SearchCap: The Day In Search, May 4, 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 Starts To Leverage Latitude Location Through New Apps

Google is now expanding its map-based, location-aware service Latitude beyond the the Latitude destination in new ways with a public location sharing badge for third party sites and other apps that incorporate location. The first of those other apps is Google Talk. In the first example, Google has enabled those already signed up for Latitude to [...]
PPC-Man Drowning… Too… Many… Keywords…

The keyword long tail is dead. Long live advertising. The first shot (heard ’round most of the search marketing world) in this war against busywork was actually fired in 2002 by Google, when they introduced powerful matching options for AdWords. Too bad some folks haven’t yet heard that shot. This may be an exaggeration for effect. But [...]
SMX Advanced: 1 More Week to Save

Didn’t get it together to register for Search Engine Land’s SMX Advanced conference last week? You’re not alone. We heard from a bunch of you over the weekend who missed the early bird. Not to worry. We’ve missed a deadline or two ourselves, so were extending the rate for another week. Register for SMX Advanced now [...]
Google Earth Publication Of Japanese Historical Maps Causes Outcry

Google’s inclusion of historical Japanese Maps in Google Earth has caused an outcry in Japan. According to the AP these maps were already on public view and online. But Google is taking heat from rights organizations as well as the Justice Ministry in Japan. Why? What’s the controversy? Apparently the historical maps originally showed locations (which have [...]
An Update On ShoeMoney Vs. Google Employee Trademark Case
We have an update on the story “Google Employee Alleged To Have Bypassed AdWords Trademark Policy For Own Benefit” from about a month ago. Keyen Farrell, the Google AdWords employee, has filed his documents with the court. I have attached those documents below for you to read. In short, Keyen Farrell claimed [...]
Using Analytics For Local Search Optimization

Many businesses seek to target local searchers for their products and services, and careful review of a site’s analytics is one of the key weapons in a local business’s competitive arsenal. Here are a few tips on what metrics to look at and how to use some of them in optimizing your site to rank better in local search results.
What Yahoo Buzz Tells Us About Ourselves

I love Yahoo! Buzz. Always have. I loved it in its first incarnation (think Google Zeitgeist) and I love it now, in its current form. And not just because I work inside the big Purple Palace, mind you, but rather because it tells me everything both delightful and horrifying about myself in one concise web [...]
An Insider’s Look At SMX Advanced: Matt Van Wagner

We often get asked how we pull together our Search Marketing Expo conferences. We strive to make things look effortless, but in reality there’s a lot that goes into organizing an SMX event. To get the logistics right, we hold weekly meetings with our operations staff, relentlessly assuring that all details that make a great [...]
How To Build Accurate Models To Solve Attribution – SMN Webcast Tuesday, May 5

On Tuesday, Search Marketing Now hosts a free webcast on an issue that’s on many minds in online advertising: attribution management. Most online advertisers still give conversion credit to the last ad clicked, based on the belief that it’s just not possible to measure the various influences that occur in the buying process. But increasingly, [...]
Impressive: The Wolfram Alpha “Fact Engine”

Much attention has been focused on the forthcoming Wolfram Alpha search service. Will it be as important as Google has become? Perhaps! A new search paradigm? Yes! Or at least a new way of gathering information. A Google-killer? Nope! But when the service launches, it should become an essential in anyone’s search [...]

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

Manage your contacts, outside of Gmail, The Google Apps Blog
Styling Google Docs Forms, Google Operating System
Answers to common questions about the Google profile, googlesocialweb.blogspot.com
Meeting friends of friends, googlereader.blogspot.com
Shorter URLs May Offer Tracking Benefits to Marketers, New York Times
The secret behind Google’s book scanning project, The Guardian
Yahoo Testing Cleaner, More Open Home Page, MediaPost

Business Issues

Google’s Enterprise Strategy May Be Solid After All, TechCrunchIT
Google’s power-hungry data centres, The Guardian
Live Search and Give Shuting Down – June 1st, 2009, Softpedia

Link Building

Getting links from secondary locations, David Naylor
Directory Discounts & Link Building Service Promotions, Link Spiel

Local, Maps & Mobile

400 Years in the Making: Celebrating Henry Hudson, Google LatLong
Mobile Ads Seen Picking Up As New Google Phones Hit Market, SmartMoney.com

Other Items

Shop Sign: "No1 on Google", Google Blogoscoped
Larry Page’s University of Michigan Commencement Address, Google
Looking Backward: A historical perspective on influenza, googlenewsblog.blogspot.com

Paid Search & Contextual

Getting Creative with Dynamic Text in Your Ad Copy, adCenter Blog for Advertisers
Follow-up on the Content Network performance trends white paper, Inside AdWords
5 Ways to Maximize PPC Impressions, Search Engine Journal
Clarification from Google on New AdSense Policies, JenSense
Geo-Qualifiers In Your Keywords and Ads Can Give Your Local PPC A Boost!, PPC Hero
Geo-Targeting Basics: A How-To Guide on Setting Up Geo-Targeting in Google, Yahoo and MSN, PPC Hero
Google AdSense Not Paying Some Israeli Publishers, Search Engine Roundtable
Lack of Google AdWords Coupons Causing Lower AdSense Earnings?, Search Engine Roundtable
Yahoo Match Type Games, Rimm Kaufman

Searching

hahahahahahahahahahahahaha; gaming Google hot trends again, Arhg.net
Why I Love My Job – ASCII Jeeves, AltSearchEngines
Google Related Searches – Cheaters Rejoice, qwerty’s qoncepts
5 Tools For Google Advanced Searching, Search Engine Journal
Live Search’s HTTP Headers Malformed, Search Engine Roundtable

SEM Industry

2009 StartupNation Leading Moms in Business Competition Winners, StartupNation
5 things you (probably) don’t know about me, Matt Cutts
Wolfram Alpha and this week’s search engine news, Pandia

SEO & SEM

Geolocation & international seo frequently asked questions, SEOmoz
Getting The Most From Your SEO Agency, All Things SEM
HCards, Microformats and Address Data does it Matter for SEO, Michael Gray
When is PPC better than SEO for PR?, Online Marketing Blog

Social Media

Corporate Tweets and the SEC: Sometimes It’s Better To Keep Your Mouth Shut, TechCrunch
As It Inflects, Twitter Must Add Value to New Users, Faster, John Battelle’s Searchblog
Choosing a Killer Avatar for Your Online Profiles, Jennifer Slegg
Getting Honest About Social Media Marketing, SEOmoz
How To Find Conversations By Tracking Brand Mentions, outspokenmedia.com
Live Updating the Stream, blog.facebook.com
Plurk Adds Real-Time Search. Doesn’t Mention Twitter., TechCrunch
TweetPhoto Aims To Take On TwitPic By Adding More Features. Will It Stick?, TechCrunch

Web Analytics

Google Analytics Changes Graph To Show Only Days Selected, Search Engine Roundtable

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Related Topics: SearchCap

About The Author: Matt McGee is Search Engine Land's Executive News Editor, responsible for overseeing our daily news coverage. His news career includes time spent in TV, radio, and print journalism. His web career continues to include a small number of SEO and social media consulting clients, as well as regular speaking engagements at marketing events around the U.S. He blogs at Small Business Search Marketing and can be found on Twitter at @MattMcGee and/or on Google Plus. See more articles by Matt McGee

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