SearchCap: The Day In Search, July 2, 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:

• Google Brings Voice Search To Maps On Blackberry Mobile Phones
  Today Google announced a download that enables voice search for Google Maps on Blackberry devices. This is very much like the existing Windows Live Search for Mobile service with voice or Tellme for Blackberry devices (also Microsoft). Yahoo also recently integrated Vlingo’s speech technology into oneSearch….
• Microsoft Preparing “Another Run” At Yahoo As Justice Dept. Begins Formal Investigation Of Google-Yahoo Search Deal
  Yesterday, after Microsoft announced it was buying semantic (or “natural language”) search engine Powerset, reporters asked the question: was this deal motivated by Redmond’s failed run at Yahoo? The two deals are and aren’t related. If the Yahoo acquisition had happened Powerset might not have, but Microsoft didn’t buy Powerset…
• Ask.com Drops Map Product & Outsources To Microsoft Virtual Earth
  The LiveSide Blog reported that Chris Pendleton,Virtual Earth Evangelist posted the news that Ask.com has now dropped their own mapping product for Microsoft’s Virtual Earth. Virtual Earth can now be found on Ask Maps, Ask City, and within Ask’s search results as Smart Answers. It is a shame to see…
• Paid Search Ad Copy: Kicking It Up A Notch
  Think about paid search. How would you describe it? Slow? No way. Cheap? Hardly. High Stakes? You bet. Paid search is a marketplace where every day, every hour—hell, every minute—counts. And costs. Cluttered and convoluted, it forces search marketers to grasp on to every advantage they can get. Not…
• Mr. Search Marketer Goes To Congress (Part 2)
  Going to Washington, D.C. to represent our industry to Congress was a great honor and the highlight of my career as an online marketer. It happened so fast, I never really had time to think about it, and I’m glad I didn’t because I probably would have freaked out. We…
• Total Search Marketing, Part 1
  It’s been a long held concept that natural search, aka SEO, is a top internet marketing tactic for acquiring better conversions, leads, and ROI. Now, eConsultancy has collected data and documented a study in the U.K. showing that natural search is the best tactic for generating online leads, concluding…
• SMX East in NYC — Save the Date
  6 Essentials for Search Marketing Success Increase traffic with SEMaware design and copy Save money by optimizing your SEO/PPC investment Maximize natural search rankings with a killer content strategy Boost conversions by driving the high-quality traffic to your site Grow sales after selecting more effective keywords Win business by outwitting…
• Local Search… Beyond Pizza and Plumbers
  Consider these statistics: As much as $500 billion in offline purchases was influenced by the internet in 2007 (eMarketer) 89% of consumers making in-store purchases in key categories have conducted research online (BIGResearch) 82% of people using local search sites followed up with an offline action, e.g. in-store visit, phone…

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• Blogged.com goes down the Google News path, Inquisitr
• Taking Features Away From Users, Google Operating System
• Yahoo Gives Upcoming a Makeover, Search Engine Watch Blog

Business Issues

• Google in deal with Brazil to fight child porn, Reuters

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Getting away with Mobile Tricks, Official Google Mobile Blog
• Newspapers Join the Local/Social Network Scene, Small Business SEM

Link Building

• SEO 101: Link Building, Cshel
• Build Your Reputation, Traffic & Links via Social Media Q&A Sites, Search Engine Journal

Paid Search & Contextual

• ScribeFire QuickAds Live!, Patrick Gavin.com
• Setting up Audio Ads Within Google Adwords, ShoeMoney
• Starting widgets, rocking out and staying connected, Yahoo Publisher Network Blog
• Google AdSense’s Optimization Report Offering Wrong Advice, Search Engine Roundtable
• Google AdWords 35 Character Display URL Limit, Search Engine Roundtable
• The Pros & Cons of Google AdSense’s Allowed Sites Feature, Search Engine Roundtable
• Traffic Estimator Service Explained, AdWords API Blog
• Using Demographics in Google AdWords, Stepforth

Searching

• Interview With Barney Pell and Ramez Naam About Microsofts Powerset Acquisition: Integration By End Of Year, TechCrunch
• Ask.com is Grillin’ and Chillin’ for the 4th of July, Ask.com Blog

SEM Industry

• Charging for SEO, How Much is Too Much?, Aussie SEO
• The Layman’s Guide to How to choose an SEO, SEO Theory
• Fun Interview with "Utah SEO Pro" Jordan Kasteler, adwordsconsultant.blogspot.com
• Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves: Ethical SEOs and Search Engineers Narc Out SEO Fraud, Inside CRM

SEO & SEM

• Capitalising On The Ultimate Form Of Duplicate Content, SEOmoz
• Don’t Build Your Web Site In Flash, BruceClay.com
• Adobe you just don’t get search!, Tim Nash
• Google Can Now Read Flash? Don’t Jump for Joy Yet, Search Marketing Gurus
• 8 Simple Reputation Management Emergency Measures, SEOptimise
• Are You Ready to Outsource to a Search Engine Optimization Company?, Search Engine Guide
• Coding Problems: How to Avoid Getting Flagged, Search Engine Watch
• Google Says Blocking Countries Outside of the US is Against Policies, Search Engine Roundtable
• How to Find Your Website Duplicate Content Issues, Search Engine Journal
• How to Fix the Bloated (Tables and HTML) Code that is Jacking Up Your SEO, Search Engine Guide
• Webmasters Report July 2008 Google.co.uk SERP Changes, Search Engine Roundtable

Social Media

• An Initial Review of Boudica, the Social News Site for Women, SEOmoz
• China Journal : Facebook Gets Poked in China, Wall Street Journal
• Government launches data mash-up, BBC NEWS
• Secure Your Brand Name on Social Sites, Search Engine Roundtable
• Source of FriendFeed Spam Revealed – Write APIs Can Be Trouble, Read/Write Web

Video, Music & Image Search

• Google Readying Analysis of World’s "One Trillion" Images, Beet.TV
• Online Marketing Tips Video: Why You Shouldn’t Blog, Search Marketing Gurus
• Even More Hot Videos, Official Google Video Blog

Other Items

• Announcing Google’s official traditional media blog, Inside AdWords
• Google Knows Where I Live, Michael Gray
• What Is Your Company Branded On?, BruceClay.com

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

• Visa Offer Free $100 Facebook Credits – Not A Bad Promotion Visa!
• New SEO Plugin for Wordpress: Internal Link Building
• Keyword Research : Where to Start?
• Matt McGee Joins Our KeyRelevance Team
• Google Announces Improved Flash indexing
• AdWords Conversion Tracking: You Don't Want to Make AdWordsMan Angry…
• Should Companies Hire Multiple Search Marketing Firms?
• 5 Common Crawlability Mistakes That Kill Your SEO Success
• Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves: Ethical SEOs and Search Engineers Narc Out SEO Fraud