SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 17, 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:

• The Google Phone/Nexus One Was (Briefly) In My Hand
  

  Yesterday after I had coffee with someone (who is not a Google employee) I was briefly given the “Nexus One” to look at and fondle. I was not permitted to take a photo of it but did have a chance to do a few things on it and was able to form a few “first [...]

• November Search Share: Google, Bing Up, Yahoo Down
  

  Both comScore and Nielsen put out November search numbers that show Google and Bing up and Yahoo losing share. According to comScore: Americans conducted 14.4 billion searches in November, up 1 percent from October. Google Sites accounted for 9.5 billion searches, followed by Yahoo! Sites (2.5 billion), Microsoft Sites (1.5 billion), Ask Network (548 million) and [...]

• Keyword Visibility For Orlando Local Businesses
  

  In order to be found online by potential customers, local businesses can take action in a number of ways. In my last post, I presented data on how many Columbus businesses advertise online, publish a website, or update their online listing. When properly implemented, these actions can significantly improve a local business’s online visibility. However, many [...]

• Google Search Volume Compared To Type In Domain Traffic
  

  An interesting post from Elliot compared the number of searches in a month on Google versus the number of visitors received on type in traffic domains. He used the Google Keyword Tool and looked at the traffic of domains to compare the two. The results showed that longer domains received less type in [...]

• Yahoo “It Was You” Protest: French Engineers Go On Strike
  

  Yahoo engineers in France went on strike and protested yesterday over Carol Bartz wanting to close down the R&D center in Grenoble and ultimately putting 78 engineers out of work. Some of these protestors created a web site named Yahoo It Was You on a Google owned Blogspot, as a way to mock Yahoo’s [...]

• Google’s Fast Flip Expands to 90 Sources
  

  Fast Flip, the Google experiment that aims to make reading news online more like reading a newspaper or magazine, has expanded its list of sources. When Fast Flip launched in September, it had three dozen publishers on board. With today’s announcement, the number and variety of sources has grown: Today, we’re excited to be adding articles [...]

• Is SEO Dead? 1997 Prediction, Meet 2009 Reality
  

  I shouldn’t take the bait — Robert Scoble’s latest missive that SEO isn’t important. But sometimes I can’t help myself for wanting to provide some perspective. I’ve covered the space going on 14 years now. I’ve heard the SEO is dead spiel over and over and over again. I feel like a [...]

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• Browser Size: a tool to see how others view your website, Official Google Blog
• Craigslist Unclogs Yahoo Pipes, TechCrunch
• Thank you Google for the SLOOOW Internet, Royal Pingdom
• Transliteration goes global, Official Google Blog

Business Issues

• Advertising: Google Turns to Ad Agency to Polish Chrome Ads, Ad Age
• Get Ready For The Google Branded Chrome OS Netbook, TechCrunch
• Barnes v. Yahoo Survives Dismissal Motion on Remand, Eric Goldman

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Google & Audi take Google services in a car to the next level in the new Audi A8, Google LatLong
• Google: From Middleman to Destination, Sexy Widget
• Google and Map Updating – Part 1, Exploring Local
• Android: Crashing the Smartphone Party, comScore
• Google Maps: A (mis)Guided Tour of Olean, Mike Blumenthal
• Our final imagery update of 2009, Google LatLong

Paid Search & Contextual

• Keeping your account secure, Inside AdSense

Searching

• AltaVista Irrelevant? Not to Other Search Engines, PC World
• Google accused of scrubbing bloody Berlusconi pics, The Register

SEM Industry

• The Top 50 SEO Blogs To Watch in 2010, evancarmichael.com
• Google Invites AdSense Publishers For Christmas Lunch, Search Engine Roundtable
• Happy 20th Birthday The Simpsons, Search Engine Roundtable

SEO & SEM

• 5 Step Google Initial Quality Score Checklist, The ROI Revolution Blog
• Bug: Bing Webmaster Tools Not Accepting URLs with Hyphens, Search Engine Roundtable
• Cleaning Up After Google’s URL Mess, Michael Gray
• Microsoft Might Add Bing Page Score to MSN Toolbar, Search Engine Roundtable
• Google Sitelinks Come in How Many Flavors?, SEO Book
• Keyword Research & Refinement in 3 Easy Steps, www.rssray.com
• SEO vs. PPC: Heavyweights Duke it Out at SES Chicago 2009 – Search Marketing News Blog, Search Engine Watch Blog
• The Strongest Cloaking Yet – Cross Domain Canonical Tag, thegooglecache.com
• Does Google Remember Every Version Of A Page, Ever?, Hobo

Social Media

• Celebrating Anniversaries on Facebook, Facebook
• Exclusive: Ex-MySpace Execs Launch Gravity Into Private Beta, TechCrunch
• Facebook Data Team: How Diverse is Facebook?, Facebook