August 3,
2005
In This Issue:
1. Search engines are ... different!
2. In the News - Ask Jeeves PPC, Battelle book
excerpt
3. More News Headlines
4. This Week's Q&A - Sales tax rules
5. Wrapping It Up
_________________
Search engines are ... different!
There's been a lot of coverage this week of a
new study detailing what I imagine many of you
already know: Search engine results are different
from one search engine to the next. I suspect
many of you know this because "How come my
site ranks well in Google but not Yahoo?"
or something like that is a pretty common question
I hear. It's well-known that Google continues
to rely more heavily than any other SE on off-page
factors, while Yahoo and MSN are still emphasizing
on-page factors more than Google.
But while I'm implying here something along the
lines of "Is this really news?", let
me add that it is worth thinking about if you're
a web site / business owner / webmaster / web
developer.
Not long ago, Google was pretty much the only
game in town. Yahoo had a search engine, but the
SERPs were some Frankenstein-like mish-mash of
its own directory, Google results, and who knows
what else. Then Yahoo finally wised up and divorced
Google, choosing to fully develop its own search
engine. MSN Search used LookSmart directory listings
and Yahoo SERPs before it made the same decision
to develop its own algorithmic search engine.
Ask Jeeves tried to go the Q&A route, but
recently has been making moves toward becoming
a true search engine like Google, Yahoo, and MSN.
So it makes perfect sense that SERPs will differ
now that the search engines are making an effort
to distinguish themselves. This will only continue.
The days of the SERPs being so similar that you
can rank No. 1 on every engine are coming to an
end. The only way to do that now is to be a major
player in your industry (i.e. - the recognized
authority, or one who spends a lot of time and
money on search marketing) or to be in an industry
that doesn't have a lot of competition.
And as the search engines continue to distinguish
their SERPs, keep in mind that things like personalized
search, local search, and things like that will
only serve to make the SERPs more unique from
one engine to the next. If you haven't already,
it's time to get used to the idea of ranking well
on one or two SEs, and not so well on others.
SEW: Search
Engine Results Continuing to Diverge
_________________
In The News
Ask Jeeves Opens PPC Ad Service
Ask Jeeves will open up its pay-per-click advertising
program to any advertiser wanting to advertise
alongside its SERPs. The service won't launch
until August 15th, but appears to be a close cousin
to Google's AdWords program and to Yahoo Search
Marketing. Ask also says it will reduce the number
of paid listings on its SERPs, a welcome change
that should be welcome news for both AJ's users
and advertisers.
Battelle Book Excerpt
I've mentioned before that John Battelle is one
of my regular reads, and I'm looking forward to
his upcoming book, "The Search." It's
about the search industry as a whole, and specifically
how the industry has impacted and changed the
rules for all businesses. The first excerpt is
in the current issue of Wired magazine, and can
also be read on Wired's web site.
The Search excerpt: The
Birth of Google
_________________
More News Headlines
Here are a few news headlines worth your time
to read. These are just some of the headlines
we've posted to OWTweb.com in recent days.
What
Price PageRank? Part 2
July 25, 2005 - ClickZ.com
Trust me -- I'm a search engine marketer! There
is life and search marketing without the PageRank
meter.
A
new form of local search engine optimization (Part
2)
July 21, 2005 - ClickZ.com
Saving
Your Business from an Algorithm Shift - Part 2:
Paid Search Advertising
July 21, 2005 - Search Engine Guide
More headlines: http://www.owtweb.com/news/
_________________
This Week's Q&A
Matt,
Our company is finally going to start selling
products through our web site. What are the rules
for charging sales tax we should follow? I know
from shopping online that it seems like every
site does it differently. Some charge tax and
some don't. Some charge tax on the product only
and some charge tax on the shipping costs, too.
What's the right way to do this?
Ken
Hi Ken - thanks for the email. I'm not a sales
tax expert by any means, but I know what we instruct
our clients on is this: You must charge sales
tax when shipping an order to any state in which
you have a physical business presence. Most of
our clients are based in Washington with no physical
presence elsewhere, so they only charge sales
tax on orders shipped within Washington. If you
have a physical presence in five states, for example,
you should charge sales tax on orders shipped
to those five states.
As far as what exact rate to charge, you better
check with the tax/revenue department in your
state(s). Our clients charge the going sales tax
for the county in which they're based, but that
may be different elsewhere. And you should also
check with the state about whether to include
shipping costs in your taxable amount.
(Have a question? Email questions@owtweb.com)
_________________
Wrapping it Up
This is kind of fun for about 5 minutes:
Google Logo
Maker
Type a name in the box and submit to get that
name to replace Google's logo.
Thanks for reading,
Matt McGee
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