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:
- My Google Favorite Place Decal Was Hijacked
We are aware of Google Maps listings being hijacked, that is nothing new. But remember Google is sending out favorite places decals? Well, I got mine today and I decided to try it out. Guess what? When you scan the QR bar code it takes you to a different business! RustyBrick is my company and here is my Google Place: Here is a video with proof: Here is a link to the Citrus Grille which - Chanukah 2009 Logos from Bing & SERoundtable
Chanukah (Hanukah) starts tonight, technically, in Israel it is already Chanukah. It last for eight days and this year it does not overlap with Christmas. Currently, the only major search engine to have a logo or theme up is Microsoft's Bing. Google (even Google.co.il), Yahoo, and Ask.com do not have a theme up yet. Maybe they will wait for tonight or tomorrow, but for now, here is Bing's theme: We also have theme, sporting driedels - Yahoo Adds Twitter to Search Results, Google's Twitter Results Now Live
Not to be outdone by Google, Yahoo also added real-time Twitter results for "buzzing" keyword phrases. I tried to replicate any results on Yahoo, but I was not yet able to see them. Maybe it is still rolling out. The industry is discussing the Yahoo roll out at WebmasterWorld. Meanwhile, sometime mid-afternoon yesterday, the real time results Google previewed a couple days ago, went live in the main Google search results. SEOs and Webmasters are - Google AdWords My Client Center (MCC) Phishing
Google AdWords account phishing attempts is nothing new. We reported them numerous times in the past, and then stopped reporting all the cases. Even Yahoo Search Marketing has their share of this issue. A new type of AdWords phishing attempt has been reported at WebmasterWorld. This one is targeting My Client Center accounts, which are accounts that have control and access to multiple AdWords accounts. So if someone gains access to a My Client Center - Don't Search Google for 123456
A Google Web Search Help thread reports that he was testing to make sure his boss's computer network had connectivity, so he searched for [123456] in Google and up came a porn video hosted on Google Video in the top result. Here is a picture: The video on the right is complete adult pornographic material - so don't click on it (unless you want porn, then click on it). The person who spotted this was - Google Tells AdSense Publishers, Your Earnings are "Estimated"
Yesterday at about 3:30pm (EST) Google changed the AdSense console overview page to show the word "estimated" by "Today's Earnings." So now it reads, "Today's estimated earnings" instead of just "Today's earnings." A WebmasterWorld thread was started to ask questions about this change, and then the Google AdSense Blog confirmed the change. Here is a picture highlighting the change: Google explained: In order to be more transparent about how our system calculates earnings, we've added - Job Applicants, Google AdSense Can't Be Used As a Job Reference
A person seeking new employment asked in a WebmasterWorld thread if he can use Google as a reference for his interviews. Why does he feel he might be able to use Google in this way? Well, he never really worked as a Google employee, but he did get checks from Google via their AdSense program. AdSenseAdvisor, from Google said: I love that AdSense has been your primary source of income. Sadly, I don't personally know
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- Bing and 301 redirect delays, WebmasterWorld
- EBay Took Craigslist Stake In Part To Block Google: exec, WebmasterWorld
- Starting A New In House Search Marketing Job, Sphinn
- What if Google was a woman?, DigitalPoint Forums
- Yahoo Redirecting to Wrong Site, WebmasterWorld
- 10 SEO Blogs Accepting Guest Posts : Promote Your SEO Knowledge, Sphinn
- Cheap SEO For £75/£150 Per Month Is Way Too Expensive, Sphinn
- Clone site outranking original in Google SERPs, WebmasterWorld
- How Does Google Determine What Queries Return Real-Time Search Results?, Google Web Search Help
- How To Use Geo Targeting To Improve AdWords Quality Score, Sphinn
- Is submitting a google news sitemap mandatory, Google News Help
- Links in Google Maps embedded with iframe no longer open in parent window, Google Maps Help
- New adCenter Desktop (still Beta) and, WebmasterWorld
- New articles not appearing on Google News, Google News Help
- New Version of AdWords API in Python, AdWords API Forum
- Who is in charge of the former Google Answers Researcher (GAR) AdSense Ads?, Google AdSense Help
- Yahoo Japan algo update?, WebmasterWorld
