SearchCap: The Day In Search, July 31, 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:

• Dear Senator (and Texas Gubernatorial Candidate) Kay Bailey Hutchinson, Here’s A Free Crash Course On SEO
  

  standybykay.com, the “Kay Bailey Hutchinson for Governor Official Website” put up by “Texans for Kay Bailey Hutchison, Allan Shivers, Jr., Treasurer” over the weekend in support of Kay Bailey Hutchinson for Texas governer was briefly in Google, but now appears to be completely missing. Huh.

  Odd since Bing seems to have indexed it just fine, although [...]

• What Micro-Hoo Might Mean For Local Search
  

  As the dust begins to settle on the Microsoft-Yahoo search deal, we’re finding that this week’s announcement raised as many questions as it answered. The companies told Danny and Greg that the agreement covers “web, image, and video search.” But what about the many search verticals that Yahoo and Microsoft are involved in? These are [...]

• Bing + Yahoo: What Does It Mean For Users?
  

  The deal is done. Microsoft has swallowed Yahoo search whole and we can all be put out of our long, lingering misery. Yahoo has given up on search and thrown in the towel. But, outside this industry and our incestuous little gossip circle, what does it really mean for average folks? Does it make a [...]

• Search In Pictures: Yahoo Sneakers, Google Affiliate Network Party & BingHoo Deal Signed
  

  In this week’s Search In Pictures, here are the latest images culled from the web, showing what people eat at the search engine companies, how they play, who they meet, where they speak, what toys they have, and more. Seeing Through Google’s Eyes:

• Google Expands “Search Options” For Web & Image Search
  

  Google Operating System spotted two new Google search options including custom date ranges web search and advanced image searches directly on the left side navigation. When Google first launched search refinements in the “search options” section, they did not allow you to add a custom date range. Now you can, here is a picture:

  It also [...]

• Google Removes “Beta” Label From New AdWords Interface
  

  Google announced they have removed the beta label from the new AdWords interface. Google has been testing the new interface since November 2008. They continuously expanded the test to more and more advertisers over time and are now confident enough that it works right. Google added that along with removing the beta label, they will be [...]

• SMN Webcast August 4: Andrew Goodman On PPC Campaign Automation
  

  Next Tuesday, August 4 at 1 PM EDT, Search Marketing Now presents a webcast with Andrew Goodman on “PPC Campaign Automation: Bid Management, Alerts…the Works!” Not only will attendees benefit from Andrew’s PPC expertise—but three lucky attendees will win an Acquisio tee-shirt at the end of the webcast (and yes, you have to be [...]

• Want Solid SEM Benchmarks? This Report Has Them By The Boatload
  

  Each year, Marketing Sherpa compiles an exhaustive look at the state of search marketing. Each year, these reports grow more comprehensive, reflecting the continuous change and evolution of our industry as it grows up. This year’s report is no exception. The Marketing Sherpa 2009-10 Search Marketing Benchmark Report is 213 pages, and is divided into five [...]

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• Send mail from another address without "on behalf of", Official Gmail Blog
• A Google Wave reality check, News.com
• Start selling online with the Google Checkout store gadget, Official Google Checkout Blog

Business Issues

• Google Down to 7 AdWords Lawsuits–Ascentive v. Google Voluntarily Dismissed, Eric Goldman
• Ads Follow Web Users, and Get Deeply Personal, New York Times
• Google Not Liable for False Ads–Goddard v. Google, Eric Goldman
• Questions for the Google books monopoly, Open Content Alliance (OCA)
• Washington state goes with Bing, TechFlash
• Yahoo: Losing the Geek Factor, BusinessWeek

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Visualizing greenhouse gas emissions, Google LatLong

Link Building

• LinkMoses Resurrected #3 – Peewater for Links, Eric Ward

Paid Search & Contextual

• In North America? We recommend EFT for your next payment, Inside AdSense

Searching

• And Bingo was his name-o, TechCrunch
• Google Docs Integrates with Google Search, Google Operating System
• Arts: Louvre Launches First-Ever English Version of Online Collections Database, ResourceShelf
• More transliteration languages for Custom Search, Google Custom Search
• Should you trust health advice from the web?, New Scientist

SEM Industry

• SEO is in the Details: Bruce Busts the Boondoggle, BruceClay.com

SEO & SEM

• Google Webmaster Tools API Bugs, Search Engine Roundtable
• Integrating Flash into an HTML Site in an SEO Friendly Way, 10e20 Blog
• Let’s Get Down and Technical with SEO, Search Cowboys
• Marketing Driven SEO Strategy, SEO Book
• Whiteboard Friday – Architecture for Commerce with Dr. Pete, SEOmoz

Social Media

• The Most Overhyped Things About Social Media Marketing, 10e20 Blog

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

• The Not So Great Search Engine Market Reach Survey
• Is Online PR The Ultimate Link Building Technique?
• Understanding linking intent; the spam connection
• The Microsoft-Yahoo Search Deal, In Simple Terms
• Google’s Vince Update – Brand or no Brand?
• Microsoft and Yahoo!: Katie and Peter or Posh and Becks?
• Let’s Get Down and Technical with SEO