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Issue #074: Search Spend
----------------------------------------------------------------- SearchReturn Discussion List "Understanding Internet Search Technology" ----------------------------------------------------------------- Moderator: Published by: Disa Johnson SearchReturn http://www.searchreturn.com ----------------------------------------------------------------- June 29, 2006 SearchReturn Issue #074 ----------------------------------------------------------------- SEND POSTS: ----------------------------------------------------------------- Refer a friend: http://www.searchreturn.com/subscribe.shtml ----------------------------------------------------------------- .....IN THIS DIGEST..... // -- ESSENTIAL NEWS -- // "Major Changes At Google" "Yahoo Click Fraud Settlement" "Google Loses French Trademark Case" "Net Neutrality Fails Again" "MSN Robots Exclusion With Secure Pages" ----------------------------------------------------------------- // -- ESSENTIAL NEWS -- // ----------------------------------------------------------------- ==> Major Changes At Google http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3617061 Essentials: Google has launched their Checkout service, which is widely seen as a competitor to eBay's PayPal service even though the company denies this. With the launch, other major changes to the user interface of Google AdWords and Google accounts has been updated both to reflect the new service, and enhance the overall Google experience with AdWords and Accounts. A few links have been renamed, such as Add Keywords to Quick Add, and now a tabulated interface at the AdGroup level provides users with access to the Summary, Keywords and AdVariations screens which have all mostly been redesigned. With respect to the Checkout service, AdWords advertisers are given incentive to use it since their credit card will likely already be in the system. Merchants as advertisers will also be encouraged to adopt Checkout with no charge access, credits for AdWords spending and competitive rates against PayPal ($0.20 to PayPal's $0.30, or 2% of the transaction to PayPal's 2.9%). This couldn't come at a better time for Google, who recently won Wired magazine's coveted top spot, (displacing Apple), in their Wired 40 list. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.07/wired40.html ----------------------------------------------------------------- ==> Yahoo Click Fraud Settlement http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/060628-202403 Essentials: Yahoo! has reached a settlement, approved by a California judge, that addresses the Lane's Gifts and Collectibles lawsuit as well as other potential victims of Click Fraud. The settlement between Yahoo! and Checkmate Strategic Group is potentially more rewarding with advertisers having a legitimate case since there is no ceiling amount to the reward. This differs greatly from the Google settlement and in other interesting ways as well. Yahoo! is to start hosting annual panel tours to open their quality assurance team to questions and feedback by advertisers that participate. Yahoo! will work with reputable third parties and define click fraud appropriately, (rather than a failing attempt at spin trying to rename click fraud low quality clicks). And a new traffic quality resource center will be developed so that advertisers can obtain information on their own through their Yahoo! account manager. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ==> Google Loses French Trademark Case http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/060628-122055 Essentials: While having a copyright case dropped in Germany, a French Appellate court awarded 300,000 Euros, or approximately $375,800 USD in damages to Louis Vuitton. The French court rejected the appeal by Google, finding the search giant breached copyright law with respect to the Vuitton trademark. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ==> Net Neutrality Fails Again http://www.searchreturn.com/digest/refs074.shtml Essentials: Although both sides continue to claim victory, the only upside to the Net Neutrality side is that enough Democrats are on board that ultimate victory in some piece of future legislation is not entirely out of sight. The impact on search would be felt worldwide because US-based hosting would change fee structure allowing providers favoritism as well as the potential to block access entirely. A search result page could conceivably contain links to slow or inaccessible sites. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ==> MSN Robots Exclusion With Secure Pages http://blogs.msdn.com/livesearch/archive/2006/06/28/649980.aspx Essentials: The Microsoft LiveSearch Blog mentions that Robots Exclusion, specifically the root directory text file protocol, is not strictly adhered to by them and that secure pages must have a unique file for blocking secure pages. This is an extension that Microsoft is famous for, because the protocol doesn't specify anything special for secure pages. It was meant for a time prior to secure sockets layer connections via https. This sounds like a decision by Microsoft after experience confusing the same resource names for both http and https even when the content actually differs. They want webmasters to solve this for them to speed them on their way for competing with Google and the like. This means that we recommend if you plan to use the protocol to exclude any secure files, that you would be wise to contemplate publishing a specific Robots Exclusion file in the root of the secure directory, in addition to the typical, to ensure MSNBot will act the way you want (sort of). ----------------------------------------------------------------- Stay Tuned. Got feedback?: http://www.searchreturn.com/feedback.shtml Archives: http://www.searchreturn.com/digest-archive.shtml Alternate formats: http://www.searchreturn.com/info-formats.shtml Manage Subscriptions: http://www.searchreturn.com/help/manage-subs.shtml Problems unsubscribing? Contact the postmaster: mailto:postmaster@searchreturn.com Information on how to sponsor this publication: http://www.searchreturn.com/help/advertise.shtml Published by SearchReturn http://www.searchreturn.com Website Membership: http://www.searchreturn.com/register.shtml The contents of the digest do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SearchReturn or Disa Johnson. SearchReturn and Disa Johnson make no warranties, either expressed or implied, about the truth or accuracy of the contents of the SearchReturn Digest. Copyright 2006 Disa Johnson. All Rights Reserved. -----------------------------------------------------------------