The Cookie Stuffing Controversy by Laurie Sullivan

After some controversy surrounding Convertro's white paper on cookie stuffing, I decided to add a different perspective to the term, which carries a ton of baggage. The original list, updated several times before the company settled on a final 10, offers insights into attribution. Some industry folks seemed concerned that the point of view attempted to tie the original meaning of the controversial topic to a new definition by coining it 2.0. ...Read the whole story

  • Backlinks Strongest Factor For Positive Search Rankings by Laurie Sullivan

    Content shared from Facebook and the amount of backlinks appear to influence organic search engine results most, but Google +1s have the strongest impact on rankings on Google sites in the U.S. and U.K., notes a Searchmetrics study being released Thursday. The number of backlinks remains the factor most strongly tied to positive rankings in both regions. ...Read the whole story

  • Google Acquires Quickoffice To Reinforce Competitive Position by Steve Smith

    Google has acquired one of the longest-lived productivity app makers in the mobile space, Quickoffice. The purchase positions Google to compete directly with Microsoft as that company prepares to launch Office products into the app space. ...Read the whole story

Search Mixes it Up by Laurie Sullivan

The integration of mapping systems and mobile phones will become the single most important search advancement in 2012. It will promote consumer loyalty for nearby businesses, and generate long-term advertising revenue and profits. ...More

  • Audience Targeting Coming From A Neighborhood Store Near You by Laurie Sullivan

    eXelate has begun to research long-tail services that would provide local businesses with an automated self-serve audience targeting and modeling systems. The platform, and others like it, would allow local retail and service companies to input information to build custom audience segments. "I'm a dentist that works at this location who specializes in braces; build an audience block for me," said Mark Zagorski, CEO at eXelate. "We want to achieve that goal." ...More

  • A Look At The Future Through Google Glasses? by Gord Hotchkiss

    Last week, I explored the dark recesses of the hyper-secret Google X project. Two X Projects in particular seem poised to change our world in very fundamental ways: Google's Project Glass and the "Web of Things." ...More