Labels: Yahoo

Posted by Matthew Elshaw at 4:13 AM GMT | View Post | 1 Comments

Google has recently posted a policy in regards to running political advertisements through its AdSense network, to tie in with the ongoing 2008 US Presidential Election.

Peter Greenberger of Google's Elections and Issue Advocacy Team has said that the new policy boils down to five main points.

1. Each advertisement must meet the same editorial guidelines as every other AdSense advertisement. This includes not violating anyone else's copyrights, not promoting "unacceptable alcohol products", not promoting violence against anyone and not promoting counterfeit goods.

2. Google agrees to promote advertisements for all presidential candidates fairly, regardless of political views or affiliation. "We permit political advertisements regardless of the political views they represent, and apply our policies equally."

3. The advertisements must not include accusations and are to contain no attacks on an individual's personal life. Google says that a general disagreement with a candidate's policies and overall party is fine, but that running an advertisement that attacks someone's non-politically-related actions won't be allowed.

4. If the advertisement is asking for donations, the advertisements landing page must clearly state that they won't be tax-deductible.

It will be interesting to see what effect this policy does have on the political advertisements for presidential candidates. Let us know what you think.

Posted by Courtney Mills at 4:10 AM GMT | View Post | 0 Comments

It appears that Google has renewed testing of "click-to-call", a system which allows searchers to contact local businesses via a free phone service. Users simply enter their phone number and Google does the rest, including paying for the calls.

Google tested "click-to-call" in 2005 and 2006 with an eye towards implementing pay-per-phone call advertising models. However, in June of last year Google stopped accepting click-to-call advertisers and the ads stopped showing up.

At the time, Google said "we are always working to improve the local search experience. We are constantly testing new features and iterating based on feedback from our users. Click-to-call was a valuable experiment that enabled us to learn more about the preferences of our users. While we are no longer providing this service, we expect to incorporate our findings into future developments for Google Maps."

Which is exactly what they have done. Min Zeng from the Google Maps Team has said that if you "search for a business, like a hardware store, on Google Maps, and click the 'call' link next to its phone number. Then, enter your phone number and click 'Connect For free.' Google calls your phone number and automatically connects you to the hardware store."

He also advised that "we're providing the 'call' link as a free service to all businesses. These aren't ads and don't influence the ranking of businesses in the search results. We foot the bill for calls (local and long distance), but airtime fees or other mobile fees will still apply if you use a mobile phone number. Currently, the calling feature works if you live in the U.S. and are looking for a business located in the U.S."

So, why would Google be testing something that they didn't see as a success last time? My guess is that Google has recognized the power of mobile/cell phones (especially the iPhone) and has realized that a one touch to call through a mobile/cell phone can be a pretty powerful revenue generator. Feel free to let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.

Posted by Courtney Mills at 4:07 AM GMT | View Post | 0 Comments

"most of my rankings have remained the same over the past week, only a couple of noticable drops. did better with the last update!" - Rooms in Scotland

"Beginning to see the effects of the new algos, now... They are interesting. Perhaps the click tracking will be a measure of satisfaction more than any anecdotal comment on this page.

The SERPs do seem to be slightly more diverse - with less major sites occupying the top positions" - Silicon Valley

"I've noticed some positive ranking changes for most of our sites. It looks like Yahoo is starting to reward the webmasters who play by the rules!" - Jamie Hudson

Posted by Rene LeMerle at 11:07 PM GMT | View Post | 2 Comments

Americans watched 9.5 billion videos in November with Google/Youtube leading the charge. The sites were ranked as follows:

1. Google (31.3%)
2. Fox Interactive Media (4.4%)
3. Yahoo! (3.5%)
4. Viacom Digital (2.6%)

It's obvious YouTube is the clear leader in the online video category, which was acquired by Google in November 2006. Since then videos have been a promiment feature on Google's homepage, as well as cleverly integrated into search results.

Posted by Matthew Elshaw at 7:26 AM GMT | View Post | 0 Comments

Google.org, Google's philanthropic arm, has announced five core initiatives that it plans to focus on over the next five to ten years.

Google.org will "collaborate with experienced partners working in each of these fields, investing its resources and tapping the strengths of Google's employees and global operations to advance its core initiatives." More than $25 million in new grants and investments from Google.org, will be handed to these initial partners.

Google's founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, have committed to devoting approximately 1 percent of the company's equity plus 1 percent of annual profits to philanthropy.

In the past, Google.org has focused mainly on environmental issues but they are now expanding their vision.

The five initiatives Google.org will focus on:

Predict and Prevent - supporting efforts to empower communities to predict and prevent the spread of diseases before they become local, regional, or global crises, by identifying "hot spots" and enabling a rapid response. The initial focus will be on Southeast Asia and tropical Africa in the areas' global health threats (specifically SARS and potentially bird flu), humanitarian crises, biological threats, and climate variability.

Inform and Empower to Improve Public Services - improving the flow of vital information to improve basic services for the poor in India and East Africa. With failing essential public services, especially for the poorest members of these countries, Google.org will work with their partners to empower citizens and communities, providers, and policy makers to improve the delivery of essential public services such as education, health, water and sanitation.

Fuel the Growth of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises - Along with their partner, Google.org wants to help increase the flow of capital to small and mid-sized businesses specifically in Ghana and Tanzania, by tackling some of the root causes that prevent these firms from becoming profitable investment opportunities.

Develop Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal- working toward a goal of producing one gigawatt of renewable energy capacity that is cheaper than coal. The aim is to have this accomplished within a few years, not a few decades. The focus will initially be on advanced solar thermal power, wind power technologies, enhanced geothermal systems and other potential breakthrough technologies.

Accelerate the Commercialization of Plug-In Vehicles (RechargeIT) - an initiative that aims to reduce CO2 emissions, cut oil use and stabilize the electrical grid by accelerating the adoption of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and vehicle-to-grid technology. Google.org will invest amounts ranging from $500,000 to $2 million in selected companies whose innovative approach and technologies will enable widespread commercialization of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles.

Dr. Larry Brilliant, executive director of Google.org, explains that "these five initiatives are our attempt to address some of the hard problems we as a world need to face in the coming decade. We have chosen them both because we think solving them will make a better, fairer, safer world for our children and grandchildren - and the children and grandchildren of people all over the world - but also because we feel that these core initiatives fit well with Google's core strengths, especially its innovative technologies and its talented engineers and other Googlers, who are really our most valuable assets."

Many readers of this news have commented that $25 million over ten years is not a lot, considering the billions of dollars they earn each year. Let us know what you think.

Posted by Courtney Mills at 4:00 AM GMT | View Post | 2 Comments

"If you purchased online advertising from IAC Search & Media, Inc. and/or Ask Jeeves, Inc. (collectively "Ask") between August 1, 2005 and the present, you may be a class member in a class-action lawsuit, Lane's Gifts and Collectibles et al. v. Ask Jeeves, Inc. et al., Case No. CV-2005-52-1, in the Circuit Court of Miller County, Arkansas. This notice advises you of your legal rights.

You should review the detailed Settlement Notice as soon as possible, as there are several important deadlines that you must meet to take certain actions in connection with a proposed settlement of the class action lawsuit. Your legal rights are affected whether you act or do not act. The deadline for filing an objection or excluding yourself from the proposed settlement is February 2, 2008, and the last day to file a claim under the proposed settlement is February 2, 2008. For further information, please refer to the Settlement Notice.

The Settlement Notice informs you of the Court's certification of a class for settlement purposes; the nature of the claims alleged; your right to participate in, or exclude yourself from, the class; a proposed settlement; and how you can claim an award of advertising credits under the settlement or object to the settlement.

The proposed settlement will provide advertising credits to class members who certify that they were the victims of "click fraud" or other invalid or improper clicks on online advertisements purchased from IAC Search & Media, Inc. and/or Ask Jeeves, Inc. on or after August 1, 2005.

The proposed settlement will resolve claims that IAC Search & Media, Inc. and/or Ask Jeeves, Inc. breached its contracts with advertisers and violated other laws by failing to adequately detect and stop "click fraud" or other invalid or improper clicks on online advertisements.

If you are a member of the class, your legal rights are affected by whether you act or do not act.

For a copy of the Settlement Notice, click on the link, or visit the case website at www.AskSettlement.com.
To file a claim for your award of advertising credits under the settlement, click on the following link: AskSettlement.com/claim. Each advertiser will be allowed one claim per account."

Posted by Matthew Elshaw at 7:39 AM GMT | View Post | 2 Comments

Yahoo! are testing the use of images next to sponsored listings in Yahoo! Directory search results. As reported by Loren Baker of Search Engine Journal, the images are being provided by a company called ImageAdvantage which are generated from a photo database or the advertiser's website.

The ads definitely attract more attention to the listings and should have a positive impact on their overall CTR (click-through-rate). For Yahoo! this means existing advertisers are likely to spend more (as they are receiving more clicks) and new advertisers are given an incentive to join the program.

A screenshot of the Business and Economy section of the directory is below:



Loren also notes that while the images are a recent additions to sponsored search listings, they may even be violating Yahoo!'s own Yahoo Publisher Network (YPN) policy. One of the YPN policy's states:

• Images or other media cannot be associated with the Ad Unit.

While the listings in Yahoo!'s own directory and third party websites are quite different, it's an interesting point to note.

If you're looking for rapid inclusion in Yahoo! search results, then why not try our Y-Boost service. You get guaranteed Yahoo! inclusion in 7 days and a monthly link building campaign for only $24.99 /mo.

Posted by Matthew Elshaw at 7:32 AM GMT | View Post |