"I don't need ten blue links — just give me the answer!"

There are really just two types of searches:

• Browse and seek  We want to browse for our best fit when we type "I want to learn how to speak Spanish."
• Tell me now  I just want my question answered when I search for how tall Mount Kilimanjaro is or who the 31st president of the U.S. was.

We've been working hard on the "Tell me now" type of search, or as we Live Search boffins call it, "instant answers." Instant answers show up at the top of your search results, offering the most relevant information we have to answer the direct or implied question in a query. We have quite a few currently on Live Search. Have you tried any of these?

• Encyclopedia  Search for an encyclopedic fact, like "How tall is mount Everest," "When was Lincoln born," "What is the GDP of Poland," "What's the population of Georgia," "Who won super bowl 30," or " What won best picture in 1998." You ask, and Live Search will return the exact answer to your question. And for you trivia fans, they are: "8,850 m / 29,035 ft," "February 12, 1809," "$303,228,550,000 (2005)," "4,630,841 (2008 estimate)," "Dallas Cowboys, NFC," and "Shakespeare in Love."
• Traffic  Just type "traffic" in the search box at Live Search and see a map of your area with green, yellow, red, and black highlights for the major highways. WOOHOO! Live Search won't make the traffic go away, but at least it can tell you when it's time to stay late and work on those TPS reports so you won't waste time idling in the fast lane.

• Horoscope  Just type "horoscope" and your zodiac sign to get your daily dose of direction. I guess I need to "take my situation step by step and before I know it my problem will be solved."

Theo Vachovsky, Product Manager, Live Search

Google Releases Advanced Segmentation Tools for Google Analytics

Advanced Segmentation enables you to isolate and analyze subsets of your traffic. It is true on-the-fly segmentation of visits so that you can create powerful filters with a few mouse-clicks. Select from predefined custom segments such as "Paid Traffic" and "Visits with Conversions" or create new custom segments with a flexible, easy-to-use segment builder. Then, you can apply one or more of these segments to current or historical data, and even compare segment performance side by side in reports.


Learn how to create an advanced segment in this help center article:

*Also, Avinash has just posted a blog on how to use Advanced Segmentation which is a must-read to quickly learn how to take advantage of this powerful feature.

Separate metrics for Google and search partners are now available

Google Adwords anounced today that they've changed the way your Campaign Summary and Ad Group Summary pages present statistics in order to give you additional level of detail into your campaign performance. Previously, these pages divided statistics into two categories: search, which included Google and search partners, and the content network.

Now, they show one set of statistics for Google and another set aggregating search partner performance. Search partners include AOL, Ask.com, and many other search sites around the web. You can view ad group or campaign performance at a summary level, or broken down by different combinations of Google, our search partners, and our content network. Additionally, separate Google and aggregate search partner statistics will soon be available in the Report Center.

(Click the image for a full-size version)

For more information, please visit this entry in the AdWords Help Center.