The number of words in the average US search query is on the rise, with longer search queries - averaging five or more words in length - increasing 10% overall in January 2009 vs. January 2008, according to data from Hitwise (via MarketingCharts). The most notable change was in search queries that were eight or more ...

I noticed Ryan Spoon's blog post (via Techmeme) on PerezHilton.com's growth this morning. I have followed the Perez Hilton site (for purely professional reasons) for some time. The website ranked #398 among All Categories of websites last week and #5 among Entertainment - Personalities websites (based on share of US Internet visits). Searches for "perez hilton" ...

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- There are two places most of today's laid-off executives are heading: to job-search sites to see what other opportunities are out there and to networking sites in hopes they can reconnect with -- and milk leads from -- former colleagues and business contacts. One site, LinkedIn, offers both of those things ...

The idea is to reduce the number of ads, especially the low-performing ones, which should lift a site's aggregate click-through rates and eliminate some of the excess inventory that wasn't sold, anyway. In October, the online arm of personal-finance magazine SmartMoney got rid of display advertising "below the fold" -- ads in places farther down a ...