Delicious, the popular social bookmarking site that Yahoo wanted to get rid of, has been acquired by the founders of YouTube, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen. Could it be a first step for the duo to jump into the search space? From the press release put out by AVOS, the company run by the duo (note, you might not get to the release, as the AVOS site appears to have crashed): Delicious will become part of AVOS, a new Internet company.... Going back to their roots, Hurley and Chen located Delicious in downtown San Mateo, California, blocks away from where they started YouTube. They’re aggr [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Yahoo: Delicious

When formulating strategies and tactics for organic search, some of the most difficult questions that arise are related to conversion of organic search traffic. Are you targeting keywords that will bring not only traffic, but converting traffic, to your site? Is your page meta data optimized not only for high rankings, but for high clickthrough rates when your site's snippets do appear highly in organic search results? How can the target page for any given keyword be manipulated to improve conversions from organic search? Data from paid search campaigns can help answer all these question [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Analytics | Search & Conversion

After Yahoo's 1st Quarter 2011 earnings call, quite a bit is being written about whether the Microsoft-Yahoo deal is a failure or success for Yahoo. In my opinion, the more compelling question to ask is:  has the deal been a success for search engine marketers -- especially those in-house? The Results Nothing screams marketing success like direct paid search revenue, and many search marketers aren’t seeing the same kind of revenue generation with Microsoft that was experienced with Yahoo. There are many confounding factors as to why any individual paid search account might be doing better [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Search | In House Search Marketing

With management changes and numerous other efforts Google is trying to "get back to its startup roots." So how about a video from when Google was really a startup. On the Xooglers blog (and below) is a video of a "TGIF meeting." Taken in 1999 by Doug Edwards, who was then the director of consumer marketing and brand management for Google, it almost plays like a scene from the NBC show "The Office." The video presents a pretty routine employee meeting: announcements are made, some new employees are introduced and an informal birthday party happens. According to Edwards' blog post the comp [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Google: Employees | Google: General | Top News

The 600-million strong Facebook community presents unprecedented opportunities for marketers. Attend aimClear Facebook Marketing Intensive June 9 in Seattle for cutting-edge free optimization techniques and paid Facebook advertising best practices. At Facebook Marketing Intensive, you’ll learn to: Effectively target your ideal market segments Establish realistic marketing KPIs and boost your campaign results Create killer Facebook ads to drive traffic and conversions Keep your reputation in tact with latest techniques and tools Integrate Twitter with Facebook for cross-pr [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | SEM Industry: Conferences | SEM Industry: Search Marketing Expo - SMX | SMX & DMD Alerts

A Quora thread noticed that Google Real Time Search is now including more sources beyond Twitter, Google News, Buzz and other sources. The new additions appear to be from Quora.com, Gowolla, Plixi, Me2day, Twitgoo and some others. Public Facebook profiles and fan pages have been included for a while. So to update our Google Real Time source list, here is our revised list: Twitter tweets Google News links Google Blog Search links Newly created web pages Freshly updated web pages FriendFeed updates Jaiku updates Identi.ca updates TwitArmy updates Google Buzz posts MySpace u [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Google: Real Time Search | Google: Web Search

Last week's Yahoo earnings report showed another decline in search revenues for the once-strong search player, and it's blaming the latest figures on the Microsoft relationship. Is this right? What could they do better to attract marketers, and more of their dollars, to the search alliance? I reached out to a few folks who live and breathe search marketing to find some answers. Poor Traffic Quality The most common factor cited for lower revenues was the poor quality of Yahoo traffic, especially from the company's partner network. "The emerging reality [is] that the depth and quality of Ya [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Features: Analysis | Microsoft: Bing Ads | Top News | Yahoo: Business Issues

Wondering when that next tablet or smartphone will be coming out? We do, too! To keep track, here's a rundown of what we know about particular devices. Devices below are listed roughly in order of release date. I'll add more items over time. This isn't a complete list of all coming gadgets out there. Far from it. Rather, it's mainly a list of devices that have caught my attention and which might be of interest to Search Engine Land readers in general. It's also focused on US releases. Sorry, but that's where I based. ASUS Eee Pad Transformer: Out April 26 (and already sold-out online a [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile | Features: General | Gadgets

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: 50 Percent Of Those Exposed To Mobile Ads Took ActionGoogle today released findings of a smartphone-user study that the company did with Ipsos OTX at the end of 2010. The sample consisted of 5,000 US adults who owned a smartphone and accessed the mobile internet. Most of the findings reinforce other studies that show how widely people now rely on smartphones across a spectrum [...] How To Use 3 Competitive Intelligence PPC ToolsWant to feel lik [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | SearchCap

Google today released findings of a smartphone-user study that the company did with Ipsos OTX at the end of 2010. The sample consisted of 5,000 US adults who owned a smartphone and accessed the mobile internet. Most of the findings reinforce other studies that show how widely people now rely on smartphones across a spectrum of interests and needs. Coming out of the research Google identified three major consumer usage patterns in the data. It described those the following way: Action-oriented Searchers Local Information Seekers Purchase-driven Shoppers Heavy Usage at Home, with [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile | Google: Mobile

Want to feel like a super-spy while learning valuable secrets that can help grow your client’s business? Here’s how you do it:  invest your time and money in PPC competitive intelligence and please shhh ... don’t tell anyone. As the auction grows more expensive and more complex, it’s critical to have a view into your client’s competitors paid search program, otherwise you’re fighting blind. The simple truth is, PPC is a competition. You’re competing for the world’s most valuable inventory and for the top positions in an auction that you can’t just win with a wallet, bu [...]

Related Topics: Beginner | Channel: SEM | How To | How To: PPC

Google is about to launch a premium video on demand service through YouTube that will directly challenge iTunes, Netflix, Hulu and even cable TV. In the past YouTube tested video rentals (and has continued to do so) but the titles were limited and the results have been muted. The new service appears to be called "YouTube Store." At right is a cached image (taken from the link). The new YouTube movie rental service might start as soon as next week according to reports. It apparently will offer films from several of the major Hollywood studios and a number of independent distributors. Para [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Video | Features: General | Google: YouTube & Video

This article is really part three of our Link Building Foundational Blueprint series, and will focus on using content to attract links. Here are parts one and two. There are many ways to generate links using content, you're probably familiar with article writing, guest blogging, link bait, white papers etc. All of these content tactics are fine and still work, but since they're talked about frequently, I won't go into the basic mechanics behind each. Instead, let's take a look at a handful of tips and twists you can use with these foundational tactics to generate additional links. Use W [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | How To | How To: Links | Intermediate | Link Week

In the past month, Google's +1 has been the most hyped Social feature that Google has launched to date, as it has the potential to compete with Twitter and Facebook. A less noticed launch during this same time included social changes to Google's Latitude product, which have also been launched to help Google compete with Foursquare. Google took its cutting edge "Latitude" product and appended a deals/check-in element to it. Much like Foursquare, these new updates allow for users to gain status at different locations as well as "unlocking" offers. The Basics One main component to k [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Search & Social

Google is sporting another special logo today, this one honoring the 226th birthday of John James Audubon. Audubon, of course, was a nature-lover who focused on studying and painting/chronicling birds all across North America. In 1905, more than 50 years after his death, the National Audubon Society formed in his honor. Today's Google logo doesn't sport the interactive elements that some recent ones have had, but it's certainly true to Audubon's painting style. Audubon's biography page on the society's website, which is the first result searchers see if they click the logo, has b [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Google: Logos

After several months of anticipation Facebook is launching its second deals program: Social Deals. The new effort more closely resembles Groupon-style daily deals, with several twists. The original "Facebook Deals" is now being called "check-in deals" to distinguish it from the new program. Check-in deals are free to users; they're mobile centric and operate like conventional coupons. By contrast Facebook's new Social Deals, like Groupon or LivingSocial, must be purchased up front using money or Facebook Credits (the first use for real-world products/services). You actually buy a voucher th [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Facebook | Top News

Google is now showing Instant Previews -- small thumbnails that show when a user mouses over an ad -- for all search ads, presumably helping to qualify consumers before they actually click-through on an ad. The feature has been in testing for at least a week or so. The company is touting the new functionality as a win-win for consumers and advertisers. Consumers get a sneak peek at the landing page before they click through on an ad, and advertisers don't have to pay until the users actually click through. Once they do click-through, they're presumably more interested in the advertisers [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords | Top News

How badly does Yahoo want to skip ahead to the forefront of media and social check-ins? Badly enough to spend a reported $20 to $30 million to buy TV check-in service IntoNow, which launched its iPhone-based service just 12 weeks ago. IntoNow's main "secret sauce" is the proprietary "Soundprint" technology that recognizes television shows by their audio -- it says it has more than five years of 130 channels of U.S. based programming in its databases. The idea is to make it simpler for people to share their viewing habits with friends on Facebook or Twitter. Users running the app press a gre [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Yahoo: General

Two of the biggest names in search are on the 2011 TIME 100 -- the magazine's choices for the most influential people in the world: Google CEO Larry Page and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. In the short Zuckerberg essay, April Capone - the mayor of East Haven, Conn., tells the story of how she donated a kidney to one of her constituents who had put out a call for donors on Facebook. The Page profile has Stanford computer science professor Terry Winograd remembering what it was like to have both Google co-founders (Page and Sergey Brin) in class. At the top of the TIME list is Wael [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Facebook | Google: Employees

Demand Media sites have suffered an estimated loss of about 40% of overall Google traffic since the Panda/Farmer update took effect. That's according to new Experian Hitwise statistics measuring outbound traffic from Google to other sites, and reported today by Forbes. The Hitwise numbers suggest that about 0.57% of all outbound Google traffic went to Demand Media sites in early January, but that's dropped to 0.34% as of April 23rd. That's an overall loss of 40% when measuring outbound/downstream traffic from Google. On an individual basis, Hitwise includes these Demand sites and their e [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Content Farms | Demand Media | Google: SEO | Google: Web Search | Panda Update Winners & Losers | Top News