fantomNews™ — the ultimate know

Search

fantomNews™

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All the tricks of the search engine trade and more ...
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vol. 4/issue 018            _    _ ___        __
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/ /_ __ _ ___ | |___  _____|   \| | __/ \/\/  /   ___|
|  _/ _` |   \| / - \/ _ _  \|\   ||__\  /\  / \ ___ \
|_| \ _,_|_|\_|_\___/_| | |_|| \_ |___/\/  \/  |_____/

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2002-12-20         ---      Sent by subscription only!
Circulation: 17,712+ very special readers, and growing
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  *************************************************
  * A gentleman is one who never hurts anyone's   *
  * feelings unintentionally. - Oscar Wilde       *
  *************************************************

-------------
IN THIS ISSUE
-------------
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< fantomAd >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    "This is a truly incredible SEO daisy cutter!"
------------------------------------------------------
Just released: fantomas shadowMaker(TM) -  the most
powerful tool SEO has ever seen.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
= News Flash:
  Release News: fantomas shadowMaker(TM) * Release 
  News: fantomNews Premium Edition * Release News: 
  fantomas spiderSpy(TM) SQL Premium Service * Major
  Site Revamp * Season's Greetings
= fantomas shadowMaker(TM) Released -
  Changing The World of IP Delivery!
= fantomNews Premium Edition Launches January '03
= FAST Indexing MS Word Documents
= Teoma/Ask Jeeves Expands Reach, Is Web's Number Two
= HotBot Revamped - Turns Meta. Kind Of.
= Google's "SEO" Information - More Of the Usual
  Boo-Boo
= fantomTip
  Time To Duck Under? Join the Anonymous SEO Forum
= Free Submission to Lycos
= fantomTip
  Submission Fees for Search Engines and Directories
= Google Acknowledges fantomaster As a "World Authority
  On Search Engines"
= How to Recover Your Lost 404 Traffic And Convert It
  Into Sales
= Google Uber Alles - Froogling E-Commerce
= fantomTip
  Google Update History - Checking For Patterns
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Sponsorship Notice >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
  THE ULTIMATE SEARCH ENGINE BOOK -
  And why you shouldn't miss out on this one
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
= fantomTip
  Does SEO=SPAM?
= fantomaster's Ten Commandments of SEO 
  According to Google
= How To Optimize HTML Tables for Search Engines
= fantomTip
  All the Skins On Alltheweb
= fantomSpot: Featured SE Site
  Campus Search for German Academia * Search Tools
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<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
= fantomTip
  Don't Get Deleted - Use This E-Mail SpamCheck Report!
= Teoma Implements New Search Syntax
= Disturbing Search Results
= SEO/SEM Isn't Everything - Try Other Venues, Too
= fantomFAQ
  How to find the best keywords for your web site
= The Search Engine Grapevine: News 'n Stuff
= Classified Ads
= Guest Columnist
  Andrew Gerhart: "Calculating Your SEO Campaign Return
                   on Investment"
= Guest Columnist
  Ammon Johns: "New Overture UK Rule: 5 Searches Per
                Month Minimum"
= How to Be Featured as Our Guest Columnist
= fantomAd
  "Spying On the Spiders: Our Landmark Online Service"
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Sponsorship Notice >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
  KEEP ON TRACKIN'!
  Real-life search terms are YOUR instant gold mine
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
= Spider IPs: Lots of New Exotic Spiders Detected
= Subscribe/Unsubscribe Information

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< fantomAd >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    "This is a truly incredible SEO daisy cutter!"
------------------------------------------------------
Just released: fantomas shadowMaker(TM) - the world's
first fully automatic Shadow Domain Generator, the
most powerful tool SEO has ever seen!
Instant Cloaking - another webmaster dream come true.
Get it here for our introductory firesale price: 
< http://fantomaster.com/faorder0.html >
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++news flash+++news flash+++news flash+++news flash++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Release News: fantomas shadowMaker(TM) * Release News:
fantomNews Premium Edition * Release News: fantomas
spiderSpy(TM) SQL Premium Service * Major Site Revamp 
* Season's Greetings
------------------------------------------------------
(rt) Another jumbo issue to make it your way - seems
we are living, as the old Chinese curse goes, in
interesting times.
So let's contribute: we have no less than four great
fantomaster news items for you this time!

- #1: We've finally released our new automatic Shadow
Domain generator product fantomas shadowMaker(TM) and
it's available per immediately. Also, it comes at a
firesale introductory price - see our article below:
"fantomas shadowMaker(TM) Released - Defining The
Future of IP Delivery!"
Or, order it immediately here - 
Online order form:
< https://khedive.com/fantomaster/faorder/faorder.cgi >
Offline Order Form:
< http://fantomaster.com/faorderoffl1.html >

- #2: The release date for the first issue of our new
fantomNews(TM) Premium Edition has been set to 2003-01-
07 - see our article below: "fantomNews Premium Edition
Launches January '03".
Or, subscribe immediately here -
Online order Form:
< https://khedive.com/fantomaster/faorder/faorder.cgi >
Offline Order Form:
< http://fantomaster.com/faorderoffl1.html >

- #3: Scheduled for January - the SQL Premium version
of our fantomas spiderSpy(TM), offering even more
powerful customization, automatic downloads, and, of
course, the world's most comprehensive database of
verified search engine spider!

- #4: Major site revamp forthcoming - this new site
design is sure to blow you away! A major 100% CSS job,
fully scalable, compatible with all standard browsers,
etc. etc. -let's stop drooling! :-)
Make sure to revisit our site so you won't miss the
switch!

And finally, wherever you may be in the world - the
fantomNews crowd extends its cordial best wishes for an
enjoyable festive season and a roaringly successful
Happy New Year!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++news flash+++news flash+++news flash+++news flash++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


======================================================
fantomas shadowMaker(TM) Released - 
Defining The Future of IP Delivery!
------------------------------------------------------
The fully automatic Shadow Domain(TM) generator is out
now!

Shadow Domains are dedicated web properties focused on
offering optimized content to search engines while
redirecting human visitors to another site, typically a
company's Core or main domain. So, technically
speaking, Shadow Domains are web sites consisting
entirely of cloaked pages not intended for human
perusal.

While they may arguably constitute the most powerful
techniques of search engine optimization, creating
properly optimized, highly effective Shadow Domains
requires a ton of expertise and weeks of manual labor -
no longer: enter fantomas shadowMaker(TM)!

Right - this was the past tense, yesterday's news. So
join the future of IP Delivery!

Because now you can automate the whole process of
Shadow Domain creation from A to Z! This powerful
server based application lets you generate an unlimited
number of highly optimized Shadow Domains in a whiffy.

Core features:
--------------
– automatic generation of relevant fillertext
– automatic fillertext sanitization
– unlimited number of fully crosslinked phantom pages
– 10,000 unique pages per hour and more*
– customizable keyword density and page weight
– automatic scheduled search engine submission
– automatic recognition of search engine spiders
– world's largest search engine spider database
– individual real time redirection of human visitors
  by search term
– fully customizable
  (* may vary by system capacity)

Includes (as integrated modules) the functionality of:
------------------------------------------------------
– fantomas spiderSpy(TM) (12 months sub)
– fantomas shadowSniper(TM)
– fantomas keyMixer(TM)
– fantomas subFrog PRO(TM)

Regular price: $1,560
Special introductory offer
(valid till 28 February 2003):
– only $1,280
   >>> Save $280!

Which you can do right here - 
Online order Form:
< https://khedive.com/fantomaster/faorder/faorder.cgi >
Offline Order Form:
< http://fantomaster.com/faorderoffl1.html >
------------------------------------------------------
fantomNews Premium Edition -
"The Full Disclosure - The Full Control!"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


======================================================
fantomNews Premium Edition Launches January '03
------------------------------------------------------
The fantomNews(TM) Premium Edition announced in our
last issue is scheduled for launch on 2002-01-07!
The professionals' version our newsletters will cover:
– Search Engine Marketing
– Search Engine Optimization
– Industrial-Strength Cloaking
– IP Delivery
– Webmaster Tools
– SEM Case Studies
– Hard Stats (Traffic, ROI, etc.)
- Search Engine Spider IPs
- Web Server Security Issues
  ... and lots more.
There will be NO duplicate content between the Standard
and the Premium Edition of fantomNews!
The fantomNews(TM) Premium Edition will also be free of
ads and affiliate program links.

A 12 months subscription will cover 10 issues.
Regular price is $36 per year.
However, here's our special introductory offer
(valid till 28 February 2003): only $24
So you'll save $12 if you sign up now!

Which you can do right here -
Online order Form:
< https://khedive.com/fantomaster/faorder/faorder.cgi >
Offline Order Form:
< http://fantomaster.com/faorderoffl1.html >
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


======================================================
FAST Indexing MS Word Documents
------------------------------------------------------
(rt) FAST/Alltheweb has begun indexing documents in MS
Word's ".doc" format. They are labeled "MS Word" next
to the title on the SERP. This also covers Lycos, the
recently revamped HotBot, the huge InfoSpace network
(Excite, Dogpile, WebCrawler, Metacrawler), as well as
Lycos Europe, Eniro (formerly Scandinavia Online), T-
Online, and Tiscali. 
So: from an SEM/SEO standpoint, start submitting your
web site's MS Word content to FAST and advise your
clients to do the same. 
Read their press release here: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=fas03 > 
And here's their search engine home page: 
< http://www.alltheweb.com/ >
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


======================================================
Teoma/Ask Jeeves Expands Reach, Is Web's Number Two
------------------------------------------------------
(rt) Business Wire reports that Ask Jeeves (Ask),
owners of Teoma, and InfoSpace have announced an
agreement to add Teoma's search results to the
InfoSpace meta-search imperium. While Teoma's search
results are already being featured on Metacrawler, they
will now be added to Webcrawler, Dogpile and Excite as
well. 
According to a recent Nielsen/NetRatings report, Ask
Jeeves (Ask) is now rated the second most frequently
visited search engine on the Web. 
Teoma, technologically far more advanced in the field
of theme based ranking than Google, while currently
featuring a far smaller index, is obviously deemed to
hold great future as a coming major player in the
search engine industry. Just one day before the
InfoSpace announcement HotBot was relaunched -featuring
Teoma as one of its quasi-meta search options - can't
well expect much more increased coverage in that short
a time. 
Incidentally, this may make Ask Jeeves' PFI program,
not exactly the most popular among SEMs, a lot more
attractive in the coming months as well. 
Business Wire full text article: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=buw01 > 
Teoma direct: 
< http://teoma.com >
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


======================================================
HotBot Revamped - Turns Meta. Kind Of.
------------------------------------------------------
(rt) Some more news beyond Google for a change! Terra
Lycos, Spanish owners of search engine veteran HotBot,
long deemed more or less dormant, has launched the next
generation of look-and-feel for the search portal and
added some unexpected new features. Searchers can now
choose between Inktomi (default), Google, FAST and
Teoma indices by simply clicking on the radio buttons
of the horizontal navigation bar. 

This effectively makes HotBot a meta search engine
displaying results in parallel, not in aggregated form. 
Alternate results are displayed instantly - a very neat
comparison search feature. Overture results are
displayed above as "Sponsored Links" across the board. 

Thus, HotBot now offers an alternative to
PositionTech's "pure Inktomi" search - a very welcome
addition to the SEO/SEM world as it was never quite
clear for how long PositionTech would continue to keep
this feature accessible. (After all, it was only quite
recently that they switched from a mere IP address to a
full domain name.) 

Download speed compares very well with the likes of
Google and FAST/Alltheweb. 

All in all: cool! 

Main page: 
< http://www.hotbot.com > 
Search results can be customized (e.g. to include
"Related Searches" or "Related Categories", etc.) in
the Preferences section: 
< http://www.hotbot.com/prefs_results.asp > 
There's also a variety of filters available which may
find special favor with professional researchers and
power surfers. These include language, domain style,
word inclusions/exclusions, date, file types and
profanity filtering: 
< http://www.hotbot.com/prefs_filters.asp > 
Similar to FAST/Alltheweb, HotBot now offers a
selection of CSS powered skins (including a text-only
design). What's more, this way HotBot actually enables
you to skin-design Google, Fast, Inktomi and Teoma.
Skins are available here: 
< http://www.hotbot.com/prefs_skins.asp > 
More on site info: 
< http://www.hotbot.com/new.asp > 
Terra Lycos is promoting the relaunch with a print and
online campaign from Hill, Holliday, Connors,
Cosmopulos in Boston featuring the slogan "More search.
More engine". Here's an AdWeek article analyzing this
campaign: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=adw01 >
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


======================================================
Google's "SEO" Information - More Of the Usual Boo-Boo
------------------------------------------------------
(rt) In their recently uploaded SEO tips for
webmasters, and following a direct inquiry by Google's
senior software developer Matt Cutts with the
fantomaster, Google has chosen to adopt our term
"Shadow Domain" for dedicated cloaking web sites: a
wonderful compliment - were it not embedded in the
usual boo-boo about not ever daring to make use of such
domains and stressing "ethical practices" - meaning
anything Google wants you to comply with as a
webmaster. Mandatory denunciation included, it goes
without saying: "Ethical SEO firms report deceptive
sites that violate Google's spam guidelines." So the
veritable Google fan and partner will by default double
as a snitch, eh? To make matters worse, this sentence
is actually preceded by the verbatim admonition: "Ask
your SEO firm if it reports every spam abuse that it
finds to Google using our spam complaint form [...]" -
hear, hear! 

So not ratting on your colleagues and competitors - and
anyone else for that matter - (might this not violate
many people's religious convictions?) will actually
disqualify you as an SEO agent in Google's eyes? Rub
your eyes and read it again - this is what it actually
says! What twisted kind of self-gratifying "ethics" is
this supposed to be? Conceivably, there are some
brighter minds in the SEO industry who might actually
find this attitude and its overall implications quite
nauseous. 

But this type of brouhaha cannot really come as a big
surprise as it merges seamlessly with Google's less
than savory political censorship track record - widely
covered all over the Web and on this site, too - 
same attitude, same Big Brother servility ... But hold
it! Hasn't Matt Cutts been reported as holding a top
security clearance with the NSA and other spook
agencies? Sure figures. 

Not that they're actually offering anything useful
beyond badmouthing those SEO companies they deem
dubious (though they do shun publishing names - wouldn't
it be a cool spectacle watching the ensuing law suits
if they only dared!), warning no end against employing
their services. Else, it's fire and brimstone all the
way. Bashing all types of doorway pages in one fell
swoop is yet another non-endearing characteristic of this
"information". To top it all, Google even makes
bold to assume an authoritative stance on SEO industry
business practices by actually advising its readers:
"For your own safety, you should insist on a full and
unconditional money-back guarantee." 
Ah yes, and no matter the costs of site development on
clients' behalf, the hours spent on in-depth keyword
research, the resources devoted to advising clients on
how to style and layout their pages, to name but a few
standard services offered by present day SEOs? How
about asking Google for a refund if their AdWords don't
perform as they should, e.g. by generating only a
fraction of the traffic promised? We can't seem to
detect such a clause in their advertisers TOS. 

Here's another gem of Google advice: "You should ask
how long a company has been in business and how many
full time staffers it employs." Knowing full well that
most SEO agencies are one-man or one-woman setups, this
is tantamount to a declaration of war on the vast
majority of the SEO industry. And never mind the faulty
logic involved - why should the number of full time
staffers or the age of a company constitute a reliable
indicator of their SEO skills? And why make things so
hard for ambitious, SEO savvy upstarts? 

By Google's own admission, this is a "far from a
comprehensive list, so if you have any doubts, you
should trust your instincts." Unfortunately, they
decline to specify what kind of "instincts" you are
supposed to rely on here. You certainly won't find them
in anthropological textbooks, so much is for sure. So
what's new? 

And while we're talking ethics here: no kudos given for
our trademark protected term "Shadow Domain(TM)" - how
come we're not surprised? But thanks, Googlers, for the
unintended compliment anyway! 

They've also underlined their general (guess what:
anti-)stance on cloaking in their recently expanded FAQ
page. Of course (and again: quite expectably), this
meets with the unabashed delight and downright applause
of all the self righteous do-gooders in the forums where
primarily those SEO artists seem to convene who have
never had to deal with anything more challenging than
your down-the-street mom-and-pop sweet shop site and
similarly "competitive" outfits for SEO clients. 

However, the real pros are fairly less amused: in
his carefully worded take on the subject, Brett Tabke
on WebmasterWorld Forum argues that this document
actually negates the progress made in recent years with
search engines and SEOs tentatively moving towards
another. His conclusion: "The document by Google, takes
a bit of those efforts back many steps. It could be
viewed as a signal to return to the days of open
unfettered antagonism between webmasters and search
engines. I think we are beyond that now and would not
like to see the previous good work we've done together
wasted. It would be nice if there were a bit more
balance to the document." And, later on in the thread:
"And now we have a document about our industry on
Google. I can't view it any other way than an fear
spreading attack piece. As a whole the message is
simple: we are liars and cheats not to be trusted."
Amen, yeah, and amen! 

But hey - didn't we always advise against cloaking for
Google because they don't like it? So we did, Matt, so
we did - and we have plenty of witnesses to prove it! 
Not that we'd ever imply that it won't work, though, as
this would really be asking a bit much ... :-) 

* Google's SEO information page: 
  < http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=goo01 > 
* Google's FAQ page: 
  < http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=goo02 > 
* Brett Tabke's WebmasterWorld Forum comment: 
  < PULLED FOR REASONS UNDISCLOSED > 
More controversial discussions - 
* On Cr8aSite Forums: 
  < http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=cre02 > 
* At Jim's World's Search Engine Forums: 
  < http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=sef01 > 
* At Chris Ridings's Search Engine Optimization Support
  Forums: 
  < http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=seos01 > 
  < http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=seos02 > 
  -  And fantomaster's posted comment: 
  < http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=seos03 > 
* And do make sure you don't miss out this excellent
  parody by Chris Ridings himself: 
  < http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=seos04 > 
* Some discussion on JK Bowman's Spider-Food Forum: 
  < http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=sff02 > 
* At the new, anonymized SEO Forum: 
  < http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=seof01 > 
* SearchKing Bob Massa, web marketing veteran of recently
  enhanced PR0 lawsuit fame has a bash at explaining "all
  the Google bashing" currently going on: 
  < http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=sek02 > 
* Finally, here's Danny Sullivan's take, with more
  additional and well-commented links (beam! :-) than you
  can shake an automatic doorway page generator joystick
  at: 
  < http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=sew06 > 
* And if you haven't done so yet, do sign up here via our
  affiliate link for the full version, reserved to paying
  subscribers - a definite must for any serious SEO/SEM: 
  < http://www.fantomaster.com/tj.cgi?ln=sew > 
Note how Google's Matt Cutts is being quoted in this
article, offering a toned down "everything's quite
harmless" exegesis to just about every controversial
point in their SEO advice piece - if anything, this
certainly smells like one major effort at damage
control. Little wonder ... 'nuff said. 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


======================================================
fantomTip
Time To Duck Under? Join the Anonymous SEO Forum
------------------------------------------------------
(rt) Seeing that Google's heavy-handed SEO policy is
relying strongly on denunciation (see article above)
and personal identification of whomever they in their
fundamentalist Manichean worldview may consider to be
"SEO evildoers", the time seems to have arrived for
dissident webmasters to duck under and anonymize their
forum participation. Come the time when this may well
be the only viable option for an unbiased debate on SEO
techniques not endorsed by the likes of Google and
other SE control freaks. 
And this exactly is what the brand new SEO Forum "for
the anonymous, risk-free discussion of all SEO
techniques and methods" is offering. 
Check it out here: 
< http://webworkshop.net/seoforum/ >
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


======================================================
Free Submission to Lycos
------------------------------------------------------
(rt) Try this link (requires free signup) for a free
submission of your web site to Lycos: 
< http://insite.lycos.com/searchservices/lite_step1.asp > 

For paid submission (certainly the more professional
and reliable approach), we recommend our own affiliate
link (thus helping support fantomNews and keep it
free): 
< http://fantomaster.com/tj.cgi?ln=tr0 > 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


======================================================
fantomTip
Submission Fees for Search Engines and Directories
------------------------------------------------------
(rt) Keeping up with search engine and directory
submission fees is gradually turning into a full time
job, and a pretty confusing one at that. 
Here's an excellent resource maintained by the sweetest
lady in search, Kim Krause ("Search Engine Optimization
is akin to shooting darts at a dartboard with a moving
center." And, just as good: "Today's sad news: Google
is still in the news.") 
This page keeps you up-to-date on how much mullah the
search portals will charge for your contribution to
expand their indices and improve their search results.
(Shouldn't it actually be the other way round? Oh,
well...) 
Check it out here: 
< http://www.cre8pc.com/search_fees.html > 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


======================================================
Google Acknowledges fantomaster As a "World Authority
On Search Engines"
------------------------------------------------------
(rt) Well, sort of - but check it out for yourself
while it's still on :-)
< http://www.googlism.com/who_is/f/fantomaster/ >
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


======================================================
How to Recover Your Lost 404 Traffic And Convert It
Into Sales
------------------------------------------------------
(rt) Microsoft's IE Browser is stealing your 404
traffic! Did you know that web browsers are hijacking
your potentially lucrative 404 traffic? 
Well, they really are -and here's what you should be
doing about it:
< http://www.fantomaster.com/tj.cgi?ln=404 >
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


======================================================
Google Uber Alles - Froogling E-Commerce
----------------------------------------
(rt) Being the world's undisputed #1 search engine now,
Google maintains a huge database of web sites, plus
tons of user data collected via their toolbar and their
AdWords Select service. Now, it seems, the time has
come to capitalize on these assets wholesale. 
With its recent launch of the "Froogle" service (still
in beta), Google has made it perfectly clear which way
their e-commercial cookie crumbles: Froogle is a
shopping catalog that finds product information from
retailers by name and price range. It is currently
limited to U.S. based companies only, and affiliate
partner sites are specifically not qualified for
listing. Inclusion is free, but it remains to be seen
whether Google will actually uphold this format in the
long run. AdWords are displayed as usual, so the
service is being monetized already. 
Participating merchants can submit their catalogs as
XHTML feeds, which, of course, is a very welcome
feature. However, affiliate program partners' reception
has been less than enthusiastic: most affiliates are
voicing fears that this will effectively kill their
marketing efforts in favor of large corporations'
increasing domination of the e-commerce marketplace. 
Out of the plethora of articles covering this new move
by Google, it seems to us that The Register has best
pinpointed the issues involved. Read "Frugal Google aims 
to be catalog, e-commerce lynchpin": 
< http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=trg01 > 
The Froogle merchant information page can be found here: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=goo03 > 
In the meantime, here are the first Froogle optimization
tips on WebmasterWorld Forums: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=wmwf05 > 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


======================================================
fantomTip
Google Update History - Checking For Patterns
------------------------------------------------------
(rt) Brett Tabke's neat chart documents Google Updates
since July 2000 - part of an ongoing search for
discernible patterns (even including moon phases!)
which, however, has been unsuccessful so far.
Seems that Google's index updates are triggered
manually or, at the very least, erratically. 
See the chart here: 
< http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/2657.htm >
And follow the discussion: 
< http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/5211.htm >
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

======================================================
fantomTip
Does SEO=SPAM?
------------------------------------------------------
(rt) If you'd like to follow one of the most
intelligent SEO discussions we've seen in recent years,
go have a look the "Does SEO=SPAM?" debate on Cre8asite
Forums. 
Yes, there's some white noise involved, as such
discussions go, but you'll find more than one pearl of
wisdom and hands-on practical knowledge in this thread. 
Read it up here: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=cre03 > 
Plus, here's Kim Krause's posting on the history of
SEO, now a full article titled "You Build The Search
Portal, I'll Send The Sites", available at
SearchEngineGuide: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=seg01 >
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


======================================================
How To Optimize HTML Tables for Search Engines
------------------------------------------------------
(rt) Not all tables are created equal - and if you
don't build them correctly, your search engine rankings
may suffer considerably. 
Keep your navigation on the left and maintain SE
optimization efficiency without sacrificing design
concerns. 
Find out how here to set about this in all detail: 
< http://www.fantomaster.com/tj.cgi?ln=tab >
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


======================================================
fantomaster's Ten Commandments of SEO 
According to Google
------------------------------------------------------
(rt)
Preface
-------
Thou shalt accept unequivocally and unwaveringly that
Google is King and Queen and Emperor and the Mother of
All Search Engines. So shalt thou strive to make Google
happy and content and avoid Its wrath like the plague It
is. 

1. I am the Lord thy Google who will lead thee into
Search Engine Heaven if only thou obeyest and heedest
Me and My commandments unwaveringly, and if on top of
that thou applaudest even the intellectually most
challenged and trivial of My PR stunts such as Mine
Holiday Logos or My Mother's Day pictures or
Mine SEO advice pages. 
Those, however, who dare to Think For Themselves, or
those who will Criticize My divine will, or those who
will deem Mine Holiday Logos talentless and My PR
gimmicks tasteless and pointless, or those even whom I
Love Not simply because so it pleases Me, shall I toss
into the foulest depths of eternal Search Engine Hell,
never to recover from Mine utter chastisement. Their
web sites shall be barren and forgotten and
untrafficked until the end of time. 
For I alone shall define business practices and ethics
requirements for thee and thy breed. 
Thou shalt not have other search engines before Me. 

2. Thou shalt not reverse-engineer My ranking algorithm
or attempt to inflate My PageRank(TM) for thine own or
thy clients' web sites by signing up for link farms or
any other link popularity enhancing programs I refuse to
define at this place and at this point in time. 
For I the Lord thy Google am a jealous Search Engine,
visiting the iniquity of the home sites upon the mirror
sites and the Shadow Domains(TM) unto the third and
fourth generation of them that hate Me. And showing
mercy unto thousands of them that cringe before Me, and
keep My commandments to the dotcom without ever making
bold to question Mine ulterior motives. 

3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy Google
in vain in thought, word or deed, lest thou shouldst
run afoul of Mine almighty index ban policy. 

4. Remember the days of the Google Dance, to keep them
holy and free from page submissions. Thou shalt rely
alone on My spiders to find thy pages at their own
whimsy, and ne'er shalt thou question the faulty logic
of My PageRank(TM) nor My positioning of thy pages. 

5. Thou shalt not scavenge My bandwidth by employing
automatic rank checking software lest I shall ban thine
IP from Mine index forever. Neither shalt thou promote,
discuss or mention in public any such program or
service or other software displeasing to Mine eye, nor
shalt thou link to it in any way, or I shall visit My
wrath upon thee day and night and assign to thy pages
the dreaded PR0. 

6. Thou shalt offer an "unconditional money-back
guarantee" to thy clients. For the love of Me the Lord
thy Google shalt thou not heed the costs of site
development on clients' behalf, the hours spent on
in-depth keyword research, the resources devoted to
advising clients on how to style and layout their pages
or any other services offered to clients by thine SEO
agency: surely shalt thou bear the brunt of the risk
and the labor, and thou shalt rejoice therein, even if
thy clients should fleece thee braindead in this
manner. For I the Lord thy Google have ordained such in
My infinite wisdom and, thus, so mote it be. 

7. Thou shalt not write or publish or contrive, and be
it only in thought, any positive articles on cloaking or
doorways or link exchanges or any other practices abhorrent
to Me the Lord thy Google, for verily, I am a jealous
Search Engine. 

8. Thou shalt heartily recommend thy competitors to any
client or lead inquiring about them in the most glowing
of terms. If thou shouldst lose their business in the
process, thou shalt not grieve or make bold to curse My
clueless ethics guidelines. 
Rather, thou shalt rejoice in the warm, fuzzy good
Google karma this will surely bestow upon thee. And get
an honest nine-to-five job somewhere else instead to
make ends meet lest thy children should starve
therefrom. 

9. Thou shalt bear witness against all thy competitors,
spying and snitching and ratting on them whenever thou
perceivest a purported spam causing grief to Mine index
and My corporate ego. And My profits. For thus shalt
thou spare Me labor and the expense of attending to
Mine Own job. 
And if thou wilt not lay it to heart to give glory to
My name in this manner, behold, I will corrupt thy
ranking, and spread dung upon thy name, and castigate
thee as unethical, and thine SEO agency shall be damned
and misranked in all eternity. For verily, I am a
jealous Search Engine. 

10. Lest thou shouldst run afoul of My wrath, and lest
I - as has always been My own free pleasure - have not
told thee the whole story by a long shot, thou shalt
rely on thine instincts and on mere hearsay in all
other matters SEO. And may the stochastic grace of the
Lord thy Google be with thee, and may it guide thee in
this for want of other clear-cut rules of the game. For
Mine online support team resteth not except when
challenged to reply by the likes of thee. 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


======================================================
fantomTip
All the Skins On Alltheweb
------------------------------------------------------
(rt) Alltheweb/FAST offers a set of downloadable free
CSS generated "skins" which allow users to customize
the search engine's look and feel.
Following a CSS design competition, the winners'
contributions are on display now, too.
Here are the links to the various types of skins for
you to try out:

Alchemist(TM) Design Contest Winners' Layouts
---------------------------------------------
+ "Gradients" (Arild Andersen) - 1st Place
  < http://www.alltheweb.com/?1039528905 >
+ "All Yours" (Wilson C. Alba) - 2nd Place
  < http://www.alltheweb.com/?1039528991 >
+ "Five Shades of Gray" (Daniel Kastrup) - 3rd Place
  < http://www.alltheweb.com/?1039529076 >
Find more here:
< http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=fas01 >

Alltheweb's Own Layouts
-----------------------
* Classic
< http://www.alltheweb.com/?1036131727 >
* Halloween 2002
< http://www.alltheweb.com/?1036131693 >
* Alchemy
< http://www.alltheweb.com/?1036131675 >
* Denim
< http://www.alltheweb.com/?1036131176 >
* Kiwi
< http://www.alltheweb.com/?1036131593 >
* Martini
< http://www.alltheweb.com/?1036131593 >
* Steel
< http://www.alltheweb.com/?1036131555 >
* Tattoo
< http://www.alltheweb.com/?1036131528 >
* Orange Creme - beta
< http://www.alltheweb.com/?1036131033 >
* No Skin
< http://www.alltheweb.com/?1036131378 >

Special occasional skins are available here:
< http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=fas02 >
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


======================================================
fantomSpot: Featured SE Site
"Campus Search for German Academia" * "Search Tools"
------------------------------------------------------
Campus Search is a search engine focusing on German
university sites - an ideal source for the specialized
academic and professional researcher.
< http://www.campus-suche.de/ > 

Not a search engine but a prime resource for information
on what's up in the information managemen (and, hence,
search engine) world - highly recommended for anyone
seriously interested in search technology and its
encumbent issues: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=set01 >
Also, check out their "Web Admin's Guide to Site Search
Tools": 
< http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=set02 > 
And,. of course, their home page, offering, among other
things, a free newsletter: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=set00 >
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Sponsorship Notice >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
FASTEST SUBMISSION - FASTEST RESULTS
Don't wait for ages - get instant qualified search
engine traffic NOW!
------------------------------------------------------
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Inktomi, Looksmart, MSN, whatUseek, WebWombat, Slider,
Corporate Yahoo, and other search engines.
Save on regular rates, too!
< http://www.fantomaster.com/tj.cgi?ln=tr0 >
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

======================================================
fantomTip
Don't Get Deleted - Use This E-Mail SpamCheck Report!
------------------------------------------------------
(rt) Spamcheckers - they can be a real boon, saving you
from growing crazy over the ever increasing daily spam
flood. However, being the dumb programs they are, they 
can (and do!) create quite a few problems themselves - 
what if your own e-mail messages run afoul of their
filter parms? More often than not, you will never even
learn about it: most systems will simply trash your
mail without informing you about it. 

And that's exactly what makes this new mail service so
attractive! The free SpamCheck Report only points out
the mistakes you may be making. Use the Report to eliminate
that bad stuff. Avoid any of the "telltale" triggers
that might label your mailing as spam such as excessive
use of all caps in the subject line and message body of
your e-mail, the use of no-no words, excessive use of
punctuation, and lots more. 

To make use of it, simply send your e-mail (private
messages, ezines, promotional mails, the works)
individually to:

< spamcheck-fantomaster@sitesell.net >
< mailto:spamcheck-fantomaster@sitesell.net >

IMPORTANT!
----------
Place the word TEST (in caps, no quotes) preceding your
subject in the Subject Line!

Let's repeat that because it's really important -

Start the subject line with: TEST

Else, the system will assume it's spam, which would
pretty much defeat the usefulness of this fine service!
That's all there is to it - you'll get a free, detailed
spam-checking report via e-mail. Cool.

To recapitulate:
Send your mail messages for testing with "TEST" (all
caps, no quotes) in the Subject Line to:
< spamcheck-fantomaster@sitesell.net >
< mailto:spamcheck-fantomaster@sitesell.net >
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


======================================================
Teoma Implements New Search Syntax
------------------------------------------------------
(rt) After expanding their database to 350 million
pages, Teoma (which belongs to AskJeeves/Ask) has added
new syntax features to its search setup.

These include: 
* Ability to Limit By Language 
  This is the language syntax: 
      Danish = lang:da
      German = lang:de
     Spanish = lang:es 
      French = lang:fr
     Italian = lang:it
       Dutch = lang:nl
   Norwegian = lang:no
  Portuguese = lang:pt

Other features: 
      Search on site = Site:
 Search in page text = Intext:
       Search in URL = Inurl:
Search in page title = Intitle:

Teoma will now also display your search terms in
context now ("dynamic descriptions").

Finally, expect a spell checker to be available
soon. 
Source: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=frp01 >
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


======================================================
Disturbing Search Results
------------------------------------------------------
(rt) This is quite a funny weblog, collaborative effort
"dedicated to misleading search requests", discussing
(and commenting - sometimes hilariously) on, well, you
guessed it, disturbing search engine results. So much
for SERP relevance ...
Check it out here:
< http://searchrequests.weblogs.com/ >
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


======================================================
Google: A Hacker's Best Friend
------------------------------------------------------
(rt) Thanks go to fN subscriber P.M. aka "circusboy"
from < http://www.3ringstudios.com > for pointing out
some interesting stuff showing that Google constitutes
a prime security risk for very many web sites. For
example, enter the following string (without the
quotes) into the Google search box and expect to be
surprised: "allintitle:index of / admin" 
Could this happen to your own site(s)? If so, don't
waste time and do something about it! 
Next, try the following search strings (again, without
the quotes): "top secret, site:mil" 
And: "confidential, site:mil" 

Granted that most of the links presented on Google's
respective SERPs may offer only junk knowledge, you
actually will find the odd gem or two - quite
surprising for a search engine sporting such close ties
to the U.S. government in general and the U.S.
intelligence community in particular!

As our source points out: "Talking Doorway Pages: These
are doorway pages for hackers right into your server!
Is this ethical for Google to allow this sort of thing
to occur? Not to mention the blatant mass copyright
infringement that occurs when they store my web pages
and images on their servers ..." 

Read more about Google's unethical practices in the
Flash site's "Whitepapers" section (article #3) at: 
< http://www.PenetrationTest.com >
You can reach circusboy at: < paul@3ringstudios.com >
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


======================================================
SEO/SEM Isn't Everything - Try Other Venues, Too
------------------------------------------------------
(rt) As a subscriber to the fantomNews, you already
know how important it is to "get it right" with your
online marketing. You will also be aware that even the
best search engine marketing can only do so much for
your sales turnover. No web entrepreneurs worth their
salt will limit promotional activities to this channel
alone. 
That is why we're alerting you to what Time Magazine is
saying about the ticklish subject of marketing via e-
mail. 

Here's one of the statements in their Nov 3rd issue:
"E-mail marketing is fast, effective and dirt cheap -
a godsend for marketers in an economy that has 
crunched advertising budgets."
They go on talking about how "the humble medium of
e-mail is blossoming while flashier forms of Internet
advertising are going the way of the Pets.com sock
puppet."

They also make this statement:
"Little wonder that old-line companies like Ford and
Procter & Gamble are joining early users of targeted
e-mail pitches like Amazon.com and J. Crew."

Remember, this is Time Magazine - that's about as
mainstream as it gets. Translation: if you have yet to
"correctly" integrate "permission e-mail marketing" into
your online business plan, then you risk being thwarted
by your competitors that do. It's just that plain and
simple.

To learn how we have successfully applied this
outstanding strategy and how YOU can too, go to:
< http://www.fantomaster.com/tj.cgi?ln=pem1 >
There, you will also find a link to the entire Time
Magazine report.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


======================================================
fantomFAQ:
- How to find the best keywords for your web site
------------------------------------------------------
Q: How can I find out the best keywords to use for my
   web site? 

A: Try the Copernic Summarizer (included in Copernic
2000) for starters. You can download a free trial version
via our affiliate link here: 
< http://fantomaster.com/tj.cgi?ln=cps > 
It will generate a summary of your pages and will give
give you a list of pertinent keywords.
Then, check them out for frequency, variants, misspelled
versions etc. at Wordtracker (affiliate link): 
< http://fantomaster.com/tj.cgi?ln=wt0 >
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


======================================================
The Search Engine Grapevine: News 'n Stuff
------------------------------------------------------
NOTE
Shortlinks created with fantomas trackerJack PRO(TM):
< http://fantomaster.com/fatrackjack0.html >
------------------------------------------------------
To keep this issue of fantomNews from busting your
inbox, we've decided to post most Grapevine articles
on a special page on our web site for a change - and 
yes, we regret any inconvenience this may cause. 
-------------------------------------------------------

The Kiwi SEO Weblog
-------------------
For all you Aussies and New Zealanders out there, in
case you haven't noticed yet, here's a link to the "New
Zealand Search Engine Marketing and Optimisation
Weblog", run by SEM consultant Gary Jensen: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=nzb00 >

"Evil is what Sergey says is evil."
Inside the Googleplex - And Sergey Brin
---------------------------------------
Here's a sneak preview of the January '03 issue of
Wired magazine! This insightful article takes a hard
and sober look at Google today and tomorrow. It covers
the censorship issues surrounding the world's current
#1 search engine, co-founder Sergey Brin's philosophy
behind their appeasement policy, and what's in the
offing by way of business pressures once Google goes
public, something all experts are expecting to happen
very soon. 
Read "Google vs. Evil" here: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=wir01 > 

Google - the New Mogul On the Block
-----------------------------------
This Optionetics investor-focused article spells it out
as it is without a trace of acerbity: Google's rapidly
turning into one giant, privately owned monopoly. Which
has some serious implications, of course.
Read on here: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fafngrapevine1.html#mogul >

Yahoo! Ad Pulled In UK For Being "Homophobic"
---------------------------------------------
A tv ad sponsored by Yahoo! in the UK has come under
fire after several complaints launched by the gay
community. 
Read on here: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fafngrapevine1.html#homophobe >

Google's "Ghost Pages" Explained
--------------------------------
In his article "Google Ghosts" on Search Optimization
Support Forums Chris Ridings describes the phenomenon
of "ghost pages" on Google, being temporarily indexed entries
not yet fully ranked: an endless source of frustration for
newbie webmasters unaware of what's actually going on. 
Full article: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=seos05 > 

Positiontech's New "Inktomi Pure Search" URL
--------------------------------------------
Positiontech's Inktomi-powered "Pure Web Search"
function, the only one on the which offers non-
manipulated Inktomi search results, is sporting a new
URL now. 
It also offers search restricted to documents in HTML,
PDF, XLS and DOC format plus filtering for adult
content, in line with Inktomi's recently launched "Web
Search 9" technology. 
Check it out here: 
< http://search.positiontech.com/ > 
More on Inktomi's Web Search 9 program: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=ink02 > 
And here's a FreePint synopsis for a quick overview: 
< http://resourceshelf.freepint.com/ > 
For paid submissions to Inktomi (as well as Altavista,
Looksmart, whatUseek, WebWombat, Slider, Corporate
Yahoo and other search engines), we recommend our own
affiliate link (thus helping support fantomNews and
keep it free):
< http://www.fantomaster.com/tj.cgi?ln=tr0 >

fantomaster Interview Stirs Forum Controversy
---------------------------------------------
Not quite surprisingly, the recent Search Engine Blog
interview with fantomaster has stirred up a bit of a
controversy in parts of the SEM/SEO community. 
Read on here: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fafngrapevine1.html#contra >

fantomaster Interview With Search Engine Blog
---------------------------------------------
Peter Da Vanzo did an extensive interview with the
fantomaster ("the best beard in search" :-), covering a
multitude of SEM related topics. 
Read up "Ten Questions with: Ralph Tegtmeier" here: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=seb01 > 

Inktomi Drops Enterprise Search to Focus On PFI
-----------------------------------------------
Inktomi has sold its enterprise search division to
Verity for $25 million and will focus on web search and
its PFI model. 
Read on here: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fafngrapevine1.html#inkdrop >

After the Revamp: AltaVista's New Features
------------------------------------------
In the course of its recent reassertive site revamp
long-believed-dead AltaVista is offering various new
features, making the search engine more attractive than
ever - or so they hope. 
Read on here: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fafngrapevine1.html#avrevamp >

AltaVista: More Googlesque Design, More Features
------------------------------------------------
Pandia Search Engine News offers an extensive overview
of AltaVista's new search interface design (cloning
Google even more than before) and its copious new
features. 
Read on here: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fafngrapevine1.html#avoogle >

fantomaster Featured in "Web Positioning Newsletter"
----------------------------------------------------
Following the Munich Search Engine Strategies
conference in October, fantomaster.com was featured in
an article by Gerda von Radetzky, reporting on the
event. 
Read full article here (in German): 
< http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=wpn01 > 

Google the Search Engine Bully?
-------------------------------
In her recent weblog, Kim Krause covers the
possibilities of being penalized by Google for trying
to unfairly (in Google's view) boost your link
popularity - many of the techniques in question being
considered perfectly legitimate by the rest of the Web
community. 
Read on here: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fafngrapevine1.html#boogle >

Google's Top PageRank Sites
---------------------------
Axandra.com offers a comprehensive overview of web
sites enjoying PageRank 10 and 9 with Google, followed
by a selection of PR 8 sites. 
Read on here: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fafngrapevine1.html#axandra >

Trusted Feed Boosted at AltaVista After All?
--------------------------------------------
Seems the cat's out of the bag now after all: According
to Search Engine Watch guru Danny Sullivan AltaVista is
actually giving a boost to Trusted Feed PFI pages after
all, albeit under certain circumstances only - after
vehemently denying the fact for months! 
Read full article "Paid Inclusion Listings May Get
Boosted At AltaVista" here: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=sew01 > 

Search Engine "Perfect Page" Test
---------------------------------
Chris Sherman and Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Watch
have conducted a "Perfect Page Test", evaluating search
engines' results pages and assigning them marks. 
Read on here: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fafngrapevine1.html#ppage >

Ring Tones Search Engine Launched
--------------------------------
German cellphone and WAP portal Jamba! has launched the
world's first search engine for cellphone ring tones
with about 10,000 files ready for (paid) download. 
Read on here: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fafngrapevine1.html#ringring >

Inktomi Includes eLibrary Articles
----------------------------------
Alacritude, LLC, the Chicago-based start-up that
purchased eLibrary.com and Encyclopedia.com earlier
this year, has announced that documents available from
eLibrary will now be indexed by Inktomi and included in
search results on portals that use the Inktomi search
engine such as MSN, About.com, Overture, LookSmart,
HotBot, and others. 
Read on here: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fafngrapevine1.html#inkelib >

Entireweb Goes Pay-For-Inclusion
--------------------------------
Entireweb has announced a PFI program.
Read on here: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fafngrapevine1.html#ewpfi >

Overture's Auto Bid System Examined
-----------------------------------
This hands-on article by Danny Sullivan examines and
explains the somewhat confusing auto bid system
implemented by Overture some months ago. 
Read on here: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fafngrapevine1.html#ovauto >

Yahoo! Implements Major Changes to Y! Express
---------------------------------------------
Yahoo! has implemented some dramatic changes to its
Yahoo! Express paid submission program. 
Read on here: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fafngrapevine1.html#yahy >

Google's Big Time Localized Censorship Exposed
----------------------------------------------
Google has done it again, and with a vengeance too:
deleting web sites from their index i.e. censoring
them. Only that they kept it more or less under wraps
this time, probably because fearing the bad publicity
it would generate
Read on here: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fafngrapevine1.html#goocensor >

Overture Expecting Profit Slump
-------------------------------
While they are still well in the money for the running
quarter, Overture executives are expecting a noticeable
slump in profits  through the end of the year after
both AOL and Earthlink signed up with Google. 
Read the full story here: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=cnt02 > 

The Search Engine Freshness Showdown
------------------------------------
Here's an analysis of the major players in the search
engine business and the freshness of their respective
indices. 
More info: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=ses01 > 

SearchKing Sues Google Over PageRank Ads Issue
----------------------------------------------
After seeing his web properties' rankings seriously
demoted in the Google search index following the
announcement of offering text ads based on PageRank,
SearchKing's Robert Massa has filed a lawsuit today
against Google on the grounds the organization
arbitrarily and purposefully devalued his companies'
and his customers' web sites,
Read on here: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fafngrapevine1.html#skvsgoo >

The "Google Sweat Shop" Under Increasing Fire
---------------------------------------------
The Google Answers service is getting quite a bit of
well deserved flak recently due to their business
practices which seem to resemble a regular Southeast
Asian sweat shop.
Read on here: 
< http://fantomaster.com/fafngrapevine1.html#googsweat >
------------------------------------------------------
NOTE
Shortlinks created with fantomas trackerJack PRO(TM):
< http://fantomaster.com/fatrackjack0.html >
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

======================================================
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on how to win the search engine wars: 
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++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


======================================================
Guest Columnist
Andrew Gerhart: "Calculating Your SEO Campaign Return
                 on Investment"
------------------------------------------------------
Intro:
Andrew Gerhart is Director of SEO Operations of Top
Site Listings, the Search Engine Optimization division
of Orbidex, Inc. located in Providence, RI.
Visit his web site here:
< http://www.topsitelistings.com/ >
You can contact him directly at: 

-------------------------------------------------------

Determining the return on investment (ROI) for any
marketing campaign is an important part in the research
and decision making process. Calculating the ROI for a
particular marketing campaign can range from an
extremely simple equation, to exquisitely difficult
calculation. The same range applies when determining
the ROI for different search engine optimization (SEO)
campaigns.

Below we will take a look at some of the different ROI
calculations for SEO campaigns.

Calculating ROI for E-Commerce Sites 
------------------------------------
With an e-commerce website, determining the campaign
ROI is quite simple. If a website sells a variety of
products, you will need to determine the average price
of the products sold. Let’s assume the average price of
products sold is $75, and the site was selling 100
products a month pre-optimization. So, we can say that
the website was grossing $7,500 from the sale of its
products per month. After the search engine
optimization campaign was launched, the site increased
its sales to 250 products sold per month. The website
is now generating $18,750 per month post-optimization
campaign launch. The search engine optimization
campaign is responsible for generating an additional
$11,250 per month. If the search engine optimization
campaign cost $25,000 for the year, we can then
estimate that the ROI will be seen within 3 months of
launching the SEO campaign.

Calculating ROI for Lead Generating Sites
-----------------------------------------
Not far behind from e-commerce website with regards to
the simplicity of ROI calculations are websites
developed to generate leads. If the value of the
generated lead is known then the ROI can be easily
determined. If the lead value is not directly linked to
a dollar value, a dollar value will need to be
determined. Let’s assume a website generates 25 leads
per month pre-optimization, and each lead is valued at
$50. The website was generating $1,250 per month before
the search engine optimization campaign launched. Now,
the website increases its leads generated to 100 per
month post-optimization launch. We can then see that
the search engine optimization campaign is responsible
for an additional $3,750 in leads per month. If the
optimization campaign cost $25,000, we can then
estimate the ROI to be seen within 7 months.

Calculating ROI for Informational Sites (with specified
conversion points) While a search engine optimization
campaign is easier to justify or warrant need with e-
commerce and lead generating websites, they are also
needed for informational websites. An informational
website is a site that does not sell products, generate
leads, etc., and is primarily used to broadcast company
or product information, or direct the user to some
other page or point within the site or within an
external site. It is important for the website to have
specified conversion points, or simply a goal for the
websites users. It may be difficult to assign a dollar
value to these conversion points as a dollar value may
not be directly involved. To calculate the SEO campaign
ROI, it helps to determine or estimate the dollar value
of each converted user of the website.

Let’s assume the website had unique 2,500 visitor
sessions per month before the search engine
optimization campaign was launched, and the website was
converting 4% of its users. Before the SEO campaign was
launched, the website was converting 100 users per
month. After the campaign is launched, the website
experienced increased visitor sessions up to 15,000 per
month, with conversion rates increasing to 6% as a
result of more targeted visitors (a very conservative
increase). We can then determine that the search engine
optimization campaign is directly responsible for
converting an additional 800 users per month.

If we were able to determine a dollar value for each
converted user, we could easily determine the campaign
ROI. Let’s assume that we have determined that each
converted user is worth approximately $10. Using this
as a base, we see that the website was generating
$1,000 per month before optimization, and $9,000 post-
optimization launch. The search engine optimization
campaign is responsible for generating an additional
$8,000 per month through converting website users. If
the SEO campaign cost $25,000 for the year, we estimate
that a ROI will be seen within 4 months.

Conclusion
----------
To say that search engine optimization and online
marketing campaigns are necessary for all websites
would be untrue. There is simply no justification for
optimizing some websites. A website operator or manager
should be able to effectively evaluate their website,
industry position, and opportunity potential, to then
estimate a return on investment for an optimization
campaign prior to signing on any dotted lines. At the
same time, any legitimate optimization firm should be
able to inform you of the opportunity potential for
your website, and advise you as to whether or not you
will see a ROI from your search engine optimization
campaign.

---
© Copyright 2002 by Andrew Gerhart.
All Rights Reserved
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


======================================================
Guest Columnist
Ammon Johns:
"New Overture UK Rule: 5 Searches Per Month Minimum"
------------------------------------------------------
Intro:
About the Author: Ammon Johns is an internationally
renowned Internet Marketing Consultant. A lot more of
his articles, tips and tutorials can be found at his
non-profit Web Marketing and Site Promotion 
< http://www.webmarketingplus.co.uk/ > web site.
Ammon is also a moderator at the Cre8asite Forums
< http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/ > where webmasters can
discuss issues such as website usability, design,
marketing and promotion.
-------------------------------------------------------

Today (9th December 2002) Overture sent out an e-mail
that shows us that not all misers' actions are remedied
by a Christmas Carol. Overture proudly announced their
new scheme to screw more money from their advertisers
while simultaneously providing less value to both
advertisers, searchers and search partners alike.

Overture's unseasonal e-mail greetings were as follows:

"As a number of you may have noticed, our UK editorial
review process is not running as quickly as it has in
the past. Having looked into this in some detail, it
appears that a significant proportion of these delays
are unfortunately attributable to Search Engine
Marketers in my channel. 
We are receiving a large number of submissions from
SEMs (search engine marketeers) where the lion's share
of the terms supplied have little or no search
whatsoever. As a result, our editors are having to
devote time to reviewing listings which will not drive
any traffic or provide any leads! 
As you can imagine, their time would be better spent
[more quickly] reviewing those listings which will
actually bring your clients traffic. To this end, we
are introducing a temporary ruling: 
No keyword submissions where the monthly search volume
is less than 5 searches per keyword will be reviewed. 
All campaign / account submissions will be tested for
monthly search volume and the individual listings in
these submissions with less than 5 searches per month
will not be eligible for review. 
I'm sure you will understand why this ruling has been
put in place, and will, like me, look forward to seeing
submission review-times reduce as a result."

To explain properly why this is one of the biggest PR
bungles ever seen, let's take the points of the letter
one by one.

------------------------------------------------------
"As a number of you may have noticed, our UK editorial
review process is not running as quickly as it has in
the past. Having looked into this in some detail, it
appears that a significant proportion of these delays
are unfortunately attributable to Search Engine
Marketers in my channel."
------------------------------------------------------
The biggest reason for editorial delay is that of
having insufficient numbers of editors for the
workload. We can prove this instantly by referring to
Overture's own documentation about their service 
< http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=ovu01 >

------------------------------------------------------
"... 73,000 advertisers, who bid for placement on
relevant search results and pay Overture only when a
consumer clicks on their listing. Following a rigorous
screening for user relevance by Overture's 100-person
product quality team ..."
------------------------------------------------------
So, with 73,000 advertisers and only 100 people to
control the product quality (not all being editorial
staff) we have less than one editor for every 730
advertisers! Frankly, that is nowhere near good enough.
Period.

Let's have a look at Overture's recent press statements
to see what these say about the idea of the editorial
control process being overworked and understaffed. No
nothing about that found. In fact the latest document
in the Overture UK Press Releases is:
"Overture Announces Third Quarter 2002 Results; Company
Reports 138% Revenue Increase and 88% Net Income
Increase Over Third Quarter 2001"

Oddly, although there is no mention of overworked
editors, it is plain that there was an 88% increase in
Net revenue (which I presume is from gaining more work
for the editors) there seems to be no mention of a
corresponding 88% increase in editorial staffing to
match the increase in workload.
Apparently, even though Overture have increased the
workload by gaining new advertisers, and by encouraging
existing advertisers to expand their campaigns, there
has been no thought given to the common-sense idea of
hiring more staff, using just a tiny slice of the 138%
revenue increase shown for the third quarter of 2002
alone.

It actually gets worse in terms of highlighting the
insult Overture are giving to the intelligence of their
advertisers. On a world-wide basis, advertisers paid
Overture an average of $0.34 for each paid introduction
during the third quarter 2002. On a world-wide basis,
Overture facilitated 500 million paid introductions in
the third quarter 2002.

500,000,000 paid clicks multiplied by the average PPC
of $0.34 = $170,000,000

$170,000,000 divided by 3 = 56,666,667 and is the
monthly amount spent by all advertisers

Since we know there are 73,000 advertisers, they are
spending $776.26 per month each on average.

Less than one editor is employed per $566,670 spent by
advertisers!
I think it is time that Overture learnt to temper their
greed, and start providing the levels of service that
their customers are paying for.

Let's move on with today's e-mail, because although the
first paragraph alone damns Overture's greed, and hints
at deception over the true cause of problems, the e-mail
provides a lot more.

------------------------------------------------------
"We are receiving a large number of submissions from
SEMs (search engine marketeers) where the lion's share
of the terms supplied have little or no search
whatsoever. As a result, our editors are having to
devote time to reviewing listings which will not drive
any traffic or provide any leads!"
------------------------------------------------------
The amount of search a term gets on Overture is
unfortunately not independently verified. Even if it
were, their success or failing in keeping partners, and
not losing them to rivals who share more of the profits
with their partners is hardly the responsibility of the
advertiser. The only consideration in selecting and
approving search terms should be relevancy.
That is certainly the information Overture seem to be
pushing in their tips to advertisers.
< http://fantomaster.com/fn.cgi?ln=ovu02 >

Let's examine the tips that Overture give to
advertisers:

------------------------------------------------------
"Bid on as many search terms as are relevant to your
site.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We've found that advertisers who bid on a range
of relevant terms (especially 20 or more) experience
the greatest success in reaching potential customers on
Overture.

Bid on Relevant Search Terms Relevance is our "golden
rule." 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's good for our advertisers, because you're
guaranteed "targeted traffic," and it's good for our
users, because they find what they're looking for
quickly and easily. Relevance means that the search
term, search listing (titles and descriptions) and the
content of your site all have to be relevant to one
another. We define relevance as a site containing real,
apparent content that specifically relates to its
search terms. The search terms you request should
reflect what consumers will find on your site, and your
titles and descriptions should let them know why your
site is a good match for their search. For example:
Just because you have a picture of a panda on your site
doesn't make your site relevant to the search term
"panda." In order to be relevant, you would need to
have information about pandas on your site. You should
also know that our editors look only at the content on
your own site.

Choose a range of search terms (both broad and narrow)
that are relevant to your site.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You want to make sure your site is seen by the group of
people who are most interested in what you're offering,
so choose a variety of relevant terms. But, be careful
- don't make your terms too broad or you may choose a
search term that isn't relevant to your site (for
example, we don't consider the broad search term
"travel" relevant to your site if it promotes only a
single resort hotel in the Lake District). Likewise,
don't choose only very narrow terms - people might miss
your listing. If you sell theatre in Stratford,
"stratford theatre" would be perfect, but people who do
not live in the Stratford area and want theatre may
just type in "theatre." So, in this example, you may
also wish to bid on "theatre" and other slightly
broader search terms."
------------------------------------------------------

Let's take a real world example. Imagine we have John
Smith, who offers a washing machine repair service in
Lincolnshire. He has been in business for many years
and has recently gained an online presence in order to
provide a high ROI boost to his advertising. He
naturally wants to bid for such terms as "washing
machine repair in Lincolnshire", "Lincolnshire washing
machine repair", "washing machine repairers in
Lincolnshire" and similar terms. He'd probably want to
include bids that mentioned the specific towns within
the county of Lincolnshire as well.
Well, according to this new move by Overture, he can't.
Despite the fact that those terms are spot on for
relevance, and would suit the advertiser, the end-user
of the search service, and Overture's search partners.
No, according to Overture, there are not enough
searches made for these terms, and so he should bid for
broader search terms such as "washing machine repairs"
even though the vast majority of people making such
searches will be outside of Lincolnshire and therefore
totally uninterested in his listing.
It is not just that Lincolnshire is a small place. If
we were discussing John Doe of Michigan we'd find the
exact same problems with getting a listing for "washing
machine repairs in Michigan". Jane Doe in Texas would
have the same problems too. 

In short, Overture want to decrease relevancy, because
by doing so, they will increase bidding on broader,
less relevant search terms.

------------------------------------------------------
"I'm sure you will understand why this ruling has been
put in place"
------------------------------------------------------
Yes, I think we all understand why this ruling has been
put in place, and it has nothing at all to do with the
reasons given.

What can you do about this?
Simple. Re-evaluate your ROI for Overture and if this
change has affected your listings, your returns, or
simply if you dislike dealing with companies that
profiteer in this manner while attempting to blame
advertisers, move more of your PPC budget to
competitors such as Google AdWords, Espotting,
FindWhat, etc.
Google's AdWords offers a host of improvements over
Overture, including that you can use broader terms with
filtering by filtering out searches from certain
countries, in certain languages, or that include other
words you set (like the word 'free' or the word
'courses') which indicate no sale is likely.

© Copyright 2002 by Ammon Johns.
All Rights Reserved
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

-----------------------------------------
How to Be Featured as Our Guest Columnist
-----------------------------------------
While we welcome all pertinent contributions, we
strongly suggest you read our "Article Submission
Authors Guidelines" before submitting an article. You
can request them by email from here:
< fnsubmissionguide@fantomaster.com >
< mailto:fnsubmissionguide@fantomaster.com >
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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======================================================
Spider IPs: Lots of New Exotic Spiders Detected
------------------------------------------------------
(bro) Here's a verified list of various exotic spiders:

#SE Arianna (IT)
#UA arianna.iol.it Linux/2.4.2-2smp (linux)
prometeo.iol.it
195.210.93.252

#SE Blitzsuche (DE)
#UA BlitzBOT@tricus.net (Mozilla compatible)
srv-ze-webdb7.tricus.net
193.110.40.83

#SE Fireball (DE)
#UA Firefly/1.0 (compatible; Mozilla 4.0; MSIE 5.5)
house.fireball.de
193.7.254.240

#SE ilse (NL)
#UA ilse/1.0
pip0-8.ilse.nl
62.69.162.178

#SE Infoseek (JP)
#UA Infoseek SideWinder/1.1A
211.13.222.125
#UA Infoseek SideWinder/1.1A
211.13.222.230

#SE Vindex (NL)
#UA Vindex 1.3  (Spider 2.1/info@vang.net)
spider3.vindex.nl
62.250.20.16
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


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List of Guest Columnists
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