SearchCap: The Day In Search, September 2, 2010

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 Showing Four Top AdWords Ads, Top One Google Mortgage Ad

  When I search for [mortgage rates] in Google, I am presented with dozens of Google AdWords ads on the search page. But what is interesting is that the top ads is showing four different AdWords ads. I believe, I may be wrong, Google normally shows up to three ads in the ads above […]

• Consumer Watchdog Airs Anti-Google Cartoon At Times Square

  A Consumer Watchdog group is airing a cartoon that is named “do not track me.”
  The video depicts Google’s CEO, Eric Schmidt as seducing children to come get their “free ice cream.” Then the cartoon version of Eric Schmidt talks about how nothing is really free and how Google gives away things in […]

• SMX East: Possibly Our Best Yet

  Still wondering whether to attend SMX East in New York on October 4-6? You can get a great overview of what to expect from the show from SMX East: A Personal Tour By Danny Sullivan, where Danny talks about the content and structure we’ve developed for the show.
  Like Danny, I’m really excited about this conference, […]

• How To Use Social Media Monitoring Tools For Outreach Marketing

  Social media is all about engagement. Because of this, it is the perfect tool for outreach marketing efforts. Outreach marketing is the practice of seeking out individuals or organizations that have a shared interest in what you or your company has to offer. Sometimes, it is used in conjunction with direct sales, but often times […]

• Your Daily, Weekly & Monthly Paid Search Routine

  Now that you have your paid search account up, running, and are able to pull basic reports, it’s time to start setting up your schedule for handling all of the various tasks required to truly steward a successful SEM program. The amount of work you’ll be putting in will mainly be dictated by the […]

• Google Opens Local Shopping Merchant Details

  The Google Merchant Blog announced they have opened up the help documents for how merchants can submit content, such as local stock inventory levels, for their products.
  Google said this is still a limited beta program, which was first announced in March of this year. Google also said that if merchants are interested in being […]

• AOL Extends Google Search Deal: 5 More Years

  AOL announced they have extended their search deal with Google for an additional five-years. This includes Google powering AOL’s organic and paid search results. The deal also added in that Google will power search on mobile search, in mobile apps and content. Also, all of AOL’s video content will also be on […]

• Apple vs. Google Part Deux: Social Networks And The “Battle For The Living Room”

  Most of Apple’s announcements yesterday were anticipated. Still there were a few surprises; for example the specifics of the iTunes-based social network Ping, as well as the pricing of Apple TV 2.0 ($99). Apple pre-empted Google to some degree with both products.
  Business Insider does a nice job of contrasting the two TV initiatives and their […]

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• Google Testing Full-Featured Google Apps, Wired
• AOL Answers Will Bring Traffic, User Engagement, And Tiny Ad Revenues, Business Insider
• Back to the future: two years of Google Chrome, Google Chrome Blog

Business Issues

• Facebook Will Hit $2 Billion 2010 Revenue, Says Mob Of Unofficial Facebook Spokespersons, TechCrunch
• Google’s Earth, New York Times
• Google data gathering was not a crime: NZealand, Yahoo! News
• Google Sued Over Nexus One 3G Connectivity Problems, Misleading Claims, TechCrunch

Local, Maps & Mobile

• How Does Google Maps Decide To Show Labels (Points of Interest)?, Search Engine Roundtable

Link Building

• 38 New Link Building Resources: the "Relevant Link Building Metrics" Edition (8/27 – 9/2), ontolo.com
• Link Building Query Theory: 7 Crucial Keyword Types for Link Prospect Querying, Search Engine Watch

Paid Search & Contextual

• Logged In/Out: Google Keyword Tool Gives Different Results, Search Engine Roundtable
• Yahoo Ambassador Program Officially Discontinued, Search Marketing Communications

Searching

• Bookmark and Share Wolfram|Alpha, Wolfram|Alpha Blog
• Google Tests a New Navigation Bar, Google Operating System
• New: Online Database: The Aid Worker Security Database (AWSD), ResourceShelf
• Now Through October 15, 2010: Free Access to SAGE Journals Online (560 Titles, 1999-Current), ResourceShelf
• Search Features, AOL Search Blog
• Yahoo! Search Serves Suggestions Closer to You, Yahoo Search Blog

SEM Industry

• A New Look for ResourceShelf, ResourceShelf
• Online Reputation Management Expert Interview with Andy Beal, Vertical Measures

SEO & SEM

• Back in the Olden Days of PPC, Search Engine Journal
• How Getting Overly Obsessed with Search Engine Optimization Can Kill Your Online Business, Search Engine Journal
• LocalPack Covers Local SEO Bases, BruceClay.com
• Search Recipe for Success, Search Engine Journal
• SEO "correlations" and Reverse Engineering Google, John Andrews
• 5 SEO essentials for WordPress, Vertical Leap Blog
• A New Day, A New SEOmoz, SEOmoz
• Bing Web Search Update?, Search Engine Roundtable
• Don’t Let Good Content Die – 4 Ways to Keep It Alive, Search Engine Guide
• Google Webmaster Tools Bug Prevented Unverifying Users, Search Engine Roundtable
• GoogleBot Crawling Less or More Efficiently?, Search Engine Roundtable
• How To Silo Your Website:The Sidebar, Michael Gray
• Search Engine Marketing: The Yellow Pages Of The 21st Century, 2sbdigest.com

Social Media

• Adapting to a Social Media Fast, Search Engine Guide
• How Small Businesses Can Improve Their Relations With Customers Through Social Media, Search Engine Watch
• Steve Jobs on Why Facebook Is Not Part of Apple’s New Ping Music Social Network: “Onerous Terms”, AllThingsD
• Top 7 Ways To Increase In-Store Sales via Social Media, blueglass.com
• Twitter for iPad: Sharing content in Tweets, Twitter Blog
• Why Ping Is the Future of Social Commerce, gigaom.com

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

• 10 Lessons I’ve Learned from My SEO Career – A must-read for every SEO out there – great insight by an excited SEO pro.
• Did Google Just Kill ORM? – Tony gets this insight spot on. Online reputation management for the bigger brands is now an easy pass
• Sphinn to remove voting; thoughts from a power user! – David Harry chimes in on the death of voting at Sphinn; his side is opposite of most of the outcry we've been hearing across social networks and forums.
• Sphinn Is Dead: Long Live Anything Else – Ruud Hein discusses why the removal of voting from Sphinn is a spectacularly bad idea

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 very advanced SEM topics. Barry can be followed on social media at @rustybrick, +BarrySchwartz and Facebook. For more background information on Barry, see his full bio and disclosures, click over here.