SearchCap: The Day In Search, August 20, 2010

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

From Search Engine Land:

• De-Mystifying Cost Per Action and Its Impact On Search Marketing: Webcast next Tuesday

  Next Tuesday at Search Marketing Now, Jeremiah Andrick, Online Customer Acquisition Manager at Logitech will discuss Cost Per Acquisition (CPA — what it is, how to calculate it, and how it affects search marketing. This webcast will cover the relationship between CPA, SEO, PPC as well as how to calculate your CPA and how […]
• Official: Google Now Lets One Domain Dominate Search Results

  Prior to this week, Google would only show up to two results from the same domain on a single search result page. Now, Google has confirmed what many are seeing, where a single brand dominates a single page of Google’s search results.
  This is not a bug, this is not an anomaly, it is an […]

• Remarketing For Everyone With Google AdWords

  It seems every few months a new feature of Google AdWords rolls out destined to make it easier for the do-it-yourselfer to compete with the big-wigs in Google Sponsored Results. Earlier this year, Google made it easier for small-to-medium size business owners to compete with larger international competitors within the display advertising arena. What changed? […]

• Tablets & Trash Talk: Apple Competitors Prepare To Bring Their ‘Me Too’ Products To Market

  Now that the iPad has made the world safe for tablets, it would appear the tablet invasion is beginning in earnest. Google is reportedly working with Verizon and HTC on an iPad competitor and LG is preparing to release an Android tablet in Q4 this year, the same time frame as the rumored Verizon-sponsored Android […]

• Google, The Movie?

  Deadline New York reports Google might make it to the movie screen. Deadline said Groundswell Productions and producer John Morris are attempting to acquire movie rights to the book “Googled: The End of the World As We Know it.”
  The film will be about Google’s co-founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, rise to […]

• Google Updates Webmaster Tools Verification & Adds Analytics Code Option

  Google has introduced a new method of verifying your web site in Google Webmaster Tools. The new method is to use the Google Analytics asynchronous code to verify your site in Google Webmaster Tools.
  It must be the newer asynchronous code, but if you use that code, you can quickly gain access to the site […]

• Even Lasik Surgeons Have To Pay Attention To Search Behavior

  Like many small business owners, you’ve just hung out your shingle for your new business: a Lasik Surgery practice. You know that there are a lot of folks who are blind as a bat, and hate their coke-bottle glasses. You’ve paid good money for your website, but the customers are slow in coming. Why? And […]

• SES SF Live Blogging Recap: Day Three

  Below is the live blog coverage of the sessions given today at the Search Engine Strategies San Francisco conference. If you are aware of other live blog coverage, feel free to link to them in the comments.

  4 Ways To Build Instant & Sustainable Trust Online, AIM Clear Blog
  Advanced Keyword Research — SES San Francisco, […]

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• What’s that phone number? Google disables area code look-up tool, Los Angeles Times

Business Issues

• Analyst: Yahoo Should Invest In Hulu, paidContent.org
• Google, Yahoo win Argentine celebrity search case, CNET News
• Music industry cites child porn in piracy crackdown letter to Google, Geek.com

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Foursquare Has Been Trying (And Failing) To Trademark “Check-In”, TechCrunch
• Foursquare Notes Record New Signups, The Day After Facebook Places Launches, Read/Write Web
• If Google Places usage is to be extended, then Google Places needs fixing, Holistic Search Marketing

Link Building

• How an Online Retailer Can Evaluate the ROI of a Link Building Campaign, Search Engine Journal
• SEO FAQ: Can Overusing Internal Link Building Cause A Penalty?, seoroi.com

Paid Search & Contextual

• AdWords system maintenance on August 21st, Inside AdWords
• Does Google AdSense Automatically Show Your Best Color Ad?, Search Engine Roundtable
• New Ad Format Options Available for iPad Applications, Google Mobile Ads Blog

Searching

• AT&T Business Directory Relaunches With Search And Social Focus, MediaPost
• Bing News Sends Nice Traffic & Can Be Delayed, Search Engine Roundtable
• Google News gets gamed by a crappy content farm, Salon.com
• The Future of Internet Search, Project Syndicate

SEM Industry

• UK University Launches SEMPO Backed Search and Social Media Course, Search Engine Journal

SEO & SEM

• Answering Hard SEO Questions – Whiteboard Friday, SEOmoz
• Google AdWords Enhanced CPC vs. Conversion Optimizer, Search Engine Watch
• Make Google AdWords Bidding Features Work for You, Search Engine Watch
• SEOs & Webmasters Complaining About Google’s Canonical Tag?, Search Engine Roundtable

Social Media

• Stumble On the Go, stumbleupon.com
• Tweet Button Bookmarklet: Share links from any page, Twitter Blog

Video, Music & Image Search

• Dish Network survey hints at Google TV pricing options, Engadget

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

• Increase Your ROI with Conversion Rate Optimisation – Online marketing techniques help contemporary businesses control costs. In today's complex economic climate, budget discipline can give your company an advantage over the competition.
• If Google Places usage is to be extended, then Google Places needs fixing – SNIP –  There have been some very interesting developments with regards to the expanded use of Google Places over the last couple of months, with Google not only increasing the usage of Google Places within their mainstream SERPs but also increasing the number of features within it such as Tags
• Could a Consumer Advocacy Group Help the Reputation of the SEO Industry? – It's Matthew Diehl's first post on the Trail and yes… he's going there (eek). He is asking the age old question of some type of formal system to help the SEO world grow from infancy. Will it work? Will it matter? It says here that… well… NO… We all just can't seem to ever agree – good post and welcome aboard Matt!
• Clean URLs are Good for SEO – It may seem like a basic enough concept and post, but believe it or not, everyday I see so many people doing it wrong.  Good job to Chuck for posting this great information about having clean URLs and their benefit to SEO.
• Search Engine Traffic Drops: How to Diagnose and Fix the Problem – This checklist will help you quickly identify and fix the problem, restore your organic traffic and save a bunch of nerve cells on the way.
• What The New Digg Means For Your Business – You may have heard heavy social media users complaining about the upcoming Digg release, but if you are a business owner, you may actually like what's coming. Neal Rodriguez explains what the new Digg offers for businesses.