SearchCap: The Day In Search, April 18, 2007

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 Releases Improved Content Removal Tools
  Google has rolled out new tools to help people quickly get content removed from its search engine. Those targeted at site owners allow for speedy removal of pages and cached copies of pages. Other tools allow those to request the removal of images or links to pages with personal information…
• Despite Panama, Yahoo Earnings Fall 11 Percent — Investments Blamed
  Last night Yahoo posted (PDF) their 2007 first quarter earnings. Yahoo showed a decline in their profits by 11 percent. Revenue was up about 9 percent, excluding certain payments to partners. However, MarketWatch notes "the revenue Yahoo generates for every search using its Internet search engine dipped in the quarter…
• Yahoo, PayPal Team Up On Checkout
  Building on their existing alliance, Yahoo and PayPal today announced that Yahoo Sponsored Search results will feature a blue shopping cart icon linking to merchants that accept PayPal Express Checkout as a method of payment. Participating merchants’ search listings on Yahoo will be enhanced with the shopping cart icon, pointing…
• Yahoo Renews Search Deal With United Online
  Yahoo has renewed their search partnership with United Online, the company behind brands like NetZero, Juno and Bluelight. The multi-year exclusive deal, will allow Yahoo to continue to provide sponsored search and web search results to United Online’s brands. The full press release is available over here….
• Driving Traffic to Channel Partners with B2B Search Marketing
  Although corporate brands are vitally important in driving B2B sales, B2B brands are often reliant on channel partners to sell products and services to end users. And while manufacturers and others offer traditional co-branding marketing tools, they often fail miserably at driving traffic to distributors, dealers, and other channel…
• Google Testing Grouping Search Results By Category
  Lee Odden spotted Google testing this very unusual user interface. In short, some of his searches are displaying Google results that are grouped by category. I used Lee’s screen capture and cropped it a bit to fit here….
• Google Continues Testing Top Of Page Services Links
  Via Google Blogoscoped, another round of the Google services navigation testing, where Google has put the "Other Searches" links normally above the search box at the top of the page. This type of placement was first spotted last month on both the Google home page and on search results pages….
• Google News Gains Subscribe To Google Reader Link
  A reader sent us a screen capture of Google News now showing a link to add news searches to Google Reader….
• Google Adds ‘Pennysaver’ Content To Maps
  Google has developed one of the most complete local databases online and it is continuing to seek to enhance that information with third party deals. The latest such deal will integrate classifieds, business listings and coupons from Southern CA-based PennySaver, which is published by Harte-Hanks….
• Microsoft PowerPoint, Meet Google Presentations
  Google adds presentation software to Google Docs from Reuters has Google CEO Eric Schmidt confirming the rumors that Google will be rolling out presentation software within the Google Docs suite….
• Gphone? The Google Phone Timeline
  Rumors about a Google Phone once again, this time that handset maker HTC is building a Google-branded phone that will be offered to carriers, perhaps starting with European carrier Orange by the end of this year. Haven’t we heard all this before? We’ve heard lots of things, so here’s a…

Search News Headlines From Elsewhere

Applications & Portal Features

• Corporate Data Slips Out Via Google Calendar, PC World
• How to make a pie, Official Google Docs & Spreadsheets Blog
• Hack Attack: Supercharge your Gmail, Lifehacker
• Has Google been poking through your Gmail?, News.com

Business Issues

• Yahoo CEO says DoubleClick advertisers may defect, Reuters
• At Web 2.0 Expo, CEO discusses companies’ synergies, News.com
• Ask CEO Explains "The Algorithm", Search Engine Watch
• Web counting tools ‘need change’, BBC
• 24/7 Real Media Goes Straight At The Conflict Issue, Targeting DoubleClick Clients, MediaPost

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Mobile RSS Aggregator, LiteFeeds, Launches Two New Features, ResourceShelf
• PennySaverUSA.com ads to appear in Google search results, DMNews.com

Paid Search & Contextual

• Sponsored searches point to Virginia tragedy, News.com
• Google AdWords Preferred Cost Bidding Not Welcomed, Search Engine Roundtable
• Google Tracking AdSense Mouse Over Actions, Search Engine Roundtable
• How to Be Crafty and Mask Affiliate Links, Wolf Howl
• Yahoo "Panama" – Geo-Targeting: US Only + Canada Only != Entire Market, Rimm Kaufmann
• Google, Yahoo Speaking More Freely on Click Fraud, Search Engine Watch
• adCenter’s New Quality Based Ranking has Issues, PPC Discussions

SEM Industry

• SEO Lookalikes, Matt Cutts
• Getting hired by Google, Adam Lasnik
• UK Search Marketing Benchmark Report, Search Engine War
• Elite Retreat June 8-9th Orlando Florida, ShoeMoney
• AdWords Seminars Coming to St. Louis, eWhisper

SEO & SEM

• Forbes Spam?, Google Blogoscoped
• NYT’s "Spider Bites", Google Blogoscoped
• Link Building Structures: Hunters and Collectors, Search Engine Journal
• Crawl Test Tool Released to the Public, SEOmoz
• Diagnosing Search Traffic Drops, Part 3, ClickZ
• Using Google Analytics to Manage Content Groups, Search Engine Watch
• Is Stephen Colbert the Greatest Living American?, Search Engine Watch
• On-page keyword mistakes: the good, the bad and the ugly, Jennifer Slegg
• HackerSafe Claims Services Boosts Search Rank: More Debate on Paid Links, Search Engine Roundtable

Social Media

• Social Media: Exacerbating the Content-Theft Problem, Pronet Advertising
• StumbleUpon drops audience rank feature, Pronet Advertising
• New SEO Tool: Term Targeting, SEOmoz
• Rick’s Ruminations: Full Feeds, Burning Questions
• Announcing the Google AJAX Feed API, Google AJAX API

Video, Audio & Image Search

• Are You Using Your Add?, Yahoo Video Blog
• On the 10-Minute Limit, YouTube Blog

Other Stuff

• FAQ Search Engine, Google Blogoscoped
• Partnering to include jobs on Indeed and track results, Blog Indeed
• Happy National Library Week, Google Librarian Central
• Don’t even leave a footprint, Yodel Anecdotal
• Podcast: SES NY, Paid Links, Ask.com’s Edison, Yellow Ads, Google.com Shakes, Sitemaps, DoubleClick, Yahoo Site Explorer, Google Voice & More, Search Pulse
• Podcast: Panama Doesn’t Lift Yahoo Earnings; Google To Roll Its Own PowerPoint Tool; Google Gets Content Removal Tools & More!, Daily SearchCast