SearchCap: The Day In Search, April 10, 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:

• What SEO/SEM Professionals Should Know About Website Usability
  In an effort to differentiate themselves from competitors, many SEO/SEM firms come up with interesting unique selling propositions (USPs). Some SEO/SEM firms emphasize search engine advertising and create quite useful tools to help manage PPC campaigns. Some SEO firms specialize in training, again creating tools that help newbie and…
• Yahoo’s Biggest Investor, Capital World Investors, Double’s Stake In Company
  Yahoo’s largest investor doubles down from News.com reports Capital World Investors has doubled their stake in Yahoo, giving them a 10.1% percent stake in the company. Capital World Investors was Yahoo’s largest investor, and obviously still is. They now own owns 135,542,600 shares as of March 31, up 95-percent from…
• A Small Business Marketing Success Story: John Tuggle, Guitar Teacher
  A small business can have millions of dollars in revenue and dozens of employees … or it can be a one-man-band, turning passion into a living. This month’s small business marketing success story is about the latter. Meet John W. Tuggle, a guitarist living in Athens, Georgia. John has…
• Study: 80-Percent Of Searches Are Informational, 10% Are Navigational & Transactional
  A Penn State research study showed that about 80-percent of searches are informational in nature, whereas 10-percent are navigational and another 10-percent are transactional. The researchers reviewed over 1.5 million queries from hundreds of thousands of search engines users to prove the “the 80/20 rule that 80 percent of the…
• YouTube Adds “Discovery” Stats & Updates Page Design; Barry’s Search Video Podcast
  YouTube has announced the addition of a new statistic that can be found in your video “YouTube Insights” section named “Discovery.” Discovery is basically a report showing you how people discovered and viewed your video, a form of referral reporting. In addition, as TechCrunch reports, YouTube has redesigned their video…
• “Previous Query” Refinement Coming To Hit Google Results
  Yesterday (technically still today my time), I did a keynote interview with Google vice president of search products & user experience Marissa Mayer during our SMX Sydney show. We covered a wide range of topics, including how "Previous Query" refinement will soon come to natural listings on Google, plus how…
• 90-Percent Of Pedophilia Complaints In Brazil Come From Google’s Orkut
  Brazil Senate orders Google to identify website pedophiles via AFP reports a Brazilian Senate has ordered Google to hand over the profiles of 3,261 suspected pedophiles yesterday. However, according to The Inquirer, Google is willing to help Brazilian authorities but not hand over users’ personal information. Sergio Suiama, Sao Paulo’s…
• IAC To Launch Startups, Take A Demographic Approach To Search
  The Wall Street Journal reports that IAC, parent of Ask, is preparing to launch a number of startups after its spin off of some of its traditional media properties. Among the new sites is RushmoreDrive, a niche search engine targeting African Americans. What’s interesting is its demographic approach to search….
• SphinnCon Comes To North Carolina On May 2, 2008
  SphinnCon, the smaller, informal SEM networking events, is now coming to North Carolina with SphinnCon North Carolina. The North Carolina event is taking place on May 2, 2008 at Kress Terrace in Greensboro, NC. Max attendance for this event is 150, so register quickly! Oh and the price is only…
• News Corp, Google, AOL, “MicroHoo” The Movie Enters A Surreal, Climactic Sequence
  If MicroHoo were a movie we might be in Act III, moving quickly toward an exciting climax. It’s a good movie so far because there are equally matched antagonists, unpredictable twists, a concrete deadline and an uncertain outcome. Indeed, that outcome seems to grow increasingly uncertain amid a surreal shifting…
• Four Year Effort Culiminates In “ClearFlow” Traffic On Microsoft Live Search Maps
  Today in 72 US cities, Microsoft is introducing what it calls “ClearFlow” on Live Search Maps. It’s an improved traffic and routing service that relies on machine learning and predictive modeling to offer better traffic and routing information to consumers across the US. Microsoft employee and artificial intelligence expert Eric…
• Report: Yahoo & AOL Approaching A Deal
  Yahoo, AOL Close In on Tie-Up Deal from the Wall Street Journal reports that Yahoo and AOL are close on finalizing a deal that would combine parts of both companies. The deal would bridge Timer Warner’s Internet operations with Yahoo by folding the AOL unit into Yahoo. In return, Time…
• Blended Search: A Year Later
  Believe it or not, it’s been nearly a year since Google launched Universal Search. Given that, how has your marketing changed over the last twelve months? If it hasn’t, it should. Let’s take a look at why. The development of universal search heralded in a new era in search…
• Microsoft: Forget It On Paid Search Partnership, Google & Yahoo
  So Yahoo’s going to partner with Google for a test of search ads? Better be only a test, Microsoft seems to be saying. Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith just put out a statement suggesting that any partnership would likely be opposed on regulatory grounds, as Google would get more than…

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• AOL Regroups Blogs, Launches AOL Tech Network, TechCrunch
• Tip: How to Reorder iGoogle Tabs, Google Blogoscoped

Business Issues

• How Should I.S.P.s Tell You if They Want to Track Your Surfing?, New York Times
• MediaWhiz Acquires LeadROI Lead Management System, MediaWhiz Blog
• Google Beefs up African Staff to Push Ads, Apps, PC World
• Majority of U.S. Adults Uncomfortable About Search Engine Data Collection, Search Engine Watch Blog

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Google 3D Warehouse Supporting Street View, Google Earth Blog
• Google: Marissa Mayer blames pesky humans for Street View privacy problems, Valleywag
• Opera Mini preview for Google Android, News.com

Link Building

• Directory Submissions That Still Work, Link Building Best Practices
• Is Linkbaiting Overrated?, SEOCo
• Link Building Strategies: Apprentice Edition, Search Engine Watch
• New Link Building Strategy: "Link Unbuilding", Search Engine Roundtable
• The Five Components Of A Great Linkbait, Performancing.com

Microhoo

• Google deal gets ‘big eye roll’ from Yahoo employees, News.com
• Yahoo Goes Scorched Earth, TechCrunch

Paid Search & Contextual

• We want your adCenter feedback! - adCenter Advertiser, adcentercommunity.com
• AdBrite Launches Open Targeting Exchange, CenterNetworks
• Google AdSense Create New Ad Bug, Search Engine Roundtable
• How to Compete with New PPC Advertisers, Search Marketing Sage
• Is Google AdWords Really Enforcing The URL Policy? No!, Search Engine Roundtable
• Search For More Traffic , adcentercommunity.com

Searching

• VeoSearch launches search engine for charities, altsearchengines.com
• Exploring Shopzilla [Interview], ProBlogger
• Yandex Launches First Vertical - Car Search, Quintura blog

SEM Industry

• Day One Recap - SMX Sydney SEO SEM Conference 2008, Neerav Bhatt
• Why SEO Can’t Be Your Only Value Add, Wolf Howl

SEO & SEM

• The Beginner’s Checklist for Learning SEO, SEOmoz
• 12 Reputations Every Company Should Monitor Online, Marketing Pilgrim
• Bringing the SEO Teacher to You, Search Engine Watch
• Google Recommends robots.txt Sitemap Submission During Glitch, Search Engine Roundtable
• Google Search Mixing Up URLs , Search Engine Roundtable
• Increase Your Blog’s RSS Subscriber Count with Bloglines Tools, Digital Inspiration
• Publishing priority for Base API items, Google Base Blog
• SEM Synergy Launches Next Wednesday, BruceClay.com
• What’s in a Search Audit?, endlessplain.com

Social Media

• A little spring cleaning, Twitter Blog
• People Do Not Get Social Bookmarking | Tips when submitting to Digg, eVisibility
• The most popular Digg users/domains, Search Engine War
• Using FriendFeed to Learn the Habits of (and Spy on) Your Friends, Techipedia

Video, Music & Image Search

• Google China Adds Image Search Categories, Google Blogoscoped
• MySpaceTV inks international distribution deal, News.com

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

• Yahoo to Test Run Google Ads Alongside its Search Results
• Barry Does Search News/Tips Videos
• April Fools Joke Backfires on Problogger
• Attention Outdated Wordpress Blogs: Don’t Let Technorati Drop You
• How to Get Publicity in Major Magazines and Newspapers
• Friend Promotion - Step 3 of the Authority Building Process
• 5 Ways to Find More Friends on Twitter
• Viral Marketing: Start Some Controversy!
• Six Mistakes B2B Marketers Continue to Make With Organic Search
• 8 Ways to Remove Negative Search Engine Listings
• 5 Steps To Develop In-House SEO Functionality
• The SEO Matrix is Calling You
• SEJ Guest Blogging Competition : Win Over $9,000 in Search Marketing Prizes