SearchCap: The Day In Search, February 9, 2009
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: “Retail Search Presence Study” Shows Online Product Sellers Far Outpace Traditional Retailers In Search ResultsSearch marketing firm Internet Engine released findings from a new “Retail Search Presence Study,” which analyzed paid […]
Barry Schwartz on February 9, 2009 at 5:00 pm | Reading time: 7 minutes
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
From Search Engine Land:
- “Retail Search Presence Study” Shows Online Product Sellers Far Outpace Traditional Retailers In Search Results
Search marketing firm Internet Engine released findings from a new “Retail Search Presence Study,” which analyzed paid search results in ten product categories over the past three holiday shopping seasons. What the study found was the following: The results show that on-line retailers have a very strong presence, representing well over 30% of the listings shown, while bricks and mortar retailers consistently have had the weakest presence of any group showing up only 12% of the time. The overwhelming majority of product purchases are made in stores. E-commerce remains a tiny fraction (<4%) of US retail. However, each year more offline/local … - Bid Management Automation: Three More Inconvenient Truths
Last time, I covered some shaky assumptions behind bid management automation, including the assumption of an easily pinpointed target CPA. In this column, I’ll address some additional issues that don’t often come to light in industry discussions. While they may make some vendors squirm, they also might help advertisers select the tools that are just right for their needs. Three Inconvenient Truths 1. Frequent bid changes through the API cost money. Costs may vary, but frequent changes require you to pay the search engine for API tokens used. Bid management solutions generally set you back something like 2% of your … - How To Geocode An Address & Optimize Location Pages
Local businesses often display maps of their locations on their sites, but not a lot has been said about how to best create those pages for good usability and search engine optimization. This article will describe how to geocode addresses, use them to create dynamic maps for a local website while simultaneously optimizing those map/location pages. - Google Tests New Maps In Search Results
Mike Blumenthal reports seeing Google test a new type of map within the search results listings. He said he is only able to trigger this map to show using Firefox with the Google Toolbar installed. So his theory is that Google is testing some geolocation technology in the Firefox toolbar. I personally cannot reproduce it, but I trust Mike is seeing this. Here is a screen capture of one such result: Others reportedly have seen this type of map … - Twitter Reveals Google Engineering Layoffs?
Search Engine Journal points to some Twitter postings from Mary Hodder that suggest Google is laying off qualified engineers as part of a mandate to reduce headcount across the board. Apparently this is being done “quietly” so as not to alert press. Guess not. It’s critical to stress that all this is just rumor but Mary Hodder’s credibility is endorsed by former Ask CEO Jim Lanzone. And if you read the comments back and forth it all seems credible. We’ll wait for Google’s public statement. There are two responses to this news: Why would Google with all its … - Google Tests Tweaked Search Suggestions User Interface
Google Operating System reports that Google is testing a slightly tweaked user interface for their search suggestions. Google made Google Suggest the default behavior for the main search box in August of last year. Since then, it has gone unchanged. Here is a screen capture showing the “Google Search” and “I’m Feeling Lucky” buttons in the suggestion drop downs. Google often tweaks and tests new interfaces and this is just one of many. - 25 Random Things About Search Marketing
If you spend any time on Facebook you’ve no doubt been tagged by the ’25 random things’ game that’s been plaguing the social media-sphere. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you either don’t use Facebook or you live in a cave, or both. By the time you read this you will likely know more random things about more people than you ever wanted to. So while I’m not posting 25 random things about myself on my Facebook wall, I will take this little corner of the Internet to post 25 random things about search marketing (and a couple … - Live Search Adds Fourth Search Ad To Top Of UK Results
The Microsoft adCenter blog announced they have added another ad position to the UK search results. This will increase the mainline ad position, directly above the organic results, to four ads, just like they did in the US in September 2008. Many advertisers will be happy about this change, but will searchers like it? So far, Microsoft said that the US results have been “positive since the launch.” The question is, positive according to the advertisers and also the searchers or just the advertisers? - Will Google Succumb To “The Innovator’s Dilemma”?
John Borthwick, a former AOL/TW executive, writes a piece for Silicion Alley Insider on the phenomenon now known as “The Innovator’s Dilemma” and how it blindsided AOL — despite the fact that the company thought it was prepared for it. In his post, Borthwick describes an AOL HR retreat several years ago: On the second morning Clay Christensen [author of The Innovator’s Dilemma] spoke to the group. He is an imposing figure, tall as heck, and a great speaker — he walked through his theory of the innovators dilemma, illustrated it with supporting case studies and then asked us …
Search News From Around The Web:
Applications & Portal Features
- Attach Files to Google Calendar Events, Google Operating System
- Hotmail update starts rolling out for all users, POP3 coming to the US, LiveSide
- Blogger and the DMCA, Rick Klau’s weblog
- Google partners with TrueSwitch to streamline Gmail import, News.com
- Introducing Amazon Kindle 2, Amazon.com
- What is StopBadware.org, anyway?, StopBadware.org
Business Issues
- Google Accused Of Invisibly Deleting Blog Posts On The RIAA’s Say-So, TechDirt
- Pay Per Post: Google Uses Every Trick To Beat Yahoo In Japan, TechCrunch
- Yahoo’s Bartz sees growth abroad – memo, Reuters
Local, Maps & Mobile
- Hopstop Jumps Onto iPhone App Bandwagon That Is Driven By Google Maps, TechCrunch
- Irregular Interviews, The Yahoo! Geo Technologies Blog
- Mapping the Victorian fires, Official Google Australia Blog
- Google Sync Beta for iPhone, WinMo and SyncML Phones, Official Google Mobile Blog
- ShopLocal Makes Retailer Content "Searchable", Screenwerk
Paid Search & Contextual
- Google Grants Changes Their Process For Program Acceptance, SEM Geek
- Maximizing SERP "Real Estate", Search Marketing Sage
- AdSense testing larger font in ad units, JenSense
- Google AdSense adds 300 more channels for tracking, JenSense
- Google Adsense Preview Tool Goes Offline For Few Days, Search Engine Roundtable
- Google AdWords Bug Automatically Turns On Automatic Matching, Search Engine Roundtable
- Keyword Research Schedule, McAnerin Muse
- Payments by Western Union now available in Indonesia, Inside AdSense
Searching
- Searching for snow? We can find it., Live Search
- A search engine for human rights – HuriSearch, AltSearchEngines
- Amazon Raises an E-Book Specter, Wall Street Journal
- Google’s First Real Threat? Twitter, lewmoorman.com
- Should Google Search Suggestions Show Adult Suggestions?, Search Engine Roundtable
SEM Industry
- Enquisite Gets $8 Million Second Round For Search Marketing Tech, paidContent.org
- How to Find Google Employees at Google Webmaster Help Forum, Search Engine Journal
- Searchfest 2009 Interview: Heather Lloyd-Martin, SEMpdx Blog
- Searchfest 2009 Interview: Laura Lippay, SEMpdx Blog
SEO & SEM
Social Media
- Facebook Opens Status API, Say Goodbye to Twitter, All Facebook
- Wake Up Call: Facebook Isn’t A Safe Haven, TechCrunch
- Yes, Social Media is Powerful. No, It’s Not as Powerful as Search., SEOmoz
Video, Music & Image Search
- YouTube Feed View, Google Operating System
Web Analytics
- Urchin 6.5 is now available, Google Analytics Blog
Other Items
- Last chance for Gmail stickers, Official Gmail Blog
- Courtenay Semel: Ex-Yahoo CEO Dad Cut Her Off, Valleywag
- Meg Whitman takes next step in Calif. governor run, News.com
Recent Hot Items From Sphinn, Our Social News Sharing Site:
- Link Love – Nothing Says I Love You Like an Inbound Link
- Google Deletes … Yes Deletes Posts from Bloggers Accounts
- Checking StumbleUpon Referrals and Reviews to specific URLs
- Nothing Lasts Forever
- Stop with the High Level Social Media Speak
- Building Links With Content? Get Your Point Across!
- The Social Media Monitoring Funnel
- The Answer To All Your SEO Questions!
- Goal Conversions are The Bottom Line
- PromotionWorld : The 31st Second
- 9 things you MUST know before you start any conversion rate optimization
Related stories
New on Search Engine Land