Happy Friday everyone! It's officially spring out here; the weather has gotten warmer and it's almost April! Wow.
Easter!
Yeah, that's right. Last week was Easter. And there were plenty of celebrations in the search sphere.
YouTube Analytics
Probably the coolest thing (for me) that happened this week was the announcement that YouTube is now providing analytics on their videos. I know Avinash Kaushik would be proud. It is very cool to see how well your videos are doing, and Barry provides a nice screenshot tour of the various options you can take advantage of. Sweet.
Google AdWords Demographic Bidding Screenshots
Barry has been in a screenshot mood lately. After the announcement about Google's demographic targeting for AdWords advertisers, he provides Google AdWords demographic bidding screenshots as well. You can see traffic reports by gender, age, and more.
We Asked You What You Thought About Minus X Penalties
....and most of you thought it was backlink related. In other words, the links pointing to your site may be causing a drop in your rankings. Even Barry thinks so.
New Google Mobile
A spy blogger journalist dude from ZDNet was snooping around examining Google's robots.txt file and found Google's new mobile interface. It's actually quite cool; it knows where you're located and gives you popular attractions. Of course, if you're not a tourist, the results Google provides may not help you, but a big chunk of folks are probably looking for something on that map. (For the others, Google, personalized search!)
Microsoft Live Search March 2008 Update
The March 2008 update of Live Search has left webmasters really upset at the quality of results. One even likens it to "split personalities." Not good.
Google Sitelinks March 2008 Update
On a similar note, Google is performing updates of its own. I finally have sitelinks, albeit they're ... interesting.
New Versions
Some advertisers have been invited to the new Microsoft adCenter Editor Beta. No word on performance issues yet.
On Google's end, Google AdWords API version 12 is now live, and you have until July 26 to switch over. Speaking of deadlines, it's almost April 1st, and the Google AdWords display URL policy is going into effect then. Check your campaigns carefully as soon as possible if you haven't already.
Video Ads Come to Google and Yahoo
It looks like other search engines are jumping in the video ad game. Google came out with AdWords video ads and Yahoo now has Partner Results. Life is changing and it's all video, baby. (I am not sure if I'm impressed.) ;)
Do Search Boxes in Google Search Results Increase Traffic?
The answer is maybe. Search boxes in the SERPs increase traffic astronomically, according to one person who was fortunate enough to get a search box on his site. The "traffic doubled overnight," he says. Others disagree, though. So time will only tell if it helps or hurts.
No, You CANNOT Blend Your Ads
The Google AdSense team has officially provided guidelines saying no to blending ads with your content. Will they enforce it? Hard to say. Keep watching this site. ;)
10 Minutes Until Google Time
You have about 10 minutes until you can join the Google Webmaster Help Live Chat depending on when this post gets published and when you read it. Don't miss it! Welcome Brian and Suman
Finally, I'd like to welcome AdSensePro reps Brian and Suman who hail from Ireland and India, respectively. It's nice to have global assistance when you need it. :)
Have a great weekend!
