SearchCap: The Day In Search, November 24, 2008

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Numbers Show Search Has Changed, But Not How You’d ThinkIf you want to get a snapshot of a specific era in American society, I’d suggest the Yellow Pages industry is a […]

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

From Search Engine Land:

  • Numbers Show Search Has Changed, But Not How You’d Think
    If you want to get a snapshot of a specific era in American society, I’d suggest the Yellow Pages industry is a good place to take that picture. The companies and headings listed can provide a footprint in time for people’s needs and interests of the day. In the 130-year history of the Yellow Pages, categories have come and gone, they’ve gained and lost popularity. Typewriters gave way to personal computers. Recycling services seemed to sprout up out of nowhere. Do you think pet grooming was a top heading 50 years ago as it is today?
  • Google’s SearchWiki Struggling Through Its First Week
    Google’s SearchWiki is off to a rough start in the user feedback/public relations department, and has already been knocked offline by some kind of technical issue. SearchWiki usage seems fair to strong, depending on the queries you’re looking at, but is it the type of usage Google wants? Let’s take a look at SearchWiki’s first handful of days out in the wild. The Reviews Are In… … and they’re not very good. TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington was one of the first to voice his complaints:
  • PPC Holiday Tips: It’s all about Execution
    The Rimm-Kaufman Group manages paid search for a great many retailers across just about every vertical and the October pain was felt by all of them. We know that the stakes are incredibly high going into this holiday in particular, placing a premium on getting the details right. Here are some tips to help out.
  • The Complete Guide To Google’s Website Optimizer
    Why is it that some web sites are golden, compelling visitors to buy while similar web sites, perhaps even offering the same products at similar prices, fail to make the grade? It may be dumb luck on the owner’s part, but a more likely explanation is that the golden site is the result of careful design, testing, tweaking and testing yet again. Testing has grown into a core search marketing activity, but strangely, it’s also an activity that many search marketers either choose to avoid or don’t even consider at all. And that’s a mistake. Good testing can not only help you get rid of stinker ads and landing pages, it can also help you optimize winning campaigns, improving their conversion rates and making them even more profitable. And testing needn’t be difficult or time-consuming, especially if you have the right tools. One of the best tools for helping you test and refine your search marketing campaigns is Google’s Website Optimizer. Even better, Website Optimizer is a free service.
  • Just Deal With IT
    Every corporation large enough to have an IT department has had search engine optimization problems at one point or another. Well, at least every corporation that I’ve dealt with. And dealing with these issues sometimes requires the diplomatic skills of Henry Kissinger, the technical skills of Bill Gates, the persuasion skills of P.T. Barnum and the people skills of Barack Obama. If you’re in that position, here are some tips for the successful care and feeding of IT people.
  • Microsoft Rebranding Live Search As Kumo.com?
    Say it ain’t so! LiveSide is reporting that Microsoft might be rebranding Live Search under the name, Kumo.com. Kumo.com is now registered under Microsoft and the name servers are now under SEARCH.LIVE.COM. Going to Kumo.com takes me to a page that says I do not have permission, but takes Microsoft employees to a special internal site.
  • Have Google & Yahoo Begun Laying Off More Workers?
    The Web Guild reports Google has begun laying off staff and up to 10,000 ‘Googlers’ can be impacted by this new wave of layoffs. The Web Guild said in August, recruiters said about 500 ex-Googlers were on the job market and that number continues to increase. I am a bit skeptical about the Web Guild’s report, I do hope to substantiate this news more and update it later with a statement from Google, if possible. Former Yahoo star blogger, Jeremy Zawodny twittered on Friday “Yahoo! layoffs have begun…” I suspect Jeremy is very well-connected with many …
  • Only 8 Business Days Until SMX West Rates Increase
    Sound financial advice is rare as the Hope diamond these days, but we have some for you. Register for Search Marketing Expo – SMX West today and you’ll save $600 off the on-site rate. SMX West is an outstanding investment. You’ll attend 3 days with more than 50 educational sessions on everything search: paid search advertising, organic, search engine optimization (SEO), link building, local search, mobile, social, analytics, and much more! Read on…
  • Google SearchWiki 101: An Illustrated Guide
    Google SearchWiki — a new feature that allows you to move and comment on search results — has been out for less than a day, and it’s amazing to see how much confusion (as well as commentary) there is already developing. So below, some clarification on how it works, opportunities search marketers should consider, some privacy issues and ideas for improving it.

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

Business Issues

Local, Maps & Mobile

Link Building

Paid Search & Contextual

Searching

SEM Industry

SEO & SEM

Social Media

Video, Music & Image Search

Web Analytics

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


About the author

Barry Schwartz
Staff
Barry Schwartz is a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land and a member of the programming team for SMX events. He owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry can be followed on Twitter here.

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