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While a lot of SEO experts tend to diss other search engines, such as MSN and Ask, I've always felt that it was a bad idea to ignore their users. A customer (visitor) is still a customer regardless of how they ended up on your website. A few months ago I did a bit of not too scientific analysis of browsers etc., that were being used to access a number of sites that I manage. The results reinforced my suspicions. But what about the search engines? What are people actually looking for? Is there a significant difference between a Google user and a Yahoo! user? The 2006 Search Wrap-Up would seem to suggest that there are some significant differences. Google users tend to be more technical it seems, while Yahoo! users are into popular culture if the top search terms of 2006 are anything to go by. From an SEO perspective I guess that means that you still can't ignore Yahoo! et al :)

Maybe it's that time of year or maybe there's simply a lot of activity in the big bad world of search engines. In either case this week seems to be the week for ad networks. Yahoo has just launched a beta of its ad network. At present only US publishers may participate, but you can expect that to broaden within a few months. MSN, on the other hand, is talking of launching its own version this autumn. Although the technology employed by Google may not be available to its competitors they are able to watch and learn. Initial reactions to the features being offered seems to be quite positive. Whether they will be able to attract the advertisers and publishers in sufficient numbers is another story, as I already mentioned in relation to Ask Jeeves' recent announcement. The other side to these developments that is yet to be explored is the search engines motivation. Contextual ads and similar offerings must be working for Google for the others to be so interested. The alternative explanation is that search engine companies are losing ad revenue if they cannot offer it. What remains to be seen is whether or not Google's competitors will be able to compete in the Geo-specific targetting area as effectively as G. Although the US market maybe the biggest that does not make it the most lucrative. Related stories: MSN Keywords Coming October