SearchCap: The Day In Search, March 9, 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:

• Revamped MyYahoo Launches Amid Intensifying Competition
  Read/WriteWeb has a good overview of the just yesterday relaunched (ahead of schedule) new, more ajaxified MyYahoo. There are a number of improvements and upgrades: * Pre-built personalized pages * Category pages for topics and “content suggestions” * Further customization of their page with drag-and-drop modules * Feed previews and…
• Google Earth Super Zooms Are From Google Earth Featured Content
  Philipp Lenssen a couple days ago reported Super-Close Google Maps Zooms which got many people saying wow! Philipp discovered that these high-resolution images of camels, people, swimming pools and beach goers was actually from featured content in Google Earth, visible through Google Maps via hacked URLs. Google Sightseeing has a…
• Former Microsoft Search Chief Bill Bliss On Early Search Missteps
  Yesterday I wrote a long piece looking at Microsoft’s moves in search since 1997. Bill Bliss, who I described as overseeing Microsoft’s "first era" of human-powered search, has added some great comments on missteps within the company ranging from not buying search technology earlier and ignoring the Google threat for…
• Stealth Tour Of Google Audio’s Dallas Office
  The Natural Search Blog documented their undercover tour of a new Google office in Dallas, Texas – that appears to be the new home of the Google Audio group. Here are some of their findings: Small cube space Very short dividing walls Little privacy Most cubes are in 4 work…
• Google Asked To Remove “Mount Hitler” From Google Maps
  Google Earth urged to remove “Mount Hitler” name from Reuters has the politics behind Mount Hitler on Google Maps from Google Blogoscoped, earlier this week. Basically, if you fly over the “foothills of the Alps region” in Google Earth, you will see “Mount Hitler” labeled on the map. Andreas Wiedemann,…
• Nokia Jumps Into Mobile Ads With “Nokia Ad Service” Program
  Nokia announced they will be entering the mobile ad space with a program for advertisers, Nokia Ad Service, plus a “white label” Nokia Advertising Connector a program for others who want to run mobile ad programs. This move positions Nokia against other mobile ad providers, such as Google, Yahoo and…
• UFO Crawler: The Truth Is Out There & Searchable
  IBM and Yahoo teamed up to bring to you UFOCrawler, a search engine that is about finding sources on “UFO Sightings, time travel, conspiracy theories and anomalies.” For example, a search on area 51 returns 7,904 sources, unfortunately some of the results do not look all that great. It is…
• The Pros and Cons of Personalized Search
  In the past two weeks I’ve had the opportunity to talk to both Marissa Mayer and Matt Cutts about the impact of personalization at Google. While the initial storm following Google’s announcement seems to be dying down somewhat, the ripple effects can still be felt throughout the SEM industry….
• Google Testing Showing Search Volume Numbers In AdWords Keyword Tool
  Google Keyword Tool Showing Number of Previous Month’s Searches from adamap.com shows a screen capture of Google showing actual numbers in search volume for the previous month for keywords. I logged into my AdWords account, and went to the keyword tool, typed in an example search – but I did…
• Survival of the Nimble
  I bend but do not break. Those six words, penned by poet Jean de La Fontaine in 1668, describe one of the most important strengths of a small business: The ability to be flexible. This ability to react rapidly is one of the most important differences in small versus…

Search News Headlines From Elsewhere

Applications

• Confirmed: Microsoft Building Google Apps/Zoho Competitor, Techcrunch

Business Issues

• The Economics of Online Advertising, O’Reilly Radar

• Google appeals European ‘Gmail’ trademark ruling, Bloomberg

• AT&T keen to renegotiate Yahoo partnership (FT.com via Yahoo! News)

• The Cost Of Google Checkout: $58 Million, InsideGoogle

Local, Mobile & Maps

• Mobile Marketing Resources, Marketing Pilgrim

Meta Data Search

• Start-Up Aims for Database to Automate Web Searching, New York Times
• Freebase Will Prove Addictive, O’Reilly Radar
• BBC teams up with IBM on digital search, ResourceShelf

• Gather ye metadata while ye can – via Fuzzzy and Freebase, Joho The Blog

News & Blog Search

• Another Step towards Google News – Blog Search Integration, Google Operating System

• Google News Testing Integration with Web Results, SearchViews

• What’s Up With That? Vol. 2: Clicks, Feedburner

Paid Search & Contextual

• Upgrading to Microsoft Content Ads & Contextual advertising on the Microsoft network, adCenter Blog

• New AdWords Promotional Credits Policy, PPC Discussions

• Search Engine Wish Lists, Part 3, ClickZ

• Should You Block Well Paying AdWords Squatters From Your Site?, Search Engine Roundtable
• Is Impression Fraud More Dangerous Than Click Fraud?, SearchInsider

SEM Industry

• A Lesson Learned From The Pasternack SEO Contest, Search Insider
• Web 2.0 Expo Early Registration, Speakers, and Blog, O’Reilly Radar
• SEMpdx Searchfest 2007, SEOmoz

SEO & SEM

• Does Google Still Crawl 404 Not Found Pages?, Search Engine Roundtable
• What is the Optimal Balance of Paid and Organic Search Traffic?, Hitwise

• How to Solve Keyword Cannibalization, SEOmoz

• The Rising Tide Lifts All Ships, SEOmoz

Social Media

• Using social media sites for reputation management, Pronet Advertsing
• Get Stumbled Through Friends, Link Building Blog

Other Vertical Search

• Google Video Blog Buzz, Google Blogoscoped
• Google Base and Real Estate, Hitwise
• Google China’s New Directory, Google Blogoscoped
• Musicovery – Music Tailored to Your Mood, Google Operating System

Other Stuff

• Coffee Talk in the Teachers’ Lounge, Official Google Blog
• Tell Us What You Think, Yahoo! Local & Maps Blog
• Put Your Best Foot Forward: 19 Gorgeous Website Footers, SEOmoz
• Turkey lifts YouTube ban after two days, SeattlePI

• Eric Schmidt: Typo On His Business Card?, InsideGoogle

• THE TABLE: The Googolaires, Valleywag