Google is currently in talks with the Massachusetts-based software company ITA. The transaction could cost Google upwards of $1 billion. Bloomberg’s source noted that, though they are currently discussing plans for a buyout, the negotiations have not been finalized yet.

ITA is a developer of flight software that helps users make online travel arrangements. Its software is currently used by Orbitz, Microsoft, and several other airlines.

“Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information, and ITA does that for travel,” Henry Harteveldt, an analyst at Forrester Research in San Francisco, told Bloomberg.

The takeover could have serious ramifications for travel search engine optimization(SEO). The digital marketing firm Efficient Frontier found that Bing was making serious gains in the travel sector – in 2009, Bing increased its travel sector market share by 160 percent. Microsoft currently uses ITA for Bing’s travel search engine. The travel sector generated $88.4 billion last year, according to Bloomberg.

Last Thursday, Apple unveiled a new software update for the iPhone, iPhone 4.0 OS. One change that SearchEngineLand.com reported was that the Google search button in the iPhone mobile web browser was replaced by a generic search button. The search still goes through Google, but SearchEngineLand.com speculates that this could mean that Apple is looking to break away from Google in the update’s final release, which could have huge ramifications for search engine optimization (SEO).

Google and Apple have been on less-than-friendly terms ever since Google entered the smartphone market with the Android. By using Google as their default mobile search engine, Apple has allowed Google access to iPhone users’ search statistics and preferences, which could potentially be used to further the development of the Android.

Dropping Google for another search engine wouldn’t necessarily help Apple, though. Bing and Yahoo, the two leading search engine competitors of Google, are both tied to Microsoft, which also has a competing smartphone. Analysts have predicted that Apple will create its own search engine so it doesn’t have to rely on competitors, but that could take a few years to develop.

The company said that its new feature would provide “data on how ‘upper-funnel’ keywords are assisting conversions before the last click. It also enhances basic conversion reporting for AdWords.” Google also noted that Google Analytics users would be able to import data from those accounts for use with search funnels.

Barry Schwartz at Search Engine Land reported that “until now, Google would only show you the last keywords that led to a conversion. In many cases, searchers will go through a searching process that includes research that might not lead to an immediate sale but may assist in a sale after a few more searches.”

Such a tool, as useful as it undoubtedly is for paid search marketers, is unlikely to be offered to natural search engine optimization (SEO) professionals anytime in the near future, due to concerns about privacy and security, according to Schwartz.

You will notice that the Golf Club at Boulder Ridge is highlighting photos.  This is just one of the many options that Google allows you to choose to highlight.

Google says that you can use any of the following enhancements to jazz up your listing.

• Website for your business.
• Photos of your business.
• Videos of your business.
• Coupons for your listing.
• Menu for your restaurant.
• Reservations page for your business.
• Driving directions to your business.

“The enhancement types you can select depend on what information you already have available in your business listing. If you want to highlight a video, for example, you’ll first need to add a video to your business listing. Once you’ve done that, the option will show up in the menu for your enhancement types.”

There is a $25 monthly fee that gets paid to Google to create an enhanced listing for your local company.  There are no bids or keywords to optimize for either.

The Burlison Law Firm chose to highlight some of their videos, in order to persuade the viewer to click the link.

Not only does your listing get highlight next to where you appear in the maps, but you also get a nice icon to accompany the map its self.  This should improve the click through rate of your listing since it is a way to separate your map listing from your competition’s.

Sterling writes that this could put the search giant into direct competition with VoIP market leader Skype, which boasts a worldwide user base of 480 million people. Search engine optimization (SEO) professionals must monitor Google’s move into the VoIP market closely, to ascertain what sort of SEO opportunities present themselves once Google Voice goes public.

Google already offers a Goog-411 service, effectively extending parts of its search functionality onto the mobile platform. This, coupled with the increasingly rapid adoption of Google’s Android cell phone OS, could give the company a solid bridgehead into the mobile market, creating new fields of opportunity for search engine optimization (SEO).

In another article about Google Voice, Sterling notes that consumer privacy advocates are troubled by the further expansion of Google’s data indexing, saying that the extent of the data collection raises questions about the security of personal information.

Simply put, as Google’s Local listings get more advanced with algorithmic changes the map muddlers  keep finding ways to temporarily beat the system.  Don’t worry about them, their listings won’t survive for ever.  I have compiled some local map spam screen-shots so everyone out there can attempt to spot and report these bogus listings.

Keyword research, strategic planning, and a careful eye kept on web development tools are all part of the game for web designers hoping to successfully integrate search engine optimization (SEO) into their project, according to Eric Enge of Search Engine Watch. Enge also warns prospective webmasters that sites with effective SEO will require large quantities of quality content, or at the very least, smaller quantities of superlative content.

Enge recommends that two basic questions be answered before any work is done on a new or revamped website: First, what is the purpose of the website? And how does the firm that owns the website plan to market it? Poorly-planned and optimized sites are one potential consequence of a failure to answer these questions, according to Enge.

Search giant Google recently released an array of helpful tools for web developers, which could ease web design and make for more effective search engine optimization (SEO).

Resources:

Google Webmaster Tools

Google said that the acquisition would help the Internet search company to speed up efforts to develop more effective tools for creating and placing mobile ads on smartphones and other devices, a small but rapidly expanding market.

“We see mobile as a huge growth opportunity for us,” Susan Wojcicki, vice president of product management at Google, said in an interview. “We see an opportunity working with AdMob to really accelerate our efforts in an important industry for Google.”

The all-stock deal is modest for Google, given its roughly $177 billion market value. But it is the third-largest in its history, behind the $3.1 billion deal for the advertising specialist DoubleClick and the $1.65 billion acquisition of YouTube.

Ms. Wojcicki said AdMob, which specializes in placing banner ads on mobile phones, would help cement Google’s forays in display advertising, an area where it has lagged rivals like Yahoo.

As Google’s core business of selling text ads has been slowing, the company has been looking for new areas to expand. In particular, Google is hoping to replicate its success in selling Web ads in the mobile arena. Google, which already sells ads on mobile phones, offers a wide variety of mobile phone applications and makes the Android software that some handset makers use to power their phones.

Smartphones, like the iPhone and Android devices, represent a disproportionate amount of the company’s mobile business so far.

Founded in 2006, AdMob calls itself the “world’s largest mobile advertising marketplace.” The company, which has received $47 million in financing from venture capitalists and other investors, refused to disclose its revenue. But Omar Hamoui, the company’s founder and chief executive, said that sales had more than doubled in the last year. The company’s headquarters are in San Mateo, Calif., not far from Google’s. It employs about 140 people.

Google said it hoped to close the acquisition in the next several months. Ms. Wojcicki said she expected the acquisition would be approved by regulators.

“We would not be surprised if there is some regulatory review,” she said. “We think that mobile advertising is a very competitive area and we don’t see a lot of regulatory concerns.”

Source:

• The New York Times

Social Search – The Basics.

What is social search? For many this is a fairly new concept. Just a few short years ago, search itself was developed to access content easily. Search was effective and efficient and in light of its importance; search optimization at that time was pretty bland. Optimize your web property, setup your keyword list, markup and test ad copy, rinse repeat.

Now search has become much more…strategic. Honestly, without a well thought out search plan, it will be extremely difficult to succeed in the social search world. If you have a well thought out, integrated strategy in place your chances of success will increase dramatically.

Search has moved from a study in two dimensions (paid and organic) to a discipline with at least five or more activities (paid or organic search, video, Twitter, Facebook, and other social tools). With the addition of social networks, another set of dimensions come into play. These networks are driven by content development or client relationships.

Video Search

Frequently we hear that YouTube is the number two search engine. Sure that makes sense, considering the size and diversity of its massive content library, and the rate at which it expands. What’s even more interesting is the content that users are searching for.

Will you create videos that help consumers find and inform of your product? Create viral content videos that will ideally get passed along? Can you do both?

Twitter and Search

The recent PR surrounding the announcement that Google and Bing will be indexing tweets in search results should come as no surprise to anyone. To compete here means you must have a twitter strategy in place

If Google could be teaming with tweets about you or your product, then being involved on Twitter just got moved to the top of the to do list.

The Social Graph and Search

Similar to Twitter search, but highly more encompassing, is the broader category of social search: Social Search is Google Labs newest experiment. Your social graph is defined as the social networks you add to your Google profile. This should be interesting to see how this plays out in the coming months.