October 25, 2009 - October 31, 2009
125.5 Million Americans Watched 10.3 Billion YouTube Videos in September
Normally, announcements made on a Friday afternoon are bad news. But yesterday at 4:21 p.m., comScore Video Metrix announced that more than 168 million U.S. Internet users watched nearly 26 billion videos online during September 2009 -- an average of 154 videos per viewer. That's good news, isn't it?
To put this in perspective, Super Bowl XLIII achieved the largest television audience in U.S. history with a total audience of 151.6 million viewers, according to official national ratings data released by Nielsen Media Research.
In other words, more Americans are watching online video each and every month than watch the Super Bowl once a year. Get it? Got it? Good.
YouTube accounted for close to 40 percent of the 26 billiion videos viewed during September, to remain the market leader by a wide margin.
According to comScore,
-- 84.8 percent of the total U.S. Internet audience viewed online video in September.
-- The average online video viewer watched 9.8 hours of video that month.
-- The duration of the average online video was 3.8 minutes.
-- 125.5 million viewers watched nearly 10.3 billion videos on YouTube.com -- which is 82.4 videos per viewer.
-- 45.6 million viewers watched 424 million videos on MySpace.com -- which is 9.3 videos per viewer.
Now, let's compare these numbers to ones that search marketers should know by heart.
According to comScore qSearch, Americans conducted 13.8 billion core searches in September 2009. They watched nearly 26 billion videos online that month. This means Americans are watching almost twice as many videos as they conducting searches at the five major search engines.
So, is your video marketing budget twice as large as your search marketing budget? Hmmm. Maybe that's why the news was buried on a Friday afternoon.
Let's drill down a little deeper.
There were almost 9 billion core searches conducted on Google in September. There were 10.3 billion videos viewed on YouTube that month. That's right, Americans are watching more videos on YouTube than then are conducting searches on Google.
But wait! There's more!
According to comScore qSearch, there were 21.3 billion expanded search queries conducted in September. This counts searches for mapping, local directory, and user-generated video sites as well as searches at the major search engines.
Who were the leaders in expanded search?
Google was #1 with 9.4 billion expanded search queries.
YouTube was #2 with 3.5 billion.
Yahoo! as #3 with 2.7 billion.
Bing was #4 with 1.2 billion.
So, even if you put blinders on and say you are only interested in "search" and not interested in "marketing," then YouTube belongs on your A-list. It is the #2 search engine.
If you want to see what other marketers are doing on YouTube, check out Coldwell Banker's channel. And for the backstory, check out my interview with Michael Fisher, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Coldwell Banker, at SES San Jose 2009.
Michael Fisher of Coldwell Banker discusses Coldwell Banker's successful viral marketing campaigns
And there are advertising opportunities on YouTube, as well. For example, check out my interview with Matthew Liu, YouTube Product Manager, at SES New York 2009. He talks about Sponsored Videos, which has since been renamed Promoted Videos.
YouTube Product Manager, Matthew Liu on YouTube's Insight and Sponsored videos at SES NY 2009
Now, many search marketers measure the success of their campaigns in terms of conversions. In these cases, it's not just about views or clicks; it's about what the user did next: Buy something, fill out a form on your website, or take some other action.
These marketers want to be able to incorporate these kinds of conversions into their campaigns so they can "close the loop" and drive traffic to off-YouTube web pages. Back in June, YouTube launched this feature as an option for all Promoted Videos, allowing anyone who runs a campaign to specify a "Call-to-Action" for users, helping them generate engaged, well-targeted traffic for their websites.
Adding a Call-to-Action overlay to your video is easy. First, run a campaign to promote your video on YouTube. Then, go to the Video Details page under My Videos and fill out the fields in the section marked "Call-to-Action overlay." All you have to do is include a short headline, ad text, a destination url, and upload an optional image, and the overlay will appear whenever someone watches your video. Clicks on the overlay will be tracked in YouTube Insight.
Get it? Got it? Good.
Posted by Greg Jarboe on October 31, 2009, 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Asian, Arabic and Russian Characters In Domains Soon: What Does It Mean
ICANN announced it will start allowing domains to be registered using non-Latin characters (English etc.) starting Nov. 16. The news was released during a meeting in Seoul on Friday, Reuters reported.
The news is important as it will see the registration of thousands if not millions of language specific domains. Previously, all domains were basically in English - not quite appropriate for a world wide web.
As the Independent noted:
"Considering it is known as the "World Wide web", the internet's reliance on the English language has long been maligned as a hangover from the web's beginnings as a communications tool for the US military."
"100,000 new characters are expected to be added, in a multitude of languages including Mandarin, Russian and Hebrew," according to the Independent.
No doubt there will be a stampede to register domains like the Oklahoma Land Rush of the the appropriatedly named "Unassigned Lands."
This move also shows a loosening of US control over ICANN and "most striking about the development is the symbolic shifting of power underpinning the web, which comes at a time that America's economic power around the world is diminishing. With Chinese web users now outnumbering their American counterparts, commentators will see this change as another step in the gradual de-Americanisation of the internet."
Posted by Frank Watson on October 31, 2009, 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Business Wire Conducts Video Interview of Warren Buffet
Last month, after watching HostingYourParty, which told people how to host a Microsoft Windows 7 House, I asked: If you create something so bad that it goes viral, is it a public relations disaster?
Today, after watching "Warren Buffett is Bullish on America's Future, but Says That a Full Economic Recovery Will Take a While," I'll ask a different question: If you create something so good, is it a video marketing triumph even if it doesn't go viral?
In the video, Cathy Baron Tamraz, President and Chief Executive Officer of Business Wire, a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, interviews Warren Buffett, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Okay, so not every company has the "Oracle of Omaha" as its chairman. But every company has a chairman, CEO or president who their customers, stockholders and the media want to hear from.
Yes, yes, you can always insert a quote from Le Grand Fromage in your next press release. But, imagine inserting a video interview as well.
You'll find the Business Wire press release was posted yesterday. It is entitled, "Warren Buffett is Bullish on America's Future, but Says That a Full Economic Recovery Will Take a While."
And attached to the press release is the video below.
So, even if 590,000 people don't view it in the next three days, I still found it compelling.
Oh, speaking of 590,000 views, that is what a demonstration of Google Maps Navigation (Beta) has received in the past three days. You can see it below.
Okay, okay, so most companies don't have brand names that are verbs as well as nouns. But every company has products that its customers, shareholders and other stakeholders want to hear about.
So, do these videos have anything else in common? They aren't funny, which also makes me think: Why isn't your company using video marketing?
Posted by Greg Jarboe on October 30, 2009, 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Google Flu Trends Intense in Canada, High in United States
Okay, so Google Flu Trends has been around since November of 2008. But Google has found that certain search terms are good indicators of flu activity.
Check out the world map below to see how Google Flu Trends uses aggregated Google search data to estimate flu activity. It is intense in Canada and Norway. It is high in Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, Sweden, Russia, Ukraine, and the United States.
Each week, millions of users around the world search for health information online. As you might expect, there are more flu-related searches during flu season, more allergy-related searches during allergy season, and more sunburn-related searches during the summer.
You can explore all of these phenomena using Google Insights for Search. But can search query trends provide the basis for an accurate, reliable model of real-world phenomena?
Google has found a close relationship between how many people search for flu-related topics and how many people actually have flu symptoms. Of course, not every person who searches for "flu" is actually sick, but a pattern emerges when all the flu-related search queries are added together.
Google compared its query counts with traditional flu surveillance systems and found that many search queries tend to be popular exactly when flu season is happening. By counting how often Google sees these search queries, it can estimate how much flu is circulating in different countries and regions around the world. Their results have been published in the journal Nature.
So, according to the world map, now would be a great time to visit Australia, where flu activity is minimal. Throw another shrimp on the barbie.
Posted by Greg Jarboe on October 30, 2009, 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Anchor Intelligence Reports Decline in Click Fraud, Identifies New Hotspots
Anchor Intelligence has released its click fraud report for the third quarter of 2009. It paints a different picture than the Click Forensics report that was recently released. Where Click Forensics saw an increase, Anchor Intelligence saw a decline.
Overall, click fraud was 23.2% in Q3, down 14.3% from 27.1% in the second quarter. Anchor Intelligence breaks its click fraud rates into two categories: attempted click fraud, the kind with evil intentions, and innocuous click fraud, like an accidental click. Attempted click fraud was 18.6% in Q3 down from 22.9% in Q2. Innocuous rates increased from 4.2% in Q2 to 4.6% in Q3.
Anchor Intelligence's data reports attempted click fraud, not billed click fraud. Their ClearMark for Traffic system integrates with ad networks and search engines and identifies fraudulent clicks before the advertiser is affected.
Egypt and Indonesia have emerged as leaders in click fraud rates - percentage-wise. Volume is still highest in the United States:
Anchor Intelligence says it did observe more sophisticated click fraud schemes in the third quarter, such as browser hijacking. They also saw an increase in the threats of malicious advertisements in paid search and ads on publisher websites.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 30, 2009, 9:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Google Crawls RSS Feeds to Discover New Web Pages; AdSense for Feeds Now Available in Blogger
Google recently launched a new feature that uses RSS and Atom feeds to discover new web pages. This helps Google index new webpages faster than traditional methods.
As a result, you'll want to make sure that your robots.txt file allows Googlebot to crawl your feeds. To learn more about robots.txt from Google's standpoint, click here.
In other feed news related to Google, AdSense for Feeds is now available directly in Blogger. You can find the integration under the "Monetize" tab in the Blogger dashboard.
AdSense for Feeds allows bloggers to make money from advertisements that are included in RSS feeds. This is important because not all RSS readers click through to visit a site, where bloggers can make money off of display ads.
Blogger is a blogging platform that was acquired by Google in 2003.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 30, 2009, 2:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Google Tests Mortgage Comparison Ads, Updates Real Estate Search in Maps
Google is vamping up its real estate search offerings with two new announcements. First up, AdWords is testing comparison ads in the mortgage/refinance vertical. The idea behind comparison ads is to help searchers filter what they're really searching for when they type in something like "mortgage." Check out this screen shot of a comparison ad, per the Inside AdWords blog (click for a larger view):
When you click the ad, you get taken to a chart that lists various rates and lenders.
The second real estate announcement is for Google Maps. There are new ways to help searchers find real estate using the mapping service.
The first one involves the "More" menu that's directly on the map (not the one in the sidebar results). When you click on that, you'll see a real estate option. The second one is the ability to search rentals.
What do you think of Google's pursuit of real estate? Let us know by leaving a comment.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 30, 2009, 1:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Google Homepage Test Now Instructs Searchers to Press Enter
Google has added an element to their latest homepage test that instructs people what to do after they've entered a keyword. The sentence "Press enter to search," now appears under the box where you type in your keywords - where the old submit buttons used to be.
Here's a screenshot. (Click image for a larger view.)
The "Press enter" phrase was not seen in earlier screenshots of the homepage test. I've apparently gotten the test version lately, as I've seen the fade-in and the lack of buttons, but this is the first I've seen the "Press enter to search."
Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 30, 2009, 1:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Google Sends Another Letter to the FCC Explaining Voice
Google has provided additional information to the FCC's regarding Google Voice. You might remember that Google already responded to FCC's questions about Google Voice and why a mobile app for it was rejected for the iPhone.
This time, Google Voice is responding to concerns raised by AT&T about restricting calls to select area codes, something telecommunications carriers are prohibited by law from doing.
In the most recent letter to the FCC, Google said they're not a telecommunications carrier because their service is not open to the public and it's free. Indeed, Google Voice is available by invitation only and is free - for the most part. Still, the public can request Google Voice invitations and they must pay for international calls. Google says, though, that international calls only make up 4% of calls placed through Google Voice.
Instead, Google calls itself an information provider:
Google Voice constitutes an "information service" under the federal Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. § 153(20), because it offers users "a capability for generating, acquiring, storing, [and] transforming" information of the user's choosing. The Google Voice number is a personal number for managing the user's connectivity in one place, and it is not associated with an underlying telephone access service.
Google maintains that Voice as a web-based application, but stresses it's not VOIP.
Google Voice is a Web-based software application. It is a single, integrated unified messaging and call management offering that is completely distinct from the user's existing telephone access lines/services.
Google's strongest argument is that you can't simply sign up to Voice as a telecommunications provider. Instead, Google Voice is used to manage the telecommunications services you're already signed up to.
Importantly, prospective users of Google Voice must subscribe to one or more traditional telecommunications services to be eligible to create a Google Voice account. The Google Voice system will require that a unique US telephone number be verified before an account will become active.
What truly looks to be the problem is that Google Voice is a combination of information and telecommunications services, which doesn't fit existing (and now outdated) descriptions of providers as set by the FCC and Congress. Ironically, both AT&T and Google probably have similar goals here: to bring government regulation up to date with how technology has progressed.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 29, 2009, 3:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
MapQuest Gets a Fresh Coat of Paint
Earlier this week, Google updated the look of its mapping service and now MapQuest has done the same. The goal is to improve readability and give more accurate details such has a building's proportional footprint compared to the streets around it.
Additionally, MapQuest says they've added new imagery for terrain and vegetation for Levels 4-9. Here's before and after screenshots of Philadelphia, per the official MapQuest blog:
Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 29, 2009, 2:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Microsoft and Yahoo! Deal Implementation Delayed, But Progress Made
Yahoo! has filed a document with the SEC stating the obvious: that their search deal with Microsoft did not get finalized by October 27, 2009. But the statement also said that progress was being made:
On October 28, 2009, Yahoo! Inc., a Delaware corporation ("Yahoo!"), and Microsoft Corporation, a Washington corporation ("Microsoft"), mutually agreed to extend the period to negotiate and execute a Search and Advertising Services and Sales Agreement and a License Agreement (the "Definitive Agreements") reflecting and supplementing the provisions of such agreements as set forth in annexes to their binding letter agreement dated July 29, 2009 (the "Letter Agreement"). The Letter Agreement specified that the parties would execute Definitive Agreements by October 27, 2009, but given the complex nature of the transaction, there remain some details to be finalized. The parties are working diligently on finalizing the agreements, have made good progress to date, and have agreed to execute the agreements as expeditiously as possible. The Letter Agreement was the subject of a Current Report on Form 8-K filed by Yahoo! on August 4, 2009.
I reached out to Microsoft for comment, but none was provided at the time of this post.. Comment came in literally as I hit publish:
Microsoft and Yahoo! are committed to this agreement and believe this is a highly competitive deal that is good for consumers, advertisers and publishers. We have made good progress in finalizing the definitive agreements. Given the complex nature of this transaction there remain some issues that need some additional clarity and definitive details. So, the teams at Yahoo! and Microsoft are continuing to work on the remaining details, and we have mutually agreed to extend the period to negotiate and execute the agreement. We plan to do this as expeditiously as possible. Both companies are optimistic that we will be able to close this deal by early 2010.
It sounds as if the deal is still on, but like the construction of a new building, they just have some delays.
What do you think?
Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 29, 2009, 1:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Twitter Begins to Roll Out Lists
If you normally use a third-party client to access and update your Twitter feed, you have a reason to go to Twitter.com in the next few days: LISTS! At the beginning of the month, Twitter announced that it was testing Lists and now it looks like they're beginning to roll out the beta to users. This is what I happily saw when I visited Twitter.com today:
Let's walk through the steps of making and viewing lists. I decided to make a list of funny people.
Create a new list by clicking the button in the announcement - or in the new Lists section under the search box on the sidebar:
A box will pop up. Name your list and decide whether you want it to be public or private.
To add people to a list, you search for them - or go directly to their Twitter page, click on the List icon and select the list you wish to add them to:
Once you have your list going, you can view the list by clicking the link to the list in the List of Lists under the search sidebar (see pic above). Still with me?
When you do, you'll see a stream of Tweets posted by Tweeple on the list.
If you want to get a list of Tweeple on the List, look for the "following link" at the top of the stream:
Here's the Tweeple so far in my Funny People List:
Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 29, 2009, 12:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Confirmed: Google to Roll Out Music Search
Last week, rumors swirled that Google would launch a new music search. Earlier today, Greg Jarboe covered Hitwise data examining how important music is to search.
Now, we've gotten confirmation that the rumors are true and data don't lie. Google is, indeed, rolling out a new music search. This update will roll out over the next day to all U.S. users.
Why the focus on music? Google says two out of the top ten searches in the U.S., according to Insights for Search.
When you get the update, you'll be able to sample music directly in the search results. Google is partnering with MySpace (which owns iLike) and Lala to provide the samples. You can search via artist, song title or even small parts of lyrics you remember.
Google is also partnering with Pandora, imeem and Rhapsody. You'll see links to these sites where you can discover new music.
Here's a screenshot per the Official Google Blog:
Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 28, 2009, 7:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Hot Rumor: Google is Launching a New Music Service
According to a blog post by Heather Dougherty, Director of Research at Experian Hitwise, Google is expected to launch their music service today. So, she took a closer look at the tons of data that Hitwise collects to see can be seen.
Here are some highlights:
-- Out of the top 1,000 search terms that took place on Google last week, 6 percent were music-related (which includes bands, music services and content).
-- Last week, Google sent 1.48 percent of their total visits to the Music category and of those visits, 95 percent of the downstream traffic to Music websites were returning visitors (that had visited Google in the past 30 days).
-- Google was the top referral website to the Music category accounting for nearly 30 percent of the total traffic to the category last week, 5x more than 2nd ranked Yahoo! Search and 6.3x more than MySpace.
-- Last week, 15 percent of the clicks from the search term portfolio of Music that includes the names of over 900 band and artist names resulted in a visit to a Google property, especially YouTube, among the Top 10 websites to receive traffic.
-- Last month, 71% of all searches took place on Google.
Speaking of music, VEVO, a music and video entertainment hub being launched by YouTube and Universal Music Group later this year, just landed AT&T as an advertiser. Oh, and VEVO just got an undisclosed investment from Abu Dhabi Media Company, which is backed by the people from the United Arab Emirates.
Is there a connection? Is YouTube an independent subsidiary of Google? You betcha.
I spoke with Bill Tancer, General Manager of Hitwise, and author of the best-selling book "Click: What Millions of People are Doing Online and Why it Matters" at SES Chicago 2008. He was about to spot search engine user behavior patterns and the shopping patterns of the affluent long before they were common knowledge.
Bill Tancer on Search Patterns at SES Chicago 2008
So, when the folks over at Hitwise tell me how music plays on Google, I listen. I listen very closely. They hear things before the rest of us.
Posted by Greg Jarboe on October 28, 2009, 6:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Tweet This: 19 Percent of Internet Users Use Twitter
According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 19 percent of Internet users now say they use Twitter or another service to share updates about themselves, or to see updates about others. This represents a significant increase over previous surveys conducted in December 2008 and April 2009, when 11 percent of internet users said they used Twitter or another micro-blogging service.
Three groups of Internet users are responsible for driving the growth of this activity: social networking site users, mobile Internet users, and adults under age 44.
In addition, the more devices someone owns, the more likely they are to use Twitter or another service to update their status. Fully 39 percent of Internet users with four or more internet-connected devices (such as a laptop, cell phone, game console, or Kindle) use Twitter, compared to 28 percent of Internet users with three devices, 19 percent of Internet users with two devices, and 10 percent of Internet users with one device.
The median age of a Twitter user is 31, which has remained stable over the past year. By comparison, the median age for a LinkedIn user is now 39, down from 40, while the median age for a Facebook user is now 33, up from 26 in May 2008.
According to Pew, it will become more difficult to track status updating as an independent activity as social network updates feed into Twitter and vice versa. For now, it is clear that a "social segment" of internet users is flocking to both social network sites and status update services. This segment is likely to grow as ever more internet users adopt mobile devices as a primary means of going online.
Cindy Krum, CEO of Rank-Mobile, interviewed Mark Jackson, CEO of Vizion Interactive, about the Twitter panel discussion at SES Toronto 2009.
Twitter is no Google - Mark Jackson, Vizion Interactive at SES Toronto 2009
At SES Chicago 2009, Jackson will be speaking at the "SEO Through Blogs & Feeds" session, and Krum will be speaking at the "Cool Mobile Apps, Augmented Reality - It's a Brave New World!" session.
Posted by Greg Jarboe on October 28, 2009, 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Barry Diller Willing to Sell Ask.com, But No Deal in the Works
Yesterday, on the IAC earnings conference call, CEO Barry Diller said that he'd be open to selling Ask.com. The media took off with the comments as if they were new and a deal was imminent. It's not.
A source familiar with the matter said there are currently no talks about an Ask.com acquisition or spinoff. Diller's comments were made in response to constant questions that IAC receives regarding their willingness to sell Ask.com. Their response has always been the same.
So why did everyone run with Diller's comments as if they were new? The "buzz" is probably more of a reaction to the recent Microsoft-Yahoo! deal plus the fact that IAC has, in fact, sold or spun off a bunch of companies in recent years. It's kind of what Barry Diller does.
Actually, Ask.com is a cash cow for IAC. This is something that often gets lost in the "search wars." The conversation is always framed about stealing search share from Google. But you don't have to have a ton of search share to be profitable.
If Diller is going to sell, it's going to need to be a sweet deal to make up for losing one of IAC's top three revenue-generators. Google probably has too much antitrust scrutiny right now. Microsoft has cash to burn, and it wouldn't be the first time speculation has been made about Microsoft buying Ask. Plus, in case you didn't notice, Bing imitated a lot of what we saw in Ask 3D. You have to think that adding 4% search market share all at once has crossed Steve Ballmer's mind. It would be a nice cherry on top of the deal struck with Yahoo!
So, yes, there's a likelihood that Ask.com will probably be sold at some point, but there's always been that chance.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 28, 2009, 1:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Google AdWords Offers Keyword Translation, But Should You Use It?
Google AdWords has added support for Google Translator Toolkit. This means you can now translate your keywords and have ads appear to global audiences in their language.
However, Search Engine Watch columnist Andy Atkins-Krüger warned about the pitfalls of keyword translation in an August post entitled Translating Keywords Should Never EVER Happen. Atkins-Kruger made the good point that while serving up ads to audiences in their language is important, simple translation is risky.
The reason is that this planet is so culturally diverse. Even countries that share the same language often have their regional nuances. Language in and of itself does not contain a culture.
The best way to serve up foreign language ads is through human translation by someone who understands the culture of the country that's being targeted. While Google's intentions appear to be good in offering this new feature, it should be used with great caution.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 28, 2009, 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Google Maps Launches Navigational Feature for Android 2.0
If you keep up with mobile tech news, you know that a bunch of Android devices are coming out soon. They'll soon be running Android 2.0 and with that will come a new feature: Google Maps Navigation.
Google Maps Navigation brings GPS navigation to Android. It will provide turn-by-turn directions, 3D views and automatic rerouting. It will also have, of course, powerful search features. Those search features include:
Search in plain English - This helps you when you don't know the exact address. You can search the name of a business, for example.
Search by voice - Hands-free is the safest way to search while driving.
Search along route - Find what you need along the route you're driving. Think food, coffee, gas, accommodations, etc.
Google Maps Navigation also provides some robust information including:
- The most recent map and business data
- Satellite view
- Street View
What do you think of Google Maps Navigation? Leave a comment below and let us know.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 28, 2009, 11:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Google: We're Launching Similar Image Search, Too
Just hours after GazoPa announced its similar image public beta test to the public, Google announced that it was releasing its similar image search out of Labs. Now, anyone could have experimented with the similar image search while it was in Labs, but you can only run one Labs experiment at a time. And a new experiment, Social Search, was added to Labs yesterday.
We're used to seeing Google release updates, products, major news, etc. in reaction to Microsoft or Yahoo! but saying "Me, too" to a smaller site just seems weird. Not everything that Google has done in this light has been ready (cough, Google Squared, cough). So, how does similar images fare?
To try it out, go to Google Image search. I used "pumpkin" to test it out since that's the keyword I used with GazoPa earlier. Thankfully, Google returned images of pumpkins. GazoPa only returned one or two even with keyword search.
The red circle in the graphic above highlights the "Find Similar Images" link, which I hope is self-explanatory. Sure enough, images of pumpkin similar to the one I clicked on appear in the results.
Unfortunately for GazoPa, Google is already light years ahead in similar image search. That doesn't mean GazoPa could never make inroads, they just have their work cut out for them.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 28, 2009, 12:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Google Custom Search Celebrates Birthday with Updates Galore
Google is celebrating the third birthday of Custom Search with many updates. Here they are:
Custom Search Themes - Now you can customize the look of Custom Search on your site with themes, which can be tweaked for color, font, background and feature adjustments.
Custom Search Skin on Wikipedia - On the flip side, you can contextualize your Wikipedia experience with a Custom Search skin. When enabled, the Custom Search skin provides Google contextualized search throughout Wikipedia. Learn more about the Custom Search skin for Wikipedia here.
Structured Custom Search - Going back to Custom Search for your site, there are three new structured custom search updates. You can add Thumbnails and Actions to the Custom Search Elements, which allows metadata markups. You can also now restrict search results using metadata attributes. And there's a new Rich Snippets Preview tool.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 27, 2009, 2:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Similar Image Search Engine GazoPa Opens to Public Beta Testing
GazoPa, a similar image search engine developed by Hitachi America, is now open for public beta testing. You don't need a login. Simply go to GazoPa.com and check it out.
What you do is either upload an image, paste the URL to an image, type in a keyword - or even draw an image directly on the site. GazoPa will then try to find images similar to what you've provided.
Drawing an image was tempting, so I digitally sketched up a quick pumpkin, but it didn't exactly recognize the image. Hey, it's still in beta :)
Typing in pumpkin for a keyword search had me wondering if they had indexed any pumpkin images at all yet.
Next, I tried using a URL for a pumpkin photo from Flickr. Note that you need the actual URL of the image, not the URL for the page for the image on Flickr or whatever site you're using.
The results showed images with the similar color of the pumpkin, but not so many actual pumpkins.
To be thorough, I conducted other searches such as "pie," "cat," and "coffee," but the results were similar. There were at least felines included in the results for "cat," but I would expect more from an image search.
GazoPa seems to have similar color down, but needs to keep working on the Holy Grail of similar image subject. It's smart that they're opening it to a login-free public beta test. Those really interested in the advancement of image search will want to assist in helping GazoPa further innovate its offering.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 27, 2009, 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Google Analytics Offers Proof of Individual Qualification
If you've passed the Google Analytics Individual Qualification test and need to prove it to your clients or your company, Google is helping validate your awesome web analytics prowess. Now, you can create a link to your web-published test record.
Simply go to the Google Testing Center and sign in with the same email you used when taking the test. Once signed in click the "Manage Your Test" Records link. Then, click "Add Link." On the next screen, you can select what you want to show from simply the pass/fail record to the test grade to your contact email.
Name and save. Click the record to get the link. Copy and paste to show off to all your search marketing friends.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 27, 2009, 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Google Voice Now Available with Current Mobile Phone Number
When signing up for Google Voice, you previously had to get a new phone number in order to get an account. Now, Google is allowing people to sign up with their current mobile phone numbers. You can still get a new phone number if you choose.
If you sign up with your current number, you'll get:
- Online, searchable voicemail
- Free automated voicemail transcription
- Custom voicemail greetings for different callers
- Email and SMS notifications
- Low-priced international calling
There are limitations to choosing your existing phone number. You won't get all the features. Here are the ones you can only get with a new Google number:
- One number that reaches you on all your phones
- SMS via email
- Call screening
- Listen In
- Call recording
- Conference calling
- Call blocking
Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 27, 2009, 12:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
IAC Sees Profit Despite Declining Revenues for Third Quarter 2009
Ask.com and Citysearch parent company IAC released its third quarter earnings for 2009. Overall revenues came in at $336.6 million down 9% from the same quarter last year. However, profit for the quarter came in at $21.7 million, up from the $14.8 million loss suffered last year. The profits are largely due to the sales of OpenTable and Match Europe.
IAC's Media and Advertising Division, which contains Ask, Dictionary.com and Citysearch (among others), brought in $172.3 million in revenues, down 11% from last year.
Ask.com has seen a decrease in revenue per query. IAC attributed the decline to an improved search experience where searchers are using fewer clicks to find what they need. Another factor was a decrease in cost-per-click.
Citysearch also saw a decrease in revenue per query. This was attributed to a difficult display advertising environment.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 27, 2009, 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Google Officially Launches Social Search Experiment in Labs
Last week at the Web 2.0 Summit, Google VP Marissa Mayer announced a new experiment in Labs: Social Search. Now, that experiment has officially been launched.
If you'd like to participate, simply go to the Google Labs page (http://www.google.com/experimental/). Look for the Social Search experiment and click "Join This Experiment." You can only participate in one experiment at a time, so you'll have to leave any other Google Labs experiments you are a part of.
Then, go to Google and conduct a search. Google will use networks from your Google Profile to deliver social search results, if there are any. You'll see them in their own section at the bottom of the results. The results only include results from your network.
You'll need to let Google know about your networks in your profile if you haven't yet done so. Simply go to your Google account settings, click "Edit Profile" and enter in your Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. You can put as many or as few as you like.
For more information on Google's Social Search experiment, check out these videos:
Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 27, 2009, 7:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
MapQuest Teams Up with HauntWorld for Haunted House Search
If you like to be terrified, then the days and weeks leading up to Halloween are for you. One of Halloween's favorite traditions is the Haunted House and if you need help finding ones in your area, MapQuest has come to the rescue.
They've teamed up with HauntWorld to provide a Haunted House search. Simply go to MapQuest.com and either type in a city or zoom in to a city. Click the ghost icon on the On Map Search Tool. Ghost icons will appear on the map indicating the location of Haunted Houses. Click on an icon for more information about a given Haunted House. (If you want more results, zoom out a little.)
Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 26, 2009, 1:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Botnets Drive Up Click Fraud Rate in Third Quarter 2009
Click Forensics has released its click fraud report for the third quarter of 2009. Botnet activity caused the rate to rise and accounted for more click fraud activity.
The click fraud rate rose to 14.1% in the third quarter, up from 12.7% in the second quarter, but down from 16% in the third quarter of 2008.
Botnets accounted for 42.6% of click fraud in Q3 2009, more than double the 27.5% rate in Q3 2008.
"The significant rise in botnet-generated click fraud lines up with recent findings of several well-known malware and online fraud tracking experts," said Paul Pellman, CEO of Click Forensics. "Botnets perpetrating click fraud and other online schemes continue to grow in number and sophistication. Advertisers and ad providers need to be especially vigilant about such activity as we enter the competitive search marketing holiday season."
Outside of North America, the countries producing the most click fraud were United Kingdom, Vietnam and Germany.
One of the most significant findings in the third quarter was the discovery of the "Bahama botnet," which was redirecting traffic through 200,000 parked domains located in the Bahamas. Click Forensics detected a link between the Bahama botnet and the New York Times ad scareware incident.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 26, 2009, 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Google Maps Gets a Subtle Makeover
Have you ever noticed "something different" about someone but you couldn't quite put your finger on it? Usually, it turns out that the person got a slight haircut or was wearing a new shade of eyeshadow or something. It was subtle, and your brain registered the change, but it wasn't obvious.
Well, the same kind of change has come to Google Maps. They've updated fonts, street widths, colors, etc. The changes aren't very obvious, but they're there. Take a look at this before and after, supplied by the Google LatLong blog:
Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 26, 2009, 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Deleted Tweets Finally Removed from Twitter Search
While Twitter allows people to delete Tweets, often times those zombie Tweets were still indexed in Twitter's search. Apparently, that's no longer a problem.
MG Siegler over at TechCrunch has been doing some testing and finding that deleted Tweets aren't showing up in Twitter search. They're not even showing up in the search API, according to Siegler.
I did a small test myself and sure enough, my deleted Tweet was immediately removed from Twitter's search results.
So, now you can stick your foot in your mouth with a little more ease.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 26, 2009, 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Google AdWords Tests New My Client Center Dashboard
Google AdWords is testing a new interface for My Client Center. If you want to check it out, just click the link in the current My Client Center Dashboard.
According to the Inside AdWords blog, the changes will include the following:
- In-line editing of account descriptions: In-line editing cuts the time it takes for you to make changes to your account names. Instead of waiting for a new page to load, just click an account description to edit it right on the Dashboard.
- Remove/unlink accounts: Previously, you needed to drill down into a client account to unlink it from your MCC. Now, if you're no longer managing a client, you can remove it directly from your MCC Dashboard.
The AdWords team says the same workflows and core functionality will stay in place. They do expect to include more features to the new interface over time.
Have you checked out the new My Client Center interface in Google AdWords? Share your first impressions in the comments below.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 26, 2009, 12:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
AOL Names Nine Board Members for Post-Time Warner Separation
Once AOL is spinned off from Time Warner, it will require a Board of Directors. Today, nine members were named. They are:
Richard L. Dalzell made a name for himself at Amazon, where he started held a variety of executive-level roles from 1997 until 2007. Prior to Amazon, Dalzell was VP of Information Systems at Walmart.
Karen E. Dykstra is a partner at Plainfield Asset Management LLC, and has been COO and CFO of Plainfield Direct Inc. since 2006. Plainfield manages investment capital for institutions and high net worth individuals. Prior to joining Plainfield, Dykstra was the CFO of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. Dykstra serves on the boards of Plainfield Direct Inc., Gartner, Inc. and Crane Co.
William R. Hambrecht founded and has been Chairman and CEO of WR Hambrecht + Co since 1998. WR Hambrecht + Co is a financial services firm specializing in Internet and auction processes and tech company underwriting and advisory services. Before that, Hambrecht co-founded Hambrecht & Quist. Hambrecht is a co-founder of the United Football League, which premiered in October 2009. Hambrecht currently serves on the board of Motorola, Inc.
Patricia E. Mitchell has served as President and CEO of The Paley Center for Media, a non-profit cultural institution, since 2006. Before that, Mitchell was President and CEO of the Public Broadcasting Service from 2000 to 2006. For more than two decades, she was an award-winning journalist and producer. She has served as President of Time Inc. Television and CNN Productions, and was a partner in an independent production company which focused on women's programming. Mitchell serves on the board of Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Michael K. Powell was Chairman of the FCC from 2001 to 2005 and has also served as the Chief of Staff of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division. Since his FCC gig, Powell has served as a Senior Advisor to Providence Equity Partners, a private equity firm focused on media, entertainment, communications and information investments, since 2005. Currently, Powell is Chairman of the MK Powell Group, a tech and media communications consultancy. Previously, Powell was an associate with the law firm of O'Melveny & Myers LLP. Powell serves on the boards of Cisco Systems, Inc. and Education Management Corporation. He was also named Chairman of NTT DoCoMo's 5th U.S. Advisory Board.
Fredric G. Reynolds served in many executive-level roles at CBS and Viacom from 1994 until he retired in August 2009. Reynolds serves on the board of Kraft Foods Inc.
James R. Stengel has been President and CEO of The Jim Stengel Company, LLC, a think tank and consulting firm, since 2008. Stengel is also currently an adjunct marketing professor at UCLA's Anderson School of Management. Stengel was at at Procter & Gamble from 1983 to 2008. Stengel serves on the board of Motorola, Inc.
James A. Wiatt has been an independent consultant since June 2009. Wiatt served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the William Morris Agency from 1999 until 2009. Before joining WMA, Wiatt was Co-Chairman and Co-CEO of International Creative Management, a talent management company. A graduate of the USC, Wiatt is a member of the Board of Councilors of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, former Chairman and current member of the Board of the Los Angeles Police Foundation, and on the Board of Directors of the Music Center of Los Angeles.
"AOL is very fortunate to have an exceptional group of proven leaders to serve on our board of directors. AOL is on a mission to help create the future of media and content and the AOL Board will play a central part in helping us focus the strategy and also operate the company with the highest ethical standards," said AOL CEO Tim Armstrong. "These individuals bring independent judgment and a dedication to building shareholder value, and they will be a tremendous resource for our company, our employees, and our future."
Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 26, 2009, 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Carl Icahn Quits Yahoo! Board
He came, he kinda sorta conquered and now he's left. Investor Carl Icahn, who stirred up investors during the Microsoft acquisition attempt, quit Yahoo!'s Board of Directors on Friday.
After Yahoo! failed to accept Microsoft's offer to fully acquire the Sunnyvale-based Internet company, Carl Icahn embarked on his own attempt to overthrow Yahoo!'s Board of Directors. Icahn ultimately settled with Yahoo! just before the 2008 shareholders meeting. He got a seat on the board plus the board was expanded to bring in some outsiders.
A few months later, Jerry Yang stepped down as CEO. Eventually, Carol Bartz was named as replacement. Now, there's a pending search deal with Microsoft, and Yahoo!'s stock has been steadily increasing.
Wam, Bam, Thank You Ma'am. I guess Icahn's work at Yahoo! is done.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on October 26, 2009, 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Demise Of GeoCities Today: MySpace, Facebook Precusor
As announced a couple of months ago, Geocities will cease to exist today. Interestingly Yahoo does not have an upgrade or new alternative for this now homeless online population.
GeoCities was the biggest online community prior to the dotcom bubble burst. Yahoo purchased them for $3.57 billion at the height of the internet bubble, but the community was the precusor of MySpace and Facebook but no major additions and updates were ever developed for the portal.
LinkedIn and Facebook Groups and many other social media have taken the lead of GeoCities and their 'homesteaders' and developed their own niched communities run by its users.
Yahoo said that it was closing the site and would focus on assisting "customers build new relationships online".
Adam Ostrow over at Mashable notes "It's certainly not surprising that GeoCities is shutting down, as Yahoo has been in cost-cutting mode for months and the service would seem to have little fit in its current business".
I am amazed they couldn't monetize the visits despite the numerous ideas they could have adapted - such as Meetups or Twitter like conversations. User generated traffic and visitors is a big play these days, yet Yahoo is pushing forward with company created content sites .
Posted by Frank Watson on October 26, 2009, 5:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Every Thing You Wanted To Know But Were Afraid To Ask: Iran Launches Qur'anic Search Engine
An Iranian search engine dedicated to Islamic teachings and records online for Qur'anic websites was launched this week, Press TV announced.
The results only come from 360 websites at the moment, Press TV reported, but other sites were planned to be added.
Posted by Frank Watson on October 26, 2009, 5:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Go to SES Berlin or SES Chicago for Seven Tracks Amazing
During the past six weeks, I've rolled out six great reasons for going to either Search Engine Strategies Berlin or SES Chicago 2009. For those of you who want to join in the chorus, they are "six booths astounding, five brand new things, four keynote themes, three key trends, two early birds, and a ranking in the top three."
This week, I'll share a seventh compelling reason -- and it isn't "seven swans a-swimming."
You should plan to attend SES Berlin or Search Engine Strategies Chicago 2009 to discover "seven tracks amazing."
Let's start with the two tracks at Search Engine Strategies Berlin. On November 24, Day 1 of the conference, one is the Fundamentals Track (Grundlagenkurs) and the other is the Advanced Track (Fortgeschrittenenkurs). On Day 2, one is the Issues & Strategies Track (Problembereiche und Strategien) and the other is the Tactics Track (Taktik).
What makes two different tracks on two different days amazing? Even the simple structure of the SES Berlin conference captures the complexity of the search engine marketing industry.
If this is your first search engine marketing conference, you may suffer from the naïve hope that you can learn everything you need to know in two days. However, attending sessions in the Fundamentals Track teaches you that you will have to come back again next year to attend sessions in the Advanced Track. Or, deciding which track to attend on Day 2 teaches you the difference between strategy and tactics.
According to Seth Godin, "Here's the difference: The right strategy makes any tactic work better. The right strategy puts less pressure on executing your tactics perfectly." He adds, "It takes real guts to abandon a strategy, especially if you've gotten super good at the tactics."
So, what makes simple structure so amazing it that the sessions you attend teach you what you don't know and the sessions you don't attend help you understand that there is still more to learn.
Now, let's turn to the five tracks at SES Chicago 2009. On December 7, Day 1 of the conference, they are: Search Fundamentals; Blended Search Results; Analytics, Conversion & Attribution; The State of Search; and Search on the Edge. On December 8, Day 2 of the conference, they are: Search Fundamentals; News & Advertising; Small Business Track; Geek Speak; and ClickZ/OMS Track. And on December 9, Day 3 of the conference, they are: In-House; Hybrid; Advanced Issues; Vertical, Retail, B2B; and Clinics.
What's so amazing about this? Well, back on September 28, I mentioned that one of the three key trends was "change." To back this up, I pointed out that only 12 out of the 65 sessions at Search Engine Strategies Chicago 2009 were repeats from last year's conference.
Well, if you look at this year's tracks, only two out of 15 are repeats from last year's conference: hybrid and Clinics. This indicates that the philosophical and theoretical framework of the search engine marketing industry is changing even faster than our knowledge of the latest search industry trends.
Or, to paraphrase former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, there are known knowns (things we know we know), known unknowns (things we know we do not know), and unknown unknowns (the things we don't know we don't know).
I think I know what he meant, but I don't know if I really know.
But, even though I can't explain it, I have a funny feeling that the unknown unknowns about our industry now outnumber known unknowns -- and its time to question your assumptions about the known knowns, because many need to be re-examined.
So, let's just say that the search engine marketing industry is undergoing a "paradigm shift."
If you want the backstory on this shift, read the column, "When Community Is Search," by Mike Grehan, the VP and Global Content Director at SES, Search Engine Watch, and ClickZ.
Or, if you agree with Grehan that content is more than "Text, text, and more text," then watch my video interview with him at SES San Jose 2009 about the link between search and social.
Mike Grehan, the new VP and Global Content Director, ties social media to search, SES San Jose 2009
This is really why you should bring your whole team to either SES Berlin or Search Engine Strategies Chicago 2009. All of you not only need to learn more about the known unknowns, all of you must also discover some of the unknown unknowns and re-examine many of the known knowns to make it through the paradigm shift successfully.
Or, as Yoda observed a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, "You must unlearn what you have learned." Or, as Yogurt observed in the 1987 movie by Mel Brooks, "God willing, we'll all meet again in Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money."
And speaking of money, the are special group discounts at the Windy City event. Although the first two conference registrants pay full price, the third person from the same organization, registering at the same time qualifies for 50% off his or her registration fee.
Next week, we'll look at more reasons for going to either Search Engine Strategies Berlin or SES Chicago 2009. In the meantime, keep singing "seven tracks amazing, six booths astounding, five brand new things, four keynote themes, three key trends, two early birds, and a ranking in the top three."
Posted by Greg Jarboe on October 26, 2009, 2:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
