SearchCap: The Day In Search, March 17, 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:

• YouTube Down, But Still Dominates Online Video; Netflix Owns Movie Watching

  Video watching was down on YouTube during February, but it still holds a seemingly unsurmountable lead in viewers, video views, and time spent per viewer. According to the latest comScore video stats, which cover February 2010, Google sites — i.e., primarily YouTube — saw a 2.1% drop in unique viewers 4.3% drop in viewing sessions […]

• Google Tweaks AdSense Code To Speed Loads

  Google is making good on promises it made to speed its AdSense code, rolling out an overhaul aimed at relieving the drag on publishers’ Web pages. The company estimates that its helping pages load faster by a half a second or more, when, previously, Google acknowledged that its code could delay page loads by 12 […]

• Google Analytics Unveils A New User Experience

  Google has just announced a new version of Google Analytics, introducing a completely new user experience. The product got a significant face lift and it now looks more enterprise-like. The last time Google Analytics released such a major version was 1.5 years ago; we covered the release in-depth on this post, but basically the release […]

• St. Patrick’s Day Logo Not On Google.com

  This is the first time in years that Google does not have a St. Patrick’s Day logo on the Google.com home page. Google does have a special logo on Google Ireland but not on Google.com. Here is the Google St. Patrick’s Day logo on Google Ireland: I have a feeling Google did not post it […]

• Facebook Asking App Developers To Stop Using Google AdSense

  The Inside Facebook Blog reports that some Facebook developers are receiving emails from Facebook to remove the Google AdSense ads they have on their apps. They posted a screen shot of one developer stating this in the developer group on Facebook. Here is a screen shot: Facebook issued a deadline of last month to remove […]

• Microsoft More “Ethical” Than Apple, Google, Yahoo, Facebook

  Many people might not believe that Microsoft, the company that a decade ago was often known as “the evil empire,” is now one of the most “ethical” internet companies, beating out Google, Apple, Yahoo, Facebook and other well-known online brands. That’s according to the New York-based Ethisphere Institute (EI), which produces an annual list of […]

• 3 Ways Small Businesses Can Use Social Media To Drive Customer Loyalty

  Customer loyalty is at the heart of every business, both large and small. One common industry statistic that is referenced time and again is that it is five times more profitable to spend marketing dollars to keep your best customers rather than acquiring new ones. Small businesses get this equation in spades. A Harvard Business […]

• Five Late Resolutions For Online Retailers In 2011

  Yes, it’s late February. And yes, resolutions are supposed to be made in late December. But as anyone that works in retail knows, December is far too busy to give anyone time to think about resolutions and January isn’t much better. But each year, sometime around the third week in January, something magical happens in […]

• Pew: Yahoo And Google Rank High On List Of Online Political News Sources

  Of the 24 percent of Americans who get most of their political news from the Internet, 20 percent cite Yahoo.com as their main source of news, and Google comes in next at 13 percent. Only CNN.com, at 22 percent, came in higher than the two search-centric destinations in the latest study from the Pew Research […]

• An Illustrated Guide To Searching For Shared, Tweeted & “Realtime” Images

  Looking for images that are being shared and posted in realtime? That image search space has gotten more competitive, as Nachofoto reenters the field. Below, what it offers, along with general realtime image searching tips using other services like Topsy, Google Realtime Search and Twitter itself. I’ve used realtime search tools often, in order to […]

• Cars, Restaurants, Financial Services Top Study Of “Complaint Searches”

  Among major brands, those in the automobile, finance, and food service industries attracted the most complaint-related searches in 2010. That’s according to a new study from the marketing agency Web Liquid Group. The 2011 Customer Complaint Index measures search activity in the Google Keyword Research Tool involving complaints (i.e., broad match results for “(brand name) […]

Search News From Around The Web:

Business Issues

• Twitter says it will stay in San Francisco if given tax break, San Francisco Examiner
• Chinese writers accuse Baidu of stealing, AFP
• How Google’s new CEO will keep company nimble, www.msnbc.msn.com
• Police, Google and Facebook warned on data protection, The Register

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Bing Drops “Write a Review” Link; Good Move or Bad?, Small Business SEM
• For Second Year in a Row, Walmart Tops List as Nation’s Most Searched Business Using GPS, Yahoo! Finance

Link Building

• New Link Research Tools Features: That’s What You’ve Been Dreaming about!, Search Engine Journal
• Link Building Tips for Small Businesses, Search Engine Watch

Paid Search & Contextual

• Google AdSense Testing Ad Style Variations, Search Engine Roundtable
• Google AdWords Sends Out Email Verification Emails, Search Engine Roundtable

Searching

• Bing Bing Feature Update: Discover city attractions before you go, Bing Search Blog

SEO & SEM

• Optimising web pages using Google Website Optimiser, Bruce Clay Australia
• 6 Important Considerations When Switching SEO Agencies, BruceClay.com
• Account Bingification for Dummies – How to Convert your Google Adwords PPC Account to Microsoft Adcenter… Part 2, adCenter Blog
• An Evaluation of Google’s Realtime Search, Vik’s Blog
• Creating Long Term SEO Value, Distilled blog
• Evaluating the Impact of AdWords Sitelinks, Certified Knowledge
• How To Motivate An SEO, rosshudgens.com
• Linking Out Instead of Link Building to Rank in Google, SEOptimise
• The Veg-O-Matic approach to SEO copy development, SEO Copywriting
• Website Traffic Improves Two Weeks After Google Panda (Farmer) Update, Digital Inspiration

Social Media

• Exactly How Powerful Are Tweets & Retweets? Help Us Find Out!, SEOmoz
• How Word Of Mouth, the Internet and Online Consumer Reviews Influence Purchase Decisions | Marketing Forward, experian.com
• Only 10% of Your Friends See Your Facebook Posts, And Only 1% Like It., hypebot
• Revealed: US spy operation that manipulates social media, The Guardian
• Tweet Once More and Lose Your Job, Sustainable Business Forum

Video, Music & Image Search

• comScore Releases February 2011 U.S. Online Video Rankings, comScore

Web Analytics

• Tracking Facebook PPC Ads in Google Analytics, Vertical Leap Blog

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

• Google Dance Updates [Infographic] – Those who’ve been involved in search marketing for a long time simply sigh when another Google update occurs. Major update or minor update, they know it’s simply time to do the Google Dance again. Here are some of the major Google Updates represented in "infographic" style.
• 3 Tips to Use Paid Search for a Complex Sale – Good post with some deeper Pay Per Click considerations – When you're dealing with a niche and high value product, competition for active buyers in paid search can be fierce. And expensive. Consider this example from enterprise security…
• How To Motivate An SEO – Great stuff from Ross Hudgens: "Yes, if we work super hard, progress will happen. But we don’t know when. This means that the grind can sometimes wear on us.. that slogging away can sag on our eyelids. And that sucks. Why aren’t SEOs collectively known as the same group of unadulterated worker bees as those programmers on Hacker News? Why can’t we be"
• Only 10 Percent of Your Friends See Your Facebook Posts, And Only 1 Percent Like It – Interesting un-scientific study about how many people actually see and interact with Facebook posts. It doesn't take lurkers into account, but still makes for an interesting thought piece.
• Google Analytics v5 Unveils A New User Experience – New user interface in years designed for ease of use and more…
• 25 Ways to Qualify Great Links – There are numerous types of links that exist on the internet. Paid, product reviews, sponsors lists, blogrolls, and we could go on till the cows come home. With Google placing so much weight on links, below are 25 ways to qualify whether the link you’re pitching, buying, trading, or baiting is a quality one.
• 12 Ways to Pick The Best Affiliate Programs – Sarah Bundy talks through what to consider when choosing which affiliate programs to join.

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.