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October 26, 2008 - November 1, 2008

Google Integrates Custom Search with Knol

In July, Google launched Knol, a knowledge sharing platform. You can find all sorts of information from baking to AutoCAD.

Google says users have been asking for a more "robust" search platform for Knol. And who is Google to turn down such a request.

However, Google wanted to maintain the look and feel of Knol. So they used Custom Search to keep it feeling very Knol-y and not so regular Google-y.

What do you think of the Custom Search in Knol? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Related Reading:
Google SERP Bias? Google Knols Best

Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 31, 2008, 2:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SearchMonkey Allows Apps to Go Experimental

SearchMonkey is a developer's platform released by Yahoo earlier this year. But in order for searchers to make use of the apps, they must first be approved by Yahoo.

Now Yahoo is letting developers find an early audience by allowing apps to be classified as experimental before they're approved. Searchers can use the apps like they're a hotel swimming pool - i.e. at their own risk.

Want to test out some experimental apps? Click 'Show Experimental Enhancements' at the bottom of the SearchMonkey Gallery applications directory page.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 31, 2008, 1:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Election Tools from Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, and AOL

I'm sure I don't have to remind you that election day is next Tuesday. Whether you're observing or you're breaking out the campaign gear for some hardcore get out the vote effors this weekend, here are some tools to help you keep up with the news and your efforts:

Google Earth

You can download a KML file that lets you search results from past elections, since 1980. The data is broken down and can show you how different regions of the country voted - even by county. I used to work as a political consultant, and let me tell you - this kind of data is heavily relied on. It's a bit of a late release for campaigns, who already have this data. But it's great for political junkies.

Google News

Trying to remember what a candidate said on an issue? Just type their name into Google News. If Google has indexed a quote by that person, it will appear on top of the search results in the one box.

Google Mobile

Want to know your precinct location? The Google Mobile team has created a special tool just for that purpose. Go to m.google.com/elections on your mobile phone, type in your address and you'll be directed to your precinct.

The tool did not point me to early voting locations, which in my state are not the same as Election Day precinct locations.

As cool as that is, always verify with your local elections office. Google even helps you do that. They have a box where you enter your state's abbreviation, and it will pull up relevant links to voting information.

Yahoo Elections Hub and Political Dashboard

Yahoo makes the most of its successful portal platforms with its Elections Hub and Political Dashboard. The dashboard is a super slick map showing the latest poll results. Hopefully they update it with real time results on election night. I can totally see myself keeping the dashboard open while watching results come in on the tv.

Microsoft Live Search xRank

xRank, Live Search's buzz tool, has a politician section. It's no surprise that the Rep and Dem presidential and vice presidential candidates take the top 4 spots today. The rest of the top 20 is filled with senate and gubernatorial races, with Hillary Clinton and George Bush thrown in for good measure.

MSN Election Live Q&A

Q&A is Live Search's answer product, and over at the MSN Election Guide, you can find the Election Live Q&A. It's pretty straightforward. You can ask and answer questions about the election in real time.

AOL Elections Toolbar

AOL has a toolbar for IE and Firefox that can keep you up to date with election news. If you like to surf the net while watching TV - this could be an ideal toolbar for you come Tuesday night.

Well, hopefully that's enough to keep you busy and up to date.

Got any tools to share? Leave your suggestions in the comments.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 31, 2008, 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Regulators to Prevent Google from Bailing Out Yahoo?

Washington is on a bailout binge lately, so you would think they'd hop on board when it looks like the private sector could actually manage to work things out on their own.

Like, I don't know, the search advertising deal between Google and Yahoo. Yes, there are concerns from the advertisers. But Yahoo keeps posting dismal profits. So, unless something magical happens to Yahoo (like an acquisition by Microsoft - oh wait), then antitrust issues won't even matter.

But Google has been dropping hints that it might walk away from the deal because of regulations they don't want to comply with, like caps.

It's been projected that the deal with Google could infuse $800 million of cold hard cash into Yahoo in a year's time. That certainly wouldn't hurt. Of course, Yahoo would need to manage that influx well, and therein lies the problem. Perhaps regulators don't think the deal, which could hurt advertisers, would ultimately save Yahoo.

Adding fuel to that fire is that regulators have been lobbied hard by Microsoft, who is probably looking to watch Yahoo's stock fall into the single digits before coming back to pick it up. Microsoft may be struggling to grow its search market share, but as a whole, they have a ton of cash on hand and will weather the economic storm. Acquiring Yahoo (especially if a merger with AOL takes place) could create a stronger second place finisher in the search engine market, which would reduce anti-competitive concerns, indeed.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 31, 2008, 9:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We Are What We Search

Bill Tancer, the General Manager of Research at Hitwise and one of the keynote speakers at Search Engine Strategies Chicago, will be interviewed by Matt McGowan, Global VP of Marketing at Incisive Media, during an SES Webcast on Friday, Nov. 7, 2008, at 1:00 p.m. EDT / 10:00 a.m. PDT. The title of Bill's presentation is: “We Are What We Search.”

At a time when search engines are rapidly replacing the yellow pages (and news search engines are routinely scooping daily newspapers), Bill has access to a wealth of consumer information about Internet user behavior that was never available before. Bill is well known in the search industry for mining the latest Hitwise data, which is a sample of over 10 million Internet users U.S. and 25 million worldwide, to glean insights on the sites we collectively visit, what we search for and what that tells us about ourselves.

Traffic%20from%20Google%20to%20Retail%20Sites%20%28U.S.%29.PNG I spoke with Bill yesterday and he shared this news nugget with me: “I'm going to talk primarily about what search term data can tell us about the economy and consumer sentiment. I'll also spend some time on finding insights on the effect of an economic downturn on search. You might expect that with recent contractions in online retail that search traffic to that category would be declining....Our data (while showing a recent small drop-off) indicates that search traffic to retail is up over the previous year....”

Bill's webcast will cover other news-breaking search trends, implications for online advertisers, and he will give Webcast participants opportunities to ask him their most burning search trend questions! Oh, and Bill will give away 10 copies of his latest book, “Click: What Millions of People Are Doing Online and Why It Matters,” to the best questions fielded during the SES Webcast.

Posted by Greg Jarboe on October 31, 2008, 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Google to Change Calculations for Quality Score and Ad Rank

Changes are coming to the way AdWords calculates its Quality Score and Ad Rank. The changes will be implemented in the coming weeks.

First up, ~~Quality Score will no longer take ad position into account~~. The idea is that simply dishing out the dough for a higher position has nothing to do with the quality of the ad.

CORRECTION: Here's what Google really said: "To calculate the most accurate Quality Scores, it's important that the influence of ad position on CTR be taken into account and removed from the Quality Score." Bloggers have been pointing out that Google has been doing this. When I get further clarification from Google, I'll let you know! Stay tuned.

Next, Ad Rank is going to focus on quality for ads that appear on top of the search results. Ads must meet a "quality threshold" in order to appear in that prime real estate. It will be possible for a lower positioned ad to jump above a higher position ad in the sidebar ads to hang out in the box above the organic results if it meets the threshold but the higher positioned ads don't.

Clearly, Google is making quality a key focus in AdWords. This may be an attempt to improve the program in the midst of a slowdown in growth for paid search. Or it could be an attempt to show that Google is more concerned about quality than price - and therefore advertisers need not be worried about a little thing like a search advertising deal with Yahoo.

What do you think about the focus on quality? Let us know in the comments.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 31, 2008, 8:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

SEW Experts: Porn and Gambling: Canaries in the SEM Coal Mine?

Search Engine Watch Expert - Frank Watson Search Engine Watch Expert - Chris Boggs Many advances in marketing on the Web are the result of spending by the profitable and competitive porn and gambling industries. In today's SEM Crossfire column, "Porn and Gambling: Canaries in the SEM Coal Mine?," Frank Watson and Chris Boggs explore recent lawsuits in both industries that might help us again, by pointing out some specific areas for marketers to keep an eye on.

» Full story

Posted by Kevin Newcomb on October 31, 2008, 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yellowbook Launches G1 Mobile Application

Local business publisher Yellowbook has launched a new mobile application for the G1, the brand new Android-powered phone. Yellowbook already has apps for Windows Mobile, Blackberry, Palm, and the iPhone.

If you want to download it to your phone, follow these instructions:

Tap the Browser icon on the home page.
Tap Go to URL.
Enter yellowbook.com in the URL bar.
Tap Go.
Tap the pictures of the phones on the lower right side of the page.
Expand the screen to view instructions for this phone, located at the top right.
From your phone, TAP HERE to start the download process.
Follow your phone prompts for downloading the application.

For more information on Yellowbook's mobile apps, visit http://www.yellowbook.com/iphone-windows-mobile-blackberry/.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 30, 2008, 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

IAB Unveils New Workflow Improvement Initiatives

The Interactive Advertising Bureau has announced new initiatives aimed at improving workflows and best practices.

Here they are:

E- Business Interactive Standards, a beta release of an XML-based solution for automating the transfer of business order information between advertising agencies and media companies. Beta testing partners will be implementing and refining this solution throughout 2009.
Interactive Advertising Workflow Best Practices, a document that provides comprehensive process recommendations to agencies and publishers for improved communications and efficient operations throughout the entire lifecycle of an advertising campaign. The document's best practices focus on how to improve the management of advertising accounts by decreasing discrepancies, campaign set-up errors and billing cycles between advertising agencies and publishers. www.iab.net/workflow
Digital Video Ad Serving Template (VAST), an XML-based solution designed to standardize communication between digital video players and servers. VAST allows publishers to increase digital video yield by utilizing ad networks to sell unsold inventory and reduce friction with buyers by allowing third-party ad tags
Ad Load Performance Best Practices, a document that details how agencies and publishers should develop and serve digital advertising campaigns to reduce load time for ads and improve their performance. www.iab.net/adload
Best Practices for Rich Media Ads in Asynchronous Ad Environments, a solution that establishes a standard set of rich media implementation rules for rich media ad vendors, creative development teams, and publishers when serving ads into dynamic environments.

“These initiatives will revolutionize our industry by improving efficiencies in the interactive business—which means growth for publishers, for agencies and for marketers who will now reach their customers even more effectively,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO of the IAB.

What do you think of these initiatives? Let us know in the comments.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 30, 2008, 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

New AOL.com Launches; Due Diligence on Yahoo Merger Reported

When I read that AOL.com launched a new homepage, I naturally hopped on over there to see what the new look, um, looked like. It looked the same, except with dark blue trim and web 2.0 stripes in the background for good measure.

Otherwise, it still holds the same basic design as....Yahoo. I then came across a story by Reuters which says Yahoo and AOL are conducting "due diligence" on a possible (probable?) merger by the two web companies. I was not at all surprised.

Something else to know about the new AOL is that it incorporates a new social element.
What the new feature allows you to do is sign into social networks like Facebook and Bebo directly from the homepage.This is a smart move and will blend nicely with Yahoo's push toward open source should the merger occur.

“As the Web becomes more fragmented, consumers want choice and relevance in their Web experiences. AOL.com is the first traditional big portal to offer access to popular social networking sites all in one place,” said Bill Wilson, Executive Vice President, AOL Programming. “Now consumers can connect with their numerous networks and information sources all from AOL.com. We have already seen success by opening up AOL.com to other e-mail providers. We will continue to enhance the appeal of our portal with the changes we are making today by adding more relevant programming, customization opportunities, greater integration of third party content, improved design and access to social networks directly from AOL.com."

Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 30, 2008, 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

14.5 Million People in the U.K. Visited at Least One Blog

comScore released a study today that found 14.5 million people in the U.K. visited at least one blog in August, representing 41% of the total U.K. Internet audience.

SES%20London%202008.jpg “Blogs have become part of the essential fabric of the Internet today,” Herve Le Jouan, Managing Director of comScore Europe said in a press release. “They live and breathe in real-time, helping quench media consumers' thirst for the most up-to-date breaking news, information, and analysis. It should not, therefore, be particularly surprising that they're increasingly displacing traditional media usage and carving out an ever-increasing slice of the online advertising pie,” he added.

Two of the most popular blogs in the U.K. are gadget blogs: Engadget.com, which ranked as the top individual blog in August with 243,000 visitors, and Gizmodo.com, which ranked third with 223,000 visitors. UnrealityTV.co.uk (225,000 visitors), Kotaku.com (210,000 visitors), and Metafilter.com (207,000 visitors) rounded out the top five.

According to the comScore Segment Metrix H/M/L service, which looks at online activity by heavy, medium and light users of the Internet, heavy blog users were 142% more likely than the average Internet user to visit a site in the "humour" category, a testament perhaps to the sharp wit often associated with blogging. They are also likely to be tech savvy, which can be seen by their skew in visiting technology news categories.

I've met a couple of "heavy" blog users in the U.K. -- who weigh 38 stone between them. ;-)

Seriously, blogs are big in old Blighty. If you check out the agenda for SES London 2009, which has already been posted, you'll see there will be a session on Feb. 18, 2009, on "SEO Through Blogs and Feeds." And, who -- you may ask -- is responsible for that?

Search Engine Strategies London 2009 is organized and hosted by world-renowned search authority Mike Grehan. As you can see below, I interviewed Mike back at SES London 2008. And you can detect some of that "humour" and tech savvy that comScore just reported, although there is no way that Mike weighs more than 14 stone. But, of course, I'm just guessing.

Mike Grehan, Acronym, on SES London 2008

Posted by Greg Jarboe on October 30, 2008, 8:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Live Search Implements Instant Answers Into Search Results

We know that searchers want answers, and there are plenty of answer sites out there to fuel their curiosity. Now, Microsoft's Live Search team is including some answers in their search results.

Encyclopedia, Traffic and Horoscope information will now display answers within results. For example, you can type in the question "How tall is Mount Everest?" and get the answer in the results.

I think search marketers will be happy about this. If you're trying to sell a product, it can be frustrating when people come to your site who have no intention of buying anything.

The Live Search team says even more answers will be included in the future.

What do you think about the update? Let us know in the comments.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 30, 2008, 8:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEW Experts: Use Humor for Link Marketing

Search Engine Watch Expert - Justilien Gaspard Humor is a great form of content that will give people a reason to link to your content, and help it spread virally. The challenge for most sites is coming up with something funny. In today's linkbuilding column, "Use Humor for Link Marketing," Justilien Gaspard offers some ideas that can be used by everyone, regardless of the size of your marketing budget.

» Full story

Posted by Kevin Newcomb on October 30, 2008, 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEW Experts: Trick or Tweet for CNN

Search Engine Watch Expert - Erik Qualman Social media is revolutionary. It allows CNN anchor Rick Sanchez to have a relationship with 30,000 people, and make a connection with them that can translate to other media. In today's building brand equity column, "Trick or Tweet for CNN," Erik Qualman explains that companies need to relinquish the total control they've had and allow users, consumers, viewers, etc. to take their rightful ownership.

» Full story

Posted by Kevin Newcomb on October 30, 2008, 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Why CafePress Needs Online Ratings

If you're not familiar, CafePress is a site where you can purchase custom-designed apparel and gifts. There are many merchants selling their designs as well. Today, CafePress unveiled its new design, and it looks great.

But searching for a design you like can be a chore. That's why I think CafePress should adopt an online ratings system to help the best designs be showcased first in their search results.

Yes, this can be abused, but it can also create a community, something that is currently only found in the CafePress forums.

CafePress competitor, Zazzle, which has experienced explosive growth in the past year despite higher prices and fewer products. What they do have is a 5 star rating system as well as the opportunity to leave comments on products. I think this helps customers better find what they're looking for. If I had to take a guess, a customer would rather pay $5 for better design at Zazzle than a mediocre design at CafePress.

Don't get me wrong, there are quality designs at CafePress, but finding them organically, like I said, is a chore.

Hopefully the next design update CafePress unveils is a techie-one that improves search.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 29, 2008, 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

MapQuest Updates Widget and Local Content

MapQuest has a few noteworthy updates to its widget and local content.

First up, the widget has the following updates:

The Maps and Driving Directions experience
MapQuest Search functionality has been added
Added Traffic information
Performance and functionality improvements

In the local content update, MapQuest has added an "AddThis" button. You may have seen the AddThis button around the interwebs. It lets you share content a number of social networking and bookmarking sites.

What do you think of these updates? Let us know in the comments.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 29, 2008, 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Google Checkout Shopping Cart Allows Purchase of Multiple Items

If you've used the Google Checkout Buy Now button, you know that it's a bit limiting - only allowing customers to purchase one item at a time. Google Checkout's new shopping cart allows your customers to purchase multiple items at once.

To get started, go to the Tools tab in the Google Checkout Merchant Center. Enter your product info, price and image location. An HTML script will be generated for you. Copy and paste the code onto your product pages. Test the button to make sure it's working and you're good to go.

For more advanced options, check out (no pun intended) the developer guide.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 29, 2008, 9:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEO covered at PRSA International Conference in Detroit

I've just returned from the PRSA International Conference in Detroit, Michigan. The Public Relations Society of America is the world's largest organization for public relations professionals.

Lee%20Odden%20and%20Greg%20Jarboe%20at%20SES%20San%20Jose%202008.jpg But there were a number of sessions on the agenda about search engine optimization. On Saturday, Oct. 25, Lee Odden taught a half-day workshop on "Optimizing Content for Optimum Search Results: Search Engine Optimization of News." Lee, as most of us in the search industry know, is the CEO of TopRank Online Marketing.

Bill Wagner, the CMO of Vocus, talked about "Uncovering the Potential of PR to Drive Sales." Lee Odden, Rob Key, the founder and CEO of Converseon, and David Bradfield, senior vice president and partner of FH Digital, discussed "The Changed PR Landscape: What Works, What Doesn't." And Laura Sturaitis, senior vice president of media and product services for Business Wire, and I spoke about "What's the ROI on Your Press Release?"

In other words, SEO and PR people are starting to "reach across the aisle" to build some pretty interesting alliances.

In February, I interviewed Lee Odden at SES London 2008, about news search engine optimization and related topics. And in December, Lee and Sally Falkow, the President of PRESSfeed, will be speaking about "SEO Through Blogs and Feeds" at SES Chicago 2008.

Lee Odden, TopRank Online Marketing, at SES London 2008

As Frank Watson noted earlier this morning, Lee and Jay Byrne, President of v-Fluence Interactive Public Relations, are holding a free PRWeb webinar entitled, "Use PR To Drive Better Search Results," today at 2 p.m. Eastern Time.

And PRSA has asked me to teach a teleseminar on "The Secrets of Search Engine Optimization" on Thursday, Nov. 6, at 3 p.m. Eastern.

What's all this mean to search engine marketers? Get the folks over in public relations to check out this topic. They may have missed it at the PRSA International Conference. But it is a subject that they'll want to understand as they prepare for 2009.

And getting your PR specialists on the same page with your SEO specialists could give you the best bang for your buck in a global recession. Consider this tip a "recession special" you won't want to pass up.

One last note: I hadn't been back to Detroit in a long, long time. Wow, is the Renaissance Center impressive. And the Detroit Riverwalk. And the GM Next Showroom. Now, I remember Detroit as Motor City and Motown. But it has experienced a renaissance while I wasn't looking. Cool. Very cool.

Posted by Greg Jarboe on October 29, 2008, 8:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Rep. Barton Suspicious of Google/Yahoo Deal

It turns out that the concern over the Google/Yahoo search advertising partnership is bipartisan. Earlier this month, Senator Herb Kohl (D-Wisc) urged caution in a letter to Assistant Attorney General Thomas Barnett.

Now, Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) has written a letter to Barnett expressing his concern. Barton's beef is with what he feels is Yahoo's inadequate response to questions regarding the deal.

Barton represents a district that includes Fort Worth as well as suburbs of Dallas. The area is home to many search advertisers. It's no surprise that Barton is raising concern on their behalf.

Google and Yahoo have tried to assure both the DOJ and advertisers that prices will not go up as a result of the deal, but fears remain. Both companies have said that advertisers set the pricing through the bidding process, but when you're thinking about bidding for a term on the top 2 search engines, it's understandable to think that prices will go up - even if Google and Yahoo do not set them higher.

What remains is uncertainty, which is not exactly comforting in a volatile economy.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 29, 2008, 8:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Online Advertising Networks Struggle As Industry Growth Slows

Online advertising networks are struggling to make ends meet during a tough economy and a slowdown in industry growth. JellyCloud and Adzilla have shut down while AdBrite had to lay off 40% of its staff.

It's a crowded field with over 300 ad networks, many of them designed to target niche markets. Bigger ad networks, such as AOL's Platform-A, are experiencing struggles in niches such as auto, financial, and telecommunications.

What do you think of this slowdown? What are your experiences with ad networks? Let us know in the comments.

via WSJ

Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 29, 2008, 8:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

WebmasterRadio Holding Free PR & SEO Webinar Today

If you want to learn how to use PR for effective SEO, the free WebmasterRadio webinar today should be a must view. Registration can be done here.

Top Rank CEO Lee Odden and Jay Byrne, President of v-Fluence Interactive Public Relations, will do the presentation that starts at 2 pm EST today. I know I will be listening in, and recommend you join me.

Posted by Frank Watson on October 29, 2008, 7:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Blip.tv, DoubleClick Inserting Ads Into ITunes and Other Videos

Blip.tv CEO "Mike Hudack revealed that his company has found a way to dynamically insert ads from DoubleClick into video downloads on iTunes and elsewhere," the Washington Post reported.

Given the huge use of the tube sites such as YouTube and the increasing popularity of downloading ITune videos this new technology should prove a good revenue source for Google - owner of DoubleClick.

"For the past six months or so, blip.tv has been experimenting with placing pre-roll, post-roll, and overlay ads in some iTunes videos. These ads are served by DoubleClick and have hyperlinks that make it easy to track when somebody clicks on an ad," the Washington post noted. Videos downloaded to Ipods and other offline players will not be tracked at this stage - though given the synching technology this could be adapted to soon.

Posted by Frank Watson on October 29, 2008, 6:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yahoo Gains Search Share While Microsoft and Google Drop

Bloomberg News reports the monthly search numbers for September have Yahoo gaining while Google and Microsoft have dropped.

"Yahoo! Inc. handled a larger chunk of U.S. Internet searches last month while Microsoft Corp. lost market share, according to researcher ComScore Inc.
Yahoo had about 20.2 percent of queries in September, up from 19.6 percent in August, Reston, Virginia-based ComScore said today in an e-mail. Microsoft's share fell to 8.5 percent from 8.9 percent. Google Inc. handled 62.9 percent, compared with 63 percent in August" Bloomberg reported.

Posted by Frank Watson on October 29, 2008, 6:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yahoo's New GeoTargeting May Have Some Teething Problems

While many seem happy to see that Yahoo has started geo-targeting, the comments to their blog post about launch problems seem to show early adoption problems.

Given Yahoo has already divided out their PPC by country, it would seem the rest should be easier. If you are using the new tools and have opinions please post them here.

Posted by Frank Watson on October 29, 2008, 6:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Motorola Betting Big On Googles Android

Despite cutting 10,000 jobs, Motorola is betting big on Google's telephone technology Android, dropping all but three of their phone operating systems, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Though Android has had security problems, Motorola's chief of the handset division Dr. Sanjay Jha is a big proponent of the operating system and is using it "for mid-tier (very high volume) phones," according to the New York Times

"Jha is planning large scale job cuts at Motorola's handset business, and is also overhauling the manufacturing and supply chain operations of the beleaguered handset maker," the New York Times stated.

Sprint and Verizon are not early adopters of the Android system - Sprint CEO Dan Hesse even went so far as to say it was not "good enough to put the Sprint brand on it," the Alley Insider reported.

But given sales of the new system sold over $1.5 million in the first few days, and that WalMart will be offering the device, seems Android may be battling IPhone in the near future.

Posted by Frank Watson on October 29, 2008, 5:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

SEW Experts: Landing Pages and the Decision-Making Process

Search Engine Watch Expert - Tim Ash Landing page optimization and testing is a complex activity that requires knowledge of many fields, including usability, copywriting, math, and Web design. In today's By the Numbers column, "Landing Pages and the Decision-Making Process," Tim Ash reminds us that at its core, we're still trying to influence the behavior of people, and human nature hasn't changed.

» Full story

Posted by Kevin Newcomb on October 29, 2008, 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

SEW Experts: Search Trademark Hobby Kit

Search Engine Watch Expert - Kevin Ryan Who owns the trademark when it comes to search? A lot of angry litigation stems from the huge dollars that big brands measure from clicks on their trademarked terms in search results. In today's Searching for Meaning column, "Search Trademark Hobby Kit," Kevin Ryan asks if they're simply misunderstanding the search realm and buying funnel?

» Full story

Posted by Kevin Newcomb on October 29, 2008, 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

New Campaign Management and Editorial Updates for Microsoft adCenter

Microsoft adCenter has released a slew of updates for the fall to aid you in your paid search campaigns. The updates include:

Campaign Management: ability to pause and resume ads and keywords, geo-targeting enhancements, and improved performance reporting on the Ads page
Editorial Improvements: faster reviews, dynamic feedback about why ads and keywords were disapproved, and inline notification when dynamic text causes your ads to exceed character limits
User Management: if previously you were only able to have one user, now you can create multiple account users
Content Ads (U.S. only): get keyword bid suggestions and performance estimates for your content ads

What do you think of the updates? Let us know in the comments.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 28, 2008, 10:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Google Reaches Agreement with Authors, Publishers for Book Search

Google has reached an agreement with the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers (AAP), which represented a broad class of authors and publishers to expand online access to in-copyright books and other written materials in the U.S. The publications will come from the library collections participating in Google Book Search.

The agreement was reached after two years of negotiations. The deal includes Google dishing out $125 million to establish the Book Rights Registry, which would resolve an existing class action lawsuit brought by the groups.

If the court approves, the agreement allows:

More Access to Out-of-Print Books -- Generating greater exposure for millions of in-copyright works, including hard-to-find out-of-print books, by enabling readers in the U.S. to search these works and preview them online
Additional Ways to Purchase Copyrighted Books -- Building off publishers' and authors' current efforts and further expanding the electronic market for copyrighted books in the U.S., by offering users the ability to purchase online access to many in-copyright books
Institutional Subscriptions to Millions of Books Online --Offering a means for U.S. colleges, universities and other organizations to obtain subscriptions for online access to collections from some of the world's most renowned libraries
Free Access From U.S. Libraries -- Providing free, full-text, online viewing of millions of out-of-print books at designated computers in U.S. public and university libraries
Compensation to Authors and Publishers and Control Over Access to Their Works -- Distributing payments earned from online access provided by Google and, prospectively, from similar programs that may be established by other providers, through a newly created independent, not-for-profit Book Rights Registry that will also locate rightsholders, collect and maintain accurate rightsholder information, and provide a way for rightsholders to request inclusion in or exclusion from the project.

"Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. Today, together with the authors, publishers, and libraries, we have been able to make a great leap in this endeavor," said Sergey Brin, co-founder & president of technology at Google. "While this agreement is a real win-win for all of us, the real victors are all the readers. The tremendous wealth of knowledge that lies within the books of the world will now be at their
fingertips."

What do you think about the agreement? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 28, 2008, 9:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Baidu Launches C2C Site, Youa.com

Baidu is getting in the consumer-to-consumer (C2C) game (think eBay or indie sellers on Amazon.com) with a new site, Youa.com.

In the beginning, 10,000 sellers were chosen from over 100,000 applicants. 50,000 customers were chosen from Baidu's online communities.

"Baidu Youa continues Baidu's tradition of providing the best possible online experience for our users," said Mr. Jun Yu, Baidu's vice president of products. "This new C2C platform provides user-friendly shopping with emphasis on customer service." Mr. Yu continued, "Our expansion into China's early- stage e-commerce market is a natural move for Baidu as Chinese netizens are becoming more comfortable shopping online. With our vast user community, technological expertise, mature product offering and deep understanding of Chinese Internet landscape, we believe that we have a competitive edge in China's C2C arena and look forward to taking full advantage of the growth potential of this sector of the Internet."

Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 28, 2008, 9:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Port Your AOL Journal to Blogger

AOL is shutting down its blogging product, AOL Journals. Google wants Journal users to head on over to Blogger to keep their journaling spirit alive.

So, they've created a migration tool to help you port your AOL Journals postings over to a new Blogger blog.

You'll want to hurry. AOL Journals says goodbye this Friday, October 31.

For details, check out the Blogger blog.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 28, 2008, 8:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEW Experts: Building it Better -- Small Business Site Architecture

Search Engine Watch Expert - Carrie Hill Businesses built on a strong foundation grow and flourish. Web sites with solid architecture can have stronger search results. In today's small business search engine marketing column, "Building it Better -- Small Business Site Architecture," Carrie Hill cautions that, if you're thinking about designing or redesigning your small business Web site, you need to get organized before you start.

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Posted by Kevin Newcomb on October 28, 2008, 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEW Experts: The Ghosts of SEO Past and Future

Search Engine Watch Expert - Mark Jackson When banner ads first came out, there was hardly enough inventory to satisfy advertisers' needs. Paid search and search engine optimization changed all that. In today's search engine optimization column, "The Ghosts of SEO Past and Future," Mark Jackson points out that SEO, too, has changed radically in the last decade.

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Posted by Kevin Newcomb on October 28, 2008, 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

LinkedIn Unveils New Search Platform

Popular professional social networking site LinkedIn is rolling out its new search platform. Like most major releases, it will only be available to a small percentage at first.

The new search platform will include:

Unified search results
More powerful relevance algorithm
Redesigned search results page
"In Common" (a new field in search results that lets you see what connections and groups you share with a select user)
Saved Searches
Choice of Basic or Expanded Views
Spell Check
Type-ahead for connections

For more details, check out the LinkedIn blog.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 27, 2008, 10:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Link to a Point of Time Within a YouTube Video

Major hat tip to TechCrunch for sharing with the world a way to link to a certain time point within a video on YouTube.

Take for example this video of a clip from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=p1d19wV1GZQ

If you wanted to share the link but have the video start 56 seconds in where the film cuts away from Ginger Rogers in the Senate Gallery to Jimmy Stewart's character speaking and barely standing as part of a filibuster, then you would simply add:

#t=0m56s

Those aren't random letters and numbers. Put the minute number before the letter 'm' and the seconds number before the letter 's' to direct people to the portion of the video you desire.

Now the link is

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=p1d19wV1GZQ#t=0m56s

Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 27, 2008, 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

hakia Launches Personalized Search Feature

hakia is jumping on the personalized search page bandwagon with My hakia. Users can customize several dynamic content features including:

News search
News headlines
PubMed search
Wikipedia
YouTube videos
Cartoons

Here's a screenshot:

Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 27, 2008, 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Android Week 1: Sprint's Not on Board (Yet) and a Security Flaw Discovered

The first phone with Google's new mobile platform Android was released last week on Tmobile. Unlike the iPhone, Android will be seen on more devices and more carriers in months and years to come.

But Sprint CEO Dan Hesse says Android isn't quite ready to carry the Sprint name on a device - not yet anyway. He says that Sprint will carry an Android phone in the future, but the platform needs work.

It might be tempting to suggest that the struggling Sprint should hop on board. After all, Tmobile's G1 pre-sold $1.5 million devices. But Sprint is smart to wait on a ready-for-prime-time device. It needs to sell solid products that garner their own word of mouth instead of simply hopping on a hype wagon.

One of the reasons Android might not be ready is because of a newly discovered security flaw. The flaw was found by former National Security Agency computer security specialist Charles Miller.

Miller has reported the flaw to Google, which says it is working with HTC and Tmobile to issue a fix to G1 customers.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 27, 2008, 8:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Twitter as a Terrorist's Tool

There was much buzz over the weekend about a military report suggesting the popular mass Instant Messaging tool Twitter could be used by terrorists. They cited as an example the protestors at the Republican National Convention using Twitter to inform about police actions and movement.

In that case, Twitter becomes a better counterterrorism tool than it does the next training exercise for Hamas and Al Quaida. Tweets are public and searchable which kind of kills (no pun intended) the element of surprise that terrorists crave.

In fact, Twitter has been a great source of information during earthquakes and other crisis. It's far more likely that Twitter would be a great asset to emergency response agencies and law-abiding citizens during a terrorist attack than it would be an aid to the terrorists themselves.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 27, 2008, 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEW Experts: Those Mysterious Quality Scores: Fundamentally Simple

Search Engine Watch Expert - David Szetela The quality scoring system used for search engine ads is based on a complex group and series of calculations that take into consideration hundreds of factors that the search engines won't reveal. In today's Profitable PPC column, "Those Mysterious Quality Scores: Fundamentally Simple," David Szetela points out that you don't really need to know what those factors are, as long as you create your campaigns correctly and make sure you're giving visitors what they're looking for.

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Posted by Kevin Newcomb on October 27, 2008, 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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