ArticleSnatch Blog

Google is now offering AdSense for Feeds, after announcing that Feedburner would not be accepting any more applications to the Feedburner Ad Network.

No official announcement has been made, but many publishers are able to access the feature in their AdSense accounts. I was able to do so with mine. Below is a screenshot of the process for signing up a feed:

via Google Operating System

Related Reading:
Google Gives Away FeedBurner Services
Will Google’s FeedBurner Scorch Organic SEO?

Google was the recipient of 70.77% of U.S. searches in July 2008, up from 69.17% in June, according to Hitwise. Yahoo and Microsoft continued to drop, at 18.65% and 5.36% respectively. Ask.com dropped month-over-month but gained year-over-year, coming in at 3.53%.

Here’s the breakdown of niche traffic:

While not yet complete, AOL has confirmed that they will acquire SocialThing. The FriendFeed competitor is still in private beta.

No word on the price for the acquisition, but expect it to be small. Still, AOL seems to be going after the social media world, having recently acquired social network Bebo for $850 million.

Bebo has 40 million users, doubling AOL’s media reach via the acquisition.

The push towards social media is likely part of a larger re-focus of AOL’s business model around advertising. AOL parent company Time Warner recently confirmed that AOL will be split into two businesses: internet access and media/advertising.

via The Social

Two days ago, we brought you news that Ex-Googler Ben Ling was leaving Facebook. Now, we know where he’s headed - back to Google.

Ling will be taking on the difficult task of monetizing YouTube, Google’s popular online video sharing site (acquired in 2006 for $1.65 billion).

via BoomTown

In accordance with the terms of the settlement with Carl Icahn, Yahoo has added two more board members to complete the expansion to 11. Frank Biondi and John Chapple, who previously were members of Icahn’s proxy board, have been appointed just two weeks after Icahn’s appointment was made official. 8 of Yahoo’s previous board stayed on for the deal.

Here’s the lowdown on the new dudes:

Frank Biondi has served as senior managing director of WaterView Advisors LLC, a private equity limited partnership focused on media and entertainment, since 1999. From April 1996 to November 1998, Mr. Biondi served as chairman and chief executive officer of Universal Studios, Inc. From July 1987 to January 1996, Mr. Biondi served as president and chief executive officer of Viacom, Inc. Mr. Biondi is a director of Amgen, Inc., Cablevision Systems Corporation, Hasbro, Inc., The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation and Seagate Technology.

John Chapple has served as president of Hawkeye Investments LLC, a privately-owned equity firm investing primarily in telecommunications and real estate ventures, since October 2006. Prior to forming Hawkeye, Mr. Chapple served as president, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Nextel Partners from January 1998 to June 2006, when the company was purchased by Sprint Communications. From 1995 to 1997, Mr. Chapple was the president and chief operating officer for Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment in Vancouver, B.C., which at the time owned and operated Vancouver’s National Basketball Association and National Hockey League sports franchises in addition to the General Motors Place sports arena. From 1988 to 1995, he served as executive vice president of operations for McCaw Cellular Communications and subsequently AT&T Wireless Services following the merger of those companies. Mr. Chapple serves on the board of directors of several telecommunications companies: Cbeyond, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBEY) an integrated service telephone company, and privately held companies Seamobile Enterprises, which provides integrated wireless services at sea, and Telesphere Networks, Inc., a VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) company providing service in 44 states. In addition, he has served as a member of Syracuse University’s board of trustees since 2005 and as chairman since 2008.

We’ve seen a natural progression from back rooms to boardrooms — from the basement to the mainstream. SEO has not simply shed its dubious roots; it has become a legitimate, reputable component of a proper client marketing mix. In today’s SEM agency issues column, “The Evolution of SEO,” William Flaiz outlines the continuing growth of search marketing.

» Full story

If you need some lift, start dropping pages into Google Knol and Google pages. They show up in the organic results faster than you can get them through Webmaster Central. In today’s SEM Crossfire column, “Google SERP Bias? Google Knols Best,” Frank Watson and Chris Boggs discuss the limitations of Google’s algorithms, and its hypocritical stances on some web spam topics.

» Full story

In a battle for universal search engine foosball domination, Google and Yahoo are meeting in a clash of the titans at SES San Jose. Microsoft has also been invited, and is trying to put together a team. This could determine the future of the search industry (well foosball-wise at least).

So come to the Networking Cocktail Reception on Tuesday. Play will start as close to 5:15 PM as possible, so we can get the games done prior to the end of the reception. Bring your cameras, bring your loyalties, and cheer for your favorites!

We will also be holding our usual Beat the Pros Foosball Challenge. This will take place at the following times:

Of course, if you see us (John Biundo and Eric Enge) at the table any time prior to Wednesday afternoon, we will be glad to play you in a Beat the Pros challenge match right then and there. We will be there at lunch on Tuesday and Wednesday for example.

By 6:30 PM on Wednesday, we will announce which team has performed the best in playing against us (scored the most points), and that team will win a brand new pair of iPod Touch’s. Any ties will be resolved by a random drawing (or a head to head matchup if that is possible).

Hey Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft - think you can take us? You are eligible for the prize too, and we will be there and ready to play at any time, including right after the smackdown is complete …

As people returned to work on Monday after the first weekend of the Beijing Olympic games, many went online to keep track of events as they unfold, according to Nielsen Online. Traffic to NBC’s Olympics video site jumped a whopping 85% on the first day of the work week, while other sites enjoyed a nice boost as well.

Yahoo’s unique audience nearly doubled to its Olympics site on Monday, helping it top the list of most trafficked Olympics sites for August 11. Here’s the data:

Meanwhile, NBC has been observing new habits forming with mobile users, according to the AP. Many who are viewing coverge via their mobile devices are doing to for the first time. Nearly half a million people viewed Olympics video on a mobile device on both Sunday and Monday, many of which have never watched video content on their phone before.

“To some extent, the Olympics are beginning to influence how people use new technology,” said Alan Wurtzel, research president for NBC Universal.

Related Reading:
mInfo Chosen as Official Mobile Search Provider for Beijing Olympics
Google Sits Out Olympic Search Results; Microsoft , Yahoo Take Home Medals

Zillow, a vertical search engine aimed at the real estate market, has announced the launch of Showcase Ads, geo-targeted ads for realtors and other real estate advertisers. Within a given zip code, advertisers can buy 25, 50, 75, or 100 percent of the ads, giving them the ability to target just the local areas they are interested in selling to. Showcase Ads will have a different pricing structure than Zillow’s other local ad offering - EZ Ads.

“Zillow is committed to offering local professionals affordable and easy- to-use tools to get in front of our large audience of consumers interested in real estate and buying and selling homes,” said Greg Schwartz, vice president of ad sales at Zillow.com. “We strongly believe that the more targeted an ad can be, both at a national and local level, the more useful the consumer will find it and the more successful the advertiser will be.”

Related Reading:
Vertical Strategies in Local Search
Zillow Lands ex-Googler and Zestimated $30M Follows
Zillow Adds ‘Owner-Generated’ Content
Zillow Announces ‘Zillow Labs’
Zillow Partners With Yahoo!
Zillow Adds Birds-Eye Imagery