SearchCap: The Day In Search, April 17, 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:

• 
  Google Beats Forecasts With 30% Increase In Profit
  Google has done it again, they announced impressive earnings, beating forecasts and showing a 30% increase in profit from the previous first-quarter results. Google’s reported revenues of $5.19 billion for the quarter ended March 31, 2008 and a net income of $1.31 billion. Previous quarter revenues was $4.83 billion in…
• 
  More On Microsoft Live Search News
  Earlier we reported about the new Microsoft Live Search News being launched. An official blog post is coming, but until then, here are more details about the service and how it works….
• 
  SEO is Not Free Traffic
  One of the first jobs I have to do as a consultant going into an SEO engagement is to debunk the myth that SEO is “free”. SEO has never been, nor will it ever be, free traffic. It takes work, and that comes at a cost. You need to…
• 
  Using the Web Developer Toolbar for Search and Usability
  One of my favorite plug-ins is the Firefox Web Developer Toolbar. Don’t be fooled by the name. While it’s specifically designed for Web developers, the toolbar has many options and features that are also useful to search marketers, usability consultants, and SEO analysts. The toolbar has far too many…
• 
  Blinkx Keeps On Keepin’ On
  Video Search engine Blinkx has announced five ad deals in recent weeks, along with other new initiatives. Blinkx reminds me of the old New Riders of The Purple Sage song, “Keep on Keepin’ on”. Despite mounting competition from both bigger rivals like Yahoo, Google and AOL and new start-ups,…
• 
  Google Maps Now Offers Traffic Predictions
  Late last week Microsoft Live Maps introduced “ClearFlow,” based on four years of work and data collection. ClearFlow is intended to provide traffic predictions and better secondary routing. Now, as reported in Google Operating System, Google Maps has introduced its own version of traffic predictions, based on historical traffic information….
• 
  Two New Google Search Quality Interviews
  There are two new interviews available, one from Google’s VP of search quality, Udi Manber and one from Googler, Matt Cutts. Popular Mechanics interviewed Udi Manber and posted the interview transcript online. Matt Cutts did an audio/podcast interview with Duct Tape Marketing. Here is a summary of my notes from…
• 
  Will Social Networking Kill Search?
  A provocative headline and somewhat less provocative article in Popular Mechanics argues that social networking will kill search “as we know it.”…
• 
  Google News Makes Quotes More Discoverable
  The Google News Blog announced that they will now display quotes within articles, when they think your query and the content warrants it. For example, a search on Google’s CEO, Eric Schmidt, returns a quote at the top of the Google News search page. Here is a screen capture:…
• 
  Google Offers Best Practices For Moving A Site
  Google’s Webmaster Central blog wrote a best practices for moving your site to a new domain. I am happy with Google’s write up and it is a great first step, but I am a strong advocate of a Google Certified Domain Change process within Webmaster Tools. In any event, here…
• 
  GooHoo Search Ads Outsourcing Deal Moves Forward
  The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the “initial test” of running Google ads on Yahoo search results had “positive results” and is thus moving forward. A range of blog posts offers speculation and cynicism about the story and what it may or may not represent for the potential MicroHoo…
• 
  Yahoo Advertiser Sues Over Click Fraud For $1 Million
  Internet retailer sues Yahoo for $1 million from ComputerWorld reports Bigreds.com has sued Yahoo for over $1 million for click fraud. The online retailer of collectables claims Yahoo has charged them over $936,000 between 2002 and 2006 for clicks received via Yahoo/Overture affiliates. Bigred is seeking over $1 million in…
• 
  B2B Marketers Should Embrace “Tire Kickers”
  Should marketers avoid paying for prospects who are early in the buying process and not ready to submit personal information or be contacted by a sales person? Should these “tire kickers” be avoided so that marketers can focus their attention on generating more valuable, sales-ready leads? While this approach…
• 
  Interviewing In-House SEO Candidates
  With many in-house SEM teams ramping up, and in-house efforts in general growing, I thought it might be useful to scope out the basics for an SEO-centric interview. It’s tough enough to find good talent these days, and those with experience are commanding higher and higher salaries, so many…

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• Apps are live in India, Orkut Blog
• Google and Microsoft your next healthcare partner?, News.com
• IAC And HealthCentral Partner For New Ad Network, MediaPost

Business Issues

• YouTube Pays Users $1 Million, NewTeeVee
• First Facebook Beacon Lawsuit Hits Blockbuster, TechCrunch
• Google Veteran To Start Venture Fund, InformationWeek
• Google, AOL execs: Go ahead, opt out of targeted ads, News.com

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Tactical Search: Local and Mobile Search, BruceClay.com
• 3D buildings galore, Google LatLong
• An Outline for 90 Minutes of Local Search, Small Business SEM
• Better Know Your Mobile: Using Shortcut Keys and BlackBerry Convenience Keys for Google Maps, Official Google Mobile Blog

Link Building

• Is Yahoo Buying Text Links?, SEOmoz
• Get Paid Links from the US Olympic Team, www.wolf-howl.com

Microhoo

• Extra Cost to Buy Yahoo: Retention Pay, New York Times

Paid Search & Contextual

• April API rate sheet reductions, we’re not joking :), AdWords API Blog
• Correction: Yahoo’s Minimum Bid Interface Live, Not The New Pricing, Search Engine Roundtable
• Do You Only Use Broad Match? Jump Start Your ROI by Utilizing Match Types and Negative Keywords, PPC Hero
• Google Adds Three New AdWordsPro Staff Members, Search Engine Roundtable
• Google AdWords and ASCII Art : 50% Increase in Click Thrus, Search Engine Journal
• Promoting your referrals — properly, Inside AdSense
• Site Optimization Using adCenter Analytics Treemap Report – adCenter Analytics, adcentercommunity.com
• The MSN Ad Excellence Accreditation Test – Could you Pass it?, Site Visibility

Searching

• KDDI Adds Visual Search From Bandai, mocoNews.net
• RBC To Launch First Russian Social Network for Children, Quintura blog

SEO & SEM

• Big Brands Need Search Engine Optimization Too, BruceClay.com
• Top Ten Search Engine Rankings – Guaranteed!, All Things SEM
• Detecting near duplicates in big data, Geeking with Greg
• Google Thinks YOU Are a Black Hat SEO. Should You Trust Them?, SEO Book
• How to rank #1 on Google image search, stefanjuhl.com
• SEO Training, Serengeti Communications

Social Media

• A Talk with the Twitter Guys, Global Neighbourhoods
• The Decline and Fall of Tech on Digg, Read/Write Web
• But, I Don’t Have Time For Social Media…, BruceClay.com
• Direct Marketing vs Social Media Marketing, Online Marketing Blog
• Lonelygirl15 and KateModern Creators Raise $5 million, Form EQAL, TechCrunch
• MySpace launches India social networking website, Yahoo! News
• SocialText Putting A Little Social Into – Enterprise Wikis, TechCrunch
• The Twitter/FriendFeed Desktop Client Arms Race Continues, TechCrunch
• Twitter & the Democratic Presidential Candidates, Search Marketing Gurus

Video, Music & Image Search

• YouTube Search Enhancements, Google Operating System
• Code.flickr.com: New Flickr Developer Site, Flickr Blog
• Making Money With The YouTube Partner Program, ShoeMoney
• Video: You Use YouTube? Learn How to Maximize, Search Engine Guide

Web Analytics

• Alexa Updates Its Web Rankings – Still Not Good Enough, Read/Write Web
• Search & Social Networks neck & neck for video referrals, Hitwise

Other Items

• Googolopoly, TechCrunch
• Daily SearchCast, April 14, 2008: Microsoft To Yahoo: Marry Us, Or Else!, Daily SearchCast
• Daily SearchCast, April 15, 2008: Google & Don’t Be Evil; Google’s New US High & More, Daily SearchCast
• Daily SearchCast, April 16, 2008: Microsoft Gets News Search, Daily SearchCast
• Doodle: Atomium, Googlified
• How to score a private VIP tour of the GooglePlex?, beu blog

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

• The Ten Commandments of Online Marketing for Small & Local Businesses
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• 3 Reasons Big Brands are Wary of SMM
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• SEO Resources for Data Feed Optimization
• “SEO” to Become a Trademark? – WebProNews Video Update
• Role Model 3.0 – Inspiring, Accessible, Authoritative
• Yahoo Makes IndexTools Analytics Free .. For Some
• 25 million paid/coop links, cloaking & top rankings. How does moneyexpert.com do it?