SearchCap: The Day In Search, June 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:

• Google Maps Adds User Generated Reviews
  The Google Lat Long Blog announced that Google Maps now allows for user-generated reviews. We covered in the past that Google had reviews from third-party sources, but now Google allows any logged in user add reviews for any business listing….
• Google To Build $600 Million Data Center In Iowa
  Google to build data center in Iowa from BusinessWeek reports Google has confirmed rumors that they will be building a data center in Iowa. The 55 acres data center is expected to cost $600 million and open in spring of 2009. Although Google is only using 55-acre site in Council…
• Microsoft Virtual Earth Enhances UK 3-D, EveryScape Seeks To Make 3-D Better, Cheaper
  Microsoft announced that it’s enhancing Virtual Earth in the UK with improved 3-D elevation data from Intermap Technologies. These improvements will make their way throughout Western Europe and to the U.S. The idea is to use better terrain and elevation data to provide a more photorealistic 3-D experience overall. Meanwhile…
• How To Test A Home Page For Conversion Effectiveness
  Conversion rate improvement, for many of us, is as much a part of the overall process of optimizing a paid search campaign as, say, “off-page factors” are to SEO. Recall the holistic view taken in last month’s column, Your Paid Search Performance Is Relative. I spoke about the potential…
• Advanced Google AdWords Dynamic Keyword Insertion Tips
  David Naylor has an excellent explanation of some of the advanced ways to use dynamic keyword insertion within Google AdWords. Dynamic keyword insertion, also known as DKI, allows advertisers to specify if they would like the search query to be shown in their ad text for keywords that match their…
• Press Day Q&A With Google CEO Eric Schmidt
  As part of today’s Google International Press Day, Google CEO Eric Schmidt is doing Q&A with journalists. Here’s a live blogging highlight of what was said, which covered a range of issues from privacy, censorship, whether Google is too big and scary and more….
• $5 Million Domain Sale For SEO.com
  DotSause.com reports SEO.com has been sold to WashingtonVC for $5 million. The new domain will be for an SEO company led by Dave Bascom, who currently runs an SEO company named Web Targeted and blog named Search Trends….
• Google Gets Internet Content License In China
  Google Gets Preliminary Chinese Approval from the Wall Street Journal reports that Google China has received preliminary regulatory approval from China to provide content on Google.cn. Last year, Google did not have their own license, instead they had to use the same ICP license as Ganji.com, as reported over at…
• Is Your Content Worthy For Social Media Users?
  Although many of you Search Engine Land readers are sophisticated when it comes to social media, the majority of the people out there are not. Most people aren’t too familiar with social sites like StumbleUpon, Del.icio.us or even Digg and they don’t know if their content is “worthy” of…
• Search Illustrated: Factors Contributing To Rankings
  Early information retrieval systems were fairly simple—they attempted to understand search terms and then provide matching documents where those terms were found. These “on-page” clues were paramount in the ranking of documents in search results. With the advent of the web, additional “signals” arose, giving rise to additional “off-page”…
• Google “Three Times Larger” Than Nearest Rival & More Q&A With Google’s Marissa Mayer
  As part of today’s Google International Press Day, Marissa Mayer, Google vice president of search products and user experience, covered the "Past, Present & Future Of Search." Much of this is known to Search Engine Land readers and also already covered by Google during its Searchology day last month. But,…
• Live From Google International Press Day
  Google is holding its first press day outside the United States today. The "big" expected announcement has already happened, the addition of country-specific versions of YouTube. Tony Ruscoe, aside from kindly befriending me at the press dinner last night, is live blogging the conference here at Google Blogoscoped. I’ll pop-up…
• YouTube Gains Country-Specific Sites, New Partnerships
  YouTube, until now a single site serving a worldwide audience, now has gained country-specific versions for Brazil, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom. For the initial launch, the sites have been translated into each country’s language and have gained localized home pages. Over time,…
• eBay Ads Still Off Google: How Much eBay Traffic & Google Cash Lost?
  The “experiment” continues. It appears that eBay ads on Google are still nowhere to be found, consistent with what eBay spokespeople said last week — that the company would continue its AdWords fast for an indefinite period. As one example, the quintessential eBay search for “collectibles” reveals a top organic…

Search News Headlines From Elsewhere

Applications & Portal Features

• Webware 100 winners announced!, Webware
• Video Of Unlaunched AOL Products, Techcrunch

Business Issues

• Google Defends Itself and YouTube on New Blog, PC World
• Is Google Too Big?, PC World

Conferences

• The Challenges Of Search Marketing To US Hispanics & Latin Americans, Search Engine Roundtable
• The Best of SMX Advanced, Marketing Pilgrim

Local, Maps & Mobile

• How To Get Yourself Off Google Maps StreetView (Simplified), InsideGoogle
• v2.82: Set Country/Viewport Restrictions in your GClientGeocoder for More Tailored Results, Google Maps API Blog

Paid Search & Contextual

• Google Adwords {keyword:Default_text}, DaveN
• Google’s Search Query Performance, PPC Hero
• Google AdWords Advertisers Annoyed Over Column Sorting Bug, Search Engine Roundtable
• Microsoft adCenter Fixes Conversion Tracking Bug After One Month, Search Engine Roundtable
• What Type of Traffic Can You Expect from Yahoo Ads Compared to Google Ads, Search Engine Roundtable
• Advertisers Concerned about Google AdWords Broad Match “Policy”, Search Engine Roundtable
• Does Google AdWords Track Google Checkout Conversions?, Search Engine Roundtable
• Scheduled Maintenance, Saturday, June 23, 2007, adCenter Blog

Searching

• A Soap Opera: Privacy & Web Search, Hakia Blog
• Caching and Search Engines, SEO By The Sea

SEM Industry

• My first week as a Googler, Two Piece Set
• making the right choice, Vanessa Fox
• Search Marketing Blogs Reviewed on WDFM, Online Marketing Blog
• Future Hot Job? Full-time Link Builders, Search Engine Journal
• Six great sites for keeping track of search engine news, Pandia

SEO & SEM

• Search Engine Optimization Is NOT About Useless Rankings, Bruceclay.com
• An Alternate Perspective on How User Data Impacts Google’s Rankings, SEOmoz
• The relevant link myth, SEO Theory
• Why You Should Be Scared Of Universal Search, Tropical SEO
• Large Brands Double Dipping in Google’s Organic Search Results, SEO Book.com
• Spilling the Juicy Black Hat Beans: Project Black Mask Launches Today, Fantomaster
• Revamping the Webmaster Tools Help Center, Official Google Webmaster Central Blog
• 12 Ways Webmasters Create Duplicate Content, Stone Temple
• Defining SEO Success, Search Engine Watch

Social Media

• Online Reputation Management: If You Mess Up, Admit It!, Search Engine Guide
• Digg Gets Real Threaded Comment System, Techcrunch
• My 7 deadly sins of writing for social media – am I right?, E-consultancy.com
• Can Social Media Work in Big Business?, Search Engine Watch

Video & Image Search

• Webcast: YouTube Co-Founders Chad Hurly and Steve Chen Speak at Commonwealth Club, ResourceShelf

Other Items

• A clean energy update, Official Google Blog
• Univ. of Nebraska hopes for Google relationship, DesMoinesRegister.com
• New attribute requirements: MPN, UPC and ISBN, Google Base Blog
• Videos of talks, Google Research Blog
• Amazon Adds RSS Feeds for Tag Search, Research Buzz
• Bloomberg by Bloomberg, at Google, Google Public Policy Blog
• Law.com launches vertical search engine, Search Engine Watch Blog