SearchCap: The Day In Search, June 23, 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:

• The Link Builder’s Guide To Analyzing SERP Dominators For Link Opportunities
  

  This article walks you through the tools, processes and strategies for identifying the most powerful players in your keyword space and then analyzing their link sources and link building tactics.

• Wired: Facebook Trying To Dominate Web, Marginalize Google (Run For Your Lives!)
  

  The coverage of the competition among the big internet companies is not unlike the classic Japanese monster movies of the 1960s (e.g., King Kong vs. Godzilla): titanic struggles for control of everything as we know it with only one possible winner. A more thoughtful but still sensational installment of that saga is the Wired piece: Great [...]

• Google News Hyperlinks Author Names
  

  The Google News blog announced it is now easier to find other articles by authors. They have now hyperlinked the author’s name, when available, in the Google News search results. Here is a screen shot that shows it in action:

  I believe you have been able to search by author for a while now, [...]

• Online Holiday Retail 2009: Are You Ready? SMN Webcast Thursday
  

  This Thursday, June 25 at 1 PM Eastern, Search Marketing Now hosts a free webcast “Online Holiday Retail 2009: Tips, Tactics & Timelines for Success,” sponsored by Performics. Eli Goodman of comScore will provide an overview of the current state of online retail. With Q1 e-commerce revenues flat—vs. down in Q4 2008—can we expect growth by [...]

• The 6 Types Of Annoying Social Media Promoters
  

  You could be the next “Will It Blend” but if nobody knows about you, then it doesn’t matter how creative and awesomely original you are. One of the most important factors in social media is the promotion of your content, and this often leads to annoyance. There are many annoying social media habits, but perhaps [...]

• Former Live Search Director Launches Oyster.com, Hotel Review Site
  

  In February 2008, when Vanessa Fox wrote that Eytan Seidman, Program Management Director over core relevance at Microsoft Live Search (now Bing.com) was leaving Microsoft (and Seattle) for a start-up, she may not have known that he was jumping into murky waters of travel search. Today, Eytan’s start-up site was unveiled – Oyster.com, a site [...]

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• Chrome Tests an Updated New Tab Page, Google Operating System
• Push Gmail Coming to Blackberry in July, iPhone Unknown, Search Engine Roundtable
• So, you want to be a Gmail ninja?, Official Gmail Blog

Business Issues

• Baidu Is Looking To Buy Companies, paidContent.org
• Former Ask.com CEO Targeting Textbooks, Yahoo! Finance
• How Facebook is Gunning for Google (And Killing SEO), Copyblogger
• Yahoo!’s Dangerous Newspaper Deal?, Forbes
• Ask.com’s Ex-CEO Talks About His Departure & Company’s Chances Against Google, Marketing Pilgrim
• Bing Gains More Ground, Efficient Frontier Insights
• Jelly: Making work sweet, Yodel Anecdotal
• MySpace International Head Travis Katz Is Out, TechCrunch
• MySpace To Terminate 2/3 Of International Staff, TechCrunch
• Whose Yahoo?, Barrons.com

Local, Maps & Mobile

• T-Mobile, Verizon to Sell Google-Based Phones by Motorola, Wall Street Journal

Link Building

• Link Building Q&A with Ben Wills, CEO and Co-Founder of Ontolo, Marketing Pilgrim
• Link Building Worksheets – Organize Your Campaign, Search Engine Journal

Paid Search & Contextual

• 3 Things I Love About the New AdWords Interface, KoMarketing Associates
• Default font size increased, Inside AdSense
• Microsoft to Create ‘Office Suite’ for Advertising, Ad Age
• AdWords API v2009 Sandbox Update, AdWords API Blog
• How to protect your AdSense account from invalid clicks, JenSense
• Poll: Did AdSense Font Control Help You Earn More Money?, Search Engine Roundtable

Searching

• bringing the ideal result front and center with best match, Bing Community
• Dumb Like Google, Forbes
• Fast Facts: 100 Leading National Advertisers (U.S.) 2009 Edition Index, ResourceShelf
• Google Says It Suspended ‘Suggest’ Function in China, Bloomberg
• The International Database from the United States Census, ResourceShelf

SEM Industry

• Why does Google Have the Maps Support Forums?, Mike Blumenthal

SEO & SEM

• Practices of Top SEO Companies for Small Businesses, Small Business Trends
• Google’s Change of Address Feature Currently Doesn’t Work on Subdomains, Search Engine Roundtable
• Measure Your Mobile Marketing Potential with Three Free Tools, Natural Search
• Small Business SEO: Costs, Expectations & Realities, Small Business SEM

Social Media

• Can Direct Marketing Survive in Social Media?, outspokenmedia.com
• Facebook Adds Alternative Name Display, All Facebook
• How Direct is Social Media Marketing?, Online Marketing Blog

Video, Music & Image Search

• YouTube Mobile Application in more languages, Official Google Mobile Blog

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

• The FTC Should Go After Search Engines & Ad Networks
• 70+ Most Useful Mashable Posts for Search Marketers and Developers – II
• Surprise! AdWords Ad-Serving Myth-Busting
• SEO Tips For Building Your Personal Brand
• 5 Ways Negative Reviews are Good for Business
• A URL Shortener For Maximum RTs (ReTweets)