SearchCap: The Day In Search, June 9, 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: Product Extension Ads Now Available For Mobile

  This morning Google announced two new ad formats or mobile — or rather the extension of two PC ad types to smartphones — Product Extension Ads and Product Local Ads. Basically these two mobile formats allow marketers to include product images and related data in ads showing on mobile devices (like PC-based AdWords). Further, if […]

• Bing Mobile To Feature iPhone Apps In Search Results

  Here’s a new way for iPhone users to find apps: Bing is now showing relevant app download links right in the search results of Bing’s iPhone app and mobile browser. The examples above from Bing’s blog post show search results for (L-R) “Thor,” “Facebook” and “Hotels in Seattle.” Where this might be helpful is in […]

• Microsoft Makes Mobile Bing More Social Too

  Yesterday during the SMX Advanced session called “Up Close with the Bing Business Portal,” Microsoft’s Andy Chu took a couple of minutes to announce a range of feature upgrades for the Bing mobile site (m.bing.com) as well as their expansion to the UK version of Bing for mobile browsers. Among these upgrades, a “Share on […]

• Google’s Les Paul Logo: Coolest Doodle Ever?

  Google has created some pretty cool logos, but the Les Paul logo that’s on the Google home page today tops them all … at least to this music fan’s ears (and eyes). In honor of what would be Les Paul’s 96th birthday, the logo is an interactive guitar that you can “play” with your mouse […]

• Coming Soon: Google Panda Update 2.2

  One of the bigger pieces of news — certainly for webmasters and SEOs — from our SMX Advanced conference this week is that Google will soon be releasing version 2.2 of the Panda algorithm update. Google’s Matt Cutts confirmed that during Tuesday’s keynote question-and-answer session with Danny Sullivan. Cutts said that the update has been […]

• SMX Advanced 2011: Day Two Live Blog Coverage

  SMX Advanced 2011 is in the books. Here’s a roundup of the live blog coverage we found around the web from the sessions on day two (today). Advanced Keyword Research Tools — SMX Advanced, BruceClay.com Google Survivor Tips, Outspoken Media Hardcore Local SEO Tactics, Outspoken Media How the Search Alliance is Paying Off: Charts, Tips […]

• 3 Low Hanging A/B Testing Opportunities To Increase Conversion Rate

  Landing pages can be categorized into two buckets: high converting ones and the usual ones. Thanks to my background in A/B testing, I have had the privilege of observing many of our customers improve their landing pages by testing various elements. It’s true that testing all parts of a landing page is the only way […]

• Public Relations: Link Building On Steroids

  Caution: This starts as a mean spirited post, but there is some humility forthcoming, please persevere through the rant. The following is a rough recollection of a conversation I had with a PR professional recently about BusinessWire’s press release services that come chock-a-block full of SEO promises: Her: “You need to switch your wire service […]

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• NOAA becomes the largest federal agency to Go Google, googleenterprise.blogspot.com

Business Issues

• Google Asks Court To Disquality Damages Estimate From Oracle, Wall Street Journal
• Infographic: Yahoo!’s #1 Properties, www.yadvertisingblog.com
• Twitter: 12% of Q1 Revenue Came From Auto Advertisers, ClickZ
• Google May Struggle in an Apple World, Says Forrester CEO, PC World
• What’s Up With MySpace (And Why Isn’t Yahoo Interested?), paidContent.org
• YouTube Expects Half of Ad Spending to be Cost Per View by 2015, www.beet.tv
• YouTube in Network Deal Talks With Operators, Manufacturers, Bloomberg

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Extreme high-res imagery in Joplin Tornado app, www.bing.com
• Google Maps Navigation to get offline mode? Garmin and TomTom on notice, www.engadget.com
• Google Places Blended Results – Photos MIA, Mike Blumenthal
• New Product Local Ads & Product Extensions To Show On Mobile, PPC Hero

Searching

• Analyzing Urban Traffic Statistics with Wolfram|Alpha, blog.wolframalpha.com

SEM Industry

• 60% Of SEOs Still Won’t Report Search Spammers To Google, Search Engine Roundtable
• Many Feel Google & Bing Should Offer Spam Report Incentives, Search Engine Roundtable
• Moral Dilemmas in Agency Work, Rimm Kaufman
• Only 27% Say Social Search Results Improve Search Quality, Search Engine Roundtable

SEO & SEM

• How to Super Size Your Listings in Google, SEO Book
• 6 Free Search Tools I’m Loving Right Now, Search Engine People
• 9 Tips for Improving the Credibility of Your Small Business Web Site, community.microsoftadvertising.com
• Early Launch of SERPs Analysis Tool June Linkscape Update, SEOmoz
• How to Stay Calm When Marketing Your Own Website, Search Engine People
• SMX Advanced: Duane Forrester from Bing Talks Social, Schema Markup, and Honey Badger – Whiteboard Friday, SEOmoz
• The Future of SEO (as of 2011), www.stateofsearch.com
• Tips for Charities Building a Presence Online, www.stepforth.com

Social Media

• 4 Tips to Maximize Your Twitter Marketing, www.socialmediaexaminer.com
• Israel ranks highest for time spent on social networking sites, www.globes.co.il

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

• Discussion: Best Tips For Search Conference Attendees? – How do you optimize your attendance at search conferences? Whether you're a big company or solo consultant, knowing how to maximize the time you spend at a search conference can be the difference between great ROI and zero ROI. In this week's "Discussion of the Week," we want to hear some of your best tips for friends and peers attending search conferences. The floor is open!
• 43 Paid Search Signals You Need To Understand  – The SEO world often talks about the idea of signals – data points used by search engines to deliver the most relevant results. But the paid search community almost never discusses them.  Here are 43 to track when it comes to paid search…
• Possibly the Worst Affiliate Traffic Leak Ever – When merchants link to select affiliates, it doesn't go down well for all the other affiliates in the program, and here's why…
• Enterprise SEO – Selling Link Building Services to Someone That Doesn’t know what Link Building is – An excellent post that help conceptualize link-building for the person that thinks SEO is only about on-page factors.
• It’s Not 'He Said, She Said' Over Google Rankings & Facebook Shares – Danny looks more closely at the supposed debate between Rand and Matt's comments at SMX Advanced regarding Facebook Shares and Google Rankings.