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Earlier this week, comScore released the results of a study examining recent changes in consumer attitudes and perceptions about the state of the U.S. economy. The study found that consumers in all income segments are cutting back on spending due to concerns about the economy, and that they were doing so to an even greater extent in July 2008 than in April 2008.

So, what does this mean for search engine marketers?

Many consumers have become increasingly cost conscious and are turning to the Internet for pricing information. The survey findings revealed that nearly three out of four consumers believe the Internet has made it “a lot easier” or “somewhat easier” to find better, more useful pricing information.

In addition, 75 percent of respondents said that they believe the Internet will become an even more important channel for pricing information, with 41 percent of respondents saying it will be “a lot more important” and 34 percent of respondents saying it will be “somewhat more important” in the future.

Do you need some examples to drive this point home?

In New York, Andrew Jeffery of Minyanville.com reports, “It appears the city that never sleeps has finally succumbed to the economic slowdown, and it’s not just the neon “Recession Special” sign outside Gray’s Papaya.”

In San Francisco, Liza Zimmerman of the S.F. Wine & Cocktail Examiner reviews a “Recession special: the Viansa 2007 Dolcetto is another well-executed example of using classic Mediterranean grapes on California soil.”

When Hyundai asked the Complex Blog to review their first Genesis offering touching down in the states, the company best known for econo-boxes “threw Complex the keys and we took this recession special for a ride.”

But wait! There’s more!

Go to the Rates and Registration Details page for SES Chicago 2008. Just like last year, there is an Early Bird Rate that enables you to save $200 if you register before November 21. But, unlike last year, there is also a “Recession Special,” which lets you save $600 if you register before September 26.

And if you want to appear as “sartorially challenged” as one SEM industry observer said “the brains of Search Engine Marketing and Search Engine Optimization are,” then turn up at SES Chicago wearing the “Recession Special Shirt” being offered by Ten Deep at Turntablelab.com. According to the review, “Nothing like a nice, timely shirt that reflects things going on in today’s headlines.”

Of course, wearing such a shirt violates the dress code in the SES Speaker Guidelines, which states: “Business casual attire is recommended. Formal business attire is perfectly fine. If in doubt, overdress. You won’t feel out of place, as many speakers will also be in formal attire. How you look has an impact on how well the audience receives your presentation.”

It’s a classic dilemna for marketers: Follow the guidelines or take advantage of today’s headlines. What would I recommend? I’d advise you to jump on the “recession special” to save $600, but skip over the shirt. But, I should disclose that SES is a client. If you want to take more of a fashion risk, that’s a decision that you’ll have to make for yourself.

Recently, Microsoft started putting images as the background design of Live.com. For two glorious weeks, the images were of Olympic events. Now, they’ve switched to politics.

Today’s image is a closeup of Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Obama at his big acceptance speech last night. But with less than half of those polled supporting Barack Obama, could such an image deter people from using Live.com?

We can say the same thing if/when a McCain picture appears on the site.

It’s not that political events shouldn’t be on Live.com’s site. But perhaps a wider shot of the event would help visitors see the image as a news photo. Plus, with the hot spots that Live.com is using to help visitors explore searches - today’s photo it has 2 boxes on the blurry audience background and one on Obama’s collar. Kind of awkward.

How do you think Microsoft should handle political photos in its new design? Sound off in the comments.

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Google was the recipient of 70.77% of U.S. searches in July 2008, up from 69.17% in June, according to Hitwise. Yahoo and Microsoft continued to drop, at 18.65% and 5.36% respectively. Ask.com dropped month-over-month but gained year-over-year, coming in at 3.53%.

Here’s the breakdown of niche traffic:

In a battle for universal search engine foosball domination, Google and Yahoo are meeting in a clash of the titans at SES San Jose. Microsoft has also been invited, and is trying to put together a team. This could determine the future of the search industry (well foosball-wise at least).

So come to the Networking Cocktail Reception on Tuesday. Play will start as close to 5:15 PM as possible, so we can get the games done prior to the end of the reception. Bring your cameras, bring your loyalties, and cheer for your favorites!

We will also be holding our usual Beat the Pros Foosball Challenge. This will take place at the following times:

• Tuesday morning from 10 AM to 11 AM PT (in the Expo Hall)
• Wednesday afternoon 2:15 to 2:45 PM PT (in the Expo Hall)
• Wednesday afternoon 5:30 to 6:30 PM PT (in the registration area)

Of course, if you see us (John Biundo and Eric Enge) at the table any time prior to Wednesday afternoon, we will be glad to play you in a Beat the Pros challenge match right then and there. We will be there at lunch on Tuesday and Wednesday for example.

By 6:30 PM on Wednesday, we will announce which team has performed the best in playing against us (scored the most points), and that team will win a brand new pair of iPod Touch’s. Any ties will be resolved by a random drawing (or a head to head matchup if that is possible).

Hey Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft - think you can take us? You are eligible for the prize too, and we will be there and ready to play at any time, including right after the smackdown is complete …

Online publishers are increasingly turning to ad networks to sell unused inventory, according to a study released by the International Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Bain & Company.

In 2007, ad network accounted for 30% of total ad impressions, up fro 5% in 2006.

Two reasons were given for the growth:

• Interviews with online publishers, conducted as part of the study, indicate that the lack of adequate pricing tools and inventory management discipline contributed to the growth in available ad space. This is causing publishers to seek out ways to sell large inventories of unsold ads. Publishers often lack basic information on realized prices and inventory sold by client and channel, limiting management’s ability to make effective decisions.
• Large marketers continue to shift significant portions of their advertising budgets online and view ad networks as an effective way to achieve greater buying scale and drive down CPMs.

“What this benchmark study tells the industry is that there is a need for more sophisticated yield management on the part of premium publishers, for stronger partnerships between publishers and ad networks, for development of best practices, and more focus on the value of interactive advertising,” said Sherrill Mane, senior vice president, Industry Services of the IAB. “Our industry is at an important juncture and now is the time for publishers to adopt strategic approaches to the use of ad networks who themselves have become critical players in the digital ecosystem.”

Here are additional nuggets of information from the study:

• Overall, online publisher revenues grew by a healthy 32% in 2007 versus 2006, yet ad network revenues grew more rapidly (in excess of 50%), as marketers boosted online spending
• High demand for premium video inventory resulted in CPMs 2-3 times greater than display ads on average.
• Most publishers in the study lack information to closely measure the impact of cross-platform sales, though most indicate focus on using cross-platform to drive volume, not price.

Related Reading:
Two Large Ad Networks Embrace Behavioral Targeting
Local Advertisers Shifting Dollars to Internet

According to an exclusive story in the National Journal Online, John McCain has outspent Barack Obama for two consecutive months in search engine advertising.

Written by Lucas Grindley, the story, entitled, “McCain buys his way to top of Google,” cites Nielsen Online data that shows McCain bought 7 million “sponsored search link impressions” in June and 5.4 million in May, compared with 1.15 million for Obama in June and 1.8 million during the previous month.

Since search engine advertising is sold on a cost-per-click (CPC) basis instead of cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM), it’s unclear if McCain’s dramatic lead in impressions generated equally dramatic number of clicks.

It’s worth noting that one of the top five sites where McCain bought image-based banner impressions was … the National Review. However, the other five included Topix and The Washington Post, so it’s not clear that you can read anything between the lines here.

By comparison, the top five sites where Obama bought image-based banner impressions included Yahoo, CNN and MSN. Plus, Obama bought 80 million banner impressions in June, compared with McCain’s 16 million.

So, what’s all this mean to search engine marketers?

For his story, Grindley interviewed Peter Greenberger, who manages the “small but growing” elections and issue advocacy team at Google. Greenberger speculated that the Presidential campaigns were in a “persuasion phase,” where candidates might be more interested in banner advertising.

“You are not looking for that active voter who maybe knows who he or she is voting for,” said Greenberger. “You are looking for that more passive voter who is reading information but not quite ready to commit.”

Hmmm. I wonder if Greenberger has seen the new study conducted by Enquiro Research with Google in Europe that found the ability of unclicked search ads to build brand. If he hasn’t, he can click on “Digging Still Deeper Into The Search Branding Question” and read the blog post by Gord Hotchkiss, the CEO of Enquiro.

Of course, Gord would be the first one to tell you that the debate over the search branding question is far from over.

But, if I were working in the McCain or Obama campaigns, I would run, not walk, to get my hands on the latest research. Gord is a Canadian, so he doesn’t have a horse in this race. And, if this upcoming election is as close as the latest polls indicates that it is, then neither presidential campaign can afford to leave even a small amount of search branding value on the table.

As for the search engine marketers who read this blog, I would also encourage you to run, not walk, to get your hands on this latest research. As Gord says, “search can be the most important brand tool in a marketer’s arsenal, if it’s used in the right place. It’s a matter of understanding what search can do and what it can’t. And, even more importantly, understanding how to measure that value.”

Infospace’s Dogpile.com has been selected as the search partner for Petfinder.com. Additionally, the partnership will see both parties producing and promoting widgets and toolbars for Dogpile as well as promoting Petfinder’s listing of over 250,000 pets.

“This partnership is a great extension of the Dogpile brand,” said Bruce Allenbaugh, Chief Marketing Officer of InfoSpace. “By working closely with Petfinder to introduce Dogpile’s search experience and our pet-affinity to their pet-loving audience we’ll encourage cross-traffic between the Dogpile and Petfinder sites.”

Did you use search to find your pet? (I found my bengal kitty Cinnamon on Craigslist.org and rescued my other kitty on the side of the road near a local Walmart). Yeah, that’s right. Matt Cutts isn’t the only one with adorable cats!

Now it’s your turn. Tell us your pet story in the comments!

Earlier, I wrote about the estimates for location-based social networking to reach $3.3 billion in revenues by 2013. The iPhone is leading the way with several new location-based social networks developed by third parties for the new iPhone 2.0 software.

Here are 7 social networking apps that use location-based technology:

Twinkle is a Twitter app that incorporates a location-based feature. Not only can you view your usual Tweets from the people you’re following, but you can also view Tweets from people nearby who you might not already be following. They’re kept on a separate tab, so you don’t have to worry about them getting mixed in with your established following.

Twittervision lets you see Tweets from all over the world.

Zintin simply lets you interact with people nearby. It has “walls” like Facebook, and you can scribble on the photos of your friends.

iFob is designed to help users find other members nearby, and by nearby, they mean people in the same coffeeshop as you. iFob has an app for Windows and is working on an app for Mac OS X.

WhosHere helps you find people close to you with the same interests.

Loopt lets you find out where your friends are and what they’re up to at that location.

Limbo also lets you find where your friends are, but also has a group chat feature.

What do you think of location-based social networking? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Related Reading:
24 iPhone Applications That Accelerate Mobile Search

This morning the Guardian UK published a scathing analysis of Google, SEO and the launch of Cuil. In his article, Chris Williams claimed that the greatest threat to Google is spam. No argument there.

But Williams takes the argument one step further and states:

Plenty of digital ink has been needlessly spilt this week over the launch of the suicidally-monikered new search engine Cuil.com. But the only threat to Google is itself and, in a roundabout way, the legion of spammers and “search engine optimisation” (SEO) consultants that buttress its dominance.

It’s clear that Williams is crying over “spilt ink.” He’s right in saying that Web sites have adapted their design and structure to accommodate Google.

But Williams would like to think that all companies - including competing search engines - are in the business of “reverse engineering” Google.

The people at the vanguard of reverse-engineering Google are not its jealous search rivals. They’re the spammers and SEO consultants. They have driven an ever-closer relationship between the quirks and whims of Google’s algorithms and policies, and the structure and content of the web. It’s a feedback loop that was unavoidable once Google’s early rivals proved unable to respond to its better search results and presentation.

He feels that techniques such as “adding needless internal links, creating PageRank-friendly URLs and distorting normal grammar” are all widely deployed with varying degrees of dastardliness.

While grammar may be distorted, the fault doesn’t lie with SEOs but with writers lacking sufficient command of the English language.

Somehow Williams connects Google’s share of searches with SEO efforts, rather than user preference. If that’s the case, then SEO must be producing superior SERPs.

Williams writes, “Thanks to the mutualistic process driven by spammers and SEO consultants, that dominance is only going to increase, and it’s the only ‘Google Killer’ on the horizon.”

Williams envisions a future “when the favours spammers and SEO consultants have been doing for Larry and Sergey will become dangerous, anti-trust style.” He believes regulatory intervention now seems the only bar to a complete Google autocracy over the Web economy.