SEO:Search

Want a snapshot of the day’s search marketing news? Here we’ve collected today’s top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• 7 Ways Brands Can “Get Social”
  Many brands are wary of exposing themselves on social media sites, but as anyone who’s been involved in social media for more than five minutes knows, they’re too late.
• Schedule optimization for SES New York
  The biggest Search Engine Strategies conference of the year will be held the week of March 17 in New York City.
• Yahoo Changes Minimum Bid Policy on Search Ads
  Instead of setting all minimum bids at $0.10, Yahoo will now allow the market to set a variable minimum bid.
• SEW Experts: Google is an Optimist. Newspapers are Pessimists.
  The Internet is a speeding freight train. If newspapers, and for that matter all traditional media, don’t begin immediately to think drastically different, the train will pass them by.
• SEW Experts: Online SEO Training Options
  There are both benefits and drawbacks to taking an online SEO training course.

Click to read the rest of this post…

Many brands are wary of exposing themselves on social media sites, but as anyone who’s been involved in social media for more than five minutes knows, they’re too late. In today’s SearchDay, "The Role of the Brand in Social Media Marketing," Userplane's Mike Jones shares seven social marketing tactics to help your brand "get social" and join the conversation:

1. Boost the Fun Factor
2. See the Forest and the Trees
3. Widgets are Welcome
4. Conversation is King
5. Engage
6. Research and Listen
7. Don’t Go It Alone

The biggest Search Engine Strategies conference of the year will be held the week of March 17 in New York City. Whether this will be your first SES New York, or the fifth one in a row that you’ve attended since 2004, you might appreciate some free advice on schedule optimization.

One look at the conference at a glance will tell you why. There are more than 70 workshops, keynotes, panels and sessions over the four-day Search Engine Strategies conference. And, on the fifth day, there are an additional six SEM training classes following SES New York.

Since there are five concurrent tracks during the four-day Search Engine Strategies conference and three concurrent workshops during the fifth day of SEM training, no one can attend everything. This is not daunting to the first-time attendee. It is also a challenge to someone like me, who attended SES New York in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. I’m looking at last year’s conference handbook and this year’s conference at a glance and more than 70% of the sessions are new!

Now, Danny Sullivan programmed last year’s show and Kevin Ryan organized this year’s agenda. But, that’s only one of the factors driving the dramatic changes in the content at the event.

On the last day of last year’s Search Engine Strategies conference in New York City, Google announced its $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick, which is still pending. A couple of weeks later, Yahoo! acquired the remaining 80% of Right Media for $680 million. Then, last May, Microsoft acquired aQuantive for $6 billion. Last July, Microsoft acquired AdECN for an undisclosed amount of money and in September, Yahoo! acquired BlueLithium for $300 million in cash. Then, on Feb. 1 of this year, Microsoft proposed to acquire Yahoo! for $44.6 billion.

That’s a lot of M&A news for the industry to digest – and our search engine marketing definition needs to be rewritten this year.

And our search engine optimization definition needs to be totally rewritten, too.

About a month after last year’s SES New York, Google announced its critical first steps toward a universal search model that offers users a more integrated and comprehensive way to search for and view information online. It was the biggest thing to hit the search engine marketing industry since Google’s Florida Update in November 2003.

In June 2007, Ask3D was launched. In September 2007, Microsoft launched its biggest update to Live Search since its debut in January 2005. And in October 2007, “an all new Yahoo! Search experience” was launched.

Meanwhile, comScore reports that YouTube, Google Image Search, Google Maps and Google News are approaching 1.6 billion searches a month, which is more than Live Search. In other words, Google (6.2 billion searches a month) is the #1 search engine, Yahoo! (2.4 billion) is #2, YouTube and all other Google “expanded” search sites (1.6 billion) would be #3, and Microsoft’s Live Search (1 billion) is #4.

So, is it any wonder that even SES alumni are heading back to New York?

So, to help industry veterans as well as search newbies, I’ve put together the optimized schedule below for the Search Engine Strategies conference that starts on Saint Patrick’s Day in the Big Apple.

Now, when you get to SES New York, you’ll make adjustments on the fly. As Bob Shirilla of Keepsakes Etc. told me at SES Chicago back in December, “I had a detailed game plan when I came to SES, but I’m calling a lot of audibles.”

Nevertheless, schedule optimization will help you get the return on marketing investment that you’re looking for. Here are the workshops, keynotes, panels and sessions that I’d recommend:

Day 1 - Monday, March 17, 2008

9:30-10:45am
Creating Compelling Ads
Organic Listings Forum

11:15am-12:30pm
Analytics: Data Into Action
Igniting Viral Campaigns

2:00-3:15pm
Web Analytics: Measuring Success
Auditing Paid Listings and Click Fraud Issues

3:45-5:00pm
Orion Panel: Getting Vertical Search Right

Day 2 - Tuesday, March 18, 2008

9:00-10:00am
Conference Welcome and Opening Keynote
Nick Carr, author of The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google

Nick Carr, SES New York 2008, The Big Switch

11:00am-12:15pm
Introduction to Search Engine Marketing
Ads in a Quality Score World

1:30-2:45pm
Orion Panel: Universal Search

3:15-4:30pm (Sponsored Sessions)
Hitwise: Know about Your Competitors’ Paid and Organic Traffic
Google: What’s new with Google Analytics and Website Optimizer?

4:45-6:00pm
Search Engine Friendly Design
Ad Copy & Landing Page Clinic

Day 3 - Wednesday, March 19, 2008

9:00-9:45am
Morning Keynote
Gordon McLeod: Search Has Changed Everything… And So Can You

10:15-11:30am
Link Building Basics
Ad Testing: Research & Findings

1:00-2:15pm
Search Advertising 101
Top Search Trends

2:30-3:30pm
Afternoon Keynote
Jason Calacanis, Founder & CEO of Mahalo.com, Inc.

4:00-5:15pm
The New Face of In-House Search
Social Media Research: Informing Search Strategies

5:30-6:45pm
The Business Case for SEO Content Development: Turning Words Into Action!
Ad Exchanges Are Changing Everything

Day 4 - Thursday, March 20, 2008

9:00-9:45am
Morning Keynote
Andrew Tomkins, Chief Scientist at Yahoo! Research

10:00-11:00am
Usability & SEO: 2 Wins For The Price of 1
Podcast & Audio Search Optimization

11:15am-12:15pm
Beyond Linkbait: Getting Authoritative Online Mentions
Images & Search Engines

12:45-1:45pm
Meet the Crawlers
Video Search Optimization

But wait! There’s more!

On Friday, March 21, there are six half-day SEM training classes, which can be taken in addition to the SES New York conference or independently – at an additional cost.

Again, look over the descriptions of each workshop to see which ones are for you. But, here are the SEM training classes that I’d recommend:

8:00am-12:00pm
Link and Reputation Workshop
Optimizing for Universal Search

1:00-5:00pm
Search & Analytics Workshop: Using Analytics to Increase Search Effectiveness
The 7 Step RSS/Content Syndication/SEO Strategy

If you register for the Search Engine Strategies conference by tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 29, you can save $150. Conference attendees get free access to Market Motive training and Bruce Clay tools. And, if you attend SES New York, you could win a Scion xB! A free drawing will take place on Wednesday, March 19, in the Expo Hall.

I should disclose that Search Engine Strategies is now a client, but I’ve been writing about SES since 2002, when the March event was still held in Boston.

The search engine marketing industry has been totally transformed since then. For example, the keynote speaker at my first Search Engine Strategies conference was from Terra Lycos.

Remember them?

That’s why both industry veterans as well as search newbies will be heading to SES New York in a couple of weeks. The newbies will want to learn everything they can. And the veterans need to relearn most of what was being taught just a few years ago.

Greg Jarboe of SEO-PR and Amanda Watlington of Searching for Profit at SES London 2008

Yahoo this week changed the way it will set minimum bids on some keywords in Sponsored Search ads in the U.S., bringing it closer in line with Google’s policy. Instead of setting all minimum bids at $0.10, Yahoo will now allow the market to set a variable minimum bid. That means that in some cases, the minimum will be above $0.10, and in other cases it could be lower.

The minimum bids will be set based on the relevance of ads to a keyword, the number of bidders and their bid amounts. It will not be based on advertiser conversions. These kinds of factors are already used by Yahoo to rank ads based on a quality score, but the difference now applies to the minimum bid, or reserve price.

Google changed its minimum bid structure in July 2005. Many advertisers were not happy with the move at the time, but so far there does not seem to be much outcry in blogs or search marketing forums.

A key difference between Yahoo’s new method and Google’s is the institution of alerts and a grace period when the bid on a given keyword is about to fall below the minimum. Yahoo will notify advertisers in their Account Dashboard if a bid is about to drop below the minimum, and will offer a grace period of up to a few days to allow the advertiser to raise their bid to keep the keyword active.

The first batch of keywords goes live in the U.S. with the new reserve pricing model over the next few weeks, with more keywords to be added internationally in the future.

This morning over at Seattle-based blog SEOmoz, Rand Fishkin asks "What is an Algorithm? How does it apply to the Search Results at Google, Yahoo! & MSN/Live?" The post, How to Track the Evolution of Search Engine Algorithms & Why It’s Important to Do So, amounts to a free clinic regarding the "whys" and "hows" for professionals seeking to garner more organic search traffic.

"The vast majority of search marketers operating in the organic space at least lay claim to "following the latest algorithms" at the search engines, and in 90% of the client pitches I’ve ever heard (or made, for that matter), the subject comes up at least once. However, I think this is still a topic about which there’s not a lot of true understanding and for those new to the field, it’s probably the most daunting aspect of the work. So, to help ease some pain, I figured I’d address many of the most common questions about keeping up with the search engines’ ever-changing mathematical formulas that rank search results."
Rand Fishkin

The article gets to the algorithmic red meat: inherent trust in link metrics, domain trust over the importance of individual pages, temporal analysis of link growth, sandboxing of new websites, fixing blog comment spam, and Google’s recent crackdown on reciprocal tactics.

Beginning April 1, Google will no longer make exceptions to its policy requiring advertisers to match the display URL in an AdWords ad to the landing page to which it leads. Google’s existing policy already requires that an ad’s display URL matches its destination URL in the AdWords interface and the landing page to which it leads, but exceptions had been made for things like redirects or vanity URLs.

Under the new rules, all advertisers, regardless of past exceptions, will need to show users the same top-level domain in the display URL and the landing page where a user is sent.

The only exceptions allowed will be for using tracking URLs as the destination URL, as long as the URL of the landing page matches that of the display URL. For example, a display URL of www.google.com/adwords could use a destination URL in AdWords of www.trackingurl.com/google123, if the landing page where the user arrives is www.google.com and not www.trackingurl.com.

Display URLs will be allowed to show different subdomains or directories, as long as the top-level domain shown in the ad (such as google.com in the above example) is matched.

Microsoft’s unsolicited bid to acquire Yahoo is heading down an unpleasant path. This week, Microsoft is reportedly undertaking a proxy fight, sending letters directly to shareholders to garner enough support to oust Yahoo’s board of directors and replace them with a merger-friendly board. A proxy fight is estimated to cost Microsoft up to $30 billion, but was likely seen as a cheaper alternative for Microsoft than raising its bid price.

“We sent them a letter and said we think that’s a fair offer,” Bill Gates, Microsoft’s chairman, told The AP on Monday. “There’s nothing that’s gone on other than us stating that we think it’s a fair offer. They should take a hard look at it.”

At the same time, Yahoo’s current board has approved retention packages and enhanced severance benefits for all Yahoo employees. The aim is to both keep Yahoos around during the threat of a takeover, as well as to give them a more lucrative way out if the Microsoft acquisition is fulfilled.

As outlined in a Form 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, employees would get an enhanced severance package if they lost their job or left for “good reason” within two years of a change of control. An employee exercising the package would get a continuation of base salary and health insurance for 4 to 24 months, depending on job level. Employees will also benefit from accelerated vesting of all stock options, restricted stock units and any other equity-based awards previously granted.

As a search marketer, you need to understand landing page optimization because it impacts your results. Higher conversion means a bigger impact for everything you do with search, and the availability of more dollars to invest back into search marketing. In today’s By the Numbers column, “Landing Page Optimization for SEM: Design and Execute,” Eric Enge outlines some of the best practices outlined in Tim Ash’s new book, “Landing Page Optimization.”

Search Engine Strategies London 2008 is underway. With Day One under our belts, we’re happy to share some of the coverage of the event from around the Web:

• SES London 2008 : Day 1 Roundup, Feb 19 2008, YouTube
• SES London, Near-Live Blogging (I), Traffick
• SES London Day One Recap, Search Engine Land
• SES London Day One Pictures, Online Marketing Blog
• Search Engine Strategies - London - 021908, Online Conversion and Beyond
• Search Engine Strategies - London - Auditing Paid Listing and Click Fraud Issues, Online Conversion and Beyond
• Search Engine Strategies - London - Orion Panel: All-Star Analytics Team, Online Conversion and Beyond
• Search Engine Strategies - London - Orion Panel - Universal, Blended and Vertical Search, Online Conversion and Beyond
• SES London 08: Organic Listings Forum, Search Marketing Gurus
• SES London 08: Frederick Marckini Opening Keynote, Search Marketing Gurus

SES London 08: Impact of Universal Search, Orion Panel, Search Marketing Gurus

• Search Engine Strategies Organic Listings Forum Live from SES 2008, Firefly SEO
• 20 Minutes to Mention Paid Links: SES London Day 1, Part 1, SEOmoz
• Analytics and the Future of Search, YOUmoz
• SES London: Click Fraud Issues, Andrew Girdwood
• SESLondon2008 photos, Flickr
• Search Engine Strategies Conference & Expo, YouTube
• SES group on LinkedIn
• SES Group on Facebook

A giant snakehead fish (the “Jaws” of freshwater fish in Southeast Asia) was caught by a fisherman in England. The snakehead hooked in a river caused a panic in the Midlands and created something of a “Snakes on the Plains” buzz online. The British Environment Agency tried to assuage fears of a snakehead invasion but many of us here in Islington (London SES) remain scared out of our wits secure in the knowledge the Thames River is only kilometres away.

The giant snakehead has been known to crawl on land.

Snakehead fish can grow to more than 5 feet in length. Sharp teeth make the snakehead a feared predator of other river dwellers.

FOG (Fear of Google) was one of the themes of the Orion Panel (All Star Analytics Team). London FOG reminded me of the giant snakehead fish. Consumers, corporations and regulatory bodies often have an irrational fear of Google.

They say Google will invade privacy and destroy our natural Internet habitat. Companies fear the mega-search engine will use Google Analytics, Google Conversion Optimizer and Google Checkout to artificially inflate keyword prices. In short, to rig the keyword auction. They worry Google will prey on competitors and customers alike.

With respect to privacy, Jim Sterne of Target Marketing and chairman of the Web Analytics Association put it best:

“Why would I worry about Google knowing what I search for? The privacy issue is that I’m upset the bank knows how much money I have?”

There were no conspiracy theorists in the audience. Brian Clifton, Google’s head of Web Analytics, EMEA, didn’t even have to defend Google’s honor.

Nor did Ian Thomas, Microsoft’s director oif customer intelligence attempt to exploit the climate of fear.

Bryan Eisenberg, co-founder, Future Now noted Google needs to be more transparent. Separation of church and state may be tough when Google has so many evangelists, not only in their employ but among brand-loyal consumers.

Google dominates the European and UK search landscape. As scary as the giant snakefish may be, here’s the key takeaway:

The more you know, the less you fear.