SearchCap: The Day In Search, Jan. 31, 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:

• How Many Words Should My Articles Be To Rank Well?
  Aaron Wall has an excellent write up named Optimal Word Count & Web Page Copy Length. In short, Aaron explains that there is “no universal correct or incorrect answer to how much content is right.” Aaron then goes through tips on how to write good content, that is easy to…
• Google Can’t Use “Gmail” Name In Europe
  Google loses European GMail trademark battle by The Register reports that Google is not allowed to use the trademarked term “GMail” in Europe. The Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM) held that Daniel Giersch’s trademark of the term was valid and that Google could not use it….
• Yahoo To Build “Brand Universe” To Connect Entertainment Brands
  Yahoo Planning to Add 100 Web Sites for Entertainment at the New York Times reports that Yahoo is undertaking a new microsite effort named “Brand Universe.” Brand Universe will create about 100 web sites built around entertainment brands and pull together content from various Yahoo properties. One such site for…
• Gmail Locks Out User For Using Greasemonkey & Reports Of Gmail Contacts Disappearing
  The Inquirer reports that a user received an unusual error from Google when trying to access his Gmail through a Greasemonkey script. The error was a “lockdown in sector four” message, basically describing that the user account has been found to have “unusual usage” and the “account has been disabled…
• Yahoo To Build New Keyword Research Tool & Wordtracker Launches Free Tool
  There have been recent reports that the Overture Keyword Suggestion Tool has been sporadically offline. In response to those reports, Yahoo issued a statement telling us that the Overture tool has been getting hit hard by users but will “continue to exist until we replace it with an improved product.”…
• Google, Microsoft, & Yahoo Ask For Help With International Censorship
  News.com reports that Google, Microsoft and Yahoo have asked the US government for help when it comes to international censorship policies and law. The article has some more insight into the challenges the search companies face with countries like China. Right now, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo have to make “moral…
• StumbleUpon’s New Webmaster Friendly Referral Page
  I regularly check our traffic referral sources, and StumbleUpon is often a large one. Today I noticed that the StumbleUpon referral page has been changed to make it easier for site owners to understand how they got StumbleUpon traffic — plus StumbleUpon uses the new format as an opportunity to…
• Boorah Restaurant Reviews: Zagat On Steroids
  Does the Internet really need another local restaurant review site? Yes say the founders of Boorah, a new vertical search destination and aggregator of local restaurant reviews. Boorah collects reviews from existing local search and content sites, summarizes and enhances the data and builds additional features on top….
• More Letters Of The Social Media Alphabet
  Last week, Neil Patel wrote an article about the social media alphabet. It gave a brief overview of Digg, Netscape, Reddit, and StumbleUpon. While Neil did a great job of covering the social news sites, I wanted to chime in and cover some of the other letters of the…

Search News Headlines From Elsewhere:

• Google’s Bosworth: Why AJAX Failed (Then Succeeded), eWeek
• Why Third-Party Click Fraud Estimates Don’t Add Up, Shumans.com
  

• The New Media Mogul—You, BusinessWeek
• Google Properties and the Google/Yahoo!/MSN Comparison, Hitwise