Microhoo Clears Regulatory Hurdles

Combined Bing-Yahoo! Search Partnership Live by December

It certainly took a little time.  But all the bureaucratic issues have been resolved.  Microsoft and Yahoo! have now received regulatory clearance to form the Yahoo! and Microsoft Search Alliance in the United States and European Union.  What this means, essentially, is that Microsoft’s Bing search engine results will combine in some form with Yahoo’s, and the pay-per-click advertising platform for both engines will be powered by Microsoft’s adCenter.

Though Yahoo’s spin on what comes next seems slightly different from Microsoft’s, there is some agreement on the fundamentals.

According to the official Microsoft announcement, after the Yahoo! and Microsoft Search Alliance is implemented, you will:

Reach more potential customers. Search ad inventory from both the Yahoo! and Microsoft networks will be joined in a new, unified search marketplace powered by Bing, with a combined audience of over…

Predictions for 2010

(Because They’re Just Too Fun To Pass Up!)

With each new year, prognosticators the world over engage in the age-old sport of predicting the next big trends.  While some have a better record than others, it’s always fun to see what might happen and how it will impact both business and consumers.

So, just for the fun of it, here’s a small round-up of excerpted predictions for 2010.

Five Tech Trends from The New York Times Bits Blog:

1. A Third Wave of Mobile

In 2009 we saw the explosion of both app stores and applications for the iPhone and newer entrants such as the Droid. In 2010, expect to see a range of new external appliances for mobile smart phones that extend their utility.  Exhibit A: Square, a device that plugs into an iPhone audio port and turns it…

Google Social Search is Live

Social Graph Content in Search Results

Moving quickly to capitalize on its growing relationship with Twitter, Google is now publicly testing a new search feature called Social Search.  Available now via Google Labs, Social Search triangulates your contacts in your Gmail chat buddies, your Gmail contacts friends, family and co-worker groups, and people you’re publicly connected to on other social sites (such as Twitter and FriendFeed), which Google calls your Social Circle, to find social media those folks may have produced that relates to your search query.

In a blog post at Google Labs, Google’s Matt Cutts says you should login and do a search:

If there’s relevant web content written by people in your social circle, it will automatically show up at the bottom of your search results under a section called “Results from people in your…

Facebook, Google to Add Music

Naming that Tune Gets a Lot Easier

The New York Times Bits blog (see our blog roll on the right) said it has inside scoop that Google will announce a new music service next week in L.A.  They report:

Several reports today indicate that Google is set to introduce a music service at an event at the iconic Capitol Records building in Hollywood on Oct. 28. The service, we’ve confirmed from three people briefed on the details, will offer searchers a better way to find and sample music on Google — much in the same way people can get detailed financial information about a company from Google Finance.

According to this and other reports, Google is teaming up with iLike (which is owned by MySpace, which, in turn, is owned by Fox/News Corp.), Lala and Imeem.  For folks who search…

Getting into the Google 10-Pack

SES Show Update and Three 10-Pack Strategies

We’ve been at Search Engine Strategies–San Jose since Tuesday. The themes we’re hearing repeatedly: mobile is going to be huge, review sites are going to be huger, and social media is now part and parcel of the SEO / search fabric.

Because we love you, our small and mid-sized business customers, we attended the session, “Search Engine Optimization on a Dime,” and pricked-up our ears when we heard this stat from David Mihm, Director and COO of GetListed.org: more than 40% of all searches had a local (or geographic) intent.

What was eye-opening was his statement that Google sees potentially 500 million local searches per month! (No one is quite sure of the exact number.)

Local search is when someone uses a search phrase, such as “plumbers” plus a city, region, or…

Microsoft & Yahoo: Live Together or Die Alone

Our Analysis of the Deal, Potential Impacts

The day has finally arrived.  Microsoft and Yahoo have figured out how to partner together.  And, it was all done under the unparalleled scrutiny of incessant press and blogger coverage.  Congratulations to Steve Ballmer and Carol Bartz.  You get an A+ for persistence.

There are a lot of purists and contrarians criticizing Yahoo for entering into this agreement, most of which presumes a loss of entrepreneurship, innovation and competitive advantage.  However, let’s set the story straight.  Yahoo has been struggling in the search marketplace for quite some time.  They have seen their market share erode and have not shown any signs of turning that around.  Google, through their simple user interface and continuous innovation, has claimed the search marketplace as its own.

What options were left for Yahoo?  Dethroning the market…