Happy Friday! After being at work for a full week after the holidays, I'm sure you're excited that the weekend is only a few hours away (unless, of course, you're in the UK or somewhere east of here, in which case you're already relaxing... lucky you!) So let's see, what happened while you were busy catching up with client calls and drowning in paperwork? Allow me to share this week's events with you.
Google January PageRank Update
Numerous webmasters are reporting a toolbar PR drop which translated into a January PageRank update. I have yet to see any PageRank increase on my personal blog even though I have a nice bit of love due to my ridiculously long Internet Marketing post last month. I must say that I'm very sad.
Remove Content from Google
In case you didn't know, this was a big week in talking about how to remove content from Google. In fact, our post inspired Matt Cutts to make a video on removing URLs from Google. (For the record, I am kidding. That video was created a month ago but I don't mind saying that Matt gets inspired by our posts... or Whiteboard Frida. I'm sure Matt doesn't care either. Hi Matt!)
Microsoft Talks About Changes
Michael McDonald interviewed Jeremiah Andrick from Microsoft's Webmaster Team and posted the video for us to see. Jeremiah and Mike discuss numerous issues and it's a recommended watch.
Yahoo: Most Improved PPC Program of 2007
You've been polled and your answers have been tallied. Yahoo is the most improved PPC program of 2007. Panama was a step in the right direction. We polled the readers and they said the same thing. Forty-three percent of the votes went to YSM. Thirty-seven percent went for Google AdWords. I'd love to hear the reasons for your choices. If you voted AdWords, what makes it more improved than Yahoo? The real question is: do you use both? ;)
Wikia: A Lousy Alpha
Wikia Search from Jimmy Wales has been launched, and there's no excitement. In fact, they acknowledge that their search quality is low. I guess this is why it's alpha, though it seems like a haphazard launch if you ask me.
Soon: Google will Read Text in Your Images
We've learned of a recent patent that has been filed by Google that intends to read text in images. I'm sure they're aiming for more relevant results, and that's great. It will be interesting to see how accurate the accurate the readings are with their engine.
Indian Users Faced with Google Hijacking
Earlier this week, if you wanted to visit Google.com in India, you got to a page that displayed a Sogo logo. It appears that Google.com's DNS was hijacked and this other search engine stole the traffic. Uncool. I hope Sogo is delisted from Google for being naughty.
We'll Miss You, Jim Lanzone
The saddest news this week (behind me finding out that Danny scheduled SMX Social Media smack in the middle of the Passover holiday) is that Jim Lanzone is no longer the CEO of Ask. Jim is my Facebook friend and an all around great guy. It's unfortunate that the Ask.com CEO who was an incredibly personable and approachable guy is moving on and we won't be able to get cool Ask.com schwag anymore. But that's not really all. Jim was just awesome. We wish you the best on your future endeavors!
Microsoft adCenter Excel 2007 Plugin is Live
This week, the Microsoft adCenter Excel 2007 plugin went live. The initial impressions are really positive. Nice work, Microsoft.
AdSense Hates Foreigners
The Google AdSense team has announced that they are no longer giving great incentives to foreign subscribers outside North America, Latin America, and Japan. That sucks for Problogger Darren Rowse, who many know is located in Australia. Three are no incentives for him to use AdSense anymore. And for everyone else, the pricing structure has changed for all users and the earning potential has diminished. Let's just say that this also totally bites.
Microsoft Buys Fast Search for $1.23 Billion
More relevant Microsoft search results may be on the horizon. We've just been informed that Microsoft is acquiring Fast Search, a Norwegian company that has been doing a great job at search. Hopefully this will work very well for Microsoft. I'm excited to see how this plays out.
Google TVs To Play YouTube
Want a Google TV? Well, you might get one. Google TVs are in the works and will play YouTube videos and Picasa albums. In the meantime, if you can't get a Google TV, you still are eligible to win a Google Fridge. I just realized how much this costs and I want it. But alas, I am ineligible as I helped organize the Google contest. Maybe I'll get one eventually...
Images Appearing on Yahoo Sponsored Results
Yahoo is trying to grab your attention by adding images to Sponsored Results. What do you think about this? It certainly adds eye candy to the page! ;)
Google Tests Local Search on Top of Sponsored Results
Reports are in that Google is testing local search results on the top right hand corner of the search results page. Unfortunately, we don't have a screenshot. I'd have liked to see this! (Hint for next time, boys and girls. You'll even get a hat tip and a link!)
Rev Up Your Engines for SphinnCon Israel and SMX West
Get ready, my friends. SphinnCon Israel and SMX West are around the corner. Barry will be in Israel and both of us are going to Santa Clara. I'm still bummed that I can't go to SMX Social Media Los Angeles, though. I've never been there! (This will hurt for a long time.)
Have a great weekend!
