Search engine news from 2007 included Ask's new program for search, a new algorithm and search capabilities from Yahoo, and MSN's new webmaster portal and analytics service. Meanwhile, Google continued to make headlines with its campaign against paid links, causing great concern for website owners. The industry is constantly changing, and we're looking forward to seeing what will happen in 2008!
Google Experiments with Cost-Per-Action Ads
Google announced recently that it would be testing a system that offers advertisers the option to pay only when their ads generate consumer action. Until now, advertisers on Google paid either when Internet users clicked on their ads or based on how many people viewed the ads. With the new system, advertisers may decide what consumer action their ads are pushing for and what those actions are worth. Based on this information, web publishers pick which ad or ads to place on their websites. Several other companies such as ValueClick and Turn are already using this method, which has proven to be quite effective as advertisers appreciate the idea that they do not have to pay for ads that generate no results. At least for now, Google is not putting the cost-per-action advertisements next to its regular search results, only on publishers' websites. Executives at Google hope to accelerate the company's growth and increase the company's already $10 billion-a-year revenue.
Ask.com Introduces Ask3D
Earlier this month, Ask.com revealed Ask3D, its new program for search. The new technology features three separate panels, each designed to bring search visitors the information they are looking for in less time and with fewer queries. Instead of requiring users to enter several queries and sift through several pages of results to find what they are looking for, Morph, Ask3D's powerful new algorithm, sifts through all of the content matches before delivering the final page of results. All of the possible results for a given user's query are pared down and consolidated into one page so that users are not faced with having to enter search after search to find what they are looking for. In addition, the search results displayed on the single page include several different forms of content, including video and music clips. Morph works together with Ask's existing ExpertRank algorithm, which chooses search results based on expert Internet communities instead of on popularity. Ask3D represents Ask.com's attempt to compete with similar initiatives from the larger search engines, such as Google's Universal Search.
Google Bans Directories
Over the past couple of weeks, many search marketers have been talking about Google banning directories. The question on everyone's minds is whether or not there is any benefit left to submitting websites to directories. The general consensus appears to be that Google is once again tweaking its algorithm, which would account for the drop in Page Rank experienced by so many sites. As usual, Google has offered no explanation as to what is going on. In the event that Google actually has decided to discredit backlinks from common directories, experts say a company's best shot at being credited with a backlink from a directory is to make sure that the directories to which it submits its website are of high quality, which usually means they are human-edited.
Yahoo! Changes Algorithm on the Sly
While webmasters and search engine marketers were reeling from the sudden Google algorithm shift, Yahoo! snuck in the back door, making changes to the way it indexes, crawls, and ranks websites while no one was paying attention. While the details of the algorithm shift are of course a secret, the update seems to place a higher value on new content, not unlike the "freshness factor" that is so apparent on Google. Some have reported a noticeable decline in the number of spam-filled pages appearing in the results as well.
Microsoft Unveils New Webmaster Portal
In other Microsoft news, the company is continuing to try to undermine search rival Google as it unveils its new webmaster portal beta this month. The portal requires users to create a profile for their websites and verify ownership, and then allows site owners to analyze search performance and keyphrases. If this sounds familiar, it is -- Google began offering its webmaster portal, which offers similar services, in 2006. With Microsoft launching so many copycat products, it would appear that MSN is trying to compete with Google by offering the same products. Perhaps it would achieve more by offering something different instead of trying to get into a very difficult (and loyal) market that Google has already more or less cornered.
Google Continues Campaign against Paid Links
Many websites experienced a marked decrease in Page Rank this month as Google rolled out an algorithm change that devalues sites that buy and sell links. While links from larger paid directories like the Yahoo! directory do not seem to be included, smaller paid directories may trigger the new algorithm to flag the link. This is a significant concern for website owners and search engine marketers, who frequently pay for inclusion in legitimate directories either to drive traffic, rankings, or both. If the trend continues, these directories may become a thing of the past, something which might help Google cut down on link spamming but ultimately hurts end users by removing a valid channel of identifying and linking to relevant websites.
Google Threatens Link Sellers' PageRanks
Many well-known marketing blogs and news sites such as WashingtonPost.com and Forbes.com have noticed a significant drop in PageRank over the last week. Upon analysis of these sites, the only thing found that they have in common is that they sold links or shared internal linking structures with other sites. Although Google has made no comment about the drop in PageRank for these sites, many speculate that the drop was merely a warning, as there has been no marked decline in traffic or rankings. Some have suggested that Google lowered the PageRanks of these sites to make it harder for them to sell links, as delisting them altogether would hurt the engine's credibility.
Yahoo's New Search Capabilities
Yahoo has just introduced a new search feature for its Internet users: suggestions for search queries. Similar to the search feature on the Google toolbar, the Yahoo will now provide a list of suggested and/or related queries when a user types a phrase into the search box. This is designed to ensure that users will find exactly what they are looking for on the Internet, even if they misspell their original query. Additionally, in a move reminiscent of Google's Universal Search initiative, Yahoo is now including video data in its search results, as well as images and links to music. Depending upon the user's search query, Yahoo also pulls information from its search databases, including Yahoo Shopping, Yahoo Maps and Yahoo Sports, and labels these results so users know what they are seeing on the screen.
MSN Gives Google Analytics a Run for its Money
MSN recently launched a beta version of "Project Gatineau," its upcoming web analytics service. Project Gatineau is based on technology Microsoft acquired from DeepMetrix Corporation and is named for the Canadian town in which DeepMetrix was based. Long-time readers will recall that Google launched its free web analytics service shortly after acquiring Urchin. Although Microsoft asserts that it is not its intention to offer an identical service to the much-loved Google Analytics, it is unclear what, if any, the differences are between the two product offerings. Project Gatineau will be able to track visitor demographics for website visitors with a Microsoft Live ID, but in order for this information to be useful, website visitors must be logged in and provide accurate demographic data on the computer they are using, so it remains to be seen whether this will actually be helpful to advertisers.