Search Buzz RoundUp Archives

In this weeks search recap, I cover the past month of Google SEO related topics, in the February Google Webmaster report. Bing spoke up on how important redirecting your canonical URLs are. Google is disapproving AdWords ads for "artificial ad traffic." Google is sending payment notifications to some AdSense publishers. Some publishers got paid double last month. Google may disclose the AdSense revenue split, and yes, most publishers want to know. AdSense has a reporting glitch with Blogger. Google is testing a new Google News home page and they also added a starring feature. Google Images previews now have a flip image feature for some. Finally, it was Groundhog day and only Bing and us had themes, Google, Yahoo and others did not. That was this past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Search Topics of Discussion:

• February 2010 Google Webmaster Report
• Some Insight Into How Bing Handles WWW vs Non-WWW Canonical SEO Issues
• Google AdWords Disapproved For "Artificial Ad Traffic"
• Google Sending Emails Notifications to Publishers Regarding Payments
• Google Double Pays Publisher, Apologizes Via Email
• Google May Disclose AdSense Revenue Split, But Publishers Don't Care
• Most AdSense Publishers Want Google To Disclose Revenue Split
• Google AdSense Blogger Reporting Bug
• Google News Tests a New Design
• Blue Pale Stars on Google News Confuses Users?
• Google Images Preview Flip (Slider) Feature
• Groundhog Day: Bing Theme But Nothing From Google, Yahoo, AOL & Others

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This week, the bulk of the discussion in this recap is Google related. I talked about more Google Caffeine discussions, is it going live? Use a 410 status code for really strong 404s. Google launched answer highlighting in snippets. Google also released social search. Kaspersky blocked Google AdSense ads, again. Google is paying publishers less and less - and we try to figure out why. Search grows at 46% worldwide, Google grew even faster. Google Maps search added personalization, but does it slow you down. Google Reader tracks even non-RSS pages. Google messed up the Kuwait doodle and had controversy over Australia's Doodle 4 Google competition. That was this past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Search Topics of Discussion:
Google SEO:

• More Google Caffeine Sightings Over Weekend
• Remove Pages From Google ~Forever Using a 410 Status Code

• Google "Answer Highlighting" Upsets Webmasters
• Google Launches Social Search

• Kaspersky Blocking Google Ads Again
• Google Paying AdSense Publishers Less & Less
• What's New With AdSense Publishers?

• Search Continues to Grow: Showing 46% Growth YoY, comScore

• Google Maps Can't Find Home After Adding Personalization

• Google Reader Tracks Changes To All Web Pages: Tips on How to Block It

• Google A Month Early On Kuwait's National Day
• Google Drops Aboriginal Flag from Doodle Winner Due To Copyright

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In this weeks recap, we go a bit all over the place to get through the most important topics we covered in the past 7 days. We talked about a study that showed the minor impact Google personalized search has on SEO. There may have been a Yahoo Search update this week. Microsoft says they will purge their search data within 6 months. Bing's auto-search suggestions get more current. Bing also shows search results for related queries. Google increased the Sitemaps limit. Google AdWords now has four professional exams. Yahoo released the network distribution feature, finally. SEOmoz built Open Site Explorer, a neat new useful tool. Google Maps lets you add real time content to your business listing. Don't use the same phone number as your competitor, if you don't want issues on your Google local listing. Search for Jesus on Google Images and you'll catch him smoking and drinking. Google continues to cash in, they announced awesome 4th quarter earnings. SEO is being trademarked again, but the story is different. Martin Luther King day was this week, we have the logos for you. That was this past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Search Topics of Discussion:

• Study on Google Personalized Search & Re-Ranking Shows Minor SEO Changes
• A Real Yahoo Search Update for January 2010?
• Microsoft To Purge Search Data on Bing After 6 Months
• Bing's Auto Search Suggestions Gets More Current
• Bing Showing Related Search Results By Default
• Google Increases Sitemaps Limit to 50,000 from 1,000
• Google AdWords Certification Program Now With Four Exams?
• Yahoo Search Advertisers Rejoice Over New Network Distribution Feature
• SEOmoz Builds Open Site Explorer, Community Likes
• Add Real Time Content to Your Google Maps Listing
• Google Maps Can't Handle Two Plus Businesses With Same Phone Number
• First Image for Jesus in Google Images is Offensive
• Google Continues The Cash Drive: Revenue Up, Profits Up, Everything up (GOOG)
• SEO ≠ Search Engine Optimization, Rather Strategically Elevating Optimization
• Martin Luther King, Jr Logo from Google, Yahoo, Bing, Ask, Dogpile & Others in 2010

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This week we covered topics from SEO to topless Playboy girls. We discussed how to rank high in the Google real-time results with Twitter. We asked, when is Google launching the Caffeine index? Google added favorite icons to Webmaster Tools. Google added Fast Flip to Google News and we spotted a topless Playboy model on the home page. Google search spelling feature stole traffic from a web site. AdWords says your click through rate should be about 2 percent or higher. A new AdWords display URL policy requires subdomains for hosted domains. Google can transfer the campaigns you set up for clients, to their own accounts and leave you in the dust. If and when the Microsoft Yahoo deal goes through adCenter will take of Yahoo Search Marketing. Yahoo killed Shopping Search and outsourced it to PriceGrabber. Google changed home page fade in affect for the Haiti relief message. Google stood up to China and won't censor their results, the world is supporting Google. That was this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Search Topics of Discussion:
Google SEO:

• Want To Rank High in Google's Real Time Search? Get More Twitter Followers
• What's The Hold Up With The Google Caffeine Index?
• I Now See Favicons in Google Webmaster Tools
• Google Adding Favicons to Webmaster Tools Site List?

• Google Adds News Flip to Google News Home Page
• Playboy on Google News Fast Flip
• The Google Search Screw: Google Knows Best

• Google AdWords Click Through Rates: 2% is Average But Double Digits is Great
• Google AdWords Display URLs for Hosted Domains Must Include Sub Domains
• Google Transfers AdWords Account from Consultant to Client in Dispute

• If Microsoft / Yahoo Deal Goes Through: adCenter Will Replace Yahoo Search Marketing
• Yahoo To Kill Shopping API & Outsource to PriceGrabber, Not Bing

• Google Now Shows Haiti Relief Message on Home Page Before Fade

• Google's Bold Move to Leave China Drives Good Will
• Google China's Office Becomes a Shrine

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This week, I try to get fancier with my video set up and integrate multiple video sources, including my monitor - let's see how that goes. I posted the Google webmaster report for January. There were rumors Caffeine went live, but it did not. More people are seeing the Google blue Jazz interface. Malware is becoming a bigger and bigger issues. Was there a Yahoo Search update or was it the paid inclusion results being removed? Google's local business privacy blunder caused some overall concern. Google may return the SEO and web design local pack? Bing says they are slow and recommends you spam Digg or Yahoo Buzz. Microsoft adCenter offered free clicks, well - not really. AdWords tests a CPA lead form and also click to call on mobile phones. Also, most PPCers have participated in bid wars, while most advertisers are not afraid to make changes to their accounts. Finally Googlers were working on New Years and Google animated their logo for Issac Newton. That was this past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Search Topics of Discussion:
Google SEO

• January 2010 Google Webmaster Report
• Google Caffeine Results Now Going Live?

• Google's Blue Interface (AKA Jazz) Being Seen By More Searchers
• Malware in 2010 : Hiding in Google Search Results

• Yahoo Search January 2010 Update?
• Yahoo Paid Inclusion Still Live?

• Google Sends Me & Others Wrong Local Business Center Reports
• Google Back Tracks a Bit on Dropping SEOs & Webmasters from Local Results

• Microsoft Bing Says They Are "Fairly Slow"
• Bing Recommends Submitting to Digg & Yahoo Buzz for Indexing Boost

• Microsoft adCenter Offering Free Search Ads Over New Years?

• Google AdWords Contact Form Extensions Beta : CPC Based CPA
• Google To Offer Click-to-Call Search Ads On iPhone, Android & Palm
• 65% of PPC Advertisers Have Competed in Bid Wars
• Most AdWords Advertisers Are Not Afraid to Make Changes To Campaigns

• Yep, Googlers Working on January 1st, New Years Day
• Isaac Newton 367th Birthday Brings Google's First Animated Doodle (Logo)

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In our New Years day video recap, I covered the last week of 2009 in search at the Search Engine Roundtable. I first showed off the various logos for New Years by Google, Yahoo, Bing, Ask.com and many others. Google also had a PageRank update on New Years eve. Google uses ccTLDs over server location. Google slapped SEOs by dropping them and web designers from the local pack. Bing's MSNBot is up to no good again, crawling fake file names. Google AdWords advertisers feel paralyzed. Increase your click through rate with women in thongs in your Google ads. Google launched the advertising professional search feature. Google had a weird bug related to the September 11 attacks. Finally, Google's porn filter had some issues this week. That was the last week of 2009 in search at the Search Engine Roundtable! Happy & Healthy 2010!

FYI - Sorry for the volume, you will have to crank it up to hear me.

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Search Topics of Discussion:
New Years:

• 2010 New Year Logos from Search Engines: Yahoo, Bing, Ask.com & Google

• Google Toolbar PageRank Update (New Years 2010)
• Google Uses ccTLD Over Server Location for Localizing Search Results
• Google Removes SEOs from Local One Pack in Search Results

• Bing's MSNBot Crawling Fake File Names?

• Google AdWords Paralysis: Advertisers Afraid to Change Campaigns
• Google AdWords Images With Girls in Thongs Allowed?
• How to Find a Google Advertising Professional with Google

• Google Movie Search Returns Weird 9-11 Message
• Porn on Google Image Search with Strict Search On

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Merry Christmas everyone! This week at the Search Engine Roundtable was a fairly slow week, due to the holidays. Some of the news I wanted to cover includes that Googlers are working on Christmas. Also, I posted the Christmas logos and themes from Google, Yahoo, Bing, Ask.com, Baidu, and so many others - so check it out. Google sent out e-cards saying they will be giving $20 million in charity in exchange for sending out schwag to advertisers and publishers. Brett Tabke felt we got stiffed and was pretty upset. Brett later explained he feels Google is cutting on webmaster and advertiser support and relations. Also, Bing really has zero support for the canonical tag and I explained why that upset me. QuickMark QR scanner fixed their bug, which caused a major headache for Google's favorite places decals. That was this week at the Search Engine Roundtable - Merry Christmas!

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Search Topics of Discussion:

• Merry Christmas All & Googlers Working Today
• Christmas Logos From Google, Yahoo, Bing, Ask & Others
• Google Holiday Logos, Also Yahoo, Bing & YouTube Winter Logos
• Google Sends Out $20 Million Worth of Holiday Presents in 2009
• WebmasterWorld's Tabke: Google "Stiffed" Webmasters on Christmas
• Google Cutting Personalized AdWords Representative Support?
• Did Google Pull Back on Webmaster & Advertiser Support in 2009?
• Bing Doesn't Support the Canonical Tag At All Right Now
• QuickMark iPhone Update Fixes Google Favorite Places QR Code Decals

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This week in search, I announce that I am hosting SMX SphinnCon Israel on March 7, 2010 in Jerusalem. Google announced the support for cross domain canonical tags. There may have been a Toolbar PageRank penalty earlier this week. Google may add PDF support to fetch as Googlebot. Google dropped Answers.com for their own definitions. Google is testing infinite scroll in image search. Bing might add "page score" to their toolbar. MSNBot crawls pages twice, once for compressed http and one for uncompressed. Google's new QR codes on the favorite places maps decals are sending users to wrong business, likely because of QR scanners and not Google. Google messed up the AdSense reporting again. Yahoo Search Marketing ads went down for a short period of time. Google is now in the URL shortening business with goo.gl. Google may buy Yelp for $500 million. Google is inviting publishers for Christmas lunch. Google's Im Feeling Lucky button does the New Year countdown. Google did a Doodle for Zamenhof. Google forgot about The Simpons 20th birthday, a shame. That was this past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Search Topics of Discussion:
Misc:

• Announcing SMX SphinnCon Israel 2010: March 7, 2010

• New: Cross Domain Canonical Tag Google Support
• Mass Google Toolbar PageRank Penalty of December 2009???
• Google to Add PDF Support to Fetch As Googlebot?
• Google Drops Answers.com For Google Definitions
• Google Images Trying Bing's "Infinite Scroll"?

• Microsoft Might Add Bing Page Score to MSN Toolbar
• Bing's MSNBot Crawls Twice, Once For Compressed HTML & Again For Uncompressed

• My Google Favorite Place Decal Was Hijacked
• Google Favorite Places QR Codes Taking Many Customers to Wrong Location

• Google Mixed Up Link Units Earnings With Ad Units
• Yahoo Search Marketing Down For Some Advertisers

• Google Does URL Shortening: goo.gl
• Google To Swallow Yelp For $500 Million?

• Google Invites AdSense Publishers For Christmas Lunch
• Google's "I'm Feeling Lucky" Button Counts Down To New Year
• Google Doodle Remembers L. L. Zamenhof, Inventor of Esperanto
• Happy 20th Birthday The Simpsons

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Just a reminder, we did not do a video recap last week, we did a text one - so if you missed it, check it out. This week was the SES Chicago conference and we covered tons of sessions. Google switched personalized search on by default and SEOs are freaking out. Google and Yahoo both added real time Twitter results to the search results. Google launched image based search with Google Goggles. Google will add a trustworthy indicator to the page speed report because webmeisters aren't sure if it is accurate. Why? Well, both Google AdSense and Analytics have long page load times, but AdSense will be fixed and Google told us to ignore Analytics. Bing will crawl a 301 two or three times before registering it. We also posted our December Google webmaster report. Google is taking Google Money scammer to court and AdSense Pirates are becoming more of a problem. Ruscoe from Google Blogocoped is joining Google next month. Being an AdSense publisher doesn't mean Google will be a job reference for you. Don't search for 123456 in Google, you might get slapped in the face. Yahoo closed their deal with Microsoft, now they wait on the regulators (sorry, did not cover in video). Google had a Popeye logo this week. Tonight is Chanukah and Bing and we have themes live. Happy Chanukah everyone and have a great weekend. That was this past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Search Topics of Discussion:
Conference:

• SES Chicago '09 Live Coverage Recap

• SEOs Freak Out: Google To Personalize All Search Results
• Google Does Real Time Search : See It For Popeye
• Yahoo Adds Twitter to Search Results, Google's Twitter Results Now Live

• Google Goggles & Other Mobile Announcements

• Google To Add "Trustworthy Indicator" to Site Performance Tool
• Google Promises to Speed Up AdSense for GoogleBot
• Will Google Analytics Hurt My Google Rankings? Speed Issues?
• Bing Requires 3 MSNBot Crawls To Register 301 Redirects
• December 2009 Google Webmaster Report

• Google Takes Google Money Scams To Court
• AdSense Pirates: Being Extorted Via Google AdSense

• Tony Ruscoe, Popular SEM Personality, to Join Google

• Job Applicants, Google AdSense Can't Be Used As a Job Reference
• Don't Search Google for 123456

• Yahoo & Microsoft Complete Search Deal, Now Waiting on Regulators

• Google Popeye Logo For E. C. Segar's 115th Birthday
• Chanukah 2009 Logos from Bing & SERoundtable

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I am writing this weekly recap while on a flight to Chicago. I won't be able to do the video version, so hopefully this text version will do. I am on my way to Chicago for Search Engine Strategies 2009. SES is actually when I started this site, six years ago on December 2nd. We have written over 10,000 stories here since and almost 2,000 in the past year alone.

On the search front, Google's Caffeine index finally made it to a data center. Google added a site performance report to Webmaster Tools to show off page speed. Google also confirmed a Sitelinks bug where you can link to a competitor. On the user interface front, Google decided to go with the fade in home page. They are showing more breadcrumbs as site URLs. They also are using larger images in the search results and region tags for some of the results. Bing went offline for the first time in their short history, it latest for 30 minutes. Bing Maps showed Google they can compete by adding street views and augmented reality. There are stories that Yahoo has begun unbanning web sites from their index. Google AdSense banned a publisher for copyright infringement over their own copyright. Finally, there are tons of more AdWords bans going on right now - I called it the Big Ban of December. That was this past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

Select Topics For This Past Week:

Misc:

• Six Years Covering the Search Marketing Community
• SES Chicago '09 Live Blogging Schedule

• Google Caffeine Index Now on a Google Data Center: 209.85.225.103
• Google Page Speed Report Comes to Webmaster Tools
• Google Confirms Bug With Sitelinks Where You Can Link To Competitors

• Google Sticks with Fade In Home Page Despite Searchers Hating It
• Short URLs Don't Want Google's Breadcrumb Display URL in SERPs
• Larger Google Images & Region Tags In Google Search Results

• Bing Goes Offline for 30 Minutes
• Bing Maps Adds Features & Augmented Reality

• Yahoo Search Unbanning Web Sites After Years?

• Google AdSense Bans Publisher For Copyright Infringement Over Their Own Copyrights

• Google Begins Banning AdWords Advertisers Again: December '09 Big Ban

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There seems to be a major Google update going on, some suspect it is Caffeine related while others do not. Google said comment spam can hurt you bad. Rich snippets are now showing in other Google properties, such as Google UK and Canada. Don't waste your time with a banned domain. Bing and News Corp try to team up to bait Google on indexing their content. Is Bing now handling 301 redirects properly? If you are banned in AdWords, you likely will never be unbanned. Google opened product ads to all U.S. advertisers and then showed off all their new ad styles. Google Maps bug removed the local pack for web design like searches. Google AdSense bug showed weird HTML characters in the ads. Google is testing related search results in the top navigation bar. The Michelle Obama racist image reappeared and Google could not remove it, so they placed an ad as to why not. Finally, we posted all the Thanksgiving logos from Google, Yahoo, AOL, Ask.com, Bing, Dogpile and others - so check it out. That was this past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Search Topics of Discussion:
Google SEO:

• Major Google Search Thanksgiving '09 Update? Caffeine Related?
• Google: Comment Spam Can Hurt Your Site's Ranking
• Rich Snippets Now in Google UK & Other Non-US Properties
• Buy a Banned Domain? Should You Ask Google for Forgiveness?

• News Corp May De-List Themselves From Google & Partner With Microsoft Bing
• More Reports of Bing Correctly Handling 301 Redirects

• Banned Google AdWords Accounts Will Likely Never Be Unsuspended
• Google AdWords Opens Product Ads To All U.S. Advertisers
• A Look at Google AdWords Newish Ads

• Google Bug Removes Web Designers in Local Pack

• Google AdSense Bug Displaying Weird Characters in Ads

• Google Testing Related Searches Tab on Top Navigation Bar?
• Google Buys Search Ad For Offensive Michelle Obama Image Result

• Thanksgiving Greetings 2009 From Google, Yahoo, Bing, Ask & Search Industry

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In this week's search video recap, I try a new format, breaking the news up in segments - do let me know if you like it. I am sorry the video is so long, just lots of information to cover. We start with Google's new user interface that is now being seen by some searchers - it is pretty jazzy. Google is showing breadcrumbs instead of URLs in the search results on occasion. Google is testing Image Swirl, it is pretty tasty. Google Social Search labs is now back in action after going offline. Page load time will be a ranking factor in 2010. Is Google's Caffeine index live in a data center? Why did FeedBurner ruin the search engine friendly web? Did Google preform a hand change to the index for Michelle Obama? Microsoft Bing is updating now. Bing UK when out of beta, was it too soon? AdWords goes on another banning spree - but they now have an appeals process. Check out all that Polish Google ad spam. Google no longer allows exceptions to their 35 character display URL limit. Google expanded their product ads beta. AdSense places gold stars near featured ads. I now have access to the new AdSense beta interface. Publishers are being banned over using Tamper Data as a Firefox plugin. Yahoo added a developing news box to some search results. Finally, Danny took us back to the first ever search marketing conference. That was this past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Search Topics of Discussion:
Google Search:

• Google Jazz User Interface Out In The Wild
• Google URL Search Results Snippets Showing Breadcrumb Navigation
• Tasty: Google Image Swirl
• Google Social Search Temporarily Goes Offline, To Return Soon

• Page Load Time & Speed Will Likely Be a Ranking Factor in Google
• Is Google Caffeine At 216.239.59.103 Data Center?
• Google's FeedBurner Tagging URLs : Duplicate Content Issue

• Google Removed Negative Search Result Michelle Obama, Should They Have?

• Microsoft Bing November 2009 Search Update?
• Bing UK Out of Beta, But Too Soon?

• Get Ready, Here Come More Google AdWords Account Bans
• Google Poland: Scam Ads in Polish AdWords
• Google Now Enforcing 35 Character Display URL Policy
• Google Expands Product Listing Ads CPA Model Test

• Google AdSense Ads Get Special "Featured Ads" With Stars
• More Screen Shots of Google's New Beta AdSense Interface
• Google Disabling AdSense Accounts For Using Tamper Data Firefox Plugin

• Yahoo Adds Tweets In New Developing News Box

• Danny Sullivan Looks Back at Starting Search Marketing Conferences

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In this weeks recap, I act all tired and dazed from coming off a red eye from Las Vegas and doing the video at 8am in the morning, with maybe 20 minutes of sleep. Of course I talked about our PubCon coverage, about 40 sessions covered live. Google shut down the Google Caffeine Sandbox and is pushing it out to a single data center soon. Google enhanced the keyword report in Webmaster Tools. MSNBot is having issues respecting the crawl delay directive. Bing added the awesome Wolfram Alpha data. Google Maps has a pornography issue. Are rich snippets being displayed in Google for smaller sites? The AdWords team did a help and tip photo shoot, they also backed a cake for the one year birthday. There is some fake Matt Cutts ban spam that is not real. We also have logos for Veterans Day, Sesame Street and Berlin Wall to show you. That was this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• PubCon 2009 Vegas Coverage Recap
• Google Caffeine Index Goes Live Right Before Holiday Shopping Season
• Matt Cutts Returns to WebmasterWorld: Caffeine Launch After Holidays
• Google Updates Keyword Tool in Webmaster Tools: Updates Daily & Shows More Detail
• MSNBot Crawl Delay Doesn't Delay
• Bing Adds My Favorite Fact Engine, Wolfram|Alpha
• London Escort Service Using Seductive Images in Google Maps Business Listings
• Google Rich Snippets Coming To Smaller Sites?
• Google AdWords Team's Photo Help Session
• Cute: AdWordsPro Sarah Bakes Cake For AdWords Forums Birthday
• Fake Google Matt Cutts Ban List Referrers?
• Veteran's Day 2009 Logos from Google, Bing, Ask But Not Yahoo
• Sesame Street Count(s) Day 6 Trumps Berlin Wall Logo
• Google's Sesame Street Logo Finale : 12 Doodles

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Google shows about ten Sesame Streets logos over three days for their 40th anniversary. Google, Yahoo, Bing, AOL and others dressed up for Halloween. Google's home page fade adds "this space left blank," and it is ridiculous. AdSense is testing out a new interface. AdWords keeps banning advertisers. We got the detailed November 2009 Google webmaster report. AdWords now officially has Sitelinks. Publishers need to update their Sitemaps for Google News within six months. Google Maps updated the business listing quality guidelines. Google created a single dashboard. Google adds page previews to search options. MSN previews a new design. Matt Cutts drops WebmasterWorld cold. Sphinn leaves beta and adds premium features. PubCon is next week, we will have live real time coverage of the sessions. That was this past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Google Celebrates Anniversaries For Sesame Street, Wallace & Gromit & Many Others
• Google Really Likes, Really Likes, Sesame Street: Adds Cookie Monster and Ernie & Bert
• Halloween Logos from Search Engines: Google, Bing, Yahoo & Many More
• Google's Home Page Instructs: "This Space Intentionally Left Blank"
• Google's New Beta AdSense Interface Looks Slick
• Google Keeps Banning AdWords Advertisers
• November 2009 Google Webmaster Report
• Google AdWords Ad Sitelinks, Now Official
• Publishers: Google News To Require A New Sitemaps File
• Google Maps Updates Business Listing Quality Guidelines
• Google Finally Creates a Dashboard to Manage Your Google Life
• Google Finally Tries Page Previews
• MSN Home Page Gets a Major Face Lift
• Google's Matt Cutts Goes a Year Without Posting at WebmasterWorld
• Sphinn Comes Out of Beta
• PubCon 2009 In Vegas Live Blogging Schedule

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Google updates the toolbar PageRank scores yesterday. Bing did yet another search index update. Google launched social search in the experimental labs. Google adds instructions for their simplistic fading home page. Yahoo finally killed GeoCities. Did Bing figure out 301 redirects? Google Sitelinks can take two weeks to be blocked. Google treats 410 status codes differently from 404s. Google tests cost per lead comparison ads in mortgage and refinance industry. Google graduates similar image search. Google Maps to fix a one box mistake. Google warns that publishers should not block the AdSense certified 3rd party network. A new adCenter Desktop beta might be coming November 6th. Google Maps adds navigation GPS tool to Android 2.0 on Verizon Wireless Droid. Should Diller sell Ask.com to Microsoft or donate it to Rutgers. That was this past week in search at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Google October 2009 Toolbar PageRank Update
• Yet Another Bing October 2009 Update?
• Google Social Search Now Live
• Google Pushes Fading Home Page Test To More, Adds Instructions
• Goodbye GeoCities: Yahoo Shuts Down GeoCities Today
• Is Microsoft Bing Finally Figuring Out 301 Redirects?
• Blocking Google Sitelinks Can Take Two Weeks Or More
• Google Now Treats 410 Status Code As "More Permanent" Than 404 Status Code
• Google Comparison Ads For Mortgages & Refinancing
• Why Don't I See 'Find Similar Images' in Google Yet?
• Google Maps to Fix One Web Box Result Bug
• Google Warns, Don't Block AdSense Certified Ad Network
• New Microsoft adCenter Desktop Beta Coming November 6th?
• Google Maps Navigation Makes iPhone Users & Others Jealous of Droid
• Should Diller Sell Ask.com? No, Donate it to Rutgers University

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Google seemed to have a minor search update, while Bing had a major search index update. Microsoft and Google both confirmed deals with Twitter on the firehouse. Yahoo added Delicious data and Search Monkey data to Site Explorer. AdWords released an update to their API v2009 and is sunsetting version 13 on April 22, 2010. Google confirmed the ad position move made for a higher click through rate. Google is indenting multiple results now. Bing is a bit too crawl happy with MSNBot. Google added " is this accurate" to the web maps. Most SEOs do not link to competitors. That was this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Maybe a Minor Google Search Update (October 2009)?
• Bing October 2009 Search Index Update
• Google, Bing & (Yes) Yahoo Buy Tweets From Twitter
• Yahoo Site Explorer Adds Key Terms, Delicious Activities, Delicious Tags & SearchMonkey Objects
• Google AdWords API v2009 Gets Asynchronous Calls & Version 13 Sunsets April 22, 2010
• Google Confirms Higher Click Through Rate As Result of Ads Position To Free Listings
• Google Now Indenting Two Results In Search Results
• Bing's MSNBot Crawl Happy?
• Google Adds "Is This Accurate" To Map Details on Web Search
• Survey: Most SEOs Won't Link To Competitors

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This week was pretty busy over at the Search Engine Roundtable. We broke the news Google has dropped PageRank data from Webmaster Tools and we hope from more places. Yahoo was wrong about the meta keywords tag, they still use it. Yahoo dropped the controversial paid inclusion program. Microsoft Bing has major bugs preventing people from using their Webmaster Tools for over 3 days. Google launched a labs area for Webmaster Tools, adding Fetch as Googlebot and Malware Details. Did Google Suggest just get smarter and start figuring out abbreviations? Google Maps dropped Tele Atlas for their own data in the U.S. Google now only shows 7 of 10 local results in the "ten pack" on web search. Beware of a Google AdSense "account disabled" phishing email that is going around. AVG has labeled some of the Google search results as a security threat. Google thinks Ireland is New Zealand. Google reported earnings, revenue up 7 percent, clicks up 14 percent and cost per click was down 6 percent. A person lost their unemployment check of $405 per week for earning a dollar a day with Google AdSense. A site is conning convicts into paying $50 to remove their name from their web site, which ranks high for their names in Google. That was this past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Google Removes PageRank Data From Webmaster Tools
• Yahoo's Senior Director of Search Got It Wrong, Yahoo Uses Meta Keywords Still
• Yahoo Dropping Controversial Paid Inclusion Program, Finally
• Bing Webmaster Tools Unexpected Errors
• 3 Days Later, Bing Finally Fixes Webmaster Tools Bug
• Google Labs For Webmaster Tools Launches: Fetch as Googlebot & Malware Details
• Fetch As Googlebot Shows Only 100Kb But Real Googlebot Gets More
• Google Search Suggestions Smarter? Abbreviations Working?
• Google Maps Drops Tele Atlas For Google Data in US
• Google Showing Only 7 of 10 Local Results Now
• Beware: Google AdSense "Account Disabled" Phishing Scam
• AVG Calls Some Google Search Pages A "Threat"
• Google, Heads Up, Ireland Is Not New Zealand
• Google Clicks Up 14% & CPC Drops 6%, Overall GOOG Up 7%
• Woman Loses Unemployment Checks Due To $1 Per Day Google AdSense Income
• Get Out Of Google Jail For $50, Web Site Captures Mug Shots

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This week, I got sick during SMX East, which made for a pretty poor sounding video - so I apologize for my voice. We did cover 33 or so sessions at SMX East, which had a ton of useful and fun materials presented. I also posted the October 2009 Google Webmaster report. Google will allow cross domain canonical tag use. Did Google give the White House a "hand job" in the search results? AdSense login problems plague publishers. Google fades in the home page, which I think is ridiculous. Yahoo said they no longer use the meta keywords tag. Google proposes new way to crawl AJAX. iGoogle theme NoBama is racist and I get blamed for it. Did you see the Google bar code Doodle? That was this past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• SMX East 2009 Big Session Coverage Recap
• October 2009 Google Webmaster Report
• Google Soon To Allow Cross Domain Canonical Tag: This Is Big
• Don't Like A Google Search Result? Tell Them In The Forums
• Google AdSense Login Issue Two Different Issues?
• Google Asks For Feedback On 'Fade In' Home Page
• Yahoo Drops The Meta Keywords Tag Also
• Google Wants To Index AJAX #!
• Extreme Racist Anti President Obama iGoogle Theme Available
• Google The Bar Code Logo

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Google has been banning AdWords advertisers and warning advertisers of bans for low quality landing pages, but I think something is wrong with Google. Google fixed a low share of voice AdWords bug. Google has an image search update in September 2009. Google updated their search options with neat new filters. Google confirmed adding deeper links and named them forum Sitelinks. Bing added a link to their Visual Search on their home page. Google updated their site verification process in Webmaster Tools. Did the Google Sandbox exist? We polled our users on that. Google launched Merchant Center to help with Google Base product uploads. Google might add tons of ads to Google Maps. Google Maps got foggy over New Delhi. The fake Yahoo employee is real, but might not have Yahoo's approval to post. Google celebrated their 11th birthday on September 27th. Google celebrated also Confucius' birthday with a doodle and Gandhi's birthday with a doodle. That was this past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Google Responds To Mass Google AdWords Advertiser Banning & Warnings
• Google AdWords Banning Advertisers For Multiple "Poor Quality Landing Pages"
• A Week Later, Google AdWords Fixes "Low Share of Voice" Bug
• Google September 2009 Image Search Update Turns Out Bad?
• Google Adds More Search Options & Cleans Up Verticals
• Google Names My "Deep Sitelinks" as "Forum Sitelinks"
• Bing Adds Visual Search & More Links On Home Page
• Google Updates Webmaster Tools Verification Process: Google Sites Verification Breaks
• Google Sandbox: Does/Did it Exist? Poll Results
• It's Froogle, No It's Google Products, No It's Google Base, No It's Google Merchant Center
• Google to Sprinkle Ads All Over Google Maps?
• Foggy Google Maps Satellite Pictures?
• Fake Yahoo Employee, Not Fake: Side Money?
• Google Double LL Logo? Nope. Google's 11th Birthday Today
• Google's Confucius Birthday Logo
• Google's Happy Birthday Gandhi Logo

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Yahoo launched a new search interface along with a brand campaign. Google AdWords is testing a new keyword tool, which is extremely advanced compared to the current one. AdWords advertisers were hit with a "low share of voice" notice. Google has confirmed new AdSense arrows and I see them. Some AdSense publishers are unable to login to their accounts. Did you know, Google doesn't use meta keywords? Did you see the new deeper Sitelinks with data formats? Google launched Sidewiki, which lets you comment on other sites, directly on those sites. Yea, there is a weird way to block it. Google Maps launched Place Pages. Referrer spam can't hurt your Google rankings. Should you nofollow your affiliate links? Bing's adCenter is to try favicons in ads. Google's flying saucer logo leads to H.G. Wells. Finally, we posted our SMX East coverage schedule, see you there in about a week. That was this past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Yahoo Launches New Search Interface & Brand Campaign
• Google AdWords New Beta Keyword Tool
• Google AdWords Accounts Hit With "Low Share of Voice" Notice
• Google Confirms AdSense Arrows Changes
• Some AdSense Publishers Still Not Able To Login: Confirmed Issue
• News Flash: Google Doesn't Use Meta Keywords Tag
• Yes, Google Is Showing Deeper Sitelinks In Different Formats
• Google Sidewiki - Comment About Any Site on That Site
• Block Google Sidewiki Users From Commenting On Your Site
• Place Pages: Google Gives Everyone A Page On Google Maps
• Google Says, Referrer Spam Does Not Hurt Your Google Rankings
• Linking To Affiliates? Better Nofollow Those Links or Google Will Penalize You
• Bing adCenter To Try Favicons in Search Ads
• Google's Flying Saucer Logos Lead to H.G. Wells
• SMX East '09 Live Live Blogging Schedule

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In this week's recap, I take you to St. Louis with a quick recap on my laptop. Bing launched visual search, while Google launched news flip. Google added DoubleClick to AdWords. Parameter handling finally came to Google Webmaster Tools. Yahoo secretly added top query and URLs reports to Site Explorer. Bing takes over 10 percent market share. Google acquired reCAPTCHA for OCR improvement. Google says validation doesn't help with ranking boost. Google's related command is much better. Bing hides MSNBot as Mozilla, plus they don't reverse DNS properly. SEOs don't like to show off and SEMs refuse to let Google manage their AdWords accounts. Are there AdSense poison words and is it a double standard? Is Google locking down AdSense publishers? When will the Google UFO or flying saucer logos be solved? Everyone, thanks for listening to this weeks search recap. Have a wonderful Rosh Hashanah and Talk Like a Pirate Day from the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Video Demo of Bing's New Visual Search
• Video Demo of Google News Fast Flip
• DoubleClick Now Integrated With Google AdWords, Impacts AdSense
• Google Adds Parameter Handling To Webmaster Tools, Plays Catchup to Yahoo Site Explorer
• Yahoo Site Explorer Adds Top Queries Report
• Bing Springs To 10% Market Share, Takes From Yahoo
• Google Acquires reCAPTCHA, SEOs Drop reCAPTCHA
• Google Says Pages That Validate Do Not Get Ranking Boost
• Google's Related Command Now More Accurate?
• Bing Masking MSNBot Under Mozilla's UserAgent & Reverse IP Fails
• SEO Show Offs: Poll Results
• 87% Won't Allow Google To Manage Their AdWords Accounts
• Google AdSense Poison Words & The AdSense/AdWords Double Standard
• Google AdSense Locks Down Publisher Accounts For Manual Review
• Goog_e's Missing "L" Crop Circles UFO Logo

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On September 11th we covered why Google doesn't have a logo, but yet will "fix" Google Maps for "September 11 Attacks." We did however show off the logos for Bing and Ask.com for their remembrance. Also, Labor Day, Google didn't have a logo, but Ask.com, Bing and Dogpile did. Google did a logo for 9/9/09 at 9:09:09 and a weird missing "O" logo on Saturday. Google made their search box much larger. Longer domain name registration does not improve SEO, Google said. Keywords in the URL help with SEO according to our most recent poll. UK and Ireland are very similar and even on different ccTLDs can result in duplicate content. Google Sitelinks are now in the search snippets. Bing fake referrers might be back, but are they even paying attention to the robots.txt files? Yahoo search ads should get cheaper and they added a new report. Google Base added a YouTube attribute to link up videos. Google AdWords advertiser threatens suicide. How can you stop search spiders on the Jewish Shabbat? Finally, did you check out Google Monopoly? That was this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• No 9/11 Logo From Google, But Bing & Ask.com Remember
• Google To "Fix" September 11 Attacks Mark on Google Maps
• 2009 Labor Day Logos from Bing, Ask, DogPile But Not Google or Yahoo
• Google's 09/09/09 Logo (Doodle)
• Go_gle's Missing "O" "Unexplained Phenomenon" UFO Logo (Doodle)
• Google Makes Search Bigger With Larger Search Box
• Longer Domain Registration Does Not Increase Google Search Engine Rankings
• 75% of SEOs Feel Google Loves Keywords in the URL
• UK & Ireland Geo Targeting in Google Need Unique Content
• Google's Sitelinks Within Search Result Snippets
• Bing's Fake Referrer Spam Back, Now Hiding Referrer Now?
• Bing Not Honoring Robots.txt Directives?
• Yahoo Search Marketing Changes Pricing Algorithm & Adds Partner Reporting
• Google Base Feeds Can Now Include YouTube Video Demos for Product Search
• Google AdWords Advertisers Threatens Suicide To Get Google's Attention, It Worked
• Stop Spiders From Crawling Your Site on Shabbat, Including GoogleBot
• Screen Shots & Videos of Google Monopoly City Streets

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There was a Yahoo Search update last night, that is currently updating right now. We released the Google Webmaster report for September 2009. Some are reporting a higher click through rate on the AdWords ads since Google moved the ads closer to the free listings. Bing Mobile has a language bug that we can fix for you. Bing might allow you to manage your preview box, which is good cause some of error code in them. AdSense speeds up competitive ad filter, plus doubles its size. PSAs plagued AdSense publishers in Asia region for 12 hours. Google released an excellent rich snippet test tool in Webmaster Tools. Google said they recrawl all site's robots.txt file daily. Google allows you to stop them from translating with the notranslate tag. AdWords API users can now test the 2009 version. Don't post private information in a public forum, search 101. Are Google impersonators threatening and spamming webmeisters? Finally, Google had a logo (doodle) for Michael Jackson's 51st birthday, which sparked some controversy in the forums. That was this past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Yahoo Search September 2009 Update Official
• September 2009 Google Webmaster Report
• Closer Google AdWords Increasing Ad Clicks & Decreasing Organic Clicks?
• Bing Mobile's Language Bug & How To Fix It
• Bing May Allow Management of Quick Preview Box
• Bing's More Info Box "WARNING 2: session_destroy" Error
• Google AdSense Publishers Happy With Competitive Ad Filter Changes
• Google AdSense Ads Hit With PSAs Again
• Google Adds Rich Snippet Testing Tool
• Google Crawls Robots.txt Files Daily
• Google's "NoTranslate" Tag To Prevent Translation in Search
• AdWords API Users, Start Testing The New AdWords API v2009 Now
• Don't Want Your Social Security Number or Identity Card Number On Google?
• Former Googlers Spamming Site Competitors To Beat Them In Google Search Results?
• Google's Michael Jackson Logo Sparks Debate

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This week's video recap goes old school with my old video set up, sorry, I forgot my HD camera at home. Yahoo had a small, unconfirmed search update. Bing is still spamming us webmasters with fake referrals, I say enough is enough! Google unleashes new penalties, new sitelinks and US results in the UK search engines. SEOMoz released their ranking factors, which our readers find mostly accurate. AdWords tries Sitelinks and new open product ads. I talk about duplicate content issues with print URLs and mobile sites. AdSense allows third party ad networks and has a major PSA bug for five minutes this week. That was this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Yahoo Search August 2009 Update
• Microsoft Bing Still Spamming Fake Referrers In Webmaster Log Files
• New Set of Google Penalties & New Siteslinks
• Possible Google Update - August 2009
• Google Tries Same Page Anchor Sitelinks
• What's Going On With Google UK's Search Results?
• The Big SEO Ranking Factors List from SEOMoz, Is It Accurate?
• Results Are In: Is SEOMoz's Ranking Factors Accurate? Mostly, Yes
• Google AdWords Doing Sitelinks Also
• Google AdWords Tests Open Image Product Ads
• SEO & Print URLs
• .ME Domain Names Can Now Be Geo Targetted In Google Webmaster Tools
• Google AdSense Welcomes Third-Party Ad Networks
• Public Service Announcements (PSAs) Ads Showed On All AdSense Sites Yesterday

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In this week's recap, Google began forcing even more advertisers into the new AdWords interface, some are not happy. Microsoft said they fixed the one word query fake referrers issue, again. We have listed several tools to compare Google Caffeine's index to the current index. Google Caffeine seems to be running off of Google's new file system - do we care? Bing's search results are showing up in Google. Google News now recrawls articles within 12 hours. Why do SEO experts get a bad rep? Matt Cutts gives two wonderful presentations, it is a must see. Also, Matt might be the new "hot guy" in the search industry. Did you catch the Google logo question on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? That was this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• More Google Advertisers Being Forced into New Interface, Including Me
• Microsoft Claims To Fix Fake Referrals or "Single Word Query" Complaint
• Tools to Compare Google's Caffeine Index To Normal Index
• Google's Caffeine Update Running Off Google's New File System (GFS)
• Bing Search Results In Google
• Google News Now Recrawling & Reindexing Stories For Updates
• Why "SEO Experts" Get a Bad Rep from Newbies
• Video: Google's Matt Cutts Presentation at WordCamp
• Excellent Site Review Panel by Matt Cutts & Other Googlers
• Matt Cutts of Google Now Industry's "Hot Guy"?
• Google's Logo Questioned On Who Wants To Be a Millionaire Show

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In this week's recap, I first discuss the 30 sessions we covered at the SES San Jose show this past week. I then get into the Google Caffeine update and what it is all about, including some religious debate. I discuss how Microsoft is clicking on their own Bing search ads. They also still have this single query word issue, maybe a cloaking test again? I ran a poll on nofollow links, where 38% said they would keep the nofollow on their links. AdWords tests a new product ad spot. AdSense bug prevents changing the channel names. There is a Webmaster Tools bug with PageRank distribution charts. Google's help forum gets redesigned. Google Doodles this week features the Perseids meteor shower and Hans Christian Ørsted's 232nd birthday. That was this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Roundtable Covers 30 Sessions at SES San Jose 2009
• Google Releases First Public Search Update Preview: "Caffeine" Update
• Do Mormon SEOs Dislike "Caffeine" Name For Google Update?
• Microsoft Admits To Clicking On Their Own Search Ads
• Bing Classifies Cloaking Detection as "Single Word Query" Issue
• Poll: 38% Will Keep NoFollows On Their Links
• Google AdWords Tests New Form of Product Ads
• Google AdSense Bug Prevents Changing Channel Names
• Google PageRank Distribution Data Not Available For Many in Webmaster Tools
• Google Help Forums Get A Redesign
• Perseids Meteor Shower Coming: Google Got a Doodle For That
• A Google Bomb Logo? Nope. Hans Christian Ørsted Birthday

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We have your Google webmaster report for August. Also, Bing updated and still is testing for cloaking and is crawling like a mad man. Google pushed the AdWords ads closer to the free listings. Google changes the "more results" link. AdSense sent out multiple checks to publishers. AdSense added category filter features. Google is forcing AdWords users to use new beta. Google Local Business Center is not updating. Google's reconsideration request form doesn't work on IE. There is a new Sitemaps Google error. Google made traffic in maps work for the colorblind. Twitter goes down and the world stops. That was this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• August 2009 Google Webmaster Report
• Bing Search August 2009 Update
• More Cloaking Tests In Form Of Fake Referrers From Microsoft Bing?
• DigitalPoint Founder Upset With MSNBot's Crawl Rate (MSNBot 2.0b)
• Google Pushing AdWords Search Ads Closer To Free Listings
• Google's New "More Results" Quick Link
• Google AdSense Sending Out Duplicate Checks In Mail
• Google AdSense Expands Category Filtering & Adds Features
• Ready Or Not: Google Dropping Old AdWords Interface For New
• Google Local Business Center Updates Not Working?
• Google Site Reconsideration Form Not Working For Many
• New Google Sitemaps Error: "Duplicate URL" Warning
• Google Maps Helps Colorblind See Traffic
• Twitter Goes Down: Mainstream Media Covers It

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In this week's recap, I spend some time discussing the Yahoo and Microsoft deal, specifically the financial side and how that plays a role on how it impacts SEOs and webmasters. I also discuss the Google and Bing search updates, did you notice the updates? Bing has some geo targeting issues that they may need to resolve. Microsoft has a cool search game named Page Hunt. Google is testing search options side bar for image search. Bid Simulator shows up in more Google AdWords advertiser's accounts. Google's Webmaster Tools API has a confirmed bug. Google money scams might be taking to the phone. Google does radio ads for AdSense. AdWords certified professionals can get their label in the AdWords forum. Twitter focuses in on search as their sugar daddy. SES San Jose is coming up and we got you covered. That was this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Yahoo Search Powered By Microsoft Bing: What SEMs Need To Know
• Small Google July 2009 Update?
• Bing July 2009 Update
• Bing's Geo Targeting Algorithm Needs Some Work
• Microsoft Page Hunt, Game To Make Bing Better
• Google Image Search Tests Left Bar Search Options
• Google AdWords Bid Simulator Live For More Advertisers
• Google Webmaster Tools API Bugs
• Google Money Scams Take To Phone?
• Did You Hear The Google AdSense Radio Commercials?
• Google AdWords Certified Professionals To Get Labels in Forums
• Twitter Focuses In On Search With New Home Page
• SES San Jose '09 Real Live Blogging Schedule

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Google is now looking at location based links for location specific queries. Google might be selecting the wrong title for your site. Is Google penalizing StreamRotator or the porn industry? Bing does geo based location from the meta language tag. Google Webmaster Tools added features. Google should allow multiple verified local business accounts. Yahoo and Microsofts earnings were bad. Yahoo changed up their home page, again. YouTube does 3D videos. Is Google certifying SEOs? We have three polls out, one on naming updates, one on client involvement in SEO and the final on AdSense earnings. Finally, we talked about the 40th anniversary of the moon landing and the logos from Google, Bing, YouTube and others. That was this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Google: Location Specific Queries Now Requiring More Location Specific Links?
• Google Picking Titles Incorrectly?
• StreamRotator Blamed For Google Penalizing Porn Industry?
• Bing Geo-Targeting With Meta Language Tag
• Google Webmaster Tools Adds Some Features
• Google Should Allow Multiple Google Accounts To "Own" A Local Listing
• Yahoo's Revenue Drops Again, Squeeze Out Higher Profits (YHOO)
• Yahoo Tries Something Old, Launches New Home Page
• YouTube Testing 3D Videos (YT3D)
• Google Certified SEOs = Top Contributors / Bionic Posters?
• 82% Say We Should Name Some Google Updates
• 96% Say Clients Need To Be Involved In the SEO Process
• 56% of Google AdSense Publishers Say Earnings Are Down in July 2009
• Moon Landing Logos From Bing, YouTube But Not Google

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In this weeks search video recap, we unveil our new video opener, please tell us what you think. We also discuss the Google's second quarter earnings statement, recent Yahoo and Microsoft merger discussions and the Twitter scandal. Google updated their image search filter, for worse or better. Google gave their approval for image replacement techniques. Google said, don't use the site command, it isn't useful. AdSense earnings are down for many, we polled you. Many SEOs are addicted to links and for one, it earned them a awesome link from News.com. Most SEOs submit it and forget it, when it comes to dmoz. Finally, happy birthday Sphinn and great new launch. That was this past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• GOOG Earnings Up While YHOO & MSFT Complete Search Deal
• 60% Of Our Readers Feel Yahoo Cannot Turn Things Around
• Google Image Search Improves Filter?
• Google Gives Blessing To Image Replacement Techniques
• Google Recommends Not Looking at Site Command Results
• Google AdSense Earnings Down in July 2009?
• Link Addiction: 46% Of SEOs are Active Link Builders
• CNET Calls Link Exchanges Poor Man SEO
• DMOZ (ODP): "Submit Once & Forget It" Says SEOs
• Sphinn 2.0 Launches On Two Year Anniversary

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In this week's recap, I share how the Google logo sent me tons of traffic for Tesla's birthday. I also discuss the July 4th logos and our video game pacman logo. Google Chrome OS was revealed this week as coming out in late 2010. Yahoo SearchPad finally launched. Google bolstered their real estate search. Google finally is taking action against AdWords scammers. Google is testing forum sub links in the search results. An SEO company got caught with their pants down. Empty answer sites are so annoying in search results. Google added a toggle for SafeSearch preferences. Google history may be leaking your search history to others. Get into Bing News with an email. Michael Jackson fans are upset with Google. That was this past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Google Commemorates Nikola Tesla's Birthday
• July 4th Search Engine Logos (Google, Yahoo, Bing, AOL & Others)
• Google Chrome, The Operating System
• Yahoo Launching SearchPad Today
• Google Tries To Save The Housing Market With Real Estate Search
• Google Begins Banning Google AdWords Scams
• Google Testing Sub Links For Forum Thread Results?
• SEO Company Caught By Client Using Google Support Forums
• Most Annoying Google Search Results? Empty Answer Sites
• Google Makes It Faster To Find Pornography
• Can Someone Else's Search History Show Up In Your Google History?
• Getting Listed In Bing News
• Michael Jackson Fans Upset With Google Over "Ugliest Person in the World"

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In this week's video recap, we discuss the July Google webmaster report, a lot has happened over the past 30 days. Google may have had a PageRank quirk. Google penalized the porn industry and then reversed it. Google is messing with international search filters. Many of you like the new Bing commercials. Bing tries real-time search with Twitter answers. Microsoft adCenter has a quality based ranking team. Google announces the new AdWords API, v2009. Google has payment issues with Australian AdSense publishers. Selling SEO before the site is developed, is not easy. Google insults their top forum help contributors. Have a wonderful July 4th weekend! That was this past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• July 2009 Google Webmaster Report
• Google's Recent PageRank "Technical Quirk"?
• Google Search Spanks The Adult Porn Industry?
• Google Reverses Adult/Porn Site Penalties
• Searchers Want "Pages From [Country]," Google Might Drop It
• 60% Of Our Readers Like The Bing Commercials
• Bing Adds Tweets Answers But How Real Time Is It?
• Bing's Quality Based Ranking Team for adCenter
• Get Ready For The Google AdWords API v2009
• Google AdSense Australian Payments Not Being Issued
• Offering SEO Before The Site Is Developed
• Google's Support Forums Member Status Glitch

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I'm back this week after surviving the possible Swine Flu and getting the new iPhone 3GS, catch last week's text recap in case you missed it. This week, we quickly talk about the new and frequent toolbar PageRank update. We also discuss Bing's search spike, possibly due to spam tests and how you may want to reallocate your marketing budgets. Google is asking webmasters for suggestions, so go get it. Google told us why they shorten URLs. Google AdSense is adding up and I explain why. Google tests new commission or pay for performance based product ads. Google tests Google AdSense for Apps for the iPhone and Android. AdWords My Client Center might be frustratingly buggy. Google Export Advisor is a nice tool to help your SEM efforts globally. I gave tips on getting into Google Finance. Michael Jackson death sends shock waves through the Internet. I recapped the Father's Day logos and Summer Google logo even the controversial "Winter" Google logo. That was this past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• June 2009 Google PageRank Update: Kind Of Early
• Bing's Traffic Spike From Fake Spam Tests?
• Search Marketers: Time To Move Marketing Budgets To Bing / adCenter
• Google Webmaster Central Wants Your Ideas
• Why Google May Shorten Your Long URL in the SERPs
• Your Google AdSense Earnings Reports Not Adding Up?
• Google Testing Commission-Based "Product Ads"
• Google Announces AdSense for iPhone & Android Apps
• Google My Client Center AdWords Professionals Having Technical Issues
• Google Export Advisor Helps AdWords Advertiser Market Globally
• Want Your Google News To Show Up in Google Finance? NASDAQ:GOOG
• Google News Makes Authors More Findable
• Michael Jackson's Death Slows Google
• Father's Day '09 Logos From Google, Yahoo & Search Industry
• Google Upsets The Southern Hemisphere Over First Day of Winter Logo

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I am skipping the video this week, simply because I am a bit sick and my new iPhone is arriving anytime now. So here is the text recap of what we covered at the Search Engine Roundtable over the past week. We covered possible evidence that Google penalizes on a page by page basis. Google began truncating URLs to one line and removed the file size from the search results snippet. Matt Cutts chimed in about the PageRank sculpting with nofollow. Will you add the common tag to your site? Google changes linkage data reports in Webmaster Tools. Bing does instant translation. Google AdSense gives us font control. AdSense publishers may be losing out from translate and cache. Google is working on a mobile AdWords interface. Microsoft sends a $750,000 warning to click fraud. Our poll on if SEOs are seen as criminals is live.

Hopefully, we will be back next week with the video recap. Have a great weekend and happy Father's Day!

Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Evidence of Page Level Google Penalties?
• Google Sometimes Truncating URLs to One Line
• Google Removes File Size From Search Results Page
• Matt Cutts Talks About NoFollow PageRank Sculpting
• Will You Implement Yahoo's Common Tag?
• Google Webmaster Tools Link Reports Change
• Bing's Instant Translation Gets Webmaster Approval
• Google AdSense Gives US Font Size Control
• Are AdSense Publishers Losing Out from Google Translate & Cache
• Google Working on Mobile AdWords Management Interface
• Microsoft Sends $750K Warning To Click Fraudsters
• Poll Results On How Google Views SEOs (Innocent or Guilty)

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In this week's video, I discuss the recent debate on if Google sees SEOs as criminals or not. I also discuss how Google is now notifying webmasters after they review a site. Google updated the webmaster tools design, added a major feature for domain change and also added email notifications. Google UK is suffering from a major influx. 70 percent of our readers actually like Bing. Google continues test of images between the snippet and the display URL. Google appeals and beats AdSense publisher in appeals court. Google sent the wrong publisher the wrong check. Google released a new iPhone friendly iGoogle. People are upset that Google showed a Tetris logo on D-Day, while Bing did the right thing. Facebook is launching usernames. That was this week on the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Does Google See SEOs as Criminals?
• Google Now Notifying Webmasters After Reconsideration Request Review via Email
• Google Finally Adds Domain Change Tool & Launches New Webmaster Tools Design
• Google Quickly Fixes Webmaster Tools Issues
• Google UK Search Shake Up - June 2009
• 70% Of Our Readers Like Bing
• Images Under Google Search Snippets
• Google Always Wins: AdSense Publisher Gets Shot Down in Appeals Court
• Google Sent AdSense Publisher Wrong Check
• 6 Months Later, Google Finally Releases a New Mobile iGoogle
• Searchers Disappointed With Google Celebrating Tetris Over Honoring D-Day
• Facebook Launches Usernames But Stumps Sabbath Observers

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In this week in search, I discuss how Matt Cutts of Google's statements on the nofollow attribute used for PageRank sculpting has sent shock waves through the industry. I discuss that topic for a while, so you may want to listen to it. Yahoo Search had a confirmed algorithm and index update. Google's search snippets can be dangerous and might even get you sued. Microsoft launched Bing early, people like it but it wasn't added to Google Analytics, doesn't seem to support the NOODP tag and hijacked IE6 users. AdWords is testing a very neat feature named Bid Simulator. Google Local Business Center added nice analytics. Google Square is live, what should SEOs know about it. SMX Advanced was this passed week, don't miss the live blogging. That was this past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• NoFollow To Cause Revolt: Wasted PageRank via Sculpting & JavaScript Links Require NoFollow
• Are Blogs Doomed With NoFollow PageRank Sculpting Issue?
• Yahoo Search June 2009 Update?
• Google's Dangerous Search Result Snippets
• Should Webmasters Be Responsible For Google's Snippets?
• Microsoft Takes New Search Engine, Bing, Live Early
• Google Analytics To Add Bing to Search Engines Report
• Is Bing Not Honoring NOODP Tag?
• Bing Hijacks IE6 Toolbar Search, Google Users Upset
• Google AdWords Testing "Bid Simulator"
• Detailed Look At Google's New Local Business Center Analytics
• Google Squared Is Live: What SEOs & Searchers Need To Know
• Live Blog Coverage of SMX Advanced 2009

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In this week's video, which I created on Thursday, but published on Friday, we discussed several SEM topics. First, there was a Google Toolbar PageRank update. Google is testing new click tracking. Can Google rank pages higher on certain days? Most SEOs will try Google's new rich snippet markups. Rich snippets only show up in Google US. 80% of SEOs feel they can beat Wikipedia in Google. Most SEMs prefer the new AdWords trademark policy. 76% of SEMs don't fully trust Google's keyword tool. The local search ranking factors released a version two this week. Google finally commemorates memorial day and we got the logo recap for you. That was this past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Google May 2009 Toolbar PageRank Update
• Google Web Search's New Click Tracking
• Does Google Rank Pages Higher on Specific Days of the Week?
• Most Webmasters Will Use Google's New Rich Snippet Markups
• Rich Snippets Showing in Google US & Beyond?
• 80% Of SEOs Said They Can Beat Wikipedia In Google
• Most SEMs Prefer Google's New U.S. AdWords Trademark Policy
• 76% of SEMs Don't Fully Trust Google's Keyword Tool
• Version Two of Local Search Ranking Factors Released
• Google Finally Commemorates Memorial Day, Like Yahoo, AOL, Live & Ask.com

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In this 13 minute video recap, I go quickly through the past two weeks of search news. First, I had a baby girl, so that is why I missed the recap last week. Google made major changes named search options, wonder wheel, timeline, rich snippet markups, search suggestions and news and blog search were updated. Google and Yahoo Japan has a search index update. AdWords shows all queries now. Google tests one line product AdWords ads. Yahoo Search ads test favorite icons. Slow sites do better on AdSense? Google AdSense doesn't work on linux. Google Profile profiles have filters on occasion. Microsoft gets ready to relaunch search. Safka leaves Ask.com. SEO companies are springing up like dandelions. That was this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Taking Day Off - I Had a Girl
• Google Wonder Wheel & Search Options Go Live
• Will You Use Google's New "Rich Snippets" Markups?
• Google Launches New Search Suggestions & Drops Counts
• Google News Get Update & Blog Search Gets Improved
• Small Google May 2009 Update?
• Yahoo Search Japan Update: US Update Soon?
• AdWords Advertisers Get More Transparency But Don't Care About It?
• Google Testing One Line Product Links in AdWords
• Yahoo Search Ads Also Testing Favicons
• Earn More AdSense Money By Slowing Down Your Server
• Empty Google AdSense Ads is Linux Bug
• Why Does My Google Profile Not Show For A Google Search?
• Microsoft Getting Ready to Launch New Search Engine - Kumo? Bing? Live? MSN?
• Jim Safka Leaves Ask.com For Personal Reasons
• SEO Companies Springing Up "Like Dandelions"

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In this week's recap, we have your Google May webmaster report. I also polled about 400 search marketers who told me that there is 7% unemployment in the search marketing industry, while 25% are self-employed. I discussed three major issues where Google Maps can seriously impact your business. Twitter hopes to improve their search engine. Wolfram Alpha has high expectations. Google launches a publisher center for Ad Planner. Google tests "review this site" link in the search results. Matt Cutts tests Google's 302 redirect handling. We spotted porn on iGoogle from Google Gadgets. Google Checkout begins charging fees. That was this past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• May 2009 Google Webmaster Report
• 7% Unemployment In Search Marketing Industry
• How Google Maps Can Seriously Hurt Your Business
• Twitter Aims to Make Twitter Search More Relevant
• Wolfram Alpha : The Real Thing
• Detailed Screen Captures of Google's New Ad Planner Publisher Center
• Google Replaces Comments Bubble with "Review This Site" Link
• Matt Cutts Uses His Blog To Mess With Google Search
• Google Gadget Porn Becomes an Issue
• Google Checkout Begins Charging Fees: Time To Drop Google?

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In this week's search recap, I covered several topics on search. I started off with how Google's localized search engines may have some geo targeting issues. Google ran up a $30,000 bill for some new advertiser. Google has a major issue with merging business data on Google Maps. Microsoft stopped faking the search referrals, for now. You can trick AdWords into giving you longer titles with keyword insertion. Google updated their AdSense program policies, this is a big one. Publishers are upset with Google over delayed AdSense payments. Google might ban you if you don't update your privacy policy. Google fashioned a Morse code logo this week. Some are looking to make money off the Swine Flu. That was this week in search from the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Is Google's Geo Targeting Off In Web Search?
• $30,000 Google Surprise: New Advertiser Runs Up Huge Bill
• Google Maps Merging Competing Business's Local Information
• Microsoft Disables Fake Referral "Feature" Temporarily
• Get Longer Google AdWords Titles Through Dynamic Keyword Insertion
• Google Updates AdSense Program Policies Again: Guidelines Broaden
• AdSense Publishers Panic About Not Receiving March Payment
• Google Banning AdSense Publishers For Not Updating Privacy Policies?
• Google Logo Not Broken, It's Morse Code
• Swine Flu Concern Helping With Google AdSense Revenue?

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Google, Yahoo and Microsoft all reported pretty poor earnings this quarter, in fact, they all made history. I talked about how Google handles expired domains. Google's Gray bar PageRank score, what does that mean? I show how you can verify your profile in Google. Use Google's new Similar Image search feature. Microsoft is still faking their search referral data. Google began to push the new AdWords user interface on advertisers. Google also allows Google Base users to enhance their AdWords listings. SEOs are excited for the new Google Analytics API. Microsoft opens up ContentAds a bit more. Google AdSense beta tests category filters. Jeeves comes back in the UK. At the end of the show, I showed off the Earth Day logos from the industry. Thanks for listening and reading the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Google Sees Q1 2009 Revenue Drop: AdSense Publishers Seek Answers
• Yahoo (YHOO) Reports 1st Quarter 2009 Earnings
• Google On Expired Domains & Domain Name Transfers
• What Does The Gray Google PageRank Bar Mean?
• How To Verify My Google Profile
• Finding Similar Images of Danny Sullivan With Google
• Microsoft To Fix Fake Referrer Data From Live Search
• Global Live Search Local Listings Coming Soon
• Google Begins Pushing New AdWords Interface on Advertisers
• How To Show Google Base Products in Google AdWords Ads
• SEOs Excited For Google Analytics API
• Microsoft To Open adCenter Content Ads As Public Beta
• Filter Google AdSense Ads By Category
• Jeeves Makes a Comeback To Ask UK
• '09 Earth Day Logos From Google, Yahoo, AOL & Others in Search Industry

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In this week's recap, I discuss several topics after going offline for a 50 hour period. That is why I look and act incredibly tired. In any event, we discussed the changes noticed at Google over the past couple weeks. Google confirms they will be changing the referral strings and we discuss why. Google Blog search updates link operator, finally. One line Sitelinks are here to stay. Google still showing different results for different case. SEO works, it is that simple. Video SEO tips from yours truly. Do all links look like links? Yahoo's new targeting feature may be flawed. I published several SEO polls, which I discuss. Google reported earnings and realized their first decline in revenue since going public. That was this past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

FYI, I created a video and accidently deleted it. I am way too tired to make a new one, so here it the text version. I'll be back next week.

Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• April 2009 Google Webmaster Report
• Google Search To Change Referral Strings: SEOs Discuss
• Google Blog Search Updates Link Query Algorithm
• Are One Line Sitelinks Here To Stay: A Deeper Look
• Google Still Showing Different Results Based on Query Case
• Case Study Shows Pushed SEO Works Better Than Natural Site Development
• Video SEO: Host Internally or on YouTube?
• Links That Might Not Appear As Links
• Yahoo's New Local Targeting Feature Showing Poor Quality Traffic?
• 54% of SEOs Believe in Artificial Google PageRank
• Most SEOs Believe Google Has Keyword Specific Penalty
• 80% Say SEOs Need Some Coding Abilities
• Tuesday Mornings: Best Time To Send Out Link Request Emails
• Google Sees Q1 2009 Revenue Drop: AdSense Publishers Seek Answers

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Due to the Passover holiday, I am only posting a text recap for the past week's coverage here at the Search Engine Roundtable.

Google is making local queries more generic. There was link building prior to Google, see my write up on it, with Eric Ward's excellent comment. AdWords employee may have stepped over the line, ShoeMoney sues. Google testing a Twitter ad unit? Google ups the competitive ad filter. Publishers are still optimistic about earning potential. Amazon ditches affiliates who use search ads. Google is the newspapers best friend. Easter logos are hard to find.

• Google Gets Generic on Local Web Search Queries
• Link Building Pre-Google Days
• Google AdWords Employee Allegedly Breaks Trademark Rules, Sued by SEM
• Bad Idea: Google AdSense Twitter Units: Twitter Streams in AdSense
• Google Boosts AdSense Competitive Ad Filter To 500
• Optimism Abounds For Some Despite Adsense Earnings Drop
• Amazon Says No To Search Ads From Affiliates
• Why Are Newspapers Complaining? Danny Sullivan Shows The Hard Truth
• Easter Logos From Search Engines But Not Google or Yahoo

Next week, I hope to post a video recap.

Google and the rest of the search industry had a lot of fun with April Fools' Day hoaxes, I recap them in the video. Google had a PageRank update on April 1st, no foolin. Yahoo Search updated earlier this week. Google continues classic, one line, Sitelinks test. Publishers accuse Google of stealing AdSense earnings. AdSense gives more email preferences to publishers. Google drops the video ad units from AdSense. AdWords encourages you to use the new beta interface now. Microsoft drops Ms. Dewey, the fun and witty search character. FeedBurner stats go haywire again. That was this past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• April Fools Day & Search Industry
• April Fools Google PageRank Update
• Yahoo Search Update: March 2009
• See Google "Classic" Sitelinks In Action (One Line Sitelinks)
• AdSense Publishers Accuse Google of Taking More Per Ad Click
• Google AdSense Adds Email Preferences Details
• Google AdSense Dumps Video Ads, Saw It Coming
• Make Sure to Beta Test New Google AdWords Interface
• Microsoft Drops Ms. Dewey
• FeedBurner Subscriber Reports Bug: Major Drops In Counts

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I am in Israel now, so I am skipping the video this week. Here is the text based version of the weekly recap. Google seems to be pushing more search options on searchers through something being called Google Search Wheel. Google also added more search refinements and detailed (longer) snippets to Google web search. Google Blog Search finally pushed out their algorithm update for blogroll detectors. 23% of publishers say more than 75% of their income comes from Google AdSense. AdSense had major issues with double serving ads, which results in a reporting spike and a fix from Google. Did you know unpausing deleted campaigns can reactivate them in AdWords? Advertisers, publishers and affiliates are afraid over a new proposed bill that can tax more retailers. Google mobile has a big issue. iGoogle continues to sign people out. Did you know you can get Google to remove porn for Google Suggest? That was this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

• Google Pushing More Search Options On Searchers?
• Google Adds More Search Refinements & Detailed Snippets
• Google Releases Major Blog Search Blogroll Algorithm Update
• 23% of Google AdSense Publishers Say 75% of Their Income Comes From Google
• Google AdSense Reporting Off Again: Impressions High & CTR Low
• Google Fixes AdSense Impression Glitch
• Unpausing Google AdWords Campaigns Can Activate Deleted Campaigns
• Advertisers, Publishers & Affiliates Scared Over Proposes California Tax Law
• Mobile Google Not Working For Many
• iGoogle Signing You Out?
• How To Remove Google Porn Suggestions

Next week, I am back with the video recaps.

Today's Search Video I talk quickly about the logos for the first day of Spring, and also St. Patrick's day logos. Google finally spoke about the AJAX pages. Yahoo added features to search marketing product. Google AdWords tests favorite icons. AdWords keyword tool has a bug. Yahoo Directory might be free. I offered three link building tips. I also gave two SEO tips. Don't fall for a potential Google money scam. SEOs are split on need to specialize. I won't be at SES NY and no video next week. That is what we covered this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Happy First Day of Spring :: Logos From Google & Others
• 2009 St. Patrick's Day Search Logos
• Google Fesses Up To AJAX Search Results Test
• Yahoo Adds Day Parting, Bid Adjustments, Enhanced Geo Targeting But No One Cares
• Google Aggressively Testing Favicons In AdWords Ads
• Google Confirms Keyword Tool Issue is a Bug
• Yahoo Directory Renewals Going Completely Free?
• Offer Customers a Discount in Exchange for a Link?
• Can't Get That Golden Link? Go After a Link Off the Golden Link
• Getting Links From Professors & College Students
• Australians Can Be Fined $11,000 Per Day For Linking Out
• 404 Pages Should Not Return 200 Status Codes
• Using Multiple Header Tags for SEO
• Scam: Google Money System or Google Kit
• SEO's Split on Importance of Specialization in Industry Sectors
• SES NY Coverage Note: Won't Be Any Here

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Google launched a new beta for advertisers to target users based on their interests and online behaviors. Don't worry, AdSense publishers can opt out. AdSense had a major contextual relevancy bug that results in lots of lost money. Utah's House passed a law banning trademarked keywords for search ads. Google pushed off the Blog Search update. Microsoft is discontinuing their adCenter analytics. Google's keyword tool had major issues this week. SEM companies are weathering the recession just fine, according to a recent poll. 55 percent of SEO's won't take on pay for performance deals. Spaced out nofollow attributes currently don't pass value. Google Docs had a major security breach. Google Maps can't help you find a lost car but it may send horny men to your office. That was this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Google's Behavioral Ad Beta Scares Publishers Over Contextual Relevancy
• Google Gives AdSense Publishers Way To Opt Out of Interest Based Ads
• AdSense Stats Issue Maybe Related To Google's Contextual Relevancy Failure
• Utah Law Passes Ban On Trademarked Search Ads: SEMs Discuss
• Google Postpones Blog Search Ranking Update
• Microsoft Shuts Down adCenter Analytics
• Google's Keyword Tool Acting Funky?
• Most SEM Companies Are Weathering Recession Just Fine
• Do Nofollow Tags With Spaces Pass Link Value?
• 55% Of SEO Companies Won't Offer Pay For Performance Deals
• Google Docs Security Breach Should Encourage People Not to Use Google Health
• Car Stolen? Find It With Google Maps?
• Google Sends 'Horny' Guys To Marketing Firm's Doorstep

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Please let me know if you prefer the longer videos in the comments area. Google may have updated PageRank, but the "brand push" is called the "Vince" change. I talk in detail about the "Vince" change and why webmasters are upset. A publisher takes Google to small claims court and wins. You can close down your competitors in Google Maps. Google emails webmasters about malware, again. Microsoft preps new search engine, Kumo. Ask.com just went to far when they started framing search results again. Google UK is testing one line Sitelinks. SEOs still fear the Google supplemental index. Google does expandable AdSense ads. Google AdSense adds Euro reports after exchange rate complaints. AdSense updated their home page. Google delayed payments to some advertisers by three months. AdWords title bug shows more than 25 characters. Is business improving for you in the past two weeks? Finally, happy Square Root day! Again, please let me know about the length and to see the full video, you need to use the iTunes feed or download the original file (I am working on getting an extended YouTube account). That was this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Google March 2009 PageRank Update or Glitch?
• Google Confirms Algorithm "Change" But Down Plays Brand Push
• Take Google to Small Claims Court: You Might Win
• "Place Closed" In Google Maps: Close Your Competitors Down on Google
• Google Starts Emailing Webmasters Regarding Web Site Issues Again
• Reaction: Microsoft Testing New Search Features: Code Name Kumo
• Ask.com Crosses The Line: Frames Search Results
• Google UK Testing "Classic" One Line Sitelinks
• Study: Fear Still Exists Over Google's Supplemental Index
• Google Ad Blindness: Google Introduces Expandable AdSense Ads
• Google AdSense Shows Reports In Euros For Some Publishers
• European Google AdSense Publishers Not Happy About Exchange Rate
• Google AdSense Updates Home Page While Stats Lag
• Google Delays Payments To Publishers Yet Another Month
• Is a Bug Allowing Extended AdWords Titles?
• Business Improving Recently? Poll: How Are You Weathering The Recession
• Happy Square Root Day : Google Not That Geeky?

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In this week's edition, I covered Yahoo's new ad tools that should help them gain support. Also, I discussed Google Search's recent "brand push." Google Blog Search is still working on a solution. I discussed in more detail, the link clique concept - worth watching, in my opinion. Yahoo lowered minimum bids for some advertisers. Google updates their image index again. Google News added 20,000 new sources. Google News also dropped publishers by accident. AdWords is requiring you to link to your Analytics account. Google joined Twitter! We got the Mardi Gras logos archived. That was this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Advertisers Are Excited For Yahoo's New Online Ad Tools
• Is There a Recent Big Brand Bias at Google Search?
• Google Blog Search To Test New Link Command Features Next Week
• Link Building 2009 - Build Your Own Cliques For Link Relevancy
• Yahoo Search Marketing Lowering Minimum Bids For Many
• February '09 Google Image Search Update?
• Is Google Latitude Anticipating Your Travel Plans?
• Google News Adds Over 20,000 News Sources
• Google News Dropping Publishers From Index
• AdWords Requiring Analytics To Be "Linked" To Send Cost Data
• Google Joins Twitter, The Online World Goes Haywire
• Mardi Gras '09 Logos From Live, DogPile, AOL & Others

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I covered a lot of news in this 10 minute video. I wish I could make them longer, but YouTube has a 10 minute limit. In this recap, I covered the Yahoo Search video ads. Google tests SearchWiki on AdWords. Google now lets publishers pick their fonts. Google decided to slap AdWords advertisers this week. Google now requires pricing in Ringtone ads. Google's reporting engine flipped on the weekend. Google begins offer searcher tips. Can you hijack Google Translate? 70% of AdSense publishers report lower earnings last month. Fake news makes its way onto Google News. Google scores a D at the BBB. Google Webmaster Tools has a Sitemap bug and a link reporting bug. AdWords API extends February 23rd deadline to March 9th. Happy Valentines day and Presidents day, we got the logos covered! That is the news from the past week from the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Yahoo Officially Launches Video & Image Search Ads
• Google Testing SearchWiki On AdWords
• Google Finally Gives AdSense Publishers Font Selection
• Google Opens AdSense For Domains Internationally
• Recent Google AdWords Quality Score Slap?
• Google AdWords Now Requiring Pricing Details in Ringtone Ad Copy
• Google AdSense & AdWords Reportings Takes A Weekend Break
• Google Offering Searcher Tips: What Can We Learn From This?
• Hijacking Google Translations? Vimeo Hijacked By YouTube?
• 70% Of Google AdSense Publisher Report Lower Earnings in January '09
• Fake News Makes Its Way To Google News Via Ads
• Does Google Deserve A "D" On Their Better Business Bureau Rating?
• Google Sitemap In "Pending" Status? Don't Worry
• Google Webmaster Tools Link Reports Bugs Linger On
• Google Extends AdWords API 12 Deadline To March 9th
• 2009 Valentines Day Logos from Google, Yahoo, Live & Search Industry
• Google & Yahoo Stiff America On President's Day But Logos From Live.com, Ask.com, & Others

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This week was SMX West, and I shared my personal favorite sessions and our new way of live blogging them. I would love to hear your feedback on our new live blogging platform, so please let me know what you thought. The search engines announced a new tag to help with duplicate content, a canonical tag. Google Japan got penalized for buying links. Google got into pornography trouble twice with maps and once with search suggestions. Google had a bug that stopped payments to publishers. Google tells some advertisers to take a hike. Some SEO companies instill fear in their clients. Google is testing images in Google Blog Search Alerts. That recaps the news in the past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Search Marketing Expo 2009 West Archives
• Webmasters Skeptical But Loving New Canonical Search Engine Tag
• Google Slaps Google Japan With PageRank Penalty, Webmasters Cheerfully Surprised
• Adult Spam Makes Its Way Into Google Maps
• Google Maps Showing Adult Images From Panoramio
• Should Google Search Suggestions Show Adult Suggestions?
• Google Bug Halts Payments to AdSense Publishers
• Google Tells Suspended AdWords Advertisers Not To Try Reversing The Suspension
• SEO Companies Continue Using Fear Tactics To Keep Clients
• Google Testing Images In Blog Search Results?

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Back from my quasi-vacation, we did text recaps the past two weeks, but I am back to the video recap now. This week we covered a Yahoo Search update. I also discussed the implications of Google's AJAX search result pages. Google is seriously bugging out, possibly due to budget cuts, resulting in 6 somewhat major bugs in just a week. SEOs have a new opportunity with the new "Did you mean" results in Google. AdWords AdWords Product PlusBox seems to be here to stay. Google tests new bulk AdWords diagnosis tool. The economy is taking a toll on publishers. AdSense is testing a new ad format. We have Super Bowl and Groundhog Day logos for some search engines. SMX West is next week, we got live coverage and hope to see you there! That is the past week of search news at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Small Yahoo Search Update Two Weeks Later?
• Webmasters Revolt Over Google's AJAX Search Results Tests
• Google Switching To AJAX Search Result Pages?
• Google Labeled My Site: "This site may harm your computer"
• Google's Search Box Stops Working for Some Firefox Users
• Google Won't Let Some Searchers Turn Off "Safe Search" Filter
• Google News Font Size Bug Confirmed
• Google Mistakenly Sends Dozens of Unwanted SMS Messages To Users
• Google Docs Spam: Hundreds of Unwanted Documents Showing Up
• SEOs Lose Rankings Due to New "Did You Mean" Feature
• Google AdWords "Show Products From ..." No Longer A Test?
• Google AdWords Testings New Bulk Keyword Diagnose Tools
• Is The Economy Taking A Toll on AdSense Publisher Earnings?
• Google AdSense Testing New Ad Format With Larger Search Box
• Super Bowl 43 & Groundhog Day Logos from Search Engines
• SMX West '09 Live Blog Coverage Schedule: True Live Blogging
• IM Charity Party at SMX West

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I am still on that quasi vacation so, this will be a text recap, instead of the video recap. Next week, I hope to resume the videos, because I know how much you guys love looking at me.

This week, I covered over twenty-five threads, the topics I found most interesting were the following. Matt Cutts discussed how Google reacts to Google Bombs. Google also is testing favorite icons to the search results. Yahoo explained why they are doing auto-optimization for some advertisers. Google has a new display URL policy, which might be a big deal for some advertisers. Google's new did you mean feature seems to be here for good. People are seeing AdSense in AOL instant messenger. Google pushes the new interface to some AdWords advertisers. Google fixes SMS search. The click fraud rate is higher. Google helps parents catch their son looking at porn. Yahoo and Google celebrate New Years. Those were the highlights this week from the Search Engine Roundtable.

• Google Bomb Defusing Has Two Algorithms
• Google Testing Site Fav Icons in Search Results?
• Yahoo Now Calling Us Liars Regarding Their Auto-Optimization of Campaigns
• Google AdWords Requiring One Domain Per Ad Group?
• Google Confirms New Display URL Policy: One Domain Per Ad Group
• Google's Enhanced "Did You Mean" Now Default
• Is AOL Testing Google AdSense Ads in Messenger?
• Google Invites More Advertisers To Test Beta AdWords Interface
• Google Finally Confirms Fixing SMS Search
• Click Fraud Rate Reaches 17.1 Percent
• Google Helps Parents Catch Son Searching For Porn
• Chinese New Year At Yahoo.com & Google's Malaysia Site

I am currently in Israel on a quasi vacation, so I need to skip the video part of this recap. If you are in Israel and want to meet up with me, I am heading to the Jerusalem Web Professionals meet up, this Wednesday night January 28th at 8pm (local time). It is at PresenTense Offices on 64 Emek Refa'im (1 Flight up above the Bridal Shop). You need to register either over here or on Facebook. Hope to see you there!

In terms of the recap, here are, what I feel, the most important topics of the past week. Google had a minor PageRank update that turned out to be from a canonical URL cleanup that Google was running, so the PageRank update was not real. Yahoo and Ask.com seemed to have updated as well. Google leaked site penalties through a Hyves trick. I covered Google's new "Preferred Sites" extension to SearchWiki. Also, Google and Microsoft announced earnings. Google Image search seemed to have updated. Google said the AdSense earnings were down due to cleaning up arbitrage sites. Google's new AdSense code may invalidate your web site's HTML. Google is late on paying some publishers. Inauguration day fell flat for many publishers. Google Blog Search may have issues indexing your content. Google did away with the iGoogle version for the iPhone. Google and Yahoo didn't have a special logo for Inauguration Day, but did have logos for Martin Luther Kind Day. Here are links to these stories:

• Google Toolbar PageRank Drops Over January '09 Weekend
• Yahoo Search & Ask.com January 2009 Search Updates?
• Google's Hyves PageRank Loophole? Check If Site Has Google Penalty
• SEOs Discuss Impact of Google's "Preferred Sites" Search Preference
• Google & Microsoft Announce Earnings
• Google Images January 2009 Update
• Google's SVP Rosenberg Said AdSense Revenue Down Due To Arbitrage Cleanup
• Google's New AdSense Code Might Invalidate Your HTML Code
• Google Confirms Not Paying Some AdSense Publishers
• Inauguration Day A Big Bust for Google Advertisers & Publishers
• Google Blog Search May Not Discover Your New Blog Posts
• Google Drops iPhone Optimized iGoogle: Users Revolt
• Google Won't Bring Back the iPhone Version of iGoogle
• Search Logos for Inauguration Day, Did Google & Yahoo Forget?
• Martin Luther King Day 2009: Logos from Google, Yahoo, Ask, Live, Dogpile & More

Hope to see you at the Jerusalem Tech Meetup, if you are here! Everyone have a wonderful weekend!

In this week's recap, I discuss Yahoo's new CEO, Carol Bartz. I talk about how the recession is impacting Google. Google is testing out longer descriptions in the search results. Google Sitemaps gets credit for faster crawling and indexing. Google made a new Sitemap generator. Google is consistently showing search ads on image search. AdSense publishers had the optimization reports. The AdSense competitive ad filter doesn't work. Yahoo Publisher Network might be bust. Yahoo turns on the content network for some. If your Google Sitelinks disappear, do you freak out? I have screen captures of the new YouTube ads. Finally, I share the poll results, over 1,100, on Google's new favorite icon. That was this past week in search from the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Carol Bartz To Take CEO Role At Yahoo, Decker On Out
• Google Starts Cutting Projects, Employees & Offices
• Google Showing Longer Descriptions For Longer Queries
• Survey Says: Google Sitemaps Gets Credit For Faster Indexing
• Google Creates Traffic Based Sitemaps Generator
• Google Now Consistently Showing Ads on Image Search?
• AdSense Publisher Find Optimization Reports To Be a Waste of Time
• Publishers Feeling Screwed By Google AdSense Competitive Ad Filter
• The End of Yahoo Publisher Network Nearing?
• Yahoo Search Marketing Now Turning On Content Network? Yahoo Says No
• Google Sitelinks Disappear? Should You Worry?
• Screen Captures: Promoting Videos at YouTube Through YouTube Ads
• Poll: Do You Like Google's 2009 Fav (Browser) Icon?

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We have paused our text based weekly recaps, in lieu of the video edition. As always, I will sum up in a paragraph the topics I discuss at greater length in the video and provide links to more details below. Do let us know how much you may miss the weekly text based recaps.

In this weeks recap, I go on a three-minute rant about Yahoo not only changing their policy giving them the right to make changes to advertiser's campaigns without permission or notice, but also actually doing so after the major outcry from our industry. I then discuss the new budget beta being tested by Google AdWords. I move into the SEO topic of getting your content crawling more quickly, through Sitemaps, FeedBurner and other methods. I discuss why the Sitemaps report may have less results than a site command. Did you know it may take three months to transfer PageRank from URL to URL - or is that just a toolbar delay? Have you experienced the SEO "honeymoon period." Most SEOs feel the PageRank data in Webmaster Tools is useless. Google Trends was attacked and it hurt. That was this past week in search from the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Yahoo Updates Search Advertisers Terms & Conditions
• Yahoo Has The Nerve To Change Advertisers Campaigns After Outcry
• Google AdWords Testing "Timeframe" Budget Option
• Tips on How to Get Indexed Faster by Google, Yahoo, & Live Search
• Who's To Blame For Faster Indexing? Google Sitemaps or FeedBurner
• Why Does The Site Command Show More Indexed Pages Then Google's Sitemap Report?
• Case Study: Transferring Google PageRank With Redirects
• The Redesign SEO "Honeymoon Period"
• Poll: Most SEOs Say PageRank Data in Google Webmaster Tools is Useless
• Google Trends Attacked, Again: Targets Former World Trade Center Towers

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In this week's recap, I wish our readers and viewers a happy, healthy and prosperous 2009. Google updated the toolbar PageRank scores, but it seems like the search results both here and internationally were updated also. Live Search is using MSNBOT-Media to crawl JavaScript files. Google got hit with wildcard domain issues. Google Alerts is trigger happy. Google shows a did you mean answer for a child day care service, leading to a porn site. Google's strict image search option shows more porn than the moderate search. Danny Sullivan slaps Microsoft on their search initiatives. Microsoft's Content Ads program is doing poorly. Google AdSense is offending overweight people. Happy 2009 everyone!

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Happy '09 New Years From Search Industry: Logos from Google, Yahoo, AOL, Live, Ask & Others
• Google Confirms PageRank Update (New Years 2009)
• Major Google Search Results Changes, January 2009
• Google International Results Excessively 'Yo-Yoing'?
• Live Search Begins Crawling JavaScript with MSNBot-Media
• Google's Wildcard Subdomain Handling Issues?
• Google Alerts Sending Out False Alerts?
• Search For Child Day Care Site & Google Suggests Porn Site
• Google's Strict Image Search Less Strict Than Moderate Option
• Danny Sullivan Gives Microsoft The Hard Truth
• MSN adCenter's Content Ads Showing Horrible Click Through Rates?
• Google AdSense Now Pushing Fat Ads: Is this Offensive?

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This is my last SearchBuzz RoundUp post for awhile, so enjoy it while you have a chance. This week, we rang in 2009. What happened?

Happy New Years '09
Very cool search engine logos have been posted this year. Google had a cool 2009 logo that still somewhat resembled "Google." Even Cre8site, Bruce Clay, and Baidu had cool logos.

Google's Results Run Wild
Google had a PageRank update this week, and then we saw some major changes in the SERPs. In fact, on the international side, the results are very odd to those familiar with the usual rankings.

Microsoft Crawls Through Javascript
Microsoft is taking a clue and is using the MSNBot-Media crawler to get the data behind Javascript. This is good and innovative -- and since Google has been doing it for awhile, it's about time the other search engines did the same.

Google's Wildcard Domain Bug
An interesting observation with a wildcard domain was spotted this week. I'm able to replicate it on my end too. I wish I had a site like that with all page 1 results. Just kidding. ;)

Google Alerts Accuracy Report
There have been reports of Google Alerts sending out irrelevant alerts to individuals subscribed to them. I've seen something similar but not 100% and it's related to the blogroll issue we reported earlier. Fun.

Google Is Not Kid Friendly
Don't search for child day care centers on Google. The search term for the particular search in question is so rare (and "misspelled") that Google recommends a porn site in the "Did You Mean?" column. Well, I guess I was wrong when I said that people don't primarily use Google to search for kinky stuff. Sheesh, people.

On that note, Google's "strict" image searching is not strict at all. Don't look if you don't like nude images with your breakfast.

Microsoft: Not So Good
This week, Danny Sullivan smacked Microsoft with some advice they should actually take seriously. Unfortunately for my friends in the Live Search team who really ROCK, it is evident that the higher-ups don't care. And that is sad -- and that's why Microsoft deserved everything it got from Danny.

On another note, Microsoft ContentAds are getting bad CTR. Then again, the information is now private and I'm hearing that ads are performing badly across the board.

Fat People Should Slim Down
...at least according to Google's AdSense ads. People are spotting more and more ads targeting fat people and some are finding it offensive. Are you?

Have a nice 2009 all!

Happy Holidays from the Search Engine Roundtable. I go through the various holiday logos, talk about how Googler's are working on Christmas, how they paid publishers early and how some earned less over the past holiday. In addition, I discuss a comment Matt Cutts left on how bounce rates have no impact on rankings. I then go through a list of things Google won't do, a myth thing. I mentioned a possible Google PageRank update. Google is working through the blog link command issue. Google added search by style options. I mocked newbies, well - not really. Finally, I thank you all for reading and participating in our five years of writing at the Search Engine Roundtable. Thank you and have a Happy Holidays!

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Happy Holiday '08 From The Search Engine Industry
• Googlers Working on Christmas in 2008
• Google & Yahoo Pay Publishers Early for Holiday Season
• How'd You Do With Google AdSense this Holiday?
• Google Says, Bounce Rates For Search Rankings "Spammable" & "Noisy"
• Google's Search Quality Team Says They Don't...
• Christmas & Holiday 2008 Google PageRank Update?
• Google Blog Search Fixes Link Issue But Asks For Additional Help
• Google Image Search Enhancement: Search By Style
• Letting of Newbie SEO Steam at Google Webmaster Help Groups
• Search Engine Roundtable Is Five Years Old - December 2nd

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Happy holidays! Some of you are still celebrating and that's quite all right - enjoy the 4-5 day weekend while you can! But you've missed some happenings and we're ready to serve!

Holidays, holidays, holidays
Yesterday, people celebrated Christmas. Google anticipated the holiday for 5 days with a unique logo but we've also done some cool stuff over here at Search Engine Roundtable. Have you seen it yet?

And while we alluded to that 5 day weekend, not everyone at Google was celebrating. JohnMu visited the forums on Christmas like one helluva dedicated guy. :)

Finally, you might have gotten your Google AdSense or Yahoo publishing network checks early this year, but don't expect to have earned a lot yesterday. It was a pretty slow holiday week.

Google: Probably Not Accounting for Bounce Rate in the Algo
Matt Cutts semi-confirmed that the Google search team is probably not accounting for bounce rates because they are spammable and noisy. He suggests that the Google Analytics guys care a lot more about bounce rates than the Search Quality Team.

Other things the Google Search Quality Team Doesn't Do
People don't like what Google does but they really don't necessarily know what Google does or doesn't do. JohnMu confirms what Google doesn't do which includes Google crawling differently on sites they don't agree with, large companies being able to influence how Google crawls their websites, that crawlers can damage sites, and that Google will react to spam reports when a website is clearly not in violation of any rules. Seriously -- for at least the first three of these, it's a little outrageous to put the blame on Google.

Google Toolbar PageRank Update, Perhaps
Numerous webmasters reported a Google PageRank update. Have you noticed anything?

Google Fixing Blogroll Links in Blog Search
While I'm still encountering issues with inaccurate Google Alerts due to blogroll links showing up in Google Blog Search, Google's team is acknowledging that they're fixing it. I hope so!

Google Image Search Enhancement: Cool
If you haven't noticed yet, you can now search by style in Google Image Search. That means you can distinguish line art from photographs and faces and more. Whee!

Let's Make Fun of SEO Newbies
There's a Google Webmaster Help thread that pokes fun at SEO newbies. Hey guys, I bet you were all n00bs once!

Happy Birthday to Us
Search Engine Roundtable is 5 years old and Barry has celebrated the year by writing a "year in review" post. Whoooooooooosh!

As the year rounds out, the search news gets a little more lax, but we still have plenty to talk about. I started off talking about how the white hats and black hats in the industry are seeing more eye to eye, of course, excluding those that hack sites. Live Search updated this week. Google is testing pagelinks, reviews, enhanced spelling and ads in search suggestions. How do Google data points work in the search results? And why do some Sitelinks get cut off? YouTube videos are now in Google Maps. Yahoo wil drop log data after 90 days. Google released AdWords Editor 7.0, with some bugs. Relevancy in AdSense is leading to offensive ads, while Google sends out offensive holiday cards? Cuil is allegedly doing comment spam but they deny it. SEOs say the ALT attribute improves search rankings.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Are SEO Blackhats Turning White or Is The Industry Melting?
• Live Search December 2008 Holiday Update?
• Google Tests Pagelinks, Reviews in SERPs, and Enhances Spelling Correction
• Ads to be Integrated into Google Search Suggestions
• Google's Post Count: Not Too Accurate
• Google Sitelinks Being Cut Off?
• YouTube Finally Makes Its Way to Google Maps
• Yahoo to Retain 90 Days of Search History
• Google Quietly Released AdWords Editor 7.0
• Google's AdWords Editor 7.0 Has Automated Backup Bug
• Offensive Google AdSense Ads Showing Up On Publisher Sites
• Google AdSense Sending Out Scary Christmas E-Cards?
• Cuil Says it's Not Cool to Comment Spam
• Poll: SEOs Say Alt Attribute Does Improve Search Rankings

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It's almost the holidays! PARTAY! But until then, I have a recap for ya without any special frills. This week, we have some reports from SES Chicago, some news from Google, Yahoo's 90 day data retention policy, and then some. Keep reading for more.

Blackhats = Whitehats
After SES Chicago last week, Doug Heil is starting to see more like a black hat (or so he's changed his vision from 4 years ago when he may have thought differently about buying paid organic links). Today, he calls that paid advertising. He also considers some very well known blackhats in this industry "whitehat." Are the lines blurring? Maybe with the big players, we suspect, but there are definitely other blackhats out there who will practice until they realize that their strategies are not going to last.

Microsoft Live Search Update
There's really nothing to see here, but there was a Live search update that let a lot of spam on the top of the SERPs. This is why Microsoft isn't really getting that search share it wants, I suppose.

Google's Enhancements
Google will soon be sporting page enhancements, such a pagelinks (contrary to sitelinks, they link to your internal anchor text on one single page), reviews, and spelling correction (misspelled options plus the rightly-spelled option). Perhaps more worrisome is the fact that Google wants to add ads to Search Suggest. Ugh.

On the other hand, we're still wondering about the post counts we see in the SERPs and how inaccurate they seem. JohnMu, we're counting on you to help us figure this out.

Finally, some sitelink URLs are cut off and some people want to know why. In these particular instances, it seems to be related to a period in anchor text (or title tag). Apparently Google thinks that's the end of a sentence even though it refers to ASP.NET or VB.NET. Whoops.

Watch Your Videos on Google Maps
Cool stuff for videophiles: find more about a specific geographic region using Google Maps now via YouTube. You can now get a lot more information about a specific region with Google Maps's integration of YouTube. Search for something famous and look at what Google/YouTube offer you. Cool stuff.

[On a separate note, yesterday I realized that YouTube gets way too much attention and Google property GrandCentral is languishing. How about Google think about these other awesome properties that really can have potential? Or maybe Google can let someone who wants to invest their time in the property take the reigns on it instead. Please?]

Yahoo's 90 Day Data Retention Plan
Yahoo has decided to retain data for 90 days which is way shorter than other search engines. This will put pressure on Google, perhaps, but I don't think people will switch to any specific search engine for a data retention reason. Surprisingly, nobody is buzzing about it like they were last year.

Google AdWords Editor 7.0
Google took advantage of a holiday month to release AdWords Editor 7.0 but it doesn't come without bugs. That might be why nobody is really talking about the new release -- 6.5's release was announced, a lot of people downloaded it, and it was also laden with major bugs.

Google AdSense Not Faring Well Lately
There are two negative reports about Google AdSense lately. The first is that Google AdSense is targeting the wrong ads to sites -- including children's sites -- and people are pulling out of the program. The second is that the Google AdSense team is supposedly sending out holiday cards that look no more fishy than spam. Nobody wants to even come close to the emails. I'm not sure what's happening there but Google's desire not to embrace publishers because they appear to need money is starting to upset people a lot.

Cuil is Not Comment Spamming
Cuil says that they are not spamming your blog comments but some people believe that they may have hired someone to do their dirty work. In fact, why would anyone go such lengths to make the search engine look so bad (unless, of course, they WERE hired?) I don't know, but something smells fishy.

Does the ALT Attribute Improve Search Rankings? YES
We polled you and you said that the ALT attribute improves rankings. Well, 20% of you didn't agree with that, but the rest of you did. I'd love to know if either side has empirical evidence for backup.

That's all. So much for holiday cheer this week. Maybe next week. :)

I rant about Google's expansion of their AdSense for Domains product. I also go off about making liquor ads acceptable but not allowing horse racing ads. In the future SearchWiki will impact rankings and click data might be already influencing rankings. Google banned themselves on Thursday. Yahoo is having 301 handling issues. Google is giving Analytics/AdSense integration and links on blogroll. Google serves AdSense via DoubleClick. You can block US visitors and not GoogleBot, and slow GoogleBot down with 503s. Google Zeitgeist loves Sarah Palin.

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Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Google's Economic Worry #442: AdSense for Domains Expanded
• Google Further Encourages Drunken Behavior, Lets Advertisers Bid on Alcohol
• Google AdWords Bans Horse Racing Ads But Allows Hard Liqueur?
• Use SearchWiki To Rank Your Web Site Higher in Google
• Click Data Used in Google Rankings? Google Kind Of Comments
• Google Bans Itself For A Few Minutes?
• Yahoo Search Fixing 301 Redirect Issues Already?
• Yahoo Search Still Not Listening to 301 Redirects
• Want Google AdSense Integration in Google Analytics? Here is How
• Want to Get on the AdWords Discussion Blogroll?
• Google Now Serving & Tracking AdSense Ads Via DoubleClick?
• How Can You Block US Visitors But Not Block GoogleBot?
• Stop GoogleBot From Indexing You At Busy Times
• Google Zeitgeist: Sarah Palin is Most Popular for 2008 on Google

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I can't believe that there are less than 3 weeks till 2009. Insane, right?! I think so.

Google Expands AdSense for Domains = TEH SUCK
People are really pissed that Google is expanding AdSense for domains which is coming at a cost -- poor quality and lots of money. Google is starting to look like a greedy company who doesn't give a damn about its community members. This can't be good.

Google's Economic Woes Still Seen in Alcohol Biddin but Why do they DisallowHorse Racing?
To expand on the greedy mentality of the search giant, we see that Google lets you bid on hard liquor nowadays. Do you want a loan, Google?

But at the same time, Google is disallowing horse racing ads from running because they're a "poor match for AdWords." Really? Or is there something else that Google isn't telling us?

SearchWiki and Click Data May Be Counted
Google is obviously going to be mum on the real answers to their ranking algorithm, but click data may be used, or perhaps we really don't know. However, Marissa Mayer suggests that SearchWiki data may be used for rankings in the future -- that is, if thousands of people vote down a site that sucks, I guess.

Google Bans Itself?
Last night, numerous Google searches were not bringing up Google results. The thought is that Google may have banned itself for a short period of time. We're waiting for a Google representative to comment. In the meantime, I think it's cool!

Yahoo Fixes 301 Redirects
It is unfortunate to spend so much time on 301 redirects and then find out that Yahoo search forgot to acknowledge them. However, a day later, we reported to you that it was a temporary inconvenience.

Google AdSense and AdWords Goodies
Well, Google isn't the bad guy completely this week. Google is accepting applications to get AdSense integration in Google Analytics, though I ask why they need applications and can't just integrate it. I think it's because they are rolling it out to everyone later on, but it still confuses me.

Google is also considering an official AdWords forum blogroll and you can get your site added on it if you participate in the forum discussion. Come on, we want more votes for SERoundtable!

Google Tracking Ads via DoubleClick
Google's DoubleClick acquisition is finally materializing to something, I suppose, with the DoubleClick ad tracking that we're observing. It's also possible that this impacted earnings this past weekend, but we're not 100% sure.

Googlebot, Go AWAY -- and Come Back Later
Googlebot lives in the US. So do millions of internet surfers. How do you block US surfers and allow Googlebot in so that those foreign visitors can find you (but of course, not the US guys?) Some sites do need this! It's suggested that you implement a "JavaScript-based interstitial that verifies the IP address and otherwise blocks access to your site."

And what if your site is too busy for Googlebot? Return a 503 code so that it doesn't come to you during those times.

Google's Zeitgeist Released
Facebook login is #3 in Google's Zeitgeist 2008, which is beyond me. Sarah Palin though -- she's #1. I can't question that one. In any event, Google finally released their most popular searches this year. Are you surprised?

Google got me angry when they called gift giving at this time, "inappropriate." It is hard time, but SEMs stick together. Google updated webmaster tools with enhanced features. Google fixed an IFrame spam classifier bug. Google Blog Search's link command should be fixed now. Google Webmaster Help moved. Google is testing text ads on image search. Google AdSense is spammy around the holiday season. Google, Yahoo and Ask.com released their most popular searches for 2008. Friday was Day of the Ninja and we had a theme.

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For the original iTunes version, click here

Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Google Gets Cheap: Cancels '08 Holiday Gifts To Advertisers/Publishers
• Google Begins Sending Out 2009 Holiday Gifts: Mug, Shirt & Pen
• The Warmth of the SEM Industry During Hard Times
• Google Updates Webmaster Tools & Crawl Rate Controls
• Google Fixes Spam Algorithm Classifier For IFrames
• Google Blog Search To Fix Blogroll Issue
• Google Webmaster Help Finds A New Home
• Google Testing Multiple Text Ads On Image Search
• Google AdSense Ads Getting Spammy Before Holiday Season?
• Most Popular Searches on Google, Ask, and Yahoo for 2008 Revealed
• Ninja Day at SERoundtable

Please do subscribe via iTunes or on your favorite RSS reader. Don't forget to comment below with the right answer and good luck!

Welcome to December, where all your holiday wishes should come true. Hopefully you're finally recovered from last week's turkey (though if it were up to me, I'd have some more. Too bad I didn't eat at home!) And hopefully you also gained some money during Cyber Monday if you're an advertiser (or got a great deal if you're just a smart shopper). Now that it's Friday, check out this week's news in search:

Google: Cheapskates
I'm in 100% agreement with Barry that Google is stingy and obnoxious about not sending their advertisers -- those who made Google millions of dollars -- tokens of appreciation for the holiday season. How about you realize that their contributions are valuable and reward them in kind? Chances are Google is making a lot more than any individual advertiser, and I'm sure they'd appreciate the goodwill from Google. Heck, I know they would.

Meanwhile, Some People are Lucky
Google may have canceled gifts for most advertisers, but some got Google gifts. Doesn't that make you even more jealous that Google only seems to care about a subset of you? Seriously.

At Least the SEM Industry Cares for its Own
Let's face it, this economy sucks. A lot of people are being affected and a lot of people are just being cautious even though there's probably nothing to worry about. A layoff as reported in the industry turned into a support forum for those who have been similarly impacted. It's nice that people care about others in this industry.

Have You Seen Google's Webmaster Tools Today?
Google has updated its Webmaster Tools with some consolidated settings and more control over your crawl rate. We have some screenshots in case you're too lazy to log into Webmaster Tools yourself, but you might want to check it out. It's cool. Promise. (It doesn't replace lost holiday gifts, though.)

Google Fixes iFrame Spam Classifier
Matt Cutts acknowledged earlier this week that Google had a bug when classifying iFrames as spam. The cool part is that it's fixed. The cooler part is that Barry found this in a Google Groups thread. I don't blame him when he says that he loves finding gems deep in forum discussion; that's why it's fun to check out forums. Of course, it's also fun to check out our reporting of the forum discussion on Search Engine Roundtable.

Google Blog Search to Fix Blogroll Links
It was reported earlier that the Google was indexing content that wasn't part of blog posts, like a blogroll. Google has said that they'll remove this content. It's not happening immediately, but it's on the company's radar.

Google Webmaster Help Group Moves to New Forum
It's about time, but the Google Webmaster Help Group has finally moved over to the new format Google Groups forums. Now it'll be even harder for Barry to track who is writing on which threads! Guys, give us back the blue G for Google representation and let us track our favorite forum members. Please? I asked more than once already. :)

Cyber Monday Rocked!
Any Google AdSense publisher or Google AdWords advertiser seemed to have fared well this Cyber Monday. Lots of clicks, better Quality Scores -- what more can you ask for?

Google Monetizes Image Search
Google is testing ads on image search, it's reported. I noticed Michael Gray blog about it. It's ugly. But hey, it's what Google does to make money for your holiday gifts. Oh wait.

Google Contractors Fired, Results Get Spammy
After it was determined that Google got rid of 10k contractors, ironically (but probably not related) we're noticing that Google AdSense ads are pretty spammy lately. I wonder if there's less manpower, or maybe the issue is that there's less motivation.

I HATE SEARCHWIKI
We had a poll asking how interested you were in Google's SearchIcky application. It turns out that most of you hate SearchWiki. Almost 83% of you don't want it. So hey, when is Google going to make it optional and something we can turn on? Matt Cutts, you there?

Popular Searches for 2008 Revealed Across Three Engines
Google, Yahoo, and Ask revealed some of their top search terms for 2008. I thought that Google's Product Search data was most significant. It's cool to see that everyone wants gadgets. I'm not surprised; it's what I'd have searched for too!

Today is Ninja Day
Most ninjas think in black. Search Engine Roundtable thinks in black on a yellow background. We're celebrating the Day of the Ninja today, so be sure to do something stealthy like a ninja. K?

Speaking of which, do you think the pirates can beat the ninjas?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, I am posting the video early in celebration of the special weekend. I spoke for a while on why SEO's should be careful when using a site command. I also spoke a while about link building companies and how they are being perceived these days. Google is allowing some advertisers the ability to show ads based on mobile devices or desktop devices. Yahoo had a search update. Live Search added malware reporting to Webmaster Tools. Google improved Street Views in Maps. Google is cutting on contractors. Will Google give out holiday gifts this year? SEMPO will be ringing the bell at the NASDAQ. Learn how to save on this year's holiday gifts with Live Search Cashback!

Make sure to subscribe to our video feed or subscribe directly on iTunes to be notified of these updates and download the video in the background. Here is the YouTube version of the feed (note: If YouTube shows a video not found message, just refresh the page and play it again, it is a YouTube bug):

For the original iTunes version, click here

Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Happy Thanksgiving '08 From The Search Industry
• Why Shouldn't SEOs Obsess Over the Site Command
• When Did Link Building Companies Become "Black Hat" SEOs?
• Google AdWords Provides Option To Advertise Based on Desktop vs. iPhone
• Was There a November Yahoo Update?
• Live Search Adds Malware Reporting to Webmaster Tools
• Google Enhances Street View
• Google Plans Layoffs of Nearly 1/3 of the Workforce
• Will Google Be Giving Holiday Gifts Out This Year?
• SEMPO Has Been Invited to Ring NASDAQ's Bell
• See How To Save 25% On Holiday Gifts With Microsoft Cashback

Please do subscribe via iTunes or on your favorite RSS reader. Don't forget to comment below with the right answer and good luck!

Hope you guys had a great yesterday and a happy day today! Most of you I know aren't actually working, but some of us are, and we're going to make sure you're well-entertained today in what happened this week in the search industry.

Happy Thanksgiving!
How was your Thanksgiving? Hopefully you enjoyed turkey or tofurkey and spent some quality time with your family. I know I did. The search industry, naturally, celebrated with us with some high quality themes.

The site: Command isn't Reliable. Chill
Too many SEOs are obsessed with the site: command, but there's really no reason to be. The site: command doesn't always count the number of pages that are indexed in your site, so if you notice a drop, you shouldn't necessarily freak out. The thing is -- some people do. Perhaps it's better to think of alternative strategies, like looking at which keywords your site pages rank for.

Why Do People Consider Link Buying a Black Hat Tactic?
Last week, we had a blogger say that Microsoft endorsing link exchanges means they're approving a "black hat" tactic. Lately, too many people have considered link buying a black hat tactic too. Consequently, companies are trying to stop link buying and move to more "ethical" measures.

Yahoo Says it Updated -- Did it?
Yahoo said it was performing a search index update. But that's all that happened. Nobody knows if Yahoo did anything about an update, and they're just waiting and waiting and wondering what's next.

Malware in Live Search Tools
As anticipated at Pubcon, Live Search has added malware reporting to their Webmaster Tools arsenal. You can use this data to find out if malware is linking to you, or if you're linking to malware sites. I think this is a very cool idea.

Google's Street View Gets Better
Google is making street view more enhanced with new features. The pegman is now more visible and you can drag him from the zoom slider to activate street view. That's not all either: you can report concerns more easily and enjoy a mini map view to get two different views at all times. Cool.

Google Terminates Contractors - You Better Hope You Aren't One
Google seems to only value their long term employees, and instead has axed their contractors, which has been going under the radar for several months until someone caught wind of these activities. Looks like Google isn't as great as everyone thought it was.

And will Google Even Give Gifts This Year?
Now that we're in the midst of a recession and Google is dropping valued and dedicated contractors, should we expect gifts from them this year? It's that time -- do you think Google will deliver?

Google Releases Blogger Best Practice Guide
If you're a blogger and you're writing for search engines (I mean PEOPLE, people!), you should consider reading Google's blogger best practice guide which was released earlier this week.

SEMPO and NASDAQ = <3
SEMPO has been given a great honor to ring NASDAQ's bell next week. They may have struggled in their initial first year, but they have prevailed -- and now, you can see that SEMPO is shining. I'm very proud of all those who are participating in the honor. Congratulations!

Microsoft Cash Back Rocks!
My friend told me a few weeks ago that Microsoft Cash Back has made a $900 camera purchase $700 -- yes, a $200 savings. He used this trick to utilize Microsoft Cash Back and he's extremely happy. I guess you can win from utilizing Microsoft's search engine in this capacity, so take advantage of it while it lasts!

Have a good weekend!

In this week's recap, Yang steps down from Yahoo. Google launches SearchWiki. What are Google search results like. Google launches new keyword tool. Google doesn't cap AdSense. AdWords tests new interface. Yahoo lets you block more domains. Google splashes ads every where. Yelp gets some nasty forum discussion. Text Link Ads launches inLinks and link debate starts again. Google Sitelinks now appearing on sub domains. Videos are rocking the search results. Check out Google's voice enabled iPhone search app.

Make sure to subscribe to our video feed or subscribe directly on iTunes to be notified of these updates and download the video in the background. Here is the YouTube version of the feed (note: If YouTube shows a video not found message, just refresh the page and play it again, it is a YouTube bug):

For the original iTunes version, click here

Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Jerry Does What Is Best For Yahoo By Stepping Down From CEO Role
• I'm Surprised Google Made SearchWiki The Default, Really
• Mid-November Google Search Update
• Google Gives Us Search Based Keyword Tool & Updates Keyword Data in Other Tools
• Google Promises They Don't Cap AdSense Earnings
• Publishers' Top Requests to Google AdSense Are...
• Google AdWords Tests Out New Interface
• Yahoo Search Marketing Now Lets You Block 500 Domains
• Google Ads Now In Images, YouTube, Finance & News
• Is Yelp.com Paying for Positive Comments?
• Text Link Ads New Product, InLinks, Causes New Link Debate Brawl
• Google Now Showing Sitelinks for Some Sub-Directories
• Do You Need Video Content to Compete in Google Today?
• Video: Google Launches Mobile iPhone Voice Application

Please do subscribe via iTunes or on your favorite RSS reader. Don't forget to comment below with the right answer and good luck!

Happy week before Thanksgiving! What are YOU doing next Friday? (Chances are, I'll be here blogging!) This week, we saw the biggest news of the month (or so I think), and that's where I'm going to start.

Jerry Yang, Ex-CEO of Yahoo
Yahoo's CEO Jerry Yang is stepping down. While he's a really nice guy, I'm sure they say, there has been sentiment that Yang was not a suitable candidate to be running the million- (billion?)- dollar company. Some say that Yang's problem was the fact that he was too attached to the company, and that probably led to the fact that Yahoo didn't innovate as much (to avoid fearful change, perhaps?). I don't know. Meanwhile, there's no turning back on a Yahoo-Microsoft deal (thanks Avi) -- it's just too late for Yahoo. Who will be the next CEO? We'll let you know when we find out.

Google's SearchWiki: Really?
Google announced a new SearchWiki program that lets visitors rearrange their search results as long as they're signed in. It's completely personalized, but it's also the default. Even I don't know what to do with this. Do you think the average user would? According to the poll we're hosting, 74% say NO. So--why make this default? Seriously?

Google Results Going Berserk Again
There's a November Google Search Update in our midst, with observations of a universal search yo-yo effect, emphasis on the H2 and metatags, cache cross-ups, and errors in Google's Webmaster Tools. What observations have you made?

Google's Search-Based Keyword Tool Launched
To make Google more of a profit, they've launched the Search Based Keyword Tool, which has the goal to let you know which keywords your customers are searching for on your site and thus which to advertise on. The result? A positive ROI, perhaps.

Google AdSense Publishers Requests
What would you want as an active Google AdSense publisher? A thread is collecting the the new Google AdWords interface? You can sign up or check the screenshots.

Yahoo Search Marketing: 500 Domains Blocked!
You can now block 500 domains on Yahoo Search Marketing, and people are thrilled. The question now is -- when is Google going to follow suit? (This is a good question for Yahoo folks, that's for sure!)

Google Ads EVERYWHERE
I had a dream last night and there was a Google ad in it the entire time. Okay, maybe not, but perhaps we're going to see more ads given Google's investment in advertising everywhere, including most recently in Google Finance. Hey, it's not a bad thing to add ads wherever people are looking. I just am waiting for the day when an ad shows up and I'm not looking.

Yelling about Yelp
I seemed to have started quite a ruckus when I regurgitated forum sentiment about Yelp -- that it's paying for positive comments (or rather, hiring telemarketers to make that claim) after summarizing what people thought and then reviewing relevant newspaper articles to reflect that sentiment. Someone from Yelp wanted to speak to me on the phone to clarify their stance. It's all and good, but when other people are making the statements that I merely am repeating, I'm a bit confused if Yelp should be reaching out to press people or to the people who feel they have been slighted. Further, if you don't know this by now, the Search Engine Roundtable bloggers barely put their personal opinions into posts; we're simply here to tell you what other people are saying on forums around the Internets as it relates to search marketing. Yeah. Now you know.

Link Debate Brawl over Text Link Ads Inlinks Program
Earlier this week, Text Link Ads launched inlinks.com, a "new" textual advertising program. To be honest, it's not new at all; inlinks have been around for perhaps 2 years now from said company. I can attest to the fact that Google knows about them also. Meanwhile, the fact that there's a claim that the FTC doesn't endorse this activity is causing a debate, but I repeat that this isn't news.

Have You Noticed Subdirectory Sitelinks?
Google is apparently showing sitelinks for subdirectories, which is a welcome change for a guy who runs his website off /blog.

You Compete Better with Video
Given that we have universal search, Google loves varied content. That's why it's great to integrate video into your site so that those results show up in the SERPs. Seriously -- video isn't hard to do. Barry's doing one on Sunday, just like old times.

iPhone Voice Activated App from Google
Google has released an iPhone voice activated application and Barry has strutted his stuff showing how it works. In a way, I want an iPhone, but in a way, I'm willing to wait until Apple considers the fact that not everyone wants AT&T. Thanks and have a nice day. :)

Guess what? The "con" part of PubCon is over and the guys are preparing to head to the pub later today. But alas, I'm back in New York -- like Barry, I took the red-eye. It's 11AM EDT (or 8AM, whatever) and I'm all confused about where I am and how I got here. But moving on...

PubCon Keynotes Rocked
I had the pleasure to liveblog the George Wright keynote at Pubcon. He talks about how, with a $50 budget, he made a viral phenomenon. It's pretty impressive to hear that kind of reinforcement when you have business objectives, don't you think?

The following day, we liveblogged Satya Nadella of Microsoft. They launched Project Silk Road, an API that looks pretty promising.

I'm Not Giving Up Liveblogging, Even if Barry Says I Should
There's a jerk on the Internet who wanted to get attention, so he blogged that we should stop liveblogging because our reporting is inaccurate. Then he says that he's upset because he has "liveblogged erroneously." Well, sorry that you suck at liveblogging, John, but that doesn't mean you have to attack two of the greatest livebloggers this industry has ever had. Meanwhile, the blog post that this John dude wrote evoked some heavy emotions and Barry is running a poll. Should we stop liveblogging? Answer us. And if you say "yes," identify yourself with a comment on the thread so that we livebloggers can burn you in effigy.

Why is Google Using Blog Comments--and Not Public Forums--to Communicate with Webmasters?
Do you find it annoying when you report a problem on a blog post and Google chooses to respond on the blog and not in an "official" channel? Does it irk you that Google doesn't appear to use its own internal blogs to communicate these "bugs" or observations with the rest of the community? To some, it does. But for Google, it makes a lot of sense. Why should they worry an entire webmaster community if only some people are being impacted? What does this mean for you? Keep being active in the blogs, baby!

Google <3 SEO
Finally, after all this time, Google has finally released an SEO guide. It's a 22-page PDF with all this useful information, or so I hear (no, I didn't read it yet either). Now when is Google going to talk about linking?

Googlebot Won't Answer Your Calls if You Ignore Him
I have no idea why someone would block Googlebot and then realize later that this was a stupid decision and try to reinvite Googlebot back into his life. However, some guy does want to do that. How do you tell Googlebot to crawl your site again? The idea is to send signals to Google that you're interested in reigniting that flame: get more links, submit a sitemap, and whatever else you can do to call your site to Google's attention.

YouTube Sponsored Ads Broken
Isn't it nice when YouTube launches a new feature but it doesn't actually, erm, work? Barry tried to play with YouTube sponsored ads and got an internal error. What gives? (I think it has something to do with a Mac.)

Deleting Your Google Sitelinks May Not Remove them from Google
Apparently, a webmaster has discovered a bug in Google. When deleting his sitelinks, a webmaster realized that Google kept them intact. Five days later, the deleted sitelinks are still listed on the search engine. Hrm.

Argentina Doesn't Honor Free Speech
It sucks if you're living in Argentina and want to learn about a prominent figure. It seems that Argentina prefers censorship rather than allowing content to be discovered. Search engines were forced to comply with this legal measure, and well, I'm glad I live in America.

Veteran's Day Comes and Goes
With PubCon in our faces, many forgot that we celebrated Veteran's Day on Tuesday. Google forgot to honor people in the Coast Guard and eventually updated their logo. Dogpile and Yahoo joined in the fun too. Of course, so did we!

No Video on Sunday
Barry got a new MacBook Pro and I think he wants to play with it instead of making our video for Sunday. You'll just have to wait for him next week (sorry Sam!)

In this weeks video recap, I covered the major news that Google's search engine had major quality issues and had to revert back the algorithm changes over the weekend. Part of that, we gave you an update on the current state of the Google search results. We asked if new signs show Google is dropping PageRank from the Toolbar. Google dropped Yahoo, and Microsoft no longer wants it. I spoke with Google's Nick Fox about AdWords. AdWords added trademark symbols to their keyword tool. Google is moving to new help forums. Ask.com brough Jeeves back, as a joke. But their algorithm is down the toilet. Most SEOs should get marketing or programming degrees. Should have Schmidt backed Obama publicly? 55% of us said no. Hope you voted on Election Day. We will be at PubCon in Las Vegas this week, hope to see you there!

Make sure to subscribe to our video feed or subscribe directly on iTunes to be notified of these updates and download the video in the background. Here is the YouTube version of the feed (note: If YouTube shows a video not found message, just refresh the page and play it again, it is a YouTube bug):

For the original iTunes version, click here

Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Google Search Update Blows Up, Google Reverting Back Now
• Webmasters Report November 2008 Google SERP Changes
• Google Slowly Dropping PageRank From The Toolbar?
• Google and Yahoo Break Up, End Their Advertising Agreement
• Google Tested Ads In Higher Spots To Adjust CTR For Ad Position
• Google AdWords Keyword Tool Now Clearly Showing Trademarked Keywords
• Google's AdWords Forum Moves: We Are Tracking Them
• Google Groups Search Expanded To More Forums
• Some Good News For Ask.com: Jeeves Makes Come Back
• Is Ask.com's Web Search Technology Falling Apart?
• Poll: SEOs Should Get Degrees in Marketing & Programming
• '08 Election Day Logos From Google, Live.com, Ask.com, DogPile & Us
• Poll: 55% Said Schmidt Should Not Have Endorsed Barack Obama
• Google, The Unbiased Company, Has CEO Backing Obama
• PubCon 2008: We'll Be There, and Here's Our Schedule

Please do subscribe via iTunes or on your favorite RSS reader. Don't forget to comment below with the right answer and good luck!

Happy Friday everyone! Today we're preparing for PubCon, but before that: here's what happened this week in search.

Google Screws Up Search Results
This past week, we've seen some crazy Google SERPs and not many people were happy. One even likened the results to Live.com. Ouch.

Google PageRank Being Dropped?
Google is removing PageRank from the toolbar -- you can turn it on, apparently, but some are wondering why it's off by default. However, others note in the comments of that post that if Chrome doesn't have it, then PageRank is slowly disappearing for good.

Yahoo and Google Break Up, and Microsoft ain't Interested
Earlier this week, Google and Yahoo dissolved their advertising agreement, which is unfortunately for... Yahoo. Worse, Techmeme reports that Microsoft doesn't want Yahoo either. And even worse, Terry Semel's daughter has asked people to Google her. Um, yeah.

Once Upon a Time, Google Gave You High-Ranking Ads
How does Google determine CTR of an ad? They test by putting ads ranked pretty high so that they can assess user interaction with the said ad. Did you know this? Barry didn't and he's shocked.

Your Trademarked Terms Are Visible in AdWords
If you have been using keywords that are trademarked, now you can see them as Google is now putting TM signs next to all trademarked keywords in Google AdWords.

Google Forums Changes
Google has upgraded its forums, and the AdWords Forum was one of the first to go. We're watching the discussion, but guys, it's hard to track the Google reps here, so GOOGLE: please bring back the blue "G" next to the username. Please?

But that's not all. Now you can perform a Google Groups search and find more forums in case you wanted to network with more like-minded folks. Cool.

Ask.com's Technology Falls Apart, but at Least We Still Have Jeeves
If you missed Jeeves, you can find him using askjeeves.com. But that's probably the only thing Ask.com has for itself; the web technology is falling apart and my guess is that it had to do somewhat with its management shakeup awhile ago. The passionate people of Ask.com are gone (with the exception of a few good souls), but it looks like nobody really wants to trudge along and make Ask better for the future.

What College Degree Should an SEO Get?
We polled you on the degree an SEO should get, and most of you thought marketing and programming were best. I'm not 100% sure I agree with this, but hey, I read it on the Internet, so it must be true.

Should Google Have Endorsed Obama?
The election is over but 55% of you thought Google should not have endorsed Barack Obama for the candidacy, especially since they are armed with a lot of information and want to be perceived as an unbiased company. Google's Schmidt is showing a bias and his fame probably comes from nothing but being affiliated with Google.

Google AdSense Pushes Political Agenda
Just in time for election day, Google AdSense ads were poured out all over the internets on sites urging people to vote. More disturbingly, a big site I help operate (with a big California population) was urging people to Vote YES to Proposition 8. Now I'm a very tolerant person and I'll let people do what they want--and if you were aware of the issue of Proposition 8, it has to do with their lives, not yours, and you should let them live their lives just as you would your own. I did not think it was appropriate for Google's AdSense to target this site and promote its political agenda, but unfortunately, we didn't know about it until users complained. I hope that in 2012, Google will be a little more suspicious of said advertisements.

We Voted: Did You?
Then, election day came and went, and I voted. I also represent Bronx County where the breakdown for McCain/Obama was 12% to 88%, which I hear was the most lopsided vote in all of the United States, baby! And guess what? I voted in the m[aj/in]ority!

Next Week: We're Headed to PubCon
Are you going to PubCon? We hope so not, since we'll be blogging the event and have over 50 sessions for you guys to read. And if you are, be sure to find us in the front row or near the power strips and say hi. (Oh, and please don't hog the power strips from us!)

I am a bit under the weather in this video recap, but I hope you like it. I discuss the Halloween logos from Google, Yahoo, Ask.com, Live.com, DogPile, FriendFeed, and other search related sites. I talk about Google's changes to their quality score. Google Alerts added RSS as an option. Google uses OCR technology to read scanned PDFs. Google pays AdSense publishers the wrong amount, for the fourth time. Google tests new AdSense ads. Google updated AdWords Editor. I showed hacked AdWords ads in Google.com. AdCenter updated their features and logo, plus cut out Sunday support hours. Google's webmaster chat recap is live. I talked about getting religious links to your Church. Google's CEO backed Obama, should he have? Ask Jeeves is now a porn star!

Make sure to subscribe to our video feed or subscribe directly on iTunes to be notified of these updates and download the video in the background. Here is the YouTube version of the feed (note: If YouTube shows a video not found message, just refresh the page and play it again, it is a YouTube bug):

For the original iTunes version, click here

Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Halloween '08 From The Search Industry
• Google AdWords To Take Ad Position Into Account For Quality Score
• Google Alerts Adds RSS Option: RSS Comes To Google Web Search (Kinda)
• Google Makes All PDF Documents Copy & Paste Friendly with OCR
• Google AdSense Pays Publishers Wrong Amounts Again! Exchange Rate Issues
• Google AdSense Testing Coupon Ads?
• A New Google AdSense Ad Style?
• Numerous Google AdWords Editor Issues Reported, Fixed
• Google AdWords Hacked Ads In The Raw Search Results
• Microsoft adCenter Upgrades More Than Just Their Logo
• Microsoft Gives adCenter a Logo
• Microsoft adCenter Drops Sunday Support Hours
• Google's Third Webmaster Chat Recap Now Live
• Google Webmaster Tools Breakdown?
• Church SEO: Getting Religious Links
• Google, The Unbiased Company, Has CEO Backing Obama
• Ask Jeeves Now a Porn Star

Please do subscribe via iTunes or on your favorite RSS reader. Don't forget to comment below with the right answer and good luck!

Google said, loud and clear, the first click free program can be used for web search. Google improves Analytics and ties in AdSense data. Google hosted their third webmaster chat event, I was unable to attend. AdWords is taking up the organic results with a new product listing feature. Yahoo Search Marketing targets local more accurately. AdWords releases API version thirteen. Google Webmaster Tools has a Sitemaps bug. Google sending love letters to Sitemaps users in XML format. IM Broadcast launches to be the YouTube of Internet Marketers. More details at SERoundtable.com.

Make sure to subscribe to our video feed or subscribe directly on iTunes to be notified of these updates and download the video in the background. Here is the YouTube version of the feed (note: If YouTube shows a video not found message, just refresh the page and play it again, it is a YouTube bug):

For the original iTunes version, click here

Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Webmasters Discuss Google's "First Click Free" Program for Web Search
• Google Analytics Adds Features Plus AdSense Integration
• Google to Host Third Webmaster Chat Event on Wednesday at Noon
• Google Showing Product Images in AdWords, Where The Organic Results Go?
• Yahoo! Search Marketing Rolls Out New Features
• Google AdWords API Version 13 Released
• Google Webmaster Tools Showing 0 Pages Indexed For Sitemaps Users
• Google Webmaster Team Sending Letters To Sitemaps Users?
• IM Broadcast is a YouTube for Internet Marketers

Please do subscribe via iTunes or on your favorite RSS reader. Don't forget to comment below with the right answer and good luck!

The holidays are over and Barry and I are back -- for real. In the flesh. We even have a video recap on Sunday if you tune in.

Google's First Click Free Program Discussed
A week ago, we learned a little more about the First Click Free program in Google. In essence, First Click Free allows you to protect your content (say, if it's subscription based) while still getting the full benefit of being in Google's index. Some webmasters are wondering about how this is working, with some worried that this is no different from cloaking. Others think that it's unfair that the savvy internet surfer will be able to pretend to be Google to get on some private sites. Whatever the case may be, it's definitely an interesting development.

Google Analytics Now Integrates AdSense
We asked and Google delivered. Google is slowly adding AdSense integration to Analytics users. It looks great and hopefully we'll have screenshots of the process and outcome in action soon.

Google Hosted a Webmaster Chat, and We Have No News for You
On Wednesday, Google hosted a Webmaster Chat. This is the third one but unfortunately none of us were able to listen since it was the holiday. Google will likely publish an edited version in a week or so, but it's just not the same.

Google Integrates Product Images In Sponsored Results
Barry notes that AdWords shows product images in searches. If you look at the illustration he provides, you can see diamond rings when you expand the ad. How much does it cost to sign up?!

You Can Get a Quality Score of 10
We have highlighted yet another successful experiment on how to get a quality score of 10. The idea is to really minimize overhead -- focus on very target keywords (no more than 3 per campaign) and write very targeted landing pages.

Yahoo Search Marketing Rolls Out Desired Features
The Yahoo Search Marketing team announced some new features that will enhance the YSM experience with regards to targeting They are country/city targeting, and language targeting. People are happy and that's always a good thing.

Google AdWords API v13 Released
Just in time for the holidays, Google AdWords API has released a major update with some enhanced features. They are also offering 20% more API units for free through January 15.

Google Webmaster Tools Errors Reported -- but Fixed Now
Earlier, we saw some issues with Google Webmaster Tools reporting 0 indexed URLs, though the issue seems to be fixed. Gotta love the glitches.

This is a Glitch I Don't Like: Google Terminates Accounts
Loren Bakers Gmail account was terminated over the weekend. As someone who is pretty dependent upon my Gmail account, that just sucks. He wrote a plea to Google to revisit the issue, but I'm curious to know why it keeps happening. Seriously -- what's the issue here, Google?

IM Broadcast Launched: Internet Marketing Video Portal
If you like videos and you like internet marketing, you'll love the new IM Broadcast site, which was launched earlier this week. Very talented minds were behind this launch, and it has a ton of potential, so I'm happy. Maybe I'll start watching video too!

I want the Google Webmasters T-Shirt
Google has sent out very cool t-shirts for Webmaster Tools users, and I want one. How do I sign up?

Have a great weekend!

Another holiday week had me offline for 2 days. In case you were all wondering, it's not a vacation when you have no access to email and then come back to the real world and have 500+ actionable emails. There's one more of these 2 day chunks next week, and then you'll have both Barry and me posting on a daily basis. Until then, enjoy the "break" and be advised that there's no video this Sunday.

Yahoo October 2008 Update
It seems that Yahoo's October 2008 update is finally noticeable along the hallways of Yahoo, and reports show that "SERPs are on the move." How have you been impacted?

Time to Lose Your Money Gamble in the UK
It looks like Google AdWords UK is allowing gambling ads, so you may get suckered when you least expect it. On a similar note, Mike McDonald pinged me this morning with bad news on the US horizon: Kentucky is seeing seizure of over 141 domain names. Life's just not as good on this side of the ocean right now.

Google Webmaster Tools Features Crawl Issues, Removes Home Page Crawl Date
Ben Pfeiffer has written an informative post about the reactions of SEOs on the crawl issues on Google Webmaster Tools. It's a great tool that helps you find broken pages and also fix URLs. Have you tried it yet?

On a somewhat sadder note, Google has removed the home page crawl date from the backend, which I thought was pretty cool and useful. I'm a bit sad to see it go, but JohnMu explains that the date wasn't really accurate anyway. Still, it's a date! What if Google stops being able to access your page for awhile?

Google AdWords: Search Partner Network, Display Ad Builder, Quality Score Added to Reports
Lots of news in Google AdWords realm this week. First, we see that Google has finally allowed you to split traffic between search partners and Google.com. On a related note, your Quality Score and estimated first bid is being added to Google AdWords reports. Perhaps most exciting in Google AdWords this week, though, is the useful tool for display ads that removes the need for expensive graphics designers to create these ads for you.

Google AdWords on Social Media
When I think of Google, I still don't think of social media. Sure, you have some sites out there like Orkut and YouTube, but they were never Google's original idea. It's interesting to see that Google AdWords plans on using Twitter for communicating. Really, this isn't very new; the YahooAdBuzz team is doing that now. I kind of feel smug about being an early adopter of Twitter (since December '06, baby!), that's for sure.

Yahoo Improves Publisher Network Visibility
Relevancy is an issue to Yahoo, and the Yahoo Publisher Network has improved relevancy for advertisements so that they will target the right individual. Cool.

How Long Does it Take for Google's Reinclusion Request to be Addressed?
We asked, you answered. Most of you had an unpleasant "more than three month" wait for Google's reinclusion requests to be answered. Some of you didn't have to wait more than a month (or a few days, thankfully), and some of you are still waiting. I guess you should try to avoid getting on Google's bad side.

Will Google Prevent You from Earning from AdSense?
Let's say you're running a really profitable AdSense business. Will Google stop you from earning to your heart's content? We asked and most of you thought that Google will let you earn and earn.

Woot's Crafty Marketing Shot Down by Google
With this recession, people are already considering taking their lives ... or so some think. Earlier this week, Woot.com's "tacky" recession ad was removed because it mocked suicide. But really, I don't agree that it was a wise move, and the poll we are hosting (it's still ongoing, guys) indicates that I'm not in the minority. Thanks also to Todd Mintz for agreeing with me in the comments; Woot's marketing message causes people to glance and actually pay attention to sponsored ads, and isn't that what we all want?

Google is Still Richer than You
Google's Q3 earnings have been extremely favorable despite the economy's failures this past week. Are they feeling lucky?

Did You Forget About Paddington Bear?
This past Monday, we celebrated the adventure of Christopher Columbus here at Search Engine Roundtable with a Christopher Columbus logo. But Google forgot about that, or rather, they prepared with something completely unrelated: Paddington Bear turned 50. Happy birthday, old bear. How much is that in human years?

After a long week of conferences followed by a holiday, we're back for just 2 more business days until another 2 days of holidays kick in. Enjoy us while we're here!

Google Giving More Snippet Data
Searching for articles on Google is now showing content attributes in the results. You can see articles that have more than one author or you can see the author of the article.

Google Reverts PageRank Data
In case you're wondering why your PageRank has been fluctuating like mad lately, it's probably due to the observation that Google is reverting PageRank values. That or you're looking at the PR from another data center. Regardless, most people don't really care. ;)

Make Money from Google Maps with AdSense
So you're searching for something and find it using Google Maps. You may also find another targeted result that you never anticipated due to Google AdSense's integration into Google Maps. Who didn't see that coming?

Google's Attempts to Make More Money with Affiliate Marketing
Google has seen success with Amazon and iTunes, and they want to eat some cake too. That's why you'll see that Google is now an iTunes and Amazon affiliate. Surprised?

Google AdSense for Games
More ability to monetize is seen with the announcement of Google AdSense for games. If you have a popular site, you're game (no pun intended) to be considered. It's in beta, now, though, but if you want to make some dough, go for it.

Don't Use Google AdWords Editor 6.5.0...Yet
Google AdWords Editor 6.5.0 was released but not without a slew of problems. There are errors, slowness, and more. If you haven't upgraded yet, don't.

Microsoft adCenter Upgrade in Fall 2008
We're actually in Fall of 2008, so in the upcoming weeks, we should expect a big Microsoft adCenter update to give more billing/payment options, campaign management simplification, report analysis, and more. Stay tuned!

Google's Search Results Coming in RSS Format
It's taken them years, but Google will offer its results in RSS format so that you can watch for scrapers and all that other good stuff. Can we say "huzzah?"

Linkage Data Provided by SEOmoz
SEOmoz has launched this comprehensive tool called Linkscape that has crawled 30 billion pages to provide detailed linkage data. This tool has received a lot of kudos and I'm sure you'll like it!

Ask.com Loses 3D, Goes to "Less is More"
This past week, we've heard reports that Ask.com has redesigned their page to eliminate the complex 3D interface and to give less information. Is Google responsible for this? It's possible, since Ask.com is looking for money above all else.

Yahoo to Offer Web Analytics
Yahoo's acquisition of IndexTools means Yahoo Web Analytics. The tool is being rolled out on a limited beta and is free. Yahoo Web Analytics boasts real time tracking which many people are looking forward to. I can't wait to try it myself!

SMX East
As I mentioned, we were at SMX East this week. What does that mean? Well, I'm sure you saw our conference coverage. If not, here you go -- enjoy!

• SMX Boot Camp: Link Building Fundamentals
• Search and Reputation Management
• Ad Agencies & Search Marketing
• The Ten Truths Every CMO Must Know About Search Marketing
• What's New With Video Search Marketing
• Social Media Marketing for Newspapers and Magazines
• What's New With Local Search Marketing
• Search Marketing For Newspapers & Magazine
• Search & The iPhone
• Search Integration: Are We There Yet?
• Googleopoly
• Enhanced Listings
• What Is Ethical Social Media Marketing?
• Personalized & Customized Search
• What Is Spam?
• Internal Linking Tactics
• Keynote with Google's Tim Armstrong
• Tools, Glorious Tools
• A Day In The Life Of A Successful In-House SEO

Thanks again to Marty Weintraub for his guestblogging!

Administrative Note: No Video This Weekend
Due to the holidays, our next video recap is not going to occur until October 26th. You'll just have to read us!

Happy New Year, it was Rosh Hashanah the other day. Google did a PageRank update, while Yahoo Search updated their algorithm, and Microsoft might have updated. Google Blog search has a home page now. Google turned 10 and let you search back in 2001. Yahoo officially launched the new Site Explorer design. Yahoo is charging more money for less. eBay increased their ad spend with Google, which is hurting other advertisers. More AdWords accounts got hijacked. Microsoft tries SearchPerks to gain more users. We are live blogging SMX, but don't miss the charity party! More details at SERoundtable.com.

Make sure to subscribe to our video feed or subscribe directly on iTunes to be notified of these updates and download the video in the background. Here is the YouTube version of the feed (note: If YouTube shows a video not found message, just refresh the page and play it again, it is a YouTube bug):

For the original iTunes version, click here

Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Google Rosh Hashanah 5769 PageRank Update
• Yahoo Search Rosh Hashanah 5769 Update
• Small Live Search Update or Hiccup?
• Google Blog Search Relaunches With News Front Page
• Google Officially Turns 10: Reflections of the Past
• Google Lets You Search as if it was 2001
• Yahoo's New Site Explorer Design Now Officially Live
• Yahoo Charging More & Giving Less
• Yahoo! Search Marketing Raises Minimum Credit Card Amount to $250
• eBay Increases Ad Spend with Google AdWords
• When Will Google AdWords Prevent Account Hijackings?
• Introducing Microsoft SearchPerks: Get Paid to Search ... Again
• We're Liveblogging SMX East Next Week
• Next Week's Charity Party is Coming Up at SMX East

Please do subscribe via iTunes or on your favorite RSS reader. Don't forget to comment below with the right answer and good luck!

Happy New Year to those of you who celebrate! This week, the holiday commenced and now we're swamped but we still have to give you our recap. Without further ado, here you go:

Coincidence: Search Updates Around Holiday Time?
As you may have read thus far, we celebrated Rosh Hashana and also noticed that Google PageRank has updated. On a somewhat related note, Yahoo's results are being shuffled and Microsoft may have had its own update too.

Google Blog Search Relaunches
A new version of Google Blog Search has launched and I'm not sure I'm a fan. It now has a more "news" feel that reminds me of Technorati and how every single blog post talks about a single issue versus a search that may be more relevant.

Google Turns 10
Google has celebrated one decade of search and more. Can you believe it's really been 10 years? Well, neither can I. But in case you wanted to reminisce, you can check out the Google search engine from 2001 which actually is rather fun.

Yahoo's Site Explorer Looks Great
Finally, a new verison of Yahoo Site Explorer is live. And it's pretty awesome. It has a lot new data, like number of inlinks/inlink domains, number of pages crawled, and more. Check it out and let us know what you think.

Yahoo's Rip Off?
Yahoo has done some stupid things lately by raising the credit card minimum to $250, which is 10 times more expensive than the previous requirement of $25. Their cost per click has also gone up, phone support is going down, and nobody is happy. Seriously, why are you guys using Yahoo again?

Microsoft's Smart Move?
Microsoft has launched Search Perks, a "get paid to search" type engine. Also viewed as a stupid move, people are wondering why Microsoft has to incentivize the search process. Oh well. Maybe I'll be able to get my husband Forza 2. Only 4000 searches to go. (Heck, I don't even do that using Google.)

eBay <3 Google
eBay has increased its ad spending with Google after their apparent "breakup" last year. Now, both companies are holding hands again and things are looking up. We may be in a recession or whatever, but people still want to use search engines to find great deals, and eBay is probably delivering results.

Google Request: AdWords Account Change Phone Authorization
After all these Google AdWords account hijackings, I'm wondering why Google is just having employees monitor accounts for abnormalities. That's great, and all, but it'd be great if Google could put some security precaution -- perhaps phone authorization -- in place to prevent the high number of account hijackings.

Next Week: SMX East in NYC
In the NYC area? We hope you charity party on Monday night. It's a great opportunity to help and network all at the same time!

Google told us not to rewrite dynamic URLs into static URLs. Google ripped of their Indian publishers, by accident. Google is loving them books in the search results. How often should you submit a reconsideration request? How quick is Google at approving reconsideration requests? Don't be a victim of AdWords hacking. Did you ever see a minimum bid of $100 or more? Are you making more money with AdSense now? adCenter desktop is going to add features. Google Maps in the night. Yahoo launches APT. Lisa leaves the West coast for the East coast. Lots of holidays are coming up, so we scheduled some posts. Check out more at SERoundtable.com.

Make sure to subscribe to our video feed or subscribe directly on iTunes to be notified of these updates and download the video in the background. Here is the YouTube version of the feed (note: If YouTube shows a video not found message, just refresh the page and play it again, it is a YouTube bug):

For the original iTunes version, click here

Some Of The Topics Discussed:

• Major Google SEO Change: Google Prefers You Don't Use URL Rewrites
• Google Messes Up AdSense Exchange For Indian Rupee
• Google Pushing Book Search Results in Web Search Results?
• Should I Submit Another Reinclusion Request?
• How Long Did Your Google Reinclusion Process Take?
• Increase in Google AdWords Accounts Being Hacked Into?
• How To Protect Your Google AdWords Account
• Google AdWords Minimum Bids Reach £55 or $100
• Making More Money With Google AdSense in 2008?
• New Features Coming To Microsoft adCenter Desktop Beta
• Google Maps Street View Offers Night Vision!
• Yahoo Advertising Platform, APT, Launched
• "Bruce Clay Blog Without The Lisa? That's Like Peanut Butter Without the Jelly!"

Please do subscribe via iTunes or on your favorite RSS reader. Don't forget to comment below with the right answer and good luck!

Happy Friday! Are you ready for the weekend? After this week's big news, I know I am!

Google Doesn't Want You to Rewrite Dynamic URLs
What big news am I talking about? Earlier this week, we found that Google would prefer your domain to be http://domain.com/site.php?id=44&pid=42&gid=22&uid=29249 instead of using rewrites that are more human readable (!), like this: http://domain.com/site.php/tamars-profile-page. Apparently, the change is because Google wants to understand the parameters to understand site structure. But at the same time, I have a hard time liking this change especially since Google is supposed to take pride in user-friendliness. I understand Google needs to learn, and they can do so without targeting SEMs. There are plenty of unoptimized sites Google can look at. Don't you agree?

Google Messes Up Indian Exchange Rate, Owes Advertisers Money
According to a screenshot provided by a Google India AdSense publisher, Google has screwed up the exchange rates. In India, $1 is 46.555 INR. However, Google has made it so that $1 is equivalent to 1 INR. Feeling slighted? You're not alone. My thought is that it'd be fixed soon, but in the meantime, if you're one of the affected individuals, just hold tight.

Google Integrates More Properties into Search
Google Book Search has apparently been migrated over to the regular search results. It may be a test at this time -- it's hard to say. Will people click on these results? Well, will you?

Submit Your Reinclusion Requests as Many Times As You Want
Okay, the title of this section is a tad misleading. If you have been penalized from the Google directory, you should submit a reinclusion request. If Google doesn't respond, keep working at it. Eventually someone should get to you. Speaking of which, we're running a poll to see how long it took for Google to acknowledge your reinclusion request and currently it seems that it takes more than 3 months. That's a bit frightening but is all the more reason why you should try to avoid being penalized in the first place.

Google AdWords Accounts Get Hacked Into
More and more spammers are seeing the appeal and ease of getting huge clickthroughs and impressions when using Google AdWords. You don't have to wait for pages to be crawled. If you make a high enough bid, you're usually on the front page of Google on the sponsored side. This is probably why people are hacking into AdWords accounts where they can: it makes some people rich. Well, keep in mind that you can protect your Google AdWords accounts by following some basic security procedures (and then some).

Poor Quality Ke