SearchCap: The Day In Search, September 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:

• Yahoo Debuts APT, Its “Unified Digital Advertising Platform”
  At various times it’s been called AMP or APEX, but today Yahoo introduced its new “unified digital advertising platform,” which the company is now calling APT. With the platform it gained through the Right Media acquisition at its core, Yahoo is positioning APT as a dynamic, open marketplace (dispensing with…
• Pew on Networked Workers: Connected, Distracted, Ambivalent
  The Pew Internet Project has just put out its latest survey of technology adoption and usage: “Networked Workers.” Conducted in March and April of this year, among 2,134 US adults, the findings are not explicitly about search. The data concern use of the internet and mobile devices at work and…
• Digg To Expand With $28.7 Million In Funding
  Jay Anderson from Digg announced that the company has received $28.7 million in new funding through Highland Capital Partners. This new funding will enable Digg to expand their operations and hire more help for that expansion. Digg hopes to be able to use these funds to:…
• When IT Says There Isn’t Time for SEO Training
  One the best things you can do for successful SEO is equip the development team with SEO knowledge, and this requires more than a 30 minute presentation. Unfortunately, IT often pushes back saying there isn’t time. Here are six tactics for getting IT into your training sessions when they…
• Google Reader Expands Friends Sharing, Tagging, Ordering Feeds & More
  The Google Reader Blog announced several new features added to Google Reader. Google has expanded the expanded the friends sharing feature to support all “supported” Google Reader languages. You can now tag feed items when you add a note. You can sort your subscriptions alphabetically or using “My Order” through…
• Ten Copywriting Tips for B2B SEO
  B2B copywriting is tough stuff. Instead of, “Wipes clean with a damp cloth,” you may find yourself trying to simultaneously explain and extol the virtues of some complex mechanical system while being creative and persuasive at the same time. Copywriting for B2B SEO is even tougher. Here are ten…
• Yahoo Roundup: AOL And Yahoo Resume Merger Talks, Answers For Sale?, “Start Wearing Purple?” And Institute Recommends Conditions For Google Paid Search Ads
  With Yahoo’s stock nearing its 52 week low, conspiracy theorists might think that the Financial Times report about the resumption of merger talks between AOL and Yahoo was based on news leaked with the intention of boosting Yahoo and/or TimeWarner shares. However, it appears that discussions which began to fend…
• Google Launches “In Quotes” Project To Compare US Presidential Candidates
  Google has launched a new labs project named In Quotes. In Quotes allows you to compare quotes between the two US Presidential candidates, John McCain and Barack Obama. For example, if Net neutrality is an important topic for you, just type in “neutrality” and up comes quotes from each candidate…
• Google Answers More SEO Questions
  The Google Webmaster Central Blog has answered some more questions asked in the Google Groups area at their blog. Remember, Google recently answered questions on image search ranking, Sitelinks, reconsideration requests, redirects and communication. This new post talks about duplicate content, overall site design, meta tags, local results, and more…
• Branding & Search: Your Best Defense Against Losing Ground to Competitors
  I’m convinced that it’s human nature to resist accepting and acting on what we know to be true. Take exercise for example. How many times have you heard doctors, and the whole medical community for that matter, proclaim the benefits of exercise, and recommend it as a key component…
• Report From The Field: Search In China 2008
  We’re wrapping up SMX China in Nanjing this afternoon. By all measures, the show was a success, with about 300 attendees and a dozen exhibitors, with people from China as well as many other Asian countries, India, Israel and even Africa in attendance. Search in China is thriving, seemingly impervious…
• Google 10th Birthday Site: Interactive Timeline, Project 10×100 To Improve The World & Share Your Google Stories
  Spotted via Google Blogoscoped, Google’s finally acknowledging turning 10 this month with a special Google 10th Birthday web site. It features a cool interactive timeline where you can click on various events in the company’s history and get more information, along with a new "Project 10 to The 100"…

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• New badges and more, Live QnA
• Google Firefox Homepage: Firefox Is Safest Browser, Google Blogoscoped
• More administrative controls for Gmail with Google Apps, Official Google Enterprise Blog

Business Issues

• Ten Years Later, A "Third" Google Founder Comes Out Of The Woodwork, TechCrunch
• Underestimating Google can be disastrous, News.com
• Yahoo Hires Bain to Review Costs, Improve Efficiency, Bloomberg

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Authentication and Tokens with Virtual Earth, Virtual Earth, An Evangelist’s Blog
• AOL Mobile Search Incorporates Smart Box Technology, AOL Search Blog
• Ex Google Mobile Product Manager Criticizes Android G1, TechCrunch
• New on MapQuest Local: AOL Autos and Kaango Classifieds, MapQuest Blog
• Google releases final Android programming kit, News.com
• Find more, do more, Google LatLong
• Google Co-Founder Calls On FCC To Act On Unused TV Airwaves, CNN Money

Link Building

• Can Inbound Links Come in Too Quickly?, Search Engine Roundtable

Paid Search & Contextual

• Using Google Analytics reports in AdWords, AdWords Agency Blog
• 10 Second Tip: Compare Metrics At A Glance - adCenter Analytics Blog, adcentercommunity.com
• Google AdWords API Will Support KeywordMinCPC Reporting, Search Engine Roundtable
• Google AdWords Minimum Bids Reach $100, Search Engine Roundtable
• Recap of Google’s Holiday Shopping Guide 2008 Webinar, PPC Hero
• Google Grants Management - Are You Really Taking Advantage Of It?, SEM Geek

Searching

• Yahoo! Makes Backdoor Entry In Google Search Results via their Glue Pages, Digital Inspiration
• Yotify Launches Its "Google Alerts On Steroids", TechCrunch
• Adobe users get help with Google Site Search, Official Google Blog

SEM Industry

• Blogger evolution, BruceClay.com
• Our Secret Project: Codename Carhole, is Set to Release on Oct. 6th at SMX East, SEOmoz
• Rebecca Lieb On Top 100 Silicon Alley’s Digital Business Execs, Search Engine Watch Blog
• Search Engine Marketing Expert Patricia Neuray Joins Business.com, Bill Hartzer

SEO & SEM

• Dynamic URLs vs. Static URLs - The Best Practice for SEO is Still Clear, SEOmoz
• Market Research Using Google Adwords, SEO Book
• 3 Tools to Generate and Manage Keyword Phases, Search Engine Journal
• Google Webmaster Tools Slower In Reporting Than Google Cache, Search Engine Roundtable
• Google wtf 2: Dynamic URLs vs. static URLs, DaveN
• Google wtf 3: Webmastertools, DaveN
• Google’s Advice - Godsend Or Gimmick?, SEOmoz
• How Long Did Your Google Reinclusion Process Take?, Search Engine Roundtable
• The SEO Failings of Major UK Highstreet Retailers, SEOmoz
• Use Care When Choosing an SEO Agency, Search Engine Watch
• Search Result Hand Jobs: The SEO Implications, Fantomaster
• SEO 101: Video Optimization, Web Optimist

Social Media

• Usernamecheck knows where your name is still available, Webware
• MySpace Advertising Platform Is Pretty Slick, ShoeMoney

Video, Music & Image Search

• Pixsy announces Video Search Playback (VSP), altsearchengines.com

Web Analytics

• You Cut Quite a Profile, Google Analytics Blog

Other Items

• This year’s Faculty Summit, Official Google Blog
• A bike with a purple brain and a sharp eye, Yodel Anecdotal
• Wiping out the next smallpox, Official Google Blog
• Why is almost half of Google in beta?, Royal Pingdom
• Online safety tips from Google and AARP, Official Google Blog

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

• Supermarkets ignoring SEO for major keywords
• SEO Checklist: Using Page Headings Correctly
• If You Build It SEO-Friendly, They Will Come
• The SEO Failings of Major UK Highstreet Retailers
• 5 Ways to Target Media Outlets For Links
• Go Google Yourself: The First Step In Reputation Management
• Search & SEO Is Changing. Are You?
• Viral Marketing Campaign Checklist
• Google Maps Errors - TeleAtlas data needs some finetuning? SMB Frustration Levels Rising
• 7 Reasons Why Guest Posting is Integral to Any Linkbuilding Campaign
• Blog Marketing & Pay Per Post: They're Not The Same
• The Blind Diggers Wall of Shame
• Sorry Google Webmaster Team, But I Gotta Call BS On This One