What a day! Still trying to digest all the news about the Yahoo Microsoft search deal? So are we. While answers are still coming in, here’s what we know so far. NOTE: The deal has now been approved. See Yahoo & Microsoft Receive Go Ahead To Implement Search Deal. In a nutshell, what just happened? Yahoo and Microsoft both have behind-the-scenes technology used to generate those listings you get when you perform a search. Yahoo’s going to give up their technology and use Microsoft’s. Why’s Yahoo giving up that technology! Running that technology is costly. Rather than own the technology, Yahoo feels its more economical to lease it from Microsoft. Doesn’t it also cost Microsoft a lot of money to run the technology? Yes, it does. But Microsoft has no choice but to run it. It wants to compete with Google. To do so, Microsoft built its search technology several years ago. It’s already doing the work, so leasing its results to Yahoo is sort of like … [Read more...] about The Microsoft-Yahoo Search Deal, In Simple Terms
Searches when selling property
The Day In Search, March 23, 2010
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. Google AdWords Search Funnels Launched: See All The Keywords That Led To Conversions Google launched a new AdWords reporting feature named AdWords Search Funnels. AdWords Search Funnel shows you all the keywords that assisted in conversion made through Google AdWords, rather than just the last one before a buy or conversion action. This feature is being rolled out over the next few weeks, so keep […] New Ruling May Mean More Googling In Court A federal appeals court ruling this week may open the door for judges to increase their use of search engines during court cases. Monday’s ruling authorized a judge’s use of Google to “confirm an intuition about a matter of common knowledge,” according to Reuters.The case in question was a criminal matter in which the defendant […] Yahoo! Launches Search-Based iPhone Apps, Including … [Read more...] about The Day In Search, March 23, 2010
Three Must-Download Remarketing Lists To Use With Your Search Ads
A good thing got even better last month when remarketing lists for search ads (RLSA) gained the ability to use audience lists created in Google Analytics. RLSA and Google Analytics are both valuable in their own right, and now you can use them together to get the right messages in front of the right people. When the news broke, Search Engine Land‘s Ginny Marvin did a great job of covering some caveats that you should keep in mind. In case you want to save a click, here’s what you should know: Age, gender and interest targeting aren’t available. Things like language, location, operating system, browser and device category are similarly unavailable (although campaign settings in AdWords can handle a lot of this for you). You’ll need audiences with at least 1,000 cookies prior to using them for targeting (just like normal AdWords RLSA). Remember to enable this feature in the “Data Collection” section of your property’s settings. After that, your … [Read more...] about Three Must-Download Remarketing Lists To Use With Your Search Ads
Biased Google Search Results Are Hurting Users, Study Claims
A recent study published by the Yelp data science team, conducted by researchers at the Harvard Business School and Columbia Law School, suggests Google is prominently displaying its own content ahead of others in organic search results. The study aims to prove Google’s actions are harming users by presenting them with inferior results to what they would otherwise find if all search results were displayed organically. In order to prove this theory, researchers from Harvard and Columbia conducted a test comparing Google’s results as they’re currently being displayed, with results determined by Google’s merit-based algorithm. Following this test, researchers came to the conclusion Google is unfairly promoting its own content ahead of content from external sources, “leaving consumers with lower quality results and worse matches.” Local Searches Skewed Most Heavily The study finds Google is most heavily pushing its own properties ahead of competitors … [Read more...] about Biased Google Search Results Are Hurting Users, Study Claims
Taking Control of the Search Market with Competitive Intelligence
In the real estate business, it is common to use long tail keywords in SEO and AdWords campaign optimization. But it says a lot when a real estate portal website manages to be among the top five in their search category with head keywords in less than a year. It’s not hard to invest a lot of money in AdWords, if you have deep pockets, but to manage a move like that with a balanced visibility of paid and organic is tricky in any industry. Boligportal.dk, a real estate portal in Denmark, has managed to move into the Homes & Apartments For Sale category, ranking #7 organically, and #2 in paid visibility in a mere 11 months. Hanne Hasseriis Gormsen, Online Marketing Manager at Boligportal.dk, tells us about their journey and how competitive intelligence plays a big role in their success: “Boligportal.dk is 15 years old and for a long period it has been possible to sell properties from within our portal, but in June last year, we re-launched this section of the site and are … [Read more...] about Taking Control of the Search Market with Competitive Intelligence