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Search Headlines & Links: April 11, 2008

admin — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 21:55:04 +0000

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

We May Not Want Standards But FTC May Give Us Some
The standards debate may be in full swing in our industry - but the decisions may be soon taken out of our hands if the FTC continues to define allowable advertising practices.
Yahoo Execs Bad Mouthing AOL!
Guess Yahoo does not want to partner with anyone these days... well apart from their biggest competitor Google.
AdWords Launches New Conversion Tracking Tool
A new update to AdWords tracking has been reported by the guys over at AccuraCast. Seems they have improved the conversion tracking allowing users to separate different things to track to conversion.
As Wifi expands, local and mobile search continue to emerge
Lately, there have been a swarm of announcements regarding Wifi coming to some previously unconnected spots. So what does this mean for Search Engine Marketers?
Microsoft Updates Live Maps and Virtual Earth 3D
Microsoft has announced 11 major updates to their Live Maps and Virtual Earth 3D.
Trellian Acquires Addme.com
Trellian, the company behind SEO Toolkit and Keyword Discovery, has announced its acquisition of SEO tools provider Addme.com.
SEW Experts: Standards? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Standards!
We don't need SEO standards to define our operation for us; we simply need to hold ourselves to a higher standard of business.
SEW Experts: SEM Tools of the Experts
There are a variety of SEM tools available to search marketers. You should be able to find something to fit every need, and every style.
SEW Experts: Think Universal, Act Local
Much of the discussion around Universal search, or blended search, focuses on video and images. But local search may be a more important factor; one that has the greatest impact in blended search results.

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SEO Mos Def Busted by WA State Atty General: $450,000 Penalty Looms

admin — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 06:42:38 +0000

SEATTLE – A Washington-based company that sells search engine optimization (SEO) services to small businesses is prohibited from selling or advertising them to new customers under the terms of a settlement announced by Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna.

While the SEO standards debate rages, the search marketing industry continues to be perceived as purveyors of snake oil and predators of small business owners.

SEOMoz honcho Rand Fiskin denies that SEO standards are needed while raging against Internet Advancement to no avail for more than two years:

"All in all, this is one of the most despicable players I've seen in the spam/scam SEO game. It disgusts me to think of the thousands of dollars companies are paying every day to these clowns to get services that carry no business or marketing value whatsoever. These guys are going on my big time sh-t list."

That was in February, 2006 before hundreds of additional complaints were filed against SEOMOz competitor, Internet Advancement.

Under the agreement filed in King County Superior Court, Internet Advancement must allow its customers to exit existing contracts. The SEO firm's Web site is still online so advertising apparently doesn't include a Web presence.

So will the lawsuit put the SEO firm out-of-business?

Amazingly, no.

The agreement allows Internet Advancement to offer search-engine optimization services to existing customers. The company may provide Web site design services to new customers, as well, provided such services don’t include the creation of metatags or keywords or submission to search engines.

The agreement states that Internet Advancement cannot:

* Advertise or offer search optimization (SEO) services to new customers;

* Misrepresent its success rate, ability to provide top search-engine rankings or increase Web traffic or its number of repeat customers;

* Fail to disclose all material contract terms before customers have agreed to pay for services;

* Fail to respond promptly to consumer complaints, refund requests or other requests for services or information;

* Charge customer credit cards without authorization;

* Fail to process requests to cancel service or bill consumers after they have cancelled contracts;

* Represent that a customer isn’t entitled to a refund because the customer performed changes to the source code of his/her Web site unless a third-party technical expert confirms that the changes were made or authorized by the customer.

More astonishing: Google, Yahoo, MSN , AOL and Ask have allowed their logos to be used on the Internet Advancement Web site.

Internet Advancement of Redmond, which also does business as 4GreatBuys.com, was accused of misrepresenting its ability to provide top search engine rankings and increase Web traffic, even after being sued by Washington State.

The defendants admitted that some of the violations had occurred and agreed to the new settlement filed today in King County Superior Court, but denied that all of the alleged violations were part of a repeated pattern. They will pay a $118,386 civil penalty and $35,959 in attorneys’ fees. The defendants also agreed to comply with a lengthy list of injunctive provisions or else be slapped with an additional $450,000 penalty.

According to today’s settlement, Internet Advancement guaranteed that a customer’s Web site will appear within the first 25 links on major search engines, such as Google, Yahoo and AOL, when Internet users search for specific keywords.

Customers paid $999-$3,000 in “set-up” fees and a $149 monthly fee.

SEOMozzer Rand Fishkin disagreed with SEW Expert Chris Boggs, blogging that "I think you (Chris) need to have some statistics to back up the point that the public is 'increasingly victimized by unscrupulous practitioners of SEO.' To be honest, my personal anecdotal experiences suggest that it's actually falling from a height in 2004-5, but without data to back it up, it seems like a fallacy to claim that 'fact' to help bolster your argument."

Small businesses filed 82 complaints about Internet Advancement with the Attorney General’s Office between Oct. 28, 2004, and March 10, 2008. The Federal Trade Commission and Better Business Bureau also received complaints.

All righty then.

REFUND REQUESTS
Internet Advancement agreed to a refund program. Customers eligible for refunds fall into three categories:

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Aegis koopt Nederlandse zoekmachine marketingbureau Checkit

admin — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 05:22:59 +0000

Checkit zal deel gaan uitmaken van Isobar, Aegis het digitale netwerk agentschap.

Checkit heeft bruto activa van 1,2 miljoen euro en heeft klanten als Pfizer, Ebay, Halfords en Sara Lee.

Persmededeling:

Aegis Media is op 9 april 2008 volledig eigenaar geworden van Checkit. Het zoekmachine marketingbureau wordt onderdeel van Isobar, het digitale marketing netwerk van Aegis Media. De financiële details zijn niet bekendgemaakt.

Op de Nederlandse markt bevindt Checkit zich in de top drie op het terrein van zoekmachine marketing.

Met de overname bevestigt het Isobar netwerk definitief zijn positie als marktleider in Nederland. Isobar beschikt met de 40 specialisten van Checkit nu in totaal over zo'n 150 medewerkers die gezamenlijk alle disciplines van digitale marketing vertegenwoordigen. De huidige directie van Checkit blijft verbonden aan het bedrijf. Ook blijft Checkit als merk bestaan naast de andere vijf bureaumerken (waaronder ook zoekmachine marketingbureau iProspect) die samen het Nederlandse Isobar netwerk vormen.

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Search Headlines & Links: April 7, 2008

admin — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 22:47:25 +0000

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

News Flash: A Google Product Came Out of Beta!
Google has announced that its AdWords API is out of beta.
European Group Wants to Cut Search Engine Data Storage
Almost a month after the EU approved Google's DoubleClick acquisition, officials from 27 EU nations have unanimously adopted a proposal that could force search engines to reduce the amount of time they store personal information.
The Offline Benefits of Online Advertising
The offline effects of online advertising has been a curious issue in the search engine marketing industry over the years. But according to published reports, new study conducted by comScore is shedding more light on the issue.
Yahoo Unveils Details of New AMP Advertising Platform
In the midst of firmly responding to Microsoft's ultimatum, Yahoo has released details of the new AMP advertising platform.
Yahoo to Microsoft: We Already Dumped You
After Microsoft issued its ultimatum to Yahoo this weekend, giving them three more weeks before things get ugly, Yahoo's board of directors responded this morning, reminding Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer that it already rejected Microsoft's offer, and Yahoo still thinks Microsoft's offer is too low.
Microsoft Gets Tired of Waiting
Microsoft is apparently tired of waiting for Yahoo to respond to its unsolicited takeover bid, and has issued a deadline of April 26 for Yahoo to come to terms on an acquisition agreement, or face a hostile takeover.
SEW Experts: A Look at Demographic Bidding for AdWords
Google's new demographic bidding for content campaigns seems to promise much better control over where ads are served, and hence better ROI.
How to (Actually) Earn Money (Now) with Social Media (Really): Part 2
Short term financial success in social media can be a multi-layered enigma, ranging somewhere between daunting and infuriating.
HackerSafe & The Power of Trust
There are no universal truths about what to test on a landing page. However, there are common themes that work well across a range of industries. One of these is the use of trust and credibility indicators.

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Search Headlines & Links: April 4, 2008

admin — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 21:48:56 +0000

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

Google Updates Trademark Rules for UK/Ireland AdWords
Beginning on May 5, 2008, the AdWords trademark policy for the UK and Ireland will change. The new policy will be aligned with the current one established in the United States and Canada.
Optimization Tips for PDFs: Great Advice for B2B Search Marketers
PDFs are particularly significant in B2B marketing, which makes optimizing them for the web is an important piece of SEO strategy in that sector. Thankfully, Galen de Young of Francis Marketing has a new post on optimizing PDFs on their B2B marketing blog.
Google Opens Up About Spectrum Auction
The gag order on details surrounding the recent FCC spectrum auction has been lifted, and Google is revealing some behind-the-scenes information about their participation in the bidding.
Microhoo's Second Date Doesn't Go Very Well
Executives from Microsoft and Yahoo reportedly met this week, but both sides came to the much anticipated second date with stubborn stances.
SEW Experts: SEO Standards Signal the Maturing of Our Industry
Call them standards, rules, advice, best practices, or whatever you want, but they're a necessary step in the evolution of the search industry.
SEW Experts: Recruiting the Right People for Your SEM Business
If you've been a one-man operation until now, hiring your first employee is a major milestone. However, making the wrong choice can seriously impact your business.
SEW Experts: Leveraging Traditional Media Placements in an Online World
Online media and Internet-based search continue to grow at the expense of their offline counterparts, newspapers and magazines. Because media placement options are continuously growing, smart local marketers need to leverage this major transformation of how people consume media in some creative ways.

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Standards Is A Dirty Word For Search Marketers

admin — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 20:56:47 +0000

For the past two weeks our industry has been debating the need for standards, many of the regular blogs have weighed in as have most of the major players in our space. The discussion has been heated at times and while the idea has gotten the attention there definitely has not been any accord.

At the end of February, Chris Boggs and I started an exchange on the topic. We had suggested prior to this that there was a need for standard definitions of the various measurement terms and while this may be a peripheral part of the discussion is could have been a good starting point.

In the past week Jill Whalen of High Rankings outlined why we should not or cannot standardize search marketing, stating "Industry market forces and the search engines themselves will eventually dictate what best practices are and are not."

Jill I have to disagree with the statement - never let the fox guard the hen house. The search engines should not dictate our standards - they set their rules and we work with and around them. We work for the client not the engines. You mention that but use it to say no standards... that last point supports not letting the engines set them more than there is no need.

Lisa Barone of Bruce Clay makes the argument that there is a "need to outline what SEO is and what it means to optimize a Web site. We need to establish best practices, what the risk is for abandoning them, and what all these different terms that we throw around actually mean."

From these two articles we have seen many people weigh in with some interesting comments.

Kalena Jordan, a fellow Aussie and founder of Search Engine College, has been very vocal recently on anything about standards. Her blog Ask Kalena came out against the recently launched SEMCompare that gathers user reviews of search firms - "trouble with a capital T" - but she does offer an alternative. "Creating standards is not going to get rid of shoddy SEOs or make them switch hats. Education and publicity has always been the solution".

Kalena while I agree that education is important for maturing our industry, I think your response encompasses where we are right now. We see the issue differently. There are really many parallel areas and some of the discussion has been about definitions which do need to be standardized and then behaviors which may not need a standard given the creativity of our industry.

The ever controversial Michael Martinez of SEO Theory suggests we need to drop the term search engine optimization altogether. Come on Mike we know we are not optimizing search engines but rather the sites the engines rank and include in their databases.

But I do agree with your opinion that "skepticism is important while laying the groundwork for further study by all."

Kim Krause of Cre8asite Forum brings up an interesting question for the topic. "Just out of curiosity, who would enforce standards? How would they be enforced? Are they intended to be?"

Kim I don't think there is a need to police standards, more to outline them so customers can have an idea of what to look for as well as new people in our space have an idea of where to start.

Okay I left many comments and commentators out but hopefully this brings the major views together. Without some guidelines we leave our industry in the "Wild Web" stage that has been there from the beginning when porn and spam was the major effective marketing areas.

We have come a long way... in my opinion it is time to become more structured and accessible.

China Antimonopoly Law Could Derail Microsoft/Yahoo Deal, Google

admin — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 07:13:59 +0000

As the New York Times detailed yesterday the Chinese government is activating legislation that may give problems to the possible Microsoft Yahoo purchase. The new Chinese law would "give Chinese regulators authority to examine foreign mergers when they involve acquisitions of Chinese companies or foreign businesses investing in Chinese companies’ operations. Beijing could also consider national security issues, according to a report by the official news agency Xinhua.," NYT reported.

Given that China now has the world's most internet users and all three of the major search engines are involved in the country there could be impact for all of them.

Apart from the Alibaba ownership that Yahoo has, Google also has invested money in Baidu. These economic influences on the engine could impact censorship decisions and other actions.

Search Headlines & Links: March 28, 2008

admin — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 22:55:01 +0000

Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

Does Google Allow Good Google Bombs?
To some, it appears that Google has painted itself into a corner with its reliance on linking for its ranking algorithm. The lines between legitimate SEO, paid links, and Google bombs are becoming increasingly blurred.
New Google Webmaster Tool Aids Robots.txt Creation
For the coding-challenged, creating a robots.txt file for instructing search engine spiders on the preferred way to crawl your site has not always been easy. Thankfully, Google has created a robots.txt generator as part of its Webmaster Tools.
Wordtracker Enhance Their Free Trial Offer
The keyword research tool providers are offering a 1-week trial of their entire service and have released an accompanying 7 day video tutorial on how to get the best out of your Wordtracker account.
SEW Experts: Social Media: One Size Does NOT Fit All
Spending time on linkbait or viral ideas can drive traffic to a site. However, if the same attention isn't given to preparing what to do with the traffic, the only remaining value is links, many of which don't pass juice.
SEW Experts: What Matters Most to Travel Search Marketers in 2008?
Now that we're nearly through the first quarter, it's time to check in on the accuracy of the many predictions for the future of search.
SEW Experts: The SEO Copywriter: Wordsmithing the Web
Combining both technological know-how and a strong command of the written word, agency SEO copywriters are the front-line troops of any SEO initiative.

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The Smartest Marketer at SES New York?

admin — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 20:13:26 +0000

Here's a tough question: Who's the smartest marketer of the 8,000+ attendees at SES New York?

My first nomination: Jennifer Laycock who did a terrific training session post-SES and spoke eloquently at the conference.

What caught my eye during the conference: a ripped-from-the-headlines post-click search retargeting campaign that Search Engine Guide did during the height of the Eliot Spitzer scandal - and the topic everyone was cracking jokes about during panels and at the bar(s).

I was on Graywolf's blog and clicked thru to a New York Times article and here's what appeared, courtesy of Casale Media.

Who cares about contextual relevancy when your ads appear on the #1 story in the New York Times?

More important, who's your nomination for the smartest marketer at the show?

Google Increases Lead in Share of All American Searches

admin — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 04:13:03 +0000

comScore qSearch data for February portrays Google as PacMan. Microsoft-Yahoo combined share of searches shows an Incredible Shrinking Search Engine.

In February share of searches, PacMan Google gobbled the ghosts of search engines past. Microsoft Windows Live and Yahoo resemble mere shadows of their former selves.

comScore qSearch stats for February 2008 showed Americans conducted about 10 billion core searches, a 6 percent drop from January.

Don't panic, Wall Street.

People haven't stopped searching in droves.

February is the shortest month even when it's Leap Year. That's what caused the sequential drop last month.

In February, Google increased its share of core searches. Across all Google Sites, Google grabbed 59.2 percent of all American searches. Yahoo Sites finished second (21.6 percent). Microsoft Sites (9.6 percent) finished third.

AOL (4.9 percent) and Ask Network (4.6 percent) rounded out the top five.

Google Sites saw a .7 percent increase in share of searches. Yahoo Sites dropped by .6 percent. Microsoft Sites fell by .2 percent.

As always, comScore stats on the five major search engines include partner searches and cross-channel searches. Searches for mapping, local directory, and user-generated video sites not on the core domain of the five search engines aren't included in core search numbers.