SearchCap: The Day In Search, November 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:

• Search in Pictures: Ron Paul, Googleville, & Bonfire Night
  In this week’s Search In Pictures, here are the latest images culled from the web, showing what people eat at the search engine companies, how they play, who they meet, where they speak, what toys they have, and more….
• Power Searchers Driving Most Of The Query Volume At Google, Yahoo, MSN
  This Compete blog post argues that most of the search query volume at the major search engines is driven by a relatively small number of search engine users: power searchers. According to Compete, “[T]he top 1% of searchers performs a full 13% of all searches in a given month.” Breaking…
• Google Earth Adds Millennium Development Goals Layer
  The Google LatLong Blog announced Google Earth has added the “Millennium Development Goals” layer within the “Global Awareness” folder. To access it, open Google Earth, open the “Global Awareness” folder and click the checkbox next to “UNDP: Millennium Development Goals Monitor.” Then you should see blue “MDG” icons throughout the…
• How Feedburner Adds Up Subscriber Numbers
  Last Saturday, there was a gasp of collective horror in the blogosphere as FeedBurner subscriber stats plunged for many sites. Today, it’s happened again. Don’t panic! Your subscribers are probably all still there, with Google Reader to blame for the missing numbers. Below, our comprehensive guide to how FeedBurner compiles…
• Schmidt: Google Will Definitely Participate In The Wireless Spectrum Auction
  This article from Forbes sort of quotes Google CEO Eric Schmidt saying, for the first time, that the company would “definitely” participate in the forthcoming 700 MHZ wireless spectrum auction to be held in January. It also says that Google would open that spectrum up to anyone willing to pay…
• Microsoft Tries Search & Win Again?
  Is Live Search bringing back the search and win “Live Search Trial Program?” A Marketwatch article suggests so, even though the page is invalid. Microsoft did run this program back in August. In addition, it has also run the Live Search Club program….
• YouTube Releases Desktop Multi-Video Upload PC Client
  YouTube announced the release of a desktop PC client that allows you to upload multiple videos at one time. The client is available over here and is currently only supported in Windows, but YouTube says a Mac client is coming soon. You can upload 10 minutes in length videos and…
• Coming Soon: Block Domaining Ads From Google?
  In response to popular request, block domain ads looks to be coming, along with other blocking features. I have reported at the Search Engine Roundtable that some AdWords advertisers are now able to block categories of sites, plus they are able to block domain ads and error page ads. Back…
• Chewing Gum, Google Universal Search & Is That A Nude Woman?
  Here’s latest Google Universal Search funny, this time for chewing gum. Three images at the top. You’ve got your gumballs, your Juicy Fruit and your — um — naked woman? Yep:…
• Facebook’s Hot, At Least As A Top Search Term
  Facebook might not be more popular than sex, but it’s getting there — at least as a rival to sex as something people search on. Below, a look at Facebook’s new entry into a top search terms list and related stats, along the way — including which country searches for…
• LookSmart Reports Poor Earnings & Sells FindArticles To CNET
  Gary Price reports that LookSmart has sold off FindArticles to CNET Networks for $20.5 million. LookSmart published a press release that details the sale is in cash, not in stock. Neil Ashe, CEO of CNET Networks, said:…

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• Now you can cancel that order when you have an "oops" moment, Official Google Checkout Blog
• First Look at gOS, Google Blogoscoped

Business Issues

• Barry Diller Still Believes in Synergy, New York Times
• Why are Republicans in Congress targeting Google? Two reasons, News.com

Conferences

• BlogWorld Expo: SEO For Blogging Slides, Vanessa Fox
• Building an Online Community, BruceClay.com
• Corporate & CEO Blogging, BruceClay.com
• The New Media Moguls Roundtable, BruceClay.com
• Firms should seek out SMX London Search Expo, IT Week
• BlogWorld Random Musings, Marketing Pilgrim

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Mobile: GPShopper (GPS) Gets Investment from Secretive NY Investment Bank, ResourceShelf
• Local Search for National Brands, Search Engine Watch
• DOE Energy Efficient Buildings in 3D Google Earth, Google Earth Blog

Link Building

• Third Party Google PageRank Tools Failing?, Search Engine Roundtable
• How To Create User Generated Link Bait, Marketing Pilgrim
• 7 Points of Paid Links v.s. Editorial Links, Stone Temple
• When Link Bait Goes Wrong : How to Prepare for a Good Linking, Search Engine Journal
• Why Google Can’t Just "Dump" PageRank, www.seofaststart.com

Paid Search & Contextual

• AdWords system maintenance on November 10th, Inside AdWords
• Quick update on the Manage Ads feature, Inside AdSense
• Increase AdWords Conversions 300% – Errr, really?, Rimm Kaufman
• Make the Most of Your Financial Services Account, adCenter Blog
• Google AdSense Publishers Earning Per Impression Down Since Channel Bug, Search Engine Roundtable
• Google AdWordsAdvisor Answers Questions About CPC Site Targeting for Contextual Ads, Search Engine Roundtable

Searching

• Update on New Voting System, Askville Blog
• eNetez Launches Search Engine with Keyboard Free Search, Bill Hartzer
• How we learned to find zune.net, Live Search Blog
• China’s Baidu to launch financial news service, Forbes

SEM Industry

• My Recent Visit to the Google Offices in NY, SEM Geek
• Crash This Bash: Google’s holiday party, Valleywag

SEO & SEM

• Videos: "Pardon The Fookin’ Interruption" (The Complete Trilogy), SEOmoz
• 10 Ways to Make your Website More Popular, SEOptimise
• How The Google Sitelinks Block Feature Works, Search Engine Roundtable
• Microsoft Prepares Industry Focus Research, Keywords, Scott Clark
• On The Link Between Search and Branding, John Battelle’s Searchblog
• SEO Engineers Keep Agency on Track, Search Engine Watch
• The SEO Guru Exposes the Worst SEO Sales Advice of All Time, Bob Massa

Social Media

• Blogcosm Challenges Technorati, Techmeme to Parse the Blogosphere, Read/Write Web
• Digg/coRank Acquisition Rumors False, But Digg White Label Business Might Be Coming, TechCrunch
• What’s The Glory in Being a Top Stumbler?, SEO Wife
• Block Facebook Beacon, the Idea Shower

Video, Music & Image Search

• Should YouTube play the censor and sentinel?, News.com

Web Analytics

• Use Feedburner Statistics to Interpret Reader Habits, ProBlogger

Other Items

• Congrats to Google scholarship winners, Official Google Blog
• Domain Names: Google Registers a "Typo" Domain for OHA; Other Typo Domains for Google, Yahoo and Microsoft, ResourceShelf

Hot Items From Sphinn, Our Social News Sharing Site:

• Whiteboard Friday – Dave Naylor in Three Acts (full of UK goodness)
• 10 Ways to Hurt Your Blog’s Brand by Commenting on Other Blogs
• Internet marketing is one big popularity contest, and that’s not a good thing
• Is The Horde At Facebooks Walls?
• When Link Bait Goes Wrong : How to Prepare for a Good Linking
• The Search Mafia
• Recent Press Coverage About Facebook Ads
• 15 Tips To Boost Your Productivity When Blogging
• How Host IP’s, Domain Blocking and Geo-location Influence SEO
• Digg’s Top 1000 Users
• 50+ Resources for Utilizing StumbleUpon Effectively
• Five Easy Copyblogger Steps to Editing Your Own Work
• TopRank Tool Suggestions For Staying Current with SEO News
• How to Sneak in Into a 1000$+ Conference for Free
• Google Sitelinks On A PR4 1 Year Old Domain
• Three Easy Steps to Test Your Viral Marketing Ideas
• Web Strategy: The Many Forms of Monetization using the Web
• The Sphinn Awards Are Coming!!
• Are We Designing For The Human Experience?
• Alert: Google is Shrinking
• Predatory Jerks Give SEO a Bad Name
• Domain Snatching – How Private Are Your Domain Searches?
• Does McDonalds Pay More than Blogging?
• Google Organizes Less Than 0.02% of the World’s Information
• WP Super Cache: The Ultimate WordPress Caching Plugin
• Why Blogging is like Sex
• Forget UGC, Discover The Secrets Of User-Generated-Linkbait
• Google’s OpenSocial Hacked Again
• Facebook Unveils 3 Part Ad System
• 12 Basic Link Building Tactics For Beginners
• How To Buy A #1 Organic Search Ranking On Google
• 5 Web Design Elements to Earn Your Visitors Trust