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___________________________ Sponsors ________________________________

                           MetricsDirect
    Search Engine Strategies - New York, Feb. 28 - March 3, 2005
_____________________________________________________________________

THE SEARCH ENGINE REPORT
February 1, 2005 - Number 99

By Danny Sullivan
Editor, Search Engine Watch
http://searchenginewatch.com/
Copyright (c) 2005 Jupitermedia Corp.

=============
In This Issue
=============

+ Yahoo Cofounder Jerry Yang To Keynote SES NY
+ Major Search Engine Watch Articles
+ More From The Search Engine Watch Blog
+ About The Newsletter

/-------------------------------------------------------------------\

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============================================
Yahoo Cofounder Jerry Yang To Keynote SES NY
============================================

Just confirmed, Yahoo cofounder Jerry Yang will be delivering the keynote
speech at our upcoming Search Engine Strategies show in New York, just in
time for the company's 10th anniversary.

Search Engine Strategies runs from Feb. 28-March 3, 2005 and also features
speakers from all the major search engines of AOL, Ask Jeeves, Google, MSN
and Yahoo, along with experts on search marketing.

A full conference agenda is now available
[www.jupiterevents.com/sew/winter05]. Many of our popular sessions on search
marketing are returning and offer information of interest to search
marketers of all level.

A number of new and special sessions have also been added. The Search
Landscape session will involve rating services looking at who is tops
generally and in vertical areas. The Searcher Behavior panel will examine
new research on how people search. Search Algorithm Research & Development
session offers a look at new papers and technologies aimed at improving
search.

Those are just some of the new sessions from the first day alone. We also
have two "summits" planned, one on indexing issues and one on branding,
where we'll see if there are resolutions to some concerns publishers and
advertisers have. Search executives will participate in a roundtable on
"Search Convergence," looking at how search is escaping the web and becoming
embedded in other areas.

For a full rundown, see the conference web site
[www.jupiterevents.com/sew/winter05]. You can also view the entire program
at-a-glance [www.jupiterevents.com/sew/winter05/glance.html] or use the
session planner [www.jupiterevents.com/sew/winter05/planner.html] to get
itineraries designed for those new to search marketing, interested in ad
issues, interested in organic/free listings or even what's new in the Been
Before category.

Dates for other events around the world next year have also been set for
next year. Those dates and basic information can be found on the Search
Engine Strategies site [http://searchenginestrategies.com].

=============================
Search Engine Watch Articles
=============================

Here's a recap of major articles, important blog postings and some
interesting forum discussions from Search Engine Watch since the last
newsletter:

MSN Search Officially Switches To Its Own Technology
[http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3466721]
SearchDay, Feb. 1, 2005

Nearly two years after announcing it would develop its own search
technology, MSN Search began feeding the general public results found
through its own internally developed search engine. A look at what's new
since the beta came out last year and what may come. Also see the companion
piece Many MSN Direct Answers Now Online
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050201-000101].

========================

Search Engine Forums Spotlight
[http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3466061]
SearchDay, Jan. 31, 2005

Links to the week's topics from search engine forums across the web: Google
to Open Up API to AdWords Customers - AOL Expands Advertising Opportunities
for Local Businesses - Google Adds Video Search - Google Loses Trademark
Dispute In France - Google's Supplemental Index - Google Now Allows More
Than 10 Words Per Query, and more.

========================

NYT On Yahoo's US Gains & Google's Endless Betas
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050131-131318]
SEW Blog, Jan. 31, 2005

The New York Times notes in Search Sites Play a Game of Constant Catch-Up
[www.nytimes.com/2005/01/31/technology/31google.html?ex=1264827600&en=006be5
f389ed9017&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland] that despite new releases and "me
too" matching of products by competitors, Google has still increased its
share of searches worldwide from 44 percent in November 2003 to 47 percent
in November 2004. But in the US, numbers show that Yahoo has gained
significantly. What's behind the gains?

The article has lots of quotes from me commenting on how Yahoo shows a
desire to define a project, deliver on it and move on. In contrast, I remark
how Google delivers something in beta form, then moves on to something else
without seeming to finish the job. Whether this operational style is behind
Yahoo's growth or if there are other factors, I don't know. Google responds
that it's hard to say it's dropped the ball on any major releases. With
respect, I beg to differ -- and this post goes into detail about that. Also
see More On The Endless Betas Of Google
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050114-120053] from earlier this
month.

========================

More Gbrowser Talk [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050131-083022]
SEW Blog, Jan. 31, 2005

If you want some more discussion of a possible Google web broswer, Eric
Hellweg's new Technology Review article, Project Googlefox
[www.technologyreview.com/articles/05/01/wo/wo_hellweg013105.asp], offers
some analysis of last week's news about two Firefox developers who recently
joined Google. See also from us:

  7 Another Mozilla Developer Joins Google
    [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050126-211902]
  7 Dvorak: gbrowser by the End of the Year
    [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050126-155151]
  7 Mozilla's Lead Engineer Now Being Paid By Google
    [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050124-170420]

========================

Threats To Referrer Info & Workarounds To Loss
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050128-062931]
SEW Blog, Jan. 28, 2005

Referrer information is priceless to search marketers and others. It can
help you understand exactly which search engines were used to reach your web
site and even the exact terms used. Our forum thread Referral ID strings and
referrer info [http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?t=3796],
kicked off by member Ammon Johns (Black Knight), looks at how referrer
tracking is getting harder as concerns over spyware begins to strip out
standard information that browsers have provided long before spyware was a
concern. What workarounds exist? Could the search engines themselves
automatically append data to the name of a URL they send users, which would
provide referrer information in another way? For more on referrer
information, see this past article for SEW members
[http://searchenginewatch.com/benefits/article.php?source=0128refer],
Keywords Used To Find Your Web Site
[http://searchenginewatch.com/_subscribers/more/article.php/2153191].

========================

AlmondNet Debuts "Post-Search" Search Behavioral Ad Network
[http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3464811]
SearchDay, Jan. 27, 2005

AlmondNet is unveiling a new program today to deliver advertising across the
web targeted to the topics someone has searched on recently, including
queries done on major search engines such as Google and Yahoo. The longer
version
[http://searchenginewatch.com/_subscribers/articles/article.php/3464801] of
this story for Search Engine Watch members
[http://searchenginewatch.com/benefits/article.php?source=0127almond] goes
into more depth on privacy issues and looks more closely at how ads will be
rotated and targeted. Click here to learn more about becoming a member
[http://searchenginewatch.com/benefits/article.php?source=0127almond]. See
also New Search Behavioral Network Launched
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050127-090440] for some background
articles on behavioral targeting.

========================

Google AdWords API Launched
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050127-183506]
SEW Blog, Jan. 27, 2005

As rumored [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050124-104816], Google
has released an API for its Google AdWords program. More details from Google
here [www.google.com/apis/adwords], plus a new AdWords API blog
[http://adwordsapi.blogspot.com] has also been started by Google (blog feed
is here [http://adwordsapi.blogspot.com/atom.xml]). The system will allow
programmers to do anything the current Google AdWords management system
allows but via programming calls. More details also in this post.

========================

Amazon's A9 Launches Visual Yellow Pages
[http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3464821]
SearchDay, Jan. 27, 2005

A9's new nationwide yellow pages directory comes with a twist--thumbnail
images of business storefronts that let you take a virtual walk through the
streets of 10 major U.S. cities. Also see Issues with a9's Latest Offering
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050131-095820].

========================

Now Available: A New Service from Yahoo! Local
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050127-110048]
SEW Blog, Jan. 27, 2005

Yahoo Local [http://local.yahoo.com] users can now easily and quickly send
phone numbers and addresses from the Yahoo! Local database to their cell
phones or mobile devices as text (SMS) messages. The service is free but
your phone provider may charge for text messages. A bit more on using this
in the post and an even cooler free service called Vazu [www.vazu.com] that
allows you to send text material from any web page to any phone around the
world as a text message.

========================

Google Vs. Le Meridien Revisited
[http://searchenginewatch.com/_subscribers/articles/article.php/3464231]
SEW Blog, Jan 26, 2005

This article exclusively for Search Engine Watch members
[http://searchenginewatch.com/benefits/article.php] takes a closer look at
how French ruling against Google does not completely forbid bidding on
trademark terms but does highlight how bidding suggestion tools can make
search engines more liable in such cases.

========================

The Power of Virtual Search Engine Marketing
[http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3464191]
SearchDay, Jan. 26, 2005

Outsourcing has hit virtually every industry, and now it has become a vital
strategy for search engine marketing firms that not long ago insisted on
attending to every detail. Here's how the trend is playing out.

========================

My MSN Adds Feed Discovery Support
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050125-093126]
SEW Blog, Jan. 25, 2005

As rumored [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050112-092119] to come,
MSN has now added added feed discovery and subscription services for those
using its My MSN [http://my.msn.com] service. In this article, how to find
and subscribe to feeds via MSN.

========================

Integrating Search with Other Marketing
[http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3463521]
SearchDay, Jan. 25, 2005

Search marketing is still 'stand-alone,' existing largely outside of the
traditional marketing mix, but this must change, to address the needs of
consumers who are increasingly turning to search to make all types of buying
decisions.

========================

Google Debuts Video Search
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050125-000100]
SEW Blog, Jan. 25, 2005

Google Video [www.google.com/video] is a new experimental service that
allows you to search across the full-text transcripts of television
programs. A look at how the service works. Also see A Look At Other Web
Video Search Tools [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050125-071400]
and Blogosphere Video Search
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050126-105154], both from Gary
Price, on alternative video and TV search products you'll want to check out.

========================

Yahoo Video Search Expands, On Home Page
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050124-180435]
SEW Blog, Jan. 24, 2005

Yahoo Video Search is now accessible via a tab on the Yahoo home page.
Additionally, in the near future Yahoo Video Search will allow you to search
every word spoken during television news broadcasts from the BBC, Sky News,
and Bloomberg. More in this post.

========================

Survey: Searchers are Confident, Satisfied & Clueless
[http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3462911]
SearchDay, Jan. 24, 2005

The vast majority of searchers say they are confident about their searching
skills and are successful at finding what they're looking for far more often
than not, yet most don't understand how search engines work or present
results.

========================

The Overture API: Advertiser Web Services
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050124-154001]
SEW Blog, Jan. 24, 2005

With all the news about Google's AdWords API, it's worth noting that
Overture [www.overture.com] has one as well, offered since 2001. In this
post, what it provides.

========================

Search Engine Forums Spotlight
[http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3462331]
SearchDay, Jan. 21, 2005

Links to this week's topics from search engine forums across the web: AOL
Search Moves Up to the Big Leagues - Google's New 'Nofollow' Attribute - We
Are Seeing A Rollout of MSN New Search - Organizing a Multi-Language Site -
7 Steps To Identifying Click Fraud, and more.

========================

AOL Search: Playing In the Big Leagues Now
[http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3461491]
SearchDay, Jan. 20, 2005

AOL is rolling out several enhancements to its core search functionality
that position it as a clear contender in the battle for eyeballs between
Google, Yahoo, Ask Jeeves and MSN Search.

========================

Google, Yahoo, MSN Unite On Support For Nofollow Attribute For Links
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050118-204728]
SEW Blog, Jan. 18, 2005

In the first cooperative move for nearly ten years, the major search engines
have unveiled a new indexing command for web authors that they all
recognize, one that they hope will help reduce the link and comment spam
that plagues many web sites, especially those run by bloggers. This article
looks at the new nofollow attribute, how it works, causes of link spam, how
search engines will process links with the attribute, how the attribute
won't stop link spam but is a nice additional tool to have and more. See
also:

  7 The New Nofollow Link Attribute
    [http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?threadid=3797]: Our
    forum thread on the topic.

  7 Scoble On Anti-NoFollow & Blogs As Not Search Kryptonite
    [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050131-112216]: Nofollow isn't a
    perfect solution to blogging comment spam, but neither is it a waste of
    time. It's nice that web authors have more choices over what will get
    indexed. And also, revisiting the supposed superpower blogs have over
    search engines.

  7 New Nofollow Support & Looking At Vote Links
    [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050125-104932]: More vendors
    back nofollow -- and Technorati supports even more granularity over
    linking through Vote Links.

  7 More On Link Condom & Blogger Worries Over Nofollow
    [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050121-182251]: Nofollow is not
    just for bloggers, and it will have impacts well outside the
    blogosphere. In this long post, coverage of many of the other issues
    nofollow raises for link builders, plus how bloggers who fret that
    nofollow might rob them of "search juice" sound akin to the blog
    spammers many of them hate.

  7 Blogger.com: Where's the "Nofollow" Info?
    [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050121-090611]: Three days after
    Google backs nofollow and still no mention of it on Google-owned
    Blogger?

  7 Link Condom: The Nofollow Parody
    [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050121-090216]: While debate
    over the usefulness of the new nofollow link attributes continues, a
    parody site called Link Condom has just gone up to stress some of the
    issues beyond blogging that the attribute raises.

========================

Photo Search: Google Picasa 2 Vs. Adobe Photoshop Album 2
[http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3460061]
SearchDay, Jan. 18, 2005

A look at how photo management in Googe's new Picasa 2 measures up against
Adobe Photoshop Album 2 and Photoshop Elements 3. See also A Controlled
Vocabulary to Assist in Describing Images
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050118-123400] for a look at meta
data and photos.

========================

Yahoo Doesn't Need Six Apart Or Blog Ownership For Ad Purposes
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050118-104520]
SEW Blog, Jan. 18, 2005

As the only portal without a blogging feature, it wouldn't be surprising for
Yahoo to acquire someone like the makers of Movable Type to stay
competitive. But the Google experience has shown that owning a blogging tool
does not translate into guaranteed revenues.

========================

Online Ads & Search: Looking Back, Looking Forward
[http://searchenginewatch.com/_subscribers/articles/article.php/3459951]
SearchDay, Jan. 17, 2005

Paid search led the resurgence of online advertising in 2004 with a 34%
increase in growth, and this trend is expected to continue over the coming
five years. This longer version of the story for Search Engine Watch members
goes into detail about the specific drivers of growth for online search ads,
including demographics, searcher behavior and other factors. The longer
article also details eight "things to pay attention to" that JupiterResearch
believes will be crucial for successful search marketing campaigns in 2005.

========================

Questions When Hiring An SEM Firm
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050117-095058]
SEW Blog, Jan. 17, 2005

Over in our forums, the Outsourcing SEM FAQs - Be Prepared to Answer!
[http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?t=2359] thread gets
kicked off by forum moderator Nacho Hernandez with a variety of questions he
thinks those seeking to hire an SEM firm should ask. Work for an SEM firm
and have your own questions you think clients should ask? Drop by and add to
the list. Have you hired an SEM firm (or two, or three)? Even better -- come
contribute the questions you ask!

========================

Revisiting Google Censorship In Germany & France
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050117-090638]
SEW Blog, Jan. 17, 2005

Google Blogoscope updates sites previously identified as censored by Google
in Germany and France. A look at the comparison chart created, plus
background on issues about disclosing when material is removed and why.

========================

Search Engine Forums Spotlight
[http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3458991]
SearchDay, Jan. 14, 2005

Links to this week's topics from search engine forums across the web: MSN
Search Out of Beta Feb. 1 - How To Get Inbound Links For An E-commerce Site
- Duplicate Content Penalty Time Span - Fixing IE Security Risk Blocks
AdSense - Desktop Search from Yahoo! - It's Official : AdWords Policy Takes
Aim at Affiliate Ads, and more.

========================

Yahoo Gains Financial Feeds; A Revisit To Yahoo News Feeds
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050114-092810]
SEW Blog, Jan. 14, 2005

Yahoo gained RSS feeds for news content last fall, and now it has regained
them for the Yahoo Finance service. A look at the addition, as well as how
to get news feeds from Yahoo, as well.

========================

More Seth Godin Cluelessness On Search Marketing
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050114-111809]
SEW Blog, Jan. 14, 2005

Often revered Seth Godin as a marketing guru, Seth Godin's recent question
of "Is there a "search engine industry" leaves me and others wondering how
he's missed this over the past few years. Yes, Virginia, there is a search
industry! More on this in the post.

========================

Complete Boston Globe Archive Set for Digitization
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050113-120658]
SEW Blog, Jan. 13, 2005

The complete archive (both text and images) of the Boston Globe will be
digitized and made full text searchable by ProQuest, a well-known database
publisher. The Globe will be the seventh paper that ProQuest has digitized
as part of their Historical Newspaper program. More on newspaper
digitization in this post.

========================

NYT On Google Ad Copy Policies - Overture Barely Gets A Mention
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050113-081627]
SEW Blog, Jan. 13, 2005

The New York Times looks at how it's not anything goes with ads on Google,
in terms of language, spelling and grammar -- and pretty much misses that
Overture has similar rules longer than Google. No big deal? Imagine if the
NYT did an article about ad policies on the major ABC television network but
didn't bother to talk or examine those at NBC or CBS. A rant, along with
some related resources on the topic of ad relevancy.

========================

Yahoo & MSN Closing the Google Gap
[http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3458351]
SearchDay, Jan. 13, 2005

While Big G continues to maintain its leadership position in the eyes of web
searchers, a new study finds that Yahoo, MSN Search and Ask Jeeves have all
made significant improvements over the past year and are narrowing Google's
mindshare advantage.

========================

More On Making Feed Discovery & Subscription Easier
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050112-090219]
SEW Blog, Jan. 12, 2005

Finding and subscribing to feeds could be a heck of a lot easier. The
issue's been reawakened this month. In this post, I look at various
discussions, plus provide some suggestions of my own for making things
easier, as well as tips on finding feeds. My Problems Identifying Feed Links
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050111-093502] post is an earlier
article that also looks at the problem.

========================

Three Cool Search Gizmos
[http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3457981]
SearchDay, Jan. 12, 2005

These three simple little search gadgets each do one thing, but do their
tasks very, very well. Sometimes less is more.

========================

Yahoo Launches Desktop Search
[http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3457011]
SearchDay, Jan. 11, 2005

Long anticipated, Yahoo's new Desktop Search beta is a solid contender in
the increasingly crowded desktop search playing field. This is Chris
Sherman's review of the new product. Also see Gary Price's comments in A Few
Thoughts About Yahoo Desktop Search
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050111-081059].

========================

SMA-NA Forming - Now A Direct Challenge To SEMPO?
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050111-071830]
SEW Blog, Jan. 11, 2005

Last year, the Search Marketing Association formed chapters in the UK and
Europe. Now one for North America is being founded, with Ian McAnerin
leading the charge. A look at why he's starting SMA-NA, how it may be seen
as direct challenger to SEMPO and lots of background on both organizations.

========================

Speeding Up Acrobat Reader
[http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3456481]
SearchDay, Jan. 10, 2005

If you dread opening PDF files found in search results because of Acrobat
Reader's painfully sluggish startup time, take heart: A nifty free utility
tweaks Acrobat to load in a flash.

========================

Search Engine Forums Spotlight
[http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3455921]
SearchDay, Jan. 7, 2005

Links to this week's topics from search engine forums across the web: Time
For An Indexing Summit? - The Don'ts of Directory Development - Which
Directories Would You Pay To Be Included In? - PageRank for Firefox 1.0 -
The Value Of Using A Good Web Analytics Package - Blocking 'Generic' AdSense
Ads

========================

Kraft Supports Pro-White Groups? Lack Of Search Ad Targeting Makes It So
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050107-093028]
SEW Blog, Jan. 7, 2005

I've long written that advertisers should be able to pick and choose exactly
where they show up in a search company's network. A new story about Kraft
ads through showing up on a pro-white web site illustrates why this is so.
Details and comments in this post.

========================

Google To Restrict Affiliate Ads
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050107-021541]
SEW Blog, Jan. 7, 2005

Google is to limit the number of affiliate ads that show up in search
results, as has been rumored over the past few weeks. Advertisers are now
being notified of the change, and it will go into effect over the coming
weeks, Google says.

========================

Up Close On Google Affiliate Ad Changes
[http://searchenginewatch.com/_subscribers/articles/article.php/3455761]
Search Engine Watch, Jan. 7, 2005

This article exclusively for Search Engine Watch members
[http://searchenginewatch.com/benefits/article.php] provides additional
details on the Google "one ad per merchant per query" changes, along with
some illustrations and examples of how things work now and what will be
allowed after the change. See also ClickZ: Dealing With Google's New
Affiliate-Linking Policy [http://nl.internet.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=1,1c3a,
1,2nbt,dpnh,8v5e,59e8]; iMediaConnection: Google on New Listing Guidelines
[www.imediaconnection.com/content/4915.asp]. Click here to learn more about
becoming a member
[http://searchenginewatch.com/benefits/article.php?source=0127almond].

========================

More On Rumored MSN Search Ad Program
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050106-105056]
SEW Blog, Jan. 6, 2005

Is Microsoft launching its own paid listings program in the near future. A
look at the rumors and if true, when this might happen.

========================

Looking Back, Looking Ahead: Developments With Consumer Search
[http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3455211]
SearchDay, Jan. 6, 2005

Danny Sullivan reflects on how this year, web search will morph into
consumer search, where major search companies offer a robust range of ways
to search for information in specialized areas. He also reflects on other
major developments that have emerged over the past year.

/-------------------------------------------------------------------\

Search Engine Strategies Conference & Expo 2005, the premier event 
for search engine marketing & optimization, returns to New York City
this February. Be part of this exclusive gathering of search
professionals that features world-renowned search engine 
expert Danny Sullivan. Learn the basics & practical knowledge of 
search engine marketing and fully understand how search engines
interact with your Web site & ways to improve your listings. Register 
early & save! http://www.jupiterevents.com/sew/winter05/index.html

\--------------------------------------------------------------adv.-/

===========================
More From The SEW Blog
===========================

Audio: Interview with Blinkx Co-Founder and CTO
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050131-151033]
By Gary Price, Jan. 31, 2005

Network World Fusion has posted a 5 minute interview
[www.nwfusion.com/research/2005/0131radio.html] (streaming audio or MP3
download) with Blinkx co-founder and CTO, Suranga Chandratillake. Most of
the discussion focuses on BlinxkTV [www.blinkxtv.com], a video search tool
that has been available with their client app for several months and
officially launched as a standalone site and service in December.

========================

Google's Top Brass Talk Search
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050131-134302]
By Gary Price, Jan. 31, 2005

Google's VP of Engineering Adam Bosworth, spoke to The Gillmor Gang
[www.itconversations.com/shows/detail405.html] (you can listen online) about
future search engine architecture, personalization, and RSS. Findory's Greg
Linden responds to some of Bosworth's comments with his take on the value
[http://glinden.blogspot.com/2005/01/adam-bosworth-on-personalization.html]
of personalization. Also Peter Norvig, Google's Director of Search Quality.
Norvig discusses [www.alwayson-network.com/comments.php?id=P7480_0_3_0_C]
semantic web ontologies, automation, and other issues.

========================

Yahoo Local & Product Placement On The Apprentice
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050131-121751]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 31, 2005

How A Product Placement Strategy Works
[http://adage.com/news.cms?newsId=42447] from AdAge looks in depth on how
Yahoo is promoting its Yahoo Local service through The Apprentice television
show. Apparently, one episode last season got a ton of people to try
searching at Yahoo for "apprentice ice cream," though it's unclear if the
did this on Yahoo or Yahoo Local. Yahoo Local is mentioned even more as part
of the current series. How much for the placement? Yahoo's not saying. See
also Yahoo & Reality TV Product Placement Deal
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050121-141133] and Yahoo Comes To
Broadway Via Spamalot [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050121-101004]
for related product placement moves.

========================

Loquine Glupe SEO Contest Begins
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050131-114246]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 31, 2005

In the spirit of the nigritude ultramarine
[http://searchenginewatch.com/sereport/article.php/3360231] and seraphim
proudleduck [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/040920-074138] SEO
contests, the latest one is for being tops on Google by March 1 for the term
loquine glupe. More details here
[www.webmaster-forums.co.uk/webmaster-forums-5.html]. Checking Google,
there's 1,230 pages already listed for the term.

========================

Google Employee Advertises Blog On Google?
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050131-103042]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 31, 2005

Why would a Google employee advertise a blog that itself appears to generate
no revenue? A Google PR conspiracy, some wonder, especially given how the
ads was able to use the verboten word of Google in it. Not so fast -- within
seconds, I was able to run a similar ads. More on this and other issues, in
the post.

========================

Microsoft: No Plans to Integrate Desktop Search into OS
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050131-092224]
By Gary Price, Jan. 31, 2005

During a panel about search at the Harvard Business School Cyberposium
[www.cyberposium.com/index.asp], Mark Kroese, general manager of information
services and merchant platform product marketing for MSN, told the audience
that MS doesn't plan to integrate desktop search in the operating system.
More in this post.

========================

The OC Arrested By Ask Jeeves, Too
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050131-090912]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 31, 2005

Earlier, I posted [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050128-114647] how
A9 got a mention on The OC. Ask Jeeves got an OC-related plug on TV this
week, as well. More on how that happened, plus using Google's new Google
Video service to find various product mentions of Google, A9 and Ask Jeeves,
in this post.

========================

Yahoo Plans to License Financial Data
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050131-084029]
By Gary Price, Jan. 31, 2005

It looks like Yahoo plans to open up a new revenue stream by licensing stock
quotes and other financial data. ZDNet's story: Yahoo to feed its own stock
ticker service [www.zdnetindia.com/news/stories/116144.html] and the
Marketwatch.com story: Yahoo Finance builds licensing biz,
[www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B3C0D28C9%2D7609%2D4807%2DAF16%2D
9AD31B5D07E3%7D&siteid=mktw&] offer details. Yahoo! has been using financial
data (quotes, charts, etc.) supplied by Reuters. Now, Yahoo will collect and
disseminate this type of data using direct feeds from various stock
exchanges and other sources. The service will be called "Quotes from Yahoo
Finance." Forbes has said that they will license data from the "Quotes from
Yahoo Finance" service.

========================

A Directory of Over 12,500 Search Tools
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050130-170825]
By Gary Price, Jan. 30, 2005

Search Engines 2 [www.search-engines-2.com] offers direct links to more than
12,500 search tools that are organized into several categories (topic,
location, ppc engines, etc.) Worth a look and very possibly a bookmark.

========================

Google Ousted from Top Spot in Global Brand Rankings
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050130-131113]
By Gary Price, Jan. 30, 2005

A Reuters article: Apple Edges Google as Top Brand
[www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7476193], reports
that Apple is now the "most influential global brand" in a survey just
released by Brandchannel. Google is now at number two on the Global list and
North American lists. The complete results are posted here
[www.brandchannel.com/start1.asp?fa_id=248].

========================

Changes Made to Google's Advanced Search Help Page
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050128-172054]
By Gary Price, Jan. 28, 2005

It looks like Google has reworked their Advanced Search help page
[www.google.com/help/refinesearch.html]. More info on what you can do with
the advanced search interface in this post.

========================

Cool Tools: Jux2 and NeedleSearch in the News
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050128-153625]
By Gary Price, Jan. 28, 2005

Two cool tools that we've mentioned
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/041013-115758] several times on the
blog are discussed in a new Forbes article: Searching For Searches
[www.forbes.com/home/personaltech/2005/01/28/cz_ah_0128tentech.html]. First
is Jux2 [www.jux2.com], which allows you to quickly compare search engine
overlap between Google, Yahoo, and MSN. For those of you who do web search
training, Jux2 is a wonderful resource to show students that results vary
(often dramatically) between engines. Ranking.Thumbshots.com
[http://Ranking.Thumbshots.com] is a similar service that Chris wrote about
in a SearchDay article
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/041013-115758].

The Forbes article goes on to mention a couple of plugins for Firefox
including one that I've been using for over a year called NeedleSearch
[http://needlesearch.mozdev.org]. This plugin allows you easily (two clicks)
capture the search functionality from most search engines and map it to a
toolbar. You can learn more about NeedleSearch in an overview article
[http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3307551] I wrote for
SearchDay.

========================

Questioning Google's Counts
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050128-134939]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 28, 2005

Search engine counts are never something you should depend on, a topic we've
discussed [http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?p=3266] many
times before. Still, if you're going to get a count, it's nice if it doesn't
seem to change much or simply seem absurd depending on the query you do.
Google's counting has been shaky for ages. But the Web: Google's counts
faked? [http://aixtal.blogspot.com/2005/01/web-googles-counts-faked.html]
article does a lot of math to find the counts have even more weirdness to
them. Over at our forums, the Impossible Counts
[http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?t=3527] discusses the
article and also skips the math and looks at why searches you know should
bring back fewer results nevertheless don't. And in this post, a compendium
of other articles worth reading on the topic.

========================

Q&A With Head Of Yahoo Media Group
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050128-133620]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 28, 2005

This Hollywood Reporter article TV vet Braun reveals what's next for content
at Yahoo
[www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/new_media/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=
1000778298] provides a Q&A with Lloyd Braun, head of the new Yahoo Media
Group group. He discusses generally plans to develop internet content for
Yahoo's vertical properties or what he says in the interview that he calls
"channels." That's not a new name for these areas, of course. Portals have
been calling their vertical areas "channels" for years, stretching back to
Excite's formerly exciting days (see Welcome To SearchEngineLand
[http://searchenginewatch.com/sereport/article.php/2165721]). See also from
the LA Times, Yahoo! embracing Hollywood scene
[http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002161897_yahoo27
.html], and and from us Yahoo! Goes to Hollywood
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050126-153735].

========================

Video Search Means New Marketing Opportunities?
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050128-124413]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 28, 2005

Rebecca Lieb speculates on what search engines going into video search may
mean in terms of marketing opportunities in Moving Targets
[www.clickz.com/experts/brand/buzz/article.php/3465351] at ClickZ.

========================

Search Engines Going Mobile
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050128-122052]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 28, 2005

Search Engines Go Mobile [www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1756183,00.asp]
recaps how search engines are reaching out into our cell and mobile phones,
focusing mainly on the Yahoo local search-to-cell phone service and the
Froogle SMS service rolled out at the end of last year. More from Gary on
that here: Two New Ways to Search Froogle Via SMS
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/041103-130519].

========================

I A9'd Him? A9 Hits The OC
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050128-114647]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 28, 2005

We've only just gotten the second season of The OC over here in the UK, so I
haven't seen the episode just shown in the US where a character apparently
says that they "A9.com'd" someone. So that's what all the kids are saying
these days! Or are being paid to say, more likely. More details in this Beta
News article, A9.com Finds Promotion In The OC
[www.betanews.com/article/A9com_Finds_Promotion_in_The_OC/1106879602] and a
denial by A9 that it paid anyone anything in Google second class with
hipsters? [http://news.com.com/2061-1038_3-5555313.html] from News.com.

As an OC native, we never called it "The" OC when I lived there. Just OC,
thanks very much. As a search person, I certainly never hear anyone say they
A9'd anything. To be honest, I rarely hear anyone say that they even
"googled" anything. Sometimes I wonder if we all like to think people say
that more than they really do.

========================

Google & Yahoo Employee Blogs
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050128-111917]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 28, 2005

After all the furor over a Google employee's blog earlier this week
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050126-162224], I started categories
called "Employee Blogs" for Google, Yahoo and MSN in the Search Topics
[http://searchenginewatch.com/_subscribers/topics] area we maintain for
Search Engine Watch members
[http://searchenginewatch.com/benefits/article.php?source=0128blogs]. If
you're a member, they're at Google: Employee Blogs
[http://searchenginewatch.com/_subscribers/topics/article.phpr?id=null&topic
=google_employee_blogs], MSN: Employee Blogs
[http://searchenginewatch.com/_subscribers/topics/article.phpr?id=null&topic
=msn_employee_blogs] and Yahoo: Employee Blogs
[http://searchenginewatch.com/_subscribers/topics/article.phpr?id=null&topic
=yahoo_employee_blogs]).

Today, I came across this handy list
[http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=439385] from Google Answers
where someone's provided a long rundown of what they've found so far. So
looking for search employee blogs? Check out the list. Philipp Lenssen over
at Google Blogoscoped also compiles a list of weblogs by Google employees
[http://blog.outer-court.com/googler.php].

========================

MotionBridge Offers Mobile Sponsored Search
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050128-080811]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 28, 2005

MotionBridge [www.motionbridge.com], which provides mobile search services
to various European and other cell phone providers, has rolled out a new
paid listings service
[www.motionbridge.com/SOLUTIONS/sponsoredlinks/index.html] for the mobile
platform. A few more details from the company's press release
[www.motionbridge.com/COMPANY/press_releases_06.html].

========================

Google Completes Definition Move To Answers.com
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050128-073427]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 28, 2005

We blogged last week that Google was to moving to Answers.com for its
dictionary definitions from Dictionary.com. Gary Stock from over at
Googlewhack [www.googlewhack.com] alerts us that the migration now appears
complete. The change had an impact on Googlewhackers
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/041103-075731] because the rules
[www.googlewhack.com/rules.htm] involve checking Google's dictionary -- and
the switch apparently had the feature not working for several hours. More
background on the differences between the two definition services can be
found in our earlier post, Answers.com Now Supplying Dictionary Definitions
and More to Google [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050120-091736]

========================

FyberSearch Now Offers Results in RSS
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050127-122347]
By Gary Price, Jan. 27, 2005

Nathan Enns, the developer of FyberSearch [www.fybersearch.com] has let us
know about few a new services and advanced features. Results are now
available in RSS format. Domain Clustering: no more than one result per
domain name is displayed unless the user specifies. The keyword density
option has been improved. It allows you to view pages that contain your
search terms at least "X" number of times. More on the Fybersearch blog
[http://blog.fybersearch.com].

========================

More Search Survey Results
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050127-113134]
By Gary Price, Jan. 27, 2005

Sid Yadav has just posted the results of his NextSearchSurvey
[www.nextsearchsurvey.com/results]. It's easy to see that many of the people
who took the survey were advanced searchers after reviewing the large number
of respondents who know what a Boolean query is and utilize advanced search
features. Yadav offers a few comments about the results here
[www.dailyrundown.com/archives/2005/01/28/nextsearchsurvey-results-are-out].

========================

Redesign & Retain Rankings
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050127-090144]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 27, 2005

Time to redesign your web site? Matt Bailey at Search Engine Guide offers
some tips on doing that and maintain your search traffic in Planning Ahead
for an Effective Redesign [www.searchengineguide.com/bailey/003166.html].

========================

Business.com Adds People Search
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050126-163359]
By Gary Price, Jan. 26, 2005

Word from business search vertical
[http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050126/265272_1.html], Business.com that they've
added people search to their site. A bit more on how it works and the
underlying database in this post.

========================

Google Employee Blog Goes Back Up
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050126-162224]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 26, 2005

Mark Jen, the Google employee whose blog content disappeared after he made
some criticisms of the company, is back up and blogging again. In a new
post, he explains that he had some stuff "that's not supposed to be there"
and removed the entire blog as the "quickest way for me to fix the
situation." More about what happened in this post. See also Google Employee
Pulls Critical Blog Posts
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050126-083916].

========================

AOL Says Adios to Newsgroups
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050125-153755]
By Gary Price, Jan. 25, 2005

A brief story [www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01/25/aol_cutsoff_newsgroups] in
The Register mentions that AOL has stopped providing access to newsgroups.
AOL tells users who want to search or browse these groups to visit Google
Groups [http://groups.google.com].

========================

More Answers (Not Only Links) from AJ's Smart Search
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050125-142346]
By Gary Price, Jan. 25, 2005

Ask Jeeves Famous People Search gets a bit smarter. More in this post.

========================

Low Priced Women On eBay: More Automated Ad Problems At Google
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050125-101956]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 25, 2005

Over in our forums, the Google Ad Complaint
[http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?t=3754] thread takes a
look at some issues we've discussed before
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/041220-133446] where automation in
search ads can lead to confusing, if not misleading, product pitches. More
in this post, and also see from this month Tsunami Ads For Gift Cards?
Google, Where's the Review?
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050131-112919], More Weird Google
Ads [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050125-133423] and Google =
Pornking? Fun With the Google AdWords Keyword Tool
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050117-183105].

========================

Fix The Terms First [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050125-093837]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 25, 2005

Before you start fixing your HTML in a quest to improve search rankings,
consider if you need to reassess the terms you are targeting. The same is
true for tinkering with paid bids. Fredrick Marckini in Keywords: Speak Your
Audience's Language
[www.clickz.com/experts/search/results/article.php/3462081] from ClickZ
argues that you might not be properly targeting the searcher.

========================

Companies Swarm to Search Advertising
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050124-140607]
By Gary Price, Jan. 24, 2005

The Chicago Tribune article: Web words become a lucrative market,
[www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0501240002jan24,1,2431400.story?coll=ch
i-business-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true] offers an overview of how search ads
work, touches on click fraud, and includes a couple stories from search
advertising customers in the Chicago area.

========================

Scirus Offers Comments About Google Scholar
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050124-123511]
By Gary Price, Jan. 24, 2005

A just published issue of the Scirus newsletter includes a few comments
about how Scirus views their product as compared to what Google offers with
Google Scholar. Scirus is a service of the massive science publisher,
Elsevier. In December, Information Today's Paula Hane
[www.infotoday.com/newslink/newslink0412.htm#SpotLight] chatted with Ammy
Vogtlander, general manager of Scirus and her interview contains much more
about how Scirus views their product vs. Google Scholar.

========================

A Look at the Future of Web Search
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050124-120707]
By Gary Price, Jan. 24, 2005

The February issue of Scientific American is out and contains a lengthy
article about web search and info retrieval. You can read the six page
article titled: Seeking Better Web Searches
[www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa006&colID=1&articleID=00063
04A-37F4-11E8-B7F483414B7F0000] online. And in this post, more about some of
the services mentioned.

========================

SEO Doesn't Equal Being Cheap
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050124-102207]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 24, 2005

Aaron Wall in Why Many People Buy Shitty SEO Services
[www.search-marketing.info/newsletter/articles/shitty-seo.htm] has a nice
look at someone apparently making tons of money off search-related sales but
not wanting to put any serious money into hiring someone to help. SEM
pricing, of course, can be all over the board. Some people charge little and
yet do a great job. Others charge a lot but might not be able to help you.
Suffice to say, however, good search marketers will expect to be well
compensated for the traffic they bring.

========================

Testing Travel Search [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050124-101250]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 24, 2005

The Organized Shopping Blog puts some travel search engines to the test in
Travel Search Engine Shootout - Las Vegas Strip Hotels
[www.organizedshopping.com/blog/archives/000832.html]. Conclusion? The
results seemed virtually interchangeable from long-established players such
as Expedia. Among new players, SideStep was more comprehensive than Kayak
and Mobissimo. Advice for searchers? Check the official web site of a hotel
you are considering, then try SideStep, Expedia or Orbitz to quickly see if
there are better prices. "Bottom line, no one site has the best price every
time," says the test.

========================

ODP Founder Comments & Moving Past Directories
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050124-095024]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 24, 2005

From SearchEngineBlog.com, Rich Skrenta Interview
[www.searchengineblog.com/rich-skrenta-interview.htm] has Rich Skrenta
sharing thoughts on how he went from being a founder of the Open Directory
[http://dmoz.org] to starting up news search site Topix [www.topix.net]. He
considers the Open Directory (or any web directory) no longer necessary,
given how the web has evolved and grown. In this post, a look at his comment
plus how directories have been in decline over the past few years.

========================

Baby Yahoo Story Was Made Up
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050124-082740]
By Gary Price, Jan. 24, 2005

Do you remember the Reuters story (and blog post)
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050113-090904] about a baby in
Romania being named Yahoo? Well it turns out that story was fiction. The
reporter of the story has been fired. More in the Reuters article: Reporter
fired over fake Yahoo baby
[http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050124/od_uk_nm/oukoe_romania
_yahoo_1].

========================

Wild Speculation On Google Internet Phone Service Launch?
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050124-080915]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 24, 2005

The Times Of London is reporting that Google will launch a free internet
telephone service: Google gears up for a free-phone challenge to BT
[www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1454225,00.html]. For its part, Google
has apparently dismissed
[www.pcpro.co.uk/news/68640/google-denies-move-into-voip-business.html] the
report as "pure speculation." In this post, a bit more on the shaky branch
the Times crawled out upon.

========================

Ask Plans Mobile Search In 2005
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050123-135248]
By Gary Price, Jan. 23, 2005

I said several times in '04 that mobile search and access to info would
continue to grow in both usage and the number of mobile services available.
An IDG News story: Ask Jeeves Developing Wireless Search Service
[www.infoworld.com/article/05/01/21/HNaskjeeveswireless_1.html], reports
that the butler will have a mobile search tool available sometime in 2005. I
think mobile access to Ask's Smart Search technology (ANSWERS not only
links) will be a plus for the mobile searcher since research time and other
issues are major considerations when searching via a mobile device.

The second half of 2004 was a busy time for mobile search. We saw new
releases from Yahoo [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/041027-123058]
(who already had a very robust platform), Google
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/041007-130813], Smarter.com
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/041021-135411], and others. By the
way, RSS and other syndication formats also work very well on mobile
devices. Bloglines already offers [www.bloglines.com/mobile] a special
interface for mobile web users.

========================

Google Increases Maximum Number of Query Terms
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050123-123438]
By Gary Price, Jan. 23, 2005

Since Google's introduction the maximum number of search terms you could
include in a query string was 10. As of today, that has changed. Tara
Calishain at ResearchBuzz [www.researchbuzz.org/archives/002314.shtml] and
Philipp Lenssen on Google Blogoscoped
[http://blog.outer-court.com/archive/2005-01-22-n48.html] have posted that
the maximum number of terms allowed in a search query is now 32. Lenssen's
post includes several examples of how this might useful but also points out
that the 10 word query limit is still in place for Google Groups and Google
News. I can report that the 10 word limit
[http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=1+2+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+chicago+seattle&ie=U
TF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&btnG=Search] remains the limit with Google Scholar. Many
of the other large general purpose web engines (Yahoo, Jeeves, MSN) don't
place limits on the number of terms in a query.

With this change (good news and a long time coming) I think advanced
searchers would now like to see Google offer nested searching, remove the
101KB page cutoff, offer truncation, and be more precise about what
backlinks they do and do not show. Oh yes, how could I forget, offer a
proximity operator. As of today, Exalead [www.exalead.com] is the only web
engine to offer one. AltaVista used to make one available.

========================

SEO Versus SE Ads [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050121-152001]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 21, 2005

In Compare and Contrast: SEM and SEO
[www.clickz.com/experts/search/strat/article.php/3461891] from ClickZ, Kevin
Lee explains that SEO for many sites is mostly about clearing the hurdles
that can make a site non-search engine friendly. Fix the problems, and the
free listings tap might start flowing with relatively little need to watch
over it on a daily basis. In this post, a closer look at the article and
some of the issues it raises.

========================

Yahoo Filtering Search For China
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050121-150155]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 21, 2005

There's no end to stories about how Google either does or is suspected to
filter its results for China (with news, it does
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/041201-072346]; with web search,
China itself does [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/040903-152119]).
Nice to see it getting a break and Yahoo instead taking a slam for doing
search filtering. That's covered at the end of this News.com article, When
blogging can get you locked up
[http://news.com.com/2010-1028_3-5544250.html]. And in this post, a bit more
on disclosure that everyone ought to be providing.

========================

More On FAST Beats Google For AOL Local
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050121-142926]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 21, 2005

Our AOL Search: Playing In the Big Leagues Now
[http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3461491] on the new AOL
Search release commented on FAST being selected over Google to power
upcoming changes to AOL's local search service. Google bypassed in search
deal
[www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2005/01/21/google_bypassed_in_s
earch_deal] from the Boston Globe takes a closer look at the win by FAST.

========================

New My Yahoo Ticker For Windows Taskbar
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050121-103552]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 21, 2005

Using My Yahoo to track stocks or read feeds? Now there's a little My Yahoo
Ticker [http://edit.ticker.yahoo.com/config/slv4_page?.p=ticker] you can get
that will stream material to you via your Windows taskbar. Email
notifcation, weather forecasts and more are also provided. There's also some
search capabilities built in. My Yahoo! on Your Desktop
[www.ysearchblog.com/archives/000071.html] from the Yahoo Search Blog
provides some more details.

========================

Google Loses Trademark Infringement Case in France
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050120-191513]
By Gary Price, Jan. 20, 2005

On December 15th Google [http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-5543827.html] was
victorious in a trademark-infringement lawsuit filed by GEICO in a U.S.
Federal Court. However, Google loses trademark dispute in France
[http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-5543827.html] from News.com reports it was
a different story the next day for Google in France. Google will its loss
there. In this post, a little more background on related actions. Also see
Translation of French Court Order in Recently Decided Google Case
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050125-135246] and the Out-Law.com
article, Google loses French AdWords case
[www.out-law.com/php/page.php?page_id=googlelosesfrench1106569044&area=news]
.

========================

Hotmail Users Can Now Subscribe to MS Outlook
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050120-115234]
By Gary Price, Jan. 20, 2005

The AP is reporting
[www.usatoday.com/tech/products/software/2005-01-20-pay-for-outlook_x.htm?cs
p=34] that Microsoft is introducing a fee-based e-mail service that lets
users, "organize e-mail, contact lists and calendars in their online Hotmail
accounts using the Microsoft Outlook program." The service is called
Microsoft Office Outlook Live
[http://join.msn.com/?page=outlook/olc&pgmarket=en-us&ST=1&xAPID=1983&DI=140
2] and will offer 2GB in storage and permits users to send attachments of up
to 20 megabytes. A subscription to Microsoft Office Outlook Live costs
$59.95/year (a 25% discount is currently available) and is the first
Microsoft Office product to be made available as a downloadable subscription
service. Additional details on the Outlook Live web site.

========================

Interface Tweaks to Search.Yahoo.com Interface
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050120-101549]
By Gary Price, Jan. 20, 2005

I've noticed a tweak to the clutter-free and ad-free Search.Yahoo.com
[http://search.yahoo.com] interface this morning. Now included on the page,
directly below the search box are: Three news headlines (and a direct link
to Yahoo News); A direct link to Yahoo Finance along with Dow Jones and
NASDAQ Averages; Yahoo Mail users can login and have direct links to their
inbox (along with the number of new messages). A direct link to compose mail
is also visible. Removing these features from the interface can be easily
accomplished by simply clicking them closed. For about a year,
Search.Yahoo.com users have been able to personalize
[http://search.yahoo.com/preferences/edit_tabs] which search tabs are
visible on the page. Look for the "edit" link directly above the search box.

========================

MSN Releases Australian and Canadian Versions of Newsbot
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050119-135052]
By Gary Price, Jan. 19, 2005

New from MSN today are a few more local versions of their Newsbot news
search beta. You can find a listing
[http://uk.newsbot.msn.com/worldwide.aspx] with all of the local versions of
Newsbot here [http://uk.newsbot.msn.com/worldwide.aspx]. What is Newsbot all
about? Take a look at the SearchDay article: MSN Previews Personalized News
Search [http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3386371].

========================

Feedster Launches Database of Job Feeds
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050119-084520]
By Gary Price, Jan. 19, 2005

News from Feedster that they're now adding more than 5,000 job listings each
day from a variety of services and companies that offer employment
announcements in RSS format. A specialized interface to acccess these
listings is also available at:
http://jobs.feedster.com. The news release also points out that more
specialized interfaces (aka verticals) are coming soon.

========================

The Universal Library and Other Book Digitization Projects
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050119-083349]
By Gary Price, Jan. 19, 2005

Although Google's recent announcement to digitize the contents of several
large libraries got most of the press coverage, I'm glad to see that other
book digitization projects (many that have been around for years) are now
also getting some press attention. We mentioned several of them in our first
story about Google Print library project
[http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3447411] and in this
post [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/041214-131509] a couple of days
later. A new article from the Hackensack Record
[www.wgms.com/index.php?nid=65&sid=171896] offers more details about The
Universal Library [www.ul.cs.cmu.edu/html/index.html] (from Carnegie Mellon
University, The Internet Archive and others) and Project Gutenberg
[www.gutenberg.org]. If you're interested in making use of full text books
currently available online (most free) the blog post: Searching for Digital
Books [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/041019-153730], offers links
to several excellent databases.

========================

Dogpile Adds New Features
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050118-175941]
By Gary Price, Jan. 18, 2005

Dogpile [www.dogpile.com] has added
[www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/cnn-storydisplay.cgi?story=/www/bw/webbox/bw.0
11805/250185107.htm&textcolor=#000000&linkcolor=] a few new features that
build on the IntelliFind technology that launched last November (see:
Dogpile Enhances Search Results
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/041110-124938]). What's new? The
integration of yellow pages entries (beta release) on web search results
pages if the Yellow Pages info is relevant to a query. Web Site Match:
matches every query against a database of the most popular Web sites and
"suggesting" exact matches at the top of serp.

========================

Microsoft Tells Google To Cease and Desist
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050118-141247]
By Gary Price, Jan. 18, 2005

It's always interesting to review the collection of Cease and Desist Notices
sent to Google (and others) via the Chilling Effects Clearinghouse. Today, a
few new C&D letters [www.chillingeffects.org/notice.cgi] were made available
including several from Microsoft that request Google remove several posts on
Blogger weblogs that are hosted by Blogspot. In addition to browsing the
list of letters, you can search for all of the notices sent to Google (451
as of today) by using this search engine [www.chillingeffects.org/search.cgi]
, and search for the term "Google" in the "Recipient" field. Some notices
deal with Google Groups (Usenet archives) and Google Images.

========================

Building Roomba's Brand Through Search
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050118-111447]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 18, 2005

Roomba Cleans Up With Search Engine Marketing
[www.mediapost.com/dtls_dsp_news.cfm?newsID=287335] from AdAge is a good
read on how the makers of the Roomba automatic vacuum cleaner helped built
their brand through search. The company became the seventh most popular
brand name search on Google in 2004. The company didn't rely on search
alone. Heavy TV and radio ads were run, with the assumption that this would
drive consumers onto the web to do research. There, search-targeted ads
awaited them.

========================

Googlefone: Fast Way To Use Google's Phone Book
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050118-094433]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 18, 2005

Google has a phone book search service, but you might not realize it. New
site Googlefone [http://googlefone.com] makes it easier to tap into the
Google PhoneBook [www.google.com/help/features.html#wp]. Enter a name of a
person or business, plus some location data, and you'll be shown any
matching publicly-listed numbers that Google knows about. And in this blog
post, other ways to use the phonebook, plus some alternatives to consider.

========================

Mainstream Press Tells Clickfraud Story
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050117-180403]
By Gary Price, Jan. 17, 2005

An article in the new issue of Newsweek titled When Mice Attack
[www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6830802/site/newsweek] tells the story of one PPC
customer who claims to have "lost $50,000 in potential business" due to
clickfraud even after complaining to Google. The story mentions that the
search engines, through the IAB, have formed a "measurement task force"
looking at the problem and trying to develop a standard of what's a "real"
click. Both Google and Yahoo are asked -- and decline -- to state how much
they have refunded due to clickfraud.

========================

Security Issue With Google Accounts Cookie Said Fixed
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050117-094550]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 17, 2005

Google says it has now fixed a security problem with its Google Accounts
service, which provides a cookie-based way for people to log into various
Google services. More in this blog post.

========================

Google Domains For 10 More Countries Now Available
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050116-145150]
By Gary Price, Jan. 16, 2005

A note on Google Blog
[www.google.com/googleblog/2005/01/domains-of-choice.html] points out that
10 new Googles are now online for ten more top-level domains ranging from
Indonesia to the Cook Islands.

========================

RSS Feed Submission Tools & Resources
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050114-101035]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 14, 2005

News of two new feed submission tools as well as a manual list to follow.
Links and details in this blog post.

========================

SEC Will Not Pursue Case Against Google
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050113-125537]
By Gary Price, Jan. 13, 2005

We've learned from an SEC 8-K filing
[www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1288776/000119312505005775/d8k.htm]that the
Securities and Exchange Commission will not pursue a case against Google
regarding the pre-IPO publication of a Playboy interview with Sergey Brin
and Larry Page. The filing also points out that Google has also settled with
the SEC "relating to its stock option practices." Google will not be fined.
Links to key documents in this post.

========================

Google's Mayer: Searcher Behavior & Google Factoids
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050113-113420]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 13, 2005

If Google's full of smart people, product manager Marissa Mayer's one of the
smartest there. She gave a talk at PARC on the user experience at Google. A
nice write-up of this can be found in An Evening With Google's Marissa Mayer
[http://alan.blog-city.com/read/1003011.htm]. See also this post for links
to similar stories in the past from SEW.

========================

WPP Pushing More Into Search Marketing
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050113-104235]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 13, 2005

Ad agencies don't get search? Well WPP Group says it gets it in a big way.
From Revolution, WPP eyes world domination with search marketing arm
[www.revolutionmagazine.com/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=ViewNewsArticle&ID=232
315] tells us briefly that the organization plans to launch a network of 47
offices worldwide to focus on search marketing through a new agency,
mSearch. More in this post.

========================

Shopping Search, Contextual Ads & General Search Blogs Offered
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050113-094249]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 13, 2005

Three topics -- three blogs on them worth checking out. Links and more info
in this post.

========================

SMA-UK At Halfway Point
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050113-090336]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 13, 2005

From a mailing to those on the SMA-UK interest list, news comes that the
group has half the 50 members it needs to move forward with a formal
meeting, ratification of its constitution and board elections. Those
interested in this search marketing group for the UK can visit the SMA-UK
[www.sma-uk.org] site to apply. Some background on SMA-UK is here: SMA-UK
Posts Rules & Membership Rates
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/041108-100237]. An associated SMA-EU
[www.sma-eu.org] group is also forming for Europe, as is SMA-NA for North
America. More recent details on both of those here: SMA-NA Forming - Now A
Direct Challenge To SEMPO?
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050111-071830]

========================

Bug Found in Gmail [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050112-203215]
By Gary Price, Jan. 12, 2005

Gmail Bug Exposes E-mails to Hackers
[www.betanews.com/article/Gmail_Bug_Exposes_Emails_to_Hackers/1105561408]
explains how a bug in Gmail was found that potentially allowed people access
to other people's email. Google says they've now fixed this. See also
Slashdot: Gmail Messages Are Vulnerable To Interception
[http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/01/12/1655246&tid=172&tid=215&tid=217
&tid=218].

========================

PubSub Unveils First "Content" Page
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050112-171924]
By Gary Price, Jan. 12, 2005

The gang over at PubSub have just released their first "content" page.
[www.pubsub.com/events/golden-globe] Content pages (look for more of them in
the future) feature one-click access to manually built queries on selected
topics. This one features "subscription" links
[www.pubsub.com/events/golden-globe] to track info about the actors,
directors, films, and television programs nominated for Sunday's Golden
Globe Awards. When I was working at George Washington University, we often
constructed these types of pages to help students take full advantage of
various databases, save them some time, and perhaps gently teach them a few
search techniques.

========================

Mobile Search: New and Improved Access to Hoover's Business Data
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050112-162545]
By Gary Price, Jan. 12, 2005

Those of you who are mobile web (yes, I love my Treo 600) searchers might be
interested to learn that Hoover's, the well-known provider of business data,
has recently released a new and improved mobile interface
[http://mobile.hoovers.com] to access/search their content. You can access
Hoover's company profiles (more than 40,000)
[www.hoovers.com/global/hoov/index.xhtml?pageid=10088], news headlines, etc.
for free (just like you can do on their "regular" web site) and also login
for more comprehensive data if you have a Hoover's subscription.

========================

Is Google Ready to Ask More Libraries to Join Google Print Program?
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050112-154137]
By Gary Price, Jan. 12, 2005

Is Google about to name another library as a member of the Google Print
library digitization project? We haven't heard anything (but we're asking).
The article: Google plans to enable students to search Purdue libraries
[www.purdueexponent.org/interface/bebop/showstory.php?date=2005/01/12§io
n=campus&storyid=LibraryPopularity] in the university newspaper makes it
sound like some type of announcement could be coming soon. Of course, it
could just be a bit of Googlemania hitting the Purdue campus since the
article goes on to say that Google has only requested a list of their
collections.

BTW, I'm surprised that the folks at the Googleplex just didn't search their
own database (or a competitor's)
[www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3A
official&q=purdue+libraries+collections+list+site%3Apurdue.edu&btnG=Search]
to find plenty of detailed info about what Purdue holds in their many
library collections. Of course, Purdue's OPAC (online public access catalog)
is also available on the web.

========================

Google At $235 Per Share?
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050112-093800]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 12, 2005

RBC analyst Jordan Rohan thinks that expansion in Western Europe, more
spending on search advertising, and more searches generated through
broadband growth means Google is going to be worth more. His previous target
price was $200. Details from The Street: Google Target Rises
[www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/tech/georgemannes/10202809.html].

========================

Tips On Protecting Against Clickfraud
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050112-090624]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 12, 2005

Click Fraud: Somebody Is Cheating You
[www.clickz.com/experts/media/agency_strat/article.php/3456371] from ClickZ
is another look at protecting yourself from clickfraud. Many of the tips and
information may be familiar to our readers but refreshers never hurt. It
also mentions to online tools you might tap into. For more on the subject of
clickfraud, see also the Search Ads: Clickfraud
[http://searchenginewatch.com/_subscribers/topics/article.phpr?id=null&topic
=search_ads_clickfraud] of our Search Topics
[http://searchenginewatch.com/_subscribers/topics] area available to Search
Engine Watch members
[http://searchenginewatch.com/benefits/article.php?source=0502ser], which
summarizes stories on the topic going back for years.

========================

SEMCares: Calling On SEM Industry To Help With Tsunami Relief
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050112-080055]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 12, 2005

A new SEMcares [http://semcares.com] web site was launched with the
intention of helping those in the SEM industry rally behind needy causes,
such as tsunami relief. More in this blog post.

========================

Steve Jobs Talks Desktop Search at Macworld
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050111-165118]
By Gary Price, Jan. 11, 2005

Jobs centers Spotlight on desktop search
[http://news.com.com/2100-7354_3-5532367.html] from News.com share Apple CEO
Steve Jobs had to say about desktop search during his keynote speech at the
Macworld Expo today. You can view a webcast of the keynote
[http://stream.apple.akadns.net] address online. In short, Apple's
"Spotlight" search technology is on target for release in the first half of
2005. At launch, Spotlight will index more than 12 file types. The News.com
story also describes a smart folders feature similar to what Blinkx unveiled
yesterday [www.blinkx.com/press/2005/20050110.php].

========================

Exalead's Index Passes 1 Billion Page Mark, Prepares to Launch Desktop
Search App [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050111-143316]
By Gary Price, Jan. 11, 2005

News that Exalead's [www.exalead.com] database of web pages has passed the
one billion page mark. The total page count on the home page now reads:
1,031,065,733 pages. If you've never tried Exalead, I think it's more than
worth a look. I blogged an overview post
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/041012-192029] focusing on a few of
its numerous advanced search features back in October. A couple of weeks ago
I posted about [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/041229-132215]
personalizing the Exalead home page. Exalead's Paris-based CEO, Francois
Bourdoncle, tells me that the company plans to have a two billion page web
index online in the near future. He also said that his company is about just
ready to introduce a desktop search tool.

========================

Web Search Clustering from Microsoft (and other Clustering Tools)
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050111-115841]
By Gary Price, Jan. 11, 2005

An excellent post on the SQL Full Text Search
[http://spaces.msn.com/members/jtkane/Blog/cns!1pWDBCiDX1uvH5ATJmNCVLPQ!317.
entry] blog alerts us to a few clustering tools from Microsoft, including a
demo from Microsoft Research Asia. More in this blog post.

========================

Making Sites Search Engine Friendly
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050111-101425]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 11, 2005

From Search Engine Guide, David Wallace looks at the key components for a
site built to please search engines naturally in Ingredients of a Search
Engine Friendly Site [www.searchengineguide.com/wallace/2005/0107_dw1.html].
Nothing new for those familiar with SEO, but a nice, short summary for the
new.

========================

Marckini On 2005 SEM Predictions
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050111-095720]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 11, 2005

The SEM CEO's Predictions
[www.clickz.com/experts/search/results/article.php/3455591] from ClickZ has
iProspect's Fredrick Marckini looking at what's to come in 2005. Search will
get more tightly mixed with traditional marketing, vertical search will grow
and thrive while personalization still needs more time to cook. Also
interesting are reader predictions.

========================

RocketNews Adds Local Television News Content
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050111-084132]
By Gary Price, Jan. 11, 2005

RocketNews [www.rocketnews.com] has added
[http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/050111/078828.html] content from hundreds of local
television news broadcasters (U.S. only) to their database. Aside from this,
it continues to be a news search tool that I use on a very regular basis. I
often spot articles and postings via Rocket that I don't see when searching
using other tools. At the moment, Rocket is crawling and organizing material
from more that 13,000 sources (very strong in business news) and 70,000
weblogs.

========================

Google's Usenet Timeline and Early Search Engine Announcements
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050110-141223]
By Gary Price, Jan. 10, 2005

Slashdot has a thread about a "new" timeline from Google that highlights
interesting and historic posts from their 20 year Usenet (aka Google Groups)
archive. If you've never seen it
[www.google.com/googlegroups/archive_announce_20.html], it's a lot of fun.
However, as several people including Michael Fagan [www.faganfinder.com]
correctly point out [http://battellemedia.com/archives/001173.php] on
Searchblog, this timeline has been around for several years
[http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.google.com/googlegroups/archive_ann
ounce_20.html]. Speaking of Google's Usenet Archive, web search history
types, take note. In 2001 I used the Usenet archive to build this
compilation of early search engine announcements
[www.resourceshelf.com/2001/12/web-search-history-early-web-search.html]
that I posted on my ResourceShelf site.

========================

Yahoo Maps vs. MapQuest
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050110-114450]
By Gary Price, Jan. 10, 2005

The LA Times Chris Gaither in: Overtaking MapQuest a Challenge for Yahoo
[www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-maps10jan10,0,5286449.story?coll=la-home-bus
iness], takes a look at what Yahoo is doing to gain market share from
MapQuest in the online map arena. A summary and a bit more on the topic, in
this post.

========================

Leading Korean Search Engine Launches Desktop Search App
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050110-112510]
By Gary Price, Jan. 10, 2005

The Korean Herald reports in NHN joins desktop search competition
[www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2005/01/11/200501110018.asp] that
NHN Corp owners of leading Korean search engine Naver.com are now offering a
desktop search [http://jump.naver.com/desk] application. The article goes on
to say that Daum Communications Co., Korea's largest e-mail service
provider, has plans to offer a desktop search client this year.

========================

Yahoo! Launches Print and Online Ad Campaign
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050110-104548]
By Gary Price, Jan. 10, 2005

Yahoo will launch an online and print advertising campaign today (aimed at
media buyers, ad agencies, etc) promoting their ability to target
advertising to specific audiences and groups. More in the Media Post
article: Yahoo! Plugs Targeting Power
[www.mediapost.com/dtls_dsp_news.cfm?newsID=285999]

========================

Some of the Stranger Queries from the BBC's Search Engine
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050110-103726]
By Gary Price, Jan. 10, 2005

The BBC has posted an article
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4155361.stm] letting us know that
their search engine received over 227 million queries in 2004. It also
includes a list containing several of the "strangest queries." BTW, the news
search engine from the BBC offers a very useful advanced interface
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/shared/bsp/search2/advanced/news_ifs.stm] that allows
you to limit by date range and section.

========================

Former Enron CEO Using Paid Search Listings
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050108-140431]
By Gary Price, Jan. 8, 2005

AP is running a story
[www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/breaking_news/10599116.htm?1c] about how
the legal team of former Enron CEO Ken Lay is using paid search engine
listings to get people to visit his web site.

========================

Gigablast Passes the One Billion Page Mark
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050108-131945]
By Gary Price, Jan. 8, 2005

A congrats and kudos goes out to Matt Wells (and his team) as the Gigablast
[www.gigablast.com] web index passes the one billion page mark. The official
number listed is: 1,014,363,952. Previously, Gigablast was using a total
page count of about 640 million pages. Gigablast has been a very busy place
lately. In the past few weeks they've launched several new services
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050105-134234]. If you're interested
in learning more about Matt Wells and Gigablast, take a look at this
interview he did
[www.acmqueue.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=135] with
Infoseek founder and Matt's former boss, Steve Kirsch.

========================

Getting Free Of Search Spam
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050107-073528]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 7, 2005

Learning From SEM Blunders
[www.clickz.com/experts/search/opt/article.php/3453881] at ClickZ has PJ
Fusco looking at extracting sites from actual or potential search engine
spamming situations, based on her own experiences. For a similar article,
see Bungled Search Engine Optimization - Cleaning Up the Mess
[http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3292411] from a panel at
one of our SES conferences. Search Engine Watch members should also see the
SEO: Spamming
[http://searchenginewatch.com/_subscribers/topics/article.phpr/?id=null&topi
c=seo_spamming] category of Search Topics
[http://searchenginewatch.com/_subscribers/topics] for an annotated guide to
stories on spamming for SEW and around the web over the years.

========================

University FAQs On Google Scholar
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050107-065653]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 7, 2005

The On Google Scholar [http://schoogle.blogspot.com] blog points to two
university FAQs about the Google Scholar program designed to help those
considering using the research service. The one from UNLV
[www.library.unlv.edu/help/googlescholar.html] is fairly short but gives
some illustrations that Google Scholar's own FAQ
[http://scholar.google.com/scholar/about.html] lacks. The one from the
University Of Connecticut is great for the "Yes, but..." tone it takes. Yes,
Google Scholar is a great new resource, but consider other options and
limitations, it details.

========================

Mac Version of Blinkx Coming Next Week
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050106-184410]
By Gary Price, Jan. 6, 2005

On Monday, Blinkx will launch a version of its app for the Mac. It includes
desktop search functionality. Mac versions are something that many other
well-known desktop search tools (Google, Copernic, Microsoft, X1, Jeeves,
etc.) are not offering at the present time. Details in the InternetNews.com
article: Blinkx Brings Desktop Search to Macs
[www.internetnews.com/ent-news/article.php/3455561]. The full text of the
Blinkx announcement is posted on Searchblog
[http://battellemedia.com/archives/001166.php].

========================

Howard Stern is a Yahoo! Guy
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050106-125942]
By Gary Price, Jan. 6, 2005

Popular and often controversial radio host Howard Stern declares himself a
Yahoo user because that's what he has set on his browser. I wonder if we'll
see Stern in Yahoo! ads anytime soon. He went on to call the 60 Minutes
story about Google an "infomercial." Note: Howard Stern is currently
employed by Viacom (also the owner of CBS) but is leaving next year when he
moves to satellite radio. Stern also commented on the Google "were not in it
for the money" mindset. This unofficial show transcript
[www.marksfriggin.com/news.htm#thu] includes those comments, and see also
this full transcript
[http://google.blognewschannel.com/index.php/archives/2005/01/06/full-howard
-stern-google-transcript/%20].

========================

Keyword Prices Rise Again, But Only Slightly
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050106-095817]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 6, 2005

The Keyword Price Index from Fathom Online for December showed a 2 percent
rise from last month, the smallest month-to-month change since the index
began in September. The average keyword price rose from $1.66 in November to
only $1.70 in December. A chart and more details in this blog post.

========================

Looking at Image Searching
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050106-083753]
By Gary Price, Jan. 6, 2005

John Gartner at Wired News takes an interesting look at the future of image
searching in the article: Search Looks at the Big Picture
[www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,66185,00.html]. A summary and some
related resources in this blog post.

========================

Convergence: Yahoo! and Microsoft Announce Relationship
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050106-082922]
By Gary Price, Jan. 6, 2005

Yahoo! has announced in this news release
[http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050105/56028_1.html] that the "Best of Yahoo"
(including My Yahoo! and Yahoo! Premium Video) will be available to
consumers through Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
[www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/default.mspx]. Yahoo also announced
the launch of the Yahoo! Digital Home Developer Program
[http://digitalhome.yahoo.com]. It will "allow consumer electronics
companies and other software integrators to make Yahoo! content and services
accessible to their Internet-enabled stereos, televisions and other home
electronic devices."

========================

Bill Gates: "Today's Search is Nothing"
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050105-194122]
By Gary Price, Jan. 5, 2005

News.com has just posted a Q&A interview
[http://news.com.com/2008-1041_3-5514121.html?tag=alert] with Bill Gates on
a variety of issues including search, web browsers, and why he doesn't have
a blog. A summary and observations in this post.

========================

Findory and Technorati Offering New Services
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050105-183639]
By Gary Price, Jan. 5, 2005

Technorati [www.technorati.com] is now offering keyword alerts. Just enter a
search strategy, hit the "Make this a Watchlist" link and add the URL to
your aggregator. Feedster, Bloglines, and Daypop all offer similar services.
Additional details in this post [www.sifry.com/alerts/archives/000267.html]
from Technorati CEO, David Sifry.

Findory [www.findory.com] has just introduced personalized RSS feeds based
on keyword searches of their weblog and/or news databases. A Findory
personalized feed will suggest new articles and postings based on YOUR
reading history. This new service is in addition to the other personalized
tools Findory makes available. Greg Linden, Findory's CEO, has instructions
[http://glinden.blogspot.com/2005/01/personalized-search-rss-feeds.html] on
how to get your personalized feeds running.

========================

Google Testing Images On Web Results Pages
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050105-175605]
By Gary Price, Jan. 5, 2005

Google Blogoscoped points out
[http://blog.outer-court.com/archive/2005_01_04_index.html#11048699335870710
0] that Google is testing placing few thumbnail images from their image
database at the top of web search results pages. I tried a few searches but
wasn't able to see any examples. Luckily, the GB post also includes a screen
capture. BTW, embedding a few thumbnail images directly onto a page of web
results is not a new idea. Ask Jeeves has done this for almost two years,
such as with pictures golden gate bridge
[http://web.ask.com/web?q=pictures+golden+gate+bridge&qsrc=1&o=0].

========================

New Version of Acrobat Includes Yahoo Toolbar and Search Options
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050105-173219]
By Gary Price, Jan. 5, 2005

A new version (7.0) of the Adobe Acrobat Reader
[www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html] was released today. The
download page (for some Windows versions) includes the option
[www.freepint.com/gary/adobeyahoo.jpg] to also include the co-branded
Adobe/Yahoo Toolbar in the download. Additionally, you're now able to begin
searches of the Yahoo web database from within the Acrobat Reader
application. Here's a screenshot [www.freepint.com/gary/adobeyahoo1.jpg].
The Adobe/Yahoo partnership was announced
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/041025-091304] in October.

========================

Yahoo Health Beta Focuses on Searchability and Personalization
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050105-161954]
By Gary Price, Jan. 5, 2005

The Media Post article: Web Portals Beef Up Health Sections, discusses a new
MSN Health and Fitness
[http://g.msn.com/0US!s5.31472_315529/22.b9550/4??cm=leftnav1] section and a
Q4, 2004 beta release of an expanded health section
[http://beta.health.yahoo.com/%20] at Yahoo.

========================

The Google Webcam "Hack" Story
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050105-151618]
By Gary Price, Jan. 5, 2005

Several stories and posts on the web today about Google providing access to
unsecured webcams. A summary and comments in this post.

========================

Video Of 60 Minutes Google Story Available
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050105-150834]
By Danny Sullivan, Jan. 5, 2005

Missed the 60 Minutes story on Google? Now you can download it here
[http://junk.haughey.com/60Minutes.avi] in AVI format. Be aware it will be a
big download. For background on the story, see Gary's previous posts: Google
on 60 Minutes [http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050102-193905] and
Google Will Be Featured on 60 Minutes this Sunday
[http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/041230-175602].

========================

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