6 tips to optimize for the content network December 1, 2005

 

Websites - nothing to do with marketing? December 1, 2005

 

Stoney deGeyter writes:

"I had a client say something to me the other day that I thought was rather interesting. He mentioned that he almost considers SEO as a marketing expense even though its really a web expense. It was then that I realized that many people still do not consider what they do with their website as part of their marketing plan but as, well, just something else."

Does this sound like you, or someone you work with? If so, maybe it's time for a change.

Allocating Your Web Sites Budget Properly

 

Microsoft Classifieds December 1, 2005

 

It had to happen:

"Microsoft is internally testing its own classifieds offering under the codename Fremont. Part of Windows Live, the ad-supported listings will incorporate geo-targeting and social networking features."

Microsoft Tests Classified Format

 

Site Design Tips to Improve Your Sales - Parts I and II December 2, 2005

 

From SmallBusinessComputing.com:
"The better designed your site, the better your chances of making the sale.

Research has long shown that the leading factor in persuading shoppers to buy from an e-commerce Web site is ease of navigation - findings that were supported in a recent survey by Jupiter Research (which is also owned by the publisher of this Web site.) In other words, customers are saying "make your site easy-to-use, and you'll earn our sale."

If usability is the key to a better bottom line, then what specifically will improve your site's ease of use? "

Site Design Tips to Improve Your Sales - Part I
Site Design Tips to Improve Your Sales - Part II

 

Amazon's customer collaboration December 2, 2005

 

From Church of the Customer Blog:

"One of the biggest retailers in the world has opened the door to citizen marketing in a big way.

Amazon has launched ProductWiki, a route for "customer editable product information" to appear alongside most, if not all, of the items the company sells."

Amazon's customer collaboration

 

Launch of YellowPages.com December 2, 2005

 

ClickZ news reports:

"Telcos BellSouth and AT&T (formerly SBC) have at last launched YellowPages.com, a year after forming their joint venture and acquiring the URL. The new site combines the former SBC SMARTpages.com with BellSouth's RealPages.com. Those sites now point to YellowPages.com, creating a single nationwide local search entity where before there were three."

"By virtue of its name, YellowPages.com will benefit from a strong brand affinity, particularly from older consumers."

Woe is me. Today is the day when I officially became an older consumer.

YellowPages.com Launches as Potent Local Search Player

 

Stealing content December 2, 2005

 

If you've ever come across your text or images on a website that most definitely isn't yours, you know exactly how frustrating it can be.

Your gut reaction might to reach for your baseball bat (or in my case, cricket bat, of course), but that isn't the most helpful approach. Especially when the perpetrator is on the other side of the world.

Instead, head over to Lee Odden's blog. Lee has put together a nice collection of links and resources that can help you if you ever find yourself in that situation again.

Content thieves

 

Self-healing software December 5, 2005

 

IBM has recently announced that they are releasing a series of self-healing products, that find and fix IT problems as they occur.

"Thus, the new IBM Tivoli software can pinpoint and then reach out to solve problems, such as repairing Internet logjams or bringing systems back online after a power outage. This sidesteps the time-consuming task of finding and fixing glitches that naturally occur in complicated, intertwined systems, allowing all kinds of businesses -- from mid-sized retailers to multinational insurance companies -- to safely and completely manage their online applications."

Hmmm. Am I the only one who would find this a little worrying? It seems to me that the chance of something going really, really wrong only increases when you are relying on your software to fix itself. The more things that happen automatically and behind the scenes, the bigger the mess will be when things no longer manage to heal themselves.

Software heal thyself, says IBM

 

More Google fear December 5, 2005

 

From Wired.com:

"It seems no one is safe: Google is doing Wi-Fi; Google is searching inside books; Google has a plan for ecommerce.
Of course, Google has always wanted to be more than a search engine. Even in the early days, its ultimate goal was extravagant: to organize the world's information. High-minded as that sounds, Google's ever-expanding agenda has put it on a collision course with nearly every company in the information technology industry: Amazon.com, Comcast, eBay, Yahoo!, even Microsoft."

Who's Afraid of Google? Everyone.

 

Google and Murderers December 5, 2005

 

Some of you have probably already read about the trial of the Mac specialist who killed his wife with the help of Google. Daniel J Solove has published an interesting article about what this could mean for our right to privacy, and Google's access to our personal data.

"No matter what Google's privacy policy says, the fact that it maintains information about people's search activity enables the government to gather that data, often with a mere subpoena, which provides virtually no protection to privacy -- and sometimes without even a subpoena."

Interesting times. Personally, I search for such boring, geeky, techy things that it makes very little difference who knows about it. But does that mean that I would be happy to share this information with all the goverments in the world? No, not really. I don't want them in my living room, and I certainly don't want them inside my computer.

Google's Empire, Privacy, and Government Access to Personal Data

 

Blogger Boggles E-Commerce Site December 6, 2005

 

From marketingvox.com:

"After an unfriendly phone call with a dissatisfied customer - a blogger - PriceRitePhoto.com felt the unmerciful rage of the blogosphere, writes MediaPost. Howard Baker, a manager with PriceRitePhoto.com, alleged that after a post by the disgruntled blogger, vigilantes wreaked "millions of dollars" of damage on the business within a couple of days via viruses, denial-of-service attacks and thousands of prank calls."

Blogger Boggles E-Commerce Site

 

A Privacy Scenario December 6, 2005

 

To carry on the privacy theme that seems to be everywhere at the moment, I want to point to a posting by John Battelle. The scenario he has put together is terrifyingly plausible:

"Imagine that an engineer at a major Internet company decides he has a thing for young blond women. Imagine further that he works at a place that has local search, social networking, blogging, search history, registration, and email all in one place. A company like, oh, Google, or Yahoo, or Amazon, or Microsoft.

Imagine further that this engineer has access to, or can figure out how to get access to, pretty much all the information he wants on all the young blond women that use his company's services near where he lives (by zip, keyword, etc.).

Over a period of time, this engineer compiles an extremely detailed dossier of information about scores of young blond women, including addresses, personal emails, photographs, blog postings, social network connections, search histories, etc. This dossier is rather carelessly collected on his own personal PC at home, where he's protected it in a folder with the password "hot young thing"."

I'm sure you can see where this is headed. Chilling.

The question is: how long it will take before something like this actually happens, or before the fear of it happening brings about new, stringent privacy laws that mean the end of the Internet as we know it?

Only In The Movies? A Privacy Scenario

 

Google Analytics and Cookies December 6, 2005

 

Steve Jackson writes about Google Analytics and the Internet marketing industry, and he makes some interesting points.

"Enterprise level companies have so many different needs, such as security of their information and high level support, that Googles offer, while probably tempting, will not be a viable solution. Google have slow support and I don't see that being any different for their analytics solution."

"The companies who will really benefit are the ones that either use 3rd party tracking and pay a comparatively small fee per year or don't currently use analytics at all. The vendors currently serving the SME sector had better get into the enterprise market."

Steve also addresses the legal implications of the cookie injection method that Google use.

"The enterprise vendors however all make sure that their clients have the correct privacy statements regards the use of cookies. Their concern is that legally, at least in Europe you have to state somewhere on your website (IE in your privacy policy) that you use cookies to track visitor behavior. Google haven't told anyone to do this currently, though this may change as their offering matures."

In an interesting development, Google Analytics has responded to Steve's article:

"I thought it worth addressing the cookie issue in Europe. Based on which country you select, we have a different legal statement. In the UK for example, our terms of service language is more stringent than if you are in the US."

Is Google Analytics Good For The Internet Marketing Industry?

Google's Response to Legal Criticisms

 

Time Warner. Microsoft near ad deal December 6, 2005

 

From MSNBC.com:

"Time Warner Inc. is closing in on a deal with Microsoft Corp. to team up on an online advertising service to compete with Google Inc., the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the talks."

Online advertising service to compete with Google

 

New Google AdSense Feature Irks Publishers December 7, 2005

 

From marketingvox.com:

"Having officially launched its "Advertise on this site" program last month, a couple of months after rumors of the feature first emerged, Google's link, which now appears next to all its placements on publishers using AdSense, has begun to rile up some publishers, who have effectively been opted in to the "site targeting" program that lets advertisers target specific sites.

One problem, in the eyes of complaining publishers, is that Google is essentially taking away advertisers from them."

New Google AdSense Feature Irks Publishers

 

Outsourcing ads to your customers December 7, 2005

 

From Church of the Customer Blog:

"Two ways for citizen marketers to create ads for their favorite products:

* Firefox fans can submit video testimonials and 30-second ads to spread the word about the browser.

* Seth Godin is looking for web-ad submissions for the The Big Moo. The ad will be appear on the front page of MSN.com."

Outsourcing ads to your customers

 

Can Google Go Glossy? December 7, 2005

 

From businessweek.com:

"Why its plan to resell print ads to its army of advertisers may be off to a slow start

It was a babystep that sent tremors through the media establishment. Seeking ways to expand its advertising juggernaut beyond the Internet, Google Inc. this fall purchased about a dozen pages of ad space from niche publications such as PC Magazine and Budget Living. Google then divvied up the space and sold it in small pieces, often four to seven per page, to its network of several hundred thousand advertisers -- most of whom can't afford pricey magazine ads on their own. Now Google says the trial program, dubbed Google Publication Ads, is taking off, with hundreds of publications inquiring about it. The company is expanding the trial from four publications to scores of them, likely to include both niche and general interest titles. "

Can Google Go Glossy?

 

The future of search December 7, 2005

 

Reports are flowing in from Search Engine Strategies conference in Chicago. Search expert Danny Sullivan gave the keynote speech, and discussed the future of search marketing.

"Search is going to be on your Web browser, as it is now, and on your mobile phone, on your TiVo, on your MP3 player," he said. "When it comes, there are going to be ways for you to make sure you're well-placed there."
Sullivan conjured that future in a wide-ranging speech describing a search marketing industry with unprecedented budgets and business cachet."

Search marketing will move to phone, TiVo, iPod

 

Content is not everything December 7, 2005

 

After years of following the content-is-king mantra, the realisation that there's more to SEO than content can come as a bit of a jolt. Yet it is undeniably true, as Randfish points out in a recent posting.

"The Designs (by themselves) Pull in Links. It may sound odd, but it's very true. The digiterati bloggers of the web, the folks who give you furl and del.icio.us and digg love, who link to you through their blog, email your URL to their friends and submit your site to design competitions are the best allies you can have in the fight for search engine relevance."

People like pretty things. When they see something new, interesting and appealing, they want to tell other people about it. That is why a site like Joshuaink is currently the most popular choice at the CSS Thesis site that Randfish links to (order by popularity).

Of course, not everyone can (or even should) have a totally unique, colourful and visually stunning website that brings in scores of people who simply want to admire it. But there is a middle ground. Don't think that the way your website looks doesn't matter, because your content is so good or your product so popular. Appearance has always mattered, and it still does.

Design can be link bait, too

 

MSN adCenter December 7, 2005

 

Today is my lucky day.

I've been chosen to participate in the pilot of MSN's adCenter.

I've only had an initial play with the system so far, but it looks like it might well shape up to give Google AdWords a run for their money.

Is it as slick as AdWords? Not at all. But it's early days yet.

Does it have some nice features? Oh yes indeed!

Look at the screenshot below to whet your appetite. More details will follow over the coming days, weeks and months.

msn adCenter

 

Google's Global Super-structure December 8, 2005

 

From Got Ads?:

"Cringely breaks the silence on the rumors of a major Google innovation - worldwide datacenters in a box (actually a shipping container).

For the past year, Google has been secretly installing shipping containers full of Google CPU racks around the world. Cringely seems to think they are just starting, but I think they've been at it a while.

Google has several logistical problems which they solve ingeniously. They can't just go to the middle of Poland as Google and buy up the output of a small power station. No - they must secretly operate so the locals won't know its Google. They get the rights to the power they need to run and cool 4,000 CPUs in a box, without paying through the nose. They are doing this all over the world."

Google's Global Super-structure

 

Keyword Prices Keep Tumbling December 8, 2005

 

From marketingvox.com:

"Keyword prices in November averaged $1.46 per click, 11 percent less than the $1.64 in November 2004, continuing their recent downward trend, reports MediaPost, citing Fathom Online's latest keyword price index. The average keyword price increased only 1 percent from October to November, from $1.45 to $1.46, whereas last year the average price increased 29 percent from September through November as marketers prepared for the holidays. Month to month, the greatest decreases were in the wireless (10 percent), broadband (8 percent), and finance/investing (8 percent) categories."

Keyword Prices Keep Tumbling

 

More advertising dollars moving online December 8, 2005

 

From ClickZ News:

"The "tipping point" for offline ad dollars moving online may be here in the second half of 2006, according to a report by Piper Jaffray analyst Safa Rashtchy. The speed of online advertising's growth, its benefits to offline campaigns, and recent online ad spending increases from major marketers all seem to be converging".

Online Advertising's Tipping Point Approaches

 

Spot the phishing attack December 8, 2005

 

It's very grey and dull here today. If it's the same where you are, treat yourself to a little break and test your scam-spotting skills. Take the phishing test from Mail Frontier, and see how you score.

Personally, I clicked through at great speed and got a reasonable 70%. Maybe you'll do better!

Phishing IQ test

 

Software Industry Shifts Piracy Strategy December 9, 2005

 

From internetnews.com:

"WASHINGTON - The U.S. strategy for its war on global software piracy is shifting from focusing on the financial damage of intellectual property theft to the economic benefits of copyright protection.

A new study released today by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) concludes that countries with the highest software piracy rates stand to reap the greatest economic gains by protecting intellectual property rights."

Software Industry Shifts Piracy Strategy (Try saying that quickly)

 

Click fraud hits the courts December 9, 2005

 

From News.blog: Google (CNET News.com):

"Click fraud is the search industry's dirty secret. But if two class action lawsuits against Google, Yahoo and others continue in the courts, industry executives may get more information about what really happens when a search engine is targeted by rogue visitors or bots, which click on text ads for false profit."

Click fraud in the courts

 

Another time-saving account management tool December 9, 2005

 

From Inside AdWords:

"Now, on top of making account-wide changes to maximum CPCs, ad text, keywords, and destination URLs, you can search for, select, and move or copy keywords and ad text from one Ad Group to another. It's worth mentioning that when you move components, your account will treat relocated keywords or ad text as new -- so any statistics your keywords or ad text have accrued will not transfer across Ad Groups."

Happiness is a new Google AdWords feature.

Another time-saving account management tool

 

Itanium, anyone? December 9, 2005

 

News.com features an interesting story:

"On June 8, 1994, Hewlett-Packard and Intel announced a bold collaboration to build a next-generation processor called Itanium, intended to remake the computing industry. Eleven years and billions of dollars later, Itanium serves instead as a cautionary tale of how complex, long-term development plans can go drastically wrong in a fast-moving industry."

"Intel and HP acknowledge they've had challenges with Itanium but staunchly defend the effort. "I think it's doing very well," said Lisa Graff, general manager of Intel's high-end server group."

Hmmm. It would have to be doing better than "very well" to be worth eleven years and billions of dollars.

Itanium: A Cautionary Tale

 

Microsoft tackles pirate software firm December 12, 2005

 

From theregister.co.uk:

"A Microsoft investigation into the sale of counterfeit software on eBay has led to the closure of an online operation responsible for the sale of over £3 million worth of fake Microsoft software."

Microsoft tackles pirate software firm

 

Google click fraud plaintiff gets 'cold feet' December 12, 2005

 

From CNET News.com:

"Click Defense, which had filed a lawsuit against Google, claiming that the Web search leader's advertising-sales practices were fraudulent, said on Thursday that it is seeking to withdraw as lead plaintiff in the suit in order to focus on its own business."

Shock horror.

Google click fraud plaintiff gets 'cold feet'

 

Yahoo buys del.icio.us December 12, 2005

 

From ClickZ:

"Yahoo! has purchased much talked-about content tagging company del.icio.us for an undisclosed sum. Because del.icio.us allows users to bookmark and save content, which they tag with keywords, many believe the company has data that can help improve search results and ad targeting"

Yahoo! Finds Tagging Company Delicious

 

Me, a sly lobbyist December 12, 2005

 

Newsweek features a very interesting article on search engine optimisation this week.

It serves as an introduction to SEO for those who know nothing about it - and it makes the world of search engines seem like a place full of dark secrets and unethical behaviour. Calling search engine optimisers "the Web's lobbyists", Newsweek states:

"High-priced and in some cases slyly unethical, SEOs try to manipulate the unpaid search results that help users navigate the Internet. Their goal is to boost their clients' (and in some cases their own) sites to the top of unpaid search-engine rankings-even if their true popularity doesn't warrant that elevated status."

From now on, I'll always bring out this article when friends and family think my work is dull and incomprehensible.

Hotwiring your search engine

 

Alexa Opportunities December 13, 2005

 

Alexa now provides public access to the Alexa web crawl. By paying $1 for every cpu hour, you can search and process billions of documents, and even build your own search engine if that's what you've always dreamed of doing.

Michael Nguyen has a great write-up of what this means, and what it can do for you.

"So what exactly can you do with the Alexa Web Search Platform? Anything you would be able to do if you actually owned Alexa. You can crawl documents, process documents, create your own vertical search engine, create new web services, or store large amounts of data. This opens up the possibility for businesses to be built upon this platform."

Do you think the world is ready for a search engine called Dave?

Alexa Web Search Platform

 

Paid Search Leaps Ahead December 13, 2005

 

From Marketing Vox:

"Paid search will eclipse all other forms of online advertising in the coming years, according to investment banking and research firm S.G. Cowen & Co., which estimates that U.S. advertisers will spend $6.1 billion in paid search this year, and $6.4 billion in all other forms of online ads, such as branded/display ads and classified listings, writes InfoWorld."

Paid Search To Tower Over Online Advertising

 

Google increasing size of AdWords December 13, 2005

 

I only just noticed that Google have increased the size of their AdWords headlines.

This would appear to imply that Google are further raising the importance (and relevance) of these ads.

A sign of things to come?

It'll be interesting to see if this affects the click through rates. Watch this space.

 

The Googleshank Redemption December 14, 2005

 

From The Daily Tubber:

"Until recently, I too was held prisoner - trapped in a pit of search engine marketing despair. My requests for help ignored by the very company I had spent hundreds of thousands of advertising dollars with. I was bewildered as I watched our rankings drop while sites that obviously violated the Google guidelines rose and remained in place. My faith in the algorithm was broken. I was ankle deep in the Google Goo (so to speak)."

The Googleshank Redemption

 

AOL Search Year in Review December 14, 2005

 

From hot.aol.com:

"AOL Search Year in Review
Highlighting 2005's Top Searches by Category"

AOL Releases List of 2005's Top Search Terms

 

RSS Advertising December 14, 2005

 

From ClickZ:

"RSS ads appearing as individual feed items generate a 7 percent click-through rate (CTR), over nine times higher than ads displayed within content posts. That's according to a new study released today by RSS ad firm Pheedo, which compiled the research based upon its network of 8,000 publishers."

Seven percent? Very impressive. What a coincidence that this is coming from a firm that sells RSS ads. Even so, it makes interesting reading.

Study: Standalone RSS Ads Stand Out

 

Domain registrations December 14, 2005

 

Bill Hartzer discusses whether or not the length of domain registrations can affect your search engine rankings.

"This question has come up recently and a lot of website owners have been wondering about it, especially since it was mentioned in a patent awarded to Google in April."

After an interesting, in-depth look look at the subject, Bill rounds it up:

"If you're committed to your online business, your website, and your domain name, then renewing your domain name for a long period of time will not only stop expired domain buyers from registering your domain name when it expires, it will show Google that you're committed to it-and that may give you a boost in the search engine rankings, as well."

Who knows? For us, it's certainly true that the domain we've registered for the longest time ranks better and brings in more traffic than any of the others. On the other hand, it's also got the best and most frequently updated content and the highest PageRank.

Does the Length of Your Domain Registration Affect Your Search Engine Rankings

 

Software pirate pleads guilty to charges December 15, 2005

 

From computerworld.com:

"A California man who operated a Web site selling millions of dollars worth of pirated software has pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal copyright infringement, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

Nathan Peterson, 26, of Antelope Acres, Calif., pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria. Peterson was owner of iBackups.net, "the largest for-profit software piracy site ever shut down by law enforcement," U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty of the Eastern District of Virginia said in a statement."

Software pirate pleads guilty to charges

 

Google Turns To TV Ads December 15, 2005

 

From Online Media Daily:

"IN A MAJOR SHIFT IN promotional strategy, Google--which has long eschewed nearly every form of consumer-targeted brand advertising--quietly began running 15-second sponsorship spots on PBS's science program "NOVA" earlier this year.

The spots, which quietly launched at the end of the summer, start with the keywords "string theory," "Egyptology," and "astronomy" being typed into a search bar; as the terms are typed in, videos that relate to the subject appear behind the search bar. The spots end with the tagline: "Google is proud to support NOVA in the search for knowledge."

Google Turns To TV Ads

 

Jail time for Kazaa owners? December 15, 2005

 

From News.com

"The masterminds behind the Kazaa file-sharing software could face time behind bars after the record industry initiated contempt of court proceedings, claiming an earlier ruling wasn't adhered to."

Interesting. I also feel sorry for the judge, who seems very fed up with the entire case and stated that learning about the technology had been "quite time consuming".

Kazaa owners may face time in jail

 

Microsoft AdWare? December 15, 2005

 

From ClickZ:

"Microsoft has seen the future and it is ad-supported. The rallying cry of the digital downloader, "Content wants to be free," now applies to software as well, as a growing number of businesses and consumers say no to paying for applications they can get free online. That's thanks to Google, to Yahoo!, to smaller players like Weatherbug and yes, to Microsoft as well."

Hmmm. Is that really the future? Everything free, but loaded with adverts? Please say it isn't so.

Ads in Microsoft Apps: Dawn of an Era?

 

Microsoft Taking 10 More to Task December 16, 2005

 

From internetnews.com:

"Microsoft continued its litigious streak against alleged software pirates, this time targeting individuals participating in the company's discount software program.

The Redmond, Wash., software giant filed lawsuits against seven companies taking part in its Microsoft Action Pack Subscriptions (MAPS), a program offering discounted software to qualified business partners for internal and product evaluation use."

Microsoft Taking 10 More to Task

 

Google Offers Homepage APIs December 16, 2005

 

From internetnews.com:

"Google will let developers add on to its personalized home page -- and maybe build Google Office, one app at a time.

The sultan of search announced the Google Homepage API this week. It's a way of letting outside developers create modules that can be included in users' home pages."

Google Offers Homepage APIs

 

An unusual partnership December 16, 2005

 

From News.com:

"Technology titans Google, Microsoft, and Sun Microsystems will provide $7.5 million, collectively, to fund research at a University of California, Berkeley, laboratory that will use the money to focus on next-generation Internet technology."

"Any software and applications emerging from the lab will be made available to the public, with source code distributed using the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) license. "

Google, Microsoft and Sun Fund Internet Research Lab

 

More Google news December 16, 2005

 

In two more steps towards taking over the world, Google has released Gmail Mobile and Google Music Search.

What's next? Fast food? A juicy McGoogle, anyone?

Of course, that's already been done. As it turns out, McGoogle is an "Irish-American Ninja".

I'm so glad it's Friday. I really need a break.

Google Adds Music Search Feature

 

AOL to Drop Google AdWords For MSN adCenter? December 19, 2005

 

From searchenginejournal.com:

"Last week, during the SES show, I heard the rumors about the possibility that AOL will be dropping Google AdWords for MSN's adCenter product "really soon." But I haven't had time to post the information here until now. Gary Price has some information at the SEW Blog and Brett Tabke at WebmasterWorld started a thread a week ago Tuesday named AOL to Drop Google and Sign with MSN."

AOL to Drop Google AdWords For MSN adCenter?

 

Google 'in exclusive AOL talks' December 19, 2005

 

From BBC News:

"Google shares have hit record highs on reports it could take a stake in Time Warner's internet unit, AOL.

Under the deal, Google would pay $1bn (£565m) for a 5% stake in AOL, the Wall Street Journal website has reported. The two firms have declined to comment.

Time Warner has been seeking a partner to boost AOL's value, which would in turn lift the US media giant's shares."

Google 'in exclusive AOL talks'

 

The importance of inukshuk December 19, 2005

 

Head on over to UIE for a brilliant article on the importance of making website visitors feel comfortable by showing them that they are not alone. Inukshuk, Christine Perfetti writes, are stone figures created by Inuit hunters. They serve as guide markers, and also provide reassurance to other hunters who may feel lost and worried that they're on the wrong track.

"In our research, we've seen that, just like the Inuit hunters, users on the web want reassurance that others have shared their experiences. Many times, users are contemplating important decisions. To understand if they are making the right decision, they often want to go beyond facts. They want to know if it "feels" right. Inukshuk content, when done well, can give the user confidence in a way that factual content can't."

Reassuring users with Inukshuk content

 

Founder of the web starts own blog December 19, 2005

 

I just have to link to this - it made me stop and think about where we'd be today without Tim Berner-Lee.

So I have a blog

 

YSM Brings Creative Standards in Line with Google's December 20, 2005

 

From ClickZ news:

"In what it says is an effort to be easier on consumers' eyes, Yahoo! Search Marketing (YSM) is shortening its text ads from 190 characters in the body to just 70."

YSM Brings Creative Standards in Line with Google's

 

Google snatches AOL from MS December 20, 2005

 

From theregister.co.uk:

"Google has apparently won the battle to retain AOL's affections, edging out a bid from Microsoft. But the cost is high, and establishes several precedents for the Mountain View company that might have been unthinkable a couple of years ago."

Google snatches AOL from MS

 

Worldwide internet usage December 20, 2005

 

On Useit.com, Jakob Nielsen discusses the fact that there are now a staggering one billion Internet users in the world.

"36% of Internet users are now in Asia and 24% are in Europe. Only 23% of users are in North America, where it all started in 1969 when two computers -- one in Los Angeles, the other in Palo Alto -- were networked together.

It took 36 years for the Internet to get its first billion users. The second billion will probably be added by 2015; most of these new users will be in Asia. The third billion will be harder, and might not be reached until 2040."

Nielsen also states that in 2015 Americans will make up less than 15% of the world's Internet users, although they are still likely to account for around a third of its value. This means that a staggering two thirds of Internet income will come from somewhere else - and that is something that I don't think many owners of online businesses have even begun to consider.

One billion internet users

 

Office and blog closure December 20, 2005

 

Even we need a break from time to time.

To that end, this software marketing blog will resume on Wednesday the 28th of December.

See you then.

 

Jews for Jesus sues Google December 28, 2005

 

From Reuters:

"Christian evangelical group Jews for Jesus is suing Google Inc., saying a Web log hosted through the Internet search leader's Blogspot service infringes its trademark.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in New York on Wednesday, seeks to force Google to give Jews for Jesus control of the site as well as unspecified monetary damages."

Jews for Jesus sues Google over blog

 

Yahoo shows you how well your online marketing programs are doing December 28, 2005

 

From smallbusinesscomputing.com:

"With online ads set to take an even bigger bite of the media pie in 2006, interactive media powerhouse Yahoo wants to show clients just how well it works.

Thanks to a recently announced partnership, Yahoo's account executives will begin offering their clients a service designed to evaluate the offline sales impact of their online marketing programs."

Yahoo Analytics Marries Online And Off

 

You will see more of this December 28, 2005

 

From ClickZ:

"Using technology from Ultramercial, Time.com site visitors have been able to access the renowned "Person of the Year" cover story, along with the magazine's full archive of articles, free for 24 hours. But only after they view a multi-paged, full-screen interactive ad from sponsor Chrysler."

While this isn't completely new on the web, I've been waiting for it to become more common. People ignore banners and close pop-ups, so forcing site visitors to sit through adverts before being able to access desirable content is a tempting route to take. Fine, nobody's actually forcing them - they can always choose not to read the article or pay the subscription fee. But it can still be quite annoying, and I think we'll see a lot more of this in the future.

Time Magazine Considers Ad Gateway to Subscription Content

 

SEO software December 28, 2005

 

It is perhaps understandable that we're not big believers in SEO software. In my opinion, it's a bit like getting software to write an article. Sure, you might have a headline, an introductory paragraph, some content and a conclusion, but will it be worth reading? I doubt it. Nevertheless, it might serve some kind of purpose to certain sites - but if that's what you want to do, you should be very careful. An interesting posting on Search Engine Roundtable describes an encounter with a certain free SEO program - and the writer was not overly happy with the results:

"Very rarely will I publicly oust a particular piece software or spyware I think is rather bad."

Read more about why he decided to make an exception for this particular tool.

Beware Of Evil Free SEO Software Messing Up Your Computer

 

Google adds intermediate jump pages to some links on Google Base service December 29, 2005

 

From clickz.com:

"In an "experiment" with navigation, Google has added intermediate jump pages to some links on its Google Base service.

Google Base, which allows users to upload and categorize content and links to their own sites, launched in October. At that time, all links from a search results page linked directly to the destination submitted by the user.

This week, Google began diverting traffic to an intermediate page where the user can get more information before clicking on to the destination page. Search results that display Google Base items on Froogle, Google Local and Google will continue to point directly to item URL."

Google Diverts Links on Google Base

 

Online Ads set to exceed Newspaper and TV Spending December 29, 2005

 

From bloomberg.com:

"The move to online advertising is happening faster than analysts anticipated as companies devote more of their budgets to the Internet than traditional media.

The market for online ads will increase 32 percent to $16.6 billion next year, fueling growth at companies including Google Inc. and Yahoo! Inc., Credit Suisse First Boston analyst Heath Terry said in a research report. He had previously forecast 21 percent growth."

Online Ad Growth Accelerates, Outpacing Newspaper, TV Spending

 

More on Google and AOL December 29, 2005

 

SearchEngineWatch has an interesting interview with Google's Marissa Mayer. Towards the end of the article, the question of preferential treatment in search results comes up again. Mayer insists that Google will simply help AOL by giving them the same advice as they give everyone else. Plus, perhaps, some additional perks.

"For AOL, Google will look at doing some special work to index content that isn't in HTML format or other formats readily accessible to its crawlers, Mayer said. However, that work will ultimately benefit anyone with similar content, Mayer said. Similarly, Google already works with a variety of publishers with content it would like to access but where special needs are required."

There's also a brief mention of John Battelle's interview with Mayer. This focuses mainly on the OneBox (the search results that often appear at the top of a page, containing news items, stock results and local websites) and the fact that AOL is going to be included in these whenever it's relevant.

Revisiting The "No Banners On Google" Declaration

 

Google and AOL - what does it mean? December 29, 2005

 

From CNET News.com:

"Google is promising to keep its home page uncluttered and banner-free and its search results and keyword ad auction unbiased, despite paying $1 billion for a 5 percent stake in Time Warner's Internet unit last week.

Instead, people may see small graphical ads on Google's home and search results pages and banner ads on video and image pages".

Google also emphasise that they will not be giving AOL websites any advantages in the search results, nor offer any kind of preferential treatment in the ad auctions. Oh, apart from the $300 million credit they've given AOL to use for purchasing AdWords ads, of course. Hmmm. I know I'm not the only one who will be keeping a close eye on this.

What the Google-AOL deal means for users

 

Is Google moving into the video rental business? December 30, 2005

 

From zdnet.com:

"The video upload program terms and conditions had a major upgrade this morning, and with it comes some insight into new features that Google may be preparing to launch for Google Video - including rentals."

Google to start renting videos?

 

Looking back December 30, 2005

 

Having almost reached the end of 2005, it is interesting to look back and see what the year was all about. SearchEngineWatch features a great recap of what search terms were popular on which engines, and although it doesn't hold too many surprises it's still worthy of a look. From an SEO point of view, it's particularly interesting to see that users search for different things on different engines - or perhaps rather, that users of different engines search for different things.

Make sure you have a look at the Google Year-End Zeitgeist, too, as it's particularly well put together with some very fascinating graphs. You will undoubtedly be relieved to know that more people searched for The Force than The Dark Side, and that Yoda drew more searches than Luke and Anakin put together.

2005 in Review: The Year's Top Search Terms

 

Looking ahead December 30, 2005

 

As the new year approaches, it's tempting to look ahead and try to predict what it might bring. Blogs are flowing over with predictions of all kinds, but I quite like Jim Hedger's SEO predictions over at ISEDB. Here are a couple of highlights that I happen to agree with:

"Look for most of us (SEOs) to start talking about usability and conversions as a standard part of our services."

Definitely. SEO and usability should walk hand in hand, which is precisely why we've been working with both for many years already.

"Google's reputation takes huge hits. Mainstream net-users begin to compare Google 2K6 with Microsoft circa 1995."

This has already started happening - we've posted enough things about the big bad Google on this blog alone.

Jim makes many other interesting points, so head on over and prepare yourself for the year that lies ahead!

2006 SEO Predictions

 

Make buying impossible December 30, 2005

 

I've been using various versions of Norton Ghost for more years than I can remember.

The software makes an image of the whole of your hard drive. If disaster strikes, you insert a new hard drive, restore the image, and save an enormous amount of time and lost data.

To date I only had to use the software twice. But when I did, it was an absolute life saver.

A few days ago I read a detailed review of their latest version, and the magazine in question strongly recommended a competing product by Acronis.

After exploring the Acronis website, I decided to buy the software. After a fairly standard purchase procedure, I was then greeted with an error. I ran through the whole process again, and the same thing happened.

So I decided to call the company sales hotline. After almost fifteen minutes of being on hold, the sales rep answered. Despite being a little irritated that I didn't know my order number, she said she'd be able to process my order on the phone.

But for some reason, it was only when I spelt my surname that the penny dropped. "I think I might know what the problem is", she said brightly, before running off to check with someone. "It's because you're not in the US" she told me, with some pride, a few minutes later.

"If you go back to the website and click on the 'choose county/language' option in the top right corner, you'll be able to order there.

Holding back my irritation, as a good 40 minutes had already been spent trying to buy the software, I thanked her and hung off.

I went to the website, clicked on the link in question, and found that I can choose between the US, Germany, Russia and Singapore.

I assumed the German option would be the most sensible, and was whisked away to their local website. In German.

As much as I want this software, I am no longer prepared to spend time jumping through stupid hoops that shouldn't even be there.

When a person wants to be your customer, you have to make it as easy as possible for them to do so. Keep it simple, make everything crystal clear and don't assume that they all reside in the US.

If someone from Acronis wants to contact me, I'm still ready to purchase your Disk Image 9.0 software.