September 1, 2006

From The SEW Blog...

• Search Forums Roundup: Sept. 1, 2006
  Today's SearchDay, Search Engine Forums Spotlight, features our weekly links to this week's hot topics from search engine forums across the web: TrueLocal Launches Canadian Local Search Engine - The Video Void: Where Are All The AdSense Video Ads? - Here Comes Social Media Optimization? - Google Apps for Your Domain, and more....
• Google Images Labeler: Google's Challenge To Flickr?
  Google Blogoscoped spotted the Google Image Labeler game, designed to help Google improve its image search results through tagging. It feels like a catch-up game with human-powered efforts that Yahoo is embracing via Flickr -- plus it also looks pretty influenced by the work of Luis von Ahn and his ESP Game....
• Search Engine Roundtable Starts Podcast: The Search Pulse
  This is a self-promotional post but I wanted to let you know that I will be launching a new search podcast named The Search Pulse. The show is run in conjunction with WebmasterRadio.FM, much like the Daily SearchCast, but only once per week, on Tuesdays at 5PM (EST). The show will recap the most discussed and important topics within the search marketing community and have expert opinion and commentary from Ben Pfeiffer and Chris Boggs. The persona of the show will be a lot like Bill O'Reilly's show but only on search. It should be one hour of deep discussion...
• Google Modifies Navigational Search Results
  I reported this morning that Google has changed the way they handle navigational like searches. For example, if you do a search on a site's name (i.e. navigational) you now get a different type of result set then you did a week or so ago....
• Google Has 15 Days To Provide Data To Brazil Or Be Fined $23,000 Per Day
  AFP reports that Brazil has given Google Brazil 15 days to turn over the data on the Orkut users they have been asking for. If Google Brazil does not comply, they will be fining them $23,000 per day. Google has said that they would work with Brazil to shut down Orkut some communities but according to the court filing in Sao Paulo yesterday, those requirements have been 'unsatisfactorily met.'...
• Yahoo Tests Enhanced Yahoo Answers Integration In Search Results
  Threadwatch discovered Yahoo testing a new way of displaying Yahoo Answer results within the Yahoo Search results interface. The new interface is larger and more pronounced, but in the same location (under the main organic results) as before. Threadwatch posted a screen capture of this here. I have posted a comparison of the current integration of Yahoo Answers and the test integration of Yahoo Answers at the Search Engine Roundtable....
• How Google Handles Accented Characters
  Last night WebmasterRadio.FM aired a show with Vanessa Fox and Matt Cutts of Google, they talked about so many good things including how Google handles accent characters (see archived MP3 here). Last night, Vanessa posted a more detailed explanation saying that a Mexico will return results for both "Mexico" and "México" and the same is if a searcher enters in México, Google will return results for both "Mexico" and "México." It is clear that the results differ in ranking order, but what makes that order change - well, to me, it is not clear from the post. Vanessa also explains...

Headlines & News From Elsewhere

• Click-to-Pay, -to-Call, -to-Chat, or... Something, ClickZ
• Weird Google Directions, Google Blogoscoped
• Google Launches Russian Blog, Marketing Pilgrim
• Podcast: Social Media Optimization; Yahoo Gets More Mobile; Google's Image Labeler Game; Ask's Emoticon Search & More!, Daily SearchCast
• British Airways to Offer Google Earth Vacation Views, Marketing Pilgrim
• The Paper About Bigtable, Google Operating System
• ShoeMoney.com Involved In A Landmark Blog Case - Slander In Comments, ShoeMoney
• Should PBS Just Say No to AdSense?, Search Engine Roundtable
• The Culture Shift at Google, SEOmoz
• Protect Your Brand from Rogue Affiliates, iMedia Connection
• Paying for Shelf Space in the Search Supermarket, ClickZ
• Google's automatic language detection and translation service, Googling Google
• New Search Tools: TalkDigger, ResourceShelf
• Image Tagging and Bench Indexes? Another Busy Week for New Google Domain Name Registerations ResourceShelf
• NYC Marketers: Let's Meet for a Drink on Tuesday, ClickZ
• Google Wants To Team Up With Emmy Winners, Google Operating System
• MySpace driving more retail traffic than MSN search, TechCrunch
• Microsoft Cries Foul At Stolen Interface, Techcrunch
• Google to Begin Charging AdWords API Fees October 1st, Search Engine Roundtable