AOL bags Google

[highman]

http://www.google.com/press/pressrel/aol.html

Interesting.... MSN L$smart better tidy up

[ihelpyou]

YES!!!

OH my. A big nail in the coffin for L$. They were counting on that account in a big way.

Now I can HIGHLY recommend Google AdWords to clients. HIGHLY.

[ihelpyou]

hmm. I have never really givin AOL much respect but I must say the respect angle has went up tremendously with the choosing of Google.

A big kudus to AOL and a big Congrats to Google. :cheers:

Notice this:

"Multi-Year Deal"

[Alan Perkins]

Very interesting. The AOL/Overture deal was extended by a week from 24 April while they tried to iron out a new deal. Obviously never happened.

[Advisor]

Sounds like they're going to be provided regular search results too! Does this mean they're blowing off Inktomi? That's what it sounds like to me.

Jill

[highman]

Yes sounds like a long term deal, the problem i see here is the 'eggs in bakets' one, It sure means I can now live without MSN, LS and quite poss INK

[OptWizard]

>>Sounds like they're going to be provided regular search results too! Does this mean they're blowing off Inktomi?<<<

What do you mean regular results? Do you mean do there own spidering?

[Advisor]

By regular results, I mean not just google ad words. It sounds like AOL will be using Google results (ala yahoohoogle), as opposed to the Inktomi results they're using now.

Jill

[OptWizard]

I didnt get that? let me read the article again..

PLus how does AOL determine what ad words to use in there top 3 results?

[Alan Perkins]

Originally posted by Advisor
Sounds like they're going to be provided regular search results too!That looks fairly unequivocal to me. It was tempting to see this in the light of the end of the AOL/Overture partnership as just Adwords replacing Overture. But I think it's much more than that.

Adwords doesn't even make it into the headline of the press release:Google's Award-Winning Search Engine to Power Search Functions Across America Online's Brands, Providing Consumers Easy Access to the Most Popular Search Engine AvailableInstead it is relegated to the sub-heading:Google Will Also Provide Its Popular Paid Listings in Search Areas of AOL, AOL.COM, CompuServe and NetscapeNote the "Also".

[OptWizard]

Interesting?

So far I see the ad words but not the regular results?

[Alan Perkins]

The second paragraph "Under the agreement..." describes regular results.

The third paragraph "In addition, a marketing agreement..." describes AdWords.

[ihelpyou]

I did not even notice the heading/sub thing. Oh my. If that's the case, now I know why I have never paid Inktomi to be listed. Oh my.

The "all eggs in one basket" is looking like a very good summary now. Oh my.

This is big.

Opt, the press release said AOL would be incorporating over the next couple of weeks in Netscape and Compuserve. AOL will be after that.

Get it going now GigaBlast. I believe we need more spider engines and fast.

[Advisor]

It's all spelled out pretty clearly:

"Under the agreement, Google's search technology will begin powering the search areas of AOL, CompuServe, AOL.COM and Netscape this summer."

That's not ads. That's search technology (and what I call "regular results.") Look for it this summer.

J

[highman]

im reading this as both regular results and adwords.... the whole google shooting match!

Lucky I,m alright with Google :)

[Advisor]

Other than the fact that we have to wait 4 - 6 weeks to see changes occur in Google results (and soon to be AOL) it should be a good thing all around. Hopefully Google will start getting quicker at refreshing. Then all will be well.

s-ucks for inktomi and their partners, though.

Jill

(I thought I fixed that s-uck thing???)

[Hope]

My concern is that some of the less than honorable marketers and going to start trying to spam Google. Since AOL is a spammers dream, they will want to spam the search. I hope google is ready for it.

[Advisor]

Heidi, they already try (and often succeed) in spamming Google. Those that will, already do. I don't think it will be much different.

Besides, I do think Google is ready. They've made great strides in making the spammer pages not appear. They may appear for a month or so, but it does seem that they're getting removed or penalized much more lately.

This will be a great boon for AOL search. Should be much better results than Inktomi provided, imo.

Jill

[OptWizard]

The google paid Adwords already are in AOL Search...The question is what ad words do they take for the search?

[Advisor]

I don't see the adwords in the search yet.

Wouldn't they simply do them the same way they do them on Google? Their crazy mixture of bid price, plus relevancy factor?

J

[OptWizard]

Sponsored Links:
* Provided by a third party and not endorsed by AOL.

these result look like google ad words? am i worng?

they are not overture..from the article it says adwords happening now....

"Google's paid listings will begin rolling out on the AOL service and AOL.COM immediately; they will launch on Netscape and CompuServe in the next several weeks"

[ihelpyou]

Yep. Every search I do comes up with AdWords now. :thumb:

[OptWizard]

I knew I wasnt crazy....BUT how is those adwords determined? And do you notice no tracking URL for it? Hmmm

[ihelpyou]

It's just getting started so I would wait to see.

I would imagine there will be a rotation of some kind by AOL. Also note that not everyone who advertises with AdWords will also do so in "AOL AdWords". Remember that Google gives you the option of where your listing shows up. You can opt-out of AOL if you wish. You can also opt-out of Google but show in AOL. You can do anything you wish as far as I know.

[Matt B]

Google Kicks Ass!!!! (sorry if that's offensive, but it's accurate)

This has to be the biggest and best thing to hit in months. Kudos to AOL for sacking up and laying the wood to Overture, L$, and Ink.
Congrats to Google - Love ya baby!

BTW, I taught my 18 mo. old daughter to say "google" when I ask what the best search engine is . . .

[Advisor]

Where are the ads showing up? I see no sponsored results, and no adwords at aol. What search are you using? This is weird!

oops...found one. So they're at the top, huh? Hmm...no wonder Google is cracking down on what we say in the ads. They're going to have to change how you use that first line I think, if that's going to be how they show up. I assumed they would show up as a box like on Google.

Jill

[nudetravel]

This is the best news I have heard all year....I do VERY well in google but horrible in Inktomi. Pretty much makes inktomi irrelevant to me now.

[MakeMeTop]

Not particularly good news for MMT the uncrowned Ink supremo - but an understandable move. Clients will see little effect really apart from the unpredictability of results which will be a bit of a pain. At least with Ink one could tweak, tweak again and the results would pretty much stay put for a year or two.

All eyes are now on the Yahoo deal up for grabs on June 1st. A reliable source gave me odds of 60/40 on a Google renewal in Google's favour with Inktomi the runner-up. This just may change the odds in Inks' favour a little - but it's wait and see time.

Phew, what a roller-coaster the last few weeks have been

:D

We need another search engine everyone. Too much control of the 'net is NOT a good thing. In my mind, this is getting a dangerous situation.

[ihelpyou]

Yes. Has anyone alerted Gigablast to this? He should really try to get things squared away asap.

BTW all, I am told to tell as many as possible to sign up for AdWords as soon as you can(if you plan to), as they see a long line coming very soon. Right now, the line is small and you get set up immediately, but tomorrow and the days following are looking like a long wait.

[cb12514]

This is great! I love Google, and now I think they are already beginning to show Google Ad Words on AOL already. My company is appearing in the number one spot from my Google Ad, but I viewed the source and the URL looks think its from Google, but the appname is still called GOTO, any thoughts?

href="http://search.aol.com/redir.adp?appname=GOTO&query=optical%2520encoders&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2egoogle%2ecom%2furl%3fq%3dhttp%3a%2f%2fwww%2eusdigital%2ecom%2fproducts%2foptical%2dencoders%2eshtml%253Fsource%253Dgoogle%26amp%3bsa%3dl%26amp%3bai%3dAW1GNsHC08AOiJgKqUEu1BYvytYN3XR8z7TgABopTAAJ9dEQABA%26amp%3bnum%3d1" onmouseover="self.status='http://www.usdigital.com'; return true" onmouseout="self.status=''; return true" title="http://www.usdigital.com"><b>Optical Encoders @ USD</b></a>: <font style="font-weight:normal">US Digital specializes in low cost Absolute &amp; Incremental Encoders.</font></li>

[ihelpyou]

Welcome to the forums cb! :hi:

Oh yes, all I see now is AdWords on AOL and that should be all anyone sees now, btw.

[cb12514]

I think this shows that real search is important and relevancy. This is a plus for Google, AOL, and their users. Its encouraging to see this move after seeing what Looksmart did over the past few weeks! Go google!:D

[Matt B]

Google Rules!

[WebSavvy]

LOL Highman,

Google emailed me their press release and I was going to post it, but I see you beat me to it! ;) Advantage UK.

Google is pretty good, but I'm not crazy about the idea of all of these other SE's dumping their own databases to serve information from another.

It's boiling down to Google, DMOZ, Yahoo, Inktomi, Overture, running the show.

I have quite a few niche-search engines in my database. They all up until the past 6 months served their own data. In the past six months about 400 have switched to serving Google data and about 600 have moved to PPC or PPI. Things are getting very strange in the SE world as of late.

Yes, we need another search engine! A people's search engine. Not one that will later sell out to the big boys.

[Scottl44]

Yes, we need another search engine! A people's search engine. Not one that will later sell out to the big boys.

Amen to that, Savvy (i.e., the well-dressed gal from the Land of Lincoln.) ;)

The whole internet is in need of a lift on behalf of the public. Big Business is moving on a variety of fronts to claim areas of the net which should be more representative of the public's needs. The consolidation of the search engines into principally just one is the tip of a growing iceberg. :mad:

[cb12514]

If you can figure out how to design a site that will financially survive based on non-paying internet traffic alone, I'll help you design the site. Companies need to make money and pay for the servers. I think Google is doing a great job of balancing free quality/content and making a necessary profit. What do the rest of you guys think? ;)

[markymark]

Providing Google keeps the search (and entry to the search database) free, then I guess it is not too bad for the moment. However, I am pretty much in agreement with MakeMeTop - I do very well in Ink and don't really want to see another Google powered search engine. I'm hoping Ink picks up the Yahoo deal - anyone (well, almost anyone) but Google; though I doubt it will happen.

I also think that in terms of results, Google is not a particularly good choice for AOL users - the title and description thing that Inktomi displays is far clearer and more newbie friendly than Google's snippet approach. Also, as a consequence of the way Inktomi works, if you are searching to buy rather than simply for information, Inktomi is a better search than Google.

[MsSearch]

I agree with markymark and MMT...not to mention that with Google and their indexing, the databse is not stable for one week out of every month...also with their indexing, sometimes a site is in and sometimes it is left out for the month/penalized (which can seriously hinder a site's performance)...

i also have been seeing much, much more Inktomi traffic :) recently, probably due to the LS thang and also my rankings climbing...

My one pet peeve of the SE's is seeing the same results across many engines (one database supplying results to numerous SE's)....

just my .02 cents worth...

[Matt B]

If you can figure out how to design a site that will financially survive based on non-paying internet traffic alone, I'll help you design the site.

Funny you should say that. I just did a case study of one of our newest sites. We built an online catalog for a catalog-based retailer. Working at a design and programming firm, I have a hand in how the sites are built, so that they are SE friendly.

The site went live and I couldn't get to the optimization for 3 months because the client left on vacation before giving approval. Within those 3 months it was picked up by Google, Inktomi (resulting in AOL and MSN rankings) and FAST. Mind you - NO submission except for DMOZ!

I still haven't done any paid submission and this site's traffic is over 33% search engine referrals, over 5,000 user sessions/mo., and averaging $20,000 in monthly sales. No paid inclusion, no paid submission, no paid listings, no submission (except DMOZ). "Build it right and they will come."

It doesn't get any easier than this. I just got the approval to SEM the site last week.

When are you available for the re-design? ;)

[kneelsit]

I agree with markymark and MMT...not to mention that with Google and their indexing, the databse is not stable for one week out of every month...also with their indexing, sometimes a site is in and sometimes it is left out for the month/penalized

Hear! Hear! MsS, MMT, and mkmk :up: - There is no consistency whatsoever, and sites are not just left out for 1 month - try 5 months!!

seeing the same results across many engines (one database supplying results to numerous SE's)....

Variety is the life blood of the Internet. Let us all support the smaller but worthwhile SEs and sing their praises - where they are deserved:-

GoGuides, Gigablast, Kartoo, Fast etc.