SearchCap: The Day In Search, November 10, 2008

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

From Search Engine Land:

• Search Biz: Schmidt Turns Down Obama; Google Stock Tumbling & More
  Google CEO Eric Schmidt may have endorsed Barack Obama for president, but that doesn’t mean he wants to work in the Obama administration. According to Reuters, Schmidt told CNBC that he would not take on the role of “technology czar” if Obama were to ask him. “I love working at Google and I’m very happy to stay at Google, so the answer is no,” Schmidt said. He is, however, serving on Obama’s 17-person economic advisory board.
• 8 DON’Ts and 7 DOs For Holiday eCommerce
  The holiday season is almost upon us. It’s time to start looking over the inventory, keywords, and offers to make sure you’re ready for Cyber Monday. In today’s column we offer several things to do and important don’ts that will help you have a successful holiday season.
• Microsoft Does MSN Toolbar Distribution Deal With Java
  Continuing on with its strategy to build search share by gaining distribution partners, Microsoft has landed a deal to have its MSN Toolbar offered to anyone in the United States who downloads Java for Internet Explorer.
• Google AdSense To Improve Ad Filter & Blocking Ads
  The Inside AdSense blog has told us they will be improving the speed of the AdSense competitive ad filter and also enhance the blocking capabilities of the Ad Review Center. The ad filter will be speed up to work within an hour, once these changes have been deployed. While the Ad Review Center will be expanded to give you ways to block an “entire categories of ads in addition to individual ads.”
• Agency.com Sues iCrossing For Poaching Clients & Employees
  Agency.com Sues Rival Over Clients from the Wall Street Journal reports that Agency.com is suing iCrossing for allegedly trying to hire Agency.com employees and steal their clients. Agency.com is specifically suing for breach of contract, tortuous interference and conspiring to misappropriate proprietary information and trade secrets. They are seeking $19.5 million in damages from iCrossing. Furthermore, Agency.com is blaming iCrossing for the closing of their Dallas office and the “decimation of the firm’s Chicago office.”
• The SEM Pro’s Guide To Taking Over A Paid Search Account; How To Fly Above The Funnel
  In The Trenches is a spotlight of tips, tricks, and news about the tools search engine marketing professionals use to give them a leg up on the competition. Today: news from the search engines, today’s in-depth look: a guide to taking over an existing paid search account, a tip to look above the funnel to reach your target, and this week’s free tips and tools.

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• Update on the new Hotmail, Windows Live Wire
• Yahoo’s Big Hit: The Obamas On Election Night, Alley Insider
• Link By Link – Updating a Reference Site on the Fly, New York Times

Business Issues

• Google
  Subletting Office Space At NYC Googleplex (GOOG), Alley Insider
• Google and
  Microsoft executives trade jabs, NEWS.com
• Google
  at 10 – Searching Its Own Soul, New York Times
• China’s
  internet advertising market hits RMB 3.34 bln in Q3, Alibaba News
• Google
  Signs a Deal to e-Publish Out-of-Print Books, New York Times
• Google
  exec crafts quite a story, chicagotribune.com
• The
  Google library, Los Angeles Times

Link Building

• Check if a Site Serves Malware Before Linking for SEO, Search Engine Journal
• EDU Links & Circular Links: Do They Work?, Search Engine Roundtable
• Link Building Reports That Make Your Client Happy, Search Engine Journal
• Text Links from .edu or .gov Domains Are Not Special to Google, Digital Inspiration

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Ballmer:
  Microsoft working on App Store-like software distribution, ComputerWorld.com
• Compare
  iPhone App Rankings Alexa-Style, TechCrunch
• Google
  Maps: Will Edit Wars go Politically Postal?, Mike Blumenthal
• iPhone
  Reaches Top-Seller Status in U.S., blog.kelseygroup.com
• Updates
  to Google Maps for mobile for enterprises, Official Google Mobile Blog

Paid Search & Contextual

• Microsoft Advertising: Insights – Holiday Tips, adCenter Blog for Advertisers
• Site maintenance on Saturday, November 8, Inside AdSense
• Confusion Over Yahoo’s Paid Inclusion Program, Search Engine Roundtable
• Search Won’t Fall Off Cliff As Online Ads Slow, MediaPost
• Why Bigger is Better : Google AdSense, Search Engine Journal

Searching

• When Google Scholar’s Integration with Google Search is Useful, Google Operating System
• Friendshopper, Groundbreaker, www.altsearchengines.com
• Universal Search: The (War) Elephant in the Room, Search Engine Watch

SEM Industry

• PubCon Las Vegas 2007 Recap, SEOdisco
• SMX East 2008 Give It Up: White Hat Edition, BruceClay.com
• Video Recap of Weekly Search Buzz :: November 9, 2008, Search Engine Roundtable
• First Twitter – Now Facebook! Become a "Fan" of adCenter , adcentercommunity.com
• Increase ROI From Marketing Conferences, Online Marketing Blog
• Judith Lewis: Search Blogger of the Day, The SEO Scoop
• Should Google Be Upfront About Search Quality Bugs?, Search Engine Roundtable

SEO & SEM

• Differential Diagnosis: A Broken Website Ranking Atop Google, SEOmoz
• SEM Rush Search Marketing Research – Review of SEMRush.com, SEO Book
• Classifying Web Spam by Looking at Query and Page Features, SEO By The Sea
• As an SEO, Are You Cleaning the Shark?, We Build Pages
• Blogs, Vlogs and SEO, Search Engine Guide
• Do I need a shopping cart or a content management system?, Search Engine Guide
• Driving higher conversion rates, Official Google Checkout Blog
• The Day That All Large Companies "Got" It, Wiep.net

Social Media

• FriendFeed Over IM: Kill Me Now, TechCrunch
• Twitter Investor Meets With Open Source Textbook Startup, Wired
• A very eventful post, Orkut Blog
• Build Your SEM Network — Get LinkedIn, Search Engine Watch
• Nigerian scammers hit Facebook, News.com

Video, Music & Image Search

• AT&T debuts video search site, News.com
• MGM first to post full-length features to YouTube, News.com

Web Analytics

• A Google Analytics Trick Everyone Should Know, SEOptimise

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

• The 2 Minute Search Marketing Pro Survey
• Check if a Site Serves Malware Before Linking for SEO
• Social Media Rockstar Interview with Matthew Inman (Oatmeal)
• Reddit Updates Widgets, Launches FireFox Plugin, and Updates Their Site
• SEO and User Behavior
• ‘Overheard On Twitter’ Friday
• Makes Me Want To PUKE! Aren't Blog Scrapers Copyright Infringers?
• Key Insights from Key Relevance's Christine Churchill
• Code Name "SMX East: Give It Up!"
• Social Media Marketing through Helpful Content
• Win a Chance to Kick My Ass – Sugarrae
• Customer Service and Reputation Management the Twitter Way: A Case Study
• When SEO Clients Won’t Follow Advice?
• “Meet the Affiliates” Interview #23: Introducing Rae Hoffman
• Eric Ward's Link Building Masterclass
• Aaron Wall Ranking In Top 10 For Lindsay Lohan Nude
• New Wordtracker Tool Finds Keyword Questions
• Top 30 .ac.uk Domains – the better .edu links?
• Tools and Tips to Help You Keep Up With The Latest Buzz
• What If SEO Was Spelled TSA?
• When SEO Clients Won’t Follow Advice?
• SEO for Big Brands
• SEO Methodology
• Blow Your Mind Link Building Techniques (at SMX London)
• The Lazy Bloggers Guide to Quality Content & Social Media Success