Overture - Overture adds new bidding options - Overture has added the ability for you to adjust your bids based on standard, phrase or broad match. You won't notice these options unless you click on the search term in the Manage Products section of the DirecTraffic Center. When you click on the keyword phrase, a window pops up and you can select which (standard, phrase, broad) selections you want to bid on and your bid amounts. ... Overture provides the opportunity to get your site listed at the top of the engines in as little as three to five days – for a price. Although this presents a huge advantage to savvy direct marketers, there are pitfalls that you should definitely avoid.

Inktomi - No recent changes for Inktomi.
AltaVista - No recent changes for AltaVista.
Fast - No major changes for FAST (Alltheweb.com).
Lycos - FAST updates about every 9 to 12 days but sometimes will take as long as 30 days or more for some sites. Lycos Sponsored Links now come from the Lycos InSite Adbuyer program which is powered by FindWhat
MSN - Late January MSN launched a new tool bar somewhat similar to the ones at AltaVista and others. The features include a popup blocker and links to MSN services like Hotmail, Messenger, MSN Search, etc.
ODP - No recent changes
LookSmart - The end is near.
Yahoo - Yahoo to drop Google, 1st Qtr 2004 - January 14th, Yahoo announced in an interview with ZDnet that they would be swapping out Google for Inktomi as their primary provider of web search results. ... Of course we've been hearing this for quite some time now but this is the first time that Yahoo has officially stated the obvious switch will actually take place sometime in the 1st quarter of 2004.

Part 2: What is SEO best practice? - Because professional search engine optimization is still an emerging form of marketing, there really isn't a set standard of qualifications that you should look for when hiring a professional. Even within the bounds of generally accepted best practice guidelines, there are professionals with a wide range of experience and abilities and no guarantees of results.

Part 3: Examining services and prices - It's important to take a look at exactly what services are being offered to you by a professional SEO before you give serious consideration to hiring them. Make sure that any proposals that you review carefully spell out what services are included. Take the time to learn what services are offered that go beyond standard optimization, like PPC campaign management, link building, and traffic analysis. The more services that are offered, the more difficult it can be to make a valid price comparison and to fully understand the impact that the services will have on your web site.

Part 4: Checking references - Proper search engine optimization requires a professional to become fairly intimate with the content of your web site, the demographics of your target audience and to work closely with your marketing and IT departments. They'll need access to your log files, your copywriter, your webmaster and any other individual that works on your web site. SEO is an ongoing process and the ability to work well with other members of your development team is essential.

Part 5: Deciding between a specialist and a firm - Working with a specialist firm that offers purely SEO services can be a great way to know that you are hiring someone who has the time to focus on the industry and to become a highly specialized expert. Some of the best-known SEOs are part of solo, or very small promotional companies and are quite skilled at working with the web designer, copywriters and other marketing professionals that may already be working on your web site.