SearchCap: The Day In Search, March 5, 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:

• YADAC: Yet Another Debate About Cloaking Happens Again
  Sigh. Double sigh. Triple sigh. I guess now that the SEO industry has had the required twice-yearly debate about the reputation of SEO, it’s time to do the go round about cloaking once again. A quick word about cloaking has Google’s Matt Cutts trying to clarify concerns that Philipp Lenssen…
• Google Local Search Glossary, Pocket Version
  One of the difficulties of talking about local search is the lack of a shared vocabulary. I’ve been working on putting together a Google Local Search Glossary, focusing upon some of the terminology from patent applications published by Google. The Glossary is a work in progress, and will likely evolve…
• Google Rises To UK’s 2nd Biggest Ad Earner
  Google now challenging ITV to be UK’s top advertiser by Times Online reports Google is just one spot behind the leader in ad revenue earned in the UK market. This data comes from Google’s Annual Report where they learn Google UK’s ad revenue has "risen by 83 per cent." Google…
• Google Testing Yellow Background Color Behind AdWords Ads?
  JenSense reports spotted Google testing a yellow background color for the top sponsored results in Google. Typically, those ads have a light blue background color, but Jennifer Slegg saw a yellow version and snapped a screen capture. I have heard others seeing this randomly, so it is possible that this…
• Google Personalized Search, Google Bookmarks & Link Building
  There’s been a bit of a panic among some SEOs that the ramp up of Google Personalized Search Results last month will mean the end of SEO. But aside from the impact personalized search will have on SEO, personalized search also impacts link building related activities. Some of that impact is…
• Local Shopping Search Stalks E-Commerce
  Bob Tedeschi’s NY Times e-commerce column today discusses a number of companies, NearbyNow, GPShopper, Krillion, ShopLocal and StepUp seeking to make the online-offline shopping connection. The article’s hook is wireless shopping tools from NearbyNow and GPShopper….
• The Google X Prize Gala: What You Missed
  Out of this world gala at Google by SFGate.com reports on the X Prize Foundation fundraiser that Google host this past Saturday. Who was there? Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin with respective girlfriends. The Getty family. Richard Branson of Virgin; Robin Williams; NFL legend Ronnie Lott; Tipper Gore;…
• Upcoming Search Marketing Events: March-April 2007
  Got some time on your hands? Want to get out and meet people, talk search marketing or improve your search marketing skills? There are plenty of upcoming events if you’re wanting to get out and learn more. Below, a rundown on some of the conferences and training events happening in…
• PPC & Paid Search Webcast Next Week
  A quick heads-up for our SearchCap newsletter readers and also to anyone who visits Search Engine Land. Next week the Maximizing the Impact of Paid Search Listings webcast from our sister site Search Marketing Now will be taking place with Search Engine Land executive editor Chris Sherman. The webcast happens…

Search News Headlines From Elsewhere

Applications & Stuff

• Behind the Scenes of the Google AJAX API, Google Blogoscoped
• Google gtags version 1.0, Google Code Blog
• Three solid Gmail productivity tips, Matt Cutts

Business Issues

• More Subsidiary Lists: Amazon.com (A9), IAC/Interactive (Ask.com), Microsoft, Time Warner (AOL) & Yahoo, ResourceShelf
• Microsoft Windows Live VP to resign, ZDNet
• Former Ask.com Europe CEO Joins Board of Workcircle, Press Release
• Yahoo’s Semel gets a nice bonus, CNN Money
• Goldman: Google Price Target Intact Given Positive Click Fraud Results, SeekingAlpha
• Google set to become UK’s top ad earner, The Inquirer

Local Search

• Local Search Update: Yelp up 91%, Insider Pages up 34% in Past Six Months, Hitwise
• Google Local Search Glossary, SEO by the SEA
• 11 Local Search Tips for New York City Websites, SEO Class

Paid Search & Contextual

• Query String Usage in adCenter: Part 1 – What Exactly Is a Query String?, adCenter Blog
• Yahoo Publisher Network giving false compliancy alerts, JenSense.com

SEO

• Increasing your rankings through robots.txt, Link Building Blog
• Hitwise: Damn Expensive but Damn Cool, SEOmoz
• MSN Europe SEO Vacancy, V7N
• Possible Ask.com Search Index Update?, Search Engine Roundtable
• How Do You Submit Pages to Ask.com’s Search Index?, Search Engine Roundtable

Social Media

• A Comprehensive Guide to Going Viral on Digg (Part 1), SEOmoz
• Social Networking’s Next Phase, New York Times
• Quick guide to new USATODAY.com [social] features, USA Today

Other Vertical Search

• Censored Google China Book Search Launches, Google Blogoscoped
• Yahoo Image Search Shows Recommendations, Google Operating System
• Google March 2007 Image Update, Search Engine Roundtable

Other Stuff

• Podcast: The Annual Cloaking Debate; Google Glitch Makes Sites Seem To Disappear; Digg’s Bury Problems & More!, Daily SearchCast
• Japanese Google Magazines, Google Blogoscoped
• Is Search Broken?, Silicon Valley Watcher
• Get instant updates: New Status Module, Google Base Blog
• DigitalPoint Forums 3 Years Old This Sunday, ShoeMoney
• Estimating webmaster skew in Alexa metrics, Matt Cutts
• Catch the Earthquake Last Night?, The Ask.com Blog