Archive for April, 2006
This is pretty cool - iWebTools Visual Page Rank tool allows you to see the page rank of all the links on a webpage at once, and with an intuitive visual overlay.
See a screenshot below of SearchEngineWatch’s homepage using the tool:
As you can see we circled the interesting areas of interest, the SES Event links. All events have a Page Rank >7 - except France, it’s PR=0, I wonder why?
Also note, the tool allows you to look at do not follow links, as well as external links. We like it 
We just learned today from the Google Adwords Blog (administered by non other than Adwords project manager Rohit Dhawan) that Google has decided to begin charging advertisers for use of their API’s. Now personally I find that distressing - we pay the costs for the clicks, we have to manage the accounts, and NOW we have to pay to do it with our own pre-developed software? Feels to me like Google is trying to squeeze blood from the proverbial “PPC Stone”.
Either way you look at it, with the monetary component attached to every query call this will no doubt increase efficiency, as coders will develop new ways to make API integration faster, batched, less cumbersome, and scale better.
We don’t want to “hate” Google for the move, but when we’re paying $38 per click for “Mortgage refinance” terms, I think we should be able to change our bids as many times as we’d like. Some have even said the move is an “Outrage!”
A quote from the Google Blog is below:
Revised quota allocation system & pricing model: We are changing the quota allocation system and pricing model to create a more flexible and level playing field that encourages efficient coding and application design. Effective July 1, 2006, the current free quota system will be replaced by a usage-based system. Under this new model, AdWords API token holders will be charged a nominal $0.25/1000 quota units consumed. As a result, current developer quota caps will be removed in order to provide a more flexible and scalable system for quota allocation and consumption.
There was no limit to my happiness today! And you can’t imagine what gave me that joy. It was Google. Google returned me to the childhood and reminded simple pleasures of the life. I’m speaking now about a new logical game Google in cooperation with Sony Pictures have created- the Da Vinci Code Quest.
The Da Vinci Code Quest is a puzzle you can access from your personalized Google search page.
It’s very interesting though rather challenging. If you want a mental workout it is the right game to play.
The quest is designed with respect to fantastical spirit of Da Vinci code itself, it will be released in next 3 weeks and will consist of 6 different puzzles at four levels.
I have nothing to add except wishing you luck in solving tasks Google has prepared for you!
Yahoo has begun to test a new home page design with random A/B testing today, and Steven Cohen grabbed the latest ‘coveted’ screen shots.
There isn’t a huge difference between the old and new pages, but we are thinking this move may have been initiated to increase Search traffic, since MSN is phasing Yahoo! out of it’s paid listing distribution.
Obviously upon first glance, the new site is much easier on the eyes, and incorporates a bit of “Web 2.0″ functionlity. It’s cleaner and categorizes the pages main links/resources on the left rail - things like email, My Yahoo and other Yahoo services and content. [TC]
Comparison screen shots below:
New Homepage:
Old-Previous Homepage:
If for any reasons you are tired from advertising on Google and Yahoo, if your ads are not doing well or on the contrary, you make huge revenues with PPC and you are seeking for wider exposure – whichever case is yours, MSN suggests you the solution.
Microsoft’s agreement with Overture expires in June, 2006 and MSN has already worked out its own pay-per-click advertising system. No sense to deep into the reasons of such system creation (too much money is involved in online advertising industry to neglect an opportunity to take a slice of PPC pie) let’s better discuss the advantages of MNS Ad Center over the Google and Yahoo! Programs.
To start with should mention a moderate signup fee of $5 and minimum $0.05 per keyword. Besides with ad & keyword import (export) ability you will not need to enter your keywords and ads manually, you’ll have an opportunity to import them from your existing Google or Yahoo account. And you are to chose whether you will upload the whole keyword list or only the best performing keywords.
And at last, the main feature MSN claims to distinguish their system from any other is ads delivery based on demographic information. You can target your ads by any of the following criteria:
- Geographic location
- Day of week
- Time of day
- Gender
- Age
Let’s view how MSN representatives explain that on the simple example:
For some advertisers, exposure is not the only thing they are looking for. Some are looking for exposure to the right audience. For instance, if you sell running shoes, you want an audience who is interested in running shoes to see your ad and take action, which may result in the audience clicking on your search ad, visiting your web site, and buying a pair of running shoes. Conversely, you would not want someone who is interested in buying horseshoes to see your ad and take a similar course of action because that likely not result in a sale, but the click on your ad by this person would still cost you. Your return on investment (ROI) based on the horseshoe customer will be low.
Does that make any sense? Personally I am anxious about testing MSN Ad Center system. Unfortunately, currently only the adCenter pilot program is available and it’s by invitation only. But be sure that by June all of us will be able to run MSN advertising campaigns. So arm yourself with patience!
Have you already used Yahoo! Travel while arranging your vacation or business trip? And what about Yahoo upgraded travel service? If so then you must have already appreciated all its handy travel-specific features and its advantages. But if not my kind advice is to try it the next time you will be going to travel anywhere because Yahoo! Travel lets you:
- Research 500,000 places to stay and things to do in over 40,000 cities worldwide with candid user reviews, photos, maps and more.
- Ask questions and swap travel stories on the message boards.
- Save your favorite places into a custom trip plan.
- Get great travel deals.
Even searching in Yahoo Central Search Site for in phrases like “flights to Miami” or “compare Miami hotels” a user will get a shortcut of Yahoo! FareChase (a new feature of Yahoo Travel) above the organic search results.
In order for you to make an idea what Yahoo! FareChase is and how could you benefit from using it I will quote Yahoo!’s official description of this new feature:
Yahoo! FareChase is a web-based travel search engine designed to help you locate the best airfares and hotel rates on the Internet. Yahoo! FareChase is not a travel agency, it is a search engine designed to save you both time and money by providing you with comparison shopping options from travel providers and other popular travel websites. When you’re ready to book, Yahoo! FareChase displays the travel provider’s website so you can make your purchase directly on the travel provider’s site.
And what is more, Yahoo! Encourages visitors to publish online travel journals and recommendations to help others plan their flights, vacations and trips.
Yahoo’s travel site at http://travel.yahoo.com got traffic of 15.75 million visitors during February, according to Internet traffic research firm comScore Networks. Does it covey anything to your mind?
Today’s world tends to simplify everything to the maximum extent, to make things less time and effort consuming. And a tendency to abbreviate words is caused by the same striving. However that is good only within reasonable limits.
So if you got lost among the litany of abbreviations, if ROI, CTR, CPA, PPL, CSS, FFA are just a combination of letters and you have no idea what it all means - then you’re at the right place!
Here is a short glossary of SEO and SEM related abbreviations so you can broaden your knowledge and aptitude further:
SEO (search engine optimization)
The process of choosing targeted keyword phrases related to a site, and ensuring that the site places well when those keyword phrases are part of a Web search.
HTML (HyperText Markup Language)
The programming language used to mark up web content and display it in a formatted manner. It’s up to the web browser software, e.g. Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape, to render HTML source.
strategies and tactics undertaken to increase the amount and quality of leads generated by the search engines.
SEP (Search engine positioning)
strategies and tactics undertaken to increase a site’s rankings in the search engines for particular keywords.
DMOZ (Also known as Open Directory Project)
This is a very large directory run by volunteers. This database is used by many websites on the internet.
PFI - PI (Pay for Inclusion or Paid Inclusion)
Used by various search engines that guarantees that your site will be listed in a search engine database. Google is a noteable exception that does not ‘offer’ such a service.
SE
Short for search engine.
SERP (search engine results page)
SERPs are the actual results returned to the user based on their search query.
XML (eXtensible Markup Language)
XML promises more efficient and organized delivery of data over the internet. XHTML is the XML version of HTML.
The average number of click-throughs per hundred ad impressions, expressed as a percentage.
CPA (cost-per-action)
Online advertising payment model in which payment is based solely on qualifying actions such as sales or registrations.
CPC (cost-per-click)
The cost or cost-equivalent paid per click-through.
cost per thousand impressions.
GAPGoogle Advertising Professional
Also known as a ‘Google Consultant‘ this is a person certified and tested by Google to be managing client Adwords and PPC accounts.
PPC (pay per click)
Online advertising payment model in which payment is based solely on qualifying click-throughs.
PPL (pay per lead)
Online advertising payment model in which payment is based solely based on qualifying leads.
PPS (pay per sale)
Online advertising payment model in which payment is based solely based on qualifying sales.
Business that sells products or provides services to other businesses.
Business that sells products or provides services to end-user consumers.
FFA (free-for-all)
Links list, where there are no qualifications for adding a link.
RON (run-of-network)
Ad buying option in which ad placements may appear on any pages on sites within an ad network.
ROS (run-of-site)
Ad buying option in which ad placements may appear on any pages on sites within an ad network.
URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
Location of a resource on the Internet.
A data format used to separate style from structure on Web pages.
Of course the list is not complete but I believe this is quite enough to have a basic idea.
