SearchCap: The Day In Search, June 10, 2009

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 Adds Change of Address To Notify Google Of Domain Change
  Google announced a new feature in Google Webmaster Tools named change of address. This feature allows webmasters to notify Google when they move domain names.
  When used, Google will update the index to reflect your new URL. The change will stay in effect for 180 days, by which time Google would have crawled and […]
• DOJ Increases Scrutiny Of Google Book Settlement
  The Wall Street Journal reports that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has sent formal requests (“civil investigative demands”) to book publishers and Google regarding particulars of their book search settlement deal. That settlement has drawn considerable criticism from various third parties. The article characterized the requests as an “escalation” of the DOJ’s probe:
  A New […]
• The Ebb and Flow of SEO
  Like some many things around us, SEO follows a certain organic (if you’ll pardon the pun) ebb and flow. Support for SEO programs hinges on often fickle politics, in some cases, and in all cases, it happens at the pace resources allow. In today’s globally depressed economy, how do you manage your program to ensure […]
• How Google Suggestions Should Handle Adult Related Sites?
  A reader sent us a problem he has with Google’s Search Suggestions. In short, his main issue is that when a searcher is looking for an adult web site, Google will suggest alternative sites, as to not show adult related search suggestions.
  Here is an example of entering in [adultfriend] and expecting to see the […]
• What AdWords Customers Need To Know About $20 Million Settlement
  As many of you know, Google settled an AdWords class action suit for $20 million. Now, advertisers are receiving email notifications on what their rights are in this class action lawsuit. I read the settlement notice (PDF) and I’ll highlight what I feel most AdWords customers need to know.
  Probably the most important section […]
• Google Adds Reconsideration Request Status Updates
  I reported at the Search Engine Roundtable that Google is now sending email notifications to webmasters after they have reviewed a reconsideration request submitted through Google Webmaster Tools.
  This is a major change in how Google previous handled reconsideration requests. In the past, a webmaster would submit a reconsideration requests and a webmaster would have […]
• Benefits Of Geo-Targeting A National PPC Campaign
  In today’s tough economy, B2B Marketers are looking for ways to improve the efficiency of pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns. If you need to squeeze more juice out of your search marketing budget, consider implementing two proven techniques designed to better utilize limited funds and improve marketing ROI: geographic targeting and ad scheduling.
  In this two-part series, […]
• Schmidt: Bing Can’t Buy Search Love With Ads; Gotta Earn It
  CEO Eric Schmidt has weighed in on the Bing launch — and he’s not sounding panicked, not that I would expect him to be. But he certainly puts out a conflicted message that Bing isn’t a serious competitor and yet argues that it’s serious enough that talk of a Google monopoly seems “unwarranted.” Plus, a […]
• Wikipedia As News Source? In Latest Google Testing, Yes
  As first noticed by Michael Dorausch, and later expanded on by Michael Gray, Google has very recently begun showing Wikipedia as a news source on Google News.

  Little has been said about this until today, when Google’s Gabriel Stricker confirmed to the Nieman Journalism Lab that it’s part of a small experiment on Google’s part:
  “Currently, we’re […]

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• Google Apps will be (literally) in the cloud June 24th, Official Google Enterprise Blog
• New From Google: Fusion Tables, Google Blogoscoped
• Yahoo! Raises Commitment to Cloud Computing with the Availability of Yahoo! Distribution of Hadoop, Yahoo Press Releases

Business Issues

• Google CEO says looking to buy smaller firms, Reuters
• Google’s Schmidt Rips Microsoft’s Bing, paidContent.org
• Craigslist Revenue Is Said to Be Over $100 Million, New York Times
• Digg’s Amazing Business Model, Explained, paidContent.org

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Caught in topless… in Italy, Street View Hacks
• Google Details Information Sources for the Business Listing “Cluster”, Mike Blumenthal
• Google Maps: Category Mapspam, Mike Blumenthal
• The Iterative Web App – Faster Address Auto-complete and Keyboard Shortcuts, Official Google Mobile Blog

Paid Search & Contextual

• AdWords Downtime: June 13, 10am-2pm PDT, AdWords API Blog
• Client Library Updates: Part 2, AdWords API Blog
• Google AdSense Reporting Delay on June 9th, Search Engine Roundtable
• Google News showing inappropriate ads on embedded YouTube videos, JenSense
• Google Sent AdSense Publisher Wrong Check, Search Engine Roundtable
• Introducing Microsoft Advertising Intelligence, adCenter Blog

Searching

• Bing, Cuil Blog
• Introducing Google Quick Search Box, Official Google Mac Blog
• Search Engine Robots Sharing Cookies?, SEO By The Sea
• Building Rome in a Day, Wolfram|Alpha Blog

SEM Industry

• Blog: SES Toronto 2009 Blog Coverage – Day 2, Search Engine Strategies
• I Don’t Like Conflict (But Google Doesn’t Think SEOs are Criminals), BruceClay.com
• SEO & PPC learnings from SMX Advanced, Search Cowboys

SEO & SEM

• Which is better underscores or dashes ?, David Naylor
• Evaluating Reliability of 4 Keyword Tools, Shimon Sandler
• How not to hide text, YouTube
• Learn SEO in 30 Minutes a Day, SEOmoz
• Pagerank is Dead. Sculpting is Dead. Trust is Alive….in my eyes., Webuildpages.com
• Search Engine Visibility and PR – An Edelman Digital White Paper, Micro Persuasion
• SEO Blueprints: Preplan Sound Site Architecture, AIM Clear Blog
• The Do’s And Don’ts Of Online Reputation Management, Search Engine Journal
• The mystery of the UK SERPS – updated, Search Cowboys
• The Top Ten Reasons Your SEO Sucks, Search Engine Journal
• Why Alt Tags are Important, David Naylor

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

• What are you going to do next year when the Internet is liberalised?
• SEOs are not crimminals – they are the enemy!
• Google Now Notifying Webmasters After Reconsideration Request Review via Email
• How to Compete with Yourself in the Search Engines and Win
• Large Site SEO: How to Waste Your #1 Ranking with Bad Formulas
• Google Experimenting with Images in Search Results?
• 10 Superb Social Media Presentations
• Google Openly Profiles SEOs As Criminals
• Highlights & Lowlights from SES Toronto 2009 – Day 1

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.