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Search Week in Review for March 19, 2011

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Here's a recap of this week's columns and news stories for the week of March 13 to 19, as reported by Search Engine Watch, as well as search news and tips from around the web.

Search Engine Optimization

Top 13 Social Media Ranking Factors for SEO by Gareth Owen
Looking to carry out an investigation into whether social media is a big influence on search engine optimization? Monitoring these social media metrics will help you base your insights on more empirical data.

2 Ways to Protect Your Site From SEO Attacks by Gary-Adam Shannon
How would you protect your websites if a competitor targeted you? These simple steps can help protect your brand in the future.

Google May Lower Rankings of Keyword Domains by Danny Goodwin
It sounds like Google is planning more significant changes to their algorithm this year to improve search quality and clear out spammy results, though none as large in scope as the Panda update. So how should SEOs prepare?

SEO Fined More Than Site Owner of Counterfeit Merchandise Site by Frank Watson
Warning to all SEO consultants: you better read the copy you're working on and understand if it's breaking any laws, because a South Carolina judge found a marketer guilty and imposed more of a fine on the marketing firm than he did on the site owner.

Search Advertising

3 Tips to Use Paid Search for a Complex Sale by Alex Cohen
Successfully targeting learners vs. buyers requires different approaches. These tips will help you reach your prospects when they're ready to learn.

New Features Coming to adCenter -- Including Quality Scores by Joseph Kerschbaum
There are some great changes coming to the adCenter platform. These new features will streamline the management of adCenter accounts and make life better for search marketers.

Analytics & ROI

Social Media Marketing

Ask Lady Gaga Some Social Media Marketing Questions on YouTube or Twitter by Greg Jarboe
The Official YouTube Blog has invited YouTubers and Tweeple to ask Lady Gaga "everything you've always wanted to know." But marketers can ask questions, too.

Facebook

Facebook Ads & Search: When Worlds Collide by Roger Barnette
Who should advertise on Facebook? Is Facebook more like search or display management? And how can you judge Facebook performance relative to other media channels?

Twitter

Link Building

Journalism, 'Churnalism' & the Sticky Subject of Anchor Text Links by Nichola Stott
Advice on how (and when) to approach the press with an anchor text objective, why this is becoming more difficult, what is happening in journalism and public relations, and how this may impact you.

Link Building Tips for Small Businesses by Justilien Gaspard
These tips can help you grow your backlinks and customer base at the same time.

Local Search

Your Company Sucks! The Online Reputation Management Wars by Kristine Schachinger
Don't wait until you wake up one day and find that a slanderous site is suddenly ranking for searches on your company or personal name. Here's how to begin protecting yourself.

Mobile Search

iPhone Google Search App Gets Facelift, Name Change by Thom Craver
IPhone and iPod touch users now have a faster and more unique way to search Google. The Google search app has been redesigned with a more intuitive interface that is extremely gesture-friendly.

Bricks & Mortar Brands Still Reluctant About Mobile Marketing by Jonathan Allen
Pearlfinders, a company that interviews senior marketers in the US and UK, found that companies that invest heavily in paid search advertising for desktop devices are still reluctant to invest heavily in mobile, despite widespread opinion that 2011 could finally be the year of the mobile.

Augmented Reality Angels Fall On London Commuters by Jonathan Allen
BBH launched a cool campaign for Lynx/Axe in London. It's a great example of how outdoor advertising is becoming more interactive.

SMB Search Marketing

How Small Businesses Can Get a Link from Wikipedia by Rob Chant
If you want a link from Wikipedia, it will be a hard process. Here's a four-step strategy that will potentially get you that link.

Enterprise SEM

Global SEO Programs Decentralize to Regional Governance Model by Craig Macdonald
Expect a wave of decentralization to hit enterprise websites in the next 2-3 years. Two things are changing: the need for integration and adaptiveness.

International Search

EU Tells Google and Facebook, Comply with Data Privacy Rules.. Or Else! by Brent Rangen
European Union justice chief Viviane Reding, says sites like Google and Facebook must abide by data privacy rules or else they will face court action.

Yandex Delivers Geo-Targeted Results For Russia by Jonathan Allen
Yandex search suggestions are now based on a user's location. While Yandex previously offered some locally relevant search suggestions, now all of them are based on where the user lives.

Before and After Images of Japan, Courtesy of Google and Yahoo by Thom Craver
The awe of the devastation of the Japan earthquake and tsunami has been the subject of many searches over the past week. Many searchers are also looking for imagery of the areas of Japan affected.

Alam Ara, First Indian Film With Sound, Celebrated with Google Doodle by Danny Goodwin
"Alam Ara" (which means "The Light of the World") was the first movie featuring sound in India's history, but no original prints of the film have survived to present day due to a fire.

Google Doodle Remembers Hungarian Revolution by Thom Craver
March 15 is Hungarian National Day. The recent African and Middle Eastern revolutionary movements mirror Hungarian history as Google Hungary reminds us in its Doodle today, celebrating the Hungarian Revolution of 1848.

Sayed Darwish Famed Egyptian Musician Gets Google Doodle by Frank Watson
While Google employees have had a hand in the overthrow of the despotic Egyptian government last month, Google chose an interesting Doodle - the birthday of the composer of the National Anthem - as the country holds a referendum this Saturday to determine what issues will be voted on later this year.

The Search Industry

St. Patrick's Day 2011 Logos: Google Ireland, Bing, DuckDuckGo & More by Danny Goodwin
Just as wearing green, parades, corned beef and cabbage, shamrocks, and copious drinking o' the beer in Irish pubs are part of the annual celebration, so too has been the annual special St. Patrick's Day Google Doodle and special logos from other search engines.

Censoring Google is the Cure for Piracy? by Danny Goodwin
While President Obama's administration plans to increase its efforts fighting websites by seeking to make it a felony to illegally stream copyrighted works and obtain wiretaps for suspected intellectual property crimes, Congress is weighing whether it can force search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo to delist "rogue" piracy websites.

XXX Gets Own Domain: For Child Protection Or Cash? by Frank Watson
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) voted 8-3 to approve an XXX gTLD (generic top level domain) much to the outcry of the adult industry that see it as a waste of time and another expense that will do little to stop adult sites using the regular commercial .com extension.

Google News

Google Circles Could Be As Fake As Crop Circles, Or Is It? by Frank Watson
Rumors swirled around the launching of Google's social platform at SXSW last weekend, but ultimately the product now supposedly named 'Google Circles' was a no show and the launch is now possibly slated for May.

Google Circling Social Platform Regardless Of What They Say by Frank Watson
So Google spoke out against the rumors of Circles - their possible social platform - this weekend, using the Wall Street Journal as their distributor of denial.

Google Introduces Instant Video Previews by Danny Goodwin
Google is adding Instant Previews for Videos. Instant Previews for videos have the same appearance as regular Instant Previews -- the selected clip is highlighted in blue and a clickable magnifying glass appears next to the title of the video.

4 Newest Google Tests: Linking Twitter Profiles, AdWords URLs, News & AdSense by Danny Goodwin
Google is constantly testing out new features in search, advertising, and products. Here's a quick rundown of four of their latest tests involving Twitter profile integration, AdWords display URL spacing, a revamped News layout, and AdSense ad variations.

Corn Beef And Cabbage Hottest Search Term Day Before St. Pats by Frank Watson
St Patrick's Day is tomorrow and in preparation many people seem to be using Google to find out how to cook corn beef and cabbage. No doubt this may be the biggest day so far for the new Google Recipes filter.

Woman Loses Case vs. Google Over Levitra Search Suggestion by Danny Goodwin
Beverly Stayart is now 0-3 trying to sue search engines for vanity search results. Last week her case against Google for the search suggestion [bev stayart levitra] was dismissed in U.S. District Court - Eastern District of Wisconsin.

Google Launches Nonprofits Website Program by Frank Watson
Google has launched a nonprofit website program - with free domains, hosting and Adwords money for any companies that qualify.

Google Blogger Interface Gets a Much Needed Facelift by Brent Rangen
Google has announced that Blogger will roll out major changes sometime in 2011.

Bing News

Bing Feels Sting Of Social Backlash Over Japan Support Tweet by Frank Watson
While it obviously was not the smartest way to get people to share information about Microsoft's Japan disaster support page, the reaction actually shows what they were trying to achieve. Twitter needs some motivation to get a tweet to go viral or be passed around by a large number of users.

Yahoo News

Blekko News

Blekko AdSpam Algorithm Finds, Eliminates Spam by Danny Goodwin
Blekko is touting "the first search algorithm ever created to find spam rather than rank results," AdSpam. Its purpose is to detect spammy web pages signals (e.g., pages with multiple display ad positions and very little content).

StumbleUpon News

StumbleUpon Launches a New Ad Discovery Platform by Brent Rangen
Announced at SXSW, StumbleUpon has introduced a new ad platform which promises 100% engagement.

Video Marketing

How to Improve Odds of Success in Video Marketing: Follow the Money by Greg Jarboe
How do you improve the odds that you'll be successful in video marketing? As Deep Throat advised Bob Woodward in the movie "All the President's Men": "Follow the money."

YouTube Buys Green Parrot Pictures by Danny Goodwin
Google's YouTube has bought digital video technology company Green Parrot Pictures, a move to enhance video quality and playback speed while reducing bandwidth on the web's most popular video-sharing site.

Microsoft Sites Jump to Second Place in Video Content Ranking by Greg Jarboe
ComScore Video Metrix has just released data showing that 170 million U.S. Internet users watched online video content in February for an average of 13.6 hours per viewer.

SES Conference & Expo

3 Key Reasons to Attend SES New York 2011 Next Week by Greg Jarboe
Attending the leading search and social marketing event will help you and your organization (1) keep up-to-date with industry trends, (2) see new products and services, and (3) maintain and build relationships.

Search Week in Review 2011 Archives

March 12 | March 5
Feb. 26 | Feb. 19 | Feb. 12 | Feb. 5
Jan. 29 | Jan. 22 | Jan. 15 | Jan. 8

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