WebProNews

Duplicate Content on Google, Bing & Yahoo

Duplicate content is a common occurrence on the web and in many cases can hurt search engine rankings. While the search engines may not always technically penalize webmasters for duplicate content, there are still a lot of ways it can hurt. WebProNews is covering the Search Marketing Expo (SMX) East in New York, where representatives from the three major search engines (Google, Yahoo, and Bing) discussed how their respective web properties handle duplicate content issues. Following are some takeaways from each.

R.I.P. GeoCities: A Community is Killed

Yahoo has officially shut down Geocities.The company has said that it did not count the property among its priorities, so it is simply getting rid of it. Yahoo has shut down about 20 services in less than a year.

Yahoo Settles Mary Kay Trademark Infringement Suit

It looks like some lawyers representing cosmetics giant Mary Kay have removed their figurative war paint.  In early July, Mary Kay sued Yahoo, alleging trademark infringement, but not long ago, Yahoo was able to settle the case.

Yahoo Challenges YouTube On Music Video Front

Watching music videos on YouTube can be an annoying process insofar as, when you search for an artist's name or album's title, you're sure to be shown all sorts of unorganized results and amateurs' covers.  But today, Yahoo tried to make sure no one has the same problem when using one of its services.

Microsoft, Yahoo May Extend Partnership Outside The U.S.

Microsoft's CEO isn't getting ahead of himself; for the time being, Steve Ballmer's taking a "first things first" approach.  However, he indicated today that if the proposed U.S.-only Microsoft-Yahoo search partnership goes through, an international agreement may follow.

Facebook/Twitter Use May Now Mean More for Google/Bing Rankings

Disclaimer: This article was originally written before Google made its announcement, and has been updated to reflect that. Google and Microsoft have both inked deals with Twitter and Microsoft has also inked one with Facebook to integrate Twitter and Facebook updates into Bing search results. Google will be adding tweets to search results.

Google Top Search Engine In The Asia-Pacific Region

Internet users in the Asia-Pacific region conducted a record 38.6 billion searches in September, with searchers averaging nearly 88 queries per person, according to a new report from comScore. Google sites ranked as the top search destination with nearly 17 billion searches on its sites during the month, representing a 44.1 percent share of all searches in the region. Baidu landed in the second spot with 8.2 billion searches (21.3% share), while Yahoo sites ranked third with 5.3 billion searches (13.8% share).

Yahoo Real-Time Search Test May Be Days Away

A little more information regarding Yahoo's take on real-time search has emerged, and the details - scarce as they are - sound encouraging.  Another key point is that public testing of the real-time search feature may be just a few days away. As we've said before, real-time search will be a tricky thing for Yahoo.  Google and Facebook have already made their first efforts in this field, and their partner - Twitter - has a rather higher profile than Yahoo's pal, OneRiot.

10 Reasons Social Media isn't Replacing Email

Update: VerticalResponse CEO Janine Popick has written a separate piece adding 10 more reasons.

Yahoo Signs Mobile Search Deal With O2 Germany

More than 15 million Germans should now have a little additional Yahoo in their lives.  Yahoo's signed a mobile search deal with O2 Germany, and the American company's search engine and a number of other services are getting promoted as a result.