May 21, 2008
May 21, 2008
Image Search Review
Ann Smarty - aka SEOSmarty - has written a great overview of image search. If you look for images online this is well worth a read to hone your searches and find the right engine for you.
The article gives insights into filters, tagging and how best to use these features to really find what you are looking for. Ann's has great expertise in this area and there are other posts about image search worth adding to your must read list.
Posted by Frank Watson at 5:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Yandex Going Public, IPO On Nasdaq Later This Year
Yandex the leading search engine in Russia - bigger than Google in that country which is a global rarity - announced it will have an IPO later this year, Reuters reported.
If they were every to link with Baidu - another engine that dominates Google, but in China - they could grab the international traffic online marketers are started to see the great value in.
While Google CEO Eric Schmidt sees Google biggest threat as being internal, as Fortune reported, if they overlook the growth of alternative engines outside of the US they could have a lot more problems.
Add Yahoo Japan's dominance and three of the biggest overseas markets are not Google controlled.
Now if I can get rid of my Yahoo stock without a loss before the IPO I am in!
Posted by Frank Watson at 5:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Microsoft Launches Live Search Cashback and Live Search Farecast
Yesterday Search Engine Watch broke the news that Microsoft Live Search would offer cash rebates to consumers who purchase products while searching on Live.com.
Microsoft Corp. today announced it will offer ad-funded cash rebates to customers who find and purchase their favorite products through a new program called Microsoft Live Search cashback. Key partners include top Internet retailers eBay, Barnes & Noble.com, Overstock.com, Sears, Zappos.com, and WPP. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates made the announcement this morning at advance08, Microsoft’s annual advertising leadership event.
The word "game-changer" is overused by analysts but it applies here. Microsoft's innovative program has the potential to revolutionize online search and advertising. While some critics have criticized the program as a bribe, in practice it's no different than Google Checkout rebates or DoubleClick Performics CPA campaigns for retailers.
The primary difference? Consumers could be the big winners. Live Search Farecast won't offer a rebate to consumers initially but Microsoft will evaluate the option.
Live Search cashback features more than 700 merchants offering more than 10 million products. More than 13 of the top 40 U.S. retailers will participate.
In addition, Microsoft also announced a new Live Search travel destination, Live Search Farecast, making it easy for searchers to find the best travel deals on the Web.
“We believe search can offer much more value to consumers and advertisers than it does today, and we see Live Search cashback as an important opportunity to deliver additional value,” Gates said. “Our goal is to make Live Search the most rewarding commercial search destination on the Web. Live Search cashback will help advertisers drive more online sales while giving consumers a new way to stretch their dollars.”
During his keynote address, Gates outlined three areas of focus for the company’s broad search vision:
1. Delivering the best search results by continuing to focus on relevancy and selection
2. Expanding the role of search around the set of tasks that searchers are most often working to accomplish — including commerce, entertainment, navigation and reference — through improvements in its user experience, intelligent tools and access across devices
3. Innovating in the economic model that today powers the search business by rewarding both advertisers and consumers for engagement
Microsoft's new strategy focuses on “Commercial Search” as the first of four tactics to achieve its goal as the premier search engine for consumers making purchases online and doing product research.
New Business Opportunity for Search Advertisers
The opportunity to reach consumers via search advertising is enormous and growing. According to eMarketer Inc. and other industry data, U.S. online retail is projected to grow to $335 billion by 2012, and today 68 percent of all those retail transactions begin at a search engine. This translates to 3.7 billion commerce-related queries a month.
The primary choice for advertisers to reach these search customers is the cost-per-click (CPC) model, where merchants pay a fee each time a searcher clicks on their ad, whether or not the potential customer makes a purchase.
The cost-per-action (CPA) model, where advertisers pay only when a customer makes a purchase, or completes a specific transaction, gives advertisers a more precise return on their advertising investment, and is currently being deployed on a relatively limited basis. The CPC and CPA search advertising models represent the most targeted advertising approaches available today, but there is still room for improvement.
With Live Search cashback, Microsoft helps merchants maximize their advertising investments and drive more sales by providing consumers with an added incentive to buy — a cash rebate. Participating merchants choose to pay Microsoft a CPA fee each time a customer completes a sale through Live Search cashback. The fee is a percentage of the retail price, and when that transaction is complete, Microsoft returns that fee to the consumer in the form of a cash rebate.
“Our business is to connect consumers with brands in the most effective and efficient ways. Microsoft’s Live Search cashback creates a real incentive for consumers to connect with our clients,” said Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of WPP. “We believe this is a major development in the evolution of search marketing and look forward to participating and measuring the results.”
Key partners participating in the Live Search cashback offering include Abe’s of Maine, B&H, Backcountry.com, Barnes & Noble.com, Circuit City, Cookware.com, Crutchfield, eBags, eBay, Foot Locker, GiftBaskets.com, The Home Depot, HP, Jockey, J&R, Newegg.com, OfficeMax, Overstock.com, PetSmart, QVC, Sears, Spiegel, TigerDirect.com, Vitamin Shoppe and Zappos.com. A complete list of Live Search cashback partners can be found at http://www.live.com/cashback.
“We’re happy to be partnering with Microsoft on this innovative program,” said John Donahoe, president and CEO of eBay Inc. “By combining eBay’s marketing expertise and incredible volume and velocity of trade, PayPal’s leadership in online payments, and Microsoft’s cashback program, we see a great opportunity to deliver more value in the eBay marketplace.”
Available to Consumers Today: Live Search Cashback and Live Search Farecast
Live Search cashback, built on technology and partnerships acquired through Microsoft’s October 2007 purchase of comparison shopping site Jellyfish, launched online today at http://www.live.com/cashback. With Live Search cashback, Live Search users can find some of the best deals on the Web either at the cashback gallery — where they can compare prices and get ad-funded rebates on more than 10 million products — or by discovering cashback ads in Live Search sponsored listings.
Customers sign up for a Live Search cashback account at the time of their first purchase, accrue ad-funded rebates in their account each time they purchase a product in the Live Search cashback program, and receive their rebates in their cashback account directly from Microsoft 60 days after completing purchases.
Also available today is the new Live Search Farecast, which includes technology acquired through Microsoft’s April 2008 acquisition of Farecast Inc., the award-winning travel site known for helping users find the lowest airfares by predicting when to buy. Starting today, Live Search Farecast results can be found at http://farecast.live.com and via Instant Answers in the main Live Search results page. Microsoft will explore the possibility of also incorporating an ad-funded rebate option for travel services in the future
Posted by Kevin Heisler at 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Not Even a Little Evil
A top story 
from Ars Technica was making the rounds through Digg and Reddit yesterday, bashing Google for being a "little evil." The charge is based on an unusual case, where Google helped Indian police nab Rahul Krishnakumar Vaid, an IT professional living near New Delhi, for posting disparaging messages about Sonia Gandhi on an Orkut group. Vaid was charged under section 292 of Indian Penal Code and section 67 of the Information Technology Act, for posting disparaging, "vulgar" content about Gandhi in a group entitled "I Hate Sonia Gandhi." The creator of the group, interestingly, was not charged.
While the law may be outrageous in its limitation of free speech (my opinion), Google's response to it was far from. And it certainly wasn't evil. If Google wants to operate in India, their local branch must follow local laws. And while everyone seems to claim that Google's actions in this case, and in the infamous case of Chinese censorship, violated their motto of "Don't Be Evil," it seems that very few people actually read Google's explanation of their de facto motto. According to Google's Code of Conduct, "'Don't be evil' is...about doing the right thing more generally – following the law." Google can choose not to operate in certain marketplaces where the feel that following the local laws would clash with the other principles of "Don't Be Evil," like "acting honorably and treating each other with respect," but the search giant cannot just decide to break the law.
In any marketplace, Google needs to weigh the ethical benefit of its service, which offers free information to people, against the ethical limitations of the marketplace, such as censorship. Google decided that it was more evil in China to deprive the population of any search results than to censor some results. Now it's made the same decision in India--and rightly so.
Every time Google is required to comply with local laws, it is accused of being evil; every time Google stores or analyzes a new piece of information--like mail or health records--it is accused of being invasive and violating users' privacy. These cycles are predictable and they predictably pass (do you know anyone who doesn't use Gmail because they are worried about Google reading their email?).
"Don't Be Evil" is (sadly) a lot for any international company to live up to. Google actually pulls it off quite well.
Posted by Eli Feldblum at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
Search Engine Strategies Toronto Adds 3 Conference Sessions
Search Engine Strategies Toronto has just added three more conference sessions to the agenda. While attendees can only attend one of the three sessions, because they are being held concurrently, each one is aimed at a different point in the learning curve.
For Beginners: The "Get Me Up to Speed" Track
If you have never attended a Search Engine Strategies event before, plan on attending the "Get Me Up to Speed" track. Then, from 4:15 to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 17, consider going to the "Meet the Crawlers" session.
Okay, so the title of the session sounds like a scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. But, we're not talking about those kinds of creepy crawlers.
We're talking about the search engine spiders that crawl around the internet collecting information about Web sites to insert into their index. Come to think of it, that does sound pretty creepy.
Nevertheless, this session will feature representatives from major crawler-based search engines, who will cover how to submit and feed them content, with plenty of Q&A time to cover issues related to ranking well and being indexed.
Intermediate: The "Practical & Actionable" Track
Alumni of last year's Search Engine Strategies Toronto will want to attend this year's "Practical & Actionable" track. Most of the sessions are brand new.
And, even ones like "Beyond Linkbait: Getting Authoritative Online Mentions," which is back by popular demand, will feature content that is 83% new.
How can I be so certain? Well, Joe Thornley, Chairman and CEO of Thornley Fallis Communications & 76design, will be speaking at this session for the first time. And, while I spoke at this session at SES Toronto 2007, only four of the dozen slides that I'm planning to present will be repeats.
In fact, the session description says, "Link building is crucial, but linkbait tactics that worked this year may not be as effective next year." How true.
That's why this session will focus on the underlying quality, as well as ingenuity needed to get other Web sites to link to you early and often. And it will also explain how you should approach journalists, bloggers, and other authoritative sources to enhance your company's online reputation – whether or not you get links.
Now, the panel at Search Engine Strategies Toronto will have to work overtime to top some of the success stories that were shared during a similar session at SES New York back in March.
How can I be so certain? Because I was in the audience – with my jaw on the floor – when Sally Falkow of Expansion Plus told the story of HerRoom.com, which had a series of videos on their site that show how effective various makes of sports bras are at reducing breast movement while exercising.
Rather than get into trouble trying to explain what Sally said, just watch my video interview with her below.
The Sports Bra Test - Beyond Linkbait With Sally Falkow
For Experts: The "Advanced" Track
Finally, even if you're already an expert link builder who has attended every Search Engine Strategies conference held in Toronto since 2004, there's a new, new session for you in the "Advanced" track.
It's entitled, "Twitter: Ultimate Time Waster, or Great Tool?"
With micro-blogging taking the world by storm, should you be incorporating Twitter? Is it worth it? And, even if you do Tweet, how many followers do you have? How many do you want?
You can hear from experts in the field on the latest in social connecting and marketing. The speakers will be:
- David Snyder, Search Strategist & Marketer, JRDunn,
- Lee Odden, CEO, TopRank Online Marketing, and
- Chris Winfield, President, 10e20, LLC.
I know, I know, this session looks like the perfect candidate for "buzzword bingo." But, remember this: It is being held at SES Toronto first. Attendees of Search Engine Strategies San Jose will just have to wait for their turn at this new topic.
So, now there's an extra reason to attend SES Toronto, which is being held June 16-18. And, if you decide to register before Friday, May 30, you can save $150 CAD on a Platinum Passport through the Early Bird Special.
That's 75 Toonies, which – as Yogi Berra would say – "is just as good as money."
See you at Search Engine Strategies Toronto.
Posted by Greg Jarboe at 12:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Google Opens Up About Search Quality, Kinda
Google has secrets. Despite their promotion of open source, open spectrum, open mobile, and overall openness, they are not very open about their algorithms. And who can blame them? They have a business to run.
But today on the Official Google blog, Udi Manber, VP Engineering, Search Quality offered up insight into the teams that work on Google's core product.
Manber said the heart of the group is the core ranking team. While PageRank is the "most famous" part of Google's algorithm, Manber pointed out that other factors work into the system, including:
- Language models (phrases, synonyms, diacritics, spelling mistakes, etc.)
- Query models (how people use language)
- Time models
- Personalized models
Next up is the evaluation team. Did you know....
- There are automated evaluations every minute
- There were over 450 new algorithm improvements in 2007 (that's about 9 per week)
Manber says that most of the improvements are related to relevancy, but some projects are dedicated solely to simplifying algorithms.
Developing new features and new user interfaces is the responsibility of yet another team. Last year's Universal Search update is attributed to this team as well as Google Notebook, Custom Search Engines, and many of iGoogle's improvements. This team is so dedicated to users, that it sometimes goes into people's homes and observes them as they search!
Of course, there is a spam-fighting team. Black hats beware, this team focuses on hidden text, off-topic pages, keyword-stuffed pages, and other ways people attempt to abuse rankings. The team is in cohorts with the team at Google Webmaster Central, which gives them access to feedback from site owners.
Manber said there are other teams working on specific projects, but didn't get into any additional details - yet. He said to look for more posts in the future that will inform about updates to search quality.
What do you think about Google's "transparency"? Did they really offer up anything new? Tell us what you think by leaving a comment.
Posted by Nathania Johnson at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Google Earth Gets Layer for News
Google Earth has a new layer: Google News. Writing on the Google LatLong blog, Brandon Badger, Product Manager said, "By spatially locating the Google News' constantly updating index of stories from more than 4,500 news sources, Google Earth now shows an ever-changing world of human activity as chronicled by reporters worldwide."
The Google News layer can be activated through the "Layers" menu on the left-hand side of Google Earth. Expand the "Gallery" mode and select "Google News." Then browse the world for the latest goings on.
Posted by Nathania Johnson at 9:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
YouTube Tops UK Social Media Sites for April 2008
Nielsen Online has released April 2008 social media rankings for the U.K. YouTube topped the list for the seventh straight month in a row.
Here's a look at the top 10:
And the top 10 from last year.
What do you think about YouTube's popularity? Are you leveraging online video in your social media campaigns? Let us know by leaving a comment.
Posted by Nathania Johnson at 8:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
SEW Experts: The Challenge of Mobile Web Analytics
One of the biggest challenges resulting from the growth in mobile Web use is measurement. Conventional Web analytics applications don't do a good job of tracking mobile Web site usage, making it difficult to tune and enhance your mobile Web site's performance. In today's Web Analytics and ROI column, "The Challenge of Mobile Web Analytics," Eric Enge offers some alternatives to tracking mobile Web site usage.
Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
SEW Experts: Yellow Pages and Search
Yellow pages directories and search engines are hopelessly intertwined as directories feed search queries and search queries feed directories. In today's Searching for Meaning column, "Yellow Pages and Search," Kevin Ryan proposes a new spin on the old book that might just connect the dots.
Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
