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January 25, 2009 - January 31, 2009

Google AdWords Launches New Traffic Model for Ad Planner

Last year, Google launched Ad Planner as a way to help media buyers plan their advertising campaigns. Now, they've updated their traffic models to improve planning.

Here are the updates:

Added Unique Visitors (cookies), a new cookie-based metric, to help you cross-check and compare metrics, similar to Google Analytics unique visitor metrics.
Changed Unique Visitors to Unique Visitors (users) so it's clearer that you're reviewing estimated numbers of real world visitors.
Placed the Unique Visitors (cookies) and Unique Visitors (users) metrics on a site's profile page so users will have a more comprehensive view of how a specific site can support their media planning.
Added country demographics for Australia, Brazil, Japan, and Switzerland, which brings the demographics total to ten countries
Created Pre-defined Audiences that represent commonly used audiences. Uers can experiment with various criteria without having to manually select them.

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

Posted by Nathania Johnson on January 30, 2009, 1:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Higher Education and Travel Industry Headed to SES London 2009

According to the organizers of SES London 2009, it looks like attendance will be up this year. While this may come as a surprise to some, Matt McGowan, Publisher of the conference series in addition to its sister sites ClickZ and Search Engine Watch, says, “Attendance figures are up 11% compared to last year, which is not surprising as businesses invest more of their budgets in digital marketing.”

He adds, “Whatâ’s noticeable this year however is the increase in representation from the education and travel industries. Delegates from these two sectors have increased by 10% (Education) and 16% (Travel). Many of Europeâ’s leading universities are sending people to SES London – from web managers to researchers. Similarly, established travel companies and tour operators are, as always, well represented, but this year has seen an increase in representation from the smaller, more niche, travel companies. The figures suggest that these two sectors will see significant growth in digital marketing spend this year.”

On this side of the pond, universities have seen grad school applications and enrollments increase as government funding and endowments have declined. This prompted Brandeis University to announce it would close the Rose Art Museum and turn it into a study and research center.

So, I can see why higher education on both sides of the pond is interested in finding more cost-effective ways to drive traffic to college and university websites than mailing out more college brochures. One of the first things Iâ’d recommend is registering for the Google Online Marketing Challenge, which is open to any higher education institution, anywhere in the world.

Meanwhile, here in Boston, weâ’ve had 49 inches of snow dumped on us – more than double the normal snowfall at this point in the winter and even more than the normal snowfall for the entire winter season. So, I can also understand why the travel industry sees search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO) turning “the winter of our discontent” into “glorious summer” in the coming year.

Despite last yearâ’s economic conditions, travel spending by domestic and international visitors in 2008 increased 5.2%, to $778.2 billion, according to the Travel Industry Association. Heck, I canâ’t begin to describe the looks I get from my wife when I lamely explain that I “have to” go to London to speak at conference, blog about the event for Search Engine Watch, and conduct video interviews from the show. Hey, itâ’s a business trip.

So, when we all get together Feb. 17-20, 2009, at the Business Design Centre, 52 Upper Street, Islington, I need a little help. For the European universities in attendance, my daughter is planning to spend a semester abroad next year. What do you have for an art major? And for the travel companies who will be at SES London 2009, my wife is looking for someplace sunny, where she can forget about the sleet, wind and bitter cold. (If Iâ’m lucky, she might even bring me along.)

Iâ’m speaking at the sessions on Online Video Update - The Next Wave, News Search SEO, and Beyond Linkbait: Getting Authoritative Mentions Online. Just come up after the session and introduce yourself.

If we haven't met before, Iâ’ve been called “the bearded guy you'd vote least-likely-to-be-in-public relations” by one industry observer. Or, I'm the bearded buy below who was interviewed by Li Evans of Key Relevance at SES San Jose 2008.

VSEO - Video Search Engine Optimization - with Greg Jarboe

Oh, and if you are from an art school in a sunny place like Spain or Italy, let me know all about the programs you offer. Who knows, I may even be able to come back from SES London 2009 a hero, instead of a zero.

Posted by Greg Jarboe on January 30, 2009, 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Live Search Launches Firefox Search Suggestion Add-On

Live Search has released an add-on for Firefox, interesting since Firefox is a competitor to Microsoft's browser Internet Explorer. The add-on enables search suggestions when using Live Search in the search box on Firefox.

The add-on is available for Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, United Kingdom, and United States.

You can access the add-on here. It was created with an OpenSource standard and uses the JSON interface.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on January 30, 2009, 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

YouTube Makes Annotations Easier

YouTube is making it easier for users to add annotations to their videos. Now, you can simply log in and annotate away. Still, they are keeping the separate annotations editor intact in case you want more control.

In addition, it's also now easier to add links to other YouTube pages in your annotations. You can link to other videos, search results, video response pages, etc.

Annotations, if you're not aware, are basically little notes you can add to your videos. You can explain a video, let a user know of an updated video, or express pretty much anything within YouTube's content guidelines.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on January 30, 2009, 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEW Experts: Battling Click Fraud is Important for All Involved

Search Engine Watch Expert - Frank Watson Search Engine Watch Expert - Chris Boggs Every pay-per-click advertiser sees the presence of click fraud, as does every search engine. We're just disagreeing about the numbers. In today's SEM Crossfire column, "Battling Click Fraud is Important for All Involved," Frank Watson and Chris Boggs remind us that both sides need to acknowledge that a certain level of click fraud exists, and work together to diminish its impact.

» Full story

Posted by Kevin Newcomb on January 30, 2009, 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEW Experts: Best-Kept Secret in PPC? Part II

Search Engine Watch Expert - David Szetela Last week's discussion of Google Conversion Optimizer generated a flood of user questions. It seems the promise of simplifying the time-consuming, complicated chore of regulating keyword bids is especially appealing to advertisers. In today's Profitable PPC column, "Best-Kept Secret in PPC? Part II," David Szetela responds to reader questions, and clarifies a few things.

» Full story

Posted by Kevin Newcomb on January 30, 2009, 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEW Experts: 2009 is a Year of Change for Travel Search Marketing

Search Engine Watch Expert - Elisabeth Osmeloski The economy is forcing travel search marketers to change the way they approach online marketing. The travel vertical is already one of the most advanced groups of search marketers, but the industry has been under more pressure in recent months to make their campaigns count. In today's vertical search marketing column, "2009 is a Year of Change for Travel Search Marketing," travel search expert Elisabeth Osmeloski outlines a few ways travel search marketers, and marketers in other verticals, can get back to basics in these challenging times.

» Full story

Posted by Kevin Newcomb on January 30, 2009, 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Google Behind Tool to Detect ISP Blocking

It's no secret that Google is an avid supporter of net neutrality legislation. Now, in an effort to further their cause, they've partnered with he New America Foundation's Open Technology Institute, the PlanetLab Consortium, and academic researchers to create M-Lab (Measurement Lab).

M-Lab is designed to help detect whether an internet service provider (ISP) is blocking an internet application. This type of research has been attempted before, but Google says the lack of resources such as servers has held the research back.

That's where Google comes in. They'll be supplying 36 servers to 12 locations in the U.S. and Europe. M-Lab will collect data on the blocking or interference by ISPs of user internet use, including BitTorrent.

What do you think of M-Lab? Let us know in the comments.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on January 29, 2009, 1:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Yahoo's Search Ad Share Drops 40% in UK for Q4 2008

Yahoo's Q4 UK search advertising share dropped from 13.9 percent in 2007 to 8.4 percent in 2008, a 40% decline. Making things worse is that UK search ad spend actually increased by 11% during the fourth quarter.

Advertisers apparently shifted their dollars to Google, who saw an increase from 82.6 in 2007 to 88.2 in 2008. Microsoft held steady, coming in with a 3.4 percent share in 2008.

These numbers were released by Efficient Frontier and include contextual advertising. Yahoo's dismal performance may be one reason they decided to shut down their Content Match program in Europe earlier this month.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on January 29, 2009, 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Google AdWords Opens Up Conversion Optimizer Eligibility

Google AdWords has opened up Conversion Optimizer to greater eligibility. Customers who use AdWords' free Conversion Tracking tool and have at least 30 conversions in the last 30 days are now eligible to use Conversion Optimizer.

Conversion Optimizer uses your conversion tracking data to optimize ad placement based on the likelihood of conversion. The tool should save you time by essentially automating the optimization process and time, making you more productive and efficient.

"You might already adjust your keyword bids with the goal of increasing your conversions or decreasing your costs, but the Conversion Optimizer is able to adjust bids using additional factors that are otherwise unavailable," wrote Amanda Kelly on the Inside AdWords blog. "This includes varying bids by broad match query, user location, and the particular search or content partner sites where the ad is appearing. These extra adjustments enable many advertisers to achieve double-digit percentage increases in conversions while paying the same price or less for each conversion."

Posted by Nathania Johnson on January 29, 2009, 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEW Experts: Bribing People With $50 Gift Cards: Part Deux

Search Engine Watch Expert - Sage Lewis We asked what you might want to see here, and what a promotion-monitoring component would look like. In today's online promotion & link building column, "Bribing People With $50 Gift Cards: Part Deux," Sage Lewis shares some reader ideas that far exceeded expectations, and could really help push this column further along.

» Full story

Posted by Kevin Newcomb on January 29, 2009, 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

AOL to Cut 10% of Its Workforce

AOL will cut 10% of its workforce, according to Kara Swisher. That amounts to 700 employees.

The cuts will attempt to focus efforts in New York City, part of a gradual attempt to headquarter there. That will mean consolidation in Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, and the DC suburb of Dulles, site of the original HQ. It will also scaled down international business, which hasn't served them well.

Last year, parent company Time Warner announced that it would split AOL into two: one part internet access and one part search/media. Time Warner has been attempting to forge a merger or sale with Yahoo for nearly a year now.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on January 28, 2009, 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEW/ClickZ Authors Among SEMMYs Finalists

The finalists have been announced in the Second Annual SEMMYs Awards recognizing the best blog posts in search marketing, social media and related areas. Congratulations go out to all the nominees, and especially to our own Search Engine Watch bloggers and experts who were nominated:

Local Search:
Google’s Carter Maslan and Eric Enge talk Local Search, Eric Enge, Stone Temple Consulting

Design & Usability:
Three Reasons Your Visitors Don’t Convert to Leads, Bryan Eisenberg, ClickZ
25 Design Best Practices for Your Small Business Web Site, Carrie Hill, Search Engine Watch

Please head over to the SEMMYs site and vote for your favorites.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb on January 28, 2009, 2:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Data Privacy Day Exhibit Differences in Approach from Google and Yahoo

When it comes to privacy - and overall service/product offering - there is a big difference in how Google and Yahoo relate to searchers and customers. Google often strikes me as user-centered while Yahoo should seriously consider checking out Bryan Eisenberg's We-We.

Today is Data Privacy Day and the way Google and Yahoo are commemorating the awareness campaign brings those differences to light even more.

With Yahoo, it seems like they're for the user. They blogged a bunch of tips that users can do to protect their own data. But Google inserts a different tone: What *they* are doing for users.

Sure, Google shares tips for users, too, but they mix it with showing the great lengths they are going to, to ensure privacy on their end.

Yahoo's tone, of course, is symptomatic of a greater problem of not putting the user first. They're lashing out at bloggers for their own rule change in their search marketing service and overestimated themselves in the past year during the Microsoft acquisition attempt.

Of course, there's a new sheriff in town in Carol Bartz, the new CEO. Let's hope for Yahoo's sake that she can create a new tone and remind the purple people that the success of her company depends on putting the user first.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on January 28, 2009, 12:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Click Fraud Increased Slightly in Q4 2008

Click Forensics has released click fraud data for the fourth quarter of 2008. The click fraud rate grew slightly year-over-year. Here are the primary findings:

The overall industry average click fraud rate grew to 17.1 percent for Q4 2008. That’s up from 16.0 percent in Q3 2008 and from the 16.6 percent rate reported for Q4 2007.
The average click fraud rate of PPC advertisements appearing on search engine content networks, including Google AdSense and the Yahoo Publisher Network, was 28.2 percent. That’s up from the 27.1 percent rate reported for Q3 2008 and down slightly from the 28.3 percent rate reported for Q4 2007.
Traffic from botnets was responsible for 31.4 percent of all click fraud traffic in Q4 2008. That’s up from the 27.6 percent rate reported for Q3 2008 and the 22.0 percent rate reported for Q4 2007.
In Q4 2008, the greatest percentage of click fraud originating from countries outside the U.S. came from Canada (7.4 percent), Germany (3.0 percent) and China (2.3 percent).

“Based on the data we tracked in Q4 2008, it seems that the online advertising industry is not immune to the growing tide of cybercrime during this recessionary period,” said Tom Cuthbert, president of Click Forensics. “Both the overall click fraud rate and the rate of click fraud originating from botnets were the highest ever in Q4 2008. In addition, we’ve started to see old schemes like click farms reemerge. Advertisers should pay close attention to these types of threats in their online campaigns throughout the year.”

Posted by Nathania Johnson on January 28, 2009, 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Google AdWords Releases 7 New Help Videos

Google AdWords has released new help videos to assist customers in their search marketing campaigns. The videos (which can be found here) feature the following topics:

Entering billing information
Adjusting your budget
Using the Ad Preview tool
Applying a Promotional Credit to an existing account
Viewing Cost and Payment history
Using the Ads Diagnostic tool
Conversion Optimizer

Here's a sample:

Posted by Nathania Johnson on January 28, 2009, 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yahoo Tries to Defend Account "Optimizations"

For the last several months, Yahoo has been meddling in advertisers search advertising accounts. On those campaigns that it deems to be underperforming, Yahoo benevolently steps in and "optimizes" those campaigns. Yahoo tries to defend the program on the Yahoo Search Marketing Blog, but its explanation is insufficient.

According to "The Team," the intention is to "make our small- to mid-sized advertisers more successful," and "raise the performance of accounts that are experiencing issues like low-quality quality scores, low lead volume or low click-through rates."

Unfortunately, the way it's implemented has left many advertisers up in arms, for good cause. While it may be successful for inexperienced advertisers, it has caused plenty of distress for many advertisers.

Once Yahoo identifies an account that it believes will benefit from "optimization," it will go in and create new ads for existing ad groups, including multiple ads which it will test against each other. Yahoo will also add keywords that it believes will drive more targeted traffic.

Yahoo says it will notify advertisers of any changes within 24 hours, and the changes are reversible. But several advertisers have said they were never notified, or were notified several weeks later, after a client's budget was already spent on these new ads.

And many advertisers are criticizing the changes that are made, saying that ads were poorly written and new keywords were hardly relevant.

If the program were entirely opt-in -- before the changes were made -- it might be welcomed as a new option to try out. But they're making changes to an advertiser's account, without permission, and without regard for existing client limitations or strategies.

As it stands now, it makes many advertisers question whether they should subject their clients to an ad program that removes any kind of control from their own ads.

UPDATE: Here's some advertiser feedback from around the Web:

YSM, You Are the Liar!, Searching Beyond the Paid
Yahoo Tries To Justify Automatic Account Optimization, Search Engine Land
Yahoo Now Calling Us Liars Regarding Their Auto-Optimization of Campaigns, Search Engine Roundtable
Yo Yahoo! The “Truth” is, Your Search Marketing Changes Suck!, Marketing Pilgrim
Yahoo! Is Justifying Automatic Account Optimization!, PageTraffic Blog
YSM - New Terms & Conditions, Search Engine Watch Forums
Yahoo Is Stealing Your Money, Marketing Don

Posted by Kevin Newcomb on January 28, 2009, 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Search a Bright Spot for Yahoo, too

Last week, Microsoft reported earnings, and announced that even amid job cuts in other areas, the company would continue to add jobs in its search business.

Tuesday, Yahoo reported earnings for Q4 and 2008, and again search was noted as a bright spot in otherwise weak quarter.

Search revenue for "owned & operated" sites came in at $436 million, up 11 percent year-over-year. U.S. search revenues were up about 17 percent. Query volume was up 10 percent, while revenue per search grew in the “mid-single digits."

The company reported overall revenue of $1.8 billion in Q4 2008, a 1 percent drop compared to Q4 2007. Marketing services revenue totaled $1.6 billion in Q4. Yahoo also reported full year results; revenue totaled $7.2 billion in 2008, up 3 percent over 2007.

During the quarter, Yahoo incurred $108 million in restructuring costs, a $488 million write-down of its international business, and $7 million in legal and advisory fees related to the proposed Microsoft and Google deals.
Not counting those charges, Yahoo would have met analyst expectations with $238 million in net income, or $0.17 per share. That's up from $184 million, or $0.13 per share, for Q4 2007. With those charges, Yahoo reported a net loss of $303 million, or $0.22 per share.

During the call, new Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz assured analysts she was not hired to sell the company, that she h"didn’t arrive with preconceived notions about anything," in regards to selling the search business, although "everything's on the table."

“Whether we keep it or sell it, search is important to this company and it’s important to build it up,” Bartz said.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb on January 28, 2009, 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEW Experts: Yahoo's New Era

Search Engine Watch Expert - Kevin Ryan President Obama received a warm welcome with record-breaking fanfare, but I just didn't see the outpouring of joy for Yahoo's new chief executive. I suppose one could argue the United States is in much worse shape than Yahoo, but the lack of enthusiasm I've seen for Bartz (among the digerati) is disappointing. In today's Searching for Meaning column, "Yahoo's New Era," Kevin Ryan notes that new CEO Carol Bartz has exactly what Yahoo needs to turn things around.

» Full story

Posted by Kevin Newcomb on January 28, 2009, 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEW Experts: Track Those Alternate Conversions

Search Engine Watch Expert - Eric Enge It's natural to think about revenue-generating events such as sales, leads generated, or ads clicked on when we think about conversions. In today's Web analytics and ROI column, "Track Those Alternate Conversions," Eric Enge explains that there are many other types of valuable conversions, and we're shortchanging ourselves when we look at conversions in a narrow way.

» Full story

Posted by Kevin Newcomb on January 28, 2009, 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Top 10 Newspaper Sites See 16% Growth in December 2008 Web Traffic

Newspapers may be struggling these days but it's not for lack of web traffic, at least for the top ten newspaper sites. According to Nielsen Online, web traffic to the top 10 sites grew by an average of 16% in December 2008. Only one of the top 10 properties, Boston.com, saw a decline in web traffic:

"Nine of the top 10 newspaper Web sites experienced positive year-over-year growth," commented Chuck Schilling, research director, agency & media, Nielsen Online. "News coverage in December ranged from how the 2008 holiday season would be affected by the weakening economy to Obama's latest nomination for his administration, all of which helped to drive this impressive growth."

Posted by Nathania Johnson on January 27, 2009, 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

AdMob Launches Offering for Android Applications

AdMob has announced the launch of its Android application advertising offering. This allows developers to monetize their apps via a mobile banner ad. AccuWeather, Jirbo, and TapJoy are among apps that are utilizing the new option.

“Android's open platform enables developers to build rich mobile applications that provide a great experience for users,” said Ali Diab, Vice President of Product Management for AdMob. “We are already seeing strong interest in developing applications for Android-based devices, similar to what we saw with the iPhone last summer, and are very excited to take the lead in helping developers monetize their applications on this fast-growing device platform.”

AdMob has been available to iPhone developers for months now. AdMob also offers advertising options for mobile sites.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on January 27, 2009, 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

MySpace Parent Co. Fox Interactive Media to Cut 5% of Workforce

Fox Interactive Media, parent of popular social networking site, MySpace, announced Monday that it would be cutting 5% of its workforce, or 100 jobs. Employees at MySpace are affected.

Social networks are notorious for having trouble monetizing their sites, despite high traffic. MySpace has found additional challenges by increased competition from social network Facebook and the social chat client, Twitter.

But it's not for lack of effort on MySpace's part. Last year, they redesigned their site and launched a self-serving ad platform. MySpace has also partnered with Google and Yahoo in the OpenSocial effort to help social profiles be portable among several sites.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on January 27, 2009, 8:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEW Experts: Breaking the Norm with Search

Search Engine Watch Expert - Aaron Shear Many engines, especially Google, are looking for uncommon combinations of content that typically don't exist together. In today's enterprise search marketing column, "Breaking the Norm with Search," Aaron Shear outlines one untapped way to capture search traffic, by combining content of related items in new ways.

» Full story

Posted by Kevin Newcomb on January 27, 2009, 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEW Experts: SEO Web Site Review: Water Filter Corner

Search Engine Watch Expert - Mark Jackson This Web site recently launched and has several elements that need to be corrected to lay a sound foundation for future SEO success. In today's organic search engine optimization column, "SEO Web Site Review: Water Filter Corner," Mark Jackson offers some tips on how to improve things in this quarterly SEO site review.

» Full story

Posted by Kevin Newcomb on January 27, 2009, 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Advanced Keyword Research Checklist: Using Multiple Datasets

Keyword research matters to nearly every aspect of Internet marketing. It used to be so simple. Back in the day the (now retired) Overture Keyword Tool made assembling keyword baskets simple and sweet. Sure, search frequency and category patterns were skewed by SEOs-of-day. We busied ourselves repeatedly running now-obsolete ranking reports.

In those days, transparent bidding lent true insight to the cost of any PPC keyword category. Paid platform keyword research tools worked really well for SEO...heady times indeed.

The golden age of search was upon us, a brave new world of über-targeted media buys served to inquiring customers. For goodness sake, I remember rolling around on the floor in complete delight in the late '90s, because our clients' customers were flocking to search engines to ask for product information. Imagine that! Advising brand creation was no longer about random hotel room focus groups. Marketers finally had empirical data by which to judge decisions.

Keyword Research in the Age of Data Overload

Now in 2009, there are additional datasets to advise creating keyword baskets, available to the savvy demographic research artist. Most of our SEO kits include mainstream tools like Trellian Keyword Discovery, WordTracker and Google AdWords Internal/External tool. They're obviously foundational resources.

Second tier engines offer their search logs in the form of PPC keyword inventory. Also there are terrific niche keyword tools out there.

Still we shouldn't miss opportunities to mash up site-specific datasets like PPC history, organic analytics and associated conversion metrics. In addition, we can now take social media's pulse by buzz pocket mining, which elevates thesaurus-like stemming creative to near nuclear levels.

All of this makes for terrific keyword research for SEO, PPC and social media optimization. Tools and datasets are often best used in creative combinations. Here are just a few examples:

Wire up a website's SEO, advised by its historic mid-tail PPC conversion metrics. Base decisions on "what to go for," on your site's authority and what's attainable organically.
Start with competitive intelligence from SpyFu, Paste top keywords into WordTracker Lateral Stemming Thesaurus. Then run the results through AdWords External Keyword Tool. Sort to find the sweet spot where low average CPC intersects with higher search frequency. Set up an inexpensive mid-tail AdWords Campaign.
Scrape any page in your site for phrase density. Then use social search engines like StumbleUpon, Twitter or Digg to find relevant content. Scrape your discoveries as well, to advise creation of additional content and categories for your site. Think of the process as keyword discovery by (buzz pocket mining).
Study seasonal organic traffic and its propensity to convert for certain geotargeted permutations. Then advise segmentation of seasonal PPC campaigns with the data. Create additional content (and associated SEO), advised by keywords' conversion PPC conversion success (one happy circle).
When multiple inline links to the same page from the same page exist, base your doFollow/noFollow decisions on PPC conversion data.

See, once you get going, applying creative wit to utilizing site-specific datasets at hand is simple.

Not The Kitchen Sink

Advising keyword research by measured consideration of multiple datasets certainly doesn't mean to always use every shred of data available. Having the wisdom to learn the difference between adding noisy layers to the research process or including just the right analytics combination, requires some experience.

Advanced Keyword Research: Multiple Dataset Checklist

Not everything on the list below will be available for all sites. One thing is for sure though -- taking a deeper inside-out approach to fleshing out keyword strategy, will likely result in sales.

Here's a checklist to aid in planning the keyword research process:

Standard: Trellian KW Discovery, Google AdWords External Keyword Tool, WordTracker

Each of these tools has lovely idiosyncrasies. Check out WordTracker's Lateral Stemming Thesauruses and KW Discovery's Industry Terms. Google AdWords Keyword Tool's ability to scrape a page for dense phrase pockets is incredibly useful. In addition to classic search frequency metrics, experiment with sorting by PPC advertiser competition, seasonality and Average CPC. Experiment with different match types and synonyms. Dial in negative keywords and export seriously useful reports. Each tool; has many more features and worthy of entire articles individually.
SpyFu is often a great place to start research. Download competitors' AdWords keywords and AdWords including bid cost metrics. Sort different ways. There are limited free accounts and subscriptions
Compete.com is another free and paid subscription service. Gain competitive insight for every site on the web, as indicated by the "largest pool of online consumer behavior data in the industry."
Buzz Pocket Mining means harvesting "community recommended" authority content to scrape for keyphrase insight, basket-build by keyword research tools, and extrapolate by other lateral stemming processes. BPM also provides a lovely side benefit in that, during the process, it's easy to identify and note each community's influencers and authority users for networking and conversational marketing later.
PPC traffic and conversion history. One of the main advantages of PPC is the ability to cast a wide net quickly, to gain insight as to what works.
Organic search traffic and conversion history. Often a site's authentic meaning and character is revealed by organic search traffic and conversion.

Keyword research is crucial to to nearly every aspect of online marketing and it's become much more complex. Whether for SEO, paid search or social bookmarks, think past traditional search frequency-based keywords research to build baskets. Take stemming past the online thesaurus and into Buzz Pocket Mining. Advise research by conversion metrics, search analytics advertiser competition and attainable SEO.

Take inspiration from competitive intelligence and go farther semantically than your competitors. Deploy SEO and PPC campaigns spread wide across highly relevant spaces to the product's demographics. Tools and datasets are often best used in creative combinations.

Posted by Marty Weintraub on January 26, 2009, 9:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Cars.com Adds DealerChat to Online Advertising Packages

Auto search site Cars.com has added a new feature, DealerChat, to its online advertising offering. It's available immediately, at no extra cost, and does exactly what the name says it does - allows dealers to chat with ready-to-buy customers, directly from their Cars.com listings.

"Cars.com is committed to equipping our dealers with the tools they need to engage in-market shoppers, drive traffic to their stores and close more sales," said Dennis Galbraith, vice president of advertising products and training at Cars.com. "By adding chat functionality to our listings, we give dealers a powerful new way to communicate with in-market shoppers who are still on their listings and interested in learning more about their vehicles and their dealership. Every chat inquiry represents a potential deal and gives our dealers a new opportunity to build a relationship with the prospect and win their business."

Andre Johnson, general Manager at Rothrock Chevrolet Lotus near Philly, tried DealerChat as part of a test and found great results.

"If they're going to chat, they want to know, 'Do you have that car now?' You have a greater chance of selling them the car - and not losing them - than when you're emailing them information about the car when they already have that in front of them," said Johnson.

With the economy the way it is, dealers need all the help they can get. It's great to see sites like Cars.com understanding their advertisers and helping them increase sales in these changing times. I've noticed that Cars.com is very good at this. Last November, Cars.com hosted a free webinar discussing how online ads drive offline traffic.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on January 26, 2009, 2:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Google Wants Feedback on Ad Planner

Google is asking for feedback on Ad Planner. The media planning tool was launched last June as a limited release and then made available to everyone last November.

Need incentive to complete the survey? Google is giving away 50 $50 gift certificates to the Google Store. (Seriously? How about some AdWords credit instead?)

Have you tried Ad Planner? Give us your impressions in the comments.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on January 26, 2009, 1:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Taking It Back: YouTube Allows You to Delete Your Own Comments

Ever written something on the internet you wish you could take back? Well, now on YouTube, you can take it back.

YouTube is allowing users to delete their own comments. Of course, it's always prudent to take a moment (or 100) and be sure you really want to make that comment in the first place.

After all, there is still the Abuse & Safety Tool that people can use to report inappropriate comments. And that tool can be used before you've cooled down and reconsidered that comment made in the heat of the moment.

So, as always, comment wisely. But we all make mistakes, so, thank you YouTube, for giving us an eraser.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on January 26, 2009, 1:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Global Internet Audiences Exceeds 1 Billion in December 2008

Last month, the global internet audience surpassed 1 billion, according to comScore. Asia-Pacific leads the pack at 41 percent share with Europe coming in at second at 28%.

Broken down by country, China is in the lead, with USA in second:

And here are the top sites:

“Surpassing one billion global users is a significant landmark in the history of the Internet,” said Magid Abraham, President and Chief Executive Officer, comScore, Inc. “It is a monument to the increasingly unified global community in which we live and reminds us that the world truly is becoming more flat. The second billion will be online before we know it, and the third billion will arrive even faster than that, until we have a truly global network of interconnected people and ideas that transcend borders and cultural boundaries.”

It's still amazing to me that 5 billion people are not using the internet, despite my travels to underdeveloped areas of the world. I wonder just how quickly that second billion will get online. What say you? Leave a comment about your thoughts on reaching this milestone.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on January 26, 2009, 8:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yahoo! Search Marketing Updates Help Center

Yahoo! Search Marketing has updated its help center. Specifically, it has made the following changes:

Better organization and easier navigation
Stronger search functionality
Links to related information available
Single Page FAQ

On the front page of the Help Center, you'll find four main sections:

Advertise Online with Yahoo! - This section outlines the account sign-up process for prospective advertisers.
Managing Your Account - This helps walk existing advertisers through the campaign creation process.
Fine-Tune Your Account - Advertisers ready to manage their account to a higher level of performance can mine this section for info on optimization features and general strategies for managing to specific business objectives or by industry.
Learn Online - A repository for all training materials, tutorials, webinars and webinar summaries, and general education material to help raise your advertiser IQ.

What do you think about the updated Yahoo! Search Marketing Help Center? Let us know in the comments.

Posted by Nathania Johnson on January 26, 2009, 8:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

UK PR Firms Should Learn SEO at SES London 2009

Back in December, I posted two items to the Search Engine Watch Blog that encouraged UK PR firms to learn SEO at SES London 2009. With the Search Engine Strategies conference just three weeks away, I figure that now is a good time to remind my UK public relations colleagues why they must attend this must-attend event – even after official confirmation that Great Britain is in recession.

Fredrick%20Marckini%20and%20Greg%20Jarboe%20at%20SES%20London%202008.jpg My first post was entitled, “Half of British and Irish Marketers Use SEO for PR Purposes.” It reported on new research by Citigate Dewe Rogerson that found 51.4% of marketers in the UK and Ireland use search engine optimization (SEO) tactics for public relations (PR) purposes. However, the research also found that 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.

My second blog post was entitled, “Online PR Industry in UK Can Learn Lessons from SEO Industry.” It reported on a new Online PR Industry Benchmarking Report by E-consultancy that found about half of companies that outsource online PR are using PR agencies, but the other half are using search marketing agencies or web development agencies to develop and deliver their online PR strategy. The report also found, “Agencies and specialists should note that levels of client satisfaction are not encouraging and they may need to improve their Online PR knowledge and offering.”

So, if UK PR firms and UK public relations specialists want to do more than muddle through Britain's economic downturn, then they need to attend Search Engine Strategies London, which will be held Feb. 17-20, 2009, at the Business Design Centre, 52 Upper Street, Islington.

Now, I would urge public relations specialists to attend the opening keynote by Matt Mason, Author of “The Pirate's Dilemma”, and the Orion Panel, “Measuring Success in a 2.0 World”, on Tuesday, Feb. 17. And I would recommend that they attend the Orion Panel, “SEO: Where to Next?”, on Wednesday, Feb. 18. But I'd advise UK and European marketers, corporate decision makers, webmasters and search engine marketing (SEM) specialists, including pay per click (PPC) advertisers and search engine optimization (SEO) consultants, to attend these sessions, too.

However, if I were organizing a virtual track for just my PR peers, there are a number of sessions that I'd strongly encourage them to attend.

On Tuesday, Feb. 17, they should go to:
• Universal & Blended Search
• WebTrends Workshop
• Online Video Update - The Next Wave
• Analytics: Data Into Action

On Wednesday, Feb. 18, they should go to:
• SEO Through Blogs & Feeds
• News Search SEO
• Video & Podcast SEO
• Link Building Basics
• Keywords & Content: Search Marketing Foundations

On Thursday, Feb. 19, they should go to:
• Brand & Reputation Management
• Social Media Optimization
• Duplicate Content & Multiple Site Issues
• Beyond Linkbait: Getting Authoritative Mentions Online
• Local Search Marketing Tactics

On Friday, Feb. 20, they should register for these training workshops:
• Reaching Your Audience Through Blogs
• Link and Reputation Workshop

UK PR firms and UK public relations specialists will also want to visit some of the exhibitors that will be at SES London 2009. This includes PRWeb, which is recognised as a leading online news and press release distribution service worldwide.

John Mulligan of SEO-PR interviewed Jiyan Wei of PRWeb at SES San Jose 2008. Wei talked about the public relations benefits of providing press materials online and the ease with which PRWeb customers can set up their own newsrooms complete with releases and other media.

PRWeb NewsRoom Launch Preview with Jiyan Wei

All this should convince UK PR firms and UK public relations specialists that they must attend this must-attend event. (And if they register for SES London 2009 by Monday, Feb. 2, they can save £100!)

Posted by Greg Jarboe on January 26, 2009, 2:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

SEW Experts: 10 Ways Twitter Can Make Money

Search Engine Watch Expert - Erik Qualman With traditional advertising proving less effective, marketers need new outlets like Twitter and Facebook to help create interest and demand. In today's building brand equity column, "10 Ways Twitter Can Make Money," Erik Qualman shows that by working new features into the service, the company could enhance users' Twitter experience, and monetize their service at the same time.

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Posted by Kevin Newcomb on January 26, 2009, 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEW Experts: Web Analytics 101, Part 2

Search Engine Watch Expert - Ron Jones When using Web analytics, it's easy to get caught up in all the numbers and lose sight of the overall goal of increasing your site's ROI. It doesn't do any good to use Web analytics to produce cool charts and reports, but then fail to act. In today's SEM 101 column, "Web Analytics 101, Part 2," Ron Jones illustrates how Web analytics can be used to make decisions to improve the effectiveness of an online marketing strategy and the performance of a Web site.

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Posted by Kevin Newcomb on January 26, 2009, 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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