Before we delve deeper into the SEO scenario as it stands today, we shall talk about two things - AdSense and Applied Semantics and Google's acquisition of Applied Semantics. This would help us understand the backdrop of the new developments in SEO for Google. If you are wondering why we are so much concerned about Google - we can't help it because it's the most reliable, popular, and yielding search engine in the world today and tests the capability of an SEO expert qualitatively.

AdSense is a content categorization tool developed by Applied Semantics, a California-based company that established itself with its innovative semantic text processing technology. Applied Semantics was started in 1998 by Adam Weissman and Gil Elbaz, two Caltech graduates. It was known as Oingo back then. The target plan of the initiators was to make computers more and more close to human-thought, or in other words, make them as intelligent as the human brain.

The duo strove with the support of a team of accomplished linguists and software engineers and succeeded in building a new architecture, CIRCA, that was close to their vision. They patented the CIRCA technology that is able to serve as the common platform for all Applied Semantics' products. Gradually, they designed another product, AdSense, which was a semantic text processing tool and was expected to take contextual ad designing to a new high.

AdSense was claimed to be a better product with superior technology than Google's search engine related programs. Applied Semantics representatives claimed that AdSense technology is able to:

• process and artificially comprehend the actual content of a Web page and does not simply read from the URL or Web log statistics as done by Google
• Identify and extract the main theme of a page objectively. In comparison, Google studies just the user trends and patterns that are usually subjective, and hence, inconsistent
• Detect confusing or unclear terms, which helps it to rate similar words or synonyms, plurals, and other forms of a word, unlike Google
• Filter information to a higher level and provide crisp and relevant content

These were not simply words to boast off. The results were being reflected in the paid listings being trafficked by Applied Semantics. No doubt Google was concerned, more so, when archrival Overture entered into a partnership with Applied Semantics for their own listings.

Apart from these, Applied Semantics had a unique technology and commercial base in DomainPark that involved providing revenue-generating content to several Web sites by blending the paid listings from providers and developing manual directories or categories.

Google was certainly planning to beat its competitor- by hook or by crook. Acquisition was, perhaps, the best way out.

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