SearchCap: The Day In Search, September 29, 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:

• Why Position Bidding Wastes Money
  It’s remarkable that in 2008 there are still many bidding systems in use by SEMs and in-house PPC managers dedicated to “finding the right position” for each keyword. These position crawling systems guarantee inefficiency and lost opportunity; to put it concisely: they’re playing the wrong game. Here’s why:…
• ISP Behavorial Targeting Test To Begin In UK Tomorrow
  The initials for British Telecom (”BT”) might now come to stand for “behavioral targeting” as the company prepares its opt-in trial with Phorm. Phorm is a UK-based firm that seeks to tap ISP behavioral data in an effort to serve more relevant ads to end users. The BT-Phorm “Webwise” test…
• Google News Glitch: SpaceX Private Space Flight is “Delicious”
  Search Engine Land reader Tom Churm points us toward the Science/Tech category of Google News, where, for the better part of the morning, a CNET news article about private rocketry was displaying with the headline, “Delicious.” Here’s a screenshot:…
• Coming To SMX East? Time To Register
  Search Marketing Expo - SMX East begins next week in New York City. Register now to reserve your place. You’re investment in coming to SMX East will pay off many times. We guarantee it. Conference chairs Danny Sullivan and Chris Sherman, and the all-star SMX programming team, have developed a…
• Local Australian City Councils Abandon Use Of Google Earth To Monitor Building Permits, Unregistered Pets
  Home remodeling without building permits is a popular pastime and cat-and-mouse game in the US, with homeowners trying to avoid increased taxation and building permit fees. Apparently that’s also true elsewhere in the world. In a a couple of towns on the Australian island of Tasmania, city officials were using…
• Yahoo Search Update & Google Toolbar PageRank Update
  Search Engine Roundtable reports based on a WebmasterWorld thread that Yahoo Search is undergoing an update. Several webmasters have noticed significant changes in the Yahoo Search results. We do not have confirmation from Yahoo on this update, while the last Yahoo update was the first week of this month. Also,…
• Google User Interface Test Gives Searches Control Over Snippets
  TechCrunch reports based on a WebmasterWorld thread that Google is testing on a limited basis, giving searchers the ability to control the size of the search snippets. A snippet is the small description seen under the blue links in the search results. In this test, users can select to not…
• Google Toolbar 5 For Firefox Adds Features
  Google announced that the Firefox 5.0 Google Toolbar is now available for download. The toolbar adds many of the features and improvements Google added to 5.0 for IE several months ago including:…
• The Google Hive Mind
  As Google turns 10 years old, that important birthday sees the company more powerful than ever before. With its competitors in disarray, the Big G seems likely to grow even further. The secret to its success? For me, it’s what I’ve been calling the "Google Hive Mind." Rather than…
• Google’s 10th Birthday Logo
  Google is officially 10 today and, as you’d expect, has a birthday logo in celebration. For a look at Google’s history you can see the company’s interactive timeline….
• Search Biz: MSFT’s Ballmer Interviewed, Vint Cerf Predicts The Internet’s Future, Google’s New Anti-Carrier Patent & “Everyone Hates comScore”
  Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer tried to present his company’s underdog position in search — and in mobile — as opportunities “to grow” in remarks at Silicon’s Valley’s Churchill Club. But he added, “I don’t like not being number one” in his interview with VC Ann Winblad….

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• AP: The Modern Newsroom Looks Like a Little RSS Reader, Read/Write Web
• How do I find questions I’ve posted or questions I’ve answered?, Live QnA

Business Issues

• Digg Valued At $175 Million In Latest Funding, TechCrunch
• Sue Decker Makes the Yahoogle Case and (Finally) Gets It Right, AllThingsD
• Yahoo, We Can’t Afford A Monopoly In Search Advertising Even If It Kills You, TechCrunch
• On The Google Hive Mind: There Is a Center, John Battelle’s Searchblog
• CEO: How Yahoo’s Ad Server Is Different, Ad Age
• Facebook hires general counsel as it continues to grow, Los Angeles Times
• Google Goes to Washington, Gearing Up to Put Its Stamp on Government, Washington Post

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Getting a Map with the Virtual Earth Web Service, Virtual Earth, An Evangelist’s Blog
• A New Local Search Engine - MyCityFaces.com, altsearchengines.com
• The State of Location-Based Social Networking On The iPhone, TechCrunch
• Google Places a Call to Bargain Hunters, Ad Age

Paid Search & Contextual

• Understanding How Match Types Affect Your PPC Campaigns in adCenter - adCenter Blog for Advertisers, adcentercommunity.com
• Reality Check: Google Is Already Fixing Ad Prices, Ad Age
• eBay Increases Ad Spend with Google AdWords, Search Engine Roundtable
• More on Research Online, Buy Offline, Screenwerk
• Google AdSense Login Goes Down For Many Publishers, Search Engine Roundtable
• Judging PPC Performance: Focus on Conversions, Search Engine Watch
• Microsoft Extends Invitations to adCenter Desktop Beta, Search Engine Roundtable
• Now Available: AdWords API Local Database Sync, AdWords API Blog
• Yahoo! Search Marketing Raises Minimum Credit Card Amount to $250, Search Engine Roundtable

Searching

• Top 5 Search Engines for Kids, altsearchengines.com
• PopGist: Yahoo Search Results in Context, Read/Write Web

SEM Industry

• How Does Matt Cutts Get Ready for Work? (Picture Reveals All) , SEO Book
• New E-book: How to SEO Your Site in 60 Minutes, Small Business SEM

SEO & SEM

• Google Says Screw Accuracy as Long As You’re An Authority, Wolf Howl
• Mccain Winning Search-Ad Race, Ad Age
• Review: Interspire SEO Friendly Shopping Cart Software, BlogStorm
• Video Recap of Weekly Search Buzz :: September 28, 2008, Search Engine Roundtable
• Growing Online Business Trend: Commodification of Data, seoroi.com
• 4 Ways Fool Your Competitors Using SpyFu, SEOptimise

Social Media

• Want To Be a Trendsetter on Twitter? Follow CareerBuilder Example, Profy

Video, Music & Image Search

• New Video Upload Redesign Beta, YouTube Blog
• Now Upload Large Video Files to YouTube via Web Browser, Digital Inspiration

Web Analytics

• Mobile Web Analytics and Statistics for the iPhone, Web Analytics World Blog

Other Items

• Our position on California’s No on 8 campaign, Official Google Blog
• SpaceX launches 1st commercial rocket into orbit, The Associated Press

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

• 7 Ways Self Submission Hurts Yourself on Social Media
• Search Friendly Information Environment Design
• Micro-Site Strategy for Link Building and Brand Awareness
• AdSense ads must be vetted by publishers, says ad regulator
• The Economic Impact of Search
• Cover Your Link Ass(et)
• 8 Awesome Google Analytics Hacks, Tips and Tricks
• Google PageRank Update, This Weekend!
• 50 Blog Post Ideas for Business Blogging
• Solid SEO Starts With A Solid Business Model