Click fraud is a big problem and one that threatens to jeopardize the state of paid search. Lawsuits such as this online retailer are being filed because of it. Search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN use the pay-per-click system where advertisers pay a fee based on the bid price they set for each click on their ads. As with any system this can be prone to abuse. Click … [Read more...] about Cost-Per-Action the Cure for Click Fraud?
Google Rankings for “Failure”
Earlier I reported on how pranksters push unwarranted sites like George Bush's biography to the top of the search engine results list by employing Google Bombing tactics. Despite complaints, Google decided not to manually manipulate rankings of the site. Marissa Mayer, Google's director of consumer products, says: "Pranks like this may be distracting to some, but they … [Read more...] about Google Rankings for “Failure”
Internet User Trends and Maximizing Pay-Per-Click ROI
The leaders in paid search are currently Google and Yahoo. At this time, MSN provides paid search listings from Yahoo in their SERPs. As a marketer, which paid search program should you choose? What are the demographics and psychographics of each search engine? To know the true answer for your industry and your site, the professional marketer's answer is to test it out. … [Read more...] about Internet User Trends and Maximizing Pay-Per-Click ROI
Google’s New Webmaster Initiative
Don't be alarmed if you get an email by Google stating that you've violated their guidelines and are about to be de-listed from the search engines. It has been reported on several occassions over the last couple months that Google has been trying out a new program to inform webmasters whom they feel are breaking Google's guidelines. Some thought it was a hoax when they … [Read more...] about Google’s New Webmaster Initiative
Yahoo’s Instant Search
Here's a cool new feature that Yahoo has come up with. Yahoo has created a new Instant Search feature. By typing in part of a popular word or all of a word, Instant Search shows you a possible answers based on popular queries in a "speech bubble" directly below the search box. I tried entering "dictionary" and before completing the word fully, it displayed the site … [Read more...] about Yahoo’s Instant Search