SearchCap: The Day In Search, April 23, 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 Optimizes Product Search For iPhones, Android
  

  Google has upgraded product search for mobile, on Android and iPhone devices, to allow users to get price, product specs and reviews information on their handsets. Google posted about it here. Users can either navigate directly to Google Shopping on their smartphone handsets (under the “more” pull-down) and enter a query or do the same in [...]

• Google Keyword Tool Showing Local vs. Global Search Volumes
  

  The Site Visibility blog noticed Google has updated their keyword suggestion tool to show local search volume in addition to global search volume. As you can see from the screen capture below, there are two columns, one for local and one for global.

  The local column shows search volume data “specific to your targeted country [...]

• Google AdSense Testing Category Filtering Feature
  

  The Google AdSense blog announced they are testing a new beta feature that gives publishers control over the ads they can filter. This filter allows advertisers to pick specific categories of ads that they want to block. For example, if you have a site about education and you specifically do not want to show any [...]

• Google’s Generic Local 10-Pack: Boon Or Bust For Small Business?
  

  Last month, I moderated a fantastic session at Searchfest ‘09 subtitled “Little Is the New Big.” But had our conference taken place on April 10 rather than March 10, even that ambitious tagline wouldn’t have done the panel justice. That’s because two weeks ago, Google decided to start showing 10-packs and other local results (including an [...]

• Using Analytics To Measure SEO Success
  

  I’ve previously discussed why rankings are a poor measure of success, but only touched upon how to instead use web analytics to measure SEO success. My hope is that once you have a good grasp of what to review and how to use that info, you’ll be more inclined to wean yourself (and your clients) [...]

• March Madness & The Evolution Of Online Video
  

  Online video is quickly becoming a dominant medium that is necessary for survival in the online world. The 2009 NCAA Championship was a televised, “must-see” event that captured an enormous audience last March. It was a highly anticipated event that began with detailed and well-thought out brackets among friends and colleagues. This event was one that [...]

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• Google Reader Limits Your RSS Article Spam Potential, louisgray.com
• Microsoft Testing Topic-Centric Versions Of MSN Home Page; Starts With Entertainment, paidContent.org
• Yahoo Quietly Pulls The Plug On Geocities, TechCrunch

Business Issues

• Baidu accused of being a monopoly, Multilingual Search

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Google Maps Bug Prevents Certain Locations From Loading in Internet Explorer, Search Engine Roundtable
• Orange and Wikimedia join forces for mobile information portals, VentureBeat
• Review Removal Process- How Yahoo Succeeds and Google Doesn’t, Mike Blumenthal
• Save and share directions with My Maps, Google LatLong
• T-Mobile has sold 1 million G1 Android phones, News.com

Paid Search & Contextual

• Analytics and AdWords tips – Part 3 of 4, Inside AdWords
• Announcing the pubCenter Blog for Beta Users, adCenter Blog for Advertisers
• How can you Re-engage Non-converting Customers?, adCenter Blog for Advertisers
• How To Show Google Base Products in Google AdWords Ads, Search Engine Roundtable
• Simple PPC Ad Tests Can Drive Up Your Click-Throughs and Conversions, PPC Hero
• Yes Friends, Google AdWords’ Search Partners Includes Parked Domains, PPC Hero

Searching

• Google’s Clock Is Wrong in Pakistan, Search Engine Roundtable

SEM Industry

• Online Reputation Management – SEM Synergy Extras, BruceClay.com
• Bob Dylan Offers Sage SEO Advice for New Websites & New Webmasters, SEO Book
• Google Germany wishes you a happy Girl’s Day, Andrew Girdwood
• St. George’s Day and Shakespeare’s Birthday 2009, Google Logos Collection
• The SEO Industries 25 Most Popular Twitter Users – A Year On, Where Are They Now?, Site Visibility
• Turkey National Sovereignty and Children’s Day, Google Logos Collection

SEO & SEM

• Increase Web Traffic: Part 3 of 4, SageRock
• “Pushed” SEO Case Studies – Does “Old-School” SEO Still Work?, Search Engine Journal
• Has Gocompare been given another Google penalty?, econsultancy.com
• Is AOL Gearing Up To Create Automated Search Spam?, Search Engine Roundtable
• Keys to successful search engine marketing, Pandia
• Search Marketing with Long Sales Cycles, TechLINKS
• SEO and Disillusionment: Dealing With The Downside Of The Industry, The SEO Scoop
• UK SEM Report 2009, Search Engine War
• Why You Do Not Need To Be A Wizard To Be A Competent SEO, SEO Book

Social Media

• Breaking: Facebook Asks Users If They’ll Pay For Vanity URLs, All Facebook
• China Blocks Micro-Messaging Site Plurk. Is Twitter Next?, TechCrunch
• UStream Redesigns With an Eye Towards Twitter Users, mashable.com

Video, Music & Image Search

• Changes to the Homepage, YouTube Blog
• YouTube Starts Experimenting With Real-Time Notifications, TechCrunch
• First Look: We Take YouTube RealTime For A Spin, TechCrunch
• New: Instant Comment Notification, Google Photos Blog
• YouTube Starts Rolling Out Video Download Program For Partners, TechCrunch

Web Analytics

• FeedBurner Makes the Jump to the Google Mothership, Marketing Pilgrim
• How To Monitor Your Rankings Using Google Analytics Advanced Filter Segmentation, BlogStorm

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

• Online Reputation Management DOES matter
• How To Monitor Your Rankings Using Google Analytics Advanced Filter Segmentation
• SEO Since 1999
• Using Analytics To Measure SEO Success
• Compare domain backlink history
• 3Rs of Blogging – Redirect, Reuse, Recycle
• 3 Reasons Why It Pays to Go Niche (Literally)
• 3 Ways to Get Customers Talking About You
• Why Big Brand Media Sites Are The Real Cesspool of the Internet
• SEO Basics : Build an Authority Site from Scratch
• The Internet Marketer’s Tool Belt
• Professional Twitter Stalking by Sebastian