There was a new service launched at the beginning of the month that follows all uses of your brand, domain, special keywords and more - Search Monitor. And before you jump at me for the plug I am not associated with it at all. I was sent the press release and information about the product and from what I have seen so far this could be a great tool for reputation management, keeping an eye on competitors using your name etc. or even to track affiliates.

If you're a Blackberry Pearl user in the US, then you have a new way to conduct searches on Google Mobile Maps: voice search. The feature has been made available for models 8110, 8120, and 8130. The Google Mobile Team says the feature is experimental and should improve better over time as more and more people use it. And here's how to access the feature on the device, according to the Official Google Mobile blog : 1. Press "0" to center the map view around your location 2.

Despite a search advertising deal with Google , Yahoo shares are down and rumors are on again about Microsoft buying just the search chunk of Yahoo . But just how big is that chunk? Would it destroy Yahoo as a whole if sold separately? Not necessarily, according to Hitwise Vice President of Research, Heather Hopkins . Hopkins analyzed the US internet hits for the top 20 Yahoo properties in the month of June. Yahoo Mail by far saw the most traffic, at 37.47%. Yahoo.com saw 30.

Remember when Google and Viacom were friends ? Ah, those were the days. But not anymore. Over a year ago, Viacom filed suit against Google for the copyright infringment found on YouTube videos . In the latest plot point in the ongoing saga, U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton has ruled that Google can keep its source code secret, but must hand over user logs for the popular video sharing site.

The Official Google Webmaster Central blog has posted steps on how to get reincluded in the search results should you find yourself in the unfortunate circumstance of being exempted. Mariya Moeva, of the Search Quality Team , hosts an entertaining how-to vid explaining the steps you should take when your site is Google-less. For those who can't or don't want to view the video, look below for the steps in text. 1. Check your access.

Greg Jarboe : Search Engine Strategies )SES( is asking us to teach a full-day SEO training class about " Optimizing for Universal Search " on Thursday, July 17, 2008, at the Renaissance Seattle Hotel, 515 Madison Street, Seattle, WA 98104? Amanda Watlington : I don't believe you. Greg : Would you believe SES is sending us to teach a Google universal search engine optimization training workshop in Microsoft's backyard? Amanda : No.

MerchantCircle, a network of local business owners, has announced a new partnership with Yahoo. As a newly minted Yahoo! Local Ambassador, MerchantCircle members will have exclusive access to Yahoo Local online marketing services. MerchantCircle has seen dramatic growth since December 2007, when it began a new push for its online advertising products. The network has now surpassed 500,000 members. "Yahoo!

Instead of focusing on where to find links, SEOs and site owners should think about setting up a site so people will want to link to it. In today's Link Building column, " Three Tips for Creating a Successful Blog ," Sage Lewis notes that people usually put the cart )the links(, before the horse )the content(. But the horse is what drives the cart.

Many newcomers are looking for some kind of accredited SEM course. But for a university to offer such course, it must be created in theory, pass through boards and deans, and be completely vetted. That can take anywhere from two to five years. In today's SEM.EDU column, " SEM Going Legit Literally EDU ," Ron Jones outlines some of the existing college-level courses for SEM training.

Google has updated its article entitled, "What's an SEO? Does Google recommend working with companies that offer to make my site Google-friendly?" Included in the update are the benefits of SEO as well as guidelines when choosing an SEO company or consultant. The benefits mentioned in the article are: Reviewing and providing recommendations on your site content or structure Technical advice on website development: for example, hosting, redirects, error pages,

We knew this was coming. The Justice Department has begun a formal antitrust investigation into the search advertising agreement recently announced between Google and Yahoo . But other internet companies will be required to provide documents, according to the Washington Post . The move is thought to indicate a closer scrutiny than originally expected.

Microsoft was set to save Yahoo from certain death with a solid offer to purchase assets, or so we thought. According to yesterday's shareholder presentation, the deal wasn't such a great idea. In today's Searching for Meaning column, " Yahoo's Judgment Day ," Kevin Ryan notes that, while the jury is still out on the merits of the Google-Yahoo partnership,

Just in time for the Fourth of July, Yahoo has given Upcoming a new look . They've also increased the scope of events searchable on the local events site. New event types include farmers markets, craft fairs and street festivals. Events for over 8,000 cities can be found on Upcoming and the results are also integrated into other Yahoo products, including My Yahoo!, Travel Guides, Music, and Local. Last October,

Some common SEO and Web development practices can be used quite legitimately, yet still could look like spam to search engines. In today's Web Analytics and ROI column, " Coding Problems: How to Avoid Getting Flagged by Search Engines ," Eric Enge explains that the key is to use these techniques for legitimate reasons, use them in moderation, and in ways commonly found on the Web.

Ya-Who? Seems Microsoft has already forgotten the Sunnyvale search engine. Microsoft has agreed to buy Powerset , the semantic search engine touted as the next generation of search. Powerset is the much-hyped beta natural language search engine that the metaphor-challenged mainstream media call the Google Killer. That means you can type questions in a search box the way you normally ask them. )Think Ask Jeeves 1.

Nikki Catsouras was an 18-year-old college freshman living in California with her parents and two sisters. Nikki Catsouras loved to shoot videos on her camera, according to ABC News , and ironically, it a camera would memorialize Nikki's life and death as a gruesome and macabre joke on the Internet. Photos of Nikki Catsouras in death are now the top search results in Google. Even Wikipedia has a page dedicated to the gory car crash. Search engines, in our view,

Many SEO agencies are running out of ways to draw in large clients, especially when so many offer little to no value over the next agency. This dilemma has given birth to new "special services," which can set an agency apart. In today's Enterprise Search Marketing column, " Some New SEO Services Not So "Special" ," Aaron Shear warns enterprise clients to beware, as there are some unscrupulous agencies using these in ways that can sometimes be a threat to your rankings.

Google has a slew of announcements about its advertising products, including AdSense, AdWords, and DoubleClick. First up, AdSense is no longer accepting referrals . They're advising users to remove the code from their sites, but to save the data collected through the referrals. Meanwhile, AdWords is phasing out the AdWords Pay-Per-Action program . Both programs have the last week of August as the expiration date.

Local.com has announced a new advertising partnership with White Directory Publishers, a division of Hearst Holdings. Through the agreement, Local.com will be able to sell its online display advertising inventory to White Directory's national sales channel. The ads will appear on Local.com as well as White Directory Publisher's Talkingphonebook.com and Area-wide.com sites. "This partnership allows Local.

Yahoo has announced its latest search index update. So, if you see a change up in your rankings, now you know why. But earlier news of new crawling abilities for Adobe Flash don't appear to be part of this update. Instead, expect to see those updates in the future. "Yahoo! is committed to supporting webmaster needs with plans to support searchable SWF and is working with Adobe to determine the best possible implementation," said Sean Suchter, vice president Yahoo!