WebProNews

Google Boozes Up, Sort Of

Google has had a longstanding policy against advertising liquor, along with guns and gambling. Frank Watson at SearchEngineWatch found it surprising, then, when a search for [vodka] brought back Google Shopping results. The search brought back results from various vendors, along with prices. "Now that does seem like they are contradicting their own rules," writes Watson.

Exploring The Google Penalty Box

Pick a number between 6 and 950 and you'll likely find evidence, or at least the antecedent number, for a Google ranking penalty. Webmasters and SEOers are in general agreement Google penalizes, and have dubbed them according to their numeric reprimand: -6, -30, -60, -950, and so on. Google inadvertently in cases has acknowledged such penalties exist, but has yet to present any hard and fast rules.

SEMPO Offering Certification To SEM Agencies

Search marketing firms going through the training provided by the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization will be able to pick up a seal of approval after taking courses through the SEMPO Institute.

Google Thinks AdWords Is Your Best Friend

As a small business or site publisher, the route to Moneyville displays signs pointing to Google's advertising products. In Google's estimation, of course, but they may be correct.

Google AdWords Case Is Sadly Funny

Here's the understatement of the week: "This wasn't the best-argued case of the day." New York Law School professor James Grimmelmann was referring to the resurrection of computer repair company Rescuecomm's lawsuit against Google, which was dismissed in 2006, but is now up for review by a federal appeals court.

If They're Searching, Give Them A Hint

I remember sitting in on a session at one of the Search Engine Strategies conferences as a befuddled metrics firm rep told a crowd of equally befuddled marketers that a significant percentage of the search population actually typed the URL of the desired website into the search bar.

Google Should Stick To Its Search Principles

Please welcome Google to the damned-if-I-do-damned-if-don't club. The superiority of search results is what led to Google's dominance, and investors have pressured the company to get back to its core competency while raising revenue. As soon as they do, though, retailers pitch a fit because things become too fair.

Search Goodness In Bite-sized Chunks

There's a ton of information pouring out of the Search Engine Strategies Conference in New York City, but we've done our best to bring you the best of it so far, via text and via video. Below is a representation of all of that knowledge, boiled down until each little bit fits into its own little nutshell. Or, since it's Holy Week for some, just call them SES Easter Eggs, with lots of gooey SES goodness inside, once you click the link.

SES NY: Starting Up In-House Search Marketing

SES New York: Will Google Sell Itself Out?

John Battelle, who literally wrote the book on Search, believes Google's apparent media-company aspirations will one day come in conflict with its purist algorithmic history.Mike McDonald and the WebProNews Video crew are in New York for the Search Engine Strategies Conference. Stay tuned all week for the latest developments in online marketing.