Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Google Buys Ad For Offensive Michelle Obama Image Result
If you search on for [Michelle Obama] in Google Image Search you will see a racist and offensive image of the first lady. We first reported this image back in ten days ago and then gave Google a hard time for removing the Obama result. Well, the result is now back, hosted on a new site. But this time, Google bought a search ad explaining why the result is there and why Google cannot remove - Google AdWords Team Points Out Flaw in Google Keyword Tool
A Google AdWords API Help thread estimated position or average CPC being returned by the AdWords API differs from that of the Google Keyword Tool. Eric Koleda from the Google AdWords API Team replied basically pointing fault at the tool. I think the problem here lies in the Keyword Tool's web interface. You'll notice that changing the match type drop down from Broad to Phrase or Exact does not change the estimated position or average - Google Maps Pornography : Google Can't Keep Up
Earlier this month we reported on nudity & seductive Google Maps listings for London Escort services, amongst others. When we investigated the issue, it turned out to be a worldwide issue with nude and seductive images being displayed both in the UK and US for certain business listings. It seems like all the business listings I reported then have been cleaned up. However, now we have new business listings with nude and pornographic images and - Google is Obsessed with New Zealand, Forgetting Ireland & Egypt Again
A month and a half ago, Google for some reason had a bug that ranked the Google New Zealand property for a search on Google Ireland. Google fixed the issue a day or so later but now it appears to be back. A search for google.ie or google.eg both return Google New Zealand in the number one position. If you were wondering, Google.ie is the Google Ireland property and Google.eg is the Google Egypt property. - Google Testing Related Searches Tab on Top Navigation Bar?
A DigitalPoint Forums thread links to a blog post from imanjalali.com which shows a new user interface for Google. The new user interface looks like Google is placing related search queries in tabs across the top of the search results. Here is a cropped picture of his full screen capture: Seems weird being that Google is really taking the user interface in a whole new direction. I am not sure if this is some type - Google AdSense Being Blocked By Kaspersky Security Software
Google AdSense adds are currently being blocked by Kaspersky anti virus and Internet security software. This started sometime yesterday with their latest releases of their security program. One AdSense publisher emailed Kaspersky to let them know and he received a reply "within minutes" saying: Hello, Sorry, it was a false detection. It will be fixed in the next update. Thank you for your help. I assume they release updates often and the update will fix - Blue Google Map Pins in Google AdWords Results
A DigitalPoint Forums thread reports seeing a new type of Google AdWords result. This AdWords result seems to be combined with a Google Maps result, where it shows a blue pin, and address information on the right hand side of the search results, where the AdWords results are. Here is a picture from the thread: Mike recently spotted this as well, and believes this has to do with the local extensions feature Google Maps released. - More Reports of Bing Correctly Handling 301 Redirects
A month ago, we reported on early reports that Microsoft Bing Finally Figuring Out 301 Redirects? Yes, we ended in a question-mark because we were not too confident back then. Since the November '09 Bing Search update, more people are confirming that Bing is now handling 301 redirects properly. Historically, Bing use to handle some 301 redirects like 404. How could they do this? I am not sure - but that is what webmasters report.
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- Happy Birthday to the Google Mobile Help Forum!, Google Mobile Help
- Twitter Adds Geotagging API, WebmasterWorld
- Create and Share custom News sections, Google News Help
- Interesting Search Results For A New Domain, Cre8asite Forums
- Bing Travel Issue - Delta.com, Bing Community
- Future of traffic development?, WebmasterWorld
- Known Issue: Feed processing delays, Google Merchant Center Help
- Unofficial poll - please give us feedback, Google News Help
- What can I do about 2 libelous reviews posted on my google Maps ad by a local competitor?, Google Maps Help
- |=> UnOfficial Poll - please give us feedback <=|, Google Webmaster Help
