In June, Twitter launched the t.co URL shortener and began reformatting links that were 20 characters or greater. Yesterday afternoon, Twitter announced that they will be expanding the program to reformat all links in the near future. The official post on the developers' blog said the following regarding the expansion of the t.co link shortener: "Tens of millions of links are tweeted on Twitter each day.

It's that time of year again for marketers. The holiday season is quickly approaching, and digital marketers are developing their final strategies for targeting holiday shoppers. But, based on my conversations with companies over the past few months, I know there is one tactic marketers are overlooking, or are scared of implementing. Remarketing in AdWords. If you're not familiar with Remarketing,

Embed this on your site Google? [INFOGRAPHIC]" border="0" /> Source: Comparison of the Top Three Search Engines: Bing+Yahoo > Google? [INFOGRAPHIC] And now, for something completely obvious: Google owns the lion's share of US search traffic. But could the Goliath of Search be eclipsed by the currently David-sized combo of Bing and Yahoo' in as soon as the next 18 months? Experian's Hitwise reports that Bing continues month over month to chip away at Google.

Can you tell us about the exciting new features coming to Raven Tools? The biggest feature we will be releasing within the next few weeks is our real-time social media monitor and stream. It has been a dream of mine to provide a minimalist stream that combines mentions from social monitoring searches, and also include wall posts and tweets from your own Facebook and Twitter accounts. Our Social Stream will not only do that, it will also make it easy to reply to mentions,

YouTube's rental service, which was initially launched in the US last May, allows YouTube users to rent feature films with their online video service. Last month, YouTube rolled out the service for Canada and today they added their third market - the UK. Matteo Vallone, the YouTube Business Product Manager, announced the rental service's expansion in a blog post today: "Britain has a long history of cinema,

Although social media sites have been around for less than a decade, they have played an active role in shaping the future and culture of the Internet, and probably will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Search engine marketers have been long studying the web-browsing habits of various demographics " including their choice of browser and search engine.

Facebook recently introduced a new feature that enables users to translate posts and comments inline on Facebook Pages. The new feature, which is powered by Bing Translator, will quickly translate a post when a user clicks the "Translate" button. After a Facebook user clicks the translate button, a popout window appears and Bing Translator will translate the comment )machine translation(. In addition to displaying machine translations,

On Thursday Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam announced that Amazon, which recently opened two distribution centers in the state, will be required to collect state sales tax beginning January 1, 2014. This compromise was reached as a way to bring new jobs to the state, address the concerns of traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, and provide increased revenue )albeit delayed( to Tennessee. Amazon anticipates that the new distribution centers, which currently employ 1,

Last week, Amazon announced the Kindle Fire and introduced the new line of Kindles. Many customers are choosing to allow Amazon to display "Special Offers" in exchange for a $30 discount. With Special Offers enabled, the entry-price of a Kindle is now only $79. If a user purchases a Kindle "subsidized" by Special Offers, a row of special offers will be displayed along the bottom of the home screen and the screensaver is a full-page ad.

Earlier today, while delivering the Oracle OpenWorld Conference keynote speech in San Francisco, Larry Ellison announced the "Oracle Public Cloud." Although several years ago Ellison mocked the idea of cloud computing, Oracle's announcement today indicates the tech giant is finally ready to fully embrace this technology. The Oracle Public Cloud, which will mix PaaS and SaaS capabilities, will allow customers to run Fusion Apps, extensions, and custom apps. Also,

Steve Jobs, one of the most innovative and inspiring businessmen of our time, passed away last evening. Although he only lived to the age of 56, Steve Jobs co-founded Apple, pioneered the personal computer industry, and changed the way people view technology by creating products at the "intersection of art and technology." His incredible leadership and innovative products at Apple caused the company to become a household name with a market value of $350 billion.

With all the good press it's been getting lately, you'd think that social media was a gift from the internet marketing gods. Want to expand your brand's reach online? Social media's got you covered. Want to connect with thousands of potential customers for free? Social media, for the win! But while social media marketing has its place,

Perhaps the greatest man of our time has died today, Steve Jobs . So many kind things were being said on Twitter'I thought I would ask people how Steve Jobs had changed the lives of those in this industry. Here are some answers: """""""" Aside from the obvious, )I write this on an Apple MacBook Pro as my Apple iPhone buzzes( Steve Jobs definitely impacted my life. He was a visionary that taught me that attention to detail can make or beak a product,

With mobile Internet usage increasing, the need for quality data related to how consumers interact with and user their smartphones is more important now than ever before. Until recently, quality data related to mobile usage has been difficult to find, cost prohibitive, and often inaccurate. However, last evening Google rolled out a data resource site named OurMobilePlanet , which provides free access to a massive amount of data. Nicole, Leverich,

Earlier today, Google announced that Google Earth has been downloaded one billion times since it was released in 2005. This number, which includes desktop clients, mobile apps, and the Google Earth plug in, makes Google Earth one of the most downloaded applications of all time. To emphasize the enormity of the number one billion,

Last week at Stanford University, Alibaba Group Chairman Jack Ma indicated that he is very interested in purchasing Yahoo. He said the following: "We are very interested in Yahoo because our Alibaba Group is so important to Yahoo, and Yahoo is also very important to us. There are so many people who are interested in that, and we are also talking to them." In 2005, Yahoo purchased a 40% stake in the Alibaba Group, which is now China's biggest e-commerce company,

SEO is better! No, PPC is better! Yes, for many years there has been the debate around SEO )search engine optimization( vs. PPC )pay per click - or paid search( and why you should focus on one over the other. But some of the best campaigns don't pit the two against each another. The sum of PPC and SEO is stronger than just its parts"and can activate your brand to reach and engage more consumers. Instead of fighting,

I am very excited to introduce myself to the readers of SEJ. My name is Melissa Fach and I am the new Managing Editor of Search Engine Journal )how cool is that?(. My Background I am the owner of SEO Aware, LLC . My education is in Psychology and mental health, but for the last 7 years I have worked in the web marketing and SEO industry. I have really enjoyed the consulting side of the business and I believe this is where I have excelled.

Earlier today, eMarketer released a study that estimates advertisers will spend $1.23 billion on mobile advertising in the U.S. market in 2011. This year will be the first time the mobile ad industry has passed the one billion dollar mark. This unprecedented amount represents a 65% increase over the $743 million spent in 2010 on mobile advertising.

Yesterday, Google launched a new program - Google Trusted Sites. The program, which is aimed at reducing the risks associated with online shopping, will help consumers locate online stores that provide excellent customer service. Tom Fallows, a product manager for the Google Commerce Team said the following: "The Google Trusted Store badge is awarded to e-commerce sites that demonstrate a track record of on-time shipping and excellent customer service.