SearchCap: The Day In Search, January 3, 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:

• Google Gaining Ground In Smartphone, Browser Markets

  Google’s Android smartphone operating system is poised to overtake Apple’s iPhone for market share, and its Chrome browser has reached a major milestone, capturing 10% of the market. The smartphone figures come from Nielsen in November, while the browser numbers were measured in December by Net Applications, an Aliso Viejo, Calif. company that tracks market […]

• Italy To Regulate YouTube & Other Video Sites Like TV Stations

  YouTube, and parent Google, are now to be considered TV broadcasters in Italy according to new rules handed down by the Italian Communications Authority (AGCOM). The rules apply equally to other sites providing video content over the internet provided they’re also running advertising. According to a translated version of an article appearing in the Italian […]

• DuckDuckGo Challenges Google On Privacy With DontTrack.us

  DuckDuckGo, a small search engine that’s largely flown under the public radar, has started the new year by taking a public shot at Google on the issue of search privacy. The company has launched DontTrack.us, an illustrated guide showing how Google tracks its users … and how DuckDuckGo doesn’t. The site: shows how a search […]

• Looking Ahead: What’s Next In The Evolution Of Local Search?

  Recently I posted an open request for SEO questions on my blog. The first response was from Eric Itzkowitz, who asked about which business opportunities might become sustainable models in local search. The local search space is proving to be a major dynamo, and the rate of change is frenetic. Locally Oriented Searches Very recently, […]

• Investigating Google Places Hypocrisy For Address-less Businesses

  Google’s treatment for local businesses without public storefronts has never been good, and their suggestions for them have vacillated over time. For service professionals using P.O. box addresses, the situation is confusing, as (it appears) Google penalizes some, but not others. To understand the current situation and understand options, read on. Google Maps has had […]

• The Top 10 Paid Search Features You Might Have Missed In 2010

  At the beginning of each new year, our eyes shift from looking backwards at what we should be doing to exploring new prospects that will arise. It is easy in January to put the previous year behind you and gaze to the future. However, if you have not taken advantage of past opportunities, your future […]

• Register for SMX West Today! Best Rates Expire This Week

  Is search marketing is your livelihood? Your passion? Or your future? Then come to Search Marketing Expo – SMX West for the most compelling search marketing content and invaluable professional connections. Join us for SMX West in San Jose, CA, March 8-10. Register for SMX West now and you’ll get at the lowest rate offered. […]

• With So Much Money Is A Facebook Search Engine Inevitable?

  The news broke yesterday that Facebook was getting a whopping $500 million from Goldman Sachs and existing investor Digital Sky Technologies at a valuation of $50 billion. None of this has been confirmed by the company but it’s being very widely reported. Apparently the Goldman investment will enable the company’s most wealthy clients to “get […]

• Price Increase For SphinnCon Israel, Register Now!

  SphinnCon Israel is less than a week away and I am really excited about the event. We have our very own Chris Sherman coming, we have Kaspar Szymanski coming from Google, and 30 plus speakers from within Israel and all over the world. We will be covering topics from advanced SEO and paid search, to […]

• New Year’s Eve & Day 2011 Logos From Google & Others

  Happy New Year’s Eve everyone, except for you in the Australian region, where it is New Year’s Day! On behalf of the Search Engine Land team, we wanted to wish you all a happy and healthy 2011! As like in the past years, the search engines have special logos up for the New Years. Below […]

• What If Google Had Bought MySpace (And What If They Do)?

  AllThingsD’s Liz Gannes reports that MySpace is considering significant layoffs — perhaps up to 50 percent of its 1,000 person staff. We also know (and she repeats) that the site could be sold by News Corp. because of recent poor performance. (News Corp’s attitude implies that it had nothing to do with that decline.) Reading […]

• How Cool Would It Be If Google Became A Carrier?

  The end of the year is the time when people feel more free to make wacky statements and dubious predictions. Whether it’s the season, too many rich desserts or the additional alcohol people consume it’s not clear. But one such prediction is that Google might seek to become a full-fledged phone company in 2011. Having […]

• SPONSORED MESSAGE: Win a trip for two to SMX West!

  3rd Annual SMX Biggest Search Geek Contest sponsored by Marin Software Take the 20-question quiz — top scorer wins an iPad AND a trip for two to SMX West, March 8-10, 2011. What are you waiting for? Take the quiz now…

• Rosetta Stone AdWords Info Revealed In Google Brief

  Interesting tidbits have emerged from Google’s release of an unredacted appellate brief from its trademark battle with advertiser Rosetta Stone. While none of the information is earth-shattering, it’s interesting to note that Rosetta Stone earns a better return-on-investment from advertising with Google AdWords than any of its other advertising methods. Between July 2007 and March […]

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• Google TV Coming To Vizio TVs and Blu-ray Players Later This Year, blog.streamingmedia.com

Business Issues

• MySpace May Soon Lay Off Large Portion of Staff, AllThingsD
• Facebook Close To Naming Sun Microsystems Campus As New Headquarters, TechCrunch
• Google Chrome Hoarding Gives a 404 Error, www.cuttingthechai.com
• Compete Says Bing’s Combined U.S. Market Share Rose To 29% Last November, TechCrunch
• Expedia Against ‘Search Discrimination’… Unless It Gets To Do The Discriminating, TechDirt
• Facebook Nets $500 Million Investment, Wall Street Journal
• Google Digital Newsstand Aims to Muscle In on Apple, Wall Street Journal
• Google Will Become an AI Company, mattmaroon.com
• Marissa Mayer on Google’s Failed Groupon Bid, www.mediabistro.com
• Predictions 2011, John Battelle’s Searchblog
• Yahoo Could Have Bought Facebook For 2% Of Today’s Valuation, www.businessinsider.com
• Yahoo’s Loses E-Commerce/Monetization Platform VP to LinkedIn, kara.allthingsd.com

Link Building

• 3 New Year’s Resolutions for Link Builders, Search Engine Journal

Local, Maps & Mobile

• 2010 Local SEO Predictions Revisited, www.localseoguide.com
• The Good And Bad Of Groupon For Small Business, www.socialmediaexplorer.com

Other Items

• Google’s Marissa Mayer: How I Made It, Los Angeles Times
• China Says It Closed 60K Porn Websites, Deleted 350 Million Pieces of Online Content in 2010, Read/Write Web
• Homeland Security Finally Files For Civil Forfeiture Of Domains Seized Back In June, TechDirt

Paid Search & Contextual

• A Google Like Button: Adsense for Social Network Sharers?, SEO By The Sea

Searching

• 50 Stock Photo Sites for Every Small Business Need, smallbiztrends.com
• A Decade in Search, Yahoo Search Blog
• Trouble In the House of Google, www.codinghorror.com

SEM Industry

• Google Inspiration Party In Tel Aviv, Israel, Search Engine Roundtable
• Video: New Years 2011: Cloaking Google, Stars In AdWords & Search Ranking Bugs, Search Engine Roundtable
• Search Engine Roundtable Joins Search Engine Land Network of Premier Internet Marketing Web Sites, Search Engine Roundtable

SEO & SEM

• Blaming Web Designers For SEO Content Penalties, Search Engine Roundtable
• Perfect 8: Google Adwords Quality Scores–What, How, Why, Search Engine People
• The Impact of Content Change on Search Engine Rankings, SEO By The Sea
• Top 50 SEO Posts of 2010, evancarmichael.com
• Differences in Mobile Smartphone Ranking and Desktop Web Ranking in Google Search, www.brysonmeunier.com
• Reduce HTTP Requests in WordPress, yoast.com
• 5 SEO Tactics to Explore in 2011, SEOmoz
• Google Helps Seized BitTorrent Site to Regain Lost Traffic, torrentfreak.com
• Spying On Your Online Competition, Search Engine People
• Use Google to Write Your Blog Posts, Online Marketing Blog

Social Media

• 95% of Twitter Accounts Created Since January 2009, Marketing Pilgrim
• A Snapshot of Facebook in 2010, facebook.com
• How We Shared Content in 2010: Still More Facebook, More Email Than Twitter, MySpace Lives On, Read/Write Web
• The Quora Phenomenon – Peaking on Value, blog.louisgray.com
• 30 Social Media Predictions From 30 Social Media Pros, www.socialmediaexaminer.com
• Best Websites to Track Popular and Viral Videos Online, www.blueglass.com
• Did StumbleUpon just pass Facebook for social media traffic?, thenextweb.com
• What will become of Twitter?, scripting.com

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

• Differences in Mobile Smartphone Ranking and Desktop Web Ranking in Google Search – Bryson Meunier analyzes more than 1,100 keywords and throws cold water on the idea that Google rankings are the same on smartphones and desktop searches. Interesting data in this article.
• The 5 Biggest Interface Screwups of 2010 – Found this one via Twitter (@kim_cre8pc tweeted about it) and liked it. Several good examples of poor design/usability that can be applied to concepts across different types of web sites and platforms.
• 7 Ways for Bloggers to Overcome Writer’s Block – Jessica Lee of Bruce Clay, Inc. shares seven ways for bloggers and writers to overcome writer's block. The No. 1 tip: Use what you are experiencing as fuel for your posts. This and other tested methods can help any blogger who is "stuck" with a blank page before them.

About The Author

Matt McGee

Matt McGee joined Third Door Media as a writer/reporter/editor in September 2008. He served as Editor-In-Chief from January 2013 until his departure in July 2017. He can be found on Twitter at @MattMcGee.