The Algorithm Apparently Killed Jeeves
Tuesday, 24 April 2007
Ask launched a strange nationwide campaign, not long ago, with cryptic billboards that raise more questions than support the brand. The first, appeared weeks ago with only what looked like a blue button and the quote “The algorithm killed Jeeves” At first glance, I thought, “what a terrible Google ad,” throwing punches at Ask like
- Published in Ask, Brand Marketing, Google, Natural Search / SEO, Search
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Online Industry Events in One Calendar
Thursday, 19 April 2007
For years, I have been frustrated with our industry’s conference and event promotion. Without a single, comprehensive calendar of search and marketing conferences, we’re left to subscribe to every newsletter and publication just to be informed of an upcoming event. Still, we often miss the smaller, local seminars and meetings. This year, I practically neglected
- Published in Change Log, Conferences / Events, Vertical Search, Web 2.0
Vertical Search Is Better For You
Monday, 16 April 2007
I’ve been spending time with vertical search lately; though a long time fan and advocate of social search networks like Del.icio.us, I want to revisit my experience with vertical search and catch up on some of the new options and opportunities. Vertical, or specialized search, describes engines that are the focus on a specific business
- Published in Brand Marketing, Display Advertising, Search, Vertical Search, Web 2.0
Setting up Sitemap Autodiscovery
Sunday, 15 April 2007
I realized, only shortly after posting the news of the new sitemap autodiscovery protocol that there are few resources that explain the very simple steps that need to be taken to set up autodiscovery through your robots.txt file. Assuming you’ve named the map “sitemap.xml,” simply add the following line to the robots.txt file located at
Sitemap Autodiscovery Streamlines Implementation
Wednesday, 11 April 2007
Ask’s blog today reiterated important news from SES New York that the major engines have agreed on a sitemap autodiscovery standard. Sites will now be able to specify the location of each sitemap from their robot.txt file creating an open-format autodiscovery platform and eliminating the need to submit sitemaps to each search engine. The discovery
Marketing is Dead
Wednesday, 11 April 2007
I recently had a chance to discuss the future of online advertising with Shane Vaughan, VP of Marketing for Balihoo, and offered a forum in which to share his perspective. He has succinctly characterized how the relevance of advertising, enabled by the internet, will deliver more qualified customers while supporting, not replacing, traditional forms of
- Published in Brand Marketing, Display Advertising, Insights / Research, Search, Targeting
Changes in Yahoo! Search
Monday, 09 April 2007
According to the Yahoo’s search marketing blog, short descriptions of 70 characters will be required by Yahoo! Search advertisers in May while the current 190-character description will relegate to an option only be shown in certain formats. Yahoo! cites performance as pre-empting the change, “We’ve found that ads written more concisely give users a better
- Published in Paid Search, Search, Vertical Search, Web 2.0, Yahoo!