SEO Expert, Evangelist and SEO Consulting Services - Tony Adam

Looks like the spammers are at it again, spamming myspace with messages instead of events this time…it felt like it calmed down and there was a breakthrough but apparently they’re back!…Here is an example of the recent spam:

MySpace needs to figure this out quick, because in my opinion, Facebook is starting to get more users and with excellent product features can start taking marketshare away in no-time.

Well, since Guy Kawasaki’s keynote at Pubcon, everyone I know is all about the top 10 list. (Ok, maybe everyone has been doing it before, but i still have to make the occasional Guy and Pubcon plug!)

My Top 10:

1. Digg - In my opinion, the new leader in news on the web and in general!
2. Google - In general and overall…due to continuous improvements in search technologies, gmail, google calendar, blogger and much more…all is well (just need to monetize in places other than adsense)
3. Facebook - Yes, my official favorite in social networking…Facebook’s product really brings together social features and the “stickiness” that really makes social networking.
4. Craigslist - Still making improvements and still the best in community sites on the web, especially in the form of Classifieds.
5. Del.icio.us - Social Bookmarking at it’s best, ’nuff said!
6. Technorati - Connect with others blogging and spread the word about your blog…find out “Whose saying what, Right Now”
7. YouTube - Hands down, no questions asked, best video site and possibly one of the best social sites on the web…monetization is a huge question, but still awesome…give some credit to “Lazy Sunday”…
8. Wikipedia - Information at the drop of a dime…
9. Myspace - They have created the most social of the social networks, they are monetizing on it somewhat, but the spam and lack of cool new product features really makes me question where it leaves Myspace down the road.
10. Ebay/Paypal - The greatest online auction/payment experience on the web.

Some notables that didn’t make the list were Amazon, MSN, Orkut and Friendster…Amazon is the best e-commerce solution, msn the #2 visited site on the web and with the unsure branding of live and vista’s release it could remain strongly, orkut the #2 social network in regards to members, and the only reason i mention Friendster is that it has lost practically all traction and will lose rank by the month, and finally, Yahoo. Although Yahoo is the #1 community on the web and is the most visited site on the web, the only reason I don’t fit them in my top 10 is that they have released multiple products that have tanked including Yahoo! 360 and flawed search performance and experience…Semel must go and with the current restructuring, they could possibly get back to their winning ways.

My top 10 was really focused on the insurgence of Web 2.0 and “sticky” websites (sticky meaning lots of user interaction, i love the word sticky!). Should be some interesting things around the corner in 2007 and should be some great new products and great additions to current products on the web!

So there it is! Hope you enjoyed and Happy Holidays!

Minutes after posting my latest entry about throwing out speculation about where Google would be if Click Fraud had action taken upon it, there has been a stunning new development.  Apparently at the end of SES Chicago Webmasteradio.fm held a press conference and announced this news that could link Click Fraud to the funding of terrorist activities.

For more details on this story, visit the following post on Search Engine Journal.  Obviously, this is a major development in the case against Click Fraud and also there still tons of information being analyzed and still tons of log files to be looked at.  I don’t want to make any major claims to the link, because it is still a new development.

One claim I will make and state continuously is that Google does need to take a considerable amount of action against Click Fraud.  I have made many arguments in the past that if Google does not take a step up and address these issues immediately that it could really hurt their business.  News like this could really be a major blow to Google’s business and put Google in a major bind.

I have been adamant about Google stepping up to the plate and taking initiative and action against Click Fraud.  Google has been taking a nonchalant, hear no evil, see no evil approach to Click Fraud and it might end up hurting them, big time!  Especially now that there is breaking news with click fraud links to terrorist cells/activity this could make headlines.  Especially in todays “Anti-Terrorism” day and age, and the fact that anything linked to terrorism is being looked at under a microscope.  Seriously, we have the government tapping phone lines, reading private emails, looking through search data.  If any of this data checks out, Google will be in a very unappealing predicament.  I just have one thing to say, “I told ya so Google!!”

Yesterday Yahoo released information about the company’s restructuring efforts. The biggest news is that they will be focused on “…key customer segments — audiences, advertisers and publishers — and more effectively leverage Yahoo!’s significant strengths to capture future opportunities for growth.” (quoted text taken from press release).

It seems that Yahoo! will be re-organizing into a leaner and meaner organization, looking to take advantage of it’s already extremely large user base. According to the Press Release they will be re-structure into three main operational groups: Audience, Advertiser-Publisher, and Technology. This means that the new Yahoo structure will get rid of the Bureaucratic mess that is currently there and will put more accountability and quicker decision making in place.

COO Dan Rosensweig will be leaving Yahoo effective the end of March 2007. He will apparently stay on to ensure that there is a smooth transition. CFO Susan Decker will also be leaving the company, but will be staying on-board in the interim to help find a replacement. According to the press release, these positions, including human resources and corporate development will report to Terry Semel.

Semel said, “We’re putting the right people in the right places to execute our focused growth strategy. Yahoo! has an extraordinarily skilled and experienced group of senior executives, and we’re adding outside senior talent to this already strong team. Our new structure gives us the opportunity to draw more fully on Yahoo!’s deep bench of talent, both at the new group level and down through the organization, while also increasing accountability, reducing bottlenecks and speeding decision-making. We’ll also continue to drive sustained innovation by recruiting, developing and retaining the best talent in our industry.”

So, what does this all mean?! Personally I think this is a great move by Yahoo! to try to take advantage of the already massive user base. Being that accountability and speed decision making are the top priorities, it will give them a chance to really succeed at iterating on projects and initiatives within the organization.

In my mind this brings up a great point that I think is somewhat untouched. Where does this leave Google in a year, 2 years or even more down the road? Could Google be making the same mistakes that Yahoo! has made, has it’s growth turned it into an organization that is unable to iterate, or is that around the corner? It is possible that Google has already addressed these issues and does not have the issues that Yahoo! has and might never have the same issues.

The question still remains in my eyes though that Google is an organization with only one source of revenue, Adsense/Adwords. Now, obviously it is massively profitable, that is not the question. The question arises whether or not Google can sustain growth and compete in the long-term with their advertising platforms. Especially with the continuous click-fraud cases, talks, arguments, and/or studies. Will any of this catch up to Google and will the size of the organization be unable to move forward like we have seen by the likes of Yahoo!?
We can’t answer any of these questions right now, that is pretty obvious, but knowing where people stand on these issues are important for our industries, especially Search Engine Marketing. I’d love to view some opinions to find out where people stand on where Google & Yahoo! will be in the near and distant future and how it will effect our industry.

So, for a while today I thought I was having internet connection issues hen I clicked on the link to the ( RED ) campaign link in Google today and I thought nothing of it.  Now, as I am doing my daily reading of blogs, I noticed the following link:

http://www.seopedia.org/seo-news/google/the-google-effect-the-red-campaign/

I realized then, the same thing that it mentions in the blog, “WHY WOULD GOOGLE SEND TRAFFIC SOMEWHERE IT CAN’T BE HANDLED!”  Just an interesting tidbit I wanted to pass on.