SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 19, 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: New Google Privacy Videos Offer Advice On Product SettingsIf US Congressman Joe Barton never got an answer to his many questions about Google Privacy (which I thought wasted time asking for […]

Chat with SearchBot

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

From Search Engine Land:


  • New Google Privacy Videos Offer Advice On Product Settings

    If US Congressman Joe Barton never got an answer to his many questions about Google Privacy (which I thought wasted time asking for stuff an intern could locate), perhaps he’ll be happy watching some of Google’s latest videos released that cover some very specific privacy issues on a product-by-product basis….

  • Google & Human Quality Reviews: Old News Returns

    A quote from Google’s director of research Peter Norvig in an article at Technology Review about how human reviewers assess Google’s search quality is starting to pick up play on the web and will no doubt grow. Problem is, it’s not news. Still, I suppose it’s interesting to those who…

  • Viacom & Microsoft Announce Major Content, Ads Deal

    Today Microsoft and Viacom announced a wide-ranging content and advertising deal that involves Viacom content distribution on Microsoft-owned sites, ad serving by Microsoft on Viacom properties, mutual distribution of game-related content and ads, as well as collaboration in other areas. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the announcement are apparent…

  • Google Removes RSS Feeds From Search Results

    The Google Webmaster Central Blog announced that Google will no longer include RSS feed results in their search results with the exception of podcast feeds. The reasoning behind Google dropping RSS feeds from the results is that it is very likely that the RSS feed is a text duplication of…

  • Google Improves Results For Supplemental Pages

    According to a new post on the Google Webmaster Central blog, the supplemental index is no longer, well, supplemental. Google has long had a two-tiered index and webmasters have generally feared the second, supplemental tier. A Forbes article earlier this year called it “Google Hell”, as historically, those pages weren’t…

  • Early Developers Giving Google’s Android Mobile Platform Mixed Reviews

    Dow Jones reports (shorter Wall Street Journal version here) that some software developers are experiencing considerable frustration writing for Google’s much-touted Android mobile platform. “Functionality is not there, is poorly documented or just doesn’t work. It’s clearly not ready for prime time,” said one of the developers quoted in the…

  • Microsoft Live Search Indexing & Listing Google AdWords Ads

    Raven SEO Blog spotted Microsoft’s Live Search indexing Google AdWords ads. The example given was a search on colorations paint, which returned Google AdWords ad in the 3rd and 4th position. Here is a screen capture showing one of those listings:…

  • Communication Breakdown? Try Google Talk’s Interpreter

    The Google Talkabout Blog announced the launch of an instant messenger bot that is an interpreter. An instant messenger bot is a little computer program that accepts instant messages and automatically replies to them. AOL has the AIM Bot program for years, allowing developers to create these bots as they…

  • B2B Search Marketing: Measuring Success Beyond Conversions

    Today, the majority of b2b search marketing programs are focused on lead generation. Prospects are driven to landing pages where they register for white papers, demos, webinars, and other informational assets. A certain percentage of these registrants become sales leads, and ultimately customers. While lead gen programs do produce…

  • Need Flight Status? Google Now Provides Tracking

    The Google Blog announced they have improved how they return flight status information in search results. Instead of just providing a link to get flight times, you get that information directly in the OneBox area at Google, without requiring a click to see it….

  • Microsoft Builds A Better Mobile Search Experience

    Yesterday Microsoft announced a number of content upgrades and changes to its local search for mobile devices, which include reviews, one-click directions, interactive maps, photos and so on. There’s more specific detail on the Virtual Earth blog. All the major search engines are now offering blended search results on their…

  • Yes, Mom, Search Marketing IS A Valid Career Choice

    If you’re an in-house search marketer, you may have had the experience of awakening one morning and realizing that you have a legitimate career. Wow! Your high school guidance counselor never mentioned this gig, I’ll bet. Only a handful of years ago, in fact, this career path never existed….

  • Paid Search Planning: Do You Really Know Your Customers & Your Market?

    The season is upon us when marketers near and far are thinking about paid search planning, strategy and implementation for the upcoming year. It’s important to take some time out to plan your strategy for 2008, so you’re not just reactive in your marketing efforts. So, in this article,…

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

Business Issues

Conferences

Local, Maps & Mobile

Link Building

Paid Search & Contextual

Searching

SEM Industry

SEO & SEM

Social Media

Video, Music & Image Search

Web Analytics

Other Items

Last 20 Hot Items From Sphinn, Our Social News Sharing Site:


About the author

Barry Schwartz
Staff
Barry Schwartz is a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land and a member of the programming team for SMX events. He owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry can be followed on Twitter here.

Get the must-read newsletter for search marketers.