SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 13, 2007

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on
Search Engine Land and from other
places across the web.

From Search Engine Land:

Flickr Launches Stats: Detailed Overview
Flickr just announced the launch of Flickr Stats for Flickr Pro accounts. Who doesn’t love stats? Now having them on my Flickr account makes me incredibly happy. Here is a detailed look at what Flickr Stats has to offer on the day it launched….
Google Seeks To Turn College Students Into Local SEMs
You’ve got to hand it to Google for creativity. It created the local business referral representative program to enlist stay-at-home moms, college students and others to get better data about local businesses and build AdWords awareness. (I was told by Google that the response to the program had been strong.)…
Yahoo Adds Integrated Shortcuts For WordPress Blogs
The Yahoo Search Blog announced a new WordPress plugin that automatically creates Yahoo Shortcuts for the words you write in a blog post. So if you mention a stock ticker, that word on your blog will typically contain a mouse-over effect that will display a Yahoo Finance chart. Or if…
Google 2D? Google Tests Vertical Results In Right-Hand Column
Ask 3D was the name Ask gave to the “three pane” user interface rolled out earlier this year. Now Google seems to be copying Ask, at least to the second degree, with the right-most column being used to show vertical results similar to how Ask does it. Google Blogoscoped and…
Searcharazzi: Fathom SEO Acquisition Details
The industry has been buzzing for awhile about private equity buyers that just might be interested in picking up some search firms. Here are the details on the acquisition of Fathom SEO by PromiseONE, a private equity buyer. Exclusive advisor Agile Equity gives these details * Fathom SEO sold to…
Google And DoubleClick: The Saga Continues
The relevant issues swirling around the pending acquisition of DoubleClick by Google are little understood by the public, pundits and even, it would seem, by Congress and the regulators charged with approving or disapproving the deal. Danny has written at length about the competitive implications of the deal. But privacy…
Yahoo Local (Re)introduces Search Refinement, RSS
When Yahoo Local redesigned in August of this year, it largely eliminated the left column of detailed filters and refinement capabilities that were one of its best features in my view. The statement from then Yahoo Local GM Jennifer Dulski (now CEO of Fatdoor) was that people weren’t really using…
Google Dresses Up Sponsored Links With Holiday Dividers Again
Like every year for the past three years, Google has dressed up the divider bar between the sponsored listings and the free listings with something special for specific holiday searches. For example a search on christmas displays Christmas trees as the divider, as illustrated below:…
Live Search Maps Go To China
According to the Windows Live Blog, Live Search Maps have launched in China. It’s probably more accurate to say “in Chinese” because you can search the entire world rather than just China. (Screenshots below.) LiveSide has more….
Google Releases Updated AdWords Editor 5.0
The Inside AdWords Blog announced the release of AdWords Editor 5.0, an upgrade from the 4.0 version. The new version has support for local business ads, a more advanced export filter, a save your searches feature, share your draft accounts with a draft account feature, a new splats section to…
Learning SEO The Hard Way & The Beauty Of Contrast
SEO strategy should be designed to provide optimal return within a given risk tolerance. If you can also plan for future changes while still having a good ROI in the current market then it makes sense to do so. But you can’t always predict how search will change. When…
CallGenie Buys Mobile “Ad Exchange” PhoneSpots
Voice services provider CallGenie announced the acquisition of mobile content provider and ad exchange PhoneSpots. The mostly stock transaction was valued at $5.75 million and provides a range of new client relationships and capabilities to Canada-based CallGenie….
A Small Business Year-End Web Site Checklist
The time of year when we make resolutions is fast approaching. I’m not much of a resolution-maker myself, but I’m going to suggest that small business owners make one. Namely, it’s a suggestion that you resolve to fix up your web site and pay attention to things you might’ve…