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Yesterday Google rolled out video alerts to its Google Alerts service. If you've never used Alerts, it's a handy way to get Web content updates delivered straight to your e-mail inbox based on keywords. In the case of the new video search, Google will deliver links to videos it's indexed. So how is this helpful? Say you're a big video fan, and you dig seeing those Diet Coke and Mentos videos online. There are always some crazy teenagers out in the suburbs doing new things with them, and that equates to a lot of new videos. … Read more

I'm sitting here at Microsoft's "Searchification" event in Mountain View, Calif., but I can't tell you any of the news because it's all embargoed until tonight at 9 p.m. PT. Check back then for the full story. In the meantime, you can get a mini preview leaked by a Microsoft employee last week.

I realize the search market is a hot space and the major players, along with a lot of minor players, are all trying to hold themselves out as industry leaders. But some of the names of the events are getting … Read more

No, I'm not talking about running laps or playing dodgeball...although a dodgeball challenge of white-hat vs. black-hat SEOers is certainly something to get the adrenaline pumping. The PE here is progressive enhancement, the better looking sibling of graceful degradation.

Progressive enhancement and graceful degradation are common topics in design and accessibility circles, but these are just as important to SEO as well. These techniques are often used along with advanced technologies like JavaScript, Ajax and Flash, but are even applicable to basics like application of CSS.

Let's start with some basics...using neither of these means that … Read more

Attendi is a combination search engine and chat service.

Accepting the fact that Google and Yahoo have won the search engine battle, Attendi says it wants to be the search engine that "bypasses Internet content and head straight for your brain." The aim is to provide answers for questions individuals have that have yet to be indexed on the Web.

Example: Should you want to find a motorcycle that works well for someone who weighs 260 pounds, when you google that, you get a mishmash of irrelevant to mildly relevant answers. Searching on Attendi brings up a list … Read more

It's that time of year again when the kids head back to school and the air begins to hint at the coming of fall. I'm sure the first few days of school are spent doing a little refresh to get all the kids back up to speed after the summer months.

Of course SEOs don't get summer breaks and the learning doesn't ever really stop or even slow down. But that doesn't mean that a little SEO refresher every now and again isn't useful or is any less valuable.

Here are 10 important elements … Read more

Meanwhile, Nielsen/NetRatings figures for August 2007 put Google at 53.6 percent U.S. market share, Yahoo at 20 percent, Microsoft at 13 percent and AOL at 5.6 percent.

Microsoft has overhauled the look of its Live.com search page, part of a series of changes expected in the coming weeks.

While the first visible changes are to the user interface, fonts and look of the Live.com search page, the bigger changes are coming to the engine itself, as well as the way Microsoft presents results. (Props to the folks over at Liveside.net for spotting the changes.)

Microsoft has scheduled a press event, dubbed "Searchification," for September 26 at its Silicon Valley offices, where it is expected to tell all.

But we'll keep watching … Read more

Zocdoc is a new service for finding local dentists and booking appointments for times that work with your schedule. It's aim is to replace the often aggravating process of trying to find a local dentist through the overwhelming, and often non-user-friendly directories provided by insurance companies.

Just plug in your city or ZIP code, and Zocdoc will pull up a list of local dentists, along with their daily appointment openings and insurance options. You can sort open appointment times by the type of service you're looking for--e.g., cleanings, Invisalign, or the hallowed root canal. If you find … Read more

Google is launching AdSense for Mobile, which will allow marketers to place contextual ads on sites viewed via mobile devices. The company has been running mobile ads through its auction-based AdWords program since mid-2006. Now it will be automatically converting AdWords ads to text ads that will appear when someone accesses a participating Web site on a mobile device. The Web sites must be optimized for mobile browsers first.

Basically, the system reviews the content on the site and delivers text ads that are relevant; the publisher earns money every time an ad is clicked on. AdSense for Mobile will … Read more