August 2008

August 29, 2008

Google Proceeding with Yahoo Deal in Early October

Google is proceeding with its deal to serve ads on Yahoo's search results. CEO Eric Schmidt told Bloomberg TV that they were moving forward on the deal despite regulatory concerns.

"We are in the process of talking to the government. They've not indicated one way or the other how they're dealing with us," said Scmidt.

Do you think the Google-Yahoo deal will be stopped? Let us know in the comments.

via Reuters

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Does Today's Live.com Image Upset Over 50% of the U.S.?

Recently, Microsoft started putting images as the background design of Live.com. For two glorious weeks, the images were of Olympic events. Now, they've switched to politics.

Today's image is a closeup of Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Obama at his big acceptance speech last night. But with less than half of those polled supporting Barack Obama, could such an image deter people from using Live.com?

We can say the same thing if/when a McCain picture appears on the site.

It's not that political events shouldn't be on Live.com's site. But perhaps a wider shot of the event would help visitors see the image as a news photo. Plus, with the hot spots that Live.com is using to help visitors explore searches - today's photo it has 2 boxes on the blurry audience background and one on Obama's collar. Kind of awkward.

How do you think Microsoft should handle political photos in its new design? Sound off in the comments.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Microsoft to Acquire European Price Comparison and Shopping Site

Microsoft has reached an agreement to acquire Greenfield Online, the owner of Ciao, a European price comparison and shopping site. This seems to be in line with Microsoft's strategy of focusing on building up focused areas of search.

Ciao also includes consumer reviews and ratings with its search results. They boast a multimillion-user-strong online community and see more than 26.5 million unique visitors per month across seven countries. So far, more than 5 million product reviews have been generated.

Ciao joins Farecast, FAST, and Powerset in Microsoft's portfolio of search-related acquisitions for 2008.

“Ciao’s success has been led by a team of talented people who took a unique combination of intuitive technology and the insight that comes out of their passionate consumer community to become one of Europe’s leading shopping comparison sites,” said John Mangelaars, vice president, Consumer and Online, Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa. “This makes the company a fantastic asset to the future of our search offer. Integrating Ciao’s capabilities into Live Search will provide a strong launchpad for our commercial search offer in Europe and enhance our e-commerce offering on MSN.”

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 8:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEW Experts: For Local Search, It's All About the Online-Offline Gap

Search Engine Watch Expert - Michael Boland Though search volume continues to rise and capture a growing percentage of product research, more than 95 percent of actual purchase behavior in the U.S. still takes place offline. In today's vertical search column, "For Local Search, It's All About the Online-Offline Gap," local search expert Michael Boland explains that the need to bridge the gap between the online and offline worlds is a key issue in local search.

» Full story

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

SEW Experts: Looking for Answers in a Search Marketing Forum? Be Specific!

Search Engine Watch Expert - Frank Watson Search Engine Watch Expert - Chris Boggs If you're a newbie looking for guidance in search marketing, there are plenty of places to find it, if you know how to best phrase your request for information. In today's SEM Crossfire column, "Looking for Answers in a Search Marketing Forum? Be Specific!," Frank Watson and Chris Boggs remind us that search marketing has grown into a very broad field, but if you take the time to ask specific questions, you're much more likely to get you the answers you need.

» Full story

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

SEW Experts: There's No Secret Recipe to SEO

Search Engine Watch Expert - William Flaiz Some marketers are looking for a secret, step-by-step recipe to SEO success. But while a general framework is necessary to be effective, the search engine optimization process must be adaptable. In today's SEM agency issues column, "There's No Secret Recipe to SEO," William Flaiz shares some tips for guiding you down the path to SEO success.

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

August 28, 2008

How Search Marketers Can Use Landing Page Testing to Influence Offline Ad Campaigns

Search marketers deal with landing pages everyday in their work, but not all landing pages are created for paid search campaigns. Many landing pages, or sometimes entire sites are created for offline advertising on television, radio, and magazine ads.

Should these landing pages be tested as well? I talked to Google Website Optimizer's Tom Leung to get his thoughts on how testing can influence offline campaigns.

Leung said there are two ways that tools like Website Optimizer can be used in offline campaigns:

As already mentioned, to test landing pages created for traffic coming in from offline ad campaigns.
Using paid search or display ad campaigns to make informed decisions on creatives designed for offline ad campaigns.

The second point really got my attention. Leung expanded by saying that SEM's can use landing page testing as a "bargaining chip to get a seat at the table with other marketers in your organization."

This information gained from testing is highly useful to marketers planning offline campaigns. As a search marketer, you can use testing and analytics tools to be the one in their department or agency who knows the most about a target audience. That knowledge is highly useful to your colleagues, and can help you work more as an integrated team.

Even though offline and online campaigns can generate interest from consumers with different expectations, at the very least, testing can rule out things that don't work. An image, text, or highlighted feature that just doesn't resonate can be discovered through landing page testing. Marketers can test these factors in a paid search or other online ad test, and use the results to develop creatives for offline ads.

Online ad tests can also be used in advance of an offline-to-web ad campaign.

For offline traffic driven to landing pages, you can use those preliminary tests to narrow down the number of landing page options for the initial traffic driven from the offline ad. When the offline traffic begins to arrive (and you're expecting enough traffic to run a test), you can test the first visitors. You don't want to test more than 1 page per 100 conversions. Multivariate testing should generally be reserved for large, national campaigns.

WiderFunnel Marketing used Website Optimizer for Tourism BC's TV-to-Web ad campaign for HelloBC.com. According to a published case study, the campaign targeted the Los Angeles and San Francisco markets. Tourism BC experienced a 52% conversion rate (filling out a web form), up 7% from the previous year.

Even though search marketing has been gaining ground for years, SEMs still may find themselves struggling to lend their insight to traditional marketing methods that have been around for decades. Landing page testing is not just a must for SEMs in their own work but can be a strength to participate in the greater strategy at hand.

What do you think about landing page testing and integrating marketing campaigns? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Realtor.com Reveals Increase in Local Market Searches

Though the housing sector has been in turmoil for about a year now, last month showed a glimmer of hope with new home sales up 2.4% month over month in July.

Real estate search site Realtor.com is reaping the benefit of the little good news there is out there for the real estate industry. In July, Realtor.com saw increases in searches for certain local markets around the country, and they are:

Stockton-Lodi, CA 140.9%
Las Vegas, NV 93.9%
Fort Myers-Cape Coral, FL 69.5%
Detroit, MI 51.8%
Washington, DC-MD-VA-WV, VA 49.1%

As a result, traffic to the site is up 9.5% year-over-year, despite an overall industry traffic slump declining 1% year-over-year.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Judge Throws Out Copyright Infringement Suit Against Online Video Site Veoh

A California federal court judge, Judge Howard Lloyd, has thrown out a copyright infringement suit against online video site Veoh. The suit was brought by adult entertainment company IO Group.

The judge's reasoning was that Veoh is protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's (DMCA) safe harbor provisions. Since Veoh takes quick action in light of copyright issues, they are not acting illegally.

“Veoh has a strong DMCA policy, takes active steps to limit incidents of infringement on its website and works diligently to keep unauthorized works off its site,” wrote Judge Lloyd.

Guess who loves this ruling? Google. It's currently facing its own copyright infrigement suit brought against YouTube by Viacom. Because the Veoh case was heard in California, it doesn't set precedent for the YouTube case in New York. But Google hopes the Veoh ruling is still influential.

via NYT

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 9:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Market Motive Search Marketing Certification Program

Market Motive announced today that they are launching a new search engine marketing certification program. The program is designed to complement their existing online training programs. Certification programs will cover SEO, web analytics, and paid search. All courses leading up to the certification are taught by known industry experts.

More details for the search engine marketing certification program can be found at http://www.marketmotive.com/search-marketing-certification.php. This web page includes a 2 minute introductory video by Michael Stebbins, CEO and co-founder of Market Motive.

Costs of the program begin at $299. Existing members of Market Motive get access to the practitioner level testing and certification at no extra cost.

Posted by Eric Enge at 8:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEW Experts: Get Links Now: Make a Difference, Make Connections

Search Engine Watch Expert - Sage Lewis Want to solve the link building riddle? Stop thinking about money and start thinking about something bigger. In today's link building column, "Get Links Now: Make a Difference, Make Connections," Sage Lewis shows you how getting outside of your own little world can expand your horizons, as well as your link portfolio.

» Full story

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

SEW Experts: Leveraging Social Media to Educate

Search Engine Watch Expert - Ron Jones There's been lots of hype about social media lately. But what's it mean from a business perspective? How can it help you educate potential clients or customers, or spread the word about your product or idea so that people are talking about it among themselves? In today's SEM.edu column, "Leveraging Social Media to Educate," Ron Jones explores the basics of social media, and tells you how to get started using it to help spread that awareness you seek.

» Full story

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

August 27, 2008

Google's Search Experiments are Sometimes Subtle

Have you ever been around a friend who points out a flaw about themselves and you say, "I would never have noticed that if you hadn't pointed it out?"

Google is doing the same thing sans flaws.

On the Official Google Blog, Ben Gomes explains that sometimes Google's search experiments are very subtle. They'll test things like white space in the search results or how big the plus box should be next to a stock quote link.

The differences among the options being tested are very difficult to detect without being told what's going on. But the results of tests show that even a small number of pixels can make a big difference. For example, it could mean the difference between a searcher spending a lot of time on one search result - and not necessarily the first one - or a searcher being able to scan the results more easily. And then Google has to decide which is better.

All in all, Google's search experiments are not always about the alogorithm. What do you think of these experiments? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Searches for Hybrids Up 43% from March to July 2008

Recently, CarMax released a new search feature allowing car buyers to search for vehicles by Miles Per Gallon (MPG). Now, they're releasing data shedding light on that decision.

From the period beginning March 2008 and ending in July, searches for hybrid vehicles increased by 43%. The spike is, of course, driven by high gas prices during that time, and hybrids get great gas mileage.

CarMax is also pointing out that cost alone isn't a reason to switch to hybrids. It can take years to make up for the extra cost, and thousands of non-hybrid cars in its inventory can get up to 25 to over 30 MPG.

This is such a great example of what a company can do by paying attention to analytics and what consumers are searching for. It also shows the importance of investing in a solid site search.

How does this inspire you to do the same in your search marketing efforts? Give us your ideas in the comments section.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Ask Relaunches AskKids.com with Updated Design, Cool Drawing Feature

As a new homeschooling parent, finding online learning resources that are safe, well-designed, and fun for my kids is important - but inexplicably difficult. That's why I was thrilled to learn about Ask.com's expansion and redesign of AskKids.com.

I've already found Ask.com itself to be a great search engine for my kids, with its suggested searches and images in the sidebars.

But AskKids.com gives me even more confidence. Plus, there's a SUPER FUN feature on the front page.

At the bottom right corner, there's a box with a pen, pencil and highlighter. You can grab one of the utensils with your mouse and draw directly on the page! It rocks. There's also a tab for "stickers" that you can put on your drawing.

Moving on to the search side of things, on the front page, in addition to the traditional search box, there are 5 categories kids can go directly to: Schoolhouse, Movies, Games, Video, and Images.

Clicking on one of the categories brings up even more options along with traditional search results.

Conducting a traditional search was much like doing so on Ask.com There's only one sidebar, on the left, and no images.

I do have two criticisms:
1. The design theme is built around a traditional school setting. Kids are so much more than school. The background design of notebook paper is not a great way to reach kids, who learn much better through visual and interactive approahches and are far more tech-savvy than traditional, old school (pun fully intended) educational methods.

2. The search results have ads taking up a good portion of the space. The same criticism can be made of the Ask.com page. Being user-friendly and not ad friendly almost always wins the day and it would be nice if Ask could figure out a more user-friendly way to make the moolah.

Still, the homepage design is at least better than the old version:

What do you think of the new AskKids.com? Leave us your impressions in the comments.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 10:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

AdWords Report Center Will Remove Older Reports September 2

Google AdWords will remove older reports from its Report Center beginning September 2. Reports that are 6 months old or older, or before March 2, 2008, will be removed.

The data will not be removed, just the reports.

Until September 2, you can export these reports to Google Spreadsheets or .CSV files, Excel, HTML or another format.

Expect the purging of 6 month old or older reports to happen periodically going forward.

via Inside AdWords

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 9:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Microsoft Top Display Advertiser for June 2008

comScore has released display ad data for June 2008. Microsoft was the top display advertiser, while Fox Interactive Media, with its ownership of MySpace, was the top publisher.

180 million unique visitors were exposed to display ads in June. On the publisher side, Yahoo reached 130,680,000 and Fox reached 83,714,000. On the advertiser side, Microsoft reached 126,367,000 of them. Ask Networks advertised to 102,565,000, coming in as the 10th top display advertiser.

Here are the charts:

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEW Experts: Rehabilitating SEO

Search Engine Watch Expert - Kevin Ryan Search marketers are some of the most passionate and dedicated people I've ever encountered. Those seeking to advance their position within search results can easily become obsessed (to the point of addiction) with checking results and positioning. In today's Searching for Meaning column, "Rehabilitating SEO," Kevin Ryan asks, when considering how your SEO time is spent, what's important and what isn't so important? What kinds of things are OK to obsess over? Are there ways to improve or correct obsessive SEO behavior?

» Full story

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

SEW Experts: A Challenge to our Attention-Challenged Generation

Search Engine Watch Expert - Eric Enge Nothing important ever gets invented, created or built without putting in some serious time. In today's Web analytics and ROI column, "A Challenge to our Attention-Challenged Generation," Eric Enge reminds us that if we want to get some real work done, we need to stop accepting interruptions from the Internet, e-mail, cell phone, texts, IM, and other technologies.

» Full story

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

August 26, 2008

SES San Jose 2008: Top 10 Stories

Over the past few days, more and more articles and posts from SES San Jose 2008 have been written. I'm sure there will be more stories to come out of the event, but this seems like a good time to recap the conference.

Google%20versus%20Yahoo%20Foosball%20Match.jpg A quick Google News search for “SES San Jose” finds 276 articles from the past month – 138 when the duplicates are removed. A search in Yahoo! News for “SES San Jose” finds 114 articles from the past month. A query in Google Blog Search for “SES San Jose” finds 5,554 blog posts that mention “SES San Jose” from the past month, 337 when the duplicates are removed.

A little content analysis reveals the top 10 stories from the past month that were triggered by a keynote, panel, session or workshop at the 10th annual SES confence. Seven of these stories were ones that I predicted in my post on the Search Engine Watch Blog entitled "SES San Jose tip sheet for bloggers and journalists." But three of the top stories came as surprises -- even to an SES veteran like myself. Here, in order, are the Big Ten.

Kevin Ryan, VP, Global Content Director, SES & Search Engine Watch. (Twenty-three articles and 72 unduplicated blog posts, including “SES San Jose Photos – Paparazzi Style” by Lee Odden of TopRank’s Online Marketing Blog.

Tuesday Morning Keynote by Satya Nadella, SVP, Search, Portal & Advertising Platform Group, Microsoft. (Nineteen articles and 69 unduplicated blog posts, including “Is Microsoft’s Vision of Search Enough to Catch Google?” by Rob Hof of BusinessWeek. Rob wrote, “It would be dangerous for anyone to write off Microsoft. Its determination was on display today at the Search Engine Strategies conference in San Jose. Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s senior VP of search, portal, and advertising platform group, told the crowd that he sees searchers moving from merely typing keywords into Google to getting tasks done.”

Matt Cutts, Software Engineer Guru of Google. (Ten articles, 74 blog posts and a YouTube video entitled “Matt Cutts on Big Brand BlackHat Sites” on the ChrisDaviesCa Channel. Chris happened to be sitting next to Matt, Google’s head of webspam, when Matt weighed in about big brand sites that have been banned for black hat seo practices during the Black Hat/White Hat session during SES San Jose 2008.

Danny Sullivan, Editor-in-Chief of Search Engine Land. (Eleven articles, 41 unduplicated blog posts and a video interview by Mike McDonald of the WebProNews Video Blog entitled, “SES: Staying Focused On Search.”) Danny said that social marketing and all sorts of other things can be useful, but it’s important to get back to the search marketing basics.

Universal & Blended Search. (Four articles, 42 unduplicated blog posts and a video interview for the SESConferenceExpo channel entitled, "Johanna Wright of Google on Google Universal Search." Johanna gives some insight into how vertical search results are blended into universal search results and advocates a thoughtful approach to making information accessible to Google through use of sitemaps and detailed descriptions.

Keynote Roundtable: Why Does Search Get the Credit for Everything? (Four articles and 38 blog posts, including “SES roundtable: Search shouldn’t take all the credit” by Ellen Keohane of DM News. Ellen wrote, “Search marketing often gets credit for the final sale or conversion, even when it shouldn’t, according to a roundtable discussion today at Search Engine Strategies in San Jose.”

Opening Keynote Presentation by Lee Siegel, author of Against the Machine. (Two articles and 27 unduplicated blog posts, including "Trust: The Backbone of Consumer Satisfaction" by Kevin Lee of ClickZ.) Kevin wrote, “In an afternoon keynote, Lee Siegel, author of "Against the Machine," predicted a backlash against the Internet as it has evolved. His book (which I’ve partially read) discusses how there are unforeseen consequences due to technology, and the Internet is responsible for largely unforeseen positive and negative effects on individuals and society.”

Thursday Morning Keynote: Dan Heath, author of Made to Stick. (One article and 27 unduplicated blog posts, including “Dan Heath 2008 SES San Jose Keynote” on WebmasterRadio.FM.) Listen to Dan explain Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die as he delivers his 2008 SES San Jose Keynote. Dan offers six key factors for sticky ideas, plus offers numerous supporting examples.

Orion Panel: How Much Search is Enough? (Three articles and 19 unduplicated blog posts, including “SES San Jose 2008 - Where's Money For Search Going?” by Manoj Jasra of WebProNews. Manoj wrote, “How much Search is enough? Aaron Goldman of Resolution Media, Steven Kaufman of Digitas, Robert Murray of iProspect and Bob Tripathi of Discover Financial Services were posed that very question by SES’s own, Kevin Ryan.”

Orion Panel: Technical & Information Giants. (Six articles and 15 unduplicated blog posts, including “Technical & Information Giants Keynote - SES San Jose 2008” by Jason McElweenie of The SEM Blog. Jason wrote, “WOW. Let me repeat that. WOW….This was a great panel of some very huge icons on the web today. Bravo SES!”

Posted by Greg Jarboe at 1:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Social Media is Key Component of Back-to-School Marketing Supply List

More retailers are turning to social media as part of their back-to-school marketing campaigns, according to Jupiter Research. From Facebook to widgets, from virtual worlds to online video, retailers are targeting youth, who may not share the same feelings as their parents about a tough economy.

“The back-to-school season has grown in importance for retailers and leads into the all important fourth quarter sales period,” explained Patti Freeman Evans, Research Director and Online Retail Analyst at JupiterResearch. “With the shaky economy expected to impact the amount of money consumers spend on back-to-school shopping, retailers are using social media to capture the attention of younger consumers.”

Examples of social media back-to-school implementation are JC Penny and Sears. Both retailers used integrated marketing campaigns, using tv ads to drive youth online where they can view tips on getting the same looks seen in the campaigns.

To promote its two new clothing lines, department store J.C.Penney created an online game called "DorkDodge" in which a girl has to navigate through a number of undesirable boyfriends to find her dream date. The retailer also launched an integrated marketing campaign showing teens how they can “get that look” with an array of clothing brands sold at J.C.Penney stores, featuring the theme of “The Breakfast Club.”

According to David Schatsky, President of JupiterResearch, “Retailers experimenting with Web 2.0 experiences will largely find benefit from them in the form of branding and awareness building rather than direct sales as social media has shown little direct impact on actual online retail sales.”

What do you think of using social media in your seasonal campaigns? Let us know in the comments.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Newegg Defies State of New York with New Tax Policy

Electronics merchant Newegg.com has decided to not charge taxes in accordance with a new New York state law requiring e-commerce sites to collect sales taxes. The law, which went into effect June 1, is highly controversial. Amazon.com is suing the state of New York, saying the law is illegal and unconstitutional.

Opponents of the sales tax point to a 1992 Supreme Court ruling that said a mail-order company only has to pay taxes in the states where it has operations. Newegg only charges sales taxes in California, where the merchant is headquartered as well as Tennessee and New Jersey, where it has operations.

What do you think of Newegg's defiance? Is New York's tax law illegal? Sound off in the comments.

via Internet News, hat tip to Al Scillitani

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 9:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Google Suggest to Be Set as Default on Homepage

Google is adding a feature that brings up suggested searches as you type, Google Suggest, as default on Google.com in the coming weeks. Google Suggest has been working on this feature for years, and it has been available to users in Google Labs.

Google has already added Suggest to the toolbar and YouTube.

Yahoo, Live.com, and Ask.com already offer search suggestions.

Like many updates and features, expect it to be rolled out to a few users first and then more and more as the days pass.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 8:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEW Experts: SEO Success -- Guess What...Content Works!

Search Engine Watch Expert - Mark Jackson You've heard it before, but that doesn't make it any less true: content is king. In today's natural search column, "SEO Success -- Guess What...Content Works!," Mark Jackson notes that while fixing problems and implementing some search engine-friendly practices can have an immediate effect on a site's search engine rankings, but for long-term improvement, no search engine optimization technique works better than creating quality content.

» Full story

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

SEW Experts: Weapons of Mass Optimization

Search Engine Watch Expert - Aaron Shear Building an in-house SEO team can be a daunting task, especially for large organizations. With proper planning, the experience becomes more manageable, and success becomes more likely. In today's enterprise search marketing column, "Weapons of Mass Optimization," Aaron Shear reminds us that when planning such a big project, the key is to start small, and pay attention to the smaller details within the larger project.

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

August 25, 2008

AOL, Live.com, and Ask.com Best Search Engines for Democratic National Convention Info

With the Democratic National Convention starting today in Denver, I thought it would be prudent to see which search engine is handling the highly anticipated event the best. Of course, Microsoft rocked the Olympics and outpaces everyone in mapping Georgia, but who's got political game?

Microsoft proved again that it's on top of current events, but it's AOL that takes the cake in my book. First, AOL makes use of its design as a portal to serve up content on the homepage, which eliminates searching for today's biggest US story.

Then, AOL makes use of its news and content networks to provide relevant links in its search results. Something that caught my eye is a link to News Video. I would have thought YouTube would dominate online video for the conventions, especially considering their involvement in the debates. But YouTube left a lot to be desired, while AOL News Video served up relevant, organized video.

AOL Homepage

AOL convention search results

AOL News Video results

YouTube results

Ask.com didn't have to do anything different. Their usual results, which includes a right sidebar with images, provided a nice offering of convention-related content.

Ask.com search results

Microsoft's Live.com could have made use of their new design, making the image of the day related to the convention. But they still have an Olympics-themed image up. Still, a search provides the latest convention news results at the top, and I like how their links to image, video, and other types of search are below the search box instead of on top. That helps users find what they're looking for even better. Searching for video via Live.com brings up results from AOL, YouTube and other sources such as the AP. The videos are organized like image results, which makes for quick browsing - probably quicker than AOL or YouTube. However, some of the videos are from past conventions.

Live.com search results

Live.com video search results

As I was writing this, Yahoo changed its results. Before, it showed News Results about halfway down the page, now news results for the convention are at the top. This puts it on par with Microsoft. Yahoo does take slight advantage of being a portal to provide content right on the front page so no searching is involved. But today's headline is the new Dancing With the Stars cast and whether Kim Kardashian's foot injury will prevent her from participating.

Yahoo convention search results

Google offered nothing special. They both provided News Results, but placed them about halfway down the page.

Google results

Yahoo front page

But don't take my word for it. Do some searching of your own and then leave a comment giving your vote for best search engine for Presidential politics.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Trulia Rolls Out Three New Interactive Features

Real estate search engine Trulia today announced three new features to assist home buyers, sellers and agents. Personalized news feeds, mobile applications, and a blogging platform are now available to those in the home buying and selling process.

The personalized news feed can be found on Trulia's homepage and includes new property listings, home prices changes, upcoming open houses, median sales price trends, recently sold properties, relevant blogs and Q&As from our Trulia Voices Community.

New mobile apps are available for iPhone and iPod touch users as well as owners BlackBerry, Blackjack, Sony Ericsson, Nokia and many more mobile phones.

The iPhone/iPod touch app can search via price, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, square footage, color photos and local open house information. The app can detect location for the 3G phones based on the location-aware technology, or other users can simply input their location.

For other mobile phone users, you can use an interactive mobile map. Search options include property details, color photos and updated open house dates and times.

Trulia has also partnered with Dash Navigation to provide real estate search via their GPS device, Dash Express. The device is Internet-connected, providing users with real time search results.

Last but not least, the new blogging platform enables agents as well as home buyers and sellers to communicate about the real estate process. From home renovations to open houses, users can blog to their hearts desire, with the opportunity to reach Trulia's 5 million users right off the bat.

What do you think about Trulia's new features? Let us know in the comments.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

MapQuest Partners with Citysearch for Comprehensive Search Results

In February, AOL announced a partnership with Citysearch to distribute its data across its network. Now, MapQuest has announced that it is integrating Citysearch's data to provide more comprehensive search results. Features such as reviews, menus, and photos will be available for select listings.

When you conduct a search, if you see an gold icon with a star on it, that's your clue to click for the new results. I was unable to find an icon after several searches, but here's a screenshot from MapQuest:

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 9:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEW Experts: Killer PPC Ads: The Fundamentals

Search Engine Watch Expert - David Szetela Writing small, punchy ads requires plenty of art and science. In today's Profitable PPC column, "Killer PPC Ads: The Fundamentals," David Szetela offers some guidelines to help you get more clicks and stymie your competitors.

» Full story

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

August 22, 2008

Implications of Google's AdWord Changes

Google quietly announced the changes to AdWords on Thursday through their blog. Last day of Search Engine Strategies conference may have been a strategy in itself.

I had not heard of this during the conference - though it was a hectic one to say the least.

But from what I have read, Google is about to turn back on all inactive keywords - that is a lot of accounts that will suddenly see a spike in spend. So long as the bids are low enough it may not be too big of an impact - but if the rest of the words in the account have a high default bid it could be creating some major spends.

Add to that that we are now seeing bids required to occupy front page positions, it sounds like a push to the former Overture bidding system - is being attempted.

Google has become a lot more aggressive in its promoting of its products. The new Ad Placement tab was a major effort to reignite interest in the content network. Is this an attempt to ignite bidding on the main paid search listings?

We need to make sure we are not going through another let the customers paying for our tweaking of minimum bids. Now that many people leave terms that have gone inactive still in their groups, this turn on could net Google a nice spike in income.

Add that to the spike in CPCs when bidding for front page takes off and I think the shares I have in Google will be going up a little in the near future.

Posted by Frank Watson at 6:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Yahoo! Launches oneSearch Shortcut on Nokia Devices

Yahoo! is rolling out a new mobile search feature for Nokia devices. The feature is a shortcut that allows users to access oneSearch via one click on the downloadable mobile search client.

The feature is available on Series 60 Nokia devices North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and South America.

Yahoo says a key integration of the shortcut is Search Assist, which is search suggestion technology for oneSearch. Search Assist was launched last October and made its mobile debut this past April at CTIA.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Women More Likely Than Men to Begin Real Estate Search Online

41% of women are likely to begin their search for a new home online, compared with just 25% of men, according to a survey released by Obeo. 52.6% of women and 45% of men research 21 or more homes online at some point during the process.

95% of women said photos of a home are very helpful in searching for a home and 70% of them said 360-degree panoramas are useful.

Obeo is a provider of interactive online marketing tools for the real estate industry.

"We know that today's home buyers are more knowledgeable about the process in general and have higher expectations of information provided regarding the homes in which they are interested," said Obeo CEO Glade Jones. "What this survey provides with its in-depth demographic analysis is a map to better serving that end consumer."

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Google to Roll Out AdWords Quality Score Improvements

The team at Google AdWords has announced that they will be rolling out improvements to Quality Score in the coming weeks. There are three major improvements to expect:

Quality Score will now be more accurate because it will be calculated at the time of each search query
Keywords will no longer be marked 'inactive for search'
'First page bid' will replace 'minimum bid' in your account

Google gave an example of how the improvements all work together:

Nancy's Dairy advertises on the keyword 'milk.' Nancy's ads perform better on the keyword 'milk' in the U.S. than in Canada. Her ads also perform better on the query 'milk delivery' than on 'milk,' and better on certain search network sites than on others. Instead of one static Quality Score and minimum bid that determines whether the keyword 'milk' is eligible to trigger an ad for all search queries, we will now determine eligibility dynamically, based on factors such as location, the specific query, and other relevance factors. For that reason, Nancy's keyword 'milk' will be able to trigger an ad for search queries where it's likely to perform better, i.e., in the U.S., on 'milk delivery' and on certain search network sites.

The updates will be rolled out to a few users in the coming days before they're rolled out to everyone. Also, Google is hoping to update AdWords Editor and the AdWords API to support first page bidding, but for now, it still just supports minimum bidding.

What do you think of the announced improvements? Give us your reaction in the comments.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 9:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yahoo Releases New Version of Site Explorer

Yahoo has released a new look for Site Explorer. Currently, the new version can be found at https://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/new, but will be made default in the future.

The new look also comes with an update that increases the number of rules for Dynamic URL Rewriting from 3 to 10. Here are some screenshots of the new look:

What do you think of the new look? Let us know in the comments.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 9:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Google Tops comScore Search Engine Rankings for July 2008

Google increased their market share of searches by 0.4% in July, coming in at 61.9%, according to comScore. That gain came at Yahoo's expense, who dropped 0.4% to 21.5%. Microsoft also dropped 0.3% to 8.9%. Both Ask and AOL picked up that gain. Here's the data:

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 9:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEW Experts: 6 Tips for Aligning Your National, Local SEM Efforts

Search Engine Watch Expert - Gregg Stewart With local search on the rise, it's important to keep your local campaigns in tune with your national efforts. In today's Vertical Search column, "6 Tips for Aligning Your National, Local SEM Efforts," Gregg Stewart discusses how to go after the local long tail, including customization, keyword lists, and tracking.

» Full story

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 8:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

August 21, 2008

57% of Ad and Marketing Executives are Okay With Web Surfing at Work

The idea that surfing the web at work is taboo might largely be a myth. 57% of executives say it's alright that their employees browse non-work related websites during the work day, according to a survey by The Creative Group. 41% say it's not okay and 2% aren't sure.

Just how long can you surf before turning that yes into a no? The mean average is 32 minutes.

The survey was conducted among advertising and marketing executives, traditionally a field with more creative types.

"In the creative field, surfing non-work sites may be considered part of the job because it allows professionals to keep up with trends and seek new sources of inspiration," said Megan Slabinski, executive director of The Creative Group. "Also, many employers recognize that making appointments and attending to personal tasks online might actually improve productivity, since professionals can quickly take care of needs while in the office instead of stepping out."

What do you think about web use at work? Is that a completely ridiculous question to ask a bunch of SEOs? And just what is up the butt of the 41% who say no? Tell us in the comments.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Google News Enables Cross-Language Search

Lately, Google has had a global focus. Recently, they gave tips on developing a multi-lingual site. Now, they're enabling cross-language search in Google News.

Users most likely to notice the change reside in countries where there are few online news resources or where multiple languages are traditionally spoken. Despite the heavy influx of people from Spanish-speaking countries, Google says US users will primarily see English. So will users from the UK. However, if you sort your results by date, you may see sources from a foreign language.

If you type your query in another language, then your results will be from that language no matter where you're typing from.

In June, Google announced that it was testing new features in Google News, as "part of the evolving state of online journalism."

What do you think of enabling cross-language search in Google News?

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CitySquares.com is Fastest Growing Search Site

Hyper-local search site CitySquares.com is the fastest growing search site, according to Quantcast. Launched in 2005, focusing on Boston, CitySquares opened up to more locations this past June. Now the site features 1.5 million businesses in New York City, eastern New York State and all of New England.

Since the switch, traffic has increased by 1500%. If you're an SEO or SEM in the New England/New York area, you'll be happy to know that businesses are able to fully customize their CitySquares.com advertising campaign with SEO tools, content management, content syndication tools, email newsletters, video, etc and so on.

CitySquares also incorporates social media, with user reviews and ratings and other user-generated content.

Ben Saren, CEO of CitySquares.com, says this growth proves that consumers are finding the value of using a true hyper-local search site. “This kind of organic growth demonstrates that our model works and that we’re addressing a shortcoming in the marketplace. Consumers are finding what they want and businesses are seeing excellent results. We are proud so many businesses refer to us as a trusted online resource.”

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

IAC Completes Spinoff of Four Companies

IAC, the parent company of Ask.com, has completed the spinoff of four companies: HSN, Inc. (HSNi), Interval Leisure Group, Inc. (ILG), Ticketmaster and Tree.com. For every one share of IAC common stock held on August 11, 2008, the record date for the spin-off, or bought in the due bill period, holders received one-fifth of a share of common stock of each of HSNi, ILG and Ticketmaster, and one-thirtieth of a share of common stock of Tree.com. Immediately following the spin-off on August 20, 2008, IAC also effected a one-for-two reverse stock split.

Here are the new symbols for the companies being traded on the NASDAQ:

HSNi - HSNI
ILG - IILG
Ticketmaster - TKTM
Tree.com - TREE

Shares of IAC common stock will trade under the symbol "IACID" until September 19, 2008 in compliance with NASDAQ rules. Afterwards, IAC will trade again under its current symbol, IACI.

"Armed with outstanding management teams, appropriate capital structures and their own currencies, HSNi, Ticketmaster, Interval and Tree.com are now ready for independent futures ... while the Internet businesses that make up new IAC can operate with a collective purpose and common goals," said Barry Diller, Chairman and CEO of IAC. "The work is done and our focus now is moving forward."

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 9:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yahoo Wins Gold Medal for Online Olympic Traffic

As U.S. workers continue to check out the Olympics online during the work week, Yahoo is beating the competition in drawing eyes to its Olympic content. But if your in management, don't freak out. Peak time for your employees' daily Olympic fix is lunch time. Check out this data from Nielsen Online.

Now, if you'll excuse me, the gold medal match for women's soccer is about to begin - US versus Brazil. Should be a good one!

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 8:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEW Experts: NBC's Olympic Fool's Gold; Google Comes Home Empty-Handed

Search Engine Watch Expert - Erik Qualman In the last days of the Olympics, many are taking stock of the unprecedented online coverage. In today's Brand Equity column, "NBC's Olympic Fool's Gold; Google Comes Home Empty-Handed ," Erik Qualman explains why NBC left a lot to be desired, and why Google was left in the dust.

» Full story

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 1:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SES San Jose 2008: Top stories for Day 3 of SEM Conference & Expo

So much was taking place on Day 3 of SES San Jose 2008, even attendees needed to use news and blog search engines to keep up with more than 75 articles and posts coming out of the SEM conference & expo. Here are the top stories that represent just the tip of the iceberg:

Report: Bill Gates Remains Tied To Search
Doug Caverly of WebProNews reports, “The latest Nielsen stats put Microsoft's share of the search market at an unimpressive 11.9 percent. What's more (or to be accurate, less), its year-over-year growth is negative. But Microsoft's search team has an interesting ally in its corner, as it turns out Bill Gates may still be lending some sort of hand.”

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Google Dance 2008 (Photo by Byron Gordon)

SES roundtable: Search shouldn't take all the credit
Ellen Keohane of DM News reports, “Search marketing often gets credit for the final sale or conversion, even when it shouldn't, according to a roundtable discussion today at Search Engine Strategies in San Jose.”

Tools teach owners about Web site traffic
Deborah Gage of the San Francisco Chronicle reports, “Most people who search the Web are really stumbling in the dark. So said a couple of Google evangelists who spoke Tuesday to a packed audience, all looking for advice on how to light the path to their Web site's door.”

SEO Through Blogs and Feeds SES San Jose
Darrell Long of Search Engine Journal reports, “I am here at the first session of the day, yes I am up on time after the Google Dance! We have Rebecca Lieb, Contributing Editor, ClickZ moderating this morning.”

SES San Jose: News Search SEO
Jessica of TopRank’s Online Marketing Blog writes, “News search engines offer a great way to receive targeted traffic related to breaking topics or to help with a public relations launch. In this session, industry experts Lee Odden, CEO of TopRank Online Marketing, Lisa Buyer, President & CEO of The Buyer Group and Greg Jarboe, President and Co-Founder, SEO-PR look at how to make use of press releases and news content to tap into the power of news search.”

Getting Vertical Search Right
Susan Esparza of the BruceClay.com SEO Blog writes, “Day 3 of SES San Jose and everyone looks a little tired from partying at the Googleplex last night. The coffee shop was out of bagels. That's a crime. I'm going to starve. My kingdom for some scrambled eggs. But enough about me. Moderator Lauren Vaccerello (FXCM) and panelists Philip James (Snooth, Inc), Jonathan Dingman (Digitally Imported, Inc) and Paul Forster (Indeed) are ready to go. On with the show!”

Measuring Web 2.0 with Star Trek - & SiteLogic's Matt Bailey
Matt Bailey of SiteLogic Marketing talks Trekkie lore and web analytics with Jamie O'Donnell of SEO-PR about his SES San Jose 2008 panel on Web 2.0 measurement. Matt's famous Star Trek/Web Analytics mashup played well at the show as he explained the increasing likelihood of Enterprise ensigns' chances of survival given various circumstances, including the color of their shirts, shuttlecraft landings, and the captain's amorous liaisons.

Blended Search Demands Blended Marketing and PR
Sally Falkow writes in her Website Content Strategy Blog, “At the session on Universal and blended search at SES San Jose we heard from all the search engines. Johanna Wright of Google, Cris Pierry of Yahoo! Erik collier of Ask and Todd Schwartz of LIve search all gave their insights and predictions about how search is displayed and how searchers view a results page.”

SEO Sucks at SES San Jose & The Google Dance
Jeremy Schoemaker of ShoeMoney writes, “I thought I would spice it up a bit and wear my ‘Seo Sucks’ t-shirt as a bit of a social experiment to see what kind of reaction it would get. Being at the largest and most respected SEO gathering/conference I was curious to (see) the reaction.”

Search Marketing Agencies: Why Can’t They Sell Themselves?
Julia Hyde of Creative Search Media reports, “If I was a prospect looking for an agency to represent my company, I’d throw my hands up in the air and make the decision to handle search marketing in house.”

AdGooroo Debuts Online Competitor Keyword Report
MarketingVOX reports, “Online keyword intelligence firm AdGooroo announced the release of the "Top Ad Copy Report," part of its SEM Insight offering. The report went live at the SES conference in San Jose this week.”

Posted by Greg Jarboe at 12:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

August 20, 2008

SEW Experts: The Beginning of the End? Or the End of the Beginning?

Search Engine Watch Expert - Kevin Ryan The state of the search marketing industry is almost always in flux. In today's Searching for Meaning column, "The Beginning of the End? Or the End of the Beginning?," Kevin Ryan takes a look at decline in CTRs and what it means for the future of search advertising.

» Full story

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 3:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SES San Jose 2008: Top Stories from Day 2

There were more than 70 news articles and blog posts on Day 2 of SES San Jose 2008. And that doesn’t include the video interviews from Day 1 which are being posted as we speak. Here are the some of top stories for those of those of you trying to glimpse the highlights -- when you really need to be here to get the full impact of the conference.

Is Microsoft's Vision of Search Enough to Catch Google?
Rob Hof of BusinessWeek writes, “It would be dangerous for anyone to write off Microsoft. Its determination was on display today at the Search Engine Strategies conference in San Jose, Satya Nardella, Microsoft’s senior VP of search, portal, and advertising platform group, told the crowd that he sees searchers moving from merely typing keywords into Google to getting tasks done.

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Matt Cutts, Software Engineer Guru, Google, draws a crowd following the Orion Keynote Panel: Technical & Information Giants at SES San Jose 2008 (Photo by Kelsey Jarboe)

Microsoft sees tailored search as way to pierce Google's armor
Stephen Shankland of CNET reports, “Microsoft believes it's found a way to gain an edge against Google's dominant search engine: a deeper understanding of what people are searching for and what's on Web pages. Specifically, the company believes examining a full sequence of user queries can lead to more useful results. Today, the company only keeps track of the immediately prior search, but often users use search engines to explore subject areas broadly, said Satya Nadella, senior vice president of Microsoft's search, portal and advertising platform group, at the Search Engine Strategies conference here."

Search engines under the spotlight this week
Sam Diaz of ZDNet writes, “I’m spending most of this week at the Intel Developer’s Forum but also wanted to give some time to another show happening in the Bay Area this week: Search Engine Strategies, being held at the San Jose Convention Center in Silicon Valley. Monday was one of those unofficial days of the show - a handful of sessions and an opening keynote but no expo yet - so it was hard to gauge the sort of impact the show will have. But based on a few hours of hanging around and popping in and out of sessions, it’s clear that search remains a hot sector with a lot of moving parts.”

Search Is No Longer an Afterthought for Brands
Anna Maria Virzi of The ClickZ Network, reports, “Unlike eight years ago, paid search campaigns are no longer a hard sell. Still, search marketers say they are haven't reached the equivalent of marketing nirvana -- ensuring that search is always part of an integrated campaign. However, search marketers and others speaking at the Search Engine Strategies conference this week in San Jose, CA, pointed to inroads being made.”

SES San Jose: Microsoft dedicated to investment in search
Ellen Keohane of DMNews reports, “Delivering the best results is the key to growing Microsoft's search marketing business, said Satya Nadella, SVP of Microsoft's search, portal and advertising group. In his keynote speech this morning at the Search Engine Strategies conference in San Jose, CA, Nadella said that Microsoft has to ‘build a search experience that's great. We've made decent progress but have a long way to go.’”

SES: Thumbnails, Thumbnails, Thumbnails!
Optimizing video content isn’t really much different from optimizing textual content. In fact, as YuMe.com vice president Bob Bahramipour told Mike McDonald at SES San Jose, most video content is still found the old-fashioned way: via textual search engines.

Small Business Viral Marketing Tips, SES San Jose 2008
Jennifer Laycock and Andrew Goodman of Page Zero Media follow up their SES San Jose 2008 ""Igniting Viral Campaigns"" session with a discussion of the best tips on viral campaigns and social media marketing, especially for small business who want to make the most of their business online without spending too much money. The two talk about using social media sites like Linkedin and Twitter to communicate one's marketing message to a dedicated and enthusiastic audience.

5 Things No One Will Tell You About SEM
Sheara Wilensky of Promediacorp is blogging for Search Engine Roundtable. She writes, “Finding keywords, trying different ad copy, testing landing pages, bid managing – blah blah blah. You already know what managing SEM is about. But if you crave the new SEM tactic, the unknown search story, the changing market dynamics of SEM that few understand and even fewer talk about, come to this session, where Omniture and an SEM "dream team" panel will push the conference envelope and make you — yes, even you— all-stars: better, more knowledgeable, and aware of what's really going on in search.”

SES San Jose Expo Hall Photos
Dana Larson of the TopRank Online Marketing Blog writes, “Today the Expo Hall at SES San Jose opened. Time to collect astronomical amounts of swag and drop your business card to win a free iPhone! The expo hall every year is full of some of the best products and services available for any online marketing team, and this year was absolutely no different.”

SES San Jose Photos - Day 2
Andy Beal of Marketing Pilgrim captures Day 2 of SES San Jose 2008 in photos.

Quote Of Day 2 - SES San Jose 2008
Mel Carson’s Internet Marketing Blog captures the quote of the day from SES San Jose 2008, which is a quotation from Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784), “The trade of advertising is now so near perfection that it is not easy to propose any improvement.”

Posted by Greg Jarboe at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

American Airlines Launches In-Flight Internet Access Service

American Airlines today began offering in-flight internet access on select flights. For $12.95, passengers flying Boeing 767-200 aircraft on non-stop flights between New York and San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles, and New York and Miami can browse to their heart's desire.

The mobile broadband service is called Gogo and is provided by Aircell. Passengers can access the internet once the plane has reached 10,000 feet. Cell phone and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services are not included.

“We are pleased to provide our customers with the unprecedented ability to stay connected to their family, friends and business associates on the ground via the Internet while traveling at 30,000 feet above the United States,” said Dan Garton, American’s Executive Vice President – Marketing. “With today’s launch, American Airlines makes history as the first and only U.S. airline to offer customers full inflight Internet connectivity, demonstrating once again our industry leadership and focus on our customers.”

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Local Online Advertising Does Best on Local Media Sites

When it comes to local advertising, the best conversions come from local media sites, such as newspaper and tv station sites, according to a new report from the Online Publishers Association (OPA). Local media sites see a higher percentage of visitors taking actions on local ads compared to a user review site or a portal.

Local Newspaper Site: 46%
Local Television Site: 44%
Local Magazine Site: 42%
User Review Site: 39%
Portal: 37%

2,069 local online content consumers were selected randomly for the study conducted by Jupiter Research for OPA.

“With strong brands and trusted environments, local media sites deliver concrete results for local advertisers,” said OPA president Pam Horan. “Our analysis of the Jupiter data finds that consumers are more likely to act on the ads they see on local TV, newspaper and magazine sites. Just as we see on a national scale, media sites outpace portals and all other online media at delivering meaningful advertising results.”

What do you think of the data? Does it change the way you think about local advertising? Give us your perspective in the comments.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

SearchIgnite Releases Version 3.0 of Media Optimization Platform

SearchIgnite has announced the release of the next generation of its media optimization tool. The updates featured in Version 3.0 are:

Full multi-channel media tracking and reporting: Track and report on paid search, display, paid inclusion, organic search, e-mail and more to better understand the consumer sales funnel and properly attribute online media channels that lead to a sale.
Assist keyword reporting: Run assist reports to view which keywords play a role in the customer search cycle - from generating interest up to a conversion.
Custom KPIs: Input specific metrics or formulas to generate custom metrics in standard SearchIgnite reports.
44 new reports available: 44 new reports that can be run with the push of button, including creative and landing page testing reports.
One page access to all reporting functionality: All reports and reporting functionality accessible through a central dashboard, with everything available in one click in both a graphical and “data only” view to make reporting on campaign performance faster and more efficient.

“We are pleased to release what we believe is simply the most advanced optimization and reporting technology currently offered for sophisticated marketers,” said Roger Barnette, President of SearchIgnite. “For marketers with large or complex search campaigns, SearchIgnite offers unmatched algorithmic, manual and rules based optimization to save time and improve ROI. The latest platform now provides the most comprehensive and actionable reporting available within the industry for measuring campaign performance across all major online media.”

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Website Optimizer Enables Pruning and Offline Validation

Google has released a major update to Website Optimizer, which contains new features that will have users breathing a sigh of relief.

First up, you can now disable combinations that just aren't working out for you. Dubbed "Experiment Pruning," the feature allows users to eliminate combinations that are poorly performing or just don't make sense for your campaign. This can help you achieve faster results as well as set up a reasonable number of combinations relative to the traffic you expect to receive.

Next, offline validation is now available for pages that aren't accessible to Website Optimizer. Simply upload a copy of the tagged page and Website Optimizer says everything will be tagged properly.

Finally, reporting has been updated to better show which combinations are performing well and which ones aren't. Google hopes this will prevent false conclusions and prematurely ended campaigns.

What do you think of the updates? Let us know in the comments.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEW Experts: What Are You Converting?

Search Engine Watch Expert - Tim Ash Think a sale is the only conversion worth measuring? You might want to think again. In today's By The Numbers column, "What Are You Converting?," Tim Ash goes through the various events worth measuring, showing that reaching a customer can take on many forms.

» Full story

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 1:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

August 19, 2008

AdGooroo Founder Authors Search Advertising Book

Richard Stokes, the founder of search marketing firm AdGooroo, has announced the publication of his new book, Mastering Search Advertising – How the Top 3% of Search Advertisers Dominate Google AdWords. In the book, Stokes walks through the basics of setting up a PPC campaign and uses graphs and case studies to demonstrate successful marketing strategies. Stokes bases his information on 15 years of search marketing experience as well as competitive intelligence data from AdGooroo.

"Readily available marketing tips and tutorials, accessible on the Internet and other public forums, tend to be outdated or incorrect, while the techniques that really deliver results are kept close to the chest of those in the dominating minority,” explains Stokes. “This doesn’t have to be the case, and the book provides the majority of search marketers with the tools and insights they need to improve their performance and level the playing field.”

The book is available through major retailers. You can read samples from the book here.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 1:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Introducing Google Without All the Google

Want to search Google for results that don't include sites under the Google umbrella? Try Google Minus Google. The site shows YouTube-less, Knol-less, and Blogger-less results.

The site was started by Finnish blogger Timo Paloheimo, who was inspired by an article in the New York Times asking the question, Is Google a Media Company? Paloheimo claims he received 3,000 visits the very first day.

via NYT

Related Reading:
Is Google Becoming a Portal?

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 1:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Microsoft adCenter Updates Credit Card Options

Over the weekend, Microsoft rolled out an update to adCenter. The update released new credit card options for users.

One of the changes has to do with paying your adCenter bill. Now you can pay an outstanding balance anytime - not just during the regular monthly payment.

Another change has to do unused credit cards. You're now able to remove credit cards that you're not using for adCenter payments.

Last but not least, Microsoft says the process for adding a new credit card has been streamlined.

What do you think about these updates? Tell us your perspective in the comments.

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