The SEO 101 logo from WebmasterRadio.FM - click to see the show archivesHello everyone, this post is a quick overview of the stories of interest in the realm of search engines and related news over the past few days. I am sorry I can’t provide more detail on each of these items; really they could be stories unto themselves. The fact is, StepForth has never been busier so we have had absolutely no time to write. I will, however, endeavor to write an article or two over the next couple of weeks. Perhaps someday we will even send out a new issue of our web marketing newsletter 😉 In the meantime, I and my co-host John Carcutt discuss SEO every Monday on SEO 101 on WebmasterRadio.FM (it airs 5pm EST, 2pm PST) so tune in!!

Anyway, enough with the chatter, here are 4 of the most interesting news headlines spotted today:

Google’s Plan to Increase Ad-Serving Quality Now Includes Teracent

Teracent LogoGoogle has set the bar for online success by giving everything away (Gmail, Android, GAnalytics, GDocs, GApps, GMaps, etc.) but still making a financial killing; all due to brilliant pay-per-click ad-serving technology. With that in mind, you can now take for granted that Google is going to do all it takes to keep on the cutting edge of online advertising technology and maintain its lucrative bottom line. Which takes us to it’s recent purchase of Teracent, a company that has created a machine-learning technology that will increase the flexibility of Google’s ad-serving platform to allow previously unheard-of targeted & advertising online; for desktops and the growing mobile marketplace. Want to learn more about Teracent’s purchase? Here are some great links:

The LA Times Sets a Great Example by Updating their  Social Media Guidelines

The LA Times logoI am a big fan of Andy Beal’s Marketing Pilgrim and today I found a great article about the LA Times who has just made substantial updates to its 8 month-old social media guidelines for staff members. The changes are interesting but like the author of the article I also agree that the LA Times is setting an excellent example for other journalist organizations by making sure to update their guidelines regularly. For a much better read check out this article on the LA Times social media guidelines at the Marketing Pilgrim. Here are some other related stories:

Getting the Scivvy on The Inner Workings of Google News

Danny Sullivan posted the third installment of a great set of posts based on a comprehensive interview he had with Josh Cohen, the Business Product Manager at Google News. This post along with the others to date discuss Google News transparency and the ins and outs of working with this lesser known search avenue within Google. Here are some other marketing articles about Google News:

It Looks Like Google Will Be Blocked From Reading Content at News Corp, Among Others

news-corporation-logoIt comes as no surprise that news agencies are feeling burned by the winds of change that have allowed Google to reap advertising benefits from their free, cutting-edge news content while their collective bottom lines dwindled. Well, Rupert Murdoch, the founder of News Corp. has had enough and is threatening to block Google from the significant news that his super corporation reports. Needless to say, this topic is being talked about everywhere and the opinions and news on the situation is wide ranging. Here are the best posts I found on this subject:

by Ross Dunn, CEO, StepForth Web Marketing Inc.
Increasing the bottom line online for businesses since 1997