Randy Weber » search

“Performing two Google searches uses up as much energy as boiling the kettle for a cup of tea.”

Randy Weber — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 19:11:55 +0000

OK, I get it. Data centers use a lot of energy. Google has a lot of data centers. The energy they use is allocated across the searches performed. So what am I supposed to do about this? The Times Online which published this story was pretty short on answers. Thanks for nothing…and the guilt trip.

Yahoo! Search Advertiser Share Drops, This Can’t Be Good

Randy Weber — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 07:19:57 +0000

From Silicon Alley Insider:

After holding steady for most of 2008, Yahoo’s share of all search engine advertisers dropped like a rock in October, November and December — plummeting from 30.4% to 19.4% at the end of Q4, according to search marketing firm AdGooroo.

How do you explain this? Everyone else is gaining share and they’re losing it. This is very sad to see. I’ve always liked Yahoo!

Which Google Products Make Money?

Randy Weber — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 04:13:25 +0000

Google Blogoscoped has an elaborate chart of all the google products and how they are monetized. It’s very confusing. So lets make this simple:

Google has 10 products that are relevant – search, adwords/adsense, maps, gmail, toolbar, youtube, analytics, doubleclick, their affiliate network, and news. Everything else is an also-ran.
Of these 10 products, the only ones making any real money are search/adwords/adsense, doubleclick, and their affiliate network. You could also say the toolbar makes money since it drives revenue through search.
Perhaps chrome, apps, android, and reader will matter one day soon, though this doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll make any money.

Now, wasn’t that easier?

Happy New Year!

Randy Weber — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 07:27:50 +0000

I hope everyone has a great new year.

Is it just me or does Live Search put the coolest pics up?

Citysearch Mashup a Model for iPhone App?

Randy Weber — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 19:13:54 +0000

The Kelsey Group Blogs discusses a Citysearch Mashup that combines Citysearch data with Google Maps. It looks nice, but there’s no content. Try a search for pizza in north Dallas. There’s nothing there. Google Maps, Yahoo, and the IYP sites have more/better content. But the UI is nice.

Yahoo Licenses Urban Mapping Data

Randy Weber — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:31:20 +0000

My friend Ian runs Urban Mapping. It’s a great little company that provides neighborhood and public transit data to be overlaid on top of maps and to better refine local search queries. We used his data while I was at SuperPages.com. Ian just completed a deal to provide Yahoo with neighborhood data. I think that’s great. It will definitely improve the results you get back on local searches in urban areas.

The deal was announced on Search Engine Watch.