Below, a recap of
stories posted yesterday to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with other items we’ve spotted but not blogged
separately:
Yesterday From The SEW Blog…
- Submit
Your Google Subscribed Links!
Google’s new subscribed links are pretty cool. The only problem is that people
are creating them but the official Google Subscribed Links Directory doesn’t
yet list them. So let’s give them a helping hand. Got your own subscribed link
you want to tell the world about? Post them in our Search Engine Watch Forums
thread, Unofficial Google Subscribed Links List. Looking for a subscribed link
to try? Check out that thread, as well. Need to know more about subscribed
links? Try reading: Official Google Guide To Using & Subscribing To Subscribed
Links Google Co-op: Add Your Own Vertical Search…
- Google’s
Indexing Timeline
Matt Cutts of Google posted an entry named Indexing timeline. The entry
explains how Google crawls and indexes Web sites, these days. Most of it is in
response to some of the recent issues reported about Google dropping pages
from the index. Matt gives a general overview, digs deeper into the process
and history and then provides some examples. I cannot summarize it for you
now, but it is worth a read if you have time….
- Ask
Binoculars Improving Search Results?
On its surface, the Binoculars feature in search results at Ask.com seems to
only provide a preview of a page that you can visit. But, there may be more
going on beneath the surface than a simple preview. There are attributes of
this preview that may not have been rolled out yet, and the way that people
interact with Binoculars might help the search engine improve their search
results. A patent granted today for Ask.com has more details….
- SEMs
Accusing Yahoo Of Stealing Clients?
I reported this morning that folks over at WebmasterWorld have had their
clients stolen from them by Yahoo Search Marketing representatives. I would
not doubt that Yahoo unintentionally pitched its service to these clients –
but that does not make it OK. Yahoo as should Google, who has past been
accused of doing the same thing, have a policy of checking with the client
that he is not already a customer of a preexisting SEM….
Citysearch: Act II
Citysearch is a little like a house that was built in the country and now the
suburbs have grown up around it. It was one of the early local search sites,
debuting in 1996 and eventually buying its chief rival, Microsoft?s Sidewalk
(they probably regret that move now). Digital Cities (now AOL City Guide) was
the other main competitor. In the early days Citysearch spent lavishly on
editorial content (yours truly was a freelancer for Citysearch a time). That
all changed with the dot-com crash in 2000 and the need to drive toward
profitability, which the site has now reached….- Yahoo
Finance Badges Pre-Beta
The folks at Yahoo Finance provided me early access to Yahoo Finance Badges.
The badges enable you to post financial data, such as stock quotes, charts and
news on your site. Here is a step-by-step walk through of setting up a Yahoo
Finance badge….
- Study:
Online Borrowers Often Searched Before Applying for Loan
A new study from Compete, Inc. and Forrester Research found that consumers who
applied online for home loans were more likely to have used search and product
selector tools?nearly one in five used search, compared with only 7 percent of
all loan prospects. The study, “Online Mortgage Shoppers’ Paths To Purchase:
Navigational And Survey Data Uncovers How Prospects Use Sites,” looked at the
behavior of millions of users as they searched, researched, and applied for
mortgage loans. Another key finding: While many applicants used the internet
for research but then went offline to apply via the phone or in person,…
- Mike
Grehan Podcast With Google’s Matt Cutts
Can’t wait for my podcast with Matt Cutts today? Mike Grehan has just posted a
75 minute interview in two parts with Matt that’s well worth listening to.
They cover issues such as cloaking, “site links” (those little links you
sometimes see below the first result), non-indexed links still ranking well
and more. Mike’s summarized some info in his ClickZ column, Google’s Matt
Cutts: The Big Interview, and links to the podcasts are at the end. As I said,
it’s great listening — I’ve just finished them both. I’ll make sure for my
podcast today with Matt that we go…
MSNBC.com News Search Powered By Windows Live
The MSN Search Blog noted last night that MSNBC.com is now powered by Windows
Live Search. If you perform a search at MSNBC.com, such as on pentagon you
will notice that it divides the “most recent” and “full search.” The MSN
Search team explained that the implementation of this new search feature was
“pretty simple” for them to get up and running….- Tuoc
Luong, Ask.com’s Senior VP of Engineering Leaves
WebProNews.com reports that Tuoc Luong, the Senior Vice President of
Engineering and Product Management at Ask.com have left to join Zazzle. Tuoc
Luong was appointed the post back on February 13, 2002 but has decided to
leave Ask.com due to “changes in the technology organization structure,” an
Ask.com spokesperson told me. This was a planned move discussed towards the
end of 2005. At least he didn’t join Yahoo or another search company like the
CEO did….
- Firefox
To Add Search Suggestions To Search Toolbar
Gary Price spotted that Firefox will be adding search suggestions in the
Firefox search box from Google and Yahoo. Search suggestions is becoming very
popular……
- Google
Notebook Live
Just a quick note that Google Notebook is now live at http://www.google.com/notebook/.
As an FYI, Google Notebook is only available for Firefox and Internet Explorer
at this time. I may have more on this later. Explore and Enjoy!…
- New
Yahoo Home Page Available
We’ve written before about the new home page that Yahoo’s been testing. Now
it’s available for anyone to try here. I definitely like it better than the
old page — it feels far less busy. Of course, people who are comparing it to
Google’s pure search look won’t be impressed, if that’s what they prefer.
Never fear. Yahoo’s long had its own pure search page that is still available.
Yahoo writes more about the new home page on its blog here. Richard MacManus
has a review here, along with a podcast interview with two execs about the
changes….
- Google
Loses New Chef
Steve Petusevsky, one of the two head chefs Google hired last month after a
much publicized 18 month hunt, has apparently left the company. The news came
in a post to a mailing list for former Google employees. I haven’t yet
confirmed this with Google. I’ll check tomorrow and postscript if it turns out
NOT to be the case….
Other Things We Read, Didn’t Blog But You Might Want To Read…