According to comScore's latest qSearch data report, Google (surprise!) gained the most ground in terms of market share and number of search queries. But in an informal poll, the SEO Space team asked searchers which of the Big Four (Google, Yahoo, ASK and Live Search) they liked best for specific variations on core search. Surprisingly, ASK took the top spot in over half of the categories, while Google ranked best for only one. Yahoo came out on top in terms of general product search, a likely nod to the depth of the Web giant's shopping results, as well …

Gareth Davies packs a wealth of insight from the "Understanding Searcher Needs and Intent" panel at last week's SMX London. Chaired by Gord Hotchkiss, the panel also included Jonty Kelt of DoubleClick, Sara Andresson from Global Strategies International and Tom Ally of ASK -- and each provided their take on the psychological and tactile needs of searchers. For example, Hotchkiss' presentation focused on the fact that consumers (or researchers) only have a limited number of "slots" in their head for a specific product or category, and often those slots are pre-filled with products that have somehow established brand …

San Francisco-based Urban Mapping recently announced a partnership with another online map tech provider called Placebase, strengthening its offering of services that, according to Mike Boland, are already used by "most top tier search engines and mapping providers." Urban Mapping's offerings help map and search providers index conversational location modifiers like "the village" (for Greenwich Village) or "southie" (for South Boston) more accurately, and give searchers better results when they use those terms. But the company is not content to provide services just to the engines, as Boland found that Urban Mapping is poised to enter …

Why hasn't Google dominated product search like Shopzilla, or map-based search like MapQuest? According to Y.M. Ousley it's simple: Choosing to focus the bulk of its resources on core search has left the search giant in a slightly weaker position when it comes to other verticals. So while Google may make advancements with travel search, engines like SideStep or Kayak that can provide pricing and seat info will win out every time. It's in these vertical areas that the "other" search engines can maintain (or attain) the top spot for search volume and user preference - …

Bryson Meunier has a problem with tools that are supposed to make the mobile SEO process easier, but are backed by a methodology that actually decreases the mobile content's visibility with the engines and degrades the user experience. Case in point: UK-based Bango. The service is designed to help Web publishers promote and deliver their content to mobile users via a simple graphic called the Bango button. Webmasters can submit specific graphics or entire pages from their site to Bango, and the service crafts a temporary WAP version of it. Mobile users click the Bango button and get …

What's a search marketer to do when she's exhausted all of her likely keyword options on Google, Yahoo, MSN and even Ask -- and the client still has more money to burn? Loren Baker suggests trying one of these 8 alternative paid search engines. From straight PPC providers MIVA and 7Search, to the newer, "more social" offerings like Facebook Ads and MySpace SelfServe Ads, these services can expand the reach of a paid search campaign -- exposing it to a different audience and typically at a lower cost-per-click. Baker notes that the social newcomers have …

While click fraud is an ongoing problem with PPC, Jennifer Slegg stumbled upon an example of one site owner's misguided attempt at combating it. A Canadian moving company chose to use an automated service to detect (and deter) fraudulent clicks, but the system was unable to differentiate between real customers and bots or scammers. Visitors that had arrived by clicking on a specific AdWords ad were redirected to a custom landing page -- one that accused them of click fraud and threatened legal action. The error has since been corrected, but Slegg's in-depth post details …

Moving pages around during a site redesign can be tricky, and while most Webmasters are urged to use 301 redirects (to keep both users and search engine spiders from getting stranded) -- sometimes hard stops like the infamous 404 "Page Not Found" message can't be avoided. But does a 404 page have to be dull, bland and boring? Not according to Brendan Picha, President of Squareoak Media, a search firm. Picha wanted to create a custom 404 message for a client's site, so he searched the Web looking for inspiration. What he found was a wealth of …

Oodle, the classifieds search engine, has upgraded its search functionality, from allowing users to search listings "in context" by using market trend data, to building semantics features into the engine that understand abbreviatons like SF for San Francisco. The upgrades also include new advertising opportunities like premium placement ads and a partner distribution network. Faith Sedlin, the company's co-founder and vice president of marketing, calls it "Oodle 2.0," and notes that the changes focus on simplifying the search process, enabling users to store info on their previous searches, and give them all the info they need within the …

Microsoft's plans to vault to a much higher spot in terms of online advertising have been heavily covered in the trade and mainstream press as of late. Mike K outlines the software giant's four-step "10, 20, 30, 40" plan, which is based on increasing page views on MSN-owned sites to 10%, increasing total minutes spent on MSN-owned sites to 20% (of time spent online overall), pumping up Live Search's search share to 30% and snagging 40% of all online advertising dollars. Then he poses reasons why the latter two goals may be unattainable. For search, …