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5 Easy Ways to Make Your About Us Page More About Your Customers http://www.searchengineguide.com/stoney-degeyter/5-easy-ways-to-make-your-about-us-page-m.php Searchenginewatch - November 5 ,2007 The About Us page can play an important functional role in the process of providing visitors comfort and assurances in your company and your ability to meet their needs. Here you can provide specific information that visitors both expect to find and that will help them feel "safe" with the offerings you provide

Search Engine Ranking Factors V2 http://www.seomoz.org/article/search-ranking-factors This document represents the collective wisdom of 37 leaders in the world of organic search engine optimization. Together, they have voted on the various factors that are estimated to comprise Google's ranking algorithm (the method by which the search engine orders results).

Search Engine Optimization for Podcasts http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3590246 Searchenginewatch - March 9, 2006 Podcasting is comparatively new, though there are already numerous podcast search engines and it's important to optimize your audio files if you want listeners to find your spoken content. A special report from the Search Engine Strategies conference, December 5-8, 2005, Chicago, IL.

iProspect Search Engine Marketing Study Reveals Nearly Half of Holiday Shoppers Who Researched Products Online Bought Those Products Offline http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2006/2/emw351263.htm iProspect - February 28, 2006 This search engine marketing study serves as a wake-up call to search engine marketers who do not have systems in place to link offline conversions to their search engine marketing initiatives. Marketers must develop such systems in order to more accurately report on the ROI their efforts produce, or otherwise cede as much as half their online ROI (according to this finding), and possible future budget dollars, to other marketing channels.

News Search Engine Optimization http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3586241 Searchenginewatch - February 21, 2006 News search engines offer companies a great way to receive targeted traffic related to breaking topics through press releases and other public relations information. A special report from the Search Engine Strategies conference, December 5-8, 2005, Chicago, IL.

Google tries magazine ads, rich AdSense ads http://www.online-publishers.org/?pg=newsletters&dt=f021306#news1 OPA Intelligence Report – February 13, 2006 The argument about whether Google is a media company or not is sounding so 2005. It's a moot point now as Google makes an even bolder move into auctioning ad space for 28 print magazines. The Wall Street Journal reports the search giant is looking to extend its successful ad auctions into print, radio and TV -- with the magazine ad auction ending on Feb. 20. Google said this was a way to test the interest in print ads for AdWords advertisers.

Agencies must evolve or die with new media http://www.online-publishers.org/?pg=newsletters&dt=f021306#news3 OPA Intelligence Report - February 13, 2006 "Last year I spent well over a billion dollars buying space, time, air, hits and clicks across a multitude of mediums. So if you've been selling me this stuff, you probably need to know that I'm not perfectly happy. And I'm not alone." This was part of the call-to-action keynote speech of Verizon Wireless CMO John Stratton, who addressed the Madison+Vine conference, telling agencies the time was now to embrace new media. Stratton also detailed plans by Verizon to start putting ads on mobile phones, perhaps in exchange for lower rates for cell usage.

Targeting Local Audiences with Search, Part 1: MSN http://www.clickz.com/experts/search/local_search/article.php/3582111 Clickz - February 2, 2006 This week, we'll focus on MSN Search Local (beta) and Windows Live Local (beta) to see what opportunities are available today and what to watch for next. I went straight to the source with some basic questions. "...Still wondering about best practices and opportunities in MSN local products? Make sure you're properly listed via Verizon SuperPages.com. Check that all your business information is listed in the online white and yellow pages to ensure it can be picked up by the major search engines for incorporation into their products."

Survey: Advertisers Say Search Ads On Google Better Than Yahoo, MSN http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&s=39297 Online Media Daily - February 1, 2006 Yahoo and MSN face extended minority status in the ratings of advertisers if they don't change the perception that ads on Google are more effective," stated the report, which Outsell distributed in New York on Tuesday, at the annual meeting of the Software & Information Industry Association.

Google Sitemaps Team Interview http://www.smart-it-consulting.com/article.htm?node=166&page=135 Smart IT Consulting - January 2006 Google's Sitemaps Team, interviewed in January 2006, provides great insights and information about the Sitemaps program, crawling and indexing in general, handling of vanished pages (404 vs. 410) and the URL removal tool, and valuable assistance on many frequently asked questions. Matt Cutts chimed in and stated "..It's definitely a good idea to join Sitemaps so that you can be on the ground floor and watch as Sitemaps improves." This interview is a must-read for Webmasters. "Our goal is two-way communication between Google and webmasters. Google Sitemaps is a free tool designed so webmasters can let us know about all the pages on their sites and so we can provide them with detailed reports on how we see their sites (such as their top Google search queries and URLs we had trouble crawling)."

Web Statistics for Dummies (part 2: Referrers) http://www.redcarpetweb.com/promotion/0511.html#feature Red Carpet Web Promotion – Shawn Campbell – December 2005 Do you know how to use referrers to increase your traffic? How to increase your conversions? This article is the second in our series on learning how to analyse and understand your web site's statistics. The goal of this series is to help you increase your site's revenue. Part one was about using your sales statistics to enhance your web business (part one can be found here: www.redcarpetweb.com/promotion/0509.html#feature). Part two is about using your referrer statistics to increase traffic, ranking, and conversions.

Google Begins Test of "Click-to-Call" Advertising Program http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/051123-013242 searchenginewatch.com - November 23, 2005 Google has started to test click-to-call ads. No word if the test is limited to the US only or if advertisers are paying and being listed on a pay-per-call basis or even if this is an add-on to paying by the click. Here's how it works: When you click the phone icon, you can enter your phone number. Once you click 'Connect For Free,' Google calls the number you provided. When you pick up, you hear ringing on the other end as Google connects you to the other party. Then, chat away on our dime.

Using Search for Public Relations & Reputation Management http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3562126 searchenginewatch.com - November 8, 2005 A special report from the Search Engine Strategies conference, August 8-11, 2005, San Jose, CA. Search marketing should go beyond traditional search engine optimization and paid links by bolstering a firm's reputation and customer image, according to a panel of experts. "According to Jarboe's presentation, Yahoo! News has a unique audience of 24.9 million people and Google News has a unique audience of 7.2 million. Journalists and consumers are turning to the search news channels for information. Plus, optimized press releases appear in the general search results as well." "According to Converseon's study of the top 20 search engine listings for the BusinessWeek 100 brands in July 2005, 39% of the top search listings were derived from consumer-generated media such as blogs. Based on this study, Converseon estimated there are 16,000 flame sites web-wide and growing. Blogs are giving "the people" a voice, and it's not always happy."

Why We Use Various Search Engines http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/051108-131107 searchenginewatch.com - November 8, 2005 InternetRetailer has done some nice charts off of a Majestic Research/comScore report looking at why we use particular search engines (for Google, it's the results; for others, it's because you're doing other things). The stats also look at awareness of paid links and tolerance of demographic and behavior targeting.

Blogs beguile Corporate America -- but beware of splogs! http://online-publishers.org/?pg=newsletters&dt=f103105#news4 OPA Intelligence Report - October 31, 2005 A summary of recent news on corporate blogs and spam blogs (splogs). Also see their links to supporting articles: McDonald's Dips Toe In Blogging Waters (ClickZ) http://www.clickz.com/news/article.php/3556966 Brand Blogs Capture the Attention of Some Companies (NY Times) AOL to take Blogs' Pulse via Intelliseek (ClickZ) What Blogs Cost American Business (AdAge) How to Fight Those Surging Splogs (Wired News)

New Features at AOL Search http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3553681 Searchenginewatch.com - October 5, 2005 AOL Search is powered by Google, but offers many features not found on Google, and other features implemented in different ways. If you're a Google fan, it's worth checking out how AOL differs even though it uses essentially the same underlying index of web pages. Here is an example of one of the new features: Expanded Snapshots Answers. Snapshots are results programmed by a team of AOL editors which appear at the top of search results for popular queries. Snapshots are similar to Ask's Smart Search results, providing information, images and related links in a condensed, summary-like approach. AOL has expanded the number of Snapshot Answers to cover approximately four million search terms, and has introduced new Spanish-language Snapshots for a number of topics. See article for a rundown of the new features.

Understanding Search Engine Patents http://searchenginewatch.com/_subscribers/articles/article.php/3564246 Searchenginewatch.com member's area - November 23, 2005 Search related patents provide insight into what's going on in search engine algorithms, and search marketers who understand these "rules of ranking" are better positioned to win top position in search results.

Yahoo My Web: An eBay For Knowledge http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050630-101327 searchenginewatch.com - Jun. 30, 2005 An older posting by Danny Sullivan in June with some good insight on the next generation of search engine ranking criteria. Here is an excerpt: "We've had a generation of search engines that depended on on-the-page factors such as word location and frequency. We've had a current second generation that tapped into link analysis, looking at how people are linking and what they say in links. Personal search is that third generational jump, and Yahoo's flavor of personal search is a social network one that it hopes will improve relevancy in web wide results in the way that link analysis helped drive back spam and improve relevancy years ago."

Search Engine Inclusion with Google and Yahoo Sitemaps ISEDB.com - September 7, 2005 Explains how to use free, bulk URL submission options with Google and Yahoo.
Why Search Engine Wars Are Good for Advertisers Web Ad.vantage - September 2, 2005 Online advertising is already experiencing a resurgence. Will advertisers benefit from more traffic in the short run but face higher prices in the long term from the search engine wars? I'm not going to wait to find out. I'm buying heavy now.
How Measuring Key Performance Indicators Can Improve E-Commerce Strategy. Part three ISEDB.com - September 1, 2005 This article will discuss the general metrics you should be looking at as an ‘e' business and more importantly why you should be looking at them.
New Google Talk Offers Instant Messaging & Voice Chat Searchenginewatch.com - August 24, 2005 Google waded into the instant messaging space today with the debut of Google Talk, an IM client that also offers the ability to make voice calls between computers. The entry sees Google directly competing against the much more mature clients and established user bases of competitors Yahoo and MSN, not to mention its own partner AOL. Figures are the millions of unique visitors each service had in July 2005 AOL AIM (for non-AOL subscribers): 30.9 million MSN Messenger: 23.3 million AOL AIM (for AOL members): 23.1 million Yahoo Messenger: 21.6 million AOL ICQ: 1.8 million
Retailers' 2005 Online Advertising Outlook Web Ad.vantage - August 17, 2005 There may be several growth opportunities if publishers are willing to be flexible. One is advertorials. E-tailers see real value in content and are already building more content into their own Web sites. Through Web analytics, Bass Pro Shop has been able to demonstrate content drives higher lifetime value and increases average order size more than anything else it's done on its site. Driving traffic and conversions from paid advertising content, therefore, seems a natural transition.
Search Engine Penalties at Yahoo & MSN Searchenginewatch.com - August 4, 2005 In the second of a two-part article, we look at search engine penalties applied by Yahoo and MSN, and how webmasters can avoid them, or get them removed once sites are in the penalty box.
Coping with Search Engine Penalties Searchenginewatch.com - August 3, 2005 Search engine penalties are present and pervasive, and are a primary method used by search engines to control webmasters. Unless webmasters understand what they are and what to do about them, their websites could easily trip a penalty, losing traffic and revenue. This article is part 1 of 2. It takes a closer look at perceived and observed search engine penalties. There are alsogeneral guidelines to help you get started in identifying what's wrong with your site and how you can fix it in order to avoid penalties.
New Ask Jeeves Sponsored Listings Program Lets More Advertisers Buy Direct Searchenginewatch.com - August 1, 2005 After weeks of rumors, Ask Jeeves unveiled a new automated paid listings service… -- Ask Jeeves Sponsored Listings -- that will allow anyone to purchase ads directly on the Ask Jeeves network rather than having to buy placement via Google or work through an Ask Jeeves account rep.
The SEM Scam Sales Pitch Clickz - July 20, 2005 Some warning signs to look for, when considering a firm.
Google Simplifies & Loosens Requirements for AdWords Searchenginewatch.com - July 14, 2005 Google is making changes to its AdWords program intended to provide advertisers with more control over campaigns while potentially improving relevance for users.
How Americans Search SearchEngineWatch – July 12, 2005 A recent study from Harris Interactive shines interesting light on the behavior and preferences of Americans when searching the web. "The study suggests Americans are getting savvier about the distinction between paid and organic listings, but still more than half (56%) do not understand the difference between the types of listings. Among those that do know the difference, only about half (51%) prefer organic listings. And in general, men express a stronger preference for organic results than women, who tend not to have a preference."
The State of Search in Europe SearchEngineWatch - July 6, 2005 What is the state of search in Europe and how do the major players see search developing over the coming years?
Hitwise Releases Keyword Intelligence Service SearchEngineWatch – July 6, 2005 Hitwise, best known for tracking the online behavior of 25 million internet users every day, has introduced a new keyword research tool designed for small and medium sized businesses. The tool, which monitors usage at all of the major search engines, also provides guidance on "successful" search terms--those that actually resulted in a user visiting a web site. Like the popular Wordtracker keyword research tool, Hitwise Keyword Intelligence offers a number of tools that help search marketers with search term research and management.
Survey Looks At PR Aspect Of Search Listings SearchEngineWatch – July 5, 2005 Brands suffer from negative PR on Google from NetImperative looks at a survey that examines not how companies are placed in search results but how well the PR spin is for them, based on the top results. Coca Cola, for example, was found to have 4 of the 10 ten pages in a search at Google UK for on its name containing negative comments about the company.
Search Engine Sales vs. Search Engine Marketing Clickz -July 1, 2005 Hundreds of thousands of marketers who place pay-per-click (PPC) search engine listings on Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and other venues think of themselves as search engine marketers. In fact, they're not behaving like search engine marketers at all. Most engage in search engine sales, not search engine marketing (SEM). “One easy way to think about search engine sales versus search engine marketing is marketing is designed to create interest, awareness, and demand. Sales fulfills an existing demand.”
What's Cooking in Search Engine Labs SearchEngineWatch – June 30, 2005 Want a peek behind the scenes at the research and development efforts going on at the major search engines? Here's where to find the freshest info.
Google Relaunches Personal Search - This Time, It Really Is Personal SearchEngineWatch – June 28 , 2005 Google has released a new version of Google Personalized Search, this time in a format intended to constantly monitor what people select from search results and shape future queries based on their choices. More on the service and how it puts spam facing a war on thousands of fronts. “Link analysis itself is facing problems. Link spammers and others overtly manipulate links. Links are also created naturally in ways much different than in the past, polluting their usefulness in search. Personalization poses a potential next leap forward -- and clickthrough measurement can provide that.”
Yahoo Integrates Personal & Social Search with MyWeb 2.0 SearchEngineWatch – June 28, 2005 Now you can search both your own "personal web" and pages saved by members of a trusted community of contacts with Yahoo's just-launched MyWeb 2.0. Also see Yahoo’s announcement “Search, with a little help from your friends” http://www.ysearchblog.com/archives/000130.html
Marketing Your Web Site the Right Way is a Worthwhile Investment Search Engine Guide - June 27, 2005 Doing your search engine optimization and marketing in-house will often times produce poorer quality results and use up more valuable man-hours than simply paying a professional in the first place.
ET Don't Go Home, Go To A Targeted Landing Page! SearchEngineWatch – June 24, 2005 The Simple Pay Per Click Change That Could Earn You More from Jennifer Laycock is a plea to marketers that if you buy a paid listing, send people to the very best page in your site that has information about what you're selling, not your home page. IE, selling red shoes? Send them to a landing page that shoes all your red shoes, not your home page that lists shoes among all the other types of clothing.
FAST Web Search Is Back Via New Miva Editorial Results SearchEngineWatch - June 21, 2005 Miva -- the newly rebranded company encompassing FindWhat and Espotting -- has launched its own editorial or "algorithmic" results to compliment the paid listings it offers.
No Search Is an Island CMO magazine Online searches don't take place in a vacuum. They are triggered by offline events, and they lead to other offline events, preferably to someone paying money to your company.
PageRank Decoder Offers Flash-Based Guestimates On Linking Impact SearchEngineWatch – June 17, 2005 Want to understand how PageRank will build between pages you link? Only Google actually knows how that works, but a new tool makes use of an old formula for those who want to play.
Overture Becomes Yahoo Search Marketing & Comparing Listing Products At Yahoo To Google SearchEngineWatch - April 18, 2005 The rebranding promised in March has happened. Overture has officially become Yahoo Search Marketing, marked by the launch of a new Yahoo Search Marketing site that lists all of Yahoo's search-related listing products. But with rebranding can come confusion, so I thought it would be helpful to look at all the products listed at the new site and also compare them to Google products
Search Engine Algorithms & Research Searchenginewatch - April 14, 2005 As a searcher or search engine optimization specialist, do you really need to understand the algorithms and technologies that power search engines? Absolutely, said a panel of experts at a recent Search Engine Strategies conference.
All Aboard! Inbound Links for SEO Search Engine Guide - April 12, 2005 Did you know that search-engine-optimized Press Releases can help you achieve excellent rankings within major search engines? SEO press releases provide opportunities for inbound link development when Yahoo News, Google News and major news search engines list your data online.
Directories: Love 'em or Leave 'em Search Engine Guide - April 07, 2005 Directories can be foundational for building link popularity and a very important reason why a web site owner should make sure they are included in them. It is a step in your marketing that you can easily control.
Web Site Check-Up in 10 Easy Steps Search Engine Guide -April 07, 2005 Give your Web site a quick check-up with this list of the top ten items most often overlooked during Web site maintenance.
Google SEO Support Given To Advertisers Members: [http://searchenginewatch.com/_subscribers/articles/article.php/3495866] Search Engine Watch - April 6, 2005 Google & SEO Support For Advertisers looks at how increased editorial listings support being given to large advertisers is raising concerns with search marketers and threatening the "church and state" division between ads and editorial results that Google has long sought to maintain.
How Google views links Axandra - April 5, 2005 Google heavily relies on links when it comes to specify the ranking of a web site. In addition to the sheer number of links and their anchor texts, the patent specification shows possible ways how Google might use historical information to further specify the value of links.
Press Release Optimization for Search Engines ISEDB.com - March 22, 2005 Getting the release out there is simple enough but getting it read and republished by other web sites, ezines, online journals and blogs should be your goal. The more people that read your release, the better. The longer it stays online, in various forms, the better. The more links you have pointing back at your web site as a result of the PR, the better.
Lessons Learned from Eye Tracking Studies SearchEngineWatch - March 17, 2005 But what happens if you've created a great, search friendly page that shows up at the top of search results, and yet when people click through to that page they don't see your important marketing messages? Or their eyes are drawn to elements on the page that aren't central to the behavior you hope to elicit by attracting them to your web site in the first place?
MSN To Launch Its Own Paid Listings Program SearchEngineWatch - March 16, 2005 MSN will enter the paid search arena with a full-blown self-service paid listing program similar to those run by Yahoo and Google. It will be tested in France and Singapore within the next six months. The date for a worldwide rollout has not been set.
Sullivan: Vertical, Organic Search Deserve Attention Clickz - March 3, 2005 Search engine marketing guru Danny Sullivan urged search marketers to get familiar with vertical search opportunities, pay more attention to optimizing organic search listings, and consider adopting pricing models that do not undervalue their services. Sullivan spoke at the "Evening Forum with Danny Sullivan," one of the most anticipated sessions at the Search Engine Strategies show in New York. "I can't say it enough. Vertical search is going to take over," he said. "The people who are going to win are the people that understand shopping search now."
Ask Jeeves now powers Lycos Search ISEDB.com - March 2, 2005 Ask Jeeves and Lycos today announced a deal in which Lycos will begin displaying search results generated by the Ask database. Ask Jeeves results, which replace listings generated by Norway's FAST Search and Transfer Company, began showing on Lycos early this morning. Both Ask and Lycos are struggling to compete in a sector dominated by Google, Yahoo and MSN.
How AutoLink Works SearchEnginWatch - Feb. 25, 2005 A discussion of Google’s controversial new AutoLink feature on Google toolbar 3 beta. AutoLink inserts links for package tracking numbers, US vehicle identification numbers, US addresses and publication ISBN numbers. “Click on the ISBN link, and you'll be routed via Google over to a page about the book at Amazon. Click on the address, and you'll be routed to that address shown in Google Maps.” The Web publisher’s fear of having unwanted links added to their sites by Google is explored in this detailed article that includes the benefits, fears and a look to the future.
Avoiding Search Engine Woes with Multiple Domains and Websites SearchEngineWatch - February 15, 2005 Operating multiple sites using numerous domains is a great strategy for businesses appealing to a wide range of customers. But this approach may trigger search engine spam penalties, if you're not careful with implementation.
Surveying the Search Landscape SearchEngineWatch - February 9, 2005 Danny Sullivan's keynote address at Search Engine Strategies has become a must-see event for conference attendees. At the Chicago conference he took the opportunity to look back over the year's search engine events and gaze into his crystal ball toward the future.
Usability of Websites for Teenagers Useit.com - January 31, 2005 When using websites, teenagers have a lower success rate than adults and they're also easily bored. To work for teens, websites must be simple -- but not childish -- and supply plenty of interactive features.	Useit.com
Integrating Search with Other Marketing SearchEngineWatch – January 25, 2005 Search marketing is still "stand-alone," existing largely outside of the traditional marketing mix, but this must change, to address the needs of consumers who are increasingly turning to search to make all types of buying decisions.
Google Partners with Oxford, Harvard & Others to Digitize Libraries SearchEngineWatch - December 14, 2004 Google is working with libraries at the University of Michigan, Harvard University, Stanford University, Oxford University and the New York Public Library to digitize books in their collections and make them accessible via Google Print.
Microsoft Unveils its New Search Engine - At Last SearchEngineWatch - November 11, 2004 After months of speculation and two "preview" releases, Microsoft has taken the wraps off of its new MSN search engine, the first major competitor to join the big leagues of web search in nearly a year. Some cool features: 1) There are three sliders available. One lets you select the degree of match between your search terms and result pages, from an exact match to an approximate match. The second lets you specify page popularity, from very popular to less popular. The final slider controls freshness of results, from updated recently to static pages. 2) Other settings allow you to change the number of search results from the default of 10 to 15, 30, 50 or 100 per page. 3) You also have the ability to influence the number of results displayed from a particular site. Search results from the same site are grouped together, with a maximum of two displayed by default. You can change this to display one, two or three results. See full article: http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3434261
Link Building 101 SearchEngine Watch forums - November 7 2004 1) Links should be used only for ethical purposes to point web users to useful and relevant information and not to deceive the search engines. 2) Links can be bought, sold, traded or received/given away for free. Being creative and thinking outside the box will most likely get you very many of them no matter which of the hundreds of strategies you choose, just do it or your competitors will do it before you. 3) Don't only think about link building only for the purposes of search engine algorithms or metrics such as PageRank. Same rule applies: Think what is best for your users first, the search engines will adapt. 4) Stay up to date, search engines change, users change, businesses can change for the better or worse if not up to date. Like my friend Brett Tabke says, "read, read, read until your eyes hurt". 5) My Golden Rule for Link Building: FOCUS ON PERMANENT LINKS.
Yahoo Launches Video Search Site IDG News Service - December 16, 2004 Users can search by file format, size, and duration. The site, at video.search.yahoo.com, went up on Wednesday, and pits Yahoo against competitors such as Singingfish, which is owned by America Online.
Local Search: Missing Pieces Falling into Place SearchEngineWatch - November 2, 2004 Some pundits claim that the paid search market has peaked, but new research tells a different story, suggesting that local search is emerging as an important and powerful driver for the paid search market.
Web Feeds, Blogs & Search Engines SearchEngineWatch - October 28, 2004 Blogs are increasingly popular, and can have a dramatic effect on search engine positioning. How can you best take advantage of this new search marketing channel?
SEO Without Usability - An Exercise in Futility ISEDB –October 5, 2004 What good is driving traffic to your site if no one buys anything? This article reviews the importance of balancing SEO and usability. *Excellent article*
Top Five SEO Design Mistakes ClickZ – September 27, 2004 The Web is overflowing with sites search engines can't index. Five design mistakes that prevent your site from being indexed.
Mastery, Mystery, and Misery: The Ideologies of Web Design Useit - August 30, 2004 Simple, unobtrusive designs that support users are successful because they abide by the Web's nature -- and they make people feel good.	Useit.com
SEM Power Tool: The Mighty HTTP Referrer Clickz.com - June 25, 2004 To really tap into search engine marketing's (SEM's) power, search marketers have to get technical every once in a while. This is one of those times. The more you know about the HTTP referrer (also called "the referrer"), the more information you have at your fingertips.
Preparing for Your SEO Campaign HighRankings.com – June 23, 2004 Before you start any search engine optimization campaign, whether it's for your own site or a client's, you need to answer the following 20 important questions. "This initial analysis will help you to scope the time and costs involved in advance. For those of you optimizing client sites, obtaining accurate answers to these questions BEFORE quoting is absolutely crucial. Otherwise you can find yourself in the middle of a project that you have severely under-quoted, and that's very frustrating."
Monetizing Your Site SearchEngineGuide – June 18 "Many people these days are looking for ways to "make money on the Internet". …It's not an impossible goal, but it's not as easy as the spam e-mail you receive would have you believe. It takes real work, just like any other business, but done correctly, there are some tried and true ways to make your website turn a profit."
The Art and Science of an Effective Link Building Campaign SearchEngineWatch – June 9, 2004 Is it wrong to buy or sell links? How far is too far in optimizing your internal link structure? If you operate a network of sites, can natural interlinking be perceived as link spam? A group of experts offers answers to these questions, and more.
Questions for Froogle's Mastermind, Part 2 Clickz.com - June 7, 2004 How to prepare a Froogle Feed. An interview with Craig Nevill-Manning, Google's senior staff research scientist.
Inside the Searcher's Mind: It's a Jungle in Here! SearchEngineWatch - May 26, 2004 There have been two surveys released recently providing a welcome look at how people search in aggregate. Search engine marketing company Enquiro also recently conducted a focus group, to get up close and personal with a small set of searchers and jump more inside their minds. In this article, Enquiro president Gord Hotchkiss reports on those findings.
The One-Two Punch: SEO and PPC Clickz.com - May 3, 2004 "Sixty percent of all clicks occurred in the natural search results. Among the individual engines, this varied a bit:" Search Engine Natural Search Results (%) Paid Ads (%) All engines 60.5 39.5 Google 72.3 27.7 Yahoo! 60.8 39.2 AOL 50.0 50.0 MSN 28.8 71.2
B2B: Help Your Fans Convince Their Bosses Useit - April 26, 2004 B2B websites must support a more complex buying process than B2C sites. Three key goals are to make a buyer's shortlist, offer a downloadable advocacy kit, and build a reputation for great service.	Useit.com
The Book on Amazon.com's A9 Search Engine Traffick - April 26, 20042 Amazon.com launched a new search engine called A9. It is powered by Google and has many useful features. Read this detailed article about A9.
Gmail: the Next Gator? ClickZ News - April 23, 2004 Because the contextual ads are targeted based on e-mail message content, as determined by Google's technology, commercial messages are the ones most likely to trigger ads. That's because they're most likely to contain commercial product or brand names, for which Google's AdWords advertisers frequently buy keywords.
Sorting Out SiteMatch SearchEngineGuide - April 23, 2004 At the beginning of March, Yahoo announced that they would be replacing the 3 paid inclusion programs for the 3 crawling engines they had purchased by a single paid inclusion program, SiteMatch. Administered by Overture, SiteMatch could be purchased via Overture directly or through a selection of partners including the majority of those who previously provided paid inclusion programs to the replaced programs. See this detailed article about site match
Froogle Gains Through New Placement SearchEngineWatch - April 2, 2004 This week's format change at Google greatly increased the use of its Froogle shopping search engine, according to measuring service Hitwise. Previously not in the top 20 of the "Shopping and Classifieds - Rewards and Directories" category that Hitwise tracks, Froogle has now risen to number 8 in the US as measured on March 29, for share of visits to all sites in this category.
Google Launches Gmail, Free Email Service SearchEngineWatch - March 31, 2004 Google launches an email service with one Gig of space. Its free, but Google will display contextual ads that relate to message itself. See detailed article.
B2B SEM: Sorting Ambiguous Traffic Clickz - March 26, 2004 B2B marketers with ambiguous keywords in their campaigns can prosper using creative strategies with site development and landing page optimization that keeps consumer and business searcher needs in mind
New Look In July, New Search Engine Later, Says MSN SearchEngineWatch - March 25, 2004 MSN announced a redesign for its MSN Search service last week, a cosmetic change that helps the service comply with US Federal Trade Commission recommendations about labeling paid placement results. ...The redesigned MSN Search site being unveiled in July will continue to be powered by Yahoo, as it currently is today.
Yahoo! Birth of a New Machine SearchEngineWatch - February 18, 2004 "Yahoo is rolling out a brand new search engine today, with its own index and ranking mechanisms, casting aside its long-standing use of Google-powered search results." Includes a Preliminary assessment of Yahoo’s new search engine with details about how to submit, how frequently Yahoo crawls documents and what it looks at.
Search Engine Marketing Issues ISEDB – February 11, 2004 An explanation of the eight step growth process of SEO including The Submittal Stage -> The Meta Tag Stage -> The "It's Impossible" Stage -> The Confusion Stage -> The Trick-the-search-engines Stage -> The Learning Stage -> The Quick-fix Stage -> The Hard-work Phase
Inktomi Content Guidelines Inktomi.com - February 2004 Includes Inktomi’s guidelines for pages that it wants included in its index, and pages that it does not want included in its index. A great guide for understanding search engine ranking criteria.
Using Paid Inclusion to Get to the Next Level, Part 2 Clickz.com - February 23, 2004 "Google plainly states in their information to Webmasters, ‘We are able to index dynamically generated pages. However, because our Web crawler can easily overwhelm and crash sites serving dynamic content, we limit the amount of dynamic pages we index.’ In short, Google will gather some, but not all, dynamically generated Web pages that make up your site.…A paid inclusion program overcomes this crawler limitation by allowing site owners to determine which pages of their Web sites must be included in the index."
Search Engine Strategy: Links or Content? ISEDB - February 24, 2004 A debate of sorts is raging in the search engine optimization community, about whether content or linking is the best path to top rankings. In this article, I lay out the claims of both sides, reaching the conclusion that neither strategy is sufficient by itself. The number of people who truly believe you can do one without the other is small - they just happen to be extremely vocal.
Copywriting Makeover: It's Not About YOU, It's About THEM Search Engine Guide - February 23, 2004 Take some time now to look back over your copy. Is it company focused? If so, learning to write specifically for your customers can turn your sales around almost immediately.
Top Ten Web Design Mistakes of 2003 Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox - December 22, 2003 Sites are getting better at using minimalist design, maintaining archives, and offering comprehensive services. However, these advances entail their own usability problems, as several prominent mistakes from 2003 show.	Useit.com
Google Enhances Froogle, Offers New Ad and Search Features SearchEngineWatch - December 15, 2003 Google has beefed up its Froogle shopping search engine, introduced two new "quick links" for searchers, and has added new features to its AdWords program.
How to Improve Search Engine Placements with Content ISEDB - December 15, 2003 For maximum effectiveness, content should be: unique, fresh, relevant and visible. Other suggestions include: 1) do not use frames, 2) do not create a site totally in flash, 3) provide alternative navigation options. See details in article.
Google Tweaks AdWords, Froogle Internet News - December 15, 2003 Google has made changes to improve its advertiser experience and brought Froogle into the Google.com search mix. It also lined up some new high-profile distributors, with Newsweek, Forbes.com and The Economist now displaying AdWords.
Yahoo! Pushes New Shopping Tools for Holidays Internet News - November 24, 2003 Comparison shopping has become one of the hottest segments of the online marketing space, as e-tailers pay for placement or rank on one or another of the ever-growing list of sites offering comparisons. Yahoo! launched product search back in September, just a few days after DealTime relaunched itself as Shopping.com. Google has long had Froogle, though the site is still in beta. Most recently, Ask Jeeves added product search to its capabilities.
AOL Buys Singingfish, Rolls Out More Search Changes Search Engine Watch - November 19, 2003 AOL has acquired Singingfish, a multimedia search engine providing access to audio and visual files from across the web. Terms of the deal were not released. Coinciding with the purchase announcement, AOL unveiled additional features to the AOL Search service designed for its members. Search tabs include: “web’, “images”, “audio/video”, “news search”, ‘in your area” and “people search”.
Google and Microsoft: Partners? Clickz.com - November 12, 2003 For the time being, both sides seem to be sticking with the status quo. Don't be surprised to hear more about Microsoft and Google talking. A takeover is unlikely, cooperation isn't.
Link Text - Revisited ISEDB.com – October 12, 2003 Clearly, the optimal link to your site will contain your main keyword phrase. Often a webmasters ego will get in the way of optimization (this applies to title tags as well all too often), and just the company name will be used as link text "XYZ Ltd.".
MSN Drops LookSmart Clickz.com - October 2003 Losing MSN is a major blow. The deal accounted for about 65 percent of LookSmart's listings-driven revenue. It leaves the company with distribution on a much smaller set of Web properties, such as meta search sites operated by InfoSpace and home pages viewed by Road Runner ISP subscribers.
How Can Google's Gold Be Inktomi's Spam? SearchEngineWatch - September 2003 "If you're offered a service to identify all the websites linking to you and suggest other sites to contact about linking to you, you're not really spamming the engines. If you're told you need to regularly put up an updated page that's full of links, and that it will create thousands of links to you instantly, you're doing something with the intent of artificially boosting your link popularity. This is link spamming."
Yahoo alights on new search site CNET News.com, April 2003 Yahoo on Monday will phase in a new search site that plays up paid listings and simple, informative query results, but it has yet to capitalize on the assets of newly acquired Inktomi.
Yahoo! Unveils New Search InternetNews, April 2003 The best article I've found so far on the changes to Yahoo! search. Includes predictions for paid listings
Yahoo! and Inktomi announce completion of acquisition Yahoo! March 2003 "Bringing together a powerful combination of Yahoo!'s global audience and unmatched breadth and depth of services with Inktomi's leading search technology, will allow us to create one of the most relevant, comprehensive and highest quality search offerings on the Web for both our affiliate partners and Yahoo!," said Terry Semel, Yahoo! chairman and CEO.
Search -- Look No Further? ClickZ, March 2003 By some estimates, 35 to 50 percent of all searches are for products, services or a commercial purpose. Put another way, of 210 million daily Web searches, nearly half generate revenue.
Overture's Buying Spree Clickz, March, 2003 "AltaVista was acquired for $140 million. FAST's Web search unit, which provides results to other search engines such as Lycos.com, was sold for $70 million in cash, with the possibility of another $30 million paid over three years through a performance deal. Why Both?" ...
Hot Trends in Search Engine Marketing Search Day, February 2003 A special report from the Search Engine Strategies 2002 Conference, December 11th and 12th, Dallas, Texas. Includes a discussion of issues related to "a media buying industry", trusted feeds, SEO ethics and the Future of SEO.
Yahoo to Buy Inktomi SearchEngineWatch, January 2003 "If all goes as planned, Yahoo will become the proud owner of Inktomi by the end of March or earlier. The company announced its intention to buy Inktomi for $235 million on December 23. … Inktomi has 10 million paid URLs in its database, half of which produce recurring cost-per-click income. Integrating those paid inclusion listings into its search results would allow Yahoo to earn more from each search results page it serves, and it's certainly something the company is considering."
Interactive Marketing Gets in the Mix InternetNews, January 2003 "This year should also feature the continuing evolution of the hottest sector of the online advertising industry: paid search. The largest player in the space, Overture, expects to record as much as $925 million in revenue next year, as paid listings continue to grow in popularity."
Web Search Trends Internet Librarian, January 2003 "Google reigned supreme in 2002, having renewed its relationship with Yahoo! and winning the contract to be AOL's search engine. Google in fact now powers 3 of the 4 most used search engines and handles 75 percent of searching traffic. But while its supremacy is well-deserved, "it's tough to be king," said Sullivan. Google is now being sued for patent infringement, and Sullivan thinks there will be more legal challenges for it and others."
Ask Jeeves Bans Banners InternetNews, January 2003 "The decision to officially banish the banner came after the company determined the demand for banner ads (and the revenues they generated) did not justify the interference they had with the user experience, according to Steve Berkowitz, president of Ask Jeeves' Web properties."
Spam Annoyance on the Rise InternetNews, January 2003 "…the average e-mail user should expect to receive nearly 3,900 junk e-mail messages per day in 2007. BrightMail, a maker of anti-spam software, estimated that 40 percent of all e-mail traffic in November (2002) was spam."
Branding Metrics for Search Engine Marketing? Clickz, Decemeber 2002 "We need easily measurable data that correlate with branding metrics to make necessary, ongoing adjustments in search engine campaigns. I propose a new metric, based on a behavior mapping strategy, called the Branding Effectiveness Index, or BEI (pronounced "buy"). BEI is a work in progress but has already proven useful in comparing campaign results."
Contemporary Culture, Revealed ClickZ, December 2002 "Ever want to know what the online masses are thinking about... what they're looking for... how best to target your messages to tap into their wants and needs? Doesn't every marketer? Some mesmerizing statistics recently released by Google and Yahoo! can provide some insight about 2002, revealing what was on the collective minds of Internet users -- at least those who visit these very popular search engines."
Budgeting for Online Success: Calculating Your Maximum Cost Per Visitor PromotionData, December 2002 Looks at how to compute a cost per visitor, vital to determining how Much you can spend on getting leads from search engines or other venues.
Tips from Google for choosing a Search Engine Optimizer (SEO) Google, December 2002 "Be wary of SEO firms that send you email out of the blue….Reserve the same skepticism for unsolicited email about search engines as you do for "burn fat at night" diet pills or requests to help transfer funds from deposed dictators."
Looks at the growth of search engine marketing as an accepted industry SmartBiz, December 2002 "This year ushered in big changes in Web searching. First was the explosive growth in paid listings, which are text ads that appear directly in or alongside regular search results. …Paid listings have become big business, claiming nearly $1 billion of the Internet's $6 billion to $8 billion in advertising this year."
Linkability - Why do some sites have it while others don't? Search Engine Guide, December 2002 "Linking from one web site to another and from one web page to another is the fundamental essence of why the Web was invented. In a nutshell, researchers needed a way to link between similar documents, and before any dot com even existed, the Web was helping academics and scientists do just that. … But before focusing on site architecture issues, remember that the key driver of links is and always will be the quality of the content."
Yahoo!: Dayparting Can Boost Ad Campaigns InternetNews, November 2002 "… agencies need to be convinced of how the Internet can drive consumers to other media. In this support role, online advertising can act in a role similar to how radio pushes people to look for inserts in their Sunday newspaper. …'If you want to reach them during the day, get good at using the Internet,'"
Why SEO Should Be the Foundation of Your Marketing PromotionData, November 2002 "Sure, your chances of fooling a search engine into giving you a great ranking are pretty slim. But to say search engine optimization is dead is like saying public relations or word of mouth is dead. None of these things are easy or a quick fix, but they work!"
How To Justify A Search Engine Optimization Budget Sticky Sauce, October 2002 "But what about search engine optimization? How do you justify the investment to your VP of Marketing, CFO, President, or CEO. And how do you quantify the value of search engine traffic?"
Search-Engine Marketing Will Boost Your Business Wall Street Journal - Startup Journal, October 2002 "If you design an HTML page that has a Flash element in it, such as a rotating logo or other cool eye-candy on the page, it's fine as long as there is real searchable text on the page." But a site done entirely in Flash -- which can be visually striking -- won't be read by the search engines. The same is true for copy enclosed in graphics. "If you can't highlight the text, then the search engines can't read it." - Dana Todd, SiteLab
FAST Breaks the Flash Barrier Search Engine Guide, September 2002 Nice details here on how FAST is interacting with Flash files.
Google and Overture: CPM in Disguise? Clickz, September 2002 "To succeed with Google (Ad Words), marketers must run their campaigns using CPM-like strategies, with copy and keywords selected for high relevance and click-through. If a marketer selects poor keywords or attempts to prequalify a searcher in Google ,the ad will fall out of rotation…. On Overture, the higher the maximum CPC bid gets the higher position regardless of what CTR the ad receives."
Search Engine Results You Can Control ClickZ, August 2002 Media buyers need to be aware that good search engine marketing can build brand, as well as drive traffic.
PPC Versus "Free" Listings: Which is Best? Search Engine Guide, August 2002 Which is better to go for, free listings or cost-per-click ads? Why not find a balance between them both?
Ebusiness is alive and well Nua, July 2002 "Report from EDS indicates that most businesses treat e-business as a fundamental, long-term, strategic business direction, rather than a tactical, short-term reaction to changing client demands."
The Meta Keyword Tag High Rankings' Advisor, May 2002 "Everyone knows that to obtain high search engine rankings all you have to do is put the keywords that you want to rank high with into your Meta Tags, right? Not even close!"
The Value Of Professional Search Engine Marketing Services Pandia, April 2002 "During your next trip to the dentist, contemplate the consequences of drilling at your own teeth. Not a nice thought is it? Why risk your company's welfare by performing your own marketing?"
Google's Overtures at Overture's Advertisers Clickz, March 2002 "Google introduces a new pay-per-click (PPC) payment option…There's space for both Overture and Google to exist in the ad-distribution world."
Make a Marketing Splash on a Small Budget Business 2.0, February 2002 "Everyone knows a downturn is the absolute wrong time to cut back on marketing -- everyone except your budget committee, that is. Time to get creative."
Successful Site Architecture Search Engine Guide, January 2002 "Make sure your pages have visible text. …And, keep the most important pages in the top-level directory on your server."
FAST and Fresh Clickz, January 2002 "Tips for good rankings and a look at the future from Alltheweb"
Search Engine Marketing: Part of the Design Process Search Engine Guide, January 2002 "Should designers consult with a search engine marketing (SEM) expert during the design phase? You bet!"
Why should I hire a 3rd party search engine optimization consultant or marketer? SeoPros.org, Decemeber 2001 "Do you really want someone who only knows how to surf to Yahoo!, push a submit button listing your site on a directory which provides 35% (even more if it is B2B) of all traffic from search engines."
Cooking the search engine books Ft.com, November 2001 "Several of the sites listed high in the rankings will have paid for the privilege, either through a straight pay-for-placement listing, or, more subtly, through use of a search engine optimization."
Search Engine Marketing: Luxury or Necessity? Search Engine Guide, November 2001 Search engines and directories now offer various forms of paid inclusion, paid submission and paid placement options in addition to their free listings, which take longer to appear in databases.
Understanding the Power of Search Engine Marketing Clickz.com, October 2001 "It's one of the most cost-effective marketing tools available, yet most companies spend little on search engine optimization".
Ten Considerations when Hiring a Search Engine Optimization Company Search Engine Guide, August 2001 Academy of Web Specialists - Tips on selecting a search engine optimization company.
Questions answered Nua Internet Surveys, February 2001 Every day, millions of people go searching for answers online.
Search listings beat banners Nua Internet Surveys, February 2001 Search listings are better than banner ads at creating effective brands.
Marc Andreessen: Act II Fast Company Magazine - February 2001 What's still true - and what was never true - about the Internet.
Search listings outperform banner ads Goto - January 2001 "Consumers are 5 times more likely to purchase after seeing search listings versus banners".
Net Advertising Expensive Necessity Business 2.0 Magazine - January 2001 "validates the continuing trend of traditional marketers putting more faith in online campaigns."
What are algorithms? searchnewz.com - January 2001 Algorithms are basically the rules that have been programmed into their software to review your website.
The New Lure of Internet Marketing Fast Company Magazine - January 2001 Websites need customers -- they just can't spend to get them. The result: marketing schemes in which companies don't pay until customers do. Welcome to the Kickback Economy.
Celebrating the Online Advertising Industry Shakeout By Adam Jackson - Clickz today - January 2001 The industry has needed a kick in the pants for some time.
Doorway Pages, Ghost Pages, Hallway Pages Defined Fantomas - November 2000 "Doorway pages or, for short, "doorways", are basically gateways to the website proper."
Barely Bannered Business 2.0 Magazine - November 2000 You may think that banners are everywhere, and they are. But not for long.
Search Me Business 2.0 Magazine - November 2000 Two recent studies have confirmed what many marketers long suspected: Search engine links count.
Dispelling the Myths About Doorway Pages MarketPosition (tm) Monthly - October 2000 Techniques for Search Engine Positioning to Build Site Traffic
Love Those Links Business 2.0 - October 2000 Under-linking is not trivial; it could kill you.
What are doorway pages? www.SearchEngines.com - October 2000 Learn what each search engine considers spam, and never use that for your doorway pages.
That's One Sick Puppy Ecompany now - June 2000 Pets.com has great ads. But where are the customers?