While Google may have proved an increasingly useful tool in search engine optimisation, for some businesses this love is likely to have turned to disdain, according to one commentator.

In a blog for Search Engine Watch, Kevin Ryan said that for some it will be difficult to pinpoint when this disdain occurred.

While the use of social media marketing is increasing in popularity, companies can fail at it if they do not ensure they know where their audience is, one expert has claimed.

In a post for Search Engine Watch, Liana Evans noted that frequently companies saw or heard about the latest social networking trend and jumped into it, but that this type of "knee-jerk reaction" could end up being to the "detriment" of a business.

A while ago, we posted about reports of US advertisers testing an early beta version of a new Google AdWords interface. Well, for the past few weeks, Google have gradually been rolling out this beta test (albeit a much later version) across more and more accounts in Europe, and here at hômejames we’ve been having a play! In this post we explain some of the new features and give you our thoughts.

Technology - such as search engine optimisation (SEO) - can help businesses reduce their spending, but one expert notes it should be tested for its effectiveness first.

Research projects manager at The Chartered Institute of Marketing Thomas Brown said such technology can be a "great" way of maintaining the dialogue between customers and the brand.

When it comes to building effective search engine optimisation (SEO), website creators need to look at the visual aspects of the site as well as the content, according to one commentator.

In a post for SEO Book, Peter D said he believed users' attention spans were getting shorter as they became accustomed to "quick hit" sites, including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Digg.

Online engagement has increased in recent months thanks to social media marketing and video content reshaping the internet, according to new research.

An article for Nielsen Online by Charlie Buchwalter reveals that in the last year alone, users spent more time on social networks than they are on their email.

Google has made enhancements to its new Search-based Keyword Tool, which may have a positive effect on search engine optimisation.

Writing on the Google blog, Dan Friedman explains that the tool examines the content of a website to match it against the Google search queries.

Yahoo! has announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2009, with revenues falling 13 per cent since the end of March 2008.

Furthermore, marketing services revenues decreased by 12 per cent over the period, while fees saw a 20 per cent decline.

Google has launched its new tool Profile Results in an effort to boost its people search facilities.

The tool will allow users to more efficiently filter search results to find those that directly relate to them or the person they are looking for, rather than having to search through links referring to someone of the same name.

There are now many simple ways businesses can boost their online rankings through search engine optimisation (SEO), including using blogs and social media marketing.

However, Search Engine Watch's Mark Jackson notes that it can still be difficult for smaller firms to compete with well-established brands and that one critical point to keep in mind is getting keywords into links.

Search engine optimisation (SEO) punditry has become a "cult of personality", while Google rankings are continuing to favour "quality" news providers and authoritive spokespeople, according to one commentator.

SEO Book's Peter D was commenting on recent remarks made by Google chairman and chief executive Eric Schmidt at the Newspaper Association of America conference, where he admitted that the search engine did not have an algorithm to promote trustworthy sources to higher rankings than those that are better known.

Human account management is vital to the success of search marketing and pay per click, according to one internet watchdog.

Julia Smith, senior manager at the Internet Advertising Sales Houses (IASH), said that businesses should keep in mind that the "right user" for them was someone who stayed on a website, came back to it or interacted with it.

Phorm - a group which uses online behavioural marketing techniques - has been criticised by one public interest group for acting inappropriately over their policy to scan websites to tailor advertisements to individuals.

A spokesperson for the World Privacy Forum said that collecting user information for the use of targeted advertising was "crossing an inappropriate boundary".

Google has confirmed that it has changed the way sitelinks appear in its search results.

Google is continuing to hold its own in the search engine market, according to data released this week.

The figures by comScore reveal that in the US, Google's share of searches for March was at 63.7 per cent, up from the 63.3 per cent recorded in February.

Social media marketing could soon face stricter guidelines being placed on it, after it was reported that the Federal Trade Commission is planning to regulate any online viral marketing that uses social networking sites or blogs.

This will include social networks such as Facebook and MySpace, as well as micro-blogging sites like Twitter.

There are more than two ways to make money using search engine optimisation (SEO), according to one expert.

In an article for SEOmoz, Randfish states that he is "notoriously against" surface-level analysis of the SEO profession but that he wished to offer a more thorough guide on boosting return on investment through SEO.

Businesses have been advised by one commentator on ways they can optimise their use of social media to their own advantage.

In a post for Search Engine Watch, Carrie Hill follows up her earlier article on Twitter by claiming that finding and participating in local and niche forums can also help firms to become an authority within their own sector.

The increase in rankings of a site which specifically rubbishes competitors has led to one expert stating that Google is responsible for the creation of an "entire new industry" - reputation management.

Ripoff Report includes posts about organisations which may be seen as competitors and was founded by Ed Magedson.

Due to ongoing performance rights issues, YouTube could be set to lose some of its traffic to the streaming and downloading site Spotify, one expert has predicted.

Benn Camm-Jones, news editor at Web User magazine, said: "YouTube are still having a problem I think in the UK and I understand in other countries now in terms of the rights and the money the Performing Rights Society are demanding from them."

Businesses have been advised by one expert that they must find a way to manage the content of social media without damaging its "simplicity of implementation and use".

Brice Dunwoodie, publisher of CMSwire.com, added that firms keen to implement social media marketing and record the content of modern communication channels, such as instant messaging, blogs and social networks, should ensure they do not prevent the ease of use that makes these sites so popular with internet users.

Google continues to lead in search engine popularity, according to new research.

Figures released this week by Hitwise reveal that the search engine's share of the US market has continued to grow, climbing to 72.39 per cent in March, from 72.11 per cent in the previous month.

The chief executive officer of Google has addressed leaders in the print industry in an attempt to ease tensions between the sector and the world of online search.

Eric Schmidt spoke at the Newspaper Association of America conference in San Diego yesterday (April 7th), amid tension from press officials seeing their revenues fall.

Internet advertising techniques, including pay per click and search engine optimisation, are showing resilience through the current recession, a point that one commentator claims is not surprising.

Eva Berg-Winters, assistant director at PricewaterhouseCoopers Strategy, said that search advertising in particular was able to show a good return on investment for businesses and brands.

Advertising on the internet using methods such as pay per click is likely to be more successful than using other media platforms, one expert has speculated.

However, Eva Berg-Winters, assistant director at PricewaterhouseCoopers Strategy, said that some sectors were likely to remain flat during 2009, while others would perform well.

Sometimes, failure can lead to greater success, according to one commentator who has posed the query how many search engine optimisation (SEO) goals are aimed at winning the battle and not the war.

In a blog for SEO Book, Peter D notes that one of the biggest mistakes businesses and user who are new to SEO can make is focusing too much of their attention on rankings.

A group of villagers in the UK have made a stand against one of the world's largest web firms - and they did not use their computers to do so.

The Times reports today (April 3rd) that a group of residents from Broughton in Buckinghamshire had been on alert for unfamiliar vehicles since a spate of burglaries began.

When someone spotted the Google Street View car, a group formed a human chain and told the driver he was committing an "invasion of privacy", claiming that the pictures could attract burglars.

Resident Paul Jacobs told the news resource: "If our houses are plastered all over Google it’s an invitation for more criminals to strike. I was determined to make a stand."

While this physical stand against Google may have proved successful, other critics are more comfortable to use the internet to voice their concerns.

Recent threads on the WebmasterWorld and Google Analytics Help forums have focused on complaints that Google Analytics is no longer tracking Google AdWords data properly.

SEO Roundtable's Rusty Brick reminds users that they must link their analytics account to their AdWords accounts if they wish to successfully pass this information.

Contact home james to see how Website Analytics can help your Search Marketing campaign.

The search engine optimisation (SEO) community is all a-Twitter, according to one expert.

In a blog for Search Engine Watch, Kevin Ryan explains that the site was dubbed the micro-blogging platform of the future upon its launch and that today it could "dispel running erroneous data points about the millions of bloggers out there".

Social networks are likely to continue to experiment until a "viable model" which allows them to make money is created, one commentator has speculated.

Tim Houghton, managing director of New Media Intelligence, said that as yet, social networks had not yet been able to generate substantial revenue and that this would be the challenge over the coming months and years.

While many businesses have realised the value of social media marketing, companies have been advised not to spend all of their time Twittering and networking when there is other online marketing work they could be doing.

In a blog for Search Engine Watch, Carrie Hill explains that some large brands have employees with the specific task of visiting social networks to act as brand advocates but that smaller companies' employees had multiple responsibilities.

Businesses are increasingly turning to Twitter to aid them in their social media marketing by using the tool to talk to their customers and gather feedback from them on the services and products they provide, one expert has claimed.

However, Tim Houghton, managing director of New Media Intelligence, said that while many small firms in the UK had embraced Twitter, many of the larger companies had yet to do so, unlike in the US where "almost all" large technology businesses were utilising it.