Top 5 Search Marketing Stories - Week of April 5th
Week of March 30th – April 5th 2008
#1. Microsoft to Yahoo: You have 3 weeks…
Before we go hostile, lower our bid, and go straight to your shareholders.
“If we have not concluded an agreement within the next three weeks, we will be compelled to take our case directly to your shareholders […] If we are forced to take an offer directly to your shareholders, that action will have an undesirable impact on the value of your company from our perspective which will be reflected in the terms of our proposal.”
Read full story here.
#2. ….and don’t forget to fix your crawlers, Yahoo
…Because they are going bonkers.
Many web site operators are reporting that a buggy new algorithm update to Slurp - Yahoo’s Crawler – resulted in a massive number of hits.
Read incidents reported here.
#3. Google: No More SEO Services for Me
Google announced this week that it is selling off Performics (Search Marketing & SEO Division) of DoubleClick.
“It’s clear to us that we do not want to be in the search engine marketing business. Maintaining objectivity in both search and advertising is paramount to Google’s mission and core to the trust we ask from our users. For this reason, we plan to sell the Performics search marketing business to a third party.”
Read blog post from Google here.
#4. Google: ….But Yes to Broader Search Marketing
Google appears to now be serving ads based on prior search queries, even when the current query is completed unrelated.
Reported here.
#5. Google: …And Feel Free to Bid on Trademarked Keywords in the UK
Google updates it’s trademark policy in the UK, and allows advertisers to bid on other people’s trademarks.
“If you’ve submitted a complaint letter requesting that we prevent advertisers from using certain trademark terms anywhere in their ad text, we will continue our efforts to support your request. However, from May 5, 2008, our trademark complaint investigations will no longer result in Google monitoring or restricting keywords for ads served to users in the UK and Ireland. This will bring our procedure in line with the approach taken in the US and Canada. Complaints received on or after today will be processed under our revised procedure.”
This will force brand owners to bid against their own competitors to rank on Google for their own trademarks. More cash for the big G.
Read more here.
And that’s this week’s top 5 stories in search marketing.
