SearchCap: The Day In Search, February 13, 2008

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

From Search Engine Land:

• B2B Blogging: Using Thought Leadership To Drive Positioning & Sales
  The B2B world is wrestling with how to effectively harness “word of blog” marketing—let alone the glittery new world of social media marketing. How can we use social media sites to create that viral buzz that sends awareness and sales soaring? We see what occasionally happens in the consumer…
• WPP To Consolidate Search Agencies Under GroupM And Outrider Brand
  Global ad agency WPP, which paid almost $650 million for 24/7 Real Media last year, will be bringing together all its search agencies under the Outrider brand and under the GroupM media division. That includes the search group at 24/7, Catalyst, Quisma and Outrider, which won Yahoo’s Searchlight Award in…
• Google Opens “Doodle 4 Google” Competition For School Kids
  Today Google announced the launch of the Doodle 4 Google competition. The Doodle 4 Google competition is open to K-12 students in the United States (another version has run for two years in the UK) Students are asked to design a Google Doodle using the inspiring line of “What If…?”…
• Microsoft adCenter Says No To Spanish Landing Pages For US Traffic
  Joe Spector wrote that when he tried designing a landing page for the Latino US market, he was rejected by Microsoft adCenter due to using Spanish on the page. Specifically, Joe created a landing page that was targeting US-based Spanish-speaking customers. We all know the Spanish-speaking market is huge in…
• Google On Centerfold Of Marie Claire
  Nathan Weinberg reports Google has made it big in fashion, by being the centerfold of the Marie Claire magazine. The 12 page piece was named Fashion for Work at the Google Headquarters and highlighted model Britni Standwood throughout the Googleplex. You can scan these pictures of Standwood on Google’s roof,…
• Google Study: 1.3% Google Searches Return At Least One Malicious Result
  Web Browsing, Search, And Online Ads Grow More Risky, Google Says from InformationWeek reports on a recent Google Study named All Your iFRAMEs Point to Us that shows 1.3% of Google searches returned at least one malicious result. Niels Provos, a security engineer at Google, lead the study that took…
• Google AdWords To “Strictly Enforce” Display URL Policy
  PPC Hero wrote that Google would be making changes to the AdWords display URL policy on April 1st. I asked Google for more details on this policy change and they informed me that the policy is remaining the same but starting April 1st, Google will begin “strictly enforcing” it. Last…
• News Corporation A Potential Partner For Yahoo In Avoiding Microsoft, Google Interest ‘Wanes’
  Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., which had previously said it won’t be competing with Microsoft for Yahoo (largely because it doesn’t have that kind of cash) now emerges as a potential “white knight” in Yahoo’s struggle to a) avoid the Microsoft deal entirely or b) have a credible bargaining chip to…
• Designing And Owning Your “Search Shelf Space”
  Ever walk into a store to purchase something only to find it’s not there? You know what you want and you’re ready to buy, but you can’t find it. Bewildered, you paw through the shelves, searching high and low, but to no avail. Exasperated, you leave. Sound like fun?…
• Third Annual Yahoo Searchlight Awards Happen Against Surreal Backdrop
  As Yahoo was apparently laying off its promised 1,000 workers today I was at the Time-Life Building in New York as a panelist for the third Yahoo Searchlight Awards. I’ve had the honor to be a part of this event since its inception in 2005 and think it’s a terrific…
• Updated: Yahoo Layoffs Happening Now
  The expected Yahoo layoffs started a few hours ago. Two very good people I know are among those cut. No doubt we’re going to be hearing from many more. Below, a rundown on reports I’ve spotted from others on the web about the cuts. As more comes in, we’ll update…
• Search Illustrated: The Value Of Search Engine Marketing
  Many cases can be made for different types of effective advertising. But what makes search engine marketing stand out from the rest? Today’s inforgraphic demonstrates the mindset of the buyer and their ability to easily convert while in the medium:…
• MSNbot 1.1: Live Search Implements A More Efficient Crawl
  Today, Microsoft announced changes to their Live Search crawler intended to reduce bandwidth resources during the crawl of a site. MSNbot (upgraded to version 1.1) now supports both HTTP compression and conditional get. The post on the Live Search Webmaster Center blog describes each feature in detail and includes links…

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• Google Apps can be a small firm’s best friend, USATODAY.com
• Updates and Bug Fixes for Feburary 12th, Blogger Buzz

Business Issues

• How Much Did Microsoft Pay For Danger?, GigaOM
• Bebo: $1 billion Acquisition "Definitely Happened" Says Source, TechCrunch
• IAC-Liberty Fight Could be Resolved By Rejuvenated HSN: Report, paidContent.org
• Answers.com Bid For Lexico Nixed; Stock Sale Is Pulled, paidContent.org
• EMI Partners With ‘Google for Music Licensing’, Ad Age
• IAC And Liberty Agree On Board Rules Ahead Of Date In Court, paidContent.org
• Yahoo search exec jumps ship, Information World Review

Conferences

• My Introduction to the First SphinnCon on Video, Barry Schwartz

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Microsoft, Yahoo Anuncian Mobile Deals in Barcelona, ClickZ
• The mobile world bands together on advertising, CNET Blogs
• Google Coupons Expiration Date Bug Workaround, Mike Blumenthal
• Local Online Marketing in Stealth Mode, Small Business SEM
• The six Rs of Google Earth Outreach, Google LatLong
• You are connected to mountaintop removal, Official Google Blog
• Android: It’s real!, ZDNet
• Mapping Top News Stories with the New Yahoo NewsGlobe, Don’t Forget Reuters Newsmaps, ResourceShelf
• Your content on Google Maps, Google LatLong

Microhoo

• Yahoo’s second-largest shareholder comments on Microsoft buyout bid, News.com
• Skirmish may start long Yahoo war, Seattle Times
• Yahoo Defense May Fail to Repel Hostile Microsoft Bid, Bloomberg
• Major Yahoo investor urges Microsoft to raise offer, Reuters

Paid Search & Contextual

• AdWords system maintenance on February 16th, Inside AdWords
• 37% of Google AdSense Publishers Earned Over a $1,000 in 2007, Search Engine Roundtable
• Do the "Heavy Clickers" Negatively Impact Display Ad Campaigns?, SEOmoz
• Yahoo Search Marketing Reporting Lagged, Search Engine Roundtable

Searching

• Stop Press: Google News Edges Past Yahoo News in UK, Search Engine Watch
• Blog Search Revisited - Google vs Technorati vs Techmeme, Andy Beard
• Report: EU To Curb Search Engines, MediaPost
• Search engine screenshots timeline 1996-2008 (Google,Yahoo,MSN), Yargon
• Sex Felon Or Soul Mate? USSearch.com Rolls Out DateMate Background Check Tool, MediaPost

SEM Industry

• Claire Schoen: SMX Power Player, SEMpdx Blog
• UK search marketing survey goes live, Search Engine Watch Blog
• The adventure of going to SES London for the first time, Search Engine Watch Blog
• YouTube Channel launched for SES London 2008, Search Engine Watch Blog
• SES London 2008 Interview - Piers Stobbs, EndlessPlain.com
• Improving SEO Book Customer Value, SEO Book
• Which SEO Lord of The Rings Character Are You?, Search Engine People

SEO & SEM

• 7 must-read Webmaster Central blog posts, Official Google Webmaster Central Blog
• 9 Tips for Creating a Site Map for Visitors and Spiders, Search Engine Guide
• B2B vs B2C SEO Campaign, Shimon Sandler
• How to SEO Your Site in Less Than 120 Minutes, Square Oak
• Online Reputation Management for Individuals, Online Marketing Blog
• Do You Have Remarkable Featured Content?, SEO Book
• Don’t let Google decide how to describe your site, E-Consultancy
• Eleven steps to creating a killer 404 error page, Jennifer Slegg
• Landing Page Optimization Defined for SEM, Search Engine Watch
• SEO: An SEO Red Flag?, The Mad Hat
• How to Uncover the Fundamental Information Necessary To Plan A Strategically Successful SEO Campaing, Part II, Search Engine Guide
• 6 Reasons Why Your Awesome Site Isn’t Indexed, BruceClay.com
• Penalized in Google: Official notification methods, JLH Design
• SEO Tips for Public Relations, Online Marketing Blog

Social Media

• Upload more photos, faster!, Orkut Blog
• Orkut is looking for a few good apps…, OpenSocial API Blog
• Performance Update, Twitter Blog
• Quitting Facebook Gets Easier, New York Times
• New Twitter and RSS "Firehose" feeds include all headlines, Techmeme

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

• Yahoo Layoffs Happening
• Online Reputation Management for Individuals
• 28 Ways to Make Money with Your Website
• 42 Ways To Distribute Your Content
• Internet Marketing Strategy: A Step-by-Step Diagram
• Building Relationships: 10 Ways to Get the Most Out of Social Networking Sites
• 2007 AdSense Earnings Poll Results Are In
• How to SEO Your Site in Less Than 120 Minutes
• Matt Cutts: How 404 pages work in Google Toolbar Beta 5
• Spare The Rod, Spoil The Client
• SEO: An SEO Red Flag?
• MSNbot/1.0 is defunct - Long live MSNbot/1.1 that saves you bandwidth costs
• 6 Reasons Why Your Awesome Site Isn’t Indexed
• What Is Yahoo! Answers? (Part 1 of 3)
• Google to Change Adwords Display URL Policy
• Do you know what a PageWanker is??
• How to Write Terrible Meta Tags
• LinkSpotting - Headlines That Lead To Links and Why
• Google hijacking 404 error pages?
• Google Updates AdWords Display URL Policy
• Social Media - 6 New Friend Acquisition Strategies
• Tamar Weinberg Joins Mashable
• Which SEO Lord of The Rings Character Are You?
• The 4 Biggest Threats Google Faces
• Why Use Yahoo! Answers (Part 2 of 3)