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Posts Tagged ‘blog’

Yahoo! has recently introduced an inline video play feature that shows videos directly on the video search results page. Now, searchers can view videos directly on the search results page without entering the site where a particular video is hosted.

The inline viewing feature happens to be a bit controversial feature since the sites boasting videos will definitely want the traffic to the sites. With the large number of embeddable videos and the new feature, searchers will end up viewing videos off-site.

Anyway, if searchers wish to use the inline viewing feature they can click “Play Now” under the thumbnail of the video search result. This will open a large overlay window and play the video on the results page.

A recent post on the Inside AdSense Blog revealed that Google is all set to allow multiple Google-certified ad networks to compete with AdWords advertisers for display ad space on AdSense enabled sites. With this new change, ad networks or non-AdWords advertisers will also be able to bid on Google ad auction.

Well, this would be a nice way for AdSense publishers to generate revenue from their display ad space, no matter whether the ads come from AdWords advertisers or Google-certified ad networks. However, publishers will have control over which networks can show ads on their pages. They can also opt out of receiving ads from specific networks or all networks and have only AdWords advertisers to display ads on their sites. In addition, Google will not allow ad networks to collect any user data to be used for Internet-based advertising. This new feature will initially be available for AdSense publishers in North America and Europe. Below is a video that explains the change:

Here is the Google AdSense Team's mail to all AdSense publishers:

“We're writing to let you know about an upcoming update in your AdSense account designed to help you generate the maximum revenue from your ad units. You'll soon be able to allow multiple ad networks to show on your pages, which means that advertisers from external Google-certified networks will be able to compete with AdWords advertisers for your ad space. If you're unfamiliar with what ad networks are, they're companies that partner with advertisers and publishers to buy and sell ads on sites they don't own themselves, similar to AdSense. Ads from these networks will compete with Google ads to show on publisher sites, and the ad generating the highest revenue for publishers will be displayed. To ensure the quality of the ads appearing on your sites, we're certifying all participating ad networks for adherence to our standards for user privacy, ad quality, and speed. You'll also have control over which networks can show ads on your pages — you can choose to opt out of receiving ads from specific networks, or all networks completely. This means you can continue to show ads from only AdWords advertisers if you'd like. Finally, some ad networks use tools similar to Google's interest-based advertising to show more relevant ads to users on the sites they visit. These ad networks won't be permitted to collect data from your site for the purpose of subsequent interest-based advertising, but we’ll allow those who comply with user privacy guidelines to show ads using these tools. You'll have the ability to opt out of showing ads based on user interests from these ad networks, and we've changed our requirements for third-party ad serving to reflect this. More information is available at http://adwords.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=94230.

These new capabilities will automatically be enabled for your account, and you'll see a new section in your Ad Review Center where you can allow or block specific ad networks. Please note that we’ll gradually be adding new ad networks to AdSense accounts over the next few months, so you won’t see any immediate impact on your ads or your earnings.

To learn more about this launch and managing the ad networks appearing on your pages, visit the AdSense Help Center at https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/topic.py?hl=en&topic=13522 and watch our video demo at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HyJPOVLd3I .

Sincerely,

The Google AdSense Team”

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Google To Allow Certified Ad networks To Compete With AdWords Advertisers On AdSense Sites

In a rather surprising move, Yahoo has just announced the acquisition of Arab site Maktoob, a very popular Arabic web portal that offers amazing services such as search, payments, social network, and auctions.

As per the reports, it is a new initiative that Yahoo is going to acquire an online property in a localized language. This move is being regarded the most viable as Maktoob.com is the largest online community of Arab. With this acquisition, Yahoo will be able to extend their influence over some 16.5 million people.

Yahoo calls this deal with Maktoob its “biggest geographic expansion in years.”

This is not just about acquisition, but about moving into a completely different and new market. With this deal, Yahoo will be able to spread its translating services into Arabic. According to official Yahoo corporate blog:

“Initially, we’ll plan to introduce Arabic versions of Yahoo! Mail, Messenger, Search, and our homepage and then eventually local versions of properties like News, Sports, and Finance. We’ll also focus on creating content and services tailored to the region. No other global company has made this kind of investment in local relevance for the Arab world.”

The financial terms of the acquisition, which is to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2009 are still undisclosed. After the Maktoob becomes its property, Yahoo will roll out Arabic versions of its different web products and services such as Yahoo! Mail, Messenger, Search and more.

Click here to subscribe to our RSS feed to get a daily digest of news around search engine industry. PageTraffic SEO Blog is updated four times a day and is ranked as one of the best search engine resources blog by Pandia!

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Yahoo Acquires Maktoob- An Arab Site

If you are among the ones who have been following Google Caffeine, the new search architecture, then you must know what to expect when it is eventually rolled into the main search. Some of us have not seen anything new, while others have witnessed big changes. According to the reports, the folks at 360i have done a bunch of heavy lifting and have released a report comparing Caffeine to the old Google ,that has been nicknamed as Decaf. 360i analyzed 40 retail keywords are as under:

• 10 retail long-tail phrases (four-word phrases)
• 10 major retail brand names (keywords)
• 10 retail head terms (single keywords)
• 10 retail torso terms (two-word phrases)

The above keywords come with these conclusions:

• Domains and rankings will fluctuate.
• The index size of single keyword search relevance will increase.
• Long-tail becomes more relevant.
• Caffeine is faster to get results (SERPs) in half the time, on average.
• Increase in Universal (aka Blended) results
• There will be an increase in social media listings, primarily due to a lift in YouTube listings.

With just 40 keywords, this report is not at all comprehensive, but it is really an interesting story about the profile of Google Caffeine. For some people the experience has been almost exact opposite from Google Caffeine. Their experience has been less universal, not much fluctuation on rankings and smaller index. However, people are suggested to do their homework, study their keywords and get ready for the implementation of Google Caffeine.

Click here to subscribe to our RSS feed to get a daily digest of news around search engine industry. PageTraffic SEO Blog is updated four times a day and is ranked as one of the best search engine resources blog by Pandia!

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360i Report Outlines Difference Between The Google Caffeine and Old Google

Interestingly enough, Yahoo search engineers have been doing a great work to give you an enhanced Yahoo search experience. This is an interesting news coming when the Yahoo-Microsoft deal is just few months from materializing. The most prominent of the search enhancements is the new Yahoo search page design which according to a post on the Yahoo Search Blog “will make search more personally relevant and helps people explore things that matter most to them.” Here are some new things that have been rolled out on Yahoo Search:

• A unique search page design realigning with the new Yahoo Home Page.
• Easy access to various Yahoo search features including Search Pad, Search Scan and Safe Search have been made more easy.
• Addition of “Related searches” in the search assist layer.
• Enhanced search results from more sites such as Wikipedia

The enhancements made by Yahoo are being tested out to a selected percentage of U.S users, but might take some more time for you to see it live.

Click here to subscribe to our RSS feed to get a daily digest of news around search engine industry. PageTraffic SEO Blog is updated four times a day and is ranked as one of the best search engine resources blog by Pandia!

Post from: PageTraffic SEO Blog Now updated thrice a day!

Yahoo- Rolling Out Search Product Enhancements

This is very interesting to know that adCenter team is getting feedback from the advertisers and thereby improving features to give you more control over over targeting, bidding and distribution of the several advertising campaigns.

The adCenter provides Feedback Form that allows the advertisers to fill up their feedback that will help adCenter team to improve advertising features.

Further, the adCenter offers Feedback & Feature Request Thread on its discussion forums, which enables the advertisers to share their opinions and see other's views as well.

All these steps have been taken to enhance and improve different advertising campaigns. As mentioned in the blog of Carolyn Miller, feedbacks and requests from advertisers will be seen by the appropriate teams at Microsoft and immediate action will be taken.

According to the adCenter team, people sharing their feedback and requests need to mention the reason as to why certain features are important for them, because it helps the team to evaluate good ideas.

Click here to subscribe to our RSS feed to get a daily digest of news around search engine industry. PageTraffic SEO Blog is updated four times a day and is ranked as one of the best search engine resources blog by Pandia!

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Now share your adCenter Feedback and Feature Requests

Of late, people have been noticing changes in Google web search. So, is this Google web search update for August, 2009? Maybe! Over the last weekend people have noticed a few changes which they assume as a possible Google web search update. There are threads posted on this topic at DigitalPoint Forums and at WebmasterWorld.

In the WebmasterWorld thread, senior member BillyS (post number 3977195) said:

“We started to see some pretty big changes this morning.This appears to be a return to our pre-summer positions.”

However, Google's Matt Cutts commented below the post at Search Engine Roundtable that he was not aware of any update.

“I'm on vacation this week, but other than the Caffeine update, I'm not aware of any changes that would be noticed on a large scale. I'm happy to pass on example queries though if people want to point them out though.”

Forum discussion is going on at DigitalPoint Forums and WebmasterWorld.

Click here to subscribe to our RSS feed to get a daily digest of news around search engine industry. PageTraffic SEO Blog is updated four times a day and is ranked as one of the best search engine resources blog by Pandia!

Post from: PageTraffic SEO Blog Now updated thrice a day!

Is Google Updating Web Search For August 2009?

When we first get a client at SEO.com, one of the first things we check during our intake process is the client’s blog. Many of our clients come to us without a blog, and those that previously had one rarely use it. We often suggest adding a blog and using it as a marketing tool for the site. However, often when we make this suggestion, people get a glazed look in their eyes like they are hearing, but not really following us. For this reason, and for the simple fact that I am in the process of starting my very own personal/professional blog, I thought I would take the time to properly discuss what factors should be considered for anyone starting blog. Whether it is for a hobby, work/business, or personal purposes, these components are necessary for any new blog.

Think Ahead

The most import thing any new blogger can do when they want to take the plunge into the blogosphere is to make a plan. Take the time to understand why you want to blog, and more importantly, the style of blog you want to write. Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

• When do you plan on writing?
• Who do you want to read your blog?
• Are you in for the long haul?

Blogging takes a lot of time if you want it to be successful, but if you plan your strategy, you can save yourself a lot of headaches and possible regrets.

The Purpose

The first thing you want to do is pin down the purpose of your blog. Start by asking yourself, is the blog for existing clients, new customers, for the general benefit of your industry, or to open a window for people to see the quirky insides of your business? If you look at the SEO.com blog as an example, you’ll quickly see that it is for the general benefit of the SEO industry. As such, it has the potential to help our current clientele as well as potential clients understand the industry better.

If your company lacks personality (I say that nicely, of course), and you don’t feel that your office atmosphere can carry a good blog on its own, then an industry blog is a good option. (Note: Just because SEO.com has an industry based blog, don’t assume we lack personality. If you don’t believe me, come see our 3 foot hole in our wall from our recent Office Olympics.

Blog Mapping

Once you have decided who your audience is, map out the basics of your blog. This is an ideal time to list categories and write a number of initial posts to introduce your main subject. In addition, you’ll settle on the keywords your blog will target.

You can also work out a simple game-plan on how you want to interact with your readers. Figure out who will be your main writers, or if you want your entire company involved. Another option is for guest writers to contribute to your blog.

On the issue of choosing a topic, keep this in mind: “Will the topic you’re considering starting a blog about lend itself to being an ongoing project?” (ProBlogger.net) It is important that your topic is broad enough that you will have content to last, but yet not too broad that your blog loses focus.

Your Platform

When you get ready to put your blog together, you will notice that you have many options available for a blogging platform. VOX, LiveJournal, Typepad, Blogger, and WordPress are a few examples. Each platform has its own set of strengths and weaknesses.

Blogger and WordPress are the most popular platforms. Blogger is one of the easiest ways to set up a blog and can be an ideal solution for the person who doesn’t want to get too geeky with it. WordPress, though, is a preferred option for the individual who really wants full control over their blog. You will be able to get more involved with the technical side and tweak the blog to perfection. Check out this post by Nathan Blair on how WordPress can be a benefit for your SEO efforts.

Developing Content

The cliché “content is king” rings truer with a blog than any other aspect of a website. The problem is that this is also the hardest part about running a blog. You need to take to time to be informed about your topic. Do research to answer your own inquisitive mind, and then present your answers. In your blog mapping you may want to brainstorm what unique opinions or points of view you can offer on your particular subject.

Be Involved

One of the best ways to entice blog followers is to become involved in the online social community, and particularly the social media relating to your industry. Make regular comments on other blogs that relate to yours, this may also include competitors’ blogs and articles. Use Twitter and Facebook to find and follow people in your industry. If you are an expert in a certain field, you may also be asked to guest post on someone else’s blog where you can drop a shameless plug to yours. When it comes to connecting with people online you don’t want to be bashful.

Write Regularly

And finally, the most important thing to remember when starting your blog is to write regularly. This will do a number of things for you. One, people will get in the habit of checking your posts. With regular posting you can start to train your audience when to expect new insight from you. Whether it’s every hour, once a day, or once a week, if you make a habit of writing, your followers will make a habit of reading. Two, you will draw the attention of web-crawlers, and the search engines will index you more regularly (more on this topic by Scott Cowley).

By taking the time to conduct research and proper planning, your blog can become a major benefit for you and your company.

If you have other suggestions or things to consider when starting a blog please feel free to share in the comments section.

Antonio Gulli, the technology team lead in Ask.com's European R&D center is leaving Ask.com after serving for four years. At Ask.com, Antonio worked on:

• Image Search
• News and Blog search
• Video News Search
• DailyBeast
• Core Web Search Infrastructure
• RealTime Fresh Web Ranking
• Core Frontend Platform for UK

Here was Antonio's bio prior to joining Ask.com:

'Antonio was the creator of the first Italian Search engine in 1998, Arianna, and he was CEO/CTO of Ideare (sold to Tiscali S.p.a. in 2001) where he created products such as audio, video, and image search. Antonio has recently been working on a PhD in Pisa, researching the areas of Information Retrieval, Web Clustering, and Web Ranking technologies. You can explore his areas of research and play with the applications that he has developed at http://www.di.unipi.it/~gulli/.'