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January 2004
Yahoo Buys Overture - The Full Report
Monday, July 14 2003, was a significant
day in the history of search engine competition - this maybe
the turning point we have all been waiting for. It was this
day that Yahoo! announced that in a deal comprising $1.63
billion in cash and stock, it had acquired the popular pay-per-click
company, Overture. For industry experts this did not come
as a shock as Yahoo! had been building an arsenal of "weaponry"
to prepare itself for a full out and out attack on its rivals.
The only real change we have seen in recent weeks in the industry
was the fact that Google was at last making a point to mention
Search Engine Optimisation ('SEO'), signaling that it could
be a good thing under the right conditions. Google is throwing
caution to the wind as marketing 'spammers' had created a
black mark on SEO services. Maybe this rethink is part of
the retaliation strategy? Maybe they are trying to cover all
angles? Maybe this is the only counter attack that seems logical?
For us in the Industry it shows that at long
last Search Engine Companies are now taking our work seriously.
If Google commit to SEO then they may have a lifeline which
could prove to be the biggest weapon in the war of Search
Engine Giants. The only problem with this is that it goes
against its very own revenue streams such as ad words. With
Google increasing its audience reach and MSN announcing that
it had recently started spidering the web with the intent
of launching a revamped search engine, Yahoo! knew that in
order to compete in the search engine industry it would have
to make a move to increase its arsenal and improve investor
confidence. This acquisition could well be the thing that
cuts the mustard, with the purchase broadening the company's
focus and increasing advertising revenue from search services,
especially in shopping, travel and yellow pages categories.
The deal will also provide an audience of more than 88,000
Overture advertisers. While the deal looks to be a good fit
for Yahoo!, which needed a new channel to generate additional
revenue, and for Overture, which has faced fierce competition
from other "pay for performance" companies, is this
announcement good for Overture's customers?
While it is too early to determine the full
impact of Yahoo! acquiring Overture, there are some concerns
already being raised about this move with an emphasis on the
customers of Overture. Overture advertisers have already seen
the loss of valuable exposure at AOL and Netscape, with both
of those search engines turning to Google's popular Ad Words
service for its sponsored listings. In addition, Looksmart
recently announced a partnership that would see it providing
its new Look listings ads to Lycos, which could ultimately
replace (or at least reduce) the impact of the current deal
with Overture. Overture advertisers could see a drop in the
amount of traffic they receive with some estimates indicating
a 30 % reduction in traffic levels. From a business point
of view it just goes to show that you need experts that are
in tune with what's going on. Can you afford to lose 30% of
your visitors overnight? It is now time to think long and
hard about conventional search engine optimisation. As a business
you need to get the right information without doing an MA
in the possibilities of what is optional and what is required.
All in all the changes that are going on
will most likely confuse an already unclear market of what
will work best for the many business communities, and this
forces the spotlight on SEO professionals and companies such
as Adaptability. It is now time to think long and hard about
your future Internet strategy and start building relationships
with quality firms such as ourselves. Search Engine Optimisation
now offers you the power of viability via Architecture Review
and Web site Design/Redesign. Many people have a misconception
as to which Search Engines work best and why they believe
this to be the case. Adding to this is the fact that the Industry
is likely to change, our advice is to start forming a relationship
with an expert SE consultant ASAP.
Feel free to browse this web site for more
information on Search Engines and Optimisation, or you could
on the other hand, search the Internet.
The 3 main ways to generate targeted
leads
On the Internet you can target clients by 3 main ways: Internet
Advertising, Search
Engine Optimisation and Internet
Marketing Solutions.
If you can't do the work yourself you need a reliable partner
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Factors in success for search engine optimisation and good
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If you have the time to learn, then you should do this, if
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Google's IPO (Search Engine Industry Change)
Now with the IPO
of Google just around the corner, and the Introduction
of Ad
words and Ad
sense (revenue stream for Google) the commercial side
of the Internet is now fast emerging again creating yet another
industrial change.
The dust from the .com bubble explosion seems to be firmly
settled, now we are seeing major changes and the landscape
of the Internet once again is looking a much brighter prospect
for firms great and small. Business and organisations can
now tap in to this vast resource they call the Internet by
placing direct adverts and links in content targeted web sites
and search listings turning Internet traffic into visitor
traffic streams.
Google
Technical Facts!
More Search Engine
Optimisation Facts
Google
Changes
Website
Business Reports
Web Site Ranking Explained,
Web
Site Submission, Search
Engine Optimisation Basics,
Internet
Advertising, Google Search Engine Optimisation
Guidelines,
Flash
Intros, Web
site Templates, Search
Engine Relationship Chart
Search engine marketing is
needed to successfully place your site on sites such as Google,
Yahoo etc. wether it be through PPC, SEO or Internet Marketing.
All options require promotion and marketing to be followed
up with correct analysis and the program is changed depending
on the results of each program. Your log files are checked
to get a picture of your web site.
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