GroupM Search.net

In simple but still dramatic fashion, Google has upgraded browser based local search on mobile handsets. It has also tied Maps on the PC to mobile in a very effective way. And recognizing the limitations of keying in queries into a search box on a mobile handset, Google has taken a page from its Places [...]

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Search advertising success is defined by relevance. The concept of relevance is broad, but logical: it’s the relationships between advertiser, keyword, ad copy and the landing page/ post click experience. So, how do we know if our relationships are strong, and our account is relevant?
Simple: Quality Score for Google, or Quality Index for Yahoo.
There are [...]

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The Google AdSense for Feeds (aka FeedBurner) blog announced that all of their links will be 301 redirected, as opposed to some that are 301 redirected. In summary, when you use FeedBurner to create and host your RSS feed, FeedBurner creates special links that are used to send the reader to your web site. [...]

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The Yahoo Search Marketing Blog announced that your search ads will now automatically be displayed on iPhone & Android mobile phones. Yes, Yahoo said, this is an automatic opt in for all advertisers.
Yahoo said, “As of today, your ads should begin appearing immediately on these devices for relevant searches, if they have not already.” [...]

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Appropriately top Microsoft executives, coming off  the “worst year ever” for the company, are sharing some of the pain. As PaidContent reports, the top executives at the company took a compensation hit based on the sales and revenue declines. Here are some of the numbers:

CEO Steve Ballmer $1.265 million vs. $1.34 million a year ago
CFO [...]

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Get ready marketers: a credible new report with sweeping implications from the University of Pennsylvania and UC Berkeley is likely to be the nail in the coffin of self regulation of online advertising. Specifically I’m talking about behavioral targeting, which largely concerns online display advertising but does marginally touch search at Yahoo and Google.
The NY [...]

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B2B Internet marketers often struggle mightily with website content.
From an SEO perspective, content is a key component in any successful search program (more keyword opportunities, longer tail terms, freshness to encourage more frequent crawls, internal cross-linking opportunities, inbound link building materials, etc.).
The most common obstacles to content generation that B2B marketers express are time and [...]

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When naming products, it’s always prudent to investigate potential online marketing challenges and pitfalls before launch. Failure to do so may preemptively damage your marketing team’s ability to cast an appropriate branding net.
Traditionally due diligence surrounding the naming process involved trademark search, category and creative considerations. Now that’s no longer enough. Crucial naming decisions [...]

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AOL announced today that it’s hired former Google employee Shashi Seth as its Senior VP of Global Advertising Products. While with Google, Seth was head of monetization for YouTube. Most recently he was the Chief Revenue Officer for Cooliris.
AOL’s addition of Seth is the latest in a series of hirings from the search industry — [...]

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Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.

From Search Engine Land:

• How To Get More PPC Traffic For Less Money

  Search advertising success is defined by relevance. The concept of relevance is broad, but logical: it’s the relationships between advertiser, keyword, ad copy and the landing page/ post click experience. So, how do we know if our relationships are strong, and our account is relevant?
  Simple: Quality Score for Google, or Quality Index for Yahoo.
  There are [...]

• FeedBurner Goes 301 All The Way

  The Google AdSense for Feeds (aka FeedBurner) blog announced that all of their links will be 301 redirected, as opposed to some that are 301 redirected. In summary, when you use FeedBurner to create and host your RSS feed, FeedBurner creates special links that are used to send the reader to your web site. [...]

• Yahoo Search Ads Now On iPhone & Android Mobile Devices

  The Yahoo Search Marketing Blog announced that your search ads will now automatically be displayed on iPhone & Android mobile phones. Yes, Yahoo said, this is an automatic opt in for all advertisers.
  Yahoo said, “As of today, your ads should begin appearing immediately on these devices for relevant searches, if they have not already.” [...]

• Top Microsoft Execs Get A Pay Cut

  Appropriately top Microsoft executives, coming off the “worst year ever” for the company, are sharing some of the pain. As PaidContent reports, the top executives at the company took a compensation hit based on the sales and revenue declines. Here are some of the numbers:

  CEO Steve Ballmer $1.265 million vs. $1.34 million a year ago
  CFO [...]

• Report: Most People Don’t Want Online Tracking Even If It Means Relevant Ads Or Savings

  Get ready marketers: a credible new report with sweeping implications from the University of Pennsylvania and UC Berkeley is likely to be the nail in the coffin of self regulation of online advertising. Specifically I’m talking about behavioral targeting, which largely concerns online display advertising but does marginally touch search at Yahoo and Google.
  The NY [...]

• The B2B Content Equation

  B2B Internet marketers often struggle mightily with website content.
  From an SEO perspective, content is a key component in any successful search program (more keyword opportunities, longer tail terms, freshness to encourage more frequent crawls, internal cross-linking opportunities, inbound link building materials, etc.).
  The most common obstacles to content generation that B2B marketers express are time and [...]

• Think Search Before You Name Your Next Product

  When naming products, it’s always prudent to investigate potential online marketing challenges and pitfalls before launch. Failure to do so may preemptively damage your marketing team’s ability to cast an appropriate branding net.
  Traditionally due diligence surrounding the naming process involved trademark search, category and creative considerations. Now that’s no longer enough. Crucial naming decisions [...]

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• Yahoo Makes Ads on MLB.tv a Bit More Like TV, Ad Age
• Build Apps for the New Yahoo! Homepage, Yahoo! Developer Network Blog
• It’s Y!ou, My Yahoo! Blog

Business Issues

• Google vs. Yahoo: the workers weigh in, San Francisco Chronicle
• Misfired e-mail was never viewed by Gmail user, CNET News
• Yahoo veteran named to MySpace CTO spot, CNET News

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Google Local Search Results Lotto, Search Marketing Communications
• MapQuest 4 Mobile on BlackBerry: Get it in one click!, MapQuest Blog

Link Building

• 10 Tips to Optimise your LinkedIn Profile, SEOptimise
• Always Be Link Building, John Andrews
• Should You Buy Links And Video Embeds For YouTube SEO?, seoroi.com
• Using LiveChat to Build Links, Link Spiel

Paid Search & Contextual

• Generate Extra Revenue this Holiday Season with These 5 PPC Tips, PPC Hero
• The medium and large rectangle square off, Inside AdSense
• The Selling Of Google AdWords, TechCrunch

Searching

• Earthquakes in the South Pacific, Wolfram|Alpha Blog
• Porn Spammers Targets Holocaust Terms in Google, Search Engine Roundtable
• Semantic Search: Spanish Scientists Develop the First Intelligent Financial Search Engine, ResourceShelf

SEM Industry

• Happy Birthday, Bruce!, BruceClay.com

SEO & SEM

• 5 Tips For Managing An SEO Team, The SEO Girl
• How to Take Your Keywords Global, SEO.com
• Adding Search to Your Marketing Mix, Part II, Search Engine Guide
• Can Google Predict Your Brand’s Success or Failure?, Search Marketing Sage
• Google Sandbox: Does/Did it Exist? Poll Results, Search Engine Roundtable
• How can I merge two sites?, YouTube
• Sidewiki Defeat Helps Block Only Google SideWiki Comments, Not Toolbar Users, Search Engine Roundtable
• Terrible SEO Advice: Focus on Users, Not Engines, SEOmoz
• The All-Time Top-Secret Search Marketing Trick, Search Engine Guide
• Where to Kickoff Your Keyword Research, outspokenmedia.com

Social Media

• Facebook Connect, Easy as 1, 2, 3, Facebook Developers News
• Facebook Just Made It Super Easy To Put Connect On Your Site, TechCrunch
• Facebook Offers Translation Tool to Other Sites, New York Times
• Jesse Eisenberg Says ‘The Social Network’ Isn’t Just About Facebook, MTV
• Twitter Tips: Poll on Why People Follow Others on Twitter, Online Marketing Blog
• Grown-Ups Don’t Use Social Media Any More Wisely Than Kids, ResourceShelf

Video, Music & Image Search

• Google Indexing Peel Away Ads as Videos, BlogStorm
• Google Video Error, guidetopoker.com
• Warner Music Videos Returning to YouTube, New York Times
• YouTube Uploads Might Get Stuck "In Processing", Search Engine Roundtable