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My 2 featured articles for the week ending May 6, 2005:

Archived blogs for the week of May 2, 2005

855 - May 6, 2005 - 7.25 AM EST

Yahoo to develop music search engine

Yahoo is currently developing a music search engine and it plans to introduce it within the next couple of months. The specialty engine will let people search on an artist’s name, for example, and retrieve songs from other music services, as well as album reviews and band information from Yahoo Music.”

Yahoo’s Director of Media and Desktop Search Bradley Horowitz hinted a little bit during an interview at Search Engine Strategies that something was up with Yahoo Search and all of their music departments, but could not go into much detail.

So, no official word from Yahoo yet on this but given their ownership of Broadcast.com, Launch, and Musicmatch - it only makes sense for Yahoo to verticalize their search technology into the music track and integrate pay on demand or subscription based music download services.

Posted on Businessblog™

854 - May 5, 2005 - 9.14 PM EST

Google technology to make websites load faster

Google introduces technology designed to make websites load faster. A beta, or test version, of Web Accelerator was introduced via the Google Labs technology incubation site late Wednesday. The tool, which must be downloaded, will tap into the power of Google's global computer network and thus help sites load faster, according to the company.

Web Accelerator works by sending URL requests through company servers designated specifically for speeding site downloads. The application also can compress site data before sending it to computers.

The system stores copies of sites frequently accessed by individual PCs and automatically retrieves new data from those pages, so that a Web browser needs to process only updates to those sites when asked to load them. Google said the tool will not work on some pages, such as encrypted sites managed by financial services companies, and is not designed to speed downloads of multimedia files.

In an e-mail sent to CNET News, a Google representative said the company is always looking at new ways to help its users access information more quickly.

"Now we're using our efficient networks to help other pages load more quickly as well, so that once our users leave Google.com they will still be able to enjoy a fast online experience," the representative said.

The beta of Web Accelerator is targeted specifically at computers with broadband connections; Google said that dial-up customers may not see much improvement using the tool. The first phase of the beta is aimed at Europe and North America and won't likely speed surfing outside those continents, the company said.

To use the application, a computer must have Microsoft's Windows XP or 2000 and at least version 5.5 of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser or version 1.0 of Mozilla Foundation's Firefox browser. Other browsers running on Windows can be manually configured to run Web Accelerator, Google said. After installing the application, a toolbar for use with the system shows up on browsers.

Posted on Businessblog™

853 - May 5, 2005 - 8.11 AM EST

Business.com launches job search engine

Yesterday, Business.com launched Work.com, which it claims it directly connects job seekers with high-end employers.

Work.com is Business.com’s latest offering and provides a customizable interface that offers job seekers the ability to refine and filter job results with one click.

The applicant can then post for jobs directly on the employer’s career site, instead of applying through the job boards.

Posted on Businessblog™

852 - May 4, 2005 - 8.01 AM EST

Shopping.com offers mortgage comparison shopping

Shopping.com announces the beta release of its mortgage comparison shopping service.

Shopping.com Mortgages (http://www.shopping.com/xCH-mortgage_services) allows consumers to shop for mortgages with the same detailed level of associated attributes; customized search; and structured, intuitive presentation previously available only in consumer products and unprecedented in financial services.

At the beta launch, consumers have access to, and can compare rates from, multiple credible lenders with representation in all 50 states.

Attributes by which consumers can customize the search and presentation of offers include, among others, loan type, points, loan amount, lender's regional profile, monthly payments, closing costs, and down payment requirements.

Posted on Businessblog™

851 - May 3, 2005 - 7.48 PM EST

Does Google have a customer service problem?

A new survey of large advertisers and interviews with marketing agencies reveal that Google could have customer service issues. Independent media analyst Jack Myers, in his fourth annual "customer satisfaction" survey of online sales groups, found that advertisers aren't entirely happy with Google's service.

Google's core issue appears to be one of customer interaction. Google developed the world's most popular Internet search engine. But it makes most of its money selling what's known as paid-search advertising, or ads that are based on search results or the content that appears on another site that has partnered with Google.

Paid-search advertising is going gangbusters. eMarketer, a technology research firm, estimates that search advertising will grow 40 percent, to $5.4 billion, in 2005. Overall, online advertising revenues are expected to reach $12.9 billion this year, making the Internet the fastest-growing form of advertising.

Google has been the major beneficiary of the online ad boom -- revenues for the quarter that ended in March nearly doubled, to $1.26 billion, and its stock price is up 164 percent since its initial public offering . The bonanza is also drawing fierce competitors, including Yahoo!, Microsoft's MSN.com and America Online's Advertising.com. Time Warner is the parent of AOL and CNN/Money.

But as Google looks to broaden its services beyond paid search, Myers suggests the company first has some work to do with advertisers.

In his survey, Myers asked close to 200 national advertising executives who spend the majority of their time handling online sales to rank 60 Web sites based on several categories.

Google finished a solid No. 5 overall, better than its seventh-place finish in 2004. Yahoo! was No. 2. Of the nine categories measured, Google's sales team edged out Yahoo!'s crew in one category: product knowledge. Google finished third. Yahoo! ranked fourth.

Posted on Businessblog™

850 - May 3, 2005 - 8.45 AM EST

"We choose the Internet over print"

"I would pick the Internet over print in a heartbeat, because of the cost," said Ngo. "People who turn to the Internet are looking for you."

Ngo is the promise and possible meal ticket of throngs of Internet companies that want to bring a chunk of the multibillion-dollar local ad business online. Unfortunately, for the time being, she is an anomaly among millions of U.S. merchants who lack the time or energy to master the game of Internet promotion.

Ngo is the owner of a Los Angeles day spa and has often spent thousands of dollars on print ads, each without real and quantifiable results.

But recently, she found a better deal with Insider Pages, an online social network and reviewers' guide to services in the L.A. area: Ngo pays only $2 each time someone calls her spa for an appointment from an 800 number set up by the service.

Posted on Businessblog™

849 - May 2, 2005 - 8.33 PM EST

PicSearch to supply Lycos with image search

PicSearch announces it has entered into a syndication agreement to supply image search services for Lycos’ Multimedia Search.

This agreement brings PicSearch image search technology to millions of Lycos users, which adds upon Picsearch’s image search marketshare which is already anchored by an agreement with MSN Search.

Nils Andersson, CEO of Picsearch, said “We are extremely proud that Lycos, Inc. is harnessing our image search technology.

They are a great addition to the list of leading web names that have chosen the Picsearch image search service because we provide images that are continually updated, uniquely filtered and highly relevant to the users’ queries.

Posted on Businessblog™

848 - May 2, 2005 - 5.19 PM EST

Important new algorithm changes at Google

After reviewing Google's new public patents, it appears the company could be planning significant changes to its current search algorithm.

Such important modifications to its search algo could dramatically change the results of news searches, by ranking them according to quality, rather than simply by their date or relevance to search queries.

The ambitious system is revealed by patents filed in the US and around the world (WO 2005/029368) by researchers based at the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California.

At the moment, the company's search engine throws up thousands of "hits" in response to simple entries such as "Iraq", which lead to news websites. These are ranked either in order of relevance or by date, so that the most recent or most focused appear at the top of the huge list.

Posted on Businessblog™

Copyright © Serge Thibodeau 2005. All rights reserved.

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