Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Google Spidering Encoded HTML in Urls?
Maybe so, just a spidering glitch, weird links, or sitemap error? I was searching this morning in Google doing some tests on Google's new Whois feature. When I plugged in a domain what popped up in the first page of the results was a weird URL including encoded ampersand and other characters in front of the shown URL for the website (aboutus.org). Once I clicked on the link I got a 404 error. Screenshot: Link - Yahoo's Q1 Profits: $542.2 Million
Yahoo News reports on Yahoo's Q1 earnings of $542.2 million, which is substantially higher than 2007's Q1 earnings of $142.4 million. Forum members are hoping there can be insights into this financial gain. WebmasterWorld moderator martinibuster quotes Jerry Yang's comment: "Not only does Yahoo! have a unique franchise, it increasingly has industry-leading tools, technology and, most importantly, people." He adds that Yahoo is shutting down their tools that aren't yielding results (e.g. Yahoo 360 and - Banned in Google Adsense? Appeal vs. New Account
A WebmasterWorld member has been banned from Google AdSense and wants to try again after several years on hiatus. He says that the past banning was due to fraudulent clicks but does not know the origin, and he'd like to start anew from a clean slate. Is it possible, or is the ban for life? AdSenseAdvisor says that you are able to appeal your account termination, but if you get banned for invalid clicks, you - Google Faces Class Action Suit Over Ambiguous Google AdWords Input Box
InformationWeek discusses a recent lawsuit that Google is facing over some ambiguity in an ad. (Photo courtesy of Valleywag) More specifically, from the image above, you see that there are 2 boxes. If you leave the second one blank, it doesn't imply that the amount is zero. Google implies that you're using the Default CPC bid for the second box if left empty. Understandably, some forum members are thinking that Google is in the wrong - Google AdWords Editor Users Report Statistics Issue
WebmasterWorld members are reporting strangeness when using the Google AdWords Editor to retrieve statistics. According to some, the editor tool is pulling information, but "not all of it." Google is aware of the problem according to the user. At this point, however, there is no solution and users report that they are still having difficulty getting all the data. In the meantime, the suggestion is to use the online interface rather than the Google AdWords - Yahoo Search Marketing Announces Click Filter Report
Want to see invalid clicks on your Yahoo Search Marketing campaign? The YSM team has launched a new feature called the Click Filter Report. This report shows you data on clicks that Yahoo has deemed invalid, and can be customized with a variety of data points, including impressions, clicks, invalid clicks, invalid click rate, CTR, cost, and average CPC. This new feature is accessible under the "Reports" tab in YSM accounts. Here's a screenshot: Forum - Google Sitelinks in Position 60?
A Google Groups thread has discussion about one webmaster that sees Sitelinks for his site in position 60. The search is for vacation realty and in the 60th position. While, I do not see the Sitelinks at that position, the webmaster does and provided a screen shot: So there is really no doubt that this webmaster is seeing this on his computer. The question is, why aren't any of us? Typically, I wouldn't report something - Advertiser Feedback on Yahoo Displaying Google AdWords Ads
Search Engine Watch Forums moderator, abbottsys, posted detailed feedback on Google Ads Being on Yahoo Search. The Search Engine Watch Forums thread has only one post but deserves a lot more participation, in my opinion. Normally, I would summarize, but I am not feeling so well and abbottsys does a great job, so let me quote him: 1) My ad was subscribed to Google Search and the Google Search Partner Network, but it was not - You Cannot Transfer Google Advertising Professional Exam Scores
A Google Groups thread asks if one can transfer their Google Advertising Professional exam scores from their old company to their new company. The Google Advertising Professional program was launched in 2004 to help Google give certification to professionals selling AdWords services. Part of the certification is completing an exam to earn rights to show the Google Advertising Professional Certification Logo on your site. So when employees move from company to company, they may bring - Webmasters Report Proxy Hijacking No Longer an Issue at Google
WebmasterWorld moderator posted a detailed thread at WebmasterWorld claiming that he feels the proxy hijacks that Google has suffered from in 2007, and was getting better towards the end of 2007 seems to be 100% cleaned up now. IncrediBill concluded: Therefore, based on all of the evidence presented, I'm drawing a conclusion that Google Proxy Hijacking may be a thing of the past and no longer a clear and present danger to webmasters. I think - Microsoft adCenter Customers Get Premium Organic Listing Support in Live Search?
A Search Engine Watch Forums thread has a member complaining that after he signed up with Microsoft adCenter, he noticed his site was removed from the Live Search index. For those that do not know, adCenter is the search ad product that goes along side the organic, pure and unbiased search results at Live Search. To my surprise, an official Microsoft adCenter representative came into the thread and said: I can understand the importance of
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- Yahoo Now Includes Stats on Bid Chage Page, WebmasterWorld
- My Plea to SE Conferences: Turn Calacanis Away, Sphinn
- Why Calacanis Should Not Be Allowed to Speak at Conferences, Sphinn
- Ad Review Center available to all publishers, WebmasterWorld
- Are these the best hidden paid links ever? Can you find them?, Sphinn
- Google and Yahoo Report AdWords Test to the Department of Justice, Search Engine Watch Forums
- Interview with Marissa Mayer - including general topics, future of search, WebmasterWorld
- Undoing a 301 redirect, Google Groups
