Microsoft is experimenting with different search technologies that will, among other tasks, conduct Google-like searches on an individual’s hard drive or categorize query results in different ways intended to make the data easier to digest. In many ways, the research seems geared toward finding a user interface for the storage and database functions in Longhorn, [...]

Barry Lloyd explores the new Google Update (which he dubs “Florida”) and why some sites have been dropped from their multi-year rankings: With the huge number of postings on all the various forums, concerning this update, most people don’t know where to start looking for information about the recent Google update. The following is an [...]

In a independent study of millions of visits to Web sites selling consumer electronics and gift items, WebSideStory, Inc. ( www.WebSideStory.com ), today announced that from May-October 2003, visitors from CNET.com’s search engine had the best visit-to-order conversion ratio. CNET’s conversion ratio was 28% higher than the conversion rate from the next most efficient search [...]

An upcoming cover story in FORTUNE magazine reveals internal disarray at Google, and raises troubling questions about the company’s future. The story comes out as talk continues to swirl about Google’s expected IPO next spring, which could raise as much as $2 billion. The story, “Can Google Grow Up?” appears in the December 8 issue [...]

Google recently introduced a new keyword phrase filter during its most recent update. Some phrases were unchanged, but many highly optimized and highly competitive phrases were drastically altered. Some webmasters saw their sites drop from top listings to not being in the top 1,000 sites. Unlike other filters, this spam penalty does not affect a [...]

Overture Services, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yahoo! Inc., and United Online, Inc., provider of value-priced Internet access services, today announced a three-year renewal agreement in which Overture will provide its sponsored search results to the United Online properties. In addition, Yahoo! Inc., the parent company of Overture, will provide United Online with its own [...]

Looking to add to its search features and perhaps expand into the search engine world dominated by Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft, AOL announced today its acquisition of Seattle-based Singingfish, Inc., the audio and video search engine. Singingfish’s products include the largest index of streaming media content. They complement the integrated AOL Search features available on [...]

Google Japan believes in making its office a fun place for its employees to work in. As soon as you walk into the huge cavernous office, the first thing you see is a pool table, then some massage chairs, a kitchen, snack food, coffee counter and a few other leisure facilities. You feel like you [...]

Overture Services has stopped selling search-related advertising to unlicensed online pharmacies, in response to concern about illegal drug sales over the Internet. Overture, the commercial search subsidiary of Yahoo, said Tuesday that it filtered the last of its advertisements related to online pharmacies or pharmaceutical drug sales on Monday, and it notified advertisers over the [...]

OneStat.com today reported that Google’s global usage share continues to rise and that Google’s search site is the number one in the world. Google’s global usage share has reached an all time high and has risen from 55.2 percent to 56.1 percent. Google’s global usage share has increased 0.9 percent the last 6 months . [...]