ClickTracks version 5: ClickTracks, who make the visual log analysis software, have a new version out in the next few days. I got a sneak preview, so here's the review.
Not waving but drowning: SEO's will find this article hilarious. Ye olde rank-for-the-term-absolutely-no-one-is-searching-for-trick, combined with journalist-who-thinks-this-actually-means-something. Let's see how far he gets with, say, "web hosting".
All New: Google rolls out their new interface. Froogle gets a more prominent position, as do adwords which move a step closer to getting friendly with the free serps.
Also, personalized search makes an entrance. No surprises there. Google have added a few other features, official press release here. Some reactions at WMW here and here. Danny Sullivan has an excellent overview here in which he notes that the troubled DMOZ directory has finally been demoted.
Yahoo buying: Kelkoo in the shopping basket. It was referred to by someone who will remain nameless as "Y buying G's biggest -insert-word-here-that-rhymes-with-a-word-that-appears-in-this-line-from-Hey-Mamma" We the blast masters blastin' up the jamma-". Har!
ROI: Those interested in ROI tracking, watch out for a review I'll publish in the next few days.
Actor Sir Peter Ustinov dies: He had decided on the epitaph for his gravestone - "Keep off the grass."
Googkut: Orkoogle? Google will integrate Orkut into its search services, perhaps within a year, according to CEO Eric Schimdt.
Deskbar: A new version of the Google deskbar has been released.
Hound dogs on the trail: Aaron Wall parodies Daniel Brandt's GoogleWatch with MSN watch.
Overdrive: The Google PR machine has been cranking. Here's one. Here's another.
And from the shallow end of the gene pool: , "man allegedly tried to extort $100,000 from Google". Also, spot the flaw in this sentence from the same article "...by threatening to release a software program that would create bogus clicks on pop-up ads delivered by the search engine leader".
We're much farther along in relevancy: ...says MSN, who have "plans for a new search engine in July". Article cleverly neglects to mention which year.
Finally... 40 thinks (hic!) a drunkard should do before he dies. Hmmm.....yes, can tick most of those, except the last one. I guess atheists head back to the bar, that being their place of worship.
Gone loco': Erm "local". Google takes on the local search market. More here.
Looksmart have also mentioned they plan to "capitalize on new, under-served opportunities that build and monetize proprietary traffic leveraging existing technology in specialized segments of the search market". Go vertical, in other words.
On a related note, Looksmart are now running AdSense, and they don't appear to be a premier partner either.
Little bird... ...tells me that AJ may have made acquisitions in preparation for their own PPC program in the future, A may be looking to buy AJ in the future, and A may buy G search technology and eyeballs so that G can then be in league with M and Y!, in terms of "registered" users. Or then again maybe not.
New MD: Overture appoints new managing director for Europe.
Norton over-step the mark: There's been a bit of talk recently about how Norton blocks AdSense. C'mon Norton, *someone* has to pay for the content production or there won't be a WWW left for you to block.
Site Match:Official Q&A
Tired of waiting for an IPO? Do it yourself!:Man held for selling non-existent Google stock. Brokers report said vapour stock only narrowly down in light trading.
"Bush Lies" Yields 2550 Results On Google: Only 2550? Clearly not indexing the invisible web, then.
Ever get that feeling...That something is about to happen? It's been one of those weeks where nothing has been happening, so chances are something should happen soon. Maybe.
The week in review:
Yahoo's new offering didn't so much shock and awe as leave people saying "huh?".
Google haven't annoyed anyone with a recent update no one likes.
MSN haven't done anything at all.
Yet the press has been going mad speculating about all three!
So I'm not going to - I'm sure you've read it all anyway. Instead, since it's Friday, here's some entertaining Fark-style geek distraction:
The Rasterbator (safe for work)
Optical Drives: Steal the picture too! (cool)
Tattoo clothing (cool for wimps)
OK. One search engine topic of interest: there's more than three fighting for the crown.
PS: Where are the PubCon photos, Shak? ;)
Yahoo talks blackhat: Garrett French from WebProNews has a "little chat" with Tim from Yahoo. Actually, WebProNews is full of great reports from PubCon.
Knives out: If the rumblings of discontent about Yahoo in the webmaster forums weren't enough, the competitors jump in with spin cranked up to full. AskJeeves denounces paid inclusion. It should be noted that AJ still allows paid submission. Difference? Google also jump in.
To be fair, Yahoo have only just launched this product, and details are still emerging. On the other hand, if you're going to launch a product like this, why leave obvious questions unanswered? Here's one: If you pay, but then stop paying, will you still be included given that your site has been crawled by the free crawler in that time? Or doesn't the free crawler visit paid pages?
At present, it's like navigating a corridor full of smoke. And mirrors. The webmaster community needs more clarification from Yahoo.
Bored already: No more requests to be friend-ed into Orkut please. I'm bored with it. Social networks are just sooo last month :)
Are Yahoo smart?: Yahoo unveil their new SiteMatch pay-for-inclusion-and-per-click system. Early reactions: Opinion is divided. Some hate it. Most are taking a wait-and-see approach. Danny Sullivan has a few thoughts. I think "confusing" is probably the best summary thus far. There remains many questions unanswered on how Yahoo will handle ranking.
Making lists: Google founders keep a list of the top one hundred ideas. No #26: Tweak algo No#27 - Get more milk. No#28 - Buy Ferrari. No#29 - Return Bill's call.
Too much talk: And drinking by the sound of it. WMW conference goes off. Short summary and photos here.
The news is good: Heh! This will surely last about five mintues before it's pulled. Get in quick.
Why is the sky blue?: Who cares, want to buy some paint? Bill puts his finger on what he thinks is wrong with search. Incidentally, Google already has the answer to that question, so perhaps Bill was searching with MSN. Therein lies the problem.
