Blog Référencement Publicityweb

The founders of Pownce announced they are closing their social networking platform and joining Six Apart - the creators of Movable Type, TypePad and Vox, the company blog announced today. Co-founder Leah Culver stated in the blog, "We’re bittersweet about shutting down the service but we believe we’ll come back with something much better in 2009. We love the Pownce community and we will miss you all." "Mike and I have joined Six Apart as part of their engineering team and we’re looking forward to being a part of the talented group that has created amazing tools for blogging and publishing," he explained. Given the technology will join Six Apart and that company's strength in the blogging software arena, Leah's comment that they should be coming back in 2009 with something "much better" is intriguing.

Open source e-commerce platform Magento has released a new version of its software, and with it is a Google Website Optimizer integration. All you have to do is cut and paste a URL into Magento's GWO tool and bam - you're ready to optimize that landing page. Seriously, if you're not convinced you need to be testing - then stop everything and read these links: Landing Page Optimization: Guessing vs. Testing Coherency in Landing Page Testing Landing Pages: Test Now or Forever Hold Your Peace Testing Applies to Widgets and Accessories, Not Just Landing Pages Testing Landing Pages Includes Testing Best Practices Assembling Your Landing Page Optimization Dream Team, Part 1 Assembling Your Landing Page Optimization Dream Team, Part 2

Top searches lists are beginning to roll out and today, both Yahoo and Ask.com revealed the hottest searches for 2008 on their respective engines. Over at Yahoo!, entertainment was the name of the game:

1. Britney Spears
2. WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment)
3. Barack Obama
4. Miley Cyrus
5. RuneScape
6. Jessica Alba
7. Naruto
8. Lindsay Lohan
9. Angelina Jolie
10. American Idol

Ask.com's Top 10 list was a little less shallow

1. Dictionary
2. MySpace
3. Google
4. YouTube
5. Facebook
6. Coupons
7. Cars
8. Craigslist
9. Online degrees
10. Credit score

To drill down into specific niches such as politics and news, check out the breakdown of top searches for Yahoo here and Ask.com here. Related Reading: Search Engines Top Source for Local Search Has YouTube Passed Yahoo in expanded searches? Top 10 Yellow Pages Searches According to Yellow Pages Association

Carl Icahn has increased his investment in Yahoo by purchasing nearly 7 million shares. This comes on the heels of the announcement that Jerry Yang will be stepping down as CEO, once a new one has been tapped. While some may see this as a sign of "Carl in Charge," I wonder if this move is just a bit risky on Icahn's part. If the stock drops lower and Yahoo goes to Microsoft in a fire sale, Icahn will lose even more money than the millions he's already lost this year. Icahn bought a nice chunk of shares earlier this year in order to have a stronger voice as a shareholder. He later became a member on Yahoo's newly expanded board. Meanwhile, and unrelated, Yahoo's European Head Toby Coppel is leaving his post. Stepping up is SVP of Europe’s Advertiser & Publisher Group Rich Riley. Related Reading: Eric Jackson to Yahoo: I Can Quit You, and I Did

Despite all the bad economic news going into Black Friday, online spending was up 1% over last year, according to comScore. Online shoppers spent $534 million, up from $531 million for Black Friday 2007. One of the advantages for online shopping is sleeping in (and not trampling Wal-mart employees to death). Online spending peaked between 12-4pm with the 8am to 12pm slot following closely behind: However, it's today's sales that may be the strongest indicator of the overall season. Cyber Monday growth rates are strongly correlated to the growth rate of the full holiday season.

We will not be publishing on Thursday, November 27, or Friday, November 28, in observation of Thanksgiving Day. I hope those of you that are celebrating the holiday can stay off the Internet and spend some time with those you love. For those of you that aren't celebrating Thanksgiving, or have had enough quality time with your family, here are a few things you might find interesting: * If you haven't checked it out lately, I suggest looking over the articles in our Search 101 section. It's been updated with articles covering the basics of search engine optimization, search advertising, and several other topics. Keep an eye on that section, as it will continue to be updated on a regular basis. * We've been collecting quite the archive of Search Engine Marketing Webcasts. We've got one-hour presentations with Q&A available on demand on topics from Holiday PPC campaigns to search trends, to Profitable PPC fundamentals. You can also sign up for upcoming webcasts, including one next week on Advanced Keyword Research. * Catch up with other Thanksgiving refugees on the Search Engine Watch Forums, or browse the archives to find the best advice on a range of search marketing topics. * Head on over to Facebook to join the SearchEngineWatch Facebook Group or the Search Engine Strategies Facebook Group. Or check out our LinkedIn Groups for Search Engine Watch, SearchEngineWatch.com Forums, or Search Engine Strategies Conference & Expo. We'll be back on Monday with plenty of new Experts columns, blog posts, and more. Have a happy Thanksgiving!

The year-over-year gains for Google that we saw in Nielsen Online's October 2008 search engine rankings were mirrored in comScore's rankings for the same month. Google enjoyed a nice 63.1% share, up from 58.5% during the same time last year. Yahoo was at 20.5% down from 22.9%> Microsoft was at 8.5%, down from 9.7%. There was one major difference between Nielsen and comScore. Nielsen said the number of searches declined, while comparing comScore's October 2008 data to its 2007 data shows that the number of searches increased to 12.6 million billion up from 10.5 million billion. Check out the rest of the data here:

It's the day before Thanksgiving, where you show up at the office, but you're really thinking about tomorrow's good meal. You've worked hard to set up those search marketing campaigns to run strong on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. So, I really hate to bring you the bad news, but keeping it from you would be a disservice. Let's just rip off the bandaid. First up, eMarketer has lowered its projections for online advertising spending for 2009. The new growth number is 8.9%, down from 14.5% projected in August. They're also expecting a long recovery, projecting 2010 growth to be just 10.9%. In five years, things will still be slower on the uptake (than in recent years). Projections for 2013 growth are at 13.5%. Silver lining: some of the tapering off is likely due to market saturation and not just the economy. Next, eBay's traffic is declining. In January of 2007, eBay saw 62 million unique visitors. Last month, they saw just 49 million. Sure, not all of that was due to the economy, but dipping below 50 million can't be good for eBay. I saved the worst for last. comScore has released data showing that online consumer spending for the first 23 days of November was down 4% from last year. That's not a slow down in growth people, that's flat out shrinkage. But I'm not a total Scrooge. Unemployment numbers were better than expected this week. And at least one Slate columnist explains why fears of another Great Depression could be overblown (let's hope he's right!). As we overdose on turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie, let us not forget the ultimate strategy for marketing, business and life in general: Hope for the best but prepare for the worst. Related Reading: Selling SEO During an Economic Downturn E-commerce Growth Slows to Just 1% in October 2008 Online Advertising Networks Struggle As Industry Growth Slows

Does your site maintain its usability across many browsers? If not, you could end up leaving money on the table this holiday season. Browsers such as Firefox, Chrome, and Safari (which comes standard on Macs) now make up about 30% of the browser market. Firefox alone enjoys 20% of the overall market share. Matt Poepsel, vice president of Gomez, Inc., whose services test and monitor the performance of websites says that the increase of non-Internet Explorer browsers could cause some e-tailers grief. "This year more than ever, websites can look and function differently from one browser to another. Online retailers can no longer assume that all shoppers are using Internet Explorer. They must ensure their sites look good and work well across a wide range of browsers - or risk frustrating customers and losing the sale."

It's no secret that social networks have had a difficult time integrating advertising that has a bang for its buck. IDC has released some data showing what social networks - and advertisers - are faced with. Only 57% of social network users have clicked on an ad in the last year versus 79% of all users in the rest of the web. When it comes to purchasing, only 11% of social network users will actually make one compared to 23% of the rest of the internet. "The thinking has been that the popularity of SNS will attract a big audience and generate a lot of traffic, which in turn will produce enormous amounts of user-generated content (UGC) and therefore advertising inventory – without any expenses for editorial staff or content distribution deals," said Karsten Weide, program director, Digital Marketplace: Media and Advertising. "All of the above has proven true – except that almost invariably, SNS have had a hard time selling this inventory." Related Reading: The Number of Small Businesses Using Social Media to Double in 12 Months MySpace Launches Self-Service Ad Platform 93% of Americans Expect Companies to Have Social Media Presence

The success of your testing program relies heavily on the cooperation of many people in your organization. In today's By the Numbers column, "Assembling Your Landing Page Optimization Dream Team, Part 2," Tim Ash continues with a look at more key roles needed for a successful landing page optimization program. » Full story

Microsoft and Yahoo took a tumble in their year-over-year search share in October 2008, according to Nielsen Online. All searches were down 2%, which is quite surprising considering the election and the economy. Yahoo was down 12% and Microsoft was down 19%. Ask.com took a hit as well with a decrease of 22.9% The news was much brighter for Google and AOL. Both saw sizeable increases at 8.1% and 14.5% respectively. Google continues to dominate the search engine industry at a 61.2% market share. Here's the full chart: Related Reading: E-commerce Growth Slows to Just 1% in October 2008

Former Microsoft and Yahoo employee, Jascha Kaykas-Wolff, is heading to WebTrends to become their Vice President of Marketing. Kaykas-Wolff comes to WebTrends directly from a business consulting firm, but previously held senior management roles at Microsoft and a management role at Yahoo. WebTrends CEO Alex Yoder said, “Jascha is a veteran digital marketer, and brings a successful track record of developing and executing strategies that enhance customer experience and deliver meaningful results. His background with Internet and software companies, along with his first-hand experience with WebTrends, has ideally prepared him to lead the delivery of WebTrends’ vision and solutions to the marketplace.” Related Reading: WebTrends Releases New Online Analytics Tool WebTrends Launches New Service to Reduce Wasted Ad Dollars

Okay, I understand that we're all trying to "give a jolt" to the economy. But I was still surprised today when Lycos provided a list of Christmas gift ideas two days before Thanksgiving Day. Aren't we all supposed to wait until Black Friday? Nevertheless, for shoppers who like planning ahead -- or for online retailers and etailers looking for what will be hot this holiday season -- Lycos just announced its ninth annual list of the most popular toys and video games, based on web search activity. (For a complete list and commentary of the Lycos Top Toys and Video Games of 2008, go to the Lycos 50. You can also voice your opinion on this year's list, and weigh in on weekly Internet trends and pop culture on the Lycos 50 Blog or follow the Lycos 50 on Twitter.) It shouldn't come as a shock that Apple's iPod holds the top spot as the #1 most-searched for toy this holiday season. But this year, the Apple frenzy includes hot-searched items like the iTouch and iPod Nano. Harry Potter, at #11, makes a fifth consecutive appearance in 2008, with Harry Potter games, books and DVDs dominating Harry Potter-themed searches. New in 2008 is KOTA, the Triceratops Dinosaur (#15), generating more search interest than Fisher Price's New Elmo Live (#19). Meanwhile, not so hot in 2008 are Hannah Montana-related toy items, which made a big splash in 2007, but fail to make this year's list. Spongebob Squarepants (#14) takes over as the top licensed character-themed toy of 2008. Spongebob was last seen on the Lycos Top Toy list in 2005. And when it comes to dolls, Barbie (#6) continues to reign, extending her run on the annual Lycos list of Top Toys and Video Games to nine consecutive years of appearing in the Top 10. But there's not enough data on Caribou Barbie to see if that will be a big hit this year -- let alone in 2012. Gaming consoles see a big resurgence in search popularity in 2008, with the Nintendo Wii (#10) capturing the most search interest, generating 25% more search activity than the Xbox 360 (#12) and Playstation 3 (#13). Also seeing a resurgence in 2008 are old school classics like Monopoly (#17), despite the current housing market. Five of the top 25 toys in 2008 originate from the popular world of anime including Naruto (#3), Pokemon (#4), Dragonball (#5), Inuyasha (#7) and Gundam (#16). Meanwhile, one new toy making the 2008 list may be unfamiliar to most adults, but if search activity is any indication, expect the Bakugan Battle Brawlers (#24) to be flying off the shelves this holiday season. On the video game front, the massive multi-player game RuneScape (#1) scores big with web users for the fourth consecutive year as the most-searched video game of 2008, while Final Fantasy makes its first appearance on the list since 2005, with Final Fantasy XIII (#3). Also racking up points online, making first-ever appearances on the top video games list, are war-themed games including Call of Duty: World at War (#9) and Gears of War 2 (#14), while Guitar Hero World Tour (#8) and Wii Fit (#15) are the most popular Wii-themed games based on web searches in 2008. Also new in 2008 are Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 games Fable 2 (#17), Fallout 3 (#18), Street Fighter IV (#10), Dead Space (#19), Far Cry 2 (#22) and BioShock (#25). This also marks the fourth consecutive year the Madden football-themed games fail to make Lycos's Top Toys and Video Games list. As for me, I don't do any Christmas shopping until the very last minute. That way, I don't have to figure where to hide presents where my three kids (or wife) can find them before December 24th. Yep, when I say "last minute Christmas shopping" I mean last minute shopping. You'd be surprised how simple decisions are on Christmas eve.

On Sunday, Web Guild spread fear around the internet by 'exposing' Google's quiet layoffs, which were said to be upwards of 10,000 employees. And Google was supposedly getting away with it through secretive loopholes that only corporate lawyers know about. They were hiring workers and not paying them benefits. Actually, those people are called independent contractors and they knowingly enter into those agreements. Google is reducing its contractor workforce, but it's something they've had planned for a long time. Of course, the timing of implementation couldn't be worse. Especially since contractors generally don't get unemployment benefits once terminated. Independent contractors are essentially self-employed. Related Reading: Google Q3 Revenue Increases 31% Year-Over-Year, Up 3% Over Q2 2008 Google Pulls the Plug on Lively

A month ago, LinkedIn unveiled its new search platform. Now they're rolling it out to their 31 million users. Here's what you can look forward to in the new search platform: Suggestive Search - When you type into the search box, a list of suggested names from your contacts pops up. You can select one of the names without having to type in the whole thing. I think this might come in handy when you're having a hard time remembering a name. Maybe you remember the first letter or the first name, but the rest of it just isn't coming to you - this can help. Streamlined Search Results - LinkedIn changed the design to make it easier to scan the results. They also added photos. Results can be sorted by relevance, which includes the social graph, or by relationship, relationship + recommendations, and keyword. Customizable Views Users can determine what info they want returned in their search results. Just click the "Views" drop down menu (next to the "Sort" drop down menu at the top of the results). You can decide whether you want to view headlines, photos, locations and more of the people returned in a search. Take Action Straight from the Search Results When you mouse over a result, you'll notice links that let you take action. You can send InMail, get introduced (through a common contact), or add that person to your network. Modify Your Search On the right hand side of the results, you'll notice a form where you can type in additional information to narrow your search down and pinpoint it to more exact specifications. You can search by name, job title, company location, and school. Save Your Search If you want to return to the results, you can save your search. This is a good idea if you've modified your search or customized your view. Check out this video to get a good visual for all of the above: Of course, you'll need to be signed in to LinkedIn to take advantage of all the features in the new platform. Not LinkedIn yet? Our own Carrie Hill explained why you need to be in her article, Small Business Owners Need Twitter and LinkedIn. Head over to LinkedIn and give the new search a test drive. Then come back and let us know what you think in the comments.

Whether you plan to hire a designer or figure it out for yourself, there are definitely some best practices you should follow when designing your Web site. In today's small business search engine marketing column, "25 Design Best Practices for Your Small Business Web Site," Carrie Hill offers a list to get a good start on finding the best Web site platform and design elements for your businesses audience. » Full story

All your SEO efforts will be in vain if you haven't spent enough time focused on which keywords you want to target, don't understand their worth, and don't understand the competitive landscape associated with trying to rank/get traffic from these keywords. In today's organic search engine optimization column, "Keyword Research for Search Engine Optimization," Mark Jackson shares some keyword research advice. » Full story

Seems Microsoft is moving to finalize the renaming of Live Search to Kumo, according to LiveSide.net. The possibility has been discussed at various times this year. Renaming and branding moves by search engines have not had much luck. Ask.coms removal of Jeeves seemed to hurt them, FindWhat and eSpotting merger and rename to Miva definitely impacted the companies, so there is data for not making the changes. True GoClick to Overture went okay - but then they had a great product in a growing market - just like BackRub and Google.... but that was really prepublic launch. If the move goes through will be well worth tracking.

Microsoft's adCenter is launching a new offer for Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO) members: $1000 in free clicks. Campaigns created through the promotion will be placed on Live Search and the MSN portal. Those who wish to become SEMPO members to take advantage of the offer must join the organization by December 31, 2008. "SEMPO members, both agency and corporate search marketers, represent some of the most knowledgeable and innovative search marketing leaders in the industry," said Valerie Bolduc, senior global product marketing manager, Advertiser and Publisher Solutions, Microsoft. "Working with SEMPO provides Microsoft with the opportunity to engage and learn from the search marketing community, which enables us to enhance our products and offerings to better serve our mutual customers." SEMPO President Jeffrey Pruitt noted, "SEMPO's continued growth is tied to the strong support of its sponsors. Microsoft has long been our lead sponsor and advocate on several fronts including the SEMPO Training Institute, as well as for special programs like the adCenter search advertising promotion. Our industry association greatly appreciates Microsoft's strong commitment and ongoing participation." Related Reading: SEMPO Institute to Develop Career Opportunities for Young Chicagoans New SEMPO Chairperson Dana Todd Has Big Dreams for Organization SEMPO Selects Officers for New Board of Directors