Search Engine Watch Blog

Affiliate Convention LA Next Week, Free Admission Open Til Friday

Frank Watson — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:02:43 -0500

Affiliate Convention starts next week in Los Angeles and if you act fast there is still the chance to get full access for free until Friday.

WebmasterRadio.FM and AffEuro.com are bringing the second Affiliate Convention to the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles California on Thursday December 3rd and Friday 4th. Free registration for affiliates closes on Friday November 27th though paid tickets are available online or at the event for those who miss the cut-off date.

The sign up is available here.

The conference has some of the best speakers in the search and affiliate space including Dush Ramachandran, Vice President of ClickBank, Rosalind Gardner, Author of the Super Affiliate Handbook, Mike Mackin, CEO of Web-Traffic-Management, Rebecca Madigan, Executive Director of Performance Marketing Alliance, Heather Paulson, CEO of Paulson Management Group, Shai Pritz, CEO of Unique Leads, Matt Mickiewicz, Founder of 99Designs, David Duckwitz, CEO of Citizen Hawk, Tim Ash of SiteTuners, Scott Polk of Search and Social, President of SEOMoz Gillian Muessig and many more.

Add this to the party schedule that only the founders of WebmasterRadio can throw and this becomes an event you don't want to miss.

Italian Govt. Seeks Jail Time For Google Execs

Frank Watson — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:23:48 -0500

The Associated Press reported that Italian prosecutors are seeking "six-month to a year sentences for four Google executives Wednesday over an Internet video showing the bullying of a teenager with Down's Syndrome."

The Italian government believes Google had a responsibility of the published video when it was placed on YouTube, one of their properties.

The Google executives on trial are David Carl Drummond, the head of Google Italy's managing board at the time; George De Los Reyes, a board member who has since quit; Peter Fleitcher, in charge of privacy protection in Europe; and Arvind Desikan, head of videos for Europe.

Google claims they did exactly what is required under European and Italian law.

Peter Fleitcher, on his personal blog, stated "I won't be attending my trial in Milan in person. I'll be represented by outside counsel. I believe that each of my 3 co-defendants has reached the same conclusion. As for me, I'm under clear instructions from my outside counsel not to set foot in Italy, at all. That's a tragedy, since I love Italy."

He also outlined the timeline for the prosecution, "the Prosecutors present their case today, November 25. The Google employees' lawyers will present their defense on December 14 and a verdict should be issued on December 23."

Bing Hands Out 1,000 MasterCard Cash Cards at Boston and Seattle Airports

Nathania Johnson — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:57:42 -0500

If you're traveling through Boston's Logan Airport (BOS) or Seattle-Tacoma Airport (SEA) today, you have the chance to be one of 1,000 lucky people randomly selected to get a MasterCard cash gift card worth $15. That's the price of checking luggage on some airlines.

Bing is doing these random-acts-of-publicity the day before you stuff your face full of sweet potatoes and marshmallows.

Why Boston Logan and Seattle-Tacoma? These are the two airports that were used to launch the original Price Predictor.

Good luck, and safe travels to you.

AdCenter Updates Pop-Up Help Boxes

Nathania Johnson — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:48:29 -0500

Microsoft's adCenter have updated their pop-up help boxes to make them more, um, helpful.

The boxes now offer a "More" link that expand the information you have access to. They also offer assistance to guide you through the task you're embarked upon. There are also links to support and forums if you need even more information.

The goal is to provide on-the-spot help instead of users having to go hunting for help.

The pop-ups also now stay open until you don't need them anymore. They'll only close when you click the close X button, open a different pop-up, or navigate to another page.

AdWords Makes Product Extensions Available to All U.S. Advertisers

Nathania Johnson — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:32:51 -0500

Google has unleashed a new feature in AdWords and is making it available to all U.S. advertisers. The feature is called Product Extensions and it uses information from an advertiser's account in Google Merchant Center.

Product extensions allow images to be shown with your ad. However, unlike Product Listing Ads which are available on a Cost-Per-Action (CPA) basis, product extensions are available on a Cost-Per-Click (CPC) basis. The ads include a plusbox, which expands the ad. Advertisers will not be charged when a user simply clicks the plusbox - only when a user actually clicks through to the site.

Additionally, product extensions offer more control than product listing ads. For example, product extensions will only be triggered for ads by keywords set up in your campaign. And you can control which products appear in an ad. With Product Listing Ads, Google chooses these options for advertisers.

In order to use product extensions, go to your Google Merchant Account and add your AdWords account ID. Then, under the "Campaign Settings" in AdWords, look for "Ad Extensions" and choose "Use product images and information from my Google Merchant Center account."

Chris Liddell to Exit as Microsoft CFO; Peter Klein to Take Over Role

Nathania Johnson — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:19:30 -0500

Chris Liddell will be leaving his role as Microsoft's Chief Financial Officer at the end of 2009. Replacing him will be Peter Klein, who has been corporate vice president and CFO of Microsoft's Business Division (MBD).

Here's the official Steve Ballmer statement on the matter:

Chris and his finance team have accomplished a great deal over the past four and a half years. The team is deep and strong, and has an excellent record of building value for our shareholders. Peter brings great finance and operations expertise and a deep understanding of the company, and I am looking forward to a smooth transition that continues our commitment to cost containment and finance excellence.

Google Launches Mobile Version of Movie Search for iPhone, Palm and Android

Nathania Johnson — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:18:03 -0500

Tomorow, when you're so stuffed with turkey that you can't get up and check movie times on your laptop or desktop computer, just reach into your pocket. If you have an iPhone, Palm, or Android, simply fire up your mobile browser and visit http://www.google.com/movies.

However, since Google Movie Search still inexplicably thinks I live in New York State despite my current North Carolina location, I'll be sticking with the Fandango app on my iPhone.

In case you're wondering if you should even head out to the movies after your post-pumpkin pie nap, here's a list of movies coming out today and Thanksgiving:

Ninja Assassin
Old Dogs
The Road
Me and Orson Welles (LA/NY)
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (LA/NY)

If those don't suit your fancy, perhaps a recently-released-but-still-in-theaters movie will suit you better:

Fantastic Mr. Fox
Disney's A Christmas Carol (I highly recommend seeing this in 3D)
The Blind Side
The Twilight Saga: New Moon (OMG!!! Edward is so hot!!!!)
Couples Retreat
2012
Planet 51

Bing Mobile App Now Available for BlackBerry Curve

Nathania Johnson — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:52:04 -0500

A few weeks ago, Bing made its mobile application available for BlackBerry Storm devices. Now, the BlackBerry Curve is getting the mobile app treatment from Bing.

If you buy the new BlackBerry Curve 2 (8530) from Verizon, the app will come pre-installed in the device. If you have a different model Curve or carrier, then you can download the app at m.bing.com/download.

Microsoft-News Corp. Talks: A Marriage Made in Hell?

Greg Jarboe — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:15:13 -0500

Two weeks ago, I commented on Rupert Murdoch's threat that News Corp. was thinking of blocking Google from being able to search its Web sites: "Murdoch to Google: Drop Dead."

Now it appears that Microsoft and News Corp. are talking about a deal that would involve News Corp getting paid to prevent its news content from being indexed by Google, Google News, Yahoo! and Yahoo! News and only get found when you did a search on Bing.

Is this a marriage made in hell?

Yesterday, Bill Tancer, General Manager of Global Research at Hitwise, double-checked his data in a post entitled, "News Corp. - If You de-Index Will They Still Come?"

According to Tancer, Google referred over 15 percent of WSJ.com's traffic and Google News referred 11 percent as of last week. He analyzed Google search terms driving traffic to the Journal, and found the top 100 terms accounted for almost 22 percent of all Google search traffic to WSJ.com. Of that 22 percent, over 13 percent were navigational or brand searches (e.g. "Wall Street Journal," "WSJ," and "WSJ.com"). "Even if Murdoch decides to block Google, these navigational search queries will most likely remain intact," said Tancer.

Of the remaining 8 percent, the majority of searches were for stock quotes, and general business related searches. "Most specific news related searches fill-out the long tail of search queries. While the Journal may lose traffic if it ceases to cooperate with Google the loss may be less then anticipated," he added.

However, the potential loss of Google News traffic is potentially more serious. Over the past three years, WSJ.com's traffic from Google News has grown from 2 percent to over 11 percent.

As you can see in the Hitwise table to the left, the Journal is receiving more than double the traffic from Google News than newspaper sites overall -- a custom category including national and regional papers. Bing, the potential News Corp. suitor for search exclusivity provides less than half of Google News' volume as of last week.

As newspapers continue to search for a way out of the search rip current, some are rooting for Murdoch's maverick de-index strategy. Nevertheless, the numbers bring us back to reality. Observes Tancer, "As print continues to hemorrhage readership, could blocking your most significant traffic source be a wise choice?"

That's not what Gordon McLeod seemed to say during his keynote speech at Search Engine Strategies New York 2008. McLeod is president of The Wall Street Journal Digital Network, which includes WSJ.com, MarketWatch.com, Barrons.com, Dow Jones Classified Ventures, and the recently launched AllThingsD.com.

But that was then and this is now. And Bing may change the dynamic, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it. I think the Microsoft-News Corp. talks are a marriage made in hell.

This reminds me of the movie "Newsies," with Joseph Pulitzer trying to out-muscle the kids "carrying the banner." As Jack Kelly says in the movie, "Well, dat's da foist thing ya gotta learn - headlines don't sell papes. Newsies sell papes." And Murdoch needs to learn that his news content doesn't send traffic to the Journal. Google sends traffic to the Journal.

News Corp. doesn't have a monopoly on high quality business news. I can use Google and Google News to find high quality business news from hundreds of "fair and balanced" sources.

Am I wrong? Let me know what you think by posting a comment below.

Google Tweaks Product Search Just in Time for the Holidays

Nathania Johnson — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:58:30 -0500

Days before masses bust down the doors of brick and mortar stores and burden e-commerce servers, Google has released updates to its Product Search.

Recent tweaks include:

New gallery view

Instead of viewing in a vertical list, view products horizontally in rows. Click the gallery icon at the top right corner just above the results. Here's what the gallery view looks like on the results for sunglasses:

Review summaries

On product pages, Google is providing a quick glance at the overall feedback from the reviews for a given product:

Video product reviews from YouTube

Also on the product pages, look for a link - just under the product name - for "Videos," and you'll get access to reviews users have posted on YouTube:

Nearby stores

When you're in the "Compare Prices" grid, you'll see notifications of nearby brick-and-mortar locations of the listed retailer. Click on the link listing nearby stores and a window appears with a map, outlining the locations.

This is a great way to do a little virtual window shopping before you brave the crowds this weekend. Or - just avoid them altogether by buying online.

Hunch Tests New Question Flow; Asks for Feedback

Nathania Johnson — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:51:24 -0500

If you've used Hunch, you know that you can go through several questions in order to "teach" Hunch about you. Now, Hunch is attempting to improve the process of answering those questions with a new test. And they want your feedback.

They test involves non-yes or no questions - and you'll have to accept a cookie to participate. But you can turn the cookie off as you see fit. Visit the Hunch blog to learn more about the test.

Hunch is hoping to learn how to better refine the question process so that the can deliver better answers to searchers in a quicker manner.

Google Maps Launches Navigation for Android 1.6

Nathania Johnson — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:44:22 -0500

Recently, Google Maps launched Navigation, a robust GPS system for Android. But it only came out for Android 2.0, meaning it could only be used on the brand spankin' new Motorola Droid from Verizon.

Good news for Android 1.6 users. You'll get to use Navigation for your Turkey Day travels this week.

Simply update Google Maps from the Android Market to gain access to turn-by-turn directions, search by voice and to find coffee along that traffic-packed route you find yourself on this extended holiday weekend.

Google Launches Mobile Coupons 4 Days Before Black Friday

Nathania Johnson — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:33:05 -0500

Google is giving local businesses the ability to make their coupons available to mobile devices.

Accessing Coupons

You can find coupons on the recently launched Place Pages, which are accessed by searching Google Maps.

Offering Coupons

If you already have a printable coupon available, you can simply select an option to make those coupons available on mobile devices. Printable coupons were added to the Google Local Business Center a few years back.

Happy deal-making.

Yellow Journalism: New York Times Calls for Bing Boycott Over Chinese Results

Nathania Johnson — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:12:36 -0500

Nicholas Kristof took to the pages of the New York Times to call for a boycott of Bing. Yes, Kristoff is attempting to create the news instead of just cover it, and yes, that goes against the fundamentals covered in any Journalism 101 class.

Kristof claims that Bing is cozying up to China and serving up censored results. Kristof even admits that Google is serving up some censored results, but only calls for the Bing boycott.

Bing admitted that it still has some "bugs" when it comes to results in Simplified Chinese characters.

Listen, it's not easy doing the search business in China. The country is constantly banning internet properties and overreacting to content it feels threatened by. The challenges are many, and there's no perfect answer. I suspect all search engines will have to constantly examine how their results will play in China, especially as the political landscape changes.

Many outside factors aren't exactly helping U.S. companies, as humorously depicted in a Saturday Night Live sketch this past weekend (NSFW).

Google to Acquire Display Ad Optimization Startup, Teracent

Nathania Johnson — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:00:14 -0500

Google has announced a new agreement to acquire Teracent, a San Mateo display advertising optimization startup. Teracent uses technology that chooses from thousands of elements and machine-learning algorithms to serve up ads in real-time.

Elements include tweaking colors, images, messaging, and products. Then the ads are targeted even more according to location, language, time of day, etc.

The acquisition is expected to be complete sometime this quarter. After that, Google plans to implement Teracent's technology to the Google Content Network and DoubleClick.