December 2005

The Year's Top Search Terms for 2005
(December 27, 2005 - SearchDay)

Not all search engines are alike and not all search engines attract the same kind of users. That is evident in the variation of top search terms conducted in 2005 from engine to engine. Chris Sherman looks at lists from Google, Yahoo, AOL, Amazon's A9 and Dogpile. Some of the top phrases include Myspace, Lottery, Paris Hilton, Music Lyrics and a favorite of mine, NASCAR.

Google Speaks Out On the AOL/Google Partnership Announcement
(December 23, 2005 - Google Blog)

Google's Marissa Mayer, VP of Search Products & User Experience, speaks out on the recent news regarding Google buying a 5% stake in AOL. Some highlights include that search results will not be biased and there will be no banner ads on the Google homepage or web search results.

Graphical Ads on Google? AOL Promotion? Google Gives SEO Advice?
(December 20, 2005 - Search Engine Watch Blog)

In a New York Times article, AOL is coaxing Google to display graphical ads on the Google search results pages as part of the bid to retain the company as a Google partner. Danny Sullivan reports that Google is looking to promote AOL content within a OneBox display area, a place where Google promotes other vertical search results that may be of interest to searches, such as news listings, shopping results, etc.. In addition to this he takes a look at AOL getting SEO advice from Google. What the...? You'll have to read the whole blog post to see exactly what he is going on in this latest bit of news over who will get a stake in AOL.

Time Warner Top Investor Seeks to Derail Google/AOL Deal
(December 19, 2005 - News.com)

Carl Icahn, a major holder of Time Warner stock, is not happy with the rumored AOL deal with Google and is working to "derail" the deal. In this deal, Time Warner and Google have secretly reached a tentative agreement whereby Google would pay $1 billion for a 5 percent stake in AOL. The deal would nudge Microsoft out of the way who has been wooing Time Warner to get AOL's search business for many months and was on the verge of a deal before the surprise turn late last week. Icahn, who directly and indirectly controls 3 percent of Time Warner shares states, "Like all shareholders, I am not opposed to Time Warner entering into an AOL transaction that creates long-term value. However, I am deeply concerned that the Time Warner board may be on the verge of making a disastrous decision concerning an agreement with Google if this agreement would make it more difficult in any way or effectively preclude a merger or other type of transaction with companies such as (InterActiveCorp), eBay, Yahoo or Microsoft."

Yahoo! Plans To Revamp Search Results and Shorten PPC Text
(December 16, 2005 - Search Engine Guide)

Yahoo! has announced that they'll be revamping their search results page after the beginning of the year in order to make the results easier to read. They are also hoping that the move will help advertisers see an increase in qualified click rates. Advertisers will have to make sure their ads are ready for the change, essentially making sure that ads can be cut to 70 characters without losing the bulk of their message.

Jeremy Zawodny of Yahoo Search Caught In Link Selling Debate
(December 13, 2005 - Search Engine Watch Blog)

The ensuing battle between Yahoo blogvangelist Jeremy Zawodny and Google's Matt Cutts - Jeremy has been selling links on his personal blog without using nofollow attributes while Matt Cutts, the most direct counterpart he has at Google, has been urging for months that nofollow should be used on paid links. It is not only a battle between these two but also a battle against Google and all of us that buy and sell links. There were very interesting discussions that are ongoing on both Search Engine Watch Forum and High Rankings Forum as well.

Google Adds Another Factor to AdWords "Quality Score"
(December 13, 2005 - Inside AdWords)

This past summer, Google introduced "Quality Score" to the AdWords algorithm which examined things like ad text and click thru rate to determine bid price for certain keyword phrases. Now they will begin looking at landing pages as an added factor to determine Quality Score.

Big Brands Are Muscling Out the Small Players
(December 9, 2005 - Online Media Daily)

The ever-increasing popularity of search engine marketing for the purposes of branding has brought well-funded advertisers into the game, while crowding out smaller advertisers, panelists said Thursday at an SG Cowen and Co. Internet conference. Describing the expenditures as "irrational," Panelist Bill Wise, CEO of Did-It.com, said that branding-focused advertisers are willing to spend whatever it takes to get their keywords listed.

Can Google Make It in the Print World?
(December 6, 2005 - BusinessWeek Online)

Google recently purchased about a dozen pages of ad space from niche publications such as PC Magazine and Budget Living and then divvied up the space, selling it in small pieces to its network of several hundred thousand advertisers. Now Google says the trial program is taking off, with hundreds of publications inquiring about it. However, a closer look at Google's foray into magazine print ads suggests it could be in for a tough road ahad. Sure, plenty of publishers are clamoring to snare ad dollars from Google. However a BusinessWeek analysis of Google's test program indicates that Google advertisers haven't exactly warmed up to the program so far.

A Look at Two Alternative Local Search Services - Metrobot & True Local
(December 6, 2005 - SearchDay)

Local search from the major players is steadily improving, but meanwhile, two smaller players are making impressive advances in providing search results from your own neighborhood. Chris Sherman takes a closer look at Metrobot & True Local.

Can't Attend SES Chicago? Let Rustybrick and Crew Take You There!
(December 5, 2005 - Search Engine Roundtable)

If you are not able to attend this years Search Engine Strategies in Chicago, no need to fear. Rustybrick (Barry Swartz), Chris Boggs and Benjamin Pfeiffer are providing full coverage of many of the sessions via blogging. Its the next best thing to actually being there. Reports are posted just minutes after each session ends.

Yahoo Targets Ads to User's Searching Behavior
(December 2, 2005 - News.com)

Yahoo aims to boost the effectiveness of its advertising by targeting ads to users based on their surfing behavior on its site, the company's advertising sales chief said on Thursday. "The new, new thing at Yahoo, even though we've had variations of this, is getting much more into behavioral targeting," Yahoo Executive Vice President Greg Coleman told the Reuters Media and Advertising Summit in New York.

Google Builds Up `Defensive War Chest' to Combat Microsoft
(December 1, 2005 - Bloomberg News)

With its most recent stock offering, Google has built up its cash and plans to hire more workers to fend off competition from companies including Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo! Inc., a top executive said. Without going into details of how it would used, Google raised $4.18 billion in a secondary stock sale in September with an eye toward its rivals.

Will Microsoft's Classifieds Service Outdo Google Base?
(December 1, 2005 - Forrester)

Charlene Li from Forrester talks about what's she's seen so far from Microsoft's Classifieds Service named "Freemont" and how it is more suited to specialty classified searching than the beta version of Google Base.