Ecommerce

Google’s “Show More Results” Link Goes Contextual

It seems like Google has changed the way they handle the “show more results from” feature, by removing the simple HTML link to a site command feature and by dynamically opening up several more results, within the same search results page. They are using an AJAX (JavaScript) driven plus sign box that adds an additional […]

Link building

SearchCap: The Day In Search, July 31, 2009

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Dear Senator (and Texas Gubernatorial Candidate) Kay Bailey Hutchinson, Here’s A Free Crash Course On SEO standybykay.com, the “Kay Bailey Hutchinson for Governor Official Website” put up by “Texans for Kay […]

SEO

SMN Webcast August 4: Andrew Goodman On PPC Campaign Automation

Next Tuesday, August 4 at 1 PM EDT, Search Marketing Now presents a webcast with Andrew Goodman on “PPC Campaign Automation: Bid Management, Alerts…the Works!” Not only will attendees benefit from Andrew’s PPC expertise—but three lucky attendees will win an Acquisio tee-shirt at the end of the webcast (and yes, you have to be “present” […]

Apple

Want Solid SEM Benchmarks? This Report Has Them By The Boatload

Each year, Marketing Sherpa compiles an exhaustive look at the state of search marketing. Each year, these reports grow more comprehensive, reflecting the continuous change and evolution of our industry as it grows up. This year’s report is no exception. The Marketing Sherpa 2009-10 Search Marketing Benchmark Report is 213 pages, and is divided into […]

Bing

What Micro-Hoo Might Mean For Local Search

As the dust begins to settle on the Microsoft-Yahoo search deal, we’re finding that this week’s announcement raised as many questions as it answered. The companies told Danny and Greg that the agreement covers “web, image, and video search.” But what about the many search verticals that Yahoo and Microsoft are involved in? These are […]

SEO

Dear Senator (and Texas Gubernatorial Candidate) Kay Bailey Hutchinson, Here’s A Free Crash Course On SEO

The “Kay Bailey Hutchinson for Governor Official Website” put up by “Texans for Kay Bailey Hutchison, Allan Shivers, Jr., Treasurer” over the weekend in support of Kay Bailey Hutchinson for Texas governor was briefly in Google but now appears to be completely missing. Huh. Odd since Bing seems to have indexed it just fine, although […]

Content

Bing + Yahoo: What Does It Mean For Users?

The deal is done. Microsoft has swallowed Yahoo search whole and we can all be put out of our long, lingering misery. Yahoo has given up on search and thrown in the towel. But, outside this industry and our incestuous little gossip circle, what does it really mean for average folks? Does it make a […]

Google

Google Expands “Search Options” For Web & Image Search

Google Operating System spotted two new Google search options including custom date ranges web search and advanced image searches directly on the left side navigation. When Google first launched search refinements in the “search options” section, they did not allow you to add a custom date range. Now you can, here is a picture: It […]

Google Ads

Google Removes “Beta” Label From New AdWords Interface

Google announced they have removed the beta label from the new AdWords interface. Google has been testing the new interface since November 2008. They continuously expanded the test to more and more advertisers over time and are now confident enough that it works right. Google added that along with removing the beta label, they will […]

Platforms

SearchCap: The Day In Search, July 30, 2009

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: SMX East Agenda Posted: All the Search Marketing Topics for All Skill Levels Come to Search Marketing Expo – SMX East for content so compelling, you may be implementing what you’ve […]

Local

Yahoo Improves Local Search Results With More Business Info

Yahoo has announced a nice change to the way it shows local search results for businesses. The Local Shortcut, which has always indicated things like how many reviews/ratings a business has, is now expanded to include the actual text of those reviews and other information like photos and driving directions. All of this is available […]

Local

How Many Categories Should A Local Business Have?

When dealing with someone, the first thing that you want to know, is who that person is. In the SMB world, this boils down to what category a local business belongs to. In the old days of the yellow pages, consumers were used to knowing search the pages for, and media companies were used to […]

Google Ads

Google Rolling Out Bid Simulator

Barry originally wrote about AdWords Bid Simulator early last month. The tool shows you estimated costs, impressions, position and clicks tied to bid price. It’s now apparently rolling out to more advertisers. Image credit: E-Commerce Circle The irony is that Panama had a very similar feature when it launched, using a slider to show increased […]

Bing

The Microsoft-Yahoo Search Deal, In Simple Terms

What a day! Still trying to digest all the news about the Yahoo Microsoft search deal? So are we. While answers are still coming in, here’s what we know so far. NOTE: The deal has now been approved. See Yahoo & Microsoft Receive Go Ahead To Implement Search Deal. In a nutshell, what just happened? […]

Link building

SearchCap: The Day In Search, July 29, 2009

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: A Search Eulogy For Yahoo And then there were two. Make no mistake, Yahoo’s out of the search game. I know the spin. Better user interface, new ways to innovate, a […]

Bing

A Search Eulogy For Yahoo

And then there were two. Make no mistake, Yahoo’s out of the search game. I know the spin. Better user interface, new ways to innovate, a winning play. Let’s not kid ourselves. They’re done. Not today, not necessarily in a year, but down the line at some point. Done. And it’s sad, because they were […]

Advertising

Micro-Hoo Details: Q&A With Mehdi & Schneider

Danny and I had an opportunity to talk with Microsoft SVP Yusuf Mehdi and Yahoo EVP Hilary Schneider earlier this morning. Both were instrumental in the deal and will be deeply involved going forward. They characterized the parties’ search integration as a long-term partnership, which implies ongoing cooperation and a high degree of collaboration. We […]

Bing

Microsoft-Yahoo Deals 2008 & 2009, Side-By-Side

We’re about to do a call with Microsoft and Yahoo for more details about their proposed search deal. As part of that, I wanted to outline what we know so far and how that compares to the deal Microsoft made last year. At first glance, Microsoft is getting a huge bargain courtesy of the US […]

SEO

SEO BS: Avoiding And Responding To The Big Surprise

I recently encountered this tweet from Aidan Beanland, a Regional SEO Manager at Yahoo!: When the SEO manager is the last to know about a new site section that’s already live –> big fat FAIL. This is, unfortunately, such a common occurrence for SEO managers that it should have a name:  the Big Surprise (conveniently […]

Ecommerce

Collecta Upgrades Video, Image Results

Collecta has announced improvements to its handling of images and video in real-time search results. The company says it’s now including video feeds from 12seconds, Qik, and uStream — three popular video sharing services. On the image side, Collecta says it has “enhanced” how it handles photos posted to TwitPic and yFrog, two of the […]

SEO

Ask.com’s IAC Revenue Drops 10%, Revenue Per Query Down

Ask.com’s parent company reported second quarter earnings, which showed an overall decline in revenue of 4% for the overall company, but dipped 10% in the media and advertising category, the category Ask.com fits into. IAC said revenue per query declined because of an “improved experience on Ask.com following its relaunch in October.” The relaunch has […]

Content

How Social Media Monitoring Can Benefit B2B

B2B Marketers, stop guessing and start monitoring! Social Media, that is. By monitoring social communities, you can better understand where conversations are taking place, by whom, and the topics being discussed. Learn more about your customers’ needs, wants, issues and frustrations – then integrate these findings into your search marketing program. This can help strengthen […]

Google

Google AdSense Radio Ads & Microsoft Bing Travel TV Commercial

Google has been recently promoting AdSense over the radio, in fact, @AdSense tweeted about the radio commercial, asking if “you heard it, and where.” A Google spokesperson confirmed the AdSense radio ads in a statement to Search Engine Land: Google is currently running radio ads to promote AdSense. AdSense is an innovative program that helps […]

Bing

Live Blogging The MSFT – YHOO Search Deal Press Conference

Microsoft and Yahoo are making it official: a deal about search. And to share the news, they’re gathering thousands of their closest friends to a press conference at 5:30am Pacific time today. Having been awake now for nearly 30 minutes, I’m just itching to get in and live blog this puppy. So come along for […]

SEO

7 Tips To Boost Brand Reputation In Search Via Corporate Responsibility

Despite the economic quagmire we’re in, consumers’ brand expectations are up – especially when it comes to corporate responsibility. Given that, marketers should capitalize on these expectations by leveraging their corporate responsibility initiatives as a means to boost brand reputation in the search results. Why you should care In slower economic periods such as we’re […]

Paid social

Search At Core Of New Twitter Home Page

As promised last week, Twitter has launched its new home page with a new focus squarely on search and discovery. The new design invites you to “see what people are saying about…” by using the search box. Below that are three rows of popular topics: by the minute, day, and week. In a post on […]

Advertising

Reports: Micro-Hoo Search Deal Coming Within 24 Hours

There are reports coming out of the Wall Street Journal and AllThingsD that a search/ads deal between Microsoft and Yahoo will be announced within the next 24 hours. According to the Journal’s coverage: The likely deal, which has yet to be approved by either company and could still be delayed further, involves Yahoo agreeing to […]

Apple

SearchCap: The Day In Search, July 28, 2009

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 Gets Its Affiliates On, Summit-Style Watching Shawn Collins of the Affiliate Summit conference tweeting about a big party at the Googleplex last night, I wondered what was up. Turns out […]

Google

Google Gets Its Affiliates On, Summit-Style

Watching Shawn Collins of the Affiliate Summit conference tweeting about a big party at the Googleplex last night, I wondered what was up. Turns out folks were being entertained as part of Google’s own Google Affiliate Network Client Summit. Whoa. Is that new? Nope. Google tells me this is the 5th annual summit they’ve held. […]

Link building

Betting On The Link Building Boondoggle Bonanza

I recently read Is Most Of SEO Just A Boondoggle? and the subsequent comments and attacks on the author Jill Whalen, and it’s become my own tipping point. Enough is enough. Every word of that column was right on the money. It’s just rare (and welcomed) for a well known expert to state in a […]

Content

Google Gets Into “Addressable TV” With Visible World

Google’s TV Ads platform is getting some help from a company called Visible World, which offers demographic and geotargeted advertising across different media types. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal this morning: Google Inc. is teaming up with Visible World Inc., a well-known New York technology company that uses software to create […]

Bing

Microsoft Hopes To Improve Bing With Page Hunt Game

MIT’s Technology Review reported on a new game designed by Microsoft, designed to help make Bing a better search engine. The game is named Page Hunt and it asks users to submit search queries that they think the site presented to them, should show up for, in Bing. The results are then scored and players […]

SEO

Yahoo! Syncs Mobile Homepage With PC

Last week Yahoo launched its new homepage, which allows users to customize the site and improves overall usability. The centerpiece of the recently launched Yahoo homepage is My Favorites, the new customizable left column that allows users to add third party content and make it more of a personal “dashboard.” The Yahoo mobile browser homepage, […]

Paid social

Why You Should Get Involved With Social Shopping: E-commerce 2.0

Social shopping relays an e-commerce method of traditional shopping in which consumers shop in a social networking type of environment. Social shopping sites reflect users’ personal tastes and allow for online conversation. Visitors can learn what’s popular, get shopping ideas, and follow links to products they wouldn’t necessarily find on their own. Using the wisdom […]

Google

AOL Value Sinks: Google Sells 5 Percent Interest For $283M

In anticipation of a spin off/IPO for AOL, TimeWarner bought back Google’s 5 percent interest in the company for $283 million dollars. Google originally purchased the equity stake in AOL in 2005 to preserve its search relationship with its largest partner and fend of Microsoft, which was seeking a potential deal with or acquisition of […]

Google Analytics

SearchCap: The Day In Search, July 27, 2009

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Geekynomics? Finding The Hidden Government Within Google’s Magic Money Machine Joseph Heath, a philosophy professor at the University of Toronto, has published the timely Filthy Lucre: Economics for People Who Hate […]

Get the must-read newsletter for search marketers.