Microsoft to challenge Google

An ebullient Steve Ballmer, president and chief executive of Microsoft Corp, said yesterday that his company is “hell-bent and determined” to challenge Google Inc. for leadership in the Internet search business.

Ballmer also said,

Existing search tools still generate lots of useless results. Ballmer said Microsoft plans to invent new search technology that will change this, and make life more difficult for Google and other rivals.

Source: (boston news)

Google AdSense™: New features

Google now a public company is moving forward with their contextual ad program, the google adsense, I recently got this mail in my inbox since i am a Adsense publisher on some of my sites,

We’re pleased to introduce a number of new features to your account.

Multiple ad units

To provide even more value to your users, and to help you further monetize your web pages, we’re allowing publishers to place up to three ad units on every web page. Our system will automatically recognize the additional ad units, and will serve unique ads to each. Your ad units can each have different color palettes, formats, and alternate ad URLs, providing you with the flexibility you need to incorporate Google ads into your site design.

Collapsing ad units

An additional option for your alternate ad content, Google’s collapsing ad units ensure that your page space is used to its maximum potential at all times. When targeted ads aren’t available for an ad unit, the collapsing ad unit feature will shrink the empty ad unit, so that blank ad spaces are eliminated from your page. For instructions on implementing this feature, please read the AdSense FAQ.

New name for WebSearch

We’re dropping the ‘WebSearch’ from ‘WebSearch plus AdSense for search.’ This monetized search feature will now be referred to simply as AdSense for search – but all of the same great features remain. For more information on providing customized Google internet and site search to your users and earning money from clicks on targeted ads, please read our FAQ.

Multiple domains for AdSense for search SiteSearch

Your Search Settings page now provides you with the option of specifying multiple domains for SiteSearch. Simply enter up to three domains when generating your search code – your AdSense for search box will list each domain with a radio button, allowing your users to choose the site on which they would like to search.

Ads by Goooooogle

We’re currently running a test with new branding features on Google ads. You may notice some of your pages displaying ‘Ads by Goooooogle’ ad units. We welcome your feedback on this new look, and we’ll be analyzing the results of this test over the next while.

How to contact us

We’re very excited about these new features, and we’re always happy to answer any questions you may have about them, or about the AdSense program. You can contact us at adsense-support@google.com.

Sincerely,

The Google Team

Google me: Neighbours from hell

Third Google Crap Backlink update in a row,

We recently had the third Worst backlink update in google history, They started showing randomized and low Pagerank ( PR ) backlinks from the end of Jun 23rd 2004, From that day they has been 3 backlink updates and all of them are crap, Google mission to tackle link mongers is appreciable, But making themselves look funny in this process is the worst part IMO,

I personally like google to remove the link: command instead of a massive attempt to mess up with link mongers/SEOs and webmasters,

This post is not an attempt to criticize google but to show my personal frustration answering my SEO clients who keep asking me where are my backlinks,

Significant traffic change reported by WMW guys,

Recently a lot of webmasters in WMW forums reported a significant loss of traffic from google, Also they faced major drop in keyword rankings, Here is a brief post by a guy who started that thread,

Possible reasons speculated by the poster:

1. Are they affiliate sites with many links to the affiliate host.
2. Do they have satelite domains which they cross link/one way link with sites particularly on the same ip c-block.
3. Are the drop in serps keyword specific or site wide.
4. Are some inbound links on mass from single domains. For example, a great number links from a footer link on a major site.
5. Have changes been made to keyword density recently.
6. Is there a distinction in ranking between major and minor terms.
7. Has there been any PR changes or backward link changes.

Read a long 5 page thread here (webmasterworld.com/forum3/25465.htm ) if you are interested,

Ask Jeeves Launches Japanese-Language Search

Ask Jeeves has launched a beta version of a new Japanese-language search engine. Based on the Emeryville-Calif. search vendor’s Ask.com search portal, Ask.jp was developed by Ask Jeeves Japan Co. Ltd, a joint venture of Ask Jeeves and Japan-based transcosmos.

With the launch, Ask Jeeves joins Google and Yahoo as one of only three search portals in Japan that provide their own search technology.

Source: Yahoo News

MSN search revamp their service

Seekport european search engine takes on Google, Yahoo and other top search engine gaints

Google rules the world today but there is serious competition coming up for the search engine in European markets especially the non-English speaking ones. Not too happy with the US-centric search engines are the Germans and they are looking for alternatives that would be more relevant to them, says Ranjit Dhuru, chairman and CEO of Aftek Infosys. Source: financialexpress.com

Online Consumers Happiest With Google

Yahoo’s New Search Blog,

Yahoo the top rival for Google has launched a blog recently, it is really great to see both the top search players come out with a blog, Google Blog was launched before some days and now we have the yahoo blog,

visit Yahoo Blog here: http://www.ysearchblog.com