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Mayday Update Confirmed by Google
May 31, 2010, 11:24 pmby Stone Reuning
A hot topic of late in the SEO forums centers on what's been dubbed Google's "Mayday" update...we explained in our blog previously that many site owners were experiencing dramatic drops in their long-tail keyword (phrases over 3 words) rankings. Now Google has confirmed the "Mayday" update with Matt Cutts saying at Google I/O...
5 Ways to Connect Facebook with Your Business Life
May 31, 2010, 8:56 pmI'm a big fan of Facebook and as a matter of fact, I spend more time on Facebook than LinkedIn, Twitter or even GMail. One reason is that fundamentally, Facebook Apps make the social network the dashboard for my life on the web. And with Open Graph, Facebook will follow me everywhere I go, especially in the business world. For example, I love...
Storied Endings, Ongoing Disasters, Worldy Unrest: May 2010 Buzz
May 31, 2010, 11:45 amby Vera H-C Chan From TV programming to political elections to celebrity deaths, May brought an end to many stories and storied lives. One thing that Americans couldn't say good riddance to, though, has been the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico: That awful, escalating drama mesmerized people as the petroleum industry's fumblings proved that...
To HTML 5 or not to HTML 5, that is the question
May 31, 2010, 10:18 amStarting a new site? Members discuss whether to stay with HTML 4.1 or start fresh with HTML 5.
Evil Conversion: When Optimization Goes Too Far
May 31, 2010, 9:33 amSandra Niehaus writes: "As online marketers and conversion experts, we want our sites to be effective. No, it has to be said: we want more than that—we want to turn our sites into kick-butt conversion machines, leaving competitors in the dust with our screamin’ throughput and sales. But when does conversion optimization go too far? When...
Google is not cute anymore
May 31, 2010, 9:29 amGoogle, Facebook and Apple are no longer the underdogs. The online literati are now turning their critical eyes towards the new symbols of big capital. "Once you're big, you're not cute anymore!" Wise words from Markham C. Erickson , executive director of the Open Internet Coalition, on why Google is getting such attention from U.S. antitrust...
Build Links Backwards
May 31, 2010, 9:23 amWhat would you do for a link you really wanted? Would you beg? Plead? Pay? Stand on your head? Kill a man? Ok, if you'd do the last one, stop here, and reconsider your life choices. Everyone else can keep reading. Content creation starts in a ton of ways; research, conjecture, tequila, current events' ideas come from everywhere. But it often ends...
Filter Google Alerts with Alerts Grader
May 31, 2010, 9:00 amI've been using Google Alerts for tracking my brand name(s) and important keyword mentions for ages. It has never been perfect and I am using it in combination with other tools that either add something or filter the results. I have already mentioned one tool that helps to make sense of your Google alerts . Today I am sharing an additional one...
How to Reinvigorate Your Lifeless Blog
May 31, 2010, 9:00 amI love to offer advice that contradicts some point or position I've long held. Well, not in matters of love, morality or personal values mind you, rather in how you go about managing or promoting your blog. Constant Flux Though I'm adamant about some things in life, when it comes to blogging I'm not. That's because the blogosphere is in constant...
Google Asks In-House Financial Experts To Grow War Chest
May 31, 2010, 7:30 amWhen Google distributed its first-quarter earnings report, many people were struck by one particular fact: the search giant had $26.5 billion in "cash, cash equivalents, and short-term marketable securities" as of March 31st. But Google's going out of its way to make sure that money doesn't just collect dust in a vault.
Google's...
Monster SEO: Interview with Matt Evans of Monster.com
May 31, 2010, 7:02 amSpotlight on Search Interview with Matt Evans of Monster.com There simply is no substitute for well rounded experience over a period of time to give a search marketer perspective and the skills to handle a variety of problems. Add to that "sink or swim" SEO training and you have a guy like Matt Evans, SEO Manager at Monster.com. In this interview,...
Apple Sells Two Million iPads In Under 60 Days
May 31, 2010, 4:25 am"Apple today announced that iPad sales have topped two million in less than 60 days since its launch on April 3."
Is now time for Google to address their own problem?
May 31, 2010, 1:49 amGiven the recent developments within the UK publishing industry, and the increasing comoditisation of linkage, is it time for Google to really start moving away from linkage as a signficiant factor within the search algorithm
Recovering Abandoned Cart Sales
May 31, 2010, 1:16 am"Trying different techniques to recover potential sales from abandoned cart sales."
Google's Mayday Update and What to Do About It
May 31, 2010, 12:21 amToday, Matt Cutts posted a new Google Webmaster Video addressing (finally!) the issues surrounding the many changes in long tail search engine results. Here is the video: Click here to view the embedded video. To recap , the Mayday update (as most are calling it) was a purposeful and permanent shift in how Google determines which sites should be...
Video of SEMPO President Sara Holoubek
May 31, 2010, 12:15 amSEMPO (Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization) President, Sara Holoubek was recently interviewed at this year's Search Engine Strategies conference. SEMPO has just released their 6th annual state of search report and the numbers are impressive for this year.
Keyword Research Tools - Build Your Own Adventure
May 30, 2010, 11:52 pmPosted by Sam Crocker Hi there Mozzers! My name is Sam Crocker and I work for Distilled. This is my first post here at SEOmoz and I am looking forward to your feedback! Background My mother used to scold me for misusing my toys, playing with my food and for having a bit too much energy. She was well within her rights, as I was a bit of a handful,...
Thank You
May 30, 2010, 11:30 pm
While we concentrate on Internet marketing here at Marketing Pilgrim 99% of the time we also like to take time to recognize things of true importance.
Along those lines, we just want to say thank you to all of the men and women who serve in the Armed Forces of the United States for their sacrifice. We thank their families as well...
Buzzing Blogger Community Blogging about SES Toronto 2010
May 30, 2010, 3:00 pmWhat Google calls "the buzzing blogger community" has been blogging about SES Toronto 2010, which will be held June 9-11 at the Hyatt Regency Toronto. So, what's the buzz?Click to read the rest of this post...
Video from Matt Cutts about Mayday Ranking Changes
May 30, 2010, 10:20 amMatt Cutts has released a video for all who have been looking for more official information about Google's ranking changes around the beginning of May.
Pandia Search Engine News Wrap-up May 30
May 30, 2010, 9:32 amHere are some of the search engine news headlines that have attracted our interest lately! Source: Microsoft Bing Taking Over iPhone Search Microsoft Bing will replace Google in the next version of the iPhone operating system to be released in June (Techcrunch May 28 2010) Russia's Yandex Search Engine Goes Global Yandex, the top search engine in...
Yahoo adds popular trends to image and video search
May 30, 2010, 8:47 amYahoo has updated their image and video search home pages . Below the search form you will now be presented with a some of the most popular images on Yahoo! Image (or Video) Search right now. The first page show some 18 images. If you wait, Yahoo will scroll through some 5 times 18 images. You can also go through the image sets by clicking on the...
Using encrypted Google search
May 30, 2010, 8:01 amIf you want to test out Google's new encrypted search, go to http s ://www.google.com instead of the regular http://www.google.com (note the "s" in https). You will see the familiar Google home page logo with SSL at the top. Google notes that SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a protocol that helps provide secure Internet communications for services...
Google Crawlers Cache robots.txt
May 30, 2010, 1:41 am"A valuable tip for webmasters creating content they don't want indexed/cached."
Johnny's Copyblogger Wrap-Up: Week of May 24, 2010
May 29, 2010, 3:24 pmI decided this week that social media has jumped the shark. It happened when I tweeted from the dentist's chair to announce that I was in the dentist's chair. I thought, "This is something the world needs to know about." Strangely, the world was apathetic, and no conversations ensued. The system failed. My tweet did not bring me closer to people...
Extreme Gamers Spend 48 Hours Per Week Gaming
May 29, 2010, 7:53 amExtreme gamers, which represent 4 percent of the total U.S. gaming population, spend 48.5 hours a week playing games, according to a new report from The NPD Group. Overall, U.S. gamers spend 13 hours per week playing games, up from 12.3 hours in 2009. When looking at the number of hours gamers spend per week playing video games, hours spent...
Apple Would Be Foolish to Drop Google for Bing
May 29, 2010, 7:02 amThe recently dispatched rumor du jour that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer would appear onstage at the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference has been supplanted by new speculation. Actually make that new, old speculation: Apple is going to replace Google as its default search engine for the iPhone with Microsoft's Bing: So goes the latest theory from...
Cup of Joe: Theres No Magic In The Land Of Unicorns
May 29, 2010, 6:18 am
The Internet is amazing place. Only online can unicorns go in search of Candy Mountain, babies dance their hearts out, and cats can LOL. With the Internet we can connect with friends we haven’t spoken to in 20 years. And we can meet new amazing people every day. Because of all of these amazing things the Internet can do,...
Twitter Monopoly for Stream Ads: What Does it Mean for Business?
May 29, 2010, 5:48 amWelcome back to the weekly Twitter column. The biggest and saddest Twitter news this week was another blow to the Twitter app developer community: Twitter banned all third party stream ads to monopolize advertising for it's own "featured tweets" ad platform. While on the one hand, it's understandable, Google doesn't allow competing services to...
Ann Curry's Error, Fergie's Bribe, and Idol's Kanye Moment: Buzz Week in Review
May 28, 2010, 7:11 pmby Mike Krumboltz Ever said something you didn't mean to say? Ever hit "reply-all" on an email by accident? Ever do anything really, really dumb? Well, you're in good company, especially this week. Several high-profile gaffes led to embarrassing moments for celebrities, who, frankly, should have known better. Ann Curry mix-up On "The Today Show,"...
Learn More: Privacy on Facebook
May 28, 2010, 5:15 pmAs you may have seen here earlier in the week, we announced simplified privacy controls in response to your feedback. These new settings are continuing to roll-out and they should be live to everyone in a week or so. Learn About the New Settings To help you use the new features and learn more about controlling your information on Facebook, we are...
Google Wave Turns One
May 28, 2010, 4:46 pmExactly one year ago today, a product that was supposed to represent a new and innovative means of communication debuted at Google I/O. Now, Google's celebrating Wave's first birthday by trying to convince a few more people to give the tech a chance. That observation isn't necessarily meant to slight Google Wave or the team behind it; almost any...
Board Nominations Close Tuesday, June 1!
May 28, 2010, 4:18 pmGreetings! Just a quick reminder for everyone. Nominations for the OpenSocial Board of Directors community seats are underway and will close on Tuesday, June 1, 2010. Please use the on-line form to nominate someone . We are looking forward to working with the community and to another great year for OpenSocial.
Globe GCASH uses PayPal to transform mobile phones into virtual wallets
May 28, 2010, 4:18 pmHi everyone it's Farhad Irani, VP of PayPal Asia Pacific, here with another exciting mobile commerce development from my region. With over 73 million mobile subscribers in the Philippines or 7 in 10 Filipinos carrying a phone, you can imagine that the mobile phone has become a central part of daily life here, from paying bills to making purchases...
Remembering Memorial Day
May 28, 2010, 3:44 pmby Mike Krumboltz For many, Memorial Day brings to mind images of parades and picnics, of barbecues and baseball games. What's sometimes forgotten are the reasons for the holiday: The sacrifices made by American soldiers in times of conflict. As the United States' death toll passes 1,000 in Afghanistan, Memorial Day takes on an especially poignant...
A Royal Scandal and American Absolution
May 28, 2010, 3:27 pmby Vera H-C Chan Celebrity miscreants, take a lesson from royalty: If you make your apologies quick, and head to another country where they like you, you may profit in the end. Less than a week after the Duchess of York got caught in an undercover tabloid sting selling access to her ex, Prince Andrew, Sarah Ferguson 's scheduled for a stop on...
Google Buzz Gets Reshare, Works on Blackberry, Nokia S60, Windows
May 28, 2010, 3:20 pmWhen Google launched Google Buzz in Gmail last February, industry watchers who didn't focus solely on the blatant privacy issues set to comparing the social conversation service to Twitter and Facebook. Many noted that Buzz lacked a way for users to easily share Buzz they've read with others. Users who saw buzz they liked from those they follow...
A Former Child Actor Falls, A Ban Falls Short, Auto Fans Fall In: What's the Buzz
May 28, 2010, 3:09 pmby Vera H-C Chan Our picks from the hottest searches of the day. Gary Coleman (breakout). The former child star died at age 42 following an intracranial hemorrhage. Where to Buy Silly Bandz (1,002%). Ban be danged... we want our stretchy distracting bracelets...and " silly bandz wholesale " (+546%) lookups look like people want to cash in on the...
Foursquare Being Used In Unique Ways For Social Awareness
May 28, 2010, 2:57 pmLove to see non-profit organizations like Earthjustice embracing social technologies. Each time someone checks in at an Earthjustice poster in the San Francisco BART stations, one of Earthjustices donors will give $10 to support their cause. The ads, featuring images of Lake Tahoe, oil rig platforms, and the little furry endangered pika, can be...
"Glee" And The Stones Driving Digital Music Sales
May 28, 2010, 2:40 pmComing on the heels of its mid-season April premiere, the music themed-TV show "Glee" saw digital downloads from its four compilations jump from 51,000 to 359,000, according to new data from Nielsen. The program's latest "Showstoppers" album topped the Billboard charts this week as digital sales of "Glee" songs surpassed 500,000. Songs from the...
Facebook Fan/Business Pages: Worth The Hype?
May 28, 2010, 2:40 pmYes! Facebook Fan Pages are a great way to connect with people, build your credibility and ultimately generate leads and grow your business. The problem is most people are making one BIG mistake when it comes to their pages, keep reading to find out what that mistake is. But first What Are Facebook Fan/Business Pages And Why Do You Need One?...
Yahoo Homepage Boss Set To Depart
May 28, 2010, 2:40 pmAn executive who's been with Yahoo for over five years is leaving the company. Word leaked this afternoon that Tapan Bhat - whose two titles are "Senior Vice President, Integrated Consumer Experience" and "Senior Vice President, Front Doors, Community and Network Services" - will depart. As you might gather from the names of those positions, Bhat...
“Glee” And The Stones Driving Digital Music Sales
May 28, 2010, 1:59 pmComing on the heels of its mid-season April premiere, the music themed-TV show "Glee" saw digital downloads from its four compilations jump from 51,000 to 359,000, according to new data from Nielsen.
The program's latest "Showstoppers" album topped the Billboard charts this week as digital sales of "Glee" songs...
A Former Child Actor Falls Ill, A Ban Falls Short, Auto Fans Fall In: What's the Buzz
May 28, 2010, 1:19 pmby Vera H-C Chan Our picks from the hottest searches of the day. Gary Coleman (breakout). The former child star is now on life support following an intracranial hemorrhage. Where to Buy Silly Bandz (1,002%). Ban be danged... we want our stretchy distracting bracelets...and " silly bandz wholesale " (+546%) lookups look like people want to cash in...
Foursquare Closing In On Checkin Milestone
May 28, 2010, 12:49 pm
While geo-location services often have trouble pinpointing exact location (studies have shown that 40% of the time they are inaccurate) that hasn’t hampered the growth of foursquare. In fact, the exponential growth of checkins is starting to produce numbers that boggle the mind. As marketers it is now getting to the point where...
Google's AdMob Buy Gives Ticket To Mobile Advertising in Emerging Markets
May 28, 2010, 12:30 pmGoogle announced it has closed its acquisition of AdMob, in a move that will likely open wide the doors of mobile online advertising in emerging markets. Click to read the rest of this post...
The Hidden Risk of Trusting Link Building Networks
May 28, 2010, 12:22 pmYesterday someone emailed me this quote "People that pay for things never complain. It's the guy you give something to that you can't please." ~Will Rogers and I think it is true on so many levels. If you want real feedback from someone ask them to put their money where their mouth is. Few will, and so most free feedback is garbage. But when you...
Search Agency update
May 28, 2010, 12:14 pmBits and bobs to keep up with search agency news...: Rosetta, Kenshoo and WebVisibleClick to read the rest of this post...
From Facebook Walls to the Polls in Colombia
May 28, 2010, 11:59 amOn Sunday, millions of people in Colombia will decide their country's political future by electing a new president. Some, like me, will submit ballots from overseas. If neither candidate gets more than 51 percent of the vote, the winner will be decided by a run-off election. Regardless of who wins, what will make this election stand out in...
Google's AdMob Buy Gives Ticket To Emerging Market Mobile Ad
May 28, 2010, 11:48 amGoogle announced it has closed its acquisition of AdMob , in a move that will likely open wide the doors of mobile online advertising of emerging markets. Click to read the rest of this post.
Amazon Launches Kindle For iPad App Globally
May 28, 2010, 11:48 amAmazon said today its Kindle App for iPad is now available in all countries where the device is sold. The move by Amazon comes as Apple today launched its iPad internationally in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, Switzerland and the UK. Amazon says the Kindle for iPad app will complement its Kindle reader, offering its...
B2B Marketers Severely Lag B2C Players in Social Media
May 28, 2010, 11:40 am
It’s a pretty well known fact that B2B marketers have been slower on the adoption curve of social media. We are not breaking news here at all. What’s always of interest though is the degree to which these two groups are separated and the reasons for this gap existing.
eMarketer and White Horse, a digital marketing agency, have...
Yahoo Updates Image, Video Search With Visual Trends
May 28, 2010, 11:25 amIf Carol Bartz's remarks about "pretty search" (made during the Yahoo Investor Day event) left you scratching your head, her company's acted quickly to clear up the confusion. Today, Yahoo updated its image and video search homepages so that trending terms are represented with rows of pictures. Five pages of images representing trending topics...
7 Quick-Start Techniques for Fighting the Fear to Write
May 28, 2010, 11:13 amCongratulations, you have a hot writing assignment! Maybe it's a proposal that could make your company's fortune. Maybe it's your first professional writing gig. It could even be a guest post for Copyblogger. The stakes are high . . . and you know it. In fact, it's all you can think about . . . the F.E.A.R. trying to sabotage your aspirations for...
Will Google Buzz Find Mainstream Appeal?
May 28, 2010, 11:00 amGoogle is starting to make some significant moves that may give Google Buzz a significant boost. For example, this week, a "Reshare" button was announced. This is essentially Google's version of the retweet. If you follow a Buzz user who posts an interesting update, you can hit the "reshare" button (down with the comment, like,...
Anti-Phishing Resources and Tips for Avoiding Phishing
May 28, 2010, 10:22 amEver heard of a phisher? Phishers are online fraudsters who try to phish or steal your personal information, which can include your adCenter or Yahoo! Search Marketing sign-in credentials. Phishing attempts are showing no sign.
Logitech Talks About its Role in Google TV
May 28, 2010, 10:22 amLast week at Google I/O, Google TV was announced by the company, along with its launch partners DISH Network, Sony, Intel, Adobe, Best Buy, and Logitech. Just after the unveiling presentation was given, WebProNews spoke with Ashish Arora, the Vice President and General Manager of Logitech Digital Home, about Logitech's role in the service. The...
How to Use Google Webmaster Tools for SEO Inspiration
May 28, 2010, 10:10 amEver since Google Webmaster Tools added the so called "search queries" data I've become a huge fan of them. I've listed the 10 Google SEO tools everybody should use in the past but to be honest I focus on three of them right now Google Insights, Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools for SEO inspiration. The wealth of information GWB offers...
Who cares about Facebook privacy? Not who you think.
May 28, 2010, 9:42 amby Josh Bernoff Go ahead. Name me one company of a significant size whose business suffered due to its treatment of people's private data. Unless I'm missing something, you can't. TJX put 45 million credit cards at risk. Do you even remember (it happened in 2007)? Has anybody stopped shopping at TJ Maxx? Can't see the impact. In the online world,...
Get More Content Inspiration with WordStream SEO for Firefox
May 28, 2010, 9:25 amWe have shared quite a few updates and tools by our good friends over at Wordstream . And this week I am pleased to share another awesome utility from the guys: WordStream SEO for Firefox addon which aims at helping content creators to brainstorm new ideas and target their content effectively. Note that the plugin requires Wordstream login data,...
Microsoft Moves Tag Out Of Beta
May 28, 2010, 9:10 amMicrosoft has moved its mobile barcode technology, Tag out of beta after 18 months of testing.
Users can download the Microsoft Tag app on their smartphone, take a photo of the Tag and be directed to a website, view a text message or linked to a phone number.
Microsoft says since its beta launch more than 1 billion Tags have been printed...
Google Analytics Book Earns Company's Endorsement
May 28, 2010, 8:55 amIf you're interested in marketing and Google Analytics, and have $27 and the time to read 450 pages to spare, Google thinks it knows of just the right book for you. Yesterday evening, the search giant took the rather unusual step of endorsing a privately-authored paperback called Performance Marketing with Google Analytics . Again, the book...
Facebook Calls for Beta Testers for Q&A Product
May 28, 2010, 8:55 amAs Facebook continues to take over the web in a variety of other ways, the social network is preparing to launch a new Q&A feature. "We think it will be as exciting as Facebook Photos and Facebook Events, but we need your help to make it great," Facebook says . The company is inviting beta testers to ask questions and provide answers about their...
Is This Google Algorithm Update Costing You?
May 28, 2010, 8:50 amHigh rankings in Google search results are coveted by nearly all webmasters, but Google is constantly making changes to keep them on their toes. Actually, Google is said to make roughly one change per day.
One recent change in particular, however, has gotten some webmasters riled up. It's being referred to as "Mayday," and some claim...
Is F.E.A.R. Holding You Back?
May 28, 2010, 8:43 amI've written in the past about the nasty effects of fear â" how it can lead to procrastination , creative blocks , and unremarkable content . It's our sense of fear that derails success more often than actual failed attempts at success. Looking deeper into the topic, however, I've discovered that often it's not actual fear we're dealing with....
Web Browser 'Tabnapping' Phishing Attack
May 28, 2010, 8:33 am"What we don't expect is that a page we've been looking at will change behind our backs, when we aren't looking."
Social Media Marketing Best Practices from Best Buy
May 28, 2010, 8:31 amAdam Singer, Paul Isakson, Brad Smith @ IMS Minneapolis Social Media advice is cheap and for the most part, you get what you pay for. Best practices social media marketing based on experience, well, that's another thing entirely. The Social Media Best Practices session at IMS Minneapolis earlier this week gave attendees access to first hand...
Social Media Strategy from A to Z
May 28, 2010, 8:26 amSocial media might be old . It might even be a dead buzzword . That's why you need to paint a picture that's more meaningful and encompasses what "social media" as a label really is. Some of us have been thrust into social media simply because the online landscape showed potential for online conversations. Others have been there for over a decade...
Automate Your Repetitious Work with iMacros (FireFox)
May 28, 2010, 8:26 amDo you come across any repetitious tasks or do the same things online? Would you like to get much more productive by automating what you can automate? If "Yes" is your answer, then today's tool will turn a great help. iMacros is the FireFox addons that allows you to record and replay repetitious work.
Find Images and Videos Buzzing in Yahoo! Search
May 28, 2010, 8:08 amWondering what kinds of pictures and videos people are checking out right now? We've redesigned the Yahoo! Image and Video search home pages for a visual snapshot of the most popular trending topics that people are looking for in Yahoo! Search. With both video and image search, we are featuring up to five pages of topics that are trending in...
Google MAYDAY is an algorithm update - confirmed by Matt Cutts
May 28, 2010, 7:58 amOn May 20 Matt Cutts confirmed that the Mayday ranking changes are an algorithm update. As our ongoing member discussion continues, Vanessa Fox clarifies some specific information that she learned from Google.
Mayday! Mayday! Google Changes Impact Long Tail Search
May 28, 2010, 6:11 am
Google is always very busy making changes to its search ranking methodology and the mythical algorithm that everyone chases. I say mythical only because for years it has been treated as if it were something that could be hunted, captured, contained, analyzed and then completely understood. That’s the marketing and sales talk...
Google, Finally, Acquires AdMob
May 28, 2010, 4:35 am"We believe that mobile advertising can play a significant role in every single marketing campaign. We're passionate about the unlimited possibilities in this space. Today, with AdMob, our work to make them a reality begins."
May 2010 Linkscape Update (and Whiteboard Explanations of How We Do It)
May 28, 2010, 12:54 amPosted by randfish As some of you likely noticed, Linkscape's index updated today with fresh data crawled over the past 30 days. Rather than simply provide the usual index update statistics, we thought it would be fun to do some whiteboard diagrams of how we make a Linkscape update happen here at the mozplex. We also felt guilty because our camera...
Insight Into Webmaster Tools - A Chat with Google's Maile Ohye
May 28, 2010, 12:25 amby Manoj Jasra
Last week I caught up with Maile Ohye, Senior Developer Programs Engineer at Google (on the Webmaster Tools team). Maile will be keynoting SES Toronto in a couple of weeks with a presentation titled: Inside Google Webmaster Central. I was able to get a sneak peak on some of the topics from that upcoming session in my chat with...
Trust Is Now More Important Than Ever
May 28, 2010, 12:14 amEverything online revolves around trust. It is not talked about that often but trust works on both sides of the spectrum. Your website visitors need trust in order to make any sort of contact with your business website and the search engines need to trust you in order to label you as an authority figure in the search engines. There are many ways...
Google Still Busy Killing Off the Link Graph, One Link at a Time
May 27, 2010, 8:11 pmNow that big media practices keyword stuffing , engage in link selling , are invested in SEO start ups , and are selling SEO services perhaps they won't publish ill-informed pablum when writing about SEO. :D Don't hold your breath waiting on that, but... Now that newspapers are looking to sell SEO services,
Microsoft adCenter Terms and Conditions Update
May 27, 2010, 6:45 pmFrom the notice that went out to adCenter advertisers this morning: As we shared in February, Microsoft and Yahoo! have formed the Yahoo! and Microsoft Search Alliance, a partnership that will enable you to reach even more potential customers through.
Alexa 101: The Anatomy of the Traffic Rank Graph
May 27, 2010, 6:12 pmThis is the first in a series of blog postings dissecting the Alexa site information pages. In this posting we take a detailed look at the "Traffic Stats" tab in the center of the page. This is a great place to start when trying to understand the traffic visiting a website, how that traffic is trending over time, and how it compares with competing...
Recent Interviews
May 27, 2010, 5:48 pmI was recently talking to my buddy Chris from Warlock Media , and he mentioned a blog post where he wrote "There are more sharks and less fish these days and the trend looks to continue for many years to come." I think as winners accumulate capital and markets consolidate being involved as a person well known in online marketing will become less...
An Eel Checks Out the Oil
May 27, 2010, 5:43 pmby Claudine Zap As the oil plume continues to blast the Gulf of Mexico with an underwater oil geyser , it's not just those on land who have had to adjust. The sea life is also trying to take stock , as this video below shows. An eel brave enough to approach the leak was caught on tape checking out the unnatural addition to its habitat. Amazingly,...
Facebook's Open Graph About to Get Significantly Bigger, Courtesy of Demand Media
May 27, 2010, 5:03 pmFacebook's Open Graph is about to get significantly bigger. I spoke with Demand Media VP, Marketing Jason Jaynes about the company's new integration with it, and it's a biggie, but not necessarily in the way you might think. When you think of Demand Media, you probably think about Demand Studios, the company's content production arm, and the sites...
Google Testing new AdWords Layout?
May 27, 2010, 4:56 pmDisplay URL above description
Prince of Persia: Review Roundup
May 27, 2010, 4:46 pmby Mike Krumboltz Anyone who has suffered through " Street Fighter ," " Super Mario Bros ," or the aptly titled " Max Payne " has reason to be wary of " Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time ." After all, movies inspired by video games have a dubious history. But, if critics are to be believed, the sandal-and-sword epic, based on the series of...
Five Reasons to See "SATC 2"
May 27, 2010, 4:46 pmby Claudine Zap OK, so the reviews are in for " Sex and the City 2 " and they are not as pretty as Carrie Bradshaw's outfits. But there are still plenty of reasons to see the chick flick on steroids. Here, our top five: 5 . " Sex and the City " the TV show. Yes, the brilliant, groundbreaking HBO comedy about the adventures of four single women has...
Google Makes Buzz Available From More Mobile Devices
May 27, 2010, 4:46 pmWe'll let you judge whether this is a good or bad thing, but Google is not giving up on its Buzz service. Today, in addition to introducing a "reshare" feature, the company decided to make Buzz available to people using many more types of smartphones. You may recall that Buzz only worked with iPhones and newer Android devices when it launched. ...
Symantec To Make Big Push On Mobile Security
May 27, 2010, 4:46 pmSymantec said today it is introducing a new security initiative called "Norton Everywhere" aimed at protecting any Internet connected device. As part of its Norton Everywhere initiative Symantec is launching Norton Smartphone Security Beta for Android in June. The new mobile application will give users the ability to remotely lock or erase data...
Google Completes Acquisition Of AdMob
May 27, 2010, 4:05 pmGoogle said today it has officially completed its acquisition of AdMob.
The Google Blog offers more details about the AdMob acquisition. "It's clear that mobile advertising is becoming a much larger part of our clients' and partners' strategies and with this acquisition, it's now a central part of our own business."
"In continuing...
Webmasters Say Google Algorithm Update Costing Them
May 27, 2010, 3:59 pmHigh rankings in Google search results are coveted by nearly all webmasters, but Google is constantly making changes to keep them on their toes. Actually, Google is said to make roughly one change per day . One recent change in particular, however, has gotten some webmasters riled up . It's being referred to as "Mayday," and some claim it is...
Google Moderator on YouTube Enables Real-Time Feedback from Your Audience
May 27, 2010, 3:51 pmStarting today, YouTube has integrated the ability to use Google Moderator into your YouTube channel. Moderator is a social platform that allows you to solicit ideas or questions on any topic, and have the community vote the best ones up to the top in real-time. YouTube previously used Google Moderator as part of its interviews with American...
Google Officially Acquires AdMob
May 27, 2010, 3:48 pmFollowing the clearance given by the FCC, Google has finally sealed its acquisition deal of mobile advertising company - AdMob . The Official Google Blog just announced the closing of the deal. And it's official - AdMob is now part of Google. And Google's mobile search advertising strategy has just gotten a big boost.
Who is the Copyblogger Internet Marketing Newsletter for?
May 27, 2010, 3:42 pmIt's only for people who want: A systematic, simple way to get a good grasp of the power of effective online marketing. Easy-to-navigate tutorials on the "Copyblogger method" of creating a profitable online business or marketing your offline business online. An organized reference guide to the "best of the best" that's appeared on Copyblogger over...
Google offers Dutch insights in elections
May 27, 2010, 3:14 pmAs some may have noticed in The Netherlands at this moment politicians are battling for the attention of the voters. In two weeks time the Dutch are voting for a new government and the many debates online even made several Twitter topics trending worldwide. The elections have also reached the attention of Google. Google Netherlands has launched a...
Official Facebook SDK For Android Released
May 27, 2010, 3:09 pmThe number of Android apps with ties to Facebook - while already large - is likely to soar over the next few weeks. Or the existing apps should get significantly better, at least, as the first official Facebook SDK for Android was released this afternoon.
Steven Soneff, who actually built the SDK for his internship project at Facebook,...
Idol Talk: Finally, the Finale
May 27, 2010, 2:40 pmby Vera H-C Chan Lee's in, Simon's out, and the future of " American Idol " is about as uncertain as the fate of a Top 24 contestant. The season 9 finale brings up plenty of meta questions: How will Lee DeWyze fare in the marketplace? Will Simon Cowell fans migrate to "X-Factor"? Can "Idol" reject Ian Bernando get a permanent gig hijacking the...
YouTube Launches Communication Hub for Partners
May 27, 2010, 2:34 pmYouTube has announced the launch of the YouTube Partner Communication Hub . The company calls this the "go-to spot" for news on the latest features, updates, and events for partners around the world. Aside from providing such updates, YouTube says the Hub also provides an easy way to access the site's various help resources.
Sony To Release eReader In Asia/Pacific Markets
May 27, 2010, 2:16 pmSony said today it would launch its eReader along with digital content in new Asia/Pacific markets this year and expand its presence in Europe. Sony said it will make its Reader available in Japan, China and Australia as well as in European countries including Italy and Spain. In each country the company said it will work with local retailers,...
Is MySpace a Place for Friends or Content?
May 27, 2010, 2:16 pmWhat is MySpace at this point? According to News Corp, which owns it, it's a content site. PaidContent quotes News Corp. COO Chase Carey : "In terms of the strategy, its not about going toe-to-toe with Facebook. MySpace is a content site. It's not where we need it to be, but it's headed in the right direction." If you actually go to MySpace.com ,...
Guest Blogging Spam – Please Don’t!
May 27, 2010, 2:13 pmOk, so this is happening now. I’ve shared my concerns about guest blogging going mainstream and thus becoming synonymous to “link building” (which in itself may sound absolutely normal but this aspect should not become the main purpose of guest blogging).
Here’s the first sign of that happening: guest posting email spam (ala link exchange...
eBay, Facebook, IAC, Yahoo Side With YouTube In Viacom Fight
May 27, 2010, 2:10 pmEarlier this month, Viacom's supporters came out in force, formally taking the corporation's side in its legal dispute with YouTube. Now eBay, Facebook, IAC, and Yahoo have acted to sort of balance the situation, stepping forward to ally themselves with YouTube.
Much as Disney, NBC, and Warner Bros. (along with 11 other organizations) did...
Outsourcing your SEO copywriting? 9 ways to get the best quote
May 27, 2010, 1:59 pmYesterday, a business owner sent over an interesting question. "Why do I have to answer so many questions before you give me a quote? Years ago, if I wanted a copywriter to write a print ad, I knew it would be X amount. Why can't there be more transparency?" He had a point. I don't list prices on my site - and neither do a number of my Certified...
Do You Go to MySpace for Friends or Content?
May 27, 2010, 1:55 pmWhat is MySpace at this point? According to News Corp, which owns it, it's a content site. PaidContent quotes News Corp. COO Chase Carey: "In terms of the strategy, it’s not about going toe-to-toe with Facebook. MySpace is a content site. It's not where we need it to be, but it's headed in the right direction."
If you actually go...
Reshare - Google Buzz Launches its Version of Retweeting
May 27, 2010, 1:12 pmGoogle has announced a new feature for Buzz, which is basically the service's version of the well-known retweet. If you follow a Buzz user who posts an interesting update, you can hit the "reshare" button (down with the comment, like, and email buttons) to repost that post to your own Buzz stream. Will a reshare button fuel Buzz growth? Comment...
Online Marketing Summit Minneapolis 2010
May 27, 2010, 1:07 pmIn conjunction with ClickZ, OMS has launched its 2010 23-City Tour from Seattle to New York and is coming to Minneapolis June 25th. OMS had an event in the Twin Cities last year at about the same time and provided a great mix of education and networking opportunity for internet marketers of all types. Best practices in Social Media, Search,...
Apple Tops Nasdaq - Steve Jobs Finally 'Beats Out' Bill Gates
May 27, 2010, 1:05 pmThis is huge. Literally. At the close of the stock market on Wednesday, Apple became the first company of the Nasdaq, meaning its value finally surpassed that of rival Microsoft.Click to read the rest of this post...
Google Gave U.S. Economy $54 bln Boost in 2009
May 27, 2010, 1:02 pmApple may have just overtaken Microsoft as the biggest U.S. technology company but Google is already positioning itself as the iPad maker's next competitor. Case in point, Google has issued a report on its impact on the U.S. economy in 2009, showing that the company has generated $54 billion worth of business activity across the country.Click to...
BP Tries to Kill the Spill, "American Idol" Winner Crowned, Fleet Week Begins: What's the Buzz
May 27, 2010, 12:49 pmby Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. BP Top Kill (Searches increased by +1,079%). BP's "Hail Mary" pass to fix the leak is so crazy it just might work. "American Idol" winner (+516%). Lee Dewyze took home the "Idol" crown . Rosie Huntington Whiteley (488%). The Victoria's Secret model may replace Megan Fox as the co-star...
Will Retweet-like "Reshare" Feature Give Google Buzz a Boost?
May 27, 2010, 12:44 pmGoogle has announced a new feature for Buzz, which is basically the service's version of the well-known retweet. If you follow a Buzz user who posts an interesting update, you can hit the "reshare" button (down with the comment, like, and email buttons) to repost that post to your own Buzz stream.
Will a reshare button fuel Buzz...
Two Ways to Transform Business
May 27, 2010, 12:32 pmIve recently noticed a significant change in the way we are approaching strategic discussions with our key Retail clients in the US. Conversations are no longer focused on how Microsoft can be a better advertising, hardware or software provider, but on how we can be a better business partner . Our clients want to know how we can help them solve...
Facebook Unveils Simplified Privacy Settings, Pursues Expansion With Sharegrove Buy
May 27, 2010, 12:30 pmCEO Mark Zuckerberg told the world on Monday that Facebook's "drastically simplified" privacy settings would roll out in the weeks to come and here they are. Zuckerberg presented them at a press conference, just two days after his op-ed in the Washington Post and some of the changes are already in place.Click to read the rest of this post...
Did newspapers just destroy SEO?
May 27, 2010, 11:46 amGoogle tries to kill even more links: "Newspapers are currently being contacted by Google and being asked to remove links (especially those placed after the articles have been written – ie comment links and links that are placed for payment in articles weeks or months after it had gone live). "
Google Confirms “Mayday” Update Impacts Long Tail Traffic
May 27, 2010, 11:38 amInteresting..... Let the theories begin! (just don't cite recently released patents that are 6yrs old hehe)
Google Moderator Adds Greater Interactivity to YouTube Experience
May 27, 2010, 11:30 am
I don’t get very excited about many things that are touted as innovation in the Internet marketing space. Why? It’s because everyone wants to hype the newest and freshest updates to their service as a “game changer!” or some other form of hyperbole that always easily out runs the reality of the service. In other words, I...
Google Brings Dashboard View to Latitude Location History
May 27, 2010, 11:12 amJust one day after a top Google product manager promised users would see more location-based services from the company, Google released a dashboard view for its Location History feature in Google Latitude. Google Latitude is the company's friend-finding application, a tool that lets users see where others are on Google Maps. Google last fall...
FCC Finds 30 Million Americans Experience Mobile Bill Shock
May 27, 2010, 11:00 amThe Federal Communications Commission has released the findings of an agency survey on the consumer mobile experience that found 30 million Americans have experienced "bill shock," a sudden increase in their monthly bill that is not caused by a change in their service plan. In addition,
YouTube Channels Get Google Moderator Integration
May 27, 2010, 11:00 amEarlier this month, we said to get ready to see more cool things based on Google Moderator, as Google launched an API for it. It turns out that Google's own YouTube has one of the first cool things we've seen based on the product since then. YouTube announced today that it is integrating Google Moderator into channels on the site. This means that...
Google Lets Brand Advertisers Target Top Sites
May 27, 2010, 9:57 amGoogle has announced a new filter for advertisers running brand campaigns, to allow their ads to only show on AdSense sites ranked among the top 1,000 largest on the web, as defined by the DoubleClick Ad Planner. Google says this will ensure ads reach a large number of users, but only on well-known sites "best suited for branding goals." "It's...
UK Xbox LIVE and In-Game Advertising Facts and Opportunities
May 27, 2010, 9:45 amOur team in the UK, no doubt buoyed by England's recent 3-1 thrashing of Mexico, have been putting together some facts and simple packages for advertisers to understand and harness the power of games advertising here in our green and pleasant land, in the run up to this Summer of Football. Facts: 30% of games spark up their console each and every...
TweetDeck Adds Some Popular Features
May 27, 2010, 9:39 amTwitter desktop and iPhone utility Tweetdeck , a popular time saver for managing your presence across multiple social networks,
Using Account Organization to Spend PPC Dollars More Intelligently - Part 1
May 27, 2010, 9:26 amby Mike Fleming
Most of the PPC accounts I look at do not take advantage of all of the different options that AdWords offers to organize your account for maximum success. Most of them simply organize their campaigns based upon keywords. They'll separate keywords into separate campaigns just because they're different keywords. Or, they'll...
Barnes & Noble Releases eReader App For iPad
May 27, 2010, 9:16 amBarnes & Noble today launched its free BN eReader app for iPad joining Amazon and Borders as the latest company to develop an app for the popular Apple device. Using Barnes & Noble's LendMe option, BN eReader for iPad users can share eBooks with others and read them on almost any device. "We've designed the most easy-to-use, highly customizable...
Google Defies Regulators In Germany, Hong Kong
May 27, 2010, 9:16 amSince Google first admitted that its Street View cars had collected private WiFi data, the company's been quick to delete the data when asked. But authorities in Germany and Hong Kong have asked Google to turn over the data, instead, and so far, Google has declined to cooperate. In Germany, Google indicated that giving the data to a regulator...
Do Facebook's New Privacy Settings Really Protect Your Privacy?
May 27, 2010, 9:00 amFacebook has introduced its latest changes to privacy settings, to appease disgruntled users who have been somewhere within the range of mildly irritated to outraged over the previous incarnation. The company is getting numerous pats on the back, or at least "that's more like it" responses from people for the most part (there are...
Facebook Privacy Problems: “I Can’t Quit You”
May 27, 2010, 8:43 amAn Honest and Open Letter to Facebook: You Are on Notice
Before I get started, I would like to affirm that these are my own thoughts and are in no way reflective of Distilled or any of its other employees opinions or beliefs. Viewer discretion is advised.
Dear World,
I have read a handful of articles in the last few weeks about why people...
Understanding Semantic Search and SEO
May 27, 2010, 8:42 amMy latest offering over on SEJ - I felt there was too much 'LSI' crap and not enough discussions out there on semantic analysis and how SEOs can better understand/use the concepts in KW research and content development. So here it is. Oh and a ton o resources at the end as always (including truly geeky videos).
Change Your Default Twitter Following Email Notifications
May 27, 2010, 8:42 amBy default (but optionally) Twitter sends you an email "notice" of each user who starts following you. Unlike Facebook, for example (where you have a separate page listing all your new contacts for you to be able to befriend any of them), those email alerts are the only way for you to timely find out about a recent connection on Twitter. This is...
The 7 Deadly Sins of Google Local Listings
May 27, 2010, 8:42 amIt really doesn't matter if you consider yourself a sinner or a saint for you to benefit from some lessons I have had to learn the hard way. You see, in my daily work I live in this universe where Google is the "Supreme Being". There are Google commandments and I have to make the choice to either do some shortcut-marketing, or play by their...
Understanding Semantic Search and SEO
May 27, 2010, 8:41 amA framework for semantic analytic centric content Regardless of what I've said about the whole 'LSI' and Google crap in the past, one things worth bearing in mind is that all modern search engines do semantic analysis to one extent or another. It may be phrase based, using PLSA, HTTM or a hybrid. That part is really inconsequential.
Open Discussion : Favorite Social Media Monitoring Tool?
May 27, 2010, 8:24 amThe Search & Social team is currently comparing various social media monitoring tools like Radian6, Trackur, Visible Technologies, Reinvigorate and several others. We're also looking into the nuances between tracking and monitoring : * Social buzz mentions * Incoming links via Facebook, Twitter and microblogging * Social media & influence mapping...
Brand Security Issues With Geo-Listings
May 27, 2010, 8:24 amLocal business listing hijacking is a real situation that can and will have an impact upon a business brand name. If the business is reliant on the local consumer for revenue, local business listings have evolved into a good local marketing tool. In order to tap into this business marketing tool you have to claim, update and manage your local...
Mozilla Readies App to Sync Firefox to iPhone
May 27, 2010, 8:19 amMozilla is working on a new iPhone app for Firefox users, called Firefox Home. It's based on Firefox Sync (formerly Weave Sync), and allows users to access their Firefox browsing history, bookmarks, and tabs from the most recent browser session on the desktop.
"Firefox Home for iPhone is part of a broader Mozilla effort to provide a more...
How to Optimize Your PPC Campaign to Profit From Every Click (Advanced)
May 27, 2010, 8:06 amby Stoney deGeyter
Warning: This is a very complicated and math heavy post. It is best read slowly in small doses to ensure you can fully digest it all. I will also point out that I'm not a math or analytics expert so what you get here is my way of doing things which is probably far removed from the official Geek's Guide to Web Analtyics and...
Landing Page Makeover Clinic #26: IGrowKids.com.au
May 27, 2010, 7:27 amThis is another addition to our ongoing series of tutorials and case studies on landing pages that work. Karen Omerod wants babies to be more comfy and parents less hassled dressing them. She's designed an adorable line of yoga-styled, easy on/easy off, tops and bottoms. What's not so cute is that Karen's sales are poor. She understands her market...
Google Not Turning Over Data to Regulators
May 27, 2010, 7:21 am
While everyone puts Facebook into the privacy cross hairs because they are the easiest target right now, there is still plenty of privacy drama surrounding Google. In Europe and in Hong Kong Google is under pressure to turn over data to regulators. This data is the “Whoops, we didn’t mean that!” data that has been gathered...
Google Keeps Track of Where You Have Been With Service
May 27, 2010, 6:31 am
I would suspect that you have had enough of talking about privacy and Facebook so we are going to take a look at other things that have gone on in the world. One of those ‘things’ is the announcement by Google that they are in Beta with the Google Latitude and Google Location History to provide a dashboard for users to see...
The Online Video Encoding Formats War: Apple Vs Flash Vs H264 - Infographic
May 27, 2010, 6:30 amIf you haven’t heard the news lately, a new technology war has seen the light, and this time the two main fighters are Apple and Adobe, owner of the almost ubiquitous Flash playback video technology used across the web to play video clips. The key argument is that Apple does not want to support Flash to play video on its devices. Neither now nor...
EBay, Facebook, Yahoo, Want An End To Viacom YouTube Lawsuit
May 27, 2010, 6:05 am"Yahoo! Inc., IAC/InterActiveCorp, EBay Inc. and Facebook Inc. urged a judge to dismiss Viacom Inc.'s copyright-infringement lawsuit against Google Inc.'s YouTube video-sharing website."
Social YouTube: Google Moderator Added To YouTube
May 27, 2010, 5:58 am"...we've integrated the ability to use Google Moderator into every single YouTube channel."
All Links are Not Created Equal: 10 Illustrations on Search Engines' Valuation of Links
May 27, 2010, 5:15 amPosted by randfish In 1997, Google's founders created an algorithmic method to determine importance and popularity based on several key principles: Links on the web can be interpreted as votes that are cast by the source for the target All votes are, initially, considered equal Over the course of executing the algorithm on a link graph,
Killer PPC Account Reviews
May 27, 2010, 4:37 amThe Distilled Crew in London was busy last week at conferences, A4uexpo and SMX Advanced London to be exact. But the US team was doing the same. I presented at Search Exchange in Charlotte, NC last week. I promised the attendees my slides and a bonus PDF, and so you guys get them too.
This presentation was on PPC Account Reviews and what to look...
Local Links For Local People
May 27, 2010, 2:15 amShaun lists 10 places and ways to get links for your local SEO campaign.
5 Important Blog Marketing Tips
May 27, 2010, 12:13 amIt is important to understand that a blog is just another website and requires some sort of activities and efforts to really fuel the fire and get some traffic moving into the blog posts. Depending on what platform you use for blogging there are many ways to be able to get some newly found traffic heading over to your blog over time.
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley Moves the Web
May 26, 2010, 8:03 pmby Claudine Zap Megan Fox is out. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is in. Maybe. If the rumors are true, the Victoria's Secret model who sizzles on the runway will be adding new spark to " Transformers 3 ." Acting experience? Come on! This is "Transformers 3," not Shakespeare. Acting chops may be over-rated anyway when you bring so much drama to a part -...
New tool for brand advertisers on the Google Content Network
May 26, 2010, 7:41 pmOver the past year, we've focused on building new solutions on the Google Content Network for campaigns focused on branding. Last year we introduced frequency capping to help you manage how often your Content Network campaigns reach the right people. We then launched an " above the fold " filter to allow you to show ads only in places that appear...
Magnetic Enables Advertisers to Retarget Search Data to Target Audiences Higher Up The Purchase Funnel
May 26, 2010, 4:55 pmMagnetic announced integration of their search data marketplace with leading ad networks on monday. This partnership will enable display ad buyers on the Collective, interCLICK and Undertone ad networks to retarget users of second tier search engines who have performed a search in the last 30 days.Click to read the rest of this post...
The SEOmoz Office Gets a New Do
May 26, 2010, 4:26 pmPosted by jennita Disclaimer: You will not learn any SEO, CRO, SMO or Analytics in this post. You may however feel the urge to watch the Wizard of Oz and eat crepes. As you may have heard, SEOmoz has moved offices (woo hoo!). So we thought it would be nice to take you on a tour of our new digs. We're quite proud that we outgrew the old space and...
EU Authorities Find Search Engines Still In Breach Of Privacy Law
May 26, 2010, 4:23 pmEven if Facebook's received the lion's share of attention from privacy advocates today, a group of European data protection authorities hasn't forgotten about Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft. The Article 29 Data Protection Working Party said earlier they're still not obeying an EU data protection directive.
The companies are all supposed to...
Do You Think These New Facebook Privacy Settings Really Protect Your Privacy?
May 26, 2010, 4:14 pmFacebook introduced its latest set of privacy settings changes today to appease disgruntled users who have been somewhere within the range of mildly irritated to outraged over the previous incarnation. The company is getting numerous pats on the back, or at least "that's more like it" responses from people for the most part. Do you like the latest...
Amazon Ties Walmart In U.S. Online Music Share
May 26, 2010, 4:14 pmApple's iTunes store continues to be the top music retailer, with 28 percent of all music purchased by U.S. consumers, a 4 percent increase since Q1 2009, according to The NPD Group.
Amazon increased its music market share 3 percent to tie Walmart for the second spot at 12 percent. Sales of digital tracks and albums accounted for 40 percent of...
Sex and the City 2: Reviewer Walk of Shame
May 26, 2010, 4:03 pmby Mike Krumboltz " Sex and the City 2 " hits theaters on Thursday, and while fans of the fashionable foursome are likely to show up in droves, critics are urging moviegoers to lower their expectations. A lot. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gives the movie one star out of four and describes the four main characters as "flyweight bubbleheads...
National 2010 Doodle 4 Google Winner Announced
May 26, 2010, 3:50 pmTomorrow, another special doodle will grace Google's homepage, and if you like it, compliments should be directed at third grader Makenzie Melton, not a team of professional designers. Melton has been declared the national winner of this year's Doodle 4 Google competition. The competition drew over 33,000 submissions, so Melton's achievement is a...
AdMob Compares Android/iPhone Stats
May 26, 2010, 3:33 pmAdMob, which Google recently got the green light from the FTC to acquire, has released its monthly Mobile Metrics Report (pdf), this time detailing the global base of Android, compared to that of the iPhone. During a keynote presentation at Google I/O, in which the company unveiled the latest version of Android, Google announced that Android sees...
A 'Carpet of Frogs' in Greece
May 26, 2010, 3:05 pmby Mike Krumboltz An economy on the brink. Horrible pollution. And now a "carpet of frogs" to contend with? Greece sure has it tough these days. On Wednesday, a horde of frogs caused a two-hour closure on one of Greece's major highways near the city of Thessaloniki. The city's traffic police chief Giorgos Thanoglou says that the "millions" of...
Verizon Diving Deeper Into Online Relationships With New Ad Campaign
May 26, 2010, 2:47 pmAn often quoted stat about the new reality we lives in today points out that 20 years ago the average American had less than 25 friends. Today the average American has more than 200. Of course, we all realize on some level that this blossoming of friendship doesn't equate to having 200 best friends. In fact, the ties we have to the outer fringes...
Facebook Press Conference and Zuckerberg’s Thoughts on Privacy
May 26, 2010, 2:25 pm
Mark Zuckerberg and other Facebook heavies stepped up today to address their new privacy controls. This happens a day before they take the message to DC in a less than public forum. I suspect that’s where the real magic will happen which is what this is all really about: keeping Facebook off the radar of government and private...
Facebook Introduces New Privacy Settings
May 26, 2010, 2:24 pmFacebook has introduced new privacy settings aimed at making it easier for users to have more control over their personal information and what they share. A new control now makes it easy to share on Facebook with friends, and friends of friends or everyone in one click. The settings are immediately applied and displayed in a grid. Users will be...
Carol Bartz Announces October Search Update
May 26, 2010, 2:20 pmEven as its deal with Microsoft continues to draw towards a conclusion, Yahoo is apparently working on some significant upgrades in terms of search. Indeed, Carol Bartz was quite adamant during her presentation at Yahoo Investor Day 2010 that her company will remain a contender in this field.
At one point, Bartz encouraged members of the...
Queen Elizabeth Speaks to Parliament, Christina Aguilera Apologizes to Fans, Mass Effect Will Be a Movie: What's the Buzz
May 26, 2010, 12:59 pmby Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. Christina Aguilera (Searches increased by +1,031%). The singer is postponing her summer tour, citing not enough time to rehearse. Queen Elizabeth (+489%). In true British tradition, the Queen opened Parliament and laid out the plans of the coalition government. Oh, and she wore a crown...
Idol Talk: More Questions Than Answers
May 26, 2010, 12:59 pmby Vera H-C Chan And so Season 9 ends... almost. The " American Idol " year that was supposed to be dominated by the ladies came down to a boy-girl standoff. Former frontrunner Crystal Bowersox and judges' favorite Lee DeWyze faced off with guitars in hand and vocals (mostly) on point. The panel kept wanting more energy from DeWyze on performance...
Farmville Maker Zynga Teams Up with Yahoo
May 26, 2010, 12:58 pmYahoo and Zynga , makers of the massively popular Farvmville and Mafia Wars games on Facebook, have struck a new deal. Yahoo now gets these games as well, which is a significant indication that Zynga will not need Facebook alone to thrive. A representative for Yahoo tells WebProNews, "The partnership integrates Zynga's most popular social games...
Facebook Acquires Group Chat/Share Platform Sharegrove
May 26, 2010, 12:58 pmFacebook has acquired Sharegrove , a social site that already utilizes Facebook Connect to let Facebook users have private conversations and share photos, videos, and links with groups of their Facebook friends at the same time. One can only speculate that Facebook's plan with this is to simply roll this kind of functionality into Facebook itself....
Anchor Intelligence Scores High In Traffic Generation And Overall Performance
May 26, 2010, 12:08 pmWatch that space. Anchor Intelligence, the provider of traffic quality solutions, is a gem to keep an eye on in the future.Click to read the rest of this post...
BlogWire Launches Beta Of HealthyBlogging.net Community and Services
May 26, 2010, 11:33 am BlogWire has launched the public beta version of HealthyBlogging.net. Yes, obviously, the new community is designed to help the PR and marketers industries promote their news and products to bloggers who write on health/healthy/green living topics. Click to read the rest of this post...
Microsoft Exec On Cloud Computing: "We're All In"
May 26, 2010, 11:32 amExpect to see a lot more headlines with the words "Microsoft" and "cloud" both in them over the coming years. Stephen Elop, President of the Microsoft Business Division, indicated today that his company is very, very interested in virtualization technology. Elop was speaking at a Microsoft event in Amsterdam when, according to Dan Grabham , he...
comScore's Smart Control Tool To Revolutionize Digital Ad ROI Metrics ?
May 26, 2010, 11:18 amMarket research firm comScore has unveiled its new generation ad ROI metrics weapon, calling it Smart Control. Here's why.Click to read the rest of this post...
Is MasterCard Declaring War on PayPal?
May 26, 2010, 11:14 amThis week MasterCard announced a new developer initiative, which will place MasterCard payment technology in mobile and online apps. "We are excited about tapping into the ingenuity of software developers around the globe to help create the next generation of game-changing payment applications," said Josh Peirez, Chief Innovation Officer,...
FDA Partners With Drugs.com On Health Information
May 26, 2010, 10:29 amThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration said today it is partnering with medication information site Drugs.com to expand access to the FDA's consumer health information. Drugs.com is focused on providing people with information to better manage their own health care and to assist in reducing medical errors. The site attracts more than 12 million...
BBC Ties Facebook, Twitter Into iPlayer
May 26, 2010, 10:29 amThe iPlayer, which is a popular video-on-demand service offered by the BBC in the UK, is getting a lot more social. A new beta version ties into both Facebook and Twitter (for starters), offering users the option to let friends know what they're viewing and recommend different shows. This integration was accomplished through the creation of a new...
Apple Surpasses Microsoft as Most Valuable Tech Company
May 26, 2010, 10:17 am"In intraday trading shortly after 2:30 p.m., Apple shares rose 1.8 percent, which gave the company a value of $227.1 billion. Shares of Microsoft declined about 1 percent, giving the company a market capitalization of $226.3 billion."
Google Exec Hints at Why Nexus One Was Leapfrogged by HTC Incredible, Evo 4G
May 26, 2010, 10:12 amGoogle Vice President of Engineering Vic Gundotra is a busy man. Just days of after eviscerating Apple for being a closed company at Google I/O in San Francisco, Gundotra graced the stage at TechCrunch Disrupt in New York City for a mobile panel. Panel host Michael Arrington didn't grill Gundotra on his aggressive stance versus Apple, which is...
Take A Few Blogging Hints From Keynote Speakers
May 26, 2010, 9:37 amWhat if your writing could have the captivating influence of a keynote speaker? Writing is little more than presenting with words, after all. It could be that writers aren't learning from the speakers who captivate so well. Earlier this month, I attended presentations by Chris Brogan , Mitch Joel , and Julien Smith when they came to town. If you...
Metacafe Launches Site Focused On Movies
May 26, 2010, 9:25 amMetacafe is introducing a new site focused on movies called Metacafe Movies. The company says Metacafe Movies will offer original programming, behind-the-scenes clips, trailers and a 3-D showcase. The site will also feature a section for HD movie trailers along with a guide to summer blockbusters. "Our singular focus is on building the premier...
DOJ To Probe Apple's Music Dominance
May 26, 2010, 9:25 amThe U.S. Department of Justice is in the early stages of an investigation into how Apple runs its digital music business, according to several reports. While the probe is broad in scope, reportedly of particular interest to the Feds are alleged heavy handed tactics used against labels that participated in Amazon's Daily Deal promotion, which...
Google and DISH Network Renew Advertising Partnership
May 26, 2010, 9:25 amLast week at Google I/O, we witnessed the unveiling of Google TV . One of Google's launch partners is DISH Network, who will offer the service to its customers beginning in the fall, via its HD DVR receivers. Google's relationship with DISH Network goes back much further than this announcement, however. Since 2007, the two companies have had a...
No Robots Allowed
May 26, 2010, 9:14 amThere will come a time when robots will be in your target market, but that day is ( at least ) a few years away. In the meantime, we all need to remind ourselves the purpose of putting together quality copy on the internet: It must be unique and fresh, lest we get spammed for duplicate content It must be readable and persuasive, lest you lose...
Creative Uses For RSS Referrer Tracking By Bloggers?
May 26, 2010, 9:14 amOn Search Engine Land, Dixon Jones' blog and other sites, there's a bit of fancy code that instantly refreshes the URL you're seeing to add in referrer tracking parameters. This is usually used for conversion tracking, but I think other uses are possible. Here are some ideas of my own - I'd love to hear yours in the comments here or on Sphinn....
LinkedIn Tightens Integration With Twitter
May 26, 2010, 9:02 amLinkedIn users who are interested in what their professional contacts are thinking on a minute-to-minute basis should now find it much easier to track down their tweets. Late yesterday, LinkedIn upgraded its Tweets application by improving the app's people-finding features. That's right - no more having to go to Twitter and perform a search every...
Fly.com Makes It Easier To Search For Flights
May 26, 2010, 8:55 amA new concept in online flight search officially takes off in the UK today with the launch of Fly.com.
Already hugely successful abroad, simple-to-use Fly.com scours all the major airlines, international carriers and online travel sites, and then helps people easily sort and refine results by criteria such as number of stops and departure...
How to Monetize Your Site Without Causing an Audience Revolt
May 26, 2010, 8:51 amIf you haven't experienced it, you've seen it. Whether you're a blogger or a marketer " or both " you've seen an audience rise up in revolt the moment someone tries to make a buck. You've sold out! You didn't disclose! Whatever the contention, one thing is clear. Something backfired and backfired hard. Nobody likes having to tip-toe around the...
More Spam Including Legitimate Social Media Links
May 26, 2010, 8:20 amSecurity firm Symantec tells WebProNews that nine out of ten spam emails now contain a URL link in the message, and this month, around 5% of all domains found in spam URLs belonged to genuine websites. The top four of those belong to well-known social networking, blogging, file sharing and user-generated content sites.
"Domains belonging to...
3 Wordpress Plugins to Tweak Your Wordpress Blog Pagination
May 26, 2010, 8:10 amLast week I came across a great post outlining the impact of pagination on SEO , so today I am sharing some Wordpress plugins to help you tweak your Wordpress blog pagination: 1. WordPress SEO Pager Summary: Best feature: SEO-friendly Look and feel Shows the last post date on hover-over Customization: Pager appearance (color, labels, style); SEO...
New Facebook Privacy Settings Released, May 26
May 26, 2010, 8:07 am"I am pleased to say that with these changes the overhaul of Facebook's privacy model is complete."
Twitter Users Refer Videos – A Lot
May 26, 2010, 7:53 am
Twitter does a lot of things for a lot of people. It’s obviously not for everyone (which is a dirty little secret of the social media industry) but it is very powerful with the right folks. One of the uses of Twitter is passing along favorite video clips. In fact, some recent ‘research’ by TubeMogul as reported by Mashable...
Best Practices In SEO And Marketing: IMS MN 2010
May 26, 2010, 7:36 amAt the recent Minneapolis Integrated Marketing Summit, TopRank Online Marketing CEO Lee Odden moderated an exciting panel of a diverse group of SEO professionals: Alex Bennert â" Chief Search Strategist at The Wall Street Journal Brian Kleisner â" Search Engine Marketing Manager for FindLaw Bill Leake â" CEO of Apogee Results The focus of...
Measuring ROI in Social Media
May 26, 2010, 7:31 amThe best presentation at last week's Social Media Strategies conference in Santa Clara, CA, was the keynote by John Squire, Chief Strategy Officer of Coremetrics, on measuring ROI in Social Media. He presented the latest research into social media and a quick case study from Seton Hall University.Click to read the rest of this post...
Yahoo Adding More Facebook Features to Email
May 26, 2010, 6:46 am
Yahoo is still trying to get itself repositioned in the market as the clock ticks down on its life as a search company. As part of that effort they are integrating more Facebook features into their popular e-mail client. This process started on Monday and will continue to be more evident moving forward.
The Wall Street Journal...
Dell B2B Social Media Huddle â" Videos and Photos
May 26, 2010, 6:33 amYesterday in London, we hosted the second Dell B2B event staged for businesses trying to get the most from social media. Wed been to the 1st at their head office in Bracknell, and were so impressed we were keen to help them bring the conference to London. The day was kicked off by Neville Hobson , the renowned business blogger and podcaster, who...
Facebook Setting Up A DC Dog and Pony Show About Privacy
May 26, 2010, 6:11 am
Facebook is certainly knee deep in the whole privacy thing now and the evidence can be seen in what they are busy trying to accomplish in Washington, DC. Of course, the best way to manage this kind of delicate issue is to do things a way that does not draw attention to yourself from the nation’s capitol but that shipped sailed...
New AdWords Ad Extensions Tab
May 26, 2010, 6:01 am"From the Ad Extensions tab, you can see statistics for any of your campaign ad extensions."
10 Summer PPC Tips from Industry Experts
May 26, 2010, 5:05 amJust a few days from the start of June, theres no doubt that summer is here. With the weather warmer, schools soon out and holidays booked, its sometimes easy to take the hand off the PPC tiller and let paid search campaigns wander lonely.
Overcome the Google Analytics Learning Curve in 20 Minutes
May 26, 2010, 2:37 amPosted by Danny Dover As recently as a month ago I was a victim of a state of mind I call Analytics Dismissal Disorder . This mindset is common after hearing about the importance of analytics, installing the tracking code and then getting overwhelmed by all of the graphs and scary numbers. When I suffered from analytics dismissal disorder (which...
SEO No-No List to Use Not Abuse!
May 26, 2010, 12:26 amAre you a business owner that is still trying to utilize SEO techniques that where popular years ago? Do you realize that many approaches that were used back in the day are now highly frowned upon? Building up a business online now is more than just mass directory submissions. It is a combination of efforts that really build a brand online and not...
Defining A Relevant Link With The View To To Give Best 'Value'
May 25, 2010, 10:04 pm"Let say you have a hotel booking site that specializes in hotels in the Toronto area. Assume that you are trying to rank for Toronto Hotels. Does that mean that you would be better off only exchanging links with hotel sites whose websites had 'Toronto Hotels' as their main keyword density?"
PayPal X Developers Driving Innovation
May 25, 2010, 8:10 pmHi all â" It's Damon Hougland, senior director of PayPal X, PayPal's open platform here. It's clear that we are in the era of the software developer and our mission is to empower them and provide tools that will help bring their innovations to life. We're working to create the next innovation in payments and to change the way we pay. Today,...
Meet Barbara Mori
May 25, 2010, 7:37 pmby Claudine Zap Barbara Mori may not be a household name like Salma Hayek or Cameron Diaz . Yet. But the actress is getting a lot of attention in the Search box. The Uruguay-born talent is currently starring in the Bollywood film " Kites ." Set in Las Vegas and Mexico in three languages, and directed by Anurag Basu , it is intended to initiate...
Google's Browser-Based Data Collection Opt-Out: Staying Ahead of Regulation
May 25, 2010, 7:09 pmGoogle is rolling out an opt-out browser add-on to allow any web user to block their data from being shared with websites using Google Analytics. This goes beyond the requisite privacy policies and disclosure on websites using Google tracking tools, and seems to get ahead of most possible forms of policy regulation on user privacy. In other words,...
3m Launches Heat Mapping Tool To Improve Page Attention
May 25, 2010, 6:06 pmHeat mapping tools and web page interactive overlays have been popular topics for the past few years and have proven handy in improving conversion and visitor clicks. 3m now offers web site owners a tool to check page layouts and given feedback on how to manipulate the design to improve it.Click to read the rest of this post...
Promoting voice and video chat
May 25, 2010, 5:02 pmOrkut is all about keeping people connected, and a lot of people use orkut's voice and video chat to stay in touch. Lately, we've been hard at work making it work even better , and the reception has been so great that we're giving voice and video chat a new home at the top of the chat window: If you've never used voice or video chat in orkut, it's...
Nearly 9 out of 10 Internet Users in Hong Kong View Online Video
May 25, 2010, 4:45 pmcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its March 2010 rankings of the top video properties in Hong Kong based on data from its comScore Video Metrix service. The report found that 88.5 percent of Hong Kong's Internet population viewed video online in March, with visitors averaging more than 10 hours...
Google Named In Class Action Suit Over Street View
May 25, 2010, 4:45 pmGoogle has been named in a new class action lawsuit filed by Carp Law Offices on behalf of Galaxy Internet Services and it WiFi users in Massachusetts. The suit is focused on the collection and storage of WiFi information by Google's Street View team. The suit alleges Google had covert packet sniffing WiFi receivers to help gather data on WiFi...
Facebook Schedules Privacy Briefing For Congress
May 25, 2010, 4:45 pmFacebook's employees in Washington, D.C. are going to be in a very uncomfortable position if whatever privacy changes the social network implements tomorrow aren't well-received. Facebook has invited members of the House and Senate to attend a special, privacy-centric briefing later this week. As the screenshot of an event page below shows, this...
Easily add Digg to your site with our WordPress plugin and Drupal module
May 25, 2010, 4:34 pmA lot of content on Digg is from blogs and smaller publishers and we wanted to make it super-simple for these sites to add Digg functionality to their sites.
Adobe Talks Future Innovation with Both Flash and HTML5
May 25, 2010, 4:21 pmThere were a lot of announcements to take in during Google I/O last week, but among them were some HTML5 efforts from Adobe, illustrating the company's dedication to utilizing the technologies it sees playing significant roles in the future of the web.
Of course a widely publicized tiff between Adobe and Apple over HTML5 and Flash came about...
How Much is a Google Top Spot Worth?
May 25, 2010, 4:04 pmChitika, search-based online advertising network, reckons that top rankings on Google is worth double the traffic of ranking in the number 2 spot, in a report announced on their blog today.Click to read the rest of this post...
Google: Voters Want Gov't To Consider Google Apps
May 25, 2010, 3:42 pmPolls are tricky things under the best of circumstances, and extra caution is necessary when the results of a poll appear to favor the same company that sponsored it. However, Google seems to have demonstrated that a significant majority of Americans are interested in seeing their state and local governments adopt Google Apps. Working on behalf...
How Will Advertising Work on Google TV?
May 25, 2010, 3:42 pmDuring the keynote at Google I/O last week, in which Google introduced both Google TV and the latest version of Android (Froyo ), VP of Engineering Vic Gundotra talked about advertising with regards to mobile (and this was before the AdMob acquisition got the green light from the FTC ). "It turns out we know a little bit about advertising," he...
Google Generated $54B For U.S in 2009 With Ads, Grants, Search
May 25, 2010, 3:06 pmHow do you counter criticism that you are a greedy giant that likes to pummel user privacy for profit? Show you can be open and then show how much money companies are making because of your products. Google did both this week. Yesterday, Google revealed its ad revenue splits for its AdSense for content and search products. Today,
comScore Announces Introduction of AdEffx Smart Control⢠Ground-Breaking Methodology for Measuring Digital Advertising Effectiveness
May 25, 2010, 2:20 pmcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today announced the introduction of AdEffx Smart Controlâ¢, an innovative methodological approach representing the next generation in measuring digital advertising effectiveness. The Smart Control methodology, based on validated and time-tested marketing mix modeling...
Google Unveils Analytics-Blocking Add-On
May 25, 2010, 2:12 pmPeople who are interested in evading Google Analytics can now easily do so thanks to Google itself. This afternoon, the company released a beta version of the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on, and there's a new option for site owners who feel protective of their visitors, too.
These are significant steps on Google's part. On...
TripAdvisor Launches New iPhone App
May 25, 2010, 1:57 pmOnline travel website TripAdvisor has launched a new TripAdvisor iPhone application, available on Apple's App Store. The free applications allow users to search for popular hotels, restaurants, attractions and cheap airfares. The application is available in 13 languages, giving users a localized experience on TripAdvisor.
Publish2 Wants to Make the AP Obsolete
May 25, 2010, 1:57 pmAn interesting product for publishers was launched this week, and it's goal is to take out the Associated Press. This may be easier said than done, but the concept is intriguing and is bound to get people talking. It's called the Publish2 News Exchange , and was formed by Publish2 Inc. It allows publishers to create and manage content sharing...
SJP's "SATC 2" Worries, "Lost" Finale Explained, Sunscreen Exposed: What's the Buzz
May 25, 2010, 1:45 pmby Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. Sarah Jessica Parker (Searches increased by +904%). The "SATC 2" star was nervous about the opening. And, according to some early reviews, she may have reason to be worried . "Lost" finale explained (+331%). Sure, in some alternate universe, the ending probably makes perfect sense ....
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Microsoft adCenter Reports (But Were Afraid to Ask)
May 25, 2010, 1:16 pmIt ocurred to me that while we've been covering tips, tricks and tools for keeping your adCenter campaigns in good working order, it's been a while since we've done a post on running reports in adCenter. All the optimizations in the world aren't going to help you reach your search engine marketing (SEM) goals unless you're able to review your...
The New Chrome is Now Available for Windows, Mac, Linux
May 25, 2010, 12:48 pmGoogle has launched new stable versions of its Chrome browser for Windows, Mac, and Linux. "Since last December, we've been chipping away at bugs and building in new features to get the Mac and Linux versions caught up with the Windows version, and now we can finally announce that the Mac and Linux versions are ready for prime time," says Chrome...
Red Hot Topics at SES Toronto 2010
May 25, 2010, 12:42 pmI know, I know. If you live in a warmer climate, you'll find the "heat alert" now in effect for the City of Toronto rather quaint. Still, with temperatures hitting 30C (approaching 40 on the ol' Humidex), Torontonians may find it irresistible to let down their hair a bit, climb a tree, fly a kite, or at least have an important-looking business...
Back to Hits
May 25, 2010, 12:36 pmOver the years we've worked hard to make complex data easy to access and easy to understand. We've released features like Advanced Segmentation , which lets you segment your traffic on the fly, Custom Reporting - the ability to create and share your own reports-, and Analytics Intelligence , an algorithmic intelligence engine that automatically...
Twitter Closes API Doors To Third-Party Ads
May 25, 2010, 12:32 pmA month after releasing its promoted Tweets service, Twitter announced through its official blog that it is now blocking third-party advertisers from using its API.Click to read the rest of this post...
Yahoo Targets Emerging Markets With Nokia And Koprol Deals
May 25, 2010, 12:26 pmDon't get fooled by the recent reports about Yahoo and Nokia joining hands on maps, mail and chat services. Yes, they are both ageing twentieth-century web and mobile brands and yes this deal seems to be intended to bridge the gap with rivals Google and Apple. However, if you read closely, there might very well be more to it than what the press in...
Metasearch engine Clusty becomes Yippy
May 25, 2010, 12:24 pmThe metasearch engines - search engines that combine data from several search engines - are not as popular as they used to be in the 1990's. But they can still add something new to your search experience, especially as regards user interface and the way they present results. One of our favorite metasearch engines have been Clusty, owned and...
How to Build Your Brand Working For Someone Else
May 25, 2010, 11:28 amMy name is Lisa and I built my personal brand on someone else’s dime. And you can do it, too. Branded employees sometimes get a bad rap for being time-wasting job hoppers, but the truth is forming a strong personal brand while working for someone else benefits both the employer and employee...(Lisa Barone guest post on the Bruce Clay, Inc....
The Value of AdWords Brand Bidding
May 25, 2010, 11:15 amIn my last post I talked about a method for testing the value of using AdWords on your brand. The results are now in: Average Hourly Revenue from brand keywords when Running AdWords: £3471 Average Hourly Revenue from brand keywords without AdWords: £3278 Average Hourly Cost of brand keywords: £0.86 WIN! Methodology Traffic in this account...
Match.com Partners With Yahoo On New Dating Service
May 25, 2010, 11:03 amDating website Match.com, owned by Internet company IAC/InterActiveCorp, has reached a deal to become the exclusive online dating site on Yahoo. Match.com will replace Yahoo Personals, allowing existing users to switch over to the new service "Match.com on Yahoo." The two companies say they are working together to help users make a smooth...
New York Times Paywall Loophole - Access Through Links
May 25, 2010, 11:03 amBack in January, the New York Times announced that it would be gravitating to a metered paywall system at the beginning of 2011. This would let readers access an as-of-yet unspecified number of articles for free each month, until requiring payment for further access. Meanwhile, print subscribers would have full access to content online. The...
Get a Great Deal When You Join Third Tribe Before June 1, 2010
May 25, 2010, 10:52 amAre you stuck in the middle with your online marketing? Too much integrity to be an Internet marketing huckster, and too much respect for cash flow to be a social media idealist? What if I told you the middle is exactly the place to be? And what if I also told you can get a ton of Internet marketing education for pennies on the dollar, all while...
Yahoo Buys Location-Based Social Network
May 25, 2010, 10:41 amAs many people predicted it would, Yahoo's acquired a location-based social network, announcing the deal this morning. But rather than buy Foursquare, which was the subject of numerous acquisition rumors, Yahoo picked up Koprol, an organization based in Indonesia. Koprol's operation should sound familiar, anyway. Yahoo explained in a statement,...
Video SEO; the nuts and bolts
May 25, 2010, 10:28 amTerry Van Horne dropped another post on the Trail in his series on Universal Search - this time out he's got part II on Video and SEO. This does take on a somewhat new light given the recent announcement of Google TV... dontcha think?
Weekly Search & Social News: 05/25/2010
May 25, 2010, 10:11 amHello to you my weary web warriors and welcome to another edition of ' 7 Days of Search and Social ' - as is generally the case when there are (a few) conferences on' the blogging world tends to slow down (with the exception of the coverage of said events). Last week was no different. Easily the most notable story was Google's announcement of...
Facebook Privacy Issues Getting Worse
May 25, 2010, 10:00 amPrivacy is always a concern when you are spending time on the internet. Facebook is one company who has landed itself in some hot water over privacy of late and it has just gotten worse. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Facebook (and a number of other social-networking sites) have been sharing users personal data with advertisers. The...
Six things you can do to remove bad press from the search results
May 25, 2010, 9:36 amNo matter how good your company is, some people will always write something negative about your site, even if you tried your best to help them. What can you do if web pages with negative comments appear on Google's first result page for your company name?
Eliminating the Profit Motive in Unethical SEO
May 25, 2010, 9:25 amOver the past couple months a lot of buzz has been generated regarding unethical business practices in the search marketing industry. We all know the deal - if it's not spammers claiming the age old claim of guaranteed first page rankings, it's " independent authorities " selling rankings for profit, lead generation businesses selling badges...
How to Optimize Your PPC Campaign to Profit From Every Click (For Beginners)
May 25, 2010, 9:25 amby Stoney deGeyter
Google, Yahoo and Bing have made setting up pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns fairly easy and painless. Within hours you can have your ads up and running, and delivering traffic to your website for a small fee per click. Unfortunately, the ease in which a campaign can be set up often convinces business owners that they can...
Google Generated $54b for Businesses, Publishers, Non-profits in '09
May 25, 2010, 9:19 amGoogle has released a report that details its economic impact in each of the 50 states in the U.S. In the report, Google says it generated $54 billion of economic activity for American businesses, website publishers, and non-profits in 2009. "In a time of tighter budgets and a slow economic recovery,
Competition Analysis Basics for SEO
May 25, 2010, 9:14 amIn my last article titled, “Keyword Research Basics for SEO” I discussed keyword research and the basics of keyword selection. Of course – you can't solidify your targets until you understand what you're up against. All the keyword research in the world won't help you rank for the keyword phrase “windows” in 6...
Facebook’s Simplified Privacy Controls Will Start Appearing Tomorrow
May 25, 2010, 9:09 am
Now that Facebook has taken the obligatory ‘walk of shame’ following “The Great Privacy Train Wreck of ‘10” it has to actually do something. Talk is cheap and Facebook has been doing an awful lot of talking as of late. Thankfully at TechCrunch Disrupt they are starting the rumor that their action is just a day...
Google Reveals AdSense Revenue Share, Is it Satisfactory?
May 25, 2010, 9:00 amGoogle has kept its AdSense revenue share numbers a secret for quite some time, but has now decided to disclose them - or at least some of them. They've revealed the percentages for AdSense for Content and AdSense for Search, but are remaining mum on some of the other offerings. Still, content and search are the two biggies.
Is Google's revenue...
Google’s AdSense Splits No Longer a ‘Secret’
May 25, 2010, 8:49 am
For years Google has kept the splits it gives its AdSense publishers those using Google search services on their sites. It has successfully avoided this revelation but some recent pressure from Italy has created the environment where Google pretty much has to give the info in order to help its cause.
The Wall Street Journal...
IS SEO, PPC Or Social Media The Key For International Success?
May 25, 2010, 8:46 amAttendees at the seventh International Search Summit in Berlin on 7th June should be able to answer this question following a day filled with tips and insights into international search marketing. With SEO , PPC and Social Media specialists from around the globe sharing their knowledge and advice, delegates will have the unique opportunity to...
Manage Your SEO Team Effectively with SEJ Tools Messaging System
May 25, 2010, 8:45 amSEJ Tools have a powerful internal messaging system that allows you to keep in touch with your co-workers, distribute task add notes, etc. Let's see how it works. Create a New Message To create a new message, simply go to Inbox in your top bar and click "New Message". SEJ Tools give you a handy option to message all your team members all at once...
$100 Android Tablets To Arrive This Year
May 25, 2010, 8:43 amA Taiwanese processor supplier has some exciting news for people who think they'd like the iPad, but would prefer not to shell out $500 to $830. A Via Technologies executive indicated late yesterday that Android tablets starting at $100 should be released in the U.S. later this year.
Richard Brown, Via's vice president of marketing,...
The Future of Niche Social Networking
May 25, 2010, 8:23 amNiche social networking is here, and it’s been around much longer than some of you probably realize. Let’s explore niche social networking, what might be holding it back, and where things are going well for niche social networks.
Google's U.S. economic impact
May 25, 2010, 8:22 am(Cross-posted to the Google Public Policy Blog ) In 1978, people told Douglas Twiddy he was crazy when he started renting out vacation homes in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. More than 30 years later, his son Ross is using our AdWords advertising program to help attract prospective renters â" and grow his small business, Twiddy . Thanks in...
Join the Experiment: Do Comment Links Still Hold Any Value?
May 25, 2010, 8:22 amWell, hi to all and thank you Ann from granting me this opportunity to post on Search Engine Journal. I am relatively new to the SEO world (3 years) and even newer still to the profession of link building (2.5 years), and yet isn't it amazing, even as an old man (40 years next month), one can learn quite a bit in a short space of time thanks to...
Oh No! Twitter Wants to Get Paid!
May 25, 2010, 8:10 am
The nerve! How dare those guys at Twitter even consider first booting all third party ad networks to the curb. Now they think they can charge publishers who are making money from the Twitter stream too! At least that’s what their new terms and conditions state in a truly less than clear manner, which is the Twitter way. I say...
Can Experimenting With Your Marketing Hurt Your Business?
May 25, 2010, 7:30 amI thoroughly enjoyed my first trip to Winnipeg, speaking to a couple of hundred marketers at the Canadian Marketing Associate Digital Days conference. (You can download the slides for my talk, “How Web Marketing Changes the Old Marketing Rules.”) I spent lots of time hammering away at how to do it wrong quickly, how to experiment in...
Google Says It Generated $54 Billion Of U.S. Economic Activity In 2009
May 25, 2010, 7:14 am"In our report, we're announcing that in 2009 we generated a total of $54 billion of economic activity for American businesses, website publishers and non-profits."
Enterprise SEO Interview with Scott Skurnick of Edmunds.com
May 25, 2010, 7:08 amSpotlight on Search Interview with Scott Skurnick of Edmunds.com For every SEO guru speaking at a conference, there are 10 or 20 more SEO experts you might not have heard of, making things happen in amazing ways. Scott Skurnick has worked in the Search Marketing industry as long as anyone I know on the conference speaking circuit and has a...
Facebook Rolls Out New Privacy Settings on May 26
May 25, 2010, 6:40 am"Social network giant Facebook will roll out a new set of privacy settings to all its users starting on 26 May."
Google Finally Discloses How Much it Earns from AdSense
May 25, 2010, 6:39 amIf you are running Google AdSense in all its flavors (for content, for search, for feeds) since ages ago, have you ever wondered how much money Google is earning from it? It took Google this long to divulge this information so might as well create some noise about it, right? In the spirit of greater transparency with AdSense publishers, Google...
Yahoo! Buys Location-Based Mobile Community Site â" Kropol
May 25, 2010, 6:16 amIf Yahoo can't afford to buy Foursquare, might as well buy something that offers something similar to the location-based mobile community site. And that's what Yahoo just did as it buys Kropol an Indonesian startup which lets users interact and share knowledge about their community via their mobile phones. Koprol lets its members connect and share...
Helping Kids Find Their Way Home
May 25, 2010, 3:07 amToday is International Missing Children's Day, a day to celebrate efforts that have led to the recovery of missing children, reflect on the plight of those who are still missing, and dedicate ourselves anew to helping bring those children home. What started as a local effort in one country has spread across four continents, with events and...
Spying on (and Learning from) Your Competitors: Step 5 of the 8-Step SEO Research Strategy
May 25, 2010, 1:30 amPosted by laura This post was originally in YOUmoz , and was promoted to the main blog because it provides great value and interest to our community. The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of SEOmoz, Inc. Let me start by asking you this. What makes your site: Different? Remarkable? In competitive landscapes...
How Does Google Feel About SEO Services?
May 25, 2010, 12:21 amIt is important to know that Google actually endorses SEO related services when they are done correctly. On Google's webmaster central they have a series of bullet points that should be a concern for every person or business of acquiring some sort of search engine optimization services for their business. They cover some of the most important...
Buying Dropped Domains for Link Development
May 24, 2010, 10:18 pm"Recently I found a nice typo domain for a competitors' generic keyword domain and could not resist."
Mutts Make Mark in Dog Shows
May 24, 2010, 7:03 pmby Claudine Zap Step aside, snooty pooches with bloodlines that are older than the American colonies. No more looking down your snouts at the mixed-breed dog. The American Kennel Club has put a paw out to the American mutt, the dog of dogs, which has never been allowed to compete alongside the purebreds. These pooches are a hodge-podge of spare...
Rangers Declare Bankruptcy
May 24, 2010, 7:03 pmby Mike Krumboltz Owning a baseball team isn't always a license to print money. Take the Texas Rangers , for example. Ten years after signing Alex Rodriguez to a then unheard of $252 million contract, the MLB franchise has filed for bankruptcy. Now, it's probably not exactly fair to blame the team's financial failings on the current Yankees...
Lohan's New Jewelry
May 24, 2010, 5:32 pmby Mike Krumboltz She's not going to the pokey, but troubled actress Lindsay Lohan did receive a sentence of a different sort. The tabloid mainstay must submit to weekly drug tests . In addition, Ms. Lohan will have to wear a "SCRAM bracelet" that monitors her alcoholic intake. Following Judge Marsha Revel's ruling, Web searches on " scram...
Android Chief Hints At "Mindblowing" Next Version
May 24, 2010, 4:40 pmLate last week, we learned that the next version of Android is codenamed "Gingerbread," and that it should be released in the fourth quarter of this year. Now, the Googler in charge of Android has started to narrow down the timeframe and talk up the product. It's important to note that Andy Rubin, the vice president of engineering in question,...
HBO/(RED)'s HIV documentary streaming live tonight on YouTube
May 24, 2010, 4:11 pmTonight, at 9.30 p.m. ET, we're teaming up with (RED) to live-stream the documentary "The Lazarus Effect" on the Join(RED) YouTube Channel . The half-hour documentary, directed by Lance Bangs and executive produced by Spike Jonze, captures a series of powerful testimonials from HIV positive patients. Many of these stories seem like miracles, but...
MSN Homepage Gets Bing Prominence Tweak
May 24, 2010, 4:07 pmUpdate 2: Microsoft has decided to give Bing a little bit more prominence on the recently redesigned MSN homepage. Probably not a bad idea, considering MSN.com had nearly 90 million unique visitors in March, according to Compete. Bing had 52 million.
Update: After some delay, Microsoft is reportedly now rolling out the new MSN home...
Twitter to Not Allow Any Third Party In-stream Ads
May 24, 2010, 4:03 pm
Twitter took a big step toward claiming their territory (which, after all, they created) regarding what advertising will or will not appear in the Twitter stream. The short answer is that no third party ads will appear there so the Promoted Tweets program introduced by Twitter will be the sole provider of advertising.
This is...
Commercializing Social Media: Facebook E-commerce and Shopping Apps
May 24, 2010, 3:33 pmLet me first start out by stating that social media hasn't historically been a place for corporate commercialization, but if done right, can still be incorporated. Social shopping, is becoming more and more prevalent and integrated within other social media platforms.
Amazon Launches New WebStore E-Commerce Product
May 24, 2010, 3:13 pmToday Amazon launched a new WebStore product , which lets retailers build sites around Amazon's e-commerce platform. Those who use the product can give customers an Amazon-like online shopping experience, with minimal, actual Amazon branding. "With the new Amazon WebStore, we are making it simple for retailers and manufacturers to build and...
Google Partners With Biggest Energy Monitor Manufacturer
May 24, 2010, 3:03 pmThe Google PowerMeter energy monitoring tool may be ready to go from interesting experiment to omnipresent product. Google announced today that it's entered a partnership with Current Cost, the largest global supplier of real-time displays that monitor energy usage.
Neither organization is wasting time on paperwork or small-scale...
Next best thing to Bing
May 24, 2010, 2:56 pmHave you been itching to try out Bing? Looking longingly at the screenshots around the Web wondering how those lucky few got early access? Wondering who you have to know to get an invite code to check out all your favorite queries ? How about the next best thing? Head over to the BehindBing site at http://www.discoverbing.com/behindbing/ and get...
Join us June 1st @ 10am PT for the Bing Webcast
May 24, 2010, 2:56 pmWant more Bing? How about an interactive Webcast where we'll walk you through all the cool features in our new decision engine. Sure you could read the Product Guide (located here ) but that would require, you know, reading. Better just to watch. Plus, while you can talk to the Product Guide it likely won't respond (and if it does let us...
Update on SafeSearch
May 24, 2010, 2:56 pmYou may have read our post last week where we talked about how Smart Motion Preview and SafeSearch work together. As we mentioned, Microsoft is never done when it comes to providing tools to help customers, whether they are large enterprises, local school districts or parents make sure they can provide a safe searching experience when using Bing....
Why Google and Sony Chose One Another For Google TV
May 24, 2010, 2:27 pmDuring the final day of Google I/O last week, we saw Google unveil Google TV along with its launch partners Adobe, Logitech, Intel, Best Buy, Dish Network, and Sony. The CEOs of each of these companies made their appearances and spoke with Google CEO Eric Schmidt on stage about what Google's offering will mean to the future of television, as well...
How is Google AdSense Revenue Share Calculated?
May 24, 2010, 1:42 pmThe network of official Google blogs has to be commended for the transparency in recent posts. Their admission and apology for data collecting via StreetView and their candidness over the closure of the Nexus One webstore are truly great examples of business blogging. Today, the Inside Adwords blog finally discloses the how AdSense revenue share...
Sensational Summer Searching: Trends and Opportunities for UK Advertisers
May 24, 2010, 1:42 pm2010 has already been an interesting year so far: the final throes of a recession, a cold and snowy start to the year, volcanoes and earthquakes galore and political change in number 10 all before the summer has even started! Nonetheless, there is still much to look forward to in the coming months in all areas of the search market. To assist you...
A Pitcher Passes, War-Era Chemicals Persists, a Drug Lord Dominates: What's the Buzz
May 24, 2010, 12:50 pmby Vera H-C Chan Our picks from the hottest searches of the day. Jose Lima (breakout). The former MLB pitcher died at age 37 of cardiac arrest. Grilling Recipes (+873%). BBQ maestros are gearing up for the Memorial Day weekend. Snapple (+483%). Designer tea? Two formulas from "Celebrity Apprentice" finalists. Agent Orange (+260%). The toxic...
Twitter Decides it Will Be the Only One Offering Ads in the Timeline
May 24, 2010, 12:39 pmTwitter announced today that it will not allow any advertising from third parties in its timeline or any service that leverages the Twitter API. The company is updating its terms of service to reflect its new policy. The reasoning for this is basically described as a way to "meter the impact" of Twitter's own Promoted Tweets (launched at the...
Free Pass: Integrated Marketing Summit Minneapolis
May 24, 2010, 11:47 amTomorrow the Integrated Marketing Summit in Minneapolis kicks off with a mix of educational sessions and learning opportunities that run the gamut of online marketing topics. The event includes a keynote from Chad Mitchell of Forrester Research as well as sessions on multi-channel marketing, social media, social CRM, Search Marketing and mobile. I...
Making your video news more discoverable: best practices for news publishers
May 24, 2010, 11:36 amPosted by Benoit Lafortune, Sr. Strategist Google News, and Olivia Ma, YouTube News Manager Video has always been a unique storytelling tool, especially useful when reporting the news. From raw, citizen-reported videos from the streets of Tehran , to student documentaries highlighting under-reported issues in local communities, or investigative...
Facebook's Zuckerberg Responds To Mounting Pressure Over Privacy Issues
May 24, 2010, 11:20 amThe privacy issue ghost haunting online companies is once more back to the forefront of the news today as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged in an op-ed in the Washington Post, that his company "just missed the mark" on its privacy settings and pledged to implement changes "as soon as possible".Click to read the rest of this post...
8 Tools to Better Understand Your Target Audience
May 24, 2010, 11:01 amWe read a lot in the SEO world about things like keyword research, analyzing your competitors, and other things to get traffic to your site. But I don’t see information very often about deciding who your target audience is and how to make sure your keyword choices will actually reach them.
This is one way to take your keyword research to the...
Major Facebook Backer Hints At Further Investments
May 24, 2010, 10:50 amDigital Sky Technologies, the Russian investment firm that's poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Facebook, is preparing to go on the hunt again. Its founding partner and CEO, Yuri Milner, talked this weekend about making additional investments, and also said a little about Facebook's worth.
Let's address the matters chronologically...
The WebM Project: Open Video Format
May 24, 2010, 10:44 amThe WebM open media project was announced recently and will hopefully change how we load and handle videos online for a long time to come. As of right now, depending on what website you're on, you have to adhere to certain video formats' and there's quite a few. If you're not very tech savvy, putting a video up may just be too much of a hassle and...
Google Reveals AdSense Revenue Share
May 24, 2010, 10:23 amGoogle has finally decided to disclose the revenue share for AdSense - or at least part of AdSense. They've revealed the percentages for AdSense for Content and AdSense for Search, but are remaining mum on some of the other offerings. Still, content and search are the two biggies.
The company says this is an effort to increase transparency, and...
Yahoo: You Know, We've Got Web TV Offerings Too
May 24, 2010, 10:21 amA few days ago Google unleashed Google TV upon the world, and got a lot of people talking. Not everyone has been impressed initially, as Google is certainly not the first company to blend television and the web. However, having been present during the keynote presentation in which Google TV was introduced, I can tell you, there was a lot of...
Yahoo and Nokia Team Up on Mobile Messaging, Maps
May 24, 2010, 10:21 amYahoo and Nokia officially announced a partnership, which has been expected for several days. The two companies, which have collaborated for five years, will provide consumers with e-mail, instant messaging and maps and navigation services. Specifically under the partnership: - Nokia will be the exclusive, global provider of Yahoo's maps and...
Google's Stock Gets More "Buy" Recommendations
May 24, 2010, 10:21 amThere's good news for Google's CFO (and the company's shareholders) this morning: two different financial firms have declared now a great time to purchase Google's stock. MKM Partners declared Google a "buy" this morning, while Citi added Google to its "Top Picks" list. MKM analyst Tim Boyd explained according to a Benzinga article "that the...
Google TV; it's all about the data | Algorithm Matters | Search Engines
May 24, 2010, 10:17 amWhat did I tell ya? All about the GTV today - SNIP - Google just never stops freaking/creeping me out. Sure, as a geek some of the tech is deffo interesting, but as a human being, it's often disconcerting. A while back I started collecting some patents from Google (and Microsoft) on advertisement targeting for TV. Sure, not (yet) directly...
Website Monitoring And Testing: How To Monitor And Test Your Web Site Performance
May 24, 2010, 10:12 amHas your web server enough bandwidth to meet your readers requests? Would you know if your hosting provider is a bit sloppy and if it lets your site become inaccessible to the public, even if only for a few minutes? How do you find out if your web pages load fast enough now that Google places ranking value also on page load times? Monitoring and...
10 Ways to Show Value from Your SEO Efforts
May 24, 2010, 9:28 amIt can be hard to show clients value from your SEO campaigns because like in any service-based industry, it is not a tangible product. So over the years of working with clients and managing their search engine optimization strategies, I have come up with some ways to help show value and make SEO feel tangible to the client. Daily Status Logs...
Link Building with Great Web Design
May 24, 2010, 9:28 amDoes your website (or your client's) have a beautiful design? You can take advantage of a unique, creatively designed websites in your link building efforts by submitting them to the following types of sites. CSS Galleries Was your site's template designed using CSS? Then you have a world of options in terms of submitting your site to CSS...
27 Awesome Blogs about Blogging
May 24, 2010, 9:22 amSo, you want to be a better blogger, eh? Well, you can either try to go out there and learn everything on your own, or you can pick up some helpful tips from these 27 awesome blogs about blogging.
IBM Pays $1.4 Billion to Acquire Sterling Commerce from AT&T
May 24, 2010, 9:22 amIBM and AT&T announced today that IBM is acquiring Sterling Commerce from AT&T for the price of $1.4 billion. Sterling Commerce provides B2B solutions for 80% of the Fortune 500. "Businesses today are operating in a highly competitive global environment in which lines between actions taking place within and outside an organization's four walls are...
FTC Makes Difficult Decision to Clear Google-AdMob Deal
May 24, 2010, 9:05 am
In what was deemed a ‘difficult decision’ the FTC has let Google clear the regulatory hurdle needed to OK the purchase of AdMob. One of the unlikely thank you notes that Google can send out in getting this decision is to Apple since the FTC their acquisition of Quattro Wireless and the introduction of iAd as two factors that...
Google Assimilates Travel Site's Team
May 24, 2010, 8:59 amA few travel experts are themselves completing a trip this morning. Google's managed to get the folks behind Ruba - a travel site - to join its organization, and they're all going to the Googleplex. Ruba is 15 months old, and prior to this arrangement, was backed by Benchmark Capital (which has also invested in eBay, Twitter, and Yelp) and Draper...
2 Cross-SERPs Analysis Tools to Check Out
May 24, 2010, 8:42 amWe come across plenty of SERP- (search engine result page) -based tools daily. Most of them work the following way: they grab search results for the given term and re-arrange the data so that you could run some type of analysis or discover something your wouldn't be able to see otherwise. Most of those tools are "linear": they rely on only one set...
How to Overcome Your Three Greatest Blogging Challenges
May 24, 2010, 8:36 amLet's say you thought it would be pretty neat to climb Mount Everest. You find two "how-to" web sites that explain what's involved. One details a tough training regimen, spells out all of the financial costs, has a serious conversation with you about the risks, and gives you a complete list of the gear you'll need to maximize your chances of a...
5 Ways Being An SEO Helps You With Online Dating
May 24, 2010, 8:25 amPosted by Tom_C Howdy mozzers. Since a lot of people in the search space are geeks, it naturally follows that there are plenty of single SEO guys and gals. Therefore this post is for you! Actually, it's more of a collection of random SEO tips and tricks I've picked up recently that I decided to hang together by applying the tips to online dating...
Facebook to Give Users Way to Turn Off Third-Party Services
May 24, 2010, 8:19 amFacebook privacy concerns have been around for as long as Facebook itself has, but since F8, the company's developer conference last month, the concerns have never been so public, or so rampant. F8 of course kicked off Facebook's Open Graph initiative , connecting more of the web together through Facebook profiles and info, injecting public user...
Foursquare in favor of location-based marketing
May 24, 2010, 8:02 amby Mike Moran
Image via Wikipedia
I admit it. When Twitter first came out, I didn't get it. I even wrote a blog post called, "I'm a Twitter Twit." But I am not letting the same thing happen with Foursquare. Foursquare isn't for every business, but if you want people to show up at your location, you ought to check out how Foursquare works. It...
Consolidation and Amalgamation of Your Websites, the Pros and Cons!
May 24, 2010, 8:02 amDaily SEO Tips gives a great list of the pros and cons of running multple sites targeting niches within a vertical versus running one comprehensive site targeting the wider vertical.
Why Regulators Are Treating Google Like the Next Microsoft
May 24, 2010, 7:56 amWhere Google is concerned, I'm never one to refrain from commenting on other reporters' stories or perspectives. Every now and then I'll come across a piece that begs for commentary. The New York Times' Brad Stone published one such report, title: " Regulators Are Watching Google Over Antitrust Concerns ." Here is the thesis: Almost a decade after...
Zuckerberg Pens Response to Privacy Backlash
May 24, 2010, 7:24 am
It looks like everyone is discovering just how far Facebook will allow itself to be pushed before it admits either it was wrong about something or it feels it’s backed far enough into a corner to talk. This time it was Mark Zuckerberg who wrote a response in The Washington Post that tells the world just where he and the company...
BIGLIST SEO Blog Reviews 052410
May 24, 2010, 6:41 amIt's time for a new update to the BIGLIST review of SEO blogs . I started with a list of 15 new blogs in a queue for this update and four made the cut. Once a new blog hits our radar, we watch it for a few weeks before reviewing. Broken links, neglecting to post (far too many one trick pony SEO blogs out there) or design that makes content...
Twitter Bans Third Party Ad Networks From Injecting Paid Tweets
May 24, 2010, 6:34 am"aside from Promoted Tweets, we will not allow any third party to inject paid tweets into a timeline on any service that leverages the Twitter API."
10 Insights for Your Site from Web 2.0
May 24, 2010, 4:26 amPhil Greenwood, who manages the development of our B2B advertising site , attended Web 2.0 in San Francisco this month and I thought his Top 10 things I Learned at Web 2.0 Expo were worth sharing with everyone. Sure we all knew most of these, but maybe not all of them and anyway, its always good to remind ourselves of whats important: 10. If 40%...
Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg on Privacy: "Sometimes we move too fast."
May 24, 2010, 12:26 am"Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has admitted that Facebook "missed the mark" over recent privacy concerns."
Must Do Twitter SEO Tips
May 24, 2010, 12:15 amI think it is crazy when I come across a Twitter account that doesn't have a bio section filled in or even a URL in the domain section. How can you forget to put your website domain in your profile? Here are some ways to really keep your SEO elements moving in the right direction with your Twitter account. Here are some of the top must do Twitter...
A few thoughts on SSL Search
May 23, 2010, 7:32 pmI'm incredibly happy that Google has added the option to search over SSL by going to https://www.google.com/ " note the "s" in "https." I'm writing this blog post in a hotel right now because I'm in Europe for a week doing a series of tech talks, but I could just as easily be working down at local Dublin cafe with an open WiFi hotspot. In both...
Japan's Rakuten to acquire Buy.com for $250mil
May 23, 2010, 6:28 pmJapan's biggest e-commerce site Rakuten announced that it will acquire Buy.com Inc for $250 million, foraying into the U.S. market for the first time as it steps up its push to expand overseas. Earlier this year, Rakuten announced a joint venture with China's top search engine Baidu to launch a virtual shopping mall targeting the world's largest...
How to Measure & Improve SEO: eMetrics London 2010 Presentation
May 23, 2010, 5:42 pmPosted by randfish Last week, I gave a 45-minute presentation at eMetrics London on a variety of analytics for SEO topics. The presentation slide deck is embedded below: Metrics for SEO by Rand Fishkin (eMetrics London 2010) The presentation went into more depth in person, but topics included: Some basics: Measuring traffic against macro query...
U.S. Newspapers Start Selling SEO
May 23, 2010, 11:43 amYour local newspaper may soon offer SEO services. Heck, maybe it already is. Two of the three biggest newspaper publishers in the U.S. have recently announced that they’re selling marketing services to small/local businesses and those services include things like SEO, local search marketing, and more.
Will Murdoch’s Band of Publishing Brothers Be On Board?
May 23, 2010, 6:19 am
Earlier this month I explored the idea that Rupert Murdoch’s impending paywall announcement was just that; impending. In a News Corp earnings call he said that the publishing giant would have something to announce in 3-4 weeks regarding a group of publishers that would be banding together to take specialized content and put it...
The Twitter Retweet Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
May 22, 2010, 2:51 pmImage by pasukaru76 Welcome back to the weekly Twitter column. This week I want to speak about a new development in the Twitter retweet wars . In the first episode we have seen a massive rebellion against the new retweet functionality introduced by Twitter itself . A huge wave of resistance has forced Twitter and most third party Twitter clients...
Johnny's Copyblogger Wrap-Up: Week of May 17, 2010
May 22, 2010, 2:45 pmLast week , I told a story about how Brian lured me down to Texas, loaded me up with tequila, and convinced me to become a walking endorsement. Now, I'm biased, but I thought that was funny. But what was more funny was that there were a handful of people who actually thought I had gotten "Scribe" and "Thesis 4 LYF" tattooed onto my arms. This...
Google Acquires Online Travel Guide Ruba
May 22, 2010, 4:17 amRuba is a visual travel guide and tour review site that provides travelers with visual guides written by other travelers. The blog post is embedded below. Google has confirmed the acquisition.
11 Hottest Search Marketing Expert Strategies Recap, This Week (May 17th)
May 22, 2010, 3:00 amIt's a Saturday and it's probably a sunny spring day outside. Unless you are in Australia... oh no, wait, scratch that... no change there :)
Either way, Saturdays mean we have another offbeat contribution from someone outside of 'the industry' to share their thoughts on our industry.
And.. if you find yourself bored at a bus stop, stuck inside...
Encrypted Google Search (Beta) Launched
May 22, 2010, 12:32 am"...we're gradually rolling out a new choice to search more securely..."
Top SEO Factors That Could Hurt Really Bad
May 22, 2010, 12:05 amWeb pages very rarely rank in the search results from doing almost nothing to them. If you are in a competitive space in the search results you will want to conduct some sort of link building campaign and internal website tweaks in order to drive power & authority to your website.
A Google Icon Game for Pac-Man's Birthday
May 21, 2010, 9:49 pmThe special Google homepage doodle for today is both logo and game... namely, the classic Pac-Man with a level that contains the Google letters. The game is JavaScript , not Flash-based, by the way. Clicking on the logo didn't take me to a search as usual, though I noticed a search link for [PAC-MAN 30th Anniversary] in the HTML source. The title...
Bye-Bye, "Lost"
May 21, 2010, 7:38 pmby Claudine Zap After six seasons, a mind-bogglingly complex plot that messed with time, space, and physics, and still no real escape from the island where the passengers of Oceanic Flight 815 first crashed, fans will be tuning into the final episode of the ABC drama " Lost " this Sunday. The show has covered a lot of ground, but somehow, the...
Google Search Over Secure Socket Layer
May 21, 2010, 6:38 pmWe just went back to play Pacman and were shocked to find it wasn't there. And then we spotted a little padlock and our interest was piqued. Click to read the rest of this post...
Unknown Species Debut, A Dinosaur Gets Demoted, A Mystery Deepens: Buzz Week in Review
May 21, 2010, 6:24 pmby Vera H-C Chan One epoch, you're king of the ancient world, the next epoch some runt of a human takes you down an evolutionary notch. News from the modern-day animal kingdom was less of a downer, but just as exciting, with previously unknown species introducing themselves to the world, and a mystery find reviving ancient (well, maybe vintage)...
Google Testing the Waters for a Safer Encrypted Web Search
May 21, 2010, 5:27 pmPossibly due to the growing security and privacy concerns being faced by Facebook lately, Google was quick to implement measures to avoid similar issues. Google is currently testing a new encrypted interface for its web search. You can test Google's encrypted web search by simply going to https://www.google.com instead of the usual...
FTC Launches Site Warning Of Loan Scams
May 21, 2010, 4:30 pmThe Federal Trade Commission has created a website for a fake lending company that warns people about how easy it is to be tricked by scammers charging upfront fees for bogus loans. The website is part of a consumer education campaign to help consumers manage their money and learn how to spot scams. The fictitious website Esteemed Lending Services...
Google Launches Encrypted Search Option
May 21, 2010, 4:30 pmJust in time for the weekend and hours-long browsing sessions at home computers, Google's given privacy advocates a gift. This afternoon, the search giant released the encrypted version of Google Search it mentioned after admitting to collecting sensitive data sent over Wi-Fi networks. A post on the Official Google Blog shared all of the relevant...
Financial Femmes
May 21, 2010, 4:13 pmby Vera H-C Chan Time's magazine's May 24 cover ladies and the Senate's passage of the financial overhaul bill is nicely timed, but no coincidence. By many accounts ( including Time's ), Elizabeth Warren , Mary Schapiro , and Sheila Blair have been consistent voices of reason in the financial maelstrom that have been years in the (un)making. Of...
Oil Spill Video Feed Stirs the Web
May 21, 2010, 3:16 pmby Claudine Zap The oil gushing out of the busted rig in the gulf of Mexico has not been stopped . But it can be watched . As investigators try to pinpoint the blame, and oil company executives point fingers, the curious are heading to the Web to take a look at the deep-sea drama unfold 5,000 feet underwater. Turns out, the oil company BP has a...
FTC Closes Google AdMob Deal Investigation
May 21, 2010, 3:13 pmToday ClickZ reported that the Google AdMob deal has been unanimously approved by the FTC.Click to read the rest of this post...
Strategizer Review, Wordtracker's New Tool
May 21, 2010, 2:54 pmWordtracker continues to add value beyond their position as a well-respected keyword research tool provider . About Strategizer Wordtracker's keyword toolset has long been popular for finding additional, longer tail keywords to apply to your search or PPC campaigns. Strategizer integrates with Google Analytics to incorporate your current keywords...
Google TV: Party Like It’s 1997!
May 21, 2010, 2:43 pm
As rumored in March and earlier this week, Google is bringing the web to your television. You know, like WebTV more than a decade ago. And it didn’t take off then, either.
Google TV will be a set-top box available this fall (and integrated into a new Sony TV coming then, too), allowing us to access the Internet from our...
"Get a Job Interview in 30 secs" via TwitJobSearch-Skype-Twitter Mashup
May 21, 2010, 2:42 pmSpeak of harnessing technology. TwitJobSearch has dramatically shortened the recruiting cycle thanks to its new app that links Skype to Twitter, enabling candidates to "Get a Job Interview in 30 secs".Click to read the rest of this post...
MySpace Opens Offices To Social Gaming Developers
May 21, 2010, 2:41 pmIt's becoming hard to imagine how MySpace could get more serious about social games. This afternoon, the social network went several steps beyond encouraging or even paying game developers by instead offering to share office space with some of them. A MySpace representative explained in an email to WebProNews, "MySpace is launching a pilot...
BusinessWeek: Microsoft's Bing is Gaining Share
May 21, 2010, 2:13 pmAn article published Thursday by BusinessWeek highlights Bing's continued success in growing search share. The article walks through the growth we've seen since the launch of Bing and our performance compared to the other big players in the market. While doing so, it raises an interesting question for advertisers. With close to 12% market share...
FTC Green Lights Google-AdMob Deal
May 21, 2010, 2:01 pmThe Federal Trade Commission said today it has approved Google's $750 million acquisition of mobile ad network AdMob after reviewing the deal and concluding it is unlikely to harm competition. "We are extremely pleased with today's decision from the Federal Trade Commission to clear Google's acquisition of AdMob, said Omar Hamoui, AdMob Founder...
The Mobile Web Content War: Apps Vs. Search Engines
May 21, 2010, 1:48 pmA new type of web content war has just begun. On one side "apps", like those you can download on your iPhone, which deliver enhanced web content and specific tools / services, and on the other, search engines, still the preferred venue to discover information, news and data. Who is going to win this race? Only time will tell, but if you had never...
Google TV Brings Couch Potatoes And Marketing Geeks Together
May 21, 2010, 12:45 pmGoogle has lots going on lately and one of the things that sets Twitterland abuzz is the launch of the new Google TV service. Instead of having a TV screen on the one hand and a computer screen on the other hand, couch potatoes and geeks will finally be able to socialize... in front of a single, unified screen. Seriously.Click to read the rest of...
Buzzzy Adds Location Tracking To Conversation Search Engine
May 21, 2010, 12:33 pmBuzzzy, a Google Buzz only search engine, is now able to tracking to track location by way of the data sent when people update their statuses on social sites during an event. Click to read the rest of this post...
Awkward Photos, Ugly Mascots, Naked Short Selling: What's the Buzz
May 21, 2010, 12:25 pmby Vera H-C Chan Our picks from the hottest searches of the day. Summer Jobs for Teenagers (+503%). Welcome to your new real world. Coalition (+447%). In this politically fractured age, figuring out what an alliance means is tough. Here's how it's brokered , and what policies look like in Great Britain...and how Germany's checking flirting with...
Google Chrome Getting App Store (Maybe Mozilla, Too?)
May 21, 2010, 12:16 pm
Third party apps are on a roll with Google. Earlier this month, they added apps for Google Analytics, and this week at Google I/O, the search giant’s developer conference, Google announced an app store for the Google Chrome web browser.
Says Google:
Google Chrome users who find web apps in the store will be able to create...
Europeans Embrace Mobile Music More Than Americans
May 21, 2010, 11:51 amNearly a quarter (23.8%) of mobile users across the five largest European mobile markets (UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain) listened to music on their mobile handsets during the first quarter of this year, according to a new report from comScore. The 54 million total music users in the EU5 countries represent a 10 percent increase in the past...
Google TV Director Dureau Discusses the Service with Tim Bray
May 21, 2010, 11:45 amGoogle introduced Google TV at Google I/O May 20, capping months of speculation about the service. Here is the gist: Google TV marries Web and television programming access, allowing users to access Web content while watching TV, or switching back and forth seamlessly between the two. Android is the underlying operating system for the service,...
Google Honors Pacman 30th Anniversary With Playable Doodle
May 21, 2010, 11:14 amWe know geeks love Pacman - well this one does and it seems the people over at Google are also part of the Pacman fan club. The doodle of the day is in honor of Pacman's 30th birthday - a functional game.Click to read the rest of this post...
Facebook Cozies Up to Android Developers
May 21, 2010, 11:13 am
Apparently Facebook is still out there trying to do business but at an important conference like Google’s I/O event they have managed to be much more private than their 450 million users’ data. Of course, that doesn’t take much these days now does it?
All Facebook reports on Facebook’s efforts to work with the Android...
Ecommerce Spending Up 10 Percent In Q1
May 21, 2010, 11:13 amAlthough the stock market has still been moving up and (mostly) down in a disturbing manner this week, comScore's provided evidence that the ecommerce market is healthy again. According to comScore, ecommerce spending for the first quarter of this year was up ten percent on a year-over-year basis.
As the table to the right shows, online...
Google Releases Playable PAC-MAN Doodle
May 21, 2010, 10:47 amGoogle has released a really cool playable doodle of PAC-MAN to celebrate the game's 30th birthday. The Google Blog offers all the fun details. "Today, on PAC-MAN's 30th birthday, you can rediscover some of your 8-bit memories-or meet PAC-MAN for the first time-through our first-ever playable Google doodle. To play the game, go to google.
Google Honors Pacman 30th Birthday With Playable Doodle
May 21, 2010, 10:47 amWe know geeks love Pacman - well this one does and it seems the people over at Google are also part of the Pacman fan club. The doodle of the day is in honor of Pacman's 30th birthday - a functional game. Click to read the rest of this post.
Celebrating PAC-MAN's 30th birthday
May 21, 2010, 10:07 amWhen I was growing up, my dad had the best job I could possibly imagine: he was an arcade game and pinball technician. For me, that meant summer trips through Poland's coastal cities with their seasonal arcade parlors; peeking inside cabinets to learn programming and engineering secrets; andâ"of courseâ"free games! One of my favorites was...
comScore Reports Q1 2010 U.S. E-Commerce Spending Accelerates to a 10 Percent Growth vs. Year Ago
May 21, 2010, 9:50 amcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its Q1 2010 U.S. retail e-commerce sales estimates, which showed that online retail spending neared $34 billion for the quarter, up 10 percent versus year ago. The strong acceleration represented the first time growth rates reached double-digits since the second...
Marketers Respond to the Apple v. Flash Battle
May 21, 2010, 9:45 am
In the past few weeks the back and forth between Apple and Adobe about the merits and demerits of Flash technology use has gone from bad to worse. Bitter rhetoric and open letters to about each other played out like a high school romance gone bad. Needless to say you would hope that grown-ups might act, well, more grown up but...
A Plea To Corporate America: Get IT Out Of The SEO Business
May 21, 2010, 9:34 amTake the website offsite to make both IT and Marketing happy.
Facebook Users Consider Leaving Over Privacy Worries
May 21, 2010, 9:25 amFacebook's privacy issues have 60 percent of its members considering leaving the social network, according to a new survey by IT security firm, Sophos.
The survey of 1,588 Facebook users found that 16 percent of those polled have already stopped using the social network due to inadequate control over their data.
Sophos says the survey revealed...
Major Yahoo-Nokia Announcement Expected Monday
May 21, 2010, 9:04 amYahoo may soon announce a partnership with a very big mobile phone company. Supposedly Nokia - which reported around $12.7 billion in sales for the first quarter of this year - is prepared to start integrating Yahoo's services into its products. This deal could be formally revealed Monday morning, when Yahoo's holding a press conference at the...
Ruud Questions: Aaron Wall
May 21, 2010, 8:36 amToo full with good opinions, insights, ideas, in-your-face tell it like it is snippets to pick just one; instead, just go [del]read[/del] enjoy it :)
5 Google Experts Answer 25 SEO Questions
May 21, 2010, 8:15 amGoogle experts like John Mueller (Google Zurich), Matt Cutts (Google California), Zareen Kazim (Google India), Koteswara Ivaturi (Google India) and Kaspar Szymanski (Google Dublin) answer 25 SEO questions. Good article and rereshing to hear it from the people at the big G...
How to Write Your Ass Off
May 21, 2010, 8:11 amMy name is not Johnny B. Truant. This isn't meant to be any kind of a coming out . Based on my informal survey (so informal that nobody has been asked any questions), most people assume that the moniker was too preposterous to be real anyway. I could tell you the name I was born with, but there wouldn't be any point. That's not the person you...
Google Takes Aim and Fires at Apple
May 21, 2010, 7:17 am
As one might expect, Google is pretty confident when it comes to just about everything. You have to be to do what they have done in a short period of time relative to most business success stories. Of course, taking the lead position in the development of the Internet Age will do that, won’t it.
Google also is very interested in...
Sort and Save Any HTML Table Easily with TableTools For FireFox
May 21, 2010, 7:08 amAs an SEO, web marketer and blogger, I need to process tons of information daily. Very often this information is compiled in a table (I love organizing information in tables myself). Today I am reviewing a great FireFox addon that makes working with HTML tables easy and fun. TableTools is the FireFox addon that lets you easily sort table, extract...
FTC Closes Google AdMob Investigation:"Not Likely to Harm Competition"
May 21, 2010, 6:52 am"These concerns, however, were outweighed by recent evidence that Apple is poised to become a strong competitor in the mobile advertising market, the FTC's statement says."
7 Essential SEO Tips for Small Businesses
May 21, 2010, 6:51 amWhen it comes to marketing in the current economy, small businesses need all the help they can get. They don't have the ad budgets, the personnel or the time that the bigger competition has. But none of those factors really matter to search engines, and SEO is a great way to both level the playing field and steal marketshare. Here are a few tips...
Play Pac-Man on Googles Home Page Logo Today
May 21, 2010, 6:15 am"According to Google, the Pacman logo has a total of 256 levels. Pacman will be up on Google for a total of 48 hours, from 8AM PT on Friday through Sunday morning." - Huffington Post
Trust Your Customers’ Opinion, Not Ours
May 21, 2010, 4:40 amA friend recently asked me about press releases versus a company blog. He was arguing that the company blog is a more trusted source of information about product releases and other company information. Please note that the idea was spurred by this blog post by Jeff Bullas.
I disagree, but want to check first. I am wrong when it comes to...
Facebook and MySpace In Ad Data Privacy Loophole
May 21, 2010, 1:26 am"Most social networks haven't bothered to obscure user names or ID numbers from their Web addresses, said Craig Wills, a professor of computer science at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, who has studied the issue."
Whiteboard Friday - Sitewide, Reciprocal, and Directory Links
May 21, 2010, 12:59 amPosted by great scott! Link building sucks. You know it, I know it, everyone knows it. It can be slow, tedious, and exhausting. It's also one of the most crucial aspects of complete search engine optimization. So what do you do when faced with the intimidating challenge of building links? Once upon a time, you could've just submitted your site...
Bing's 45 Point SEO Check List
May 21, 2010, 12:07 amBing recently came out with their version of an SEO check list that all internet marketers should be trying to follow in some sort of way. Some of the bullet points are very important to talk about and fit into the overall search engine optimization equation very well. Let's pull out a few that I think are the most important. " 13.Create a custom...
Google TV
May 20, 2010, 9:24 pmGoogle plans to introduce a box accompanying the TV which tries to make the TV "smarter" by letting you search for content... and browse the web, and view photo albums and more, as Google's video introduction shows. It's called Google TV , and as Techcrunch writes , "It will work as a new box - you'll just hook up your existing cable or satellite...
Where Does Google TV Fit Into Search?
May 20, 2010, 8:49 pmIt's time to start optimizing your web content for the big screen. Here at Google I/O, as I'm sure you've heard, Google announced the much-anticipated Google TV. Naturally, search plays a big role in the service, particularly in the form of the Quick Search Box. Here are a few things to think about if Google TV really takes off: - Optimizing video...
Customizing Maps API Premier â" your way
May 20, 2010, 6:45 pmCustomers often tell us how much their users love Google Maps. They love the friendly blue of the oceans, the easy-to-read labels of cities, and the solid yellow of the roads. But maybe you're a rebel â" someone who wants the roads to look YOUR way. Or perhaps your corporate branding clashes with the standard version of cities and streets....
"Empire Strikes Back" Turns 30
May 20, 2010, 5:59 pmby Claudine Zap While yet another " Shrek " movie is opening this weekend, fans may want to take a moment to honor the sequel of all sequels: " The Empire Strikes Back ." May 21 marks the 30th anniversary of the film that gave sequels a good name. You remember this one: Young Luke learns knight skills from Jedi Master Yoda of the twisted...
StepForth Closed on Monday, May 24
May 20, 2010, 5:59 pmJust a quick note to our readers, clients, & friends. StepForth will be closed on Monday May 24 for the Victoria Day, May Long Weekend. We hope for those of you who observe this holiday that you have a wonderful and safe long weekend. We will be back to normal hours on Tuesday May 25th. StepForth Closed on Monday, May 24 is a post from: StepForth...
Google Has New Mobile Ad Formats
May 20, 2010, 5:14 pmMobile advertising will continue to play a major role in Google's revenue going forward. While the jury is still out, so to speak, on the proposed acquisition of AdMob, Google has been placing a great deal of emphasis here at Google I/O on the fact that it already knows a think or two about advertising. In fact, AdMob really hasn't come up a whole...
The Green Ogre Is Back, "SNL"'s MacGruber Heads to the Big Screen: Movie Critic Roundup
May 20, 2010, 5:02 pmby Claudine Zap A green monster gives his swan song in " Shrek Forever After ," but can it recapture the magic of the original? And " MacGruber " goes from " SNL " skit to feature-length film. Bad idea jeans? It's your Movie Critic Roundup. Shrek Forever After The once mean, green ogre (voiced by Mike Myers ) has been transformed through true...
NASA To Hold Tweetup At The World Science Festival
May 20, 2010, 4:56 pmNASA and the World Science Festival said today they are inviting Twitter followers to a behind-the-scenes Tweetup at 2 p.m. EDT on Saturday, June 5, in New York City. The event will bring together 100 Twitter users with some of the world's brightest scientific minds. Tweetup attendees will have the opportunity to speak with festival co-founder...
Android Team Talks Focus and Challenges at Google I/O
May 20, 2010, 4:56 pmToday was expected to be Android's day out here at Google I/O, and that has certainly been the case. Of course Google TV has been the most talked about announcement to come out of the conference, and with good reason, but Android plays a significant role in that, and between that and the announcement of the new version, Froyo, there has been...
"Gingerbread" Android Release Already Scheduled
May 20, 2010, 4:56 pmSometime between the start of October and the end of December, a statue representing a large, man-shaped cookie should be unveiled next to the cupcake, donut, and eclair figures already on display at the Googleplex. A WebM FAQ revealed that the next version of Android will be called "Gingerbread," and that it'll land in the fourth quarter of this...
Connecting with Fans from World Cup⢠Training
May 20, 2010, 4:01 pmAhead of the World Cup kicking off on June 11, we've asked Landon Donovan of the U.S. Soccer team to offer his perspective on the tournament and the role that staying connecting to fans through Facebook plays in preparing him and the team for the world's biggest football event. The fact that the World Cup is less than a month away is finally...
Google Combines its Most Important Products into Google TV
May 20, 2010, 4:01 pmSo after all this year's of building up a very efficient search technology, a fast and lighweight web browser and a mobile computing platform, Google has finally unveiled its grandest plan of conquering the world - Google TV . Running on the byline - "TV meets web, web meets TV, Google TV", Google TV is both hardware and software and a little...
Idol Talk: Boy-Band Break
May 20, 2010, 3:56 pmby Vera H-C Chan If you belonged to a defunct boy band, now's your chance to step forward. For a brief moment in the early 2000s, boy bands were flooding the market like Crocs. One of those bands, NLT, lasted three years, got a few singles out (one immortalized in "Bratz: The Movie" soundtrack), and then scattered to the winds after a 2009...
comScore Media Metrix Ranks Top-Growing Properties and Site Categories for April 2010
May 20, 2010, 3:56 pmcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its monthly analysis of U.S. Web activity at the top-growing properties and site categories for April 2010 based on data from the comScore Media Metrix service. Community sites such as Home and Beauty/Fashion/Style saw gains during the month as the spring season...
Recognizing Your Favorite Teachers With Bing
May 20, 2010, 3:44 pmDo you remember your favorite teacher? Perhaps it was a math teacher who helped you overcome your fear of trigonometry, a chorus teacher who gave you the solo you so badly wanted, or a coach who pushed you to become the MVP you are todaywhoever your favorite teacher was, we want to hear about him or her! As this school year comes to an end, we are...
Walmart Launches Online Video Game Store
May 20, 2010, 3:27 pmWalmart has launched a new online video game store called Gamecenter, which the company describes as a one-stop destination for video game previews, first look exclusives and special savings. To promote the launch of the site, Walmart.com is offering a $50 eGift Card to people that preorder three or more new titles, including "Medal of Honor,"...
Yahoo Arranges Investor Day Event
May 20, 2010, 3:27 pmYahoo shareholders (and perhaps Microsoft and Google shareholders, too, for that matter) might want to consider clearing their calendar for a special event. Yahoo's announced that it will hold an Investor Day/Analyst Day meeting on Wednesday, May 26th. The meeting should last from around 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM California time, and a live view of the...
Real Estate SEM Advertising Tips, Tools and Downloadable Keyword and Ad Lists
May 20, 2010, 3:15 pmAlthough there are no clear indicators that this year's home-buying season will be anything like years past due to these uncertain economic times, it's still not a bad idea to make sure your real estate PPC campaigns are optimized and ready for those that are in the market for a new home. Activity in the real estate market can vary greatly...
Google Announces Purchase Of Simplify Media
May 20, 2010, 2:47 pmTwo months ago, a company called Simplify Media went off the radar, halting new account creations and disabling one feature of a service it kept alive. Many users panicked. Now, it turns out Simplify Media wasn't so much crawling under a rock to die as getting swallowed up by Google. Simplify Media was known for offering people the option to...
Google Looking at Facial Recognition
May 20, 2010, 1:53 pm
Just what Google needs right now: a way to look even more invasive. Privacy concerns for the Internet and Google in particular have skyrocketed this year, as Buzz has prompted privacy concerns since the day it rolled out. But the trend goes further back with Google Street View.
Although that service blurs the images of passersby...
Bing Maps Adds Three Useful Apps
May 20, 2010, 1:50 pmBing Maps, which was already impressive in quite a few ways, has gotten better again with the addition of three new apps. A distance calculator, gas prices tool, and parking finder promise to help people plan trips and go about their daily lives more efficiently. The distance calculator might be the least interesting app; pretty much every...
"Idol" Newby, Human Growth Hormone, Fishing Season: What's the Buzz
May 20, 2010, 1:20 pmby Vera H-C Chan Our picks from the hottest searches of the day. Travis Garland (+757%). Courtesy of patron Perez Hilton , the singer got his "American Idol" moment. Garland's a former boy-band mate of Kevin McHale , the wheelchair warbler in "Glee." Water for Elephants (+687%). Robert Pattinson's new movie, and reason for his new 'do. Human...
PopScreen & Jinni : Taking Video Search to the Next Level of Innovation
May 20, 2010, 1:09 pmSearch engines catering to targeted niches are gaining in popularity. Most of them add a social interaction element, like sharing, embedding, and voting to keep their visitors longer on the site, and to "force" user profiling. It's a smart approach to search, in an industry dominated by Google. As far as video search is concerned, we already know...
Thoughts on leadership in the social era
May 20, 2010, 1:03 pmCharlene Li's book Open Leadership has generated some discussion about what it means to lead in a social world. I wanted to share some thoughts about leadership in the social era from our own research for Empowered. Empowered includes lessons on leadership from Scott Cook, founder of Intuit; Rob Katz, the CEO of Vail Resorts; Bary Judge, CMO of...
Android Froyo, with some sprinkles
May 20, 2010, 1:03 pmSince launching the first Android-powered phone with T-Mobile in October 2008, we have worked with operators, handset manufacturers and developers to make Android one of the most useful, innovative mobile platforms available. We've been thrilled by the adoption of the platform over the past year and a half. Every day, our partners sell more than...
46 CRO/Conversion Rate Optimization Resources for Web Design, SEO & Social Media Experts
May 20, 2010, 12:57 pmThis list is not meant for the average small business owner. These 46 CRO/Conversion Rate Optimization resources require web design, SEO and social media experts to implement, use or even understand them. How do you find out whether your web designer, SEO or social media consultant or company has enough expertise to deal with them? In case your...
What Was Announced At Google I/O 2010?
May 20, 2010, 12:51 pmThere has been a wide range of interesting announcements coming out of Google I/O this week where WebProNews is covering the event. What do you think has been the most interesting announcement from Google I/O so far? Let us know in the comments! Google Wave Google announced it is making Google Wave open to everyone and dropping the requirement of...
Live-buzzing Day 2 of the Google I/O keynote
May 20, 2010, 12:45 pmOkay, today I'm going to try something different again. I'm going to try live-buzzing the keynote of Day 2 of Google I/O. You can follow the live-buzz right here . I'm going to update the buzz as news comes out; if you're following on the web instead of on Buzz, you might need to hit reload to see updates. Watch the live-stream video at...
SEO With Google Webmaster Tools - Part 6: Labs
May 20, 2010, 11:42 amby Stoney deGeyter
This final section of Google Webmaster tools provides some tools that Google calls "experimental". The tools in this section change frequently so those mentioned here are available at the time of this writing. More may be added or others removed in the future.
Labs
Fetch as Googlebot
Malware details
Sidewiki
...
Will Privacy Regulation Reduce Ads’ Effectiveness?
May 20, 2010, 11:38 am
In the European Union, it’s illegal to track consumers online with cookies without their consent (though the opt in/out question is still in the air). A recent study looked at what effect this regulation has had on purchase intent and, therefore, online ad effectiveness—and the results aren’t so pretty.
Looking...
Google Introduces Froyo, Google TV and More
May 20, 2010, 10:46 amWord is that today is Android day here at Google I/O. The keynote is about to begin, and it is widely expected that an announcement about a Google TV offering (or Smart TV as it's been referred to thus far) will be made.
Watch the keynote live here.
If today's keynote is anything like yesterday's, there will be plenty of announcements coming...
Whitehouse Ticks Off Deputy CTO As Ex-Googler Bypasses Privacy Rules
May 20, 2010, 10:41 amIn the slew of privacy issues floating around, there's also the case of the White House reprimanding its Deputy Chief Technology Officer, Andrew McLaughlin, for ethics violations, as reported first by PR NewsWire.
For the record, McLaughlin is a former Google lobbyist.Click to read the rest of this post...
Google Faces Oregon Class Action Lawsuit Over Rogue Data Collection
May 20, 2010, 10:31 amAfter acknowledging it has been snooping and collecting private data through its Street View cars, it has been brought to our attention that Google is now facing a class action lawsuit in Washington state and Oregon for privacy violation. Click to read the rest of this post...
Optify Integrates Salesforce CRM into Lead-Generation Solution
May 20, 2010, 10:20 amHeeding to direct feedback from its customers, Optify, a provider of online lead generation software for business has released its Spring 2010 real-time marketing software to further boost lead generation capability. Click to read the rest of this post...
Online TV Guide Turns Heads At Google I/O
May 20, 2010, 10:14 amFinding online videos using the traditional couch-and-TV setup can be an awkward experience; all sorts of menus and interfaces just aren't meant to be seen and used from ten feet away. Clicker has introduced a very sleek solution, however, in the form of Clicker.tv, which was unveiled at Google I/O. As you can see for yourself below, Clicker.tv...
Optify Adds Intl Exposure, Enhanced CRM With Spring 2010 Lead-Generation Solution
May 20, 2010, 9:46 amHeeding to direct feedback from its customers, Optify , the provider of online lead generation software for business has released its Spring 2010 real-time marketing software to further boost lead generation capability. Click to read the rest of this post.
Optimising TV for SEO: Thinkbox Research Highlighting TV's Impact on Search
May 20, 2010, 9:46 amAfter attending a Thinkbox conference in Manchester a few months ago, it spurred on some thoughts around the expansive applications of SEO to other media channels; where so many marketing opportunities can be developed to develop an organic competitive advantage. Working as part of an SEO team for MEC , a media buying and planning agency, and as...
As Companies Consolidate, Brands Need to Differentiate
May 20, 2010, 9:34 amThe Travel industry has proven immense resiliency after the economic and environmental challenges of the past few years. According to travel research analysts, U.S. online travel sales are on the rise. Were starting to see more consolidations in the industry, and I expect we'll see more travel companies look for alliances with companies that have...
Internet Censorship: Pakistan Blocks Facebook and YouTube
May 20, 2010, 9:23 amPakistan has become the latest country to censor internet access following so called sacrilegious content being posted on Facebook and YouTube . A Facebook competition which invited users to post drawings and images representing the prophet Mohammed has sparked outrage amongst Muslims who find the content offensive and blasphemous. YouTube was...
Create Your Social Media Life Stream at Wordpress Blog
May 20, 2010, 9:23 amI registered the domain for my name - annsmarty.com - two years ago (to protect my online reputation ) and since then I've had no idea what I should do with it. I don't like non-used domains, so I set up a blog there. I can't speak a lot about myself, so I didn't make it personal. Instead, I reviewed random tools now and then to have something...
Android Ad Requests On The Rise
May 20, 2010, 9:11 amWhile just about everyone knows that Android is becoming more and more popular, a new report indicates that the mobile operating system is racking up not only users, but also ad impressions. Millennial Media found that Android ad requests increased by a huge amount between March and April. A quick note with regards to Millennial Media 's...
Google Launches Buzz API as Answer to Facebook Connect
May 20, 2010, 9:11 amGoogle May 19 launched its promised Google Buzz API at Google I/O, and a number of applications are already integrating with the service, including social app Seesmic and Boxee. How do these apps integrate with Buzz? Seesmic and Buzz users can now manage Buzz in their browser through Seesmic Web, through a beta version of Seesmic for Android and...
ReachLocal’s IPO Indicative of SMB Internet Market
May 20, 2010, 9:03 am
In an indication that the market is not where people would like it to be, ReachLocal cut the price of its IPO yesterday to below the midpoint of the range for the offering.
Reuters tells us
Internet marketing company ReachLocal Inc (RLOC.O) priced shares in its initial public offering 28 percent below the midpoint of the expected...
Geo-Listing Hijackings A Real Concern
May 20, 2010, 9:00 amOne of the more prominent Geo-Listing (a.k.a. local business listing) hijackings occurred in New Zealand. A florist was found guilty for hijacking competitor local business listings at Google Maps. The business owner was ordered to complete 100 hours of community service after it was discovered she changed the business listings of rival...
P&G Rolls Out Ecommerce Site
May 20, 2010, 8:48 amProctor & Gamble officially introduced its new online shopping website today called the eStore after several months of testing with 5,000 consumers. The eStore is owned and operated by ecommerce firm PFSweb and will feature a wide range of P&G brands including Tide, Pampers, Olay, CoverGirl, Swiffer and Febreze. P&G says the eStore's main function...
Three Training Tips to Become a Better Blogger
May 20, 2010, 8:43 amI don't go to the gym. I could. There's a gym right here in my town. I'd like to be stronger, faster, and more badass. But I don't go to the gym, and the reason has nothing to do with my not wanting to get all of the benefits of a good workout. It has to do with the fact that when I want results, I want them now. I want to go to the gym just one...
How MicroFormatting Will Improve Mobile Search
May 20, 2010, 8:42 amLast month I went over the basics of how to future plan & setup a mobile version of your site correctly both for the user and the search engines. This month I will go over coding that will play a critical role for mobile in the future as well - microformatting. Microformatting - includes Microformat, RDFa, & Microdata - allows you to explicitly...
Massive and comScore Release Results for Bing In-Game Ad Campaign
May 20, 2010, 8:31 amToday we released the results of a Massive in-game advertising campaign for Bing. This is a great example of the capabilities of the measurement methodology we developed with comScore called AdEffx Action Lift for Gaming. We announced the collaboration to develop the methodology late last year. The results are pretty cool, including: After...
Consumer Watchdog Launches Google Watch Site
May 20, 2010, 8:25 amThe Consumer Watchdog group has launched a new site called Inside Google "to focus attention on the company's activities and hold Google accountable for its actions". Current subjects include "Outrage continues to grow over Google 'WiSpy' effort", "Google's Schmidt passes the buck on privacy" and "Is history repeating itself with Google antitrust...
From Russia With Search
May 20, 2010, 8:02 am
We have all heard of Baidu and the hold that the Chinese search engine has on one of the largest potential markets in the world. Google’s Chinese experience has probably done more to advance Baidu than Google itself. Well, it’s a big world out there with another large market opportunity for search in Russia and the former...
Wordstream PPC and SEO Tool Review
May 20, 2010, 7:39 amWordstream Review Wordstream is a suite of online marketing tools which cover Keyword Research and Management for PPC and SEO Campaigns. They also offer a Firefox plug-in which we'll cover in a bit.
Google Storage
May 20, 2010, 7:27 amGoogle released an early version of a storage program called Google Storage for Developers . It's a solution in the field of Amazon S3, where yoy pay for usage. Google writes: Google Storage for Developers is a RESTful service for storing and accessing your data on Google's infrastructure. The service combines the performance and scalability of...
Google Chrome Web Store
May 20, 2010, 7:27 amGoogle preannounced a Web Store project for their Chrome browser/ OS. Perhaps it's meant to be a kind of Apple App Store for websites, i.e. more closed, more casual to choose from, perhaps more streamlined. Google writes "Google Chrome users who find web apps in the store will be able to create convenient shortcuts in Chrome for easy access. Also,...
Facebook and Securities Fraud?
May 20, 2010, 7:16 am
Seems like Mark Zuckerberg is experiencing a serious dose of ‘when it rains, it pours’ these days. The scrutiny that he and the Facebook bunch is facing for their privacy concerns has become a true thorn in the side of the biggest social networking player on the planet. Many have said that it is unfair to continually put...
Google Font Directory and API
May 20, 2010, 7:05 amGoogle released a font directory and accompanying API for web developers to easily add special fonts to their pages. The idea is that Google handles the browser specific inclusion and font hosting, and you just use a single line for inclusion, plus a CSS definition, like this: .
Google WebM Video Format
May 20, 2010, 7:05 amCNet writes : Google unveiled an open-source, royalty-free video format called WebM on Wednesday, lining up commitments from Mozilla and Opera to support the encoding technology in their browsers and pledging to support it on its YouTube site. "The WebM project is dedicated to developing a high-quality, open video format for the Web that is freely...
10 Easy Local SEO & Online Marketing Tips
May 20, 2010, 6:59 amThere are currently 29.6 million small businesses in the U.S. ( SCORE ). 63% of consumers and small business owners use the Iinternet to find information about local companies and 82% use search engines ( Webvisible & Nielsen ). That means there's a lot of opportunity for local SEO. Recently I attended GetListed.org 's Local University in...
Mobile Music on the Increase Across Europe
May 20, 2010, 6:31 amcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released data from the comScore MobiLens service which showed that 23.8 percent of mobile users across five leading European mobile markets (UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain) listened to music on their mobile handsets during the three month period ending March 2010....
Rakuten Acquires buy.com for $250M
May 20, 2010, 6:20 am"The all-cash deal will be handled by Rakuten USA (headquartered in Boston), which is expected to merge with Buy.com in the process."
Symantec to buy Verisign SSL Business
May 20, 2010, 5:47 am"Reports surfaced Tuesday that VeriSign had been shopping around its encryption technology and service business, and naming Symantec as the buyer."
Top 10 Google tips for students
May 20, 2010, 5:16 amGoogle values simplicity. The main page still has little more than the search box and the button. But there is much more to Google than that. Here are ten Google search tips for students " equally useful for others that have information intensive work, even professors Advanved Search: To build a precise search query, use Advanced Search narrow...
Cramming: Unauthorized Telephone Bill Charges
May 20, 2010, 5:12 am"Recently I've been performing research into some rather deceptive business practices being used in the Search Marketing Industry. One of those that seems to be on the rise is the practice of Cramming."
111 takeaways from SMX Advanced London
May 20, 2010, 5:07 amAn epic SMX Advanced London roundup from From Mal Darwen. From the page: "SMX has a history of inviting speakers who share good information. There were a few mutterings about the validity of the 'Advanced' tag but I didn't speak to a single person who said they didn't learn anything."
No1 Ranking Lost 87% Value In Last Month...and It’s Still No1
May 20, 2010, 4:28 amAn extremely important (in my view) analysis of the so-called 'MayDay update' by Shaun (Hobo) - looks at an example of a long tail keyword that is still at #1 but has lost 87.5% of its traffic since the 'update'! Is Google's new SERP layout getting people to click more on PPC ads? Are universal search results grabbing more and more space above...
Twitter SEO Best Practices
May 20, 2010, 1:58 amWelcome back to the weekly Twitter column. Today I'll introduce the most common Twitter SEO bast practices . Twitter SEO means at least 5 things: Ranking with your profile for your name & brand Ranking organically with your tweets in Google Getting found in Twitter search and other tools Making tweets spread virally by retweets Entering Google...
4 Ways to Improve Your SEO Site Audit
May 20, 2010, 12:22 amPosted by Lindsay The preparation of an SEO Site Audit is something that every SEO, whether in-house, agency-side, or independent consultant, has done. They range from a brief assessment of an hour or two followed by a quick email to mammoth document of more than 50 pages that can take a month or more to complete.
Rand Fishkin SEO Predictions Video
May 20, 2010, 12:11 amRand Fishkin makes some really great predictions for the search engine optimization industry. The one that sticks out the most is that many more business owners are starting to really embrace SEO and applying it to their business. This industry is really growing in many different directions and it is an industry that is improving and becoming much...
Google Previews Storage Service for Developers at Google I/O
May 19, 2010, 6:20 pmToday Google introduced Google Storage for Developers at Google I/O. This is a RESTful cloud service built on the company's storage and networking infrastructure. They are showcasing the service in the Developer Sandbox here at the event.
"Using this RESTful API, developers can easily connect their applications to fast, reliable storage...
UC Berkeley Student Assignment: DNA Sample
May 19, 2010, 5:51 pmby Claudine Zap Ah, nothing like getting ready for the first year of college: Hitting the bookstore with a reading list, stocking up on ramen noodles, and handing over your DNA. Wait, what? At University of California, Berkeley , the incoming freshman class will be, in addition to signing up for their first-semester course load, sending in a...
Google Latitude API Launched at Google I/O
May 19, 2010, 5:22 pmDuring Google I/O today, out here in San Francisco, Google announced among many other things, that it is opening up a Google Latitude API. Google Latitude is of course the company's major component in the increasingly competitive location space. With the release of the API, its presence will be felt much more greatly throughout the mobile web. The...
Arkansas Run-off, Greyhound Escapes, French Declarations: What's the Buzz
May 19, 2010, 4:54 pmby Vera H-C Chan Humpday Buzz ... Our picks from the hottest searches of the day, the week, and coming up. Blanche Lincoln (+462, one-day spike). The Arkansas senator plays overtime with Lt. Gov. Bill Halter in a June 8 runoff for the Democratic position, and the game's fierce . Austin City Limits Festival (+329%, one-day). Only one-day and VIP...
Minimum Replenishment Reduction
May 19, 2010, 4:42 pmYou can now get your account back online with a smaller payment amount Recently we lowered the amount we required advertisers to deposit in their accounts to get back online if their balance reached zero. Previously, we required an amount equal to three times the account's daily run rate (average click charges per day). With this change, we...
Google Launches Buzz APIs at Google I/O
May 19, 2010, 4:42 pmIn a session here at Google I/O called "What's the hubbub about Google Buzz APIs," Google announced, well, Buzz APIs. The session was aimed at "taking a deep dive into building with the Buzz APIs and the open standards it uses, which include ActivityStrea.ms, PubSubHubbub, OAuth, Salmon, and Webfinger. Chris Cabot, developer advocate at Google...
MySpace Offers New SDK To Android, iPhone Developers
May 19, 2010, 4:42 pmIt's possible that MySpace will soon become much more popular with people who own iPhones, iPod Touches, iPads, and Android devices. MySpace announced this afternoon that it's launched a new SDK designed to make it easier for developers to integrate the site into their applications. MySpace's timing is excellent. Earlier today,
The 5 Fools You Meet In Social Media
May 19, 2010, 4:31 pmI've been very busy, up to my knees in Social Media lately. In addition to regular client work and developing my Social Media teaching materials, I started an interview series, talking to many of the luminaries in Social Media. I've been interviewing them via phone and recording mp3's of it. OH THESE are not the fools I refer to in the title! Oops.
Judge Orders Fraudulent ISP Shut Down
May 19, 2010, 4:20 pmA U.S. district court judge today permanently shut down a rogue Internet Service Provider that recruited, hosted and actively participated in the distribution of spam spyware, child pornography, and other malicious and illegal content, at the request of the Federal Trade Commission. The ISP's computer servers and other assets have been seized and...
Announcing Autocompletions for Google Site Search
May 19, 2010, 4:08 pmOne of our most popular feature requests has been to add autocompletion of queries to Google Site Search . In recent months, many top websites have begun to provide search suggestions as you type, an innovative feature users are coming to expect as part of a quality search experience. Today, we announced at Google I/O that you can now enable query...
Yandex Launches Search Results in English and Latin Alphabet Languages
May 19, 2010, 3:51 pmRussian market-leading search engine Yandex, has opened up access to a Latin-alphabet index it has been compiling for the last two years with most content in the English language. A statement from Yandex explained that the principle objective is to provide Latin-alphabet results to Russian searchers, "web users in Russia look for, first and...
Google Wave Now Available for Everyone, Are You Still Interested?
May 19, 2010, 3:45 pmGoogle has taken off the exclusivity of Google Wave and has just made it available to everyone. So, starting today, you can just go to wave.google.com and start using Google Wave. No more hunting and waiting for that "precious" Google Wave invite folks. Everyone is now free to use Google Wave. The question is, are we still interested with Google...
Google Gearing Up to Fight for AdMob
May 19, 2010, 3:43 pm
Although Apple’s conveniently doing all it can to tout iAds, Google may still be facing an inquiry from the FTC as the search giant looks to buy its way into the mobile advertising market. Google announced its acquisition of AdMob six months ago, but it looks like the regulatory committee has its sights on Google as final...
Twitter for iPhone App Made Available
May 19, 2010, 3:19 pmA process that began about six weeks ago has now reached its conclusion. Twitter for iPhone and iPod Touch, an app that was known as Tweetie until Twitter acquired it on April 9th, was (re)released today, and as promised, it's free and doesn't take direct aim at third-party developers.
The concern was that Twitter might label this app...
Keanu Reeves On Board for "Passengers"
May 19, 2010, 3:16 pmby Claudine Zap Whoa â" Keanu Reeves is back. The actor has signed on to the sci-fi flick "Passengers," a $90 million project billed as "Adam and Eve in space." No word yet on who will play Eve. May we suggest Carrie-Anne Moss ? Still, Reeves and a futuristic spaceship â" we're already hooked. The story centers on a distant future where a...
Google Announces Chrome Web Store
May 19, 2010, 2:59 pmDuring the very long and drawn out keynote here at Google I/O today, there were many speakers and many topics addressed, including a number of new announcements from Google. Among these was the announcement of the Chrome Web Store , dubbed an open marketplace for web apps that helps people find the best web applications across the internet and...
Facebook, MySpace Expanding Mobile Offerings
May 19, 2010, 2:43 pm
Both MySpace and Facebook are working on pushes to expand their offerings to mobile users—but it looks like they’re heading in opposite directions this time. While MySpace is working on bringing its platform to Android users, Facebook is offering a stripped-down version of its site for those on limited-bandwidth...
New Open Video Project: Web M Announced at Google I/O
May 19, 2010, 2:42 pmIn the keynote here at Google I/O a little bit ago, Google announced the Web M Project, a new open codec for web video with support from Mozilla and Opera. Web M includes: VP8, a high-quality video codec we are releasing today under a BSD-style, royalty-free license Vorbis , an already open source and broadly implemented audio codec a container...
Idol Talk: DeWyze move?
May 19, 2010, 2:41 pmby Vera H-C Chan mWas the judicial praise, not to mention an entire choir, too extravagant for Lee DeWyze 's "Hallelujah" take? Did Casey James show his vulnerable side with "Daughters"? And was Crystal Bowersox aiming for the all-important hermaphrodite vote when she didn't change the gender point-of-view in her rendition of "Maybe, I'm Amazed"?...
Jobs of the Future: Interview with Liz Gray, Faculty Member at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario
May 19, 2010, 2:25 pmBack in February, I interviewed Liz Gray at SES London 2010. She is a faculty member at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario, who also happens to work at Page Zero Media.Click to read the rest of this post...
Google Launches App Engine For Business
May 19, 2010, 2:24 pmGoogle has introduced App Engine for Business aimed at allowing companies build and maintain their own applications on the same scalable infrastructure that powers Google applications. New features for businesses include the ability to manage all apps in an organization from one place, simple pricing based on users and applications, premium...
Google Wave Released To Everyone
May 19, 2010, 2:24 pmWhen Google Wave invitations first went out, they were hugely popular, with requests appearing left and right and bids topping $5,000 in one eBay auction. Now, perhaps with the hope of creating a second surge of excitement, Google's done away with the invitation system, opening Google Wave up to everyone (including Google Apps users). Obviously,
Brightcove Announces WebM Support
May 19, 2010, 2:24 pmHere at Google I/O in San Francisco, Brightcove announced support for the new open source video codec, WebM, which was announced by Google in the keynote earlier. A rep from Brightcove tells WebProNews, "WebM will be supported on HTML5 and Flash, and Brightcove's ability to support the new codec is another example of how the company is removing...
New Open Video Project: WebM Announced at Google I/O
May 19, 2010, 2:22 pmIn the keynote here at Google I/O a little bit ago, Google announced the Web M Project, a new open codec for web video with support from Mozilla and Opera.
Web M includes:
VP8, a high-quality video codec we are releasing today under a BSD-style, royalty-free license
Vorbis, an already open source and broadly implemented audio codec
...
PayPal Has Some Announcements from Google I/O
May 19, 2010, 2:00 pmI'm out here at Google I/O where PayPal made a couple of announcements: the availability of its Mobile Payments Library for Android and the launch of its PayPal X Toolkit for Google App Engine.
The library makes it possible for consumers to make in-app purchases directly with their PayPal accounts, without leaving that app. "And in doing...
Google Previews Chrome Web Store, Launches Wave as Part of Google Apps, and More
May 19, 2010, 1:06 pmThe Google I/O day one keynote will begin soon. Go here to watch it live. I will post notes below. Please forgive the inevitable typos that are sure to occur.
Please forgive the sub-part notetaking. We've been having some techincal difficulties, and connectivity issues at Google I/O. Without wading through the notes, essentially the topic is...
Buy or build, with more choice for your business
May 19, 2010, 12:34 pmGoogle Apps is built for the web, with open standards and APIs that enable our customers to extend and integrate Google's expanding suite of web-based applications with other services â" whether those services are offered by software vendors through the Google Apps Marketplace or built by their own IT departments. Today,
Android Tops Windows Mobile Worldwide
May 19, 2010, 12:16 pmEven if Google prefers to name different versions of Android after tasty desserts, the mobile operating system is still doing a good imitation of a simple snowball rolling downhill. A new report from Gartner indicates Android's even grown to the point that it's beaten Windows Mobile in terms of sales on a worldwide basis. Gartner pegged Android's...
Is Online Advertising in India on the Upswing?
May 19, 2010, 12:04 pm
India. It sits in South Asia, tantalizing you with its 1.18 billion people. You know that with a growing service economy, decent Internet access and a ton of English speakers, there must be opportunities you can cash in on. It turns out you could be right.
Indian portal Rediff.com as just published a press release in which Ajit...
Self-Publishing Your Online Course As A Book: A Complete Guide
May 19, 2010, 11:56 amSelf-publishing your online course as a book may be a great way to distribute a valuable piece of content you have to a broader audience. But can you just print your online course, choose a nice cover artwork and start selling your book? As you might imagine, writing, printing, publishing and distributing your online course as a book involves a...
Adobe Announces HTML5 Solution at Google I/O
May 19, 2010, 11:53 amWe're out at Google I/O in San Francisco, and Adobe announced here that a new HTML5 solution is immediately available to web designers and developers. This comes in the form of an HTML5 Pack extension to Adobe Dreamweaver CS5 , the recently launched version of the company's HTML authoring, web design program. Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch is showing off...
Google Feed API â" Now with instant gratification
May 19, 2010, 11:31 amOne of Google's most popular APIs is our Feed API . This API is found all over the web, making any feed content available for developers to embed on their sites. A problem with embedding content in this manner is that there's no good way to make sure that your visitors see the freshest data, regardless of how long they stay on your page. Of...
Online Video Ad Revenue To Surpass $1.3 Billion
May 19, 2010, 11:29 amU.S. online video advertising revenue is on track to surpass $1.3 billion this year, according to a new report from Parks Associates.
Steady growth in online video viewership, combined with the ability to target specific viewers based on preferences and viewing history is the reason behind the figures.
The report found large percentages of...
PayPal's Mobile Payments Library Now Available for Android #io2010
May 19, 2010, 11:25 amHi all â" it's Osama Bedier here, PayPal's VP of platform, mobile and new ventures, with good news for our Android developers. We know you want a quick and easy way to integrate payments into the Android apps you're building, and we're pleased to announce that our Mobile Payments Library is now available for the Android. The Mobile Payments...
Splice This: Digg Dialogg with Adrien Brody, Academy Award winning Actor
May 19, 2010, 11:25 amHey everyone - What happens when you cross an Oscar winning actor with your top submitted and voted on questions? You get a great Digg Dialogg! So we'll be heading off to Hollywood to take your questions to actor Adrien Brody, star of the upcoming film, Splice . As a special bonus, the film's writer and director, Vincenzo Natali, will be asking...
SEM Intermediate Series: Calculating and Improving Return-On-Investment (ROI) in Microsoft adCenter
May 19, 2010, 11:20 amThis is the 7 th post in the SEM Intermediate Series , a collection of posts intended for search engine marketing professionals looking for guidance in monitoring and adjusting the key performance indicators (KPIs) that determine the success of a PPC campaign. This series is a continuation of the SEM Beginner Series . Given the current economic...
Mobile strategy gets better with Google Maps API Premier v3
May 19, 2010, 11:19 amI'm delighted to announce the launch of Google Maps API Premier v3 today, which includes the functionality you've put to use in v2 plus new features that Premier partners have requested, including: Support for mobile browsers such as Android and iPhone Optimized routing Support for custom Street View imagery Support for mobile browsers We started...
Live: Google I/O Day One Keynote
May 19, 2010, 11:14 amThe Google I/O day one keynote will begin soon. Go here to watch it live . I will post notes below. Please forgive the inevitable typos that are sure to occur. Notes begin: It's really hot in here. Still waiting...people still filing in. They said they'll be starting in a few minutes.
Free '0.Facebook' Mobile Platform Launches For Users In Poorer Countries
May 19, 2010, 11:07 amFacebook goes a step further in the global open web by enabling users in poorer countries to access its platform through a mobile application called 0.Facebook - free of charge.Click to read the rest of this post...
Yahoo Buys Associated Content At Reported $100 Million
May 19, 2010, 11:06 amYahoo said it is purchasing Associated Content, aka the People's Media Company™, in a deal reported by AdAge to be worth over $100 million Click to read the rest of this post...
Facebook And Zynga In 5-year Non-Exclusive Deal - Really?
May 19, 2010, 11:00 amIn a surprise move following a previous fallout, Facebook and Zynga announced they have clinched a "five-year strategic relationship" deal with no strings attached - almost. Click to read the rest of this post...
Live-blogging (okay live-waving) Day 1 of Google I/O Keynote
May 19, 2010, 10:51 amOkay, I'm going to try live-blogging the keynote of Google I/O, but I'm doing it with a twist. I'm going to try live-blogging in Google Wave with some other folks.
Hearing Highlights Benefits Of Internet Gambling Regulation
May 19, 2010, 10:51 amThe Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative said today it strongly supports testimony by Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Jim McDermott (D-WA) on the ability to regulate online gambling to protect consumers, collect billions in new government revenue and create thousands of new jobs in the U.S. "Today's witnesses clearly articulated why Congress...
Yandex: the best search engine in the world?
May 19, 2010, 10:43 amSomehow, Yandex, the well known Russian search engine has launched in the UK with very little fanfare. Please forgive me for getting this post up quickly. There is a lot of research I’d like to do before I make to many conclusions, but since when has research got in the way of a good story!
If you like your search engine to have a...
"It's like, half the Internet."
May 19, 2010, 9:42 amWhatever niche people are working in, defending, or touting in our industry, it's customary to begin with a slide or a quick stat over cocktails to remind the listener of its hugeness. A friend of mine just noted that she told people we work in search (marketing), and everyone's eyes around the table went a bit wide, before someone tentatively...
Facebook Seeks More Users With Fast, Free Mobile Site
May 19, 2010, 9:20 amNumerous reports have indicated this week that Facebook is about to hit the 500 million user mark, and while there may be a big celebration, the social network isn't slowing down in its quest for users. Late yesterday, Facebook launched a new site that will provide some people with free and fast mobile access. 0.facebook.com actually represents...
SMX Advanced – How Your Social Media Campaign Will Get You in Trouble… Maybe
May 19, 2010, 9:12 amThis is the director’s cut of my SMX presentation on the new UK laws governing social media campaigns.
If you weren’t at SMX, the slides are pretty self-explanitory, and if you were there, skip to the middle, where you can find all the slides THE MAN DIDN’T WANT YOU TO SEE!
How Your Social Media Campaign Will Get You in...
LiveWorld Launches Facebook Forum 2.0 For Brands
May 19, 2010, 9:02 amSocial networking marketing firm LiveWorld has launched Facebook Forum 2.0, aimed at helping brands deepen their level of engagement with their fans. WebProNews spoke to Peter Friedman, CEO and Chairman of LiveWorld about the launch of Facebook Forum 2.0. Friedman said LiveWorld created Facebook Forum 2.0 in response to its clients wanting to...
An Alternative "Related Posts" Wordpress Plugin â" Where Did They Go From Here
May 19, 2010, 9:02 amI have once looked at the three ways to display related posts in Wordpress . I have also described that will help your site performance by leveraging your old content and increasing: Click-through; Crawl depth; Possibly, rankings. Today I am sharing another Wordpress plugin that may be used for that: " Where did they go from there ". In essence,...
Is Your Website A Cash Generating Sales Machine? Probably Not!
May 19, 2010, 9:02 amWhile there are countless sites on the web that are making good money, more often than not sites are not performing as well as they could/should. They aren't living up to their potential. If these websites were employees, we'd probably fire them. So, what do you do when your website isn't living up to its potential? Give up? That is one...
ESPN Joining Social Gaming Party
May 19, 2010, 8:54 am
While I realize that many of our readers are not sports fans (your reactions to some of my sports themed posts in the past are a clear giveaway on that front) I feel it is important to share with you that ESPN is joining the social gaming fray.
Why is it important? As far as brands go, ESPN is one of the strongest ones on the...
Why Being an SEO Is So Awesome!
May 19, 2010, 8:39 amI recently read an article by Sarah Carling entitled " The Best Job In The World ." and found it so compelling that I wanted to add to what she started. As Sarah states, there are so many aspects of this job that are exciting and it's a profession that will require you to always be on the top of your game. This "game" doesn't guarantee much...
Google CEO Right to Fight FTC For AdMob
May 19, 2010, 8:34 amGoogle CEO Eric Schmidt told Reuters May 18 Google will contest the U.S. government "very hard" if regulators block its $750 million bid for mobile ad firm AdMob . Schmidt said AdMob had been left at a "significant disadvantage" in competing with Apple. It's actually Google that has been left at the altar in a big way because without AdMob, it...
How to Promote Your Blog on TV for Way Less Than You Think
May 19, 2010, 8:10 amThe idea of advertising a blog on TV is just plain crazy. Right? Well, it used to be. But with the introduction of Google TV, that crazy idea isn't so crazy anymore. Google TV is part of Google AdWords, and it works much the same way. It's an auction-based system where you choose the price you want to pay. Obviously, the more you pay, the more...
SEO at Turner Broadcasting: Dan Perry Interview
May 19, 2010, 8:04 amSpotlight on Search Interview with Dan Perry, SEO Director at Turner Broadcasting Working with Enterprise SEO projects is compared to smaller company sites is as different as marketing to BtoC vs. BtoB customers. This interview with Dan Perry , the SEO Director for Turner Broadcasting covers his SEO dream job, in-house SEO career advice and...
Worldwide Mobile Phone Sales Up 17% in Q1
May 19, 2010, 7:43 am
Whether it’s the real year of mobile or not doesn’t matter much really. Although we like to try to pinpoint these types of ‘movements’ by some magical moment in time where the switch was suddenly turned on it’s not how it happens. What does happen is year over year signs and hints appear saying that shifts are truly...
And So The Margins Race Toward Zero
May 19, 2010, 7:02 amYahoo! & Associated Content @ Yahoo! Video The backfill content business model has had a great run over the past 5 years, but with today's announcement of Yahoo! acquiring Associated Content, it certainly feels like it is getting toward the beginning of the end for that model for most folks. Demand Media has grown eHow aggressively & struck...
Luxury and bespoke searches: travel, fashion and furniture
May 19, 2010, 5:48 amYesterday I presented as the Luxury Interactive 2010 conference in London, and I thought I'd share a couple of the finding from the research that I carried out for the event. The first thing I did was to look at the most luxurious searches in the UK using our search term suggestions tool. Over the 12 weeks ending 15/05/10 people in the UK searched...
Yandex Launches Latin Script Version To Expand Audience Internationally
May 19, 2010, 5:38 am"The global search is also available at the company's experimental www.yandex.com launched for testing new search algorithms."
Should Opinion Be a Ranking Factor?
May 19, 2010, 4:27 amThis is a post by search geek Tim Nash that should be mandatory for Google engineers. How can it be that purely negative opinion posts with no value like Derek Powazek's "SEO FAQ" rank at #1? Google fix this, Tim Nash tells you how.
A4uexpo Munich: Data Feed SEO & Advanced Information Architecture
May 19, 2010, 3:49 amHere’s my second presentation from the awesome A4uexpo Munich. The conference is really good, phenomenally well run and really good fun. Everyone’s a little bit worse for wear on the morning of the second day but here’s my slides from Data Feed SEO & Advanced Information Architecture. There’s loads of good tips in here....
Facebook Looks Set To Do A U-Turn On Complex Privacy
May 19, 2010, 3:29 am"it was listening to the message from users that it has 'made things too complex'."
Bad Lieutenant Movie goes Mobile with Expandable Banners
May 19, 2010, 3:20 amHot on the heels of Jim Tarrs mobile announcement last week about rich media on mobile, the UK team has been hard at work launching the first ever expandable banner on MSN Mobile. Users see the banner about Nicholas Cages new film on their device with the call-to-action to tap and see a trailer. The banner expands out to give an array of options...
Google Analytics Event Tracking to Monitor Calls to Action
May 19, 2010, 1:05 amPosted by chenry Analytics is one of those things that hasnt always been at the top of my priority list until recently. Google Analytics has many features Ive never used before because I havent had the time to sit down and really investigate what they can do for me and my clients. A few months ago, in one of my late night GA adventures, I found a...
Several Link Types That Matter
May 19, 2010, 12:13 amThe holy grail of search engine optimization (besides content and keywords) is the all mighty link. There are many ways to create links to your website it just takes a little time to and energy. Don't assume you have to only be on industry leading websites to see good results. Links come in many shapes and sizes. Here are some examples of...
Google I/O About to Begin
May 18, 2010, 11:40 pmGoogle I/O hasn't even officially begun yet, but already Google has had an incredibly busy week (not that this is unsual for the company). Facebook chatter has been going strong since its developer conference, but now it's Google's turn. Watch for exclusive interview live from Google I/O this week. On my flight out here to San Francisco, I was...
Yahoo Buys Associated Content and $5 Per Article ‘Journalists’ Celebrate
May 18, 2010, 11:21 pm
It looks like Carol Bartz has decided that the way for Yahoo to survive is to add to the proliferation of content that is being produced for the sole purpose of garnering search traffic. That ‘content’ is often just glorified keyword wrappers that do little to actually help a reader but plenty to sucker them into an...
Yahoo To Buy Associated Content
May 18, 2010, 10:36 pm"'Combining our world-class editorial team with Associated Content's makes this a game changer,' said Carol Bartz, Yahoo's CEO. 'Together, we'll create more content around what we know our users care about, and open up new and creative avenues for advertisers to engage with consumers across our network. These are important aspects of building...
Ecommerce: How Best To Handle Pages When Products Go Discontinued
May 18, 2010, 9:34 pm"When you have a product that becomes discontinued or for whatever reason you stop selling it, what do you do with that page?"
Yahoo Acquires Freelance Content Site, Associated Content
May 18, 2010, 7:38 pmSo while Google is busy trying to buy a VOIP solutions provider , Yahoo on the other was busy signing a definitive agreement to acquire Associated Content . Associated Content is a freelance content generation site powered by around 380,000 freelance contributors. Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz calls the deal as a game changer. "Together, we'll create...
Comment spam policy update for Bing blogs & forums
May 18, 2010, 6:52 pmThe Bing blogs and forums team are grateful for the growing participation and readership of our user community. We've worked hard over the past year to provide compelling content that will help our users get the most out of the Bing experience. We sincerely hope that our readers and participants continue to find value in the content we produce!...
SMX Advanced: Top 10 Analytics Reports
May 18, 2010, 6:42 pmIt’s late, so without too much commentary, here is my slide deck from SMX Advanced 2010 in London [some of the formatting went a bit screwy - I'm trying to fix that]:
Top 10 Analytics Reports
If you like this kind of thing, it’s not too late to sign up for my FREE conference...
Congress Denies Itself Pay Raise
May 18, 2010, 6:24 pmby Claudine Zap Will this recession ever end? While the belt-tightening continues, you may want to take comfort in the fact that Congress members have to do more with less, too: President Obama signed a law that denied Congress its cost-of-living increase for the second year running . To be fair, Congress voted not to give themselves raises. (If...
Yahoo Acquires Associated Content
May 18, 2010, 4:58 pmThe extended Yahoo family just got a whole lot bigger. Yahoo announced this afternoon that it's acquired Associated Content, and Associated Content, which specializes in crowdsourced content, is in contact with around 380,000 contributors. If you're wondering how this purchase has anything to do with Yahoo's core businesses - and/or whether it...
Google Releases Gmail API for Contextual Gadgets
May 18, 2010, 4:24 pmGoogle's Gmail team May 18 launched a new Gmail API to let programs in the Google Apps Marketplace put more relevant info right into Gmail messages with contextual gadgets. The Marketplace is an online store selling enterprises business applications that integrate with and extend Google Apps. Contextual gadgets display previews of content from...
Kindle For Android App Out This Summer
May 18, 2010, 4:05 pmAmazon.com said today it will release a free Kindle for Android application sometime this summer.
Kindle for Android will allow users to browse and read from over 540,000 books in the Kindle Store.
Kindle for Android features Amazon's Whispersync technology, which saves and synchs a user's bookmarks across their Kindle, Kindle DX, iPhone, iPod...
Oprah Winfrey Wants to Give You a Show
May 18, 2010, 3:33 pmby Claudine Zap Oprah Winfrey is getting out of the talk show business to run the Oprah Winfrey Network, OWN. Could you do her job? If you think so, then Oprah Winfrey wants to make you a star â" maybe: You could be the lucky winner of Oprah Winfrey's nationwide talent search . And the best part is, no special skills are required, aside from a...
Google Begins Cleanup After WiFi Data Blunder
May 18, 2010, 3:14 pmHowever facepalm-worthy Google's accidental collection of sensitive data sent over WiFi networks may have been, the search giant is at least wasting no time in remedying the situation. Google has already deleted the data it accumulated in Ireland, and appears set to dispose of the data it collected in the UK, as well.
Alex Stamos, a partner...
Facebook Makes a Deal with App Maker Zynga
May 18, 2010, 3:11 pm
Zynga has made some of the most popular apps on Facebook, such as FarmVille with its 75M users. With a total of 239 million monthly active users of their apps, Zynga has a significant proportion of Facebook users hooked. But they just about got unhooked: Zynga and Facebook were in a tense face-off over Facebook’s currency...
5 Simple Google Analytics Tips You Should Be Using
May 18, 2010, 2:06 pmPosted by jennita Last week, a few of us from SEOmoz attended WebShares Seminar for Success for Google Analytics and Google Website Optimizer training. All of us who attended have a decent grasp on GA but really wanted to get some advanced information and gain a better understanding of GAs potential. Plus, actually getting trained on something is...
Search Ads vs. Content Ads in Microsoft adCenter: What's the Difference?
May 18, 2010, 1:55 pmIf you're a regular reader of the adCenter Blog (you rock!), you may have noticed that some of the more recent posts are focused on addressing questions that are most frequently asked of our partners in customer support. One of the the topics that seems to pop up on a fairly regular basis is around ad delivery. Not long ago,
Facebook And Zynga Reach 5 Year Deal
May 18, 2010, 1:48 pmFacebook said today it has entered into a five-year relationship with Zynga, the social networking gaming company behind the popular FarmVille and Mafia Wars.
Under the deal, Zynga will expand its use of Facebook Credits in its games. The deal signals Zynga's commitment to social gaming on Facebook. Terms of the relationship were not disclosed....
Facebook Remorse: Posting Online Could Cost You Your Job
May 18, 2010, 1:21 pm
Like most people in the service industry from time to time, Charlotte waitress Ashley Johnson got a bad tip recently. After a couple took a three hour lunch—forcing her to stay an hour past the end of her shift—and left a $5 tip, she vented on Facebook. A couple days later, her boss called her in. They had her Facebook...
Beyond Google: SEO and the Social Web
May 18, 2010, 1:19 pm88 billion (OK, 87.8, we rounded up). That's the number of search queries Google web properties are responsible for each month according to comScore . Core to many search marketing strategies is to "Fish where the fish are" and make no mistake, the fish are decidedly hanging out on Google. YouTube, Gmail, Blogger.com and many other online services...
Twitter To Hit Japanese Cell Phones This Summer
May 18, 2010, 1:14 pmJapan's third-largest mobile communications company is poised to help Twitter become significantly more popular outside America. SoftBank has decided to ship a total of 13 different cell phone models with Twitter applications and/or widgets preinstalled.
This will put Twitter in front of a whole lot of people, considering that SoftBank...
Idol Talk: Gazing into the Crystal Ball
May 18, 2010, 12:56 pmby Vera H-C Chan Will Crystal Bowersox ever get a proposal from her boyfriend? Can Lee DeWyze stop channeling the fretful spirits of Richard Lewis and Zach Braff ? Will Casey James ever unleash his tightly wound sex appeal? All right, not exactly the kind of questions to ask in figuring out who will win " American Idol ." But in a season hobbled...
Simplify common tasks with the new Google Apps Script
May 18, 2010, 12:38 pmLast year at our Google I/O Developer Conference, we launched Google Apps Script , a software tool that lets you customize and automate Google Apps. Today, on the verge of our first birthday, we're releasing significant updates to Google Apps Script, including its integration with other properties like Google Maps and Google Docs as well as...
USB Worm Top Threat In Q1
May 18, 2010, 12:09 pmIn the first quarter of 2010, a USB worm took the top spot for malware globally, according to a new report by McAfee. Threats on portable storage devices took the lead for the most popular malware. AutoRun related infections held the No.1 and No. 3 spots due to the widespread adoption of removable devices, mainly USB drives. A variety of...
Stop Wasting PPC Clicks and Start Saving $$$ - Part 2
May 18, 2010, 11:57 amby Mike Fleming OK, we got rid of some wasted clicks from our PPC campaigns. Now, let's do some more. Let's say we have an ad group that is dedicated to selling something specific like " Gibson Guitars ." We've got keywords and targeted ads directed to a targeted landing page dealing directly with guitars that are made by Gibson. And let's say...
Walk Dogs for $105,000 a Year (Or Make a Living Doing What *You* Love)
May 18, 2010, 11:52 amI recently put out the word that I wanted to interview small business owners for an upcoming project, the Empire Building Kit . These were the criteria: you had to net at least $50,000 a year with two or fewer employees, you had to be willing to talk about money in specific terms, you had to share your biggest mistakes as well as your greatest...
Weekly Search & Social News: 05/18/2010
May 18, 2010, 11:51 amHello world, how are we now? Yup it's that time, another ' 7 Days of Search and Social ' - enough reading to choke the geeks and phreaks alike. The week that was had a nice variety of goodiness to keep me happy. And once more, no real drama to speak of (aghast!). That's not to say there wasn't some ranting going on, oh we sure have that covered....
Hotmail vs. GMail: All We Really Ever Wanted Was a Good Product
May 18, 2010, 11:45 amLooking at the impending makeover of Hotmail , I have to say I'm impressed. Recalling reasons why many of us switched to GMail (away from Yahoo Mail, natch) - it wasn't about brand, or thinking Google was cooler. It was a great product with soft innovations that just made web-based email much easier to use. And yes, it took the other guys a long...
Social Media for Online Reputation â" Kevin Gibbons, SMX London
May 18, 2010, 11:45 amToday's sessions at day two of SMX London are focused around social media and analytics/conversions. My presentation looked at online reputation, largely from a social media perspective. I've shared the slides from this below: Kevin Gibbons - SMX London 2010 - Social Media for Reputation Management View more presentations from Kevin Gibbons . I'll...
Twitter Sparks Developers' Ire With In-House Vs External App Dilemma
May 18, 2010, 11:30 amTwitter is now facing the typical and critical issue of in-house vs external apps development for its platform as the micro-blogging site has now reached a certain level of maturity, research firm Ovum said, warning that "Twitter risks app developer revolt". Click to read the rest of this post...
Carl Icahn Cuts Stake In Yahoo (Again)
May 18, 2010, 11:28 amOnce upon a time, Carl Icahn complained about the way Jerry Yang was running Yahoo and bought a massive number of shares to force him out. Later, Icahn joined Yahoo's board of directors and gave Carol Bartz his full support. Now, Icahn's involvement seems almost over, as he's sold around 7.9 million shares. This new development is a rather big...
Google Says "Failed Badly" On Payload Data Collection
May 18, 2010, 11:02 amGoogle went through the trouble of putting out a quite detailed blog post yesterday to apologize for having collected "in error" Wi-Fi data in Ireland through its Google Street View cars, saying it "failed badly". The search giant added that although it had collected data "samples", it had not used it for any of Google's service offers.Click to...
Meltwater Barred From Sun Online Content As News International Steps Up Anti-Crawling Policy
May 18, 2010, 10:56 amDelivering on its intention of removing its content from the open web, News International's The Sun Online last week blocked PR media monitoring service Meltwater and UK news aggregator NewsNow from indexing its articles, using a Robots.txt file, PaidContent.org reported.Click to read the rest of this post...
#ISSLON â" International Search Summit Announces Autumn Event
May 18, 2010, 10:54 amFollowing a successful International Search Summit at London's Barbican Centre last week, WebCertain can now announce the date for the next London Summit. The sixth London event will take place on Thursday 28th October at The British Library , the venue of several previous Summits. Speakers are yet to be named for October, however the Summit will...
Foursquare Check Ins Growing Rapidly
May 18, 2010, 10:29 am
While the numbers are nowhere near those of Facebook (really whose are anyway?) foursquare is experiencing some significant jumps in number of check-ins. This is a double-edged sword of sorts though since more and more people are discovering that when they have checked in they have essentially done everything they can do.
The...
Doodle 4 Google Contest Down To 40 Finalists
May 18, 2010, 10:25 amGoogle said today it has narrowed down its third annual Doodle 4 Google contest to 40 regional finalists. For the first time, Google said it is visiting the schools of its top 40 regional finalists and will share educational Google tools with teachers while announcing online voting for the top 40 doodles. This year's Doodle 4 Google contest theme...
Get your Facebook Privacy Under Control
May 18, 2010, 10:25 amBecause Facebook privacy is such a hot topic lately, I thought I might write something so you know where you can check your privacy settings, or at least get a laugh out of what other people aren't making private. With the amazing (that's right, I said A-M-A-Z-I-N-G) capabilities of open graph and all the changes that came with it, we all want to...
Google Offers to Buy VOIP Provider Global IP Solutions
May 18, 2010, 10:02 amGoogle is on to its usual company shopping again. This time, it is eyeing Global IP Solutions , a company that provides technology used for delivering voice and video over IP networks. Google has reportedly made an offer of $68.2 million to acquire the said company which has Google and Yahoo as two of its long-time customers. Global IP...
Video & Universal; the SEO blind spot
May 18, 2010, 9:58 amVideo and SEO
Why Traditional PR Should be Part of Your SEO Strategy
May 18, 2010, 9:45 amYou can get links by producing great content which people social bookmark or mention on their sites. But you only get those links from your followers and a few others that happen to stumble upon your content. Sometimes you need to push with Public Relations outreaches to get links because sitting around with only a pull strategy for link building...
Four reasons why Google might not use the anchor text in the links to your website
May 18, 2010, 9:36 amThe anchor text of the links that point to your website is very important when it comes to getting high rankings on Google. Unfortunately, Google might not use the anchor text of all the links that point to your website. In this article, you'll learn how to find these links.
SEO Cost - The Relative Perspective on Total SEO Cost
May 18, 2010, 9:35 amThere are some people who think SEO is expensive. This is, of course, a matter of perspective. If you go online because you’ve bought into the scam still being pitched that you can make big money with almost no investment, and you set up a website for under $1000 using offshore labor, then the idea of paying $500, $1000, or $1500 a month...
Microsoft Previews New Hotmail Upgrade
May 18, 2010, 9:28 amMicrosoft has introduced a preview of its Hotmail email service aimed at reducing inbox clutter and winning over users of other rival services such as Yahoo mail and Gmail. Key highlights of the revamped Windows Live Hotmail include the ability to create and edit Office documents right in the inbox, view new emails from friends, social network...
How to Turn Black Hat SEO into a White Hat Approach
May 18, 2010, 9:22 amThe SEO industry has seen its share of horrendous grey and black hat approaches for many years. It is truly amazing to me that I still see these spammy approaches being implemented by so called white hat SEO firms. For those of you that don't know what I am referring to when I say a black hat SEO, here is a link that contains some good...
Google Set To Make Big VoIP/Videoconferencing Buy
May 18, 2010, 9:05 amA company that specializes in VoIP and videoconferencing technology should soon become a part of Google. The search giant announced this morning that it is making an offer to buy Global IP Solutions for $68.2 million in cash. Global IP Solutions is a rather big deal in its niche. Headquartered in San Francisco, it has offices in Boston, Hong...
Search marketing gets specific
May 18, 2010, 9:04 amby Mike Moran Remember when everyone wanted the #1 position for one-word searches? Time was that more than half of searches were only one word, but searchers have grown a lot more sophisticated since then. One-word searches rarely found what searchers were looking for, and comprise far less of the mix nowadays. It's just one way that search...
Design Entry Pages Not Home Pages
May 18, 2010, 9:04 amStop ignoring the facts. Google and News feeds send visitors to other web pages on your website. Your Home Page is like the Front Door on a stately mansion that is hardly ever used. You should greet your visitors with a well designed entry page, however they are entering. Make that template for the real way in to your website your first...
How to Manage Your SEO Team Work with SEJ Tools' Tasks
May 18, 2010, 8:59 amTask manager built-in with SEJ tools is a handy feature that lets you effectively distribute tasks and monitor the whole process. It can be used as a standalone utility but it is also heavily integrated with other internal tools like Link Manger where you can create a task while adding a link prospect. While I have mentioned the task managing...
How To Craft the Perfect Meta Tags
May 18, 2010, 8:46 amThe end-user is ultimately the one who decides if they should click on your link... Don't forget that while creating Title and Meta description for your pages
10 Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Killer Social Media Strategy
May 18, 2010, 8:00 amThis is a guest post by Beth Hrusch. Why do businesses need social media? It's a good question, and one that everyone should ask before they get started. After all, spending time, money, and other precious resources on social media marketing before you have an understanding of what it can do for you is kind of like putting the cart before the...
A Roundup of 20 Effective Branded Facebook Pages
May 18, 2010, 7:56 amNowadays, pretty much every company has its own Facebook page, which is hardly surprising, considering what a superb and absolutely free platform it is for brands to interact with, and get valuable information from, their customers and fans. What is surprising, however, is that very few organizations have gone beyond the standard Wall, Info,...
Google's Multilingual Taxonomy: New (Beta) Keyword Tool Feature
May 18, 2010, 7:38 am"At present I can see English, Japanese, German and Portuguese."
A4uexpo Munich: Universal Search
May 18, 2010, 7:19 amFollowing hot on the heels of Sam’s most excellent keyphrase research presentation at SMX London I present here my slides on Universal Search from Munich! The slides are jam packed with links and additional resources so download and research at your leisure.
Universal Search by Tom Critchlow – A4uexpo Munich 2010
If you’re at...
WordPress Attacked With Cloaking Malware
May 18, 2010, 7:00 am"the malware is now cloaking it's presence to avoid Google's Safe Browsing API!"
Google Buys VOIP Service That Powers Some Yahoo, AOL Offerings
May 18, 2010, 6:10 am
Google continues to plow forward swallowing up whatever it needs to do whatever it wants. Google will acquire Global IP Solutions Holding which will give it control of the voice over IP (VOIP) engine that sits behind offerings by competitors like Yahoo and AOL. The company makes processing software for voice and video over IP...
Google To Acquire Global IP Solutions For $68.2 Million
May 18, 2010, 4:39 am"Global IP Solutions, which is listed on the Oslo stock exchange, makes the underlying processing software for voice and video calls over internet networks. As well as providing technology that allows users of Yahoo Instant Messenger to make voice calls, GIPS technology also powers voice calls for Ciscos WebEx system and voice and video technology...
Microsoft To Give Hotmail A Makeover
May 18, 2010, 3:37 am"Most of the elements of the refresh will be available after the summer update."
SMX Advanced: Keyphrase Research – Go Ninja, Go Ninja, GO!
May 18, 2010, 12:57 amWhilst the talk of the day (and most of the jokes) yesterday at SMX London definitely seemed to be focused around the Ash Cloud and all the canceled flights, there were also definitely some good presentations to be heard on the first day. Obviously, being based in London has its advantages (beyond it being an amazing city) and the Distilled team...
Is Bing Solving the Media Indexing Issue?
May 18, 2010, 12:11 amStill to this day media rich website applications have a difficult time being properly indexed due to the search engines inability to read those types of marketing efforts. Search engines are simply readers which rely on reading text in order to display the correct relevant information. Microsoft has created a new type of technology recently which...
MySpace Wants to Become Your Privacy Buddy
May 17, 2010, 11:30 pm
OK, it’s 2005. Imagine you are the reigning social media champ, MySpace. You are the number one social networking site and you get all the great press. It appears as if there was no way to stop you. You even get purchased for some serious scratch from one of the premier media companies in the world, News Corp. Sure there are...
Copy Machines: A Major Privacy Risk
May 17, 2010, 9:55 pm"Did you know that most digital copiers produced since 2002 have a hard drive that stores images of ALL your copies, scans, emails, etc. processed by the machine?"
Debating the Value (and Meaning) of "Great Content" for SEO
May 17, 2010, 7:56 pmPosted by randfish The SEO industry, like many others, has private forums, chat threads and groups of connected individuals whose interactions happen largely behind closed doors. Today, I'd like to pull back a curtain and share a debate that occurred between a number of CEOs in the search marketing industry over the last few days that I think...
Celebrating curators: "As seen on" comes to the video page
May 17, 2010, 7:51 pm"As seen on" surfaces videos popular elsewhere on the Web, and now it also lives on the video page. In other words, if a blog or site is responsible for driving a significant amount of a video's views, that site will be credited on the page, as so: What this means is that you can get recognition for sourcing videos that your readers love and...
Google Local â" A Bit Confused
May 17, 2010, 5:17 pmI found this rather interesting bug over at Google today. When doing a search for "Victoria BC Lawyer", in the Local Business results I found that only one of the seven results were actually for law offices! The remaining 6 were for doctors as well as a government publishing office. One would think that Google has been doing this long enough to...
Food for Thought: Airline Serves Up Used Plastic Serveware
May 17, 2010, 5:11 pmby Claudine Zap If you're flying Qantas Airways anytime soon, we have some good news: The air carrier still serves in-flight meals. The bad news: They'll be serving up used plastic cutlery with the plane food. According to a story in the Daily Telegraph , Australia's largest international airline admitted to reusing its plastic forks, spoons, and...
39 SMX London 2010 Recap Tweets from Day One
May 17, 2010, 5:05 pmYou may have noticed I've been busy Twittering away covering the SMX London conference today. Rand Fishkin 's SEO takeaway was " it's ridiculous that we Tweet so much and no one is capturing that data for SEO purposes ". So I thought I'd put mine to good use! Here's a recap of the top tips/tweets I picked up during the event so far: WolframAlpha...
Can Facebook Be Replaced?
May 17, 2010, 4:48 pmOnce upon a time, not so long ago, MySpace was the top social network in the land. Eventually, Facebook took over that role, and has not looked back since. Earlier this year, the company announced that it had over 400 million users , then at its developer conference, Facebook made what could be considered its biggest announcement ever - the Open...
Key Engineer Leaves Twitter
May 17, 2010, 4:48 pmAn engineer who joined Twitter in early 2007 and later earned the title "API Lead" has now left the company. Alex Payne announced this afternoon that he's quit, and will be moving on to act as cofounder, CPO, and CTO at a startup called BankSimple. This is obviously bad news for Twitter in the sense that Payne was a valuable employee. Twitter's...
American Heart Association Partners With Nintendo On Fitness
May 17, 2010, 4:26 pmNintendo has partnered with the American Heart Association to promote its Wii consoles as a way to stay physically active. The two organizations said they will work together to help people learn how active-play video games lead to healthy living. Our two organizations come from different worlds, but we share a common goal, said Clyde Yancy, M.D.,...
Hulu Revamps; Asks Us to Target Ads to Ourselves
May 17, 2010, 3:38 pm
Last week, the popular professional video content site Hulu revamped its site and video player. While we’ve noted that Hulu appears to be struggling to support its content through ads alone, they may have hit on a way to net better ad rates: having users target themselves.
Before, users could us a thumbs up/thumbs down...
Big Bucks for "Big Bang Theory" Repeats
May 17, 2010, 3:34 pmby Claudine Zap Talk about an ever-expanding universe: " The Big Bang Theory " will be on your TV a lot more now that it's inked a syndication deal that's, well, more "bang" for the bucks. Cable giants TBS and Fox both snagged rights to repeats on their networks, and they didn't come cheap. In fact, Variety is reporting that at $1.5 million an...
Facebook Closes In On 500 Million Users
May 17, 2010, 3:28 pmIn early February, Facebook announced that it had 400 million users, and while nothing's certain at this point, it looks like an announcement regarding the next big milestone may be just around the corner. A new report has indicated that Facebook expects to lay claim to 500 million users in June. Nick O'Neill wrote earlier today, "Facebook is...
Chris Boggs Elected President of SEMPO
May 17, 2010, 2:59 pmI'd like to congratulate my good friend Chris Boggs on the recent announcement of Chris being elected the new President of SEMPO . As many of you know, Chris has been deeply involved with the SEMPO organization for years and has always been an ethically outspoken and active member of the search engine optimization industry. Boggs, Director, Search...
MySpace Gets New Leadership for Marketing, Entertainment
May 17, 2010, 2:31 pmMySpace let us know that it's hired marketing industry vet David Donegan as Senior Vice President of Marketing. He will oversee the company's marketing, entertainment and events teams and strategies. Donegan will be based in MySpace's Beverly Hills office and will report to the companys Co-President, Jason Hirschhorn. "David's deep experience in...
Editorial Disapprovals: What They Are and Tips on How to Avoid Them in Microsoft adCenter (Part III)
May 17, 2010, 1:56 pmEditorial disapprovals are red flags in an advertiser's account indicating there is something in the content or structure of an ad that isn't in compliance with adCenter's Editorial Guidelines . Because they're one of the most common reasons an adCenter advertiser calls in to our customer support team for assistance, I thought a series of posts...
Google Actually Apologizes for Collecting Extra Personal Data
May 17, 2010, 1:55 pm
(Meanwhile, encrypted search is coming this week.)
Google recently realized they’d inadvertently been drive-by spying on WiFi networks. Part of the data collection was intentional: they meant to collect the SSID info and MAC addresses as they drove by in Street View cars—but they unintentionally went beyond that to...
PayPal Partners with Malaysia's Largest Mobile Provider
May 17, 2010, 1:27 pmPayPal announced today that it has entered a strategic partnership with Maxis Berhad , the largest mobile operator in Malaysia. The two companies will offer online and mobile payment solutions to Maxis customers, of which there are over 12 million. PayPal points out that this is the first time a mobile operator and a global online payments...
Choosing the web address for a new website
May 17, 2010, 1:17 pmby Stone Reuning
Our online marketing clients often ask us to help
select domain names when setting up a new website. Indeed, there is an argument
that the domain name may impact search engine rankings for the site. But we
also think this decision deserves a lot of attention to how it will impact
the website's user experience, from the...
Google Chrome Ads Running on New York Times, ESPN
May 17, 2010, 1:15 pmGoogle was criticized for not advertising is Nexus One smartphone, and rightly so. It was one of the issues that lead to the failure of the device in its Webstore . The company clearly isn't content to let that happen with its Google Chrome Web browser. Visitors to such popular Websites as the New York Times and ESPN.com May 17 can't fail to...
Is Social Conversation The Future Of Polls And Surveys ? [Study]
May 17, 2010, 12:25 pmCarnegie Mellon University researchers demonstrated how Tweets ("Twitter data" as they call them) replicate opinion estimation for two major U.S. indicators, with some correlations "as high as 80%", suggesting that readily available texts from social sites could complement and even replace organic polls in the future.Click to read the rest of this...
SMX Advanced London 2010 - Day 1 Wrap Up
May 17, 2010, 12:01 pmUs Brits do think were quite good at search engine marketing. According to the IAB in 2009 over 60% of the £3,541m ad spend was on SEM. Some of the first bid-management tools were invented in the UK, and go to any search marketing conference.
In a world first, PayPal and Malaysia's largest mobile operator team up to tackle mobile commerce
May 17, 2010, 11:21 amDear friends, I'm just back from Malaysia and am delighted to share with you that PayPal has announced a strategic partnership with Maxis Berhad ("Maxis"), the leading telecom operator in Malaysia with more than 12 million subscribers. Starting this summer, Maxis and PayPal will combine their expertise to bring the best-of-breed online and mobile...
Google Categorizes Top Chrome Extensions
May 17, 2010, 11:21 amNew Chrome users may be overwhelmed to find that the extensions gallery considers 4,810 extensions "popular," making customization an intimidating prospect. There are 89 "featured" Chrome extensions, too, which is still a lot. So Google's attempted to organize its Chrome Extensions gallery by introducing six categories. These appear to be aimed...
Advocacy Group Critical Of Google Street View
May 17, 2010, 11:20 amGoogle is being criticized by advocacy group Consumer Watchdog for gathering private information from WiFi networks in Germany via its Street View cars.
The gathering of private information surfaced because the German government raised concerns about Google's data collection leading the company to audit its practices.
Google says the...
YouTube Boasts Over 2 Billion Daily Views, Unveils Future Plans
May 17, 2010, 11:20 amAs it celebrates its 5th birthday, YouTube announced on its blog that it is now serving over 2 billion views per day to over 200 countries. It also gave a hint at future developments currently in the pipeline. Click to read the rest of this post...
How to use social media optimization to get quick traffic
May 17, 2010, 11:14 amYou can use the social web to generate traffic. Learn which social media sites to use, how to handle negative feedback, how to set up a company blog and much more. It may take as long as 6 to 8 months to get results from search engine optimization, i.e from methods where you rewrite and redesign your site so that the search engines find relevant...
YouTube Boasts Over 2 Bln Daily Views On 5th Birthday, Unveils Future Plans
May 17, 2010, 11:04 amAs it celebrates its 5th birthday, YouTube announced on its blog that it is now serving over 2 billion views per day to over 200 countries. It also gave a hint at future developments currently in the pipeline. Click to read the rest of this post.
U.S. Q1 Online Ad Revenues Hit Record $5.9bn As Market Looks Up
May 17, 2010, 10:52 amOnline advertising revenues hit a record $5.9 billion in the U.S. in the first quarter, reflecting an uptick in the country's economy as well as the increasing role of online advertising in marketers' campaigns, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said in a report. Click to read the rest of this post...
Call The World For Free: Low-Cost International Phone Calls From Your Computer To Any Mobile Or Landline
May 17, 2010, 10:45 amDo you want to make international calls at the lowest rates possible? If you didn’t know, there are many Internet services that allow you to make low-cost phone calls to any mobile or landline phone on the planet using only your computer, your mobile phone or even a traditional telephone set. In this MasterNewMedia guide you will find all of the...
SMX Advanced London Day 1
May 17, 2010, 10:41 amUs Brits do think we're quite good at search engine marketing. According to the IAB in 2009 over 60% of the £3,541m ad spend was on SEM. Some of the first bid-management tools were invented in the UK and go to any search marketing conference in the world.
Google TV and All Sorts of Fun Expected at Google I/O
May 17, 2010, 10:35 amGoogle I/O , the company's annual developer conference starts this week, and all eyes will be upon Google, just as they have been on Facebook since its developer conference. Google has so many products, APIs, and relationships with a seemingly infinite number of third-parties, that there is bound to be a plethora of interesting news and general...
PPC Ad Quality â" Richard Fergie Presentation from SMX London
May 17, 2010, 10:17 amRichard Fergie has just presented at SMX Advanced London on PPC Ad Quality. Here is the presentation: PPC Ad Quality - SMX London 2010 by Richard Fergie For more coverage of the SMX London event, follow @kevgibbo . © SEOptimise - Thinking of attending SMX London in May 2010? get a 15% discount code ! free business guide to blogging whitepaper and...
SEO for Google News – Ranking Factors and Recommendations
May 17, 2010, 9:57 amGoogle News is quite different from traditional search in its ranking factors. What do SEO professionals in this arena need to know?
Creating a Social Media Analytics Action Plan â" Part 2: Configuring Your Analytics
May 17, 2010, 9:42 amLast month I introduced the idea that by creating a Social Media Analytics Action Plan, you'd find it much easier to not only find the ROI of social media for your company, but you'll also improve the effectiveness of your social media efforts. In Part 1 we defined our KPI's, and now it is time to properly configure your analytics package so you...
How to Write an Article That Draws Thousands of New Readers
May 17, 2010, 9:25 amImagine you woke up this morning and wrote an article. Just another article like all the articles you've been writing. Except something is different about this one. Tons of folks are clicking on this article. They're reading it and forwarding it to friends. They're signing up to your newsletter in droves. The numbers go into the hundreds, then...
Easy Step by Step Way to Use Youtube for Link Building
May 17, 2010, 9:19 amNylon Magazine (and yes I know that I'm a bit too old to be reading it) has started to put a youtube link in every article in their print magazine. It's a fantastic way to mix media and use offline methods to promote online marketing. Jamie Oliver sends out emails to his subscribers with video messages in them. This goes to (you guessed it) his...
Funding and Offers Pour In for Facebook Alternative
May 17, 2010, 9:08 amDiaspora has been getting a great deal of attention as reports come out about interest in Facebook account deletion . Facebook's Open Graph initiative, which has been criticized a great deal for being the opposite of open, has had people considering different options, and one of those options is Diaspora. At least that's the hope. Diaspora,...
Microsoft Settles Patent Case With VirnetX For $200 Million
May 17, 2010, 9:08 amMicrosoft said today it will pay Internet security software firm VirnetX Holding Corporation $200 million to get a patent license to settle litigation it infringed on two patents for communicating online. "We are pleased to work with VirnetX to bring these cases to a successful resolution through this settlement," said Tom Burt, corporate vice...
YouTube Celebrates Two Billion Views Per Day
May 17, 2010, 9:08 amThis month marks the fifth anniversary of YouTube's launch, and to celebrate the occasion, YouTube's created a special channel featuring celebrities' and regular users' thoughts on the matter. And YouTube's also made a big announcement regarding its size: the site's now receiving more than two billion views per day. In an email to WebProNews, a...
Wordpot: Another Keyword Suggestion Tool to Add to Your Arsenal
May 17, 2010, 9:01 amMy rule of thumb as to keyword research tools is: the more the better . Various tools have different algorithms and metrics to compare and when united, you may end up with many more keyword ideas and much more inspiration than when using just one utility. This is why I never grow tired of finding and sharing new (alternative) keyword research...
Google + Intel = Smart TV
May 17, 2010, 8:46 am
This week is a big one for Google . Their 3rd I/0 conference for developers takes place on Wednesday and Thursday so there should be some interesting news coming out of San Francisco (there usually is anyway but this time we’re talking about tech stuff only).
Early reports are getting ahead of the conference about an alliance...
Search Marketing Still Helps to Pay the Bills
May 17, 2010, 8:00 am
While most of the attention these days is given to the growth of social media and mobile applications as ways for business to capitalize online, one thing doesn’t seem to change much. That one thing is that search marketing delivers. Sure it fluctuates and there are changes happening all the time but a study conducted by...
The New Face Of Link Building
May 17, 2010, 7:48 am"In years past I'd put up great content and then go actively seeking links. And I'd get them. Not all the time, but I'd get reasonable response. Hard work paid off. That's not been my experience in the last few months."
SMX London: Ranking Factors in 2010
May 17, 2010, 7:46 amPosted by randfish Somehow, my flight from Seattle landed just before the newest Icelandic ash cloud began shutting down airports across UK airspace. As a result, I was able to present at SMX London this morning. The presentation is included below. This slide deck focuses on things that are probably in the search engines' ranking algorithm today...
5 Steps to Build a Twitter Marketing Strategy
May 17, 2010, 7:17 amSo you want to succeed with Twitter eh? Before you run off and chase shiny butterflies and little blue birds, take a seat and collect yourself. Then read the following tips on creating a potential Twitter marketing strategy that will help you become more productive and successful using Twitter for business. First things first. Who are you trying...
YouTube At 5: Over 2 Billion Views Served Per Day
May 17, 2010, 7:08 am
YouTube is celebrating its 5th birthday this year. Needless to say they have done more in their first five years than most. Not the least of the accomplishments is the sheer enormity of the following point of interest (I refuse to say fact): YouTube is streaming 2 billion views per day currently. To put some perspective on this,...
lastminute.com Sees 6,300 Extra Conversions through Audience Targeting â" Travel Case Study
May 17, 2010, 6:03 amIf there's one thing we're asked for to back up our digital discussions with agencies & advertisers, it's lots of case studies. Today's insight comes from a campaign we ran for lastminute.com on MSN in the UK. It shows how a combination of branded buy with audience targeting resulted in an additional 2.27m pages viewed on lastminute.com. The...
Google to Stop Selling Nexus One via Web
May 17, 2010, 3:07 amGoogle in their blog announced they'll stop selling the Nexus One through their own web shop , and instead focus on bringing it to stores (note they treat this as either-or decision in the long run). That is, they do so before even trying to sell all around the globe; when I check the site, I'm still getting "Sorry, the Nexus One phone is not...
Wikimedia Founder Voluntarily Gives Up Special Account Status
May 17, 2010, 2:44 am"Co-founder Jimmy Wales gave up some of his site privileges following protests by contributors angered that he had deleted images without consultation."
YouTube After Five Years and Two Billion Views Per Day
May 17, 2010, 1:36 am"That's nearly double the prime-time audience of all three major U.S. television networks combined."
Google vs Italian Authority On Revenue Sharing, chapter 2
May 17, 2010, 1:15 am"The U.S.-based Internet search company has offered greater transparency in its advertising revenue-sharing contracts with publishers,... "
Get Your Visitor Experience Right
May 17, 2010, 12:06 amHave you ever visited a website and got frustrated because you either couldn't find the contact information or had a hard time locating the path needed to be taken to make it through the website correctly? It is called user experience and if you get it wrong and forget to really apply it to your website than your SEO is going to go down the drain....
API and Dataset Cheatsheet - Building Quick & Dirty Tools
May 17, 2010, 12:00 amPosted by willcritchlow I recently wrote a post on hacking together a linkbuilding tool where I set myself a challenge of learning a bunch of new technologies in 2 hours in order to be able to build a basic linkbuilding tool. I learnt just enough YQL, xpath, Python and Google App Engine (NBED links) to do the job. Since then I've put this to use...
How to Fix the Broken Link Graph
May 16, 2010, 11:31 pmWhen Teoma launched in 2002 GoogleGuy made the following comment : "I just have one question. Are the Overture results on top an April Fool's Day joke, or is that for real? ;) " Since then Google has put ads above their organic search results, done selective self-serving within their "organic" results, and built a business that is pulling in over...
UK Election 2010: Personal Democracy Forum (#pdfge2010) Action Replay
May 16, 2010, 4:14 pmMark Hanson, Labour's new media strategist and former associate editor of LabourHome.org, wangled me an invitation to a formal review of how digital media innovations had changed UK Election 2010. The invitation-only event was hosted by the Personal Democracy Forum (PdF) on the evening of May 13 and held in London at the Royal Society for the...
How Did Adobe Get Around the Google AdSense No Popups Rule?
May 16, 2010, 3:28 pm"...the screenshot below the code, that Adobe was activating pop-ups through Google Adsense; of course this shouldnt happen, since Google doesnt allow such actions..."
Twitter Rolls Out "Top Tweets" to Improve Quality Trending Topics
May 16, 2010, 2:56 pmI've just noticed that top tweets are currently appearing in Twitter for trending topics and popular searches. See the top three listings here for a query on the currently trending topic #celebritytwitterpasswords : A problem with Twitter search and real-time search, has been the fact that quantity is valued over quantity . Mean that the latest...
Curse You, New Logo!
May 16, 2010, 8:17 amBack on May 5, Google unveiled a "spring clean" of its logo and a "metamorphosis" of the look and feel of its search engine results pages. These changes have caused more than one search engine marketer to shake a fist and cry out, "Curse you, new logo!"Click to read the rest of this post...
Microsoft CFO Deems Large Acquisitions Unlikely
May 16, 2010, 7:30 amIf Microsoft makes any acquisitions in the next few months, don't look for the term "billion" to be involved. Even "___ hundred million" may be out of the question. Microsoft's CFO, Peter Klein, recently indicated that the corporation isn't interested in spending lots of money.
Klein hinted that most companies...
Oracle’s Larry Ellison Weighs In On CEO Blogging
May 15, 2010, 11:30 pm
This week one of the richest and most influential men in business and the world, Larry Ellison, founder and CEO of Oracle Systems, gave his opinion on corporate blogging. Well, at least he gave his opinion on one attempt at corporate blogging and it strikes right at the core of some things that the social media and Internet...
AdSense 'above the fold' Ads (Beta)
May 15, 2010, 10:55 pm"Just received an email from google saying they've rolled out a new feature for advertisers, that lets them only target ads that appear above the fold."
#ISSLON - Video Optimisation and YouTube Marketing
May 15, 2010, 4:50 pmOn Thursday, May 13, I spoke at the International Search Summit in London. If you want to see what attendees thought of the event, conduct a Twitter search for #isslon and read through more than 15 pages of tweets.Click to read the rest of this post...
#SMSS10 - 3 Reasons You Need a YouTube Marketing Strategy
May 15, 2010, 2:00 pmI'm told that Mercury was in retrograde until May 11. All I know is that was when I spoke at the Social Media Success Summit 2010 along with 24 of the world's most respected social media experts.Click to read the rest of this post...
How Google and Facebook are undermining our trust in the social web
May 15, 2010, 11:01 amGoogle and Facebook make a mess of things, putting private information out in the open. This may ultimately undermine people's trust in search and social media. By Per Koch, Pandia Back in the 80's I was drafted to the Norwegian Navy and served as a Petty Officer in cryptography and communication. This was before the age of the World Wide Web and...
Pandia Search Engine News Wrap-up May 15
May 15, 2010, 10:15 amHere are some of the search engine and social media news article we found interesting this week. EU critical of Facebook's default privacy settings Says it is 'unacceptable' to make profile info public (techradar May 15 2010) Rumour: Apple to launch cloud-based iTunes in June At next month's Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco?...
Johnny's Copyblogger Wrap-Up: Week of May 10, 2010
May 15, 2010, 10:15 amI got this phone call yesterday from Brian, because he'd just read the post on my blog about how I'm thinking of getting a couple of tattoos . Anyway, he insisted that I drive down to Texas immediately so I could use his guy for my new skin art. I had to listen because the man definitely knows his ink. Most people don't know that Brian actually...
Amazon Brings U.S. Government To The Cloud
May 15, 2010, 7:39 amThe Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board said today it has moved Recovery.gov to a cloud computing infrastructure hosted by Amazon.com's Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2). The board says the move will allow for more efficient computer operations, improved security and reduced costs. Recovery.gov is now the first government-wide system to move...
Cup of Joe: Facebook Hates Girl Scout Cookies
May 15, 2010, 7:13 am
Facebook is now against Girl Scout cookies. That’s right, from this point forward Facebook is banning all discussion promotion and dialogue regarding all of our favorite treats (Thin Mints included)!
Okay, so that’s not true. As far as I can tell, Facebook doesn’t care one way or the other about Girl Scout...
Kode for datadetective
May 15, 2010, 6:47 amFirst Name: Last Name: State: Nationwide - AK AL AR AZ CA CO CT DC DE FL GA HI IA ID IL IN KS KY LA MA MD ME MI MN MO MS MT NC ND NE NH NJ NM NV NY OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VA VT WA WI WV WY *Required fields SMX West: March 2-4 Go to California!
George Soros Invests in Chinese Alibaba.com
May 15, 2010, 5:21 amThe Financial Times reports today that David Wei, Chief Executive of Alibaba.com, has revealed that George Soros has become one of the organisation's largest shareholders. Mr. Wei also told the FT that Alibaba intends to buy out Yahoo's stake in the Alibaba parent company. The Financial Times makes the common mistake of describing Alibaba.com as a...
Google to offer encrypted search next week
May 15, 2010, 4:41 am"Earlier this year, we encrypted Gmail for all our users, and next week we will start offering an encrypted version of Google Search..."
New Google Design: Good or Bad for SEO? Both.
May 15, 2010, 4:29 amA little more than a week ago Google introduced a new design for its search results . The often "quick to dismiss" SEO industry is watching awestruck what will happen. The first pros and cons trickle in from the forums and the blogs. So is the new Google design actually good or bad for SEO? Both. Some aspects of the new layout seem to have an...
Google Say They Were Collecting More Wifi Data Than They Meant To
May 15, 2010, 2:30 amWhen German authorities wanted to check the Wifi data Google collected with their Street View cars, Google say they reexamined that data and the collecting software... and found out that they were actually not just collecting Wifi network names and addresses, but also "information sent over the network". Google says this happened by mistake; a...
Google Admits Street View Logging MAC Addresses
May 15, 2010, 12:53 am"Google has admitted that for the past three years it has wrongly collected information people have sent over unencrypted wi-fi networks."
Getting New Sites Crawled Using Twitter
May 15, 2010, 12:47 am"I setup and installed a new blog yesterday and I thought rather than link it to any of my sites it would be worth Tweeting out the new URL to see how quickly it was picked up."
Betty White Makes a Splash, TV Kids Make Bank, Taiwan Susan Boyle Makes a Deal: Buzz Week in Review
May 14, 2010, 7:24 pmby Claudine Zap It was a week for the ages. Betty White is putting a platinum spin to the golden years, as she wowed us on "Saturday Night Live" and left many fans clamoring for more. Plus, the younger generation can't be counted out, not when some of the biggest stars are counting up all the cash they're making. And, the Whitney Houston...
This week in search 5/14/10
May 14, 2010, 6:26 pmThis is one of a regular series of posts on search experience updates. Look for the label This week in search and subscribe to the series. - Ed. This week, we announced a number of new search enhancements. Google Translate learns and speaks new languages This week, we launched 5 new "alpha" languages on Google Translate â" Armenian ,...
Whitney Houston Sound-Alike Doing Better Than Whitney Houston
May 14, 2010, 5:47 pmby Claudine Zap Whitney Houston may be struggling with her career, but her sound-alike is hitting a high note . The Taiwanese singing sensation Lin Yu-Chun , who rose from obscurity to YouTube stardom thanks to the Taiwan version of "American Idol," is now a true star with a record deal from Sony . Houston was supposed to be on a comeback tour,...
Upcoming webinar: Video Targeting
May 14, 2010, 5:46 pmWe previously highlighted a campaign that American Apparel ran on YouTube in which they targeted pet videos - including one of the most famous videos on the site. Part of the secret of American Apparel's success was their use of Video Targeting, a tool that helps advertisers find and target relevant partner videos on YouTube. As with other...
Submit video questions for May 2010
May 14, 2010, 5:35 pmIt's that time! On Monday morning I'll record some new videos. I created a Google Moderator page where you can post questions or suggestions and vote topics up and down. I won't be able to answer every single question, but I'll tackle several popular ones plus a few of the more interesting questions. Please submit questions that lots of people...
Google to Stop Selling Nexus One Online
May 14, 2010, 5:17 pmFive months after it started selling Nexus One via its online store, either Google finally realized that this is probably not the best way to distribute its smartphone or the smartphone is not really selling at all. So, Google just announced that it will stop selling Nexus One on its web store. No, Google is not abandoning the Nexus One, but...
Countdown to SMX Advanced Seattle, June 8-9, 2010
May 14, 2010, 4:33 pmWell be at SMX Advanced next monthwill you? Were looking forward to seeing everyone and participating in some great sessions take a look at the agenda . Stop by and see us in the Bing booth, plus catch speakers from Microsoft.
2009 Year in Review
May 14, 2010, 4:27 pmFor those of you using the Gregorian calendar, Happy New Year! It has been an amazing year for us here at Alexa, one that has brought with it a large number of improvements. I thought I would take some time to cover some of the more exciting ones, in no particular order. A New Website Probably the biggest and most visible change was the new Alexa...
Google Comes Clean About Wi-Fi Network Data Collection
May 14, 2010, 4:21 pmGoogle opened up in a blog post today confirming that they have been collecting data from Wi-Fi networks with their Google Maps Street View Cars as they have driven around. This is a subject that has been brought up, but in a recent blog post Google said that it had not been collecting "payload data", but is now saying that it actually...
Google Invites Students To Use Voice Service
May 14, 2010, 3:47 pmApproach enough college students, and you'll find that many of them make do without all sorts of things - cars, textbooks, food other than ramen noodles. Just about all students seem to carry cell phones, though, and Google's decided to capitalize on this by inviting them to use Google Voice today. To take advantage of this offer, students just...
Google Opening Up Retail Options for Nexus One
May 14, 2010, 3:30 pmGoogle has announced some changes to how it offers the Nexus One mobile device. Due to a disappointing turnout to its web store, Google is expanding the retail availability of the device. The company will work with partners to offer it to consumers through existing retail channels on a global scale like it has done in Europe. In addition, Google...
Google's New SERP: Hit Or Miss ?
May 14, 2010, 3:00 pmJust about ten days ago, we reported on the launch of the new Google search results pages (SERPs). Some positive feedback has emerged, both from the general public and from search professionals, although users seemed mostly infuriated at the outset.
So hit or miss ?
Click to read the rest of this post...
Google Gives Up on Nexus Webstore
May 14, 2010, 2:52 pm
Google is giving up on one of the most revolutionary aspects of its attempt to corner the smartphone market: it’s shuttering its web storefront for selling its Nexus One phone. They’re not abandoning the phone or the attempt altogether—but apparently the demand for a phone absolutely free of contract limitations...
Search & Social Awards Winners Announced!
May 14, 2010, 2:50 pmLadies and gentlemen, can I have your attention please?! Will the real Slim Shady please stand up? Oh' wait. Wrong audience. Sorry. The Search & Social awards results are now in! If you were entered in any of these categories, check to see if you made it into the top 3. We had A LOT of close calls with the results but I think many of you will be...
Is your site ranking rank? Do a site review â" Part 2 (SEM 101)
May 14, 2010, 2:45 pmIn Part 1 of this series of blog posts on site reviews, we covered the whats and whys of conducting a site review of your website to see if you are ranking where you want to be. If you have compelling content to share with your users, you want them to find your site! After installing and registering to use the many webmaster tools available on the...
Spring Cleaning: Performance Improving Updates for Your Microsoft adCenter Campaigns
May 14, 2010, 2:38 pmThe sun is shining, the birds are singing and you've got that nagging feeling in the pit of your stomach again. You know it's only a matter of time before the legions of dust bunnies that are taking up residence in the forgotten nooks and crannies of your home will start making plans to launch an offensive strike. You've seen them peeking out...
Fast Foods: Cheaper, But Just as Fast and Fatty
May 14, 2010, 2:21 pmby Vera H-C Chan Yo quiero a calorie count. For a mere $2, reports the USA Today, fast-food gourmands can get a taco or burrito, a fizzy pop and chips at Taco Bell, starting this Sunday. That's a buck less than a McDonald's threesome from its dollar menu. At a time when people line up for free hand-outs (a la the Oprah-KFC kerfuffle ), the...
Would You Like Cash With That? Taco Bell Supersizes Order with $2K
May 14, 2010, 2:21 pmby Claudine Zap A $2 taco is nice. But how about $2,000 cash with your order? That's what happened when a Taco Bell server served up a bit more than a burrito at a Dayton, Ohio drive-though. The employee handed over the bank deposit filled with bills instead of a bag filled with Taco Bell to a college-aged customer in a silver SUV. But don't run...
Do Google's Direct Answers Improve Search Results?
May 14, 2010, 1:53 pmLast year at its Searchology event, Google introduced Google Squared, the company's Labs project aimed at building collections of facts from the web for any topic specified by the user. A year later (to the day), Google announced that Squared is already being integrated into its search engine.
Do you find Google's implementation of Squared data...
Adobe Vs. Apple: Whose Side Are You On?
May 14, 2010, 1:35 pmIt's no secret that Adobe and Apple have been exchanging quite the back and fourth lately. Steve Jobs put out his letter about not using Flash on Apple's devices, and Adobe fired back.
Essentially, the skinny of it is that Apple will not support Flash, as it considers HTML5 to be the way forward, and Adobe thinks its Flash technology is as...
Reinventing classroom geography with Google Earth API
May 14, 2010, 1:30 pmEditor's note: Every now and then we like to showcase innovative uses of Google Maps and Earth. Today we're excited to welcome Don Rescigno, who is the Director of Marketing for NYSTROM Herff Jones Education, which has implemented the Google Earth and Maps API into educational software to make learning more interactive. School Maps & Globes 2.
Is a Lack of Search on Google Profiles Hurting Buzz?
May 14, 2010, 1:23 pmGoogle's Rick Klau points out that homepage for Google Profiles is missing a pretty obvious feature - search. While Google profiles are tied into your Google account as a whole, when it comes to Google Buzz, your Google profile is essentially your Wall. All your Buzz posts appear here, and so do any of your personal links you want people to see....
Schmidt: Situation “Stable” in China
May 14, 2010, 1:15 pm
Google’s already made big waves in the international arena this year by deciding to pull out of China after too many censorship demands and a cyber attack targeting human rights activitists’ email accounts. Although they’re now redirecting google.cn to google.co.hk, Google says that the situation “seems to...
Um...Your Mom Poked Me on Facebook
May 14, 2010, 1:06 pmWhether they're feeding fish on Happy Aquarium or checking up on their kids at college, moms everywhere are taking advantage of the various Facebook features that allow them to stay connected to their families and friends. We at Facebook couldn't be more excited to have our own mothers be some of our most enthusiastic and active supporters. But as...
BlackBerry Reportedly To Launch Tablet by December
May 14, 2010, 12:29 pmResearch In Motion, the BlackBerry manufacturer, is said to be working on a tablet device set to launch by December this year, according to Boy Genius Report, who cites "multiple" - yet unnamed - sources. Click to read the rest of this post...
FTC Supports Better Protections For People Selling Jewelry Online
May 14, 2010, 11:57 amThe Federal Trade Commission told the U.S. House Subcommittee on Commerce on Thursday it supports proposed legislation aimed at protecting consumers who sell gold and jewelry to online buyers. Jim Kohm, Associate Director of the Enforcement Division of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, testified that the FTC supports the proposed Guarantee...
Nexus One changes in availability
May 14, 2010, 11:46 amWe launched Nexus One in January with two goals in mind: to introduce a beacon of innovation among Android handsets, and to make it quick and easy for people to buy an Android phone. We're very happy with the adoption of Android in general, and the innovation delivered through Nexus One. Already, a lot of the innovation that went into creating...
Google Unleashes Android/Nexus One Ad On UK Homepage
May 14, 2010, 11:11 amPeople who visit Google UK, type "meet Android," and click the "I'm feeling lucky" button are in for a treat. At the time of writing, at least, Google's showing an advertisement for Android and the Nexus One in response, and it goes a bit beyond some boring paragraph of text or a single pic. (Spoiler alert - stop reading now if you want to watch...
Upgrading Local AdWords Ads to Location Extensions
May 14, 2010, 10:54 amGoogle is about to transition local business ads in advertisers' AdWords accounts to ads that are compatible with the location extensions the company introduced last year. "This feature allows you to include information such as your business name, address and phone number in your existing text ads," explains Emily Williams of Google's Inside...
Acer to Launch Chrome OS Devices at Computex in June
May 14, 2010, 10:42 amWhen Google officials released Chrome operating system to open source last November, there were a lot of unanswered questions and uncertainty around the project. One thing Google seemed sure about was that netbooks bearing Google's emerging Web operating system wouldn't appear before November or December of 2010, timed for the holiday season. Now...
How to Create Linkbait if You Don’t Speak the Language
May 14, 2010, 10:40 amIt’s easy to create linkbait. You pick a topic that people will be interested in, research it using google.com or google.co.uk and write it out or design it or whatever.
See? Easy peasy
Of course, it only works that easily if you speak the same language as your audience.
So what happens if a client comes to you, wanting linkbait that will...
Greg Jarboe Wins Medallion Speaker Award At ISS #SEO
May 14, 2010, 10:25 amGreg Jarboe's status as a great public speaker was confirmed yesterday when the International Search Summit audience voted Greg as its very first 'Medallion Speaker Award'. WebCertain, which hosts the Summit, introduced the Medallion Award to give audiences more influence over the quality of speakers they wish to see. The award is voted on by...
What is This Diaspora Everyone's Talking About?
May 14, 2010, 9:51 amThere is already a lot of hype being generated for a social network that doesn't even exist yet. I'm talking about Diaspora , which if you've been keeping up with the discussion around Facebook privacy and user unrest , you've probably heard name-dropped a few times. Diaspora is a social networking "project", which has raised over $100,000 in...
Four unique social bookmarking gems
May 14, 2010, 9:19 amFour fairly unique social bookmarking services have been added to TheBookmarketer. Two are niche sites (BizSugar, MMO) and two are unique in how they approach social bookmarking (Tipbo and Kirtsy)
Easily Create a Page Heading Map in FireFox
May 14, 2010, 9:11 amI have previously outlined the importance of heading stucture for accessibility and usability as well listed some best practices as to using h1-h6 tags . Today I am reviewing an awesome FireFox addon called HeadingsMap that allows: To quickly check how consistent and logical the heading structure of the page is; To navigate through the page using...
Schmidt: 65,000 Android Phones Ship Per Day
May 14, 2010, 9:05 amManufacturers are moving (and presumably, consumers are buying) a whole, whole lot of Android phones. At Google's annual shareholder meeting yesterday, CEO Eric Schmidt indicated that something like 65,000 Android phones are being shipped on a daily basis. All things being equal, that means 455,000 or so units are shipping per week. And if...
Facebook Overtakes Yahoo In Display Ads
May 14, 2010, 9:05 amFacebook has surpassed Yahoo to become the leading publisher of display ads in the U.S. according to a new report from comScore. In the first quarter Facebook delivered 176 billion display ad impressions, representing 16.2 percent market share. Yahoo sites ranked second with 132 billion impressions (12.1%), followed by Microsoft sites with 60...
The Three Surprisingly Simple Keys to Success
May 14, 2010, 8:59 amBack when I was writing novels and working on getting them published, someone gave me a piece of advice. "You need talent, luck, and persistence. Pick any two." It's probably been twenty years since I heard those words, but I still think of them all the time. They don't just apply to getting book deals, of course. Whether you want to paint, write,...
“Hey Everyone, I’m About to Ruin My Online Reputation!”
May 14, 2010, 8:40 am
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: Anything, absolutely anything, you publish to a private social network can leak out to the public.
Most of the time, that insult about your boss, or that confession that you’re playing hooky on a Friday, remains private until one of your friends decides to...
Acer Chrome OS Devices Said to Appear in About 2 Weeks
May 14, 2010, 8:18 amWhile reports of an upcoming tablet from Verizon to run software from Google, which would presumably compete with Apple's iPad have captured much of the industry's attention, it has not been revealed whether the device will run Android or Chrome OS, but Android seems the more likely fit. However, Chrome OS systems are on the way, and we may see...
Search Suggestion Enhancements for Yahoo! Taiwan and Yahoo! Hong Kong
May 14, 2010, 8:14 amWe've enhanced search suggestion in Web search for Yahoo! Taiwan (Yahoo! Kimo) and Yahoo! Hong Kong . This feature helps users easily enter queries in traditional Chinese in the search box using Changjie and Cantonese Pinyin , which are language input systems used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, respectively. Instead of having to switch the language...
Acer Prepares Chrome OS Netbooks for June Launch
May 14, 2010, 7:51 amWhen Google officials released Chrome Operating System to open source last November, there were a lot of unanswered questions and uncertainty around the project. One thing Google seemed sure about was that netbooks bearing Google's emerging Web operating system wouldn't appear before November or December of 2010, timed for the holiday season. Now...
The Solution for Marketing Overwhelm
May 14, 2010, 7:34 amEver wish there was just a blueprint you could follow to market your business? No, not a magic formula. Not a "push-button million-dollar cash machine." You're not lazy and you're not afraid to put the work in. But sometimes it's hard to figure out just what kind of work you're supposed to be doing. What if there was a straightforward road map...
Internet Advertising Sees Q1 Year Over Year Increase
May 14, 2010, 7:34 am
In an attempt to possibly calm people’s nerves about the state of the online advertising industry, the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers highlighted the year over gains in Internet advertising rather than the decline between Q4 ’09 and and Q1 ’10. Of course, that decline is the new ‘normal’...
EU Chimes In On Facebook and Privacy
May 14, 2010, 6:51 am
Now the party must really be going full steam. If there is something to complain and whine about in the world at all the EU is usually the lead dog. Although they are merely just dog piling on Facebook at this point it now feels like there is no one left to put up a fuss about Facebook, privacy and even the people behind the...
10 Essential Social Media Tips for Ecommerce Sites
May 14, 2010, 6:48 amSocial media is impacting how we do business online in new and exciting ways. Customers are sharing more and more data about what they're doing online and the things they like. Getting people to share your products on social networks is a great way to bring in traffic and find new customers. But ecommerce sites are stuck in a hard place because...
Microsoft and Google Trade Blows Over Office 2010 and Docs
May 14, 2010, 4:33 am"The war of words between Microsoft and Google over Office 2010 and its entry into online, cloud-based applications heated up today as both companies again took shots at each other."
Google SEO experiment: Why targeting an indented listing may be a bad idea
May 14, 2010, 4:21 amLast month Tad wrote a great post on travel SEO - titled 10 Travel SEO Strategies . The idea behind this was to provide a fresh ideas to my original travel SEO post from 2008. Because the original post was already ranking at number three, we thought it would be useful to try and grab extra on-page real estate/increased clickthroughs by creating a...
Google Chrome Powered Netbook in Two Weeks?
May 14, 2010, 2:50 amStill remember that quick poll which Loren did several months ago when Google announced that the Chrome OS will be targeted primarily for netbooks? Majority of you voted that you will buy the Google Chrome powered netbooks when it comes out. Well, better psyche up yourselves folks as reports had it that the first of such netbook will soon be...
Time for a Security Sweep - Password Change Week
May 14, 2010, 2:17 amShocking reminder of how many places we have password protected.
Whiteboard Friday - Google's May Day Update & What It Means for You
May 14, 2010, 1:14 amPosted by great scott! May Day, Roodmas, Walpurgis Night, Beltane...regardless of the name, it's a time for dancing around the maypole, enjoying the bounties of Spring, recalling the battle for worker's rights, and lots of other fun things. But for many a search marketer, May 1st (ish) of this year will be remembered as the day the long tail died...
Page Load Time is So Very Important
May 14, 2010, 12:23 amWith many looming changes waiting around the corner for Google's search engine nobody really knows what is going to happen when their new algorithm tweak comes into affect later this year. One thing we do know is that they are on a speed kick right now and their goal is clearly to speed things up which means rewarding websites that have somewhat...
Property searches attracting the highest growth amongst finance queries in Singapore
May 13, 2010, 10:12 pmRecently we analysed the online financial behaviour of Singapore Internet users, and found an increase during the first quarter of 2010 in search queries around financial needs, including searching for properties to buy and to rent, mortgages, loans, savings and credit cards. In particular we found strong growth in property searches for sale and...
MySpace Hiring an SEO Manager
May 13, 2010, 9:32 pmLooking for a dream SEO position? MySpace is hiring a new SEO Manager to work under my BFF Tony Adam in their Beverly Hills office. Apparently there are a lot of big changes going on at MySpace, and this may be the chance to get involved with the reconstruction of one of the most popular destinations on the Internet. If you're looking for a change...
Common Online Business Mistakes by Michael Gray, Alan Bleiweiss and more!
May 13, 2010, 9:18 pmSome industry experts give the top 5-10 common online business mistakes they see business owners making. Michael Gray, Alan Bleiweiss, Dave Conklin, Samir Balwani and Joshua Titsworth
'Robin Hood' Reboots, Queen Latifah Holds Court, and Amanda Seyfried Plays Die-Hard Romantic: Movie Critic Roundup
May 13, 2010, 7:21 pmby Claudine Zap This weekend is going to make date night tricky. Like action and big battles? "Robin Hood" may be for you. But does your better half prefer feel-good romance? Then you've got some 'splaining to do. Here's what the critics have to say' 'Robin Hood' Forget what you know about the Robin Hood tale. Because this " Robin Hood " is not...
Friday's with the Bing Local Listing Center Team
May 13, 2010, 5:44 pmOk, it is not Friday yetbut I know a few weeks back Stefan mentioned getting the local listing center team on camera and today we have Mikko, Bings local listing center Senior Program Manager to answer some of your questions we have seen in the Bing Community Forums. We hope to have Mikko back fairly regularly to bring us updates on all things...
Facebook Introduces New Login Security Features
May 13, 2010, 4:52 pmDon't be surprised if you see a drop-off in "John Doe is the worst boyfriend ever"-style status updates on Facebook starting this week. Facebook has introduced two measures designed to make sure no one other than an account's rightful owner is able to take control of it. The first feature is the logically named "Login Notification." Users just...
NBC Turns To Twitter And Facebook To Promote Shows
May 13, 2010, 4:30 pmNBC is hoping to take advantage of the popularity of social media by launching a new program called "Fan It" which will reward users for liking its shows on a number of social networks. Starting May 17 users can visit NBC.com/fanit and login with their existing MyNBC, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and FourSquare accounts. Users earn points by...
Hair Oil Booms Getting the Shaft?
May 13, 2010, 4:24 pmby Vera H-C Chan Hold that razor: You may not want to shave your head just yet. As engineers and technologists figure out how to stem the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, volunteer efforts to sop up the spill have been decidedly low-tech. Outlets like NPR have been reporting us that hair make the best oil containment booms, which means Lady GaGa...
WPP in shopping spree buys 2 companies in Brazil
May 13, 2010, 4:24 pmSir Martin´s WPP acquired online full service agency Midia Digital and search agency i-Cherry , both based out of Curitiba, south of Brazil. i-Cherry top executive is brazilian search pioneer Alexandre Kavinski . Here´s the official press release . No related posts.
Yahoo Answers Questions About Microsoft Integration
May 13, 2010, 3:49 pmLast week, Yahoo posted an update about the search alliance with Microsoft, indicating that it would "protect the holiday period," "ensure a quality transition," and "provide a window-of-time." Advertisers were still left with questions, however, and Yahoo has addressed some of them today. One questioned was whether or not adCenter accepts PayPal...
The World Cup⢠through the Eyes of Friends
May 13, 2010, 3:38 pmRespected British football manager Bill Shankly once famously said, "Some people believe football is a matter of life and death...it is much, much more important than that." While growing up in Taiwan during my childhood, I learned firsthand what Shankly meant. Football, also known as soccer in some countries, is not exactly a national sport in...
Nachofoto â" Real-time Image Search Engine
May 13, 2010, 3:32 pmYou may have noticed the past year that both Google and Bing are doing real-time searches that are including tweets and other information. This is extremely useful when keeping up with trending topics. I wanted to give you a quick run down on this new real-time image search engine called NachoFoto that I came across. When searching images in this,...
Yahooplex Plans Greenlit
May 13, 2010, 3:12 pmYahoo's cleared a significant hurdle on the path to building a new headquarters. The Santa Clara City Council has approved its proposal to construct a 3-million-square-foot campus, although whether Yahoo intends to move forward with the idea is now very much unknown.
The first (and last) time we heard about the hypothetical Yahooplex was in...
YouCut Creates Curiosity on Web
May 13, 2010, 2:52 pmby Claudine Zap Hey, everybody: Cutting the federal deficit can be as fun as voting off " American Idol " contestants. At least, that's what Republican Whip Eric Cantor must be hoping with the launch of his new project, YouCut . News of the new program immediately sent searches for " youcut " slicing through the Web. You can watch the video of...
Google & Verizon Team Up To Rival iPad
May 13, 2010, 2:37 pmVerizon Wireless is teaming up with Google to work on a tablet computer, with the clear aim to rival the AT&T-carried iPad, Verizon CEO, according to a published report.Click to read the rest of this post...
Does Social Media Success Only Come with Deals?
May 13, 2010, 2:33 pm
Patricio Robles of eConsultancy takes a look at the success of some recent social media campaigns—and the results aren’t exactly as inspiring as they might seem at first glance. For example, he looks at a recent JetBlue campaign on Facebook, where they saw a “massive” response (in ClickZ’s words).
But...
AdWords Downtime: May 13th, 6:00pm - 6:30pm PDT
May 13, 2010, 2:23 pmWe'll be performing routine system maintenance on Thursday, May 13th from approximately 6:00pm to 6:30pm PDT. You won't be able to access AdWords or the API during this time frame, but your ads will continue to run as normal. While, AdWords system maintenance typically occurs on the second Saturday of each month, this update was delayed due to the...
Tune In: Microsoft Advertising and NBC Unite To Promote The Network's Fall Lineup
May 13, 2010, 2:17 pmNext week marks the TV Upfronts, when television networks showcase the fall season's offerings for Madison Avenue in hopes of booking early ad revenue and generating buzz. It's more generally the place where the networks announce their new fall schedules, as well as the chance for many shows that haven't been renewed to get a last-minute reprieve....
Online Ad Revenue Hits Record High for Q1
May 13, 2010, 1:59 pmThe Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers have shared some new findings indicating that online ad revenues in the U.S. hit $5.9 billion for the first quarter of 2010. That's the highest first-quarter revenue of all time. "The year-over-year growth we are seeing reflects marketers' confidence in the value and effectiveness of...
Yahoo Search To Tie In Real-Time World Cup Content
May 13, 2010, 1:50 pmYahoo! Search, like the world at large, is bracing it self for the FIFA WorldCup 2010 in South Africa in a few weeks time and has come up with new all-round features to provide specific and real-time information on the competition -- a move likely to keep users around the world on its site and increase dwell time significantly.
Click to read the...
YouTube's "Unlisted" Category Gives Privacy A Chance
May 13, 2010, 1:42 pmAmid widely spread concerns over social media privacy, YouTube is trying to make the difference and make users feel more comfortable by launching its "Unlisted Videos" category.
Click to read the rest of this post...
Google AdWords Rolls Out Broad Match Modifier Feature in UK And Canada
May 13, 2010, 1:29 pmMarketers in the UK and Canada are the first to benefit from the new AdWords broad match modifier feature that allows higher conversion rates with better ROI when using exact and phrase match keywords.
Click to read the rest of this post...
Mobile and Location Fueling the Design of Future Search
May 13, 2010, 1:19 pmThere's no question that location is playing an increasingly great role in how people obtain and share information. We recently looked at where location fits into the SEO equation . Google has its own location-sharing service Google Latitude that has been somewhat overshadowed lately by services like FourSquare, Gowalla, and of course Twitter and...
Market vs. Geo-Targeting: How to Reach the Correct Audience in Microsoft adCenter
May 13, 2010, 12:33 pmWhen working on their search campaigns, many SEM experts jump right to the standard optimizations , such as keywords , bids , negatives , and ads . However, one of the most basic questions is often overlooked: are my accounts set up to reach the right audience? In this post, we will compare the language/market setting with the geo-targeting...
YouTube Gets Unlisted (A Step in the Right Direction for Privacy!)
May 13, 2010, 12:31 pm
If you’ve ever tried to keep a YouTube video private for just you and your friends, you’ve probably run into some problems actually making the video accessible to those friends. (Or is it just me?) But YouTube is adding a new new feature to share a video with as many people as possible, while still keeping it private...
The Lion Roars. 2010 Ships. Productivity Cheers.
May 13, 2010, 12:16 pmGuest post from my coauthor Ted Schadler. As you'll see, SharePoint 2010 will be a huge force in empowering employees. Okay, so I'm a sucker for nostalgia. But being on the same stage as Gilda Radner and John Belushi and John Candy and Tina Fey was a thrill. And being in the same studio where Elvis Costello and the Attractions stopped "Less Than...
Google Apps Marketplace highlights â" 4/21/2010
May 13, 2010, 12:04 pmEditor's note: This is the first in a series of posts on new apps in the Google Apps Marketplace that have caught our eye here at Google. We'll do this every couple weeks or so. Look for the label "marketplace highlights" and subscribe to the series. Businesses that use Google Apps not only get access to Google's applications, they also get easy...
Online Banking Satisfaction Sees Slight Drop
May 13, 2010, 11:52 amCustomer satisfaction with online banking dropped two points in 2010, from 83 in 2009 to 81 (on a 100-point scale), according to a new study by ForeSee Results and Forbes. The study found that despite the drop, online banking still faired better than offline banking channels and most other online industries with the score of 80 considered to be...
Why Facebook “Like” Won’t Change the World
May 13, 2010, 11:46 amFrom the page Owen Paepke writes: Many therefore believe that the name players are out for bigger game, grabbing chunks of search, personalization, and e-commerce generally. Exhibit A in this case is Facebook Like.
If It’s Too Good To Be Fricking Link True…
May 13, 2010, 11:22 amFunny to see some of the directories listed that they listed on their "ultimate guide" Debra does a great job on this one!
NASA Invites Twitter Followers To Space Center In Houston
May 13, 2010, 10:49 amNASA is offering its Twitter followers a chance to personally get an up close look of a space shuttle mission at the agency's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston. NASA is hosting a Tweetup on Wednesday, May 19 during Atlantis' STS-132 mission to the International Space Station. Atlantis will launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on...
Adobe Takes Apple Battle to Ad Campaign
May 13, 2010, 10:31 amIt's no secret that Adobe and Apple have been exchanging quite the back and fourth lately. Steve Jobs put out his letter about not using Flash on Apple's devices, and Adobe fired back. Now Adobe has gone so far as to start an ad campaign around the dispute. Some sites like Engadget, which brought the campaign to the industry's attention , are...
Americans Received 1 Trillion Display Ads in Q1 2010 as Online Advertising Market Rebounds from 2009 Recession
May 13, 2010, 10:20 amcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released an overview of the U.S. online display advertising market for Q1 2010, which showed strong gains following softness for much of 2009. Data from comScore's Ad Metrix services shows that U.S. Internet users received a record 1.1 trillion display ads during the...
The Link Builder's Guide to Competitive 'How-To' Content Analysis
May 13, 2010, 10:10 amKiller step-by-step competitve content analysis process from Garrett French...plus a slick new phrase-counting tool for link builders and other content marketers looking for trends, patterns and linkable content opportunities in their keyword space.
Hosting With GoDaddy? Might Want To Rethink That Decision.
May 13, 2010, 10:08 amAn amazing lack of interest from GoDaddy in fixing their hacking problems, even when someone comes to them with information that can help.
Apple Unveils New iPad Commercial
May 13, 2010, 10:08 amApple begun airing a new iPad commercial last night entitled " What is iPad? " The new ad is a slight departure from their "normal" advertising. As the name of the ad suggest, Apple asks the very simple question and proceeds to answer it in a very whimsical way... "iPad is thin. iPad is beautiful. iPad goes anywhere and lasts all day. There's not...
How (good) SEO copywriting helps people like you online
May 13, 2010, 9:52 amLet me put it out there right now: I used to hate Crocs. Actually, Crocs (and their ugly footwear twin, Vibram Five-Fingered Shoes ) are one of the few things my husband and I used to argue about. Every time he'd put on his Crocs, or his Vibrams (which have been described by his co-workers as "creepy toe shoes") I'd encourage other shoe choices....
SEO With Google Webmaster Tools - Part 5: Diagnostics
May 13, 2010, 9:30 amby Stoney deGeyter
We've been working our way through Google Webmaster Tools learning how to set up and configure a website and took a detailed look at the site stats Google provides. This post covers the Diagnostics section of Webmaster Tools which lets you assess common issues and problems with your website.
Diagnostics
The diagnostic...
Top Online Content Distribution Strategies: Standards, Aggregation, Syndication, Versioning
May 13, 2010, 9:18 amWhich are the top content distribution strategies for an online publisher? In this in-depth report authored by new media and future treneds analyst Ross Dawson, you can find a thorough analysis of the present online content distribution paradigm as well as a set of useful guidelines and examples to make greater sense of content distribution. If...
Mobile Marketing In The Near Future
May 13, 2010, 9:11 amNot to my surprise I find that mobile marketing has both a digital definition as well as a traditional definition. In the digital definition it is as one would expect about marketing your business message through mobile devices. In the traditional definition there are moving billboards that are associated with mobile marketing.
European Data Protection Authorities Blast Facebook
May 13, 2010, 9:06 amThe group of entities that have a problem with Facebook's privacy policies has grown again. Late yesterday, the Article 29 Working Party (which has quite a bit of pull in Europe) expressed its concerns over recent changes. A little background first: the Article 29 Working Party "is composed of representatives from the national data protection...
Sprint Introduces Prepaid Offering With Walmart
May 13, 2010, 9:02 amSprint has introduced a new pay-as-you-go service which it will begin offering at Walmart stores on Saturday May 15.
The new offering called "Common Cents Mobile," one of Sprint's prepaid brands, includes 7- cent per minute phone calls and 7-cent text messages.
Common Cents Mobile includes a round down feature, so if a user talks for...
10 New Ideas for Getting Inspired to Write
May 13, 2010, 9:00 amYears ago, I had a golden retriever named Louie who loved pillaging trash cans. I tried yelling at him whenever he stuck his nose in the can. I tried different models of trash cans with hard-to-open lids. I tried putting the trash can inside a cabinet. But it didn't matter. Louie was a trash can fiend, and he wouldn't be denied. It got to be such...
Googlers Use “20% Time” to Change the World…Create a Photomosaic?!?
May 13, 2010, 8:59 am
There have been some great innovations that have come out of Google employees’ “20%” time. You know, the mandate from Google that they spend 20% of their time solving problems, building new features, or just changing the world for the better.
This isn’t one of them:
OK, so it probably didn’t come out...
Keep Track of What You Share Online with Sharetivity
May 13, 2010, 8:49 amWe share dozens of links online: via social bookmarking tools, Twitter and many more social sharing sites. And naturally we have many tools that make that sharing easier and more fun. Sharetivity can be a nice alternative to what you've been using until now: it's a browser-based tool that supports multiple social media sites and allows to share...
How "The Real Joe" Gets Social Media
May 13, 2010, 8:49 amTalk about the perfect trifecta - the seamless blend of social media, local and offline marketing - the " Real Joe " of Joe's Real BBQ (a local business owner here in Arizona) understands social media better than any one in my area (IMO) and I wanted to share some of my thoughts about a recent promotion by his business. I bring this up because...
Wikipedia Gets Big Design Overhaul
May 13, 2010, 8:43 amThe Wikimedia Foundation announced its first ever "major initiative" involving the Wikipedia interface. Wikipedia as well as Wikinews, and Wikimedia Commons are getting a big overhaul. "That means that hundreds of millions of people around the world will now experience an easier to use, and more importantly, easier to edit Wikipedia," says Naoko...
Adobe Strikes Back at Apple in Ad Campaign
May 13, 2010, 8:30 am
The Adobe v. Apple tussle is now becoming an all out battle. Steve Jobs raised the bar recently with his attack on Adobe which surprised many by its level of intensity. We’re not completely sure why there is a serious bee in Jobs’ bonnet but its there for sure.
With the ball firmly in Adobe’s court we find today from...
RIAA Wins in LimeWire File Sharing Lawsuit
May 13, 2010, 8:25 am"The logical next step by the Recording Industry Association of America, the trade group representing the four largest recording companies, is to get a preliminary injunction and force Lime Wire to cease LimeWire's file-sharing functionality."
Facebook Adopts “Bunker Mentality” Over Privacy Concerns
May 13, 2010, 7:44 am
If you are tired of hearing about Facebook and privacy you may not be alone but there is also little to no relief in the long range forecast. It looks like there may be an extended heat wave relating to Facebook and their privacy attempts / blunders / mea culpas etc. Things must be getting pretty hot because yesterday Facebook...
Google's "Something Different" Shows Other Items of a Group in Results
May 13, 2010, 7:29 amAge-old Google Sets is one of my favorite Google Labs release. You enter two or so related terms and it will find many more terms from that group it derives. It's similar to the later released Google Squared program. Now , Google offers a search feature in the left-hand side bar titled "Something Different", and it's sort of like Google Sets has...
Verizon + Google Tablet?
May 13, 2010, 6:49 amBloomberg writes : Google Inc. is in talks with Verizon Wireless to develop a tablet computer that would compete with Apple Inc.'s hit iPad. The tablet will run on Google's Android operating system, Marquett Smith, a spokesman for Verizon, said today in a phone interview. He declined to elaborate and said the carrier will release more details...
SEO at Wall Street Journal: Interview with Alex Bennert
May 13, 2010, 6:49 amSpotlight on Search Interview with Alex Bennert, Chief Search Strategist at The Wall Street Journal Spotlight on Search is an interview series that shines a light on search marketing professionals to learn more about the nature of their work, differences in SEO amongst categories of web sites and of course, SEO tips, tactics and useful tools. This...
Adobe Open Letter and Newspaper Adverts Over Flash and Apple
May 13, 2010, 4:22 am"Some of the online adverts contain the tongue-in-cheek slogan 'We heart Apple'."
Define Competitors: Step 4 of the 8-Step SEO Strategy
May 13, 2010, 1:43 amPosted by laura This post was originally in YOUmoz , and was promoted to the main blog because it provides great value and interest to our community. The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of SEOmoz, Inc. Congratulations on making it halfway through building this SEO Strategy document with me! Do you feel...
Site review for Google I/O attendees
May 13, 2010, 12:51 amIf you're attending Google I/O next week then you might enjoy the SEO site review session that we'll be doing. If you'll be attending Google I/O, you can now submit your website for review . I'll also include the form below: Loading' By the way, if you're attending Google I/O you'll probably want to install the very spiff Android app for it. You...
Mark Drummond of Wowd Real Time Search Video
May 13, 2010, 12:17 amMark Drummond, CEO of Wowd talks about the importance of providing a search feature that is real time for the community. Internet users are constantly on the hunt for the most up to date information available online and it starts with being able to find and locate the information as quickly as possible. Mark emphasizes how users do not want to...
How Google Squared is Used to Jazz Up Google Search
May 12, 2010, 11:21 pmGoogle Squared is a nifty Google Labs features that pulls unstructured data from the Web and ties it together in a spreadsheet-like chart : The company is now trying to incorporate this technology - but not the aesthetic - into its search engine results pages, whose front door user interface has gotten several improvements (or detriments, if...
AdSense Account Hacked, Payment Redirected to Thief, But No Support From Google
May 12, 2010, 9:16 pmI found Google's AdSense support email and sent them an email with all the details. That was four weeks ago."
Giant Oarfish Hooks the Web
May 12, 2010, 5:29 pmby Claudine Zap Hope you like herring, because a really, really big one was caught off the coast of Sweden . The 11-foot giant oarfish known as the " King of Herrings " looks like it could fill an army's worth of Filet-O-Fish orders. Easy. Immediately, searches on " giant oarfish " swam up the Search box as news of the story hooked readers. To see...
Next iPhone OS Rumored To Incorporate Facebook
May 12, 2010, 4:44 pmHere's a story - or more properly, a rumor - for the folks who are never more than five feet from their iPhones and don't let a day go by without signing into Facebook: the next iPhone operating system will supposedly feature a certain level of integration with the social network. Dan Frommer wrote this afternoon, "Apple is building Facebook...
Blogging = Social Media = Online Cocktail Party
May 12, 2010, 4:38 pmBlogging is like an online cocktail party where you meet people, ask and answer questions, chat and discuss what is important to you and your site. Some of our clients query whether Blogging is a valuable source of advertising and the answer is, absolutely. What does it do? It provides valuable inbound links and gets your site branded. The...
Yahoo Plans to Open-Source All Its Internal Cloud Serving Platforms
May 12, 2010, 4:27 pmYahoo is planning to make some changes to its cloud serving programs by putting all of them into open-source by early next year. Yahoo has this service which it simply calls "Cloud" which can be described as a cross-breed of Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud and Google App Engine. Yahoo Cloud is an computing infrastructure that service all of...
Broadband Making Gains In Rural Markets
May 12, 2010, 4:26 pmBroadband penetration in rural markets in U.S. has experienced double-digit growth in the past year, driven largely by regional providers continuing to increase their market share in these areas, according to a new report by comScore. "The recent announcement of the government's national broadband plan demonstrates the increasing importance of...
Google Search Now Provides Factual Results as well as Something Different
May 12, 2010, 4:09 pmGoogle has just rolled two new search features that both offer relevant results for factual search as well as additional search results refinement that offer "something different" from the main search results. The two new search features are by-products of Google Squared technology which Google has been taking full advantage of recently. The first...
Microsoft Moves Beyond the Banner with Mobile Rich Media
May 12, 2010, 3:40 pmToday I am proud to announce the launch of Rich Media for mobile. As advertisers are constantly challenged with finding new and exciting ways to communicate with consumers, Mobile Rich Media provides a more engaging platform to effectively target audiences. Teaming up with Sprint on this launch, the Rich Media product allows advertisers to engage...
Insider Pages Aim to Empower Users to Stay Health
May 12, 2010, 3:33 pmLast week, Insider Pages (owned by CitySearch) launched their Doctor Finder service. Since choosing a doctor is a bit more of a selective process than finding a restaurant (no matter how picky you are), Insider Pages partnered with Healthgrades.com to add a decision support capabilities to their search engine.Click to read the rest of this...
MerchantCircle Aims to Duplicate U.S. Success Internationally
May 12, 2010, 3:21 pmMerchantCircle is going international. The local business social network, which gets nearly six million unique monthly visitors (according to Compete data), should be increasing that number greatly as it expands into Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. We recently looked at a partnership between MerchantCircle and Demand Media's AnswerBag...
Gmail Expands Drag-And-Drop Feature
May 12, 2010, 3:16 pmAbout four weeks ago, Gmail gained a drag-and-drop feature that made attaching files to emails considerably more convenient. Now, as a sort of complement to that text-focused upgrade, another new feature is set to make inserting pictures into emails easier, as well.
A noteworthy point here is that Google's skipped past the beta/lab stage,...
SEM Intermediate Series: Keyword Research and Expansion for Microsoft adCenter Campaigns
May 12, 2010, 3:10 pmThis is the 7 th post in the SEM Intermediate Series , a collection of posts intended for search engine marketing professionals looking for guidance in monitoring and adjusting the key performance indicators (KPIs) that determine the success of a PPC campaign. This series is a continuation of the SEM Beginner Series . When I talk to advertisers...
Advanced Web Ranking Review
May 12, 2010, 3:04 pmAdvanced Web Ranking (further referenced as AWR) is a fairly robust website rank checking product which is recommended by lots and lots of people in our forums. There are many rank checking tools on the market, some worthy of mention and many not (although some of that is just do to feature overlap). AWR is one of the more full featured ones out...
Dino Diet: Jurassic Fast Food
May 12, 2010, 2:53 pmby Claudine Zap What was the secret to the large size of plant-eating dinosaurs? Scientists say the key was eating fast food, Jurassic-style: gulping down mammoth amounts (but not mammoths ) without chewing . That's the conclusion researchers came to when studying how it was possible for plant-eaters to be just so darn big. The simple rule is,...
Gurus and Other Social Media Monsters
May 12, 2010, 2:37 pmYou probably come across many different kinds of social media creatures over the course of your week — through work, personal networking, or whatever draws you to social media. Some of these are little more than annoying. Others can be downright dangerous. And on the lighter side, some are occasionally amusing. The post lists are Jennifer...
Happy half-birthday Dashboard! Six months in and 100,000 users a day
May 12, 2010, 2:18 pmSix months ago, we launched the Google Dashboard to help you view and control information stored in your Google Account. It's organized according to the products you use (like Gmail, Docs or YouTube), listing data stored in your account and providing direct links to control your personal settings. Since we're celebrating our very first...
Facebook Single Biggest Display Ads Publisher On The Web
May 12, 2010, 2:18 pmFacebook has risen to the number one spot as single biggest display ads publisher on the web in the first quarter, ClickZ reported, according to date from market research firm comScore. Click to read the rest of this post...
Facebook Served Most Display Ads in Q1, Beat Yahoo
May 12, 2010, 2:15 pm
Facebook served 16% of all display ads in Q1 of this year, according to comScore, making it the largest online display ad publisher in the US—handily beating #2 Yahoo, reports ClickZ.
Facebook’s growth is impressive whether compared to its Q4 numbers or Yahoo’s numbers. In Q1, Yahoo’s properties saw 132B...
HTC Sues Apple, Calls for Halt of iPhone, iPad Sales
May 12, 2010, 2:13 pmHTC announced today that it is suing Apple. The company says it took legal action against Apple, filing a complaint with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) to halt the importation and sale of the iPhone, iPad and iPod in the United States. HTC's complaint outlines five patents it claims are infringed upon by Apple products. "As...
"Facebook" Most Popular Search Term in U.S. Social Networking in April
May 12, 2010, 2:04 pm"Facebook" was the most popular search term within Hitwise's Computers and Internet - Social Networking and Forums industry in the U.S. in April, representing 10.62% of all searches, market research firm Experian Hitwise said. Click to read the rest of this post...
Idol Talk: Final Four
May 12, 2010, 1:56 pmby Vera H-C Chan Michael Lynche revealed his strategy on American Idol during Top 4 week: Just get to the top three slots. Not the winner, mind you, and judge Ellen DeGeneres questioned this truncated aspiration. Lynche may be cautious, but he has music history on his side: Making the top three (if that) can be a respectable showing for "Idol"...
Stop Quoting Alexa For SEO! And don’t just take my word for it….
May 12, 2010, 1:27 pmAlexa Rankings mean nothing to SEO. And they should mean very little to you. No offense to Brewster Kahle and Bruce Gilliat, it’s nothing personal, it’s just that, the numbers there have no reflection on how you are ranking in search engines.
YouTube Adds New "Unlisted Video" Privacy Option
May 12, 2010, 1:24 pmYouTube has just introduced a new option that privacy enthusiasts should find appealing. Users can now upload videos and mark them as unlisted. What this means is that only people with the link to the video page will be able to view any video marked as such.
"Melinda teaches high school in the Bay Area and recently reached out to us with a...
Google Now Giving Direct Answers for Fact-Based Queries
May 12, 2010, 1:10 pmLast year at its Searchology event, Google introduced Google Squared , the company's Labs project aimed at uilding collections of facts from the web for any topic specified by the user. A year later (to the day), Google has announced that Squared is already being integrated into its search engine. Google of course launched its newly redesigned...
Former Dmoz Editor: Corruption Was Caught Quickly
May 12, 2010, 1:02 pmWe ran a story recently asking if Dmoz will continue to have a place in search. We received (and still are receiving) a great deal of comments on the article, or rather on Dmoz in general. Words like "corruption" and "corrupt" were used numerous times in describing the editorial process behind the Open Directory Project.
A...
Microsites. A Bad Idea Most of the Time.
May 12, 2010, 12:45 pmConsider Vanessa's unbeatable arguments, then ditch your microsites.
'Mapquest' Most Popular Search Term in U.S. Travel Industry in April
May 12, 2010, 12:11 pm"Mapquest" was the most popular search term within the travel industry in the U.S. in April, representing 3.13% of all searches, market research firm Hitwise said in its latest report.Click to read the rest of this post...
This Conversation Brought to You By Six Apart
May 12, 2010, 12:08 pm
(Not really, of course.)
Six Apart, owners of the blog-hosting service TypePad, have found a new way to monetize blogs: advertising. Okay, so that’s not new, and neither is the basic concept of sponsored conversations, but the execution this time is a little different.
We’ve seen sponsored blog posts for reviews and...
Sinkhole Disaster, New Barbarian, "Glee" Duet: What's the Buzz
May 12, 2010, 11:43 amby Vera H-C Chan Our picks from the day's hottest searches. Quebec Sinkhole (breakout). A nightmare scenario kills a family of four, after their farmhouse is swallowed up in a crater. Blasberg (+769%). The mystery deepens over the young female golfer's death. Jason Momoa (+309%). Pictures are out of the new Conan. Idina Menzel (+124%). The...
One Cybercrime Gang Generated Most Phishing Attacks in '09
May 12, 2010, 11:43 amA single cybercrime gang using advanced malware was responsible for two thirds of all phishing attacks detected in the second half of 2009, according to a new report by the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG). The report authors found the Avalanche phishing gang was responsible for 66 percent of all phishing attacks launched in the second half of...
2 (Alternative) Ways to Share Your Guest Posts on Your Own Blog
May 12, 2010, 11:21 amIt is quite obvious that you may want to make the most of your guest post and share it with your blog readers.
But what’s the best way to do that?
The most frequently used method is to just drop a short notice at your blog linking back to your guest post inviting your readers to comment. But is there actually a better way?
Let me share the two...
One Cybercrime Gang Generated Most Phishing Attacks in ‘09
May 12, 2010, 11:19 amA single cybercrime gang using advanced malware was responsible for two thirds of all phishing attacks detected in the second half of 2009, according to a new report by the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG).
The report authors found the Avalanche phishing gang was responsible for 66 percent of all phishing attacks launched in the second half of...
Disney, NBC, Warner Bros., Others Line Up Against YouTube
May 12, 2010, 11:02 amIf moral support determined the outcome of lawsuits, YouTube might be in a whole lot of trouble. Fourteen organizations - including very important companies like Disney, NBC, and Warner Bros. - have officially declared themselves friends of Viacom by filing a legal brief. Here's the full list of Viacom's new supporters: the American Society of...
Customer Experience Takes Center Stage in Online Banking
May 12, 2010, 10:46 amcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the 2010 addition of its annual State of Online Banking Report. The study, based on a survey of more than 2,500 U.S. Internet users and behavioral data from comScore's 1 million person online consumer panel, found that bank and credit card institutions...
TyepPad Turns Blog Comments Into Ads
May 12, 2010, 10:40 amSix Apart has launched an interesting new feature for blogs (not just TypePad blogs, but all platforms), which injects sponsored comments into conversations on the blogs. TypePad works with "leading voices" in a given category to come up with questions that are syndicated to "influential" bloggers, who post their answers on their blogs. All...
PeopleStyleWatch Partners With HauteLook On Online Shopping
May 12, 2010, 10:40 amPeopleStyleWatch.com, a magazine website focused on celebrity style news and trends, has partnered with fashion and shopping website HauteLook. Beginning today, PeopleStyleWatch.com editors will feature selected products from sales on HauteLook in a new "Daily Hot Picks" section on its website. Exclusive weekly incentives and discounts will be...
Microsoft Office 2010 Now Available. Better Than Google?
May 12, 2010, 10:28 amUpdate: Microsoft has now announced the worldwide availability of Office 2010 and Sharepoitn 2010. See all the details here.
Also, Microsoft has a response to Google's claims here (thanks Pradeep).
Original Article: As enterprise users of Microsoft Office prepare to upgrade, Google has a message for them, and that message is...
Google Now Lets You Drag Images from Desktop to Gmail
May 12, 2010, 10:05 amThe Official Gmail blog just made a brief post announcing a new Gmail feature. So this means that Gmail does not only allow you to drag an attachment from your desktop onto Gmail but images as well. Basically the new Gmail combine two Gmail features to allow Gmail users to drag email attachments and images as well. And its pretty simple to use as...
Mozilla CEO to Go Back to Roots as Chrome Gains Market Share
May 12, 2010, 9:27 amMozilla CEO John Lilly dropped a bomb late yesterday in announcing that he would be stepping down from his position. The news came just after Mozilla revealed its early product plan for Firefox 4, in which it placed great emphasis on speed and HTML5 support - two of the big selling points for competing browser Google Chrome.
In fact, the news...
Use Titles & Descriptions to Get Best Exposure (and SEO) for Your Site on Social Media Networks
May 12, 2010, 9:19 amSocial Networking and Bookmarking sites have become a great way to boost the profile of your website across the internet and automated sharing and posting tools have made it so easy to share links, but don't forget that your site is the foundation of your Social Media activities and you must ensure that it's set up to feed the information in the...
U.S. Has Lowest Software Piracy Rate
May 12, 2010, 9:13 amThe rate of global software piracy rose to 43 percent in 2009, a two percent increase from 2008 driven primarily by expanding PC sales in emerging markets, according to the seventh annual Business Software Alliance/IDC Global Software Piracy Study. "Software theft exceeded $51 billion in commercial value in 2009. The public and private sectors...
Top 10 Most Viewed YouTube Videos Of All Time
May 12, 2010, 9:13 amHave you ever wondered what the most popular video on YouTube was? How about the top 10 most viewed videos of all time?
How many times a day do you find yourself watching a YouTube video? Let us know.
The top 10 are quite the assortment of videos, as they feature babies, music videos and a puppeteer. Probably the most shocking revelation, while...
Get Ready to See More Cool Things Based on Google Moderator
May 12, 2010, 9:13 amBack in 2008, Google launched Google Moderator , a tool to help presenters prioritize questions for Q&A sessions. Since then, we've seen it in action a number of times, often from the company itself, but also in political settings, and other democratic-style events. "Google Moderator is used extensively within Google for meetings and to collect...
Did Apple Hand Google a “Get Out of FTC Jail” Card?
May 12, 2010, 9:04 am
Have you ever had some news to share with others–so exciting– that you simply can’t wait to get the word out?
The kind of news that you really should keep quiet about, but you’re just so giddy about it you have to tell everyone, no matter what the consequences?
Steve Jobs knows that experience.
You see,...
2 Wordpress Plugins to Keep Track of 404 Errors
May 12, 2010, 9:02 amWe already know how 404 errors ruin your SEO and usability. And long ago I shared some ways to keep track of 404 pages that may occur on the site. Today I am adding two tools to your arsenal: for those who use Wordpress to run their sites. So here you go: two Wordpress plugin that alert you once your blog visitor lands on an error page : 404...
Are You the Ideal Search Client?
May 12, 2010, 9:02 amCompanies regularly evaluate their paid search agencies; but what would happen if you reversed those roles? If agencies evaluated their clients, who would rise to the top? As an agency, we learn from and appreciate each and every one of our clients. However, there is a special group of clients who enable us to reach our full potential. These...
Will Verizon Android Price Strategy Help Google Tablet Compete with iPad?
May 12, 2010, 8:56 amGoogle has been very clear about how big of a part mobile plays in the company's strategy moving forward, and a number of recent acquisitions and strategic moves have made it equally clear that Google is gunning for Apple. These are a couple reasons why it has come as no surprise to find out that Google is working with Verizon on a Tablet computer...
Apple Makes FTC Rethink Google-AdMob Deal
May 12, 2010, 8:56 amThe bad news for Google is that the FTC still hasn't approved its acquisition of AdMob, and according to a fresh report, has in fact decided to take even more time to think things over. The good news is that the FTC was supposedly motivated to review the situation by a development that makes a Google monopoly look less probable. Brad Stone first...
Amazon iPad App Now Available
May 12, 2010, 8:56 amAmazon announced the launch of its official iPad app today. It's now available in Apple's App Store. "Following the launch of the Amazon App for iPhone and iPod touch, we've used our customers' feedback to help us build a fun and intuitive shopping destination on the iPad," says Director of Amazon Mobile Sam Hall. "This application offers...
Crucial Wordpress Plugins for a Competitive Blog or Business
May 12, 2010, 8:39 amWordpress is the most popular blogging software available today, whether its used on Wordpress.com or a hosted Wordpress.org solution, being used for personal blogs, professional blogs, informational sites, and CRM backends for businesses around the globe. A lot of this is due to the slim price tag that comes with Wordpress, but another major...
comScore: Facebook Display Ads Up Significantly Q1 2010
May 12, 2010, 8:30 am"Facebook's total U.S. display ad count for the first quarter of this year was 176.3 billion..."
Why You Should Fix Your House Before Inviting People Over
May 12, 2010, 8:27 amThis is a guest post by Hugo Guzman . So here's the scenario: A potential client reaches out to your agency. They are interested in this new "social media" thing but haven't actually dipped their proverbial toes in the social waters yet. However, the CEO read an article in Adage, and as a result, he wants to hit social ground running. They want a...
6 Steps That Get Big Shots to Answer Your Email
May 12, 2010, 8:27 amYou need to get the attention of a powerful internet marketer, A-list blogger, or busy CEO. Maybe you've got a brilliant idea for a joint venture that would make you both scads of money. Or maybe you just wrote a brilliant guest post that a certain top blogger's audience will love. Whoever it is, you're convinced you've got a win for this person....
Facebook Exec Faces Customer Privacy Questions
May 12, 2010, 7:32 am
In what can viewed as either an act of corporate bravery or stupidity all at once, Facebook offered up their vice president of public policy, Eliot Schrage (right), to the readers of the New York Times to answer their questions about, gulp, Facebook and privacy.
While this was not a live event (questions were taken from readers...
New AdWords Feature: Modified Broad Match
May 12, 2010, 7:16 am"For now it's available only for advertisers in Canada and the UK."
Modified Broad Match = Old School Broad Match
May 12, 2010, 7:08 amAny experienced Google AdWords advertiser knows that the broad match type has had its own special logic for several years. As the broadest of the three match types (exact, phrase, and broad), it added semantic matching into the mix several years ago. In other words, more than just showing your ad against minor variations such as common...
IBM Gets Into Social Media Analytics
May 12, 2010, 6:53 am
Here at Marketing Pilgrim we have to keep an eye on everything happening in the Internet marketing space. It takes some doing to accomplish that and using tools to help make sense of all of the buzz out there is critical. We are, of course, very partial to Trackur for our online monitoring needs (maybe you should be too?).
Now,...
Google Introduces Internet Stats (Again)
May 12, 2010, 6:50 amIn September Google introduced a new site where users can find Internet statistics from various sources. It's called Google Internet Stats . It appears that either Google forgot or is pretending it didn't happen, because today they have a new post up introducing it again. "This Google resource brings together the latest industry facts and...
Microsoft Launches Office 2010, SharePoint 2010, and Visio 2010
May 12, 2010, 6:49 am"Microsoft Corp. announced the worldwide availability of Microsoft Office 2010 and Microsoft SharePoint 2010, as well as Microsoft Visio 2010 and Microsoft Project 2010, for business customers worldwide."
Google Ratchets Up the Rhetoric as it Steels for Microsoft Office 2010
May 12, 2010, 6:22 amMicrosoft Office 2010 launches from beta May 12 with its sights sets squarely on Google App's the company's Web-based collaboration suite. True to Microsoft's software-plus-services practice Office 2010 includes all of the on-premise Office tools users have been using for the last 15-plus years, plus Web-based editions of OneNote, Excel, Word and...
Link Building is All About Answering One Question
May 12, 2010, 3:57 amThe simplest but most important linkbuilding advice ever. Wiep Knol hits the nail on the head - if you are trying to get links, make sure you can confidently answer the question, "why should I link to your website?". It sounds simple but is so often ignored and buried in complexity. A few examples of 'answers' given.
Google's Search Share Flatlines
May 12, 2010, 1:31 am"....in the biggest and most important market on earth (responsible for almost half of Google's revenue), Google's share gains have flatlined."
3 Key Takeaways from Search & Social
May 12, 2010, 12:46 amPosted by Lindsay Last week Jen and I attended the Search & Social Summit here in my backyard of Tampa Bay. This isn't your typical conference recap post, though. I wanted to focus on the action items that still stand out for me a week later, the things will make a difference in what I do or how I do it. Perhaps you'll rethink the way you do a...
Will Your Business Be on The SEM Train?
May 12, 2010, 12:05 amFor years now companies have been polled regarding search engine optimization and according to eMarketer nine out of every ten companies polled have either increased their SEO budgets or left them unchanged since 2007, which just goes to show you that this industry is in store for a very interesting ride that is bound to bring in heaping amounts...
ICANN: Non-Latin Characters for Top-Level Domains Go Live
May 11, 2010, 10:02 pm"For the first time in the history of the Internet, non-Latin characters are being used for top-level domains."
Idol Talk: Gaming the System
May 11, 2010, 5:27 pmby Vera H-C Chan Four remain on " American Idol ," which means the time for projections will soon be upon us. And right on cue, what has become the singing competition's tradition: a carefully planned upset. How to plan an upset The producers may not be able to figure out how to keep its audience from fleeing, but they have some savvy in...
Help, Mama Bear: This Tree Is Too Tall
May 11, 2010, 4:46 pmby Claudine Zap If the story of " Goldilocks and the Three Bears " is any guide, then this video of a bear cub caught in a tree with no clue on how to get down is just a part of the story. Could the little bear have climbed a lower trunk and decided it was too small? Clearly, the little guy caught at the top of a spindly branch is in a tree that...
Valencia Festival Of Media â" Interview with Marc Bresseel
May 11, 2010, 4:34 pmLast month I mentioned that we were heading to Valencia for the Festival of Media . Unfortunately, a certain volcano put that plan out of action for many of us based in London. Ironically though, a Microsoft Advertising contingent that were either based in, or happened to be in the US at the time, did manage to make it all the way to Spain for the...
FCC Wants To End Mobile Phone "Bill Shock"
May 11, 2010, 4:34 pmThe Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said today it is considering requiring mobile carriers to alert consumers about excessive wireless charges in order to avoid "bill shock." "We are hearing from consumers about unpleasant surprises on their bills," said Joel Gurin, Chief of the FCC's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau. "We've gotten...
Google Places Service Area Dissected
May 11, 2010, 4:27 pmA look at all the different options one has when utlizing the Service Area option within Google Places.
Researchers Suggest Twitter Data Might Replace Polls
May 11, 2010, 4:24 pmThe next time there's a big election or important issue up for debate, think about thanking Twitter's founders if your phone doesn't ring. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon have determined that, at least in some instances, combing Twitter for data can be as good a way of researching opinions as conducting an actual poll.
Brendan O'Connor,...
FCC Wants To End Mobile Phone “Bill Shock”
May 11, 2010, 4:17 pmThe Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said today it is considering requiring mobile carriers to alert consumers about excessive wireless charges in order to avoid "bill shock."
"We are hearing from consumers about unpleasant surprises on their bills," said Joel Gurin, Chief of the FCC's Consumer and Governmental Affairs...
Outer-Space Mysteries Capture the Web
May 11, 2010, 4:11 pmby Claudine Zap An "impossible" star is born. And a hole in space shows what happens once a star is formed. Plus, an out-of-this world zombie! It's your Buzz space roundup. Caught on telescope: "impossible" star Get out of the way, Hollywood . This star will be brighter than every celeb on the planet combined. Scientists' European-built Herschel...
comScore Releases April 2010 U.S. Search Engine Rankings
May 11, 2010, 3:32 pmcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its monthly comScore qSearch analysis of the U.S. search marketplace. In April 2010, Americans conducted 15.5 billion core searches, with Google Sites leading the market with 64.4 percent share of core searches conducted.
PayPal and Other Web Technologies Coming to Cable
May 11, 2010, 3:31 pmRCDb, which credits itself as the company that used Blu-ray to bring Netflix service to the PS3 , made a number of announcements today involving Cable and web technologies. "Today, at The Cable Show , the company announced several integrations that could significantly change consumer interaction with TV / cable," a representative tells WebProNews....
Google Maps For Android Upgraded Again
May 11, 2010, 3:31 pmEven as word that Android devices have outsold the iPhone in the U.S. is still bouncing around the Web, Google gave college students, couriers, and exercise enthusiasts another reason to side with it this afternoon, adding biking directions (along with a couple other tweaks) to Google Maps 4.2 for Android. The biking directions should prove to be...
Bing News: Local Twitter Trends Map Launched with Mashable.com
May 11, 2010, 3:09 pmAs social media continues to grow, expanding the Twitterverse and bringing more friend requests to your Facebook profile, so does the opportunity to listen in and leverage the chatter on these networks as a means to optimize your search engine marketing (SEM) campaigns. If you missed last week's post from Noah Singer, Using Social Media to...
eBay Eliminates "Stores" Navigational Tab
May 11, 2010, 3:08 pmeBay has announced the removal of the navigation tab for Stores, which appeared at the top of each page. Unsurprisingly, more than a few sellers are taking issue with this. In its announcement , eBay says: eBay's goal for the navigation tabs at the top of every page is to give buyers ready access to the most-used features on eBay. Since very few...
Google Maps Tool Compares Gulf Oil Spill to Size of Your City
May 11, 2010, 2:28 pmGoogle Maps Engineering Manager Paul Rademacher recently launched a page that shows how big the Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico in comparison to different metropolitan areas. For example, you can see how the size o it compares to New York City, by seeing an overlay overtop of the city. You can browse the cities listed on the page, or you can enter...
Twitter, an Anti-Social Network
May 11, 2010, 2:18 pm
What do you find when you look at 41 million Twitter users and 1.87 billion follower/followee relationship? (Aside from a lot of minutiae.) Well, Korea’s Advanced Institute of Science & Technology found that when it comes to Twitter, people really aren’t that interested in being social. More than 3 in 4...
Google: We Upgrade Microsoft Office Better Than Microsoft
May 11, 2010, 2:05 pmAs enterprise users of Microsoft Office prepare to upgrade, Google has a message for them, and that message is "upgrade with Google." The company posted the message on its Enterprise blog today. "This week Microsoft will take its Office 2010 suite out of beta," says Google Enterprise Product Management Director Matthew Glotzbach. "If you're...
iPad Wi-Fi Issue? Apple says: "Adjust your screen brightness"
May 11, 2010, 2:05 pmApple has updated a support document , which details some of the much-publicized Wi-Fi connectivity issues surrounding the iPad. In the document, Apple states a very small number of iPad users have experienced issues with Wi-Fi connectivity they even give out a few possible workarounds for anyone having Wi-Fi issues. Have you noticed any Wi-Fi...
Multi-Screen Advertising in Action - Video
May 11, 2010, 1:42 pmHot on the heels of our Multi-Screen Advertising session at Digital Hollywood, we have a video showing what an integrated campaign might look like across devices. Check out where you can get more info on our advertising site .
Will Square Power a Revolution in Credit Card Payments?
May 11, 2010, 1:42 pmWe may be looking at a revolution in payments. Square, which launched late last year from Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, is now offering a way for anybody with the right mobile device to accept credit card payments for less hassle and fees than before possible. Square has released clients for the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, and Android devices. In...
Gooooooal! Get World Cup 2010 Coverage on Yahoo! Search
May 11, 2010, 1:36 pmAre you ready for soccer fever? In a few weeks, just about the whole world will be wrapped up in one of the biggest global sports event: the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa. Many of the games happen during the week when you might be stuck at work or school, but don't fret: you can follow this exciting and emotional journey of international...
We Want Our Brontë Sisters Action Figures
May 11, 2010, 1:19 pmby Vera H-C Chan You've heard the story: Budding genius creates a work of art, gets rejected, and then stows away the masterpiece into the attic ... unseen and forgotten until after budding genius ends his artistically tormented life in some French gutter. Or, these days, the budding genius becomes a Hollywood player, and gets to upload work of...
New Bing Features for Windows Phones
May 11, 2010, 1:00 pmBing is launching two new updates for the Bing app on Windows phones today. "The first is a redesign of the home page, which gives people faster access to common searches such as Movies and Traffic," a representative for Bing tells WebProNews. "The second feature is voice-guided navigation for Windows 6.x phones, powered by Bing Maps and Microsoft...
Is your FAQ page a crutch for a bad Web site?
May 11, 2010, 12:55 pmby Mike Moran Image via Wikipedia Frequently asked questions are a staple of the Internet-even predating the Web. And the idea makes sense. If people are continually asking the same questions, why not answer them once on your Web site so then you won't have to answer them over and over again? That's the theory, anyway. But, in practice, getting...
How the Value of a Link May Differ Based upon Link and Document Features and User Data
May 11, 2010, 12:34 pmBill Slawski interprets a recently-granted Google patent. "Not every link from a page in a link-based ranking system is equal, and a search engine might look at a wide range of factors to determine how might weight each link on a page may pass along."
Facebook Social Plugins on 100,000 Sites Since Launch
May 11, 2010, 12:21 pmFacebook launched its new social plug-ins at its F8 developer conference last month, as part of the company's Open Graph initiative. It was no surprise that so many sites rushed to implement them.
"It's only been two and a half weeks since f8 and in that time more than 100,000 sites have tapped into the social graph by implementing...
Estranged Basketball Wife, Coveted Car, Unwanted Diapers: What's the Buzz
May 11, 2010, 12:20 pmby Vera H-C Chan Our picks from the day's hottest searches. Siohvaughn Wade (+1,909%). An arrest warrant's out for Miami Heat basketball player Dwayne Wade's wife, who was a no-show at their Chicago divorce hearing. Jonathan Groff (+609). The openly gay "Glee" actor inspired opine gay actors perhaps shouldn't play straight roles, and sparked a...
Some Backlinks Deserve to Have Their Backs Scratched
May 11, 2010, 12:11 pmIn the SEO game, people spend a lot of time and effort building backlinks. They bait them. The buy them. The trade them. They phone for them. So what do you do to build on that value?
Update Rank Checker
May 11, 2010, 12:03 pmWe updated rank checker this morning - sortable columns, faster code, works with the new Google SERPs, etc. If you are one of the dozens of people who filled out a support ticket and didn't get a reply...always check to see if updates are available before filling out a support ticket. And even then we probably don't need support tickets, because...
UN Launches Global Broadband Commission
May 11, 2010, 11:57 amThe International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have announced the creation of a high-level Broadband Commission for Digital Development aimed at speeding the roll out of high speed broadband globally. The new Commission consists of 30 representatives from around the...
Skype to Get Ads?
May 11, 2010, 11:56 am
Skype, one of the (if not the) most popular video conferencing applications out there, has long run on free conferencing and chat, with some paid services including connecting to telephone numbers. They were in the news last year as then-owner eBay promised an IPO to spin them off in H12010. Then they sold most of the company, but...
LinkedIn Integrates Video Posting Via SlideShare
May 11, 2010, 11:56 amLinkedIn said on its blog it is taking its integration of SlideShare technology one step further by adding videos through the social presentation platform. Click to read the rest of this post...
Skype Eyes Third-Party Ads: A New Playground For Marketers ?
May 11, 2010, 11:53 amSkype, the chat, voice and video calling platform is looking into meshing third-party ads to its services, the Daily Telegraph reported. Click to read the rest of this post...
Google Boosts Social Strategy With "Head of Social" Hire; Acquisitions To Be Expected
May 11, 2010, 11:41 amGoogle is looking to reshape and boost its social media strategy through the hire of a "Head of social", GigaOm reported, citing a recruiting letter the website obtained. Click to read the rest of this post...
Updated Bing App for Windows Phone
May 11, 2010, 11:28 amWere happy to announce two new features to the Bing app for Windows phones. The first is a redesign to the home page. We changed the navigation to give people faster access to common searches, such as Movies and Traffic. The second feature is turn-by-turn navigation for Windows 6.x phones, powered by Bing Maps. We took advantage of the Microsoft...
Google Says Get Used to the New Google Search UI
May 11, 2010, 11:11 amYesterday I noted how users by and large are complaining about Google's new search user interface , which sports more slice and dice features on the left-hand rail and some other cosmetic changes (I'm thinking of the lighter logo and streamlined footer ). Users can still access the Classic Google here if they are unhappy with Google's UI changes.
Google grabs 71% of U.S. April searches, up 2% from March; Bing, Yahoo, Ask lose ground
May 11, 2010, 11:00 amGoogle's search supremacy is once more reaffirmed as Experian Hitwise's April figures show a 2% rise to 71% grab of the U.S. search market, while competitors Yahoo, Bing and Ask kept on losing ground from a month ago. Click to read the rest of this post.
Yelp Facebook Implementation Exposes Security Concerns
May 11, 2010, 10:54 amIf privacy concerns weren't enough to get people thinking about deleting their Facebook accounts , they also have security concerns to consider. As Facebook takes over the web , user information goes with it. One can only imagine the potential threats that are lurking around the corner. An exploit was discovered on Yelp, one of Facebook's...
Doxo Takes Aim At Paperless Adoption
May 11, 2010, 10:20 amDoxo, a Seattle based start-up focused on helping people and businesses go paperless, said today it has received $5.25 million in funding.
The funding was led by Mohr Davidow Ventures and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Bezos Expeditions.
Doxo said the funding is aiding the company's expansion and private trials with some of the largest U.S. utility,...
Win Copies of John Jantsch’s “The Referral Engine”
May 11, 2010, 10:19 am
I’m pretty sure that when you hear the word “referral” at least 50% of you think of a search engine or web site referral. But what about honest-to-goodness business referrals from friends, customers, coworkers, and business partners?
That’s something the Joe touched on a few weeks back and now we have 3...
Regional ISPs Drive Broadband Growth in Rural Markets
May 11, 2010, 10:08 amcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a study on the role of regional Internet service providers (ISPs) in the growth of rural broadband in the United States. The study found that broadband penetration in rural markets has experienced double-digit growth in the past year, driven largely by regional...
Mozilla: Firefox 4 Will Be Fast Too
May 11, 2010, 10:08 amGoogle's Chrome browser has received a lot of buzz lately as it has showcased its efforts in speed testing using potato guns, paint, a pirate ship, lightning, etc. Meanwhile, Chrome has been creeping up steadily in web browser market share. Perhaps in an effort to keep users from switching to Chrome, Mozilla wants it to be known that it is working...
Seven-Year Google Vet Goes To Work For Quantcast
May 11, 2010, 9:59 amIt's time for another personnel-related announcement, and this morning, Yahoo and Microsoft are off the hook. Instead, it's Google that someone is quitting, as a longtime employee of the company has decided to leave it in favor of a newly created position at Quantcast.
Julio Pekarovic most recently held the title of "Vice President,...
Mayday: how Google's May update will affect your long tail rankings
May 11, 2010, 9:36 amGoogle has introduced another algorithm update this month and many webmasters have seen a huge drop in traffic from Google for keyword phrases that are three or more keywords long (so called "long tail keywords"). How does this affect your website?
Funneling PPC Money Into the Right Keyword Markets
May 11, 2010, 9:36 amby Mike Fleming
There's a big temptation that PPC managers need to stay away from, especially when first building an account. The temptation is assumption. (And yes, we all know what happens when....) If you assume, you can waste a lot of time building out a campaign that you will just have to spend MORE time fixing later.
A couple of...
Some Businesses Get to Try Out New Twitter Business Accounts
May 11, 2010, 9:28 amBusinesses have been waiting for Twitter to launch some business features fore quite some time. While the company did finally launch its ad platform in the form of Promoted Tweets last month, businesses have still had to turn to third-party apps for many of the functionalities they have been looking for. Twitter has now reportedly begun beta...
YouTube Music Video Talks Break Down In Germany
May 11, 2010, 9:28 amAfter more than a year of negotiations, talks between YouTube and a German group that represents musicians have broken down. The group, GEMA, has demanded that YouTube block access to around 600 videos as a result, and hinted that other agencies could soon echo its call, too. GEMA's goal here is to get YouTube to pay it more money every time a...
With SEJ Tools You Won't Need Any Other Link Building Utility
May 11, 2010, 9:10 amI have already said previously that the most awesome feature of SEJ Tools is that they consolidate plenty of SEO tasks and aggregate various SEO options. Today I am going to overview all its link building utilities and show how they help at every step of building your resource backlink power. 1. Find backlink opportunities Site Finder , a handy...
How to Add Useful Content to Your Site. . . and Get Results
May 11, 2010, 9:10 amIt's good to know that you need useful content on your site. It's even better to know why you need useful content on your site (If you aren't sure what I mean, you might want to read: For Google, the Only Content is Useful Content . But how do you get it? What separates so-so text from highly compelling copy that draws in readers (and prospects),...
Simple Yet Effective Charts For Helping New SEO Clients Understand Their Current Keywords
May 11, 2010, 9:10 amWhen you begin working with a new SEO client, it's always a great idea to help them understand their current state before moving forward. As part of that process, new clients might say something like, "we definitely rank for a number of keywords already, but we're not seeing the performance we would like". That's a great time to start digging...
More Shoppers Going Online To Find Food Deals
May 11, 2010, 9:05 amConsumers, looking for deals and discounts on food purchases, are increasingly turning to online tools to save money on groceries, according to Deloitte's "2010 Consumer Food Safety Survey." The survey found 33 percent of respondents subscribed to receive emails/recipes/coupons directly from food manufacturers/companies, a six percent increase...
Yikes! Yelp Security Breach Results in Egg on its Facebook
May 11, 2010, 8:40 am
Could it be that privacy truly is Facebook’s achilles heel?
The world’s #1 social network is already seeing users cancel their account in droves–over privacy–and now one of its trusted partners provides the gateway for a malicious hack?
One of Facebook’s marque personalization partners, Yelp, is at...
Google Grabs 71% of U.S. April Searches, Up 2% From March; Bing, Yahoo & Ask Lose Ground
May 11, 2010, 8:36 amGoogle's search supremacy is once more reaffirmed as Experian Hitwise's April figures show a 2% rise to 71% grab of the U.S. search market, while competitors Yahoo, Bing and Ask kept on losing ground from a month ago.Click to read the rest of this post...
How Cornerstone Content Gets You Traffic and Subscribers
May 11, 2010, 8:36 amBlogs are great resources. They let you publish high-quality content quickly, efficiently, and inexpensively. The problem is, the default functionality of blogging software makes it easy to show what's new " but hard to show off the depth of what you've done over time. Blogging excels at presenting new content, but fails at aggregating old content...
All you need to know about meta tags for search engine optimization
May 11, 2010, 8:31 amWeb site owners and search engine optimization professionals used to spend a lot of time worrying about meta tags. Which keywords should be added to the KEYWORDS tag? How to compose the content in the DESCRIPTION tag? These days the issue of meta tags is easy to handle: They no longer play any role in ranking your site in the major search engines....
Adobe Intros New Flash Video Monetization Tools
May 11, 2010, 8:24 amAdobe announced the availability of Flash Access 2.0 today at the Streaming Media East 2010 Conference. This is a content protection solution that enables the distribution and monetization of premium video content. The company is also showcasing HTTP Dynamic Streaming, a new protocol support for media streaming on the Flash Platform, and the Open...
Amnesty International Uses Social Media to Attack Shell
May 11, 2010, 8:18 am
Human rights group Amnesty International is launching a social media campaign on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and through bloggers, designed to raise money for a full page ad buy attacking oil company Shell in a UK national newspaper.
According to an article in the Guardian Newspaper:
“Amnesty’s full-page ad, which is...
SEO With Google Webmaster Tools - Part 4: Your Site on the Web (Continued)
May 11, 2010, 8:01 amby Stoney deGeyter
In Part 3 of the Google Webmaster Tools series we started looking at the Your Site on the Web stats. We covered top search queries. In this post we'll finish working our way through this section of Webmaster Tools.
Top search queries
Links to your site
Keywords
Internal links
Subscriber stats
Links to Your Site
...
Blog Fun: Vote Your Favorite Header for Online Marketing Blog
May 11, 2010, 7:49 amOnline Marketing Blog has been toying around with a new blog header and thought it would be best to get your opinion on which design we should choose. In the upper left corner of this post there are 5 different headers to check out, each with it's own name. Click on each one and the header will change - see what you think. Once you decide which...
Google Referrals Way Down Since the SERP LayOut Change?
May 11, 2010, 7:36 am"The last week was the biggest single change in our referral profile graph since florida 2004."
Do Endless Marketing Feature Updates Hinder Campaigns?
May 11, 2010, 7:30 amIn the past year or so, I’ve been at a number of technology platform user summits and at some point on the agenda, there is always the product feature enhancement announcements. With much fanfare I listen as they roll out enhancement after enhancement, and I can’t help thinking: do people really use all these...
Step-By-Step Guide For Launching a Virtual Product
May 11, 2010, 7:28 amThis detailed guide goes through the process of creating, launching and marketing a product on your website.
SES Toronto 2010: So Many Speakers, So Little Time
May 11, 2010, 6:35 amIt's hard to believe, but SES Toronto 2010 gets underway in a month. And looking over the conference agenda, I'm having a tough time figuring out which sessions to attend.Click to read the rest of this post...
Mobile, Video and India to Dominate London's ISS #ISSLON
May 11, 2010, 6:07 amAs the final printer deliveries for Thursday's International Search Summit trundle through the reception below where I'm sitting, flights are boarded in the US and Europe and final polishing of presentations and content is shaping up, we're looking forward to probably the most exciting - and innovative - International Search Summit yet.
Firefox 4 Aims: Empowering, Powerful, Faster
May 11, 2010, 3:46 am"Usually software producers don't present these sorts of plans in public until they're finalized, but Mozilla is a little different."
Some Opinions on the SEO Myths & Realities Fight
May 11, 2010, 3:02 amPosted by randfish A few weeks back, Stephan Spencer authored a post for SearchEngineLand entitled 36 Myths that Won't Die But Need To . I certainly recommend checking out the post, but be warned of some highly contentious comments. The tweets and offline feedback were similarly up-in-arms and it's easy to understand why. SEO is a field where...
IPv4 Pool To Run Out As Close As 2011
May 11, 2010, 12:26 am"In less than 18 months there will be no more big blocks of net addresses to give out, estimates suggest."
Look At Your Google Webmaster Tools Account!
May 11, 2010, 12:22 amWith the speed of the internet and the rate of growth we have been seeing, it is very difficult to keep up with everything never mind taking the time to actually analyze your own website surroundings and linking structure to see what websites are linking to you from a structural stand point. It is important to take the time to really understand...
Twitter Biz Center Being Introduced
May 11, 2010, 12:03 am
No, this isn’t the Biz Center as in Biz Stone’s foray into shared office space. Nope, this is Twitter’s move to offer specific business services that will enhance Twitter’s abilities to serve the business community. Eventually this will be another one of those things that will maybe even help Twitter, ummmmm, make money....
Google Up While bing and Yahoo Slip
May 10, 2010, 11:07 pm
Hitwise is reporting that all is once again normal with the world of search as Google garnered 71% of the total searches performed in the US in April. This is a 2 percent increase from March numbers. While bing had been showing some gains recently and giving some people hope that they would be a possible contender to Google at...
Has .com lost its "must have" status?
May 10, 2010, 9:32 pmIt wasn't all that long ago when acquiring a .com domain was considered essential to any successful business. But times have changed. I'm not suggesting that .com is going away. There are more than 96 million .com domains registered, which makes .com far and away the most popular top-level domain (TLD). But I am suggesting that .com is facing...
Zombie Satellite Causes Astronomical Buzz
May 10, 2010, 8:23 pmby Claudine Zap Don't be alarmed. High above your heads, a zombie satellite is on the loose . OK, actually, it won't really be a bother to us earthlings. Or at least to most of us. (More on that later.) But the rogue communications satellite is wreaking havoc on Earth's orbit and does threaten to interfere with signals coming from other...
And the (Supreme Court) Nominees Are...
May 10, 2010, 8:00 pmby Vera H-C Chan The Supreme Court may be the one branch of government whose members aren't directly elected by the people, but an informed citizenry still wants to know who the latest judicial recruits are for the bench. Enter Elena Kagan into the online vetting process. As with previous nominations, many are looking into " elena kagan biography...
Apple Safari, critical code bug
May 10, 2010, 7:23 pmIt has been confirmed in version 4.0.5 for Windows, and the latest Mac version may also be affected.
'Facebook Fairytales': Waiting for Baby
May 10, 2010, 6:06 pmThe following is the third in a series of excerpts we're publishing from the new book "Facebook Fairytales: Modern-Day Miracles to Inspire the Human Spirit." This chapter tells the story of how one couple's struggle to have a baby led to an adoption facilitated through Facebook. It was only three weeks after Melissa Segal had moved to Washington,...
Buzz Travel Roundup
May 10, 2010, 5:32 pmby Claudine Zap JetBlue 's got a big sale. The Cannes Film Festival may be facing big travel trouble. And is Sen. Chuck Schumer our new baggage handler? It's your buzz travel roundup. Pack a bag and read on. Cheap seats Got somewhere to be tomorrow? For a fistful of dollar bills, you may just want to make plans if you don't have any. The discount...
Google Looks To Hire "Social" Chief
May 10, 2010, 4:58 pmGoogle's track record in terms of social media is not pretty. Consider the facts: Orkut never caught on in the U.S., Lively was killed after about six months, and so far, Buzz hasn't done much besides make people freak out. Still, Google's reportedly forging ahead by looking to hire a "Head of Social." Liz Gannes obtained a recruiting letter...
Now even easier: Use Google Docs & Checkout to sell online
May 10, 2010, 4:52 pmAs you may have seen, the Google Docs blog announced a preview of the Google Checkout store gadget back in July. The Google Checkout store gadget , available in Google Labs, allows you to create an online store with inventory managed from a Google spreadsheet and payments accepted through Google Checkout. Since then, our engineers have been...
Agency Marks 10 Years Fighting Cybercrime
May 10, 2010, 4:40 pmThe Internet Crime Complaint Center is marking its 10-year anniversary of fighting cybercrime. The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) was established in May 2000 as a partnership between the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Since its launch IC3 has received more than 1.5 million complaints of...
Is Deleting Your Facebook Account Really a Good Idea?
May 10, 2010, 4:17 pmSince Facebook announced its plans to take over the web , there has been a lot of talk about privacy concerns, and about deletion of Facebook profiles. There is also concern about the lack of openness in Facebook's Open Graph initiative. Others are just bored with the social network. Whatever the reasons, an increasing number of people seem to be...
While Facebook/Zynga Fight Over Virtual Games, Can Marketers Win?
May 10, 2010, 3:04 pmAs consumers and audiences shift toward non-traditional channels in their quest for content, online gaming via social media platforms have become the prime battleground for advertisers and marketers alike, spurring widely reported animosity between Facebook and Zynga.Click to read the rest of this post...
Young Age, Big Pay: Salaries of Child Stars
May 10, 2010, 2:57 pmby Claudine Zap Angus T. Jones may play an under-achiever on TV, but as a child star, he is a down-right prodigy. The " Two and a Half Men " star makes a whopping $250,000 per episode , making him the highest paid child actor on television. Not bad for a 16-year-old who lives with his parents and isn't sure if he'll even go to college â" or...
Accept Fan Breaks Twitter
May 10, 2010, 2:52 pmAll hell broke lose today when a fan of the 80s metal band Accept (sometimes considered the poor man's AC/DC) tweeted "Accept pwnz". A bug in Twitter made user @pwnz his follower. So the story goes , and the bug that let people steal followers was born. Twitter posted to its status blog : We identified and resolved a bug that permitted a user to...
An Insider Look From a Yahoo! Search Trend Spotter
May 10, 2010, 2:34 pmWhat does your search say about you? Vera H-C Chan is one of a handful of Yahoo! Buzz Log editors who pores through Yahoo! search data to interpret trends and interests. Today, Vera shares with the Yahoo! Search Blog what trendspotting editors do at Yahoo! When "American Idol" is on, it's a busy day for a trend spotter like me.
Android Outselling iPhones
May 10, 2010, 2:06 pm
Maybe Google really has found the way to challenge Apple’s iPhone supremacy—and it isn’t the Nexus One. Or at least not the Nexus One alone. While it seems like Google’s been searching high and low for an iPhone killer since the G1 came out in October 2008 (or since rumors started in December 2006),...
Editorial Disapprovals: What They Are and Tips on How to Avoid Them in Microsoft adCenter (Part II)
May 10, 2010, 1:37 pmEditorial disapprovals are red flags in an advertiser's account indicating there is something in the content or structure of an ad that isn't in compliance with adCenter's Editorial Guidelines . Because they're one of the most common reasons an adCenter advertiser calls in to our customer support team for assistance, I thought a series of posts...
Meltwater Launches Media Intelligent Search Tool To Identify Influencers
May 10, 2010, 1:23 pmMeltwater, the global search engine technology solutions, cloud computing and talent management software provider, said it launched Meltwater Press, a web-based search service allowing to identify industry influencers for better media outreach. Click to read the rest of this post...
Will Dmoz Continue to Have a Place in Search?
May 10, 2010, 1:06 pmNearly a year ago, we looked at what Dmoz (aka: The Open Directory Project) was up to, and if it still had a place in search. The directory was talking about how it was looking for "a little respect" as it prepared to celebrate its 11th birthday (on June 5).
Has Dmoz earned any more of that respect going into its 12th year? Tell us...
A President is Chosen, Kimbo is lost, The Mandarin is wanted: What's the Buzz
May 10, 2010, 1:02 pmby Vera H-C Chan Our picks from the day's hottest searches. Prader-Willi Syndrome (+3,286%). The ABC episode of "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" featured a child with the syndrome, which " causes extreme and constant hunger ." Indonesia Earthquake (+1,033%). A 7.4 temblor shook western Indonesia Sunday, but all seems well beyond minor power outages...
Google Responds to Countries’ Privacy Concerns (Kinda)
May 10, 2010, 12:44 pm
Last month, privacy and data protection officials from Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom wrote an open letter to Google voicing their concerns about Google Buzz. Of course, this is nothing new, since Buzz has prompted privacy concerns since the day it rolled...
WordStream Set To Boost Growth With $6M Series B Funding From 2 Investors
May 10, 2010, 12:03 pmKeyword research software company Wordstream said it secured $6m (USD) worth of funding in series B preferred stock from new investor Egan-Managed Capital and existing investor Sigma + Partners. Click to read the rest of this post...
Canadian Internet Usage Climbs
May 10, 2010, 11:23 amThe majority (80%) of Canadians, or 21.7 million people, used the Internet for personal reasons in 2009, up from 73 percent in 2007, according to a new survey by Statistics Canada.
Rates of Internet use increased in every province during this two-year period. The largest relative increase in Internet users occurred in New Brunswick and...
Google Downplays Privacy Authorities' Concerns
May 10, 2010, 11:19 amThree weeks ago, data protection officials representing Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, and the UK wrote an open letter to Eric Schmidt, expressing concerns about Google Buzz and Google's overall approach to privacy. Now, Google's responded, but the search giant was very selective in terms of...
U.S. Consumers Reportedly Go for Android Over iPhone in Q1
May 10, 2010, 10:17 amIt's been quite clear that Android usage has been growing steadily , but a report from the NPD Group finds that in the first quarter of 2010, Android devices actually outsold iPhones (still behind RIM) in the U.S. Here are the market share numbers for sales in the first quarter according to the report: RIM: 36% Android: 28% Apple: 21% "As in the...
AOL Names Microsoft Exec As CTO
May 10, 2010, 10:17 amAOL said today it has hired Alexander Gounares as its Chief Technology Officer and as a member of its Global Executive Operating Committee. Gounares will lead AOL's technology strategy, platform development and external technology partnerships, as a well as play a key role in the overall strategy and directions of the company. He will report to...
Watch: Conan O'Brien Goes to Google
May 10, 2010, 9:36 amUpdate: When Conan visited Google last week, and ended up sitting down for a Q&A that lasted nearly an hour. Luckily Google has shared the whole thing via YouTube video: Original Article: Conan O'Brien is visiting Google. He's been on the road performing around the country as he waits for his big return to television on TBS this fall, and...
Free SEO Copywriting Report
May 10, 2010, 9:30 amI've written a lot about SEO copywriting over the last 4+ years. And it's still the topic that seems to generate the most questions and confusion. That makes sense, since the modern practice of SEO copywriting is a diverse discipline that goes well beyond keyword location and frequency. So I decided to take a look back at everything I've written...
Facebook Hires Former FTC Chairman
May 10, 2010, 9:13 amThe odds that any privacy group - or even the government - will be able to back Facebook into a corner appear to have plummeted. Facebook's hired Tim Muris, former Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, to represent its interests in Washington. Muris has an impressive list of accomplishments to his name. In addition to just holding the...
Why Google's Redesign Could Be Good News for Social Marketers
May 10, 2010, 9:13 amIt's all about the real estate. Google results pages have historically been about simplicity. Any search "options" have been such a little part of the UI that, let's be honest, hardly anyone knew they were there. Before now, Google attempted to predict what users wanted by including universal search (such as news, videos, and images) right in...
Large-Audience Webinars And Webcasting Tools: Best WebConferencing Services For Online Events With Hundreds Of Participants
May 10, 2010, 9:12 amTo create, host and manage large-audience webinars and online events, there are a number of web conferencing tools that can help you deal efficiently with hundreds of participants. But how do you choose among all these services which one is best for you? In this MasterNewMedia guide you will find out which are the best webinar and webcasting tools...
Taobao And Yahoo Japan Partner On Ecommerce
May 10, 2010, 9:10 amChina's top ecommerce website Taobao and Yahoo Japan have partnered to launch two online platforms to cross sell in each other's markets.
The partnership will allow Yahoo Japan merchants to list some eight million items in a Chinese-language TaoJapan section.
Taobao, a subsidiary of ecommerce firm Alibaba group, will offer 50 million products...
Facebook Location Features to Involve Places Tab?
May 10, 2010, 8:51 amReports of Facebook launching location features have been circulating for quite some time. Such features were widely expected to be launched at the company's F8 developer conference last month, but while Facebook did make some pretty big announcements , location features were not among them. Last week, AdAge reported that such features will come...
The SEO Tool That May Make You Switch to Google Chrome
May 10, 2010, 8:51 amThe huge variety of addons is the main reason why I am a stubborn FireFox adopter. It is fun to watch how Google Chrome is quickly catching up in that respect. This week I am looking at a cool SEO extension for Google Chrome you will want to check out. The utility has a pretty unique name - SEO Site Tools and here's the full round-up of its...
Vital Link Building Tip
May 10, 2010, 8:33 amYou can spend a bunch of time prospecting for links, you can ask for links and you can even beg for links, but the most vital link building tip I can give is to CREATE GOOD STUFF. So you're probably thinking to yourself right now, "What a punk, who does this guy think he is?" Well, hear me out. 'Create good stuff' might sound really crazy and...
What To Look At Before Redesigning Your Web Site
May 10, 2010, 8:33 amThe most popular reason people redesign their site is to update the site's look. Most never really take into account other areas of the site that could make or break the success of a site. I 'm not saying design isn't important; it is. However, designing without taking into account the history of the site and its current flaws and weakness can...
How to Switch Back to the Old Google Search UI
May 10, 2010, 8:22 amGoogle launched its revamped search user interface last week, and there's no question that search engine results pages are a little busier, an little more cluttered than they were . You used to click a button to make search options pop out: Now they are suggested (you have to expand them though), along with different content types. Opening all of...
Do You Hate “New Google?” Get the Refreshing Taste of “Google Classic”
May 10, 2010, 8:15 am
Were you one of the ones that hated the taste of New Coke?
Did you threaten to start drinking Pepsi, unless Coca-Cola switched back to the original recipe?
Well, if you feel the same way about your search results, there’s hope! Nope, you don’t need to threaten to switch to Bing, it’s far easier.
All you need do...
Facebook Location Service is Confirmed by Code
May 10, 2010, 8:09 am
TechCrunch’s MG Siegler had a busy weekend. In a nutshell, he reported that by reviewing the code of the touch screen version of Facebook it was “confirmed” that Facebook’s location service was indeed set to become a reality. In his first post from Sunday he reports
Code doesn’t lie.
Over the past several weeks,...
Facebook Board Member’s Account Hacked
May 10, 2010, 7:31 am
Some may feel that this is “just desserts” or that this is only the beginning but the weekend hack of a Facebook board member’s account may prove a point whether that was intended or not.
The apparent account breach was reported by peHUB, which is a Thomson Reuters property that (according to the site) is an interactive...
Twitter Fixes 'Follow' Bug, And Fixing Zero Followers
May 10, 2010, 7:17 am"Follower/following numbers are currently at 0: we're aware and this too should shortly be resolved."
SEO Google Style: Interview with Maile Ohye
May 10, 2010, 7:11 amSpotlight on Search Interview with Maile Ohye, Developer Programs Tech Lead at Google Spotlight on Search is an interview series that shines a light on search marketing professionals to learn more about the nature of their work, differences in SEO amongst categories of web sites and of course, SEO tips, tactics and useful tools.
SEO is a Zero Sum Game
May 10, 2010, 5:56 amIn much the same way that people have developed banner blindness there will be an eventual blindness toward other forms of ads. People only need to be screwed by a gem like the following about once before they lose trust in sharing *any* personal data with anybody. The above example is a great example of the scumbag affiliate mindset. Find...
Conversion Rate Optimisation for SEO
May 10, 2010, 5:10 amThere are plenty of great posts out there on conversion rate optimisation, I’ve linked to a few below, however what can you do to improve conversion rates from an SEO point of view?
Lets start with something basic, there are two main ways to increase the conversion rate on a website.
Change the website itself by on-site changes, split...
New WiFI Frequency Set to Turbo Charge WiFi
May 10, 2010, 2:14 am"Wi-Fi is about to lay claim to a new frequency band that could result in speeds at least 10 times faster than whats currently available."
How I Get Things Done - And How You Can Too
May 10, 2010, 12:45 amPosted by willcritchlow Warning - this is a more personal post and one that isn't about hardcore SEO tactics. Despite this, I think that I have some useful lessons to share and I hope you find it useful. For thoughts on similar principles but more from an SEO project perspective rather than an individual efficiency angle, you could read project...
Things to Slow Down Your SEO Progress
May 10, 2010, 12:06 amIf you have been an internet marketing specialist for some time now you will know that there is a great deal of constant learning required to get the job done right. You have to be willing to learn almost every day because the search game is consistently changing. Reading daily industry sources and blogs will be vital for any online success. Let's...
Salesforce Launches Wordpress to Lead Plugin
May 9, 2010, 8:44 pmOne of the major features of the Wordpress blogging platform that makes it as a widely used and very popular CMS is its simplicity and functionality. Even sweeter is the fact that Wordpress has a very distinct feature that extends what it can do - plugins. For the past several years Wordpress has amassed a large database of plugins which covers...
Google Interviews Conan O’Brien; Hilarity Ensues
May 9, 2010, 8:16 pm
There are two things you won’t typically find me doing:
1. Watching any YouTube video longer than 3 minutes–who has the time for that?
2. Watching Conan O’Brien–I don’t normally stay up that late.
So, trust me when I say that all 48 minutes of Conan’s interview at the Googleplex is worth...
Top Search Queries - Totally Changing the SEO Game
May 9, 2010, 7:47 pmby Sage Lewis
Google recently made changes to Webmaster Tools that, I believe, changes the entire way we think about search engine optimization. They are now featuring extensive information with the Top Search Queries report. I recently did an in-depth class explaining this new resource and what it means to the search engine optimization...
Obama Confuses the iPad, iPod, XBox and Playstation as "Distracting" Information Tools
May 9, 2010, 4:18 pmDoes President Obama realize that the iPod, Xbox and Playstation are supposed to be distractions, diversions and a form of entertainment? Apparently not. in a speech to the graduating class today at Hampton University in Virginia Obama said this: "You're coming of age in a 24/7 media environment that bombards us with all kinds of content and...
'Sharing is Not an Inherently Private Activity'. Really. Really??!
May 9, 2010, 3:33 pmEver shared an ice cream cone with your dog? Or a lover? Or a phone conversation with your mother? Or a document with a business partner? In Facebook-speak, these aren't "inherently private" activities. Facebook developers, its CEO, other users, and the planet at large, evidently, should be able to lap at your ice cream cone, etc. After all,...
Obama Slams the iPad, iPod, XBox and Playstation
May 9, 2010, 3:31 pmDoes President Obama realize that the iPod, Xbox and Playstation are supposed to be distractions, diversions and a form of entertainment? Apparently not. As far as I can tell they aren't supposed to be "tools of empowerment", as Obama laments!
in a speech to the graduating class today at Hampton University in Virginia Obama said...
PayPal Paolo Guerrero safety bottles
May 9, 2010, 2:14 pmHi, this is Dominik Dommick, Managing Director Marketing for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. European football fans have all been talking about HSV's Paolo Guerrero's "water bottle incident" where the Hamburg and Peruvian national team striker threw a water bottle at a fan and hit him in the head. We recently rolled out additional buyer...
Stories of Motherhood from Facebook Families
May 9, 2010, 12:54 pmToday is Mother's Day in the U.S. and dozens of countries around the world, and to honor it we're profiling three stories submitted to us for our "Your Stories" series about how mothers and children are building family bonds through Facebook. If you have a story you'd like to share with us, please submit it here . Mom's Yiddish Word of the Day...
UK Election 2010: Lessons Learned from Watching First Social Media Battle of Britain
May 9, 2010, 12:47 pmI started my coverage of UK Election 2010 by quoting part of Winston Churchill's famous speech, "We shall fight them on the beaches." Well, the original Battle of Britain ended up being fought in the air by "the few." So, as I try to figure out some of the lessons learned after watching the first social media Battle of Britain, it's worth...
How to Access the Classic Google Layout
May 9, 2010, 11:21 amOld SERP layout still exists.
Google: to Universal Search and back again
May 9, 2010, 8:41 amGoogle updated its search engine result pages this week, adding a left hand column with links to help you narrow down your search results. We like it. We have noted a lot of protests on the Web, but seriously, what Google has done is a good thing. Google is torn between two opposing philosophies: (1) simplicity and (2) guidance. Image: Google...
Pandia Search Engine News Wrap Up May 9
May 9, 2010, 8:41 amThe biggest news this week was Google's new search engine result pages. But there is more to the world of search and search engines. Here's what we found. Facebook's "Posts By Everyone" Feature: Do People Realize They're Sharing To The World? Why doesn't Facebook allow for mobile updates to be private? (SE Land May 7 2010) OneRiot Out of Beta,...
Microsoft Advertising Exec To Leave For AOL
May 9, 2010, 7:45 amA longtime Microsoft employee who plays an important role in the company's advertising department is leaving the organization, according to a new report. Then here's the detail that may make his departure especially embarrassing for other execs in Redmond: Alex Gounares is heading to AOL. Gounares has been with Microsoft since 1993, working on...
Is Yahoo! losing faith in the search argument?
May 9, 2010, 5:29 amWhen you are going online to search, what do you want? You want to find the best and relevant information available, right? You want as few distractions as possible. You want help to get to the good stuff, wherever it is. This is Google's philosophy and it has brought the company tremendous success. Yahoo has a different approach. It is a search...
What is Twitter? It's Social News Networking
May 9, 2010, 2:46 amThe news spread fast on Twitter. Welcome back to our weekly Twitter column. Two weeks ago I wrote about how many people and businesses don't get Twitter yet and tried to explain it using a metaphor. This time I will try a different approach based on a scientific study. The study by Korean researchers based asked whether Twitter is really social...
Content That Stings
May 8, 2010, 11:30 pm
I just had to chime in on this whole kid you got “tased” (shot with a Taser gun) by a Philadelphia cop as he ran onto the field at Citizen’s Bank Park during a Philadelphia Phillies game.
Here’s two video versions of the same event. Both are considered content but how is the event perceived when you see the ESPNized...
Spam words in a query string - do these backlinks hurt rankings?
May 8, 2010, 1:32 pmI have a Wordpress blog where example.com/keyword-here/?q=spam-keyword resolves to example.com/keyword-here/ Is this a problem?
Johnny's Copyblogger Wrap-Up: Week of May 3, 2010
May 8, 2010, 10:31 amEarlier this week, I was driving down the road with my family and we saw this chicken on the berm. Suddenly, I realized that it was about to cross the road. I had an opportunity to answer one of mankind's biggest quandaries, like the time I planted those cameras in the forest to see what happens when a tree falls and nobody is around to hear it....
Google Launches New Features for Google Reader
May 8, 2010, 7:19 amGoogle announced some changes it has been making to Google Reader over the past month. These include support for HTML5 HTML5 and tags. This is helpful for sharing content with friends using mobile devices. Another new feature is the "not interested" option for Google Reader's recommended items. This lets you hide these items and let Google get a...
Cup of Joe: Google Is Turning Into the Jonas Brothers and I Don’t Like It
May 8, 2010, 7:17 am
Yeah that’s right Google is turning into a pop-culture boy band. Soon adolescent girls from across the country will be giggling and blushing at the sight of the Google logo. Okay maybe not, but one thing is for certain, Google is starting to make important decisions based on superficial trends that have little relationship...
Teoma Search Engine is Back
May 8, 2010, 6:07 am"We re-launched Teoma.com in mid-April to provide a simplified interface for everyday keyword web search."
Are Webmasters Using Canonical URL Tags, Nofollows? The Latest Linkscape Update Has the Data
May 8, 2010, 3:50 amPosted by randfish It's an exciting day at SEOmoz - Linkscape's index has updated with fresh data crawled in the past 30 days. This update also gives us a chance to show off lots of interesting data points around the web's usage of search-specific tags and directives. Let's dive in! The Canonical URL Tag Grows in Popularity Rel Canonical is here...
The Staggering Number of Tweet Chasing Bots
May 8, 2010, 2:31 amUp to 20 bots now following twitter fire hose feed.
Earthly pleasures come to Maps
May 7, 2010, 7:51 pmEarth Day may have just passed, but the Google Earth team loves it too much to let it go. So we've found our own special way to celebrate Earth Day (a little late) by making an announcement that we've been working toward for a long time: Earth view in Google Maps . When we first launched Google Earth back in 2005 , it revolutionized the world of...
Microsoft Bring Facebook Twitter Sharing to Bing Shopping Search
May 7, 2010, 7:33 pmFollowing its previous roll out of Facebook and Twitter sharing to its news and entertainment sites, Microsoft has just implemented the same sharing service this time to its Shopping search vertical. This is a pretty interesting move for Microsoft and useful feature for Bing users especially those who regularly use Bing Shopping for getting...
Mommy Dearest
May 7, 2010, 6:42 pmHi All, it's Stacy General, online personal shopper for PayPal. It's that time of year again. Sunday, May 9 is Mother's Day'yes, already! If you are like the millions of other children scrambling to find that perfect gift for Mom at the last minute, PayPal is here to help! With Mother's Day just a day away, PayPal has some great last minute gift...
Search for Martians, the Truth About Big Squids, and a Meteor Shower: Buzz Week in Review
May 7, 2010, 6:13 pmby Claudine Zap It was a week for mysteries from the deep and beyond. NASA has decided it is worth it to look for extra-terrestrial life. Sadly, the kraken are not the crazy, whale-eating, speed swimmers they were cracked up to be. And a meteor shower put on a rare show. It's your Buzz Week in Review. First off, extra-terrestrial study Are we...
Google's Shares Sink Below $500
May 7, 2010, 4:23 pmEven more than the average individual, Google shareholders seem likely to wind up marking the end of the week by having a few drinks. Google's stock was below $500 when the closing bell rang today, and the stock actually hasn't closed lower since October 5th of last year.
You can see the state of things for yourself below. Google...
Buzz Multiplex: What Makes a Hero
May 7, 2010, 3:54 pmby Vera H-C Chan Alcoholics. Outlaws. Mercenaries. A few hormone surges shy of puberty. Who says Hollywood doesn't know what makes up a hero? Blockbuster season means the multiplexes will be crammed with unlikely heroes, out to prove themselves, follow their own creed, beat the bad guys, and save the world in the process. Many get the girl, some...
Augmented Reality App to Provide Greater Value to Local Businesses
May 7, 2010, 3:48 pmIt's a very interesting time for local businesses. Mobile apps are opening many different opportunities for them to be discovered and new and creative ways. Likewise opportunities for engaging with customers and providing them with offers are becoming increasingly apparent. Layar , which makes a pretty useful augmented reality app, announced Layar...
We Can't Wait for Next Summer: Buzz Movie Roundup
May 7, 2010, 3:37 pmby Claudine Zap A super-secret movie trailer gets leaked online. A prequel to " Planet of the Apes " is announced. And please, oh, please let the rumors of a " Zoolander 2 " be true. It's a Buzz movie roundup. First off, " Iron Man 2 " moviegoers have been treated to a super-secret, very hush-hush trailer for a joint Steven Spielberg and J.J....
Now this is how you pitch your product to an open source company
May 7, 2010, 3:08 pmAfter our call to open source developers on Monday and the addition of our code repository to github , we've been ecstatic to see a flurry of activity in #reddit-dev on freenode as well as on our mailing list. We'd like to announce that our most recent accepted patch is from the gentlemen at a YCombinator start-up called embed.ly who, as you might...
That's a Wrap from Digital Hollywood 2010
May 7, 2010, 2:34 pmWhat a week its been in Santa Monica! Digital Hollywood this year saw a veritable melting pot of thoughts, ideas, insight, and the odd disagreement from an assembled digerati, who helped delegates really get to grips with some of the issues surrounding TV, video, games, online and social advertising and accountability. Below is all our coverage:...
MSN China posts FY09 profit on operating sales of US$50-70m
May 7, 2010, 2:30 pmMSN China is believed to have recorded operating revenues of 50 to 70 mln usd in the full year 2009, TMCnet reported, citing CLSA Asia Pacific Markets. Click to read the rest of this post...
Google Buzz Gets Even More Integrated with Email
May 7, 2010, 2:23 pmOver the last month or so, most of the discussion around social media has been mostly related to Twitter and Facebook, as both recently had their developer conferences and introduced some new things to get people talking. We haven't heard a whole lot of discussion around Google Buzz. When we have, it's still mostly been about privacy . Google...
comScore to Speak at Upcoming Investor Conferences in May
May 7, 2010, 2:06 pmcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today announced its participation at two investor conferences in May. Each presentation will be webcast live and available at http://ir.comscore.com/events.cfm.
6.7 Billion Tweets Forecast For January 2011
May 7, 2010, 2:06 pmForecasters of all sorts have been working overtime the past week or so, discussing floods in the U.S., Greece's economy, and elections in the U.K. Now here's a little something for the tech community: Pingdom has predicted that Twitter will process 6.7 billion tweets in January. Pingdom didn't base this estimate on a different company's growth...
OneRiot Out of Beta, Launches Trending Topic Engine
May 7, 2010, 1:51 pmToday, OneRiot celebrates its first birthday with a new look and launch of its new Trending Topics Engine. This leverages the company's patented PulseRank technology and real-time index of the social web.Click to read the rest of this post...
News Flash: People Who Stare at Ads Buy (And Search)
May 7, 2010, 1:26 pm
Here’s a groundbreaking study: Eyeblaster, Microsoft Advertising and comScore have found that the longer people stare at an ad, the more likely they are to search for brand-related terms. Eyeblaster also found that “ad dwellers” are more likely to buy, too. Somehow, I don’t think that means we’re...
OneRiot Out of Beta - Real-Time Search Engine is 1 Year Old Today
May 7, 2010, 1:14 pmToday, OneRiot celebrates its first birthday with a new look and launch of its new Trending Topics Engine. This leverages the company's patented PulseRank technology and real-time index of the social web. Click to read the rest of this post.
OneRiot Launches Out of Beta, Intros Trending Topics Engine
May 7, 2010, 12:58 pmOneRiot has officially moved out of beta today, and while doing so has also launched a realtime Trending Topics Engine. "Our trending topics engine detects breaking stories and emerging trends faster than anyone else," OneRiot's Courtney Walsh tells WebProNews. "And the topics are more detailed: we wont just tell that iPhone is trending right now,...
Mother's Day Comes, Offshore Drilling Stalls, Dow Jones Bounces: What's the Buzz
May 7, 2010, 11:49 amby Vera H-C Chan Our picks from the day's hottest searches. Last Minute Mother's Day Gifts (breakout). Umm, yes, Mother's Day comes this Sunday. Better break out the crayons and start drawing. Lawrence Taylor (breakout). Nutrisystem has cut ties with its spokesperson, after the former NFL star's arrest on rape charges. Offshore Drilling (+542%)....
Where's My Ad?: What Goes On After Submitting Ad Groups in Microsoft adCenter
May 7, 2010, 11:49 amBased on some of the metrics we're seeing from our partners in Customer Support, it seems there are a significant number of calls made with questions around ad delivery (or lack thereof). In an effort to add some clarity around what happens between clicking the "Submit" button and when your ads start appearing on Bing , this post aims to detail...
Microsoft Edges Google In Mexico
May 7, 2010, 11:37 amMexico's online population has jumped 20 percent in the past year to 15.5 million Internet users making it one of the fastest growing markets, according to a new report from comScore. "With more than 15 million Internet users in Mexico and growing fast, advertisers are increasingly turning to the digital medium to reach their desired audiences...
Is Community Overrated?
May 7, 2010, 11:21 amAfter this intro you'll want to read further: "If there’s one word I get tired of hearing in social media, it’s “community.” Sometimes when I’m reading a blog or I’m on Twitter and someone spews that buzzword, I can’t help but cringe. I know this won’t likely be a popular opinion, but I’m going to say it anyway....
30 SEO, Social Media & Marketing Case Studies that Prove the ROI of it All
May 7, 2010, 11:20 amWe all love case studies. Who is we? We in the SEO industry, we in social media and online marketing, we business people. Case studies show on real life examples, real websites, projects and campaigns that something works. Good case studies are more than proof though. They also show you how to market or optimize a site. They show an example of how...
Bing Wants to Socialize Shopping Experience
May 7, 2010, 11:20 amBing Shopping's integration into Facebook and Twitter moves forward another step; its now offering the ability to request opinions from friends and family through a tweet or a Facebook post before making a purchasing decision. Click to read the rest of this post.
Bing Brings Social Experience to Shopping Results
May 7, 2010, 11:20 amMicrosoft has added a new social sharing feature to Bing Shopping, which lets people share products with members of their social circle via Facebook, Twitter, or email. "Folks can now ask for input before they make that important purchase," a representative for Bing tells WebProNews. "A lot of us dont shop alone. Going to the mall is often a...
Google Nixes AdWords Maintenance, Announces Webinar
May 7, 2010, 11:20 amAdWords professionals know by now not to fiddle with their accounts on the second Saturday of every month; maintenance is always scheduled to occur from 10 AM to 2 PM. Google's going to allow everyone the opportunity to be extra-productive this month, though, cancelling the maintenance session and preparing a free webinar, too. The matter of the...
Google Praises FCC's Third Way For Net Neutrality's Sake
May 7, 2010, 11:03 amFCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's proposal of his "third way" for broadband regulation reform sparked heavily partisan feelings with Republicans giving the framework the thumbs down and Democrats largely applauding it. The third way broadband framework suggests narrow regulations for broadband providers.
Apple Readies iPad Release for at Least 18 More Countries
May 7, 2010, 10:40 amApple announced today that the iPad will be available in 9 more countries starting May 28. The company had delayed international release to keep up with domestic demand. These countries include: - Australia - Canada - France - Germany - Italy - Japan - Spain - Switzerland - UK Customers from these countries will be able to begin pre-ordering...
"World Wide Web" Now A Reality With Non-Latin IDNs
May 7, 2010, 10:23 amThe Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced a historic breakthrough, making the "world wide web" finally become a reality as country-related internationalized domain names (IDN) now extend beyond Latin country code top-level domains or ccTLDs. Click to read the rest of this post...
Social networking scores biggest rise in Q1 U.S. mobile use
May 7, 2010, 10:17 amWhile browser use remained first content usage of mobile phone subscribers in the first quarter to March 2010 in the U.S. with a 30.1% score, accessing social networking sites or blogs registered the sharpest increase of 2.8 points from last quarter, comScore said in a press release . Click to read the rest of this post.
Quantity or Quality for Display Ads?
May 7, 2010, 10:12 am
According to the 2010 Display Advertising Study conducted by Advertiser Perceptions (for Collective Media), advertisers love to target audiences—and know what they’re getting—with site-specific ad buys. But buying targeted ad space on a site-by-site basis is time consuming—and buying on ad networks may see...
Where Does Location Fit into the SEO Equation?
May 7, 2010, 9:22 amWe're living in an increasingly open and revealing world where people are eager to tell you where they are, where they've been, and where they're going. Not everyone is so eager, but location-sharing is a rising trend that is not to be ignored. Naturally, the phenomenon will have a growing impact on search.
There is still plenty of room for...
Borders Gears Up To Sell Kobo eReader
May 7, 2010, 9:14 amBorders has rolled out its campaign to promote the Kobo eReader, which will launch next month along with its eBook store. Borders is now taking pre-orders for the Kobo eReader, which retails for $149 and will be available on June 17. The eReader will come preloaded with 100 classic books. The upcoming Borders eBook store will carry over a million...
eBay Announces New Joint Venture In Asia
May 7, 2010, 9:14 amAny eBay shareholders who were less than thrilled about eBay's $1.2 billion acquisition of Gmarket last June may feel better after hearing about a new plan that involves the property. eBay announced late yesterday that it intends to work with Gmarket's founder to expand Gmarket's presence in Japan and Singapore. This won't be entirely eBay's...
Beyond Motivation: Getting to What Really Drives You
May 7, 2010, 9:03 amWhat drives you to write? To earn some green-backs and keep the wolves from the door? To earn praise? Create a community? Or maybe you're convinced your story will help someone else? Or that you can help other people find important information? Are you compelled to write because you'll settle for nothing less than changing the world ? You know how...
Does Google Latitude Have the Fortitude to Beat Foursquare?
May 7, 2010, 8:55 am
Watch out Gowalla!
Run for the hills Foursquare!
In your face…er, Facebook!
Location based status updates are the hottest thing in social networking and Google would like in on the action. Oh, and if it decides to enter the race, it already has a head-start with 3 million willing users.
3 million? Already? How’d that...
How To Use Personas In User Experience Design And Development Research
May 7, 2010, 8:53 amPersonas, in the world of user experience design, identify and paint detailed key customer profiles so that, who markets to them within your company, can more easily picture and empathize who they are addressing. In other words: Personas, which are nothing else but research-based descriptions of certain types of popular user profiles, help...
McDonald’s Is McReady to McUse Facebook Location Service
May 7, 2010, 8:46 am
Last month speculation swirled about the upcoming location services that Facebook was working on getting to market. With the interest in Foursquare, Gowalla and MyTown gaining more and more momentum there isn’t a better time for Facebook to come in and put their giant footprint on this developing landscape.
AdAge reports that...
2 FireFox Addons for Those Addicted to Google Analytics Numbers
May 7, 2010, 8:35 amHow often do you check your Google Analytics Traffic stats? Daily? Multiple times of the day? If you consider yourself a Google Analytics maniac, try playing with either of the two FireFox addons listed below: 1. Google Analytics Watcher This addon displays your website traffic stats in your browser's statusbar (for the current day).
Google Goggles Makes Android Devices Mobile Translators
May 7, 2010, 7:49 am
Google has rolled out an expanded Google Goggles translation tool for Android devices using the image recognition technology of the service. The tool was originally introduced at the Mobile World Congress in February of this year in Barcelona. At the time only German could be recognized but with this roll out yesterday the service...
LinkedIn Continues Adding Features to Recruiter
May 7, 2010, 7:08 amLinkedIn has added several features to its Recruiter platform . These include real-time profile matches, mini profiles, and free InMails to 1st degree and fellow group members. "We've offered a Candidate Match feature for a while, but now, if there are matches, youll get instant candidate recommendations in the job posting flow, says LinkedIn's...
Does your SEO copywriting sound like a bad date?
May 7, 2010, 6:40 amBefore I entered the wonderful world of married bliss, I was the woman who always had the best (or would it be worst?) dating horror stories. Still lives with his mother? Check. Texting his ex-wife while sitting at dinner? Check. You name it. It happened to me. People thought I was cursed. As I was remembering those "bad old days," I realized that...
10 Ways to Create a More Engaging Facebook Page
May 7, 2010, 6:40 amFacebook pages can be a huge way to connect to audiences. Facebook statistics tell us that the average user (at the time of this writing) is connected to 60 pages, groups and events. This means that aside from all the other Facebook friend activity that goes on, your page is one of 60 trying to grab attention a fan's attention. So here are ten...
What is the Next Screen? It Could Be You! â" Digital Hollywood
May 7, 2010, 6:34 amYesterday during our multi-screen session , one of the questions from the audience was: "What is the next screen? We have PC, TV and mobile. What's around the corner?" Donny Makower, President & CEO of RED Interactive, replied he'd seen the above TED Talk and thinks we could be the next screen! Pretty impressive stuff. Check out this demo from the...
Video: Xbox LIVE and Branded Entertainment at Digital Hollywood
May 7, 2010, 6:34 amToday's session on Branded Media Marketing at Digital Hollywood kicked off with some impressive stats. In 2009, 25 billion dollars was spent on brand advertising in the US, with 20 billion going on event-driven sponsorship. Of the rest, and by far the fastest growing segment, was "advergaming" which broke $500m last year. Randy Shaffer, who heads...
It's All Fun & Games at Digital Hollywood
May 7, 2010, 6:34 amGames on Santa Monica Pier Content is king..still!! Id not heard that phrase for a while. I suppose many of us find it a little cliché, but it resounded around the halls of the Loews Hotel in LA this week. In the Contextual Advertising session on Tuesday the panel talked about the need for a different kind of content. One that gave control to the...
Brown, Cameron or Clegg: Who Wins the Google Personal Branding Vote?
May 7, 2010, 6:34 amTonight (if you didn't know already) is UK election night. So it's not too difficult to predict that the most popular queries in Google UK right now are likely to be surrounding the three parties and their leaders. Here's the Google Trends search volume for the last 30 days - I'd expect there may be another spike on the way: This year, more than...
How to Sell Without a Sales Pitch
May 7, 2010, 6:34 amWhen you're about to launch a new product or service, you need some buzz. Sure, you can use your blog to mention your plans a few times leading up to the launch. You'll probably ask some fellow bloggers to write reviews. You'll use your best copywriting techniques to craft pitches for your blog and email list, and send as many people as you can to...
Shop and Share with Bing
May 7, 2010, 6:29 amA lot of us dont shop alone. Going to the mall is often a social thing, so why should shopping online be any different? 75% of shoppers seek advice from others even when shopping online and now Bing shoppers can too! In the last announcement we refreshed the look of the reviews page so you can navigate the reviews from users and experts. Today...
The Microsoft Research Team + Bing = Endless Possibilities
May 7, 2010, 6:29 amOne of the great things about Microsoft Research is that their research projects can directly relate to what is happening in the companys business units. Their years of research efforts on intensive, data-driven problems have resulted in cutting-edge technology transfers throughout the company. Bing is just one example of a business unit that has...
Should you buy into "Open Leadership"?
May 7, 2010, 6:29 amby Josh Bernoff Charlene Li , my coauthor on Groundswell , former Forrester analyst, and founder of Altimeter Group , has written a new book, Open Leadership . You should read it. As much as I hate to start any post or book review with a disclaimer, the backstory on what you are about to read in this post is so complicated that I must. So: no one...
Mexico's Online Population Soars 20 Percent in Past Year
May 7, 2010, 6:29 amcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a report on Internet growth in Mexico based on data from its comScore Media Metrix service. The report found that in March there were 15.5 million home and work Internet users age 15 and older in Mexico, an increase of 20 percent from the previous year, making...
comScore Reports March 2010 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share
May 7, 2010, 6:29 amcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released data from the comScore MobiLens service, reporting key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month period ending March 2010 compared to the preceding three-month period. The report ranked the leading mobile original equipment manufacturers...
Live, from Google I/O!
May 7, 2010, 6:29 am(Cross-posted with the Google Code Blog ) More than 4,000 developers will be joining us at Google I/O on May 19-20, and if we had the capacity, we'd host many more. In order to give the entire developer community a chance to participate live, we're happy to announce that both keynote presentations will be streamed live. To watch, just go to...
Best of Digg: April Comments
May 7, 2010, 6:29 amWhat a crazy month, huh? Among the major news stories: a monster volcano eruption that brought air travel to a historic halt, a massive oil spill whose environmental effects we'll be evaluating for ages, the Greek economic implosion and subsequent European bailout effort. So, naturally, our look at some of the raddest comments from Diggers in...
The following email was sent to our employees today
May 7, 2010, 6:29 amHey everyone, This morning we faced the difficult task of reducing our team by about 10%. This was an emotional and rough morning for everyone involved. Laying off dedicated and hard working individuals is extremely difficult, but we tried our best to treat everyone with the utmost respect and support. I hope all of you will join me in the effort...
Adobe Shows Google Android Tablet as Apple iPad Alternative
May 7, 2010, 6:29 amWe Google Watchers have been writing a lot of about the alleged Google Android Tablet, the answer to Apple's iPad "Jesus Tablet." Now bloggers have seen it in action, thanks to Adobe, which showed off an Android tablet at Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco, held May 3 to 6. The images and videos (and laughs) come courtesy of Zedomax, which scored this...
UC-Davis Shuns Gmail over Google Buzz Privacy Gaffe
May 7, 2010, 6:29 amWhat one week bringeth, the next taketh away. One week after Google proudly said Oregon's entire public school system jumped aboard the Google Apps train for Web-based e-mail and documents, InformationWeek reported that the University of California-Davis has "ended its evaluation of Gmail as the official e-mail program for its 30,000 faculty and...
Text Link Ads in 2010
May 7, 2010, 6:28 amOriginally Link Diagnosis was a fairly well received free link analysis tool. But since its launch its role in the SEO game may have quietly changed. While surfing around the SEO space I checked out the iAcquire white paper, which explained that they own LinkDiagnosis. iAcquire, which claims to be a corporate link building tool, apparently states...
Finding Gaps and Opportunities: Step 3 of the 8-Step SEO Strategy
May 7, 2010, 6:28 amPosted by laura This post was originally in YOUmoz , and was promoted to the main blog because it provides great value and interest to our community. The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of SEOmoz, Inc. If youve labored through building out categorized keyword lists in Step 2, youve done a lot of the...
Whiteboard Friday - What Kind of Links Do You Need?
May 7, 2010, 6:28 amPosted by great scott! It's true you can do a lot of work ona site to optimize your rankings, but eventually you'e going to need some links. While they make small changes all the time, the search algorithms are still based primarily on links. But here's what you may not consider when you're devising your link building strategy or working to...
What Do Guaranteed Rankings Really Mean?
May 7, 2010, 6:28 amRight now in today's economy businesses will do and say just about anything to bring in new business. The horror stories in the SEO industry really never slow down and people seem to still fall into the trap of the "guaranteed rankings" promises. I know I might get some flack over this from certain SEO people out there but I think it is important...
Is Your Competitor Calling You?
May 7, 2010, 6:28 amThis can really cater towards any type of industry but right now I am writing this specifically for the search engine optimization industry. For all you search engine marketers out there who might have their own business that over laps their competition in similarities you might know and understand where I am coming from with this blog post. Every...
Various Extensions to Use Delicious from Google Chrome Browser
May 7, 2010, 6:28 amMore and more people are migrating to Google Chrome. I for one am using it as an alternative browser keeping an eye on all emerging tools and updates. This week's series of tools will show you how you can easily use Delicious from Google Chrome browser. 1. Official Delicious Extension for Google Chrome The extension is fun and easy to use and I...
10 Random Search Tools To Keep In Your Back Pocket
May 7, 2010, 6:28 amNote from Ann: While SEJ features regular round-ups and reviews of various useful (mostly free) tools, it is always great to check lists shared by others. I for one found a few new tools I am willing to check out here: Feed Compare Feed Compare is a handy tool that will allow you to check the number of RSS subscribers for any given website/blog.
Geo-Marketing As A New Business Marketing Tool
May 7, 2010, 6:28 amGeo-Marketing (or Geographic Marketing) is a new method of marketing a business and its website through web searches, mobile searches and social media. As you can see, the geo-marketing tools being used are digital and through the Internet or Mobile devices. While geo-marketing's definition is the association of data and maps in the traditional...
Site maintenance on Saturday, May 8
May 7, 2010, 6:23 amThis Saturday, our engineers will be performing routine site maintenance from 10am to 2pm PDT. You'll be unable to log in to your AdSense account during this time, but we'll continue serving ads to your pages and tracking your clicks, impressions, and earnings as usual. In addition, your ad targeting won't be affected.
Call for spam reports in five languages
May 7, 2010, 6:23 amI recently returned from a vacation to Japan, Hong Kong, and Thailand. It was a ton of fun and I hope to blog about it at some point " each country was of course unique and each offered different, wonderful experiences. From the cherry blossoms and the kindness shown to me by my colleagues at the Google Tokyo office in Japan, to the hustle and...
Interest Based Ads Increase - and Create Lower CTR?
May 7, 2010, 6:09 am"Something REALLY BIG happened then, which has NOT been explained. I maintained a CTR of 8% or better for YEARS. On April 1, my CTR immediately dropped to UNDER 4%, and has been there ever since. I made no changes of any kind."
1 in 4 Facebook Users Clueless About Privacy
May 6, 2010, 5:59 pm
No, seriously. Consumer Reports’ Electronics Blog reports this week that Facebook users don’t seem to care that much about privacy. According to their National Research Center, 23% of Facebook users “either didn’t know that site offered privacy controls or chose not to use them.” 52% of social network...
UK Election 2010: Exit Poll Predicts Hung Parliament
May 6, 2010, 5:56 pmThe Guardian.co.uk is providing live coverage of the latest exit polls and election results from across the UK with Andrew Sparrow. The exit poll has Conservatives winning 305 seats, Labour winning 255, Lib Dems winning 61, and others winning 29. "There would be a hung parliament, with the Tories 19 seats short of a majority," says Sparrow.Click...
Staples on Twitter: They’re Doin It AWESOME
May 6, 2010, 4:55 pm
What are you doing with Twitter? What do you think you could be doing five months from now? In five months, says ClickZ, office-supply retailer Staples “has turned its Twitter account into a marketing insights and sales engine. Perhaps more importantly, the office supplies retailer has quickly learned the social site’s...
Yahoo Examines iPad Ownership Trends
May 6, 2010, 4:26 pmEven before the iPad was released, Yahoo started catering to potential users, releasing a Yahoo Entertainment app. It later partnered with Appolicious, too. Now, Yahoo's taken a look at what sort of iPad owner audience it's attracted, and it seems that Yahoo's done best with wealthy-ish, middle-aged men who take lots of...
Internet Archive Offers 1 Million Books To Visually Impaired
May 6, 2010, 4:14 pmThe Internet Archive said today it has made available more than 1 million books to those who are blind, dyslexic and visually impaired.
"Every person deserves the opportunity to enhance their lives through access to the books that teach, entertain and inspire," said Brewster Kahle, founder and Digital Librarian of the Internet...
The Google Redesigns That Could've Been
May 6, 2010, 4:09 pmGoogle Senior User Experience Designer Jon Wiley posted an explanation of the new Google redesign from a design perspective today. He talks about how other elements of the Google experience were made simpler to lighten the load as the left panel got more complex.
In Google's quest to find the right design balance (they've been testing various...
Yahoo Gives Update on Alliance with Microsoft
May 6, 2010, 3:52 pmWe haven't heard much about the long-awaited Microsoft-Yahoo Search Alliance in a while, but reminding everybody that the integration is still on the way, Yahoo posted an update today via its Search Marketing Blog.
The company says priority one is to make the transition to Microsoft's adCenter as smooth as possible, and that includes the...
Facebook Brand Pages Testing Status Updates?
May 6, 2010, 3:47 pmI just noticed that the SEW Facebook page now includes a status update next to the brand name. I find this a bit weird, should a brand a have thoughts and feelings? Should a brand have things 'on it's mind'? Click to read the rest of this post...
Are Forums and Q&A Sites More Important to Search Now?
May 6, 2010, 3:32 pmFacebook and Twitter get a lot of the credit for all of the conversation that is going on around the web these days, and they certainly account for a great deal of it. Still there is public conversation happening in many other channels - blogs, Q&A sites, news sites, YouTube, other social networks, and forums.
Google's newly redesigned SERPs...
Integration Of All Google Services With Google Apps Planned
May 6, 2010, 3:12 pmGoogle Apps customers may soon have a lot more options in terms of which of the company's other products and services they'll be able to access from their official accounts. Google intends to let customers remove all restrictions sometime in the next six months.
If you're unfamiliar with Google Apps, here's what that boils down to: people...
Dwell Time As Ad Campaign KPI: Yes, But...
May 6, 2010, 2:05 pmAccording to a study by Microsoft, comScore, and Eyeblaster, dwell time, i.e. the time spent on a site or ad, is a key performance indicator for ad campaigns.
But not just any ad campaign, and that's the trick. Read on.Click to read the rest of this post...
38 Apps in the Google Analytics App Gallery
May 6, 2010, 1:58 pmGoogle Analytics announced the launch of its Analytics Apps Gallery, offering 38 tools for marketers and SEMs to better gauge their campaign and site performances.Click to read the rest of this post...
Digg Downsizes Team By 10 Percent
May 6, 2010, 1:57 pmThe recession's effects have been lessening for several months now, with banks repaying their loans, consumer spending increasing, and the Dow currently around 2,500 points above its 52-week low. Unfortunately, whether due to the recession or for other reasons (note: this occurred before the market started crashing), Digg laid off about ten...
Google Goggles Gives Translations Via Camera
May 6, 2010, 12:47 pmLate last year, Google introduced a very cool mobile product called Google Goggles. While only an experimental labs release, it is looking more and more like it will be one that actually graduates to a real feature, and a useful one at that.
What it does is allow you to point your phone's camera at something and automatically get search results....
Google Generates Highest Volume of Referral Traffic to Online Video Content
May 6, 2010, 12:18 pmA new research report by Brightcove and TubeMogul on Online Video & The Media Industry has found that Google generates the highest volume of referral traffic to online video content, followed by Yahoo!, Bing and Facebook.Click to read the rest of this post...
Yahoo's New Ads - Are Homepages Worth $85 Million?
May 6, 2010, 12:11 pmUpdate: Yahoo tells WebProNews the video (embedded below) " highlights the philosophy & possible creative for Yahoo!’s campaign." So while it may be on the web, I guess it won't necessarily be the approach for TV. In other words, it sounds like they're just considering this approach.
Original Article: Yahoo has...
How Relevant Are Homepages to the Web's Future?
May 6, 2010, 12:11 pmUpdate: Yahoo tells WebProNews the video (embedded below) " highlights the philosophy & possible creative for Yahoo!’s campaign." So while it may be on the web, I guess it won't necessarily be the approach for TV. In other words, it sounds like they're just considering this approach.
Original Article: Yahoo has...
DMA Says Privacy Bill Would Hurt Online Advertising
May 6, 2010, 11:23 amThe Direct Marketing Association has voiced its opposition to a draft of a privacy bill introduced this week by Representatives Rick Boucher (D-VA) and Cliff Stearns (R-FL).
The DMA says the draft bill has potentially sweeping impacts for direct marketers working across every marketing channel, from direct mail and telemarketing to email,...
Why New Google SERPs Might Mean More Traffic for You
May 6, 2010, 10:45 amNow that the masses have access to Google's newly redesigned results pages, it's time to consider this in an SEO light if you have not already been considering it.
How do Google's New SERPs Affect SEO? Comment here.
Google has had its search options available for about a year, but they have not been in the face of the user like the newly...
Eight things you can do to show search engines your most important pages
May 6, 2010, 9:36 amHow can you get search engines to display the web pages with the best conversion rate in the search results and what can you do to to make sure that unwanted pages are not listed? This week's article explains eight things that you can to do show search engines your most important pages.
Googles New SERPs Layout Goes Into Effect
May 6, 2010, 9:19 amLong in beta testing...
Yahoo's New Commercials - Are Homepages Worth $85 Million?
May 6, 2010, 9:01 amYahoo has a new advertising campaign going, which takes aim at Google. Will it help the company's market share? Bing has been taking a similar approach since its launch. While its share has done pretty well considering how new the "decision engine" still is, it's barely put a dent in Google's.
According to the Wall Street Journal,...
ChaCha.me Now Mobile
May 6, 2010, 8:54 amQuestion and answer social network ChaCha has added mobile functionality to its ChaCha.me service that launched in March.
Users are now able to ask and answer questions from their mobile devices and see the activity posted live to their ChaCha.me page and other social networks such as Facebook. Users can also get instant mobile alerts when...
Why Yahoo is Like a Box of Chocolates
May 6, 2010, 8:52 am
Quite simply? You never know what you’re going to get with Yahoo these days.
Yesterday, the search engine web portal tried to jump on the Google interface redesign with a pitiful attempt to point out all the cool features it has in common with the new design. Unfortunately, Yahoo gave up on search when it handed the keys...
Google Goes On The Attack Over Infringement Claims
May 6, 2010, 8:50 amTime and time again, people have shown that Google is just as capable of tracking down copyrighted songs as sites like the Pirate Bay, and it's seemed inevitable that the music industry would confront the search giant sooner or later. Only now, Google's cut to the chase by pursuing a small label called Blue Destiny Records.
To some degree,...
Yahoo: We've Got a Left-Hand Navigation Bar Too
May 6, 2010, 7:58 amIt seems like Yahoo is reminding people that it is still a search company a lot lately. In what I'm guessing is a response to Google launching its new search features, Yahoo has once again reminded us of its own features.
"As you know, Search innovation continues to be a top priority at Yahoo! – that's why we have been working hard...
Facebook Measures More of the World's Happiness
May 6, 2010, 6:21 amYou may recall Facebook's Gross National Happiness project, it which it tried to measure happiness around the U.S. based on positive and negative words used with status updates. Now the company has taken the project on a more global scale.
They didn't measure every country. They just measured the ones with the highest volumes of status updates in...
More Groups “Like” Targeting Facebook on Privacy Concerns
May 6, 2010, 5:51 am
As I watch more news come out daily about another group that is attacking Facebook for privacy issues or how Facebook has another privacy gaffe I can’t help but wonder. Did Facebook expect this kind of furious backlash and figured it would take time before people just forgot about it or are they genuinely surprised at just how...
Is it Time to Put SEO on a Shelf as a Traffic Source?
May 6, 2010, 5:31 am"Some webmasters have changed their focus to branding, word-of-mouth and diversification of traffic sources instead of SEO ... increasingly things that were considered white-hat before are being treated as undesirable..."
How Social Media is Influencing Your Behavior
May 6, 2010, 1:01 amWe all know that everyone is a product of their environment. Circumstantial life events, influences, and surroundings can further change our behavior. Social media already highly influences our shopping, relationships, and education. But how large of a role does networking through social media play into our lives? Maybe more than any of us...
Alert! Google Loses a Deal Like a Normal Company!
May 6, 2010, 12:00 am
Well, maybe this signals the beginning of the end. Maybe this is the sign of the end times. Maybe, just maybe, there is a chance that things like losing deals happen for Google just like, gulp, the rest of the business world.
Despite big wins in the past year like the city of Los Angeles moving to Google Apps for e-mail and more...
More Than Usual, Google Dominated Search Market In April
May 5, 2010, 4:24 pmStatistics regarding search engines' market share can be difficult to interpret; it's often necessary to gauge the importance of a gain or loss in comparison to a companies' size, how Yahoo and Microsoft have performed in relation to each other and with respect to their rivals, and several other things. But Experian Hitwise's April data...
Google And SBA Team On Helping Small Businesses Grow Online
May 5, 2010, 4:10 pmGoogle and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) have formed a partnership aimed at providing resources and tools to help small business owners grow their businesses online.
Google and SBA introduced "Tools for Online Success," a website featuring tutorials, videos, and tips from small business people who have used the Internet...
Google to Sell eBooks As Soon As Next Month
May 5, 2010, 3:56 pm
It’s no secret: Google’s been working toward selling eBooks for over a year (with their intentions public since BEA last May). And now it looks like they’re almost there, according to the Wall Street Journal. The search giant could enter the battle against Amazon, Apple, et al., in late June or July.
Despite...
UC Davis Faculty Snub Gmail Over Privacy
May 5, 2010, 3:45 pmPrivacy Awareness Week is perhaps not working out the way Google would have liked. There's word this afternoon that officials at the University of California, Davis have decided not to deploy Gmail on a campus-wide basis due to privacy concerns.
According to Paul McDougall, CIO Peter Siegel, Academic Senate IT chair Niels Jensen, and Campus...
Google's New SERPs Come in Mobile Too
May 5, 2010, 3:44 pmGoogle announced today that it is rolling out its newly redesigned SERPs (search engine results pages). In a separate announcement, the company noted that the new results go for the mobile version of Google as well.
Of the redesign, Google's VP of Search Products and User Experience, Marissa Mayer explained, "We’ve added contextually...
Conan O'Brien Goes to Google
May 5, 2010, 3:25 pmConan O'Brien is visiting Google. He's been on the road performing around the country as he waits for his big return to television on TBS this fall, and Google is his latest stop.
Conan Tweeted:
I'm in San Jose and I'm going to visit Google. If you look up 'Google' on Google from Google, you...
Google Analytics Gets Apps
May 5, 2010, 3:20 pm
All the cool kids have apps these days, and Google Analytics doesn’t want to be the last to the party. Yesterday at the eMetrics Summit (and on the Google Analytics blog), Google announced several additions to its Analytics offerings, including better integration with AdWords and a Google Analytics App Gallery.
The App...
Google 'Spring Clean' Search Results Pages
May 5, 2010, 3:04 pmIn case you haven't noticed yet, the look and feel of Google search results have changed. A post in the Official Google Blog by Marissa Mayer, VP Search Products & User Experience, says, "While we are constantly rolling out small changes and updates, today's changes showcase the latest evolutions in our search technology, making it easier...
Battle.net To Integrate With Facebook
May 5, 2010, 2:10 pmBlizzard Entertainment said today it will integrate its Battle.net gaming service with Facebook in an effort to improve the social side of the company's online platform.
The first step in the integration will allow "StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty" players to add Blizzard gamers who are friends on Facebook to their Battle.net friends...
Facebook Announces Seattle Expansion
May 5, 2010, 1:53 pmLess than two months after Facebook made its decision to open a sales and operations office in Austin, Texas official, the company is on the move again. Facebook's announced that it next intends to open a small engineering office in Seattle, Washington.
This will perhaps not be a huge deal; Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn said in a statement that...
Google Bets US$38.8M On Wind, Solar & Geothermal Clean Tech
May 5, 2010, 1:23 pmGoogle said it has invested in three companies as part of its plan to push for renewable energy, including a 38.8 mln usd injection in two wind farms in the North Dakota plains.
This signals that Google is targeting the utilities industry and may ultimately be embedded in your future home.Click to read the rest of this post...
Google AdWords Search Funnels: 3 essential reports you should scrutinize
May 5, 2010, 12:41 pmby Garry Przyklenk
Back in March, Google launched a new AdWords reporting feature called AdWords Search Funnel. This long awaited reporting feature provides valuable insights into search user behavior with respect to conversions attributed to paid search campaigns, ad groups and keywords. If you use all of these reports, that's...
It Has to Be Said: New Google Interface Looks Just Like Bing’s
May 5, 2010, 12:38 pm
Welcome to the newly designed Bing.com search engine:
OK, I’m teasing. The above is a screenshot of the much rumored–and now officially launched–new interface for Google.
Look, I know. Google didn’t just roll out this new design because of the interface Bing uses. I know this is not in response to Bing...
8 SEO Myths Debunked
May 5, 2010, 12:01 pmI could debunk SEO myths all day. In this article, I choose 8 of the ones I tend to hear about often on forums, blogs and at conferences. See if you agree that they're myths!
Netflix Leads In Online Retailer Satisfaction
May 5, 2010, 11:46 amSatisfaction with the top 100 e-retailers has increased from a decline this time last year, to an all-time high score of 78 points on a 100-point scale, according to new research from ForeSee Results.
The research found consumers are more satisfied with their online experiences than ever before. Nearly every individual retailer reached a score...
Meet The New Google & Its Colorful, Useful “Search Options” Column
May 5, 2010, 11:25 amComprehensive, in depth review of the new Google UI from Danny Sullivan. From the story at Search Engine Land: "After months of testing, Google is releasing a new look-and-feel for its search results today, a three column design that provides a permanent menu of search options and tools to help searchers refine their queries. Google also gains a...
Popular News App Maker Newsy Gets New Funding
May 5, 2010, 11:08 amNewsy is a video news service that analyzes the world’s news coverage, highlighting the key differences in reporting. The company has now closed a $2 million round of funding.
Newsy is already popular with iPad users. "Newsy released its iPad app last week – the app rose to #6 for news in the iTunes’ App Store (currently...
Sysomos' Audience Slaps Dollar Face Value With Influence Analysis To Measure Social Media ROI
May 5, 2010, 11:04 amSysomos, the business intelligence platform for social media, launched the beta version of its Audience service with the double ROI promise of both identifying the best prospects by prioritizing leads with a "virtual currency figure or dollar value" and by determining who on the web has the most influence on the potential customer's decision...
Yahoo Answers Hits 1 Billionth Milestone
May 5, 2010, 10:55 am"Why are yawns contagious?" was the first question on Yahoo ! Answers to get a reply from the public, back in December 2005 and it seems there was no bore there as the company announced at the beginning of this week its billionth hit.Click to read the rest of this post...
Citysearch and AT&T’s YP.com (YellowPages.com) Get More Integrated
May 5, 2010, 10:54 amAT&T Interactive and Citysearch have expanded their relationship, so that sponsored listings on YP.com (the rebranded yellowpages.com), can be displayed across CityGrid, Citysearch's local content and advertising network the company told us about in March.
Citygrid, Citysearch told us, would give local advertisers access to a...
Spindex - Microsoft's Stab at Social Media Organization
May 5, 2010, 10:07 amAt the Web 2.0 Expo, Microsoft announced a new product from its FUSE Labs division: Spindex, a social tool to bring activity from sources like Facebook, Twitter, RSS, and of course Bing, together in one place. The official description says:
Spindex allows you to access and interact with your social networks, see trends from your friends, and see...
Google Leads Invidi Technologies Funding Round
May 5, 2010, 9:59 amThe self-proclaimed "leader in advanced addressable advertising solutions for television" has received financial backing from Google. Google - along with several other organizations - participated in a funding round that won Invidi Technologies over $23 million.
This should bring Google and Invidi much closer together, considering...
Stop Wasting PPC Clicks and Start Saving $$$ Now
May 5, 2010, 9:55 amby Mike Fleming
If you have a PPC account, as you read this you are paying for wasted clicks. Visitors that aren't really interested in what you offer are coming to your website and you're paying for them. Isn't that frustrating to know? The bad news is that the nature of PPC won't enable you to ever totally eliminate this from...
UK Election 2010: Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats Win the Facebook Election
May 5, 2010, 9:42 amAccording to Benjamin Cohen of Channel 4 in the UK, "Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats win the Facebook election." Film at 11.Click to read the rest of this post...
Online Personal Marketing Strategy: A Video Interview With Andrea Vascellari
May 5, 2010, 9:40 amJust a few weeks ago I met for the second time Andrea Vascellari, a young European digital entrepreneur who helps out companies around the world find their ideal online marketing strategy. Andrea, who is Italian born but who lives in Finland and has clients from Latin America to Saudi Arabia, is a high-energy, sunny and optimistic character who...
Invidi Takes Google’s Money; Avoids Being Stripped for Parts
May 5, 2010, 9:33 am
What do you do when you want to invest in alternative advertising models for television but haven’t exactly seen a lot of success in that channel?
The answer?
Don’t buy a risky start-up, when you can invest in it and share some of that risk with other venture capital firms. If it succeeds–and you happen to be...
GameFly Brings GameCenter App to Android and Palm
May 5, 2010, 9:33 amGamefly, widely considered the Netflix of games, has just released its mobile GameCenter app for Android and Palm devices.
"Originally issued last fall for the iPhone, GameCenter provides a portal into all things games-related, complete with news stories, video trailers, cheats, reviews, upcoming release dates and more," a GameFly...
5 Advanced SEO Tools Worth Paying For
May 5, 2010, 9:29 amKen Lyons compiled a list of 5 of the most advanced SEO tools he uses - and PAYS FOR - in his daily SEO activities...
Why You Shouldn't Write for Other Writers
May 5, 2010, 9:09 amThere's a scene in "Mad Men", the TV drama about a 1960s advertising agency. One of the junior copywriters is showing the Creative Director an ad he's just written. The ad is clever, flowery, and poetic. The Creative Director cuts the copywriter down in five short, stern words: "Don't write for other writers." Bingo. It's not the copywriter's...
Registered Trademarks and Other Symbols in the Title Tag
May 5, 2010, 9:08 amTake a moment and pretend you're a search engine bot â" It's early in the morning. You are enjoying a fresh cup of coffee while reading the latest sitemap. (Yes, drinking coffee. Google Caffeine - a greater quantity of search results in less time; this is pretend, it is clearly the obvious answer.) Once the caffeine kicks in you find yourself...
Quick and Easy Ecommerce Site Optimization Tips
May 5, 2010, 9:08 amHow best to deal with pagination in ecommerce sites is a topic that is often discussed by SEOs. Here I shall outline a technique that I have successfully used in the onsite SEO of various ecommerce websites. Typically these sites present many hundreds or thousands of products sub-divided into categories, sub-categories and in some cases...
Playing PPC Catch Up: Microsoft AdCenter
May 5, 2010, 9:08 amTaking a look at the history of PPC and comparing it with today's market, you can see the complete 180 that the space has taken. Starting with Goto, to Overture, and into today's platforms. Things have changed, and I'm not just talking about the bidding system. The top players have completely changed, and the MSN/Yahoo partnership has the...
Insider Pages Launches Doctor Finder Tool
May 5, 2010, 9:00 amLocal business review site, Insider Pages, has launched Doctor Finder, a new tool aimed at making it easier to find medical specialists based on a variety of criteria.
WebProNews spoke with Eric Peacock, General Manager, Insider Pages about the new Doctor Finder tool.
Peacock said the Web has made it increasingly easy to find recommendations...
Twitter Tweet Frequency on the Rise
May 5, 2010, 8:57 amLast month at Chirp, Twitter's Developer Conference, the company announced that it was up to 105,779,710 registered users, confirming Twellow Developer Matthew Daines' estimate that they had surpassed 100 million users.
Daines has now shared his latest numbers for Twitter - for the month of April. Total tweets sent went up to about 1.7 billion...
MySpace Puts Former Googler Over Games, Dev Platform
May 5, 2010, 8:56 amFresh off News Corp.'s quarterly earnings report, MySpace has added a new member to its team, and he looks more than capable of helping the site move forward. In fact, the man's spent a good deal of time working for a certain search giant, and he'll oversee two businesses on which MySpace is putting more and more emphasis.
A MySpace...
Embeddable Tweets…These Are Not the Features You’re Looking For
May 5, 2010, 8:53 am
If I embed this tweet about embeddable tweets, will I create an eternal Twitter loop & rip a hole in space & time? http://gri.ms/KRsOless than a minute ago via webAndy Bealandybeal
Apparently not.
While embedding a tweet about Twitter’s new embeddable tweet feature tool hack won’t bring on the Fail...
Link Building Interview with Ontolo's Garrett French and Ben Wills
May 5, 2010, 8:42 amApril 27th 2010 marked the launch of Ontolo's Link Building Toolset , in the works since 2008. The Link Building Toolset uses targeted SEO keywords to find and grade link prospects, saving link builders 80% of the time typically spent on prospecting and qualification. This interview with the creators, Garrett French and Ben Wills, traces their...
Moniker.com Now Down For About 19 Hours and Counting
May 5, 2010, 8:38 am"The Moniker site is temporarily unavailable. We apologize for the inconvenience."
SEO Magic Bullet: 2010 Edition
May 5, 2010, 8:34 amSNIP - Let us not do the chicken (little) dance, running about stating what Caffiene (an infrastructure thang big daddy) is being driven by. Nor blame the poor algo for wrecking Tom, Di*k and Harry’s rankings. It’s grasping at straws. Ok? Thanks. I hope we don't have to do this again (however unlikely)
How to Use Facebook for Business and Marketing
May 5, 2010, 8:11 amAs much as Facebook may not be kind to businesses , it's still a tremendously valuable business tool. After all, Facebook could eat the web . In fact, you're likely spotting the shift; instead of companies posting their URLs on television commercials, they're asking their followers to join them on Facebook. Therefore, it's a force to be reckoned...
A Case Study in Handling Customer Disputes
May 5, 2010, 7:45 amby Mike Moran
Anyone reading this site is always on the lookout for the next big idea in search, and you all know that social media is it. My wife Linda knows, too. So, when she recently underwent successful Lasik surgery, she thought it would be far nicer to create a Squidoo lens for her surgeon, promoting his business, than to send a...
Murdoch: Paywall Announcement 3-4 Weeks Away
May 5, 2010, 6:55 am
During a third quarter earnings call for News Corp. yesterday, the content paywall’s number one proponent, Rupert Murdoch, gave some fuzzy “details” about the new way he suspects people will be buying their information. Murdoch has had the loudest rallying cry when it comes to fighting the “Internet is free” mantra....
Google Analytics Gets an App Gallery
May 5, 2010, 6:16 amGoogle has launched the Google Analytics App Gallery, which includes 32 apps so far.
"All Google Analytics customers have access to a worldwide network of Google Certified Partners (formerly known as Google Analytics Authorized Consultants)," says Trevor Claiborne of the Google Analytics Team. "And now the ecosystem is growing...
Canadian Home Improvement Searches
May 5, 2010, 4:53 amCanadian internet visits to House and Garden websites were up 16% year over year last week (week to 1st May 2010). House and Garden is one of the largest retail categories based on share of internet visits in Canada, ranking as the 5th largest category last week (behind Classifieds, Rewards and Directories, Auctions and Department Stores).
Facebook Events: Now Making Casual Get-Togethers Easier
May 5, 2010, 2:43 amSome events in life are spontaneousâ"such as catching a movie, meeting a friend for dinner or taking an impromptu day trip. So today, we're making it easier to let your friends know about those last-minute plans in our new version of Facebook Events. You can now create an event directly from the "Events" box on your home page with one step....
A Link Doesn't Mean Squat if it is Not Relevant
May 5, 2010, 12:21 amDoes the idea or even the phrase "link building" still make your head spin? What does it all mean? The bottom line and most important key point to understand about link building is this: Link Building = Marketing! Everywhere you turn online you see blogs and experts saying that link building is so important when you are building a business online,
New England XPO for Business Announcement
May 4, 2010, 11:35 pmJoin myself, Nick Stamoulis and come visit the Brick Marketing Booth as well as more than 10,000 business professionals from across the region for the 2nd Annual New England XPO for Business in Boston on May 18, 2010 . The Expo will take place at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. This event is FREE to attend and will feature over 300...
Social Media in the B2B World: A Talk with Hoover’s Tim Walker
May 4, 2010, 11:30 pm
From time to time we like to take a break here at Marketing Pilgrim and talk about the actual practice or actually “doing” social media and search in the real world. Sure it’s fun to talk about ideas, news and theory all day but in the end if there is no action attached to it then, well, you just talked about a...
A Natural Link Love Story
May 4, 2010, 9:20 pmPosted by Dr. Pete Low-quality links are like one-night stands they're easy to find and may be fun for a while, but you can't expect to build anything lasting out of them. Real link-love takes a long-term view and a commitment that too many website owners seem unwilling to make. I want to tell you a story to try to convince you that building...
Google Rolls Out Analytics App Gallery
May 4, 2010, 7:54 pmDue to the growing number of developers coming up with a variety of applications that extend its Analytics Service, Google decided to compile all of these apps into the new Google Analytics App Gallery . The gallery currently contains around 32 interesting Google Analytics apps contributed by some of Google Certified developers and partners. The...
Google Wants Your Opinion on Google Places
May 4, 2010, 7:43 pmDo you have a suggestion for Google on how to improve Google Places (once called Google Local Business Center)? If you do, then Google is asking for your suggestions and I suggest we all take advantage of this rare opportunity. Go to " Product Ideas for Google Places " and vote on the suggestions already posted and submit your own if you find your...
Miranda Moves the Web
May 4, 2010, 6:47 pmby Claudine Zap It's something we probably know more from CSI than real life: "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?"...
FTC Woefully Out of its Depth On the Google-AdMob Bid
May 4, 2010, 6:18 pmFew things rattle the cage more than government agencies overshadowing business, sticking their noses in for political prominence under the guise of ensuring fair and free competition. Yet that is exactly the position we find ourselves in with the Federal Trade Commission's latest pressing of the screws to Google's bid to acquire AdMob for $750...
Our Changing Online Behavior
May 4, 2010, 6:07 pmA new Yahoo! white paper shines light on search shift Patterns in online behavior are tending to shift away from traditional search, though user behavior shows a notable opportunity in searches for highly specific items, or "structured objects""things that include restaurants, products, cars, real-estate listings, cities, bands, sports teams,...
"Web Application Exploits and Defenses" - Jarlsberg from Google Code
May 4, 2010, 5:47 pmFirst they teach you how hacking works. Then you get permission to use those attacks (and ONLY those attacks) against "Jarlsberg" - a cheesy web application that was intentionally built with a number of vulnerabilities.
Multi-Screen Advertising Gets Upfront at Digital Hollywood
May 4, 2010, 5:38 pmIf I had a dollar for every time Ive heard the term multi-screen mentioned here at Digital Hollywood, I could buy a years worth of rides on Santa Monica Pier. It really seems like the cross-platform message is getting through. Sitting in sessions on advertising accountability, video and mobile marketing, much of the dialogue has been about...
Mobile Payments Startup Receives Cash from Google Ventures
May 4, 2010, 5:34 pm
Google Ventures has recently invested in Southlake, TX-based mobile payment provider Corduro. The amount of the investment was not disclosed.
According to Corduro’s website they offer “a range of payment services, for Internet, mobile, and traditional retail transactions, including support for recurring...
Microsoft adCenter API Top 10 viewed topics for April 2010
May 4, 2010, 5:09 pmHello, Here are the most viewed adCenter API topics on MSDN for April 2010. Microsoft adCenter API Campaign Management Service Operations Microsoft adCenter Campaign Management API Reference Microsoft adCenter Campaign Management API Microsoft adCenter Reporting API Microsoft adCenter API Programming Reference Ad Data Object Microsoft adCenter...
Faster Chrome Beta Debuts As Market Share Grows
May 4, 2010, 4:52 pmChrome did pretty well in April, according to the latest stats from Net Applications, increasing its market share by 0.60 percent. And now, to perhaps speed the browser's adoption even more, Google's unveiled what it promises is the fastest beta version of Chrome to date. "Today's new beta release incorporates one of Chrome's most significant...
UK Election 2010: Betting on the Outcome
May 4, 2010, 4:49 pmOne of the differences between UK Election 2010 and American politics is betting on the outcome. In the UK, the Telegraph's UK General Election 2010 Opinion Poll Tracker includes a Betfair overall majority forecast. In the US, you don't see that kind of feature.Click to read the rest of this post...
iPhone And iPod Touch Users Lead In Downloading
May 4, 2010, 4:29 pmOnly 16 percent of Americans over the age of 13 are using devices besides their home computers to download software apps, music, video, and other entertainment content from the Internet, according to a new report by The NPD Group. The report found three-quarters (75%) of iPhone and iPod Touch users are connecting to the Internet to download...
New Google Chrome Beta Promises More Speed and Features
May 4, 2010, 4:29 pmGoogle has just released the latest version of the Google Chrome Beta , promising its most significant speed and performance boost to date. According to the Google Chrome blog, the new Chrome Beta version was benchmarked with 30%-35% improvement on both V8 and SunSpider benchmark as compared to the previous beta channel version. With that, Google...
StumbleUpon Claims to Be #1 Social Media Traffic Source for U.S.
May 4, 2010, 4:06 pmStumbleUpon broke away from eBay a little over a year ago, and went back out on its own. The company has shared an interesting list of stats about StumbleUpon use since then. "Since then, we've released the web bar as well as a new version of the flagship Mozilla add-on, our content syndication service su.pr, a Chrome extension thats one of the...
Facebook, Twitter Maintain Impressive Momentum
May 4, 2010, 3:44 pmFacebook and Twitter continue to chalk up impressive gains in terms of attracting unique audiences. A new report from Nielsen frames their growth on a year-over-year basis, and the two social networks have managed to achieve increases of 69 percent and 45 percent, respectively. Those figures are impressive enough on their own, and by chewing them...
Google to Roll-Out Book Search and Buy Feature
May 4, 2010, 3:43 pmStarting June or July, the next time you use Google Books search and discover titles that you are interested to buy, you may soon do so right there and then on the Google Book search results page. By then Google will have launched its new service, Google Editions which is actually Google's take on electronic book distribution. Sounds familiar?...
Cinco de Mayo Stirs the Web
May 4, 2010, 3:38 pmby Claudine Zap Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican-food-filled day of fun. The holiday has caused "cinco de mayo" searches to do a Mexican hat dance on the Web. So grab some chips and salsa and bring on the Mariachi bandâ"it's your Cino de Mayo buzz roundup. What exactly is Cinco de Mayo? Literally translated from the Spanish as the fifth of May, the...
Embeddable Tweets Likely to Create Signals for Twitter Search
May 4, 2010, 3:20 pmTwitter has been smooth-talking the media community and at 5.55 PM San Francisco time yesterday, the company made an announcement on its blog for media that should please content curators. Twitter promises to officially allow the embedding of tweets on blogs and other online media. Click to read the rest of this post.
Additional publisher resources: Using Webmaster Tools
May 4, 2010, 3:03 pmIn the second part of our 'Additional Publisher Resources' video series, Deborah Chang will explain how website owners can use Google's Webmaster Tools to ensure that their site is properly indexed in Google's search engine. Webmaster Tools is a powerful tool where publishers can gather information on what sites on the web link to them, under what...
Editorial Disapprovals: What They Are and Tips on How to Avoid Them in Microsoft adCenter (Part I)
May 4, 2010, 2:57 pmEditorial disapprovals are red flags in an advertiser's account indicating there is something in the content or structure of an ad that isn't in compliance with adCenter's Editorial Guidelines. Because they're one of the most common reasons an adCenter advertiser calls in to our customer support team for assistance, I thought a series of posts...
Fewer Clicks Coming for Facebook’s CPM Advertisers
May 4, 2010, 2:40 pm
Since it first began monetizing, Facebook has offered to models: CPM (you know, cost per mille or cost per thousand impressions) and CPC (cost per click). Depending on the goal for your ad campaign, one might be a better fit for you than the other. Of course, if you’re hoping for clicks in your campaign (pfft), CPM is about...
Google To Enter Digital Book-Selling Biz
May 4, 2010, 2:40 pmNever mind its experiments with snippets and the occasional free-but-old-or-odd novel; sometime this summer, Google is going to become a proper (digital) bookseller. A strategic partner development manager at the company said today that it will go into business by launching a site called Google Editions. Chris Palma spoke at Random House's...
SEO is bullshit. SEO is snake oil. SEO is a waste of money
May 4, 2010, 2:19 pmI can't help but Sphinn these types of articles. They offer a more broad vision to me, of whats going on in the SEO world.
GamePoints Centralizes Virtual Currency for Facebook and Other Gaming Apps
May 4, 2010, 2:17 pmOfferpal Media, a company that provides virtual currency monetization for developers of social media gaming apps, has launched a new destination for consumers to earn, buy, manage, and redeem virtual currencies, called GamePoints.com . "Virtual currency is a huge market - $1.6 billion in the U.S. alone, and over $7 billion worldwide," a...
Is Your Content Getting As Much Out of YouTube as it Could Be?
May 4, 2010, 1:31 pmYouTube still claims to be the second largest search engine in the world. Just think about that for a minute. If you produce online video and it's not on YouTube, you're probably missing out on a great deal of potential viewers. If you're not producing video at all, you're missing out a lot of searches. Do you consider YouTube important to search...
Is your site ranking rank? Do a site review â" Part 1 (SEM 101)
May 4, 2010, 1:31 pmFor webmasters who work hard to build and publish their sites, it can be frustrating when their sites are barely indexed and rank poorly across all search engines. They may think, "Why does this happen? What can I do to improve this?" The reasons for poor ranking are nearly as myriad as the number of sites on the Web. Your site may be competing...
YouTube Has Ten Times the Advertisers of Last Year
May 4, 2010, 12:47 pm
Google is really almost totally on the way to eventually turning a profit on little-known video site, YouTube. (Okay, one of those phrases is an understatement.) But over the last year, reports Bloomberg, Google says they’ve increased their YouTube advertisers tenfold. Sameet Sinha, an analyst at JMP Securities LLC., says...
For Better or Worse: Activist Consumers Impact Brand
May 4, 2010, 12:24 pmIm a loyal user of a leading diaper brand. Or, I was until recently. I went to Diapers.com to order diapers and discovered that a new product had replaced the kind I used to buy. The worst part? The new product was averaging 2 out of 5 stars with reports from consumers of leaking and diaper rash. So, I did what I imagine most consumers would do....
RealNetworks Launches Social Gaming Platform
May 4, 2010, 12:06 pmRealNetworks games division has introduced GameHouse Fusion, a social gaming platform giving users access to socially connected games across multiple social networks and devices. GameHouse Fusion gives users access to a large catalog of games, the ability to engage in multi-player gaming and live chats between networks, a virtual economy that...
PayPal X Celebrates Six Months of Innovation
May 4, 2010, 11:38 amHi all â" Osama Bedier here, VP of platform, mobile and new ventures. I can't believe it's already been six months since our Innovate Conference when we opened up our global payments platform, PayPal X , to developers. We've accomplished a lot in just six months, from cool products like our Mobile Payments Library , to signing deals with...
Google's Taxpaying Habits Scrutinized In Australia
May 4, 2010, 11:26 amGoogle's practice of channeling its revenues through Ireland is getting the company into trouble yet again. This time, onlookers in Australia have taken note, and although no government officials have become involved, people are definitely unhappy that Google may be shirking its tax obligations. Here's the thing: Ireland offers a lower corporate...
Ad Privacy Coming to Capitol Hill
May 4, 2010, 11:22 am
Every week, there’s some new concern with Internet privacy, either from a specific company’s actions or the ongoing suspicion of companies that collect user data without notice, often to display ads on other sites. While relevant advertising is a good thing (especially for advertisers), many are becoming uncomfortable...
Bing at Web 2.0 Expo SF 2010
May 4, 2010, 11:21 amStarting today, you can find Bing at Web 2.0 Expo 2010 in San Francisco. If you happen to be attending the conference, you can catch us officially at the following sessions or unofficially at Bingaoke! on Tuesday night (RSVP link below). Or just follow the team on @bing. Making Social More Fun + More People + More Engaged: Lili Cheng general...
7 Ways Your Homepage is Like A First Date
May 4, 2010, 11:18 amLisa Barone provides a fresh way to look at your home page through a site visitor's eyes. See it the same way you see a first date!
Weekly Search & Social News: 05/04/2010
May 4, 2010, 11:03 amIt's a mad mad world out there and with spring in the air this web wanderer is getting in the groove. Oh crap, I have posts to get out? Grumble mumble' Oh, Hi. How long were you standing there? Welcome to another edition of ' 7 Days of Search and Social ' - your weekly feast of SEO and social search goodiness. Things were fairly active with a...
comScore ARS Reports Decline in Loyalty for Many Consumer Goods Brands During Recession
May 4, 2010, 10:58 amcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the March 2010 results of a study on brand loyalty among consumer goods products, showing a significant decline in consumers' allegiance to their favorite brands during the past two years. The results of the study were presented by comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni...
Better recipes on the web: Introducing recipe rich snippets
May 4, 2010, 10:52 amWebmaster Level: All Anticipating the start of the season of barbecues and potlucks, we've added recipes as our newest rich snippets format. This means that for certain sites with recipe content, Google users will see quick facts when these recipe pages show up as part of the search results. For example, if you were searching for an easy to make...
2010 PayPal UK Online Retail Report
May 4, 2010, 10:41 amHi, it's Carl Scheible, managing director of PayPal in the UK. We've just unveiled the first results from the 2010 PayPal UK Online Retail Report , which suggests that British shoppers are starting to feel more confident about spending their money. The report, which was undertaken for us by Experian and the Future Foundation, showed a drop in the...
Twitter Giving Users Reason to Tweet More, Increasing Visibility
May 4, 2010, 10:20 amHave you ever considered that one of the reasons YouTube became so popular is because there are YouTube videos embedded all over the web? There is a good chance that on any given day, you will see YouTube videos without ever actually visiting YouTube. It's one reason YouTube videos go viral. Now Twitter is launching embeddable tweets.
Will you...
Embeddable Tweets Could Increase Visibility for Twitter and Twitterers
May 4, 2010, 10:20 amHave you ever considered that one of the reasons YouTube became so popular is because there are YouTube videos embedded all over the web? There is a good chance that on any given day, you will see YouTube videos without ever actually visiting YouTube. It's one reason YouTube videos go viral. Now Twitter is launching embeddable tweets.
Will you...
Clean up extra url parameters when searching Google
May 4, 2010, 10:06 amYou know when you do a Google search and get all those extra url parameters that crowd things up? "ie" and "hl" and so on? I hate that, because I often copy and email Google urls, and I try to clean up the url by removing all those extra params each time. You can fix this annoyance in Chrome. Right-click on the address bar and select "Edit Search...
Surging Google Chrome Actually Behind Early Expectations
May 4, 2010, 9:49 amNews is out that IE share continues to drop steadily in the (seemingly interminable) browser wars, while Google Chrome has undergone a market share growth spurt , jumping from 1.8% to 6.7% in the past 12 months. Yet some would-be pundits (notably, the dart-throwers here at Traffick) initially expected Chrome to reach 15% by September 2010 (there...
The Myth of Beautiful Website Design
May 4, 2010, 9:31 amThis one will probably get me into trouble. I've worked as a graphic designer for over two decades and I'm not supposed to say this stuff. After all, it's my job to make miracles. To wave my magic design wand and make a business look stronger, smarter, and more powerful than it really is. Before I start dodging rotten tomatoes, though, I'm going...
Social Network Users Posting Too Much Personal Information
May 4, 2010, 9:20 amMore than half (52%) of social network users in the U.S. have posted personal information such as their full birth date which can make them vulnerable to cyber attacks, according to a new survey from Consumer Reports. Consumer Reports' State of the Net survey found that 9 percent of social network users experienced some form of abuse within the...
Despite the News, SEO is Not Dead
May 4, 2010, 9:20 amFor years now, search engine marketers have been predicting the death of SEO. I'm not sure why we're all so quick to denounce our livelihoods, and I'm also not sure I agree with the sentiment. SEO is Dead (2006): Stoney deGeyter predicts that SEO-only providers would be "dead" by 2010. SEO is Dead. Long Live, er,
Idol Talk: A Tale of Two Fox Shows
May 4, 2010, 9:15 amby Vera H-C Chan Season 9 of " American Idol " embraced a Grand Social Experiment. For the first time ever, the Fox singing factory allowed contestants to break the cone of silence by granting them their own Facebook pages and Twitter feeds. Three months in, the experiment collapsed: The individual pages were shut down, and the singers got herded...
Groundswell: what's in a name?
May 4, 2010, 9:03 amby Josh Bernoff I continue to be amazed that people are still finding Groundswell relevant, two years after we published it in April of 2008. I've watched in delight as people have adopted the name as we intended - to refer to the whole constellation of social technology phenomena, from Amazon reviews to YouTube. A twitter search on "groundswell"...
Google Reclaims Gmail Name In The UK
May 4, 2010, 8:58 amFour and a half years ago, Google lost the right to use the term "Gmail" in the UK due to a trademark dispute, and ever since, "Google Mail" is what its email service has been called in the region. Only now, Google's finally ditching the two-word moniker and going back to good old Gmail. A little background info: Independent International...
Google Conversion Optimizer Gets Target CPA Bidding
May 4, 2010, 8:58 amGoogle has launched a new feature for its Conversion Optimizer tool for AdWords . It's called Target CPA Bidding, and lets advertisers set a bid that reflects the average amount they'd like to pay for a conversion, as opposed to the maximum they're willing to pay for it. "We launched Conversion Optimizer in 2007 as a tool to improve your campaign...
Attending SES Toronto Could Change Your Life
May 4, 2010, 8:57 amSearch Engine Strategies Toronto returns to Toronto June 9 â" 11th. The largest annual search engine marketing conference and trade show held in Canada, SES Toronto is a must-attend event in the Canadian online marketing community. It's also an essential event for US and European SEMs who want to understand one of the most affluent but subtly...
Look Who's Ranking Now: How Google Can't Seem to Stop the Spammers
May 4, 2010, 8:57 amFirst, a full disclosure. I run a humor site, ZUG.com, which for several years had one of the coveted top ten organic positions for the keyword "Viagra," entitled The Viagra Prank . As this piece brings a lot of traffic to our site, I follow the Viagra SERPS with great energy and endurance, like Viagra users themselves. Since we pride ourselves...
SEO With Google Webmaster Tools - Part 3: Your Site on the Web
May 4, 2010, 8:37 amby Stoney deGeyter
OK, so you've got your site set-up and configured in Google Webmaster tools. Now it's time to start looking at the data.
Your Site on the Web
Google Webmaster Tools allows you to view some basic stats and data for your site. It's not nearly as robust as Google Analytics--not even close--but it does provide some quick and...
Ex-Facebook Privacy Officer Runs for Office and Chides Facebook’s Privacy Actions
May 4, 2010, 8:36 am
Isn’t this interesting? Right in the middle of all the hubbub around Facebook and Google’s alleged lack of concern for the privacy of their users, the former Chief Privacy Officer of Facebook is running for the office of California Attorney General. Hmmmm. Chris Kelly was with Facebook from 2005 until August of last year when...
Keep Track of Your (Link Building) Contacts with SEJ Tools
May 4, 2010, 8:35 amBesides Link Manager and Website Directory that allow to effectively manage your link building campaign, SEJ tools have another cool feature to help you organize your link building contacts. The Contact Manager is used to manage relationships with website owners and editors. Contact records not only contain relevant contact details, they also...
Digg to Stop Shortening URLs for Just Any Sites
May 4, 2010, 8:17 amAbout a month ago, Digg CEO Jay Adelson stepped down , and Founder Kevin Rose stepped in to take his place. It didn't take long - the next day in fact - for Rose to begin making some changes. Digg announced it was dropping the DiggBar - the company's iFrame toolbar that was the subject of a fair amount of webmaster controversy . Part of the...
Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead
May 4, 2010, 7:43 amThe book, "Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies" by Forrester's Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff offered companies a much-needed framework for companies to understand social technologies and consumer behaviors. It also introduced the now popular four-step process for developing a social media strategy. A lot has changed...
Google Ventures’ One Year “Check in”
May 4, 2010, 7:37 am
We all know that Google is on a buying / investing spree of sorts. Google Ventures was announced last year and Andy Beal took a look at the fine print for us. Now a year later, the Google Ventures team is moving right along with plans to invest $100 million this year.
Yesterday Google invited reports to the Internet’s equivalent...
Bing is Taking New York City Dogs for a Walk
May 4, 2010, 7:15 amIf you live in Manhattan you might notice a new fashion trend that is spreading via the citys Dog Walkers. We have partnered with Rodney Dorival, owner of Big Paws, Little Claws to bring awareness to Bing by outfitting the local Dog Walkers with Bing Branded t-shirts. And we just happen to love dogs too. We will be doing some fun and interactive...
Google Changes Analytics Authorized Consultant Program
May 4, 2010, 6:52 amLast week Google changed its Google Advertising Professionals (GAP) program t o the Google AdWords Certification program , and introduced a new badge for AdWords Certified Partners. Now Google is making a similar change with its Analytics Authorized Consultant program. Partners in the program are now being called Google Analytics Certified...
Twitter Hopes To Make It Easier to Post That Tweet
May 4, 2010, 6:50 am
Twitter is rich, fertile ground for everything from the mundane and often stupid to the insightful and often helpful. The Twitter train makes all stops in between on that continuum of relevance and we are stuck with trying to determine just where someone else’s 140 character bit of wisdom fits. Oftentimes that can come in the...
Canadian Insurance Searches on the Rise
May 4, 2010, 5:07 amInsurance rates for most Canadians saw a major increase at the start of the year. Insurance was again in the news over the weekend, when Jim Flaherty, Canada's Finance Minister, indicated that Ottawa will be cracking down on banks' efforts to sell insurance products on their websites . Banks have long been restricted from promoting insurance...
10 Blogs with Explosive Growth to Learn From
May 4, 2010, 1:09 amStudying popular blogs is a great way to find ideas for growing your own blog traffic. I scoured the blogiverse for especially fast-growing blogs (no more than 2 years old) and found these 10 each with nothing short of explosive growth.
SEO and User Experience Go Hand In Hand
May 4, 2010, 12:08 amSearch engine optimization is the process of creating inbound pathways to your website for others to be able to find your business website. With that said, wouldn't you say it is important for that user to have a good experience on your website? Being visible is one part of the process and engaging your audience is another very important...
Hypertargeting â" Video Interview at Digital Hollywood 2010
May 3, 2010, 7:37 pmWe last chatted to James Colborn - who heads up the Audience Targeting Team at Microsoft Advertising - back in January at CES . Since then, he and senior product manager Adam Gouttierre have been blogging in words and video , hammering out the issues around targeting and setting the scene nicely for the Microsoft story. In this short clip recorded...
Happy Star Wars Day
May 3, 2010, 6:23 pmby Mike Krumboltz May 4th is just another day to most people. But to folks who idolize Han Solo and dream of leading a rebel strike force against Jar Jar Binks, it's something far more significant. It's Star Wars Day . So, what happens today? Well, instead of saying "May the Force be with you," devotees of George Lucas say, " May the fourth be...
Update on Digg's Short URL Service
May 3, 2010, 5:32 pmHi All, A few weeks ago we announced the sunsetting of the Digg iFrame Toolbar. As part of this, we are also making a change to a related feature - the ability to generate a Digg short URL from any URL on the web.
Privacy Issues Holding Back Online Behavioral Advertising
May 3, 2010, 4:51 pmMore and more marketers are shying away from online behavioral advertising (OBA) over concerns about consumers' privacy, according to new report by the Ponemon Institute. The report, "Economic Impact of Privacy on Online Behavioral Advertising," found 70 percent of companies agreed behaviorally targeted advertising significantly increased...
YouTube Sees Surge In Display Advertisers
May 3, 2010, 4:51 pmAlthough Google still hasn't shared many details concerning how much money YouTube is or isn't raking in, there's good reason to believe the site's doing just fine. A relatively high-ranking Googler indicated in an interview that the number of entities using display ads is up by about 1,000 percent on a year-over-year basis. This notion comes...
The Search Engine Landscape in 2010: Rand's Presentation from Web 2.0 Expo
May 3, 2010, 4:46 pmPosted by randfish I spoke this afternoon at the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco to a room full of curious marketers & site owners. After the session, there was a lot of requests for the slide deck and thus I've shared it below. This presentation opportunity comes courtesy of O'Reilly, who published The Art of SEO late last year (somehow, I've...
Goodbye Blogger, Hello WordPress
May 3, 2010, 4:46 pmToday marks the end of the Blogger era on Traffick.com. From almost seven years, from July 2002 to April 2010, we've been happy (OK, mostly happy) users of the Blogger publishing system. Despite Blogger's idiosyncratic ways and Google's surprisingly poor upkeep of the platform, Blogger was one of the few " if not the only " blogging platforms that...
comScore Expands Presence in Asia-Pacific Markets, including Hong Kong, India and Australia
May 3, 2010, 4:40 pmcomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today announced the addition of several highly talented individuals to comScore's growing footprint in the Asia-Pacific region, including the introduction of an on-the-ground presence in Hong Kong, India and Australia. The appointments include Victor Cheng, sales director for...
Watch an iPad 3G Get Microwaved
May 3, 2010, 4:29 pmIf you've ever wanted to see an iPad microwaved, you can thank Dovetastic Microwave Theater for making your dreams come true. Dovetastic runs a YouTube channel, which provides videos of various items being microwaved, and the latest is an iPad - and not just an iPad, but the new 3G 64GB iPad. This is not the first time we've seen the destruction...
Steve Jobs May Need Anti-Scrutiny App As Spat vs Adobe Backlashes
May 3, 2010, 4:27 pmDiscretion - if not silence - is priceless. Because of his much-hyped 1500-word open letter torpedoing Adobe technology, Steve Job's Apple now reportedly may face scrutiny by either the Department of Justice or Federal Trade Commission over anti-trust issues.
Click to read the rest of this post...
How Much Will Google Bank On U.S. Real Estate Market Recovery?
May 3, 2010, 3:58 pmAccording to Experian Hitwise's Global Search Indicators Report, Americans are readying "to put one foot back in the housing markets",... and according to SEW's chats with a few observers, Google is best placed to profit on the trend.Click to read the rest of this post...
Redgrave Death Sparks Searches on Acting Dynasty
May 3, 2010, 3:54 pmby Mike Krumboltz Lynn Redgrave , the twice-Oscar-nominated actor, died on Sunday at the age of 67. A well-known member of the Redgrave acting dynasty , Ms. Redgrave had been receiving treatment for breast cancer. Her publicist said that she passed away in her sleep, surrounded by family and close friends. In a statement released to the media,
Embeddable Tweets Could Be Huge for Twitter, Twitterers, and Advertisers
May 3, 2010, 3:48 pmHave you ever considered that one of the reasons YouTube became so popular is because there are YouTube videos embedded all over the web. There is a good chance that on any given day, you will see YouTube videos without ever actually visiting YouTube. It's a one reason YouTube videos go viral. It's not just on YouTube. Now it looks like Twitter is...
IAB Promotes Data Transparency Within Interactive Advertising Industry
May 3, 2010, 3:37 pmThe Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) today announced the release of "Data Usage & Control Primer: Best Practices & Definitions," a guide pioneered by the IAB's Data Usage and Control Taskforce.Click to read the rest of this post...
Content Network Performance: Google PR Ploy or Real?
May 3, 2010, 3:31 pmIt's been quite some time since Google released a wide-ranging study on the performance of content network placements from a cost-per-acquisition (CPA) standpoint, but hat tip to Paul Bruemmer , there was a recent resurgence of discussion on the forums questioning how representative the study really was of " if not all advertisers out there "...
Google Invests $38.8 Million In Advanced Wind Farms
May 3, 2010, 3:26 pmTwo wind farms in North Dakota now enjoy the support of a certain search giant. Google announced this afternoon that it's invested $38.8 million in the farms, and believe it or not, this may be a move that both environmentalists and investors can get behind. In a post on the Official Google Blog , Rick Needham, whose title of "Green Business...
Will Google Bank On U.S. Mortgage Search Recovery?
May 3, 2010, 3:20 pmAccording to Experian Hitwise's Global Search Indicators Report , Americans are readying "to put one foot back in the housing markets",... and according to me and a few other observers, Google is set to swoop on that new opening. Click to read the rest of this post.
Twitter to Launch Embeddable Tweets?
May 3, 2010, 3:08 pmTwitter has a post up on its Media blog today talking about the use of tweets in articles. Basically, the company appears to be completely in favor of journalists and bloggers inserting tweets to articles (even pasting them in as images). However, the company also claims to have a better way to do it, and that way will be revealed tomorrow....
Comcast: Actually, Google Should Regulate the Internet
May 3, 2010, 3:01 pm
The battle royale over federal authority for Net Neutrality all started when Comcast shut down certain user transfers on its service. The FCC claimed authority to enforce Net Neutrality against the company (although last month Comcast prevailed in its argument that the FCC doesn’t have the authority to regulate...
Twitter Shows Embeddable Tweet Example
May 3, 2010, 2:46 pmUpdate: Twitter has made an update to tha post saying, "No, really. It’s very simple. Just a snippet of code you’ll be able to use to generate simple, selectable flat-HTML tweets like the one we used here."
Original Article:Twitter has a post up on its Media blog today talking about the use of tweets in articles....
New SEO Practices for a Google Caffeine World
May 3, 2010, 2:31 pmby Dave Cosper
The paradigm of SEO is the consequence of its misuse. But that's what Caffeine is for - to clean up the mess. Of course there's good SEO, but anyone in the field has seen entire industries centered on paid and reciprocal link building. Not that either practice is inherently bad, they're just no longer sustainable. With Google...
Gravity Forms Review: Powerful WordPress Forms Made Simple
May 3, 2010, 2:27 pmPeople ask me all the time for recommendations on premium WordPress plugins, and I often have nothing to say. With people like Chris Pearson, Sean Jackson, and Tony Clark as partners, if we want WordPress to do something it doesn't, we build it. Many times the things we build for ourselves end up becoming products and services for you, like Thesis...
Mother's Day: Seasonal Trends and Optimizations for Your Microsoft adCenter Campaigns
May 3, 2010, 1:52 pmWith less than a week until Mothers Day (Sunday May 9 th this year), plenty of people want to know what they can expect, and how they can prepare for it. While last year saw many retailers negatively impacted by the economy, this year the economy is showing signs of a rebound, and the continued growth of Bing gives us reason to think the Mothers...
FTC Homing in on GoogleMob?
May 3, 2010, 1:27 pm
Since Google announced its acquisition of AdMob six months ago, the companies have face opposition. First consumer groups eyed the deal—then the FTC started taking statements from other companies in the industry. Now, it looks like the FTC is gearing up for even more scrutiny.
Of course, it may not have a whole lot to do...
MySpace Names New Chief Privacy Officer
May 3, 2010, 1:18 pmSocial Media privacy has been the center of much attention, particularly since Facebook announced its plans to take over the web . MySpace, once considered Facebook's chief rival, has just announced that it has a new Chief Privacy Officer. A MySpace representative tells WebProNews Jennifer Mardosz will be assuming the role effective immediately....
Nachofoto Real-Time Image Search Lives Up to The Hype
May 3, 2010, 1:18 pmNachofoto is a real-time image search engine that allows you to sift through the web for the most recent and relevant results for popular search queries, i.e. "fresh" pictures of trending topics. SEW puts the new search engine through it's paces on a very recent event, the "Times Square bomb alert".Click to read the rest of this post...
Yahoo Gives a Billion Answers
May 3, 2010, 1:14 pmYahoo announced today that Yahoo Answers has served its billionth answer.
"From the small beginnings when we received our first answer from the public back in December 2005 we have now become the largest and most popular global Q&A site on the internet, available in 9 languages across 21 countries," says the Yahoo Answers Team....
Conan O'Brien Opens Up, Roman Polanski Speaks Out, Seth Green Weds: What's the Buzz
May 3, 2010, 1:00 pmby Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. Roman Polanski (Searches increased by +925%). The ex-pat director who fled the U.S. decades ago on a sex charge, spoke out against his extradition. Conan O'Brien (+877%). The talk-show host revealed on "60 Minutes" that his comedy tour was an antidote for the "Tonight Show" fiasco....
One Million Apple iPads Sold in 28 Days
May 3, 2010, 12:33 pmApple Inc. said Monday that it has sold one million of its new iPad tablet computers in the month after its launch, meaning it has been selling them more than twice as fast as it sold the iPhone back when it was new.Click to read the rest of this post...
The Twitter Search Revolution: Popular & Promoted Tweets Mature The Service
May 3, 2010, 12:26 pmWhat can I say? Great post, (title is a tad wordy? lol). If you're following the world of RTS, (I wish there was a SOCIAL SEARCH category on Sphinn) then this one is a must read IMHO. Go.. Now...
Facebook Photo Tagging Goes Web-wide
May 3, 2010, 12:14 pmFace.com , the developers of the facial recognition technology behind Facebook apps like Photo Tagger and Photo Finder announced that it is opening up its API, which will allow developers to take advantage of this technology anywhere on the web. We had a chat with Face.com founder Gil Hirsch, who talked about the technology, the API, Facebook's...
Twitter Introduces Android App
May 3, 2010, 11:56 amTwitter has released its first official application for Android 2.1 and Google will be open sourcing the code in the app soon. Twitter for Android app features a share button in your favorite applications for sharing links and images via Twitter. The Twitter Blog provides more details. "Reading tweets is easy in a bunch of places on your phone....
YouTube Expanding Movie Rental Program
May 3, 2010, 11:52 am
YouTube first started testing a rental program with four Sundance films in January. The ten-day experiment netted an estimated $10,000. In March, YouTube apparently expanded the rental option to all its users. As YouTube looks to further expand its rental program, they could also use some work on publicity for the titles...
Set Your Campaign Performance to Optimize
May 3, 2010, 11:51 amNetwork distribution feature lets you control where your traffic comes from and how much you pay for it Many Yahoo! Search Marketing advertisers have long asked for more tools to help optimize campaign performance, which would give you greater ability to control of bidding and where your ads appear. We heard your requests, and in January we...
Software for SEO: Tools, Why & How to Track Rankings in a Personalized Search World
May 3, 2010, 11:42 amGreat post on how and why to track rankings plus some good tips on which software bests suits your SEO needs.
Facebook Exciting Publishers with Increased Referrals
May 3, 2010, 10:53 amAfter just a week, 50,000 sites across the Web had already implemented the new Facebook social plugins announced at the company's recent developer conference F8. By now, that number has no doubt grown significantly. We've written about Facebook's announcements and these plugins numerous times, but while we've been mostly talking about their...
Chasing Leads: Offline Lead Tracking in SEM Campaigns, Pt. 1
May 3, 2010, 10:49 amby Scott Buresh
Tracking the source of your leads
is perhaps one of the single most important elements in your overall marketing
campaign. It's the method by which you'll gauge budget, approach, revisions,
and a host of other deciding factors. Whether your reps are instructed to
inquire 'how did you hear about us?' or there are checkable...
FTC Possibly Set To Oppose Google-Admob Deal
May 3, 2010, 10:30 amThe Federal Trade Commission is not going to give Google's acquisition of AdMob a thumbs up, according to new reports. Indeed, the FTC seems likely to take the opposite approach and attempt to block the deal, with a formal show of opposition expected to occur in the near future. Three people "familiar with the matter" told Jeff Bliss and Dina...
Google Buys Bump Top and Bumps Up Holdings
May 3, 2010, 10:13 am
Google seems to be like a business “shopaholic” these days. Unlike those who shop to feed an addiction though Google shops with intent. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that have enough money to buy most anything at anytime.
The latest appetizer sized company that has been swallowed whole by the Google is Bump Top. Bump Top was...
B2B SEO: Content Sourcing & Optimization
May 3, 2010, 10:13 amB2B marketers have always been in the business of " content marketing " with white papers, case studies, webinars, demos, free consultations, ebooks and the like. Longer sales cycles due to more complex products and services and business purchasing processes often require more information. The content used to educate buyers of B2B products and...
10 Deadly Internet Marketing Mistakes
May 3, 2010, 10:00 amIf you run a small business, the odds are already against you. You can’t afford to make any mistakes that will further jeopardize your potential for success.
Read about the 10 worst internet marketing mistakes you need to avoid like the plague.
A Brief Intro to Link Building for Small Business Owners
May 3, 2010, 9:54 amby Stone Reuning
Linking is the mechanism that connects all the pages on the Internet. You've got links throughout your web site to let people navigate their way around. You may have links going out to other web sites that you think will be useful for your visitors. And hopefully you have links coming into your web site from independent...
Online Research Still Key Tool For Consumers
May 3, 2010, 9:50 amOnline research continues to play a key role in consumer shopping behavior, according to a new study from the e-tailing group and PowerReviews. The 2010 Social Shopping Study surveyed over 1,000 consumers who shop at least 4 times per year and spend $250 or more annually online, to understand their motivations and preferences about online product...
View the adCenter API v7 Sneak Preview Webcast Recording on Demand
May 3, 2010, 9:45 amYou can view the adCenter API Webcast recording on demand and hear from our program manager Shamit Patel on plans for the upcoming new version of the adCenter API. The Webcast is available for viewing in Windows Media, .wmv format; and in Live Meeting format with a Live Meeting viewer. You'll need to enter a username before viewing. Watch it here:...
Ning Alternatives: Guide To The Best Social Networking Platforms And Online Group Services
May 3, 2010, 9:38 amOn May, 4th 2010, Ning, one of the most popular social networking platforms on the web, is phasing out its free service. All free online communities will either be converted into premium online groups or discontinued altogether. As a consequence of the subsequent growing demand for Ning alternatives, this MasterNewMedia guide wants to provide a...
Social News Organization: How Search & Social Media are Changing News Media
May 3, 2010, 9:34 amA white paper on how newspapers can adapt some proven strategies to adapt their distribution and revenue models to the digital media landscape.
16 Easy Steps to Brilliant Blog Posts
May 3, 2010, 9:32 amYou know what I've discovered? Most of the people writing about blogging are experts. Funny thing, that. These expert bloggers have been doing it for a while and they have thousands (if not tens or hundreds of thousands) of subscribers. The best give lots of free stuff away that's actually worth reading, and we know we're standing on the shoulders...
Social Media Collaboration Around Oil Spill
May 3, 2010, 9:13 am
I’m not sure if this signifies a new era of cooperation between the private sector and government agencies but apparently man made natural disasters can create strange bedfellows. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that is grabbing headlines has created a new website that is jointly managed by not only the companies involved...
Apple Sells a Million iPads in a Month
May 3, 2010, 9:04 amApple announced that it has already sold over a million iPads. The millionth device was sold on Friday, which was the day the 3G version was launched, and only 28 days after the first ones were introduced on April 3. In addition to the million plus devices sold, users have also downloaded over 12 million apps from the App Store and over 1.5...
Enhance Google Adwords Tool with Keyword Tool Supercharger
May 3, 2010, 8:59 amKeyword Tool Supercharger is a great tool developed by GeekLad . It means to provide more competition and keyword analysis data for a widely-used free keyword research tool - Google Adwords Tool . It can be installed as Google Chrome Extension or as a browser bookmarklet - KWT Supercharger (FireFox: just drag it to your browser bookmarks toolbar)....
Google Completely Launches AdWords for Mobile
May 3, 2010, 8:47 amGoogle announced today that AdWords for Mobile is now fully available, after being revealed a few weeks ago . "AdWords for mobile gives you a quick overview of how your account is performing and allows you to easily make select changes to your keywords and campaigns," explains Miles Johnson of Google's Inside AdWords crew.
The Schism Of Contemporary Professional Relationship Expectations
May 3, 2010, 8:41 am"Come Get Some!"' Duke Nukem So, there's the guy I sort of know and, well, you see' Let me start over. My wife is really good friends with a woman whose husband has a very similar position to mine. Oddly enough for reasons not pertinent to this post, I've only met the guy a couple times and each meeting was brief enough so that we really never...
Now Apple in the Anti-trust Crosshairs?
May 3, 2010, 8:39 am
With Google and Apple butting heads and locking horns at every corner these days one place neither of them want to be seen is in front of federal regulators full of anti-trust concerns. Google is getting very used to this kind of scrutiny but Apple seems to keep its nose clean as it relates to this kind of activity. That is until...
Five Fatal Flaws in a Link Request
May 3, 2010, 7:38 amI'm probably not going to entertain many link requests. At all. Simply because doing what I do for a living I understand the value of a link and am highly selective about the ones I give out. So I guess that makes me a tough audience from the get-go. However, if I WAS going to consider throwing a link bone in someone's direction it would take a...
Brand New Topics at SES Toronto 2010
May 3, 2010, 7:15 amIt's easy to spot the new topics on the SES Toronto 2010 agenda. There's a little red maple leaf next to each one.Click to read the rest of this post...
Google Picks Up 3D Desktop Maker BumpTop
May 3, 2010, 6:41 amGoogle's acquisition spree continues with its latest pickup - BumpTop , makers of the BumpTop desktop environment, which is designed to bring a more 3D and "visceral" user interface to the operating system. The product has been available for Windows and Mac, but Android is the likely destination for its technology in Google's hands. Google has...
AntiTrust Division of DOJ Said to be Investigating Apple App Policies
May 3, 2010, 4:20 am"... the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission are locked in negotiations over which of the watchdogs will begin an antitrust inquiry into Apple's new policy of requiring software developers who devise applications for devices such as the iPhone and iPad to use only Apple's programming tools."
Google Android-based TV Software?
May 3, 2010, 2:55 amThe Wall Street Journal writes : Google Inc. is planning to introduce Android-based television software to developers at an event in May, according to people familiar with the matter. The technology - designed to open set-top boxes, TVs and other devices to more content from the Internet - is attracting interest from partners that include Sony...
Google Acquiring BumpTop
May 3, 2010, 2:55 amVentureBeat writes that Google is acquiring BumpTop : BumpTop launched its first product about a year ago. The idea, as founder and chief executive Anand Agarawala described it during a talk at the 2007 TED conference, was to do away with the "same old crap" found in the layout of both the Windows and Mac operating systems. By turning the desktop...
Captcha Advertising
May 3, 2010, 2:38 amThe illustration explains the idea pretty well: a captcha that is also an advertisement. Techi.com writes (quote linked): Currently, there is only one company that is actively working as the middleman between advertisers and webmasters in order to display CAPTCHA ads - that company is AdCopy. (...) AdCopy is currently beta testing the new form of...
Google Buys BumpTop, Perhaps For Android Tablets
May 3, 2010, 2:21 amGoogle has purchased BumpTop, which enables 3D multitouch desktop on Windows and Mac computers. BumpTop uses "pile creation techniques" to shuffle and stack documents as if they were cards in a deck. The app was originally created for use with a pen-style stylus, but the startup added multitouch last September, bo doubt seeing where the trend was...
Will the SEO Bubble Burst?
May 3, 2010, 12:11 amBeing in the in the SEO industry for quite a while I have seen the industry speed up and grow extremely fast over the last five years and absolutely explode over just the last few years. Recently some are starting to understand that SEO is really a marketing approach and not a science project geared towards just achieving search engine rankings.
5 Ways To Turbo-Charge User Generated Content For SEO
May 2, 2010, 10:46 pmPosted by Tom_C User Generated Content pretty much rules the web these days. If a website isn't including comments, blogs, reviews, thumbs up or polls then frankly it might as well be a book instead of a website. Lame. So this post is all about how to squeeze the most SEO benefit out of your user generated content. Remember folks that even if you...
UK Election 2010: The Dog That Didn't Bark
May 2, 2010, 6:00 pmBack on April 5, I said we were about to witness Britain's first "Internet election." And I predicted that UK Election 2010 "will be fought on YouTube, Facebook, blogs, and Twitter." However, Britain's first Internet election seems more like "Silver Blaze." That's the Sherlock Holmes short story that features the dog that didn't bark.Click to...
Google Acquires BumpTop
May 2, 2010, 1:17 pm"Today, we have a big announcement to make: we're excited to announce that we've been acquired by Google!"
Pandia Search Engine News Wrap-up May 2
May 2, 2010, 9:09 amHere are the major search engine news headlines of the week: Data collected by Google cars Google European Policy Blog: We collect the following information-photos, local WiFi network data and 3-D building imagery. (Apr 27 2010) Twitter snaps up Cloudhopper to become king of SMS Twitter planning text takeover? (techradar Apr 2010) Macroglossa's...
PayPal: Demand for Electronic P2P Payments Growing Rapidly
May 2, 2010, 7:27 amA study released this week sponsored by FIS, PayPal and NACHA, found that demand for electronic P2P payments and transfers is growing rapidly, and that the interest of making these and other payment transactions through an ePayment Portal is also strong. According to the study, of those who were interested in the Portal concept, 70% would be...
Juliette Powell, Author of 33 Million People in the Room, Teaching Rutgers Mini-MBA: Digital Marketing Courses
May 2, 2010, 7:12 amLast Sunday, I promised to keep you up-to-date on the new Rutgers Mini MBA: Digital Marketing program. Well, I found out this week that Juliette Powell, author of 33 Million People in the Room: How to Create, Influence, and Run a Successful Business with Social Networking, will be teaching two of the courses.Click to read the rest of this...
Helping you read and write foreign scripts with Google Transliteration and Script Converter
May 1, 2010, 9:17 pm(Cross-posted from the Google Translate Blog ) For many Internet users, it is not always easy to write in languages that use unique character sets like Hindi, Hebrew and Arabic. Most computer keyboards only allow for the input of Roman characters (the alphabet used by most Western languages) and converting between scripts can be difficult. To make...
Help!!! Twitter is Full of Black People!
May 1, 2010, 11:57 amTypical Twitter user: Well educated, high income, uses it for marketing and business purposes. Source . Welcome back to the weekly Twitter column. This time I'll tell you something about statistics. I love statistics. Statistics make business sense. So I'm eagerly studying all kinds of statistics, especially those dealing with social media and...
Google MAYDAY Updates - SERP Changes May 2010
May 1, 2010, 11:35 amAs this month begins, webmasters from very clean, very large websites report dramatic drops in long tail search traffic. MAYDAY seems to be the appropriate shout-out for those affected.
Johnny's Copyblogger Wrap-Up: Week of April 26, 2010
May 1, 2010, 10:25 amSometimes I sit down to write the introductions to these weekly wrap-ups, and I'll try to think of some funny way to describe why you or I might not have seen this week's posts. This week, however, I don't really have to try to find a reason, because I've been frantically launching my Question the Rules course. Launch ends tonight, however, and...
The Real Reasons Big Brands Don’t Rank
May 1, 2010, 10:02 amAd Age did an article on why five example big brands don't rank... but they were wrong. The article starts by taking the stance that big brands should be worried when they don’t show up for generic vanity search results. For those who don’t know what a “generic vanity search result is” outside of the obvious “a search for your own...
Bing Gears Up For The Kentucky Derby
May 1, 2010, 7:53 amThe Kentucky Derby is a huge deal for Louisville, Kentucky, with all sorts of people who would otherwise never visit flying in and spending lots of cash. And the Derby's at least a noteworthy event for Bing, too, with the folks behind Microsoft's "decision engine" preparing some special instant answers. At the time of writing, Google and Yahoo...
Cup of Joe: What Kind of Potatoes Are You Using?
May 1, 2010, 7:18 am
How much do you know about potatoes?
For example, did you know that potatoes grown above the 42nd parallel grow during the day when it’s warm, and stop growing at night when it cools down? Did you know that the longer a potato grows the more dense it is? Don’t worry I didn’t know any of this either, until I read...
The Future For AdSense
May 1, 2010, 4:09 am"The program will have so many publishers that the few good paying contextual targeted ads will be insignificant and the bulk of your revenue will be from third party certified junk networks."
UK Election 2010: What Does Dan Berman Think?
May 1, 2010, 3:10 amWhen it comes to predicting the outcome of the UK Election 2010, I want to know what Dan Berman thinks. Who is he?Click to read the rest of this post...
