Search engine news w/e Oct 03, 2003

• Oct. 3, 2003

This week, the top news items are Yahoo, Looksmart and Google. First we brought you our theory on when to expect a possible Yahoo! change. Second, Google purchased Kaltix and lastly, Looksmart has entered the PPC market.

Yahoo! generally tends to make changes on Tuesdays. In the past, they''ve done major changes (such as changing from Inktomi to Google 2 years ago, or when they announced the Overture purchase) after the quarterly reports have been released. The next earnings are due to be released the week of October 6^th, 2003. If they release results on Monday or Tuesday (as has been the case in the past), that gives the markets a full week to respond and react to their earnings reports.

Therefore the next week, the week of October 12^th would be a good week to make a change, and since the change shouldn''t happen until Tuesday, that brings us to Tuesday October 14^th.

Google, by acquiring Kaltix, has made a step in the "faster" direction by helping improve part of the ranking algorithm.

While Looksmart already has a form of pay for performance listing, this new product gives the advertiser more control in that they can now opt to be number one for a term, provided they wish to pay for the listing. Much like Google AdWords, and Overture premium listings, Looksmart sponsored listings allows you to outbid competitors for key phrases in your market.

Gerard Manning
Searchengineposition, Inc.
Search engine marketing company