Forum Moderators: phranque
In your opinion and/or personal experience, what were the most significant events of 2002?
To start things off, the last 4 months have been the most trying for me. My pick for the most important events for 2002 include:
1. The "infamous" September Google Algo change. - It threw my sites for a loop - but I am slowly working my way back to the top for even better positioning.
2. Yahoo begins to use Google as default results.
3. Google launches Froogle - although it doesn't affect me personally, I see this as a significant event for most other webmasters.
4. Yahoo buys Inktomi - It could be months before this event affects webmasters but is an indicator that something "big" is going to happen that will change the game.
5. LookSmart renegs on its submission deal with webmasters and goes PPC. Then it makes a feeble appeasement effort to win back public support.
6. AOL adopts Google results.
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I know I haven't thought of all of them and even if you share the same opinion of the ones I have listed above, I am curious of the verification and insight into other events, big or small, which have had an impact on you.
Zapatista
Only Ebay, Yahoo, and Amazon could make a case that resembles what Google has done this year. By some statistics, Google now handles 80-85% of all searches done on the internet daily. Staggering in it's implications to control and drive the nets future. Only Microsoft and AOL are in such a position to so dramatically influence the net. I think 2003 will be remembered as a 4 way struggle for market share between Yahoo, AOL, MS, and Google. Everyone else is relegated to the also ran bin.
2) Yahoo buys Inktomi.
In one deal, Yahoo has changed the shape and future of search on the net. Long term ramifications are unknown, but it sounds like the last call bell has been rung at the Yahoo/Google Stanford flower power party. (make sure to get your lava lamps, bean bags, bell bottoms, and tye dye's before they are gone - next stop is best defined as suburbia corporate steril. Do you want the mauve or beige cubie?).
3) AOL goes Google.
I think this deal is bigger than AOL buying Netscape. It got AOL in with Google and forced a nice bit of stale air in between Google and MS.
4) Patent Challenge: Overture vs Google.
The outcome could rewrite the landscape of the web top to bottom and mean fundamental changes in the webs business model.
5) Google News and Froogle.
Google goes portal.
looksmart change, yahoo buying ink, and Google taking over would also top my list.
Anyways Google, time and time again has shown that they have something special..
And they stick to their goal of integrity and just doing the right thing.
Who else does that?
Definitely a brazen move and one that shook the industry for a few days.
<added>Needed to follow proper etiquette and added the ™ symbol for safety reasons!</added>
[edited by: pageoneresults at 6:40 pm (utc) on Dec. 31, 2002]
Specifically for the European webpublisher:
- Euro Zone. Has yet to get into full swing for the e-commerce scene, but will undoubtedly have long lasting repercussions.
- European e-commerce legislation
While parts of it are rather annoying to the webmaster, in general this is a very very positive signal for leveling the playing field for European web business and for building trust among consumers
- full adventure of PPC, with Espotting taking the lead, OV and Google following closely.
- streamlining of the European search engine landscape
There is Google now, and then Google. Then there's Fast, then some Ink, some AV. With very very few exceptions local engines have died down, or shrivelled to dwarfish dimensions.
The only positive signals in this regard have been coming out of France, with Exalead at AOL being the most successfull newcomer.
to add: the beginnings of geo-targeting, something wich especially for the Euro webmasters will have huge implications
[edited by: heini at 12:34 am (utc) on Jan. 1, 2003]
One other top story: Webmaster World becomes the dominate place on the web for webmaster info, with traffic increasing by a huge amount.
Inktomi and Google now openly discuss events with web-masters on this site "WebmasterWorld.Com", to benefit all those involved and produce a better Internet and a better communication platform.
I suspect this will continue and all of our postings and discussions will make any web surfer more happy and more secure handling businesses online.
As we have seen from the OPA report, surfers are spending more and trusting the "Net" more. I feel open communications from the likes of posters "GoogleGuy" and "Inktomi" are the start to a trusting experience online and an open and honest platform for users around the globe.
Happy New Year to all!
2) Yahoo buys Inktomi
3) ASK slowly, steadily, solidly rises to be #3 referrer for many without resorting to marketing smoke & mirrors.
---- keep watching this one!
I'd add that growth in online sales took the most noticeable jump. Internet sales are "really" on the up.
In a few hours we need another thread on the Internet Predictions for 2003 or Webmaster Predictions for 2003.
Overture strengthens its grip on PPC arena:
Long-term renewal deals with MSN and Yahoo, autobidding which jacks up effective cpc rates, and international expansion make Overture a formidable player in the SE space.
I'll second a vote on that, Xoc. Seriously! Brett and all his associates have done a remarkable job of providing an industry shaping communication medium that even the most powerful search engines on earth belly up to.
2002 was the year that valid HTML and CSS began to make noticable inroads with major sites. Without honoring standards there's a limit to where the web can go. But with widely adopted standards, we probably can't even fantasize what the future may hold online.
So, thanks to Wired.com and other trailblazers, we're leaving the wild frontier days of the www behind and heading for civilization.
The amount of change and churn and progress in this industry is pretty amazing. I can't wait for 2003.
1.) Yahoo dropping their directory for Google results.
2.) Yahoo dropping their directory for Google results.
3.) Yahoo dropping their directory for Google results.
To me, this was easily tops. The Looksmart debacle could be fourth, with AOL going Google sliding into fifth.
:)
2) Yahoo switching to google - they are just that good (google I mean)
3) Yahoo Buying Inktomi - wow, now you don't want the best SERP's on the planet - you just want money?...hm. okay.
4) WebmasterWorld becoming the place where not only the SEO pros come to discuss things, but the search engines finally joining in.
Thanks, GoogleGuy, Inktomi, and the various FAST reps - the participation and dialogue is very much appreciated.
And - thanks to Brett - for putting together what has to be the best forum on the net. Bar none.
Zapatista
PS Happy New Year to everyone, God Bless, and I wish all the best this year.
The huge increase and improvement of Fresh crawling/listings in Google, and to a lesser extent in some other search engines (Fast/AV).
(to be correct it initiated in 2001, but became really good last year)
A Happy and eventful new year to all!
2002 was simply the Google year, they made me (and many others) a lot of money and I love them for it.....but once at the top there is only one direction you can go in!
If Google don't get a mention in this season's WestWing then their fait is certain.....decline all the way;)
2002 was also the year that SEO became recognized as a valid industry. Google helped by posting an SEO guidelines on their site. Whether you like or hate that page it made the industry credible;)
Predictions for 2003, Inktomi makes a come back in new clothes, and MS makes a big move in the SE market (Fast or AV) as well as several other initiatives.
AOL continues to suffer, and no one cares! Rumors that MS will buy AOL from TW are wide spread in the middle of the year....but it doesn't happen.
Yahoo attempts to re-establish the directory and fails.
The market become flattened, to a great degree by content rich important sites, that become portals by default designation rather than business strategy. Success by accident!
Most successful growth site of 2003: bbc.co.uk.
Worst performing site of 2003: aol.com
Most talked about site of 2003: google.com, albeit in decline.
Most talked about industry of 2003: SEO
The dot com's grew at unrealistic speeds, most got burnt, and 2003 will see some of them come back to life.
Everyday the Internet plays a bigger role in more people's lives.....those with a long term strategy will end up on top of the cake dividing it up:)
Perhaps I've read too much here :)
I've noticed ASK increasing. Not slowly. Quite quickly in fact.
Other important: Found WebMasterWorld, joined and learnt many things... see above!
Well put.
Predictions for 2003, Inktomi makes a come back in new clothes, and MS makes a big move in the SE market (Fast or AV) as well as several other initiatives.
Microsoft has serious issues with Not Invented Here. They absolutely don't like technologies that don't use Microsoft products; the big exception that I know of was their purchase of Hotmail, which they eventually converted to use MS operating systems (from one of the BSD variants -- FreeBSD, IIRC). This means they are extremely unlikely to buy Google OR AltaVista. (Can't say anything about Fast, as I don't know what's under the hood.)
Yahoo attempts to re-establish the directory and fails.
The market become flattened, to a great degree by content rich important sites, that become portals by default designation rather than business strategy. Success by accident!
2002 was also the year that SEO became recognized as a valid industry. Google helped by posting an SEO guidelines on their site. Whether you like or hate that page it made the industry credible
percentages .. have you read that page? I'd say to the majority of potential SEO clients it would do far more to convince them that we're all a bunch of fraudsters than anything else.
To make the indusrty credible would not have been to make the general theme of the page "Watch out for all these fakers and demand a money back guarantee" but more along the lines of "SEO professionals can help your business in these ways..... but watch our for..."
It is a subtle but very important difference. Sorry for the moan, but that page grinds at me a little.
P.S. oh almost forgot to mention, most important development of 2002 for me - Google gaining ground rapidly in the UK and forging deals that will make them even stronger. (and of course joining WebmasterWorld :-)
aren't we all lazy 'one-word' searchers?
