February 2006

Click Fraud Gets Smarter
(February 27, 2006 - BusinessWeek Online)

Web consultant Greg Boser has an ingenious method for sending loads of traffic to clients' Internet sites. Last month he began using a software program known as a clickbot to create the impression that users from around the world were visiting sites by way of ads strategically placed alongside Google search results. The trouble is, all the clicks are fake. And because Google charges advertisers on a per-click basis, the extra traffic could mean sky-high bills for Boser's clients.

The Secret To Google's Success
(February 27, 2006 - BusinessWeek Online)

Research is showing that Google's auction methodology, invented internally and so important for its success, is far more innovative than auction experts once believed.

Google Introduces Web Page Creator
(February 23, 2006 - Search Engine Watch)

Google Page Creator is a web based application that uses a basic what-you-see is what-you-get style of interface, designed to allow anyone to create and publish web pages, regardless of skill or knowledge level.

Google rejects gov't bid for search info
(February 17, 2006 - CNN Money.com)

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Friday formally rejected the Justice Department's subpoena of data from the Web search leader, arguing the demand violated the privacy of users' Web searches and its own trade secrets.

Responding to a motion by U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Google (Research) also said in a filing in District Court for the Northern District of California the government demand to disclose Web search data was impractical.

New Study Reveals Conversion Rate for Each Major Search Engine
(February 15, 2006 - Press Release WebSideStory, Inc.)

WebSideStory, Inc. (Nasdaq: WSSI), a leading provider of on-demand digital marketing applications, today reported the results of a new study showing the median order conversion rate for the top four search engines. For the month of January, AOL Search generated the best conversion rate at business-to consumer e-commerce sites (6.17 percent), followed by MSN (6.03 percent), Yahoo (4.07 percent) and Google (3.83 percent), according to the WebSideStory Index, a new statistical barometer...

The Web and China: Not So Simple
(February 15, 2006 - BusinessWeek Online)

Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft say they face a stark choice: Conform to Beijing's edicts or quit the market. The truth is much more complicated...

Google In Court Again Over Trademark Disputes
(February 15, 2006 - Search Engine Guide)

It all started when Geico sued Google on the issue of allowing keywords that Geico claimed were protected by trademark to trigger sponsored ads by the competition...

Google Desktop Fears Overblown?
(February 15, 2006 - Search Engine Watch)

Consumer watchdogs including the Electronic Frontier Foundation are urging a boycott of Google's new Desktop Search program, citing privacy concerns. Is it really too risky to use the program?

Gracenote: A Ubiquitous Music Database
(February 13, 2006 - Search Engine Watch)

Any time you play an audio CD and your computer's music player automatically looks up information about the album, it's likely you've just used Gracenote, a huge online database of audio information.

The Gracenote Media Database, formerly known as the CDDB, has been used by more than 150 million individuals worldwide over the past eight years of its existence, for a total of about six billion database searches.

Search site retires iconic Jeeves
(February 10, 2006 - BBC News)

By the end of February the iconic valet will disappear from the site he has graced since it debuted in 1996. The decision to axe Jeeves was taken in September 2005 but he stayed in place while the company investigated how users felt about the change. The removal of Jeeves has been driven by a broader effort to re-brand the Ask search site.

Google Desktop Gets New Features
(February 09, 2006 - Search Engine Watch)

Google has released Google Desktop 3.0 beta, which includes several new features. Three of the new features Google considers "major" enhancements, but several other new features requested by users bolster the utility of the program.

The first new feature allows you to drag panels out of the sidebar and place them anywhere you want on the desktop. You can also now bring panels to the foreground or push them to the background with a single click...

Searching Television News
(February 6, 2006 - Search Engine Watch)

A new free service from multimedia search engine TVEyes lets you search each and every word spoken during TV news broadcasts from well-known news organizations.

Searching for the Future
(February 2, 2006 - Search Engine Watch)

Think you're pretty good at sussing out the future? Try matching wits with Yahoo Research's fantasy prediction game that lets you bet for-or against-emerging technologies and trends.

Searching for a Sense of Place
(February 1, 2006 - Search Engine Watch)

With all of the recent interest in Google Earth, Microsoft's Virtual Earth and other mapping and satellite imagery services, some longer established place-name services are also worth a look, especially when you're looking for out of the way places-such as Antarctica, for example.