Google began testing Comparison Ads in the mortgage industry, which enable searches to compare multiple offers on one search engine query page. It allows people to clarify exactly what they're looking for, Carrie explains, but she raises concerns for PPC advertisers. While Comparison Ads should improve the shopping experience for consumers, Carrie also explains why Google needs to make the feature opt-in. She asks "How would this roll out for ecommerce sites where browsing is encouraged?" -- since the tool seems as if it only benefits advertisers who are lead-driven.

The United Kingdom-based newspaper The Guardian has dropped JavaScript to improve SEO of its online edition, according to Scott Tickner. The decision aims to make comments more accessible through mobile phones that are not JavaScript-enabled and can't see the comments on the page. It also will make pages easier for search engine spiders to crawl, he writes. Yet Tickner believes the Guardian is taking a step back in innovation, instead of moving forward. He explains the pitfalls of the decision and why it might hurt, rather than help, the online paper.

Ina Steiner pulls together a two-part interview with Tom Critchlow to talk about how Google drives traffic to Web sites and whether it makes a difference for merchants to use Google Checkout verses PayPal. Critchlow delves into advice on using AdWords, Google Merchant Center, and Google Checkout. For example, when asked whether accepting Google Checkout gets a merchant's listing ranked higher in result, Critchlow says, "Yes," but that's because "reviews via Google Checkout seem to be more trusted than reviews on third-party sites."Part 2: http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y09/m11/i05/s01

How do you excel in search engine marketing in 2010? Explore reporting options, optimize to the ultimate conversion point, and provide branded click path analysis. For example, Michelle Stern writes that "if a large percentage of your sales or customers come from branded searches, as it does for most advertisers, then it is important to perform click path analysis on those entering your Web site from branded terms."

Write a quick blog comment, have someone link to that content, and move up in the search engine query rankings. Correct? Not always. Sage Lewis explains that some blogs insert the nofollow tag in comments, which tells search engines to give zero weight to links when determining rank. While this tactic has been around for years, Sage believes not enough commenters know and understand the strategy. So, he provides tactical insights on linking to blogs and content to move up in search engine rankings, along with tips on installing a Firefox add-on that identifies dofollows and nofollow links.

How do search engines rank user-generated content in search engine results? Bill Slawski has found a patent application that explores an approach for indexing and integrating UGC into Web search results. He tells us the patent application introduces three concepts--document goodness, author, and location--that might combine to become helpful in rankings. Slawski also analyzes the patent to question whether signals, similar to the ones listed in the patent, might account for determining if the UGC presents certain Twitter posts for some search results.

Herdon Hasty believes search can help companies develop brand recognition better than traditional television or media campaigns. He points to search as a tactic for widening the purchase funnel at the top to create awareness and using PPC and SEO to bring it on home. Hasty reminds us that "search isn't a true top-of-funnel medium," and that a shopper must search for something to trigger an ad. But taking into consideration the volume of traffic on a search engine and the size of the audience, brands can build as much awareness as through traditional media. Hasty provides an …

Providing a cautionary tip about using broad match in Google AdWords, Joe tells us a tale "about casting a wide keyword net within international waters" that might force you swimming in the wrong direction. His example: a campaign optimized for international distribution that pulled up "quite a few search queries that weren't even in English," even though all the keywords were in English. Joe analyses reasons for seeing so many different languages in the queries, and explains why this result created problems in that PPC campaign.

How did Jim Henson and the creators of "Sesame Street" know about Google? A video created in 1982 shows the Cookie Monster using the word "google" in a song (rhyming it with bugle) 16 years before the company even existed. Celebrating "Sesame Street"'s 40th anniversary, Marissa Mayer shares this video. During the next seven days, the Google homepage will feature some of the show's favorite characters as the world counts down to the anniversary of "Sesame Street" on Nov. 10.

In an interview with Jeremy Shoemaker, Aaron Wall asks the sensitive questions to find out how linkbait can prompt publicity, and how he monetize his audience without harming his credibility. Shoemaker is known for earning some hefty checks from Google AdSense. Shoemaker and Wall also talk about the biggest risks to Shoemaker's business, what keeps him up at night, and affiliate programs. Shoemaker also lists blogs and posts he reads religiously -- a list that mixes SEO gurus with celebrity gossip.