 News
From StepForth Search Engine Placement Inc.
Wednesday, August 27th, 2003
Dear valued subscribers,
Welcome to StepForth’s weekly search engine update.
This update
is a culmination of news from the past week of the SEO
Blog. It is designed
to bring our valued subscribers up to speed
on the constantly evolving search engine marketplace.
» If you wish more information then
please view our news
section.
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Engine Guide and WebProNews
» Do you want to hear about the news
as it comes? The SEO Blog is
our daily events post.
| Highlight
of the Week: Google's IPO Gains International
Interest |
 The
distributive power of a simple newsletter can be astounding
sometimes. Last Thursday, StepForth business writer and SEO
Manager, Jim Hedger received a phone call from the BBC World
Service asking his opinion on the possibility of Google issuing
an initial public stock offering, (IPO). The interview, which
aired at 12:20 PM (eastern standard time), demonstrated the
high level of interest in Google around the world. Google,
which celebrates its fifth birthday this week, has revolutionized
the way we look for and think about information. Students check
Google for leads on their homework assignments hours before
the work is due, (unlike 25 years ago when we buried our heads
in library books a full day before the assignment was due).
New friends check for each other’s names on Google, just
as most businesses run a quick inquiry on other businesses
before conducting deals. Google has become a verb, a noun,
an adjective and an adverb, all in the short space of five
years. There are only a handful of businesses such as Beyer,
Frigidaire, and Kleenex that share that claim.
So, is Google going to do an IPO? We think so. Why do we all
care so much? Because Google at Age 5 is the biggest, kindest,
fastest, and coolest librarian this planet has ever seen. Do
we want Google to issue shares and go public? Yes and no. Google
will have to create a much larger war chest if it hopes to
survive a battle with Microsoft. Even though Google has claimed
over $800Million in revenues this year, Microsoft is still
their largest and most dangerous competitor and most certainly
has Google in its sights. We believe MSN is interested in doing
to Google what they did to Netscape seven years ago. That would
be a bad thing and the only way Google can fight them is by
raising a heck of a lot of cash, fast. At the same time, diluting
the ownership of Google will most certainly dilute one of the
most creative corporate cultures in the world. Shareholders
and their directors have this nasty way of sucking the creativity
out of a culture. Google is thus damned if they do and damned
if they don’t. When fighting MSN and to a lesser degree
Yahoo, Google had damn well better do something to raise money
without alienating its users.
|
by Jim Hedger |
|
| Major
Player Update: More Scivy on Microsoft's
Search Plans |
What will Microsoft do to increase its presence in the search
engine industry? For a long time MSN has barely been a going
concern in the search engine industry, but now with Google
whispering about a '04 IPO and Yahoo! buying Overture and Inktomi,
there doesn't seem to be many options left for the software
giant. Here is some insight from MSN product manager Lisa Gurry:
"Lisa Gurry says the company plans to move aggressively
to develop its in-house search expertise while continuing to
rely on Yahoo as a supplier. 'We will make the right investments
to stay competitive in this space,' says Gurry." (USA
Today)
Does "make the right investments" highlight a potential
buyout of a known search service? This target has long been
debated but the field of potential targets have narrowed considerably
if we rule out a major buy of Google or Yahoo! by Microsoft.
"For the record, Gurry says Microsoft is not considering
buying Yahoo or Google 'at this time.'"
Who does that leave? Our money is on an acquisition of Teoma/AskJeeves.
Teoma is really the only search engine that I can think of
which has demonstrated the potential to innovate and maintain
the clean search image that Google so quickly rose from. I
suppose, however, that this prediction is a no-brainer since
there is really very few to pick from. |
by Ross Dunn |
|
| In the Client Spotlight this
Week: The Wood Work Web |
The Wood Work Web is an interactive
resource for all woodworkers. Members are encouraged to add their
own articles, stories, events, links, register clubs and join in
the woodworking discussions in the Forums section. Sign up to become
a member and you will receive their twice-monthly newsletter with
the latest industry news.
The on-going theme for the website is "Help
a Buddy" so
if you are part of a wood working club, make sure your website
is included in the "CLUBS" section
so people new to woodworking in your area can find you. Check out
the new "EVENTS" section to register events in your area.
Visit the Wood
Work Web now to check out this incredible
resource built & managed by friends of the StepForth Team. |
| Weekly Quick Tip: A New
Marketing Tool That is Difficult to Ignore |
 If
you have yet to hear of blogging then let me warn you now,
you will be hearing a lot about it over the next few months.
What
is a blog? Here is the answer straight from the pioneers
of blogging at Blogger.com:
"A blog is a web page made up of usually
short, frequently updated posts that are arranged chronologically — like
a what's new page or a journal. The content and purposes of
blogs varies greatly — from links and commentary about
other web sites, to news about a company/person/idea, to diaries,
photos, poetry, mini-essays, project updates, even fiction."
Why Should You Consider Starting a
Blog?
It would be a bad idea to underestimate the
value and marketing potential that a blog can offer you.
Here are some significant selling points for maintaining a company blog:
- Setting up your own personal or business blog is totally
free! No setup fees and no monthly fees are required. With
some basic customizations you can even have the system upload
your posts to your own web site. This basic version will
allow you to post your industry related news or insights
on your site on a daily basis. This provides two massive
benefits; daily fresh content which the search engines award
web sites for and a reason for your visitors to come back
to your web site more often.
- The paid version of Blogger (currently being upgraded so
it is offline) offers the most significant tool of all...
automated RSS feeds. WHAT?! Well, RSS means either "Really
Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary" depending
on who you talk to. In both cases the intent is the same;
instant syndication of your content throughout the Internet.
By combining the quality content that you include within
your blog with automated syndication your 'word' will be
instantly transmitted to millions of online viewers through
the news portion of such search engines as Google, AlltheWeb
and Yahoo!. In most cases content provided via an RSS feed
is updated to the major search portals within 1 hour!
- Build industry credibility! Blogs are your way of showing
that you or your company is truly on the cutting edge. Write
articles about the latest industry events and even provide
tutorials to help your readers.
Essentially blogging is a simple and effective way of both
keeping your clients informed and to build credibility in the
online marketplace. If your content is useful and original
you will not only build a healthy following of readers but
a stronger and more loyal client base. The advantage of better
search engine placements is also a plus :-)
If you want to know more about blogging or you would like
StepForth to help you setup an optimized blog please let us
know: contact Ross Dunn at 1-877-385-5526 or ross@stepforth.com |
by Ross Dunn |
|
| The Net Reality: Copyright
Laws May Ultimately Censor Search Engines |
 The federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act (view
the entire act here) currently holds any search engine liable for linking
to a web site which may be infringing copyrights. As a result,
if a search engine refuses to remove all links to an infringing
web site, the copyright holder can sue. What is wrong with this?
Search engines such as Google with over 3 billion web pages indexed
simply do not have the time or the legal backing to investigate
every claim of copyright infringement. Despite this obvious limitation,
however, Google is forced to review and rule on all complaints
summarily. For example a claim by the Church of Scientology requested
an anti-scientology site be removed because it contained copyrighted
excerpts from their writings. When Google promptly removed the
web site, free speech advocates made quite a commotion, citing
that such censorship reduces the freedom of speech that the Internet
naturally provides . (click
here for this story)
Should search engines have to deal with this or should all legal
proceedings be focused on the infringing web site? The search
engines don't believe they should have any liability. Unfortunately,
the Digital Millennium Copyright Act cannot be reviewed simply
on the basis of this claim. In the future there are chances that
a culmination of other unrelated claims will prompt a review,
but until then we just may not know what we are missing on the
search engines.
|
by Ross Dunn |
|
|
If you have any questions please
do not hesitate to call the StepForth staff:
Toll-Free: 1-877-385-5526 | Local: 385-1190
http://www.stepforth.com
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