Keep an eye on Kosmix February 1, 2006

 

UK software pirates can no longer hide February 2, 2006

 

The English High Court appears to be taking a step in the right direction on the issue of software piracy. 10 ISPs have been ordered to reveal the identities of 150 "file-swappers" who have been accused of illegally uploading copyrighted software onto the internet. Finally it would seem that the courts are starting to catch up with technology. Hopefully this will catch on worldwide.

ISPs ordered to reveal software file-sharers

 

Site cred, yo February 2, 2006

 

There's a great post over at Todd Malicoat's blog, where he lists 21 ways of improving your online credibility and building a better relationship with your customers. Some of the better ones (which we always keep an eye out for in our website reviews) include a contact page with a physical address, updating your home page regularly, spelling correctly, and having a good About page.

Number 21, "Have a freakin' sense of humour" has got to be my favourite though:

"If you enjoy your work, and your website, and your visitors, you will improve your credibility, and your overall happiness. Take time to laugh, poke fun at yourself, and make others laugh as well. Show people that you’re human and not a corporate drone. Not only is it good for your soul... it’s good for credibility and your business."

Hear, hear.

Do Your Users Trust You? 21 Tips for Improved Website Credibility

 

More Bigdaddy - Google changes are afoot! February 3, 2006

 

Bigdaddy, the Google infrastructure change that we mentioned last month, is continuing to roll out. It is now available at three data centers, the latest of which is 216.239.51.104. The results look good.

According to Matt Cutts, there will probably be a new data center converted to Bigdaddy approximately every ten days. The more time passes, the more likely you are to see Bigdaddy results when you do a regular Google search.

Oh, and they're interested in hearing spam and quality feedback, so if you are frustrated by your spammy competition getting the top rankings, now is the time to act.

Read that last sentence again!

Bigdaddy progress update

 

Friday diversion February 3, 2006

 

Tired? Want the weekend to start already? Give your weary brain a break with the Tech Buzz Game from Yahoo. It's a fantasy prediction game that lets you make judgements on emerging trends and guess whether or not they will be successful.

No, I've not tried it myself, but it sounds interesting - this is what Chris Sherman from SearchEngineWatch has to say about it:

"The game is fun if you're interested in the whole idea of buying and selling based on your own bets on future trends. But what makes it even more interesting is that each stock has a "buzz score" that represents its percent of search buzz compared to other stocks in the same market."

So you're not only playing, you're trying to predict future search trends. That sounds almost like work - perfect for Fridays! Oh, and it's free, too.

Searching for the Future

 

Will web-based services be the end of client software? Not according to Microsoft. February 6, 2006

 

There is a lot of talk nowadays about the topic of Software as a Service. With the upcoming launch of Microsoft's Office Live, many people are speculating that this may be the beginning of the end for client software. According to an article on PCWorld.com, Microsoft thinks that client software is here to stay.

Microsoft: Services, Software Will Coexist

 

Google in your car February 6, 2006

 

At the moment, the only time that I feel like I get away from the world of Google is when I leave the house. That could change in the future, provided I buy a Volkswagen. The German car manufacturer has partnered with Google and chipmaker nVidia to develop a navigation system that is based on the Google Earth satellite data.

Apparently, they're hoping that the result will be "more real looking than anything that's available today", as it will feature accurate 3D maps that will help the driver recognize the surrounding topography.

Interesting.

Now, what's with Google and German cars today? And what would happen if Google now were to discover that Volkswagen are using spammy redirects? Would they kick their new partner out of the index? I wonder...

Google shows VW the way home

 

The wrath of Google February 6, 2006

 

Nobody is safe from the keen, spam-spotting eyes of Google. Think you're too big, so important that they wouldn't dare mess with you? Think again. Last week, the BMW Germany website was kicked out of the Google index. You can now search Google.de for BMW and there is no sign of the famous car manufacturer's German website.

According to Matt Cutts, this happened because they were using JavaScript redirecting pages which were stuffed full of keywords. If BMW want to appear in the Google index again, they will have to file a reinclusion request and reveal who created these illegitimate doorways. Ouch. This must be such a bad time to be a black hat SEO - you may have thought you were safe if you were working in a language other than English, but those days are definitely over.

What I can't get my head around is why BMW did this in the first place. They are huge, with one of the best known brands in the world, and really shouldn't need to rely on spammy techniques to rank well and attract customers.

Tsk, tsk.

We ourselves have come across "reputable" companies that set up pages like these for their clients. And there's at least one well-known name within the shareware industry who have created these pages for their account holders. As far as I know, they still do so. If you know what I'm talking about, now could be a good time to get rid of them. Immediately.

Ramping up on international webspam

 

Paid-search advertising quality brought into question February 7, 2006

 

An interesting article on ComputerWorld.com discusses paid search advertising and whether companies like Google and Microsoft need to do a better job of policing their ad buyers. One interesting example is the anti-spyware maker that Microsoft is currently suing. They still have adverts on MSN Search. Should Microsoft drop the ads?

Paid search results often not worth the click

 

Amazon competing with Google? February 7, 2006

 

According to an article on RedHerring.com, Amazon might be creating its own version of AdSense. Details are still a bit sketchy, but a bit of competition is never bad for the consumer.

Amazon Eyes Google’s Turf

 

Protecting your privacy February 7, 2006

 

Wired.com has an interesting article about how to protect your privacy when you're using search engines. The main reason for this appears to be the ongoing story about Google's refusal to provide the US government with search data. Pointing out that nobody's asking for data that can identify the users - at least not yet - the article explains how to go about protecting yourself should this happen in the future.

Personally, I doubt that anybody would be particularly interested in my searches. Although I might come across as ever-so-slightly obsessed with camera lenses, I don't think anyone would mistake me for a criminal mastermind. Nevertheless, this article does contain some food for thought.

As an example, I was astonished to read that Google has a new cookie that doesn't expires until 2036. In theory, someone could look at the searches I did this morning thirty years from now. Hmmm. I wonder what lenses will be around then?

How to Foil Search Engine Snoops

 

BBC reports on BMW February 7, 2006

 

Following up on yesterday's post about BMW being kicked out of Google's index, it's interesting to see that the BBC have also decided to turn their attention to this story. However, it would be nice if they could get their facts straight.

"Google has now reduced BMW's page rank to zero, ensuring the company no longer appears at the top."

Um, yes, their PageRank might well be zero now, but that fact that they are no longer indexed is the real problem. They're not going to show up anywhere, top or bottom.

The article also contains this little gem:

"A BMW spokesman admitted the company used the doorway pages, a practice known as search engine optimisation and banned by Google."

Sigh. So now illegitimate doorways equal search engine optimisation? And search engine optimisation is banned by Google?

I just love it when they throw these statements around. I know I'm going to hear a lot of "But isn't SEO banned by Google?" in the future.

BMW given Google 'death penalty'

 

Security, the uphill battle February 8, 2006

 

No matter how security conscientious you happen to be, the fight to keep your system secure remains an uphill battle. PCWorld.com is reporting on research from Princeton University that claims that many popular programs are creating back doors into users systems.

Researchers: Popular Apps Mismanage Security

 

Google Talk and ads February 8, 2006

 

As you probably know by now, Google is adding chat to Gmail. It contains some interesting features, such as the ability to save and search chats.

There's an interesting little post on Search Engine Roundtable about the fact that this could mean that contextual ads lie ahead. In other words, you could be chatting to a friend about wanting to go on holiday to New York, and up pops an advert for an airline or a travel agent.

Of course, this isn't the case yet. But I can't say I'm looking forward to the day when it might happen.

One Step Closer to Google Talk Contextual Ads

 

BMW.de is back February 8, 2006

 

Google have reincluded the German BMW site in their Index. Matt Cutts says:

"I appreciate BMW’s quick response on removing JavaScript-redirecting pages from BMW properties. The webspam team at Google has been in contact with BMW, and Google has reincluded bmw.de in our Index."

There's some serious grumbling in the comments section of Matt's blog. Why did BMW get reincluded after less than week, when so many other sites have to wait 30 days? Why is it that Google got in contact with BMW, when contacting Google is so notoriously difficult for "normal people"?

It does seem very quick, yes, but at the end of the day it is their right to make these decisions. Google listings are free, people, and whether you like the way they do things or not doesn't really come into it.

Recent reinclusions

 

Good-looking websites February 9, 2006

 

Over at Web Design from Scratch, there's a nice collection of websites that are "typical of today's best design". Ben Hunt has also put together a list of reasons why these sites work so well. The list includes simple layout, soft neutral background colours, and nice big text.

If you think your website is looking tired and you're in need of some inspiration, this is well worth a look.

Current style in web design

 

Search Engine use up February 10, 2006

 

According to a press release by Nielsen//Netratings, U.S. search engine use grew by 55 percent in December 2005 over December 2004. Almost 5.1 billion searches in December 2005, with only 3.3 billion in December of 2004.

Online searches grow 55 percent year-over-year to nearly 5.1 billion searches in December 2005

 

Blind student sues website February 10, 2006

 

This is an interesting story. A blind student at UC Berkeley is suing the Target corporation because he can't use their website.

Yes, this made me sit back and blink for a second too. To a seeing person, the idea of blind people surfing the web seems surprising. Apparently, though, that is not the case. With the help of the right software, surfing the web is as easy for the blind as it is for anyone else. That is, with the exception of the Target website. From SFGate.com:

"Target thus excludes the blind from full and equal participation in the growing Internet economy that is increasingly a fundamental part of daily life," said the suit, which seeks class action certification."

Could this be a sign of things to come? Could all online shops be forced to comply with certain accessibility guidelines in the future?

Blind student sues Target over firm's Web site

 

The TrafficPower saga February 13, 2006

 

You may already have heard about the infamous SEO company Traffic-Power who got many of their clients kicked out of the search engines by using illegitimate techniques.

In an interesting development, Matt Cutts has gone as far as confirming that Google have removed Traffic-Power.com and their clients from their Index. Apparently, Google usually don't confirm or deny these matters, but this time they've consulted their lawyers and done exactly that.

Why? Because Traffic-Power is trying to sue a site called TrafficPowerSucks.com and have claimed among other things, that they were never penalized in the first place. Here's a part of their list of claims:

"The false and defamatory information includes but is not limited to the following:

a. Claims that the search engine giant Google has banned and is banning from its search engine listings websites of Traffic-Power.com clients because of the search engine optimization strategies used by Plaintiff.

b. Claims that clients of Traffic-Power.com run the risk of being banned from Google search engine listings if they use Traffic-Power.com services;"

Now that Google have gone out and confirmed that they are indeed banned, they don't have a leg to stand on.

I would hate to be Traffic-Power.

Confirming a penalty

 

On the cover of Time February 13, 2006

 

Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have finally made it to the cover of Time magazine, complete with an accompanying interview. Good news for them, of course, but to be honest I'm starting to find them a little bit grating.

I think it's partly the whole Do No Evil thing, and partly their cultivated geek-image. And the fact that they're always playing with Lego, and carried on doing so during the interview. Apparently, Larry Page was building "a kind of endlessly ascending staircase". And Brin?

"BRIN: I was hoping to build a Lego nuclear reactor, but I think I have a bazooka-wielding robot.

PAGE: Hey, I know. Let's build Eric [Smidt, CEO] out of Legos."

Now, don't mind Lego, and I like Google, but this whole image thing is starting to feel very forced.

Or maybe it's just Monday morning grumpiness.

Meet the Google Guys

 

No more questions for Jeeves February 13, 2006

 

AskJeeves is about to disappear. Or rather, Ask will remain, but Jeeves is being fired. After being an integral part of the website since 1996, Jeeves is now leaving and the Ask search site is going through a re-brand.

Those of you who will miss the sight of his friendly yet distinguished face will be reassured to know that he is moving on to better things. A special website has been set up where visitors can sign a farewell card for Jeeves, and help him decide how to spend his retirement. So far, the votes are leaning heavily in favour of a year in Provence.

By the end of February, Jeeves will be gone.

I shall miss him.

Search site retires iconic Jeeves

 

What if your software was flagged as spyware or a virus? February 14, 2006

 

According to an article on CNET News.com, Microsoft's anti-spyware app incorrectly flagged some of Symantec's software as spyware. Microsoft has since rectified the issue but this is not something to be ignored. While Symantec can probably pick up the phone and call some reasonably important people over at Microsoft, what are you supposed to do when your software is wrongfully accused as being a virus or spyware? This could have deadly consequence if not resolved quickly. If this could be a problem for you, are you testing for this? Do you know who to call?

Microsoft flagged Symantec software as spyware

 

Terms and conditions February 14, 2006

 

When you install new software, most of the installation process flows by completely automatically. The norm seems to be to tick the little box and click I Agree without actually bothering to read through any of the terms and conditions. Why? Too tiring, too boring, and there's probably nothing of interest in there anyway.

But what if you don't install a lot of software? What if you're relatively new to the world of downloadable software and all that scrolling, impenetrable legal talk scares you? Might you not just give up and decide to leave it to another day, or abandon the idea altogether?

Maybe, maybe not. But the point is that there's nothing to gain by not making things clear, understandable and accessible to your customers. As Jared Spool over at UIE discovered when he was trying to determine whether or not he'd be allowed to distribute articles from Time Magazine to his students.

"But the design of the form makes that extremely difficult. It’s a 4 line by 28 character scrolling text box. At best, it can display 112 characters or approximately 22 words. Yet, the document is 1,276 words long. The form can only display 2% of the available text at a time.

How am I supposed to see the scope of this document through the pinhole of the 4 x 28 text element?"

Many other sites are guilty of this. They don't want you to actually read their terms and conditions, so they make it as difficult as possible. If you're looking for specific information and come across this kind of attitude, it might make you feel quite uncomfortable. Who wants to use a website that appears to have something to hide?

Don't think that user-friendliness is limited to your actual software or website. The entire process counts, terms and conditions included.

What are we agreeing to?

 

New Google Product - Blog Analytics. February 15, 2006

 

A new product was announced on the Google Blog today. Measure Map lets you take your blog and web stats, merge the two together and see if you're talking to yourself or if you actually have an audience.

Here comes Measure Map

 

MSN Search and Win February 15, 2006

 

So you put a lot of effort into building your search engine, but they just won't come and use it. What are you supposed to do? Give away prizes? According to an article on redherring.com, Microsoft's MSN Search will be doing just that. It's called MSN Search and Win.

MSN Search and Win

 

Annoying emails February 15, 2006

 

Gone are the days when there was a very clear, strictly-adhered-to letter writing etiquette. Nowadays, you'll be lucky if you get a "hello", never mind a "Dear so-and-so, I hope this letter finds you well". Personally, I always try to be polite in my emails, but of course I understand that there isn't always time for pleasantries.

But there is so much confusion. Everyone seems to have their own way of doing things - they start by quoting you, or they don't quote you at all, or they send short, cryptic messages that make no sense at all. I'm sure you've all had one of those emails that just say "Yes.". Yes what, exactly? Sometimes, this is the answer to a question that was asked two days ago, and you have to scroll down and read through the previous email or perhaps even go back and check your sent items.

Anyway, I think we all feel frustrated by this from time to time. Over at Poynter, Jill Geisler has written an interesting article about email misunderstandings and what can be done about them.

She brings up some great points, so it's well worth a read.

E-Mail Misunderstandings

 

Backup bonanza February 15, 2006

 

Obviously, I don't need to tell you about the importance of backing up. If you read this blog, you're unlikely to be an average computer user who never realised that Things Can Go Wrong and Data Can Disappear.

However, if you're currently looking for a new backup solution, you might want to have a look at this impressive collection of links that Bazac has put together.

Backup, backup, backup... now!

 

The old lady and the sea February 16, 2006

 

There's not a lot of news out there today, so instead I thought I'd share this bizarre little story with you. Imagine the surprise of a pensioner in Devon, the UK, when two lifeboat rescue teams showed up on her doorstep. Why? Because her digital television box had been transmitting a distress signal. Somehow, the box had switched from receiving to sending.

The mind boggles.

TC box launches sea rescue search

 

Inside search February 16, 2006

 

If you're really, truly interested in how search engines work, and you have a lot of time on your hands, you might want to make your way through a certain list of links over at the Cre8asite forums. Bill Slawski has put together an incredibly detailed list of papers and patents, with topics ranging from nonstandard text entry to variable snippet lengths.

Be warned, it's not for the faint-hearted.

List of papers and patents?

 

Search engine that thrives on community February 17, 2006

 

Entering into the search engine business is not easy. The biggest problem is getting people to actually use your search engine. The new approach to breaking the Google stranglehold is paying people to use your search engine.

Not too long ago, MSN Search announced the "MSN Search and Win" promotion, where they will be giving away prizes to users of their search engine. Now a new company is putting a different spin on the idea.

PreFound.com is a search engine that gives a more communal approach to the searching process. The basic idea is that if someone already carried out a search on a particular topic and found valuable information, why would someone else need to start the search process over from the beginning?

PreFound.com lets users share their search results. The obvious issue with that is they need people to search and build the community. Those people are called "Featured Finders" who carry out the task of searching, tagging and sharing the links with other users. They can then (potentially) benefit from the Google AdSense revenue on their so called "expert pages" where their pre-found selections can be seen.

The question is, will it work?

Search With the Human Touch

 

When Google finds things you'd rather it didn't February 17, 2006

 

There's a very interesting and fairly scary article over at Silicon Valley Sleuth. I really hadn't considered how many things you can find on Google that you really shouldn't be able to access. Those spiders crawl very deep into your site - and if you're the slightest bit careless, or perhaps simply don't know about these things, this could be quite a big problem.

Search for payroll.xls, and you'll be able to find overviews of employees and their hourly wages. You can find password files, too, and router interfaces with default login and password settings. Search for sites that have "remote desktop web connection" in the title, and that's exactly what you'll get - desktops that you can take over.

But I should probably point out that I tried all these searches and found nothing whatsoever, so I think you have to be prepared to dig quite deep. But it's worrying that there's so much out there, exposed.

Thanks to Seomoz for finding this article first. Have a look at it, the screenshots are chilling.

Things you don't want Google to find

 

AOL Search and MSN search - looks very familiar? February 20, 2006

 

Copying is supposed to be a form of flattery, but I'm not sure that AOL Search and MSN search are trying to flatter Google.

Search Engine Redesigns

 

Search for Women February 20, 2006

 

This is a bit silly. Via John Battelle, a transcript from an iVillage conference call reveals a plan to re-launch Women.com as a vertical search site for women. They're planning on launching "Search for Women" at the end of the second quarter of 2006.

Do women really need their own search engine? Are the things they search for really so different that Google won't suffice? Also, I can only imagine the horrors that a potential, rivalling "Search for Men" would entail.

Call me soppy, but Google brings people together. If we start having different search engines for men and women, rich and poor, meat-eaters and vegetarians, we'll lose something great.

On the other hand, I really can't see it taking off, so I certainly won't lose any sleep over it.

iVillage to relaunch Women.com

 

Sopranos and Google Maps February 20, 2006

 

An unlikely combination, perhaps, and I'm not really sure how it's going to work. But apparently HBO is paying Google for the use of its Google Maps technology to promote the start of a new season of Sopranos.

The idea appears to be to highlight New Jersey locations that have played a significant role in the popular show.

Interesting idea. I'm looking forward to seeing exactly what they're going to do.

HBO Uses Google Maps to Promote Sopranos

 

Keep IT Real February 21, 2006

 

According to an article on The Register, Microsoft has begun a new campaign designed to cut down software piracy in the UK. It is called 'Keep IT Real'.

The aim is to lower the UK piracy levels for Windows by 5% within three years. Microsoft is saying that this will help the UK economy.

Microsoft reveals piracy battle plan for the UK

 

Instant messaging for businesses February 21, 2006

 

AOL are expected to unveil a new, paid-for corporate IM service today. Tentatively named AIM Pro, it will differ from the free AIM service by offering a customised interface, additional security, voice capabilities and more.

Corporate chatting. Why does it make me picture little grey smilies wearing ties?

But more importantly, do they really think that this will catch on?

ICQ, Trillian and others are already capable of secure, encrypted instant messaging.

Do they work? I don't know.

But what person in their right mind would send sensitive information through an IM client?

Could this be another product without demand?

AOL to launch premium IM

 

Google vs. the government - an update February 21, 2006

 

I'm sure you're all wondering how the big tug-of-war is shaping up. Is Google still stubbornly clinging to the search data, or have the US government managed to reel it in?

Not surprisingly, Google is still refusing to hand over any data. They have now filed a strongly worded response, stating that complying with the request to hand over one week's worth of search data would violate user privacy and could even reveal trade secrets to its rivals.

Google also points out, very accurately in my opinion, that the data the government are asking for will not be helpful in any way. How could a week's worth of search terms and a million random websites possibly accomplish anything? Ostensibly, it's supposed to be used to show that children could be exposed to pornographic material, but that would be difficult to prove as there would be no connection between searches, search results and users. I like the way Google puts it in their response:

"This statement is so uninformed as to be nonsensical."

The American Civil Liberties Union have also filed court documents in support of Google's stance. The court hearing is scheduled for 13 March.

Google throws out US data demand

 

Nude photos aren't art, says Google February 22, 2006

 

This has been going on for quite some time now, but it doesn't seem to be dying down. Last Friday, a judge ruled that the Google image search probably infringes copyright law by displaying thumbnails of images from a certain adult website.

The problem is that some of the images have been copied and distributed by pirate sites, where Google has found and indexed them. It's also made more complicated by the fact that Google receives AdSense revenues from these pirate sites.

As far as I understand, Google claims that the photographs of naked women are not creative, but rather of a factual nature and therefore exempt from copyright.

Nude photo site wins injunction against Google

 

Dell's websites face deletion? February 22, 2006

 

No, not the websites belonging to the Dell that you're all familiar with. Rather, the sites of an (un)fortunately named website designer called Paul Dell. He's being sued by Dell because one of his creations is called dellwebsites.com.

Or at least, so he claims:

""Dell is suing me for €100,000 in damages to Dell America, €50,000 to Dell France and ordering me to pay each Dell Company €40,000 and €500 for every presence of the word Dell on my site," said Paul Dell, on his Web site."

However, Dell the computer manufacturer have refused to comment on this, calling the whole thing "an unsubstantiated rumour".

I'm not sure what to think. But it's certainly a great way for Paul Dell to get some serious attention, and he's also launched an appeal for funds on his website, apparently to be used to engage an intellectual-property lawyer.

At the moment, I'm just glad there are no computer manufacturers called Dave.

Dell sues Dell over Web hosting site

 

Build websites with Google February 23, 2006

 

In attempt number 4,563,210 at taking over the entire world, Google has launched a new tool - a simple web page creator. This free, online tool lets users build good-looking web pages without learning any HTML or using complicated software. Apparently, all you need is a Gmail account - you don't even need to worry about hosting.

Perfect for small, simple and relatively static sites, the Page Creator includes some very nice-looking templates.

Great news for users, not so great for publishers of simple website design tools.

Google Page Creator

 

Vista revisited February 23, 2006

 

Okay, I wish they'd make their minds up. Microsoft have now declared that Vista, the next version of Windows, is more of a business release than anything else. Everybody was under the impression that Vista was big news for consumers, but apparently that's no longer the case.

"Brad Goldberg, general manager of Windows Client product management, said in a conference call with journalists: "Windows Vista is as much, if not more, a business release.""

Oh, and they also said that they know there's been a lot of speculation about Vista, and that they'll make more information available "very, very soon".

I won't be holding my breath.

Microsoft updates Vista preview

 

Yahoo bans trademarked keyword bidding February 24, 2006

 

Starting next week, U.S. advertisers will no longer be able to bid on their competitors trademarked keywords in Yahoo Search Marketing. This is fairly big news, because trademark bidding has caused feelings to run high for a long time.

Yahoo claims that the reasoning behind this is to "deliver quality user experiences", but that's just plain silly. As Danny Sullivan points out, it's much more likely that they're simply trying to attract some big brand advertisers and want to be able to reassure them that the whole Pontiac/Mazda thing won't be a problem.

Yahoo modifies trademark keyword policy

 

Google AdWords lesson 01 - moving up a notch February 24, 2006

 

It may or may not come as a surprise to discover that there are two people contributing to this blog nowadays. I'll leave it to you to work out (a) who the second person is, and (b) which entries they are responsible for.

This may help though.

I've been writing (somewhat obsessively) about the advantages of Google AdWords for quite some time now. And anyone who has attended any of the worldwide shareware conferences in the last few years has undoubtedly seen and heard me ranting on about just how great AdWords is.

So I've decided to take it up a notch. Instead of just writing about how good it is, I think it's time we started looking at how to improve your Google AdWords ROI.

To that end, I'll be writing occasional postings over the coming weeks that assume two things. That you already have an active AdWords account. And that you'd like to start making more money from it.

I'll start with the basics, and by the time we're through, you should have been able to significantly improve the profitability of your account.

Today we'll start with the absolute basics.

Keyword matching.

Whether or not you know it, there are four different matching options for the keywords that you have in your ad groups.

Let's show a sample ad, with some sample keywords.

Let's say that I am selling an email client, and choose to advertise it on AdWords.

My ad might be as follows:

Powerful Email Features
The Power User's choice. More than
10,000,000 features! Free trial.

And here are my keywords:

email
email program
email client
powerful email

Let's take a look at the four matching options, and see what effect each may have.

Broad match is the default option. If used incorrectly, it can waste you a great deal of money.

In the above example, all are (by default) using broad matching.

If someone searches for email, they may see my ad. If someone searches for email program, they may see my ad.

So far so good.

The problem is that if someone searches for online email, they may see my ad. Why? Because one of the words (email) matches. Now you see what the "broad" is really about.

Free email client? Your ad many be displayed.

You can see why this may be less than ideal.

Phrase match is the next step up. By entering the keywords in quotation marks, as in "email program", your precise phrase needs to be within the search.

So a person searching for program email wouldn't see your ad. But they might see your ad if they search for powerful email client.

Unfortunately, they might also see your ad if they search for free email client.

The next matching options goes a step further.

Exact Match is really as tight as it gets. By surrounding the keywords in brackets, as in [email program], your ad may only be displayed if the exact phrase is searched.

Free email won't work. Neither will email powerful or cool email program. But your ad may be displayed if someone searches for your precise phrases.

There's also one more match option.

Negative keywords allow you to ensure that your ad is not displayed if the search query contains specific terms.

Negatives are added using the - sign.

So by adding the following:

-free
-mac

You will ensure that your ad isn't displayed by someone searching for free email, free email client, or mac os email client.

What are the best matching options to use?

Watch this space.

 

Jeeves is gone February 27, 2006

 

Today, the website formerly known as Ask Jeeves officially became Ask.com, dropping the friendly butler and changing its look and feel. In doing this, Ask.com is hoping to become "a serious alternative to any search engine out there".

So what is Ask.com like? Well, they claim it is "minimal" in design, but personally I think it just looks a little unfinished. A customizable toolbox with links to various search tools makes it easy to search for news, images, bloglines, shopping and more. The maps seem particularly nice, with very clear, easy to use directions.

All in all: not bad. I won't be switching over from Google, but I will use their maps again.

Ask Loses Jeeves, Gains New Features

 

Click Fraud Concerns February 27, 2006

 

An article on ClickZ discusses the growing problem of click fraud:

"Three times as many online advertisers and search engine marketing (SEM) firms said click fraud was a serious issue in 2005 compared to the year before. Of the 553 respondents to SEMPO's December 2005 "The State of Search Engine Marketing" survey, 16 percent of advertisers and agencies say they are tracking click fraud, and agree it's a significant problem."

If you're working with pay-per-click, then it really is critical to keep a close eye on it at all times - or you could end up paying for nothing at all. But you didn't need me to tell you that, right?

More Marketers Concerned About Click Fraud

 

For you, by you? February 28, 2006

 

An interesting little post over at UIE brings up the fact that open source software is rarely designed with usability in mind. Quoting Jeff Patton, they go as far as saying that this is actually the case for a lot of software, open source or not:

"Developers often design good software for developers. FUBU [For Us, By Us]".

I think this is a common problem. Developers, by definition, don't think or use software like the general public do. When they ask their developer friends or dabbling-developer beta testers to test their software, they're not going to get feedback that represents the general public.

Don't develop software that YOU think is easy to use. Get to know your users, and design your software with them, and only them, in mind.

Firefox: Self-centered design?

 

Origami news February 28, 2006

 

You may already have heard about Microsoft's Origami Project, as the Internet has been overflowing with rumours about it lately. Details are supposed to be released next month, but so far Origami appears to be a new kind of device. Bigger than a handheld, smaller than a notebook, the goal is supposedly to create something that can be sold for less than $600.

The Origami Project website doesn't give much away, though.

Details unfolding on Microsoft's 'Origami'

 

Google AdWords lesson 02 - taking "matching options" [one step further] February 28, 2006

 

Last week's entry looked at the basics of the different keyword matching options. If you missed it, you should probably read it before starting here.

Assuming you are already quite familiar with the five matching options, then let's look at how we can best use them. If, however, you didn't bat an eyelid when I mentioned five matching options, despite there only being four, it's probably a good idea to recap last week's entry.

Many of the campaigns that I've worked with over the last few years have consistently tripped up over the matching options. Typically, they fall into one of two categories:

1 - Everything is broad matched, often using single words. Shudder.

2 - Everything is exact matched, meaning that only the searches for the exact phrase that the advertiser has listed will see the ads.

Exact matches give you the tightest control over the number of impressions and clicks. You know exactly what people will be searching for when they see your ad. If they don't precisely enter your exact words, then they won't see your ad.

The main advantage of exact matching is targeting. The ads should only be shown to people searching for your product/s, and so the CTR should theoretically be higher.

The main disadvantage of exact matching is the precision. If a person searching for your product uses a search phrase that you never thought of, then they won't see your ad. They'll most likely see your competition. And the fact is that you can never be 100% sure of exactly what people might search for.

Phrase matching is the next step down. It's not quite as rigid as exact matching, but is considerably tighter than broad matching.

So if you're bidding on "email client", and a person searches for powerful email client, then they may see your ad.

The main advantage of phrase matching is that as long as you are careful, you should be able to ensure that your ad is displayed when someone is searching for your product, even if you didn't predict the exact phrase that they were searching for.

The disadvantage is that this flexibility may also work against you. In the above example, a person searching for free email client might also see your ad.

But the all too-often overlooked matching option is the negative match.

Correct use of negatives essentially allow you to say to Google: "If any of the following keywords show up in the search, do not display my ads."

Meaning that if you're selling a $60 Windows email client, it's probably a good idea to use negatives such as free, mac os, linux, hack, warez, crack, serial and so on.

One last thing while we're still on matching options. Some people seem to think that because exact matches are so much safer, it's advisable to spend more on these matches.

The fact is, however, that just because it's safer, you don't need to spend more money on these bids. Remember that your ad's average position is determined by Click Through Rate (CTR) and maximum Cost Per Click (CPC). So while it may well be safe to spend more, you may be able to retain your average position even by spending less.

But pricing is a subject for another day.