November 30, 2008 - December 6, 2008

December 5, 2008

Google Creates One Page for Webmaster Tools Settings

Google has placed the Webmaster Tools settings on one page for your convenience. The settings that can be adjusted are:

1. Geographic Target
2. Preferred domain control
3. Opting in to enhanced image search
4. Crawl rate control

Some settings are time-bound, such as the crawl rate, which automatically sets back to default after 90 days. So, be sure to make note of those settings and revisit as warranted.

You'll also be prompted every time you make a change to Save or Cancel.

Have you checked out the new settings page? What are your thoughts?

Posted by Nathania Johnson on 9:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Google Friend Connect Beta Available for All Webmasters

Google has made Friend Connect available to all webmasters in a beta form. Friend Connect lets sites add social networking to their site. But users can sign in with an established account from Google, Yahoo, AOL, or OpenID, instead of creating yet another account.

Here's a vid with more details

Google Friend Connect was announced in May and made available as a preview release.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on 9:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rich Riley to Head Yahoo! Europe and Canada

Yahoo! is filling the void left by Europe and Canada head, Toby Coppel, by hiring from within. Rich Riley, head of Yahoo!'s Advertiser & Publisher Group in Europe, has been tapped to fill the role. He will be based in Rolle, Switzerland, where Yahoo! Europe's headquarters are located.

Rich Riley has been at Yahoo! for almost ten years, joining the company with the acquisition of his startup, Log-Me-On.com. He rose up through the ranks and at one point led the U.S. Small and Medium Business Division.

Sue Decker, president, Yahoo! Inc., said, "The appointment of Rich Riley represents the next phase in the evolution of our European and Canadian businesses, enabling us to build on the great foundations laid by Toby Coppel. We are committed to continuing our growth as a leader in Europe and Canada."

Commenting on his new role, Rich Riley, said, "Yahoo! is one of the leading global internet companies and a leader in both Europe and Canada. With our focus on creating brilliant starting points for consumers and being a must buy for advertisers, we will continue to grow these key businesses. I look forward to leading these businesses and driving Yahoo! forward in Europe and Canada at this exciting time."

Posted by Nathania Johnson on 9:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Half of British and Irish Marketers Use SEO for PR Purposes

According to new research by Citigate Dewe Rogerson, 51.4% of marketers in the UK and Ireland use search engine optimization (SEO) tactics for public relations (PR) purposes. Brilliant!

And almost two-thirds of respondents suggesting that internet-based PR was important. Brilliant!

However, just over four in 10 marketers in the UK and Ireland said that they did not have the in-house digital skills to develop a sound online PR strategy, while 31.2% indicated that their organizations did not fully understand the business benefits of internet PR.

Well, to remedy that situation, all marketers need to do is attend Search Engine Strategies London, February 17-19, 2009. On the agenda are sessions like:

Universal & Blended Search -- Search result multiplicity is not a new phenomenon, but recent advancements guarantee that the world of search and marketing will be changing forever. Before you attend this week's optimization and best practices sessions, learn from industry gurus how the steps that follow the search are developing. Our ongoing series on universal search will include research data available only at SES.

Online Video Update: The Next Wave -- This session will provide tips on how to navigate the new wave of online video, as more people are watching, sharing, and finding videos online. It will cover the four contributing factors to the massive surge in popularity and predicted continued growth for online video, as well as the converging factors that have led to the next wave of online video search. The panelists will also discuss the issues with video search, and the industry's desire for standards on how to tag, organize, and find videos.

SEO Through Blogs & Feeds -- Not yet running a blog? Not syndicating your content through web feeds? Then you're missing out on an important area that can help your overall SEO efforts. Learn more about the unique advantages blogs and feeds offer to search engine optimization.

News Search SEO -- News search engines offer a great way to receive targeted traffic related to breaking topics or to help with a public relations launch. In this session, we look at how to make use of press releases and news content to tap into the power of news search.

Video & Podcast SEO -- New products make it easier to locate video content from across the web or to find "podcast" programs, on-demand radio-like shows people can listen to on MP3 players or their computers. This session will provide a look at various services and how to get your content visible and audible within them.

Brand & Reputation Management -- Can you use a competitor's trademark in your own search advertising? Or what if a competitor has an ad running on your trademarked brand name? Should you engage professional legal help or are there other options? What if bloggers are posting negative or false claims about your brands and these are spreading with viral speed through other blogs? Are there ways to get these damaging messages out of the search engines? This session will provide an exploration of these and other brand protection issues.

Beyond Linkbait: Getting Authoritative Mentions Online -- Link building is crucial, but linkbait tactics that worked this year may not be as effective next year. This session focuses on the underlying quality as well as ingenuity needed to get other websites to link to you early and often. It will also explain how you should approach journalists, bloggers and other authoritative sources to enhance your company's online reputation, whether or not you get links.

And on Friday, February 20, 2008, there are half-day workshops, including:

Reaching Your Audience Through Blogs, taught by Jennifer Laycock of Search Engine Guide.

Link and Reputation Workshop, taught by Dixon Jones of Receptional.

In other words, marketers can develop the in-house digital skills to develop a sound online PR strategy. And, if their organizations don't fully understand the business benefits of internet PR now, they will by the end of SES London 2009.

At SES London 2008, I interviewed Lee Odden, CEO of TopRank Online Marketing, about some of the public relations oriented sessions at that conference.

Lee Odden, TopRank Online Marketing, at SES London 2008

And if you register for one of the SES conference packages before Dec. 22, 2008, you can save up to £300 with the Early Bird Rate. Brilliant!

Posted by Greg Jarboe on 8:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

December 4, 2008

Another (Former) Yahoo Heads to Microsoft

Earlier this year, Dr. Qi Lu left his role as Executive Vice President of Search and Advertising Technology at Yahoo in the aftermath of the failed Microsoft acquisition for the Sunnyvale search engine.

Now, Microsoft is bringing Lu on president of the Online Services Group. A couple weeks ago, it was confirmed that Yahoo's VP of Search Technology, Sean Suchter, was heading to Microsoft.

I'm starting to actually believe Steve Ballmer's insistence that he's not coming back around to pick up Yahoo at a reduced price. Why buy a company when you've snagged two of its top talents?

Posted by Nathania Johnson on 8:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Why Retailers Should Be Day Trippers to SES Chicago

Okay, so I'm an old Beatles fan. But there are lots of very current reasons why retailers should consider becoming day trippers to Search Engine Strategies Chicago next week.

Hidden in plain sight on the rates & registration details page is this nifty option: “One-Day Package” for SES conference sessions is $895. I'm not making this up. Check it out for yourself.

And which day might a retailer consider being a day tripper? Check out the SES Chicago Agenda Overview and retailers will see two options.

The first is Tuesday, Dec. 9. You can start with the morning keynote presentation by Bill Tancer, General Manager of Global Research at Hitwise and author of “Click: What Millions of People Are Doing Online and Why It Matters.”

Bill is going to talk primarily about what search term data can tell us about the economy and consumer sentiment. He'll also spend some time on finding insights on the effect of an economic downturn on search. You could get an ROI on your day trip just by attending the keynote.

But wait! There's more!

Tuesday features a Retailer Track. There are three sessions focused on:

Squeeze More Sales Out of Your Existing Online Campaigns
Given the economic downturn, learn how companies are using the latest tools, like Google Website Optimizer and others, to maximize online sales without increasing their ad spend. Three internet retailing companies will discuss how they are increasing the ROI of their ad campaigns in these tight budgetary times.
• Moderator: Kayden Kelly, CEO, Blast Advanced Media
• Speakers:
Chris Benson, CTO, AudioEditions.com
Todd Curry, VP of Marketing, ifbyphone
Sandra Niehaus, VP, User Experience and Creative Director, Closed Loop Marketing

Google Site Search: Fast, Relevant, Customized Search Results for Your Website
Over the past decade, website search has increased in importance from a technical feature to a core marketing and sales asset. End-users are increasingly losing patience with multiple navigation options on websites and are looking to search as the answer. To this end, Google's Nitin Mangtani will be discussing how customers are using Google Site Search to grow their businesses and how you can do the same for yours in this sponsored session.

Rebecca%20Lieb.jpg A Case Study From American Greetings: Rethinking Optimization
What happens when you combine thousands of keywords across 2 engines with 3 products and a single, optimized landing page? Nothing much really. In this session, attendees will learn how American Greetings became post-click marketing mavens by discovering the inherent value of AdGroup-level testing and iteration for increased lift. American Greetings and ion interactive will explain how and why they moved from a single optimized landing page to testing over 40 landing pages tightly matched to each individual search AdGroup--enabling them to deliver the right content to the right people in the most compelling format. Attendees will hear real American Greetings examples — what worked and what didn't — that achieved increased engagement, increased conversions and increased behavioral data that impacted their bottom line. Session takeaways include best practices for running simple, high-impact A/B tests that any front-line marketer can easily implement and understand.
• Moderator: Rebecca Lieb, Contributing Editor, ClickZ
• Speakers:
Tessa Fraser, Marketing Manager, Online Media, American Greetings
Anna Talerico, Executive Vice President, ion interactive

Now, if retailers have a conflict on Tuesday, then they should check out what's being offered on Wednesday, Dec. 10.

The morning starts with a keynote by Josh James, President and Chief Executive Officer of Omniture. The title of his presentation is “Avoiding the Chasm of ‘Anticipointment'” To drive to the next level of conversion and optimization, Josh thinks it's time for online marketers to consider the entire marketing value chain and bridge the gap between ads and a personalized, relevant online experience for each visitor.

Then there is a Vertical and Retail Track that features sessions on:

Advanced B2B
Forget consumers. You want leads! Leads that become opportunities that convert into booked business! Join our seasoned panel of B2B marketing professionals as they share the latest tips and trends in using search to find those niche decision-makers that drive your business.
• Moderator: Aaron Kahlow, Chairman & Founder, Online Marketing Summit
• Speakers:
Karen Breen Vogel, President and CEO, ClearGauge
Patricia Hursh, President & Founder, SmartSearch Marketing
Adam S. Goldberg, Chief Innovation Officer, Clearsaleing

Getting Vertical Search Right
The need for specialized search capabilities has never been more prevalent than it is today. Established leaders and experts in vertical search application and execution will discuss the state of the industry, positive and negative experiences, and best practices for answering needs of today's demanding searchers.
• Moderator: Elisabeth Osmeloski, Founder, AdventuresinSearch.com
• Speakers:
Paul Forster, CEO, Indeed
John Ellis, Senior Online Marketing Manager, ResortQuest
Jeff Tinsley, CEO, Reunion.com

Shopping Search Tactics
Learn how content from your e-commerce or merchant site can - and should! - be included in shopping search engines.
• Moderator: Brian A. Smith, Analyst, ComparisonEngines
• Speakers:
Greg Hintz, General Manager, Yahoo! Shopping
Jonathan Ashton, VP of SEO & Web Analytics, Agency.com
Dave Moran, Sr. Manager Search Marketing, Performics
Aaron Shear, Partner, Boost Search Marketing

In House: Lessons Learned & Victories Won
As Search Engine Marketing (SEM) grows in popularity, many companies are attempting to handle the SEM function in-house despite the inherent complexity and challenges. Join us for a spirited discussion and get a chance to meet some of these intrepid do-it-yourselfers behind the in-house movement, as we debate the pros and cons of developing and training a dedicated in-house team. Laying the foundation for in-house SEO success, long-term cost savings, gaining project support at the executive level, leveraging innate knowledge and creating accountability are just some of the topics to be discussed.
• Moderator: William Flaiz, VP, Search Engine Optimization & Web Analytics, Razorfish
• Speakers:
Olivier Lemaignen, Group Manager, Global Search Marketing, Intuit
Jessica Bowman, SEO Strategist & in-house SEO Expert, SEMinhouse.com
Maura Ginty, Senior Web Manager, Web Content Team, Autodesk, Inc.
Mark Ruzomberka, Traffic.com

Oh, and the exhibit hall also happen to be open Tuesday and Wednesday, so retailers can what's new on the show floor.

I think these are some pretty compelling reasons why retailers should consider becoming day trippers to SES Chicago next week. Of course, I've got a ticket to ride for the entire week. So, I also think there are some pretty compelling reasons for attending the entire conference and expo.

Posted by Greg Jarboe on 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Alessio Signorini Tapped as Director of Search Technology at OneRiot

Social search engine OneRiot has a new Director of Search Technology and it's Alessio Signorini, former Director of Technology at Ask.com. While at Ask.com, Signorini oversaw natural language processing, ranking optimizations, and query classifications.

"It's testament to the work we're doing that someone as talented as Alessio has joined our team," said Kimbal Musk, OneRiot CEO. "His experience and expertise will help us continuously improve our efforts to enable users to find the pulse of the web."

"OneRiot is unique in its ability to help users find the pulse of the web -- to find the news, videos and products that people are talking about right now," said Alessio. "OneRiot is a very attractive search company. I can't wait to get started!"

Related Reading:
Expedia Chooses Baynote Social Search to Improve Site Usability
Social Search Site Scour Now Speedier (Say That 10 Times Fast)
Google Xooglers Launch Social Search Engine Mechanical Zoo
Social Search: Welcome to the World of Socialommerce
Mahalo Adds New Social Search Tools

Posted by Nathania Johnson on 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CitySquares.com to Begin National Expansion

CitySquares.com began as an online neighborhood community site for 7 neighborhoods in Boston. Over the summer, they expanded to include New England and recently added 1.7 million businesses to their New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania communities. They are one of the fastest growing local search sites on the web.

Now, CitySquares has their sights set on a national expansion, but they are proceeding with caution. They stress that they don't want to be just another directory, but to truly offer online communities for local cities and neighborhoods across the United States.

Writing on the CitySquares blog, co-founders Bob Leland and Ben Saren said,

Whether a county in Montana, a borough in NY, a village in Vermont, or a neighborhood in Seattle, we want to get all the information about that community, that locale, online. Get the geopolitical information online, municipal information, local government, post office, libraries, public schools, trash and recycling collection schedules, historical facts, playgrounds, parking lots, public transportation, local school lunch menus, athletic program information, July 4th fireworks locations, and so much more. CitySquares' vision is, and has always been, to be “Your Neighborhood, Online.” Not easy, but necessary. And it will happen.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

AOL Releases Top Searches for 2008

In the ongoing end of year list season, AOL has released its top searches for 2008. Unlike Yahoo and Ask.com, AOL inexplicably only released the top searches for select niches, not a top 10 list of overall searches. Nevertheless, here they are:

‘American Idol' - Top TV & Movies
NASCAR - Top Sports
Britney Spears - Top Celebrity
Flat Belly Diet - Top Health
iPhone - Top Shopping
Jonas Brothers - Top Musician
Presidential Election - Top News

To see the full lists, click here.

All I have to say is: Seriously, people - Britney Spears!!?!?

Posted by Nathania Johnson on 9:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yahoo Adds Search Assist to Image Search

Yahoo has added Search Assist to their image search. If you're not aware, Search Assist is Yahoo's technology that brings up search suggestions when you start typing in your search.

Here's what it looks like for an initial search:

But Yahoo has added a second tier to Search Assist for Image Search. On a results page, if you click in the search box, you'll get the search suggestions plus image suggestions.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on 8:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

December 3, 2008

UPDATE: Jonathan Miller Seeks Funds for His VC Firm, Not Yahoo

It turns out yesterday's news about former AOL CEO Jonathan Miller trying to gather money to buy Yahoo was false. Miller has been raising money, but it's for his own venture capital firm, not for buying Yahoo.

Miller's firm is Velocity Interactive Group and it does invest in digital media.

This is the second false rumor in a week regarding a purchase of Yahoo. Over the weekend, media reported that a new Microsoft-Yahoo deal had been reached.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cyber Monday Spending Up 15% to $846 Million

Cyber Monday sales were up 15% reaching $846 million, making it the second highest online spending day recorded, according to comScore.

Earlier this week, comScore said that rate of growth for Cyber Monday sales have traditionally indicated the overall rate of growth for holiday spending in general. If that remains the case this year, that's good news. While the rate has certainly declined, it is still growing.

Here's a look at historical weekly online sales during the holidays:

Posted by Nathania Johnson on 9:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Live Search Flags Questionable Sites

Microsoft's Live Search is now flagging sites which they deem questionable in terms of malware. Users can still visit the site, but you'll have to click a special link in the warning box, as the main link has been disabled.

If you find that your site has been flagged (perhaps a third party hacked your site), you can use Live Search's webmaster tools to get back on track.

Here's a screenshot of what a warning would look like:

Posted by Nathania Johnson on 9:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Advertising to Cretins Expected To Drop in 2009

While the News Corp founder's biographer Michael Wolff may think Rupert Murdoch's MySpace users are "cretins", the company's CEO Chris DeWolfe believes profits will "continue to grow in spite of the poor economy".

"If you're on MySpace now, you're a (expletive) cretin. And you're not only a (expletive) cretin, but you're poor," said Wolff."

"Nobody who has beyond an eighth grade level of education is on MySpace. It is for backwards people," Cnet News reported.

Guess Wolff will not be getting Murdoch to promote his book, The Man Who Owns The News, any time soon.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported the MySpace CEO has seen a drop in the value of many online companies over the past six months - which we have all seen - but the numbers mentioned are interesting.

"Web companies that were worth between $200 million and $300 million just six months ago are now willing to sell themselves for $20 million to $25 million, and some have begun knocking on his door recently," DeWolfe told Reuters.

DeWolfe said the company was interested in some international companies, as well as some music ones. So will MySpace be rolling out an iTunes competitor in the new year?

Guess 'cretins' like music.

Posted by Frank Watson on 2:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

December 2, 2008

Google Makes New Ad Quality Videos

Perhaps in an effort to become more transparent, or maybe just hoping more people start advertising, Google has published two new videos on Quality Scores.

As their Inside AdWords blog describes the first is an introductory video, "an overview of Quality Score and answers to some common questions about Ads Quality." Great for people curious about how Quality Scores work and some idea of what elements impact them.

The second is a little more advanced.

Good job guys...

Posted by Frank Watson on 9:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dogpile.com's Search & Rescue Program Raises First $100,000 for ASPCA

Dogpile.com searchers have raised $100,000 for the Search & Rescue Program, a philanthropic arm that donates money to animal-related charities. The program is on its way to reaching its goal of raising $1 million for the ASPCA by the end of 2009.

“Whether people are using Dogpile.com for their online holiday shopping or just for general information searches, the traffic to the site has helped us raise a significant amount for the ASPCA already,” said Stacy Ybarra, senior director of corporate giving, InfoSpace. “Search and Rescue allows any individual with access to a computer to support a worthy cause without significantly changing their habits or spending a penny of their own money.”

Posted by Nathania Johnson on 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Former AOL CEO Jonathan Miller Trying to Raise Funds to Buy All or Part of Yahoo

This is breaking news and it is literally just a headline from the Wall Street Journal at this point. Jonathan Miller, former CEO of AOL, is trying to raise funds to buy all or part of Yahoo.

It was suspected that Miller would have been tapped to run things if Microsoft had indeed acquired Yahoo earlier in the year, but of course they didn't.

Miller may have trouble coming up with the funds with credit markets in their current dried up state.

Just yesterday, we learned that Carl Icahn bought 7 million more shares of Yahoo. Was that move a little too coincidental in light of today's news?

Have your say in the comments.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

SEMPO's Annual State of the Market Survey Open Now Open for 2008

It's that time of year. SEMPO (Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization) has opened their State of the Market survey to gain (and later give) insight into what SEOs and SEMs are doing with their marketing budgets and strategies.

There are perks for participating, including an 8GB iPod Touch and a free pass to a North Americaan SES Conference to randomy drawn participants. You do not have to be a SEMPO member to participate.

This year, your participation may be more crucial than ever. An uncertain economy has many people guessing, but surveys such as these can help provide tangible realities into what's really going on in search advertising.

“While there are numerous surveys publishing online spend projections, what differentiates the SEMPO survey is its ability to tap into the largest qualified pool of professionals actively engaged in search marketing,” says Kevin Lee, co-founder and executive chairman of Didit, and a founding board member of SEMPO who continues to coordinate this annual research project.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Google Buys Digital Historical Newspaper Archives from PaperofRecord.com

Google has completed the purchase of 20 million digitized historical newspaper pages from PaperofRecord.com. The two have had an agreement for two years and has now concluded in a sale that was voted on by shareholders of PaperofRecord's parent company, Cold North Wind, Inc.

This should be quite an asset to Google's historical newspaper initiative, announced in September.

PaperofRecord is based in Canada and was the first to digitize the entire history of the Toronto Star. In addition to digitizing newspapers in Canada, the United States, Mexico and Europe, PaperofRecord has digitized historical documents including he Diaries of William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canada's longest serving Prime Minister.

"It is a bittersweet day for PaperofRecord.com. We are very pleased to have our legacy and vision of a 500 year, global, multiple language newspaper historical archive being placed in the stewardship of Google. As a Canadian entrepreneur, it is disappointing to not be able to muster the resources in our country to bring such a digital resource to its fruition at home. However, without the help and vision of a company such as Google, this immense, global, educational resource would not be possible on the scale that is being contemplated," said R.J (Bob) Huggins, Founder and CEO of PaperofRecord.com.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Live Search Offers Instant Cashback, Responds to Black Friday Glitch

After a Black Friday blackout, Live Search is responding to the glitch and also offering a new update: Instant Cashback.

Cashback was down for about three hours last Friday and Live Search explained why with the following three reasons:

A significant spike in traffic caused the system to go down for several hours on Friday
The downtime was partly related to investigating the issue and partly to rebuilding and redeploying the databases and indexes that support Microsoft Live Search cashback.
The issues that caused Friday's problem have been resolved. We're confident we won't have further problems.

Contact Live Search support if you want to recoup your Cashback monies.

The new Instant Cashback is available via PayPal for eBay purchases. It will not be available for all users and you'll only know if you're one of the lucky ones after you make a purchase. If you're not, then you'll still get your Cashback deal in 60 days per the original plan.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

December 1, 2008

Pownce To Fold, Founders Join Six Apart

The founders of Pownce announced they are closing their social networking platform and joining Six Apart - the creators of Movable Type, TypePad and Vox, the company blog announced today.

Co-founder Leah Culver stated in the blog, "We're bittersweet about shutting down the service but we believe we'll come back with something much better in 2009. We love the Pownce community and we will miss you all."

"Mike and I have joined Six Apart as part of their engineering team and we're looking forward to being a part of the talented group that has created amazing tools for blogging and publishing," he explained.

Given the technology will join Six Apart and that company's strength in the blogging software arena, Leah's comment that they should be coming back in 2009 with something "much better" is intriguing.

Posted by Frank Watson on 9:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Google Website Optimizer Integrated with Magento Open Source Ecommerce Platform

Open source e-commerce platform Magento has released a new version of its software, and with it is a Google Website Optimizer integration.

All you have to do is cut and paste a URL into Magento's GWO tool and bam - you're ready to optimize that landing page.

Seriously, if you're not convinced you need to be testing - then stop everything and read these links:

Landing Page Optimization: Guessing vs. Testing
Coherency in Landing Page Testing
Landing Pages: Test Now or Forever Hold Your Peace
Testing Applies to Widgets and Accessories, Not Just Landing Pages
Testing Landing Pages Includes Testing Best Practices
Assembling Your Landing Page Optimization Dream Team, Part 2

Posted by Nathania Johnson on 2:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yahoo and Ask.com Reveal Top Searches for 2008

Top searches lists are beginning to roll out and today, both Yahoo and Ask.com revealed the hottest searches for 2008 on their respective engines.

Over at Yahoo!, entertainment was the name of the game:

Britney Spears
WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment)
Barack Obama
Miley Cyrus
RuneScape
Jessica Alba
Naruto
Lindsay Lohan
Angelina Jolie
American Idol

Ask.com's Top 10 list was a little less shallow

Dictionary
MySpace
Google
YouTube
Facebook
Coupons
Cars
Craigslist
Online degrees
Credit score

To drill down into specific niches such as politics and news, check out the breakdown of top searches for Yahoo here and Ask.com here.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Icahn Buys More Yahoo Stock; European Head Out

Carl Icahn has increased his investment in Yahoo by purchasing nearly 7 million shares. This comes on the heels of the announcement that Jerry Yang will be stepping down as CEO, once a new one has been tapped.

While some may see this as a sign of "Carl in Charge," I wonder if this move is just a bit risky on Icahn's part. If the stock drops lower and Yahoo goes to Microsoft in a fire sale, Icahn will lose even more money than the millions he's already lost this year. Icahn bought a nice chunk of shares earlier this year in order to have a stronger voice as a shareholder. He later became a member on Yahoo's newly expanded board.

Meanwhile, and unrelated, Yahoo's European Head Toby Coppel is leaving his post. Stepping up is SVP of Europe's Advertiser & Publisher Group Rich Riley.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Online Black Friday Sales Up 1% Over Last Year

Despite all the bad economic news going into Black Friday, online spending was up 1% over last year, according to comScore. Online shoppers spent $534 million, up from $531 million for Black Friday 2007.

One of the advantages for online shopping is sleeping in (and not trampling Wal-mart employees to death). Online spending peaked between 12-4pm with the 8am to 12pm slot following closely behind:

However, it's today's sales that may be the strongest indicator of the overall season. Cyber Monday growth rates are strongly correlated to the growth rate of the full holiday season.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on 8:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

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