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General Search Engine News
Ask Jeeves has been around for a long time
General Search engine news includes articles
that aren't about specific search engines. This archive is primarily search
engine technology news and SEM related studies.
Terry Van Horne and Bob Gladstein, Editors |
General Article Archives [93]
Majority of Online Stores Fail Search Engine Test: About two-thirds of online stores have ineffective search engines, leaving customers frustrated and apt to do business with a competitor, according to a new study.
Blog Publishers Stealing Web Limelight: It's just the latest example of the power of Weblogs to shape perception among a growing audience of online readers.
Referrals From Search Engines on the Increase: Kalena Jordan's serach engine blog comes an overview of some stats from websidestory's Stat Market. Links to the original included.
Agog about Google: Europeans tag along : Discussion of the European search engine scene where it seems Google is steadily gaining share. Good info on the movers and shakers in Europe.
Found Money
: Article on the Boston SES 2003. The article describes the relationship between search engines and the optimization and PPC industry as cozy.
What SEOs Expect From Their Clients: From: Kalena Jordan's Blog, "What SEOs Expect From Their Clients" well worth a read
Search to grow faster than e-commerce on the web, says research firm: The equity research firm says search is the third-largest Internet market after e-commerce and advertising and is expected to be a $7 billion industry internationally by 2007. That represents a compounded annual growth rate of more than 30%
Search Engine Marketing Goes Mainstream: There was plenty of evidence at Search Engine Strategies 2003 that search engine marketing has gone mainstream
comScore Media Metrix Launches System to Track Actual Consumer Search Queries: "a breakthrough system to accurately measure consumer usage in the fast-growing online search industry. Excellent info on search engine user demagraphics and traffic.
Court draws a line for online privacy : By putting URL search terms into the area of protected content, the ruling means that law enforcement agencies would actually have to clear higher hurdles to obtain information about online searches
Ad Agencies Slowly Embrace Search Engine Marketing: As the cottage industry of search engine marketing continues to mature into a legitimate form of brand and conversion marketing, traditional ad agencies are actively stepping in to take advantage of the growth in search industry dollars.
An Interview with Jill Whalen : ... I really believe that anyone who's fairly intelligent and who has the time to spend, can make themselves well known on the Internet. Even today, it's still doable if you work hard at it.
Firms enlist specialists in search engine work : Interest in higher search engine placement has created a cottage industry for companies that can sell search engine advertising. But optimization is a different approach that requires an understanding of algorithms.
Searching for the personal touch : Web companies outside the search industry have long made attempts to create personalization features, but most of these attempts have fallen short of expectations. Discusses the personalization of SE results.
China's Net Survivors Get Rich : Sina and its U.S.-listed Chinese rivals Sohu.com and NetEase.com have risen from the rubble of the tech bust by posting their first-ever profits over the last year. Includes general information on chinese SE industry
Counter-Googling : With consumers disclosing their most intimate secrets online (voluntarily!), Google has essentially created a 'domestic database', i.e. a world-wide database loaded with your customers' details and profiles
Search Engine Relationship Chart: Ever wondered where Search Engines get their listings? Did you know most search engines rely on each other for listings? Search Engines make up a web of highly resourceful traffic that are sometimes very difficult to understand.
Top 100 New Zealand Company Web Sites Invisible to Search Engines : The study reveals that every website belonging to New Zealand's Top 100 businesses contains significant design flaws that make it harder for them to be found in search engines, thereby negatively impacting the potential revenue...
Are You Ready To Hire a Search Engine Optimization Firm?
: Unfortunately, many of these companies become interested in search engine optimization for the wrong reasons, and many also have unrealistic expectations.
Inside Search Engine Strategies, San Jose - Day One: Danny Sullivan’s Search Engine Strategies rolled into San Jose this week, bringing an unprecedented four days of search engine marketing advice (SEM) and news to more than 1700 attendees.
Inside Search Engine Strategies, San Jose - Day Two: Search engines and Trademarks, cleaning up the SEO mess and Search engine ratings were discussed in Day 2 of the conference.
Study: Consumer satisfaction with news, information Web sites growing: The study identifies Google and Yahoo as two of the outstanding Web sites overall, according to Ann Arbor, Mich.-based ForeSee Results, the university's e-business partner.
Are You Sabotaging Your Site's Visibility in Search Engines?: How did this happen? The study reveals that each site belonging to the Top 100 contains design elements that in some way negatively impact their compatibility with and visibility in search engines.
Inside Search Engine Strategies, San Jose – Day Four: The most important topic of the day for any search engine marketer had to be Converting Visitors Into Buyers....experienced SEM’s know the importance of actually converting that valuable traffic.
Group wants search engines freed from policing copyrights: "I'm sure the search engines overall would like to be removed of that burden,"... "How are they going to determine every single thing and determine the copyright origin? It's a monstrous task."
Increase SEO Sales by Teaching Clients about SEO Truths: ...setting unrealistic expectations is one of the LEAST intelligent things you can do to build long term client relationships...why not try something more in the nature of a soft sell.
The Search is On: "If you want to orient your marketing to start with the consumer, listen to them and really take them seriously, then organic search marketing should be the basis upon which you design your website."
Search Engine Size Wars & Google's Supplemental Results: What are supplemental results? At the same time Google posted new size figures, it also unveiled a new, separate index of pages that it will query if it fails to find good matches within its main web index.
Interview with Wordtracker Founder Andy Mindel: Popularity data is taken from the largest metacrawlers on the web, Dogpile and Metacrawler. After much testing, we found that results from these engines were more accurate than other sources.
A wave of Web profits in guiding lost surfers : Interesting article about Verisign and other registrars using PPC to monetize incorrect entries in the address bar of the browser. Of course Verisign was the first. Comments from ICAN and the marketplace is discussed.
New Search Algorithm Hears 'People's Voice' : "Google is probably not doing it, because no one has ever shown that term weighting really helps users find what they want," ... "It is a very complex area and difficult to get much system improvement out of the process."
All your Web typos belong to Verisign: "This frustrates spam prevention techniques, where mail servers verify that the *sender's* domain is legitimate before accepting an email," Bellis said.
BIND developer blocks Verisign Net grab move: The developer of the technology used to direct surfers on the Web has announced it is developing a workaround designed to stop users who mistype URLs ending up at VeriSign's new search site
Verisign's SiteFinder finds privacy hullabaloo: The question on everyone's mind is, what are Verisign and Overture doing with information gathered through SiteFinder?
Companies seek a new type of Internet consultant : The demand for search-engine optimization, or SEOs as they're known in the industry, is expected to grow, said Danny Sullivan, editor of Search Engine Watch, a Web site devoted to the search-engine industry.
VeriSign Responds (Publicly) to SiteFinder Outcry: ... letter sent to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) ... saying it was "premature" to turn off the service despite its widespread legal, privacy and technical issues.
Amazon.com invades Google's turf: As more consumers have become comfortable with the Internet, a growing number are using search engines to review products and compare prices.
Internet Typo Service Sparks Hot Debate: A security committee of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which oversees domain names, plans to convene a meeting Oct. 7. Meanwhile, ICANN asked VeriSign to suspend its service.
The Value of Trust in 2007: VeriSign is not allowed to purchase more then 5000 .COM domain names under the registry agreement... a domain is considered registered under the agreement if the registry generates a DNS resource record...
VeriSign Shuts Down Site Finder: "ICANN is disappointed that VeriSign has not suspended the service despite the widespread reports of adverse effects from these changes,"
Comparison Shopping Engines Gain Traction: traffic that Rewards & Directories websites referred to Shopping & Classifieds websites increased 23.3 percent, revealing U.S. Internet users' increasing propensity to comparison shop online before buying.
Study: Online Directory Usage By Local Market: In many cases, this variation corresponded to relationships that specific yellow pages directories have with consumers through local telephone companies.
Are search engines confusing surfers?: The Federal Trade Commission remains concerned that consumers may not be able to tell when search results are advertiser-sponsored, thanks to sometimes-unclear disclosure on the part of search companies.
Craving for 'clicks' bogs down search: Brin said his company was deluged last week with complaints from Web surfers who said they could not reach the site... search companies and consumers can expect search hijacking attempts to increase.
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.
AOL Buys Singingfish, Rolls Out More Search Changes: Coinciding with the purchase announcement, AOL unveiled additional features to the AOL Search service designed for its members.
Got Gadgets? Bargain hunter gets lost in cyberspace: But in examining three Web sites, I found a wide gap between the promise and the reality. For some products, the comparison-shopping engines were indeed helpful, while for other products, they offered only frustration.
IYP Versus SEM: While Internet Yellow Pages (IYP) providers work to move their print customers online, search engines are trotting out local or regional targeting. Will the two clash or cooperate?
Shopping Search Engines Rev Up: the Internet is offering more help than ever, as online search engines morph into price-sorting machines that can compare products from thousands of merchants in seconds
What Lawyers Report About Their Marketing Efforts: but you also need to explore other ways of getting qualified prospects to your web site, such as advertising. Also, I suggest you consider Google's AdWords, which puts your advertising message alongside search engine results.
Clever marketing boosts internet sales: Now, partnerships with other firms chasing similar customers, and a focus on already-loyal online buyers are fast becoming the central strands of marketing philosophy at many small internet shopping concerns.
Outlook: Paid Inclusion Needs to Change its Ways: "Paid inclusion programs that currently have a cost-per-click pricing component must eliminate it, as the model has a fundamental and inherent conflict of interest," the report said.
Understanding the SEO Industry: Since many Website owners have only a general idea of what search engine optimization (SEO) is and how it works, I've come up with an analogy from another industry that makes it easier to understand.
Local Search, With A Visual Twist: Metrobot combines an excellent local search engine with a unique graphical interface that makes it easy to locate businesses in a dozen major U.S. cities.
Yahoo, Google primed for search war: Although expected, the announcement highlights the changing market for Web-based search, which has been transformed in the past two years thanks to fast-growing and profitable advertising programs.
The Graphical Search Divide: Would marketers do well to add images and richer visual elements to their paid search results? Would doing so increase the branding effectiveness of search marketing?
Dex online gets Googly-eyed: DexOnline served up 11 million searches for the Twin Cities area in 2002, averaging 900,000 a month, while in 2003, traffic grew by 7 percent and DexOnline served 12 million searches or an average of 1 million a month
Five Myths That Stop Companies From Hiring Search Engine Optimization Experts...: August 2001 study by CyberAtlas, 80 percent of American companies take care of search engine optimization "in-house", even though optimization has become so complex that many in-house experts make serious mistakes
Google still leads the search engines: Nielsen//NetRatings also reports the top five search destinations were Google, Yahoo! Search, MSN Search, AOL Search and Ask Jeeves during January 2004
Local Search Growing, but Small Biz Advertisers Cautious: Local search is a hot topic, but both search providers and small business owners face significant challenges before location based finding services gain broad acceptance
On Search, The Series: Series of articles by Tim Bray an early pioneer in search technology. A must read if you're interested in understanding how search engines work.
One in Three Americans Use a Search Engine, According to Nielsen//NetRatings: ...reports that 114.5 million or 39 percent of Americans used a search engine during January 2004. The 114.5 million unique users, representing 76 percent of the active online U.S. population
Online search engines lift cover of privacy: Another search yields a spreadsheet of names and credit card numbers...."All search engines will get you this," O'Ferrell said
Playboy and AOL Settle Search Advertising Case : The decision reversed a district court ruling that dismissed the suit without a trial in 2000. The settlement also puts an end to a case that likely held barring on many recent suits...
Search Engines as Personal Shoppers?
Part 1: It's all been done before
: This past holiday season saw the introduction of two new product oriented search services to the web... Ask Jeeves signed a partnership with comparative shopping site PriceGrabber.com to create an Ask.com branded shopping service...
Search engines rule UK supplier hunt: 42% said they begin their searches on a local level, while 37% start looking nationally and just 4% internationally.
Search wars are about to get personal: Web surfers are anything but loyal when it comes to their favorite search engines, according to new research that could give hope to Net titans Yahoo and Microsoft's MSN as they seek to wrest the search crown from Google
Using Shopping Bot Sites to Attract New Visitors: If you're looking for a new source of extra traffic to your site, one that sends qualified buyers your way, you'll want to learn more about shopping bot sites.
66% of America's wired senior citizens search for health information online: A new study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project has found 66% of internet users over the age of 65 have searched for health or medical information online.
Canadians love search engines: Study: In April, Canadian residents made about 575 million searches, or 40 searches per user.
By comparison, Americans made about 3.6 billion searches per month, or 35 searches per user.
iProspect User Survey 1: Search Engine Marketing Firm iProspect Survey Confirms that Search Engine Click-Through Behavior can be Predicted by Gender, Education and Other Factors
iProspect User Survey 2: Search Engine Marketing Firm iProspect Survey Confirms Users Find Natural Search Results Most Relevant in Google and Yahoo! While MSN Users Prefer Paid Search Advertising
iProspect User Survey 3: Search Engine Marketing Firm iProspect Survey Confirms the Importance of Combining Both Natural Search Engine Optimization and Paid Search Advertising to Reach Entire Internet Search Audience
iProspect User Survey 4: Search Engine Marketing Firm iProspect Survey Confirms Importance of Visibility on the First Three Pages of Search Results
Five Myths That Stop Companies From Hiring Search Engine Optimization Experts: What's stopping companies from hiring an expert to get their site optimized so they can get more traffic? We've discovered five big myths and realities --
SEO Myths & Rumours Exposed!: SEO myths and rumours exposed is not a top 5 - top 10 list or the like, simply an attempt at a comprehensive list of rumours about search engine optimization
Inside the Searcher's Mind: It's a Jungle in Here!: ...Enquiro also recently conducted a focus group, to get up close and personal with a small set of searchers and jump more inside their minds. In this article, Enquiro president Gord Hotchkiss reports on those findings.
Making a Living as a Search Marketing Professional: Search marketing is a fast moving industry, with rapidly evolving business models. What's the best way to make money in this business?
2004: The Year of Direct Online Distribution: There is a new realization among hoteliers that direct online distribution cuts costs, preserves brand and price integrity, attracts affluent customers and lessens the dependency on online discounters.
Most Online Shoppers Use Shopping Search Engines and Aggregators: Over half of online buyers (54%) started their shopping at a shopping search engine or aggregator site while just 46% started at a merchant site, according to a recent March 2004 study of over 3,800 online buyers
Search-Engine Wars Flare Online: Search-engine developers...are aggressively seeking new strategies -- and technologies -- that will give them even a slight edge in the struggle for dominance in what is becoming the Internet's most glamorous niche.
5 years ago… Search engines are rubbish: The last time performance was measured in December 1997, the main players reached 60 per cent of all pages but this time the top 11 managed only 42 per cent.
Ad Agencies & Search Engine Marketing Firms Beginning to Play Together: ...with one in five marketers buying in excess of 1,000 keywords, according to Jupiter Research. A special report from the SES 2004 Conference, March 1-4, New York City
Building Your Business with Google For Dummies: The book covers principles of site optimization (for Google in particular), the basics of search engine marketing, and goes into substantial detail about AdWords and AdSense.
Geolocation tech slices, dices World Wide Web
: Geo location is one trend in the Search Engine Industry that will be more important as SE move towards personalization of results. This article discusses how it works and where it is/can be used.
Going Beyond FTC Paid Inclusion Disclosure Guidelines: In the second part of this series on paid inclusion, I wrote that while Yahoo currently meets US Federal Trade Commission recommendations on disclosing paid inclusion
How to Select a Search Marketing Partner: Register for Webinar featuring Chris Sherman, Associate Editor, SearchEngineWatch.com and President, Searchwise: You know you need help with your search marketing efforts, but where to start?
ICANN Advised to Ban VeriSign's Site Finder: ICANN issued its long-overdue review of Site Finder, and concluded that not only should such services not be allowed, but that existing industry standards should be rewritten to prevent them.
Use Caution when Going Broad with Overture and Google: ..now that both networks offer different types of keyword matching options that determine when ads will be displayed. Here's how to avoid trouble and maximize your campaign's effectiveness
Yahoo! Fans Expect to See Fireworks: While the run-up inspired Baker to downgrade Yahoo! on valuation concerns... the majority of analysts writing on Yahoo! in recent days have been more bullish on the stock
Five Things Most Search Engine Optimization Firms Won’t Tell You : As someone in the SEO business myself, I\'ve heard countless horror stories about people who have gotten ripped off by paying for services they didn't need
Search engines rethink paid inclusion: Search engines are rethinking a controversial practice of allowing marketers to buy their way into free Web search listings, or programs known as paid inclusion
Growing a Successful Search Marketing Business: Building a search marketing company holds the promise of both meaningful profits and a lot of fun -- but it takes hard work and some savvy business sense to be truly successful.
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