Search Engine Marketing News - November 2, 2009

Search Engine Marketing News – November 2, 2009

Photo from: the news from venice, california, part two – a flying couch (on vimeo) on Flickr

There seems to be a lot of “important” search engine marketing news this week. If you haven’t caught all the news in the past week, here are the headlines that impressed me. (I was particularly excited about More “Goals” for Google Analytics).
MGM “Get Rewarded For Your Sins”. This is the link you want: Top Rated Sins

TV Season Premieres Spur Continued Gains in Online Video Viewing as September Attracts Record Viewership – comScore, Inc

…more than 168 million U.S. Internet users watched online video during the month. Online video viewing continued to reach record levels in September with nearly 26 billion videos viewed during the month, as Google Sites accounted for more than 40 percent of videos viewed online by Americans.

Anchor Weighs in on Click Fraud

Anchor Intelligence has just released its Q3 09 click fraud data—and it’s down, contrary to what Click Forensics reported for the same period. Anchor saw worldwide click fraud drop almost four percentage points from Q2, to 23.2% of all clicks in Q3.

Are There a Lot of Dumb People Using Google?

Let this be a reminder to all web site owners. If the most popular–and easiest to use–web site in the world has to point out the obvious, you shouldn’t take for granted that your visitors will know how to use your site.

Google October 2009 Toolbar PageRank Update

There seems to be a Google Toolbar PageRank update going on right now.

Google Launches Comparison Ads, Starting With Mortgages

Google’s now officially announced “Comparison Ads,” starting with a way for mortgage advertisers to have their products compared against each other but which may expand to other products in the future.

More “Goals” for Google Analytics – Search Engine Guide Blog

A few days ago in the Twittersphere, it’s been mentioned that Google Analytics is now starting to add the number of “goals” to 20 (four groups of five), up from four only.

The Cost of Larry Johnson’s Gay Slur on Twitter: $213,000

Johnson was suspended for the gay slurs he directed at a Twitter heckler earlier in the week, a comment he apparently repeated in the Chiefs’ locker room.

Blocking Google Sitelinks Can Take Two Weeks Or More

You can block Sitelinks within Google Webmaster Tools by clicking on the “block” button on the right of each Sitelink

Got Multiple Listings in Google’s Local Business Center? Don’t Delete Any

The only time you want to remove the listing from Maps is when the business is permanently closed OR you never want it to appear on Maps. If there are duplicates in your account, keep them.

Bingahoo Delayed a Month or Two (or More)?

The deal that was originally supposed to be signed off on October 27th

Confirmed: Google to Roll Out Music Search – Search Marketing News Blog – Search Engine Watch (SEW)

Google says two out of the top ten searches in the U.S., according to Insights for Search.

Google News Finance Optimization

Adding these elements, along with the title change, should dramatically help you show up in Google Finance for that specific company.

Almost Everything You Wanted to Know About DMOZ (ODP)

Debra Mastaler wrote has an excellent interview with the man in charge at DMOZ (Open Directory Project) at Search Engine Land named DMOZ: A Solid Directory Or The Great Pumpkin Of Search?

Google Analytics Offers Proof of Individual Qualification – Search Marketing News Blog – Search Engine Watch (SEW)

If you’ve passed the Google Analytics Individual Qualification test and need to prove it to your clients or your company, Google is helping validate your awesome web analytics prowess. Now, you can create a link to your web-published test record.

Google Now Treats 410 Status Code As “More Permanent” Than 404 Status Code

Google is now treating the 410 as “more permanent” than the 404. Yes, this is a minor change but it is likely an important change for webmasters to note.

Google Experimental Search

Sign in to Google and do a search. If there’s relevant web content written by people in your social circle, it will automatically show up at the bottom of your search results under a section called “Results from people in your social circle.”

Bye Bye, Beacon