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Google news

AdSense video units are a new way for webmasters to use video content. Web hosting provider explains, with an AdSense account, a YouTube account, and a snippet of code, webmasters can have YouTube videos play at their websites. Webmasters can choose video categories, have relevant video content automatically selected, or choose video content themselves.

Into TV advertising since May 2007, Google is taking another step in this field. Google and The Nielsen Company have established a strategic partnership, the first step of which is to use Nielsen's demographic data to provide advertisers and agencies more detailed data on their ad audiences. The two companies have planned further work together but have not disclosed details.

Google's Quality Score for keywords is now explained. The new Keyword Analysis page provides information about keyword quality, landing page quality, and recommendations on how to improve landing pages.

Earlier this month, Google purchased Finnish company Jaiku, a mobile messaging developer. Currently, Jaiku users can create their own streams at yourname.jaiku.com, share updates about their availability and location, and post updates via the Web or by phone. In their blog announcement about the acquisition, Google has not announced specific plans about how they'll use the Jaiku technology.

Yahoo news

The new Yahoo Search is Yahoo's name for the launch of their redesigned search. When users go to the Yahoo home page, a dropdown window opens to Yahoo Search Assist, which suggests search terms and concepts related to the query entered in the search box. And as with other major search engines, multimedia content such as videos and photos is now integrated into search results.

Yahoo advertisers can now block their ads from up to 250 domains and subsections of domains. This feature allows advertisers to fine-tune the types of sites that their ads appear on.

Yahoo has signed a multi-year search and advertising distribution agreement with WebMD. The WebMD network includes WebMD Health and RXList, among other sites. Yahoo will provide sponsored search results for the WebMD network, and WebMD will advertise on Yahoo properties.

Cars.com, Forbes.com, and Ziff-Davis Media have also entered into advertising agreements with Yahoo. Their ads will appear on the Yahoo network.

Yahoo's oneSearch mobile search service, launched in January 2007, has now expanded to Europe and Latin America via its partnership with the telecommunications company Telefonica. Over 100 million Telefonica subscribers in 15 European and Latin American countries will have access to Yahoo's oneSearch. They was also be able to access Yahoo mail and Flickr via Telefonica.

Microsoft news

First came Google Docs and Spreadsheets, and now Microsoft is introducing Microsoft Office Live Workspace (in beta, with pre-registration available). Users will be able to store and access Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files online. Unlike Google Docs, Microsoft Office Live Workspace doesn't allow users to create or edit documents online, but Microsoft hasn't ruled out the possibility of offering this feature later. Beta features include being able to share and collaborate on documents.

Microsoft Live Small Business now offers SEM (search engine marketing) services with The Search Agency. Users can take SEM online courses, get help to launch a campaign, and maximize business growth.

Facebook and Microsoft have worked together for the past year as Microsoft provided banner ads for Facebook in the US. Winning out against Google, Microsoft is now also handling international sales for Facebook. Furthermore, Microsoft is investing $240 million in Facebook, giving it a 1.5 percent stake in the company.

In acquisition news, Microsoft has purchased the shopping search engine Jellyfish and apparently plans to use the technology with their shopping and commerce services.

Other news

News from AOL is less rosy. The company is laying off about 2000 employees, about 1200 of whom are in the US. This move to cut costs takes place as AOL works to redefine itself as an advertising-supported Web company. More details are in the layoff letter by CEO Randy Falco.

Results from a recent Nielsen survey show that consumers place more confidence in some forms of advertising than in others. Not surprisingly, word-of-mouth recommendations score at the top of the list with 78 percent of respondents indicating that they trust them. Consumer opinions posted online are at 61 percent, and at the bottom of the list are text ads on mobile phones at 18 percent. Above mobile phone ads are search engine ads (34 percent) and online banner ads (26 percent).

Alt tags, which contain alternative text for non-text items, are used for more than SEO. Their purpose is to provide text content conveyed by images, for users who have images turned off and for those who are visually impaired and rely on text readers. Many websites have them; some don't. Target.com, website for the large department store chain Target, doesn't — and they're being sued by the National Federation of the Blind. At question is whether the website for a bricks-and-mortar retailer is subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Optimizing press releases can be almost automated now, with the new tool by Newsforce. The tool guides users through the process of writing releases, asks questions about what keywords to use, and offers data and suggestions to help users with the choice, placement, and frequency of the chosen keywords. The fee per release is $20 with several monthly subscription levels offered.

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