Google's Record Year; Yahoo Worth 'Less Than Nothing' & More Search News

David Lawee, head of Google’s M&A group, is on track to close a deal every two weeks on average, in Google’s most deal-heavy year ever. With threats from Apple and Facebook, Google has targeted video, mobile and social networking companies.

“How much do you think we would sell Android for today? I would argue it would be in the billions and billions of dollars, it’s worth a lot of money. The same of YouTube,” he told Reuters.

Business Insider also posted a chart showing that Google has bought more companies than ever this year:

Bartz Defends Yahoo

After Yahoo’s core business was deemed worth “less than nothing” by ThinkEquity analyst Aaron Kessler, CEO Carol Bartz made her case to Wall Street yesterday afternoon, seeking more time from investors.

Bartz conceded that their 40 percent stake in Alibaba “tower[s] over the value of Yahoo,” downplayed the recent loss of several execs, blamed Facebook for lost Yahoo Mail usage, said there was “nobody to buy” to increase revenues, said “our real competitor is TV,” noted that Google has four times the research and development budget of Yahoo, said there is no dividend in the future, and the rev per search should increase in 2011.

Here’s a roundup of this morning’s other top search headlines and tips from around the Web, sorted by category.

Search Industry

Taking rogue pharmacies to court – Official Google Blog
Google yesterday filed a civil lawsuit in federal court against advertisers they believe have deliberately broken Google’s advertising rules by illegally marketing pharmaceuticals. Google hopes this will act a deterrent to any publishers. More “rogue pharmacies” could be added later to the suit.

Shades of red, shades of blue: mapping midterm election ratings – Official Google Blog
Google partners with some of the top names in politics — Cook, Rothenberg, CQ-Roll Call, and RealClearPolitics — to make it easier to track the 2010 U.S. Election Ratings. http://maps.google.com/intl/en_us/2010election/ratings.html.

Google News turns 8 amid news industry in flux – CNET News
Google News was created Sept. 22, 2002. A look at tweaks through the years, how personalization and social input is changing Google News, and issues that need to be addressed, including news spam and content farms.

Hey, what happened to Google Editions? – CNET News
Google was expected to begin selling digital books by June/July, but it never materialized. Still no firm date on when to expect it, but Google spokesperson says sometime “later this year.”

A more fontastic Google Docs – Google Docs Blog
Google documents now supports web fonts (using the Google Font API) and announces six new fonts.

Search Engine Optimization

Can Google Detect an Affiliate Website – Michael Gray
Use Sitonomy, a free tool, to check your most important pages and see if it is able to find affiliate links.

3 Creative Ways To Drive More Traffic To Old Blog Posts – Search Engine Journal
Optimize for relevant keywords that are driving traffic to your site, hide signs of old age on your posts (post dates, old comments/trackbacks, and dated references), and consider making your old post titles to include terms or phrases people will search for.

Search Advertising

Google Campaign to Build Up Its Display Ads – The New York Times
Google is erecting a touchable, low-standing billboard in Times Square that will show videos about its display advertising business.

Some IE Users Experiencing Bugs With AdSense Ads – Search Engine Roundtable
Users get “Internet Explorer Cannot Open Internet Site” message.

New My Client Center features: email notifications and custom alerts – Inside AdWords

Strengthen your advertising strategies with the Train & Gain challenge – Inside AdWords

Top tips for partners: Words, Words, Words!! – YouTube Blog

Travel CPCs Up In August, as Others Fall – ClickZ
U.S. average search CPC by category for July and August 2010, according to Efficient Frontier

Analytics & ROI

Yahoo Web Analytics: Segmentation Made Easy – Yahoo Web Analytics Blog
Guide on how to figure out who your audience is — with demographic, geographic, and interest group data — and how to use that data to create content and advertising.

Social Media Marketing

Facebook Study: Post a Coupon in the Morning – ClickZ
Recession-minded consumers are highly engaged by coupons and other specials.

Twitter To Serve Targeted Promoted Tweets Based On Who You Follow – TechCrunch
Twitter now allows advertisers to serve Promoted Tweets based on the people/brands Twitter users are following.

3 Reasons Why New Twitter Means a Profitable Twitter – ClickZ
What Twitter’s redesign means for consumers, advertisers, and Twitter.

Mobile Social Marketing: BBF 4evr – ClickZ
With the ability to integrate Facebook and Twitter with just about everything, are social networks poised to be the next giant in the mobile space?

Local & Mobile Search

Updated Gmail app in Android Market – Google Mobile Blog
Gmail updates aren’t tied to Android version releases anymore. Overview of changes, including improved message replies, access to quoted text, message actions now stick to the top of the screen, and limited support for Priority Inbox.

Why You Should Avoid Deleting Your Google Maps Listing – Search Engine Roundtable
“If you have any decent positions in search results, this is most likely thanks to sources outside of your listing. By deleting the listing, these will disappear.”

Google Begins Calling Businesses To Confirm Map Information? – Search Engine Roundtable
Business owner receives a call from someone claiming to work at Google, asking to confirm that his business’s address hasn’t changed. Scam or legit?

International Search

Social recommendations can revolutionise online advertising, says Google – Telegraph
Companies need to embrace social media, just as their customers have done, says Benjamin Faes, EMEA head of YouTube and display at Google.

Location-Based Advertising – Marketing’s Best Kept Secret – ClickZ
With Facebook Places rolling out in Japan, U.S., and U.K., it’s time to explore location-based advertising opportunities in Asia.

Live From Hong Kong! – Is Your SEO Content Ready to Go Global? – ClickZ
When localizing content for an international audience, be sure to consider your customer’s language, the use of jargon, and correct spelling.

Holiday Preparation Series: Travel PPC Insights and Optimization Tips (U.K. Market) – adCenter Blog

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