SearchCap: The Day In Search, May 1, 2009

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

From Search Engine Land:

• Small Business Owner Sues Google & Others Over ‘Android’ Name
  

  An Illinois small business owner is suing Google and 46 other companies because he says they’re infringing on his business name: Android Data. Forbes reports that the lawsuit was filed Tuesday, and seeks almost $100 million in damages from Google and all other companies in the Open Handset Alliance, which includes T-Mobile, Motorola, Toshiba, Sprint [...]

• Sorry, Tom Curley: Don’t Expect A Google Ranking Boost For The AP
  

  Apparently talks between Google and the Associated Press aren’t going well, or so says Forbes today, with AP chief executive Tom Curley threatening to take his content and play elsewhere. Where that will be is hard to say. Part of the AP’s original issue with Google was that AP’s own member publications [...]

• Google: I’ll One Up That Newcomer
  

  As I hinted to with the demo of Wolfram Alpha Google launched Google Profiles, that Google tends to release new features during or around the time a newcomer launches their product. This happened a couple days ago, when Google decided to launch Google Public Data during the big demo of one of the most [...]

• Beyond Keywords: Multi-Variable PPC Targeting
  

  Sometimes my colleagues ask me why I’m always requesting demos of new marketing technology. The answer is that I find major creative inspiration from the tools. As vendors compete in the marketplace, they’re forced to innovate to differentiate themselves from their competitors. For example, a few years ago, Yahoo developed “assists” in [...]

• Google Giving Away 250,000 Google Profile Business Cards
  

  Google has teamed up with iPrint.com to offer free Google Profile business cards to the first 10,000 people who claim them. Each person can get a set of 25 cards that shows the Google.com home page with his/her Google Profile URL underneath it in green. If you’re logged in to your Google account, you should see [...]

• Google Adds Search Box Inside Gmail
  

  The newest addition to Gmail Labs is an option that adds a Google search box to your Gmail inbox interface. When activated, the search box appears below the “Labels” section of the left navbar, like this:

  (Of course, there’s a drag and drop option in Gmail Labs, too, that will let you move the search box [...]

• Yahoo Analytics Now Available To Yahoo Advertisers
  

  Yahoo’s slow rollout of Yahoo Web Analytics continues with news today that its now available for free to certain Yahoo search and display advertisers. Here’s how Yahoo explains some of the benefits of its analytics tool in today’s announcement: “Yahoo! Web Analytics offers user insight that you’re not likely to find in other free analytics tools, including [...]

• Twitter Search (Finally) Available To All Users
  

  Much to the delight of users far and wide (such as our own @dannysullivan), Twitter has announced that Twitter Search is now available on all user account home pages. Not only that, but Twitter has also added a “Save This Search” feature that may prove popular, too. When logged in to your Twitter account, all users [...]

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• Spruce up your surveys: 70 colorful themes, Official Google Docs Blog
• The Man Who Made Gmail Says Real-Time Conversation is What’s Next, Read/Write Web

Business Issues

• Analyst: Why Google Will Soon Steal Share From Baidu In China, paidContent.org
• Google lobs $880,000 at health record lobby, The Register
• AP’s Curley Has Fightin’ Words For Google, Forbes
• Intelius Buys People Search Engine Spock, paidContent.org
• Yahoo execs see trimmed bonuses for trying year, MarketWatch

Local, Maps & Mobile

• WhitePages Bringing Their Mobile App To BlackBerry Devices, MobileCrunch
• 70 percent of Kindle owners over 40?, News.com
• Yell.com Threatening Drop in Google Rankings?, Search Engine Roundtable

Link Building

• Most SEOs Use Interns For Link Building, Search Engine Roundtable
• Should Google Go The Rel=Follow Route? Opt In vs. Opt Out, Search Engine Roundtable

Paid Search & Contextual

• New AdWords interface more widely available, Inside AdWords
• Get Found in Your Own Neighborhood! 5 Ways to Increase Your Local PPC Performance, PPC Hero
• New rich media production tool from DoubleClick, AdWords Agency Blog
• Swine Flu Concern Helping With Google AdSense Revenue?, Search Engine Roundtable

Searching

• Flights – and Not the Late Kind!, Live Search
• Google Custom Search Cuts uTorrent Off, TorrentFreak
• Video: Harvard Law School Presentation about Wolfram|Alpha Now Archived and Available Online, ResourceShelf
• See Wolfram Alpha in Action: Our Screenshots, Read/Write Web
• The Robot Made Me Do It: Comparing Three New Cyborg Q&A Services, Read/Write Web
• The Secret behind the Computational Engine in Wolfram|Alpha, Wolfram|Alpha Blog

SEM Industry

• SEO All-In-One For Dummies Debuts!, BruceClay.com
• Survey says…, Official Google Webmaster Central Blog
• Video Recap of Weekly Search Buzz :: May 1, 2009, Search Engine Roundtable

SEO & SEM

• 5 Ways To Persuade Your Clients To Spend More PPC Dollars, SEM Geek
• Does search marketing really matter? (SEM 101), Live Search Webmaster Center Blog
• Public Relations Activities That Affect SEO, Online Marketing Blog
• SEO Tip: NoIndex Or 503 Site Coming Soon Pages, Search Engine Roundtable
• Should I use nofollow in links to my disclaimer and privacy policy?, YouTube
• Should Search Engines Refer Searchers to Other Search Engines?, SEO By The Sea
• Video at #1 for “London Hotels” Search Term on Google Universal Search Results, LateRooms.com
• Whiteboard Friday – Dangers of Nofollow, SEOmoz

Social Media

• Is Twitter the next Second Life?, csmonitor.com
• Unauthorized Access: An Update on Security, Twitter Blog
• Judge Shuts Down NewWest.Net Twitter Feed from Yellowstone Club Trial, New West Blog
• President Obama’s New Twitter Feed, New York Times
• Twitter Employee Account Hijacked, InformationWeek
• What’s your social media personality?, Jennifer Slegg
• Why It’s a Terrible Idea to Unfollow Everyone on Twitter, Search Engine Journal

Video, Music & Image Search

• Hulu Blog Like minds, Hulu Blog
• Man uses YouTube to help deliver baby, News.com

Other Items

• Mowing with goats, Official Google Blog

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

• Google Maps Now Merging Competitors Business Listings
• 12 Steps for a DIY Site Review
• Six Hurdles to Clear When Exercising Your Brand In-House
• Influence of IP address in SEO