SearchCap: The Day In Search, March 30, 2011

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.

From Search Engine Land:

• Meet +1: Google’s Answer To The Facebook Like Button

  Nearly a year after Facebook Like buttons spread out across the web, Google has announced its own rival, the +1 button. It launches today as part of Google’s search engine, allowing you to “+1″ the search results and ads that you like. And in a few months, it’ll be arriving at a web site near […]
• Twenty Year “Privacy Audit” Intended To Punish, Make Example Of Google

  As you read earlier the US Federal Trade Commission concluded its investigation of Google over the company’s supposedly “deceptive privacy practices in Google’s rollout of its Buzz social network.” My view after talking to people at Google following the Buzz launch is that Google was not intentionally seeking to deceive users. Rather it was overzealous […]

• Deadline Threatens Google Maps’ Existence In China

  Maybe the sequel to John Adams’ seminal modern opera “Nixon in China” should be called “Google in China.” Its on-again-off-again dance with the world’s largest and most strictly controlled internet market is the stuff of melodrama. Renewing Google Maps’ License The latest episode in the ongoing saga poses the question whether Google will be able […]

• Google Settles FTC Charges Over Buzz, Agrees To 20 Years Of Privacy Audits

  Google has agreed to have independent privacy audits over the next 20 years, to settle an FTC investigation into wrong doing over its Google Buzz product. The FTC has release a statement where Google agreed to allow independent audits of how Google handles privacy controls. After Google Buzz launched there was a lot of concern […]

• Google Aims To Boost Gmail Relevance With “Priority Inbox” For Ads

  The signals used for Gmail’s priority inbox will soon be employed to tailor advertising in the app to more match users’ interests. The company says it will also be testing offers and coupons from local businesses in Gmail. The system will use Gmail user’s habits — whether they read messages quickly or mark them as […]

• SMX Advanced Agenda Posted – Super Early Bird Rates Expire Saturday

  Check out the Search Marketing Expo – SMX Advanced Seattle agenda, featuring two days of experts-only sessions, keynotes and the highest-level networking anywhere. Then register! Super Early Bird rates expire this Saturday. Fluent in search marketing? SMX Advanced is for you. The editors of Search Engine Land have packed sessions with expert-level tips to drive […]

• Why Affiliate Direct Linking Activity Has Doubled

  Direct linking, sometimes also referred to as ‘URL Hijacking’, occurs on paid search when affiliate marketers assume the identity in paid ads of the represented merchant. Direct linking occurs when the affiliate uses the merchant’s website as the display URL, with an affiliate link as the destination URL. The effect of this tactic is that […]

• How To Convert Website Visitors To Facebook Likes

  Because of its intrinsic relationship with the Open Graph protocol, there’s even more compelling reasons to use the Facebook like button than to use the official Tweet button. Like the Tweet button, the Like button is easy to install, and is highly standardized. Furthermore, the Like button is tied directly to Facebook’s analytics platform, Insights, […]

• How To Convert Website Visitors Into Twitter Followers

  Where the standard Tweet button gives you little control over the button’s appearance, functionality or call-to-action (you can Tweet, Tweet or Tweet) you have virtually unlimited options when encouraging users to follow you on Twitter. This is because the following action takes place on Twitter itself, rather than on your website: you’re essentially encouraging a […]

• How To Convert Website Visitors To Tweeters

  The official tweet button from Twitter is easy to implement, aggregates direct tweets and retweets in its counter, and includes a mechanism to encourage following (discussed below). These features almost certainly outweigh the slender benefits of employing third-party tweeting tools (the main benefit being more flexibility in styling the tweet button’s appearance). There are a […]

• How To Convert Website Visitors Into Facebook Fans

  Whereas Twitter direct follow buttons are not easy to implement, Facebook makes it simple to “Like” a Page on Facebook (i.e., to become a “fan” of the person or organization represented by that Facebook Page) without actually needing to visit Facebook. The alternate method of enticing visitors to become fans is simply to link to […]

• 7 Approaches To Engagement Conversion, 5 Explicit Tactics For Twitter & Facebook

  When you successfully encourage a visitor to share content they discover on your website, that action strongly recommends your website to that visitor’s friends, extends its reach, and increases its visibility in the search engines. That same visitor may also be persuaded to make a long-term connection with you or your business, forging an incredibly […]

• How Paid Social Media Advertising Can Work For In-House Programs

  In-house search marketers are often struggling to find ways to grow their responsibilities. For many, the search engine marketing program itself will only get so big or complicated before it settles into a healthy size for the organization that runs like a well-oiled machine. In-house marketers who are looking to grow their skills, expand their […]

• Google Talk Guru Brings Search To Instant Messaging

  Google Talk Guru is a new experiment that tries to turn the instant messaging interface into a search engine of sorts. It was just added to Google Labs today, and is very much a lab-level project. There are a very limited number of search commands that currently work in Google Talk Guru. As you can […]

• Google To Let AdWords Advertisers Target Contextually By Category

  Google has announced additional targeting capabilities for ads appearing on its Display Network, allowing advertisers to choose categories, rather than keywords, to trigger their ad’s appearance. Given AdWords’ genesis as a search-oriented advertising system, keywords have always been the main mechanism for targeting ads, though additional refinements and options have long been available. Now, Google […]

• SMX Advanced Super Early Bird Rates Expire this Saturday – Register Now!

  Ready to exchange ideas, influence the industry and build your network? Join the most accomplished search marketers in the world – attend Search Engine Land’s SMX Advanced Seattle, June 7-8. Register by this Saturday, April 2nd, and you’ll receive the best rates offered for the only conference designed exclusively for experienced search marketers. Chose from […]

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• Google Docs Tests Pagination, Google Operating System
• Future Gmail Option: Disable Auto-Adding Contacts, Google Operating System

Business Issues

• How fast is the Internet at Google? Mind blowing., thenextweb.com
• Yelp extortion lawsuit dismissed but not dead, TNW Industry
• Google’s Value To US Users And Advertisers Is Over $119B Per Year, According To Google, TechCrunch

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Google Officially Ends Support For QR Code in Places, Mike Blumenthal
• When in Rome: New Street View imagery of historic sites in Italy and France, Google LatLong

Link Building

• Do You Link Exchange With Competitors?, Search Engine Roundtable
• Link Anatomy – Understanding The Value Of A Link, SEOmoz

Searching

• Google Blocking “Scam” Keyword in Autocomplete, Distilled blog
• Search Notes: The future of advertising could get really personal, O’Reilly Radar

SEM Industry

• eBook Review: The Site Owner’s Guide to SEO for Content Writing by Alan Bleiweiss, Search Engine Journal

SEO & SEM

• 5 Things Businesses Don’t Do…That You Should, outspokenmedia.com
• Actionable SEO in 10 Minutes, Search Engine People
• Click Magnets: Using Keywords To Attract Better Leads, Search Marketing Standard
• Dear Client: I Love You, But Will You PLEASE Stop Obsessing Over Your Search Engine Rankings?, Search Engine Guide
• Google News Publisher Submissions Backed Up Months?, Search Engine Roundtable
• Introductory Guide to SEO for Real Estate Websites, Michael Gray
• Multi-Channel Lust Triggering Approach to Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine People
• SERP Scraping for Fun and Profit, explicitly.me
• Why aren’t geographic target and query parameters specified in robots.txt?, YouTube

Social Media

• Co-founders, celebrities talk Twitter, CNN.com
• Flickr Dips Its Toes Into Social With Twitter And Facebook ‘Share This’ Features, TechCrunch
• HOW TO: Launch Any Product Using Social Media, mashable.com

Web Analytics

• The New Google Analytics: Quick insights with Plot Rows, Google Analytics Blog

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

• Meet +1: Google’s Answer To The Facebook Like Button – Looks like Google is getting into the social sharing and recommendations game. – Nearly a year after Facebook Like buttons spread out across the web, Google has announced its own rival, the +1 button. It launches today as part of Google’s search engine, allowing you to “+1″ the search results and ads that you like. And in a few months, it’ll be arriving at a web site near you.
• Discussion: Impact of Google +1? – Google has just announced its +1 social layer, which adds a way for searchers to indicate when they like search results and ads. +1 buttons will be available soon for webmasters to add to their sites. These +1s may eventually become part of Google's ranking algorithm, too. So for our "Discussion of the Week," we want to know what you think the impact will be of this new Google venture — impact on searchers, searching, marketing, and so forth. The floor is open!
• The New Hotness: Word of Click Marketing – "You can’t manage what you don’t measure. The same can be said about monitoring – if you aren’t keeping track of the sentiment, you won’t be able to manage it. Instead, sentiment will be managing your business."
• Local SEO Tracking: How to Track Offline Conversions – This article offers up some very actionable insights on how to approach offline attribution. I must read for folks that work on brick-and-mortar campaigns.
• 15 more sites that forbid you from linking to them – Link building is hard! How often do you turn down free natural links?  This article points out 15 sites that "Forbid" you from linking to them.
• A How To Guide For Submitting Content To Fark – Those who have enjoyed the unmitigated pleasure of seeing their referral traffic spike after hitting the homepage of fark.com already know how valuable this advice column is. If that's not you, make sure to read thoroughly.