Engine Update

All engines
Google, Yahoo, and MSN have agreed to the same standard for creating sitemaps, which will simplify the process. 360i considers sitemaps a secondary SEO initiative that should be implemented only after site-side and on-page optimization programs because sitemaps have no impact on natural search rankings for crawled pages. Even submitting a sitemap is not a guarantee that every URL will be crawled; the engines use these as guidelines and compare them with the information compiled by their own crawlers. Still, providing a sitemap may allow the engines to index more pages, and this may increase a marketer’s search visibility.

For more details, visit your client extranet or consult with your account team.

Google
Google Checkout came out with a major promotional push for the holiday season. Transaction processing through Google Checkout is now free until 2008, regardless of AdWords spending. The cost savings, along with the higher click-through rate on AdWords ads after merchants join Checkout, can present significant benefits for marketers. See 360i’s POV on the client extranet (clients.360i.com) for more; your account team can also help provide additional materials to help you evaluate the opportunity.

Yahoo        
Project Panama, Yahoo’s new search marketing program, is open for business, accepting advertisers new and old. 360i’s team has been gearing up for the transition all year, and we’re taking care to shift clients over smoothly. If you have any questions about your transition, please contact your media or account team. You can also find 360i’s POV on the client extranet.

On a lighter note, Yahoo released its top 10 search terms for 2006, and all were entertainment related, including eight celebrities (all women, except R&B artist Chris Brown), and WWE and American Idol. The top movie search was for Spider-Man 3, a movie not due out until May 2007.

MSN
MSN provided 360i with advanced access to its new version of the adLabs site, which provides new features for the tools at adlab.microsoft.com. 360i is one of a select few agencies to preview this, and we are working on assessing what should be incorporated into our Search Informed Research for our clients.