----------------------------------------------------------------- SearchReturn Discussion List "Understanding Internet Search Technology" ----------------------------------------------------------------- Moderator: Published by: Detlef Johnson SearchReturn http://www.searchreturn.com ----------------------------------------------------------------- November 02, 2006 SearchReturn Issue #104 ----------------------------------------------------------------- SEND POSTS: ----------------------------------------------------------------- Refer a friend: http://www.searchreturn.com/subscribe.shtml ----------------------------------------------------------------- .....IN THIS DIGEST..... // -- ESSENTIAL NEWS -- // "Lycos Powered By Ask" "Shades Of Gray" "Google Revenue Passes Channel 4" "Google Mobile App" "Robots Exclusion Wildcard Supported By Slurp" ----------------------------------------------------------------- // -- ESSENTIAL NEWS -- // ----------------------------------------------------------------- ==> Lycos Powered By Ask http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/061101-125148 Essentials: In a major boost for Ask, Lycos is to be powered by Ask - including Sponsored Listings. Web (including refinements), Image and Sponsored Listing search will be powered by Ask including Lycos properties HotBot, Tripod and Angelfire. The zoom related search feature was cited as a major part of the reason that Lycos chose Ask. Ask is currently 5.8% of the search market share and this news should have a positive impact on that number. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ==> Shades Of Gray http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/061101-091207 Essentials: SEO certainly is a charged industry with opinions that vary enough to have been detrimental to its growth. Companies have rightly been cautious about the firms they engage for SEO services and webmasters who read message boards consistently encounter conflicting information. To help clear the air, (at least in terms of known Black Hat to White Hat ideas), Yahoo!'s Tim Converse has an excellent tongue-in-cheek post as a sort of threat-level color code. There are many shades of Gray. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ==> Google Revenue Passes Channel 4 http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/061102-085942 Essentials: Ad revenue in the UK for Google has surpassed Channel 4 and it appears as if the older media never saw it coming. Google is expected to earn £900 million in 2006 and Channel 4 is expected to earn £800 million. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ==> Google Mobile App http://www.google.com/press/pressrel/mail_mobileclient.html Essentials: Google has released a mobile application for GMail that should work on most mobile devices. This includes phones with small screens and slow data connectivity speeds as long as J2ME is supported. The application can be installed over the air on some devices after pointing to gmail.com/app (a BlackBerry test recognized the device, provided us with the download link and connected to GMail messages within seconds). Message headers are viewed in familiar GMail layout and attachments get converted to fit small screens. Filters, known as Labels in GMail, is available through menu options. Message search functionality and other options are also available through the menu where the starring system of tagging messages can be performed, along with archiving and spam reporting. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ==> Robots Exclusion Wildcard Supported By Slurp http://www.ysearchblog.com/archives/000372.html Essentials: Although the '*' character is meant to be used in the robots.txt protocol as a "splat" in the directive for the user- agent statement referring to all robots, Yahoo!'s Slurp will now support use of the character as a wildcard in disallow statements. That's new. Another new feature gives webmasters the ability to anchor the end of a string in disallow statements. Examples of syntax for using the new wildcard and end anchors are available in the post. Additionally, the post indicates that Slurp also supports "allow" statements which is another extension of the basic protocol. These features make intricate rules possible for most any publishing system for controlling robot behavior whatever your goals. ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Detlef Johnson. SearchReturn and Detlef Johnson make no warranties, either expressed or implied, about the truth or accuracy of the contents of the SearchReturn Digest. Copyright 2006 Detlef Johnson. All Rights Reserved. -----------------------------------------------------------------