The new AdWords Editor Version 6.5 has been released and it includes the following updates: A new Keyword Opportunities tool Horizontal scrolling in the data view Auto-sizing columns The column chooser stays open until you click away or hit the Escape key A calendar added to date picker Improved HTML export Existing AdWords Editor users will be prompted to upgrade, while new users will automatically get the new version. Have you tried version 6.5?

Last April, Yahoo acquired web analytics company IndexTools and indicated that the enterprise version would be made available for free . This week, Yahoo is rebranding the tool as Yahoo Web Analytics and beginning to roll it out to more users. The tool is already available for advertisers who use Yahoo to build micro-sites as well as third party developers of mini-apps and widgets. The next to get access are Yahoo's 13,000 hosted e-commerce customers.

Link building is often a slow and arduous process that unfolds over a long period of time. But the rewards are large and it's a fundamental requirement for marketing any Web site, regardless of how established it may be. In today's Web analytics and ROI column, " SEO Link Building Fundamentals ," Eric Enge shows you how creative link research can provide you with some real advantages.

Whether you're in the house or outside it, fighting the good fight is never easy. Though we don't do it enough, hat's off to the in-house SEO practitioners everywhere. In today's Searching for Meaning column, " Stop In-House SEO Disasters Now! ," Kevin Ryan identifies a few best practices and identify problematic personalities that in-house search marketers should understand.

YouTube has begun placing click-to-buy links beneath videos. This is the beginning of a greater plan to offer YouTube as an e-commerce platform to interested companies. Amazon, iTunes, EMI Music and Electronic Arts are among the first to get a crack at the new feature, which is currently only available in the United States. Memo to Viacom: Instead of suing Google and YouTube , which is costing you undoubtedly large sums of money in legal fees,

In July, Microsoft and Facebook announced an expansion of their existing partnership to include Live Search on the social network . Today, that plan has been implemented. AdCenter ads are being served up along with the results. Here's what they're saying about it: On the Live Search blog , Angus Norton, Senior Director, Live Search Product Management, wrote "This is a great first step in our partnership.

Federated Media has unveiled and launched a revamped version of their self-service advertising platform. Here's what to expect with the update: Transparent site lists Real-time inventory availability An ad creative upload tool The flexibility to buy on a site-specific, categorical, or demographic basis Purchasing on either a CPM basis or on a flat rate basis "With the new functionality available in the self-service ad platform,

The Interactive Adverising Bureau )IAB( and PricewaterhouseCoopers have released internet advertising data for the first six months of 2008. The six month period saw $11.5 billion in revenues, up 15.2% over the same period in 2007. The second quarter of 2008 was up 12.8% over Q2 of 2007, but showed a slight decline, 0.3%, from the first quarter. Search revenues neared $5.1 billion, up 24% year-over-year. Display neared $3.8 billion, up 19%.

AdBuyer.com has launched a free online media buying platform. The platform was designed to help advertisers create, manage, and optimize online ad campaigns across search, display, and content venues. The tool integrates with Google, Yahoo and MSN. Paid search campaigns can be edited and new keyword suggestions can be generated via the platform. "Our platform eliminates grunt work, saves time and improves ROI," stated Tim Ogilvie, Co-Founder & CEO of AdBuyer.com.

Rushing into a search engine optimization initiative without properly planning your SEO strategy is setting yourself up for failure. In today's natural search column, " What You Need to Know Before Committing to SEO ," Mark Jackson explains that to enjoy the fruits that SEO can provide your site, you need to be well organized and develop a plan.

Google seems to be moving toward an algorithm based more on "site quality" and user behavior. Links are still key, but there are many other factors to consider. In today's enterprise search marketing column, " Google's Algorithm is Shifting ," Aaron Shear asks if your site is ready to rank using the new factors?

Ok, this is isn't search related, but it's too much fun not to cover. Gmail has released another Labs feature. This one is called Mail Goggles and it's intended to help you avoid sending those late night or weekend emails that you'll regret later. When the feature is enabled, you have to answer simple math problems before an email will send during those most vulnerable emails-I-will-later-regret times. Of course,

Q3 earnings season is on its way and along with it are announcements about earnings calls and webcasts. Google will hold its call next Thursday, October 16, 2008 at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time. You can access the live webcast here . Of course, with the economy in the state it is, investors and marketers alike will be watching earnings calls very closely for any indication of where things might be headed.

E-tailers rate SEO , site search , and email marketing as the most important e-commerce technologies when it comes to promoting their businesses, according to new survey data released by SLI Systems. 91% of the retail companies surveyed cited site search as critical, very important or important to their online businesses. Of the retailers that have measured the impact site search has had on their businesses, 87% reported positive results.

The keynote speakers for Search Engine Strategies Chicago have just been posted to the website for the SEM conference. And check out the heavy hitters: • Lawrence Lessig , the Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, is giving the opening keynote on Monday, Dec. 8; • Bill Tancer , the General Manager of Global Research at Hitwise, is giving the morning keynote on Tuesday, Dec. 9; and • Josh James , the President and Chief Executive Officer of Omniture,

iPerceptions has released data showing which online advertising methods are most popular with consumers. 25% are likely to click on simple text ads 20% are likely to click on display ads follow 20% are likely to click on right banners 12% are likely to click on top banners Video ads remain unpopular, with only 11% of consumers likely to click on them. But if you do use video ads, the audience segment most likely to click on them is the under 25 set,

Click Forensics has announced a new feature for its solution for advertisers. The feature enables brands to identify and track campaigns that are unlawfully using their trademarked terms. Click Forensics says the trend of trademark infringement in pay-per-click advertising and growing, and marketers need the ability to address the problem more quickly. "The impact of trademark infringement in search advertising goes beyond consumer annoyance," said Paul Pellman,

Should you delete or pause under-performing keywords - or simply adjust their bid prices? In today's search advertising column, " Judging PPC Performance: Focus on Conversions, Part 2 ," David Szetela notes that the answer will vary by advertiser, but one thing is constant: decisions about keyword and ad performance should mainly depend on conversion performance.

It must be redesign your search engine day . hakia has a new look and it's reminiscent of Yahoo's recent glue pages test with a hint of the old Ask.com. Of course, hakia already distinguishes itself from the "big" search engines by saying that sites with a bunch of inbound links are not always credible. hakia attempts, through partnerships with experts, to produce more credible results. Now, it's adding images and user-generated content to those results.

After a year of slow but steady growth , Ask.com has redesigned, incorporating Google, Yahoo and Microsoft design elements along with it. Changing things up has helped Ask in the past , so we'll have to keep an eye on whether this gives Ask.com a nice little boost. The first noticeable change is the front page. It's minimalist in nature, but you can change the skin to create a different background. In the results, the dualing sidebars are gone,