Posted by willcritchlow Everyone in search is by now aware that certain social signals are well-correlated with rankings. In each major study published on the subject, the authors point to how correlation does not imply causation (see, for example SEOmoz

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Bing Brings Quora Content Into Its Social Sidebar Bing continues to expand the content that may show up in its social sidebar, with news today that its Quora… Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article

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

Google and Boingo Wireless are teaming up to offer free Wi-Fi at eight malls and discounted access in 16 major airports. Google’s sponsorship isn’t completely altruistic; people need to subscribe to Google Offers in their city to purchase the deal.

Early Facebook investor Peter Thiel didn’t wait to dump a significant chunk of his holding in Facebook – 20 million shares on August 16 and 17. Thiel, an early investor in Facebook, had already sold some of his Facebook stake during the IPO in May.

Bing continues to expand the content that may show up in its social sidebar, with news today that its Quora integration is complete. The integration involves Bing showing top Quora contributors in the sidebar when there’s Q&A content on Quora that’s related to the Bing search term,…

Tweet Building links in 2012 is a tough job. Years ago, you just needed to buy a ton of exact match anchor text links and point them to your desired location, and you’d be ranking in first position in the SERPs

Opera will continue using Google as its default search engine for its mobile and desktop web browser through August 2014. The firms have worked together since November 2009. The deal will see Opera promote “various Google products and services.”

A report from GigaOm this morning discusses a ridiculous proposed “ancillary copyright” law in Germany that would compel Google — and others online — to pay to link to and excerpt any content from German publishers’ websites (e.g., newspapers). The law currently is in… Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article