SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 22, 2010

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

From Search Engine Land:

• Ten Search Marketing Hot Spots To Watch In 2011

  As you shift your focus from frantically optimizing holiday campaigns to methodically (hah!) executing 2011 plans, here are ten areas worth thinking about: 1. Local. With all the buzz over Google’s near-acquisition of Groupon, it’s clear the Big G is ready to make a big move in the local space. While it may not be […]

• Video: 12 Days Of Googlemas Carol From Google & Search Engine Land

  Some of the members of the Search Engine Land team spent some time at Google last week. They put together a 12 Days of Googlemas Carol for all to listen and watch on YouTube. Sitting in front with the laptop and yellow shirt is Google’s Matt Cutts. In the blue shirt in front is Danny […]

• Net Neutrality: What Do The New Rules Mean And What’s Next?

  The new “net neutrality” rules passed yesterday by the FCC (3-2 along partisan lines) are a kind of “Rorschach test.” Depending on where you sit on the political spectrum or in the internet economy you may see the new rules as “not going far enough” or “a unnecessary power grab by the government.” Some people […]

• Of Salary Surveys, Training Options And Twelve Days

  It’s that time of year again, when an in-house SEO’s mind turns to spiked eggnog at the company party and tinsel around the cubicles. With 2011 looming large in our collective monitors, it feels like the right time to share some love. Again this year SEMPO has run the Industry Salary Survey. Started a few […]

• SMX West Agenda Now Available – Register Today for Super Early Bird Rates!

  ‘Tis the season of giving! Our gift to you? The Search Marketing Expo – SMX West agenda … and the opportunity to save $400 by registering while Super Early Bird rates are available! Attend SMX West March 8-10, 2011 in San Jose, CA and you’ll be a more effective, innovative and inspired internet marketer. Register […]

• How To SEO A Vending Machine

  If you were visiting a new city, you would hope your travel agent would suggest restaurants with good atmosphere, good service, and good variety—not a vending machine at a gas station. Google wants to be a good travel agent. When you perform a search, you’re really asking Google to present a choice that is perfectly […]

Search News From Around The Web:

Business Issues

• Four reasons Google is still Awesome, Paul Buchheit
• Analysis: Will Google follow Microsoft in EU probe?, Reuters
• Facebook Will Thwart Google, Says Ex Googler, gawker.com
• Google’s Big Problem: It Ain’t What You Think: Tech News, gigaom.com
• Now Even the View Is Dissing Yahoo, TechCrunch

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Hidden Safari Mobile feature reveals augmented reality capability, thenextweb.com
• Android In Spaaaace!, Official Google Mobile Blog
• Google Maps Avoids The Holland Tunnel In New York, Search Engine Roundtable

Paid Search & Contextual

• Display in 2011: The Future Belongs to Google, ClickZ

SEO & SEM

• Bing Search 2010 Holiday Update, Search Engine Roundtable
• Google Does Not Update Cache On Each Crawl, Search Engine Roundtable
• Google Warns Some Navigation Menus Might Be Spam, Search Engine Roundtable
• Ring in the new year with accessible content: Website clinic for non-profits, Official Google Webmaster Central Blog
• Safe For SEO, Hacking [FIXED] Google Keyword Tool, AIM Clear Blog
• The SEO Wish List – Part 2 Navigation, Vertical Leap Blog

Video, Music & Image Search

• Mobile Video Usage Stats, blog.mefeedia.com

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

• The ASA will investigate SEO practices – Andrew Girwood writes: "The Advertising Standards Authority in the UK has a wide remit. In March 2011 this remit further expands, with backing from Google, to look at claims and sales practises on websites. It’s already possible for the ASA to investigate PPC campaigns."
• Local SEO Experiment – Google's Change Location – Dr. Pete decided to run an experiment to see if changing your default location to another when searching at Google would provide the same results a if you were in fact searching from that location. Click through to see the results!
• The Importance Of Being Social To Google – Michael Martinez: People have systematically abused social media sites for links, thus forcing those social media sites to take counter-measures. But now the profiles themselves are being weighed and used to affect search results, and this new evolution in search ranking technology will invariably drive new attempts to influence the search results. Assisting Google, Bing, and perhaps other social search engines in rooting out the fake accounts may make more sense for everyone than simply allowing these accounts to fester and grow and accrue value that becomes increasingly challenging to compete with.
• A Comprehensive List of B2B Marketing Blog Posts from 2010 – Derek Edmond and some of his B2B marketer friends have put together a list of their favorite posts about B2B marketing. Grab a cup of coffee and dig in!
• The Decade In Search – Ruud takes a look back at how search and social evolved over the past decade. Great write-up.
• 52 Ways to be a Conversion Badass (2010 Style) – 52 of the best conversion rate optimization blog posts of the year from the top internet marketing blogs around – each with a summary of how it can help you become a conversion expert…
• Create Your Own SEO Metrics Dashboard – Here are some SEO metrics I've tracked and used for years. Follow along to learn how you can build your own SEO metrics dashboard.
• Shopping Online via Cellphone for Holiday Gifts – This holiday season, consumers are beginning to shop and make purchases on their mobile phones. The shift from buying presents in front of the computer at home or work to doing it during bus commutes or while standing in line at cafes is small, but, for the first time, noticeable and even significant.

About The Author

Barry Schwartz

Barry Schwartz a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land and a member of the programming team for SMX events. He owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry's personal blog is named Cartoon Barry and he can be followed on Twitter here.