Yahoo recently announced that their organic search results will soon be powered by Bing in the early fall. Both companies have already begun testing this new merger on some of their result pages. According to the latest comScore data, Yahoo and Bing have a combined search market share of 31.6% in June 2010.

Combined, both companies websites have received 5.4 billion search queries last month.

Read that again, 5.4 billion search queries.

Now, most everyone knows that Google is the powerhouse when it comes to traffic. With the vast amount of products and services they offer their user base, and the fact that most of it is free and really great to use, it is not too difficult to understand why. For that reason it is understood why most Internet Marketers spend ALL THEIR TIME working on their rankings in Google, and don’t even bother with checking their results on the other two. In a time crunch, I do that myself.

Stop it right now.

Is Yahoo and Bing Worth Optimizing For?

5.4 billion search queries is NOTHING to turn your nose up at. That information combined with the fact that some individuals still use Yahoo for their search results is lost traffic potential for you. Once more, if you spend your time and energy and depend on the current rankings of Yahoo and not Bing, come September, you are in for a rude awakening.

So, my suggestion is this. Make sure you go right now and look at your main keyword rankings in Bing. Take two or three specific pages on your website and start making small incremental changes and see how the results play out on Bing. Take good notes, make sure you follow the rules on only optimizing one keyword per page, optimize images, etc. and pay attention to those changes. Read up on the Webmaster Resources eBook that Microsoft released on Bing specifically. The download can be found here. Remember, these other Search Engines are not useless. Targeted traffic is sales potential.

Very light week this the links this week. I have been working on new blog post for a subject that has come up in conversation recently: Is Yahoo and Bing worth optimizing for? I will keep on finding valuable links every week, so keep on reading. Now on to the links…

11 Ways To Speed Up WordPress

If you use WordPress, all the cool widgets that make your blog yours can suck the life out of the speed of the website. Combat it now with this handy list of 11 ways to speed up WordPress. I have used about 6 of these so far, and I have noticed a ton of improvement. These steps are very easy to understand, so you do not need a deep knowledge of site code to do them.

Source: Mashable

Amazon: E-books Will Overtake Paperbacks by the End of 2011

This is not a real shocker. I have read 4 books since I have gotten the new Apple iPad. None of them had been a traditional paper bound book. With the advent of the new digital products, it is now easier than ever to purchase, read, and comment on books and content from anywhere in the world. I still think removing the paper aspect of the book is taking away the romanticism of reading, but every other point FOR digital books is so sexy in its own right.

Source: Mashable

Guest Post By Cecily Kellogg

When I started writing on my website I wasn’t trying to accomplish anything other than keeping friends and family informed about my life. As a result, I unintentionally created a clear writing style – open and honest and unflinching. But I was also funny and warm, engaging and slightly bitter, and added in a strong dose of snark and a whole lot of four-letter words. Over the years, I wore my writing style like a comfortable sweater, and as time passed and I became more successful, that writing style became part of my “brand.”

I write the same way I talk, from the overuse of ALL CAPITALS (in other words, shouting) to the written equivelant of wild hand gestures and eye rolling. When people meet me, they find that the way I am on the page is the way I am in real life. Obviously, I refrain from using the four-letter words in front of church ladies and children, but otherwise my speaking style is recognizable from my writing style.

If you aren’t writing just for yourself and your friends, how do you find your voice and keep the writing natural while representing a company or selling a product? The truth is, you can’t always keep your voice in your writing when you are writing for someone else, and if you are trying to sell products to a market that isn’t going to appreciate your snark, it’s not going to work on your website. When I write for clients, I work hard at identifying the tone they prefer I use, and when I’m writing for my professional site I tend to tone down the swearing. But one thing comes through no matter where I write – the overall feel of the words is warm and engaging. So even when I’m not writing just as I speak, I still manage to infuse the words with a bit of my personality.

One thing is clear: content is king. If you have a good product but can’t write about it in a clear and precise way, no one will stay on your website long enough to make the decision to buy it. If you want to attract large numbers of readers, you had better have something good for them to read. Here are a few tips that are universal, no matter who you are writing for.

1. A Good Headline. If you are writing for the web, a good headline serves two purposes: it attracts a reader and keeps them around, and helps clue search engines in to your topic.

2.  A Fun Topic – for you AND the reader. If you enjoy the topic you are writing about, it will show in your writing and automatically warm up your copy. If you get to choose the topic, choose what you love to write about, not just what you think you should cover.

3. Good Editing and Proper Grammar. Don’t rely just on your word processing tools! Until you get comfortable, a great way to review your work is to read it aloud. You will be shocked how many mistakes you catch that way.

If you keep those three steps in mind, you are sure to keep your readers coming back for more. Don’t forget: relax into the words and the topic, and the writing will flow!