The Google Checkout process officially launched, offering its users a unified shopping process that emphasizes safety and user control of the online retail experience.

“Want a faster, safer and more convenient way to shop online? You got it,” Google says on the main page for Google Checkout. The service allows its users to shop from multiple online stores with a single login.

Google also addressed consumer confidence with the debut. It has a fraud protection policy in place to protect against unauthorized purchases made through Checkout. Also, Google said it does not share full credit card numbers or purchase history with sellers.

By Jim Hedger, StepForth News Editor,
StepForth Placement Inc.

One of the most frequently asked questiôns readers and clients ask, revolves around how websites can be best optimized to meet the algorithmic needs of each of the major 4 search engines, Google, Yahoo, MSN and Ask.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Though there have been wide sweeping changes in the organic search engine landscape over the past six months, the fundamental ways search engines operate remains the same.

The Objective Two website funding from Broadband4Devon appears to have come to an end.  Clients who had pending applications have been dissappointed to receive letters telling them funds have been exhausted.  People with Offer Letters are still eligable for funding but are advised to proceed ASAP.  Other areas of Devon, not previously covered by the Objective Two funding, are able to get support, so if you are planning to build a website or update an existing site, especially with e-commerce, it is a good idea to get your proposal in quickly.  Broadband4Devon tell me that currently they have funding until early 2007.  Further information at www.broadband4devon.org.uk however ignore the postcode checker and make contact direct with them.

By Kim Roach (c) 2006

Yahoo was started in 1994 by two college students named David Filo and Jerry Yang. They started Yahoo as a way to keep track of their personal interests on the Internet. Nevër did they imagine that their online ventures would turn into one of the most recognized brands on the Internet.
The Yahoo directory quickly gained popularity as the hot spot for finding useful Web sites. In the fall of 1994, Yahoo had its first million-hit day, translating to almost 100 thousand unique visitors. Today, Yahoo is one of the top sites on the internet, receiving over 345 million visitors every month.

By Manoj Jasra for WebProNews

Attending Omniture’s Web Analytics Summit has made me realize the extent of segmentation and analysis an analytics suite can provide for an organization.

As stated in a previous article, about half of search marketers use analytics. This is a surprisingly low figure; however, of this 50%, how many online marketers are aware of the advanced features that can help focus and drive their overall search marketing strategies? Having analytics in place is just half of the solution, actually using them and tailoring them to provide solid information and reasoning is what separates those on the leading edge from those on the bleeding edge.

A selection of content on Google Video has been made available for free as advertisers have signed on to support those videos. “Free video made possible by www.bk.com,” reads the text above the Google Video replay of the Hatton-Maussa fight from last November.

I’ll spare you the suspense; Hatton wins the fight by TKO in the ninth, and the WBA light welterweight title.

Too bad it couldn’t have been the first Corrales-Castillo bout, but you do get what you pay for after all. As ZDNet’s Garett Rogers noted, the “free today” videos are paid for by advertisers.

Written by David Utter for WebProNews.com

A dozen high-powered companies inside and outside of the technology industry jointly requested Congress pass a law to protect the privacy of consumers, while insulating them from being “brought to their knees” by class-action lawsuits.

Efforts by Google and other technology companies to drum up support for federal privacy legislation appear to be motivated by a desire for protection from civil actions in the event of a privacy breach as much as ensuring Internet users keep using the Web for commerce.

By David A. Utter

A variety of analytics tools made available by Microsoft will help its adCenter customers optimize their campaigns for greater effectiveness.

Another option in Microsoft’s entry into self service contextual advertising has become available. MediaPost noted the arrival of AdLab from Microsoft.

AdLab focuses on delivering more useful information on paid search, contextual advertising, behavioral targeting, and emerging markets. Presently, demos of several tools may be found on the AdLab website.

Under Paid Search, users can see the effect of “search funnels,” sequences of keywords people tend to enter when conducting searches. Users can pick incoming or outgoing funnels, which show the queries made before or after a particular keyword has been searched.

Marketing your business is of high importance in increasing your customer base and product/service sales. There are many ways you can market your business and receive results. Keep in mind that the average return on your efforts is 1%-3% return for the contacts made. Therefore, the more contacts the more responses you’ll receive.

By Jason Lee Miller

We are entering the era of the Internet Super Company. eBay chief executive Meg Whitman’s words to the Financial Times certainly alluded to that path, without admitting to any near-term plans from her company.

It also may spell the end of the traditional merger.

The problem with giant mergers is the difficulty in branding. Think of AT&T, SBC, Bell South, and Cingular and the waffling between brand names.

Eventually it all becomes AT&T but not after $4 billion was spent and forgotten on Cingular’s branding alone.