As predicted, Yahoo's purchase of IndexTools has set the Web analytics suite free. The free platform will only be accessible to current IndexTools clients and partners, but Yahoo plans to make it more widespread after the initial months of employee and technology integration--and preparation for a full-scale product update and rollout. Current IndexTools clients must sign a new, Yahoo-approved service agreement to continue their use of the product. Dennis Mortensen, IndexTools' COO, added that news about the firm's bid management and marketing dashboard platforms would be forthcoming as well.

Industry analysts are pegging search as one of the few ad models that will be able to ride out the recession--which means search marketers might want to prep for a more crowded market as other advertisers jump on the bandwagon. But Kaitland Smeland says that there are ways to cut through the imminent marketplace clutter. First, prep for inflated bids as newcomers jump into the market and blind bid on broad terms for top placement from the onset. Smeland says to invest more heavily in less expensive, more specific keywords that may garner less traffic--but higher conversions. …

Udi Manber, Google's vice president of engineering, got served 20 questions by Popular Mechanics' Glenn Derene, ranging from digs about how social media and personalization affect search, to how the giant views potential upstarts and competitors. Manber said that Google's focus on improving the relevance and speed of core search is what keeps it one step ahead of social, semantic and other non-core search innovators. "Last year we made over 450 improvements to the algorithm," Manber said. And while Manber acknowledged that input from a searcher's closest friends might make a given search more accurate, it …

So you've reviewed your site's query and conversion reports, and tried all the keyword research tools--have you exhausted all of your options for sourcing new keywords? Not until you've done a thorough site review--with a particular focus on the deeper pages, says Joe Kerschbaum. Your FAQ pages can offer insight into long-tail keywords that customers may be navigating to, and provide a good source for PPC ad copy. News update and press pages can also offer new keywords, since if your company is appearing at an upcoming conference, you can snag searchers with "PPC summit [company name]" queries, …

Yahoo may have partnered with ClickForensics to combat click fraud, but that doesn't change the fact that some advertisers still feel like they got short-changed on fraudulent clicks in the past. Case in point, Bigreds.com's new $1 million click fraud lawsuit against the Web giant. The collectibles e-tailer is suing Yahoo for bad traffic it allegedly paid for between 2002 and 2005. Bigreds.com spent some $900,000 with Yahoo (which was operating as Overture at the time) and said that a majority of the clicks came from affiliate Web sites that actually got revenue kickbacks from the Web giant …

AKQA is reorganizing to better integrate search within its roster of interactive advertising services. Scott Linzer, the shop's newly hired director of search marketing, will lead the integration efforts--starting with incorporating the technology from SearchRev (a search firm that AKQA acquired last year). Linzer will also be tasked with developing a strong SEO practice. Scott Symonds, AKQA's executive media director, has said that SearchRev will still exist as an operational unit on its own, but be more focused on clients in need of tools and tech-focused services. Meanwhile, AKQA Search clients will be those in need of "a higher …

The Sunnyvale/Redmond saga continues, and while it may seem like the proposed acquisition isn't quite relevant to small business owners now, marketing types that actually work with both companies say that the way the deal shakes out could greatly affect Mom and Pop shops for the worse. "Heaven would be if Microsoft purchased Yahoo, kept Yahoo intact under the Yahoo brand, and used Yahoo search and Yahoo Search Marketing to power Microsoft Live," said Miki Dzugan, president of Rapport Online. However, if the software giant chose to go the other way and bundle everything under Live …

Let's say you're setting up an in-house training program for the slew of new hires that are about to roll in fresh out of college. Manoj Jasra says there are three things you need to know to build a high-quality search training course. First, eschew the text-only route. Include audio and video modules, and when applicable, throw in some scenario-based training. This way, trainees can get a feel for the everyday problems and tasks they'll be facing. Try to create one-on-one time with each student (even briefly) to develop actual relationships with them--and work on establishing …