Google CEO Eric Schmidt must love controversy. In a speech to magazine executives Wednesday he called the internet "a cesspool", AdAge reported.
I don't know if that makes Google a sewerage company, but I think Schmidt should realize that many look at Google as their filter to the web. Employees like Matt Cutts spend all their time working on 'purifying' the results, to expect publishers to be the answer may not be the right approach.
Criticizing opponents to the Yahoo-Google ad deal may not be a smart move given the recent drop in value of the once "golden child" of the web. Schmidt challenged "if you are going to criticize us, criticize us properly." Claiming ad prices would not increase under the Google Yahoo ad deal.
Schmidt displayed a certain amount of callous aloofness when he avoided questions about how publishers could improve their ranking with Google.
""We don't actually want you to be successful," he said. The company's algorithms are trying to find the most relevant search results, after all, not the sites that best game the system. "The fundamental way to increase your rank is to increase your relevance," he added" AdAge reported.
If you call the web a cesspool but do not offer insights to quality content providers who pay money to provide professional journalism I don't think you are serious about cleaning it up, so much as taunting an economically challenged industry.
Meet the Conference Speakers at SES London 2009 – Part 1
Search Engine Strategies (SES) London is coming up Feb. 17-20, 2009. If the economy in the U.K. is anything like the economy in the U.S., then somebody somewhere in your organization is going to ask why you’re planning to spend four days out of the office.
Hey, they ask that question every year. But, now they expect you to hunker down like everyone else and wait for things to eventually get better. Well, you can wait it out – like many people seem to be doing these days – or you can learn the SEM tips, tactics and strategies that will grow your business online.
Or, as Winston Churchill once said, “I never worry about action, but only inaction.”
So, if you attend SES London 2009, what can you learn? According to the conference and expo website, you can learn:
• How search engines list web sites for free and through paid placements.
• How to get free “organic” traffic by building a site that pleases search engines and your visitors.
• How to efficiently purchase listings guaranteed to rank your company at the top of search engine results.
• How to calculate the ROI of your search marketing efforts by tracking your visitors from the time they hit your site until they buy-and get tips on improving conversion if they don't.
• How to build links that generate traffic to your web site, and how to avoid the penalties of “spamming” the search engines.
• What’s coming next in the constantly evolving world of web search, and how you can profit from those changes.
But, you can learn most of that by reading the 10 search engine marketing and search engine optimization books that I wrote about back on Dec. 16, 2008. But there are some things that books can’t teach you.
For example, reading books won’t help you network with your peers. And, if you want to learn the ins-and-outs of search engine marketing from top search experts and the search engines themselves, then you need to go where they gather. And I can confidently predict that they’ll be gathered in the same place (the Business Design Centre, 52 Upper Street, Islington) at the same time (Feb. 17-20, 2009).
How can I possible make this outlandish prediction? Because, I know they will be speaking at SES London 2009. (It isn’t rocket science.)
Search Engine Strategies London is a great place to network with fellow marketers and search engine industry professionals. The conference gives you access to the world’s most comprehensive gathering of search engine marketing and optimization-related solutions providers and potential partners.
Today, I’m going to share video interviews with half a dozen of these conference speakers. While the interviews were conducted in 2008, they’ll all be speaking at SES London 2009.
Tomorrow, I’ll share another six video interviews. I’m listing them in alphabetical order, although it’s worth noting that the conference has been organized by Mike Grehan, the fifth interview below.
First up is Andy Atkins-Krueger, Managing Director of Web Certain Europe Ltd. He’s speaking about “Search Around the World: US, Europe & Asia” on Tuesday, Feb. 17. I interviewed Andy at SES London 2008 about multilingual tongue-twisting, polyglot poker, and the more serious aspects of organic seo and paid search optimiztion when operating internationally.
Andy Atkins-Krueger, WebCertain, at SES London on YouTube
Next up is Matthew Bailey, President of Site Logic Marketing. He’s speaking about “Analytics: Data Into Action” on Tuesday, Feb. 17, “Search Engine Friendly Design” on Wednesday, Feb. 18, and “Dynamic Websites: Beyond the Basics” on Thursday, Feb. 19. I interviewed Matt at SES London 2008 about the Ohio State Buckeyes (the college equivalent of Manchester United in American football) and the show's ability to connect SEO and SEM.
Matt Bailey, SiteLogic, at SES London 2008 on Networking
Next up is Thomas Bindl, Founder & CEO of Refined Labs GmbH. He’s speaking about “Search Advertising Tools” and at the “Searcher Behaviour Research Update” on Wednesday, Feb. 18. I spoke with Thomas at SES New York 2008 about his German contribution to the “Search Around the World” panel.
The German SEM World from Thomas Bindl at SES NY 2008
Next up is Bryan Eisenberg, Co-Founder of Future Now, Inc. He’s speaking about “Measuring Success in a 2.0 World” on Tuesday, Feb. 17. I spoke with Bryan at SES London 2008 about the ad-hoc floor meetings he'd had as well as the more planned sessions.
Bryan Eisenberg, Future Now, at SES London 2008 on SEO
As I mentioned above, next up is Mike Grehan, Global KDM Officer of Acronym Media. He’s not only organized SES London 2009, he’s also moderating the Orion Panel about “Measuring Success in a 2.0 World” on Tuesday, Feb. 17. I spoke with him at SES London 2008 about rolling up his sleeves and participating in the panels such as the universal search Orion Panel, and his excitement about organizing the analytics Orion Panel.
Mike Grehan, Acronym, on SES London 2008
Finally (for today), is Bill Hunt, CEO of Global Strategies Intl and Director of Global Search Strategy for Neo@Ogilvy. He is speaking about “The State of Search Integration” and “Why Does Search Get All the Credit?” on Tuesday, Feb. 17. I talked with Bill at SES San Jose 2008 about his new book, “Search Engine Marketing, Inc.: Driving Search Traffic to Your Company's Web Site.”
Greg Jarboe interviews Bill Hunt about his new book
I’ll have more video interviews tomorrow. But, to meet these top search experts, all you need to do is attend SES London 2009. Or, as Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “I'm not the smartest fellow in the world, but I can sure pick smart colleagues.”
Yellow Pages Beat Other Local Media in Online Sales in 2007
Local directories made 9% of their gross revenues online in 2007, while other local media such as newspapers and TV only made 5% online. Douglas Quenqua, over at ClickZ, has the full write up from the data released by Borrell Associates.
While search has threatened the industry, selling ads on the cheap has kept yellow pages companies competitive. And they aren't resisting the digital change.