SearchCap: The Day In Search, February 2, 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:

• Bing: “We Do Not Copy Results. Period.”

  The war of words between Google and Bing has escalated today with a strong denial about copied search results from Bing’s Yusuf Mehdi, who also accused Google of a form of click fraud in setting up its test involving “honeypot” search results. Mehdi, Microsoft’s Senior VP of Online Services, just published a strongly-worded denial of […]
• Honeycomb Puts Android 3.0 Tablets On Nearly Equal Footing With iPad

  This morning Google showcased the features of its new tablet-optimized version of Android: Honeycomb. Danny live-blogged the press event, Honeycomb represents a dramatic improvement over Gingerbread for tablets in several respects. The UI is the most obvious example, as well as developer tools on the back end. There are some distinct UI differences between Android […]

• Live Blogging The Google Android 3.0 “Honeycomb” Event

  I’m here at the Googleplex in Moutain View, where any minute, Google plans to update the world on all things Android. We expect news about Android 3.0 — “Honeycomb” — and perhaps Android tablets. Stay tuned. Andy Rubin, leader of all things Android is up, saying we’re going to hear about Honeycomb, the Motorola tablet […]

• Study: Facebook Ad Click-Throughs Declining

  Click-through rates on Facebook ads only averaged 0.05% in 2010, down from 0.06% in 2009 and well short of what’s considered to be the industry average of 0.10%. That’s according to a Webtrends report that examined 11,000 Facebook ads, first reported upon by ClickZ. Meanwhile, the price of those clicks is increasing, rising from $0.27 […]

• SMX West: See Who’s Speaking; Rates Increase Saturday – Register Now!

  Early bird rates for Search Marketing Expo – SMX West expire this Saturday, February 5! Save up to $250 on your All Access ticket by registering now! Here’s why you should join us March 8-10 in San Jose, CA: More than 100 of the world’s most knowledgeable speakers will present at SMX West. They’re selected […]

• Google Rolls Out Shopper App For iPhone

  Google’s Shopper mobile app is being introduced for iPhone. It already exists for Android devices. Shopper allows users to search for products by voice, with the camera, via barcode scan or by text entry. Users can also share products on Facebook, Twitter, SMS or email. Google Shopper shows prices, product reviews and local inventory availability […]

• Google Uses Amazon’s Algorithm For YouTube’s Recommendation Engine

  Greg Linden reports that Google has switched the algorithm they use for YouTube’s recommendation engine from their own to a variation of Amazon’s algorithm that was designed in the late 90s. This is an interesting move being that Google has the man power and smarts to build a fairly good recommendation on their own. But […]

• Google’s Mobile Moves Tighten Its Grip On Local

  It’s all starting to come together. Yesterday Google announced that it was adding check-ins (and loyalty categories) to Latitude. It also announced the global expansion of HotPot, its recommendations tool. Google Places apps for both iPhone and Android allow people to rate and review businesses (HotPot’s objective). And on Places Pages, in Android, you can […]

• Pop This! How To Manage Visual Hierarchy For Conversion

  Establishing a clear visual hierarchy is key to creating a well-optimized web page. But how do you achieve the right balance? In this article,I’ll look at nine visual “toggles” you can use, with examples of their effects. I’ll start by saying that every designer I’ve ever met despises the word “pop.” It’s one of those […]

• Brands Beware: Affiliate Tricks Used In Email

  Less than two years ago, I wrote an article for Brand Aid about display URL tricks used by affiliates and other brand hijackers in paid search ads. In that article, one of the tactics discussed, ‘tactic # 2’, was a misdirected display URL – where the display URL of the paid ad shows one domain, […]

• Successful SEM Tactics For Marketing Mobile Apps

  Got a new mobile app that needs marketing? I wish I could say there’s an app for that, but for in-house search engine marketing managers, marketing a new mobile app involves a lot of the same elbow grease and detailed, tactical campaign work as a search engine marketing campaign. The App’s (Finally) Approved After a […]

• Bing’s Search Results Are A ‘Cheap Imitation’, Google Says

  The war of words between Google and Bing continues with the latest pair of jabs coming from Google. In a blog post this afternoon, Google’s Amit Singhal reiterates the claims we reported this morning that Bing is copying Google’s search results. But he also goes a step further, or perhaps a couple steps, and accuses […]

Search News From Around The Web:

Business Issues

• The latest insights & trends from Google Internet Stats, Google Barometer Blog
• AOL Reports Q4 Earnings, Business Wire
• IAC Reports Q4 Results, IAC
• Now, Microsoft Goes After Google–This Time Over Web Video Formats, AllThingsD

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Google’s My Maps Returning Blank Results On Internet Explorer, Search Engine Roundtable
• MapQuest Debuts Alternate Routes, MapQuest Blog

Link Building

• Building Your Own Scraper for Link Analysis, Distilled blog
• Corporate SEO – Link Building by Letter, SEOmoz
• 7 Alternatives To Link Exchange, Search Engine People

Paid Search & Contextual

• AdWords AdSense and Click Arbitrage, Search Engine Journal

Searching

• China’s Baidu plans to diversify by going social, thenextweb.com

SEM Industry

• Link Building Expert Interview with Todd Malicoat, Vertical Measures

SEO & SEM

• I Worked on the AOL Content Farm & It Changed My Life, Read/Write Web
• Latest Google Algorithm change, searchnewscentral.com
• 5 SEO Mistakes that Crush Rankings, quicksprout.com
• Don’t Let Duplicate Pages and Bad URLs Destroy Your SEO: Kill It Dead! (Part 3 of 3), Search Engine Guide
• Is Google able to crawl protocols other than http and https?, YouTube
• Salespeople: the free SEO tool every agency has, SEOptimise

Video, Music & Image Search

• Flickr Accidentally Deletes a User’s 4,000 Photos and Can’t Get Them Back, The New York Observer
• Flickr: Too big to fail (We hope?), ZDNet

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

• DOTW: Google vs. Bing 2011 Copygate: Who won? – Google accuses Bing of copying its search results. Bing calls Google's sting operation a "spy-novelesque stunt." Google fires back by calling Bing's search results a "cheap imitation" and a "recycled" version of Google's search results. Now that the dust is settling a day later, our "Discussion of the Week" asks a simple question: Who won … Google or Bing? (And yes, there are many ways you can take that question and run with it, so go for it!)
• Grow up Google! – Who is really copying who and who is most ethical? Is clickstream data valid and ethical at all? And why did Google chose to break the news now? Is it just another Google hoax?
• Bing's Thoughts on Search Quality – Bing's indirect response to Google's claims that Bing is copying Google SERPs.
• 10 Metrics to Check When Your Traffic Crashes – One of the scariest moments for us SEO’s can be checking your analytics and seeing that traffic has taken a nose dive. Knowing what to check can help quickly get a better understanding of what is happening. The following are the first 10 metrics (or places) I usually check when I see a significant drop in traffic.
• How Social Media Changes Everything* – If you take the time to read it carefully, this piece by Aaron Wall will give you some keen insights on strategic directions you can take with your social media and general online marketing strategy.But more importantly, it's eye opening facts, data, and links might just give you some sense of why and how you should use your new-found marketing skills for the general good of the world.
• The Secret of Quality Score – This article introduces a new way to think of quality score by answering a simple question: What would quality score have to be if Google was a business and wanted to maximize its earnings? The answer is suprisingly simple: if quality score is an estimate of click-through probability, Google not only earns as much money as possible, but also makes users happy with high-quality ads.
• Shopping Basket Best Practice from ASOS – 14 best practices for moving shoppers through the checkout process leading higher conversion rates and better usability within the shopping cart from the ecommerce fashion/clothing store ASOS.
• Hints of How Google May Rank Social Networks? – Regardless of if it's for their own network, external ones or both, it is always interesting to see how the Google geeks percieve the social sphere. PLenty to consider in this one.
• A Link Building Blueprint: The Foundation – This article takes a look at what happened last week with Google’s algorithm tweak, how it may affect your linking and why now more than ever it’s a good idea to use a wide variety of link building tactics.