SearchCap: The Day In Search, September 28, 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 Served 10 Billion Video Views In August, Says ComScore
  

  Years ago, McDonald’s restaurants advertised how many burgers they had served right on the big sign at each location. And when it got too many to count, the signs changed to simply say, “Billions and billions served.” YouTube is quickly reaching that same tipping point for online video views. According to comScore, Google/YouTube served up more [...]

• Google To Test New Business Icons In Google Maps
  

  Google will soon launch a limited test in Australia that will show additional business logos/icons inside of Google Maps. A Google spokesperson tells us that the “limited experiment” will only affect some Google Maps users in Australia. The Sydney Morning Herald recently reported on the upcoming test, saying Google Maps will be “plastered” with ads.[...]

• Yahoo’s “It’s You” Ad Campaign Begins Today
  

  After giving a preview of its new “It’s You” marketing campaign last week, Yahoo formally begins the global push today. Yahoo says the campaign will cover “online, television, radio, print, and outdoor” advertising, all focused on selling the company’s focus on its users. If you’re watching TV today, you may see this new “Anthem” ad: [...]

• Google Celebrates Confucius’ Birthday
  

  Google is celebrating Confucius’ birthday with a new logo that has the Chinese philosopher standing in place of the “l” in Google’s regular logo. September 28, 551 BC, is traditionally recognized as Confucius’ birthday. Somewhat oddly, however, the Confucius doodle isn’t showing up on Google.com or on Google France. “We don’t always show every doodle [...]

• SMX East Next Week – Register Today!
  

  There’s still time, but not much. Join the Search Engine Land editorial team for Search Marketing Expo – SMX East at the Javits Center next Monday to Wednesday, October 5-7. Register for your All Access pass and get 3 days of exceptional content and invaluable industry connections for only $1395, a $200 savings compared to [...]

• Paid Search Is About Process, Not Planning
  

  Success in paid search demands first rate processes for anticipating and reacting to changes in the landscape. 30 – 60 – 90 day plans usually hinder paid search success.

• Five Search Marketing Tips For The Holidays
  

  Ah, the holidays—the most wonderful time of the year for retailers. Even though the uncertain economy has retailers only cautiously projecting an uptick in sales this holiday season compared to last year’s dismal downturn, the truth still holds that most will make 25-40% of their yearly sales in November and December. What is unique for holiday [...]

• Content Is Not Only King, It’s The Key To Conversions
  

  While it may sound basic, you’d be surprised by how many advertisers underestimate the power of including rich, relevant content on their business web sites. Or for that matter, keeping consistent with their search advertising to ensure that the content they are promoting—be it a product or a service—is where the consumer’s click actually takes [...]

• Despite Assurances, Google Places Pages Now Showing In Search Results
  

  Google introduced its new Maps profile page format, Place Pages, last week on Thursday. It’s a pretty dramatic change that replaces a tabbed version of the “info bubble” on Maps with a full page that features a wide variety of rich content. Each of these pages has its own URL. When I discussed the change with [...]

• Googlle? Google’s Not Spelled Wrong — It’s A Special 11th Birthday Logo
  

  Google has a special logo up on September 27, 2009 to celebrate their eleventh birthday. Here is the logo, which is available on Google properties where it is already Sunday. [...]

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• Back to school with Google Docs, Official Google Blog
• How Google Just Hurt Itself A Whole Lot, techgeist.net
• Website Optimizer – Great Tool For Tracking CRO, Natural Search Blog

Business Issues

• Yahoo Board Member Maggie Wilderotter Resigns (YHOO), Business Insider
• Stronger Ad Markets Lift Estimates for Google, Yahoo, AllThingsD
• Watching Yahoo’s Transformation, Jeremy Zawodny

Link Building

• Why Linkbait is a Tactic the Search Engines Will Always Value, SEOmoz
• Don’t Use YouTube To Build Links, www.linkspiel.com

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Google Maps, Whereis Direct You To Advertisers, SMH.com.au
• And please give a warm welcome to….the Map Content Partner Help Center, contentcentral.blogspot.com
• Are Google Place Pages Being Indexed?, devbasu.com
• Google Maps Should Consider A Canonical Phone Number Tag, Natural Search Blog
• Google Place Pages SEO = Yellow Pages SOS, www.localseoguide.com
• With Google Places, Concerns Rise That Google Just Wants To Link To Its Own Content, TechCrunch

Other Items

• Google and Technopreneurs in Mauritius, Official Google Africa Blog

Searching

• Find Something To Do With Goby!, googlemapsmania.blogspot.com

SEM Industry

• Video Recap of Weekly Search Buzz :: September 25, 2009, Search Engine Roundtable
• Who Sets Your Prices?, SEO Book

SEO & SEM

• The “just create compelling and useful content” lie, sebastians-pamphlets.com
• Google’s New Keyword Tool Unveils Mobile Search Volume, Search Engine Roundtable
• SEO: Where Is It Going?, SEO Book
• Anchor Sitelinks – ToCs & Wordpress, andybeard.eu
• Consulting Compromises, SEO Book
• Obscuring the Algorithm, Stone Temple

Social Media

• Is Digg the Google of Social News Sites?, 10e20
• Squidoo Backs Down On ‘Brand Campaign’ As Many Are ‘Not so Happy’ About It, TechCrunch
• You’re not on Twitter’s suggested user list but you are in good company:, scobleizer.com
• Facebook Tagging For Business, www.socialmediaexplorer.com
• Optimize your questions, Yahoo Answers Blog
• Twitter Tips to Help Brands Stay Authentic and Transparent, Online Marketing Blog
• WaPo’s Social Media Guidelines Paint Staff Into Virtual Corner; Full Text of Guidelines, paidContent.org

Video, Music & Image Search

• More insight into claimed content on YouTube, ytbizblog.blogspot.com