Reports from Search Engine Strategies New York: Day Two
Day two of the Search Engine Strategies New York is over now. I did not post any coverage of last night's Ask.com party, so let me send you to three places that have reviews of it. The first is from the official Ask blog under the title of Code Red Party Recap, the second is from Lee Odden and the third I have found is from Search Views.
Now for the session coverage roundup over at the Search Engine Roundtable.
Want more SES NY 2006 news? Technorati has blog reports here: sesny2006. See
shared photos on Flickr here:
sesny2006. See bookmarked pages on del.icio.us here: sesny2006. See saved pages on
Yahoo My Web 2.0 here:
sesny2006. Find live coverage and discussion at the Search Engine Watch
Forums here:
SEM Events.
Then there's the sendup of Microsoft package design, which has been viewed a quarter of a million times since being posted yesterday to YouTube, according to the site's stats.
Gamekillers, an MTV show sponsored by Axe, has a site with extremely well-done interactive video elements. It's TV grade creative, top notch footage with decent acting. It helps that the writing's competent, if -- like the show's premise -- a bit meat-headed.
The site and show are being promoted online via AdWords and AdSense listings. The copy: "The Gamekillers: These are people who cause you to lose your cool & the girl."
Posted by Zachary Rodgers on Feb. 28, 2006 |
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At this morning's "Search Pundits" session at SES, the inimitable Robert Scoble let slip (ok, so he "announced") that Microsoft is following A9's lead and taking street-level photos -- searchable, of course -- of U.S. cities. Already, he said, the company's photo-taking van has snapped 10 million images around Seattle and "about the same number" in San Francisco. These images should be accessible by the end of the day today, Scoble said. (Actually, they are up now.) This is part of the company's Virtual Earth initiative. Like Amazon's similar functionality on A9, this has interesting possibilities for local marketers who want to ensure their retail location is easily spotted.
Posted by Pamela Parker on Feb. 28, 2006 |
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London SES Agenda Now Online
I've completed the agenda for our London SES show, happening May 31 - June 2. We've expanded the show to three days, and there are a lot of new panels and great content on deck for the show. Interested in speaking at the show? See the Speaking at SES London 2006 page for more information. Please read it carefully before pitching me on a panel - I'm not accepting pitches until I post openings next month. Want to be an exhibitor? See this page for all the details.
Posted by Chris Sherman on Feb. 28, 2006 |
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Study: Offline Conversions Key to Understanding True Search Marketing ROI
New research from iProspect and Jupiter Research shows that even though shoppers are using search engines to research products, nearly half are still making purchases through bricks and mortar retailers. Search marketers who aren't measuring these offline conversions are likely misallocating resources, incorrectly measuring ROI and making other critical mistakes. More details about the findings of this study in today's SearchDay article, Searchers Still Like to Buy Offline.
Posted by Chris Sherman on Feb. 28, 2006 |
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Department of Justice Rejects Google's Claims of Privacy Threat
Internet.com reports in Google Search Request Not a Privacy Threat that the Department of Justice has rejected Google's argument that handing over query data will be a privacy thread. The DOJ says this is because they are not asking for specific user data that can be associated back to any individual user.
"No individual user of Google, or of any other search engine, need fear that his or her personal identifying will be disclosed," according to the government brief.
Philipp Lenssen shows us a screen capture of "Google CL2"; "A calendar for you and the world." The link goes to http://www.google.com/cl2/ but clicking on the link, still doesn't do anything. The link bring you to the Google accounts login page and then after you login, takes you to a screen that says "The page you requested is invalid."
If I counted right, that is 15 sessions covered today by Ben, Chris, Lee and myself.
Want more SES NY 2006 news? Technorati has blog reports here: sesny2006. See
shared photos on Flickr here:
sesny2006. See bookmarked pages on del.icio.us here: sesny2006. See saved pages on
Yahoo My Web 2.0 here:
sesny2006. Find live coverage and discussion at the Search Engine Watch
Forums here:
SEM Events.
TechCrunch has exclusive look at Google payments. One thing to note is that you do not need a Google Account to use Google Payments. More on this next week, after SES.
A few interesting stats came out today that we'll just touch on briefly here.
TNS Media Intelligence: "Internet display advertising registered the largest gain [in 2005], up 13.3 percent to $8.3 billion on the strength of accelerated spending from dot-com brands. For the year, these online brands accounted for 49.7 percent of total internet expenditures, the highest level since the dot-com bust." Across media, advertising advanced to $143.3 billion, up 3 percent compared to 2004.
JupiterResearch: 40% of search marketers use only Google and/or Yahoo! for their campaigns. "Even though search engine usage by marketers has broadened in the past couple of years, marketers are still slow to test the newer search providers," said Sapna Satagopan, Research Associate at JupiterResearch. "Lack of management tools and relatively low traffic volume are the biggest deterrents."
Interesting tidbits, both.
Posted by Pamela Parker on Feb. 27, 2006 |
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No fewer than four big media brands –- News Corp., MTV Networks, GQ and CBS –- announced new mobile distribution plans today. Most of the offerings are subscription-based, but it's worth noting the proliferation of interest in piping content to phones.
MTV Networks will deliver TV clips from its MTV, VH1, CMT and Comedy Central to Sprint subscribers who pony up $5.95. Similarly, CBS will offer mobile news alerts and a video service, respectively titled "CBS News TO GO" and "ET TO GO," for $.99 and $3.99.
News Corp. has a new mobile content bodega called Mobizzo, and the Times has the story. It's mainly on the e-commerce side, pushing ringtones and graphics for mobile handsets.
GQ is meanwhile launching a mobile extension, which appears to lack any editorial meat whatsoever. Marketers send offers and promotions directly to the phones of those who opt in, though a Conde Nast spokesperson told me the company would evaluate the viability of distributing actual content to mobile subscribers.
Posted by Zachary Rodgers on Feb. 27, 2006 |
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SEW members) Mobile
Microsoft Opens Up adCenter
Microsoft is opening up the U.S. pilot of adCenter to more advertisers, and boosting the traffic it runs through the platform by 70 percent. Jed Nahum, director of product management for adCenter, invited attendees at SES to stop by Microsoft's booth to sign up. For those not attending, Microsoft will open up signups on its site for an undisclosed period of time on March 6 beginning at 9 a.m. PST. Since the pilot started in October, more than 3,500 advertisers have signed up, Nahum said.
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Barry Diller: "Be Evil" More Realistic
In his keynote speech at the Search Engine Strategies conference this morning, IAC's Chairman and CEO Barry Diller unveiled the new Ask.com. When Danny Sullivan asked if he had any plans to introduce a corporate philosophy similar to Google's "Don't Be Evil" mantra.
He jokingly suggested that "Be Evil" would be a more realistic policy.
"Very few companies act in a consciously evil way. Google is now in real business, and like any business, it does things that people are not going to like," Diller said. "It's a lovely mantra when you're not in business. It means nothing when you are."
Instead, Ask.com will center its upcoming campaign on the idea of "Use Tools. Feel Human," to spotlight the way having the right tools to search with will make everyone feel better...or something similarly non-evil like that.
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SEW members) Search
Daily SearchCast, Feb. 27, 2006: Special SES NY Edition, Barry Diller Keynote
Today's search podcast is the first of special editions all this week out of
the Search Engine Strategies
conference in New York this week. It covers IAC/InterActiveCorp chairman and CEO Barry Diller
in a keynote conversation with Search Engine Watch editor Danny Sullivan. You'll
find it in this
MP3
file.
The line-up for other special editions of the Daily SearchCast are covered
below. You can listen to any of those via
WebmasterRadio at 11:30am Eastern and repeated at 2pm Eastern Tuesday
through Friday, via our Odeo
channel or through iTunes via this
link (or use alternative iTunes instructions explained
here) or
though our Yahoo Podcasts
channel.
Want to listen to Barry Diller's keynote at SES NY? It's happening in 15
minutes. Instructions on how to tune in are covered in full on
this page, as
well as a rundown on how to download a podcast of the keynote after the fact and
other special podcasts coming out of the show.
Can't make Search Engine Strategies in New York today but want to listen to
my keynote conversation with IAC/InterActiveCorp chairman and CEO Barry Diller,
covering his views and take on search and IAC-owned Ask Jeeves? Here's how to
listen live through the internet or how to pick up the podcast of the talk after
it ends, plus news on other special podcasts we'll be doing from the show this
week.
The talk is being broadcast live by
WebmasterRadio.FM at 9am Eastern time, when it begins. To listen, you need
to load WebmasterRadio's live broadcast stream into your media player.
Instructions for the three major players are below. Just click on the right
link, and the stream will begin.
If you're on a modem connection, click on this
link.
Got broadband? Listen in better quality by clicking on this
link.
Got really fast broadband? Get the best quality by clicking on this
link.
Don't want to or can't listen live? Don't worry. Visit our
Daily SearchCast
podcast home page. There are full instructions on how to subscribe to our
podcast feed or listen in alternative ways. If you don't subscribe or use the
alternatives, then try this option. The keynote will appear at the top of the
archives listed on the Daily SearchCast page. Click through to keynote page,
then click on the MP3 file link. That should load the audio into your media
player.
After the keynote, we're going to do highlights from selected sessions from
the conference all this week, in place of the usual Daily SearchCast. These
shows will all be 30 minutes long. You can listen to these at 11:30am Eastern
via the live WebmasterRadio feed (though they will have been prerecorded).
They'll also play again through the live feed at 2pm Eastern. Just click on any
of the links above to tune in to the feed.
Prefer to get the special editions via podcast format? Then visit the Daily
SearchCast home page as previously described and sign up. Here's what the
special editions will be:
Want more SES NY 2006 news? Technorati has blog reports here:
sesny2006. See
shared photos on Flickr here:
sesny2006. See bookmarked pages on del.icio.us here:
sesny2006. See saved pages on
Yahoo My Web 2.0 here:
sesny2006. Find live coverage and discussion at the Search Engine Watch
Forums here:
SEM Events.
Ask has finally taken the long-expected step of retiring its mascot, Jeeves, and rebranding its search engine. But today's rebranding goes far beyond a few cosmetic changes, introducing upgraded core search and a bevy of cool new tools that are customizable and extendible. Bottom line: it's a slick, impressive upgrade. I've got more details in today's SearchDay article, Ask Looses Jeeves, Gains New Features.
Posted by Chris Sherman on Feb. 27, 2006 |
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For the next few days, the ClickZ News team will be hosting, covering and taking in the Search Engine Strategies conference in Manhattan, along with our colleagues at Search Engine Watch. I, personally, have just arrived at the Hilton and am getting settled in for the duration. Hope to see you 'round over the next few days!
Posted by Pamela Parker on Feb. 26, 2006 |
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Ask Jeeves Gets New Menu Sidebar, Maps; Retires Teoma
Chris Sherman will have a more formal write-up later in SearchDay about new changes you can now spot up on Ask, in particular a "Search Tools" navigational sidebar that lets you jump between things like web and image search. New on that sidebar is a Maps area, where you can get traditional maps and aerial views. Ask has also announced that the Teoma search engine has been retired. Teoma.com now redirects to Ask Jeeves. The Teoma search technology is being rebranded as ExpertRank, something we predicted back in November.
A group of us headed out to Spamalot before tomorrow's SES show in New York, and search marketer Dax Herrara got a big surprise. Dax, known to many SES attendees for his great preformance in our Pimp My Site session, found himself on entirely new session when he was pulled on stage to join the Spamalot. They provided him with a Polaroid picture, made worse by me sending a copy by camera phone to Flickr here. But you can make out his flaming red hair, which made the audience believe he had to be a plant!
Yahoo Search Marketing sponsored its first, invitation-only "Search Light" Awards event in New York, featuring presentations from advertisers including Honda, General Motors, Miller, and Chase Bank. Attendees voted on the presentations, and the first Search Light award went to RPA Interactive for "Honda Element: A Different Animal." Search Engine Journal has more on the event and other award winners.
Posted by Chris Sherman on Feb. 25, 2006 |
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With the gazillions in real estate commissions at stake here in the Golden State, it's no surprise a new company has sprung up to help real estate agents into the 21st century. Marketing firm Impact Factory has spun-off a unit, California Fine Properties, that will use video podcasting and market-specific Web sites, among other techniques, to help agents stand out.
This sentence in the press release cracks me up: "The traditional 'face and name' marketing technique that nearly every real estate agent uses is out of touch with today's consumer." I beg to differ. Technology doesn't take the place of faces and names and real people. It just helps those people keep in touch more effectively. The marketing firm also suggests agents brand iPods with their logos, and give them away to clients as closing gifts. Where was this company when we closed on our house?
Posted by Pamela Parker on Feb. 24, 2006 |
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If you're a Search Engine Watch
member, thank
you! And also, the
latest edition of Search Engine Update newsletter has been posted. It recaps
top stories in search from the first part of this month.
I'm sort of known for being dubious about how tagging might help general
searching. But I'm pretty positive about it as a way to help people collectively
organize information around events. So without further adieu, I'd like to
propose this common tag for those wishing to blog, bookmark or photo share stuff
out of next week's monster Search Engine Strategies show in New York:
sesny2006
For Flickr,
del.icio.us, Yahoo My Web (and
most other sites supporting tagging), just use that single word to tag whatever
content you want to share about the event.
Also use that word for Technorati as a
category for your blog posts. Don't categorize posts or can't use that word because it
clashes with your own category system, as is the case with our blog? Then just
add this link
anywhere in your post:
More on tagging for Technorati is covered
here. FYI, Technorati's not
reading our posts correctly, so you won't see this or a few others tagged yet.
They're aware of the problem and apparently working on it.
Want to find the forthcoming tagged SES NY 2006 content? Here's what we'll be adding to the bottom
our own posts about the show next week:
Want more SES NY 2006 news? Technorati has blog reports here:
sesny2006. See
shared photos on Flickr here:
sesny2006. See bookmarked pages on del.icio.us here:
sesny2006. See saved pages on
Yahoo My Web 2.0 here:
sesny2006. Find live coverage and discussion at the Search Engine Watch
Forums here:
SEM Events.
Just click on any of those links, and you'll get the material listed. And if
you like the idea, feel free to copy the links for your own blog or site.
Daily SearchCast, Feb. 24, 2006: Yahoo Says No To Comparison Ads; Google Finance Coming?; Google Widgets For The Mac; Survey On Search Privacy; Jeeves Has A Video Farewell & More!
Today's search podcast covers Yahoo ending the ability for companies to
bid on trademarks of their competitors to do comparison ads; signs that a Google
Finance service may be coming; Mac users get Google widgets; findings from a
survey on search privacy; Jeeves makes a funny video departure from Ask and more!
Tune-in by listening to this
MP3
file, listening via WebmasterRadio
at 11:30am Eastern and repeated at 2pm Eastern Tuesday through Friday, via our
Odeo channel or through
iTunes via this
link (or use alternative iTunes instructions explained
here) or
though our Yahoo Podcasts
channel. Below are links with more information about the stories that were
discussed.
Google Base Soon To Allow Buying & Selling Through Google's Own Payment System
Google Base is soon to allow merchants to
sell through Google's own payment system, as well as allowing buyers to use the
Google Accounts system to make purchases. A quick look doesn't show any of this
live yet, but I'm sure examples will come soon. There is more information from
Google
here
plus a note on how this fits into their overall payment system plans
here.
Want to sell on Google Base through its own system? Use this
form to sign-up.
This is getting really interesting, and really, really weird.
Close on the heels of MoveOn.org's petition earlier this week, The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), together with media policy group Free Press, will announce on Tuesday a coalition of advocacy groups is uniting to oppose what's been dubbed AOL's "e-mail tax," or Enhanced Whitelist.
And oh boy, it's some coalition. So far, it includes Craigslist's Craig Newmark, Gun Owners of America, MoveOn.org Civic Action, and the Association of Cancer Online Resources.
"Dozens of other concerned groups will be announced on the call," promises the EFF.
See related stories in these categories! (available to
SEW members) E-Mail
Next Week's SES NY 2006 Highlights
In a few hours, I'm shutting down the computer, finishing packing, then
grabbing a flight to New York tomorrow for our upcoming Search Engine
Strategies NY 2006 conference. We're well set to be even larger than
last year's monster show. The event is literally stuffed with a ton of sessions
for search marketers of all abilities and needs. I wanted to share some
highlights for those still considering going or for those already on their way.
Barry Diller, chairman and CEO of InterActiveCorp, will be kicking off
the show with a
keynote
conversation with me on the morning
of the first day, February 27. IAC owns Ask
Jeeves along with a variety of vertical search properties. Not lucky
enough to see the keynote in person? Listen to it live at 9am Eastern time
at WebmasterRadio.fm.
Alternatively, about 15 minutes after the keynote ends, we'll have it up
in downloadable podcast form. Just subscribe to our
Daily
SearchCast podcast, and you'll receive this special edition of the
show.
The entire show agenda is online, and over 60 different
sessions are offered. We also have a number of cool sessions you won't
want to miss, such as:
Pundits On Search: What do big voices have to say on search issues?
Come ask them yourself! I'll be moderating a panel featuring David Vise, author of
The Google Story;
Zia Daniell Wigder, VP and Research Director, JupiterResearch; and three
search blogvangelists, Robert Scoble
from Microsoft; Jeremy Zawodny
from Yahoo and Matt Cutts
from Google.
Search Advertising: Now & Future: What's the state of search
advertising now and where's it going, especially as search leaps out of
the browser and into places like our TVs, phones and music players? This
session with search engine executives explores the topic.
Searchonomics: Serious & Fun Stats: Get up to speed with stats on
the growth of search, then enjoy the lighter side of how we search
online.
The Search Landscape: Who's winning the search engine wars and how?
This session has some of the metrics that help tell the story.
Auditing Paid Listings & Click Fraud Issues: Did you really get that
much traffic from paid listings last month or is something funny going
on? Reviewing your paid traffic is an essential task any serious search
engine marketer should undertake. Tips and issues are covered.
Practical Copyright & Trademark Guidance for Webmasters and SEMs:
Your competitor is bidding on your trademarked name. Some splogger is
profiting off of your copyrighted work via RSS ("really simple
stealing"). What's a law abiding netizen to do? Come find out from our
panel of experts in this highly interactive session.
Who's Watching Whom: Search & Privacy: Over the past year, search
engines have rolled out or enhanced personalized search and search
history features. New search behavioral targeting systems are also
developing. Add to that a recent US Department Of Justice request for
search query data, and you've got growing search privacy worries. In
this session, a lively discussion of the data search engines collect
when you conduct a search, how such data is/should be handled, whether
the government has any right to subpoena it and other issues.
Ad Agencies & Search: As search continues to get hot, are ad
agencies missing out on one of the most important online advertising
venues going? Some ad agencies are now acquiring SEM firms to enlarge
their portfolio of services. Others continue to outsource. Some may
still not tap into search at all. This session explores what agencies
may need to consider as the search space grows and how to ensure they
aren't falling behind.
Putting Search In The Ad Mix: Search engine marketing should be
considered as an essential part of any overall marketing campaign,
online and off. In this session, we look at successes from considering
search from the very beginning, failures that result if this is not done
and how other marketing can also help search.
Branding & Search: What impact does search have on branding? This
session look at the role of search in building brand, as well as how
branding can support search.
Lunch With The Google Engineers - Just confirmed and soon to be
posted to the agenda, this will run from Noon through 12:45pm on the
first day of the show, Feb. 27. Grab your lunch, grab a seat, get
updated on Google web search and lob some questions at the assembled
panel of engineers.
Evening Forum With Danny Sullivan: No PowerPoints, no set agenda. I
just guide the audience into a giant group discussion on topics they are
interested, with a lot of fun along the way.
There are many, many sessions beyond those above, in tracks such as:
Fundamentals
Stats & Research
Vertical Search
Search Advertising
Search Issues
News & Blogs
Organic SEO
Advanced Organic SEO
Linking
Retailer Issues
Agency & Branding Issues
In House Issues
Local Search
Measuring
Site Clinics
The
Conference
at a Glance page gives you a fast look at everything, and from there
you can drill down into more detailed information for
Day 1,
Day 2,
Day 3
and Day 4.
Whatever your particular search marketing interest or skill level, there
are sessions designed for you.
Want more SES NY 2006 news? Technorati has blog reports here:
sesny2006. See
shared photos on Flickr here:
sesny2006. See bookmarked pages on del.icio.us here:
sesny2006. See saved pages on
Yahoo My Web 2.0 here:
sesny2006. Find live coverage and discussion at the Search Engine Watch
Forums here:
SEM Events.
Good news for adCenter publishers was announced by MSN today. Starting Monday, advertisers will see a 70% increase on ad impressions being served on MSN search results.
I talked with Carolyn, the Community Support Analyst with adCenter about the traffic increase for advertisers. "Increasing adCenter traffic is one of the most common requests we've heard from our pilot users in the community so we're excited to share this news."
If you are an advertiser, you will begin to see the impact on Tuesday, February 28th as the change is performed. It might also be worth revisiting your campaign budgets and making sure they are appropriate to what you are willing to spend as the increase is rolled out.
Today's SearchDay, Search Engine Forums Spotlight, features our weekly links to this week's hot topics from search engine forums across the web: Google Releases Web Page Creator & Free Hosting Labs Beta - MSN Rolls Out New Search Interface & Algorithm - Photos Get Google in Trouble Over Copyright Law - Link Baiting Our Future? - Search Engines: The New Battle Ground for Middle East Conflicts? and more.
Posted by Chris Sherman on Feb. 24, 2006 |
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Google announced today that it will be hosting an Analyst Day for the second time. This event will take place on Thursday, March 2, 2006 at 10:00 a.m. PT through about 2:00 p.m. PT. The Webcast will be viewable at http://investor.google.com/webcast and archived about two weeks later here. Last year they hosted this event on February 9, 2005 and Danny has a write up on it from May 2005.
Loren Baker at Search Engine Journal reports evidence of a possible Google Finance coming soon to Google. Search Engine Journal noticed several referrals from http://google.com/finance?q=goog&btng=search+finance recently. As some now, Search Engine Journal is included in Google News, so a search for "GOOG" at a mysterious Google Finance, will most likely bring up search results that match GOOG at Google News. Should we expect to see www.google.com/finance or finance.google.com launched soon?
We present an analysis of a large blog search engine query log, exploring a number of angles such as query intent, query topics, and user sessions. Our results show that blog searches have different intents than general web searches, suggesting that the primary targets of blog searchers are tracking references to named entities, and locating blogs by theme. In terms of interest areas, blog searchers are, on average, more engaged in technology, entertainment, and politics than web searchers, with a particular interest in current events. The user behavior observed is similar to that in general web search: short sessions with an interest in the first few results only.
Google Mac Widgets for Blogger, Gmail and Search History
Yesterday the Google Blog informed us that three new Google Widgets for the Apple Macintosh's OS X Tiger have been released. Widgets on a Mac come by way of Apple Dashboard that basically allows you to press a key on your keyboard, and these widgets begin to hover over your desktop and applications. Widgets allow you to perform routine tasks quickly but I have disabled dashboard on my computer due to performance issues (that is an other story). The three widgets released are for;
Yahoo Adds Quick Links to Wikipedia Search Results
Yahoo announced that they now include Yahoo Quick Links for Wikipedia results. What that means is that when you do a search at Yahoo and a Wikipedia result is found in the search results page, it will add "Quick Links" to "deeper" pages or anchors within the Wikipedia. For example, conduct a search on coffee and then find the result for en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee (I see it at #5). Notice the quick links that have links to additional Wikipedia content, normally anchored down to anchors on the Wikipedia page on coffee.
I personally find this to be much more useful then how Google handles the Wikipedia results. Google places Wikipedia results in the One Box section (top of the page). But Yahoo just adds "deeper" links to the Wikipedia result, not by bringing it above the normal SERPs, but by adding a non-intrusive, "Quick Links" line.
J.D. Ryznar was contracted by Ask.com to produce a farewell video for Jeeves's retirement. The video can be viewed here and you can read more about the making of the video at the Ask Blog.
Want to comment or discuss? Visit our SEW Forum thread, Goodbye Jeeves.
At this morning's "Search Pundits" session at SES, the inimitable Robert Scoble let slip (ok, so he "announced") that Microsoft is following A9's lead and taking street-level photos -- searchable, of course -- of U.S. cities. Already, he said, the company's photo-taking van has snapped 10 million images around Seattle and "about the same number" in San Francisco. These images should be accessible by the end of the day today, Scoble said. (Actually, they are