Google stock soared in after hours trading to over $500 per share after a very favorable earnings report that suggests Google is doing a much better job of pulling revenue out of paid advertising clicks. After hours GOOG showed a gain of over 11% from today’s closing price.
Reuters Reports
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Labels: google, Search, stocks

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Yahoo and Google are closer than ever to a deal where Yahoo would outsource their search monetization to Google. Google continues to do a much better job of producing revenue from searches - some estimates suggest that Google gets more than twice Yahoo’s revenue per search click.
Yahoo also is continuing to negotiate with AOL as part of Yahoo’s efforts to stave off a takeover by Microsoft.
The Journal suggests that Yahoo’s April 22 earnings report may play a key role in the Microsoft takeover argument. If Yahoo comes More»

Labels: Microsoft, msft, Search, Yahoo, YHOO

A landmark one million dot-ca (.ca) domain names have been registered in Canada. According to the Canadian Internet Registry Authority, the dot-ca represents Canada on the internet and is a means to verify you are dealing with a Canadian or Canadian business online. Dot-ca now reportedly ranks seventeenth in the list of internet domain name registry. Would be interesting to know how many of those domain name owners also registered dot-com (.com) versions of their sites and redirect to their .ca counterpart.
Domain name registrations, in general, are on the rise. As of Dec. 2007, More»

Labels: Google. Search, Search, websites

The number of searches in the U.S. on the major search engines increased from 9,882 billion in Feb’08 to 10,771 billion in Mar’08 representing a 9% jump. According to comScore, Google sites were the biggest beneficiaries and accounted for more than 6.4 billion core searches, followed by Yahoo sites with 2.3 billion, and Microsoft sites with 1 billion.
Google also continued to lead as the top search engine with a 0.6% increase in the share of searches followed by Yahoo, Microsoft and AOL which all experienced decreases in their market share.
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Labels: google, Search

Yahoo and AOL are in discussions to combine their web operations reports the WSJ. The move is aimed at thwarting Microsoft’s bid to acquire Yahoo.
The terms being discussed between AOL would fold into Yahoo and make a cash investment in return for about 20% of the combined entity. The deal which does not include AOL’s dial-up access business values AOL at about $10 billion. Yahoo would use the AOL cash investment and put up additional funds to buy back several billion dollars worth of its own stock at a price somewhere in the middle of the range between $30 More»

Labels: AOL, displace advertising, Online Advertising, Search, Yahoo

Yahoo said it plans to carry search advertising from Google as part of a test that could lead to a broader partnership reports the WSJ. The two-week trial, which will be limited to U.S. traffic and no more than 3% of Yahoo’s Web search queries, is designed for the two sides to evaluate the revenue potential of a broader search ad outsourcing arrangement. Yahoo already had been in negotiations to outsource its Web-search advertising in Europe to Google since last year, say people familiar with the matter.
Citigroup More»

Labels: displace advertising, Online Advertising, Search, Yahoo

Web advertising stimulates off-line sales and in most cases, online campaigns increase sales more at advertisers’ retail cash registers than on their websites, according to a report by comScore.
The data was gathered by observing the behaviors and purchase patterns of over two million people that had installed comScore’s tracking software on their PCs. The conclusion was that online advertising influences consumers’ behavior
A study conducted for a retailer with more than $15 billion in annual revenues (most from their store) revealed that U.S. sales increased by 40% online and by 50% off-line among people exposed More»

Labels: displace advertising, Online Advertising, Search

A European Commission advisory body on data protection has said that search engines should delete data held about their users within six months reports the BBC.
The proposed rule specifieds that “Search engine providers must delete or irreversibly anonymise personal data once they no longer serve the specified and legitimate purpose they were collected for.”
Google and Yahoo anonymise user data after 18 months and MSN does the same after 13 months. The body said search companies were not “clear enough” on their data protection policy and the recommendation More»

Labels: Microsoft, Online Advertising, personalization, Privacy, Search, Yahoo

Google’s newest employees learned on April fool’s day that they would no longer have a job. The employess today were assured that it was not a joke but real. Vanity Fair reports that “DoubleClickers’ heads are rolling left and right. Hopefully, Google’s generous severance package—two months pay with an additional two months if you sign a non-compete agreement—will keep them from jumping out the window. Google’s suggestion? Take two months vacation and don’t even think about it. Or start looking now.“
It is rumored that the entire DoubleClick finance department will be let go. DoubleClick’s U.S. More»

Labels: Online Advertising, Search, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization

Yahoo announced a new mobile search strategy for Yahoo OneSearch at the CTIA Wireless trade show.
Marco Boerries, executive vice president of Yahoo OneSearch said users will get “instant answers to any query, not just web links.” This means that search results will expand from traditional hyperlinks into other media. A search for “New York” could yield subway schedules, for example, or a search for local sushi restaurants could bring up available reservations.
OneSearch will be incorporating voice-enabled technology similar to GOOG411. “Consumers can search for anything, including flight numbers, locations, Web site names, local restaurants, and more, by simply speaking,” More»

Labels: Mobile, Search, Yahoo