SearchCap: The Day In Search, November 23, 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:

• Offensive Michelle Obama Image Returns, Google Buys Ad To Explain

  Google is buying ads to explain why an offensive image of the First Lady is back in its index and ranking so highly on searches for Michelle Obama in Google Image Search.
  As we reported last week, Google had originally removed the Michelle Obama image on the grounds that the site hosting the image violated […]

• Free Trip To SMX—Win The 2nd Annual Biggest Search Geek Contest!

  Want a free ticket to our upcoming SMX West search marketing conference this March 2-4, complete with hotel and airfare? You have the opportunity to score if you’re geek enough. Biggest Search Geek enough, that is.
  We’re looking forward to crowning the “Biggest Search Geek” and working with contest sponsor Marin Software for the second year […]

• Google Product Search Gets Review Summaries & Big Picture “Gallery” View

  Google Product Search is rolling out three new features today, a new shopping “OneBox” that features popular products in certain categories of searches, a summary of product reviews and a “gallery” view option of products.
  Popular Products OneBox
  In the “normal” shopping OneBox, Google lists a variety of products along with an estimated price […]

• Google’s Local Coupons Go Mobile, But Who’ll Bite?

  Google has offered local coupons for a couple years now, but the response has never matched the promise. Neither business owners nor local searchers have embraced coupons as much as many thought they would.
  Maybe this will change things? Google has announced the availability of mobile coupons. All new coupons created in the Local Business Center […]

• Google Buys Teracent, Machine Learning Display Ad Technology

  Google announced they have purchased Teracent, a company that uses machine learning to show the different display ad creatives based on dozens of factors.
  Google bought them to improve and better automate the display ad side of their ad serving technology. Google said:
  We think that this technology has great potential to improve display advertising on […]

• Reports: Bing Gains Among Retailers, At Local Level Too

  In this post I’m combining two search trends reports: early Q4 search spending data from SearchIgnite and excerpts from a terrific Q3 local search spending report from WebVisible. Both show gains by Bing. The WebVisible report also shows significant improvements by Yahoo.
  Based on “41 million clicks on Google, Yahoo! and Bing during Q3-Q4 of 2008 […]

• Bing Censoring Chinese Search Results? Should There Be A Bing Boycott?

  Boycott Microsoft Bing by Nicholas Kristof at the New York Times claims Microsoft is “sacrificing the integrity of Bing searches so as to cozy up to State Security in Beijing.” It is believes that Microsoft is censoring their search results to appease the Chinese government.
  Microsoft responded to this criticism with their blog […]

• What’s In A Brand? AOL Becomes “Aol.”

  One wonders how much the branding consultancy Wolff Olins was paid to help create America Online’s new “brand identity.” Over the weekend the about-to-be-independent company revealed its new brand and brand philosophy. The major change (so far) is the move from uppercase to lowercase letters: from “AOL” to “Aol.” Here’s how the release describes that […]

• The Unexpected Re-Evolution Of The Phone Call

  Quick: Are you a digital marketing pro? If so, complete this sentence:
  In the future, advertisers will combine online media with mobile ads to drive:____________.
  What did you put in the blank? Let me guess.

  Branding, combining rich online experiences with mobile mini-experiences?
  E-commerce, as more people surf the Web using both devices?
  Coupons and promotions, taking advantage […]

• SEMPO Releases Second Annual In-House Salary Survey Results

  Want to make a recession-resistant career move? Consider going to work as an in-house search marketer. According to the second annual SEMPO in-house salary survey, compensation for search marketers working on behalf of a single organization actually increased during the past year, despite a turbulent economy that took a toll on many other types of […]

• A Rational Plea For Paid Search Syndication Controls

  Traffic value varies widely not just by the words users type into the search box, but whose search box they use. Syndication network partners vary in quality and giving advertisers control over how much they pay for traffic from each would be a win for the advertisers and the engines.

• Thoughts On A “Killer” Bing-News Corp Deal & The Myth Of An “OPEC For News”

  It’s back, the prospect that Microsoft might try to make Rupert Murdoch happy by offering a “get listed with Bing” exclusive deal. Later, I’ll revisit the topic in a coordinated fashion. But for now, I’ve collected a number of thoughts I’ve put out on Twitter, in blog comments and elsewhere.
  First, I’ll point readers back to […]

• Reflections On Chrome OS From A Consumer Perspective

  Google hosted something of a formal “status update” on Chrome the operating system in Mountain View on Thursday. There we discovered the company is open-sourcing the code. We also found out it’s intended as a netbook OS (for now) and that Google is working with several hardware partners to create a better netbook experience (full-sized […]

• Q&A With Avinash Kaushik, Google Analytics Evangelist & Customer Insight Guru

  Avinash Kaushik is Google’s well-known and widely respected analytics guru. In this wide-ranging interview, he talks about his passion for metrics, why they’re critical for success, and how search marketers can use analytics to take their campaigns to the next level.

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• Brin: Two Google Operating Systems May Become One, PC World
• Google Calendar Starts Testing “Sneak Preview”, TechCrunch
• Google To Shut Down GrandCentral Website, TechCrunch
• WSJ: Volunteers Log Off as Wikipedia Ages, ResourceShelf

Business Issues

• CNBC to Debut "Inside the Mind of Google" Documentary on December 3rd, ResourceShelf
• Keyword Advertising Lawsuit Survives Motion to Dismiss–Morningware v. Hearthware, Eric Goldman
• Microsoft’s Bing Gets ‘Stickier,’ Grabs More Local Ad Dollars, Ad Age
• GOOG Founders Originally Believed Search Should Be Non-Profit – Why Not Do It Now?, SVW
• MSNBC.com Taking Over @BreakingNews Twitter Feed; Signs On As BNO News’ First Client, paidContent.org
• Zynga May Be Valued at $1 Billion on Facebook Craze, Bloomberg

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Google Maps Pornography : Google Can’t Keep Up, Search Engine Roundtable
• Happy Thanksgiving Travels: Google Maps Navigation now available for Android 1.6, Official Google Mobile Blog

Link Building

• Add links when people cut and paste your content with Tynt, BlogStorm
• Google Link: Command – Busting the Myths, SEOmoz

Paid Search & Contextual

• Google AdSense Being Blocked By Kaspersky Security Software, Search Engine Roundtable

Searching

• EBay Repairs Search Glitch, Wall Street Journal
• Google is Obsessed with New Zealand, Forgetting Ireland & Egypt Again, Search Engine Roundtable
• Taptu Brings Real-Time Search to Android, Read/Write Web
• Updated Google Search Results Page?, Iman Jalali

SEM Industry

• Google, the Butt of Toilet Humor, Marketing Pilgrim

SEO & SEM

• 7 Reasons Why You Need to Deal With Search Engine Marketing Change, SEOptimise
• SEO and Social Media Benchmarking, SEOmoz
• YouTube Automated Captioning Changes Game For SEO, MediaPost
• Google AdWords Team Points Out Flaw in Google Keyword Tool, Search Engine Roundtable
• Making Pretty URLs for Search Engine Spiders, Search Engine Guide
• More Reports of Bing Correctly Handling 301 Redirects, Search Engine Roundtable
• SEO Epic Fail: Why Sutter Health Needs Proper SEO, Search Engine Journal
• The Most Despised Phrase Online? Search Engine Optimised Content, White Hat Media
• Tools to Speed Up Your Site – Ready for 2010, seogadget.co.uk

Social Media

• Adtweets are Launching and Featured Tweets are Back!!, TweetMeme Blog
• Facebook Fan Pages Now Allow Location and Language Targeting, NowSourcing.Com
• Backstage Footage With Twitter COO Dick Costolo, TechCrunch
• Facebook Soon To Enable You To Comment On Status Updates Via E-mail, TechCrunch
• LinkedIn Platform: Open for Business, The LinkedIn Blog
• Social Media & PR Strategy in 3 Steps – Digital Public Relations Social Media, Online Marketing Blog

Web Analytics

• SEO Analytics Tools – 5 SEO Focussed Web Analytics Tools, BlogStorm
• Eye Tracking for Everyone, ClickTale Blog