The Rank Magic Blog

Google to Join S&P 500

March 23, 2006 ::: Standard & Poor's said today that they will add Google Inc. to the S&P 500 index at the end of this month, sending the Internet high-flier's shares soaring in after-hours trading. The move means mutual funds that track the widely watched S&P 500 index will have to add Google to their holdings. Google shares shot up by more than $30 at one point today.

Users Searching More

March 21, 2006 ::: Although the number of Internet users rose by only 3% in 2005, the number of Internet searches last December was 55% higher than it was in December, 2004 according to Nielson NetRatings. That means that ranking highly in the search engines for your products or services is increasing in importance year by year. And many businesses' very survival may hinge on how well the rank in the search engines, as we saw clearly in the March 18 Kinderstart.com item below.

Google Finance Debuts Today

March 21, 2006 ::: After several years of directing investors elsewhere for stock, mutual fund, and other financial information they, Google has rolled out its own financial site. No longer will your Google search for AAPL or LUV send you to Yahoo! Finance by default, as Google wants some of that attention all for itself. Google terms the new site an "early stage Beta products", so we can expect it to improve and sprout new features in the coming weeks and months.

Google Sued Over Page Ranking

March 18, 2006 ::: A parental advice Internet site has sued Google Inc., charging it unfairly deprived the company of customers by downgrading its search-result ranking without reason or warning.

The civil lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose, California, on Friday by KinderStart.com seeks financial damages along with information on how Google ranks Internet sites when users conduct a Web-based search.

KinderStart charges that Google without warning in March 2005 penalized the site in its search rankings, sparking a "cataclysmic" 70 percent fall in its audience -- and a resulting 80 percent decline in revenue.

<Read the full article from PC Magazine here>

Cheating Via Google?

March 17, 2006 :::  An article in the School Library Journal explores the use of search engines in the classroom and during test taking. Some schools are allowing students to use a search engine to find information and answers while taking an exam in a classroom. While some schools do not allow "cheating with Google" many would allow students to use search engines for quizzes and take home tests (how would you stop them at home, anyway?).

Click Fraud Haunts Pay Per Click Advertisers

March 14, 2006 ::: According to a story in Business Week, Internet ad-traffic scams could be ripping off as much as $1 billion annually. Questions are being asked whether search engines are doing enough to foil them. And a recent thread in the High Rankings Forum alleges that an alarming 53% of all clicks on PPC ads are fraudulent clicks by competitors trying to inflate the advertiser's marketing costs.

New Patent Suggests Google Might Be Watching Your Mouse

March 11, 2006 ::: A new patent application from Google suggests that Google may be monitoring user mouse movements in an attempt to determine what users will be looking for next.

• Here's the story from ThreadWatch.

• Here's the relevant patent application.

How observant are you?

March 10, 2006 ::: What's Google's color combination? No cheating! Test yourself here.

Yahoo! Shuts Out Branded Keywords

March 8, 2006 ::: It's no surprise that one of the major search engines has ended the practice of selling trademarked brand keywords to competitors. But it is a surprise that the motivation comes not from legal setbacks but from business pressures, according to iMedia Connection.

Search Engines Are Crucial To Marketing

March 6, 2006 ::: It's hard to overstate the importance that search engine success plays in marketing and advertising campaigns. That's according to David Verklin, CEO Carat Americas and chairman of Asia Pacific, who delivered a keynote address recently  at a summit about search marketing arranged by Yahoo.

Verklin also proposed to the audience of about 100 advertising executives that they employ a so-called "Web first" strategy, centered around using search engines to send consumers to a client's web site as a first stop.

Often what works for the big guys also works for us small-frys! Read the full story by MediaPost Publications here.

More Marketers Concerned About Click Fraud

March 3, 2006 ::: Click fraud is a growing concern for advertisers and agencies alike, according to research by the Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization (SEMPO).

Click fraud drives up the costs of pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, and is sometimes used by an unethical company to drive up their competitor's marketing costs. Just another reason we believe the smart approach is to focus on the "organic" search results that aren't subject to such nefarious tactics.

Webmasters Who Didn't Think When They Registered Their URLs

March 1, 2006 ::: Here's a list of some funny URLs, where the web site owners didn't think about how people would read the name of their sites:

• Who Represents?, a database for agencies to the rich and famous:
  http://www.whorepresents.com

• Experts Exchange, a knowledge base where programmers can exchange
  advice and views:
  http://www.expertsexchange.com

• Looking for a pen? Look no further than Pen Island:
  http://www.penisland.net

• Need a therapist?
  http://www.therapistfinder.com

• Mole Station Native Nursery, based in New South Wales:
  http://www.molestationnursery.com

• New to Milan and you need electric light? Why not sign up on-line with
  Power-Gen?
  http://www.powergenitalia.com

We sadly had to omit one really funny URL that was just a little too raunchy.