SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 24, 2013

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

From Search Engine Land:

• US Search Awards Names Search Engine Land Best Blog Of 2013
  Last night, Search Engine Land had the honor of being named Best Blog of 2013 by the US Search Awards during the annual search event hosted in Las Vegas. The ceremony was held in association with PubCon and recognized leading organizations, agencies and individuals in the search industry. With more than 22 different categories, winners […]
• Roll-Out Of Bing Ads’ Microsoft Account Requirement Ruffles Feathers
  Last week, Microsoft issued a second announcement that it would be transitioning Bing Ads account logins to Microsoft accounts — currently used to access Hotmail, Messenger, SkyDrive, Windows Phone, Xbox LIVE, or Outlook.com services. Today, some users who clicked “Remind me later” and opted to login with their existing credentials got “Login Fail Error” notices […]
• Yandex Posts Q3 2013 Revenue Growth Of 40 Percent
  Russian search engine Yandex announced third quarter revenues this morning. The company saw strong growth for its overall business as well as for search-based advertising. Yandex said that total revenues grew roughly 40 percent vs. 2012. The vast major of the company’s revenue comes from paid-search advertising (92 percent). Display ad revenue was the bulk […]
• FAQ: All About The Banner Ad Test In Google’s Search Results
  Yesterday, Search Engine Land broke the news that Google is running a test to show banner ads on branded search results. While the search giant has introduced images to its ad formats, including product listing ads and image extensions, the introduction of banner ads is a noticeable change for the company. Here’s what we know […]
• Advance Your Tactics & Skills: Attend SMX Social Media Marketing – Register Now to Save $200
  Social media marketing is evolving at an incredibly rapid pace. With major developments coming daily, it’s difficult to sort through the opportunities. At SMX Social Media Marketing, we won’t just tell you what’s new. We’ll give you the tactics and strategies to benefit most from paid, earned and owned social media. Join us November 20-21 […]
• 34% Of Local SEOs Make Less Than $30,000/Year. Why?
  As the local search industry evolves and becomes more complex, the role of local search consultants and agencies becomes more critical. Complexity is increasing across most areas of our fast-growing industry, which makes “local search” all the more confusing for local business owners. This complexity is driving increased demand for local search services. SMB owners […]
• The New SEO — It’s About People, Intent, & Meaning
  There are two ways to try and understand the future. One is to gaze into the misty depths of a magic crystal ball and guess what might happen. The other is to view facts from a coldly logical standpoint and draw verifiable conclusions from them. To make sense of rapid shifts in the SEO landscape, […]
• 4 Paid Search Strategies For Converting On-The-Go Customers
  Consumers are increasingly engaging with businesses while they’re on the go. In fact, of the 94 percent of smartphone owners searching for local information, 84 percent of them take action based on their search results. This shift in consumer behavior is redefining the approach advertisers take when engaging with their mobile customers. Not only are […]
• Google’s Starting To Enforce Smartphone Penalties: The Evidence
  In June, Google announced it would be adjusting search rankings appearing on smartphones based on how well the site in question handled the mobile user experience. The company didn’t say exactly when these changes would be rolling out, but only said it planned “to roll out several ranking changes in the near future that address sites that […]

Recent Headlines From MarTech, Our Sister Site Dedicated To Internet Marketing:

• Ads To Appear On Instagram Next Week
• US Search Awards Names 2013 Winners At Ceremony Hosted In Association With PubCon
• Vine Users Can Now Edit Videos & Work On More Than One At A Time
• YouTube Preps New Subscription Music Service
• Taiwan’s FTC Fines Samsung $340,000 For Posting Fake Comments
• Quantifying The Reach-Efficiency Tradeoff In Facebook Advertising
• Advance Your Tactics & Skills: Attend SMX Social Media Marketing – Register Now to Save $200
• They Don’t Call It The News Feed For Nothing: 1-In-3 Americans Use Facebook As A News Source
• Report: Brands Using Consumer-Generated Videos On Retail Product Pages See A 38% Sales Lift
• First Evidence Of Google Smartphone Ranking Penalty
• Live @ SMX Social Media Marketing: Maximizing Your Impact With Twitter Ads
• Pinterest Lands Another $225M In Funding, Now Valued At $3.8 Billion
• Google+ Pages Get New Communication Manager Role

Search News From Around The Web:

Industry

• The New State of Google, +1 Brutal Calacanis Smackdown, aimClear

Link Building

• Airtight SEO Audits, Part 4: Link Analysis, 3qdigital.com
• Google Link Penalty on WWW vs Non WWW, Search Engine Roundtable
• The Value of Referrer Data in Link Building =, Search Engine Watch

Local & Maps

• Google Testing New Local Listing “About Page” Layout – Just What are They Thinking?, Mike Blumenthal
• Google+ Local Listings Get Two Columns, www.localvisibilitysystem.com
• Swaziland next African country to come to Street View, google-africa.blogspot.com
• Who’s The Future Of Local Search? The Consumer.=, streetfightmag.com

SEM / Paid Search

• 12 Ways to Enhance Your 2013 Holiday Paid Search Program, Rimm-Kaufman Group
• 5 Tips for Google’s Enhanced Campaigns, Practical E-Commerce
• AdWords Quality Score Guide: The Seven Types & How to Improve Them, Koozai
• Mastering #PPC: Leveraging Goals in Google Analytics, www.seerinteractive.com
• VIDEO: Enhanced Campaigns Retain Device-Level Targeting Flexibility on Bing Ads, Bing Ads

Searching

• Are Google’s search UI changes motivated by profit or better UX?, eConsultancy

SEO

• Authorship Is Dead, Long Live Authorship, www.blindfiveyearold.com
• Hummingbird Unleashed, Moz
• Want More Content On Page One of the SERPs? Try a Google+ Strategy, BruceClay.com