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Blog archives for April 2004

242 - April 30, 2004 - 10.49 PM EST

I just finished writing 2 more articles

As it is every week, I just finished writing How to lower your client acquisition cost and Accurately calculating ROI in an online ad campaign.

Both of these articles will help your search engine marketing (SEM) campaigns, in achieving a much higher ROI.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

241 - April 30, 2004 - 2.49 PM EST

The Viewpoint Toolbar for IE

I had a bit of time today to experiment with this new toolbar and I like it.

The Viewpoint Toolbar shows the usual search result as a web page but in addition to it, it fetches thumbnails of the shown search results.

And it does the other functions of a search toolbar pretty well too. There is the usual popup blocker with one interesting extra option (allow non ads popups) which sounds pretty ambitious. I would need some more tests before I can actually fall for that claim. Then there is a search save feature that functions as a visual bookmark, where your searches are saved as clickable thumbnails.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

240 - April 30, 2004 - 11.39 AM EST

LookSmart's 1st quarter loss not as bad as anticipated

LookSmart (LOOK) reported a net loss of $7.1 million, or 7 cents a share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2004. A year ago, the company reported net income of $1.1 million, or a penny a share. Revenue for the San Francisco-based Web search company was $27.6 million vs. $29.4 million for the year-ago period.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

239 - April 29, 2004 - 6.06 PM EST

AOL delivers strong earnings with Google's partnership

Time Warner’s America Online turned in a better than expected performance in the first quarter of 2003 with a little help from paid search and broadband. According to reports from analysts, paid search brought in revenues of $27 million in Q1 from an AOL partnership with Google.

Google powers the AOL search engine along with AOL search engine advertising - which is actually Google AdWords.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

238 - April 29, 2004 - 3.24 PM EST

Google files for $2.7 billion IPO

They finally did it!

Google registered for a $2.7 billion initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday. Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse First Boston were named as the underwriters for the deal. Google's IPO filing has been rumored for the better part of a year and recent speculation has created a buzz about Internet stocks not seen since online auctioneer eBay went public in September 1998.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

237 - April 29, 2004 - 9.53 AM EST

Overture signs deal with Mooter

Overture and Mooter have entered a two-year agreement which will see Mooter's fledgling search portal carry the Yahoo!-owned, pay-per-click advertising supplier's sponsored listings placed alongside its own.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

236 - April 29, 2004 - 8.42 AM EST

Espotting reports 1st quarter 2004 results

Espotting Media today reported preliminary results for the calendar quarter ended March 31, 2004.

'We are delighted that Espotting has reached profitability and that we have had the most successful quarter in the Company's history' commented Daniel Ishag, CEO & Founder, Espotting Media. 'As we approach our merger with FindWhat.com, Espotting's performance is stronger than ever.'

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

235 - April 29, 2004 - 7.59 AM EST

AXA taking Google to court

Google’s AdWords advertising sales for trademarked names and competitive business terms is being challenged again in the court room, this time in France.

AXA, the world’s No. 3 insurer, is taking Google to court next month in the latest trademark challenge to threaten the heart of Google’s business model advertising.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

234 - April 28, 2004 - 3.21 PM EST

Google is updating its PR database, again

For all of you that need to know, since the past hour, Google has made changes and is again updating its PageRank™ database, one more time. This is the third time it has done this so far this month, and represents a new record, since it went for almost 60 days without updating anything between January 24th and March 22nd.

Remember you saw it first on Serge Thibodeau, Live!

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

233 - April 28, 2004 - 10.10 AM EST

Yahoo looks for the best Internet cafés

The world's first-ever internet café, Cafe Cyberia in Whitfield Street, opened its doors in September 1994 and there are now around 20,000 internet cafes in 171 countries, as reported by Yahoo.

According to Yahoo, 69 per cent of young British travellers claim they use email regularly to touch base with people back home, 42 per cent set up a new internet email account before leaving and over one in eight (13 per cent) take a laptop away with them.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

232 - April 28, 2004 - 8.47 AM EST

Spanish search engine Terra Lycos for sale

The sale of Terra Lycos, which is based in Waltham, Mass., would unwind the $12.5 billion merger of Lycos and Terra Networks, struck in 2000 at the height of the dot-com bubble.

The company has retained investment bank Lehman Brothers to explore a possible sale of its U.S. Internet business, including its flagship Lycos.com Web site, according to a document obtained by CNET News.com.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

231 - April 27, 2004 - 2.57 PM EST

Google's enterprise search technology

With all the hype surrounding Google's impending IPO (do I hear a 'Oh nooooo- Not again!'), it's nice to read something valuable about Google's technology in the enterprise search field.

"People buy our product [because] our search results are better," Google Enterprise general manager Dave Girouard told the E-Commerce Times, which just conducted an interview on how companies can better evaluate enterprise search.

Read this great interview here.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

230 - April 27, 2004 - 2.01 PM EST

About.com network gets overhaul and new CEO

Media company Primedia Inc. on Tuesday plans to unveil an overhaul of its About.com Internet portal, a revamp that follows the appointment of a new chief executive of the unit late last year.

Primedia is giving About.com, a provider of consumer-focused information on topics such as travel, food and health, a make-over in an effort to draw in more readers and build brand identity, the company said.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

229 - April 27, 2004 - 7.08 AM EST

Yahoo launches Internet radio

People spend hours a day with instant messaging programs, sending text to friends and co-workers online. These free products already go well beyond the typed word: People can swap files and chat with webcams and microphones.

Instant-messaging software has evolved into the latest weapon in a fierce battle among major Internet companies to reap revenues off whatever you do, wherever you go online. Now there's even more. On Monday, Yahoo Inc. launched Internet radio and other new services around its messaging software. Microsoft Corp., meanwhile, is leveraging IM as a subscription gaming hub, while America Online Inc. is packaging weather.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

228 - April 26, 2004 - 1.25 PM EST

Consumer research influenced by search engines

The majority of North Americans use search engines for consumer research states a focus group research product undertaken by the search marketing firm Enquiro.

The results showed that 65% of North Americans use search engines to come to a purchasing decision.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

227 - April 26, 2004 - 10.17 AM EST

Google chooses Morgan Stanley for its IPO

Internet search firm Google Inc. has moved one step closer to its eagerly awaited initial public offering, choosing Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse First Boston to be lead underwriters, according to a published report Monday.

Plans surrounding the IPO will probably be announced this week, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

226 - April 23, 2004 - 8.51 PM EST

Bid Management Tools and how they can help you

I just finished writing Bid Management Tools and how they can help you. If you participate in a PFP (Pay for Placement) ad program such as offered by Overture or a few other companies, Bid Management Tools (BMT) can simplify your life quite a bit, while at the same time, they might help increase your ROI.

Bid management tools can automatically adjust advertiser’s bids and their positions on PFP search engines and can sometimes spell the difference between an advertising campaign that fails and one that will be a true success. But before I delve into the finer details, let’s first see what BMT’s are and how they work.

At the same time, I just updated an article I wrote in 2001: All you ever wanted to know about Meta Tags, but were afraid to ask!. For the past two or three years, many search engines such as Google and a few others have given less and less attention, and in some cases, no attention at all to Meta Tags.

The sole reason for this is simply because in the past, in the go-go days of the Internet, ie: before 2000, many web site owners and webmasters stuffed their meta tags with useless information, basically spamming the search engines.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

225 - April 23, 2004 - 5.39 PM EST

Google's SafeSearch filter too sensitive?

Caused by a simple mis-spelling, the domain name of PartsExpress.com includes an unfortunate string of letters, "sex," which is enough to block the Web site from Google's 'Adult Content' filtered results.

PartsExpress.com proudly touts itself as the Net's No. 1 source for audio, video and speaker components--but online shoppers who rely on an optional feature in the Google search engine to block porn sites would never know it.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

224 - April 23, 2004 - 10.33 AM EST

A family-friendly search engine by Juvio

Search engine users can now breathe easy. Previously, using a search engine could generate less than desirable content. The Juvio search engine screens out adult content and offensive language making for a family friendly environment.

Juvio Corporation has added yet another service to its already expanding portfolio of technology-based products and services with the launch of a unique, family friendly search engine.

Thanks to Andy Beal of Search Engine Lowdown for the tip.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

223 - April 23, 2004 - 9.14 AM EST

Google's IPO is expected any day now

The big day is coming close for Google, as the press gets all wired up again for Google's long expected initial public offering.

Google's IPO announcement is linked to the fact that the company will soon be required to publicly disclose more information about its search engine business, under a certain SEC rule triggered after closely held companies surpass a certain size.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

222 - April 22, 2004 - 6.31 PM EST

A great new place for SEO news

Looking for a great place to get all the latest news on SEO, search engines and all what's in the SEO industry? Look no further. Like it's name implies, SEO Radar is just that: a "Radar" beam giving you an edge on the latest news and information in search engine optimization.

On the Web at www.seoradar.com

You should bookmark it. I did!

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

221 - April 22, 2004 - 10.38 AM EST

Online advertising increased 20% in 2003

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) reported yesterday that their initial estimates for US online advertising revenues, released in February 2004, for Q4 2003 and the full year were on track.

The IAB and PwC officially reported that online ad revenues in the US grew by 38% in Q4 of last year totaling $2.2 billion. Online ad revenues for the whole year last year totaled $7.267 billion, rising by nearly 21% from 2002 when revenues hit $6.010 billion.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

220 - April 21, 2004 - 6.01 PM EST

Google awarded legal ownership of froogle.co.uk

Google has been awarded ownership of the domain name froogle.co.uk, which was registered by a UK web hosting company the day after the world's most popular search engine launched Froogle as its product search service.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

219 - April 21, 2004 - 12.54 PM EST

Internet users with over $ 150K income grew by 31%

According to Nielsen//NetRatings, affluent households are the fastest growing Internet-user income bracket in the US, with the unique audience of those who make over $150,000 increasing by 31% since last year. Nielsen's income levels are based on the combined total household earnings for the year.

The top three groups that Nielsen defined, with incomes $75,000 and up, all grew by more than 20% in the past year, while the bottom three groups all grew by less than 20%. In terms of actual numbers, the $75,000 and over brackets added only a bit more users, about 11 million, compared to about 10.5 million added by the lower three.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

218 - April 21, 2004 - 10.33 AM EST

InfoSpace extends agreement with Google

"We're pleased to continue providing InfoSpace with targeted advertising and award-winning search technology, distributing Web search results and relevant advertising to the millions of users who visit InfoSpace's properties and partner Web sites each month," said Omid Kordestani, Google's senior vice president of Worldwide Sales and Field Operations.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

217 - April 21, 2004 - 10.10 AM EST

Earnings strong at Ask Jeeves, company raises guidance

Ask Jeeves Inc. on Tuesday posted earnings that topped Wall Street expectations and raised its guidance on its stock. The company raised its quarterly and full-year forecasts, citing increased Internet traffic and a rise in Web-search ad revenue.

Ask Jeeves (ASKJ) shares gained almost 4 percent in extended trade after the company boosted its outlook on the heels of first-quarter results that handily beat Wall Street's profit and revenue forecasts.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

216 - April 20, 2004 - 2.01 PM EST

Google announces deal with RealNetworks

Google and RealNetworks announced today that the Google Toolbar is being distributed with RealPlayer 10 downloads.

By making the Google Toolbar available to the very large number of consumers who install the new RealPlayer 10 every day, Google Toolbar is sure to be popping up on the browsers of more everyday computer users and possibly the browsers of people who prefer Yahoo or other search engines.

Thanks to Search Engine News.ca for the tip.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

215 - April 20, 2004 - 1.06 PM EST

Search engine toolbars are becoming essential tools

Toolbars from the search leaders - Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft and AOL - all have decent pop-up blockers that kill windows I don't want (ads) and permit ones I request (shipping details, for instance). And they're all a snap to download and install.

The Google Toolbar includes an extremely useful feature for frequent online shoppers. It automatically fills out online forms, such as name and address. A password protects stored credit card information. And if you keep a Web journal using Blogger software, which Google bought last year, you can add entries from the toolbar.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

214 - April 20, 2004 - 9.07 AM EST

The bond between an advertiser and his client is changing

For the past 2 years, I've been saying that the traditional relationship between an advertiser and its client is slowly changing. Search engine marketing (SEM), PPC (Pay per Click) and PFP (Pay for Performance) ad programs are taking a toll on what used to be a strong bond between an advertiser and his clients.

This great article goes on to prove what I've been saying all along.

Excerpt: "Until three years ago, many clients wanted agencies with creative brilliance. Everyone wanted pizzazz. Now more clients are talking about communications that sell and deliver results and are wanting to focus on specific products or solutions to deliver their messages".

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

213 - April 19, 2004 - 6.19 PM EST

Internet users search with 2 and 3 word phrases

According to a report from OneStat.com and eMarketer, most Internet users worldwide conduct online searches with two-word phrases.

The Web analytics firm reports that in February, 32.58% of all online searches were conducted with two words. Another 25.61% were conducted with three words and only 19.02% were one-word searches.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

212 - April 19, 2004 - 3.26 PM EST

Google wins google.ru domain name

Russian Internet culture developed later than the Western Internet culture. Russian law also took longer to surface online — as many international companies who came to Russia to do business had a chance to find out the hard way.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

211 - April 19, 2004 - 11.35 AM EST

Google going public for April 30?

Privately held Google appears to have triggered a provision of the 1934 Securities and Exchange Act that requires it to disclose closely guarded financial details by the end of the month.

Rampant speculation about a possible public stock offering has turned Google into the most closely watched technology company in the world. Now the Mountain View Internet company may be forced to show its hand.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

210 - April 16, 2004 - 6.11 PM EST

My 2 featured articles for this week

I just put the finishing touches to "Why writing for the Web is different than in print" and "Just what exactly are Trusted Feed programs?".

As usual, both articles are filled with important and valuable information for any company that is serious about search engine marketing.

For those of you that still haven't signed up for the free Rank for $ales Weekly Newsletter, remember that tomorrow is the publishing date and you still have time to do it. Simply drop your email address in this box:

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

209 - April 16, 2004 - 9.58 AM EST

Voting by the Internet up 12 percent

The first electronic vote counting system was introduced in South Korea, even though counting in Seoul and Gyeonggi province was slower than expected, and Internet portal sites and wired (as well as wireless) telecommunications services updated poll results as they were released.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

208 - April 15, 2004 - 11.38 AM EST

Amazon launches its search engine

Amazon's A9.com offers both a Web site and an Internet Explorer toolbar from which users can enter search terms.

The service, in test mode for now, is operated by a Palo Alto, Calif.-based subsidiary and branded separately. Searches also can be limited to just Amazon.com products -- as well as the text of books available at Amazon.com.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

207 - April 15, 2004 - 10.43 AM EST

Google to display local sponsored listings

Google Local is circling in closer to consumers, tracking Web surfers' location down to the city level. That means that advertisers (in the United States) can tailor promotions to hit people in a specific city, so, for example, a surfer in New York who searches for "sushi" may get results accompanied by ads for local restaurants.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

206 - April 15, 2004 - 9.59 AM EST

Google updating its PR, again!

Only a week ago, Google updated its PR database. Now, they seem to be updating it again. If that is not the case, it simply means they are making minor adjustments again to their algorithms.

One thing is for certain: site's PR values are not being calculated as before and the quality of the links pointing to sites is as important (if not more) than the quantity.

Stay tuned to this blog for more.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

205 - April 15, 2004 - 00.01 AM EST

Google mulling changes to its Gmail service

Internet search company Google is considering changes to its Gmail e-mail service amid criticism over privacy concerns, the company's president said.

Privacy groups and a Califonia state senator have criticized the free e-mail service because it would place advertising in personal messages after searching them for key words.

Thanks to Blog Hosting.ca for the tip.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

204 - April 14, 2004 - 11.12 AM EST

Copernic offers enterprise search indexing

Copernic announces an agreement with InfoSpace, to offer Copernic’s Enterprise Search indexing technology for site search through InfoSpace’s network of search distribution partners.

InfoSpace and Copernic will offer online businesses the power to affordably integrate Web and site search into their Web sites.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

203 - April 14, 2004 - 10.31 AM EST

Gmail project critized by privacy concerns

Democratic Sen. Liz Figueroa of Fremont is drafting a bill asking Google to reconsider the e-mail service, in which users' incoming e-mail would be scanned for possible targeted advertising.

Senator Figueroa wants Google to abandon its proposed free e-mail service, calling Gmail an invasion of privacy.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

202 - April 14, 2004 - 8.17 AM EST

Search engines and sensitive issues

As great and powerful search engines are today, some sensitive issues can lead to a lot of controversy.

A Web site calling itself "Remove JewWatch.com from the Google search engine!" is circulating a petition asking Google to remove the site from its listings. Google search results rely on a complex set of algorithms that ranks sites based on the number and quality of the links to them.

Because Google's search results are determined in part by the number of links to a given page, as well as the number of times the search term appears near a link, even sites criticizing the "Jewwatch" site may be contributing to its high-ranking simply by linking to it.

The top Google ranking for Jewwatch.com was discovered recently by a Google user, Steven Weinstock, who began the petition drive to force Google to remove the site from its listings.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

201 - April 13, 2004 - 00.03 AM EST

The MozDex open source search engine

Over the past week, MozDex, an open source search engine, has been tweaking and refining its search results while in beta testing.

MozDex is the brainchild of Byron Miller and is built on an Open search system using different open source technologies. MozDex plans on full indexing of the Internet in the next upcoming weeks.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

200 - April 12, 2004 - 4.59 PM EST

Google changes its trademark policy

In the past, people were unable to place Google AdWords bids on trademark keyword phrases. However, Google has recently changed it’s trademark policy to allow people to bid on keywords which match trademark phrases of companies within the US and Canada.

Inside the US and Canada Google will not allow trademark terms to appear in the ad copy. Outside those areas they will check ad text and keyword.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

199 - April 12, 2004 - 2.17 PM EST

Microsoft to release Longhorn in first half of 2006

This news from Microsoft pretty much agrees with what I've been saying in my December predictions for 2004: Don't expect Longhorn to be available until at least the first half of 2006. Longhorn will be the new operating system to replace Microsoft's Windows XP.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

198 - April 12, 2004 - 1.15 PM EST

Some PPC keywords reach bidding war

Paid search ads have become a major source of search engine income by creating a flexible market for business leads, which allow an advertiser to reach a new customer.

Mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer, was the biggest word in search-engine advertising Thursday, with law firms paying $90 or more to place ads.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

197 - April 12, 2004 - 12.28 PM EST

Google testing searching of scholarly documents

Google has long indexed university Web pages. A new project will allow users to direct their searches to on-campus repositories of scholarly materials, sometimes known as superarchives.

Those archives contain copies of academic papers, technical reports, drafts of articles, and other work by a university's professors. Scholars can choose whether their works will be available to all Internet users or only to others on their own campuses.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

196 - April 8, 2004 - 10.34 PM EST

The new “G” operating system

As most of you know, the Windows operating system is the most popular and the most utilized personal computer operating platform in use today, and has been for many years. Windows has made Microsoft the powerhouse it is today, thanks to its user-friendly interface and a number of other features that greatly simplify your daily life.

However, there is now a new computer operating system that is taking over, and it’s not coming from inside your personal computer, and it’s not from your company’s LAN (Local Area Network) or intranet network either. What I’m referring to here is the “G” operating system, better known as the Google operating platform.

The new "G" operating system is one of my 2 featured articles you can read on the Rank for $ales website. Enjoy and feel free to send me your questions or comments.

Serge.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

195 - April 8, 2004 - 10.29 AM EST

Internet advertising rose 20% in 2003

Internet advertising spending, which declined in 2001 and 2002, rose 20 percent to $7.2 billion last year, according to data compiled by Pricewaterhouse Coopers.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

194 - April 8, 2004 - 8.40 AM EST

As expected, Yahoo came out with strong earnings

Yahoo earned $132 million on revenues of $758 million ($550 excluding TAC), up from $55 million on $283 million a year ago. EPS came in at .14, the street was expecting .11. The stock was up more than 10% in after hours trading yesterday. You can read it all right here.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

193 - April 7, 2004 - 8.11 PM EST

Google just started updating its PR links

As I always do every month here, at about 7.21 PM EST, Google started updating and calculating links as far as its PR (Page Rank™) value is concerned.

I am very happy to report that all our client's sites have all gained in their PR value, while most have increased from PR 5 to 6, and many from PR 6 to 7. I'm also very pleased to report that a few of the sites we have recently optimized have gone from 7 to the very nice number of 8.

Also, this blog has managed to move up from 5 to 6, while the Rank for $ales website has increased from PR 6 to a nice 7. To all of you that are linking to us, thank you and I hope your rankings go up too. If they aren't, you might want to contact Rank for $ales for a professional analysis of your site's ranking features.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

192 - April 7, 2004 - 11.43 AM EST

FindWhat offers Pay per Call advertising

FindWhat will offer Pay Per Call ads to appear in search and directory result pages for businesses that don't have websites.

In recent years, paid listings have taken an increasing share of online advertisers' budgets, but have not been an option for businesses without a website.

Through the combination of Ingenio's patented technologies with the FindWhat.com Network(TM), non-web-oriented businesses can now take advantage of online, performance-based marketing opportunities. In addition, Pay Per Call(TM) provides current online businesses another advertising vehicle to generate sales, with the actual connection occurring offline, over the phone, directly with the merchant.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

191 - April 7, 2004 - 8.47 AM EST

Privacy rights issue with Google's Gmail

Google says it needs to know what's in the e-mail that passes through its system so they can be sprinkled with advertisements that Google thinks are relevant. Privacy advocates are concerned that there's one big flaw with Google Inc.'s free e-mail service: The company plans to read the messages.

Revenue from those targeted ads will pay for the Gmail service, which began a test last week, offering up to 500 times as much e-mail storage as competing Web e-mail programs from Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

190 - April 7, 2004 - 8.11 AM EST

3721 search engine sued in China

Mr. Shi said that he had downloaded Baidu's Search Partner to facilitate data searching and information browsing, however after several days, when browsing a website, he was directed to install the Network Real Name Software.

According to a new lawsuit in Beijing, a Mr. Shi has accused Internet company 3721 of infringing upon his rights. Mr. Shi claims that after he installed 3721's Network Real Name Software on his computer, not only was the existing Baidu software on his terminal deleted, but also he found that searches for information from other websites were being illegally monitored and shielded.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

189 - April 6, 2004 - 1.22 PM EST

Mamma.com investigated by the SEC

Mamma.com said Tuesday U.S. securities regulators have launched an informal probe concerning recent activity in its stock, which has almost quadrupled over the past month in highly volatile trading.

The Montreal, Quebec company, formerly Intasys Corp., said it is cooperating with the Securities and Exchange Commission inquiry and knows of no nonpublic information that might "bear upon the recent activity."

Thanks to Search Engine News.ca for the tip.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

188 - April 6, 2004 - 11.13 AM EST

Expect strong earnings from Yahoo

Yahoo is expected to report a quarterly profit of 11 cents a share on $497.9 million in revenue for the period ending March 31, according to consensus estimates from Thomson First Call.

Yahoo reports revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs (TAC), which refers to the percentage of revenue it shares with third parties that display paid search ads from its Overture Services subsidiary.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

187 - April 5, 2004 - 1.33 PM EST

Yahoo & Google to drop gambling ads

In a move that could hurt the Internet gambling industry, the two powerful web firms on Friday said they will stop running ads for online casinos by the end of April. The action comes as US authorities threaten to crack down on US companies doing business with online gambling firms located overseas and whose operations are illegal in the US, the Times said.

Yahoo and Google declined to say if they have been subjects of the gambling probe, the Times said. The prosecutors are arguing that the American companies are "aiding and abetting" offshore Internet casinos, whose operations are illegal in the United States. Prosecutors started a grand jury investigation last year, issuing subpoenas to American broadcasters, publishers and Web sites that run advertisements for the casinos.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

186 - April 5, 2004 - 11.52 AM EST

Shares of Ask Jeeves up after Microsoft rumor

Shares of search engine Ask Jeeves are stronger after Microsoft's rumor.

The forces lifting Jeeves are a rare confluence of corporate news and investor euphoria in what is arguably one of the hottest technology sectors this year. The first jump came after Microsoft admitted it had missed the boat on search technology and promised an array of online search products in coming months to bolster its position in a market where, until now, it has relied heavily on partnerships with competitors.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

185 - April 2, 2004 - 11.51 AM EST

Google adjusting prices to its AdWords program

Google yesterday introduced automatic price adjustments for certain clicks on its Google AdWords Network. At the same time, it plans to place ads for its customers in its own test e-mail service, Gmail.

Such a move could lower costs for some advertisers. Mountain View, California-based Google gets the lion's share of its revenue from its automated advertising services.

One Google program generates ads based on the words Internet users type into its search engine and the other serves up ads based on the words that appear within text on Web sites that participate in Google's content advertising program.

Thanks to Monica for the tip.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

184 - April 2, 2004 - 8.40 AM EST

Is it OK to buy links? Is it safe to do it?

I just finished writing this article. This is actually a question I've been getting a lot lately. The subject of buying links have always been a controversial one, but it dosen't have to be.

Read my article and get all the facts about link buying and what it all means for the average site owner or webmaster.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

183 - April 2, 2004 - 8.16 AM EST

Gmail is not a hoax

There was a lot of discussions in SEO forums and on the 'Net yesterday when Google announced it will soon offer its users free email service. All the agitation came from people that thought it was a hoax, since it was announced on... April's fool day.

Late yesterday, Google said it's not a hoax- it's true. Offering users a whopping 1 Gig of storage, Google will automatically scan emails for keywords and place contextual ads in the client, in an effort to help pay for the service.

However, what WAS a hoax was the announcement it gave that it was seeking for an engineer... for its soon-to-be-opened office on... hummm... the moon!

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182 - April 1st, 2004 - 12.51 PM EST

Ask Jeeves removing all its banner ads in the UK

Ask Jeeves, the UK's third-largest search engine, is removing all banner ads, saying they put people off using its site. Until recently banners were the most widely used ad product on the site. Now, although existing deals with advertisers will be honoured, all banners should have disappeared by the end of the year.

It's also further evidence of the growing importance of search engine marketing within the advertising mix.

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181 - April 1st, 2004 - 8.38 AM EST

Nice April fool's day joke over at SEL

LOL- This is a good one Andy! The Google wrist watch... Best one I've heard in a long time. LOL - LOL

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180 - April 1st, 2004 - 8.31 AM EST

Google offers free e-mail service

Called "Gmail", the new Google service will compete with offerings from Yahoo, Microsoft and others, and move it closer to being a Web portal that offers a wide variety of Web services.

Larry Page, Google's president of products, stressed the service's search function, which will allow users to instantly find e-mail messages with the same type of technology used on the Google Web site.

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