Search Week in Review for Jan. 29, 2011
Here’s a recap of this week’s columns and news stories for the week of Jan. 23 to 29, as reported by Search Engine Watch, as well as search news and tips from around the web.
Search Engine Optimization
Designing an SEO Friendly URL Structure by Josh McCoy
The proper URL structure helps paint a picture of hierarchical importance on your site as well as your intended keyword focus on pages to the search engines. Oh, and it aids the user, too!
4 Reasons Why SEO is Underfunded by John Lynch
Advice for SEOs on how to overcome four of the most common problems: short-term vs. long-term goals, organizational constraints, too much jargon, and misunderstanding the value of SEO vs. PPC traffic.
Google’s War on Spam Begins: New Algorithm Live by Danny Goodwin
Google’s Matt Cutts today announced the launch of a new algorithm that is intended to better detect and reduce spam in Google’s search results and lower the rankings of scraper sites and sites with little original content. Google’s main target is content farms and sites that copy content from other sites and offer little useful, original content of their own.
Search Advertising
Google AdWords Display URL Changes: Boon or Bust? by Melissa Mackey
News of this puzzling modification to AdWords has been greeted with a negative reaction from the search marketing community. It’s hard to believe the display URL change can possibly benefit Google or advertisers.
How to Execute a Flawless Ad Copy Test in AdWords by Ryan Woolley
Ad copy strategies and the steps required to confidently execute the test within Google AdWords.
AdWords Display URLs Now Showing in Lower Case by Danny Goodwin
Two weeks ago Google announced that the domain portion of all AdWords ads would soon show in lower case.
Click Fraud Falls in Q4 2010 by Danny Goodwin
The overall click fraud rate for Q4 2010 fell to 19.1 percent, down from 22.3 percent in Q3 2010 but still higher than 15.3 percent in Q4 2009, according to the latest Click Forensics data.
Analytics & ROI
Social Media Marketing
Facebook Sponsored Stories: Turning Your Life into Ads by Kristine Schachinger
When you click your likes, post to pages, play your games and send your check-ins, apparently you gave brands a “word of mouth” recommendation. Introducing Facebook’s newest way to make money off you.
Facebook Most Searched For Term, Most Visited Site in 2010 by Frank Watson
For the second straight year, Facebook was the most searched for term on the internet. And with the interest it is gaining through the awards being given The Social Network this movie awards season, the company may hold the title again this year.
President Obama and Vice President Biden Using YouTube and Yahoo Answers by Greg Jarboe
There’s an old adage that recommends that you “fish where the fish are.” Well, President Barack Obama was answering questions on YouTube yesterday while Vice President Joe Biden was tacking questions on Yahoo Answers. Do you think they know something that marketers should know about where the fish are?
Obama Takes State Of The Union Online by Frank Watson
President Obama took his message to the internet last night, streaming the State of the Union address over the WhiteHouse.gov site. During the address Obama referenced Google and Facebook and the power of the United States technology industry.
Americans Spend 2 Hours, 12 Minutes Per Month on Twitter by Greg Jarboe
Americans are spending more time on Twitter.com than ever before, according to new data from Experian Simmons DataStream
LinkedIn Announces IPO, Others To Follow by Frank Watson
LinkedIn Corporation has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of its Class A common stock.
Pope Praises Social Networking, Gives Guide To Christian Use by Frank Watson
In an age when you can go to church online, and no doubt teenagers tweet during Mass, Pope Benedictus XVI used this year’s World Communication Day address to extol the potential of social media and give guidance to Roman Catholics on how to use it in a Christian manner.
Promotion & Link Building
Finding Potential Link Partners by Jennifer Van Iderstyne
Here are few ideas on finding sources to ask, beg, or barter for links.
Submitting To Article Aggregators Now Wasted Link Building? by Frank Watson
Okay when Matt Cutts speaks the search industry listens. So is his recent comment on the Google Webmaster Help Videos a good indication that submitting to article aggregators is no longer a way to build some link juice to your website?
Local & Mobile Search
Local Search: Your Address is the New Link by Peter van der Graaf
A look at some of the changes local search results are bringing to SEO — especially link building.
Checking-in on Your Local Listings Across Growing LBS Apps by Jeff Beard
Five guidelines for business to create a strategy for establishing a local identity and building visibility to take full advantage of the viral nature of new social-local-mobile apps.
TripAdvisor Having Hard Time Getting Reviews Off Google Places by Frank Watson
The CEO of TripAdvisor Stephen Kaufer said the company’s request to have their reviews taken down from Google Places sites has been denied by Google.
Google Places Adds Client Photo Uploads: Smart Social Play? by Frank Watson
The Google Maps blog announced that users will be able to upload photos taken of their Places listings. While no doubt it will require policing by Google, the move makes the review process a little more social.
Google Mobile Roundup: Boost Ads, Cloud Printing & Weather Search by Danny Goodwin
Google’s has announced a trio of noteworthy mobile features for iPhone and Android devices: the arrival of Boost ads, Google Cloud Print, and a new app-like weather slider. Let’s take a brief look at what’s new.
SMB Search Marketing
How Social Media Changed Small Business Marketing by Greg Jarboe
Davanti Digital Media, a full-service digital marketing agency specializing in social media solutions for businesses of all sizes, has just uploaded a new YouTube video entitled, “Social Media For All: How Social Media Changed Small Business Marketing.”
SEM Agency Issues
Retargeting: An Introduction to a New Opportunity by Marc Poirier
What retargeting is, why you should care, and what you can do to start offering it to your clients.
International Search
Baidu: Beefing Presence Beyond China by Adaline Lau
Baidu clearly dominates the China search market but does it have ambitions to grow outside the country? Recent developments suggest it is strengthening its presence beyond China.
Search in the European Union: A Different Perspective by Bas van den Beld
An overview of the role of currencies, taxes, legal issues, and cultural elements when optimizing for search in Europe.
U.K. Debates Google Monopoly, Search Neutrality by Danny Goodwin
Introducing first, in the “we need search neutrality because Google is destroying Britain” corner: Graham Jones, Labour MP for Hyndburn. And in the “people are free to choose whatever search engine they want” corner: Ed Vaizey, Department for Culture Media and Sport Minister.
Google Proves Social Credentials In Honoring Saucy Poet Robert Burns by Jonathan Allen
Tonight is ‘Robbie Burns’ night in England and Scotland, a night when friends and family gather to honor the famous 18th century scottish poet by reading poetry and eating the obscure scottish dish, haggis. Robert Burns wrote his poems in Scots and his writing was famous for being saucy and lewd playing on sexual imagery.
Life’s A Beach In Australia According To Google by Frank Watson
January 26th is Australia Day and a day of celebration for Australians everywhere. It is a day to celebrate being Australian. This year’s Google Doodle of beach items seems to categorize the country as a beach resort more than a serious industrial country.
Brazilian Musician Tom Jobim Honored With Google Doodle by Frank Watson
The Google doodlers were busy today – Australia Day, a tribute to Robert Burns and a hat tip to Tom Jobim, the Brazilian musician who is credited with creating the popularity of the bossa nova.
Yandex Geo-targeted Ads in Maps, Search Results Open for Business by Danny Goodwin
Russian search engine Yandex has introduced geo-targeted ads to its business directory. Based on what users are searching for, Yandex will highlight the location of local and small businesses in Yandex’s map and search results.
Egypt Shuts Down Internet, SMS by Danny Goodwin
Two days after blocking Twitter, and a day after reports that Facebook and Google were blocked off and on, major news outlets including the AP and Reuters have reported “severe outages” in Cairo while others reports suggest the government has shut down the entire Internet.
Egypt: The Revolution Will Not Be Socialized; People: Yes It Will by Frank Watson
In the wake of the Tunisian overthrow of their dictatorial regime, tens of thousands of Egyptians have started protesting in a number of cities across the country. One response the government has taken is to block Twitter.
The Search Industry
Breaking News: Oprah Has Half Sister, Mom Tops Searches by Frank Watson
If Oprah was to launch a search engine instead of her own cable network, she could be a serious threat to Google. The world loves Oprah – or at least enough of it to make her mother’s name Vernita Lee the second top search of the day following the announcement that Oprah has a half sister her mother only told her about at last Thanksgiving.
Which Search Engine Would Be a Jeopardy Champion? by Danny Goodwin
After taking a random sampling of 200,000 “Jeopardy” clues and performing searches on Google, Bing, Ask, Blekko, Wikipedia search, and Yandex, this search engine “found” the most correct answers.
Most Blocked, Trusted Websites of 2010: Facebook, YouTube, Google by Danny Goodwin
When it comes to Google sites and Facebook, consumers, schools, and businesses seem to have a love/hate relationship with the web giants. Time spent on these sites, the content they offer, and privacy can be just as much a concern as the benefits of providing access to exceptional, worthwhile content.
Google News
‘Google Offers’ Launched As LivingSocial Passes Groupon by Frank Watson
Last week was a hectic one for the popular coupon sites. Google announced their clone of Groupon – Google Offers – and LivingSocial passed Groupon as the most visited site in the niche.
Google Gives Eric Schmidt ‘Unprecedented’ $100 Million Equity Award by Danny Goodwin
Outgoing Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt will receive a $100 million equity award from Google, the company has confirmed. The award “includes stock and stock options, and vests over four years,” and is the largest for a sitting CEO.
Schmidt on ‘False’ Media Speculation, Google vs. Facebook Obsession by Danny Goodwin
Speculation that Eric Schmidt was forced out as chief executive officer in favor of Larry Page due to internal conflicts surrounding China are “completely false,” Fortune reported. Schmidt also brushed off Facebook as a competitor and once again called Microsoft Google’s true competition at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Disastrous Pilot Puts Eric Schmidt’s TV Career on Hiatus by Danny Goodwin
Google’s Eric Schmidt was looking at expanding his career horizons before it was announced he will step down as chief executive officer to make way for Larry Page. Anonymous sources say Schmidt was working with CNN’s “Parker Spitzer” executive producer Liza McGuirk to develop a show starring himself as host.
Want to Work at Google? Company Plans to Hire More than 6,000 by Danny Goodwin
Fresh off record earnings of $8.44 billion and the arrival of Larry Page as CEO, Alan Eustace, Google’s SVP Engineering and Research, has declared that 2011 will be the biggest hiring year in the company’s history.
Google To Buy Sentiment Analysis Engine, fflick by Jonathan Allen
Google has started a process of acquiring sentiment analysis startup, fflick, for $10 million according to TechCrunch. It seems unlikely that fflick will be kept alive for its own sake, but rather the purchase is about acquiring the talent within this company founded by four former Digg employees.
New in Gmail: Display Ads by Danny Goodwin
Next time you’re using Chrome and get one of your new Gmail message notifications, you might notice another new addition when you visit your inbox: a display ad.
Google Blacklists Some Piracy Terms in Instant, Autocomplete by Danny Goodwin
Search terms like BitTorrent (and several other combinations of the word “torrent”), RapidShare, and Megaupload are among the new banned words in Google’s Instant results and Autocomplete, as Google begins its crackdown on terms closely associated with piracy. However, this filter doesn’t translate to Google’s regular search results pages.
Does Google’s Opt Out Widget Have Teeth? by Frank Watson
Google announced last year they were offering an opt out option in their Chrome browser. Now they have given it a name “Keep Mt Opt-Outs” and are trying to get more momentum for their effort to appease the FTC.
Bing News
Bing’s New Top 20 Popular Images: Cute Squirrels, Jesse James, and Todd Palin by Danny Goodwin
Bing has introduced a new search landing page that highlights the most popular image searches of the day.
Yahoo News
Yahoo Reports More Layoffs, Q4 Revenue by Frank Watson
Prior to releasing their Q4 results, Yahoo announced it is laying off another 1 percent of its workforce — approximately 135 of its 13,600 employees.
Video Marketing
SES Conference & Expo
Search Week in Review 2011 Archives
Get the latest search marketing news delivered to your inbox. Subscribe to SearchDay, our free daily e-mail newsletter.