May 2008

May 9, 2008

Yahoo! Acquires Assets of the Inquisitor 3 Plug-in for Safari

Yahoo has acquired the assets of the Inquisitor 3 plug-in for the Safari web browser. Mac developer Dave Watanabe created the plug-in, but will not become a Yahoo! employee. Watanabe will, however, temporarily consult for Yahoo.

Inquisitor 3 aids searchers by auto-completing their search keywords and delivers results directly in the Safari browser. When users begin to type in the chrome (you know, that area where the toolbars and menus are), websites and alternative search terms pop up to assist the searcher. Yahoo says the plug-in is similar to their Search Assist-type function, but within the chrome.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Microsoft Prefers Flash to Silverlight

Despite all the controversy over Microsoft using Silverlight to take over the rich internet market from Adobe Flash, the software giant seems to be not even trying. In fact, even most Microsoft web sites are using Flash instead of Silverlight.

A quick check through Microsoft properties reveals that only the Microsoft Home Page and the Microsoft Developer Network use Silverlight; MSN Video, Zune.net and the new WWTelescope all use Flash.

Microsoft even appears to be on par with Adobe when it comes to platforms outside of Windows. Silverlight works on Safari for Mac or PC, as well as on Firefox and other Mozilla-based browsers. Silverlight even seems to work "unofficially" on Opera (as long you pretend you're not running Opera).

Silverlight isn't supported in Linux, but as an avid Ubuntu fan, I can tell you that Flash does not work well in Linux either. A host of open-source alternatives, like Gnash, have mostly solved that issue. Former Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen's fears of Microsoft favoring Windows seem incredibly unfounded.

But if Microsoft is playing nice for a change, why are they afraid of promoting their product -- and why are they afraid of even using it? Maybe "nice" is too novel a strategy for Redmond. It may take some getting used to -- for everyone.

Posted by Eli Feldblum at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (19)

Free to Go: Microsoft Releases Proxy Yahoo Board

It's speculation Friday, again. And today, the analysts will be pondering whether or not Microsoft will come back for Yahoo, something they haven't been secret about hoping for. But Microsoft is throwing a wrench into those plans by releasing members of its proxy Board of Directors, prepared for a hostile takeover of Yahoo.

Good negotiating is careful business, though, so this could be another negotiating ploy. Or it could be a very real indicator that Microsoft truly is moving on. Speculate away!

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 9:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Google Adwords Launches Landing Page Load Time on Keyword Analysis Page

Recently, Google announced that landing page load time will become a factor in determining quality score for Adwords. Today, they have launched a landing page load time metric for Adwords users.

The metric can be found on the Keyword Analysis page.

The load time factor will begin affecting Quality Score in mid-June. Need help improving your landing page load time? Google helps you out with, "How does load time affect my landing page quality?"

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 9:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Google Maps Grand Theft Auto 4 (GTA 4): Your Google Guide to Liberty City

Grand Theft Auto 4 sales topped half a billion dollars during its first week of release, earning about 5 times as much as the blockbuster movie, Iron Man. GTA 4 takes place in Liberty City, a parallel universe of New York, NY. More realistic than ever, many buildings and landmarks in the game are spot-on. The soundtrack rocks.

So how are GTA 4 fans navigating the game? Google Maps is powering the Grand Theft Auto Big Map, a wiki-style map where gamers can update places they've found in Liberty City.

The Google map has proven so popular with the GTA 4 community, moderators have posted the following message:

Note: Due to the sheer amount of submissions from all you pimps, the review process is taking longer than expected. Please do not submit the same marker twice out of fear your submission didn't go through.

Here's an example showing "Missions" and "Services" identified on the Google Map:

GTA%204.jpg

There's a helpful outline of the basic controls of the Liberty City Interactive Map system at GTA 'Hood. Yo'u'll also find a detailed guide to help you add new marker location points within the Liberty City Interactive Map.

If you want to explore Liberty City online, you have lots of categories to choose from in addition to "Missions" and "Services." Here's what's currently listed: Clubs, Bars, Cabaret Clubs, Strip Club, Comedy Club, Emergency Services, Police Station, Hospital, Fire Department, Missions, Start, End, Primary Objective, Secondary Objective, NPC, Steps 1-10, Most Wanted, Items, Body Armor, Health Pack, Weapons, Vehicles, Secrets, Hidden Package, Easter Egg, Funny Signs, Multiplayer: Extraction Point, NPCs, Contact Person, Pervert, Pigeon.

How detailed is the Liberty CIty Interactive Map? Here's a screenshot showing all markers:

Grand%20Theft%20Auto%20Big%20Map.jpg

Of course there are always GTA 4 cheats available, like this one from Playstation Insider, if you want to find the flying rats, weapon locations and half-naked zombies faster.

After the jump, a quick lesson on how to use Google Maps to add your own markers.

How to Add a Marker on Google Maps: Grand Theft Auto Big Map

1) Find the location on the map, hover your mouse pointed over the spot and right click the map. You'll see an "Add Marker" menu pop up.

2) Navigate through the menu popup and select the appropriate maker (Note: if you can't find one that fits your needs, you can contact the GTA 'Hood directly with your suggestion). For example, if you know where a truck is, choose: Add Maker > Vehicles -> Vehicle.

3) A pop up box will appear once you select the marker type. Fill in the name and description of the location.

4) Now you can move the marker around with your mouse to make sure it's in the right place.

5) Once you're happy with your new location, click the Save button.

Posted by Kevin Heisler at 8:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEW Experts: Yahoo Rejects Microsoft: Worst Decision Ever?

There have been some major missed opportunities in our industry; decisions that must haunt those involved. Arguably the biggest faux pas of our industry came in 1999, when Excite had the opportunity to buy Google for $1 million and refused. In today's SEM Crossfire column, "Yahoo Rejects Microsoft: Worst Decision Ever?," Frank Watson wonders if Yahoo's turn-down of Microsoft's offer could trump it?

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEW Experts: Optimization by Numbers

In the complex world of online marketing, you will likely be asked to run several digital programs at any given time. While getting these programs off the ground can be an achievement in itself, the real challenge is campaign optimization. In today's SEM Agency Issues column, "Optimization by Numbers," William Flaiz discusses ways to keep track of what is working, and identify which channels you should invest in further or pull the plug.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEW Experts: Black, White, and Blue all Over

The LA Times is in the midst of an aggressive online product rollout. If anyone should be able to build solid local content sites, it's newspapers. In today's Vertical Search column, "Black, White, and Blue all Over," local search expert Michael Boland outlines their efforts, noting that it's their game to lose, with a sizeable but quickly closing head start, as publishers across the country sit on their hands.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

May 8, 2008

Pro Intellectual Property Act Passes House

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act.despite opposition from the Department of Justice.

The act, sponsored by Reps. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Lamar Smith (R-Texas), would allow for forfeiture of property such as computers and other equipment used by convicted copyright infringers.

While this is mainly aimed at music and movie piracy and is backed by the entertainment industry, it will be interesting if it could be applied to website content theft. If so, this could create all sorts of interesting developments for the future of the web.

Scrappers and other copyright material thieves could be risking a lot more than dropped Google listings.

Posted by Frank Watson at 8:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

FBI Hot For 'Wikipedophilia'

The FBI is investigating Wikipedia's inclusion of a photograph of an underage girl on one of their information pages, WorldNetDaily reported. The company has defended their inclusion of adult content despites its ease of access for children, WND noted.

The offending photo is of an old Scorpion album cover that "depicts a naked pre-pubescent girl (appearing about 10 years of age) in a provocative pose. Her chest is completely exposed and a small crack is placed over her vagina."

There have been some complaints about the inclusion of images of graphic sexual acts - heterosexual and homosexual.

ValleyWag mentions these problems in a profile of Wikipedia's Erik Moeller, their number two who oversees content and was instrumental in the development of WikiYouth. Problem is guys you have no restrictions to the adult content on your main site. Even the porn industry requires checking age or having anyone logging in to commit to an age.

A warning before this content displays could be a good start.

Posted by Frank Watson at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Google: Our Brain is Just Fine, Thank You

Recently, Google has been losing executives and staff to social sites and startups. This has led many to speculate that Google is losing the brainpower that built the mega company.

But the so-called brain drain is not occurring. At least, that's what Google spokesman Matt Furman told BBC news. Furman said that Google's management pool is deep. Plus, they're not want for talent with 1,300 resumes arriving at their doorstep every day.

Many Googlers have hopped over to Facebook, where they're more likely to find the startup culture that was so endearing about the Google of years past. Now Google, despite its free lunches, is a bonafide corporation, with structure and chains of command to boot. Still, those Googlers may have had a harder time landing their Facebook gigs had it not been for the presence of Google on their resumes.

Of course, Googlers-turned-Facebookers may question that move if Microsoft should really, truly buy Facebook.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yahoo Tests 'Glue Pages' in India

Yahoo is testing a new home page design for its search engine in India. Dubbed 'Glue Pages,' the design has a 3-newspaper look with modules reminiscent of iGoogle or some RSS newsreaders like Netvibes. However, while iGoogle widgets are all over the place design-wise, Glue Pages modules have a clean, uniform look. On the other hand, you can't drag and drop the modules or choose from a catalog of modules to customize your page. Instead, Glue Pages changes up the modules and the placement of those modules according to the keyword that is being searched.

The organic search results are in the left column. Because we're so used to paid search listings being in a sidebar, these organic listings look like sponsored results. (Don't worry, there are still 10 organic results per page.)

On a search for "cell phones," a Google blog search module (of all things!) was the top center module. But on a search for "tea," a MyRecipes.com module took center stage (and that Iced Mint tea recipe looks delicious!). Other modules include Yahoo! Answers, Flickr images, and How Stuff Works.

Glue Pages facilitates both discovery and answers, something that searchers and Web 2.0 users love. On both of my searches, however, the Yahoo! Answers module was placed at the bottom. And with the success of Answer sites over the past year (with Yahoo! Answers leading the pack), perhaps the module should be tested above the fold. But perhaps that will be part of the test in the future.

Check out the screenshots below or go and test Glue Pages for yourself.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 9:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEW Experts: Giving Links Away

There are a few ways of controlling what pages of your site share their link love. In today's Link Building column, "Giving Links Away," Sage Lewis explains the concepts of PageRank "sculpting" and siloing: two methods that use the "nofollow" attribute to control which links are counted in search engine ranking algorithms.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 7, 2008

A Seat at the Table for Web Analytics

I just got back from speaking on a multivariate testing panel at eMetrics in San Francisco.

A conversation I had with Marshall Sponder triggered this post. Marshall was bemoaning the fact that web analysts can't even get "a seat at the table" (i.e. serious consideration) within many companies. To me this was a statement of the obvious. There are three main reasons that web analysts are not taken seriously.

Trying to do too many complicated & custom things

Data mining and analysis is pretty open-ended. A smart person can think up many ways to slice and dice the data. The very word "analyst" conjures up images of complexity. This is "rocket science" and no amount of simplified Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on a customized dashboard for your boss will change that. If you dumb down the data too much then others may jump to the wrong conclusions. If you let them peek under the hood, then the complexity comes roaring back.

Looking in the rearview mirror

Analytics pores over data that was collected in the past. No matter how detailed or insightful it is, it can not necessarily be translated directly into actions because the conditions now may have changed significantly since the data was collected (e.g. traffic mix, seasonal factors, actions of competitors).

Not speaking the language of business

Analysts speak the language of numbers - but unfortunately not the right ones. Management only understands numbers in the context of finance. Does it make more money for us? Does it cut down costs?

So what can a web analyst do to get some respect?

1) Focus on mission-critical projects only - unless it can make a big impact on the business you should not waste your time on it. Intellectual curiosity and "what if" open-ended idea exploration should be limited to a small proportion of your time.

2) Get proactive - You should be working on actionable forward-looking activities such as landing page optimization which can actually lead to significant changes, and will not be filed away and never looked at.

3) Learn to speak in the language of finance - The only numbers that matter to your managers are the financial ones. Once you start presenting your projects and priorities in terms of their contribution to business performance you will get a lot more respect and attention.

You must reinvent yourself - instead of being viewed as a passive "analyst" you should become a business process architect who is relentlessly driven to improve the economics of your company.

If you do these things then you will be much more likely to get a seat at the table.

Posted by Tim Ash at 7:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

About Face(book): Microsoft Feels Out Social Network Acquisition

Though Bill Gates was out there telling people Microsoft is not interested in making non-Yahoo acquisitions right now (at least in the search/social world), word comes that Microsoft bankers have sent "feelers" to Facebook about a full acquisition.

Here's why this is a solid move:

1. Microsoft already owns 1.6% stake in Facebook, worth $240 million
2. Microsoft formed a data portability partnership with Facebook and 4 other networks
3. At least two Google execs have jumped ship to Facebook in recent months

While Facebook has yet to "overtake" MySpace in the social media market, it is a viable competitor. And I'm sure Ballmer would love for Microsoft to own a social network that even Apple has used as a marketing ploy as of late. Recent commercials for the iPhone entice potential customers through the ability to access Facebook on the popular mobile device.

Additionally, internet users are turning to their social networks during their search process. Consumers want answers and reviews and social networks help them get opinions from trusted sources.

The Facebook move would likely be seen by many as a better fit than Yahoo. But expect just as many to see it as a negotiating ploy in their bid for Yahoo. Though Microsoft has officially withdrawn its bid for Yahoo, many analysts expect Ballmer and the team to return to the table for another stab at a grab for the search engine.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 1:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Google - Clearwire: WiMax Paves Internet Autobahn

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Clearwire isn't the latest Google acquisition. The Internet search giant, though, has joined a group of blue-chip corporate investors in the new Sprint-Nextel bailout of Clearwire -- a move that will save WiMax and further Google's innovations in mobile search.

Clearwire and Sprint Nextel said today they plan to merge their wireless broadband units to create a $14.55 billion communications company. Sprint Nextel will own a majority equity stake (51 percent) in the new joint venture.

Clearwire, will receive a $3.2 billion cash infusion from Google Inc., Intel, Comcast., Bright House Networks and newly spun-off Time Warner Cable. The investment is based on a target price of $20 per Clearwire share and will give the companies a 22 percent stake in the new venture.

The new Clearwire JV will be headed by Ben Wolff, Clearwire's current CEO , who said in a statement that the merger's "expanded relationships with Intel (INTC) and Google (GOOG) will expand our vision of an open network." He added that the partners will enables Clearwire "to tap into some of the greatest innovators of our time."

Clearwire, a startup founded by cellular pioneer Craig McCaw, is shooting for a U.S. W9Max network of 120 million to 140 million people by the end of 2010.

So here's what we want to know: "How fast will WiMax be?"

Clearwire's first mobile WiMax network (being built in Portland) boasts speeds of 5 to 6 mbps on the downlink and 2 to 3 mbps on the uplink while going down the freeway.

Wow. That's not your father's Internet Highway.

That's the frackin' Internet Autobahn.

Posted by Kevin Heisler at 12:42 PM | Permalink

Scorned Lovers: Microsoft Takes Some "Me Time;" Jerry Yang Stays Put

040421_bestoffriends_bcol1_1p.standard.jpg Microsoft and Yahoo are officially "off again" and their mutual friends are trying to decide who to side with. While many hold out hope that the two will eventually reunite Ross and Rachel-style, it's really anyone's guess as to what will transpire next.

For its part, Microsoft seems to be taking the chick flick approach. Top execs are making it known that the software giant is seeking some alone time and that they're not ready to date again just yet. Windows Live General Manager Brian Hall told Merrill Lynch Technology Conference attendees that Microsoft is moving on. And don't look for a rebound acquisition. Bill Gates has said Microsoft isn't pursuing alternative third parties. I guess MSFT will be eating the obligatory breakup chocolate ice cream all alone.

Meanwhile Jerry Yang is trying to paint Yahoo as a guy dealing with a crazy ex. He said Microsoft never made the purported higher bid of $32-33 a share. He claims that Yahoo thought that two companies were finding common ground when Microsoft bailed.

The whole thing is very reminiscent of a scene from The Break-Up starring Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn:

Brooke: I just don't know how we got here. Our entire relationship, I have gone above and beyond for you, for us. I've cooked, I've picked your stuff up off the floor, I've laid your clothes out for you like you're a four year old. I support you, I supported your work. If we ever had dinner or anything I did the plans, I take care of everything. And I just don't feel like you appreciate any of it. I don't feel you appreciate me. All I want is to know, is for you to show me that you care.
Gary: Why didn't you just say that to me?
Brooke: I tried. I've tried.
Gary: Never like that, you might have said some things that meant to imply that, but I'm not a mind reader...

But don't expect Yang's pithy comments to prelude his ouster. Kara Swisher reports that talk of Yang's firing is "greatly exaggerated." And while some shareholders are upset over the falling out, Yahoo's stock remains higher than it was before the unsolicited bid was put on the table. At the time of this post, Yahoo was trading at 25.36, which is a good seven points higher than before this soap opera began. Then again, stocks remain up over Wall Street's hopes that Microsoft will try to get back together with Yahoo and/or that a Google ad deal will be the rebound girl.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Spot Runner Raises $51 Million in Funding

Internet-based ad agency Spot Runner has secured a combined $51 million in funding from Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), Grupo Televisa, Legg Mason Capital Management and Groupe Arnault/LVMH. Spot Runner CEO Nick Grouf said of the funding, "These strategic investments serve as a strong validation of Spot Runner's technology-driven advertising model, as well as the results we have generated for advertisers and media owners. This further accelerates our momentum as we expand into a broader spectrum of online and offline media, both domestically and abroad."

DMGT is a large media company based in the U.K. with operations in Central Europe, the U.S. and Canada, Asia, the Middle East and Australia. The company has interests in a variety of media channels including national newspapers and related digital operations, local media, business and financial information, exhibitions and radio.

Grupo Televisa, S.A.B. is the largest media company in the Spanish-speaking world. Operating four broadcast channels in Mexico, Televisa maintains interests in pay-television network production, international distribution of television programming, direct-to-home satellite services, cable television, magazine publishing and distribution, and radio broadcasting.

Luxury products group Groupe Arnault/LVMH boasts a portfolio of over 60 prestigious brands including Moët & Chandon, Hennessy, Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Donna Karan, Sephora and TAG Heuer.

Louis Vuitton communications head Antoine Arnault said of Spot Runner's funding, "The global media landscape is undergoing a sea change. For advertisers to be effective, they will need to completely shift their thinking about how media is targeted and distributed, and how creative can be versioned for multiple audiences. Spot Runner is the clear leader in this area. As one of the largest advertisers in the fashion category, we're very enthusiastic about the prospect of working with them to capitalize on these transformations."

Earlier this year, Spot Runner acquired local online advertising provider, Weblistic.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Google Sees 79% European Market Share in March 2008

So many Europeans use Google for search, you have to wonder if they know that other search engines exist. A whopping 79% of searches were conducted on Google in the month of March, according to comScore. That amounts to 19 billion. No wonder European regulators are so wary of a Googleopoly.

Coming in second was eBay with 3.1% followed by Russian search engine Yandex with 2.2%. Yahoo came in fourth at 2.0% with Microsoft rounding out the top 5 at 1.9%.

Google's overwhelming dominance didn't prevent the EU from approving its acquisition of DoubleClick earlier this year.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 10:33 AM | Permalink

Google to Internet, FCC, Verizon and Viacom: Keep it Open

Google has been busy on the legal, tech and policy front lately, and there's a primary theme running through all of their pursuits: Google loves wide open spaces.

First up, as is being widely reported, Clearwire and Spring are combining their wifi and broadband services. But did you know Google is one of the companies behind the $3.2 billion deal? They've teamed with Comcast, Intel Capital, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and Trilogy Equity Partners to create the new company.

Sprint's 2.5 GHz spectrum is part of the deal. And spectrum is something at the top of Google's wish list lately. Google didn't win any of its bids on a recent FCC spectrum auction. And last week, Google raised concern that Verizon will not keep its spectrum auction space open afterall.

Google is also facing resistance to its plan for "white spaces." Several sports groups including the NFL, NBA and NASCAR are now lobbying the FCC to not open up "white spaces" on TV spectrum. Google wants them opened up for wireless. The groups are concerned about signal interference for things like coaching headsets and referee microphones.

In a different kind of open battle, Google is saying that it won't settle a lawsuit brought by Viacom over copyrighted material, according to Business Week. David Eun, vice president in Content Partnerships at Google told Dow Jones newswires that they plan to go all the way to the Supreme Court with the case. Viacom brought the $1 billion suit after the two companies couldn't reach a licensing agreement for content on YouTube.

Whether it's content or spectrum, Google wants to keep things out in the open. They're going to great lengths to make it happen, and while corporations may not be thrilled, consumers are likely to be happy should Google meet its open goals.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 10:00 AM | Permalink

Bryan Eisenberg Giving Keynote Presentation at SES Toronto

Bryan Eisenberg, co-founder of Future Now Inc., will be giving the keynote presentation at SES Toronto on Wednesday, June 18, 2008. He was also a speaker at SES London earlier this year.

While in London, I interviewed Bryan about web analytics, Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Yahoo (MicroHoo), converting visitors into buyers, his new book, and where to find the best pizza in Brooklyn. The video below takes advantage of YouTube's high-quality video toggle button to give you a significantly better view of that interview. Check it out.

Bryan Eisenberg, Future Now, at SES London 2008 on SEO

So, what will Bryan be talking about at SES Toronto? Well, he's the publisher of Future Now's award-winning blog, GrokDotCom, so you might want read some of his latest posts to get a sense of his point of view.

Bryan is also a columnist for ClickZ, so you might want to read "Recession-Proof Your Online Marketing" to get a sense of his scientific approach.

However, Bryan is currently working on his next book, Always Be Testing, due in September 2008. So, I'll bet we'll get a sneak preview of his latest insights at SES Toronto.

Then again, maybe SES Toronto Conference Chairman Andrew Goodman, will show Bryan where to find the best pizza in Canada and that will be the subject of his keynote presentation.

Now, let me think. Always Be Testing or the best pizza in Canada? My money is on the book.

Posted by Greg Jarboe at 7:00 AM | Permalink

SEW Experts: The Top 3 Reasons PPC Lead Gen Campaigns Miss Volume Targets - Part 2

Understanding how to analyze keywords using a waterfall analysis can give you a great deal of insight into what's happening with your campaign, and bring a sharp focus to the nature of the opportunities available to you. In today's Web Analytics and ROI column, "The Top 3 Reasons PPC Lead Gen Campaigns Miss Volume Targets - Part 2," Eric Enge outlines the steps involved, and the opportunities keyword waterfall analysis can reveal.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

SEW Experts: 100 Million Theoretical Dollars

In a recent episode of South Park, the characters set out to create a viral YouTube video to earn their millions. In today's Searching for Meaning column, "100 Million Theoretical Dollars," Kevin Ryan advises marketers looking for 100 million real dollars that capitalizing on the connection between traditional placement and search can be as easy as lip-syncing Romanian dance music.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

May 6, 2008

Explaining Digg to Clients and Newbies Alike

In the world of social media, Digg is a behemoth. A hot Digg submission is capable of generating tremendous volumes of traffic and links – so much so that many sites experience the "Digg Effect" for the first time and crash under the strain of the traffic.

That said, Digg can be a very important component of many social media and search campaigns. But, how can you possibly explain the Digg concept and its implications to clients who still haven't really acknowledged the Internet as anything more than a passing fad?

Digg is Like a Newspaper
Think of Digg as a newspaper ... though not for a specific region, but rather for the entire English-speaking world. This of course means there are thousands, if not tens of thousands of stories submitted daily.

Sections
Newspapers have different sections; Business, Sports, Lifestyles, Technology, and so forth. So too does Digg. It has:
a. Technology
b. World & Business
c. Science
d. Gaming
e. Lifestyle
f. Entertainment
g. Sports
h. Offbeat

Within each section, there are subsections. These are needed to manage the sheer volume of news and information, and help people search by core interests.

The Organization of Stories
Democracy meet editorialization ... readers are the editors! Unlike traditional newspapers, where front page news is determined arbitrarily by editors at the paper, Digg-type sites permit voting on each story. Stories with the most votes by readers in each section or subsection move progressively nearer the front page of the section or subsection, with the most popular appearing in the best positions. Ultimately, stories with very large numbers of positive votes will be moved to appear on the main page of Digg, which is equivalent to appearing on the front page of a newspaper.

The Reporters
While traditional newspapers often have reporters trained in the art of journalism creating their content, Digg-type sites do not. Stories (news, humor, and educational types) are found across the web, and are submitted by everyday people. Some of these stories will inevitably come from newspapers, but also from blogs, videos found on video sites, and images found virtually anywhere online. This is very interesting though, as it means Joe Average Blogger now has an opportunity to experience the benefits traditionally reserved for the biggest companies. What can follow is exceptional traffic, branding, and numerous relevant links.

Conclusion
As a result, clients need to be involved in the content creation process, or at the very least, willing to adopt a content-centric strategy. Do so, and your chances of winning online increase exponentially.

Posted by Jeff Quipp at 1:40 PM | Permalink

SLI Systems Joins Bazaarvoice Radius to Help Marketers Execute Integrated Social Commerce Strategies

Bazaarvoice Radius is a platform that enables eCommerce sites to develop partnerships to facilitate social media campaigns. Today, SLI Systems, a provider of on-demand search services for eCommerce, has announced that they are joining Bazaarvoice Radius. The partnership hopes to accelerate social media adoption by marketers, vendors and agencies to participate in what is being dubbed as social commerce.

"Our research shows that customers find it easier to make a purchase when they can see how other people have rated certain products. As such, Bazaarvoice Radius is a great way for us to extend the benefits of our site search offering to deliver an even better customer experience by including user-generated content within the site search results," said Todd Watson, director of business development for SLI Systems. "By turning our intelligent site search engine into an intelligent social site search engine, we'll help retailers gain an even greater positive impact on conversions and revenues."

The integration of Bazaarvoice and SLI is expected to make searching easier for eCommerce consumers. Searches will be able to be sorted by product rating, and in the future SLI's Learning Search will be integrated with Bazaarvoice's answers platform. Basically, consumer-generated content will be searchable.

"Customer-to-customer conversations and user-generated content are top of mind for marketers -- in fact, nine out of 10 marketers plan to add Web 2.0 capabilities this year," said Brett Hurt, founder and CEO of Bazaarvoice. "The integration between Bazaarvoice's social commerce platform and SLI Systems provides marketers with a powerful new way to extend the value of their user-generated content to engage more customers and ultimately drive more sales."

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 12:40 PM | Permalink

Google's Adsense for Search Integrates Custom Search

It's a match made in heaven, or at least Mountain View, California. Adsense for search is now integrating Custom Search. Now you can control those search results users conduct on your site and make moolah at the same time. Here's what you can look forward to:

Site Search: Choosing this option will keep users on your site only.
Improved indexing of your pages: Google hopes its recent indexing updates will prove to benefit your Site Search users by providing better Adsense for Search results.

Vertical search:

Tuning search results and ads with keywords:Control search results by setting a context. If your site is about cats, then enter "cats" and "cat food" as keywords and when someone searches for bowl, then results for cat food bowl will come up instead of other types of bowls or the sport of bowling.
Selecting ad location: Choose where ads will be placed in relation to the the search results on your site.
Quick and easy updates: You can now use the ad management feature in Adsense to control the settings for your custom search engine ads.

Here's a video from the Googleplex explaining the update:

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 11:21 AM | Permalink

Web Developers Rate Microsoft/Windows Live Over Google, Yahoo

Searchers may prefer Google, but when it comes to developing so-called Web 2.0 sites, web developers rated Microsoft/Windows Live the best, according to a report by Evans Data Corp. Google did come in second with Yahoo coming in third. Incidentally, Google and Amazon came in first and second respectively when it comes to ease of use.

Neither ease of use or overall ranking directly correlated with profits. Paypal and eBay brought in the most dollars - albeit barely. And Paypal was apparently the bain of many a developers' existence. It ranked the worst

And while Facebook may be popular among users, developers found it to be one of the most cumbersome APIs to work with, coming in second to last. Ironically, Microsoft owns a 20% share in Facebook.

via ComputerWorld

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 10:32 AM | Permalink

Google, Baidu, Sohu Search Engines Spanked by People's Republic of China

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The Chinese government claims search engines are spying on the People's Republic via online mapping. Communist Chinese officials are worried satellite maps will reveal state secrets and damage the so-called integrity of borders, according to The People's Daily, a Chinese government-controlled newspaper.

Google, Baidu and Sohu have all been warned not to use satellite images to show sensitive regions of the People's Republic of China. With the Beijing Olympics scheduled for August, there's no desire to showcase the communist state's military power or disputed borders.

Nor does the Chinese government welcome any further attention on the crisis in Tibet.

The UK Inquirer reported today that the vice head of the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping, Min Yiren, said authorities were trying to eliminate all Internet maps which 'wrongly' depicted China’s borders, or show locations of military bases and army presence.

Last month Chinese state media said the government would crack down on sites showing roughly 10,000 unapproved maps. Taiwan for example should not be shown as an independent nation since it's a disputed territory.

The People's Daily called out Internet search engine giant Google, along with China's own Sohu and Baidu for illegal mapping.

Posted by Kevin Heisler at 10:13 AM | Permalink

Yahoo Releases Safe Search Product into Beta

Yahoo has teamed up with McAfee to develop SearchScan, a new safe search service. Here's what you need to know:

Provides always-on alerts to users for "risky" sites with security concerns including spyware, adware and other malicious software
Identifies sites that have shown bad email practices such as flooding user in-boxes with spammy emails
Available for Yahoo! Search users in the US, Canada, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Spain

"The new SearchScan feature from Yahoo! Search makes searching the Web even safer than ever before. No other search engine today offers this level of warning before visiting sites that can damage or infect a user's PC and cost them valuable time and money," said Vish Makhijani, senior vice president and general manager of Yahoo! Search. "Through this partnership with McAfee, we can offer users a safer search experience and drive more users to make Yahoo! Search their starting point on the Web."

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 10:01 AM | Permalink

Google Finally Copies Microsoft, Adds 'Related Searches' to Google News

In Microsoft's big pursuit of Google, they often seem to update their search products to include features Google has already mastered. This time, the tables are turned and Google is following in Microsoft's footsteps.

Google News has announced the addition of 'Related Searches' to its news feature. When Live Search launched recently, 'Related Search' was a built-in feature.

And in more shocking news - Live Search does it better, in my humble opinion. Related searches are placed on a right sidebar above the fold, ready to be of assistance. Google places its related searches after the last result on a page.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 9:46 AM | Permalink

SEW Experts: CEO Tells Wall St. Why He Invests in SEO

Not every CEO understands the value of search engine optimization. Here's one who does: Tom Evans, CEO of Bankrate. In today's Search Engine WarGames column, "CEO Tells Wall St. Why He Invests in SEO," Kevin Heisler outlines Evans' comments to Wall St. analysts explaining why SEO is one key to the company's success.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

SEW Experts: Conducting a Redirect Audit on Your Web Site - Part 2

Knowing which pages on your site are returning errors, and which ones are being redirected can help you pinpoint issues to address. In today's Organic Search Engine Optimization column, "Conducting a Redirect Audit on Your Web Site - Part 2," Mark Jackson shows how performing a redirect audit can help you get to the bottom of those problems.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

SEW Experts: Convincing the Executive Team to Invest in SEO

Convincing senior managers of the value of search marketing is not always easy. In today's Enterprise Search Marketing column, "Convincing the Executive Team to Invest in SEO," Aaron Shear reminds us that by gathering the right data and getting support from clients and other departments ahead of time, the task will be much easier to accomplish.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

May 5, 2008

Is Google Dropping AdSense Sites Using AdWords?

A discussion over at WebmasterWorld suggests Google may be dropping AdSense accounts from sites that buy traffic from AdWords.

Funny how this may have been the way to stop arbitrage way back before all the other methods were used and the experimentation cost regular advertisers lots of money through all the minimum bid increases.

Posted by Frank Watson at 1:59 PM | Permalink

Ask Should Have Asked Jeeves How To Spell Cinco De Mayo

The BOTW boys were quick to find and post the mistake Ask made on their homepage. Guess Jeeves was the strong speller in that crew!

Is the staff that annoyed by the break up that they don't care anymore? Or did Barry Diller give that part to one of his preteen grandkids to edit?

Posted by Frank Watson at 1:38 PM | Permalink

Cinco de Mayo: The 411 on 212 Interactive Cinco de Mayo Bash

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What is Cinco de Mayo? It's the best reason to party (May 5th) at the Cinco de Mayo bash hosted by 212, NYC's interactive advertising club. Sure there will be lots of Cinco de Mayo activities in New York and Cinco de Mayo food (margaritas!)

What's the origin of Cinco de Mayo? Whether you spell it Cinco de Mayo, Sinco Demio, Cinco de Mio, or Sinco de Mayo, it's a great Mexican holiday. Here's a very brief Cinco de Mayo history:

In the Battle of Puebla, on May 5, 1862, an underdog Mexican army defeated the massive, well-trained French army, arguably the most powerful in the world (that year). The French lost the battle but won the war. That can't stop us from celebrating Cinco de Mayo traditions, though:

If you're not 21 years old, please click thru to the next post.

Cinco de Mayo Bash
Dates: May 05, 2008
Times: 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM
Where: Touch Night Club, 240 W. 52nd St. (b/w Broadway and 8th Avenue)
Event Type: 212 Event

Description: Complete madness and good times. Kevin M Ryan will be there with Matt McGowan. Open bar.

A few reasons why you should scrap whatever plans you have on May 5th to party with 212:

1) Touch Night Club (Midtown Manhattan)
2) Hot 97’s DJ Camilo on the ones & twos
3) Open Bar
4) VIP floor (more on that later)
5) Dance performance by Tre Armstrong (from “How She Move”)
6) Open Bar (one more time for emphasis)

And there will be more surprises the night of that 212 can't share now but would be a shame to miss.

Posted by Kevin Heisler at 11:37 AM | Permalink

Lycos Cinema Expands, Adds Video on Demand

Lycos Cinema has expanded to include Video on Demand (VOD). Previously the social video platform supported ad-supported video.

"Our experience shows us that while film and TV fans welcome the increasing availability to view premium content online, they also desire the social interaction that is inherent in today's web as part of their viewing experience," said Chuck Ball, vice president of sales and marketing for Lycos. "By enabling users to watch the same program at the same time, Lycos Cinema gives users a unique viewing experience they cannot find anywhere else."

All new Lycos Cinema features now include:

4 key viewing modes
Thousands of free VOD and VOD Rental titles
Lobby chat accommodating thousands of users
Easy to use scheduling & invite functionality with automatic
Notification features
Clip & ship widget functions
Time-stamped comments
Full buddy list import-ability to invite AIM buddies to join viewing
Online movie rentals streamed in H.264/MPEG-4 for higher quality
Viewing
'Watchlist' functionality to keep track of favorites

Related Reading:
Lycos Jumps Into the Social Mix

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 10:51 AM | Permalink

New Board of Directors for the Web Analytics Association

The Web Analytics Association has announced a new board of directors, and here they are:

Vicky Brock, Highland Business Research, Inverness Highlands, Scotland
June Dershewitz, Semphonic, San Francisco, CA
Andrea Hadley, NetSetGo Marketing, Vancouver, BC Canada
Avinash Kaushik, Author, Analytics Evangelist -- Google, Mountain View, CA
Alex Langshur, PublicInsite, Medford, MA
Lauria Paxia, I.C.C. S.r.l., Catania, Italy
Marshall Sponder, Monster Worldwide, New York, NY
Robbin Steif, LunaMetrics, LLC, Pittsburgh, PA
Jim Sterne, Target Marketing, Santa Barbara, CA
April Wilson, The Dallas Morning News, Dallas, TX

WAA Chairman Jim Sterne said, "The WAA is growing and maturing, and this new Board is a wonderful mix of talent and geography. The cumulative experience of these people is exceeded only by their cumulative IQ. We have a great team for tackling our objectives for the coming year."

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 10:16 AM | Permalink

Microhoo No More: What the Analysts are Saying

Now that Microsoft finally withdrew their bid for Yahoo, it's a free-for-all for anyone claiming to be an analyst.

Mostly, there's a lot of nervousness about what will become of the Sunnyvale search engine. At least one investor is calling for shareholders to withhold their votes for the current directors. Eric Jackson, who represents 140 shareholders who collectively own 2 million shares of Yahoo stock, said that the board didn't negotiate in good faith. He expected Yahoo shares to be trading at $19-20 per share when the stock market opened this morning.

But Yahoo may have won over enough analysts. There's the cautious experts who think that a partnership with Google for search advertising could save Yahoo. (Some estimates have Yahoo's stock as being worth $35 as a result of such a deal.) Additionally, the optimists are hopeful over Yahoo's open source initiatives such as Search Monkey. Then there's the promise of a robust advertising platform, expected to arrive this fall.

Until then, Wall Street is punishing Yahoo for its rejection of Microsoft's offer, though not quite as severely as Mr. Jackson expected. RBC Capital Markets Internet analyst Ross Sandler dropped the price target on Yahoo to $27 from $32. Expect to see agreement on this valuation. Overseas, the stock price dropped, an action echoed at the Opening Bell on Wall Street this A.M. At the time of this post, YHOO stock was down to $23, after closing on Friday at $28.67.

Investors knew this would happen and some are none too thrilled, as you might imagine. Some still hold out hope for Microsoft to return (or Yahoo to go begging at MSFT's doorstep) or a separate deal to be developed with AOL or News Corp. Even though News Corp's Murdoch officially said that he's not interested in Yahoo, there has been speculation that talks have still occurred. Still, at least one report today says those talks have "cooled."

So what happens next? Most likely, a Yahoo-Google deal will be announced, as early as this week. And then we'll wait and see if that's enough to keep investors happy or bring Microsoft back to meet Yahoo's demands for a higher bid.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 9:55 AM | Permalink

Yang's Yahoo Answers "OK, so now what?"

"OK so now what?" is the headline of Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang's blog post this morning at Yodel Anecdotal, the official Yahoo! blog. Yahoo must face the future with Microsoft at its doorstep and Google as the dominant search engine.

Yang outlines the furious pace of Q1 when the search engine bought another company, launched new products, added partners, and opened new R&D labs:

* Acquired Maven Networks.
* Launched Yahoo! Buzz, OneSearch 2.0, mobile voice search, Flickr video, Shine.
* Previewed AMP and SearchMonkey.
* Addied Newspaper Consortium members.
* Opened new R&D labs in India and Israel.

All very impressive (along with a solid first quarter) but the blog post doesn't address the number one question on everyone's mind - and the most important one: What will Yahoo! do with search?

Yahoo has some innovative plans for improving search results but no plans for increasing market share.

OK, so now what for Google? Now that Microsoft is on the sidelines, does Google have any incentive to do an outsourcing deal with Yahoo?

The reality? No. Google share of searches continues to grow. Yahoo and Microsoft have been weakened further by the merger distractions.

Everything's not OK in Sunnyvale today.

Without a Google deal in hand, Jerry Yang faces a very black Monday.

Posted by Kevin Heisler at 7:37 AM | Permalink

SEW Experts: Want to Double Conversions in One Month? Split Those Ad Groups

Would your boss be happy if your campaign conversion rates doubled in 30 days? In today's Content Advertising column, "Want to Double Conversions in One Month? Split Those Ad Groups," David Szetela puts his strategies to the test. By splitting ad groups and paying attention to display URLs, advertisers can improve their content advertising results.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

May 4, 2008

Microsoft-Yahoo Mashup Scrapped: Hidden Winners and Losers

On Saturday, Microsoft formally withdrew its proposal to acquire Yahoo. With the Microsoft-Yahoo mashup scrapped (for now), who are the hidden winners and losers?

I’m not talking about the stockholders, advertisers, employees, CEOs, management teams, boards of directors or other stakeholders of Google, Yahoo or Microsoft. They are the obvious winners and losers.

No, I’m talking about the hidden winners and losers – or, at least the ones that have been hidden in plain sight. I may have missed some. I’ve been busy. (I’ve got a day job.) But, here are the ones I was able to find on Sunday:

Hidden Winners of the Scrapped Microsoft-Yahoo Mashup

Microsoft-Yahoo

The biggest hidden winner is AP photographer Mark Lennihan. His May 4, 2007 file photo of a Times Square news ticker flashing a headline about Microsoft above a billboard for Yahoo became one of the most used images in Google News to illustrate stories about Microsoft’s unsolicited bid for Yahoo.

Flickr protest of Microsoft

Another hidden winner is the Flickr group photo pool, "Microsoft: Keep You Evil Grubby Hands Off Our Flickr." Its About Us statement reads, “THIS GROUP WILL STOP MICROSOFT FROM BUYING YAHOO! AND DESTROYING THE FLICKR WE KNOW AND LOVE OR WE WILL DIE TRYING.” Put down the camera, son. It’s over.

Kevin Ryan on the Microsoft Yahoo bid (Associated Press)

The final hidden winner is Kevin Ryan, the global content director for Search Engine Strategies and Search Engine Watch. His comments to AP on what the possibility of a Microsoft-Yahoo conglomerate means for the online marketplace ranks #1 in YouTube if you search for the two-word term, Microsoft Yahoo.

Hidden Losers of the Scrapped Microsoft-Yahoo Mashup

MicroHoo

The biggest hidden loser is the Y-Que T Shirt Superstore. While it ranks #1 in Google Product Search for MicroHoo, that wasn’t as popular at term as "Microsoft Yahoo," according to Google Trends. And now it’s stuck with a bunch of funny t-shirts commemorating the takeover of Yahoo by Microsoft.

iron man

Another hidden loser is Kevin Heisler, executive editor of Search Engine Watch. What was he doing Saturday night at 9:59 p.m.? He was posting a story to the Search Engine Watch Blog entitled, “Microsoft Withdraws Yahoo Offer; Yahoo Responds.” He should have been out watching Iron Man, like Deborah Richman.

Steve Ballmer going crazy

The final hidden losers are the Rapid Response Team at Waggener Edstrom Worldwide and the staff at Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher. Do a search for Steve Ballmer on Google. See the YouTube video of Steve going crazy? I’ve got four words for public relations professionals: Search Engine Reputation Management.

Posted by Greg Jarboe at 3:31 PM | Permalink

Iron Man: Ode to Gates and Ballmer?

Tonight I saw the Iron Man blockbuster, starring Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark. The movie defines Stark as a precocious kid, by flashing an old photo of him with Bill Gates. Along with some additional life history, we learn that Iron Man is at the top of his technical game but has seen some better days.

In Iron Man, the Microsoft parallels could continue beyond this introduction. Bill has been thinking about how computing can positively impact the world for years. In Stark's case, a near-death episode makes him question the meaning of all his weaponry and its world-wide impact.

Meanwhile, Obadiah Stane has worked at Stark Industries for many years and serves as the second-in-command for the business. He bears an uncanny resemblance to Steve Ballmer, don't you agree?

As played by Jeff Bridges, Stane shares some of Ballmer’s focus on the marketplace. If you leave aside the more sinister plot twists, Stark Industries is the biggest worldwide supplier of weapons. The company needs to stay technically competitive, and will do what makes sense to get there.

Of course, Microsoft is the worldwide supplier of desktop operating systems and has every intention of becoming a more potent online force. While in the game later, Ballmer wants to guide Microsoft in the most expedient ways possible -- with or without Yahoo.

So where does this movie metaphor take us? I think that Ballmer is saying that Microsoft will create an even better Iron Man now. It all about the war, not about saving the peace, right?

Posted by Deborah Richman at 2:48 AM | Permalink

May 3, 2008

Microsoft Withdraws Yahoo Offer; Yahoo Responds

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Microhoo bid raised aloft; Google-Yahoo Kool-Aid quaffed. "No Mas" cried Ballmer's Microsoft.

Yahoo drank the Google paid search Kool-Aid to fight off Microsoft, leading the Redmond giant to retract its higher bid to acquire the Sunnyvale search engine. Microsoft reportedly offered $33 a share, and Yahoo held fast at $37 a share. That was too rich for Steve Ballmer's blood. The prospect of Yahoo outsourcing its paid search to Google was also too much for Ballmer to stomach.

So Microsoft walked. In a letter to Jerry Yang (full text below), Steve Ballmer cited Yahoo's intention to outsource search as the primary reason he decided to scotch the deal.

Of course that doesn't mean enraged Yahoo! shareholders won't sue Yahoo.

Ballmer wrote, "I hereby formally withdraw Microsoft's proposal to acquire Yahoo!."

Here's why, according to Microsoft's business logic:

Advertisers would use Google rather than Yahoo! Panama to manage paid search, fragmenting not only PPC but display advertising and the Yahoo! advertising ecosystem.
Yahoo then wouldn't be able to retain talented engineers working on advertising systems - engineers whom Ballmer considers a key aspect of Yahoo's attractiveness.

The decision would also create a morass of regulatory and legal problems that no acquirer - especially Microsoft - would want to slog through. Ballmer believes search market share of the combined Yahooo-Google deal would reduce competition and advertiser choice.

Ballmer took the argument one step further, stating the deal would "effectively enable Google to set the prices for key search terms on both their and (Yahoo!) search platforms and, in the process, raise prices charged to advertisers on Yahoo.

While it would be hard to prove a keyword-auction would enable Google or any search engine to "set prices," the deal would increase keyword prices based on Google's ability to monetize inventory more efficiently.

Yahoo responded by promising (again) to maximize shareholder value and pursue strategic opportunities. Yahoo still maintains Microsoft undervalued the company.

Yahoo! banged the drum (again) about:

"-- a refined strategic focus to drive enhanced volume and yield;

-- reorganized to focus its efforts on its most promising products and services;

-- invested in innovations designed to revolutionize display advertising and facilitate closing the competitive gap in search; and

-- enhanced expense and resource management to support improved profitability."

As Jerry Seinfeld might have said, "Yadda, Yadda, Yadda, Yahoo."

Be prepared Monday for Yahoo shares to plummet back to earth. (Full text of Steve Ballmer's statement after the jump.)

Below is the text of the letter from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang.

May 3, 2008

Mr. Jerry Yang
CEO and Chief Yahoo
Yahoo! Inc.
701 First Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94089

Dear Jerry:
After over three months, we have reached the conclusion of the process regarding a possible combination of Microsoft and Yahoo!.

I first want to convey my personal thanks to you, your management team, and Yahoo!'s Board of Directors for your consideration of our proposal. I appreciate the time and attention all of you have given to this matter, and I especially appreciate the time that you have invested personally. I feel that our discussions this week have been particularly useful, providing me for the first time with real clarity on what is and is not possible.

I am disappointed that Yahoo! has not moved towards accepting our offer. I first called you with our offer on January 31 because I believed that a combination of our two companies would have created real value for our respective shareholders and would have provided consumers, publishers, and advertisers with greater innovation and choice in the marketplace. Our decision to offer a 62 percent premium at that time reflected the strength of these convictions.

In our conversations this week, we conveyed our willingness to raise our offer to $33.00 per share, reflecting again our belief in this collective opportunity. This increase would have added approximately another $5 billion of value to your shareholders, compared to the current value of our initial offer. It also would have reflected a premium of over 70 percent compared to the price at which your stock closed on January 31. Yet it has proven insufficient, as your final position insisted on Microsoft paying yet another $5 billion or more, or at least another $4 per share above our $33.00 offer.

Also, after giving this week's conversations further thought, it is clear to me that it is not sensible for Microsoft to take our offer directly to your shareholders. This approach would necessarily involve a protracted proxy contest and eventually an exchange offer. Our discussions with you have led us to conclude that, in the interim, you would take steps that would make Yahoo! undesirable as an acquisition for Microsoft.

We regard with particular concern your apparent planning to respond to a "hostile" bid by pursuing a new arrangement that would involve or lead to the outsourcing to Google of key paid Internet search terms offered by Yahoo! today. In our view, such an arrangement with the dominant search provider would make an acquisition of Yahoo! undesirable to us for a number of reasons:

-- First, it would fundamentally undermine Yahoo!'s own strategy and long-term viability by encouraging advertisers to use Google as opposed to your Panama paid search system. This would also fragment your search advertising and display advertising strategies and the ecosystem surrounding them. This would undermine the reliance on your display advertising business to fuel future growth.

-- Given this, it would impair Yahoo's ability to retain the talented engineers working on advertising systems that are important to our interest in a combination of our companies.

-- In addition, it would raise a host of regulatory and legal problems that no acquirer, including Microsoft, would want to inherit. Among other things, this would consolidate market share with the already-dominant paid search provider in a manner that would reduce competition and choice in the marketplace.

-- This would also effectively enable Google to set the prices for key search terms on both their and your search platforms and, in the process, raise prices charged to advertisers on Yahoo. In addition to whatever resulting legal problems, this seems unwise from a business perspective unless in fact one simply wishes to use this as a vehicle to exit the paid search business in favor of Google.

-- It could foreclose any chance of a combination with any other search provider that is not already relying on Google's search services.

Accordingly, your apparent plan to pursue such an arrangement in the event of a proxy contest or exchange offer leads me to the firm decision not to pursue such a path. Instead, I hereby formally withdraw Microsoft's proposal to acquire Yahoo!.

We will move forward and will continue to innovate and grow our business at Microsoft with the talented team we have in place and potentially through strategic transactions with other business partners.

I still believe even today that our offer remains the only alternative put forward that provides your stockholders full and fair value for their shares. By failing to reach an agreement with us, you and your stockholders have left significant value on the table.

But clearly a deal is not to be.

Thank you again for the time we have spent together discussing this.

Sincerely yours,
/s/ Steven A. Ballmer

Steven A. Ballmer
Chief Executive Officer
Microsoft Corporation<

Posted by Kevin Heisler at 9:59 PM | Permalink

May 2, 2008

First Annual SES Awards for Best Search Engine Strategies

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In celebration of Search Engine Strategies' 10-year anniversary, SES San Jose 2008 will host the first annual SES Awards ceremony. The SES Awards will be held Wednesday, August 20, 2008, hosted by Search Engine Watch and Search Engine Strategies.

Winners will be selected in each of the following categories:

* Technology Platform Search Marketers Can't Live Without
* Best Business-to-Business Search Marketing Campaign
* Most Innovative Use of Search Engine Optimization
* Search Engine with Most Relevant Search Results
* Best Multi-National Search Marketing Campaign
* Best Integration of Search with Other Media
* Best SEM Technology Platform for SMBs
* Best Social Media Marketing Campaign
* Most Advertiser-Friendly Search Engine
* Most Innovative Paid Search Campaign
* Most Effective Use of Web Analytics
* Most Innovative New Search Engine
* Best Search Engine Ad Platform
* Best Web Analytics Platform
* Best Use of Local Search
* Editor's Choice

The mission of the SES Awards: to inspire innovation and encourage new ideas. The SES Awards honor 15 outstanding winners in the search universe. The awards will be judged by a panel of industry experts and the SES Awards editorial staff.

The Editor's Choice award winner will be selected exclusively by the SES Awards editorial staff.

Can you guess who the SES Awards judges will be?

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Questions? SES Awards FAQ has your answers.

Posted by Kevin Heisler at 5:57 PM | Permalink

Live Search QnA Gets Updates

Microsoft's Live Search team has announced updates to its answer feature, QnA. The updates to the service, still in Beta, are being dubbed the "Renaissance release" and include the following, according to their blog:

Focus on the QnA experience for new users.
Encourage users to discover content and functionality in new ways.
Highlight and award higher quality content by featuring members who are Top Contributors in given areas of expertise.

When it comes to search, answers are where it's at for an increasing number of searchers. Recent data showed answer sites growing 118% in 2007, while social media is a medium for answer-finding as well.

For example, conducting a search for "laptop" in a search engine may return a list of companies selling laptops, but a searcher is really looking for a product that has good performance. Those answers are found through consumer and expert reviews, and answer sites are a source of that kind of information.

Microsoft's Live Search team seems to understand this search behavior. Recently, they updated their product search experience and added products to mobile search.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 10:18 AM | Permalink

Getting Cozy with Online Ad Formats

The SEO community has been a-buzz lately about standards. There's the epic conversation going on about SEO standards. And then there's the new mobile image ad guidelines that immediately outdated Google's new mobile ads.

Today, Google's Adwords blog got in on the action by talking about general online ad formats. Specifically, the Adwords team has published an online ad format guide. The one-page PDF guide is super simple to read and comprehend. There are recommendations for 6 different ad types:

Text ad
Local Business ad
Image/Flash ad
Click-to-play video ad
In-video ad
Gadget ad

The guide provides the following info on the 6 types:

Description of the ad type
When to use it
Where to use it
Ad sizes
Metrics

So go ahead and get your online ad on!

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 9:42 AM | Permalink

Yahoo-Google Deal is Imminent, So is Microsoft Decision

The Wall Street Journal is yet again providing Microhoogle scoops this morning. First up, Yahoo may announce a deal with Google to run its search ads. A few weeks ago, we learned that the tests of those ads were successful. And though the Justice Department is concerned about the partnership, the agreement will likely be nonexclusive, which should alleviate regulators' fears.

But regulators are not the only ones with fears that Yahoo needs to alleviate. Wall Street and shareholders have been waiting with baited breath to see if Microsoft and Yahoo could reach an agreement on price for the proposed acquisition. But the two remain divided on the value of Yahoo, and Microsoft is expected to make an announcement about whether it will pursue a hostile takeover of Yahoo or walk away from its unsolicited bid.

Even if Microsoft announces a hostile takeover, the Yahoo-Google deal could still go through. The agreement will likely use Right Media's ad exchange which employs a real-time auction system. Yahoo acquired Right Media last year. At least one analyst, Citigroup's Mark Mahaney, has the deal as bringing Yahoo an additional $1 billion a year in revenue. Mahaney previously predicted that Microsoft would increase it's offer to $34 per share based on Yahoo's revenue projections for the next three years. Earlier this week, Microsoft indicated it would offer $32-33, while Yahoo wants upwards of $35-37. The original offer is for $31 per share.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 8:49 AM | Permalink

SEW Experts: Top 5 Non-SEO Ways to Increase Your Search Rankings

Contrary to what some search marketers may think, marketing is not all about search. In today's SEM Crossfire column, "Top 5 Non-SEO Ways to Increase Your Search Rankings," Chris Boggs explains that by branching out into other areas, like usability and PR, you can increase the effectiveness of your search efforts.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

SEW Experts: Training Your Search Marketing Employees

Your employees are the most important asset of your business. Once you've found and hired new employees, it's time to train them. In today's Business of Search column, "Training Your Search Marketing Employees - Part 1," Fionn Downhill outlines some of her training methods for new search agency employees.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

SEW Experts: Avoid the Pitfalls of Mobile Marketing

As with any emerging marketing medium, advertisers should try to learn from some of the key lessons of those who were willing to blaze the online trail before us, in hopes of not making the same mistakes. In today's Vertical Search column, "Avoid the Pitfalls of Mobile Marketing," local search expert Gregg Stewart shows how the advertising potential of mobile now resembles that of the early days of the Internet, in both variety of search options available and the fragmented nature of the keyword search volume.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

May 1, 2008

New Updates and Publishers for Yahoo! Buzz

Yahoo! Buzz updated with new features last night. Among them are:

“Top Buzz” widget for any publishers interested in expanding their content offerings by displaying the top articles across Yahoo! Buzz (or within specific categories)
“First Buzzed By” indicators (showing who was the first to Buzz an item) and personal
RSS feeds for top Buzz stories overall, as well as within specific categories

Meanwhile, new publishers have been signing up to Yahoo! Buzz including:

AskMen.com
ThePanelist.com
Venture Beat

And it's no wonder publishers are jumping on the Yahoo! Buzz bandwagon. So far, the service has sent almost 50 million referrals to their subset of publishers from the "Buzzing Now" links that appear on the "Featured" section on the homepage. Some highlights:

After being featured on Yahoo.com, HowStuffWorks.com received nearly 1 million total visits for its story on “How the Aptera Hybrid Works.”
In part as a result of being featured on Yahoo.com, RollingStone.com reached its highest page view traffic of Q1 2008 on March 11, 2008. The highlighted “buzzing” story on the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame received over 700,000 visits from Yahoo.com, resulting in over 2.4 million page views.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 11:23 AM | Permalink

DoubleClick Mobile Integrates with Mobile Ad Networks

Just one week after Google announced mobile image ads, the newly acquired DoubleClick is announcing the integration of its mobile ads with mobile ad networks. The networks are AdMob, Google Adsense, and Millenial Media's Mbrand and Decktrade networks.

"This integration is a great example of how DoubleClick is working with key industry players to bring value to publishers by enhancing the liquidity of mobile display inventory," said Ari Paparo, group product manager for DoubleClick products. "We believe that the ability to sell mobile inventory directly and indirectly will provide mobile advertisers with more options, ultimately leading to better monetization for publishers."

Yesterday, Admob was included in a Marchex announcement of its agreement with mobile ad networks to provide pay-per-call services.

"AdMob is always eager to extend our engineering investments in mobile advertising relevance and optimization to new platforms," said Omar Hamoui, AdMob’s founder and CEO. "We are excited that DoubleClick’s clients will now be able to join over 4000 existing AdMob publishers in leveraging AdMob’s ad liquidity and mobile specific ad serving technologies."

An estimated $1.7 billion is expected to be spent on mobile advertising this year, up from $878 million last year. Projections have the spend reaching $6.5 billion by 2012.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 11:09 AM | Permalink

Pimp My Site: Tweaking High Traffic Landing Pages

When you have a page that is bringing in a lot of eyeballs, it may be tempting to just leave it alone. Cliches become mantras. "There's no need to stir the pot." "Let sleeping cats lie." "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

The problem is that if your traffic isn't converting, then your landing page is, in fact, broken.

Thankfully, the Google Website Optimizer team is serving up tips on knowing which pages to tweak via a post on their blog.

First up are Landing Pages. Go to the "Content" section of Google Analytics and check out the "Top Landing Pages." The pages you need to focus on have high bounce rates and high entrance rates. The blog recounted a scenario Avinash Kaushik spoke about at SES. He said he was searching for faucets and the top sponsored result led him to a sinks page. Perhaps the site is experiencing large numbers of site visitors, but they're just throwing money away if they're not giving the people what they want.

Secondly, check out funnel pages. These are pages that a visitor arrives at after performing an action such as a purchase, registration or download. In Google Analytics, you can set up a funnel which contains 10 pages pertaining to a goal. Then, you'll be able to view "funnel visualization" reports that can show you where your site visitors get stuck in the process.

Remember, it's the conversions that matter the most. Not the clicks or the referrals or the number of eyeballs. If your site visitors are not engaging in the actionable goal you've set for them, then it's time to tweak.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 10:01 AM | Permalink

Live Search Team Gives Insight into Product Search Updates

Recently, Microsoft updated the Product Search Experience, part of its Live Search offering. Now they're giving insight into the specific updates included, via the Live Search blog. The updates were based on feedback given by users of the feature while it was still in beta.

And the updates are (drum roll please)...

One stop to research product details and find good prices -- Results display an image and description for each product as well as reviews, prices and spec sheets.

Feature-based refinements -- View reviews based on features that are important to you (i.e battery life, portability)

Sorting -- Sort results by user ratings, expert ratings, and price.

Filtering -- Filter results by specific brands, categories, and price ranges.

Richer product details -- Read expert reviews and a spec sheet describing the product.

Product search has been seeing a lot of action, lately. Earlier this week, the Product feature was added to Live Search for mobile phones.

It's really no wonder that such an emphasis is played on these types of product searches and results. Searchers are increasingly wanting answers (as opposed to branding) and with the popularity of devices like the iPhone (which offers full HTML browsing), product searches for both the regular and mobile web are important to the consumer buying process.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 9:43 AM | Permalink

Google Adwords: TV Ads for Everyone!

Google TV Ads have been in private beta since last summer, but now they're groomed and prepped and available for U.S. customers. Why in the world should a search marketer such as yourself care about TELEVISION? I'm so glad you asked.

Offline advertising prompts online searches. Last summer, iProspect released study data suggesting that 37% of TV watchers are prompted to conduct a search based on a TV ad. I can attest to the validity of this statement as I've seen these results in the marketing analytics of a Fortune