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A month ago, LinkedIn unveiled its new search platform. Now they’re rolling it out to their 31 million users.

Here’s what you can look forward to in the new search platform:

Suggestive Search - When you type into the search box, a list of suggested names from your contacts pops up. You can select one of the names without having to type in the whole thing. I think this might come in handy when you’re having a hard time remembering a name. Maybe you remember the first letter or the first name, but the rest of it just isn’t coming to you - this can help.

Streamlined Search Results - LinkedIn changed the design to make it easier to scan the results. They also added photos. Results can be sorted by relevance, which includes the social graph, or by relationship, relationship + recommendations, and keyword.

Customizable Views Users can determine what info they want returned in their search results. Just click the “Views” drop down menu (next to the “Sort” drop down menu at the top of the results). You can decide whether you want to view headlines, photos, locations and more of the people returned in a search.

Take Action Straight from the Search Results When you mouse over a result, you’ll notice links that let you take action. You can send InMail, get introduced (through a common contact), or add that person to your network.

Modify Your Search On the right hand side of the results, you’ll notice a form where you can type in additional information to narrow your search down and pinpoint it to more exact specifications. You can search by name, job title, company location, and school.

Save Your Search If you want to return to the results, you can save your search. This is a good idea if you’ve modified your search or customized your view.

Check out this video to get a good visual for all of the above:

Of course, you’ll need to be signed in to LinkedIn to take advantage of all the features in the new platform. Not LinkedIn yet? Our own Carrie Hill explained why you need to be in her article, Small Business Owners Need Twitter and LinkedIn.

Head over to LinkedIn and give the new search a test drive. Then come back and let us know what you think in the comments.

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Google Toolbar 5 for IE was recently released, and it includes an update to its News feature. Now, a drop down box includes tabs for 5 news niches: Top Stories, U.S., World, Entertainment, and Science/Technology.

You can check the headlines without leaving the page you’re currently browsing or click a link to read more about a news item you’re interested in.

Here’s a screenshot:

Related Reading:
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Google Site Search Integrated with Adobe Community Help

hakia is jumping on the personalized search page bandwagon with My hakia. Users can customize several dynamic content features including:

• News search
• News headlines
• PubMed search
• Wikipedia
• YouTube videos
• Cartoons

Here’s a screenshot:

Related Reading:
hakia Calls for Librarians to Contribute Credible Web Sources
hakia Comments on Leveraging Yahoo’s BOSS
Semantic Search Engine hakia Launches Syndication Web Services

Earlier this week, comScore released the results of a study examining recent changes in consumer attitudes and perceptions about the state of the U.S. economy. The study found that consumers in all income segments are cutting back on spending due to concerns about the economy, and that they were doing so to an even greater extent in July 2008 than in April 2008.

So, what does this mean for search engine marketers?

Many consumers have become increasingly cost conscious and are turning to the Internet for pricing information. The survey findings revealed that nearly three out of four consumers believe the Internet has made it “a lot easier” or “somewhat easier” to find better, more useful pricing information.

In addition, 75 percent of respondents said that they believe the Internet will become an even more important channel for pricing information, with 41 percent of respondents saying it will be “a lot more important” and 34 percent of respondents saying it will be “somewhat more important” in the future.

Do you need some examples to drive this point home?

In New York, Andrew Jeffery of Minyanville.com reports, “It appears the city that never sleeps has finally succumbed to the economic slowdown, and it’s not just the neon “Recession Special” sign outside Gray’s Papaya.”

In San Francisco, Liza Zimmerman of the S.F. Wine & Cocktail Examiner reviews a “Recession special: the Viansa 2007 Dolcetto is another well-executed example of using classic Mediterranean grapes on California soil.”

When Hyundai asked the Complex Blog to review their first Genesis offering touching down in the states, the company best known for econo-boxes “threw Complex the keys and we took this recession special for a ride.”

But wait! There’s more!

Go to the Rates and Registration Details page for SES Chicago 2008. Just like last year, there is an Early Bird Rate that enables you to save $200 if you register before November 21. But, unlike last year, there is also a “Recession Special,” which lets you save $600 if you register before September 26.

And if you want to appear as “sartorially challenged” as one SEM industry observer said “the brains of Search Engine Marketing and Search Engine Optimization are,” then turn up at SES Chicago wearing the “Recession Special Shirt” being offered by Ten Deep at Turntablelab.com. According to the review, “Nothing like a nice, timely shirt that reflects things going on in today’s headlines.”

Of course, wearing such a shirt violates the dress code in the SES Speaker Guidelines, which states: “Business casual attire is recommended. Formal business attire is perfectly fine. If in doubt, overdress. You won’t feel out of place, as many speakers will also be in formal attire. How you look has an impact on how well the audience receives your presentation.”

It’s a classic dilemna for marketers: Follow the guidelines or take advantage of today’s headlines. What would I recommend? I’d advise you to jump on the “recession special” to save $600, but skip over the shirt. But, I should disclose that SES is a client. If you want to take more of a fashion risk, that’s a decision that you’ll have to make for yourself.

Today we just setup and launched RSS feeds that users can create based on the author of the article.  So you can stay informed when an author publishes a new article - instantly.
These feeds go along with the existing category feeds and keyword feeds that were already setup and running.
To subscribe to an author simply [...]

In the midst of a proxy board fight, new negotiations with Microsoft, and a possible deal with Google, Yahoo has made updates to its sponsored search listings. In an announcement on the Yahoo! Search Marketing blog, Jeff Hecox said the changes wouldn’t make “worldwide headlines” but they designed the changes to be more intuitive to users.

Here’s what to expect:

• Names of objects (campaign, ad group, keyword, etc.) that are offline will be displayed with red text for easy recognition.
• “Top Campaigns” and “Watched Campaigns” tables on the Dashboard page now include a “Status” column to help you identify if and why any campaigns are offline.
• On the “Campaigns” page, there’s a new “Status” column, the ability to filter by “Status” when using the Advanced Search function, and the “Campaign On/Off” button have been replaced with individual “Pause” and “Unpause” buttons.
• On the Ads table On Ad Group pages, a “Status” column has been added and “Pause” and “Unpause” buttons have replaced “Campaign On/Off” button on the Ads table.
• New status settings have been added on the Search page, under the Campaigns tab.
• The ability to export (using the “Download” button) account information has been added to account-level Ad Group and Keyword pages, under the Campaigns tab.

What do you think about the updates to Yahoo’s Sponsored Search? Leave a comment!

Windows Live Search has added a News component, according to a report by CNet’s News.com blog. A meme tracker design has been employed for the front page of the news section. (If you don’t know what a meme tracker is, check out Techmeme.com or Megite.com).

Also on the front page is a search box and an aggregate of local news in a sidebar to the right. Scroll down just below the fold and you’ll find a row of news videos from mainstream media sites such as USA Today, AP Video, Reuters Video and Fox News.

When conducting a search, the results page loses its meme tracker feel. There’s a listing of headlines with the first paragraphs of the stories. Thumbnail photos with stories accompany the articles in the listings.

On the sidebar of search results are options to refine the search geographically or conduct recommended related searches.

Like Google news, there are no ads on either the home page or search results page.

There’s no official word yet from the Live Search blog. The feature comes a week after the release of updates to Live Search Maps and Virtual Earth 3D.

Want a snapshot of the day’s search marketing news? Here we’ve collected today’s top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• We May Not Want Standards But FTC May Give Us Some
  The standards debate may be in full swing in our industry - but the decisions may be soon taken out of our hands if the FTC continues to define allowable advertising practices.
• Yahoo Execs Bad Mouthing AOL!
  Guess Yahoo does not want to partner with anyone these days… well apart from their biggest competitor Google.
• AdWords Launches New Conversion Tracking Tool
  A new update to AdWords tracking has been reported by the guys over at AccuraCast. Seems they have improved the conversion tracking allowing users to separate different things to track to conversion.
• As Wifi expands, local and mobile search continue to emerge
  Lately, there have been a swarm of announcements regarding Wifi coming to some previously unconnected spots. So what does this mean for Search Engine Marketers?
• Microsoft Updates Live Maps and Virtual Earth 3D
  Microsoft has announced 11 major updates to their Live Maps and Virtual Earth 3D.
• Trellian Acquires Addme.com
  Trellian, the company behind SEO Toolkit and Keyword Discovery, has announced its acquisition of SEO tools provider Addme.com.
• SEW Experts: Standards? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Standards!
  We don’t need SEO standards to define our operation for us; we simply need to hold ourselves to a higher standard of business.
• SEW Experts: SEM Tools of the Experts
  There are a variety of SEM tools available to search marketers. You should be able to find something to fit every need, and every style.
• SEW Experts: Think Universal, Act Local
  Much of the discussion around Universal search, or blended search, focuses on video and images. But local search may be a more important factor; one that has the greatest impact in blended search results.

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Want a snapshot of the day’s search marketing news? Here we’ve collected today’s top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• News Flash: A Google Product Came Out of Beta!
  Google has announced that its AdWords API is out of beta.
• European Group Wants to Cut Search Engine Data Storage
  Almost a month after the EU approved Google’s DoubleClick acquisition, officials from 27 EU nations have unanimously adopted a proposal that could force search engines to reduce the amount of time they store personal information.
• The Offline Benefits of Online Advertising
  The offline effects of online advertising has been a curious issue in the search engine marketing industry over the years. But according to published reports, new study conducted by comScore is shedding more light on the issue.
• Yahoo Unveils Details of New AMP Advertising Platform
  In the midst of firmly responding to Microsoft’s ultimatum, Yahoo has released details of the new AMP advertising platform.
• Yahoo to Microsoft: We Already Dumped You
  After Microsoft issued its ultimatum to Yahoo this weekend, giving them three more weeks before things get ugly, Yahoo’s board of directors responded this morning, reminding Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer that it already rejected Microsoft’s offer, and Yahoo still thinks Microsoft’s offer is too low.
• Microsoft Gets Tired of Waiting
  Microsoft is apparently tired of waiting for Yahoo to respond to its unsolicited takeover bid, and has issued a deadline of April 26 for Yahoo to come to terms on an acquisition agreement, or face a hostile takeover.
• SEW Experts: A Look at Demographic Bidding for AdWords
  Google’s new demographic bidding for content campaigns seems to promise much better control over where ads are served, and hence better ROI.
• How to (Actually) Earn Money (Now) with Social Media (Really): Part 2
  Short term financial success in social media can be a multi-layered enigma, ranging somewhere between daunting and infuriating.
• HackerSafe & The Power of Trust
  There are no universal truths about what to test on a landing page. However, there are common themes that work well across a range of industries. One of these is the use of trust and credibility indicators.

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