SearchCap: The Day In Search, May 14, 2009

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

From Search Engine Land:

• Google Employee Required To Hand Over AdWords Account Details
  

  We obtained documents on a court order, where the judge issued in the Jeremy Schoemaker case against a Google employee for trademark infringement. Both Jeremy and the defendant filed motions, in which the court ordered the defendant to hand over the historical data of his AdWords account, amongst other items. The court order, which [...]

• Google Adds Barcode Scanning to Product Search (Android-only)
  

  Google Product Search for Mobile now has barcode scanning ability. The obvious convenience factor is that, rather than typing in the name of the product you’re looking at, you can just scan the barcode and get shopping results (and information) on your Android-powered phone. Google’s announcement today explains that barcode scanning currently is at its best [...]

• Google Services Go Down For Many
  

  Currently, many people who use Google’s services, including web search, Gmail, Google Reader and other products are either down or incredibly slow for some Google users. For Danny and myself, we are able to access these services with no problem. However, if you look at recent Tweets about Google, you will notice [...]

• Ben Edelman Accuses Google Of Conversion Inflation Fraud
  

  In a new report by Harvard professor Ben Edelman shows how he believes Google and its partners inflate conversion rates and, in turn, increase advertising costs. From his report: Google and its partners systematically inflate advertisers’ conversion rates by interceding in transactions advertisers would otherwise have received for free. This conversion-inflation syndication fraud overstates the [...]

• What?! A Search-Hostile Site That Still Ranks Well
  

  What follows is a rant, which is something I rarely, if ever, do. It’s done in the spirit of fun, so don’t take it too seriously. Enjoy! I feel like the grandpa who laments in a crotchety voice to his grandkids: “Nobody ever writes letters anymore! They just sit on their computers and their cell phones [...]

• Gauging The Online Visibility Of SMBs
  

  Today, the question every small business owner needs to ask himself is: will search engine users be able to find my business online? The online visibility of a business is difficult to measure. Having a good website is just the beginning. SMBs need to be listed on leading directory sites, vertical and local sites and they [...]

• Can GRPs Help Build The Web Video Market?
  

  In traditional television media, GRPs are the coin of the realm. Gross Rating Points are the metric that agencies use to buy ads on the networks. Now, Mindshare, a unit of WPP’s GroupM media arm, is embracing GRPs as a metric for web video. Can this help speed the movement of dollars from traditional TV [...]

• Gmail: All Your Emails Are Belong To Us
  

  Google is removing one of the most common excuses for not using Gmail: “It’s such a pain in the (beep) to switch!” The company announced a new tool that simplifies the process of importing emails and contacts from other providers, including bigger competitors like Yahoo Mail and Hotmail. All new Gmail users have access to the import [...]

• Feeling Sick? Google Begins Asking Some Searchers Who Look For Illness-Related Terms
  

  Why exactly are you searching for “headache” or “ear infection” at Google? Do you have one of these illnesses or are you researching them? Google wants to know, and will find out by asking a small number of people directly within the search results, beginning today. It’s part of a process that Google [...]

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• More Nudity & Pornography Found in Google Gadgets, Search Engine Roundtable

Business Issues

• Google M&A Exec Gushes Over Twitter, Business Insider
• Google’s Last MySpace Payment: $75 Million On June 20, 2010, TechCrunch
• Apple, AT&T sued over ties to Shazam music ID service, AppleInsider
• Ninth Circuit Mucks Up 47 USC 230 Jurisprudence….AGAIN!?–Barnes v. Yahoo, Eric Goldman
• Why isn’t Zillow dead?, News.com
• Yahoo Makes A Twitter Clone…In Portuguese, TechCrunch
• Yell and Google form strategic alliance to bring search marketing services to UK SMEs, Yell Group

Link Building

• 7 rules of link building in 2009, Search Cowboys
• Google’s New Webmaster Tools Is Missing My Backlinks, Search Engine Roundtable

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Jog your memory with saved locations, Google LatLong
• Local Search Ranking Factor Statistical Research, The SEO Scoop
• Should Google Maps Include a Warning Label with the 10 Pack?, Mike Blumenthal

Other Items

• If you could ask Carol one thing, Yodel Anecdotal

Paid Search & Contextual

• AdWords system maintenance on May 16th, Inside AdWords
• That’s Relevant, Yahoo Publisher Network Blog
• AdWords API Blog: Client Library Updates: Part 1, AdWords API Blog
• Empty Google AdSense Ads is Linux Bug, Search Engine Roundtable

Searching

• Cuil in Multiple Languages, Cuil Blog
• Letters…we get letters!, Yahoo! Answers Blog
• Math? Of Course!, Wolfram|Alpha Blog
• Google Toolbelt Tells Which Of Your Pages Were Recently Indexed or Linked, Google Blogoscoped
• The Google Way (Book), Google Blogoscoped

SEM Industry

• Eric Enge interviews Google’s John Mueller, Stone Temple

SEO & SEM

• How I Cloaked My Way To LOWER Rankings, SEO ROI
• SearchFit : SEO and Social Media Friendly Shopping Cart, Search Engine Journal
• SEO Q&A : What’s the Recommended Page Size?, Search Engine Journal

Social Media

• FriendFeed Enables People/Group Tracking, TechCrunch
• The Seven Deadly Sins of Social Media, Search Engine Journal

Recent Hot Items From Sphinn, Our Social News Sharing Site:

• Do You Use Your Brand Name in the Site Title Tags?
• Almost an SEO Rocket Scientist — and you still don’t do these 3 things
• Twitter taking the Social out of Social Discovery
• Decrease the Twitter Drop Out Rate & Increase Retention
• 7 Deadly Sins of Social Media
• Linking to bad neighborhoods can KILL your SEO efforts
• 7 golden rules of link building in 2009
• 3 Easy Steps to Test and Tweak Your RSS Link Locations Using Google Analytics
• Link Development Training: How Link Building for SEO is Like Picking Up a Girl
• Duplicate Content Issues Visualized: Collection of Useful Infographics