Brian Morrissey

Overture Services on Monday introduced broader matching options for advertisers, to bring keyword ads to search queries without a specific match. The two new matching options, Phrase Match and Broad Match, will serve up advertisers’ keyword listings even when their search term is not entered exactly. In this way, Overture hopes to extend its paid […]

Overture Services announced on Monday the rollout of the AltaVista Toolbar, just days after Google released the latest version of its own Internet browser toolbar. Like Google’s, AltaVista’s toolbar gives users the chance to search the Web directly from their browsers, while also giving them added tools like a pop-up blocker. AltaVista, which was acquired […]

Paid inclusion provider LookSmart believes the re-jiggering of search by key partner Microsoft’s MSN might result in the search company losing significant revenues, according to a regulatory filing. In its quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, LookSmart said MSN recently tested a new search results layout in the United Kingdom that […]

Google officially released the new version of its toolbar on Wednesday, giving users a chance to do Google searches directly from the browser add-on while blocking pop-up ads at the same time. The Google Toolbar 2.0 is an update to its first browser toolbar released in December 2000. New capabilities include the ability to block […]

Top German Internet service provider and portal T-Online said on Wednesday that it switched Web search and paid listings from Overture Services to Google on account of Yahoo!’s purchase of Overture last month. The Deutsche Telekom subsidiary used Overture’s FAST unit for Web search and Overture for its keyword listings. Both were switched over to […]

Contextual ad technology provider Quigo Technologies announced on Wednesday that it inked a licensing deal with Overture Services . With the deal, Overture will use Quigo’s AdSonar to back up its own homegrown technology that powers its Content Match contextual ad product. Quigo, a 30-person startup based in New York, combines the algorithmic and editorial […]

24/7 Real Media announced on Wednesday that it had renamed its search optimization arm, Website Results. The unit will now be known as 24/7 Search, offering a full suite of optimization tools for marketers operating paid search programs. The name change comes as search occupies a central role in the online advertising industry’s revival. According […]

Top Internet service providers blocked 17 percent of legitimate permission-based e-mail in the first half of the year, according to a report issued by Return Path. The company, which helps e-mail marketers make sure their mail gets through, said the so-called false-positive rate at the top dozen ISPs in the first two quarters of the […]

Chip manufacturer Transmeta announced on Tuesday the new name for its TM8000 microprocessor: Efficeon. The new moniker — pronounced EE-fish-eon — replaces the chip’s code name, Astro, and is designed to emphasize its efficient use of power and heat, at a low cost and without a performance loss. Transmeta hopes the combination makes Efficeon ideal […]

Media-buying executives aren’t warming to the idea of using the Internet for improving brand awareness, according to a new survey. GartnerG2 polled 52 executives at ad agencies for their attitudes toward interactive advertising, which it defines as encompassing the Internet, wireless and kiosks. GartnerG2 found that, despite the high-profile efforts of the industry, the Internet […]

Internet auction giant eBay confirmed its lawyers asked Google to stop allowing advertisers to use its trademarked terms as keywords. According to eBay, the unusual request was granted by Google, meaning advertisers can no longer use “eBay” as a lure to get prominent placement for unrelated products or services. “EBay has communicated with Google about […]

Ask Jeeves unveiled a new ad campaign on Monday that switches the focus from the company’s ubiquitous butler to its improved search technology, as the search company tries to grab market share from the top search sites. The Emeryville, Calif.-based company said the five-month campaign would focus on finding the right answers, not on the […]