There are a lot of great sources for search engine information out there. Here at Search Engine Land, we review around 300 or more blogs and news sites to ensure we’re keeping you updated with the latest news and information from across the web. The best of what we find forms the headlines in our SearchCap daily newsletter — so be sure to take that! But for those who want to read sources directly, our blogroll lists most of what we’re checking.

Search News Blogs

These are places that keep you up to speed with the latest developments in search. They stay regularly updated and focus entirely on search or where search is a good chunk of their coverage. The focus is also on NEWS, rather than commentary or tips. That’s not to say you won’t find commentary or tips on these blogs (Search Engine Land, for example, has all three: news, tips, and commentary). However, we put blogs into one category only, and these sites are the heaviest on news.

Search Engine Land is listed first, as we like ot believe that we provide the greatest concentration of fresh headlines about search. Search Engine Roundtable comes second as giving you the same but with a “heard on the street/forums” perspective. After that, the remaining sites are listed in terms of how focused and fresh they are on search news. Please keep in mind that this isn’t precise, and the quality between the sites is very close. All are outstanding.

You can also:

Search News Homepages

The links below will turn the Search News Blogs listed above into an at-a-glance format on the iGoogle personalized home page, My Yahoo, Windows Live, Netvibes, and Pageflakes. This makes it easy to scan and see what the group collectively is reporting as major stories.

Search Commentary

These sites might not keep up with search news right when it breaks, but they often have interesting commentary soon after it does. Check them out for that often valuable “post game” analysis. John Battelle is listed first for those who might feel they have only time for once such site — John has outstanding observations. But all these sites have wonderful content and deserve attention.

Search Marketing Advice

Looking for those tips on succeeding well with SEO, paid search, and search marketing in general? These sites make it their business to especially focus on tips and advice. SEOmoz is up tops because of the outstanding efforts the team has done there to try and break down search marketing for the beginner. Highlighted second in Jane And Robot from Search Engine Land’s features editor Vanessa Fox, who focuses on educating non-SEOs about search engine issues. But as with the other categories, the quality of all these sites is great.

See also Old Fart SEOs below

AOL Official Blogs

Places where AOL shares official news.

Ask.com Official Blogs

Places where Ask shares official news.

Conferences & Events

Gatherings are an important part of the search marketing world. These sites give you news about various prominent events or connect you with calendar listings so you can keep up on what’s coming. Search Engine Land’s own events, the SMX: Search Marketing Expo conference series and SMN: Search Marketing Now webinar series, are listed first. ‘Cause it’s our site :)

Domaining

These sites focus on generating income through owning valuable domain names, which sometimes intersects with search marketing.

Facebook

The darling of the social networking space has impacts on search, and these blogs track happenings with the Big F.

Forums & Discussion Sites

If live gatherings are important to the search marketing world, then virtual gatherings at online forums are even more so. They’ve been going on since before live events happened, and much sharing and debate, along with plenty of community connection, happens at these places. Our own Sphinn site comes first since, yes, it’s our site. After that, everyone’s listed alphabetically, since the last thing I need is to update the various forum communities by suggesting one is more important than another. Indeed, it doesn’t matter if a forum is big or small — what matters is that it provides someone with a home, and these places do that.

Google Official Blogs

Places where Google shares official news.

Also learn more about official Google blogs

Google Employee Blogs

Blogs run by Google employees related to search. Matt Cutts comes first, as he is quite simply must reading for anyone who cares about SEO.

Google News Blogs

Google is so huge in the search world that there are several blogs devoted only or mostly to Google itself. The first three I’ve listed do an especially outstanding job watching over the Big G.

Link Building Blogs

The focus here is on building links, and Eric Ward tops the list as being the earliest professional link builder on the internet.

Local & Map Blogs

The focus in this group is on local search and mapping.

Microsoft Official Blogs

Places where Microsoft shares official news.

Microsoft Employee Blogs

Blogs run by Microsoft employees related to search.

Microsoft News Blogs

Blogs that specifically track Microsoft news.

Old Fart SEOs

It’s a compliment, really. Really (but if you disagree, let us know, and happy to drop you off the list). These are blogs where you can regularly find commentary relating to “old school” SEO and search marketing, often with a cynical and bemused tone. As opposed to the Search Marketing Advice categories, these tend to be blogs run by individuals, sharing their personal experiences and usually not worrying about maintaining a corporate tone. Greg Boser and Dave Naylor top the list as the old fartiest of SEOs out there. If you have a chance to talk with any of these people, do so and listen lots. Otherwise, read what they post.

Paid Search & Contextual

This group focuses on buying and selling ad space through the search engines.

Search Data & Analyst Blogs

These are good places to find numbers, if for some reason you feel lacking after browsing our own Search Stats category.

Searching & Researching Blogs

Want to learn how to search better? Check these places out.

SEM Companies & People

These are blogs from companies and individuals who have had interesting things to say about search or are notable in other ways, though they might not blog on a regular basis.

SEM Groups

Groups devoted to promoting search marketing.

Search Podcasts

You can learn about search by listening, rather than reading. Check out these podcasts. The Daily SearchCast listed first is by Search Engine Land editor-in-chief Danny Sullivan.

Social Media Marketing

Learn more from these sites about that kissing cousin to SEO, social media marketing, which is growing as an essential skill needed for search success.

Vertical Blogs

These are blogs focused in some particular area not listed above.

Yahoo Official Blogs

Places where Yahoo shares official news.

Related News Sources

These sites don’t focus on search, but they often touch on search or have interesting stories related to search, from time-to-time. Check them out! Techmeme leads the list as an essential resource we consult throughout the day.

Related People

Similar to Related News Sources, these are individuals who might not be focused exclusively on search but whom still touch on it in interesting, informative, and sometimes controversial ways.

Search Engine Land Staff Blogs

Where the staff of Search Engine Land blogs personally about search and other issues.

Blog Compilations

These are places to get an overview of search news from across many or all of the blogs on the blogroll. SearchCap: Daily Search Recap is our daily newsletter that culls out the best, in our opinion, from everything on the blogroll above and more. We list it first because as our Feed & Information Overload? Read SearchCap! post explains, it’s especially designed to help the person who does NOT want to read over 100 blogs individually. SearchMonth is our corresponding monthly summary of search news. Down at the bottom is TopRank’s “Big List” that goes beyond our blogroll, covering hundreds of search marketing blogs. If what we list isn’t enough, check out that list!

Other Ways To View The Blogroll

Want to import some or all of these blogs into your feedreader? We offer two OPML files:

You can also read posts from all blogs on our Google Reader page or drill down to a specific category, if you want:

Posts by category:

Getting On The Blogroll

How do you get on the list? First and foremost, the blogs on the list tend to have written stuff that’s interesting on a regular basis.

Can you ask to be included? Sure. Will that guarantee you get on? No, unless you’re doing as I said above, writing quality material on a regular basis.

In particular, if you’ve just started a blog, don’t email asking to get on the blog roll. Give yourself a month or two to build some content that makes it self-evident that you should be included. Also, you don’t have to list us in your blogroll to be included. But c’mon — if you’re asking to be on someone’s blogroll, you ought to think about linking back. It’s somewhat amazing the number of requests we get for inclusion from sites that have no blogroll at all, themselves.

More advice. The world does not need another general search marketing blog. Or maybe it does, but the odds of you getting noticed are harder if you don’t stand out in some way. Consider focusing on a particular topic. Build a space for yourself (there are plenty of vertical search areas not being covered in depth), and you can always branch out.

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