, it doesn’t have to be. Using information from your site’s search box can save you time and provide additional keywords for consideration. Compiling a list of keywords to use in SEO traditionally entails discovering the terms people are searching for on search engines, how o [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | How To: SEO | Search Marketing: Search Term Research

Ever since Microsoft Excel beat Lotus 1-2-3's butt to become the world's preferred spreadsheet solution, it has never looked back. It's hard for any search marketer to think of a world without Excel. I tell rookies new to the industry to move themselves a tiny bed into cell A1 because they're going to be practically living in Excel for the rest of their careers. Seriously though, search marketers who can master the ins and outs of this "simple on the outside, sophisticated on the inside" tool, will certainly have a leg up on their peers. I would hope that most of you have been exposed to a [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | How To: PPC | Search Marketing Toolbox

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 Street View Trike: An iPhone Orchestra at Yahoo: A Cute Google Girl (Not my Girl): Cinco de Mayo at Yahoo:: Google Hacky Sacks: David Filo @ Open Hack London 2009: The Google Birthday Box: [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | Search In Pictures

Mike Arrington thinks that Google engaged in "a little stealth black ops mission" and blunted the full impact of the Ballmer Bing announcement yesterday by announcing Wave. Whether Wave represents a huge new development in digital communications remains to be seen, but almost every major news outlet had to cover it and divide its attention between Bing and Wave. Indeed, many journalists and bloggers were physically divided between the AllThingsD conference near San Diego and Google's developer event I/O in San Francisco. Arrington also cites the lack of access to Bing/Kumo as a PR mistake. [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Google: APIs | Google: General | Google: Marketing | Google: Other | Microsoft: Bing | Microsoft: Business Issues | Microsoft: General | Top News

Do you regularly use Google's Wonder Wheel? How about SearchWiki, Yahoo Correlator or Search Monkey? I'm guessing about 95% of you said no. And you're no ordinary group of searchers . In terms of search literacy, you'd be ranking in the top 0.1% of the population. In a randomly assembled group of 1000 people, you'd stand out as the expert on web search. It's the reason you actually take time out of your day to read a column on search behavior. Believe me, normal people don't read this stuff. Even Geeks don't tweak search I like all of the above search refinements. They make the user expe [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Content | Search & Usability

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google’s New Wave Of AmbitionI’m in the Google Wave press conference, following a dizzying keynote — dizzying, at least, after a night of little sleep. As he did yesterday Google co-founder Sergey Brin joined the discussion and similarly apologized for arriving late. Danny live blogged the keynote earlier this morning. He jokingly compared Wave to Lotus Notes. In some respects [...] Live Blogging Google WaveBack at the second keyn [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | SearchCap

I'm in the Google Wave press conference, following a dizzying keynote -- dizzying, at least, after a night of little sleep. As he did yesterday Google co-founder Sergey Brin joined the discussion and similarly apologized for arriving late. Danny live blogged the keynote earlier this morning. He jokingly compared Wave to Lotus Notes. In some respects that's not an entirely inappropriate comparison, given the scope of the product and the emphasis on collaboration -- though the Google folks would probably disagree. Wave seems to be conceived as a total communication and collaboration to [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Google: General | Google: Gmail | Google: Labs | Google: Mobile | Google: Orkut | Google: Outside US

Back at the second keynote of Google I/O. We were promised something absolutely awesome and we got it. Steve Ballmer announcing Bing on stage. Oops, that's D. This is about a new collaboration tool. Oh, and I'm live blogging this, and I've had no sleep (see Bing above), so who knows where it's all going. Oh my, Vic just said this is going to take an hour and a half. I only have half a bottle of Diet Coke. Vic says the product is magical. We'll be stunned. And the two people who made it worked on Google Maps. We won't believe this can be done in a browser. Three Ps -- it's product, pla [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Google: Code Search

Microsoft's new search engine is no longer a secret, it is named Bing and we already have a few stories up now, including Microsoft’s Bing Vs Google: Head To Head Search Results and State Of Search: Google Will Stay Strong Despite Bing & Yahoo. We thought it would be useful to find quotes from Microsoft's CEO, Steve Ballmer, on Bing. I am pulling my quotes from the live blog coverage from AllThingsD, Barron's Online and News.com. "Today, search engines do a decent job of helping people navigate the Web and find information, but they don’t do a very good job of enabling people to use [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Microsoft: Bing | Microsoft: Business Issues

The speculation is over. Microsoft's search engine officially has a new name, Bing. The name, along with some new features, opens the latest chapter in Microsoft's quest to best Google in the search engine wars. If you're expecting Bing to be a Google-killer, reset your expectations. The most dramatic change, in my view, remains the name itself. I can't say that Bing is the best of names, but neither is it the worst. It's certainly better than the "Live Search" moniker that's resonated with few, including even those at Microsoft itself. The new name, along with $80 million in mark [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | Features: General | Microsoft: Bing | Top News

Just because a product -- toothpaste, laundry detergent, whatever -- calls itself "new and improved" does not mean consumers will abandon a brand that they already use and like. Microsoft's new search engine Bing faces this same challenge in taking on Google. Google's not broken; people like it, and there's no compelling reason for them to switch to Bing, much less the more established Yahoo. Consider this a "state of the major search engines" from my perspective -- how they're likely to fare against each other in light of Microsoft's latest salvo in the search wars and Yahoo's weake [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Features: Analysis | Google: General | Google: Web Search | Microsoft: Bing | Microsoft: Marketing | Top News | Yahoo: General | Yahoo: Search

Let's just get it out of the way: no, Bing is not a "Google Killer." It's also safe to say that Microsoft doesn't see it that way either. My understanding of what Microsoft believes it has in Bing is a much more competitive product than Live Search. I entirely agree. Over the course of the next two or three weeks there will be countless articles and blog posts discussing Bing and whether or not it can dethrone Google. Microsoft has told me that the company sees Bing as a start (or restart) and that improvements will continue to roll out over time. One can be skeptical of that position or no [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Microsoft: Bing | Microsoft: Marketing | Microsoft: Other Search | Top News

If you've been waiting to register for SMX Advanced, now is the time. As of this morning, there were 10 tickets left. Register now online or call (877) 242-5242 to secure your spot. Once the tickets are sold, we'll create a waiting list and contact people on that list if/when spots become available. If you already have your ticket for SMX Advanced, we're looking forward to seeing you next week! Remember that the opening Meet & Greet reception kicks things off Monday evening at 6PM. Pick up your conference badge and materials and join us in the Bell Harbor's Odyssey Museum to say "hi" t [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | SEM Industry: Community | SMX & DMD Alerts

Not do be outdone by Live Search adding sports scores, both Yahoo and Google added some of their own. Keep in mind, both Google and Yahoo have had sports scores in the search results, but both have made additions to theirs. Yahoo has added a way to search for your favorite sports team. For example, a search on Chicago Bulls returns this Yahoo Shortcut: Google has added Tennis stats and scores, according to [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Google: OneBox, Plus Box & Direct Answers | Google: Web Search | Yahoo: Search | Yahoo: Shortcuts

As businesses become more virtual in organization and structure, and more workers become digital nomads, the question of  whether having a physical, real-world address on your website will have any effect on your rankings becomes more important. In this article I'll take a look how a real world address can have some impact on your sites organic listings. Let's look at the auto repair sector. We'll be looking at national chain/franchises, whether they have a corporate address in the footer or on the site, public or private whois data, does the whois data match and do they have a crawlable/i [...]

Related Topics: All Things SEO | Channel: SEO | How To: SEO | Legal: Clickfraud | SEO: Local