Here is the summary for news and notes that happened in February:
Feb. 17th: Google announced it bought Pyra Labs, makers of Blogger Software. This will allow Google to post their AdWords network into content sites.
Feb. 18th: Overture announces their acquisition of AltaVista.
Feb. 25th: Overture announces their acquisition of the Web Search Unit of Fast.
Overture Changes for the month:
- Minimum bid raised from five cents to ten cents per click
- Checking on keyword positions limited to 48 times per day
- Keyword account retrieval limited to 24 times per day for each user name, 6 per account
- Bid changing is limited to 24 per keyword per day
- Added ESPN.com to their network
Basically, if you are using any type of bid management software, these changes will require you to get a patch from your software provider.
MSN extends contract with Inktomi
We reported a short time ago that WiseNut looked to be the new secondary search provider for MSN. We were wrong. MSN just extended their contract with Inktomi through 2005. While MSN can introduce another search engine into the mix, it doesn’t seem likely as the length of this new contract. This boosts Inktomi’s value as they will now serve as the secondary search provider for two of the largest portals – Yahoo! and MSN.
Google Updates:
- The Google Dance for February has still not occurred.
- When optimizing pages, you can increase your keyword density to 4%
- The fastest way into Google is a submission to Yahoo! and getting a link on a PR5-6 site
- To ensure deep crawling of your site, use the Google search on your site
- Don’t link to any PR0 sites externally
- To boost your PageRank by up to 48%, change your internal linking structure from relative to absolute
Note: While it cannot be verified, it seems as if Google is going to go to an update schedule of every 35 days following the completion of the last update instead of 28 days. This will allow for just ten updates per year instead of twelve, greatly reducing Google’s cost and allowing for more flexibility within their technical department. This would explain the “delay” in The Dance.
Open Directory Project
It seems that the ODP is getting more backlogged every week. Remember, do not resumbit your site if it is not included after 1-2 months, as that will only put you at the back of the list. There is now a 10-week backup for main categories, but there is a 1-2 week inclusion for a regional listing. You are allowed two listings in the ODP, one under a category, and one under a regional listing.
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