As searchers become more sophisticated, the search engines are forced to evolve to keep up with the changing times.

During a session at WebmasterWorld’s Publishers Conference VI, Tim Mayer from Yahoo! Search explained how Yahoo! has improved its abstracts, the presentation of its results pages, and how it has developed a new algorithm designed specifically to focus on longer query searches using more terms. Read more…

ZNet writer Stephanie Olsen has uncovered a terribly interesting story. Why do you think Yahoo spent so much money buying AltaVista, AlltheWeb and Inktomi if it is simply going to develop its own search engine with its own database? For the intellectual properties associated with the patents their acquisitions hold. Read more…

This is actually last week’s news but last week was busier than expected so it did not make it to the BLOG.

Yahoo is currently drawing results from Inktomi and filtering those results through its own algorithm. As of April 15, Yahoo will be drawing from its own paid-inclusion search database.

Yahoo has not released details regarding costs and coverage but we expect to hear some numbers sooner than later.

The past year has been one of major transition in the search engine industry. Changes to the landscape have been enormous with mergers, acquisitions, and the easing of several formerly big-players out of the sector or, in the case of AltaVista, Lycos and LookSmart, into the minor leagues. We’ve seen new technologies and revenue models being tested by search firms, along with fresh promises of personalized ad-delivery through contextual placement. While there is no end in sight for changes in this evolving medium, this is a good time to examine the impact of such upheaval on the state of website marketing and search engine placement. Read more…

It seems that the Ask empire has been quietly innovating while the search engine world focused on the ever public battle between the top 3 search properties. Recently Ask launched “Smart Search” which VP Jim Lanzone noted as “more of an ideology than a brand name”. Read more…

In the battle for search engine placement across all organic listings, that golden spot of number one is top priority, and for good reason. That may not hold true in the realm of pay per click advertising. What many people may not know, is that the number one spot, although it typically grabs the highest click through’s, may not always be the most cost effective. Here’s why. Read more…

When you’re working with a limited budget and need to increase your visibility with minimal expense, then forums are a great place to start. The effect of posting information and opinions on forums are two-fold:

When you post to forums you are posting information to a targeted readership that is interested in the forum topic. Provided that you have chosen a forum related to the topic of your website you are, in posting interesting and insightful information, promoting your own knowledge of the area and people are likely to visit your website based on this. Read more…

This article will cover the following:

System Upgrades

Change in Editors’ Area

Division of Ownership

Seeking New Search Partners

New Submission Specialist Program

Our Future Plans

– System Upgrades –

Over the past several months, GoGuides.Org has been undergoing some changes. One of the most notable changes is in the scripts that make the directory run. We are still in the process of writing and upgrading that code. Over the next couple of weeks, the foundation for the entire system will be put firmly in place. Expect a dramatic increase in system speed for both searching the directory and browsing topics once these final building blocks are put in place. Read more…

Verison, the largest telephone company in the US is introducing a search feature at Superpages.com. Verison is the primary publisher of Yellow Pages directories in the USA. They are trying to save this market from Yahoo, Google and MSN. Currently basic listings are free (with registration required). Read more…

Since December 2003, StepForth has been using Clicktracks to analyze the statistics associated with some of our client web sites and the results have been very revealing. We are extremely impressed with the results provided by this software which is why were glad to hear that the smaller company Clicktracks tied with statistics giant WebTrends as the Best Marketing and Analysis Product available. The award was handed out by the prestigious website SmallBusinessComputing.com and has been added to the long list of amazing awards that Clicktracks has won since its inception. Read more…