SearchCap: The Day In Search, March 22, 2010

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 Stops Censoring In China, Hopes Using New Domain Meets Legal Requirements

  Beginning today, Google is no longer censoring results on its Chinese search engine, the company has announced. But rather than the expected “pullout” from China, Google hopes to continue operating within the country. It all comes down to whether the Chinese government decides operating off a Hong Kong domain — rather than the main Chinese […]
• Internal Linking Tactics For Users & Search Engines

  The internal linking structure of a website represents a wealth of (usually) untapped opportunity. Back link acquisition is always going to be fundamental to organic search efforts, but before reaching out across the vast web for links, look within. You may have more potential juice to leverage inside your own site than you would get […]

• Grab More Attention With Google’s New Search Ads

  At SMX West Google Senior Product Manager for Ads Quality Nick Fox offered a detailed look at several new PPC product offerings: sitelinks, product extensions and comparison ads. If you’re considering rolling any of these out, here’s the lowdown on how they work, along with some tactical tips.
  Sitelinks
  With sitelinks, up to four text links are […]

• Magnetic Brings Search Re-Targeting To The Masses

  Yahoo was the first of the major search engines to use search query data to inform and influence subsequent display ad serving. However, as Magnetic CEO Josh Shatkin-Margolis pointed out to me, that only works within the Yahoo network, not across the broader internet. He would know, having worked as a Director of Engineering at […]

• Bing Updates iPhone App

  Bing has announced they have updated their Bing iPhone App. The app can be downloaded on the iTunes Store for free and the new changes include:
  Overall bug, stability and usability tweaks
  Improved sharing with bookmarking results and pages
  Sharing via email as well
  Parental controls added to search results
  Private search option as well as search history options
  Turn […]

• Why The “Location Wars” Spell Trouble – & Opportunity – For Local SEO

  How mobile check-in services might end up dominating local search results (and some great tips about bowling alleys).

• Stat Rant: Does Facebook Trump Google For News & Can’t We Measure Twitter Correctly?

  Earlier this week, Hitwise put out stats suggesting that Facebook is beating Google and Twitter when it comes to driving traffic to news sites. I dug a little deeper, and I beg to differ. Along the way, some pokes at the need to more digging into stats in general.
  The Hitwise blog post reported that Twitter […]

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• Google Releases Skipfish Application Security Scanner | threatpost, threatpost.com
• Inventor of the Web Gets Backing to Build Web of Data, Read/Write Web
• Making APIs Faster: Introducing Partial Response and Partial Update, Google Code Blog

Business Issues

• Chinese Media Hit Out At Google, Allege U.S. Intelligence Links, www.myfoxla.com
• Facebook’s Beacon Settlement Approved, Wall Street Journal
• MoD will not act over Google images, The Guardian
• China state media accuses Google of political agenda, Reuters
• Why Apple Won’t Be Launching a Search Engine Any Time Soon, Ad Age
• A judge may google to confirm intuition: court, Reuters
• Chinese media launches new attack on Google, Reuters
• Chinese netizens’ open letter to the Chinese Government and Google, RConversation
• Courting Google, City Fathers Turn to Silliness, New York Times
• EU’s Top Court To Rule On Google Search Ads Complaints, Wall Street Journal
• Foundem confident of EU formal probe into Google, Reuters
• Google Is Hiring Bond Traders, Business Insider
• Google’s lobbying machine still cranking in 4Q, Yahoo! Finance
• Search Engine Legal Developments to Watch in 2010, Eric Goldman

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Bing Maps for Broadcast is now Free!, Bing Maps Blog
• This green and pleasant land…, Google LatLong
• Google Earth is Coming Back to Iran, Cuba and Sudan, Read/Write Web

Link Building

• Best Backlinking – Link-Building Strategies 2010, www.hyperarts.com
• 5 Ways to Make Back Links More Powerful, Search Engine Journal
• Some SEOs Use Search Operators For Link Building & Some Don’t, Search Engine Roundtable
• Using Bespoke Products & Services To Build Links, SEOmoz

Searching

• ChaCha Launches ChaCha.me For Social FAQs. Businesses And Celebrities Welcome., TechCrunch
• Google search now supports Haitian Kreyòl, Official Google Blog
• Startup Sency takes simplified approach to real-time search, VentureBeat

SEM Industry

• The Best SMX West Session You Didn’t Attend, Blind Five Year Old

SEO & SEM

• Playing the Odds: How Probable Meanings May Influence Search Engine Rankings, SEO By The Sea
• Video Recap of Weekly Search Buzz :: March 19, 2010, Search Engine Roundtable
• Review of Top Competitive Research Tools, SEO Book
• Usage Data vs Relevancy Algorithms: The Web’s Chicken or the Egg Problem, SEO Book
• 4 Link Building Tips You Should Integrate Into Your SMM, dailyseotip.com
• Can You Work With Clients Who Compete With Each Other?, flyte blog
• Optimising your Youtube Channel for SEO, SEOptimise
• SEO for AJAX, Search Engine Journal
• Will My SEO Company End Up Competing With Me?, Search Engine Roundtable

Social Media

• 9 Do’s and Don’ts For Building a Social Bookmarking Network, Search Engine Guide
• Microsoft OfficeTalk to take on Twitter, PC Advisor

Video, Music & Image Search

• A Publisher Testing YouTube Rentals, Search Engine Roundtable

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

• Yelp Review Filter Explained
• GMaps: What Happens When Google Loses a Town? They are hosed!