Psst—it’s Friday. Partay.

• Bad news for the SEO industry: we’ve seen the elephant. We’ve jumped the shark. We’ve made USA Today’s Small Business Strategies column.
• SEO Blackhat says that they’ve Confirmed that Bounce Rate is A Search Engine Ranking Factor. Well, from their graphs, I see that their overall traffic, Google traffic and bounce rate all declined at the same time. But if I remember my Google Analytics correctly, bounce rate going down actually means that fewer people are leaving your site after viewing just one page, so your site is stickier. So Google rewards sites that people leave quickly with higher rankings and thus more traffic? I’m not convinced. Correlation still isn’t causation—couldn’t it be that Google traffic dropped off (for whatever reason) and then a higher proportion of visitors are the loyal visitors who weren’t bouncing anyway?
• Here’s one idea sure to help your SEO (not): if your site’s not coming up on a search for your name, especially if you’re a law firm, sue Google. Yeah, I don’t get it either.
• Most businesses cut back in economic times like these. But Business Week reports that Facebook’s doing the opposite
• First, Facebook Connect partnered with Citysearch. Now is an Open Beta of Google Friend Connect Coming Soon? The very similar product has been in limited beta since its announcement—will this be enough to help it take off?
• So that’s who’s still on MySpace—everyone. BlackBerry’s new MySpace app has already shattered the download record.
• First they got the search deal with T-mobile, now Yahoo’s got a New beta version of m.yahoo.com coming soon.

Here’s a nice discussion from the New York Times’ Bits Blog—and a debate held this week by Intelligence Squared US. The arguments, naturally, centered around Google’s purported motto: “Don’t be evil.”

Everything from corporate identity to workplace policies to business behavior was fair game. The Bits summary of the arguments included seven deadly sins of Google and eight of its virtues (both of which I hope were delivered tongue-in-cheek). Sins, complete with Latin, from Siva Vaidhyanathan, an associate professor at the University of Virginia:

Luxuria (extravagance or lust): The people who work there get massages. That is corporeal lust of the highest order.

Gula (gluttony): They can eat all day, no matter what they want. There is so much food that they never need to say no. That is the very definition of gluttony.

Avaritia (greed): The Google-Yahoo advertising deal is one of many examples of Google overreaching to corner a market, or completely undermine a market, in an effort to maximize its returns.

Acedia (sloth): Its very model of advertising is based on free-riding. Google makes money off of our work. We blog, we put our cats on skateboards and record them for videos. We do all of this work, and then Google harvests our work, runs all of this content through this computers, spits it back out at us, with almost no actual value added.

Ira (wrath): There are hundreds of small companies all around America that have found their Google ranks decline significantly because they tried to optimize their results. They were just doing what a company should do, trying to get more attention for themselves. And Google’s algorithms, its faceless, soulless algorithms, came at them with wrath.

Invidia (envy): Google has recently tried to push its suite of services that directly compete with Microsoft Office. Of course they have at various times threatened to muscle out eBay, muscle out PayPal, muscle out Amazon, in various ways.

Superbia (pride, or hubris): The actual motto of the company is “To organize the world’s information to make it universally accessible.” What could be more hubristic than that?

And virtues from Jeff Jarvis, author of What Would Google Do? (sadly, no Latin):

Google has opened up the world’s knowledge to the world: No longer do we end an argument saying, I don’t know. We go to Google. Google will tell us.

Google respects the wisdom of the crowd: Google learns what it learns because it trusts us.

Google takes the wisdom of the crowd and it gives it back to us: Look at the Google Flu Trends search. It lets us know how often we search for a flu, and how the flu trend is coming. That is our knowledge, not Google’s.

Google connects people: We often are accused online of being anti-social. I think we’ve become hyper-social. I think we’re more connected. Admit it, how many of you have searched Google for an old girlfriend or boyfriend?

Google is a platform that enables us to create: It is an age of creation, and Google creates the platforms, the tools to let us create, the means to let us pay for that.

Google does have ads: [Web publishers] can do what we want with our ads. We can start whole businesses with [Google]. We can create movements with it. We can be found with it. And I believe that Google ads will help support the future even of news.

Google.org is trying to solve (with hubris) the problem of energy and global warming: Politicians are trying to get us on energy with regulation and taxes and prohibitions and slaps on the wrist. Google is giving this investment, and innovation, and invention.

Google has a new model on how to treat employees: We get, they get, massages. [He stops here because his time runs out]

The official debate was a draw, with just under half of the audience voting for and against. The comments of the Bits blog (through the first 99 comments) was, naturally, a bit more slanted in favor of Google: 30% decided it was evil, 43% said it wasn’t and 26% said both, neither, or “FIRST!” (j/k).

Based on these arguments, what do you think. Has Google violated it’s “Don’t be evil” motto?

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I’m guessing Google really wants you to add display ads to your marketing mix because, barely a month after launching its AdWords display ad builder, the search engine giant has made some improvements.

Image picker: You can now choose from previously uploaded images when creating your ads.

Real-time editing: See what your text and other customization edits look like, automatically — without having to click the ‘update preview’ button.

Quicker way of seeing available ad sizes: You can see which sizes your ad can run in for each ad template without having to complete the ad creation process. You can also preview how your customization choices affect each size.

Additional templates: Choose from even more templates for customizing your ads.

In addition, the UK and Ireland are among a list countries that can now access the ad builder.

Who’s tried it?

Andy Beal will host his next Online Reputation Management Workshop in Las Vegas on January 14th, 2009. Register before December 1st and you’ll save $300! Book now, space is limited.

In a report from, of all places, Yahoo! News, Google’s new Search Wiki is out and it gets personal. No not like that but it actually sounds like 2 years of yammering about personalization of search may finally be more reality than hype.

The new service unveiled on Thursday by Google allows users to remove ‘bad’ results from future search queries.

For now, Google simply wants to make specific sets of results more useful to each individual that comes to its search engine, said Marissa Mayer, who oversees the company’s search products. Users will have to have a personal login to take advantage of the editing feature.

“It should make the search results more dynamic,” she said.

Sounds like an understatement to me. The idea of being able to ‘vote a bad result’ off a SERP is pretty interesting especially to search marketing types. For years and years the pundits of search marketing have hammered the ‘content is king’ mantra into our heads. This year’s PubCon audience heard much the same from panel after panel. Well, now with the start of a program that can allow searchers to say that a site doesn’t meet their needs, which will be almost solely content driven due to user experience (not necessarily on how many links a site has garnered) then this could be a bit of a game changer. The idea for the users of this service is to get their attention then keep it when they insure your page shows up for that search each time. Traditional search is more of a ‘catch and release’ mentality while this means that searchers can hold on to their results.

The system allows users who are logged in (that is obviously a huge factor in how deep the adoption rate of this service goes) to in effect vote whether a result should show up higher or not at all next time the same search is done. Now, my big question is that if someone is saying ‘I want the same results set for each SERP for a particular key phrase’ are they truly searching or just bookmarking the site? One of the things that makes search so important for any user is the ability for Google or any other engine to introduce new ideas to its users. This type of service can either be viewed as a great result for a searcher or a limitation on introducing new and better options to the user.

So what’s your take? Is this change something that falls into the good, bad or indifferent category? What could its impact be for search engine optimizers?

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Is it one of those days where you are, too? Let’s make your day brighter with a little linky goodness, shall we?

• Improvements in paid search from Google as AdWords is testing a new user interface
• Another Googly test: YouTube and HD Videos. Can we all cross our fingers for this one?
• Don’t go unplugging your home computer yet: a three year study concludes that casual Internet use is good for kids. Good news for me—I’ve been online since I was like twelve.
• Consumer Watchdog asks Eric Schmidt about user privacy, and as Valleywag puts it, “Google engineers have thought long and hard about this, and concluded that protecting users’ privacy would make pages load too slowly.”
• Cashback worked so well for Microsoft Live Search that now they’re using cars, tickets and more as “Big Ticket Search” incentives—but only in Canada. Man.

It’s only natural after all of this year’s upheavals at Yahoo to have to wonder what’s next for the search giant—and you have to wonder if the board itself is thinking the same thing. While Yahoo continues to make efforts in search, including bringing Glue pages to the US and winning T-Mobile’s mobile search contract, speculation is flying thick and fast that one way or another, Yahoo’s getting out of the business of search.

Not helping things for Yahoo is the departure of Yahoo’s VP of Web Search Technology—leaving for Microsoft. As Valleywag puts it, the loss of Sean Suchter, along with that of Qi Lu who left Yahoo for Microsoft in September, does more than just reduce Yahoo’s staff:

These names may not mean much to anyone outside engineering circles in Silicon Valley, but they amount to this: If Microsoft has recruited Suchter, it has gotten the heart of Yahoo’s search technology without the fuss of actually buying it.

There’s one strategy.

So, just for speculation’s sake, let’s pretend Yahoo is getting out of search, whether by outright sale or by Yahoo’s employee exodus. What’s left for Yahoo?

Some agencies are excited by the prospect of Yahoo focusing on media and display, according to ClickZ:

According to Gregory March, group media director at Wieden + Kennedy, Jerry Yang made the opposite mistake “He was a big proponent of technical solutions over content,” he said. “They could’ve been a great media play but they took a step away from that to try and compete with Google. I think Yang stepping away might turn their focus to more of a media business, which is largely based on the quality of the content.”

Such a shift would be a tough sell for shareholders, given display ad prices continue to drop while search holds steady. But March notes, “If the quality of the content increases and the size of the ad space increases, it could be a viable [path forward].”

Forrester Research’s David Carr weighs in on what Yahoo could do better in the future (though he also mentions search marketing):

• Search marketing. Though it’s number two, Yahoo has not proven any synergies between owning search technology and an SEM marketplace and display (better targeting, attribution measurement, cross-format campaigns)
• Social media. Flickr, IM, and Answers do not a business make. Opening up social media & other services for mashup is interesting (see BOSS), but I’m less sanguine on the “social media as air/electricity” metaphor than other analysts
• Advertising Platform. So far, Yahoo has been far more successful hand-crafting (i.e., on golf courses) integrated marketing campaigns than it has making a technology/marketplace play. Either Yahoo can’t increase the value of remnant inventory via targeting, or it can’t prove it to advertisers, or there’s no demand for targeting. There’s plenty of demand.

What do you think—is there a future for Yahoo apart from search—and Microsoft?

Emarketer predicts that online advertising spending will reach $25.9 billion in 2008, up 23% from $21.1 billion in 2007. But what about online advertising revenue? IAB says online ad revenue was $5.9 billion in the 3rd quarter of 2008 - up 11.4%

It’s tough to compare the two figures without diving into metrics, but it doesn’t look rosy. Or, that the tough economy is hitting online too. What is clear is that revenues are going down and spending has slowed over the year.

Online advertising includes display advertising (banner ads, video ads, etc) and text-based advertising on search engines.

Anecdotal evidence I’ve heard and seen shows that businesses are still increasing their online budgets and moving print spend into more trackable online spend. This is based on what I have seen working at an SEO and PPC company where I work (OrangeSoda) and what I’ve heard from others in the industry.

A silver lining fromDavid Silverman, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, is that, “…the Internet should be better poised to withstand the storm given its ability to combine performance-based advertising along with broad-based branding.”

Online advertising revenues have been pretty much flat all year long. TechCrunch noted that the big three Google, Yahoo, and MSN have had almost flat growth. Annual growth rates for each of the past five quarters:
3Q07: 25.8%
4Q07: 24.3%
1Q08: 17.7%
2Q08: 12.8%
3Q08: 11.4%

I know I’m optimistic but even if growth rates slow, I don’t think we’ll see negative growth. If we do, I don’t see it being prolonged. I’d like to see if the growth rates are down across the advertising types, or if search is doing better or worse than other types of online ads.

Andy Beal will host his next Online Reputation Management Workshop in Las Vegas on January 14th, 2009. Register before December 1st and you’ll save $300! Book now, space is limited.

I know you’re eager to see the winners of this week’s book contest. The winners are…

…below today’s Picks!

• Should Mozilla be concerned that 91% of its revenue came from its partnership with Google? The same Google that has launched a competing web browser.
• Video search company Blinkx has made a second (less attractive) bid for the ad network Miva.
• Search Engine Roundtable questions the ethics of Yelp.com. Does the site manually change positive and negative reviews?
• It seems Yahoo is bringing its "Glue Pages" to the US after all.
• SEMPO would like your input for the 2008 State of the Market survey–they have prizes for those that participate!
• Congrats to the organizers of the first Internet Summit in Chapel Hill, NC. I’ve said for many years that we have a strong internet marketing industry in this area and 650 attendees (a sellout crowd) didn’t prove me wrong. You can check out some photos here.

OK, so now for our book contest winners. Congrats to…

• Saad Kamal
• Sarah Fowler
• Patrick

Thanks to all who entered. Be sure to subscribe to Marketing Pilgrim so you don’t miss out on the next big book giveaway!

Pilgrim’s Partners: Is a blogger attacking your company without you knowing? Monitor your online reputation with Andy Beal’s Trackur–try it for free!

Since PC Magazine is for the tech crowd the announcement that the publication (can’t call it a magazine anymore I guess) would cease printing a hard copy and be a strictly online operation isn’t a surprise. The New York Times covers this change in the flagship of Ziff Davis Publishing while the company reports that the magazine would be profitable in 2008 but it is forecast to lose money in 2009.

Magazines as a whole are facing increasing competition from their online foes which are eating into advertising revenue. Coupled with a general economic malaise that is getting a tighter grip on the world economy and the increase in the raw material costs to print a magazine it was a bit of a no-brainer to shut down the print version. Right now the online version of the magazine generates 70% of the revenue and 80% of the profit of PC Mag.

This is a natural progression as the online edition of the publication was the first stop for news anyway. It’s kind of hard to be on top of the breaking news in any industry when you only go to print once a month. That’s so 80’s!

The magazine’s circulation is ½ of what it was in the late 1990’s. The magazine industry as a whole is suffering a 17% decrease in ad pages for December of 2008 when compared to December of 2007 according to the Media Industry Newsletter. This is the latest magazine to say goodbye to its print edition and my suspicion is that many will follow suit in the very near future.

What are some titles that you think will be online only in the next year or so? Are there any magazines that you would rather have in a print edition v. an online one? What place will magazines play in the future of media and marketing? Looking forward to some Pilgrim input for this one.

If you took the time to nominate a company for the Open Web Awards, you might be interested to know that final voting is now open.

Mashable Open Web Awards

You have until Sunday, November 30th 11:59 pm PST to vote!

It took two years to develop Lively–the 3D world from Google.

It took less than 5 months for Google to announce it is shutting it down.

…despite all the virtual high fives and creative rooms everyone has enjoyed in the last four and a half months, we’ve decided to shut Lively down at the end of the year. It has been a tough decision, but we want to ensure that we prioritize our resources and focus more on our core search, ads and apps business.

Isn’t that basically what I suggested?

…there’s a long, long way to go in perfecting Google’s search engine. Right? So, why are Google engineers focusing their free time on projects that don’t serve that goal? Are they bored with search? Is this a sentiment that is pervasive among Google’s top talent?

I’m sorry for Niniane Wang–she developed Lively–but glad that Google put it out of its misery.

Today is the last day of the year with all odd digits: 11-19 (or 19-11 if you’re so inclined). Thought you’d like to know.

• Facebook has found a way to turn its platform into profits by rolling out a Verified App program—$375 per application application. App application…. Ahem. Per year.
• Now that we’ve got that out of the way, on to the rest of the Googly news. Still looking for its nonsearch monetization sweet spot, Google is adding ads across its web properties including image search and news.
• Tired of the way Gmail looks? Good news: Gmail is getting themes. Soon.
• And in case you were wondering what kind of traffic you get from a PR 10 website (You know—Google’s homepage?), Read Write Web looks at the case of the G1 link. Wonder if Google Chrome’s gotten the same boost now that it’s occupying the coveted spot. . . . But whatever happened to that “magic number” of 28 words on their “pristine homepage”—you know, their reasoning behind not linking to their privacy policy on their homepage?

Pilgrim’s Partners: Is a blogger attacking your company without you knowing? Monitor your online reputation with Andy Beal’s Trackur–try it for free!

The world has changed a lot since January 31, 2008. In case you’ve just tuned in, here’s a quick recap of the last nine and a half months:

• Microsoft makes an unsolicited bid for Yahoo.
• Yahoo stocks make a serious jump.
• Yahoo really thought it over, but decided to go with a search ad deal with Google instead.
• Google dropped Yahoo.
• Yahoo stocks take a serious dive.
• Yahoo dropped CEO Jerry Yang.

Yep, that’s it in a nutshell. Despite Yahoo’s initial rejection and later renewed-then-foundered courtship with Microsoft, rumors have persisted that Microsoft is still interested in purchasing all or part of Yahoo.

Microsoft disagrees. According to MarketWatch (via), at the annual shareholders’ meeting, CEO Steve Ballmer said:

Let me be as clear as I think I’ve tried to be publicly. . . .

We are done with all acquisition discussions with Yahoo. I’ve said that a bunch of times. Somehow some people have gotten confused nonetheless.

We did our best. We thought we had something that made sense. It didn’t make sense to them. We’ve moved on.

But perhaps he doth protest too much—especially when he follows that up with saying that purchasing the search portion of Yahoo is “interesting.”

The WSJ and Seattle PI (via) also report that Ballmer says he’s open to a “search collaboration” with Yahoo.

What do you think—is a Microsoft-Yahoo “search collaboration” a good idea? And what would it look like?

Andy Beal will host his next Online Reputation Management Workshop in Las Vegas on January 14th, 2009. Register before December 1st and you’ll save $300! Book now, space is limited.

Sometimes you read something about a company or a business that simply gets it more than others. OK, so we know that in most cases Google does that. Sometimes they do it in ways that still amaze and make one say “Huh, that makes good sense.”

Fresh off the mantra from several folks at PubCon to embrace traditional media, an article appeared in today’s Journal that exemplifies that strategy by, you guessed it, Google and one of the most unlikely traditional marketing powerhouses, Proctor & Gamble. These two titans of their representative media strongholds have met in the middle in a unique way. They swapped employees. Both were bright enough and daring enough to recognize that they needed to know more about the “other side”.

I can’t urge you enough to read this article in its entirety. Rarely do I read something and throughout keep saying, “Holy crap, that is cool!” This one did that. It was pretty fascinating to read about the various “Aha!” moments that occurred on both sides of the aisle because there was actual sharing and learning taking place. While the new v. old media struggles that occur in public are often contentious this one appeared to be collegial. It’s when this type of environment exists that real growth takes place. Also, real learning occurs and relationships start. I suspect that we will be reading about this partnership and innovation between “Googlers” and “Proctoids” (by the way, P & G, this nickname for your employees is a bit uncomfortable for obvious reasons) for years to come.

Here are some of the high points:

• P & G’s complete ignorance of the power of mommy bloggers and how that could impact Pampers sales. Of course, that gets a real “Duh!” from search marketers but Google seemed smart enough to not insult the traditional folks but aid them instead. Kill’em with kindness, I guess.

• P & G’s willingness to allow their flagship brand, Tide, to be put in the hands of YouTube amateurs following their successful TV ad with a talking stain. (Note to you online only types; while you might laugh at the sales of laundry detergent you probably would envy the $3.5 billion (with a b) a year in annual sales it generates).

There’s a lot more. We as search and internet marketers should be reaching across the aisle more because if the deep pockets of a P & G have yet to embrace online, what about the rest of the traditional marketplace? Imagine helping these folks with efficiency and effectiveness during this economic climate. What an opportunity.

Go get’em.

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Local review site Citysearch has announced an overhaul to its mobile and web sites. Now in beta, Mobile by Citysearch adds enhanced features for mobile users, and the new website integrates more local and social aspects.

Mobile and local have always been a good match, but the implementation of this natural pairing hasn’t fully “arrived.” Mobile by Citysearch, however, is a good step along that path. The new site is designed to be compatible with whatever mobile device you use, including content layout and using your phone’s default navigation (thumbwheel, touch screen, etc.) for a more intuitive UI.

Citysearch has long been available through mobile phones—two years ago, they added mobile search to their site as well as local business listings via text message.

Rather than just making the website readable on a mobile phone, however, the new Mobile by Citysearch better integrates mobile and local. Its new design makes reading and even creating reviews from a mobile device easy and makes popular website features mobile-friendly. The new mobile Citysearch is also integrated with text messaging, allowing users to text reviews, directions and ratings directly to mobile phones.

The Citysearch website has also been redesigned. New features enhance not only the interface but the access to the site’s reviews and other information. But the new site is more than just prettier. An enhanced back end allows for even more focused local searches—down to the neighborhood level, instead of just the metro area.

The new Citysearch also integrates social media better—including the seldom-mentioned Open ID rival, Facebook Connect. The integration with Facebook is one of the best applications of social search so far. If you’re signed in to Facebook (currently or using a permanent session), Citysearch will highlight your friends’ reviews of local restaurants. (Image from Read Write Web.)

Finally, the new Citysearch is sure score points with local business owners—it prominently features owner comments alongside editor and user comments. It also is added enhanced features for videos of local businesses through a partnership with Brightcove.

Users will be able to upload their own photos and videos early next year.

This redesign comes just a few days after some bad press for Yelp, a rival local review site. Yelp is alleged to have offered to remove or move down negative reviews of local businesses for a fee (and there’s even some allegations they took the money without actually moving the reviews, doubly unethical).

Yelp has been gaining momentum against Citysearch’s popularity recently, but Citysearch’s new features and Yelp’s bad press might combine to reverse that. What do you think—are the new features cool enough to get your “vote” (traffic)?

Via 1, 2, 3

Just one day after the announcement of Jerry Yang stepping aside as Yahoo! CEO, Forbes magazine takes a look at the 5 Biggest Mistakes Yahoo! made while hitting the skids as of late. The article reads a little like an autopsy on a live body. Sure Yahoo! is struggling to survive in the exhaust of Google and others cleaning their clock in the race to control the net (for now) but is Taps necessary just yet?

The article ‘interviews’ several Yahoo! staffers in what appears to be some kind of odd lunch time ambush since most of these ‘interviewees’ were carry their lunch or some kind of boxes. We heard things were different at Yahoo! but now we have some insight I guess. Of course, with 1,500 layoffs looming these folks may be gathering their belongings in anticipation of a trip to the HR department soon.

The five main reasons for Yahoo!’s stumble as cited by these mysterious employees were:

1. Projects started but never completed. Apparently it was de rigueur for the company to start something and then let it fade out with no results. Honestly, I have to say that this is not just a Yahoo! problem but if the number of these projects was excessive that can kill resources and morale.
2. Whiffed on Google. Remember when Yahoo! had a chance to buy Google in 2002 for a mere $5b? How different might the world look if that had gone through.
3. The Terry Semel effect. Missed out on Google and started media initiatives that have crapped out for the most part.
4. Google beats Yahoo! to DoubleClick. Another real ‘woulda, shoulda, coulda’. These are the kind of things that keep Yahoo!er’s and Jerry Yang up at night.
5. The Microsoft acquisition shuffle. I think there is a pattern developing here ……..

Other possible causes of the current state of unrest are the current economic conditions (which holds no water since Google seems to be doing fine, thank you) and the big killer of any business: indecisiveness. Lower level employees were quick to point upstream on this one saying that upper level execs weren’t instilling a lot of confidence in the rank and file.

While it may seem all doom and gloom there are still hopefuls on campus. There is a new cloud computing initiative that many are saying can help turn the corner. There is still plenty of brain power at the company and there are some strong offerings like Yahoo! Mail and Finance that keep rolling along.

OK, Pilgrims, let’s hear it. What is going to happen to Yahoo!? Where will they be in a year from now? I suspect that there may be a few strong opinions floating around out there. Let’s hear it.

Do you lie awake at night worrying about the keywords you’re NOT targeting in your Google AdWords campaign?

Yeah, me neither.

But, if you ever wake up in that cold sweat you’ll now have access to a new tool from Google called the Search-based Keyword Tool. What does it do?

Based on your URLs, the Search-based Keyword Tool displays a list of relevant user queries that have occurred on Google.com (and on other Google search properties, such as google.co.uk) with some frequency over the past year…The Search-based Keyword Tool compares your website and current AdWords campaigns against actual, past Google search queries to identify additional keywords that might be relevant for your campaigns. The tool compiles a list of search queries relevant to your website that don’t already appear in your AdWords campaigns.

The tool is available to US and UK users and is the perfect solution for those setting up their AdWords campaign–and don’t know which keywords to start with–or those of us that worry that we have a few gaps in our keyword list.

Enjoy!

Andy Beal will host his next Online Reputation Management Workshop in Las Vegas on January 14th, 2009. Register before December 1st and you’ll save $300! Book now, space is limited.

You guys remember LIFE magazine, right? Known as a scion of glossy photojournalism, Life was published in one form or another until last year (with a few gaps, of course). And like any publication, Life had a good amount of material that it was never able to use. But now Life’s parent company, Time, has found the perfect use for its photo archives—digitizing them with Google Image Search.

Google announces today the LIFE collection in Google Image Search. Google will be digitizing all 10 million of the archived photos, drawings and etchings over the next few months, with 20% of the collection already available.

Although Life was originally founded in 1883, its photo archive includes images dating back to the 1750s, some of which have been donated to the Life archive. The Google digital archive is searchable, but the results are also “blended” into Image and other Google Search results. Older results, of course, are most likely in the public domain, as Google Blogoscoped notes.

Each image features a landing page with technical and caption information, including dates and the names of the photographers and even the subjects (in some cases). On the landing page, you can rate each photo with 1-5 stars.

But here’s what Life gets out of it: in addition to offering high-res versions of the pictures online, Google will also feature a link to purchase prints of these photos as “high-quality framed prints” from Life (Google’s blog announcement of the partnership even plugs this as a “holiday gift possibilit[y]“—and if you’re interested, they start at $80).

With the recent YouTube Click-to-Buy and Google Book Search deal, this looks like another step in Google’s quest to organize the world’s information—and make a few affiliate bucks doing it. I’m very excited to get the chance to look through these pictures (I’m a history buff, especially 20th century American history), but I’m probably not going to be ordering any prints any time soon.

What do you think? Does this constitute a new direction in Google monetization?

Pilgrim’s Partners: Is a blogger attacking your company without you knowing? Monitor your online reputation with Andy Beal’s Trackur–try it for free!

** This contest is now finished. The winners were announced here **

<Oprah voice> It’s book contest time!!!! </Oprah voice>

This time around, I’m giving you a break from books that tell you how to market your web site. Instead, how about an awesome book that tells you how to market YOU?

Step Into The Spotlight: A Guide to Getting Noticed was written by publicity coach Tsufit (think one name, like Madonna or Cher) and is a must read–and we have 3 copies to give away!

Why should you care about this book? Well, it’s not enough to be an expert at what you do. You have to be known as an expert at what you do. This book will help you to get more publicity, more speaking gigs, more clients, better clients, higher-paying clients!

I started reading this book on the way back from PubCon and was actually glad when my connecting flight was delayed–it let me finish this engaging and easy to read book.

How to enter this contest? Simply leave a comment below and we’ll randomly pick 3 winners (deadline for entry is 6pm ET this Wednesday).

That’s all you need to do! And, if you don’t win, you can grab a copy from your favorite bookstore or online.

It seems like forever since we did a Pilgrim’s Picks. Taking a look around the news today, it’s saturated with either Jerry Yang resigning or Mark Cuban’s SEC charges–both of which we’ve already covered.

Until I find something fresh and interesting, you can consider these Picks your amuse bouche yeux.

• Google brings voice search to the iPhone. Matt Cutts gushes over it–just days after gushing over Google’s Android phone (which doesn’t yet have voice search).
• Did Microsoft’s taste for revenge lead to Jerry Yang resigning?
• Forge–a non-profit that helps African refugees–is running out of money. Boris Mordkovich–having recently sold Search Marketing Standard–has jumped in to help them raise money. He wants your help too!
• If you’re looking for a enterprise-scale web site uptime service, then you might want to check out AlertSite. While not free, I’ve tested it and was impressed with the many features it offers.
• Want a quick, easy, and free way to compare your web site with your competition? Check out ReviewMyWeb–it’s pretty and pretty cool.