Search Engine Watch - Latest

Google Won't Pause New Privacy Policy - Should They Have To?

Miranda Miller — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:30:00 GMT

Google refuses to bend to EU regulators, who have asked the company to hold off on rolling out their new privacy policy. In the U.S., Google responded to a letter and attended a closed-door privacy briefing with members of Congress.

Valentine’s Day 2012 Ideas for Marketers

John Rampton — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:00:00 GMT

Valentines Day is less than two weeks away. For marketers looking to take advantage, Google and Microsoft adCenter have provided several ideas based on what users are already searching for. Top searches, products, and optimization tips.

How Affiliate Sites Can Best Exploit SEO

Jeff Slipko — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:00:00 GMT

Affiliate marketing is now an industry worth billions, although it’s fiercely competitive. Close analysis of relevant keywords can help you discover lucrative niches that may be overlooked in the rush for the big-ticket high traffic keywords.

Kick-Start Your PPC Campaign in 6 Easy Steps

Kevin Gibbons — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:00:00 GMT

Now is the perfect time to make changes, giving you a good few months of “normal” search traffic to analyze before major events like Christmas begin to make their presence known. Here are some tips to make your PPC campaign stand out from the crowd.

Trover: Local Search and Discovery Through Images

Michael Boland — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Trover is a new mobile local discovery app built around geotagged images. Trover’s CEO discusses possible futures for crowdsourced location-based search directories and the potential these new platforms to deliver more relevant, personalized ads.

Pot (Microsoft) Calls Kettle (Google) Black on Privacy

Danny Goodwin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:00:00 GMT

Did you know Microsoft truly puts people first? Instead of having horrible, evil products like Gmail, Google’s search engine, Google Docs, or Google Chrome, Microsoft saves us with Hotmail, Bing, Microsoft Office 365, and Internet Explorer 9.

Why the Twitter ‘Who Gives a Tweet’ Researchers are Wrong

Miranda Miller — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

A recent study by Carnegie Mellon University, MIT and Georgia Tech researchers found that 25 percent of tweets aren’t even worth reading, according to participants. They believe better filters will help. Actually, they have it all backwards.

Google Fined in France Because Google Maps is Free

Miranda Miller — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:00:00 GMT

A Paris court has ordered Google France and parent company Google Inc. to pay €500,000 ($660,000) in damages, after a two year court battle with French mapping company Bottin Cartographes over their unfair competition complaint.

How to Understand Your Google “Not Provided” Traffic

Dave Davies — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:00:00 GMT

By using the process outlined in this article, you can get a very good understanding of what the Google “not provided” data is in regards to what types of queries people are entering. Not exact, but good enough to make some solid extrapolations.

Social TV Grows Up: Communities and Advertisers Flock

Ron Schott — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:00:00 GMT

Several applications have sprung up that tie real-world actions to online communities, and allow for an experience that goes beyond the TV screen and into the palm of viewers’ hands. Here are a few applications that we see as category leaders.

Are You Competing with Your Own Business Identity?

Jeff Beard — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:00:00 GMT

As the search for local information continues to rise, so does the need for a shared consistent identity across all platforms. These best practices will ensure a normalized version of your company’s anchor identity throughout search results.

Facebook IPO Show Ad Revenue Increased 69% in 2011

ClickZ — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:05:00 GMT

Facebook's 2011 advertising revenues were $3.1 billion, up 69 percent from the year before, according to the Menlo Park, CA-based firm's S-1 filing today for its initial public offering.

Pinterest Driving More Referral Traffic Than Google+ [Infographic]

Danny Goodwin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:00:00 GMT

Forget Google+. Pinterest is the hot new social network right now. Numerous reports agree that unique visitors to Pinterest are skyrocketing, and that Pinterest is driving more referral traffic than Google+, LinkedIn, Reddit, and YouTube.

Google to Talk Privacy Policy in Private with Congress

Danny Goodwin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

The great Google privacy policy change freak out continues. In the latest developments, Google has defended its changes in a letter to Congress, and will send two Google reps to Washington, D.C., to give a “closed-door briefing” on the new policy.

Search Ad Spending Could Hit $19.51 Billion in 2012 [Report]

Danny Goodwin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:00:00 GMT

Led by Google and aided by the Summer Olympics and national elections, search ad spending will grow 27 percent to $19.51 billion in 2012, according to a new eMarketer report. By 2016, U.S. search spending could approach $30 billion.

Link for People, Not Search Engines

Eric Ward — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:00:00 GMT

There are hundreds of ways to build links the wrong way, and just as many ways to do it right. Your goal should be to be able to survive and thrive with or without Google. Never forget the quality, intent and relevancy of the link building process.

How Targeting People Will Change Paid Search

Alex Cohen — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:00:00 GMT

Google’s privacy policy revisions and the continued expansion of Google+ are part of an important trend in paid search: targeting ads to people, not just search queries. The more relevant the ads, the more satisfied users, the more clicks on ads.

Get Your adCenter Search Marketing Campaign in Shape for 2012

Rob Wilk — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Search advertisers who employ these popular tips that emerged from a series of workshops hosted by Yahoo over the past year will find it easier than ever to get their accounts in shape for what’s expected to be a big year for paid search.

Search and Social Marketing Olympians Compete for ROI Gold at SES London

Mike Grehan — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Business optimization in a digital age is the overriding theme for SES London this year. But it goes far beyond that. Experience first class business education on the latest SEO, social, PPC, local, and mobile strategies, as well as networking.

Google, Bing & Yahoo in Partnership to Sell Top Organic Local Listings?

Miranda Miller — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:30:00 GMT

Is a new local paid inclusion program that promises to "put your business above the competition" in local search rankings really in the works? Google, Bing, and one company supposedly involved all are denying any involvement in such a product.