SearchCap: The Day In Search, August 16, 2007

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 To Buy Chinese Companies To Compete Better In China
  Google Increases Stake in China from PC World reports that Google will be investing heavily in China over the next couple years to try to take market share from Chinese search leader, Baidu. Kai-Fu Lee, president of Google China, said, Over the next year, Google will acquire one or two…
• 
  See You At Search Engine Strategies
  It’s Search Engine Strategies San Jose next week. For Chris Sherman and I, it’s our swan song. This is the last SES event that either of us will program, with our search marketing conference efforts going forward focused on our own Search Marketing Expo (SMX) events. But we’ve put…
• 
  How Proxy Hacking Can Hurt Your Rankings & What To Do About It
  Google Proxy Hacking: How A Third Party Can Remove Your Site From Google SERPs by Dan Thies gives us a detailed look at the serious dangers of proxy hacking. Dan’s detailed article shows the history on how he discovered the issue. He then goes into why the hacking currently works…
• 
  SMX News: Local & Mobile “Early Bird” Sticking Around, The Focus of Social Show, A Sneak Preview for Travel
  We heard from several people last night that the early bird registration for Search Marketing Expo – SMX Local & Mobile snuck up on them. Spotting what may be a trend, we’re extending the early bird rate until close of business on Friday. Register now for only $995! You’ll save…
• 
  Ad Share Shifting To Internet
  Henry Blodget’s Silicon Alley Insider has some interesting data and analysis (Q2 2006 vs. 2007) that shows how Internet media are gaining at the expense of traditional media: TV, newspapers and radio in particular. Among traditional media, only outdoor grew in Q2. Everyone knows this intuitively and anecdotally but Blogdet…
• 
  WSJ: FCC Seeks To Block Free ISP Initiative
  How you view the story in today’s Wall Street Journal depends on how cynical you are. The story, “Firm Seeks FCC Review of Free Internet-Service Plan,” is about a company called M2Z Networks that wants to build a wireless broadband ISP using vacant wireless spectrum to provide free Internet access…
• 
  ‘Mobile Social Networking’ Already Claims Millions Of Users
  M:Metrics released numbers on mobile social networking in the US and Europe. The U.S. had the largest audience — primarily mobile versions of social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook — followed by the U.K., Spain, Germany and France. In the U.S. and Western Europe there were 12.3 million mobile…
• 
  AOL’s Truveo Introduces New Video Search Site And Consumer Destination
  AOL acquired video search engine Truveo in January, 2006 and has used it primarily as a technology platform to power AOL video since that time. Simultaneously, the company has been supporting video search on third party sites. (See our previous coverage.) You could do video searches on Truveo.com but it…
• 
  Must Read Link Building Posts From This Week
  Over the past couple days and specifically yesterday and today, we have seen a large number of high quality blog posts in regards to link building, link buying, link exchanges and bad links. I thought I share with you some of those posts here:…
• 
  Google Updates Link Scheme Webmaster Guidelines
  I reported on a WebmasterWorld thread, which noticed Google added the word “excessive” to their link schemes Webmaster guidelines page. The line now reads, examples of link schemes can include “excessive reciprocal links or excessive link exchanging (“Link to me and I’ll link to you.”).” The new word added to…
• 
  Qihoo Wins Unfair Competition Suit Against Yahoo China
  Qihoo lawsuit win closes chapter in dispute with China Yahoo from Interfax reports Qihoo has won an unfair competition lawsuit against Yahoo China. Yahoo China has to pay Qihoo $9,210 and post an apology on their home page….
• 
  Google Enhances Webmaster Central’s Robots.txt Analysis Tool
  The Google Webmaster Central Blog announced improvements they have made to the robots.txt analysis tool. The tool now recognizes all sitemap declarations and relative urls. So now the tool will report the validity of all sitemap’s URL plus show data for relative URLs. In addition, Google has expanded the reporting…
• 
  IAB & DMA Launched UK’s First Search Marketing Best Practices Charter
  The IAB UK and DMA UK has released the UK’s first code of conduct for search marketing firms. Companies that want to earn the IAB UK’s accreditation must comply with 4 specific criteria….
• 
  Lower Keyword Focus To Improve Search Engine Rankings
  Before November of 2003 it was easy to rank well in Google for just about anything just by using the keywords in your anchor text and plastering the term everywhere in your page copy. I appreciate that, knowing that back then I ranked in Google’s top 10 results for…
• 
  Tis The Season To Optimize For The Holidays
  Prediction: Any day now, you’re going to walk into a retail store and see Christmas products for sale. I know it’s only August. I know the holidays are more than four months away. But that won’t stop your favorite store from getting a jump on the shopping season. And…

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• Fetch your docs, find your code, Official Google Mac Blog
• Google India Labs, Googlified

Business Issues

• Microsoft Taps Lobbyist on Google Buyout, Forbes
• Why Google Inspires Diverging Case Studies, Media Info Center
• Google Removes Blog Showing Leaked Facebook Code, Techcrunch
• Numbers, David Weiss
• Google still growing on Eastside; 3 buildings leased in Kirkland, SeattleTimes
• Google: Buy Adobe for Video!, GigaOM

Conferences

• SES Advisory Board Members Named, Search Engine Watch Blog
• A Look at What It Takes To Run an SES Conference, Jill Whalen
• Calacanis Withdraws From SES San Jose, ShoeMoney
• Extra Curricular Events at Search Engine Strategies San Jose 2007 (and Party Thread), Search Engine Roundtable
• Roundtable Coverage Schedule of the Search Engine Strategies San Jose 2007 Show, Search Engine Roundtable
• Schedule Optimization for SES San Jose, Search Engine Watch
• SES San Jose 2007 Special Events, Er Parties, Online Marketing Blog

Local, Maps & Mobile

• 3 Reasons Yahoo! Local Search Can Dominate Google, Search Engine Journal
• Intelius Launches Fee-Based Cell Phone Number Database and Now White Pages Provider to MSN, ResourceShelf
• Photo-Auto Maps (1907), Google Blogoscoped

Link Building

• Integration: Key Element of Link Building, Search Engine Watch
• Part Two: Advanced Linking Interview With Fantomaster, LinkJuicy
• The Art of Buying Links Under the Radar, SEOmoz
• When Good Links Turn Bad, Reviewlicious
• Link Building in the Google Supplemental Aftermath, SEO Speedwagon
• Things That Bug Me Regarding Those Who Sell Links, SearchRank
• Video: Matt Cutts Warns Against Link Buying, Search Engine Roundtable

Paid Search & Contextual

• Happy blogday to us, Inside AdSense
• How To Dominate The Last 2 Days of the Month, PPC Hero
• Google Referrals 2.0 Feature Wish List, Search Engine Roundtable
• PubMatic Aims to Maximize Revenue for Web Site Publishers, Read/Write Web
• Secret AdSense Online Advisory Council Revealed, ProBlogger
• The 8 Most Common Search Advertising Goals, eWhisper.net
• UK Paid Search market close to £2 billion – new report, E-Consultancy

Searching

• Like.com: neat app or serious search tool?, News.com
• AnswerBus, the Q&A engine & the Search 2.0 Paradigm, Search Engine Journal

SEM Industry

• DigitalPoint Keeps Webmaster Forum Marketshare Through 2007, ShoeMoney
• Do you like the term SEO, BlogStorm
• My first blog post, Bob Massa
• Seocircuit Lauches, David Naylor

SEO & SEM

• How Long Until I See Top Search Rankings?, Search Engine Roundtable
• Which Presidential Candidates Have Mastered Google?, Wired
• How To Guide: Prevent Google Proxy Hacking, SEO Egghead

Social Media

• Never Underestimate Netscape : Traffic, Activity, Search Engine Journal

Video, Music & Image Search

• Now Watch YouTube Videos in Fast Forward Mode, Buffer Anywhere, Digital Inspiration
• Yahoo Reminds Photo Users Of Shutdown, WebProNews

Other Items

• Archiving the Volunteer State Web: Archive-It and The Tennessee State Library and Archives, ResourceShelf
• Full Text e-Books: PublicLiterature.org and Literature Timeline, ResourceShelf
• Yahoo! Shopping First to Include Security Information in Comparison Shopping, Marketwire
• Say hello to Think – the Google car, Pandia
• Why newspapers are screwed by Google, Guardian Unlimited

Hot Items From Sphinn, Our Social News Sharing Site:

• Using Social Networking Sites to Poach Your Competitors Rankings
• Social Media Marketing – Answers from the Experts
• Google Proxy Hacking: How A Third Party Can Remove Your Site From Google SERPs
• Part Two: Advanced Linking Interview With Fantomaster
• Search ëOnlyí 5% of Online Activity – Why Is That Bad?
• Out: Google Doodles – In: Google Warnings
• Why Are Digg Employees Stalking MeÖ?
• Twitter Nofollow
• Do You Need to Feature Your Personal Picture in Social Media? Opinions?
• How to Make Viral Linkbaits Work: Four Characteristics of Success
• FeedBurner: SEO Friend or Foe?
• Craigslist is Stealing My SERPs!
• Watch Out for “Sphinn’s Graveyard”!