Section 2-Around the Net in Search: Switching Search Engines

By Laurie Sullivan , May 7, 2009 Subscribe | Back Issues | Reply to Editor | MediaPost Home

Cybercriminals Run Malware-Serving Search Engines ZDNet.com Dancho Danchev writes that researchers from security firm PandaLabs have uncovered a malicious search engine ring running a blackhat SEO campaign. The links lead to malware serving sites. Three search engines have been in operation since January. Danchev writes that two of those engines had already passed the 250,000 unique visitors benchmark in March. - Read the whole story... Google Adds Value To News Web Sites CNet.com Google will make $60 million annually directing people to the Forbes Web site, writes Stephen Shankland, citing Forbes.com CEO Jim Spanfeller. Windfalls similar to this one have news agencies steaming. Marissa Mayer addressed these criticisms Wednesday in testimony before a Senate hearing on the future of journalism. Mayer's defense: Google adds value to journalism; directing people to news Web sites shouldn't be overlooked as a valuable service. Mayer believes both journalists and readers benefit from Google services. For example, the Los Angeles Times Web site last year followed the Southern California wildfires using Google Maps. The post includes the text of Mayer's testimony. - Read the whole story... Don't Underestimate The Power Of Forums Ecommerce Times Forums have become a great way to get a new site indexed on Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and other search engines. Brandon Leibowitz suggests finding a "high-traffic forum" indexed frequently and placing a link to the new site in a post or a signature. It's a great alternative to paying directory listing fees or waiting for the company to list. For those who want to tap into SEO, make sure the forum doesn't use nofollow tags. Posting in a forum related to products or services sold through your Web site will make links more valuable. Leibowitz provides a list of seven forums he believes allows you to link because they do not use nofollow tags. - Read the whole story... SEMPO, Yellow Pages Publishers Hook Up Search Engine Land SEMPO Institute has announced an educational partnership with Yellowbook to provide distance learning education for its media consultant sales team. Greg Sterling writes that the deal appears to help Yellowbook's sales force educate and sell search engine marketing products to local advertisers and small businesses. Sterling notes all major U.S. yellow pages publishers including Yellowbook, newspapers, Yodle and ReachLocal have been marketing and selling simplified versions of SEM offerings for several years. Most are Google resellers. - Read the whole story... Switching Search Engines SEO by the Sea SEO by the Sea William Slawski has spotted a patent filed by Microsoft on "predicting when someone might switch from one search engine to another." The research in white papers published by Microsoft covers predicting search engine switching, and enhancing Web search by promoting the use of multiple engines. - Read the whole story...

Search Insider - Around the Net for Thursday, May 7, 2009 http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showEdition&art_send_date=2009-5-7&art_type=44

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