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Blog archives:
Sep. 2003
Oct. 2003

Blog archives for November 2003

November 27, 2003 - 9.48 AM EST

Here's the article in the New York Post

As I mentioned to you late yesterday, Stephen Lynch, a journalist for the New York Post called me yesterday to get a handle on the "Florida" update (Google's current November update). You can read the New York Post article here.

As I told him, the best thing to do right now is to stay put. In fact, as of this morning, I am still seeing some WILD girations in the PR of some pretty big sites. Hopefully, it will all settle down real soon.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my many American friends!

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 26, 2003 - 4.14 PM EST

Serge Thibodeau of Rank for $ales to be quoted in the New York Post

WooHoo! I guess writing articles is finally taking off in a big way. I just got off the phone with a New York Post journalist that just called me (I wish I had written down his name). I will be quoted in tomorrow's edition, as he had a few questions to ask me, in relation to my article yesterday about Google's latest monthly update 'dance'.

The focus of this telephone interview was: "What do you recommend people do about their websites if their rankings have fallen?". As I have stated in my article, the best thing to do right now is nothing and to sit tight. Hopefully, things will settle down real soon. He also asked me what kind of impact could such an algorithm change have on your average website.

You will be able to read all about it in tomorrow's edition of the New York Post, and, I sure hope they will publish this article in their online version. You can bet your bottom dollar I will keep you posted on that one! This guy just made my day!

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 26, 2003 - 3.15 PM EST

Google's founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin's Blog

Try this for size: Larry Page and Sergey Brin's Blog! Thanks to Andy Beal for this. By the way, if you would like to see what Google looked like on its first day, in December of '98, click here.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 26, 2003 - 9.23 AM EST

Google No. 1 search engine in the world

OneStat.com today reported that Google's global usage share continues to rise and that Google's search site is the number one in the world. Google's global usage share has reached an all time high and has risen from 55.2 percent to 56.1 percent. Google's worldwide usage share has increased 0.9 percent the last 6 months. Yahoo's global usage share remains stable. The second largest search engine on the web has a global usage share of 21.5 percent.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 25, 2003 - 5.24 PM EST

Yahoo preferred over Google for X-mas shopping

Early indicators show that consumers are going online to buy their holiday gifts earlier this year than last year. If they don't exhaust themselves shopping, or if they don't run out of money, the current pace could bode well for the holiday shopping season.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 25, 2003 - 1.00 PM EST

E-shopping to become a $100 billion business in the US

The holiday season alone is set to log $12.2 billion worth of online sales--an increase of 42 percent over 2002, Forrester Research said in a study released Tuesday.

The market research firm attributed the increase in online sales to higher consumer spending on products such as apparel, home decor and sporting goods, coupled with an overall betterment of the economy. Greater consumer confidence in using credit cards over the Internet is also driving online sales upward, a recent study by Jupiter Research shows.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 25, 2003 - 11.34 AM EST

Congratulations Andy!

Andy Beal at Search Engine Lowdown is real happy on this and I can certainly understand him. Since yesterday, his blog hit a PageRank of 7. Goes to prove that this current update can't be all that bad...

Now if only my blog can move from 4 to 5, and eventually 7, I'd sure be happy too. Google- did you hear this?     ;-)

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 24, 2003 - 7.16 PM EST

November 2003 Update & Dance Discussion

Rank for $ales is happy to provide all its clients and users this new section, where every month Serge Thibodeau discusses his views on the current monthly Google update and dance cycle.

Click here to read the current (November) update "dance".

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 24, 2003 - 12.21 PM EST

Google still as popular as ever

Google is one of Silicon Valley's most successful .com reality and one that is the most recognized. So now, how will it mature in the years to come?

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 24, 2003 - 10.31 AM EST

Online retail sales up 27 percent in Q3 2003

Online retail sales rose by 27 percent during the third quarter of 2003, according to a report released Friday by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 24, 2003 - 10.14 AM EST

Critics starting to emerge at Google

Do you hate Google yet? At first glance, the question seems absurd. What's to hate about an Internet site where you can go and find out about practically anything, free of charge? Read more here.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 24, 2003 - 8.54 AM EST

VeriSign Becomes a Search Engine Player?

When VeriSign Inc. last week launched its controversial Site Finder service, it not only panicked users who found their software no longer worked as intended, it also immediately secured VeriSign a significant portion of the web search market.
Read it here.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 22, 2003 - 12.43 PM EST

House passes antispam bill

The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to approve antispam legislation that could end more than six years of failed attempts to create a federal law restricting unsolicited commercial e-mail.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 21, 2003 - 4.09 PM EST

BellSouth to offer Search Engine to some customers

LookSmart signed an agreement with BellSouth that will let sales reps for the print and Internet Yellow Pages provider sell paid inclusion search listings along with its other products.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 21, 2003 - 1.10 PM EST

How to increase ad revenue by thousands of dollars per month

If you're looking to find ways to increase your ad revenues, this Google AdWords case study might help you get a few ideas.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 21, 2003 - 00.03 AM EST

Yahoo close to acquiring a Chinese Web company

Yahoo is close to acquiring a company that sells Chinese-language Web addresses, with a deal expected as early as Friday, according to a source familiar with the plans. A proposal on the table late Thursday called for Yahoo to buy Beijing-based 3721 for about $120 million in cash and stock, the source said. If the purchase goes through, Yahoo will add a business for selling domain names in China, while also maintaining a beachhead in what's considered a rapidly growing market for Internet companies.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 20, 2003 - 6.21 PM EST

Concerned your boss might see you reading a blog?

If your'e like some people I know, maybe you are a bit concerned that reading or writing blogs while on the job could place you in an awkward position in front of your boss or some co-workers, then this is for you: a "blog safety escape" button! Just click the green button you see above this paragraph and you're safe!

Since I know that most of you that read Serge Thibodeau, Live find it an important resource in their daily work, I will permanently leave this green "safety hatch button" at the top of my blog at all times!    :-)

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 20, 2003 - 2.19 PM EST

Tech Blog is open for business!

Remember last Friday I told you Jonathan Price was putting the finishing touches to his technology blog? Well it's now officially open for 'teching' as Jonathan so elegantly puts it.

Tech Blog.org is all about IT-related technology, news, events, gossip and what's happening in this fast-changing world. So far, it's one of the best tech blogs I've seen in a long time. Additionally, Jonathan has put some links to many of my SEO articles I've written in the last few months. Congratulations on a job well done Jonathan!

Continously updated many times a day, Tech Blog is at www.techblog.org and I recommend you visit today.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 20, 2003 - 11.20 AM EST

Overture develops a new ad-tracking system

Overture Services has unveiled new software that's designed to be a marketer's clearinghouse for tracking the effectiveness of online advertising.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 20, 2003 - 10.29 AM EST

There's a new local search engine

Just in time when we are hearing more and more of the importance of local search, there's a new local search engine just out.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 19, 2003 - 9.31 AM EST

SingingFish being acquired by AOL

Looking to add to its search features and perhaps expand into the search engine world dominated by Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft, AOL announced today its acquisition of Seattle-based Singingfish, Inc., the audio and video search engine. Singingfish's products include the largest index of streaming media content.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 19, 2003 - 8.54 AM EST

Did someone lie about Google?

I'm surprised nobody tought about this before.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 18, 2003 - 9.05 AM EST

Microsoft to keep using Overture results

Microsoft said it plans to continue publishing Web-search results provided by Yahoo's Overture Services unit at least until 2005.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 18, 2003 - 8.57 AM EST

"Nothing last forever but the Earth and sky"

Now instead of rewarding businesses for hunting out the phrases that exactly match them (and thus providing higher quality search results), Google is rewarding the largest companies by allowing them to be lazy. Google is shooting itself in the foot by degrading relevancy for short term profits. Large companies bid on generic cover all terms at prices where they loose money on every transaction until the competition goes under.

Not only do these name brands enjoy higher click through rates (due to brand recognition), but those with stockpiles of cash can afford to burn through thousands without a blink. Many small sites can not, thus the sad state of internet media is that it is now consolidating much the same way as offline media is.

In this exposé, Aaron Mathew Wall takes a look at the changing landscape in the field of the major search engines.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 18, 2003 - 00.08 AM EST

More on the Microsoft (beta) international news service

Just found this additional information on Microsoft's beta news service in Europe.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 17, 2003 - 5.49 PM EST

Need to search Google with a PDA?

If you need to use a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) to search Google, I think this small screen will be of great help to you.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 17, 2003 - 2.51 PM EST

New Survey: 80% of Consumers Hate Flash Intros

Finally! A Marketing Sherpa study that confirms what I have been saying for years: Consumers hate Flash introduction or 'Splash' pages. If any of you still have doubts on this controversial topic, this article should clear any misconceptions once and for all. What's more, it also makes a lot of sense.

One of the many negative comments gathered during the poll: "Flash sucks. If I want a movie, I'll go to the theater. I just want quick information".

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 17, 2003 - 2.18 PM EST

Ways to protect yourself against network attacks & hackers

If youv'e ever wonder how a company can protect itself from network intrusions, Denial of Service (DoS) attacks or from some attempts that hackers are known to use with Wi-Fi systems, you might find this article worth reading.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 17, 2003 - 8.46 AM EST

MSN Newsbot search engine beta version online

Well I guess some of it is taking form for us to see. Just saw this this morning: uk.newsbot.msn.com and maybe this is what Microsoft has been secretely working on lately.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 17, 2003 - 00.05 AM EST

Yahoo-Japan considering revamping its search business

Yahoo's Japanese subsidiary is considering how to revamp its search business and has a few likely options: Go it alone; team with Overture and Google; or choose just one of the Internet search companies as a partner in a potentially lucrative alliance.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 15, 2003 - 12.20 PM EST

Search engines and clustering technology

Imagine a world where you type something into a search engine and the result is a uniquely indexed, real-time display of links generated just for you. Alongside them are, of course, superbly targeted paid listings as tempting, if not more so, than the algorithmic results. Judging by the public statements of some of the biggest search players, that's exactly what they're planning. Read it all here.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 14, 2003 - 8.20 PM EST

A new technology blog will open in a few days

Just got off the phone with Jonathan Price, Chief Technology Officer of GCIS and he tells me that in a few days his new technology blog will be completed. Tech Blog.org is all about IT-related technology, news, events, gossip and what's happening in this fast-changing world.

Tech Blog will be at www.techblog.org and I recommend you visit soon.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 14, 2003 - 12.03 PM EST

Still not convinced yet of Blogs and RSS?

RSS may be one of those tech acronyms that you'll have to get used to. The acronym stands for rich site summary, and it's basically a way of formatting online content that can be distributed or syndicated to Web users.

David Berkowitz of eMarketer takes a serious look into RSS and how it can help a blog or news feed.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 14, 2003 - 11.52 AM EST

Customers really unhappy of changes at Google's AdWords

In a rare sign of trouble for the booming search marketing business, Google is fending off complaints from angry customers who say recent changes to the company's advertising program are costing them sales.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 13, 2003 - 4.26 PM EST

Espotting inks deal with British ITV television station

My colleague Andy Beal at Search Engine Lowdown comments on a new Espotting deal. You can read it here.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 13, 2003 - 4.19 PM EST

Yahoo's strong third quarter results

The field of search engines continues to be profitable, as witnessed by Yahoo's strong third quarter results.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 13, 2003 - 4.03 PM EST

The Google PageRank glitch

For the past day of so, if youv'e noticed your Google toolbar has been acting stange, your not alone. I think a few Google servers may have had a few glitches and they appear to have come back to normal, at least for now.

For those of you that are wondering what the Google PageRank is and how it can help you better understand some of the ranking features of any given site, just read this article about the Google PageRank algorithm. It's good reading.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 13, 2003 - 10.51 AM EST

Local Search Part 4: Major Search Engines On Yellow Pages

You know local search is going mainstream when the major print Yellow Pages publishers gather with the major online search providers to discuss this formative new industry, as happened at this conference. Yellow Pages publishers are concerned that web search is going to make inroads into the $25 billion Yellow Pages market. The improvements in local search threaten publishers' IYP offerings and they foretell a credible threat to the printed directory business. Click here to read this article.

Also, here is a similar article on how to maximize your site for local search.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 12, 2003 - 3.21 PM EST

Online Holiday Shopping to Reach Seventeen Billion

A recent survey by Jupiter predicts holiday shopping this year will increase 21 percent over last year to $17 billion. Rising 18 percent over last year, almost 40 percent of online users plan to do most of their shopping online. Consumers indicate they are less concerned with security issues and prefer the ease of online product selection.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 12, 2003 - 10.09 AM EST

Online ad spending totaled $1.66 billion in the second quarter of 2003

These numbers are important and confirm the trend that has existed for quite some time now. Online ad spending continues to grow. These latest figures show an increase of over 1.6% in the latest quarter.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 12, 2003 - 9.31 AM EST

City Search in talks with Web search engines

InterActiveCorp chief Barry Diller said Tuesday that his company's CitySearch unit is in talks with the three biggest Internet search engines to bring them "sponsored" local advertising.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 11, 2003 - 2.51 PM EST

Gartner Sees IT Spending Rebound

The recovery in IT spending is underway, with a solid return to growth expected in 2004 and 2005, according to a new survey from tech research firm Gartner.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 11, 2003 - 10.23 AM EST

What's next for interactive directories and Yellow Pages?

In the U.S. there are an estimated 10 million small businesses yet only 250,000 are currently participating in paid search. The question at hand is why so few and is there a way for search providers to tap into this seemingly huge market opportunity. In order to understand the "why?" question, you must realize that many small businesses are localized. To them, online advertising has not made a whole lot of sense. Read more here.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 10, 2003 - 7.38 PM EST

Major U.S. pharmacy trade group pressuring search engines

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) said it will meet with Yahoo on Wednesday as part of an effort to clean up ads for prescription drugs, such as the painkillers Vicodin and OxyContin, that can be ordered freely by mail from some Web sites without a doctor's consent. Read it here.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 10, 2003 - 2.35 PM EST

NBC announces a 2 year partnership with Overture

Seeking to capitalize on Web search, Burbank, Calif.-based NBC said it is using new technology to power search on Internet properties NBC.com and BravoTV.com. That technology, provided by SLI Systems, is designed to learn from user queries and deliver more relevant results to visitors over time, NBC said.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 10, 2003 - 2.29 PM EST

LookSmart waives its setup fee for the holiday season

LookSmart has been criticized many times for its changing business plans. In the past few years LookSmart has changed its business model from 1 time fee to annual fee to flat rate cost per click to category cost per click, and now they are unleashing a full bid for placement keyword auction model. Read it here.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 7, 2003 - 6.31 PM EST

Give your client some long term value

"Employees rush to get information, and develop shallow, opportunistic relationships with consumers", says Paul Buta, COO of Optas. This is true at every company Optas deals with including those in the health, electronic commerce, financial services, pharmaceuticals and consumer goods industries, he said.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 7, 2003 - 5.26 PM EST

Results of the Ad Tech show in New York

Anne Holland sums up this week's AD:Tech show as a success, but with certain qualifications. "While the online advertising industry has been around for ten years, many in the general advertising world are just realizing it exists, and they are getting curious. New companies are still stepping in because this industry, with its many subsets, will never stop changing as has traditional advertising".

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 7, 2003 - 4.20 PM EST

I just posted my 2 new articles for this week

Just click on one of the 2 links at the top of this page! Happy reading.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 7, 2003 - 9.21 AM EST

Ask Jeeves rolls out new product search tool

Ask Jeeves's new product search, dubbed "Smart Search for Products," combines its Teoma algorithmic search technology with natural-language search and comparison listings from third-party shopping engine PriceGrabber.

E-commerce is of particular interest in this effort, possibly pitting Internet giants like eBay and Amazon against search stalwarts Google and Yahoo. According to Ask Jeeves market research, 41 percent of consumers use search engines to find products.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 6, 2003 - 7.42 PM EST

The Google Deskbar search utility

Just when you would think they are running out of ideas, Google is fighting back at Microsoft with its new "Deskbar search utility".

Search engine company Google is testing software that lets people navigate the Web without opening up an Internet browser, placing itself in a field that Microsoft has designs on: desktop search. Get it here.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 6, 2003 - 1.41 PM EST

A glimpse into the future as far as SE's go

A search war is looming that will see search engines emerge sporting fancy new algorithms that customize search results for each and every individual searcher. That is, they will if mathematicians can overcome the personalization dilemma and develop search engines that deliver more relevant, customized search results based on our individual needs, interests and search patterns, rather than the group consensus approach taken by Google. Read all of this here.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 6, 2003 - 10.12 AM EST

More than 27 million young men online in September in the US

Is your site ready for all this traffic? According to a recent report from comScore Media Metrix, 27 million men in the US between the ages of 18 and 34 were online in September, each spending an average of 32 hours online. comScore finds that the average time a man in this age range spent online last month was 17% higher than the average Internet user.

In fact, the amount of pages men viewed online was 27% higher in September than the total viewed by the average Net user. Read it here.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 5, 2003 - 11.40 AM EST

Bounty hunters for virus writers

This really grabbed my attention. Although I certainly agree with Microsoft, as the article does suggest, there is a chance it could backfire.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 5, 2003 - 11.01 AM EST

New survey conducted

E-marketer and BURST! Media Research determines that 64.8% of interviewers surveyed suggests shoppers will increasingly use the Web for their holiday shopping this year. Was your Web marketing campaign done in September, as many have done? As I strongly suspect, companies that have prepared for it will reap the benefits.

You can read the survey here

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 5, 2003 - 9.10 AM EST

Overture sued by Lycos over Web ads contract

Lycos Inc. filed suit against Yahoo Inc.'s Overture Services unit and has stopped using Overture's text advertisements on its Web-search pages, supplanting them with listings from Google Inc.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 4, 2003 - 10.21 AM EST

Yahoo adds tabs for searches

Yahoo changed its home page to emphasise new search features, making it appear more similar to rival Google.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 4, 2003 - 9.47 AM EST

Microsoft changing it's search strategy?

"We believe the search engine is an OK service at the moment, but it can be significantly improved. It's all about relevance, both with regard to the query entered and to personalisation," said MSN Search UK search business manager Robin Kellett. Read it here.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 3, 2003 - 3.08 PM EST

Why an SEM RFP Is a Mistake, Part 2

Fredrick Marckini continues with part Two of why an SEM RFP is a mistake.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 3, 2003 - 1.23 PM EST

Microsoft appears determined to go ahead

The Redmond software company has launched a major development effort, aimed at creating technology to help users find information on the Web. Microsoft has recruited a number of search specialists, including Paul Ryan, the former chief technology officer of Overture Services Inc. Read more of it here.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

November 3, 2003 - 9.08 AM EST

More of the same stories as Friday on Google & Microsoft

USA Today: " Google more than any other has shown that a successful business can be built around search. Despite the e-commerce hype, the No. 1 activity online is search, says Jupiter Research's Matthew Berk. Search accounted for six of the top 10 most visited Web sites in September, Nielsen/Net Ratings says ". Read it all here.

Permanent link to this news story   |   Posted on Businessblog™

Copyright © Serge Thibodeau 2003. All rights reserved.

All views and opinions expressed on this blog are those of Serge Thibodeau only and are not representative of any company listed. All slogans, trademarks, text or logo representation used or referred to on this blog are the property of their respective owners.