SearchCap: The Day In Search, April 4, 2013

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the Web.

From Search Engine Land:

• While “Facebook Home” Keeps Google, Search Is Harder To Reach
  Pick your survey, and one of the top activities on a smartphone is to use Facebook. That’s what the new Facebook Home is all about, making it easier for Facebook users to get Facebook. But it also makes another top activity — search — harder to do. On Android devices, search is almost always just […]
• The Fallacy Of SEO Ranking Reports: How To Better Spend Your Time & Effort
  For some time now, there’s been a growing buzz in the SEO community regarding organic ranking reports. The conversation focuses on a significant short list of controversial topics including: accuracy of data, use of tools that violate terms of service to scrape data, necessity for client reporting, and the foundational question: are ranking reports essential […]
• 3 Location Requests For Enhanced Campaigns
  The shift to Enhanced Campaigns is important to every advertiser, but critically important to Enterprise programs, particularly those with meaningful brick and mortar footprints. The reality of Enhanced Campaigns today doesn’t create much urgency to switch over. We don’t get any more controls, and in fact, we lose some. However, the near-term future of EC […]
• Will Mobile Apps Be Google’s Undoing? (Hint: No)
  The New York Times offers an interesting story about Google and the competitive landscape of mobile. The headline is “As Web Search Goes Mobile, Competitors Chip at Google’s Lead.” The central idea of the article is that while Google is used on the PC equally to discover information and to navigate to specific sites, on smartphones […]
• Google Says No To FBI’s National Security Letter, At Least This Time
  Bloomberg News reports Google has filed a petition against a government request for information after receiving a “National Security Letter.” The details of the requested information are currently not disclosed, as you would imagine. Bloomberg says it is rare for a company to fight back after receiving such a request from a government agency. Reportedly […]
• Google Alerts Is Working Again
  Good news! As best I can tell, the poor performance of Google Alerts that has plagued Google’s monitoring service for months finally seems over. I asked, but Google won’t confirm that it’s made any changes. Still, it’s pretty clear to me that something has happened for the better. I noticed an improvement that began on […]
• SMX Advanced Keynote: You&A With Google’s Webspam Chief Matt Cutts
  If you’ve been doing search marketing for any length of time, you’ve probably heard of Matt Cutts. As head of Google’s webspam team, Cutts and crew are charged with determining what constitutes “quality” content that’s worthy of prominent exposure in search results. They also work diligently to weed out poor content, and make sure that […]
• Facebook Nearby Is Now Facebook “Local Search”
  Goodbye Facebook Nearby, hello Facebook Local Search. InsideFacebook points out that the company has renamed its mobile app feature “Nearby” as Facebook “local search.” Until late last year, Nearby was a friend-finder tool. Then it became a way to find local business recommendations. But, many users are undoubtedly still unaware of the change in functionality. The name change will […]

Recent Headlines From MarTech, Our Sister Site Dedicated To Internet Marketing:

• Quantcast “Compare Sites” Feature Back Up With Expanded Options
• Analyst Firm Forecasts Mobile Local Ad Revenues Will Grow to $9.1 Billion In The Next Four Years
• Hands On With Facebook Home Cover Feed And Chat Heads
• Facebook Home Cover Feed Won’t Have Ads, Yet
• Facebook Launches ‘Home’ – A New Android Home Screen Experience
• Live Blog: The Facebook Android “Home” Phone Event
• Market Share: Apple Increases Smartphone Lead Over Samsung, Gains On Android
• A Blast From Zuckerberg’s Past: Old Angelfire Site From The 15 Year Old Facebook Founder Uncovered
• The Death Of The QR Code
• ‘Unpublished’ Facebook Post Ads Now Can Show In News Feed
• Facebook Rebrands “Nearby” As “Local Search”
• No Way You’re Only 40, Happy Birthday Cell Phone!

Search News From Around The Web:

Business Issues

• Arthur Frommer gets Frommer brand back from Google, Boston.com

Local Search & Maps

• Apple aims to outdo Google’s Street View, CNET
• Easily Solve 3 Common Google+ Local Profile Problems, Search Engine People
• Patent filing suggests Apple is working on ‘Street View’ mapping technology, Apple Insider

Link Building

• 10 Experts on Getting Negative Links Off Page One, Search Engine People
• 33 Link Building Questions Answered, SEOmoz
• My Little Secret To Assessing Link Value, internetmarketingninjas.com

Searching

• Analyzing Tornadoes and Volcanoes—Get the Facts with Wolfram|Alpha, Wolfram|Alpha Blog
• Google News in Australia highlights Editors’ Picks, Google Australia
• Wedding Search Engine Loverly Launches Mobile App For Searching, Snapping & Sharing Inspiration While On The Go, TechCrunch

SEM Industry

• A Fond Farewell: When Part of Your Brand’s Voice Moves On, BruceClay.com

SEO & SEM

• April 2013 Google Webmaster Report: Panda Rolls, Large Sites Kicked & Link Penalties, Search Engine Roundtable
• Does Google give big brands a pass?, Search News Central
• Drop The Number Of Blocked URLs In Google Webmaster Tools, Search Engine Roundtable
• Example Of Caller ID Site Not Being Indexed In Google, Search Engine Roundtable
• Expanding Search Campaigns Up The Purchase Funnel, Search Engine Journal
• Generating Keyword Clusters – Art & Science of Analysis Pt 3, Luna Metrics
• Google Claim No Need To Hit Panic Button Just Yet, David Naylor
• HTML Entities Still Work In Google Search Results Titles, Search Engine Roundtable
• Mastering PPC: The Learning Never Stops!, SEER Interactive
• Need Better Display Traffic? Use Site Category Exclusions!, PPC Hero

Video, Music & Image Search

• How to Get Your New YouTube One Channel Ranked in Search [Creator’s Tip #85], reelseo.com