Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web:

From Search Engine Land:

• Ask.com To Launch Contextual Advertising Product
  Ask.com is launching a new sponsored listings contextual product and will go live the week of May 21st. The Ask contextual product will initially launch within IAC’s own network of sites including Match.com, Ticketmaster, Evite and Citysearch and will then expand to trusted third party publishers. Individual publishers will most…
• Google Maps Introduce User-Generated Content
  When Google launched its personalized mapping tool, My Maps, the company said it would soon be integrating user-generated content. It appears that is now happening on many Google Maps searches (hat tip to NLC Marketing Blog)….
• MapQuest Partners With GM’s OnStar For ‘Send to Car’ Directions
  General Motors’ OnStar Division and MapQuest have announced a partnership (see the video and related info on how it works) that allows OnStar subscribers to plan their trips via MapQuest and then send those directions to their cars. The service is called "Web Destination Entry" and will reportedly be made…
• Google News Results Now Live In Web Search Results
  As we reported last week, Google is now including news results in web search results when your query terms trigger relevant results. The results are clearly marked with a link for "News results for…" above the news results, as shown here: I’ve asked Google how the new changes will affect…
• Google: Sued Again Over "Bad" Listing
  Building Contractor Sues Google for Indexing Consumer Complaint from Wired highlights yet another case where a someone wants to sue Google over how they are listed. Cases like these have lost in the past, but people keep trying. In this case, New Jersey building contractor RSA Homes is upset…
• Windows Vulnerability Exploited Through Google AdWords
  Virus Writers Taint Google Ad Links from the Washington Post covers a report saying that consumers trying to reach some legitimate sites might be getting infected with malicious software when they click on ads at Google. The software tries to "steal passwords and other sensitive information from infected PCs," the…
• Google To Sell Ads On China Telecom’s Business Directory Sites
  Google to Sell Online Ads on China Telecom Web Sites from Bloomberg reports that Google has won the right to sell ads on 400 local business directory sites owned by China Telecom, China’s biggest internet service provider. This deal is expected to help Google close in on Baidu and Microsoft’s…
• Intel To Add Google AdWords Marketing Storefront For Resellers
  Google gets in on ‘Intel Inside’ campaign from News.com reports that Google and Intel worked together to build, what I believe to be, an add on to their reseller and channel intranet, enabling resellers to easily market their Intel based computers via Google AdWords. The "co-marketing initiative" should allow these…
• Live Search’s General Manager Leaves Microsoft
  Via BetaNews, Yet another Microsoft search exec calls it quits from All About Microsoft covers how Microsoft’s Live Search is losing another key executive – general manager Dane Glasgow. Glasgow is said to be leaving for more time with his family and to purse non-profit interests. Former search chief…
• Solving B-to-B Marketers’ Problems
  In my last column I explored b-to-b marketers’ changing perceptions toward search marketing and predicted a continued trend in rapidly increasing b-to-b search budgets—at the expense of traditional marketing channels. Today I’d like to talk about why this shift is occurring. First, let’s start by looking at the top…
• Properazzi – A European Property Search Engine
  Properazzi is a multi search engine that scans property websites and provides access to over 1,800,000 properties for sale or rent in 45 European countries. Searchers can limit searches to particular towns or countries, by price, keyword and sale or rental. A Google powered map allows another method of locating…
• Autonomy To Reclaim Blinkx, Then Spin It Off
  The relationship between enterprise search company Autonomy and video search company Blinkx has always been confusing. PaidContent.org now reports that the "weirdly secretive relationship" (I agree) is getting clearer. Autonomy is to exercise an option to take over Blinkx, then appears to be spinning some consumer-facing search technology that its…
• Google Passes Microsoft For Most Visited Site In The World
  Google surpasses Microsoft as world’s most-visited site from the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Google is now more popular than Microsoft, in terms of worldwide visits. According to comScore, Google had a million visitors more than Microsoft in March 2007. Google had 528 million unique visitors, while Microsoft had 527…
• The Blogs & Search Blogs With The Most Readers
  Which blogs have the most feed subscribers from Self Made Minds is an excellent rundown on top blogs according to the number of RSS or feed subscribers they have, according to FeedBurner. Search Marketing Blogs by RSS Subscribers from Lee Odden at the Online Marketing Blog takes the idea…
• Marge Simpson "Googles Herself" & Uses Google Maps
  YouTube has a clip from the popular TV cartoon The Simpsons showing Marge "googling" herself: Here’s the clip itself:…

Search News Headlines From Elsewhere

Applications & Portal Features

• Google Apps: Don’t bother unless you know the following, Googling Google
• Google Developer Day on May 31, Official Google Blog

Business Issues

• Yahoo! to expand Indian operation, gears for America Online’s entry, AFP
• WPP, Others Eye Bid For 24/7 Real Media Ad Network: Report, PaidContent.org

Conferences

• WebmasterWorld’s PubCon Goes Up Against Search Engine Strategies Chicago, Search Engine Roundtable
• Las Vegas WebmasterWorld Pubcon vs Chicago Search Engine Strategies, Threadwatch
• AMA Hot Topic Series: Search Marketing in San Fran, Natural Search Blog
• SEMPO Institute – Advanced SEO Courses, Web Analytics World
• Class is Almost in Session – Will You Be There?, 10e20
• Microsoft adCenter Experience @ The International Direct Marketing Fair - London, adCenter Blog
• Free Webcast This Thursday: Revving Up For Mobile Search Marketing, Search Engine Land
• Danny’s First Search Marketing Expo Coming!, Search Engine Roundtable
• Come out to SMX Advanced in Seattle and party with Webmaster Central, Google Webmaster Central Blog
• 9 Reasons To Attend SMX Advanced, Search Engine Land

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Local.com Joins the Landing Page Business, Small Business SEM
• Teeth Hurt? TrueLocal suggests McDonalds … or Midas!, Small Business SEM
• Panoramio Approaches 1 Million Photos in Google Earth, Google Earth Blog

Paid Search & Contextual

• Buying Site Targeted AdSense Ads, SEO Book
• AdWords Optimization Tips: Part 5 – Beyond Keyword Basics, Inside AdSense
• Should Google Add Reinclusion Requests In The AdSense Console?, Search Engine Roundtable
• No-Cost Campaign Design, Yahoo Search Marketing Blog
• Sverigechefen lämnar Google, IDG

Podcasts

• The Marketing Pilgrim Podcast – Episode 3, Marketing Pilgrim
• Google & Yahoo Earnings, Web History, Virginia Tech, Remove Content, Anchor Text, SEO Content, PPC & More, Search Pulse
• Google’s Popularity; Suing Google Over Listings; The Simpsons Do Google & More!, Daily SearchCast

Searching

• Search Engine Shoot-Out, PC World
• Grading The Next Wave Of Search, Online Spin
• Enough about the big boys of search, what about everyone else?, Compete Blog
• Google Search Recognizes Open Office Documents, Google Operating System
• New Demos from Next Generation Search Group at University of Helsinki, Resource Shelf
• Interactive Q&A: Katie Jacobs Stanton, Product Manager of Google Finance, Seeking Alpha
• Resource of the Week: The Virtual Gary Price, ResourceShelf
• Other handy uses for web history, Matt Cutts
• Google and privacy, Matt Cutts
• The Data Bill of Rights, John Battelle

SEM Industry

• Women in Search – Techie or Tacky?, Blogs & Feeds
• Performics Tries To Tie Itself Closer To DoubleClick, InsideGoogle
• Book review of How to Win Sales & Influence Spiders by Catherine Seda, Search Engine Watch
• Reader Poll: Best Search Marketing Magazines, Online Marketing Blog
• Should Online Newspapers Buy Keywords Related To Tragic News Events?, MediaPost

SEO & SEM

• SEO Site Analysis: Knowing the Score, Part 3, ClickZ
• 9 Ways to Make Money on Analytics, Search Engine Watch
• Serp Archive, SEO Book
• A Glance at Trellian’s Keyword Discovery Tool, Search Engine Guide
• Basic Keyword Research Using Free Keyword Research Tools, Performancing
• Keywords in URLs the New Google Search Optimization Winner?, Search Engine Roundtable
• Permalink Redirect Plugin for WordPress, Joost de Valk
• Is Feedburner Siphoning Your Link Juice?, Marketing Pilgrim

Shopping Search

• Live Product Search: More Images, More Relevant, Live Search Blog

Social Media

• Social search and the same old problems, Geeking With Greg
• my social networking dream, Vanessa Fox
• Branded Personal Pages A Draw For 43% Of Consumers, MediaPost
• TRAFFIC TRICKS: Technorati’s search engine traffic, Valleywag
• Newsvine Relaunch Today: Build Your Own News Site, TechCrunch
• Newsvine 2.0 – Evergreen, Pronet Advertising
• Digg to Pligg – Easy Social News Links, SEO Book
• DIGG: Six businesses that should hire Diggers, Valleywag
• Wikipedia Users: A New Report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, ResourceShelf

Video, Audio & Image Search

• MSN Video…Same As Soapbox, Mashable
• MSN Launches Next-Gen Beta Of MSN Video; Fits With MSN Entertainment Relaunch, PaidContent.org
• CastTV Closes Series A Led by DFJ, Cast TV
• Google is planning on using 30 second pre-roll ads on YouTube, Vnunet
• YouTube Marketing Tips, Small Business SEM
• Database Update, YouTube Blog

Other Stuff

• What the heck is Web 2.0 anyway?, Jeremy Zawodny
• Authors@Google gets a home, Official Google Blog
• Google’s AdWords Representative Calls Radio Ads Magical, Search Engine Roundtable
• Google Announces rel=”soul_bought” Link Attribute, In Search Of Stuff

Related Topics: SearchCap

About The Author: Danny Sullivan is editor-in-chief of Search Engine Land. He’s a widely cited authority on search engines and search marketing issues who has covered the space since 1996. Danny also oversees Search Engine Land’s SMX: Search Marketing Expo conference series. He maintains a personal blog called Daggle (and maintains his disclosures page there). He can be found on Facebook, Google + and microblogs on Twitter as @dannysullivan. See more articles by Danny Sullivan

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