Topic: North America

Microsoft Wins Deal For Live Search To Be Default On HP Computers

For all the excitement about Microsoft Live Search Cashback, I think a new announcement out today is far more important to Live Search’s potential growth. It will be the default search engine on Hewlett-Packard computers sold in North America beginning in January 2009, winning the deal from Yahoo. HP is currently the world’s largest PC […]

Google Enables Third Party Tracking For Content Network

Google has announced that they will now support the ability for advertisers to track their ads using third party advertising tags. This new feature is only available within Google’s content network (aka AdSense) and only available for North America based advertisers. In the past, the only way to track your impression data was to trust […]

Video Search & Relevance: Important Bedfellows

As I wrote in last month’s column, video offers enormous opportunity for local SMBs to market online more effectively. Admittedly, some folks differ with that point of view. For example, one commenter wrote that “although the technology exists for businesses to deploy video online, SMBs can’t compete with big brands on creative work.” This person […]

Megachart & Analysis: Google Executive Management Changes, 2000-2008

With two high-ranking Google executives leaving the Big G within a month’s time, I thought it would be interesting to go back through Google’s executive management page over the years and see how it reflects changes among the higher-ups. Below, there are a series of tables and commentary that hopefully let you understand the shifting […]

Hackers Launch Goolag: A Google Vulnerability Scanner

Hackers turn Google into vulnerability scanner from Techworld reports a group of hackers named Cult of the Dead Cow (CDC) launched a search tool powered by Google to help see if your sites are vulnerable to a hacking attempt. The tool is named Goolag, and by typing in a domain name it may return site […]

PPC

Report: Click Fraud Up 15% In 2007

Click Forensics, the company that maintains the Click Fraud Index, a network that monitors and reports on data gathered from more than 4,000 online advertisers and their agencies, has released its most recent quarterly report on click fraud. The company found that the overall industry average click fraud rate rose to 16.6 percent for Q4 […]

Today Is “Data Privacy Day;” Bush Admin Launches Internet Monitoring Initiative

For most people, today is Monday, January 28. However, today has been designated “Data Privacy Day” in North America and in 27 European countries in conjunction with the International Association of Privacy Professionals. Google’s privacy counsel, Jane Horvath, says the company is joining in an international privacy conference being held at Duke University in Durham, […]

SEO

Comparing Mobile Search Surveys: Early Adopters Vs. Mainstream Users

I conducted a very informal, online Search Engine Land reader survey several weeks ago on a range of high-level topics pertaining to mobile search. The ultimate number of responses from SEL readers was a small sample of 77. Mike Blumethal, a contributor to SEL who writes the Understanding Google Maps & Yahoo Local blog, thought […]

MSN Introduces Advertising On Mobile Portal

Not long ago, Microsoft’s MSN relaunched its WAP portal. Today the company is introducing display advertising (graphical and text ads) to MSN Mobile in the US market. (Mobile display advertising is already present on MSN in Belgium, France, Japan, Spain, and the UK.) According to AP, inaugural advertisers include Bank of America, Ford (Jaguar), and […]

SEO

Yahoo’s Big Asian Mobile Push

Yahoo put out a dizzying slew of press releases today aimed at highlighting its carrier partnerships and what it claims is its mobile leadership position. The core of these releases is the announcement of nine new Asian mobile operators, adding to the company’s other Asian carrier relationships. Yahoo’s oneSearch will provide mobile search for these […]

Google Analyst Day Roundup: Search, Ads, Apps, And The Big Dashboard

There are a number of stories this morning recapping aspects of the Google Analyst Day discussions, which were overshadowed to some degree by the Microsoft-Facebook announcement yesterday. While most of it appears to have been a basic overview intended to remind financial analysts and some press about the range of Google’s product offerings and their […]

SEO

Google Top Worldwide Search Engine; Baidu Beats Microsoft

comScore has released new figures looking at the most popular search engines worldwide. Google tops the list, with nearly five times as many searches as nearest competitor Yahoo. But the worldwide list does focus attention on some non-US based search players like Baidu and NHN, which owns Korea’s Naver. It also shows Asia-Pacific as the […]

PPC

Report: Click Fraud Reaches 15.8% In Q2 2007

The Click Fraud Network released (press release) figures for the second quarter of this year, showing click fraud has increase to 15.8% from 14.8% in the previous quarter or 14.1% from Q2 2006. One of the reasons for the increase, according to The Click Fraud Network, is a noticeable increase in botnets, parked domain sites […]

Google Calendar Launches Public Calendar Directory

Philipp Lenssen reports that Google Calendar has added a gallery of public calendars that users can subscribe to. The directory is cataloged by Top Picks, TV shows, Events, Sports, Entertainment, Miscellaneous, Holidays and By Google. Wouldn’t it be nice if the By Google category showed scheduled Google Search updates?

Just Imagine: Local Search Without Maps

Imagine a local search site without maps. Sounds outrageous, doesn’t it? Most local search sites are dominated by maps. Google, Ask, and Live even begin my experience with a big map of North America. Correct, yes, but now what? Many sites incorporate technically impressive features to make their maps even more elaborate. But imagine taking […]

SEO

Microsoft’s Tellme Acquisition ‘Accelerates’ Mobile Search Competition

Notwithstanding Microsoft’s own existing speech assets, the Tellme acquisition appears to be complementary and strategic for Microsoft across the board. There were the four principal areas, identified in the release, that would be pursued or enhanced by the acquisition: unified communications, speech platform, software plus services and mobile services and search. Indeed, Microsoft wants to […]

Google Librarian Central: Talking At Librarians

Google has created the Librarian Central Blog just in time for ALA Midwinter. The decision to create the weblog arose from their request for suggestions from librarians on how to improve the Google Librarian Newsletter, the two common ones being ‘make it a blog’ and ‘give us more current information’. The new weblog provides access […]