It has been an interesting week or so in the search engine industry, especially for Google.  After it pulled the plug on its proposed deal with Yahoo!, Google now faces an unexpected twist in the wireless cell phone search market.

In a previous blog about the wireless ubiquity of SEO, we noted that Verizon was in early discussions regarding a partnership that would feature Google’s search service on Verizon phones.  However, on Wednesday reports leaked that instead Microsoft is offering a better deal to become Verizon’s default wireless search provider - reportedly twice as much as Google was offering.

While it is true that a deal with Microsoft would not preclude Verizon phone users from accessing Google’s search engine and only makes Microsoft’s search engine the default, the significance of Microsoft’s proposal should not be overlooked.  The fact that Microsoft was willing to guarantee $550 to $650 million and double Google’s proposal, even during a financial crisis, shows how important they consider the mobile phone search engine industry.

Again, as search engines becoming increasingly accessible - literally in the palms of to millions of users across the globe - your business cannot afford to neglect SEO.

UPDATE:  as of November 6, the proposed deal between Google and Yahoo! is officially dead.

Perhaps in a last ditch effort to appease the Department of Justice, Google and Yahoo! have submitted a revised agreement that limits the scope of their proposed partnership.  Under the new terms of the deal, the length of the agreement is only two years, instead of as many as ten.  Additionally, Yahoo! would only be able to receive 25 percent of its total web search sales from the deal with Google.

Although there is no guarantee that this revised proposal will be enough to alleviate the concerns of the DOJ, it does represent somewhat of setback for both companies.  Yahoo!’s additional operating cash flow would be more limited and Google would not be able to exert as much power as it would like.  Even so, after release of the news, the stock price of both companies saw an increase.

The proposed advertising partnership between Google and Yahoo! is not dead, but the possibility of one or both sides walking away seems increasingly likely.  Just how that might play out, however, is not that simple.

Some have suggested that Google is simply playing a game of chicken with the Department of Justice.  At this point, Yahoo! may be reluctant to back out of the agreement unless it has to, as its core business continues to suffer.  The deal contract between the companies specifies that either party may end the agreement to avoid an antitrust lawsuit if defending that lawsuit is not commercially reasonable.  In other words, both companies may have to wait for the DOJ to officially challenge their proposed deal before they can back out of the deal without being liable to the other company for breach of contract.

One of the sticking points is apparently the DOJ’s desire to have both companies sign a consent degree stating the terms of the partnership.  The problem with that, especially from the perspective of Google, is that continued compliance would be subject to judicial oversight.  More than one expert has suggested that Google might be better off not drawing any more attention to its dominant hold on the market than it already has.

Our clients commonly request that we examine their competitor’s well-ranking websites and duplicate those on-site optimization features in effort to achieve similar SEO results.  Clients seem to think that if their competitors are achieving results this way, then they will too.

We usually take a look at your competitor’s web sites to become better acclimated with the terminology of the particular industry for keyword research purposes.  That said, we never imitate the on-site SEO characteristics of other web sites.  Here’s why:

Web Site Structure. Your competitor’s sites are structured, designed, and built differently than yours is. Imitating on-page features may not be possible given the structural differences.

Domain Name and Age. If your top ranking competitor’s domain name consists of a highly searched industry keyword, this provides them with a huge advantage from the get-go.  Trying to optimize for that same keyword presents a major challenge.  In addition, if the age of your competitor’s domain name is older than yours, then your competitor’s site is likely a more relevant and trusted site because it has been in each search engine’s crawl longer than yours.

Inbound Links and PageRank. If your high-ranking competition has been around a while, they’ve probably built a considerable amount of links, achieving a Google PageRank of 1-10.  Imitating the optimized content of a site that has many inbound links and a quality PageRank will not achieve the same results for your site since you do not have the same PageRank or amount of quality links.

These are just a few reasons why imitating your competition’s optimized content such as meta tags or keyword frequency is generally not a wise strategy.  Also consider that your low-ranking competitors might be in the same position as you and have a similar mindset of imitating the on-page content of your top competitors.  With everyone pursuing the same keywords and optimization strategies, achieving a competitive advantage and quality rankings becomes less likely.

At Search Concepts, we’re more concerned with what your competition is not doing.  The search engines can be crowded so it’s important to find unique approaches that give your site the advantage it needs.  We’re committed to this strategy, especially in keyword research.  Instead of pursuing only the most popular search terms, we also dig for the niche keyword phrases that are searched, but don’t have millions of other sites competing for them.  You would be surprised at how many relevant and searched keywords are often overlooked by your competition and their short-sighted SEO strategy.

In conclusion, discover what your competition is not doing and find a unique angle that will differentiate your site from the rest of your competition. A unique approach will get you the results you’re looking for in the search engines. Find out how Search Concepts can achieve the results you’re looking for by requesting a free quote.

Google and Yahoo! have been involved in settlement discussions with the Department of Justice in an attempt to avoid an antitrust challenge to their proposed deal.  We know that regardless of how the proposed deal unfolds, it will have significant ramifications in the online advertising community.  In addition to the possibility of an approved or rejected deal, we could instead see a third result - a modified deal that would cap the volume of Google ads that Yahoo! could use and require more disclosure.  Additionally, in an effort to alleviate some of the DOJ’s concerns, Google is seeking testimonials in support of the deal from large advertisers.  Meanwhile, Microsoft is still interested in a Web search advertising deal with Yahoo!.

Google has also been busy on a different front.  Although Google has not disclosed much about its plans, the hiring of former chief executive of DoubleClick suggests that Google plans to expand further into the display advertising market.  Search Concepts offers both display and text advertising though our pay per click advertising services.

We have previously blogged about how the proliferation of mobile Internet use will make SEO increasingly important.  Next week, the first phone using Google’s Android software will be released.

Everyone knows that economic woes are negatively affecting the retail and service industries.  One natural reaction for business owners is to change how they spend money on marketing and advertising.  Some simply cut spending on advertising while others are redirecting their advertising focus.  Which tactic is more prudent?

Five months ago, while the economy was slowing but before it took a staggering hit, IDC predicted that “Internet advertising in the U.S. will continue to grow fast even as the current economic woes will lead to a contraction in ad spending overall.”  They also expressly stated, “Search advertising will remain the one advertising format that will garner the most revenue over the forecast period in the United States.”  Thus, while the economy slows, online marketing and advertising is one sector that is seemingly insulated from the crisis.

The reason is that internet advertising and marketing campaigns are efficient, results-driven, and reasonably priced.  For example, SEO with Search Concepts does not require a huge investment and will make a legitimate difference in your search engine marketing.  The businesses we have worked with during this crisis are seeing continued results in terms of improving web site rankings in the search engines and call to action results.

In light of the economy, will you change the focus of your advertising to the Internet?  Perhaps the better question is whether you can afford not making a free inquiry into how SEO can help your business.

When television first became commercially available in the late 1930s, it transformed the world of advertising en route to becoming the most dominant media form of promotion.  Today, however, all of that stands to change.  Online advertising is poised to become the dominant form of advertising and has turned into a $20 billion a year industry.  The reason?  Consumers, most notably younger users, are beginning to prefer the Internet to television.

Of Internet users in the 10 to 14 year old age bracket, 83 percent spend an hour or more online per day.  Only 68 percent spent as much time watching television.  Clearly, advertising online will eventually become more important than on television as that age demographic grows up and enters the core group of American consumers.  Additionally, a younger generation that is even more Internet-dependent will emerge.

The correlation to SEO is also clear.  According to a study by The PEW Internet and American Life Project, Internet users who are 18 to 29 years old search more often; are more confident about their search abilities; and rely more on search engines than any older demographic.  For example, 97 percent of Internet users under 30 express confidence in their search skills, compared to 83 percent of users who are 50 to 64 years old.

As the Internet replaces television as the leading form of advertising, is your business prepared?