Here's a roundup of this week's columns and news stories for the week of Nov. 15 to 19, as reported by Search Engine Watch, as well as search news and tips from around the web.
Search Engine Optimization
Making Social Search Work Today by Ryan DeShazer
Get ahead of the curve with social search by using the tools and data available to you to identify trends. Here's how to capitalize on those trends.
Four Listings Now Magic Number In Google Page One Results by Frank Watson
The Google Webmaster Central Blog announced they are now allowing up to four listings from a single domain in the first page of their search results. Add site links, a more results search box and a map and one site can really dominate the first page of Google results.
Google Indexing Text In Flash Files by Jonathan Allen
Google recently announced that it is now able to index text within a Flash (.swf) file. The latest update means that any text that a user interacts with in your SWF file can be indexed by Googlebot and used to match queries and generate snippets for results in Google searches. Furthermore, external URLs within the file can be followed, crawled and indexed too.
- Should You Buy An Exact Match Domain Name? - SEO Book.com
- Doing Things That Are Press Worthy - Michael Gray
- Click Bias and the Modern SERP - Search News Central
- Everything I Know About SEO I Learned in the 80's - Search Engine Guide
- Agile In-House SEO: 3 Ways to Save Time and Boost Rankings - Search Engine People
- 25 SEO copywriting tips and content ideas you can implement today - SEO Copywriting
- Beyond Good and Evil in SEO - SEOmoz
- Just Say No to SEO Articles! - High Rankings
- SEO Considerations in Website Redesign - Search News Central
- Google on Duplicate Content Filtering and News Attribution Metatags - SEO by the Sea
- The Agency SEO Process - Part 1 - Search Engine People
- Search Marketers Tap Social to Boost SEO - eMarketer
- Comparing SEO & Social Media as Marketing Channels - SEOmoz
- Son of SEO is Undead (Google Caffeine and New Product Refinements) - SEO by the Sea
- Recent Insights Into Search User Behaviour - Search News Central
- BlogPress SEO Plugin: Spam! - Yoast
- 301 Redirect or Rel=Canonical - Which One Should You Use? - SEOmoz
- Content strategy: building out your content with articles - SEO Copywriting
- A Beginners Guide to Meta Tags - Daily SEO Tip
Search Advertising
AdWords Beta Testing New Layout In SERPs by Frank Watson
For a moment I thought I was using Yahoo as I scrolled down the Google search results today. There were ads at the bottom of the SERPs! I blinked and realized I was searching with Google and things were definitely different.
CTRs Jump After Google Changes Name of Ads [Report] by Danny Goodwin
Google's recent renaming of "Sponsored Links" to "Ads" has been a positive for advertisers, according to a new study.
Forget Clicks, iProspect Study Shows Ad Impressions Drive Purchases & Boost Brands by Jonathan Allen
By now you should have heard of the 'last click' attribution methodology and how it is a wrong headed analysis that risks biting the hand that feeds it. But have you heard of the 'no-click' attribution analysis? Neither have I, but iProspects latest investigation suggests that whatever market sector we are in, it might be time for marketers to start thinking about it.
SearchIgnite DSP Makes Display Advertising More Like Paid Search by Jonathan Allen
Most companies manage their display advertising and search marketing activities in 'silos', having separate teams and platforms to manage it all. This week, SearchIgnite have enhanced their DSP to change all that, allowing marketers to manage, optimize and attribute more digital media than ever before from a single platform.
- IAB Reports Record Quarter for U.S. Online Ad Spend - ClickZ
- Display ads on Google Images trial - Inside AdWords
- Google AdSense Pageviews Bug For Second Ad Unit - Search Engine Roundtable
- Google AdSense Category Blocking Expanded - Search Engine Roundtable
- Google Adds Verizon FiOS Inventory to TV Ads Product - ClickZ
- Getting ready for the holidays: Black Friday tips - AdWords Agency Blog
- Spot a problem? Check the Known Issues page - Inside AdSense
- Bing Search: 'Tis the Season for Tax Tips (and Negative Keywords) - adCenter Blog
- Transition Complete: Troubleshooting Campaign Performance Questions in Microsoft Advertising adCenter - adCenter Blog
- Adblock Plus Hits 100 Million Downloads, But What Impact? - ClickZ
- AdWords Interest Category Marketing: Initial Observations - PPC Hero
- Understanding The AdWords Disco Dance - bg Theory
SEM Basics
How to Make Video Content Work For You by Kevin Gibbons
Looking to drive repeats visits and sales and show up in universal search results? Use these tips on content, quality, length, optimization, budgeting, and more.
How to Keep Up To Date in Search by Duncan Parry
The search space is changing on a daily basis. Here's are some tips on how you can keep track of the latest happenings in our industry.
- Facebook SEO 101 - ClickZ
- SEO Tools 101 - The most under-utilised tool: Your Clients - State of Search
- How to Launch a PPC Reseller Program - SEM Booty Blog
- A Social Media Lexicon for Dummies - BlueGlass
Analytics & ROI
Instant Answers About Google Instant Previews by Stephen Cobb
What effect will Google Instant Preview have on conversion rate optimization? Not much, at least not yet. But stay tuned to see what GIP becomes.
Broad Match: Desperately Seeking Cinderella by Thi Thumasathit
Solely utilizing broad match can return the equivalent of a long line of ugly stepsisters -- and channel the real Cinderellas to other marketers-in-waiting. Here's how broad match can improve your search campaigns.
- When Choice Is Bad -- Cleaning Up Your Landing Page - Search Marketing Standard
- Beginner's Guide To Web Data Analysis: Ten Steps To Love & Success - Avinash Kaushik
- Web Analytics TV #14 - Just Wow - Google Analytics Blog
Social Media Marketing
Game-Based Marketing: The Ever-Growing Trend in Social Media by Jason Cormier
How collecting, points, access, status, rewards, and the like are helping companies successfully "game-ify" their marketing.
Building a Social Media Predictive Model by Nathan Linnell
After defining your social media goals and objectives, you need to begin to understand what it will take to meet them. Here's how to create a model that will help lead you to social media success.
Can Twitter Help Sell Cars and Other Big Ticket Items? by Frank Watson
There's a fine line between making sales and annoying potential customers. Some dos and don'ts for promoting sales on Twitter.
Facebook Announces Email Service Launch by Frank Watson
Facebook announced the launch of its much discussed email service. So now anyone on Facebook can get an @facebook.com email address.
Deja Vu Facebook Email Address Selling On eBay by Frank Watson
I remember when Gmail accounts were hot items being sold on eBay and now it seems Facebook mail accounts may be next.
LinkedIn Adding A New Member Every Second by Frank Watson
Speaking at the Web 2.o Summit, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner said Linked has 85 million members and is adding a new member every second or 86,400 members a day and over 2 million a month.
- Facebook Passes eBay in Value, Becoming No. 3 U.S. Web Company - BusinessWeek
- Facebook's Social Inbox Increases Value of 'Likers' - ClickZ
- Facebook Pages for B2B Social Media Marketing - TopRank Online Marketing Blog
- Facebook.com generates nearly 1 in 4 page views in the US - Hitwise Intelligence
- The Year of Facebook: U.S. Traffic Has Grown by 55% in the Last Year [STATS] - Mashable
- Facebook Answers 5 Key Social Inbox Questions - ClickZ
- MySpace Joins Rival Facebook in Bid to Rebrand as Entertainment Hub - ClickZ
- Twitter Testing A New "People" Tab: All Your Social Graph Steroids In One Place - TechCrunch
- Twitter's Official Analytics Product Has Arrived - Mashable
- Twitter to Sell 50% of All Tweets for $360k/Year Through Gnip - ReadWriteWeb
- Instant Notifications - Twitter Blog
- More Cities, More Trends, More Understanding - Twitter Blog
- Optimizing Headlines for Social Media: A Twitter/McRib Case Study - ClickZ
- How to Jumpstart Measuring Your Social Media ROI - ClickZ
- 5 Social Media Ad Networks - NVI Blog
Link Building
7 Social Link Building Tips by Eric Enge
A review of how social behavior can create valuable relationships and influence your link building efforts.
- 4 Link Building Success Stories - Vertical Measures
- 5 Ways you Can Use Blog Comments to Obtain Organic Links - Search Engine Guide
Local & Mobile Search
Google Places Adds Hotpot, FourSquare Clone by Frank Watson
Google Places added a new social element - Hotpot. This FourSquare-like program allows you to make recommendations that then get shared with your friends.
Google Boost Ads Available in More Cities by Danny Goodwin
Google's beta test of Boost, the AdWords program that auto-generates search ads to appear in Google's "Ads" section and Google Maps search results pages, is expanding to more U.S. cities.
Just Goggle It! Say Buick, Disney, Diageo, T-Mobile and Delta Airlines by Jonathan Allen
If the race for the best geo-social network gave you the impression that local and mobile were converging, then Google Goggles would like to remind you that the combination of technologies in your mobile phone can do a lot more than check-in or tweet.
- Google Hotpot Recommendations Now Surfacing on Places Page and Maps - Understanding Google Maps & Local Search
- Google Places: Does Local SEO and Google Boost Make for a Local SEM? - ClickZ
- Google Places - Do 800#'s Put Your Listing in Places Purgatory? - Understanding Google Maps & Local Search
- You Have Verified Your Google Places Listing, Right? - ClickZ
- Google Places - You Are Not Rejected, Not Suspended - You are in Places Purgatory - Understanding Google Maps & Local Search
- Google Coupons Joining the Witness Protection Program as Google Offers - Understanding Google Maps & Local Search
- Google experimenting with new Maps features - The Next Web
- Yahoo's 'Local Offers' Aggregates Biggest Daily Deal Services - ClickZ
- Getting from A to B just got a little easier - Google LatLong
- Announcing the new Bing Maps site with a redesigned left-rail and broader access to Map Apps & StreetSide - Bing Maps Blog
- Millennial: iOS And Android Tie For Smartphone Impression Share In October - TechCrunch
- Editing your Google Docs on the go - Official Google Blog
- Google Voice for iPhone - Google Mobile Blog
- Google Shopper 1.3 adds search filters and featured lists - Google Mobile Blog
- Google Sky Map- now with time travel - Google Mobile Blog
- Chow Down with Yahoo! Search: Quick Apps with Added Flavor - Yahoo Search Blog
- Discover the perfect Windows Phone 7 app with Bing - Bing Search Blog
- Ask for iPhone: Take that Google & Bing! - Ask.com Blog
Enterprise SEM
Create a Newsworthy Event for Links and Brand Building by Justilien Gaspard
Want to create a newsworthy event that could give your company an edge on the competition? Here are some things to consider.
SEM Agency Issues
5 Important Tips For Choosing Your SEO Agency by Gareth Owen
The five key factors in choosing an SEO agency and why are they important.
International Search
Website Localization: The Time is Now by Christian Arno
Although the English-language web has reached a saturation point, the foreign language Internet still offers rich-pickings, and presents a rather lucrative opportunity for businesses.
Google Blurs Its Own Building in Germany as Street View Expands by Danny Goodwin
Street View images of Germany's 20 largest cities, including Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich, are live in Google Maps, Google announced yesterday. One funny note: Google has been forced to blur out its own office building.
Google to Delete U.K. WiFi Data by Danny Goodwin
"Data that should never have been collected in the first place can, at last, be deleted," according to U.K. Information Commissioner Christopher Graham, in referring to the e-mails, passwords, and other data Google inadvertently collected off unencrypted wireless networks with its Street View cars (last month called a "gross invasion of privacy").
- Man loses seven stone after seeing himself on Google Street View - The Telegraph
- Twitter on Track to Lead Social Networking in Japan - ClickZ
- How Businesses Should Respond to the Converging Social Mobile Network - ClickZ.asia
- Moving Beyond the Click - How Digital Advertising (Should) Work - ClickZ.asia
- The Japanese Mobile Dichotomy - ClickZ.asia
- Search and Offline Ads: The Super Dynamo - ClickZ.asia
The Search Industry
Why Google Chrome OS & The Cloud May Be Bad Ideas by Kristine Schachinger
Reconsider the cloud operating systems before you find yourself without any choices and your computer a slave to the powerful companies that now run the technological world we live in.
comScore: Google, Bing Gain More Search Share in October by Danny Goodwin
Google and Bing made slight gains in October, while the other major search players saw their search market share drop, according to the latest comScore data.
Are the Brains of Search Engine Marketing and Search Engine Optimization Sartorially Challenged? by Greg Jarboe
The Boston Globe has just published it's list of "The 25 most stylish Bostonians" and I'm not on it. And I'm starting to think that I may owe SEM industry observer, Meredith A.C. Roth, an apology.
Congress Discussing Do Not Track Registry by Frank Watson
The US Congress is discussing the possibility of instituting a registry for people who do not want websites to track them. While privacy advocacy groups support the move, seems Google and others are against it.
Could A New Technique Change How Search Engines Work? by Frank Watson
Researchers at Georgia Tech have developed a machine-learning technique that gathers and stores word associations to enhance the search process. The technique uses, from what I understand of it, a form of keyword or semantic latency to associate terms and long tail searches to provide better search results.
Forget "The Social Network" SEOktoberfest The Movie Is Here by Frank Watson
The 2010 movie of the SEOktoberfest conference is now available thanks to Marcus Tandler - the event organizer and prominent German marketer.
- More than half of top e-retailers personalize search results - Internet Retailer
Google News
Google To Enter Fashion Space by Frank Watson
Google is expected to launch in to the fashion business tomorrow at their High Tech Fuses With High Fashion event in New York. Fashion bloggers have been discussing this and the impact it may have on stores currently selling fashion.
Hate Google Instant Previews? Here's How To Get Rid of Them by Danny Goodwin
Google's Instant Previews launched last week, and not long after some people began searching for ways to turn off the feature since Google doesn't provide one (even if Instant is turned off).
Google Plans to Hire 2,000+ Worldwide; Salaries Revealed by Danny Goodwin
Google is currently looking to hire 2,076 people to its 23,300 employees globally. Most of the positions are in engineering and sales, with half in the U.S.
FBI Seeks Google's Help in Wiretapping by Danny Goodwin
FBI Director Robert Meuller met with execs at Google and Facebook on a trip to Silicon Valley earlier this week, the New York Times reported. The subject at hand: making it easier to wiretap their users.
Google Introduces Credit Tags For News Listings by Frank Watson
The Google News blog introduced credit tags this week for attributing sources for news stories. "Credit where credit is due" is the appropriate title and involves site owners including the tags to show Google the source of their stories.
Google Chrome Releases: 20 Things I Learned About Browsers and the Web by Frank Watson
The creative team that gave us Google Chrome has released an online book "20 Things I learned About Browsers and the Web" and it is not an ebook. The book has been done in HTML5 and is a clever overview of things many people may not know.
Google TV Is Not On Wall Street Journal Christmas Present List by Frank Watson
Wall Street Journal tech reporter Walter S. Mossberg had a look at Google TV and said he would "wait for Google TV to improve."
Google Releases White Paper Criticizing Countries Blocking Internet Access by Frank Watson
In their Public Policy blog, Google discusses their release of a white paper that explores how "governments impose limits on the free flow of information online."
- Hard-Coding Bias in Google "Algorithmic" Search Results - Ben Edelman
- Google Wins Patent To Display Thumbnails Beside Results - Go Rumors
- Google awarded patent for Google Instant/Social Search - Fortune
- Google Instant Brings Back Search History Suggestions - Google Operating System
- Improvements to Product Search for this holiday season - Official Google Blog
- Google Instant on 18 new domains - Official Google Blog
- Google Removes 3 Advanced Search Options - Google Operating System
- FCC, Google Point Fingers In Wake Of Network Neutrality Fiasco - paidContent
- Expedia's Lawyer Opposing Google-ITA Deal Was A Pro-Merger Stalwart For The Bush Administration - Silicon Alley Insider
- Google Strikes Deal With French Publisher - The New York Times
- Google's Arora On The World Of Tomorrow: Facebook And Google Won't Dominate - paidContent
- Google Voice UX/UI Designer Quits For Startup Milo - Silicon Alley Insider
- Google, Amazon vied for Beatles back catalog - New York Post
- Google's Newest Q&A Service: "baraza" - Google Blogoscoped
- Samsung to Make January Announcement on Televisions With Google's Software - Bloomberg
- Google CEO Schmidt on Google TV, Chrome OS, NFC Chip - Google Watch
- Ten times more applications for Google Apps customers - Official Google Blog
- Gmail homepage makeover - Gmail Blog
Bing News
Shaky Yahoo Could Undermine Bing Search Efforts by Frank Watson
eWeek has written an interesting article about how Microsoft is worried that an unstable Yahoo could seriously impact the efforts of Bing in the search wars with Google.
Yahoo News
Yahoo Adding A Number of Local Features by Frank Watson
The Yahoo blog announced a number of new local features it will be rolling out in the near future.
After 2 Years Yahoo CEO Bartz Thinks She Gets It by Frank Watson
Speaking at Web 2.0 Summit, Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz said after two years she gets it. She now understands what Yahoo is about and she summarizes it into four words. "Content, Communications, Media and Innovation."
- Testing a Richer Yahoo! Search Assist - Yahoo Search Blog
- Yahoo Cofounder Jerry Yang Turns Over $40.5 Million In Stock For Sale Or Disposal - Silicon Alley Insider
- The Godfather of IndexTools Mortensen leaves Yahoo - State of Search
- Yahoo Opens Door to Legions of Content Creators - ClickZ
- Ross Levinsohn Says Hello on His First Day at School of Hard Knocks, Oops, Yahoo - All Things Digital
- Here Comes The All New Yahoo Calendar - Yahoo Mail Blog
Baidu News
Baidu Fires Back At Google Claims Of Advantage In China by Frank Watson
Baidu CEO Robin Li called Google's decision to leave China a gift and stated his company had to deal with the same restrictions.
Baidu Ready To Expand In To Other Countries by Frank Watson
Baidu CEO Robin Li told the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco yesterday that his company is ready to expand to other countries beyond China and Japan.
Video Marketing
comScore Releases October 2010 U.S. Online Video Rankings - comScore
SES Conference & Expo
Search and Social Media Marketing Strategies for Decade of Deflation by Greg Jarboe
Even in mid-November, many marketers are still preparing their marketing budgets for next year -- which will probably be revised in three months -- which is why virturally no one prepares a five-year plan anymore. But what if you were asked to come up with some smart search and social media marketing strategies for a decade of deflation?
Search Week in Review 2010 Archives
Nov. 13 | Nov. 6
Oct. 30 | Oct. 23 | Oct. 16 | Oct. 9 | Oct. 2
Sept. 25 | Sept. 18 | Sept. 10
Get the latest search marketing news delivered to your inbox. Subscribe to SearchDay, our free daily e-mail newsletter.
Early Bird Rates have been extended!
June 12-14, 2013: Join industry experts at SES Toronto for a crash course in the latest strategies in Online Marketing and Advertising.
Save $300 when you register by Thursday, May 23.

