Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Offensive Michelle Obama Image Returns, Google Buys Ad To ExplainGoogle is buying ads to explain why an offensive image of the First Lady is back in its index and ranking so highly on searches for Michelle Obama in Google Image Search. As we reported last week, Google had originally removed the Michelle Obama image on the grounds that the site hosting the image violated [...] Free Trip To SMX—Win The 2nd Annual Biggest Search Geek Contest!Wa [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | SearchCap

Google is buying ads to explain why an offensive image of the First Lady is back in its index and ranking so highly on searches for Michelle Obama in Google Image Search. As we reported last week, Google had originally removed the Michelle Obama image on the grounds that the site hosting the image violated Google's guidelines by serving malware to visitors. But the same image remained available on other sites that hadn't run afoul of the rules. Google's ad, shown above, leads searchers to http://www.google.com/resultsinfo.html, which apologizes to users who've "had an upsetting experienc [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Did You Know? | Features: Analysis | Google: Images | Legal: Censorship | Top News

Google Product Search is rolling out three new features today, a new shopping "OneBox" that features popular products in certain categories of searches, a summary of product reviews and a "gallery" view option of products. Popular Products OneBox In the "normal" shopping OneBox, Google lists a variety of products along with an estimated price and number of stories it sees the product sold as, as you can see in the example for "digital cameras" below: That search shows five different camera models. A new experimental box is being tested where fewer products are listed, such [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Retail | Google: Product Search | Top News

Google has offered local coupons for a couple years now, but the response has never matched the promise. Neither business owners nor local searchers have embraced coupons as much as many thought they would. Maybe this will change things? Google has announced the availability of mobile coupons. All new coupons created in the Local Business Center will be mobile-friendly, and local businesses can edit their existing coupons to also be available on mobile phones. In theory, it sounds promising and logical -- shoppers would welcome the chance to use their phones for in-store discounts, [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile | Google: Maps & Local | Google: Mobile

Google announced they have purchased Teracent, a company that uses machine learning to show the different display ad creatives based on dozens of factors. Google bought them to improve and better automate the display ad side of their ad serving technology. Google said: We think that this technology has great potential to improve display advertising on the web. That's why we're pleased to announce today that we've entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Teracent. The transaction, which is subject to various closing conditions, is expected to close this quarter. This can be used to [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Google: Acquisitions

In this post I'm combining two search trends reports: early Q4 search spending data from SearchIgnite and excerpts from a terrific Q3 local search spending report from WebVisible. Both show gains by Bing. The WebVisible report also shows significant improvements by Yahoo. Based on "41 million clicks on Google, Yahoo! and Bing during Q3-Q4 of 2008 and 2009," SearchIgnite found that Bing is doing well with retailers (and e-commerce consumers): Retailers have spent 47% more on search ads on Bing in Q4 this year than during this same time period in 2008, with Bing now accounting for 8% of all [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Local | Search Marketing: General | Search Marketing: Local Search Marketing | Stats: General

Boycott Microsoft Bing by Nicholas Kristof at the New York Times claims Microsoft is "sacrificing the integrity of Bing searches so as to cozy up to State Security in Beijing." It is believes that Microsoft is censoring their search results to appease the Chinese government. Microsoft responded to this criticism with their blog post named committed to comprehensive results. Microsoft said they fixed a bug over the summer and discovered a new bug over the weekend with image search and using Simplified Chinese characters outside of the PRC. Microsoft said the "bug" will be fixed before t [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Legal: Censorship | Microsoft: Bing | Microsoft: Outside US

One wonders how much the branding consultancy Wolff Olins was paid to help create America Online's new "brand identity." Over the weekend the about-to-be-independent company revealed its new brand and brand philosophy. The major change (so far) is the move from uppercase to lowercase letters: from "AOL" to "Aol." Here's how the release describes that new identity: The new AOL brand identity is a simple, confident logotype, revealed by ever-changing images.  It’s one consistent logo with countless ways to reveal. The new brand identity will be fully unveiled on December 10, when AOL common [...]

Related Topics: AOL: General | AOL: MapQuest | AOL: Video | Channel: Video

Quick: Are you a digital marketing pro? If so, complete this sentence: In the future, advertisers will combine online media with mobile ads to drive:____________. What did you put in the blank? Let me guess. Branding, combining rich online experiences with mobile mini-experiences? E-commerce, as more people surf the Web using both devices? Coupons and promotions, taking advantage of the new, mobile media? Let me try a radical idea out on you: In the future, advertisers will combine online media with mobile ads to drive... wait for it... Phone calls! Here’s [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Local Search | Search Ads: Pay Per Call

Want to make a recession-resistant career move? Consider going to work as an in-house search marketer. According to the second annual SEMPO in-house salary survey, compensation for search marketers working on behalf of a single organization actually increased during the past year, despite a turbulent economy that took a toll on many other types of online marketing. "With the economy in the longest recession of decades, it’s heartening for our annual in-house salary survey to substantiate that search engine marketing is the employment bright spot in sales and marketing," said SEMPO Preside [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Strategy | SEM Industry: In House | SEM Industry: Stats | Top News

Traffic value varies widely not just by the words users type into the search box, but whose search box they use. Syndication network partners vary in quality and giving advertisers control over how much they pay for traffic from each would be a win for the advertisers and the engines.

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Paid Search

It's back, the prospect that Microsoft might try to make Rupert Murdoch happy by offering a "get listed with Bing" exclusive deal. Later, I'll revisit the topic in a coordinated fashion. But for now, I've collected a number of thoughts I've put out on Twitter, in blog comments and elsewhere. First, I'll point readers back to my post from earlier this month, Why An Exclusive Wall Street Journal (or News Corp) Deal Wouldn’t Help Bing. I still suspect that News Corp’s most valuable news content of all its properties remains the Wall Street Journal. So what happens if the WSJ is out of G [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Content | Features: Analysis | Google: News | Microsoft: Bing News Search | Top News

Google hosted something of a formal "status update" on Chrome the operating system in Mountain View on Thursday. There we discovered the company is open-sourcing the code. We also found out it's intended as a netbook OS (for now) and that Google is working with several hardware partners to create a better netbook experience (full-sized keyboard, slightly larger screen). We also learned it's intended to be a secondary or supplemental machine, not a primary computer. That positioning is very important. Google Product VP Sundar Pichai wouldn't discuss the hardware partners involved with Chr [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile | Features: Analysis | Google: Chrome | Google: Mobile | Top News

Avinash Kaushik is Google’s well-known and widely respected analytics guru. In this wide-ranging interview, he talks about his passion for metrics, why they’re critical for success, and how search marketers can use analytics to take their campaigns to the next level.

Related Topics: Channel: Analytics | Features: General | Google: Analytics | Google: Employees | How To: Analytics | Top News

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Search In Pictures: Google México Party, One Republic @ Google & Pineapple 5KIn 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 Appears To Be Testing New Local AdWords PresentationMike Blumenthal received a screenshot that seems to show a test of a new presentati [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | SearchCap

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 México Campus Party: One Republic at Google: Y! Logo Flowers: Our Vanessa Fox Running the Pineapple 5K (hope she doesn't kill me for this): [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | Search In Pictures

Mike Blumenthal received a screenshot that seems to show a test of a new presentation of Google local/geotargeted AdWords. Mike suggests this may be an expression of AdWords local extensions: This is AdWords and not Local Listing Ads, but the presentation (with the blue pushpin) is similar, signifying a local business or a physical location. Here is an example of Local Listing Ads: Postscript: Here's another image from a Chicago result sent to me by Jason Normoyle: [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords | Google: Maps & Local

We have covered many of the search ad keyword lawsuits aimed between competitors or directly at the search engines in the past. Nowadays, it seems like a new suit around this topic is filed weekly. Typically these suits go after trademark violations and the like, but a new suit is focusing on a privacy legality. Suit over search-engine keywords tries new angle from the Associated Press reports Habush Habush & Rottier is suing Cannon & Dunphy for buying their name on Google and Bing. Habush Habush & Rottier is taking the privacy angle, where in Wisconsin there is the "right-to-privacy st [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Legal: Copyright | Legal: General | Legal: Trademarks

Cyber Monday is one of the most important (if not the most important) day to paid search professionals in America, and I've got some great tips and tricks to share on how to make the most of it. But first, I thought I'd share some history of the term I found at Wikipedia: The term "Cyber Monday" is a neologism invented by Shop.org, part of the U.S. trade association National Retail Federation. It was first used within the e-commerce community during the 2005 holiday season. According to Scott Silverman, the head of Shop.org, the term was coined based on research showing that 77% of online [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Search | Search Marketing Toolbox

Hey news publishers. Stop acting as if your content only appears printed on dead trees and tap into the dynamics that the web offers. That's a blunt summary of advice from Josh Cohen of Google News, from a wide-ranging interview with him on Google's experiments with new ways of delivering news. Cohen, business product manager of Google News, says Google has no ultimate solution for the future of news online. It does have a vision of a super personalized news product that tracks someone's "read state" and keeps them constantly informed with updates. But to turn that vision into reality [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Content | Features: Analysis | Google: News | Top News