At least three companies other than Overture appear to have purchased OVERTURE as a keyword on Google.  No one other than Google  appears to have purchased the keyword GOOGLE on Google.

At least one company other than Google appears to have purchased the keyword GOOGLE on Overture.  At least twelve companies other than Overture appear to have purchased the keyword OVERTURE on Overture.

Internet Retailer: Online sales jumped 48% in 2002 - Shop.org/Forrester
Shop.org: The State of Retailing Online 6.0

Sad that it takes them till mid-May to report on 2002. Internet Retailer reports:

Up 48% in 2002 over 2001, online retail was a bright spot in what were generally tough times for reail last year, according to The State of Retailing Online 6.0, a Shop.org annual study conducted by Forrester Research.

In the study of more than 130 online retailers, online retail sales, including event tickets, travel and auctions as well as merchandise sales, soared to $76 billion in 2002. The categories tracked in the Shop.org study, which include event tickets and travel, also reflect auction sales across the board. The study’s figures differ slightly from those of comScore Networks, released earlier, which place total e-commerce spending for 2002 at $73.2 billion, a 38% increase from 2001. Non-travel online spending in 2002 was $43 billion and represented a 27% increase from last year. The 10 retail categories tracked by comScore also include travel and event tickets besides merchandise, but do not reflect auction sales.

Wired: Search Results Clogged by Blogs

If you run a commercial website, and you don't have a blog, then you are a clown.

To illustrate - on both Overture and Google PPC the term "Marketing Strategy" costs $1+ per click. Currently I have the top spot on Google for that term, and have done for around 8 months even though my site has been close to inactive for 6 of those months (which reminds me I really should try and monetarise that position:-) ) .

So why do I hold the top position for this coverted phrase? Well partially because I understand website optimisation, but mainly because Google current algorithm is very kind towards blogs that know how to play the game.

[MarketingFix]

I couldn't agree more - on Google I am #2 for "blogging strategy" - just behind Wired. My position for "blogging consultant Strategy" is also #2 - this time behind Rick Bruner of Marketing Fix. I am #1 for "blogging consultant", "business blogging consultant" and "blogging seminars" - and I hold those positions and more simply by blogging.

The benefits don't stop with Google - on I hold #2 for "blogging strategy" buy #1 for "blogging consultant Strategy", "blogging consultant"  "business blogging consultant" and "blogging seminars".

John Lawlor - business blogging evangelist - 2003-05-16