Launching a new site? It's been said before (and will probably be blogged about again), but having SEO in mind from the very beginning is vital to ensuring that a Web site ultimately ranks well across multiple engines. Dev Basu lists 5 tips to consider during the planning phase in a new Web site launch, and the first is choosing a simple, static URL. Why make it harder for the spiders (and users) to find or remember your home page? Basu also recommends setting up a Google Webmaster Central account, as it gives you insight straight from the …

2007 was a big year for Ask (or "The Little Search Engine that Could"), with their rollout of Ask 3D in June and their onslaught of TV ads touting the benefits of their 3-paneled approach to multi-vertical, multimedia search. But the giant still managed to steal some of their thunder--and even though Ask did it first, many in the industry now call search's evolution by Google's moniker "Universal Search," instead of "3D search" or some iteration. No matter. Ask did some amazing things last year outside of debuting blended search. In February, Ask Mobile added a GPS feature …

Kelsey Group analyst Mike Boland serves up a set of 8 local search trends that will "rock the search engine world in '08"--starting with the explosion of video ads that began last year. Boland says that CitySearch kicked off the trend in May, and multiple IYP providers (including Idearc's Superpages and AT&T's YellowPages) jumped on the bandwagon. Expect the trend to continue. Boland also says that IPTV is the next local search frontier, as telecom providers like AT&T are investing big bucks to build out their Internet-to-TV networks, and monetize them with local search ads (i.e., on-screen searches for …