Microsoft Moves on from Yahoo Again; Talks Internal Search Innovation
After the latest round of attempted negotiations with Yahoo and investor Carl Icahn, Microsoft is once again saying that it is moving on from trying to acquire the second-place search engine.
Addressing the attendees at Microsoft's financial analyst meeting, Ballmer explained Microsoft's Plan B for building search and competing with Google. And like Joel McHale on E!'s The Soup, I've read the transcript so you don't have to. Here are the sound bites.
5 Steps to Increase your Page Rank.
Google Page rank is based on back links. Back links are Links pointing to your website from another website. The more back links you have the higher y
SEW Experts: Judging PPC Performance: Focus on Conversions, Part 2
Should you delete or pause under-performing keywords - or simply adjust their bid prices? In today's search advertising column, "Judging PPC Performance: Focus on Conversions, Part 2," David Szetela notes that the answer will vary by advertiser, but one thing is constant: decisions about keyword and ad performance should mainly depend on conversion performance.
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Less is More: What Social Media and Electronics Can Teach the Establishment
Read the news and it quickly becomes obvious how complex this world is. So, it's no wonder that what's popular in social media and electronics is simple.
MySpace (IMHO) was easier than Friendster. But Facebook took the best of both and now reigns.
LinkedIn makes it easy to network professionally, and YouTube makes it easy to be entertained - and quickly.
Twitter makes a bunch of things easy - from breaking news to gathering feedback about a product you're considering.
In electronics, the Flip Video has revolutionized camcorders (I am a proud owner of one myself). And now, smaller, more affordable laptops are all the rage. Plus, Apple threw its iPod on a mobile phone, inserted the internet and simplified mobile communications.
So why are these services and gadgets so popular but companies like Microsoft are watching their market share slowly fade?
Dan Kimerling at TechCrunch thinks its all about motivation. Microsoft is motivated by features, while Facebook, et al, are motivated by the user experience.
He has a point. Microsoft considers Google a major rival, and Google is almost always talking about the user experience.
Steve Ballmer might want to take a cue, because he talks an awful lot about catching Google via advertising. And while advertising revenues are most certainly a key to Microsoft's long term success, it will only prove profitable if the customer is happy.
Google should also watch out to avoid the pitfalls that plagued Microsoft. But a Google failure would not automatically equal Microsoft success. It would only leave the door open for a Facebook-esque startup to come along and steal the show.
If you register today to attend Search Engine Strategies Chicago, which will be held Dec. 8-12, 2008, you can save up to $200 with the Early Bird Rate.
So, why would you want to attend the only major Search Marketing Conference and Expo in the Midwest?
Let me give you 4 reasons to go to SES Chicago.
1. You’ll want to attend as many of the 74 keynote speeches, strategic development workshops, Orion panels, conference sessions, and SEM training workshops as you can. If you look over the agenda, you’ll see lots of topics that weren’t discussed at Search Engine Strategies Chicago a year ago. In fact, you’ll see new content that wasn’t covered at SES San Jose back in August. Heading into 2009 using old strategies and tactics makes about as much sense as optimizing your website for AltaVista. Things change in the search industry and savvy SEOs and SEMs understand the competitive advantage of staying up-to-date.
2. If you look over the list of sponsors and exhibitors for SES Chicago, you’ll see familiar names like Acronym Media, DoubleClick, iProspect, PrintPlace.com and TMP Directional Marketing as well as new names like AdBuyer.com, ideaLaunch, Rosetta, The Search Agency and SEO Samba. So, whether this is your first Search Engine Strategies Chicago or you’ve attended every one held since 2003, there will be plenty of products and services to check out on the show floor.
3. Next, you’ll want to take advantage of the special events and networking opportunities. On Tuesday, Dec. 9, DoubleClick will be holding a networking lunch from noon to 12:45 p.m. It will be presenting a case study on multi-channel tracking that will address how to de-duplicate search conversions when using numerous online channels. Later that afternoon, Google will hold a sponsored session entitled, “Google Site Search: Fast, Relevant, Customized Search Results for Your Website.” Google’s Nitin Mangtani will be discussing how customers are using Google Site Search to grow their businesses and how you can do the same for yours. And here’s a hot tip for first time attendees of SES Chicago: If you hang out at Kitty O’Sheas, the authentic Irish pub on the ground floor of the Hilton Chicago, you can network with fellow marketers and search engine industry professionals after hours. Plus, I recommend the shepard’s pie and Bailey’s cheese cake.
4. Now, this fourth reason will only make sense if Big 10 football is more important to you than search engine reputation management. As those of us who grew up in the Midwest already know, there’s a big football game tomorrow: Ohio State vs Michigan. Now, I’m a Wolverine. But I’ve made some friendly bets with others in the search industry who are Buckeyes. And as you can see from the photo in this post, if we lose the big game, I have to wear a Buckeye shirt to the next Search Engine Strategies conference -- again. And, we’ve lost a lot over the past few years. So, depending on whether you are a graduate of the University of Michigan or The Ohio State University, I encourage you to come to Chicago in December to see who is wearing which sweatshirt this year.
In summary, there are three good reasons to go to SES Chicago no matter what happens tomorrow. And there’s a 4th good reason if Michigan upsets Ohio State, like we did in 1993.
Go Blue!
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