November 8, 2009 - November 14, 2009
Google Adds AdSense for Feeds, Feedburner Data to Analytics
If you use AdSense for Feeds or Google Feedburner to manage RSS feeds on your site - and you use Google Analytics - then you'll be glad to know Google is connecting the two. You'll be able to iew click data for your feeds services in Google Analytics.
Analytics will tag the Source as "Feedburner" and the Medium as either "feed" or "email" depending on how the feed item was sent out. Content will show the endpoint (i.e. Google Reader, Yahoo! Mail). Check for the data under "All Traffic Sources" and "Campaigns" views in Google Analytics.
Google Analytics gathers this data when item clicking is turned on in Feedburner. So you'll need to have that enabled for this to work - or not if you don't.
Advanced analytics users can also configure their Analytics tracking within their Feedburner settings.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 13, 2009, 1:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Google Updates AdWords Editor
A new version of Google's AdWords Editor has been released. Version 7.6.1's new features include:
- Ad scheduling and advanced location targeting
- Add/Update Multiple Campaigns
- Account tree editing
- Promoted Video ads
- Export spreadsheet with images (ZIP)
Updated features include:
- Keyword expansion
- Campaign and ad group pickers
- Import CSV error export
There's also new bidding terminology:
- Max. CPC Search - (previously Max. CPC)
- Max. CPC Automatic Placements (previously Max. Content CPC)
- Max. CPC Managed Placements (previously Placement Max. CPC)
There's no change to Max CPA and Max CPM terminology.
Check out the full release notes here.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 13, 2009, 1:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Google Acquires VoIP Company, Gizmo5
Google has acquired Gizmo5, a Voice over the Internet Protocol network and software provider. The acquisition is designed to enhance Google Voice, but it's a game changer.
Google has been answering to the FCC lately about concerns over potential regulatory violations surrounding it's Voice service. AT&T publicly complained that Google had been restricting high-priced calls that telecommunications were forced by regulation. Google defended Voice by saying it's a call management system and not a true telecommunications provider.
Specifically, Google pointed out that it was not a VoIP service. Of course, that all changes with this acquisition. Google seems to be trying to downplay the change though, by vaguely labeling Gizmo5 an "Internet-based calling software" provider. This is in line with their defense of Google Voice as a web-based call management system. But careful wording isn't going to fool anybody.
Not that it's wrong for Google to get into the telecommunications game. And their entry raises some important questions about obviously outdated government regulations (which is ultimately AT&T's concern). But they'll make their point better if they stay honest about Google Voice with their acquisition.
It's possible that Google Voice will stay the same and Gizmo5's VoIP service will be nixed. But Google Voice as a call management system is somewhat limited. The demand for Google Voice shows that the public is ready for something more than what the telcos currently (are able to) provide. Far be it from Google to take on that challenge.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 13, 2009, 1:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
YouTube to Add Support for 1080p HD Video
YouTube has announced that they will begin supporting 1080p HD video. The support will begin sometime next week.
Previously, the max HD resolution was 720p. Resolution for a given video will depend on the resolution on the source of the video. In other words, a video will need to be uploaded in 1080p to appear as 1080p on YouTube.
Videos that were already uploaded in 1080p are being re-encoded by YouTube.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 13, 2009, 12:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Bing in the UK: Search Out of Beta, Maps Launches
Bing is officially lifting the beta label from their search offering in the UK. Searchers will experience features that US searchers get including homepage hotspots, visual search, and Twitter integration. The Bing UK shopping search will be integrated with Ciao UK.
Meanwhile, Bing Maps is launching in the UK. Previously, UK internet users were redirected to Multimap.com. Bing Maps UK includes a variety of features such as Tube Maps as well as London Congestion Charge Warnings.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 13, 2009, 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
We Have No Index, No Follow, Canonical Tags: How About Specific Keyword Blocking
A member over at the SEW forums suggested the need for a no listing in search results for specific keywords tag and the concept is a good one. We have negative keyword options for paid search, why not an option for blocking what terms a site appears in the search results?
If web site owners help the engines with the addition of the canonical tag to their sites, it would only be fair if the engines returned the favor. If you have a comment on the idea please join the conversation.
Posted by Frank Watson on November 12, 2009, 11:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Leapfish Launches Portal, Search For "Living Web"
Leapfish has launched an entry portal for web users to what they are calling "the Living Web" as they show in their impressive YouTube commercial below. Basically Leapfish offers a start page for web users where they can watch their Facebook and Twitter accounts as well as set up feeds for news, entertainment, sports and other services.
The site offers some very interesting possibilities. It has some similarities to iGoogle but has managed to integrate social media faster than the search giant that recently signed a data share agreement with Twitter. Bing also has access to both Facebook and Twitter so it will be interesting to see if they launch something similar.
Leapfish is part of DotNext a company devoted to innovation. Their CEO Ben Behrouzi gives some insights in to Leapfish in a Fast Company interview below.
Leapfish combines the social media into the search process to create their results. "There remain major aspects of the Web that have not yet integrated "searching" and "sharing" of the Real Time Web, including traditional search. But as filtration and integration progress the Web will take the form of a living breathing database," their blog notes.
Posted by Frank Watson on November 12, 2009, 10:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
AdWords Launches Product Listings Ads and DFA Analytics, Updates Ad Planner
Google AdWords has unleashed a heap of updates, so let's dive right in and see what's going on.
Product Listing Ads
This is a new type of ad that will be included in shopping-related results on Google.com. The ads are Cost-per-Action (CPA). Advertisers will only pay when users click through and make a purchase. It works in conjunction with an advertiser's Google Merchant Center account.
Because of the Google Merchant Center connection, advertisers don't need to find keywords or create ad text. Google will cull all that information for you and serve up the ads when the relevant keyword is searched. (Of course, you'll still want to do keyword research and make sure you get the right keywords in when you're setting things up in the Google Merchant Center).
Ad Planner Updates
Google's media buying tool, Ad Planner, has received some updates:
- Subdomain data - View data such as traffic and demographics for publisher subdomains
- Ad placements - View specific sections of a website where advertising can be purchased.
- Reach and relevance at a glance - New interactive graph shows which sites in your planned campaign will perform the best
- More detailed publisher data - Since publishers and advertisers can share Google Analytics data with Ad Planner, more data points are available such as page views, unique visitors, total visits, average visits per visitor, and average time on site.
DART for Advertisers Updates
DART for Advertisers (DFA) is the DoubleClick platform and it has a new Analytics feature that's been launched into beta. Google is touting the features and benefits over at the AdWords Agency blog:
- Quick insights. Interactive reports with charts and graphs.
- Fast reports. Reports update frequently - every few hours - and the new user interface enables you to access your data quickly.
- New Report Types. Geographic delivery data as well as additional reports that show delivery data by bandwidth, browser, and operating system.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 12, 2009, 3:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Google Webmaster Tools Updates Keywords User Interface
Google has updated the Keywords user interface in Webmaster Tools. The update includes:
- Daily data updates
- Details on how often specific keywords were found
- Displaying up to 10 URLs that contain a keyword
- Significance column comparing each keyword's frequency to the most popular keyword's frequency
This tool really helps you know how Google sees your site. You can quickly recognize problem areas or address hacked content.
Have you checked out the new user interface? Let us know your first impressions of the update by leaving a comment.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 12, 2009, 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Nielsen Rankings Show Google Up at Yahoo! and Bing's Expense
Earlier today, Greg Jarboe informed us about Hitwise's search share data and how it showed Bing continued to have momentum. But Nielsen has released their search share data for October 2009 and it's painting a different picture.
The data shows Google gaining 2 points in the past two months. This came at the expense of Yahoo! and Bing, which both lost a point since Nielsen's last search report in August.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 12, 2009, 2:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Google Continues Pursuit of Entertainment Search with Movie Results Update
Recently, Google unveiled its new music search and today Google is showing further interest in entertainment searches by announcing updates to its movie search.
Visit Google.com/movies to view the updates. Here's what to expect:
- Genre filters: Helps you decide what movies to see.
- Comprehensive movie pages: Shows plot summary, reviews, local showtimes, trailer and photos.
- Map view: Get directions to the movie you've chosen to see.
I haven't received the update yet, so here's a screenshot per the Official Google Blog (click to enlarge):
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 12, 2009, 1:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Yahoo! Launches Mobile Site for U.S. Hispanic Users
Yahoo! has launched a site in Español targeted for the U.S. Hispanic market. The site is available for over 1,900 devices at http://espanol.yahoo.com.
Here's what you can expect:
- Discover via results from Yahoo!'s award-winning mobile Search, editor-selected content, and U.S. and global news content presented in Spanish, including the "América Latina" news section, which provides relevant content from the Latin American region.
- Stay connected through access to email and social networking accounts from the most popular Web providers, as well as instant messaging, address book, and calendar functions.
- Stay informed by bringing favorite Web content --sports, news, local information, RSS feeds, weather, stocks, horoscopes, and more -- to a single location.
"With the launch of Yahoo! Mobile en Español, we are focused on growing our audience among the more than 46 million U.S. Hispanics by providing a mobile experience that is both culturally and personally relevant, bringing together their world and the world around them," said Felipe Muñoz, senior mobile director, Yahoo! Hispanic Americas.
Focusing on the Hispanic market is a smart move for Yahoo! comScore mobile internet data shows adoption among Hispanics outpacing other demographics, with 88% accessing the mobile internet on their cell phones.
Meanwhile, Yahoo! is experiencing great success with their mobile homepage, with global usage tripling over the past two years.
"With the introduction of our new Spanish-language homepage, we are well positioned as the center of people's online lives. We're reaching the highly influential and increasingly mobile Hispanic market with an engaging and customizable mobile Internet experience, regardless of the language users prefer," said Muñoz.
The new mobile homepage will also enable a great advertising opportunity for companies targeting the Hispanic market.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 12, 2009, 1:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Bing Searches Increase 7 Percent in October 2009
My colleague Nathania Johnson reported yesterday that "Bing Wave 2 Becomes Tsunami: Social Sharing, Travel and Health." I didn't get the news until this morning, because I was flying from San Diego back to Boston.
But I also found this press release in my email inbox: "Bing Searches Increase 7 Percent in October 2009." So, it looks like Bing also has the "Big Mo," or momentum.
If you look closer at the data, Bing's share of searches among leading search engines increased from 8.96 percent in September 2009 to 9.57 percent in October. Meanwhile, Google's share decreased 1 percent -- from 71.08 percent in September to 70.60 percent in October.
Okay, so maybe the "Big Mo" is actually a "Little Mo." But, increasing share is better than losing market share. So, let's give Bing a pat on the back.
Everyone seems to be hoping this turns into a real horse race. Competition is healthy. But more than seven times more searches are conducted on Google than on Bing. So, let's not get too excited about the small shifts in share over a one-month period.
Posted by Greg Jarboe on November 12, 2009, 9:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Google Adds World Bank Public Data to Search Results
Last April, Google launched the integration of public data into its main search results. Now, they're adding even more public data - this time from the World Bank.
You can search 17 World Bank data indicators:
- CO2 emissions per capita
- Electricity consumption per capita
- Energy use per capita
- Exports as percentage of GDP
- Fertility rate
- GDP deflator change
- GDP growth rate
- GNI per capita in PPP dollars
- Gross Domestic Product
- Gross National Income in PPP dollars
- Imports as percentage of GDP
- Internet users as percentage of population
- Life expectancy
- Military expenditure as percentage of GDP
- Mortality rate, under 5
- Population
- Population growth rate
Here's a screenshot for the results of searching "gdp growth rate zimbabwe"
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 11, 2009, 2:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Bing Wave 2 Becomes Tsunami: Social Sharing, Travel and Health
In addition to the three updates we told you about earlier today, Bing has a bunch more as part of Bing Wave 2. Just like they other updates, they're rolling out over the course of days, so you may not see them all right away.
Share Search Results
When you get the Bing update, you'll be able to share individual search results with your social networks on Facebook and Twitter. You can also email a search result.
Travel
From the homepage, you'll be able to hover over "Travel" and get options to go directly to options to search airfares and hotels.
When you're in Bing Travel, you'll see a new interactive Instant Answer that lets you plug in your travel dates to narrow your search from the beginning.
Enhanced city results will help you plan your stay, including events at your destination:
Health
Bing says they've also updated their Health results. The results are more organized so you can access the information you're really looking for.
What do you think of this round of Bing updates? Wave your opinion hello in the comments below.
All images lovingly borrowed from the Bing Search blog.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 11, 2009, 1:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Google Enables SafeSearch Locking
Google is offering additional protection for its "strict" SafeSearch options. When you receive the update, you'll be required to give your password to select the strict option or to change it back to moderate or off.
When the strict SafeSearch is selected, bright bubbles with the primary colors of Google's famous bubble will be present in the top right corner of the page.
This means parents can keep an eye on their kids' web browsing without breathing down their necks.
For more info, check out this video Google put together:
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 11, 2009, 1:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Bing Launches Wolfram|Alpha Integration, Enhanced Hover Preview, and Full Page Weather/Events Results
Bing today is unleashing a flurry of big updates, all part of Bing Wave 2.
Wolfram|Alpha Partnership
First up is a new integration with Wolfram|Alpha in the diet and fitness category. As a result, users will be able to get information on nutrition and the Body Mass Index (BMI).
Enhanced Hover Preview
When Bing launched, hover preview was one of its features. The preview grabbed text from a search result so you could see more info on a site before clicking on the link. You had hover over a very small and specific circle. But now Bing is making the hover preview more accessible and substantial. Here's what to expect:
- An actual snapshot of the Web site in question
- A link to the customer service number (where appropriate)
- Deep links, the most-often-clicked links on the site
- A search-within-this-site box that allows you to scour the site to find what you're looking for.
- Facebook page previews, from which you can view a person's picture, see who is in their Facebook network and send them a message or friend request.
Weather/Event Results
If you search for a city, on the left sidebar, you'll see a refinement search for weather in that city. Clicking on that will give you more detailed information about weather. This can help you plan your day so you know whether to grab that jacket or umbrella on the way out the door.
Bing will be pulling together information from news, events, xRank results, Twitter feeds, images, Best Match results and content from trusted sites for the Weather/Events results.
The updates will roll out over the next few days, so hold your horses if you haven't gotten them yet.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 11, 2009, 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
YouTube Tests Skip Button on Pre-Roll Ads
Over at our sister site ClickZ, Zachary Rodgers has the news on a new YouTube test where a "Skip" button is added to some Pre-Roll ads. This would allow users to avoid watching advertisements before the video they've chosen to watch.
YouTube hopes the test will lead to more creative ads. But this also could be a step towards performance pricing in video ads.
Don't expect big changes anytime soon. Pre-roll ads only appear on premium content from the likes of Sony and MGM. And YouTube maintains that the primary goal is better ads.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 11, 2009, 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
The Williams Defense: Twitter CEO Defends Retweet Functionality
Evan Williams, CEO of Twitter, has taken to his personal blog to defend the new, official implementation of Retweeting. The main problem that people have with Twitter's system is that Retweets do not appear as Retweets. Instead, Twitter inserts the original Tweet from someone you may or may not be following.
Williams essentially says that change is good and users need to embrace it:
The drawback is that it may be a little surprising (unpleasant even, for some) to discover avatars of people they don't follow in their timeline. I ask those people to keep in mind the following: You're already reading the content from these people via organic retweets. This is just giving you more context. My experience is that you get used to this pretty quickly, and it's a welcome way to mix things up. If you find someone constantly throwing people in there you don't like, as mentioned before, you can turn off Retweets from them (while still following their non-retweets). And if you really don't like it, and you only want to see what people you follow wrote themselves, you can turn off Retweets for everyone you follow (individually). Organic RTs do not offer nearly this flexibility.
Unfortunately, this seems like creating 2 solutions for 1 problem. If you have a problem with someone Retweeting too much, why not *just* create the ability to turn off their Retweets? Additionally, if these Retweets are so unwanted, then isn't displaying them as organic Tweets from strangers making the problem worse?
Williams said in his post that it was easier to read an original tweet than a Retweet - and especially the Retweet of a Retweet. But most people are looking to scan their feeds quickly. When you see the avatar and screen name of someone unfamiliar to you, it disrupts a quick read of Tweets. Sure, the brain will adjust somewhat and speed up the new process, but I can't imagine it truly being faster than scanning Tweets from people you've chosen to follow.
Another reason Williams cited was that it's annoying to see a string of Retweets in a single Tweet, the aforementioned action of Retweeting a Retweet. But Twitter only allows 140 characters, which limits the ability to really do this. And again, if you're annoyed when people do this, simply turn off their Retweets or don't follow them at all.
Last but not least, the new system doesn't allow users to make their own comments on a Retweet. Here's Williams' defense:
The other thing some people will not like is that, unlike organic RTs, there's no way to annotate or leave your own comment when you retweet something with the new system. Some people annotate with every retweet, some don't do it at all. But it's definitely useful in certain scenarios. We left it out of this first version mostly for simplicity. It's especially tricky when you consider transports like SMS where adding a lot of structure or additional content is hard. But we have some ideas there, and it's possible we'll build that in at a later date. (This point should not be missed.)
I'm glad they're still considering putting this functionality in. That it was hard is not the greatest defense. They probably should have waited until this was ready to roll out the Retweet feature, especially when they were changing up the way Retweets are displayed in the first place.
It's nice to see Williams addressing reservations that people have about the new system. However, in this case, I'm not sure the reasoning truly answers critics' concerns.
What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 11, 2009, 9:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
LinkedIn Enables Simultaneous Twitter Updating
You can now update your status on LinkedIn and Twitter simultaneously. To do this, sign on to LinkedIn.
Then, go to your home page and under the Inbox, look the status update box under "Network Updates." See the Twitter icon next to the "Share" submit button? Click that if you want to enable simultaneous updating.
When you do, a pop up box will ask you to authorize your Twitter account and then will give you options on updating Twitter from LinkedIn. You can enable your Tweets to become your LinkedIn status updates at this point. Once you've selected your options, you're set to simultaneously update.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 11, 2009, 1:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Bing Launches New Cashback Contest: Win $10k and Time with Apple-icious Ryan Seacrest
Bing has unveiled a new Cashback Contest. The winner gets a trip to LA, cash and time with the host of American Idol. (Tech and pop culture junkies take note: American Idol has been sponsored by Apple for years with contestants blatantly using iPhones during the show. Can you feel the bitter corporate irony?)
Whoever wins gets all of this:
- $10,000 cash
- A round-trip flight, hotel
- A Hollywood makeover
- Serious E! studio time with Ryan Seacrest
Throw in a meet-and-greet with Joel McHale, and I'd be game. Ok, it's not ethical for me to enter, but if you want to - all you have to do is Register for Bing Cashback. If you're already registered, go to this link and click "Enter Now!"
Johnson OUT!
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 11, 2009, 12:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Google Voice Gives Priority Invitations to Military Families
In honor of Veterans Day, Google Voice has announced that it will be giving priority Google Voice invitations to military families associated with the organization Blue Star Families.
Over at the Google Voice blog, Jason Toff, Associate Product Marketing Manager explains:
Military families encounter unique challenges and frequent separations, so staying in touch is vitally important. With one Google Voice number, families won't have to worry about missing calls from service members abroad.
Google Voice is a call management system. You can associate your one Google Voice number with multiple third-party phone numbers such as work, home, cell, etc. Then, when the Google Voice number is called, it can alert all numbers, so that you don't miss a call. This is a great way for military families to stay in touch and a great gesture by Google on this Veterans Day.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 11, 2009, 12:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Google Adds Street View to Hawaii, Int'l Locations; Latitude Gets History and Location Alerts
The Google Earth and Maps Team has been hard at work unloading a bunch of updates. First up, Street View images for the state of Hawaii have been added. Now, all 50 states have Street View.
Additionally, Street View imagery has been added to 5 cities in Mexico, "huge swathes" of Spain, and 30 towns in the Netherlands.
Meanwhile, new updates have come to Latitude. You can now track the history of where you've been. This history is not made available to your friends.
But speaking of your friends, you can now get alerts when they're nearby (and using Latitude, of course). This will keep you from having to check Latitude constantly to see if anyone is nearby.
What do you think of these Google Maps updates? Let us know by leaving a comment.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 11, 2009, 12:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Bing Incorporates MSN Content into Video Search
Recently, MSN unveiled its new homepage, which relies on structured data from Bing. Now, the MSN/Bing integration intensifies with a re-vamping of Bing's video search. Bing has updated its video search to incorporate high-quality MSN content. With the update, you'll be able to access videos from Hulu, MSN, ABC, and Youtube directly from Bing's video search page.
The update is rolling out and should be complete in the next week or so. Right now, I'm able to access a preview at bing.com/videos/browse or by clicking "Videos" on the homepage.
Here's a screenshot of the new Bing Video (click to enlarge):
Check out this video of Rob Bennett, General Manager of MSN Network Programming, talking about the new video connection between Bing and MSN.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 11, 2009, 12:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Yahoo! Announces Yodel Studio Finalists; Google LatLong Announces Trike Finalists
Last month, Yahoo! and Google launched a couple of contests (separately), and this week both are announcing the finalists.
First up, Yahoo! is looking for a new Yodel, and they received 21,000 entries. They've narrowed it down to three contestants each for the US, UK and India. Click on the links below to view the finalists' entries and cast your vote:
US
Tiffany Jo from Arizona
Carlo from Arizona
Christopher from Oklahoma
UK
India
Meanwhile, Google launched a contest to see where the new Street View vehicle, Google Trike would go. They received 25,000 suggestions, 44% of which were college campuses. Below are the finalists for the various categories. You can cast your vote at Google.com/trike.
University Campuses
Arizona State University
Michigan State University
Princeton University
Rochester Intitute of Technology
Stanford University
Parks & Trails
Boulder Creek Bike Path, CO
Capital Crescent Trail, MD/DC
Centennial Trail, WA
Schuylkill River Trail, PA
Stevens Creek Trail, CA
Pedestrian Malls
Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston, MA
Navy Pier, Chicago, IL
Pier 39, San Francisco, CA
Landmarks
Alcatraz Island, San Francisco, CA
Central Park, NY
Millenium Park, Chicago, IL
Kennedy Space Center, FL
National Mall, DC
Theme Parks & Zoos
Bronx Zoo, NY
Busch Gardens, VA
Detroit Zoo, MI
Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL
San Diego Zoo, CA
Universal Studios, FL
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 10, 2009, 9:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Google, Yahoo!, and Bing Launch Free Wifi Campaigns
The big three search engines all announced this week separate efforts to provide free Wifi in various locations.
Google is offering free Wifi in 47 airports. See the list here. The campaign runs through January 15, 2010.
Yahoo! is offering free Wifi to the 500,000 people who pass through Times Square each day. They're partnering with the Times Square Alliance in the effort, which will last through 2010.
Bing is offering free Wifi through JiWire hotspots in airports and hotels. All you have to do is conduct a search on Bing to get access. The program began in Q3 2009 and has been extended through the end of the year.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 10, 2009, 9:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Web Marketing Today Celebrates its 15th Birthday
If "Internet years" are anything like "dog years," then celebrating your 15th anniversary is like celebrating your 105 birthday. Can you remember what the world wide web was like in 1994?
That was the year that Netscape Navigator was launched. That was also the year that Dr. Ralph Wilson, Editor, launched Web Marketing Today.
Bryan Eisenberg, recognized authority and pioneer in online marketing and ClickZ's ROI Marketing columnist, says, "Ralph Wilson's newsletter was one of the first that I signed up for when I started in this industry and I still read it today. I would not be where I am today, and as respected as I am today, without his initial guidance. This newsletter is a must-read. Dr. Wilson really cuts through the clutter."
Jim Sterne, Founder of Web Marketing Association (WMA) and director of the eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit, recently interviewed Dr. Wilson at SES San Jose 2009.
Jim Sterne Interviews Dr. Ralph Wilson of Web Marketing Today
To mark the 15th anniversary, anyone who subscribes to the Web Marketing Today newsletter receives six e-books/whitepapers that cover the basics of Internet marketing -- a $50 value. This includes his most requested item: "The Web Marketing Checklist -- 37 Ways to Promote Your Website."
Posted by Greg Jarboe on November 10, 2009, 4:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Bing Maps Gets a Major Makeover; Silverlight Control 1.0 Released
There are some big changes happening at Bing Maps, both on the user end and the developer end.
On Bing.com/maps, you can check out the following updates:
- Draggable Routes
- Zoom Bar with predefined settings
- Command Parsing
- Embed a Map
- Dynamic Compute
- New Navigation
- World Wrap (no longer stops at International Date Line)
- Diet Bing Maps - loads faster due to lighter load
Meanwhile, Bing Maps Silverlight Control 1.0 has been released. This allows developers to incorporate Bing Maps into their applications. There are a ton of updates, too many to mention in this post, so be sure to check them out here if you're a developer.
The terms of use have changed, allowing educators and tax-exempt non-profits to use Bing Maps on their sites for free.
There are also the following updates to the terms of use, per the Bing Maps blog:
- Bing Maps AJAX Control - all maps rendered onto the client upon the initial request is considered 1 session. Session includes any requests for geocoding, routing or search.
- Bing Maps Silverlight Control - all maps rendered onto the client upon the initial request is considered 1 session. There are no services built into the Bing Maps Silverlight Control, so you would use the Bing Maps Web Service for geocoding, routing and search, but we'll include those too.
- Bing Maps Web Service - all maps, geocodes, routes and searches will each invoke 1 transaction.
What do you think of the updates for Bing Maps? Map your thoughts in the comments section below.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 10, 2009, 4:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
UPDATE: Google Caffeine to Launch After Holidays (For the Most Part)
Earlier today, news broke that Google's new index would launch soon. The news was simultaneously exciting and disconcerting since most SEOs and search marketers are in full-fledged holiday mode, and boy, would this disrupt things.
But Google spam ninja Matt Cutts took to his personal blog to assure that most people won't get the update until after the holidays. You can breathe that sigh of relief now.
Caffeine will still be rolled out to one data center, which Cutts said will affect a small percentage of searchers.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 10, 2009, 3:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Google Includes Place Pages Ad Info on Placement Performance Reports
In September, Google launched Place Pages, which aggregate content to give a fuller listing for local content in Google Maps.
Ads appear on those Place Pages and now AdWords users can see if their ads are appearing on them. The data is included on Placement Performance reports.
You can't currently bid for an ad to be placed on a Place Page, but Google says bidding higher will increase your chances of appearing on them.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 10, 2009, 9:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Google Caffeine Sandbox Closed; Expect New Index Soon
In August, Google released a developer preview of their new index, dubbed Google Caffeine. Changes in the index appeared to be largely a "Your Mileage May Vary" situation, with some noticing hardly any changes to their rankings while others noticed bigger changes.
Now, Google has closed the preview sandbox and is prepping the new index for a larger release. It will initially roll out to one data center.
I would imagine that for many, this isn't the greatest time to be experiencing changes in Google's index. The holidays are coming and the economy has been in a rough place for quite a while now. Changing up rankings in the biggest search engine could affect holiday revenues and that's a scary thing. Although, for others it will probably be a positive change as well.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 10, 2009, 9:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Google To Murdoch: Use No Index Or Just Ask
News Corp. Founder and CEO Rupert Murdoch claims Google is stealing their content - the "content kleptomaniacs" as he has termed them. As Greg Jarboe's article below details this could be a major problem for News Corp web sites. Watch the embedded video to hear Murdoch's position.
The UK Telegraph quotes an unnamed Google spokesperson suggesting Murdoch just tell them they want to be dropped from the Google News index.
"Publishers put their content on the web because they want it to be found, so very few choose not to include their material in Google News and web search. But if they tell us not to include it, we don't," the Telegraph quotes.
"If publishers want their content to be removed from Google News specifically all they need to do it tell us."
Murdoch's interview with Sky News shows he may be a little out of touch with how the web works and how to use the traffic from search engines. I wrote an article suggesting he allow more web savvy people to deal with this issue.
The biggest problem with the current situation is that without a solid web approach and the increasing decline in newspaper circulation, there will definitely see a loss in the quality of journalism and in the range of stories that get covered. The Fifth Estate needs help - but battling with Google is not the way to help it.
Interestingly, in the interview Murdoch said there were no news or blog sites that were making big money or more than a couple of million dollars - must be nice to think of those numbers as small change. He obviously misses the power of large online communities and the amount of money they are generating.
Posted by Frank Watson on November 10, 2009, 6:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Judge Gives Google and Authors Another Book Settlement Extension
Today, Google and the Association of American Publishers were supposed to have reached a new settlement, but instead asked for another extension. Judge Denny Chin, who has been presiding over the case, granted the request.
In September, Judge Chin granted the publishers' request for a delay of the originally scheduled October hearing. The book settlement was announced last spring, but was coming under increased scrutiny from outside groups and the government.
The new deadline is this Friday, November 13.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 9, 2009, 11:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Google AdWords Adds Two New Alerts
Google AdWords has launched new alerts to help you manage your paid search campaigns.
Under the Opportunities Tab, Google has added alerts for keyword and budget ideas.
If you're using conversion tracking, you can now set up a custom alert to notify you of changes in conversion volume, conversion rate, and cost per conversion.
So far, custom alerts are only available for individual accounts, but Google says they are working on rolling out custom alerts for accounts linked through My Client Center (MCC).
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 9, 2009, 11:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Murdoch to Google: Drop Dead
Okay, so News Corp. Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch didn't really tell Google to drop dead. That's just an attention getting device like the classic headline in The Daily News back in the 1970s: "Ford to City: Drop Dead."
What Murdoch did say in a Sky News interview today was that his company is considering blocking Google from being able to search its Web sites.
Murdoch said, "I think we will (block Google), but that's when we start charging. We have it already with the Wall Street Journal. We have a wall, but it's not right to the ceiling. You can get, usually, the first paragraph from any story - but if you're not a paying subscriber to WSJ.com all you get is a paragraph and a subscription form."
In the past, Google CEO Eric Schmidt has said, "In general these models (paid online content) have not worked for general public consumption because there are enough free sources that the marginal value of paying is not justified based on the incremental value of quantity. So my guess is for niche and specialist markets ... it will be possible to do it but I think it is unlikely that you will be able to do it for all news."
If you want to watch the interview for yourself, check it out on YouTube -- which, ironically, is an independent subsidiary of Google Inc.
Sky News - Interview with Rupert Murdoch
Now, would Google really "drop dead" if News Corp. blocked it from crawling its websites?
Bill Tancer, the General Manager, Global Research at Experian Hitwise, took a look at this question in a blog post entitled, "News Corp. Google-less?"
According to Hitwise data:
- On a weekly basis Google and Google news are the top traffic providers for WSJ.com account for over 25 percent of WSJ.com's traffic.
- Over 44 percent of WSJ.com visitors coming from Google are "new" users who haven't visited the domain in the last 30 days.
- Twitter and Facebook sent 4% of US visits to News and Media sites in October 2009. (via @Hitwise_US)
- The percentage of upstream traffic from Facebook and Twitter to News and Media sites is up 490% year-over-year.
So, maybe Murdoch should think twice before pulling the plug on 25 percent of WSJ.com's traffic. Although the amount of traffic from social media like Facebook and Twitter is growing, it won't offset the upstream traffic from Google and Google News.
Or, who knows, maybe the tables will be turned someday and we'll read a headline like: "Google to Murdoch: Go Ahead, Make My Day."
Posted by Greg Jarboe on November 9, 2009, 9:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Google Acquires Mobile Advertising Provider AdMob
AdMob has been a major player in the mobile advertising world, really taking off when Apple enabled apps on their iPhone and iPod Touch devices. Google is gobbling up their competition mobile ad competition by acquiring AdMob.
"Mobile advertising has enormous potential as a marketing medium and while this industry is still in the early stages of development, AdMob has already made exceptional progress in a very short time," said Susan Wojcicki, Vice President of Product Management at Google. "AdMob is the quintessential Silicon Valley startup -- generating impressive year on year revenue growth -- and we're excited to welcome this talented team to Google."
As a result of the acquisition, Google expects the following:
- Better engagement for advertisers in their interactions with mobile users
- More effective monetization for publishers and developers
- More relevant ads and access to more content (supported by ads) for users
Google bought AdMob for $750 million. AdMob founder Omar Hamoui founded the company in 2006. This is quite a payoff for him, both monetarily and with regards to innovation in the industry.
"I think people underestimate how important ads have been to funding the development of innovative content on the Internet. Our goal all along at AdMob has been to make it possible for developers and publishers to bring their products and ideas to mobile with the same business model," said Hamoui. "We're proud of the progress we've made towards accomplishing this goal, and joining Google will only accelerate this process, ultimately leading to very real benefits for end users around the world. As publishers and developers generate more revenue from their mobile products, they will invest more, and their mobile offerings will become richer, more creative and more robust."
What do you think of this acquisition? Let us know by leaving a comment.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 9, 2009, 2:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
American Daily Newspapers Employ 25% Fewer People Than in 2001
I apparently caused a stir yesterday at the PRSA International Conference in San Diego. Actually, it was a disturbing fact -- or an inconvenient truth -- that I cited which caused the stir. So, don't shoot the messanger.
During the Q&A part of the conference workshop, "Looking Ahead: The Nexus of Social Media and Public Relations," Peter Himler, founder and principal of Flatiron Communication, asked a rhetorical question of the audience. I've known Himler for about 15 years, so I raised my hand when nobody seemed eager to speculate on when traditional media relations should be declared dead.
I'm presenting a PRSA teleseminar on Nov. 17, and I had been working on my presentation before heading to San Diego. So, I happened to have a data point at my finger tips that related to the question.
According to The State of News Media for 2009, which is published by the Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism, 5,900 full-time newsroom jobs, 11% of the total at America's newspapers, were cut in 2008. By the end of 2009, newsrooms of American daily newspapers may employ 25% fewer people than they did in 2001.
Ad Age estimates that just under 150,000 people worked in magazines in 2008, down from about 170,000 in 2000. And in local television, news staffs, already too small to adequately cover their communities, are being cut at unprecedented rates.
So, that's why PR people need to embrace social media as quickly as they can. If they don't include blog outreach, YouTube marketing, Facebook marketing, and Twitter marketing within the definition of public relations, then PR will employ 25% fewer people than it did in 2001.
Okay, so maybe that was a little like shouting "fire" in a crowded theater. But facts are facts, and I was just telling the truth.
But some of the people in the room reacted like they were going through the five stages of grief described in the book by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, "On Death and Dying." They are:
1. Denial (This isn't happening to me!)
2. Anger (Why is this happening to me?)
3. Bargaining (I promise I'll be a better person if...)
4. Depression (I don't care anymore.)
5. Acceptance (I'm ready for whatever comes.)
To help the PR specialists in your company through the grieving process, you should have the SEO specialists take them to lunch. Eat some comfort food. And let them know that they will play a really important role in social media -- as soon as they get their arms around social media measurement.
Okay, that last part may be "tough love." They may not be ready to embrace social media measurement -- yet.
But, sooner or later, they have to move on. Sooner or later, they need to heed the advice of Cher in the movie Moonstruck: "Get over it!"
Posted by Greg Jarboe on November 9, 2009, 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Twitter Tries to Get Rid of Spammy Trending Tweets
If you've ever viewed the stream of Tweets in a Trending Topic on Twitter, you've no doubt seen your share of spam. Twitter is now testing improvements to trending topics in order to get rid of the spam.
Twitter says they're focusing on identifying high-quality Tweets, but didn't go into detail. They also said you probably won't notice much change right away, but assured that small steps are being taken.
It's good to see Twitter taking on spam. No doubt spam is something that killed MySpace's popularity, which led to the rise of Facebook and Twitter.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 9, 2009, 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Microsoft Rolls Out adCenter Fall 2009 Upgrade
Over the weekend, Microsoft adCenter began rolling out its Fall 2009 upgrade. Tina Kelleher took to the official adCenter blog to give the scoop:
The adCenter team is in the process of getting ready to roll out the adCenter Fall 2009 Upgrade this weekend. This upgrade will include improvements in reporting, account management and will even add a few new features; we'll have more detailed information on Monday. You should expect to see the upgrade changes after Sunday, November 8th.
Have you seen the new features yet? What do you think? Let us know by leaving a comment.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 9, 2009, 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Google Maps Adds NYC Subway System Layer, Available for Some Mobile Phones Too
Google has added a new layer to their Maps: the New York City Subway System. This will be handy for those of you attending SES New York next spring.
To use it, view New York City in Google Maps and then click the "More" option and select Transit.
Zoom in and you'll see individual station icons. Click on an icon to get more information about that station.
Mobile devices that have access to layers on Google Maps will be able to access the subway maps. Those devices include BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Symbian S60.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 9, 2009, 10:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Go to SES Berlin or SES Chicago for Nine Trainers Training
During the past seven weeks, I've shared seven compelling 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 "eight days a-learning, 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."
This week, I'll share an eighth great reason -- and it isn't "nine ladies dancing."
You should attend these events for "nine trainers training."
As I mentioned back in September, training is one of the three key trends. If you type "SEO training" into Google Insights for Search, you'll see that web search interest has grown steadily since 2004 -- and is forecast to continue growing in 2010. So, it's not surprising that more time is being added to the schedules of search engine conferences for training workshops.
But I often wonder if "in-depth training" is the right term for the "radical reorientation" that takes place in these intensive workshops. The small class setting ensures participants that their instructor is accessible for informal one-on-one or small group discussions of "why" as well as "how."
As Columbus discovered, training the crews of the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria how to sail west was a relatively straightforward task. The real challenge was convincing Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand that they wouldn't fall off the edge of the world.
Fortunately, the instructors of the SES training workshops are experts who know how to handle both ambidextrously.
So, what can you learn by participating in one of these training workshops?
SES Berlin offers a "Workshopsprogramm" on 23 November, the day before the "kongress." The program includes:
• Link Building 2009 Workshop, which will be taught by Christoph Cemper, General Manager, and Melanie Arko, Project Manager CEMPER.COM.
• Web Analytics Workshop: Data Into Action, which will be taught by Timo Aden, Gründer und Geschäftsführer, Trakken GmbH.
• Best Practices der Suchmaschinenwerbung, which will be taught by Oliver Zenglein, Head of Online Marketing, be2.
Search Engine Strategies Chicago 2009 offers SEM training on December 10, the day after the conference. The half-day workshops include:
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Workshop, which will be taught by Shari Thurow, Omni Marketing Interactive.
• Landing Page Testing Hands On: Developing Your Action Plan, which will be taught by Tim Ash, SiteTuners.
• Advanced Keyword Research, which will be taught by Ron Jones, Symetri Internet Marketing.
• Social Media and Your Business, which will be taught by Sage Lewis, SageRock.com.
On December 11, SES Chicago 2009 offers partnered training. The full-day workshops include:
• Search Engine Optimization Training, which will be taught by Bruce Clay, Bruce Clay, Inc.
• Integrating Search Across All Online Marketing Efforts, which will be taught by Aaron Kahlow, Chairman & Founder, Online Marketing Summit; Ray "Catfish" Comstock, Senior Search Strategist, BusinessOnLine; Paul Sherman, President Emeritas, Usability Professionals Organization (OMI Professor); Jennifer Wessenmeyer, VP Analytics, Stratigent; Debbie Qaqish, Partner, Pedowitz Group (OMI professor); and Kevin Espinosa, Director eMarketing, Caterpillar.
Next week, we'll look at more reasons for going to either Search Engine Strategies Berlin or SES Chicago 2009. In the meantime, just keep singing "nine trainers training, eight days a-learning, 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 November 9, 2009, 2:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Caution: Social Media May Be Closer Than They Appear
I've just finished attending Day 1 of the PRSA International Conference in San Diego.
Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post, was the Sunday keynote speaker.
Katie D. Paine, CEO of KDPaine & Partners, discussed Social Media Measurement: Establishing ROI.
And Peter Himler, founder and principal of Flatiron Communications, Rick Clancy, former senior vice president of corporate communication at Sony Electronics, Jessica Smith, Vice President of Fleishman-Hillard, Rob Key, founder and CEO of Converseon, and Lee Odden, CEO of TopRank Online Marketing, participated on a panel entitled, "Looking Ahead: The Nexus of Social Media and Public Relations."
If PR people seem to be very interested in social media, they are. But they aren't alone. Search engine optimizers have been interested in social media for five years. And customer relations management is interested in social media, too.
Now, blogs started taking off in 2003. Facebook was launched in 2004. YouTube was launched in 2005. And Twitter was launched in 2006.
So, maybe we should cut many PR people some slack for waiting until 2009 to get their arms around social media. But life is unfair -- and PR people who waited until now will find themselves saying, "Hey, that's my job," to other people in other departments who didn't wait to get started.
Now, PR people bring a lot of relevant skills to the social media table, but so do SEOs and customer relations people. All this will generate some interesting discussions when it comes time to launch a company's first social media campaign.
I remember similar discussions in the mid-1990s, when I tried to make the case at my old employer that the corporate communications department should be responsible for creating the company's first website. I lost that argument -- and the IT department was put in charge of creating a new way to interact with "the public" online. The result was a website that wasn't user friendly -- and it used a content management system that wasn't search engine friendly, either.
So, we face another one of those pivotal moments when PR people will be asked why social media is important, how social media works, and which social media to use.
They need to be read with answers now, not next year. Anyone who looks at social media through the passenger side mirror needs to be cautioned: Social media may be closer than they appear.
Posted by Greg Jarboe on November 8, 2009, 11:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
