SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 30, 2012

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

From Search Engine Land:

• Yelp Adds Restaurant Menus (And Images)

  Following on the heels of Foursquare, YP and a few others in the local segment Yelp is adding restaurant menu information and pricing. With the unfortunate headline “Yelp Menus: Connecting People with Great Local Food Porn,” the Yelp blog explains that menus will be paired with users’ uploaded food images: Now you can not only […]

• Google May Go Public With Its Human Search Quality Rater Guidelines

  Google is considering offering its search quality rating guidelines to the public. The news comes near the end of the latest webmaster video just posted today on YouTube. In it, Google’s Matt Cutts answers a question about how Google uses the data it collects from its human search evaluators — in short, “those folks don’t […]

• New Google Search App With Siri-Like Voice Responses Finally Approved For iOS

  Announced in August, Google’s new Google Search app for iOS has been apparently stuck in Apple’s app approval process for over two months. No longer. Google’s just announced that the new app is out. The news came on Google’s official blog today. The company has also posted a video of how it works: The new […]

• Google: Disavowing Links Isn’t Replacement For Also Trying To Get Them Removed

  Many SEOs cheered that Google’s new disavow links tool would make it easier to recover from a bad backlink profile. No more worrying about directories charging to remove links or trying to get out of bad link networks. But Google says it does want to see a good faith effort to go along with any disavow […]

• What Is The Secret Sauce In Good Content?

  One of the things I really like about the field of SEO is how so many professionals are willing to help others in their free time. They volunteer to help non-profits, write blog posts for free (ahem!), and attend public SEO meet-ups. In the Puget Sound area of Washington State, the Seattle SEO Network holds […]

• 6 Things To Think About Before Disavowing Links

  Earlier this month, Christmas came early for many in the SEO industry. Google launched its wildly anticipated disavow links tool bringing with it a way for you to remove some of those shady things you your former SEO company have done. The biggest problem with disavowing your links is that at first glance, it looks […]

• What Google’s Webmaster Tools Tell Us About International Click Through Rates

  Last week, I was taking delegates on an international SEO course through their paces on using the data Google so generously provides in their webmaster tools. I’m a little puzzled that more people don’t dip into the data, analyse it and then take actions on their campaigns. So, high time for me to share some […]

• 14 Ideas To Utilize Custom Variables For Search & Social Tracking

  Custom variables are one of the most (if not the most) powerful tools Google Analytics has to offer to better understand your audiences from search and social. Unfortunately, they’re also one of the most underrated and underused. So, if they’re so useful, why do so few sites utilize them? For the same reason that custom […]

• Study: Consumers Who Own Smartphones And Tablets Do Average Of 21 Local Searches Per Week

  We know from multiple data sources that more than 90 percent of smartphone owners use maps and local search. We also know from Google that up to 50 percent of mobile search carries a local intent. Now, a new local search study from YP and Street Fight takes a closer look at local search behavior […]

• Conductor Lands $20 Million Financing Round

  Conductor has announced what it says is the biggest financing round ever in the SEO industry: a $20 million Series C investment led by Investor Growth Capital. In a news release, Conductor says it’ll use the money to continue development of its Searchlight SEO platform and to scale the company’s operations internationally. Conductor launched its […]

• After Meeting With Eric Schmidt, France Stands By Threat To Write Law Forcing Google To Pay To Link To News Sites

  The French government is digging in its heels. After a meeting today with Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, French President Francois Hollande reiterated the government’s plans to create a new law to force Google to pay when it links to newspaper websites. The spat has been going on for a few weeks, since the French […]

Recent Headlines From MarTech, Our Sister Site Dedicated To Internet Marketing:

• Infographic: SoLoMo Stats & Opportunities For Retailers
• What’s “Content” Anyway?
• Apple Maps Flub Last Straw For “Polarizing” Exec Forstall
• 8 Ways We Deceive Ourselves With Metrics, Part II
• Tracking Hurricane Sandy News Through Twitter

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• Introducing the new compose in Gmail, Official Gmail Blog

Business Issues

• Ballmer’s New Mission for Microsoft, Wall Street Journal
• Google Signs Deal With Warner Music Group, New York Times
• Yandex Announces Third Quarter 2012 Financial Results, ir.yandex.com

Link Building

• How to Know Which Links to Disavow in Google, Search Engine Journal
• The New Ontolo V5: Easier to Use, More Prospects & More Powerful, ontolo.com
• What Google Thinks About Certain Links, www.linkspiel.com

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Is Foursquare On Its Way To Becoming A Local Search Star?, www.localsearchinsider.org
• Matchmaking Advice for Local SEOs and Business Owners, www.localvisibilitysystem.com
• Yelp Update Makes It Easier to Connect to Friends on iOS, socialtimes.com

Other Items

• Get Ready to Vote with Google, Official Google Blog
• Microsoft Renews Relevance With Machine Learning Technology, New York Times
• Official Google Blog: More Art Project online for you to explore, Official Google Blog

Paid Search & Contextual

• Is AdWords getting too expensive for SMBs?, certifiedknowledge.org
• PPC Chat Streamcap – Dynamic Search Ads, theppcblog.com
• Top PPC Tips For Local Businesses, PPC Hero

Searching

• Public Alerts on Google Search and Maps for Android for superstorm Sandy preparedness information, Official Google Blog

SEM Industry

• 71 Search Marketing Take Aways from Bend WebCAM, www.findandconvert.com
• Get better at saying no, SEO Book
• SearchLove London 2012 – First Day Play by Play, www.distilled.net

SEO & SEM

• Government SEO is Broken, Search Engine Watch
• Ultimate list of Google Authorship resources, raventools.com

Social Media

• Your Biggest Mistake in Measuring Social Media Success, www.polepositionmarketing.com