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For webmasters, e-marketers and e-merchants...

Everyone knows that mainstream media advertising is an effective means of influencing consumer decisions - so why are the search engines not using more ads to gain users? Well, they are beginning to do just that. Recently, Yahoo! launched a major ad campaign to push its revamped search functions, and Ask Jeeves followed suit with an outdoor ad campaign. It looks like the major media spending to get loyal search engine users has finally begun. But Google, who has relied on word of mouth in the past, is not spending much on advertising. Will users who switched over to Google in the past year be wooed back to the competition after being bombarded with ads?

Perhaps the cost of advertising is only worthwhile to search engines now that pay-per-click dollars are pouring in through paid listings. Because regular listings in search results tend to move around a lot, more and more merchants are turning to pay-per-click advertising. As a result, pay-per-click advertising is going through numerous changes to satisfy the increased demand.

• See our articles in the Stay on top section below to read more about all of these changes.
• Also be sure to read Shawn's article on Google Shakes Its Bootie to make sure that your site is not being penalized for outdated search engine optimization tactics.
• And stay tuned for some really interesting advertisements by Yahoo! including a huge billboard in New York City with live search terms scrolling across it for 15 minutes every hour.

- Jason Campbell

Search Engine Navigator

Google Shakes Its Bootie Google has made some major changes in the last two months. Normally, there is what we call a "Google Dance" every month. This lasts about a week, and it occurs as Google integrates new sites into its database. Google also tweaks its algorithms during this period, so most sites move up and down in the search results. A side effect of this dance is the spread of the Google Dance Syndrome -- a disorder that causes search engine optimizers and webmasters to pull out their hair and chew their fingernails while waiting for this algorithmic game of musical chairs to stop, so that they can see where their site ended up. The Search Engine Watch has more details about the syndrome. The Big Shake This May, Google did a major overhaul of its database, which contains over 3 billion web pages. They dropped a lot of sites, and they played with a lot of spam triggers. A spam trigger is a part of the algorithm that triggers a spam penalty for a site. For example, they have made the trigger for hidden text more sensitive, so that if you have a small amount of hidden text on your site, you will get penalized. These spam triggers have caused a lot of headaches in the SEO world, but Google seems to be correcting any over-sensitive triggers that they create (although it will take two months or more of lost traffic before the correction is implemented). Don't Panic! The bottom line is that if your site has been penalized, or even removed from the database, don't panic. Just send a nice letter to webmaster@google.com explaining why you think you were penalized, and what you have done to amend the situation. I have found that you get a reply about 50% of the time, and that it usually works about 50% of the time (sometimes you will get a reply that is unhelpful, and sometimes they will correct the penalty without a reply). What To Do Here is something for you to do while you are twiddling your thumbs: try submitting to other search engines. Google after all, is not the only kid on the block. True, it represents 80.7% of the market (Google, Yahoo!, & AOL), but MSN still has 9.6%. So make sure you are in MSN by submitting to Zeal and/or Inktomi. You may also wish to spend time submitting to Dmoz.org (Open Directory Project), the Yahoo! directory, and exploring any industry directories or associations that would consider listing your site. Lastly, consider starting up a pay-per-click campaign with Google or Overture. In my research, I have found that Google's AdWords have a higher rate of return than Overture, so I would recommend advertising with Google. Global average usage share Google 55.2% Yahoo! 21.7% MSN Search 9.6% AOL Search 3.8% Terra Lycos 2.6% Altavista 2.2% Askjeeves 1.5% All numbers are an average of the last two months, from OneStat.com. One final note... There is a lot of speculation that Yahoo! will be using Inktomi, or a combination of Inktomi and Google, in the near future. This means Inktomi will be taking the lion's share of Yahoo's 21.7% of market away from Google. So make sure you are listed in Inktomi, so that you don't scramble when the changeover occurs. Next issue, I will update you on other changes in the industry. Shawn Campbell is the co-founder and Chief Search Engine Optimizer at Red Carpet Web Promotion, Inc.

Stay on Top Each month we review articles from leading industry magazines and newsletters. The following articles are the most interesting out of all the articles that were reviewed in the last two months. Click on the links below to read the full articles. Confusion Over Paid Listings www.clickz.com/search/opt/article.php/2223291 Clickz - June 18, 2003 - Last year, just after the recommendations were released, 25 percent of the search engines surveyed failed to meet paid placement requirements. The figure's now dropped to only 9 percent. … So things are better. Is better good enough? If people don't understand "sponsored" means "ads," as the new research suggests, perhaps the language will need to change again. Google Starts Self-Service for Content Ads www.internetnews.com/IAR/article.php/2224011 Internetnews - June 18, 2003 - Google is offering an opportunity for regular website publishers with high traffic sites to earn money by displaying Google contextual ads on their sites. The site owners will be paid an undisclosed amount per clickthrough when visitors click on the ad. This new service called AdSense is being offered to satisfy the high demand by advertisers for Google AdWords. Yahoo! Kicks Off Wide-Ranging Search Campaign www.internetnews.com/IAR/article.php/2208741 Internetnews - May 19, 2003 - Yahoo! launched a multi-media ad campaign Monday to tout its newly redesigned search function, tapping everything from television to an Internet-connected billboard to get its message across. Ask Jeeves in the Search Spotlight www.internetnews.com/IAR/article.php/2215071 Internetnews - May 30, 2003 - In Ask Jeeves CEO Skip Battle's favorite metaphor, his company is offering Web searchers tea to Google's coffee. While other search sites try to beat Google by brewing a better flavor of coffee, Ask Jeeves has a natty British butler brewing up an alternative. Yahoo!'s Evolution www.clickz.com/search/opt/article.php/2203641 Clickz - May 14, 2003 - "What's different this time? Quite a bit. Fortunately, the new improvements and features enhance earlier improvements rather than distract from them." See a summary of the major changes including a list of new shortcut tricks for Yahoo! Search. Overture's Content Match Takes On Google's Contextual Ads http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/print.php/34711_2230221 Searchenginewatch -July 2, 2003 - Overture finally unveiled its contextual ads program, called Content Match, officially this week. The program places Overture's paid listings on web pages, rather than within search results. FindWhat Acquires Espotting www.internetnews.com/IAR/article.php/2223821 Internetnews -June 18, 2003 - "FindWhat.com announced plans to acquire Espotting Media in a $163 million merger, creating a paid listings company with 40,000 advertisers and operations in the United States and 10 European countries. …Both companies operate pay-per-click advertising systems, with FindWhat operating in the United States and Espotting based in Europe". eBay Starts Keyword Advertising www.internetnews.com/IAR/article.php/2226631 Internetnews - June 24, 2003 - "Online auction juggernaut eBay announced on Tuesday a new advertising program for its sellers that takes a cue from the red-hot paid search business." …"For example, an eBay merchant selling classic furniture that bids the highest on the term "antiques" would have a banner ad displayed on the search results page anytime a user queried "antiques." The banner ad can lead to a specific item, a merchant's online store, or its "About Me" page. The merchant only pays when a user clicks on the ad." Google Inks Paid Listings Deal with AOL Canada www.internetnews.com/IAR/article.php/2216701 Internetnews - June 3, 2003 - Google announced on Tuesday a deal with AOL Canada to provide paid listings for the online service and on its portal. The deal calls for Google to provide three paid listings, generated from Google's 100,000 AdWords advertisers, under a "sponsored links" heading near the top of the AOL.ca and AOL service search results pages. FAST Deals Reshape Search Sector www.internetnews.com/IAR/article.php/2223211 Internetnews - June 17, 2003 - Fast Search & Transfer (FAST) has dipped into its cash reserves to buy the AltaVista enterprise search business from Overture Services. The value of the deal, the latest in a rapidly consolidating industry, was not disclosed. Overture obtained the enterprise search business as part of the acquisition of the business of AltaVista, in late April.

Announcements More Frequent Newsletters This newsletter was formally quarterly, but will now be published every two months. You can expect your next issue at the beginning of September. Site Update As promised in the last newsletter, we have updated the Red Carpet Web Promotion corporate website. Read our new code of ethics page and browse our services page to see our updated list of services.

Letters to the Editor Send your questions and comments for our next issue to news@redcarpetweb.com. Be as specific or general as you want -- other subscribers are probably wondering the same things you are. You should also let us know of any promotions, sales or new products on your website.

Next Issue - New feature article - More on how Search Engines work - Stay on top: Articles from industry newsletters and magazines - And more... To subscribe to the Promotion Press, go to the subscribe page and fill in your email address. To unsubscribe from the Promotion Press, go to our unsubscribe page and fill in the address you subscribed with. This Newsletter is produced and published by Red Carpet Web Promotion, Inc. © 2000-2003