SearchCap: The Day In Search, November 13, 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: Google’s Site Search Gets Faster; Yahoo’s Goes Away?Google has upgraded its Site Search tool to give users more control over the frequency that Google spiders a site. But, if you think […]

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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’s Site Search Gets Faster; Yahoo’s Goes Away?
    Google has upgraded its Site Search tool to give users more control over the frequency that Google spiders a site. But, if you think this is something that will help your site’s performance on Google.com search results, it won’t. Site Search is Google’s on-site tool for individual websites; you use it to add a search engine to your own website. The new feature, On-Demand Indexing, lets site owners tell Google to index their site by clicking a button, rather than waiting for Google to do it on its own schedule.
  • Microsoft Trumpets Cashback Successes
    Microsoft Live Search Cashback launched with great expectation in some quarters that it would grow Microsoft’s search share dramatically. That, so far, has failed to happen. But Microsoft says it is making progress toward its own more realistic goal of growing commercial search traffic over the long term, highlighting some new figures it says show progress in that area.
  • Microsoft Live Search Releases New “Silk Road” API With Ad Support
    Microsoft today released version 2.0 of its Live Search API, also called “Silk Road,” that offers support for multiple data exchange protocols, access to more search resources and the ability for developers to pull in ads to help monetize search applications they build.
  • Business Opportunities For Video News Archives
    We are about to lose one of our most valuable national treasures: The news archive. Most experts recommend that tapes be converted to digital format within 5 to 10 years of being recorded and estimate the shelf life of magnetic tape at 15 years, perhaps longer if stored at a constant 21 degrees Celsius and 40% relative humidity level. Even if the archives are preserved under perfect conditions, over time the tapes stretch and lose their signal strength, eventually rendering the media useless. In conversations with customers over the past few months, I’ve come to realize just how “reel” this problem is. One of the largest networks of local news broadcasters informed me that they are scrambling to digitize archives en masse as they are literally about to lose content that was recorded in the 1960’s – 1980’s.
  • Windows Live Services Are Upgraded, Expand Considerably
    Microsoft has expanded and upgraded the suite of software and online services for consumers collectively known as “Windows Live” — not to be confused with Live Search. There’s a whole boatload of stuff here that spans the desktop, online and mobile. The theme of these tools is integration of all your favorite content in one dashboard and environment, as well as providing access from anywhere. Windows Live services encompass calendaring, events, online storage, photos, groups, IM, email and quite a bit more. There’s so much here, it’s a bit overwhelming — to me at least.
  • Yahoo Local-Vertical Study: Internet And Search Heavily Used By Consumers In Research And Decision-Making
    Yahoo, perhaps more than any other entity online, has been a tireless producer of consumer and advertiser research. The efforts have broadly been intended to communicate how important the Internet is in consumer purchase behavior and decision making. Last week I was given new findings from a set of Yahoo research studies, conducted earlier this year among 2,500 consumers. The surveys and interviews examined consumer behavior in choosing local services and providers in five vertical categories: legal, real estate, home improvement, health care and vocational education. In all cases the consumer-respondents had actually completed a transaction.
  • PubCon Vegas ‘08 – Day Two Coverage
    The second day of the sessions at PubCon is now complete. Conference attendees are now enjoying the night life here in Las Vegas. If you missed the sessions, do not worry, here is live blogging and coverage from several search and Internet marketing blogs across the web.
  • Google Offers SEO Starter Guide
    Google is getting into the SEO consulting business. Well, not quite. But, Google is now formally offering an “SEO Starter Guide” with practical advice for webmasters about improving search engine visibility and increasing traffic to a web site. It comes in the form of a 22-page PDF announced today on the Webmaster Central blog and at the PubCon show in Las Vegas. According to the Google reps at PubCon, this is the same guide Google uses internally for its own sites (YouTube, etc.).

Search News From Around The Web:

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Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.


About the author

Matt McGee
Contributor
Matt McGee joined Third Door Media as a writer/reporter/editor in September 2008. He served as Editor-In-Chief from January 2013 until his departure in July 2017. He can be found on Twitter at @MattMcGee.

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