Collecta, the real-time search engine that launched in June, has announced a set of upgrades to its site today. The most noteworthy is the addition of a social sharing/bookmarking tool that lets users share or save a Collecta search on any of six social media sites, including Twitter, Facebook, and StumbleUpon. Collecta has also modified its search results display so that the user avatar or web site logo appears next to the search result. You can see that in the middle column above. One other new feature is a message box on the search page that allows Collecta to communicate direc [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Search Engines: Real Time Search

Search and online marking firm 360i published findings from a small but structured test of how the "Caffeine" search infrastructure changes could affect results and ranking on Google. As Vanessa Fox wrote when Caffeine went public earlier this month, there apparently would be a number of changes in the ordering and content of results. As she observed in that post, "Google Caffeine will cause quite a kerfluffle in the web developer and search engine optimization world and many will dive in to try and figure out the changes." This is precisely what 360i has now tried to do. The company evalua [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Google: General | Google: Universal Search | SEO: General

For over two years now, Microsoft's search engine has been generating fake information that can make site owners think they're getting strange search traffic (including porn traffic), when they are not. It's time for this to come to an end. The culprit? Microsoft's "crawler," the software that visits web pages across the web that go into the search engine. The crawler is known as MSNBot, from the days when the recently renamed Bing search engine was known as MSN Search. When that crawler gathers a web page, it sometimes leaves behind "referrer" information in a web site's logs -- fake refer [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Microsoft: Bing | Microsoft: Bing SEO | Top News

Darrin Ward noticed Google is displaying a form of Sitelinks in the AdWords ad position. I personally see it myself for a search at Google for [staples.com]. Here is a screen shot: This seems to be some sort of extension of the one line site links or the product plusbox feature. I will ask Google about this, but I expect the response to read something like, "We are continuously testing ways to improve the search experience with our search ads." Postscript: Here is the official Google statement on this test: As part of our ongoing commitment to help users find the information th [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Google: AdWords | Google: Sitelinks

As an in-house SEO, where does the legitimate scope of your activities end, and those of somebody else begin? Are you being a useful and valid contributor, or simply poking your nose in where it doesn't belong?  What is rightfully within your scope may surprise you.  Successful search engine marketing requires you to collaborate with individuals in diverse roles, and embracing these collaborative opportunities enables you to contribute in numerous ways to the success of your company's web-based initiatives. At a fundamental level, you need to engage with a wide variety of people to ensure [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Search | In House Search Marketing

We’ve all heard it before... Content is King! In the SEO world, one of the best ways to boost a website’s ranking is to have an abundant amount of unique, valuable content on your site. But, what do you suggest when the CEO or marketing team does not want to add keyword-rich content to your site? Perhaps they want to keep the copy light, or focus on impressive graphics - yet, they also expect improved search results. Anyone working in the SEO industry, in-house or at an agency, knows that content really is essential, but quite frankly, this may not matter to marketers or executives. S [...]

Related Topics: B2B Search Marketing | Channel: Search

A company's brand is its cornerstone. Given that, building your brand requires a balance of marketing efforts across various channels. Fortunately, search and social media are great ways to build your brand today. Social media's role in branding More than ever before, a company's brand is influenced by what consumers are saying about it online. Blogs, search engines, and social media sites have a strong impact on public opinion. Unlike the past where marketers could push their brand messages to consumers, the control has flipped and consumers are actually driving the opinion of brands. C [...]

Related Topics: Brand Aid | Channel: Strategy

Danger, thy name is Jessica Biel! No, we're not turning Search Engine Land into a celebrity gossip blog ... we're talking about the risks of searching online for certain celebrities. And, according to a McAfee report issued today, Jessica Biel is the most dangerous celebrity on the web, passing last year's master of search disaster, Brad Pitt. McAfee explains the risks involved in being a search engine-using fan of Jessica Biel: "Fans searching for "Jessica Biel" or "Jessica Biel downloads," "Jessica Biel wallpaper," "Jessica Biel screen savers," "Jessica Biel photos" and "Jessica B [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Legal: Security

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: The Curious Case Of Google’s Bizarre UK Search ResultsResults from all over the world have been appearing in Google.co.uk search results pages. Matt Cutts explained this was all good because Google wants to become more relevant and .com results might be more relevant in some cases. But UK SEO’s believe there is more. The results are in many cases not relevant at all. Is Google broken? Or is it something else? Google Now Using You To Prov [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | SearchCap

Results from all over the world have been appearing in Google.co.uk search results pages. Matt Cutts explained this was all good because Google wants to become more relevant and .com results might be more relevant in some cases. But UK SEO’s believe there is more. The results are in many cases not relevant at all. Is Google broken? Or is it something else?

Related Topics: Channel: Other | Features: Analysis | Google: Outside US

Search Week is an exclusive weekly newsletter for Search Engine Land premium members that recaps stories covered on Search Engine Land over the past week. Below are top stories organized by topic that happened over the past week. Each topic (or Search Engine Land column) is also a link, where you can click through and drill into the Search Engine Land members library to find other stories in that area. Because some stories are listed in more than one category, you may see them repeated. Top News Which Internet Yellow Pages Site Has The Best Rankings?Google Tops In Search Satisfa [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | Search Week

Search Week is an exclusive weekly newsletter for Search Engine Land premium members that recaps stories covered on Search Engine Land over the past week. Below are top stories organized by topic that happened over the past week. Each topic (or Search Engine Land column) is also a link, where you can click through and drill into the Search Engine Land members library to find other stories in that area. Because some stories are listed in more than one category, you may see them repeated. Top News After Buying Performics From Google, Publicis Buys Razorfish From MicrosoftDone Deal: [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | Search Week

Google is now using location-enabled mobile phones that have Maps for mobile installed to improve its real-time traffic data. According to the Google Blog: If you use Google Maps for mobile with GPS enabled on your phone, that's exactly what you can do. When you choose to enable Google Maps with My Location, your phone sends anonymous bits of data back to Google describing how fast you're moving. When we combine your speed with the speed of other phones on the road, across thousands of phones moving around a city at any given time, we can get a pretty good picture of live traffic conditions. [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile | Google: Maps & Local | Google: Mobile | Google: Outside US | Legal: Privacy | Top News

People will tell you it's no longer possible to obtain links by asking for them via email. Spend even a little time reading the SEO/SEM blogs, forums, comments, etc., and you'll find a reasonable and well-meaning  post, something like this beauty I read over at the UK version of TechCrunch. "The days of asking a site to link to you politely are long gone" Darn.  I wish someone had told me. I could have saved several clients some money and spent more time with my family. The reality is the exact opposite. While it is pointless to seek links (via email or any other method) for crappy cont [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Link Week

This morning Yahoo announced that it was acquiring Maktoob.com, "the leading online community in the Arab world." According to Yahoo the site has an audience of 16.5 million people. The purchase price has been estimated at between $75 and $100 million and was apparently in the works before the search deal with Microsoft was announced last month. Yahoo said the acquisition is part of a larger strategy to grow its audience in emerging markets and become the "destination of choice" in those locations. Yahoo described its Maktoob rollout strategy in in a blog post: Initially, we’ll plan to [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Google: Outside US | Microsoft: Bing | Microsoft: Outside US | Microsoft: Partnerships | Yahoo: Business Issues | Yahoo: Outside US

Visiting Google today, you might notice a telescope as the Google logo. If you click on the logo, you are taken to a search result on Google for Galileo's telescope. 400 year ago today, in the year 1609, Galileo Galilei demonstrated his first telescope. The Google logo, aka Doodle, reminds us of that time in history. Here is the Google Doodle: You can read more about Galielo's contributions and the telescope at his Wikipedia entry. [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Google: Logos

Just days after it was launched, Google Street View is now under attack in Switzerland. On Friday, a Swiss privacy official issued a statement demanding that Google "immediately withdraw its online service Google Street View concerning Switzerland." Thuer apparently did some Street View browsing of his own and felt that Google hadn't adequately blurred license plates and people's faces. According to InformationWeek, the Swiss complaint came as a surprise. "We were surprised by the FDPIC's announcement. We have been engaged in constructive dialogue with the organization ahead of [last] w [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Local | Google: Street View

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Yahoo’s New Search Clothes — But Will It Help? (Probably Not)Less than a month after seeming to pull out of the search game by announcing a search outsourcing deal with Microsoft, Yahoo seems to be doing a push to prove it still has search chops. The latest are new user interface changes to search results that are now being tested. Proof that Yahoo [...] Google Testing Navigational Search ElementsI have noticed two blogs picking up on [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | SearchCap

I have noticed two blogs picking up on what appears to be some sort of navigational data being added to the Google search results snippet. The Red Cardinal blog posted screen shots, as did Rob Hammond at his blog. Google has confirmed this is indeed an experiment they are running, a "site navigation experiment," they told me. Google did clarify that this data is being generated from Google and not being taken from a third-party source. Google promised to keep me posted on how this experiment progresses. Here are screen shots from those blogs mentioned above: The site URL are [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Google: User Interface | Google: Web Search

Less than a month after seeming to pull out of the search game by announcing a search outsourcing deal with Microsoft, Yahoo seems to be doing a push to prove it still has search chops. The latest are new user interface changes to search results that are now being tested. Proof that Yahoo can win in search with a focus on UI? Yahoo says yes -- I say no. Below, a look at the new features. Yahoo's done a long conference call about search changes today, as detailed in our Live Blogging Yahoo’s Product Call post. Beginning today, millions are to be included in a test of the new search f [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Features: General | Top News | Yahoo: Search