The global online marketing intelligence service Experian Hitwise has published it’s list of the most popular search queries posted in 2011 in the US, with social media sites topping the poll.  The survey analysed the top 1,000 search terms of last year and (perhaps unsurprisingly) Facebook is once again head of the list for the third consecutive year.

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According to comScore’s latest Video Metrix study, Google’s You Tube broke records in October of this year by attracting more than 20 million viewers in a single month, accounting for 49.1% of the total number of videos viewed in the US during October alone.  Based on the findings of the latest comScore research, Americans accessing videos on the web spent an average of more than 20 hours watching content online last month:

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According to a recent study conducted by Facebook partner Nielsen, in the month of May alone, Americans spent more time on Facebook than on any other website.  TIME magazine has reported this week that:

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Despite a report on Yahoo! News asserting that tweeting would be banned from the Royal wedding (the news site claimed that Metropolitan Police were to use signal blocking technology in Westminster Abbey during the proceedings) no such extreme methods were utilised to contain the use of social media by William and Catherine’s wedding guests; the speculation however, was the precursor to the effect that the Royal Wedding had across social media platforms, and the impact of the days events on sites such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as search engine Google; the results were measured across a global scale.

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Demands on Internet Service Providers and mobile carriers has intensified the debate surrounding ‘net neutrality’ in the UK and the US, as the amount of data transferred over their networks increases; with providers under greater pressure to meet the needs of internet users. (more…)

Yahoo have announced that they are making a concerted effort to broaden their appeal and regain their position as a leading web service, by personalising the internet experience for its users. (more…)

The never ending struggle between Yahoo and Google for supremacy in the online world was bound to have casualties, the latest one this week comes from the Yahoo side of the equation as the company have this week revealed that they will be shutting down the Yahoo Publisher Network. (more…)

For a while now I’ve been talking about the dangers of assuming that one search marketing approach will work across a number of platforms, with mixed results. Unfortunately, some people just don’t want to believe that the approach required to make a success of a PPC campaign on Google is that much different to the approach required to do well on Yahoo, Bing, etc. Some people unfortunately will not be swayed from the notion that search is search and what’s good for the good is good for the gander. (more…)

In recent weeks, the US Justice Department has been taking ever closer looks at Google and, in particular their settlement with publishers and authors over Google’s Book Search. This has once again raised the ever thorny question of whether or not Google is a Monopoly and, if so, what can be done about it? (more…)

Yahoo have launched a range of new enhancements to its search marketing tool, though anyone who has ever used Google AdWords will be more than familiar with them. The changes include, a day parting tool, that allows you to target ads to specific times of day, bid customisation, allowing customers to target specific bids to different audiences and enhanced Geo targeting.
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Rumours abound this morning about a major shakeup at Yahoo. The thinking is that the company will undergo a major shakeup at some point in the week. It appears that after taking a few weeks to think things through, new CEO Carol Bartz is now in the market for fresh high-level personnel and executives.
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Yahoo is today set to announce that it will be offering a new type of search advertising which will include both images and video in its paid listings. Traditionally, search advertising triggers only text ads, the venue for more elaborate video and text-based ads is thought to be banner, box and display advertising, where there is more room to get creative.
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Recently it was announced that Yahoo would be wrapping up its Content Match service in Germany, the UK and other non US locations. The last chance for users in these territories to bid on ads will be the last day of March, after that it’s over. This change will mean a much smaller inventory for Yahoo to put in their yahoo Publisher Network.

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A few days ago we reported that Yahoo were to team up with television makers to provide a range of internet services through television sets. The move was exactly the kind of bold, ‘game changing’ kind of thing that was required of Yahoo, who have been faltering to say the least recently after a horrific 2008 that saw their lifesaving deal with Google disintegrate and a Microsoft buyout fall through, along with general staff losses and cutbacks.

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