The web is a soap opera, and we are its biggest fans

• Dec. 31, 2003

It was like a soap opera this year, looking back at the news we brought to you. Microsoft tried to buy Google, but Google said no, so Microsoft said "fine - if we can't buy you, we will crush you." They then began working on their own algorithmic engine, and their spider has shown up more frequently visiting websites.

Microsoft has also released many new products in an attempt to ramp up their competition with Google, including news posting search, improved shopping and more. Not to mention their announcement that the next generation Windows OS will have search integrated into it.

On the Yahoo! front - they did successfully take over one of their suppliers, Overture. As many others, such as Lycos, complain that "because we weren't notified that you were going to be bought, and since we weren't allowed to give input into the deal, we are terminating our contract."

Then Lycos UK renewed its agreement with Overture.

Before this, Overture bought Altavista then bought Alltheweb. At the time we assumed Overture was going to also enter the algorithmic search space.

On the AOL front, Google appeared to be making overtures towards AOL by signing contracts to supply results to many of its other sites, including Netscape and CompuServe. AOL was having other problems, meanwhile, with an investigation launched into its accounting practices, and company executives were charged with insider trading. In the end, the once powerful AOL (who purchased Time Warner) was relegated to the basement. The company even went so far as to drop the "AOL" from the "AOL/Time Warner" company banner.

While this was happening, Google began introducing a bunch of new features, including Google News, Froogle and definitions. You can now even retrieve excerpts of popular books as part of the search results. In addition, you can search Google from your desktop, and from the improved Google Toolbar.

Late in 2003 Google shook up the web with the now famous Florida Update in which they attempted to clean up the index by removing seemingly non-relevant sites from the index. In the interim, however, there were many innocent online vendors targeted who still haven't returned to the search results. No one expected this, even though the signs were there with the purchases of Applied Semantics and Kaltix.

Pay per Click grew substantially this past year with some major agreements signed, while others were not renewed. In addition, many new PPC suppliers sprang up, competing for web advertisers budgets. Still other companies, like Looksmart changed again, and again and again.

There were many other newsworthy items this year - enough for us to write well over 200 articles - more than any other year. But we can't get to them all. We'd need to write a whole series of articles about 2003.

With the anticipated changes expected in 2004 I am certain that we will see another 200 or more. With MSN testing search, Google constantly changing and expected to have an IPO in the spring, Yahoos inevitable switch to Inktomi, and the ever increasing Ask Jeeves, who is slowly but surely winning over web users.

Rob Sullivan
Production Manager
Searchengineposition.com
Search Engine Positioning
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