Today is 08/08/08. You can imagine how precisely Barry planned out this post -- since, well, that only happens once in a century.
The Olympics are Here!
Also occurring almost as infrequently is the Olympics, which started yesterday and are now being celebrated within the search industry and here at Search Engine Roundtable. Speaking of which, the designer of our Olympics logo, Mabe, got engaged last night. Everyone needs to congratulate her!!!
Google Launches Cool Tool
One of the cooler tools that I've seen released by Google is Google Insights, which was unveiled this week. For the statistics junkie, this is HAWT.
Google's DoubleClick Cookie Tracking Arouses Happiness, Fear
To better advertise to the search audience, Google and DoubleClick are going to apply cookie targeting. to utilize some more sophisticated means of advertising, including frequency capping, frequency reporting, improved ads, and better conversion tracking. This is both exciting but also frightening--lots of information from two really powerful companies.
Yahoo Encounters Search Ranking Changes, Gets Better
Yahoo is upping the ante and is apparently becoming closer to Google in terms of how relevant the results are. This may be due to a number of updates and algorithm ranking changes that we reported earlier this week. In any event, it's promising stuff!
Microsoft Updates Webmaster Tools
Earlier this week, Microsoft updated Webmaster Tools with crawl error and backlink reports. Sadly, though, the webmaster community has not been receptive to this tool. I hope they do, though, since the really awesome guys at Microsoft put considerable work into that project and are passionate about what they do.
Polls: Your Favorite Links?
We held two polls related to links recently and got some interesting feedback. In our first poll, you were asked whether you would buy links with the nofollow attribute. The answer, actually, is undecided. Half of you said yes, and less than half of you said no (with some being "other"). Personally, I think that nofollow paid links, if relevant, would yield clickthroughs, so that's important, right?
What about links from blogs? Most of you like blog links, with 64% of you saying yes. I'm surprised that such a large number (29%) said no -- if blogs are updated, have good content, and again, are relevant, why the hell not?!
Google Blocks WebPosition
The WebPosition application has been blocked by Google for reportedly automatically checking rankings. Apparently, Google never liked the application to begin with, with their SEO guidelines specifically pointing fingers at WebPosition and suggesting that people don't utilize the service.
Google Sheds Itself of Performics
While Google loves acquisitions, there was one they just couldn't keep. We learned mid-week that Google has gotten rid of Performics so as to avoid a conflict of interest with SEM agencies around the world. Now, Publicis, a French company, gets all the good stuff.
Why Don't SEOs Execute their Clients' Ideas?
Following a discussion on one of the forums, Barry wrote about why SEOs don't take on client work. Why aren't SEOs applying some of the ideas presented by clients and using them to boost their own companies? Well, there are a variety of reasons, but notably, the issues remain that it requires a lot of manpower, dedication, and the passion usually lies in helping people, not competing. I've been presented with a fair amount of great ideas in the past, but would it even be ethical to steal it and call it my own? I think you know the answer to that.
Google AdSense and AdWords Downtime Tomorrow
All Google AdSense and AdWords publishers and subscribers should note that there is Google AdWords downtime tomorrow as well as Google AdSense downtime. What happens during these routine maintenance practices? We don't really know; Google went the political route and didn't give us a straight answer. That made a forum member start guessing, and it was pretty informative.
Also, Google AdWords API v11 will be sunsetted on August 26th, so be sure to update to v12 ASAP!
Have a happy weekend!
