Google has silently released a new feature, called search-within-search, which is causing a stir with a number of well known online publishers and retailers.

These publishers and retailers are concerned with loosing customers through the feature to their competitors. Search-within-search allows users to refine their search results once they are within a destination site. This is undertaken through Google’s search technology rather than the onsite search and as a result, Google Adverts are displayed alongside the results. This means that even though the potential customer is on the destination site there is a high possibility they could leave through one of the adverts which could even be a competitor’s.

Search Engine Optimisation

WebProNews reports that the Craigslist could hit $100 million in revenue in 2009 with a couple of minor changes, leaving the classifieds newspaper industry helplessly watching from the sidelines.

Research by Classified Intelligence suggests that whilst Craigslist are generating solid revenues from the minimalist site they could be doing even better. Classified Intelligence said in its report on Craigslist that implementation of its $25 job listing fee in three more locations could boost the company’s revenue into nine-digit territory.

In addition if they increased their recruiting fee of $25 that is charged in a few of the larger cities and increased it to the $75 that is charged in San Francisco, the revenue for 2009 could climb to $150 million.

There are a number of competitors snapping at the heals of Craigslist, all offering what they hope to be an improved classifieds service. With more online sites after this revenue the newspaper classifieds industry is facing an even tougher challenge, especially when Classified Intelligence reported in 2004 that the San Francisco news paper industry lost $65 million in recruitment advertising revenue to Craiglist alone.

Online Marketing

The Web Standards Project (WaSP) announced their latest test designed to expose flaws in the implementation of mature Web standards in Web browsers. The tests are designed to allow the manufacturers of Web browsers, to test their software and ensure it displays and functions correctly with today’s web pages and those of the future.

The Acid3 Test is designed to test specifications for Web 2.0, and exposes potential flaws in implementations of the public ECMAScript 262 and W3C Document Object Model 2 standards. Collectively known as DOM Scripting, it is these technologies that enable advanced page interactivity and power many advanced web applications such as web-based email and online office applications.

As a series of 100 mini-tests, Acid3 has already been found to expose flaws in all tested browsers, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, and Safari. WaSP hopes that Acid3 will prove useful to browser makers during the development of future versions of their products.

WaSP has a history of such initiatives. In 1997, emeritus member Todd Fahrner, together with a group of crack Web developers dubbed the “CSS Samurai,” created an “Acid Test” that highlighted shortcomings in browser support for CSS. The Acid Test was instrumental in moving the industry much closer to the goal of consistent rendering of Web pages in different browsers. This was followed by Acid2 in 2005, designed to expose flaws in the implementation of mature Web standards such as HTML, CSS, and PNG. Acid3 builds on and extends this legacy to web applications in 2008

Acid3 can be found online at http://www.webstandards.org/acid3/

Web Design

WebProNews reports that Google investors are grieving their losses after comScore’s report that paid revenues were flat in the month of January. Those in the know believe it is more than the impending recession that is the cause of a decrease in earnings.

It appears that revenues began to flatten soon after webmasters began reporting on decreases in AdSense earnings. One theory is that Google decreased the clickable area of AdSense ads to reduce accidental clicks. This change was implemented in mid-November, shortly before some publishers reported a drop in earnings and a few weeks before comScore released its report that AdSense revenues had flattened.

The question on everyones mind is why would Google implement a change that reduced its revenues? One answer posed is that Google plans to make it up by creating a higher value on valid clicks, creating a win win situation for Google. Adwords advertisers pay more for their clicks but get much better conversion rates, whilst quality Adsense partners generate good revenues from higher click prices.

The comScore report authors Magid Abraham and James Lamberti came to a similar conclusion: “The evidence suggests that the softness in Google’s paid click metrics is primarily a result of Google’s own quality initiatives that result in a reduction in the number of paid listings and, therefore, the opportunity for paid clicks to occur.

In addition, the reduction in the incidence of paid listings existed progressively throughout 2007 and was successfully offset by improved revenue per click. It is entirely possible, if not likely, that the improved revenue yield will continue to deliver strong revenue growth in the first quarter. Separately, there is no evidence of a slowdown in consumers clicking on paid search ads for rest of the US search market, which comprises 40% of all searches.”

So even though there were fewer ad clicks in 2007, Google made more money and it looks like they’re trying to repeat the model in 2008.

Online Advertising