SearchCap: The Day In Search, September 20, 2011

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

From Search Engine Land:

• Up Close With Google+ Search

  It seemed pretty odd that a social network from the leading search company, Google, didn’t offer a way to search through all its posts. But that oddity is over. Google+ now allows you to search through its content. Here’s how it works. Do You Have It Yet? First, you might not have Google+ search enabled […]
• Yandex Expands To Turkey, First Shots Fired In New Google, Baidu & Yandex Stand Off

  Did you think the search engine war was over and that Google had won? Perhaps you believed that there were a few outposts still resisting the Google conquest, but expected that they’d give in eventually? If so, you’d better sit down and take a strong drink as the first salvos in the new Search Engine […]

• 7 Tips For Boosting SEO Of Your Facebook Page

  Brands and businesses are moving away from traditional websites, and placing more and more emphasis on their Facebook pages. This is great from a customer service and interaction standpoint, but certainly muddies the waters from an SEO perspective. It used to be that with the right mix of keyword-laden text, reciprocal links, and clever use […]

• Google+ Opens To Everyone, Adds Search, Expands Hangouts

  After three months, anyone who wants in to the Google+ social network can now get in. The company announced the news today on its blog, along with a new Google+ search feature and expanded functionality for hangouts. Beta Opens To Everyone Buried at the end of Google’s blog post is the news that the service, […]

• How To Use Q&A Sites To Help Build Better Links

  Asking questions is considered to be one of the most basic yet the most effective ways of learning. Whether you ask questions to better understand a technique, an event, or a motive, you’re gaining insight that should help you in the present and the future. It’s no wonder that question and answer sites continue to […]

• Google Releases A Guide to the Senate Judiciary Hearing

  In preparation for the anti-trust hearing this Wednesday, Google has released a guide to the Senate judiciary hearing web page. The questions address Google’s point of view on the various questions or points on hand, they include: When you hear, “Google is a gateway to the web and controls what people see,” remember… When you […]

• Yahoo Asia & More European Properties Transitioned To Bing Powered Results

  The Yahoo Search Blog announced they have transitioned much of their Asian algorithmic search to be powered by Bing with the exception of Korea. Specifically, Asian Yahoo search users in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam will now get Bing powered results. In addition, they also migrated over more European countries […]

• Telmetrics Introduces Call Tracking Without Tracking Numbers

  Call tracking has long been criticized by Local SEOs and others as violating the sanctity of what Localeze’s Gib Olander has called the “NAP” (name, address and phone number) — the central currency of all local business listings. The concern was and is that the rented tracking numbers (metered phone numbers) would be crawled or […]

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• A great way to track and organize things I buy online, ymailblog.com

Business Issues

• Google Travel site doesn’t strike fear into competitors, USATODAY.com
• Google, Oracle Ordered to Meet Again Tomorrow in Android Dispute Mediation, Bloomberg
• Rick Santorum contacted Google, says company spreads ‘filth’, POLITICO.com

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Announcing Google Earth Pro 6.1: New Features and Easier to Use!, Official Google Enterprise Blog
• Bug with Listing Business on Google Places, OptiLocal
• Search Made Simple: Find Restaurants, Hotels and More, blog.mapquest.com

Link Building

• How to find inbound links – A method for discovering new sources of inbound links, martinibuster.com
• Link Building with OSE & a Host of Other Tools, SEOmoz
• List-Scrape Prospecting for Link Builders – Citation Labs – Link Building, Content Marketing
• Small Business Link Building Tactics, outspokenmedia.com
• Valuing A Link Prospect, dailyseotip.com

Paid Search & Contextual

• New home for URL channels under the My ads tab, Inside AdSense

Searching

• Identified Launches Its People-Ranking Professional Search Engine, Forbes

SEO & SEM

• How do you break into SEO?, Search Engine Guide
• Reminder: Microsoft Advertising adCenter API Version 6 Will Sunset on September 30th, 2011, adCenter API Blog for Developers
• A More ‘Organic’ Experience Part II, Rimm Kaufman
• adCenter Quality Score Defined, with Bing’s Ping Jen, Stone Temple
• Google Panda 2.5 Update Underway? No., Search Engine Roundtable
• How a Search Engine May Measure the Quality of Its Search Results, SEO By The Sea
• How do reconsideration requests work at Google?, YouTube
• PPC Ad Strategies: How to Prepare for the 2011 Holidays, Search Engine Watch
• SEO and PR — Getting the Best of Both Worlds, SEO.com
• Use SEO to Extend the Shelf Life of Your Social Media Content, iCrossing

Social Media

• Foursquare gives homes more privacy, aboutfoursquare.com
• Google+: Social Media Upstart ‘Worse Than a Ghost Town’, PBS
• 5 New Facebook Shopping Carts, Practical eCommerce
• A million check-ins isn’t cool. You know what’s cool?, Foursquare Blog
• How To Start A Career In Social Media, thefuturebuzz.com
• Looking to take on Quora, Avvo rebrands as a Q&A site, GeekWire
• The Influencers Verdict: the Google+ example, Loic Le Meur Blog

Video, Music & Image Search

• Quick Stat: Online Video Will Account for 6.9% of Online Ads This Year, The eMarketer Blog

Web Analytics

• Site Search Analytics – Pattern Analysis to Improve Your Site, Search Engine Guide

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

• How To Handle Negative Comments On Review Sites – When your business gets large enough to get noticed on Yelp and Google Places, you’ll even have customers giving you reviews about their experiences. Since you’ve been providing such excellent service, you can smile as you see comments pop up on your Yelp page.
  However, your celebration may be shorter than you think.
• The 20-Minute (Or Less) SEO Audit [INFOGRAPHIC] – Check out this useful SEO audit cheat sheet, coming with a comprehensive manual, too. Thanks to @BrianAFlores for the tip @Sphinn.
• The First 7 Items On Your SEO Audit To-Do List – You've just been given one day to do an SEO audit for a site, and you're asking yourself what to do with so little time. Instead of following your instinct to yell at the person who made the request, today's column will outline a practical approach to doing the best job possible in one day.