SearchCap: The Day In Search, February 5, 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:

• How Facebook Made Me Search In Strange New Ways
  Have you ever thought to yourself, “I wonder who I know that has gone skydiving, lived in France, eats Chinese food, while mixing a smoothie with their new Ninja NJ600 Blender?” Apparently, this is exactly how we should be thinking. At least, the way Facebook sees it. Not to undermine that this could likely become […]
• 3 Quick & Easy Link Fixes Many Websites Still Overlook
  While I hesitate to define anything link-related as being easy, there are definitely a few things that can be easily fixed, things that can make a sometimes small and sometimes major difference in how your site performs online. Link builders are certainly not miracle workers, but much of the time, links are still seen as […]
• How International Pricing Strategy & Website Forms Impact Global Search Marketing
  In search marketing, we work in the communication business. Two aspects of communication which are often forgotten — or at least not seen to be a part of the “message” — are the buying or inquiring forms and the price. Let’s deal with the forms first. Many writers at Search Engine Land have talked about […]
• SPONSOR MESSAGE: A Marketing Analytics Framework for CMOs
  This Gartner report provides: Nine measurement areas your CMO needs to understand Metrics your web analyst can use to inform the CMO Ways to align measurement technology with business needs Download now »
• Survey: Half Of Small Businesses Never Update Their Listings Online
  ConstantContact’s SinglePlatform division has released the results of a new survey of small businesses (SMBs). The “headline” finding is that nearly half (49 percent) say they’ve never updated their listings online. The survey polled “more than 350″ SMBs. Most small businesses are overwhelmed and confused by even basic online marketing. This is reflected in some […]
• Study: Are Public Record Ads Placed On Google Racially Biased?
  A study published by Harvard professor Latanya Sweeney claims that companies placing public record ads linked to people’s names through Google may use language that reflects racial bias, though why this happens is unclear. The study found that ads associated with black identifying names were more likely to have ads with the word “arrest” in […]
• Dilbert: SEOs Control Content On The Web
  A new Dilbert cartoon once again takes a jab at SEOs and what they do or can do. The latest comic reads: Woman: Asok, your meeting stole an hour of my life. Woman: According to international law, I may now claim you as my indentured servant. Man: Wow. That…. Actually is a law. Woman: (Thinking) […]
• Will A Google Crackdown On Shady Search Toolbars Hurt AVG & IAC?
  Search toolbars are big business for security software company AVG and media company IAC. But could revenue from these toolbars be in danger, as Google says it is stepping up enforcement of its policies against shady behavior related to toolbar downloads? IAC’s Mindspark makes substantial revenues through search toolbars, and AVG, in September 2011, said […]
• Live @ SMX West: Forget What You Know About Paid Search
  Think you know everything about Google AdWords or Bing Ads? Have all the best practices nailed, are a master of match types, and have encyclopedic knowledge about gaining the upper hand when sparring with the quirky idiosyncrasies of bidding, scheduling and conversion optimization? Think again. As kung fu masters remind us, “the wise always remain […]

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

• Instagram No Longer A Mobile-Only Social Network: The Feed Makes Its Web Debut
• Report: Worldwide Online Sales Topped $1 Trillion For First Time In 2012
• Facebook Vacation: 61 Percent Of Users Say They’ve Taken One
• Why You Can’t Find The Official Fast & Furious 6 Web Site In Google & Bing
• Targeted Facebook Ads Will Soon Become More Transparent With AdChoices Icon
• Google’s Chrome Browser Issues Malware Warnings For Major Sites

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• About.me Buys Itself Back From AOL, New York Times

Business Issues

• Baidu Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2012 Results, Baidu
• Google’s Offices In Tel Aviv, Business Insider
• The Google Diet: Search Giant Overhauled Its Eating Options to ‘Nudge’ Healthy Choices, ABC News

Local Search & Maps

• Google Patent Granted on Mobile Location Detection, SEO By The Sea

Link Building

• aHrefs versus MajesticSEO: The Real Test, Search Engine Journal
• Google Webmaster Tools Links to Your Site Count Drops, Search Engine Roundtable
• How to Check if your Hard Earned Links are Still Live, distilled
• How to make sure your content gets links, Econsultancy

SEM Industry

• 4 Steps to Panda-Proof Your Website (Before It’s Too Late!), Search Engine Watch
• Interview w/ Brett Tabke, CEO Pubcon on IA and Site Organization, stuntdubl.com

SEO & SEM

• 3 Big PPC Mistakes Even Pros Make & How to Avoid Them, Search Engine Watch
• 4 Things New Site Owners Need to Understand about SEO, Search Engine Journal
• 7 Awesome Competitive Niche SEO Strategies, Search Engine People
• February 2013 Google Webmaster Report – Signs Of Another Update?, Search Engine Roundtable
• Google PageRank Update: February 2013, Search Engine Roundtable
• Judging your PPC Ads by Analytics Metrics, PPC Hero
• Measuring & Improving Lost Impression Share, PPC Hero
• Pay Day Loan Rankings: The shady tale of Joomla hacks and Drupal leaks, seoconsult.com
• Saving Your Website From Negative SEO, Search Engine People
• SEO Roles of Engagement: Stimulate, Don’t Alienate!, Search Engine Watch
• SSL Frames Allowed For Google AdWords Landing Pages, Search Engine Roundtable
• Valentines Day – e-commerce Gaps, Fails & Things to Fix, stateofsearch.com
• What Google’s authorship markup means for SEO, seocopywriting.com
• Why does a certain YouTube video appear to be visiting my blog?, YouTube

About The Author

Barry Schwartz

Barry Schwartz is Search Engine Land's News Editor and owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on SEM topics.