David Mihm noted that Google Maps listings for businesses now include overlays asking if they are still operating, in the case of unclaimed or Places pages that may no longer be operating. Interesting they do not have a program to check if 0the phone number is working. But this method of having users provide the answers is not a new one for Google and its new CEO Larry Page who decided to create a forum for users to help one another instead of manning help stations

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Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today…

The Friday prior to Mother’s Day, the New York Times reported on the flower industry and link buying. The article titled “Trying to Game Google on ‘Mother’s Day Flowers’” was another in what now seems to be a regular column on major advertisers also using ‘black hat’ methods to game Google. JC Penney’s and Overstock had been previously investigated by the New York Times for their link building methods.

Google’s YouTube today announced plans to add around 3,000 movies for on-demand rental on its service, effectively declaring its intention to compete with Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu. While YouTube has largely been known for quirky independent fare, the new content will include well-known… Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article

Here’s a roundup of today’s other search news and headlines from around the web. Click to read the rest of this post…

Google has announced a trio of updates to Goggles, its visual search tool that analyzes mobile photos and provides (hopefully) matching search results/information about the image.

Google has announced a trio of updates to Goggles, its visual search tool that analyzes mobile photos and provides (hopefully) matching search results/information about the image. Since the search results don’t always match the image — “visual recognition is still a complicated…

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: New York Times Continues Paid Link Outing Stories, Looks At Online Flowers Industry Over the weekend, the New York Times published a story called Trying to Game… Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article

What seems to be a rather large test of a new Google search results layout caused a mixed reaction from users on Twitter and blogs over the weekend. The new looks don’t seem all that new, especially if you’ve ever visited Blekko or DuckDuckGo, which both sport similar, though not identical, search layouts