Search Trends - Search Engine Marketing

I feel like Google and Yahoo results are pretty comparable in terms of relevancy/quality--and have been for a few years now. Sometimes I get better results in Google, sometimes Yahoo. Well, according to the Compete blog Yahoo has a lot higher "search fulfillment" (meaning they find what they're looking for, or a least click through more on searches) than the other search engines. Too bad for Yahoo only 20% of the Internet population realize Yahoo's better.

Matt Cutts made the comment that more people use Google to find info that doesn't require a click through--and Google is better at providing info in a snippet so you don't have to click. Matt can't really argue with Compete's data, it's more like he's just caught up on the terminology. He's basically saying that just because people don't click through, doesn't mean they didn't "fulfill" their search query. Google doesn't need to defend itself on this issue--the fact is they have 70% of the market, so who cares if they get a slightly lower "fulfillment" ratio, or whatever you want to call it, they're still the king of search.

Labels: google, search engine stats, yahoo

New numbers released for August search engine marketshare from HitWise

SearchEngineLand had a post about Nielsen NetRating's numbers a few days ago. For some reason NetRatings is showing a lot smaller percentage for Google. But they're showing growth in MSN's share of the pie.

HitWise's numbers seem to be more in line with reality based on traffic distribution I'm seeing to clients' sites--at least when it comes to Google's share of the market.

Labels: hitwise, search engine stats, search trends

Enquiro is famous for their search engine eye tracking studies. The f-shaped pattern is well known among search marketers as the way people view search results pages.

Enquiro has now come out with a new study that shows eye tracking patterns for personalized search and universal search. They also interviewed a bunch of industry gurus to get insight into what they think search will look like in 2010.

I haven't had a chance to read the whole 60-page document, yet, but I noticed that the pattern that emerged on universal search pages was more of a "chunked" or E shape instead of the traditional F-shaped pattern.

Although some of the experts felt that there won't be a lot of change in the search results pages over the next few years, the general consensus shows more of a personalized, universalized search.

I need to spend some more time reviewing, but it looks like good stuff.

Check it out from Enquiro

Labels: eye tracking, market research

Google pretty much rules the Internet and they've been trying to expand beyond their digital realm for the past couple years. I haven't heard about a lot of success with their print, radio, and other offline ads, but I am very curious to see how they do in getting their advertisers to buy non-Internet ads through their advertising platform.

I just read this post on the Adwords blog about a new tool they created that allows advertisers to create print ads more easily.

Labels: google, google print ads

I finally made Lee Odden's list of SEO/SEM blogs. There are over 400 blogs on the list now, so it's not exactly an exclusive list, but hey, I'm not complaining--it's better than not being listed at all.

Big List of SEO/SEM Blogs

Labels: seo blog

If you've got the skills in search marketing and optimization I'd love to talk to you. We're currently hiring for several positions at SEO.com. We're looking for people with search marketing experience, but we are also looking for interns and writers who are looking to get their foot in the door in this industry. I'm also looking for an experienced web designer/developer to take the lead role on some exciting in-house projects we're working on.

We've got a lot of exciting stuff going on and it's only going to get better. If you're looking for a challenging opportunity at a fast paced company, with a relaxed work environment, you should consider SEO.com. I'm looking for people who are already located near our office in Lehi, Utah.

The jobs we're currently hiring include the following:

• PPC Search Engine Marketing Manager
  
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Specialist
  
• Web Development Project Manager
  
• Sales Representative
  
• Web Copywriter
  
• Internet Marketing Intern

Check out our SEO Jobs page for more details on each position.

Labels: jobs

This is interesting - sometimes even obvious information is ignored by your site visitors if you make the content look like a promotion or ad -- that means that by trying too hard to make your content stand out, it can actually backfire and be ignored. Interesting, indeed.