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:
Video Recap of Weekly Search Buzz :: January 27, 2012
Busy week in search this week - with Google confirming a Panda update, which I labeled 3.2. Bing seems to really love regional sites in their regional indexes. Google added a bunch of new features to Webmaster Tools...
Pay To Get Business Photos In Google Places With Trusted Photographers
Back in May, Google launched Google Business Photos to help businesses make their Google Places listings more attractive by showing off the inside of your stores.
Google said their has been such high demand that they
Google Users Don't Seem Upset With New Privacy Policy
Google announced a new privacy policy earlier this week that goes into effect in about a month. The news sites and stations are having a field day with it - covering how "evil" it is. In fact...
Bug: pubCenter Payments Marked As Undeliverable
There are several reports in the Microsoft Advertising Forum that publishers think they are not going to be paid because the payment area shows their payments as "undeliverable."
These publishers use Microsoft pubCenter to monetize their sites and applications...
Google's Brick Desk
About 6 months ago, when we started looking for new office space, the idea of making our entry area out of all bricks came to mind, including the front desk. Avinash Kaushik posted pictures of Google
Busy week in search this week - with Google confirming a Panda update, which I labeled 3.2. Bing seems to really love regional sites in their regional indexes. Google added a bunch of new features to Webmaster Tools, from testing sitemaps, new reports for sitemaps, a new definition for "average" position in the reports and new and improved download options. Google also added a spam report form for rich snippet spamming. I asked a question that got me in trouble, I asked, is on page SEO dead. Google added public alerts to Google Maps. Microsoft pubCenter has a bug where it shows some payments as undeliverable. Google has a new consolidated privacy policy, but it does look scary. Will the privacy policy lead to people canceling their Google accounts? I doubt it. That was this week in search at the Search Engine Roundtable.
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Back in May, Google launched Google Business Photos to help businesses make their Google Places listings more attractive by showing off the inside of your stores.
Google said their has been such high demand that they have decided to open up a new program to let any business participate at a fee.
Google now lists trusted photographers in many locations around America where you can call them and schedule an appointment. But you have to pay the photographers and negotiate the price with them. These are not Googlers, they are third party photographers that Google "trusts."
Several photographers want to know how they can get on the list of trusted photographers. The way to do that is to fill out this form and wait.
Google added:
This self-serve model makes for easier scheduling and quicker turnaround, while also supporting the local photographers in your community. During the hour it should take for the shoot, you can collaborate with the photographer about how best to display and capture your business. When finished, the photographer will upload the images to Google, and shortly thereafter, youâll see 360-degree panoramic views of your business on Google.com, Google Maps and on your Google Places listing.
Google announced a new privacy policy earlier this week that goes into effect in about a month. The news sites and stations are having a field day with it - covering how "evil" it is. In fact, I just saw something on the local news with my wife about it and it was pretty serious.
But outside of all the news coverage and bloggers acting very upset with Google about it - are Google users all that upset?
The Washington Post ran a poll for their users asking if you will cancel your Google account and 65% currently are saying yes.
As Chris Sherman notes that the "picture isn't so clear." He looks at Google suggestions to see if people are searching on how to cancel their accounts and it appears not.
I checked the the Google Web Search Help forum and there are barely any complaints. Which I find to be a really good indicator if the actual user is upset or not. I actually found a single complaint in the Google Web Search Help forum - that is it.
So are Google searchers really upset? Maybe they aren't fully aware? I would be surprised by that. Google is blasting the news on every page a Google user visits. The news and media are plastering the evil nature of this everywhere. How can they not be aware? Maybe I don't give the Google user enough credit. :)
There are several reports in the Microsoft Advertising Forum that publishers think they are not going to be paid because the payment area shows their payments as "undeliverable."
These publishers use Microsoft pubCenter to monetize their sites and applications. pubCenter is Microsoft's version of Google AdSense.
Do not worry, says Microsoft representative Ricky Poole, this is just a user interface bug and you will be paid in time. Ricky Poole said:
We are aware payments are showing as undeliverable within the pubCenter UI for most of our international developers; this is unfortunately an error within the UI. If your account has been processed successfully for payment, you should see this reflected in your selected payout method by Friday, February 3, 2012. If after this time, you do not see the payout come through to you, please contact psupport@microsoft.com with your account number to determine if there are additional items needed to validate your payment methods.
It is our goal to provide you with clear guidance and information as we work to enhance our platform. We appreciate your feedback on how we can work together to create a positive, sustainable monetization experience.
Thank you and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
So if you see this - relax and be patient and you should get the money due to you.
Back in May, Google launched 
Google announced a 
There are several reports in the