Things that caught our eye this week included a first analysis of the impact of Google Instant on SEO, the FTC’s first case against a PR agency for posting fake product reviews, and why America is the 100 lb weakling of online markets.

  • First results in for how Google Instant is changing SEO:
  • In January of 2010 there were estimated to be 738 million Internet users in Asia compared to relatively puny 252 million in North America. http://royal.pingdom.com/2010/01/22/internet-2009-in-numbers/
  • The FTC this week revealed  that it had taken action against a PR agency for posting fake online product reviews on behalf of clients.  In the eyes of the FTC the agency behaved in a deliberately misleading fashion by failing to disclose that they were being paid shills. This is thought to be the first time that the FTC has gone after a PR agency in this way, and it shows the extent to which online shenanigans are front and center for their enforcement teams. It seems that we’re hearing about new actions almost every week now. Via Geno Prussakov.