Kikabink News

Google has introduced the Search-based Keyword Tool (currently in beta). The tool suggests keywords for you to target in your Google Adwords campaign, based on their relevance to your website.

According to Google, you can benefit from the Search-based Keyword Tool in two main ways. Firstly, if you are running a campaign the tool will suggest keywords that are highly relevant to your website, but are not currently part of your AdWords campaign.

Secondly, even if you aren’t currently advertising in Adwords, you can use the tool to discover nuances about your target market. The tool essentially generates keywords often used in association with the keywords you have chosen to target.

Right now, the Search-based Keyword Tool is available to advertisers in the U.S. and U.K., with additional languages and countries to follow in the near future.

Check it out here: http://www.google.com/sktool

Source: Trevor Claiborne, “Announcing the Search-based Keyword Tool”, Inside AdWords, November 18, 2008

Jerry Yang has stepped down from his role as chief executive of Yahoo. Announcing his resignation in a memo sent to Yahoo’s staff on Monday evening, Mr Yang said he would continue as acting CEO until the board appoints a successor.

Yang, a co-founder of Yahoo, has been CEO for the last year and a half after he took over from Terry Semel, a Hollywood studio boss that Yang had chosen for the job. Unfortunately, during this time, Yahoo has been marred by a declining share price, a botched merger with Microsoft, board room strife, and a decision to retrench 1,500 employees.

Yahoo has hired head hunters Heidrick & Struggles to help look for candidates. Upon appointing Jerry Yang’s successor, the outgoing CEO plans to remain actively involved at Yahoo as a key executive and member of the board.

Yahoo’s share price increased by over 4 percent in after-hours trading following the news, indicating that shareholders are pleased that Jerry will no longer be CEO.

Source: Brad Stone and Claire Cain Miller, “Jerry Yang, Yahoo Chief, Steps Down”, The New York Times, November 17, 2008

If Michael Arrington from TechCrunch is right, Google’s iPhone voice recognition application should hit Apple’s iTunes store today. (Apparently there was a misunderstanding between Google and Apple that created the widespread belief that the free application would be available last Friday…)

In any case, Google’s technology is pretty neat. Basically, it enables iPhone users to generate Google search results based on a question they ask into the phone. The sound is converted into a digital file and sent to Google’s servers, which attempt to decipher the words spoken, and then send them to Google’s search engine.

Using some of the iPhone’s features, the technology will also take into account the user’s location to generate localized search results.

Source: Michael Arrington, “Update On Google iPhone Voice Recognition App: Look For It On Monday”, TechCrunch, November 16, 2008

If Google hasn’t focused much on monetizing its video site YouTube to date… it’s now doing so with a vengeance. On Wednesday, the company announced it will start selling ad space on YouTube search-results pages.

The new advertising feature will allow anyone with a video on YouTube to promote it on a search-results page. Advertisers can bid on keywords and their videos will be displayed on the right-hand side of the YouTube search-results page with a small image and some text.

Advertisers will pay whenever a viewer clicks on the ad and can set their maximum price per click. As in Google Adwords, Google will choose the order in which ads are displayed based on how much advertisers are willing to pay, along with the relevance of the video to the keyword.

Here’s some food for thought (and something worth testing!): if you can give your YouTube video ANY title… does that mean that as long as the keyword matches the title… you’ll score highly on relevance?

So, in other words, can you change the title of your video to suit the keyword you wish to target? Or will Google index the text of the video (if applicable)?

Source: Stephanie Clifford, “YouTube to Sell Advertising on Pages of Search Results”, The New York Times, November 12, 2008

William Flaiz has written an interesting article in Search Engine Watch. He suggests that the days of compartmentalizing search engine optimization (SEO) are over and that a holistic approach is now what’s required to win in the new environment of “universal search”.

Argues Mr Flaiz:

“An integrated approach across multiple disciplines is the only way to address the diverse nuances of the new SERPs. We can tame universal search if we address it from all fronts: SEO, paid search, social media, Web development and user experience design.”

The article is aimed at SEO agencies but the principle remains the same for SEO departments or individual search engine optimizers. A holistic approach is required if we’re to achieve optimum results.

For instance, we’re currently working with a client to:

1. Optimize some new product pages;
2. Prepare press releases for those products; and
3. Write articles related to those products and website pages.

By understanding the underlying keyword strategy and taking an integrated approach we can ensure that each of these items work together to enhance our client’s search engine ranking for the terms it’s targeting. After all, although the methods are seemingly disparate, the objective is quite singular: a higher listing in the organic results.

And given the (growing) number of Internet “assets” - website, press releases, images, videos, pages on social media sites, and so on - the demand for a holistic approach is only likely to grow.

Bottom line: rather than approach any given SEO tactic in isolation, approach it as one component of an overall effort where your main aim is to optimize your presence on the search engines for the keywords that deliver you the maximum number of targeted, qualified prospects.

Source: William Flaiz, “Universal Search: The (War) Elephant in the Room”, Search Engine Watch, November 10, 2008