Former Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz will be remembered mainly as a cost cutter who outsourced numerous functions to third parties. A partial list of those includes outsourcing Search to Microsoft, Shopping to PriceGrabber, Real Estate to Zillow and Maps to Nokia/Navteq. And now, the new Nokia-powered Yahoo Maps (NokiHoo) have just gone live in the US and Canada: maps.yahoo.com; espanol.maps.yahoo.com; ca.maps.yahoo.com and qc.maps.yahoo.com. NokiHoo maps are also available in other places around the world, such as Europe, but Yahoo doesn't have the data or has incomplete data outside of the ar [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Local | Top News | Yahoo: Maps & Local | Yahoo: Outside US | Yahoo: Partnerships

For those of you who read my columns regularly, you know that I’m fascinated with watching the paid search industry develop. Having been one of the lucky ones who fell into this marketing niche early on, I’ve seen it grow from a little seedling into a giant oak. In fact, one of the major draws for me to SEM was that it was a gold rush to new territory. Appealing to my Gen X trailblazer sensibility was the fact that there weren’t a bunch of stodgy gray-hairs telling us how it was supposed to be as many of my peers were discovering in their established career paths. No hard rules. No [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Search Marketing | Search Marketing Toolbox

The first login to a Google Analytics account can be daunting. There are so many things to see, and so many different ways to tweak data, that deciding which are the most important metrics to watch can be an insurmountable decision. Ultimately, in my opinion, you are the only one who can decide what metrics and reports are important to your business. Some websites don't collect money but do send traffic to other sites, or collect subscriptions or email sign-ups as a form of conversion. Some do collect money, but it's just a small portion of their business; the phone call may really be co [...]

Related Topics: Beginner | Channel: Analytics | Google: Analytics | How To: Analytics | Search & Analytics

Mike Halvorsen has set up a special competition this November to help raise money for Prostate Cancer Foundation and Livestrong. The competition is on growing a mustache and both Google's Matt Cutts and Bing's Duane Forrester are participating. Duane blogged about it on the Bing Search Blog saying, "Schema, Sitemaps and ‘staches: What do they have in common?" Nothing really, except that those involved in schema and sitemaps are participating in this competition, known as Movember. Here are the rules: On Movember 1st, guys register at Movember.com with a clean-shaven face. For the rest of [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | SEM Industry: Community

This morning Alex Moss reported a weird bug with Google Analytics where going to the "landing page" or "exit page" reports and clicking on the URL would pop open a random site, instead of the URL of that page. Here is a screen shot shared by @SEOsherlock. Alex Moss claimed this was a privacy issue within Google Analytics. I didn't see how this can necessarily be translated into such an issue, so I asked Google for a statement. A Google spokesperson confirmed this is a bug but is in no way a privacy issue, the page that opens for some users (I cannot replicate it myself) is complete [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Analytics | Google: Analytics

Now it's possible to learn about your online audience, through "IP Intelligence" that provides geographic and technographic targeting. Learn about the tremendous opportunities that IP Intelligence offers marketers, including the ability to target ads without using third party cookies -- a major plus when it comes to privacy issues. [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | Sponsor Messages

Fresh on the heels of a free pass from a befuddled congress after admitting that they are a monopoly, Google’s decision to cloak search query strings under the guise of privacy makes it clear they are doubling down on their abusive, anti-competitive practices. Consider the following points: Cloaking the referrer and the query string it contains severely hampers publishers and competing ad networks' ability to monetize site traffic while Google gets to keep all the data and use it to target. The Google display network already had an enormous advantage over competitors. Google is using [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Features | Features: General | Google: Privacy

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: AdSense Publishers Get Display Reporting By NetworkGoogle has long allowed approved third-party networks to serve inventory into its AdSense display network, and now it says publishers will begin to get reporting on impressions served, earnings and performance by network. The third-party networks in AdSense are enabled via Google’s DoubleClick Ad Exchange, and the system aims to let publishers to serve the [...] Google+ Adds Popular Stories, Po [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | SearchCap

Google has long allowed approved third-party networks to serve inventory into its AdSense display network, and now it says publishers will begin to get reporting on impressions served, earnings and performance by network. The third-party networks in AdSense are enabled via Google's DoubleClick Ad Exchange, and the system aims to let publishers to serve the highest value impression with each pageload, therefore earning the highest amount possible. Publishers can block by network via the AdSense interface. Networks participating include Rocket Fuel, Dotomi, Quantcast, Turn, AdRoll.com and [x+ [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdSense | Google: AdWords

Today Google announced a flurry of new features for its fledgling social network, Google+.  The new additions include popular content on Google+, analytics for public shares called "Google+ Ripples,"  creative kits for photos and accounts for Google Apps users.  Here's a bit of info on each of the new items: "What's Hot" - Popular Content On Google+ Google's new "What's Hot" feature brings popular information from around Google+ to all users.  This new feature will help those who are tired of scrolling through their circles to discover good information.  "What's Hot" will be found on 2 [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Google: Google+

SEO consultants like me usually get called in at an advanced stage of website development. Design elements are already in place, graphics created, page structure determined, even selling and lead generation processes finalized before the owner or manager invites us over to "slap SEO on" to their creation! Is that because to many of our prospective clients, SEO is a purely technical issue unconnected to marketing? Personally, I don't think that's correct. At all. True, there is a technological side to any SEO plan. But the strategy setting and business analysis components that draw upo [...]

Related Topics: All Things SEO | Beginner | Channel: SEO | How To | How To: SEO

Performics is anticipating mobile to be a significant platform in holiday shopping for US consumers. The firm said that "Google search clicks from mobile devices are now 14.2 percent of all search clicks." Performics expects the paid clicks coming from mobile to grow to 17.3 percent this December. For its part, Google has projected that "44 percent of total searches for last minute gifts and store locator terms will be from mobile devices this holiday season." Performics also believes that tablets (iPad) will play a significant role in search and shopping this holiday season: The wi [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile | Google: Mobile | Stats: General | Stats: Search Behavior | Stats: Size | Top News

When launching a new marketing initiative, you often set a benchmark or baseline against which you measure success. You can gather a "baseline" before you make improvements, pick a number out of thin air or compare yourself to the industry average. Since neither picking a number out of thin air nor delaying improvements while you gather a baseline is ideal, finding an industry benchmark is a good way to begin. In fact, the Direct Marketing Association publishes an annual guide to the "Average Direct Marketing Response Rates" across various marketing channels. For example, here are the s [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Analytics | Credit Is Due

To get us in the holiday spirit, let’s start with some stats: Mobile shopping is expected to grow by 40 percent year-over-year, and according to the latest Google trends data, 15 percent of search queries during the holiday season are expected to come from mobile devices. Based on a study conducted by Admob and featured on the Google Mobile Ads blog, more than 33 percent of smartphone and tablet users actually plan to begin their holiday shopping before Thanksgiving this year. Need more proof? Greg Sterling delved further into the "remarkable" mobile projections last month. So, [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Retail | Search & Retail

A new survey from Harris Interactive, sponsored by CityGrid Media, confirms what many already know: Search is the dominant way people look for local business information -- online. On mobile devices, review sites have equal influence. The telephone survey was conducted in August among just over 1,000 US adults. Slightly less than 60 percent (59 percent) of survey respondents said that search engines were the first place they go when researching local businesses. That number increased to 83 percent for those under 35 years old. Less than 10 percent (8 percent) said they visit the merchant's [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile | Search Engines: Maps & Local Search Engines | Search Engines: Mobile Search Engines | Top News | Yelp

Google Operating System blog reports Google search is testing a new design for tablets. The new design places the various search vertical options across the top instead of placing them in a drop down menu. The new interface also has a settings button to access advanced search and SafeSearch settings. In July, Google launched a new tablet design and now it appears Google will be launching yet another tweak to the design for tablet users. Here is a picture of the new design from the Google Operating System blog. Here is a picture of the current design: For more pictures, s [...]

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

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 Will Google See $6.25 Billion In Mobile Ad Revenue Next Year? Organic Click-Thru [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | Search Week

Yelp is off the hook, again. A judge has thrown out a class action lawsuit filed against Yelp that alleged the company tried to extort small businesses by promising to remove negative reviews in exchange for money. As we reported when the suit was first filed in February 2010, the plaintiffs -- which included a veterinary hospital in Long Beach, California -- claimed that Yelp's sales team said it would remove a "false and defamatory review" only if the vet bought advertising at about $300 per month. As CNET points out, that original suit was dismissed earlier this year and the plaintiffs w [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Local | Legal: General | Yelp

Every holiday season for retailers is filled with trepidation. There’s what retailers know. And then there’s what they think they know. This year, retailers know e-commerce sales will be up. What they think they know (or admit they can’t predict) is how the huge shadow of the sluggish economy will impact their season. It’s the great unknown. The season’s wild card, if you will. First, let’s review some numbers and predictions for the coming months. According to comScore, the 2010 holiday season reached $32.6 billion, setting an all-time record. Now, the US Department of Co [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Display | Search & Display

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Cats & Dogs Living Together: Bing Promotes FirefoxIf you ever wanted proof that Microsoft has learned that for Bing to succeed, it needs to spread its wings beyond Microsoft, look no further than today’s news that Bing is offering “Firefox With Bing.” That’s right, Microsoft is pushing a rival browser to its own Internet Explorer. Firefox With Bing In a blog post [...] Google Tweaks Competition Rank In AdWords Keyword Too [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | SearchCap