According to Reuters, presumptive Republican nominee John McCain is using Google as a tool to do background checks on potential running mates: “You know, basically it’s a Google,” he said to laughter at a fund-raising luncheon when asked how the selection process was going. “What you can find out now on the Internet — it’s […]
Google Trends has been a popular tool since its launch in 2006. It is one of several free tools that provides some helpful insight into search query popularity and by extension search volumes (although the tool doesn’t explicitly report on search volumes). Since launch Google has added features, such as “hot trends” and country/city where […]
Search engine results aren’t realized simply from optimizing your web site anymore. This week’s infographic shows that gaining an understanding of the multi-channel nature of the Internet is key to successful online marketing campaigns:
This one’s for all of you consultants, agencies, and in-house SEM’s who find themselves “inheriting” a sloppily-built account started by someone else. It’s also a cautionary tale for anyone thinking about “casually” starting out an AdWords account. Hopefully I’ll save you some cash today, but in particular I hope to save you time.
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
Struggling with duplicate content woes? Google’s done a blog post today to try and provide further advice and guidance. Among the highlights:
The article, “Nobody’s Safe in Cyberspace,” by Wikipedia editor and photographer David Shankbone, details a personal ordeal he experienced with an online stalker. It’s a horrible story that involves intimidation and threats of violence. But as Shankbone writes, there’s little recourse available to the one who is stalked and harassed online. And there are challenges […]
Kaiser Permanente, with the largest HMO in the US, has selected Microsoft’s Health Vault personal health records initiative over Google in a big new test with Kaiser employees, according to the NY Times. If successful, the offering could be extended to all of Kaiser’s almost 9 million members.
Coming back from our SMX Advanced conference last week, I found myself doing some soul searching. How was it that some people could wonder if advanced SEO means spamming search engines? And have I been contributing to this confusion? For the record — no, advanced SEO doesn’t mean you have to spam. Not in my […]
Marchex, which has been investing heavily in the local search market, has now brought together its broad range of assets into a single PPC ad platform and network that it’s calling “AdHere.” AdHere is intended both for brands and national entities trying to reach local consumers online, as well as small businesses seeking exposure in […]
The Travel category online is an example of how the Internet has made our lives both easier and more complicated. It very clearly exemplifies “the paradox of choice.” Indeed, there are hundreds of travel sites that provide booking services and travel content of one sort or another. You’re “empowered” with information but also potentially overwhelmed […]
Vertical health search engine Healthline has introduced what it’s calling the Healthline Media Network, a contextual ad network for medical and health-related sites. According to the company, the new ad network will utilize Healthline’s “semantic health search technology” to better understand partner page content and do a better job of matching ads accordingly.
“We didn’t get to paid search first, and it turns out that’s the best part of the market,” Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told Washington Post Editors as part of a meeting that explored a range of topics. Among other things, Ballmer discussed Microsoft’s strategy and mission statement, why it aspires to be competitive in search, […]
As we’ve covered earlier, Google’s updated its icon recently to one it said reflects a “simple, playful and unique” brand. Today, the company has blogged more about the design change and calls for ideas from others. Good. Sorry, that new icon is just ugly to me, no matter how much design work went into it. […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
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.
So Firefox 3 has a new release candidate making news, suggesting that the browser is nearly done. May I suggest that the browser is nowhere near being done until the Mozilla Foundation drops its favoritism to Google and allow users to pick their own default search engine? And that Microsoft ought to be among those […]
Hulu, trying to drive more video streams and ad views, has embedded a search box in the upper right of its syndicated video player, according to the Hulu blog. Search results appear on screen and, when clicked, initiate a new video stream in the player. Ads generally appear before the next video.
Anyone reading newspapers or watching the TV news in the UK over the last couple of months could be forgiven for thinking that, along with computer games, social networks posed a bigger threat to personal security than anything this side of a full on recession. Headlines have concentrated on the supposed dangers involved in having […]
Google Maps launched transit directions within Maps back in October of 2007. Now, Google Maps is bringing you that data directly in Google Maps for Mobile. Google Maps for Mobile version 2.2 brings bus and train schedules, prices, routes, and directions directly on your mobile device. Here is a short and easy to understand video […]
Google has announced the release of a new AdWords Editor, version 6.0, for both Mac and Windows. Here is a full list of changes, enhancements, and bug fixes from version 5.0.1, as listed in the release notes:
In The Trenches is a weekly spotlight of tips, tricks, and news about the tools search engine marketing professionals use to give them a leg up on the competition. Today: News from the search engines, today’s in-depth look, “Google Tools, Part 4,” and this week’s free tips and tools.
As I reported last week, Yahoo SearchMonkey applications are now available to searchers. The Yahoo Search blog posted details last night, saying that searchers can now add SearchMonkey applications via either the gallery (which is in beta) or through promoted links from application developers or web sites. The gallery contains only 39 applications so far […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
Disney had made a 3D version of its Florida theme park for Google Earth. Disney has reportedly gone to great lengths to make this an especially rich 3D experience. You have to have the latest version of Earth and then you navigate to Disney World and click on the golden Mickey Mouse ears.
Google announced that it was adding TV campaign analytics to AdWords. If you’re using the Google TV Ads system, you can now get metrics on the performance of those campaigns via Google Analytics.
Microsoft has experimentally introduced “SearchTogether,” which allows people to use a browser plug-in (IE7 only) to literally collaborate on search. You need a Windows Live ID and Messenger, but you can apparently use any search engine you like. Here’s a tutorial and some screens.
Analytics provider Enquisite just announced a funding round. The analytics space is tough and competitive. However, Enquisite, which has both a free and a “pro” (paid) version, seeks to differentiate with a number of interesting features. It offers visibility on where traffic is coming from offline by city and postal code. It also offers a […]
Vanessa Fox posted details a few days ago about how Google has removed the ability to watch videos directly in the search results and discussed how Yahoo! and Live Search handle video listings in web search. Ionut posted a few days later and got several comments from people who used the feature and didn’t want […]
The real estate industry has a bad rap in the upper levels of search marketing. We deplore the SEM agencies that sell ineffective and/or shady tactics to the real estate industry. We criticize the agents and brokers who are victimized by their own ignorance or indifference. I’ve called real estate SEO a “joke,” and it’s […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
Day two of SMX Advanced is now over. The Give it Up session was truly awesome, but those notes cannot be posted until July 3rd, so stay tuned for that. Here are the sessions recaps:
Eric Goldman has posted about yet another lawsuit against Google. This time the plaintiffs were allegedly wronged in a case involving mobile subscription services. Google is not the alleged wrongdoer here, but is being sued because it allowed the wrongdoer to advertise (AdWords) and the plaintiffs got to the bad actor via those ads.
The Live Search Blog announced the new launch of Search and Give. When you search on Search and Give, Microsoft will donate a penny each time you use that page to search the Web. Microsoft will donate up to 500 searches per person per month. There are over 1 million organizations participating in the program […]
Even as Google is liberalizing its trademark policy in Europe to agree with the US policy, luxury goods maker Luis Vuitton may turn back the clock and force a more restrictive policy on Google. France’s highest court ruled for Louis Vuitton last year in a trademark case involving AdWords. Google has appealed. The European Court […]
We were just hit with a handful of Yahoo press releases. They include powering the ads on Walmart.com, partnering with Havas Digital to adopt the Right Media Exchange Platform, working out a video distribution deal with CBS, and launching the Yahoo Circular Program for newspapers. All this was announced by Susan Decker at Advertising 2.0.
Google’s Matt Cutts posted that Google has made major enhancements to their webmaster and SEO documentation. They have clarified and detailed much of the documentation that was in need of an update. The documents that were updated include the Robots.txt documentation, spam reporting tools and documentation, IP delivery/geolocation/cloaking documentation, Nofollow documentation, doorway page documentation, and […]
If you visit the Google home page today, you will notice they have a hot air balloon logo up. The logo is to commemorate the first demonstration of a hot air balloon carrying passengers. This event took place on June 4, 1783.
Google is experiencing some bumps in transitioning from a smaller innovator to a larger, more mature player in the market. Over the past year or so there have been numerous employee departures, often to start new companies themselves or to join what used to be called “pre-IPO” startups (e.g., Facebook). The most recent case involves […]
All complex systems can be broken down into manageable components or modules. SEO is no different; whether you have 17,000 domains or 10,000,000 product SKUs, the system for managing this load is always the same. A complex system doesn’t necessarily mean it’s based purely in technology. Microsoft, Cisco, AOL, Oracle, and HP are all examples […]