Search Engine Optimization News

It's official. Nearly two years after announcing it would develop its own search technology, MSN Search began feeding the general public results found through its own internally developed search engine. The rollout has happened worldwide, including on the main MSN Search site.
Read Full Article

You've found your market, developed a marketing and business strategy, identified or created your products, and finally finished your site. Everything else is in place, and you're ready to get listed in the search engines. In order to get indexed, you will need to let the search engine spiders know about your site in the first place.
Read Full Article

We all agree that last year was a banner year for online advertising (up to $9 billion from $7.2 billion in 2003). But a new version of fraud is bringing into question just how good our accounting numbers may be.
Read Full Article

Why is it that when one search engine does something, every other search engine jumps on the bandwagon? From the introduction of similar new products and features to the coincidental timing of product introductions, the major search engines freqently tend to trip over each other's feet. This tendancy is getting mention in the mainstream media with an article from tech-writer Seth Hansell in today's New York Times noting “Search Sites Play a Game of Constant Catch-Up”.
Read Full Article

The concept of local Internet advertising is rapidly gaining acceptance with users and advertisers with a predicted 46% increase in ad-spending in 2005 according to a study conducted by Borrell Associates in 210 U.S. media markets.
Read Full Article

It has often been said that the heart of a search marketing campaign rests on the success of your keyword research and the use of the results thereof. Sure, slotting in a word or two for the sake of deceiving a search engine is one way of getting the job done, but in all honesty this is something that is best left for amateurs.
Read Full Article

Adding fuel to the rumors that Google is going to introduce a proprietary browser, Google Inc. has hired the lead developer of the Firefox web browser, Ben Goodger away from the Mozilla Foundation. Despite a volume of circumstantial evidence such as the registration of the domain Gbrowser.com or its organization of open source programming events, Google has repeatedly denied speculation they are developing a web browser or an operating system. According to Google spokesperson Steven Langdon, Goodger will be working on products that enhance the browser experience such as the Google Toolbar and desktop search.
Read Full Article

Many site owners and SEOs are worried because their new sites that rank well in Yahoo and MSN, aren't doing well in Google, and they're blaming it on the "sandbox." The current theory is that new sites are somehow being penalized for obtaining too many links, too quickly.
Read Full Article

Recently I was talking with a very bright traditional marketer on the value of integrating Internet marketing into an enterprise’s marketing mix. Personally, I have witnessed significant and measurable increases in the online results of an enterprise when they include traditional marketing strategies like direct mail, radio, television or publicity with their internet marketing strategies.
Read Full Article

Yes, you heard it here first. If Internet Explorer doesn't make some serious changes in short order they'll face certain extinction to the hands of Firefox. Why you ask? Isn't it obvious?
Read Full Article

This is a breaking story about Google AdWords based on several rumours, readings and conversations. There is a fair likelihood that some information here is erroneous. In an email, Google Advertising PR Michael Mayzel stated, "We are not providing comment." If correct the implications are huge and might provide Google advertisers critical protections they've been asking for.
Read Full Article

MSN has removed the beta-wrap from its proprietary search engine and is now showing self-generated results at MSN.Com. Beta results had started bleeding into MSN listings over the past three weeks but since Sunday (Jan 16), the .COM (US / Global) version of MSN has consistently mirrored those found at MSN(beta). Regional versions of MSN continue to display Inktomi (Yahoo owned) / Regional partner generated results (Jan19, 05).
Read Full Article

Cyberspace is almost always bigger than we think but big does have its limits. Logic tells us that the environment known as cyberspace is finite. It can grow but there are always definite numbers or statistics that can be used to measure its boundaries. To be practical, the boundaries of cyberspace are defined by bandwidth-capacity. Google, which lives in a world of infinite possibilities doesn't accept the concept of finite gracefully. Faced with the obvious limitations of growth to the Internet as we know it, Google is doing the most logical thing possible. It is grabbing more bandwidth-space in order to allow it to expand the current finite boundaries of cyberspace.
Read Full Article

The vast majority of searchers say they are confident about their searching skills and are successful at finding what they're looking for far more often than not, yet most don't understand how search engines work or present results.
Read Full Article

Portable Firefox is a fully functional package of Firefox optimized for use on a USB key drive. It has some specially-selected optimizations to make it perform faster and extend the life of your USB key as well as a specialized launcher that will allow most of your favorite extensions to work as you switch computers. It will also work from a CDRW drive (in packet mode), ZIP drives, external hard drives, some MP3 players, flash RAM cards and more (Note: It will not run from read-only media like a CD-R).
Read Full Article

The goal is simple: provide people with information and help that enables them to evaluate the tools and resources to better protect their computers, themselves and their families while online, thus helping them to optimize their Internet experience every time they respond to an email or open a Web page in a browser. We've decided to create this blog so that a group of dedicated EarthLink employees can speak directly to the Internet community about spam, viruses, phishers and other online scams. Each day, EarthLink is on the frontline in the fight against online annoyances, and the EarthLink Protection Blog is our way of sharing our knowledge as well as our opinions.
Earthlink Blog

I'm pleased to announce that Yahoo! Search is one of several organizations in support of a technique that should help combat weblog comment spam. Others involved are: Google/Blogger, MSN Search, Six Apart (TypePad, MovableType, LiveJournal), and WordPress. By adding a rel="nofollow" attribute to hyperlinks, webmasters and weblog owners can tell search engines that the links are effectively untrusted. For example, this: buy now Becomes this: buy now We think this is a good first step toward significantly reducing the spam burden on bloggers and weblog hosting companies. It's great to see so many players on board. In the coming weeks you can expect to see the changes reflected in our web index.
Read Full Article

Sending out link requests is a time-consuming business. So wouldn't it be wonderful if other sites linked to you without being asked?
Read Full Article

“How do I improve web site sales figures?” The CEO roared at the web developer. The web developer looked at his boss a little confused and mumbled something about it not being his core competence with him being a programmer and all. So next the CEO went to his marketing department and bellowed “How do I improve our web site sales conversion rates?” A few mouths opened as if to speak but nothing came out until finally exasperated the CEO tearing at his hair in frustration turned to a guy painting the wall and said, “Can you answer this question? How do I increase my web site sales figures?”
Read Full Article

Former search giant LookSmart has reissued investor guidance numbers for the last quarter of 2004. Posting lower revenues than expected, the beleaguered firm admitted it overestimated potential revenues by about $2million and underestimated quarterly losses by about $700,000.
Read Full Article