SearchCap: The Day In Search, January 28, 2008

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

From Search Engine Land:

Spying On Your Paid Search Competitors
Last time around, I wrote about paid search planning and some cool tools to help you understand your customers and your target market (here). This time around, I’ll take a look at the competitive landscape and understanding competitors in general—and show you some excellent tools that can help you…
Search Engine Land Column Switcheroo
Heads-up to all of you faithful Link Week and Paid Search column readers: Today we’re swapping days for the columns. Paid Search will now appear on Mondays and Link Week on Tuesdays. No worries if you’ve subscribed to the feed for either column—you’ll still get the content you’ve asked…
Google Experimental Search Adds Info View & Map View
The Google Blog announced they have added some new features to Google Experimental search. Google has added map view and a new info view that allows you to show different results on the page. Let me take you through each new view….
Google A “Mystery Buyer” In Colorado?
Denver area residents were treated to some fun over the weekend with reports of the purchase of a 432-acre former campus of Storage Technology by a “mystery buyer,” for as much as much as $60 million. The buyer insisted on absolute secrecy from everyone involved in the deal, including Sun…
Search Marketing Expo - SMX West - 1 Month ‘Til Showtime - Register Today!
Just 30 days until Search Marketing Expo - SMX West in Santa Clara, CA. Register today and join the search marketers from more than 450 companies who will attend SMX West. SMX West will deliver cutting-edge SEO and PPC content, insightful keynotes and community-building networking events for an experience like…
New UK-Based Real Estate Search Engine DotHomes Launches In US
Just when you thought there were enough competitors in the real estate vertical, here comes some more. Last week a new real estate search engine, Roost, launched in selected US markets. Today UK-based DotHomes, which has been operating in the UK and South Africa, makes its US debut. DotHomes seeks…
Today Is “Data Privacy Day,” Bush Admin Launches Internet Monitoring Initiative
For most people today is Monday, January 28. However, today has been designated “Data Privacy Day” in North America and in 27 European countries in conjunction with the International Association of Privacy Professionals. Google’s privacy counsel Jane Horvath says the company is joining in an international privacy conference being held…
New “Addressless” Search Feature On Google Maps
As the Google LatLong Blog explains, Google has added a nice feature to Maps (it would seem something rolls out weekly these days). That feature allows users to get directions or locations of businesses without inputting a destination address. Below are some examples….
Google Lego Logo: Google Offers Lego 50th Birthday Wishes
Google has a special logo up on the Google home page today. The Google logo is made up of legos, to celebrate Lego’s 50 year birthday. Google’s culture has always had a special place for Lego. Google’s first servers were “modded” up with Legos. The Google founders have admitted to…
Why Local Businesses Should Be Like The Jerk
“The new phone book’s here! The new phone book’s here!” Steve Martin’s character in the movie The Jerk is ecstatic. He rifles through the pages and finds his name. “I’m somebody now! Millions of people look at this book everyday!” He knows the importance of being listed. “This is…