SearchCap: The Day In Search, May 21, 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:

• Google Denies New UK News Search Deal
  Google reach deals with news websites from the Sunday Herald reports that Google has reached a dead with several large UK newsgroups to carry content on Google News, but Google tells me no such deals have been agreed….
• More Rumors: Yahoo After Bebo? Google Launching Phone Service?
  The Daily Telegraph reports Yahoo is after Bebo, a social networking site, while TechCrunch reports hearing a rumor that Google may launch its own phone service in the UK….
• Rumor: Google & Salesforce.com To Join Forces Against Microsoft
  Google, Salesforce.com Weigh Alliance to Battle Microsoft from the Wall Street Journal reports that the two companies are rumored to be in discussions about working together to compete against Microsoft. By teaming up with Salesforce.com, the Wall Street Journal says teh two can compete with Microsoft’s customer relationship management (CRM)…
• June To Be "Month of Search Engines Bugs"
  ‘Month of bugs’ pins bull’s-eye on Google, Yahoo from Computerworld reports Websecurity.com.ua says it will post a security vulnerability about the most popular search engines of the world each day throughout the month of June, in particular cross-site scripting ones….
• Google Coop Meets Google Gadgets
  Steve Rubel reports that Google Coop has added integration with Google Gadgets. For example, I subscribed to a weather subscribed link within the Google Coop and then did a search for weather 10901 and got this:…
• Foundational Links Don’t Split, Crack Or Get Dugg Up
  A lot of business owners I work with understand they need inbound links but aren’t sure how to get started or prioritize their efforts. I suggest they begin by establishing a base of links from authority sites that work toward building their business reputations. I refer to these as…
• Post-Acquisitions, Google & Microsoft Should Offer A (Free) Bone To Search Marketers
  One month ago I mused about possible impact of Google’s DoubleClick acquisition on SEM agencies and bid management tool vendors. This week’s Microsoft acquisition of aQuantive sheds an interesting new light on the situation. As I reported, DoubleClick (and now Google) sells a powerful PPC bid management system called DART…
• Microsoft Search Marketing Vs. Google Search Marketing (Beta)
  I wrote before about the inherent conflicts of both Google and Microsoft potentially owning firms that do search marketing. Since Microsoft is now back on track to join Google in doing this, I can’t help myself. Let’s have some fun. From a future Google help page (apologies to the existing…
• SMX Advanced Tickets Going Fast!
  This is a special message for our SearchCap newsletter readers and anyone who visits Search Engine Land, regarding Search Engine Land’s first conference: Search Marketing Expo Advanced. It’s coming up fast — only two weeks away, in Seattle this June 4th and 5th. This is mainly a reminder that if…

Search News Headlines From Elsewhere

Applications & Portal Features

• Blogger Adds Autosaving and Sensible Shortcuts, Google Blogoscoped
• Outbound calling feature in Google Talk coming soon?, Googling Google

Business Issues

• Former Microsoft NetDocs manager comes back to run search, All About Microsoft
• Man who took Google global, TimesOnline
• Google takes space in Fremont for expansion, Seattle Times

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Google Licensing Automated 3D Building Generator, Google Earth Blog
• Superpages Launches LocalServe Affiliate Program, Natural Search Blog
• Censoring US imagery: Is there any point?, Ogle Earth
• Google Local for Mobile Patent Applications, SEO By The Sea
• Yahoo Tackles Geographic Challenges of Web Search Results, SEO By The Sea
• Google Maps Aliases, Google Operating System
• Neighborhood Search Capability, Google Lat Long Blog
• Neighborhood Search on Google, Screenwerk

Paid Search & Contextual

• Google AdSense disabling arbitrage publisher accounts as of June 1st, JenSense
• Google To Shut Down AdSense Arbitrageurs, Search Engine Roundtable
• Adsense Arbitrage – Just The Facts, Shoemoney
• Ego Bidding Gone Wild, Search Engine Watch
• Spyware Still Cheating Merchants and Legitimate Affiliates, Ben Edelman

Searching

• Google Life Search China, Google Blogoscoped
• Google China Launches Life Search Channels, Pacific Epoch
• Calculating Search Rankings with User Web Traffic Data, SEO By The Sea
• Microsoft’s UserRank – Query Independent Ranking Based Upon User Logs, SEO By The Sea
• CEO Schmidt Ponders Google’s More ‘Personal Future’, InformationWeek
• Google book search to go ‘Kitaabi’, Hindustan Times
• But is Wikipedia the Answer?, Traffick

SEM Industry

• Dealing With SEO Pseudoexperts, ClickZ
• Strategy, not tactics, wins the search war, DMNews

SEO & SEM

• robots.txt: People Don’t Always Want Search Engines to Crawl Their Content, 10e20
• Understanding Yahoo’s Paid Inclusion Program, Search Engine Guide
• If You Could Ask the Search Engines Any Question and Get An Honest, Complete Answer… What Would it Be?, SEOmoz
• How To Allow Google News To Index Your Subscription Only Source?, Search Engine Roundtable
• What’s Old is New: Web Site Marketing Tips, Online Marketing Blog

Social Media

• Revealed: Digg’s Kevin Rose Silent Investor In Dating Site, Epicenter
• Petition For a Transparent Digg, Pronet Advertising
• Spotting and Reporting a Digg ‘Gamer’, Pronet Advertising
• Most Powerful Users on Digg – Revisited with Friend Count, Harry Maugans
• Facebook Opens Its Pages As a Way to Fuel Growth, Wall Street Journal

• Who Will Buy Facebook?, TechCrunch

Video & Image Search

• Case study: Using video advertising to engage your customers, Inside AdWords
• Site Update, YouTube Blog
• You Can Win On YouTube By Optimizing Comments, Search Engine Watch
• Optimizing Your Videos to be Included in Google.com Web Results, Search Engine Roundtable
• TV Guide.com Now Offers Video Search, URL Wire

Other Items

• Google CEO talks new media politics, News.com
• Yahoo accused of aiding abusers, The Inquirer
• Google Custom Search Engines Will Not Have Universal Results, Search Engine Roundtable
• Podcast: Microsoft To Buy aQuantive; Will Google Offer Mobile Phones In UK? Is Yahoo To Buy Bebo? And More!, Daily SearchCast