SearchCap: The Day In Search, June 5, 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:

• Disney World 3D Now Playing In Google Earth
  Disney had made a 3D version of its Florida theme park for Google Earth. Disney has reportedly gone to great lengths to make this an especially rich 3D experience. You have to have the latest version of Earth and then you navigate to Disney World and click on the golden…
• Google Adds TV Campaign Analytics
  Google announced that it was adding TV campaign analytics to AdWords. If you’re using the Google TV Ads system you can now get metrics on the performance of those campaigns via Google Analytics….
• Microsoft Seeks To Bring Collaboration To Search
  Microsoft has experimentally introduced “SearchTogether,” which allows people to use a browser plug-in (IE7 only) to literally collaborate on search. You need a Windows Live ID and Messenger but you can apparently use any search engine you like. Here’s a tutorial and some screens….
• Analytics Provider Enquisite Differentiates With Offline Data
  Analytics provider Enquisite just announced a funding round. The analytics space is tough and competitive. However Enquisite, which has both a free and a “pro” (paid) version seeks to differentiate with a number of interesting features. It offers visibility on where traffic is coming from offline, by city and postal…
• Google Drops Ability To Watch Video Directly In Search Results
  Ionut posted something I have noticed for the past few weeks and Vanessa Fox posted a few days ago, Google has removed the ability to watch videos directly in the search results. In the past, a search for starwars kid, as one example, returned a video with a plus sign…
• A Small Business Marketing Success Story: Teresa Boardman, Real Estate Agent
  The real estate industry has a bad rap in the upper levels of search marketing. We deplore the SEM agencies that sell ineffective and/or shady tactics to the real estate industry. We criticize the agents and brokers who are victimized by their own ignorance or indifference. I’ve called real…

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• Does your password pass the test?, Official Google Blog
• Google Talk Adds Invisible Status, Google Operating System

Business Issues

• Yahoo, Microsoft talks could end next week–source, Reuters
• Yahoo Responds to Carl Icahn’s Allegations, Search Engine Watch Blog
• Yahoo Tries to Move Past Takeover Status, New York Times

Link Building

• When Bad Publicity Equals Good SEO Links, The Link Spiel

Paid Search & Contextual

• AdWords system maintenance on June 7th, Inside AdWords
• 3 Google Analytics Ecommerce Reports That Will Improve Your PPC Campaigns, PPC Hero
• Beware of More Google AdWords Phishing Scams, Search Engine Roundtable

Searching

• Comparing How Commercial Different Search Categories are for Search Advertising, SEO By The Sea
• Update on hakia.com (BETA), Hakia Blog

SEM Industry

• SMX Advanced 2008 Wrap Up, Online Marketing Blog
• Do We Need Educational Standards for Learning SEO?, Search Engine Watch
• Google Uses YouTube To Counteract The "Infomercial-ism" Of The Search Industry, SEM Geek
• SMX Advanced 2008 Conference Coverage Recap, Search Engine Roundtable

SEO & SEM

• 3 Ways to Spy on Your Competitors, Search Engine Watch
• Can Google’s First Click Free Program be Used for Web Search?, Search Engine Roundtable
• Google Downgrades .Info TLDs Again?, Search Engine Roundtable
• How Much Is a Top Level Domain SEO Worth?, Search Engine Journal
• How to Create a Directory Structure Search Engines Rock To, Search Engine Guide
• SEO & Internal Interlinking: Relative vs Absolute URLs, Search Engine Journal
• The World Series Spidering Problem, SEOmoz
• Using a Variety of Digital Assets to Improve SEO, Search Marketing Sage
• Yahoo Directory Has No PageRank, Search Engine Roundtable

Social Media

• Advanced SMO: How to Build a Social Media Storm, SEOco
• How To Get a Digg Story Buried in 4 Short Words, BlogStorm

Other Items

• At Google, a search guru’s dream comes true, News.com
• DMOZ Turns 10, DMOZ Blog
• Google gets serious about the Mac, news.cnet.com
• Yahoo inks InstallShield deal to help propagate toolbar, News.com

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

• SEOmoz Pro Membership Review
• Relative URLs VS Absolute URLs
• How to Build a Better Content Model for Your Site: Understanding News Consumption Patterns
• Link Lust: A Lesson in .Edu Link Building
• The Pros and Cons of Working from Home on the Internet
• Are You Plurking Yet?
• Social Media Karma – What Goes Around Comes Around
• Who Is The Best Looking Man of SEO?
• How to Run a Background Check on a Domain Name Before Buying
• Improved SEO documentation galore!
• Should You Change Your Copy When Rankings Fall?
• 3 Unconventional Keyword Research Tools to Improve Conversions
• 8 Arguments Against Sculpting PageRank with Nofollow
• Plurk: Unique or Just Another Twitter Clone?
• Extending SEO with Digital Asset Optimization
• 2012: The Year The Internet Ends