The Search Engine Update - Number 242 - Apr. 18, 2007

Editor, Search Engine Watch

Copyright (c) 2007 Incisive Interactive Marketing LLC

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In This Issue
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+ Upcoming Search Engine Strategies Events
+ Editors’ Notes
+ Top Stories Since Our Last SE Update

• Organic Search
• Paid Search
• Link Issues
• Analytics & ROI
• Vertical & Specialty Search
• Social Media
• SEM for Small Businesses
• In-house & Big Brand SEM
• SEM Industry Issues

+ From The Search Engine Watch Blog
+ Our Search Newsletters & Feeds
+ About The Newsletter

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Upcoming Search Engine Strategies Events
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• SEW Live: Columbus, Ohio May 9, 2007
• SES China: May 25-26, 2007
• SES Toronto: June 12-13, 2007
• SES Miami: June 18-19, 2007
• SES San Jose: August 20-23, 2007

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Editors’ Notes
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After an exhausting week at Search Engine Strategies NYC, I’m still not back in sunny, warm Utah. Instead, I am writing this from the rainy and cold Northeast, where I have been stranded due to extreme weather — flooding, power outages, and massive flight cancellations.

Speaking of Utah, our conservative lawmakers have riled up the search community, by passing legislation that would prevent advertisers from using the trademarked terms of their competitors to target ads to Utah users, and particularly affects search marketers. Technology law logger Eric Goldman says the law is ‘likely to be overturned’, however, after living in Utah for the last 3 years, I question that statement, but I hope so. While they are at it, they should take a crack at overturning the liquor laws — actually, the Utah governor already wants to do that, but faces opposition on the issue. And for the record, particularly for everyone who has criticized Utah liquor laws alongside their commentary on the search ads issue, I’ve never had an problem working around the system. More on the Utah story below.

The biggest news to hit in April so far, came just after SES NYC wrapped up, which is unfortunate. Google’s announcement of buying DoubleClick surely would have caused some major chatter among the delegates.

You’ll find some early coverage of the event below, but several topics where on the minds and discussed widely among attendees. Social media, while still hot, wasn’t the biggest topic of conversation. Instead, the biggest concern seemed to be about the availability of search marketers, particularly from companies who manage SEO In-House, who are having a difficult time finding qualified talent to manage SEM campaigns, but agencies are also struggling to retain their experienced employees. With college graduation season around the corner, at least there are technically savvy minds to mold with one of the many training programs available now.

Along the same tangent, is the release of Jupiter Research’s SEM Executive Survey Findings, and Kevin Newcomb provides significant detail in his members’ only version of the article, with a more extensive look at the state of search spending today.

If you live within a couple hours drive, consider attending our next SEW Live networking event in Columbus, Ohio May 9, 2007. The morning offers a special social media training session by Jennifer Laycock of SearchEngineGuide and Matthew Bailey of Site Logic Marketing. The afternoon boasts several presentations by expert speakers, covering many topics in SEM, and is just a glimpse of the content offered at major SES shows. Come meet and greet the experts, as well as fellow search marketers in your local area, at this informal networking event.

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Since Our Last SE Update:
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Below is a recap of major articles from our daily SearchDay newsletter and important Search Engine Watch Blog postings since the last newsletter. Want to receive these stories daily or via RSS/feed? See the Search Engine Watch Newsletters & Web Feeds page for sign-up instructions.

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Organic Search
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=== SearchDay: Apr. 12, 2007 ===

Search Engines Come Together on Sitemaps Auto-discovery – Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Ask.com revealed a new auto-discovery protocol and the addition of Ask.com to the Sitemaps.org group.

=== SEW Experts: Apr. 17, 2007 ===

Compliance Continued: Creating Internal Links for Organic Success – Considering internal link structure and keyword rich anchor text makes your Web site more accessible to users and search engines, and lead to strong rankings naturally.

=== SEW Experts: Apr. 10, 2007 ===

It Pays to Play by the Rules – Compliance, Accessibility and SEO – Mark Jackson continues his series with a few words of wisdom on Web site compliance and accessibility issues as they relate to SEO.

=== SEW Experts: Apr. 3, 2007 ===

A Plea to Stop Treating SEO as an Afterthought – When should you think about search engine optimization? The answer is simple: before, during, and after design and development. Organic Search expert Mark Jackson covers the things you need to consider when starting down the SEO road.

=========================== From the SEW Blog: ===========================

• –Apr. 12, 2007–Enhancements to Sitemaps Announced At SES New York
  In November Google, MSN and Yahoo! announced that they were all going to support a unified protocol whereby webmasters could notify the search engines of the URLs on their site that they wanted crawled.
• –Apr. 10, 2007–Wordtracker Launches Wordtracker Academy
  Wordtracker announced today the launch of Wordtracker Academy. This new initiative is designed to offer webmasters expert articles, tips and tricks, and case studies to help them make better use of keyword research.
• –Apr. 6, 2007–Is Google’s Armstrong Promoting Search Spam?
  Kate Kaye at ClickZ uncovers an interesting connection between Google’s VP of Ad Sales Tim Armstrong and potential search spam.
• –Apr. 4, 2007–>Yahoo Alpha (beta) Tested Down Under
  Yahoo is testing a new search interface called alpha, which meta-searches several Yahoo properties, and also allow users to add their own search service via OpenSearch RSS.=============================
  Paid Search
  ================================ SearchDay: Apr. 18, 2007 ===Google, Yahoo Speaking More Freely on Click Fraud– With many legal restrictions behind them, the search engines are enjoying their newfound freedom to share details of their click fraud-fighting efforts.

  === SEW Experts: Apr. 16, 2007 ===

  One Disgruntled Consumer, One Effective Solution – A story that proves online reputation management isn’t limited to organic search. One angry customer can make a big impact on your paid search campaign in a short amount of time. Find out how to resolve the problem swiftly and effectively.

  === SEW Experts: Apr. 9, 2007 ===

  A Week in the Life of a Paid Search Marketer – See what it’s really like to spend a week at a search engine marketing conference, as columnist Tony Wright walks you through his approach to SES NYC, while gathering tidbits of search advertising advice.

  === SEW Experts: Apr. 2, 2007 ===

  Desperately Seeking Stats to Prove the Value of Branded Keywords – Search advertising columnist Tony Wright discusses the value of bidding on your company’s branded keywords, and testing to see if advertising on your brand name(s) improves conversion.

  =========================== From the SEW Blog: ===========================

  • –Apr. 16, 2007–Yahoo! and Newspaper Consortium Expand Ad Partnership
    Today,Yahoo! and 12 leading U.S. newpaper companies announced a formal agreement to use Yahoo! as their exclusive paid search partner
  • –Apr. 13, 2007–An Interview with a Google Custom Search Engineer
    Over at his Stone Temple Consulting site, Eric Enge has published an interview with Google’s Rajat Mukherjee, project lead for the Google Custom Search Engines group.
  • –Apr. 12, 2007–Utah’s Misguided Trademark Protection Act
    Last week, technology law blogger Eric Goldman reported on a new law banning keyword advertising in Utah.
  • –Apr. 11, 2007–Miva Usurps Google in the Publishing Industry
    Here at SES New York, I had the chance to sit down with Alex Vlasto, head of global communications for Miva. The company recently won a contextual ad deal (against Google) with Conde Nast.
  • –Apr. 11, 2007–MSN adCenter Update Coming Soon
    Yesterday I had the opportunity to be briefed on Microsoft’s upcoming adCenter plans. A new release is planned for 4 to 6 weeks, but you can play with it today at the adCenter Beta site.
  • –Apr. 10, 2007–AdGooroo Names Power Users
    Competitive search intelligence provider, AdGooroo revealed some of their “power users” today.
  • –Apr. 10, 2007–24/7 Adds Mobile Search Ad Management
    24/7 Real Media has added mobile search ad management to its Decide DNA Platform.
  • –Apr. 7, 2007–AOL Launches Google-Powered Search Marketplace
    As they said they would when they expanded their alliance back in December 2005, AOL and Google are now offering advertisers the ability to buy search ads that will only be seen on AOL Search, using a white-label version of the AdWords platform.
  • –Apr. 6, 2007–Google Wins Clickfraud Case in Court
    In a click fraud case filed against Google in Pennsylvania by one of the 556 plaintiffs that opted out of the July 2006 class-action settlement, Google won a victory not on any click fraud-related grounds, but on the strength of its AdWords contract.
  • –Apr. 5, 2007–Yahoo to Require Short Descriptions
    Beginning in May, Yahoo will require advertisers to provide a short, 70-character description for all ad descriptions, while making the current 190-character description an option that will only be shown in certain formats, according to the Yahoo Search Marketing blog.
  • –Apr. 5, 2007–Google Updates Display of Top AdWords Ads
    AdWords ads appearing above search results on Google.com now have a new look, according to the Inside AdWords blog. The sponsored links that appear above organic search results will now have a yellow background, instead of the previous blue background.
  • –Apr. 5, 2007–BuzzLogic: Finding the Buzz
    Today I had the chance to speak with the executive team at BuzzLogic, an early stage tech company that tracks “buzz” around topics or companies. Buzz is defined by the company as any chatter throughout the blogosphere that can have influence on consumer behavior. The idea is that pinpointing the thought leaders or influencers around a given topic allows marketers to home in on those sources in their marketing strategies.
  • –Apr. 5, 2007–New Look for AdSense Ads
    A new, streamlined look for Google’s AdSense ads, which have been spotted in tests recently, have now been widely released, according to the Google AdSense Blog.
  • –Apr. 4, 2007–Search Retargeting Worth a Second Look?
    Want to combine some of the benefits of search marketing with display ads? Search retargeting may be just what you’re looking for, according to NetPlus Marketing’s Robin Neifield.

  =============================
  Linking Issues
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  === SEW Experts: Apr. 11, 2007 ===

  Respecting Authority Links – Columnist Eric Enge details his approach to getting authoritative sites to link to your Web site, which focuses on building relationships and gaining the respect of important sites.

  === SEW Experts: Apr. 5, 2007 ===

  Engaging Customers to Say ‘I Love You’ Back – Link Love columnist Justilien Gaspard discusses ways to use current customers to gain valuable inbound links and market your Web site at the same time.

   

  =============================
  Analytics & ROI
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  === SEW Experts: Apr. 18, 2007 ===

  Using Google Analytics to Manage Content Groups – Practical tips for employing analytics to compare and contrast performance of product content groups.

  === SEW Experts: Apr. 11, 2007 ===

  A Hot Topic: Getting Burned by Flash and Session IDs – Eric Enge explores some ‘red hot’ issues: Web sites built in flash, session IDs, and why rankings and tracking that suffer as result.

  === SEW Experts: Apr. 4, 2007 ===

  When Clicks Don’t Get Credit for the Sale – Analytics & ROI expert Eric Enge explains the common problems associated with tracking pay per click campaigns through to the final conversion points. Get tips on how to investigate conversion tracking problems on your Web site and within your online marketing campaigns, and find methods to get more accurate data.

  =============================
  Search Engines, Tools & Technology
  =============================

  =========================== From the SEW Blog: ===========================

  • –Apr. 16, 2007–Google Audio, Clear Channel Ink Deal
    Getting buried under the DoubleClick deal, Google and Clear Channel Communications Inc. also announced a long-term agreement Sunday to place advertising for its online customers on more than 675 Clear Channel radio stations.
  • –Apr. 16, 2007–Google/DoubleClick Deal Shakes Things Up
    As has been widely reported, Google has announced plans to acquire DoubleClick for $3.1 billion.
  • –Apr. 13, 2007– Google to Buy DoubleClick
    $3.1 billion — ClickZ has the story.
  • –Apr. 6, 2007–Convera Focusing on Vertical Search for Publishers
    As Kevin Newcomb recently posted here Convera has sold it’s RetrievalWare enterprise search business to FAST Search & Transfer of Norway.
  • –Apr. 4, 2007–Google Website Optimizer Now Widely Available
    Google Website Optimizer, which was launched in beta in October, is now being made widely available.
  • –Apr. 3, 2007–FAST Acquires Convera’s Retrievalware Technology
    Norwegian search technology provider FAST Search & Transfer has picked up Virginia-based Convera’s RetrievalWare enterprise search business for $23 million in cash.
  • –Apr. 3, 2007–Compete Develops Attention-Based Metrics
    With the interactive Web, the value of the page view as a metric is debatable since the user can in fact change the page without leaving it.
  • –Apr. 3, 2007–Google Tests TV Advertising
    Google’s rumored foray into managing television ads with its AdWords platform has entered the next phase with a limited trial program over EchoStar’s Dish Network.
  • –Apr. 3, 2007–fisssh!, a meta search engine, is launched
    HGi Media Systems has announced the launch of fisssh!, a new meta search engine. fisssh! aggregates search results for queries across different types of search — web, news, blogs, videos, podcasts, info, jobs, social and shopping.

   

  =============================
  Vertical & Specialty Search
  =============================

  === SearchDay: Apr. 3, 2007 ===

  Video and Mobile Search Take Center Stage – At The Kelsey Group’s recent Drilling Down on Local conference, the local search buzz was all about video and mobile. SEW blogger and Kelsey Group analyst Michael Boland breaks down some of the highlights from the recent conference in today’s SearchDay, “Video and Mobile Search Take Center Stage,” including voice-enabled search from Tellme, mobile mapping from Nokia, and local video ad plans from several companies.

  === SEW Experts: Apr. 6, 2007 ===

  Getting Found in Local Search – If the intent of your business is to bring customers to your location, considering local search during the site-building and optimization process can bring targeted customers to your site. Vertical search columnist Carrie Hill takes a look at how to get started in local search optimization.

  === SEW Experts: Apr. 6, 2007 ===

  Travel Search Marketing: Time for a Test Drive? – Travel search brings consumers the best of local, social, shopping and multimedia verticals, and offers search marketers lots of opportunities. Search Engine Watch Editor and vertical search columnist Elisabeth Osmeloski provides a look at the opportunities.

  =========================== From the SEW Blog: ===========================

  • –Apr. 16, 2007–PR.com adds Yahoo News to press release distribution
    PR.com has announced several upgrades and enhancements to its press release distribution service.
  • –Apr. 16, 2007–Google Goes to War on Paid Text Links
    Google engineer Matt Cutts posted a series of blog posts on Saturday, attacking hidden links, links in WordPress themes, and paid links.
  • –Apr. 10, 2007–SES Coverage: Blending Advertising and Social Networking
    SES New York has kicked off with lots of interesting sessions, most notably in the conference’s new ClickZ track led by Rebecca Lieb.
  • Discussion with Gary Price about Vertical Search Engines
  • –Apr. 6, 2007–Google Settles Copyright Suit Over Google News
    Google has settled a copyright suit filed by French news agency Agence France-Presse over Google News’ use of its content, according to a AP report.
  • –Apr. 4, 2007–Troogle?
    It appears that fresh speculation has emerged about whether or not Google will launch a vertical search capability focused on travel.
  • –Apr. 3, 2007–Mobile, Video Star at Kelsey’s Local Search Show
    At The Kelsey Group’s recent Drilling Down on Local conference, the local search buzz was all about video and mobile.
  • –Apr. 3, 2007–Medical Vertical Search Being Chased by Microsoft and Google
    A recent post on the business | bytes | genes | molecules blog talks about the investments being made by Google and Microsoft in Healthcare.

   

  =============================
  Social Media
  =============================

  === SearchDay: Apr. 10, 2007 ===

  Why Are Search Marketers Getting Social? – The definition of what is and isn’t search marketing is expanding to include other related disciplines. The move to social media marketing is seen by many as a natural progression.

  =========================== From the SEW Blog: ===========================

  • –Apr. 11, 2007–Ready To Advertise In Social Networks?
    We’re fascinated by the decisions advertisers make when entering the social network fray.
  • –Apr. 10, 2007–Is Search to Social Media a Natural Progression?
    “Search marketing is becoming more about marketing, and less about search,” said Rob Murray, president and CEO of iProspect.
  • –Apr. 10, 2007–Report: Social Media More Than a Fad
    This will come as no surprise to Search Engine Watch readers, but a new study from iProspect shows that social media sites are growing into a viable marketing channel.
  • –Apr. 10, 2007–Yahoo China Launches Social Networking Service
    Yahoo China has launched a social networking service called Yahoo Space, according to a Reuters report.
  • –Apr. 5, 2007–Get Social With Your Browser
    This week, Mozilla Labs announced a new project to develop social functionality within the Firefox browser.
  • –Apr. 4, 2007–Pay-Per-Digg Black Market Manipulation?
    Loren Baker at Search Engine Journal has uncovered another pay-per-digg scheme Subvert and Profit that claims that it won’t get users banned from popular social network promotion tool Digg.
  • –Apr. 3, 2007– E-consultancy publishes online PR briefing
    E-consultancy has just published an Online PR Briefing. You can download the 12-page report for free. It includes a summary of a recent roundtable discussion on this topic, plus other information about market trends, search statistics and useful resources.

   

  =============================
  SEM for Small Businesses
  =============================

  === SEW Experts: Apr. 17, 2007 ===

  Branding Isn’t Just for Big Businesses – Search advertising can be intimidating to small businesses, but buying your company name in PPC ad programs can be both affordable and profitable.

  === SEW Experts: Apr. 3, 2007 ===

  Time and Money: Small Businesses Have Little of Each – By thoroughly evaluating each search marketing opportunity you’re presented with, you’ll be more likely to invest your time and money in things that work. Our SEM for Small Business columnist Carrie Hill shares a fundamentalist approach to undertaking any SEO or SEM tactics.

  • –Apr. 6, 2007–Clicktracks Releases Click Fraud Detection for Smaller Businesses
    Clicktracks Web Analytics announced on April 4, 2007 that they will launch a new product for SMBs which will be known as Clicktracks Pro Small-medium Business Version.

   

  =============================
  In-House & Big Brand SEM
  =============================

  === SEW Experts: Apr. 10, 2007 ===

  Weapons of Mass Optimization – Columnist Aaron Shear gets the ball rolling with practical advice for big brands and large enterprises initiating SEO/SEM efforts.

  === SEW Experts: Apr. 6, 2007 ===

  In-Housekeeping 101: Where to Put Your SEO Department – In-house columnist Jessica Bowman offers advice for deciding where in-house SEO/SEM fits into your organization, noting there is no single answer for every company. The right place within the company for both SEO/SEM depends on the company culture, political dynamics and access to the people you need to get things done.

   

  =============================
  SEM Industry Issues
  =============================

  === SearchDay: Apr. 17, 2007 ===

  Searching for SES Coverage – Where should you search for Search Engine Strategies New York news coverage? Greg Jarboe has some suggestions.

  === SearchDay: Apr. 11, 2007 ===

  JupiterResearch Reveals SEM Executive Survey Findings – A new report from JupiterResearch finds that the majority of search marketers are satisfied with the return on investment they are seeing from search, and expect to increase spending this year.

  === SearchDay: Apr. 4, 2007 ===

  Optimize Your Schedule for SES NY – Need a game plan for making the most of the Search Engine Strategies conference in New York next week? Greg Jarboe has tips from a veteran conference-goer.

  === SEW Experts: Apr. 13, 2007 ===

  Just One Agency Point of View – Chris Boggs kicks off his column on SEM agency issues with an overview of life as an SEM in a big agency, a glossary of terms, and a call for help from the Search Engine Watch community.

  =========================== From the SEW Blog: ===========================

  • –Apr. 13, 2007–Ruminations at the Close of SES
    A Successful SES New York has come to a close. After catching our breath, there will be lots to write about from the array of meetings and sessions that kept us all busy over the past few days.
  • –Apr. 12, 2007–Interpublic Group Acquires Reprise Media
    Search marketing agency Reprise Media was acquired by the Interpublic Group, and rolled into its large stable of advertising and marketing services agencies.
  • –Apr. 12, 2007–Moaning at the Bar
    As any attendee at SES will vouch, one of the reasons to attend is to gather and chat with others who understand the peril of a 302 redirect, how to construct a good Title, and that a quality score isn’t related to a sporting event.
  • –Apr. 10, 2007–Efficient Frontier Offers Agency Program
    Search engine marketing firm Efficient Frontier has revamped its offerings to create a set of tools and services designed for non-search agency partners. The services come in three flavors: Enterprise, Partner Agency, and Express Agency.
  • –Apr. 9, 2007–Idearc to Add-on SEM Services
    Idearc Media, parent of Superpages.com, will begin offering search marketing services to its Internet Yellow Pages advertising customers.
  • –Apr. 5, 2007–Jupiter Research Solo Again
    Jupiter Research, which was sold by Jupitermedia to Kagan Research for $10.1 million a year ago to create JupiterKagan, is now on its own once more.
  • –Apr. 5, 2007–iProspect to Accelerate Global Expansion
    Aegis Group’s Isobar, which acquired PPC search agency iProspect for $50 million two years ago, is expanding the iProspect brand globally, beginning with Isobar’s digital agencies in 36 locales worldwide.

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