Local

Google StreetView Goes To London

Google Maps is global, so why not Google StreetView as well? A London expansion is suggested by this image of one of the vehicles that takes the 360 degree street images. (Google has done some of the photography itself, but also uses partner Immersive Media in the U.S.). StreetView image collection is apparently underway in […]

Google

Deconstructing Google’s Billboard Experiment

Last week’s coverage of Google’s Goog-411 billboard in Olean brought forth a number of other sightings of the billboards in San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose, Ca. & Tonawanda , Buffalo and Limestone (even smaller than Olean) NY. While there may be others yet to appear and more billboards coming from Google, the very specific […]

SEO

Searcharazzi: Bubble About To Burst?

As fall settles in, another chill is in the air. Rumor has it that a top tier search and interactive services shop is about to have a management shake-up. M&A in the space appears to have slowed down as shops that should have taken their first offer decided to keep on trucking. So what exactly […]

Google

Google Buys Mobile-Social Site Zingku

Google Operating System reports (and confirms) that Google has acquired a mobile service called Zingku, which had been in private beta. Around since 2005, the service uses text messaging and picture messaging to provide a platform for (what appears to be) entertainment and events-related communication but also has commercial potential. Zingku also integrates the desktop […]

Content

MarketingSherpa Report: Challenges To Bringing Search In-House

MarketingSherpa has just released the fourth annual edition of its Search Marketing Benchmark Guide. The Guide is a comprehensive benchmark for all things related to search marketing, including things such as expected search spending for 2008, how search ROI stacks up against other tactics, difficulty in SEM staffing, new ways to evaluate clicks and click […]

Google

Senate Hearing On Google-DoubleClick & Post Office Metaphors

After all the buildup to yesterday’s hearing in the US Senate on the Google-DoubleClick deal, the actual hearing itself sounded to be a bit anti-climatic. Below, a look at what was said and how it doesn’t seem like it will influence the ultimate decision by the US Federal Trade Commission one way or the other.

Local

Coupons Coming To AskCity

Ask has partnered with IAC sister company EPI, publisher of “The Entertainment Book,” which offers coupons and discounts to local businesses. Entertainment, which has had several false starts with online distribution, is planning to pump 75 percent of its coupons into AskCity. They may also eventually make their way to Ask.com’s SmartAnswers and finally into […]

Content

Should A Small Business Blog?

More and more small businesses are starting blogs on the Web, and it’s a positive development, if done correctly. One of the benefits is the chance for business owners to hold a conversation with potential clients, and with people who may be interested the services, or goods that the company offers as well as with […]

SEO

Marchex Relaunches OpenList As Broad Local Search Destination

Marchex has been making lots of moves in local lately. It recently acquired VoiceStar to add PPCall and call tracking functionality to its advertising capabilities. It launched 100,000 local content sites featuring search and browse functionality, making an otherwise static domain portfolio into a much more compelling local and vertical network of sites. And the […]

Content

Listen To The Google-DoubleClick Hearings Live

If you have curiosity, a vested interest or just have a lot of time on your hands, you can listen live to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearings today considering the implications of the intended acquisition of DoubleClick by Google (courtesy of Gary Price, who has instructions on a couple of ways to listen in). […]

SEO

Google To Keynote At SMX Local & Mobile

I’m delighted to announce that Michael T. Jones, Chief Technologist of Google Earth, Google Maps, and Google Local Search, will be delivering the keynote address on Monday at our inaugural SMX Local & Mobile Conference in Denver. Michael will be offering an inside look at Google’s various local and mapping services, and will also talk […]

Apple

Yahoo Podcasts To Close; The Sorry State Of Podcast Search

Sigh. As someone who produces a podcast — and who has enjoyed searching for podcasts when going on roadtrips — I don’t get why podcast search isn’t more supported by the major search engines. Yahoo Podcasts, rolled out with promise back in October 2005, now sports a message at the top of the page saying […]

SEO

Avoiding Clueless-Is As Clueless-Does SEO

Sometimes I think SEOs have lost the plot. Not all SEOs, mind you, but many, especially the newbies. It’s like they don’t understand the reason for doing the SEO things that they know they need to do. I think many walk around with a checklist of SEO-type duties and set off to do them, yet […]

Google

Google Birthday Logo: Nine Years Old

The Google home page is sporting the special logo above, celebrating the company’s ninth birthday, with one of the Gs turned into a nine. But wait? Didn’t Google just turn 10? Google Is 10 Years Old? Finding The Real Google Birthday that I posted earlier this month covers how yes, Google’s domain name turned 10 […]

Content

Search People In Video From Reuters

Greg recently mentioned that Reuters have launched a new video/people search engine powered by Viewdle, and I’ve been playing around with it. While it has some drawbacks (currently it’s only possible to search through 612 hours of footage held by Reuters), it has a lot of features that I like. The results screen tells you […]

Bing

Microsoft Introduces New Live Search Index, Adds Features In Effort To Close ‘Relevancy Gap’ And Improve User Experience

Compete and Nielsen show Microsoft gaining search share over the summer, while comScore and Hitwise show the company losing share. Regardless of these numbers, however, Microsoft is confident that the search engine it’s reintroducing tonight in conjunction with its Searchification event will be a substantial improvement of the current version of Live search. Vanessa Fox […]

Bing

Live Blogging: Microsoft Searchification Day 2007

I’m sitting at the Microsoft conference center for Searchification Day. We’re within walking distance from the Googleplex, where I was for Google Searchology Day just a few short months ago. Searchology was all about Google’s unveiling of universal search, and interestingly, today could be seen as Live’s answer to that. As Nathan Buggia, Product Manager […]

SEO

Now Accepting Speaking Pitches For SMX Stockholm & London

I’m now accepting speaking proposals for these two shows: SMX Stockholm 31 October-1 November, 2007 Sheraton Stockholm Hotel SMX London 15-16 November, 2007 Hilton London Metropole Please note that the agendas are final for both shows, and I will only consider pitches for specific panels (Stockholm agenda; London agenda). There are a limited number of […]

SEO

Yahoo Search Updating Index & Algorithm

We have been noticing reports from several sources of a Yahoo Search index and algorithm update. It is important to note that Yahoo has not yet posted their “weather report” at the Yahoo Search Blog yet. However Aaron Wall, Loren Baker and several forums have noticed major changes at Yahoo Search.

Bing

Microsoft Hoping aQuantive’s McAndrews Can Outfox Google

With the aQuantive acquisition now done, Microsoft is moving to try and thwart Google on multiple fronts, both competitive and regulatory. It is lobbying in the U.S. and before the EU to stop the DoubleClick acquisition, arguing it would create an online ad monopoly. And the longer the investigations, discussion of investigations, and hearings (which […]

SEO

AOL Relaunches WAP Portal, Starts Broader Mobile Push

AOL is quickly and quietly moving on a number of fronts in mobile to establish itself as a leader. Not long after the relaunch of rival MSN’s WAP portal, AOL upgraded mobile search and, last week, relaunched its WAP portal with more personalization and generally greater usability. According to this BusinessWeek article, “U.S. traffic to […]

Content

Integrating SEO & PPC: Three Pitfalls To Avoid

Chances are, your search marketing efforts could be missing as much as 80% of your target audience. Don’t believe me? It’s true. Why? It’s fundamental. Most search marketers agree that about 70%-80% of all clicks come from the natural (organic) search results, while the other 20%-30% come from sponsored listings (PPC). Yet despite these stats, […]

Content

Google Alerts Adds Google Video Alerts

The Google Blog announced they have added Google Video into the bundle of search verticals that Google Alerts will work with. Google Alerts will send you an email when a keyword match occurs on one of the 6 types of alerts you configure. The alerts are supported for News, Web, Blogs, Comprehensive (News, Web & […]

PPC

Education Is Vital For In-House Search Marketers

Education is very important to in-house search engine marketers—it’s the only way you can hope to keep up with the scrappy entrepreneurs who are constantly pushing the envelope with new tactics and techniques. There are many routes that you can go to get your education, but you should understand that in a constantly changing field, […]

Content

Search Illustrated: Geo Targeting Search Strategies

Are you reaching the right people with your search optimization and marketing campaigns? Even though we’re living in an increasingly globalized world, it often pays to tailor content and optimization efforts to specific regions. Today’s Search Illustrated shows a number of ways that your web sites can be geo targeted for particular areas of the […]

Google News

AdWords Quality Score: Can Your Business Model Be Banned?

Let’s get this uncomfortable truth out of the way up front: Google’s actions, manifested through a variety of methodologies to rank (and sometimes ban) listings and content, have regularly irritated, angered, and alienated some webmasters, website owners, and advertisers. The outcry is more vociferous if you can give an initiative, a cute name, and get […]

SEO

Open Directory Launches The Official DMOZ Blog

The Open Directory just launched the official DMOZ blog. The first blog post explains that DMOZ wants to use this blog to: Provide authentic messages about DMOZ and the efforts of our volunteer community. Highlight enhancements, both current and future. Allow editors to showcase their categories and describe, in their own words, why DMOZ is […]

Microsoft

Microsoft Dilemma: Facebook Or Yahoo (Or AOL)?

The NY Post is reporting that Microsoft is weighing two big investment options: buying a 5 percent stake in Facebook (at rougly $500 million), which was widely reported yesterday, or buying some or all of Yahoo. But the options are probably mutually exclusive, given the earlier $6 billion acquisition of aQuantive.

PPC

New York Times’ Marshall Simmonds: Poster Child Of SEO Success

Marshall Simmonds of the New York Times is, to me, the SEO of the hour right now. For an industry often mischaracterized as doing nothing but blog spamming, Marshall’s work as chief search strategist to institutionalize SEO as part of the regular editorial production at the New York Times lead directly to last week’s news […]

Content

Is Wikipedia’s Community Editing Model About To Die?

Gary Price picked up on a major change coming to the German Wikipedia, where only “trusted editors” will be able to make instant changes to the online community-driven encyclopedia. This change is coming to the German Wikipedia later this year, and it may follow suit on the English version of Wikipedia as well as other […]

SEO

The New Digg & What It Means For SEO

Last week Chris Winfield did a great job reviewing the new Digg. Today, I want to discuss how the changes affect SEOs. We all want to get on the homepage of Digg because it can bring in thousands of links, but the recent changes made it both easier and harder to get stories promoted. Here’s […]

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