93 Factors That Can Effect Search Engine Rankings
(September 29, 2005 - SEOmoz)
Rand Fishkin has compiled a list of 93 factors that could have an effect on your search engine rankings. Some of these are common knowledge. Others may come across as speculative. And then there are some that seem to change all the time.

Yahoo! Tests New Tools That Appeal To Brand & Traditional Marketers
(September 28, 2005 - ClickZ)
Yahoo has begun an effort to provide more advanced tools for choosing keywords in an effort to make search marketing more appealing to brand marketers and other traditional marketers. Two separate tools, Buzz Index and Search Share of Voice, have been in beta testing for the past two months with 10 to 15 of Yahoo!'s top advertisers and agency partners.

Could This Be the End Of Size Wars? Google Makes Move In That Direction
(September 27, 2005 - SearchDay)
Google dropped the famous count of pages in its index from its home page while simultaneously claiming it has the most comprehensive collection of web documents available.

Microsoft Joins PPC Game By Launching Ad Network in France and Singapore
(September 26, 2005 - The Search Engine Marketing Weblog)
Microsoft has quietly drifted its boat into the contextual search waters by launching its home-grown ad system in France and Singapore, with plans to test in the U.S. by the end of October.

Time Warner Head Says AOL Is the Company's Future
(September 23, 2005 - New York Times)
The chairman of Time Warner, Richard D. Parsons, say that improving the company's America Online Internet business was a priority as he tries to bolster the share price - signaling a tweak in strategy and a belief that the stigma of the AOL-Time Warner merger is finally a thing of the past.

SMA-NA Says Yes To Fight Against Traffic Power While SEMPO Stands on the Sidelines
(September 22, 2005 - Search Engine Guide)
In an ongoing thread that discusses the lawsuit that Traffic Power filed against Aaron Wall of SEO Book, members began to inquire as to whether the two North American search engine marketing associations SMA-NA and SEMPO, were going to comment or get involved in any way.

Why CPA is Not a Cure for Click Fraud
(September 20, 2005 - iMedia)
Isaac Scarborough reviews the click fraud controversy and lets us know why CPA (cost per acquisition) isn't a panacea for the industry and explores if CPA will eventually replace CPC.

Matt Cutts on Google Re-inclusion Requests
(September 19, 2005 - Matt Cutts Blog)
What is a re-inclusion request? It involves the process of removing a penalty imposed on a site usually for violating Google's guidelines. Matt Cutts gives some practical advice on how to go about requesting re-inclusion after your site has experienced a penalty.

SEW Forums Live Comes To The OC!
(September 15, 2005 - Search Engine Watch Blog)
The 2nd Search Engine Watch Forums Live event will be held at Disneyland! Well, the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California, to be precise. The date is Thursday, October 27 from 2:30pm to 6:00pm. A general session kicks off at 2:30pm where Search Engine Watch Forums editor Elisabeth Osmelowski will have a panel taking questions and offering advice and thoughts on anything. After a break, there will also be another short open panel session involving some of our SEWF moderators from the area including our very own David Wallace, founder of SearchRank. After that, Disneyland's just a monorail ride away!

Google Launches Industrial Strength Blog Search
(September 14, 2005 - SearchDay)
Google has introduced its long awaited blog search service, becoming the first major search engine to offer full-blown blog and feed search capabilities.

Ask Jeeves CEO - Steve Berkowitz: "Focused on Core Search"
(September 12, 2005 - SearchDay)
Now that Ask Jeeves is part of aggressive online powerhouse InterActive Corp., what's next for the search engine and its various services? Search Engine Watch editor Danny Sullivan probed for answers in a recent conversation with Ask Jeeves' CEO.

Trademark Dispute Between Geico and Google Settled
(September 9, 2005 - ClickZ)
Geico has finally settled its longstanding trademark dispute with Google, leaving unresolved the question of whether it is legal for advertisers to use trademarked terms in their ad copy, or to bid on trademarked keywords. Neither party would comment on the details of the settlement, except to say that the case has been resolved to the mutual interest of both companies.

Legal Showdown in Search Fracas - Traffic Power vs. Aaron Wall (SEO Book)
(September 8, 2005 - Wired News)
If you have been banned from Google for allegedly rigging search engine results on behalf of your clients, and people throughout the industry are talking smack about you, what do you do? You retain a lawyer and sue, claiming theft of trade secrets and libel. At least, that's what Traffic-Power.com, a Las Vegas-based search engine placement firm, did last month, filing lawsuits against Aaron Wall's SEO Book.com and Traffic Power Sucks.

Judge to Rule Tuesday in Kai-Fu Lee Case
(September 7, 2005 - Search Engine Watch Blog)
A Washington state court judge plans to issue a ruling Tuesday on whether former Microsoft executive Kai-Fu Lee will be allowed to immediately begin setting up a China development center for Google.

Post-Katrina Images On Google Maps
(September 6, 2005 - Search Engine Watch Blog)
Post-Katrina Images are now up on Google Maps, at least for New Orleans. There's also a variety of other images you can view, as covered below. Looking for people? A new PeopleFinder project has also sprung up.

Online Advertisers Turning to Pay-Per-Call
(September 6, 2005 - USA Today)
Pay-per-call could be especially powerful for local businesses that have ignored the Internet, including those that don't even have a Web site, its advocates say.

Microsoft Buy Opens Pay-Per-Call Possibilities
(September 1, 2005 - ClickZ)
With the acquisition of VoIP start-up Teleo on Wednesday, Microsoft has gained click-to-call dialing capabilities. The purchase raises the question of whether MSN's adCenter will offer pay-per-call pricing.

Aaron Wall Stands Up Against Traffic Power
(September 1, 2005 - SEO Book.com)
Aaron Wall of SEO Book, who is being sued by Traffic Power over allegedly helping reveal "trade secrets" has decided to fight the lawsuit. In Legal Donations Accepted, he explains that despite getting settlement agreement papers, he's decided the issue goes beyond his blog and needs to be fought.

Matt Cutts on Text Links and PageRank
(September 1, 2005 - Matt Cutts Blog)
"In an earlier post I said that “The best links are not paid, or exchanged after out-of-the-blue emails–the best links are earned and given by choice.” Given the recent discussions of paid links, I wanted to talk about this issue in more depth."