Andrew Goodman is co-founder and Editor of Traffick.com, a popular guide to search engine and portal trends. He has published articles in publications such as Internet Markets, The Globe and Mail, and Yorkshire Post Magazine, and is regularly cited in business and technology publications such as Business Week. In 1999, Andrew left his burgeoning academic career in political theory and policy studies to found a private consultancy, Page Zero Media, which offers search engine marketing services and strategic advice to companies seeking an online presence.
The first quarter of '04 is positively eye-popping: $390 million in revenue, $64 million in net income. This is a company on track to do $1.8 billion in business in 2004 only six years after launching. It's only been earning any revenue worth mentioning for two years, since the pay-per-click version of AdWords launched in February 2002. The competition must be drooling. Little wonder Google didn't want to disclose details....
Another revenue angle to consider: Google now actually stands to make money from quality content sites which get ranked well. That's because many of these sites now show AdSense ads, and Google gets a little revenue share from them, too. It's ingenious, really. Google has figured out how to get paid much more than the zilch they used to get paid for running a search engine, whether users click through to commercial listings or quality content, and yet without assaulting users with irrelevant, commercialized search index listings....
We owe a lot to the 'new web scientists' who are pushing metrics harder than ever. After years of wallowing in the miasma of unaccountable, complacent search engine marketing, for example, it's refreshing to be reminded by Bryan Eisenberg that 'conversion rates measure success, yet way too many Web marketers equate success with traffic.'...
Lately, we've had some fall-over-in-disbelief success stories with AdWords campaigns. What makes them all the more unexpected is that, while they may be well-thought-out businesses, we are not talking about people with huge amounts of capital....
Google's mixed up some new secret sauce to better target keyword-based ads to topical content, but it seems as if this is a partial, evolutionary step towards fuller incorporation of semantic analysis into search....
The search industry isn't exempt from the laws of positioning. Consumers only have so much memory. There are a lot of ways to lose in this business. It's brutal....
As consumers increasingly flock online to comparison shop, it's the portals, search engines, comparison shopping engines, and trustworthy topical 'vortals' that will enjoy the fattest and least messy profits from facilitating consumers' research....
If portals have all this power, and Google is becoming one, how will they start to throw their own weight around? How quickly will Google hurry to consummate its long-delayed IPO given that the company could be weakened irreparably by further delays in this new 'everyone against Google' climate?...
If it goes zip when it moves, and pop when it stops, chances are you can still advertise it online for pennies a click....
As the pay-per-click ad industry has grown, so has competition amongst advertisers. Fortunately, campaign management interfaces are improving, which will help the detail-oriented advertiser who wants to work smarter get ahead of the pack....
The Search Engine Optimization service industry must now adapt itself to the recent developments in the web industry, namely the emergence of a relatively stable set of web standards and design conventions....
Web sites needing qualified traffic are quietly feeding their addiction to clickthroughs with the help of search industry pariah LookSmart....
Why do non-optimized pages so often seem to score well in search engines? I suggest it's because the pages just happen to be relevant, and the search engines are getting mighty good at doing their job....
If you believe everything you read, you’d probably think that there is absolutely no way to use a cool Internet search tool without being bowled over with paid advertising. Not so....
Google, fast-growing 300-lb. gorilla, is now betrothed to the five-tonne elephant AOL. Advertisers and other small critters have had to adjust....
Search engine companies are often portrayed as fragile weakling in the financial press. This doesn't do justice to their current potential and their revolutionary impact on our daily routines....
AlltheWeb.com's freshness and functionality is drawing raves from online researchers. FAST has leapt into first place in Europe amongst providers of OEM Search for major portals....
GoTo's name change to Overture coincides with a refocusing of its image as an advertising middleman. In this broader arena, Overture can't boast about being leader of the pack....
If cable partners are so confident that they can get along without AtHome, it raises the question: just what the heck does AtHome do, anyway?...
Industry experts point to a variety of reasons for Google's success. The foundation of their positive buzz was a singular focus and an excellent product. Or as Godin puts it, they didn't hide the banana....
By optimizing a site the right way from the beginning, webmasters are reaping the benefits of higher search engine rankings. Here are some tips to help you become one of the lucky ones....
FAST Search is leveraging the super scalability of its search engine to offer robust site search products for mid-level webmasters and large ecommerce sites....
If Yahoo's going to be a media company like its major competitor AOL Time Warner, it must go big or go home. And the bigger the better. Billionaire megalomaniacs only need apply....
The international versions of the major portals don't always offer an advantage over a generic web search. Test driving UK search tools confirms that finding local information online is often a frustrating experience....
MSN and Yahoo outflank AOL in terms of unique visitors and time of usage in many countries nationwide. In fact, in Ireland and France, AOL Time Warner is well back of the pack in the number 7 position....
Search technology companies are reorienting their focus in mid-stream to enterprise search. Corporate customers seem like a more reliable source of revenue....
Unique visitor stats make it look like AOL's lead is insurmountable. And conventional wisdom says Yahoo is in trouble. But a second look shows that Yahoo could become every bit as dominant as the pundits used to think it could be....
Excite is a distraction from the cable Internet access business of Excite@Home. It seems likely to shut down soon, having ceded the #4 ranking to Terra Lycos....
GoTo's exploding popularity has required the pay-per-click search engine advertising company to invest more in servers and editorial review. As a result, it has instituted a price increase to discourage smaller advertisers from using the service....
Dogpile, a metasearch engine owned by Infospace is one of the most popular search engines in the world, though far from high-tech. There is a metasearch tool to suit every taste, from latecomer Ixquick to pioneer Metacrawler. What's yours?...
Active Navigation's Portal Maximizer helps corporate portals and vertically-focused web sites classify large amounts of information with enhanced metadata and contextual navigation....
No one ever said that monetizing the eyeballs should be done by pestering those eyeballs with advertising. Consumers might actually welcome the opportunity to pay Yahoo a fee for premium services....
According Steve Thomas, the majority of active guides at Disney's now-defunct Go Guide have joined the ranks of category owners using the directory building platform developed by his company, Wherewithal....
While others zig into downsizing and divestiture of dot com holdings, Terra Lycos zags ahead with a growth strategy....
More and more search engine traffic will be driven by paid listings as the search space narrows. Is it worth the money to pay for guaranteed listing in the Inktomi index?...
Account aggregators will make it possible for us to view our bank accounts online. Not only that, says Yodlee competitor uMonitor, but we'll be able to take action on the information collected from many sources, using one handy password....
This is no time for the faint of heart. While Internet-haters like Michael Eisner put a hex on the online advertising business, it's time to up the ante with facts, figures, and maybe some self-congratulatory Internet industry awards ceremonies....
AOL and Yahoo! forge ahead with product improvements, fee-based services, and comprehensive online offerings. The also-ran portals retrench, stung by the weakening advertising market and a loss of confidence from their conglomerate parents....
Three key players will dominate the consumer market for web portal services: AOL, Yahoo!, and MSN. Marketing analyst Ted Roberts evaluates each of these portal contenders in terms of the strength of their products, and takes stock of where things may be headed in 2001....
GUEST COLUMN by David F. Prenatt, Jr. - June 1, 2000 - Until April 26, 2000, I was a volunteer editor with Netscape's Open Directory Project, and I enjoyed the coveted editall/catmv editing privileges that had been granted to me by ODP Staff Editor jiwasaki because I had "shown good editing ability."...
As the world's leading portal (not counting AOL), Yahoo! offers a full-service web experience. Yet it's surprising how easy it is to ignore or forget key Yahoo! features. So... when to Yahoo!, and when not to? Here's an utterly opinionated guide to help you decide when to stay put, and when to go a-roamin' in search of better functionality or more fun. The rating system here is simple: either "Stay with Yahoo!" or "Worth a Detour."...
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