Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.

From Search Engine Land:

• Google Now Searching For Synonyms
  Blink, and you might have missed it. Google's now doing synonym searching. It's something they quietly noted in a past Google blog post and one that comes up again today in a post that covers how Google uses experiments to improve the search interface....
• Sir, Would You Like Fries With Those Links?
  Recently in several SEO forums I noticed a number of threads discussing ways to find and build "economical" links. The forum participants wanted to know how they could initiate "safe" reciprocal linking as well as "fast" submissions to free article directories. They reasoned these tactics were worth doing because...
• Social Media Marketing ROI- Metrics and Analysis
  When I attended South by Southwest 2008, I had the pleasure of attending a panel where four somewhat lost panelists were (with difficulty) trying to come up with metrics to measure success from a social media marketing campaign. I was a little annoyed when they concluded that there were...
• Register for SMX East Now -- You Save $400
  Register for SMX East today and get your ticket for the must-attend interactive and search marketing event of the year. You save $400 by registering now. SMX East will be held October 6-8 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City. SMX East will deliver......
• MapQuest Introduces New (Beta) Look, Features
  AOL's MapQuest remains the top brand in online mapping and is still the most visited mapping site, despite recent gains by Google Maps. However, as the "incumbent" MapQuest has been somewhat resistant to experimentation and slower to adopt new features. But this morning the site is launching what promises to...
• Search Illustrated: Organic Vs. Paid Overall Performance
  A lot of times paid and organic search campaign results can look very different. Especially at launch, organic conversion cost will seem much higher as rankings and, consequently, ROI take time to appear. This week's infographic demonstrates how organic search campaigns can show more cost-effective long-term performance:...
• Google.com Finally Gets Google Suggest Feature
  After being in testing for literally years, Google Suggest is finally coming to Google.com. This is the feature where as you start to type in the search box, related searches automatically appear below where you are typing....

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• Gears for Safari, Google Operating System

Business Issues

• Google joins group to offer free Wi-Fi in Milpitas, News.com
• Ex-Yahoo execs take on brand ad network, raise funds, News.com
• Inventor sues Google, Verizon, others on voicemail, Forbes
• Microsoft Ranks as Top U.S. Online Display Advertiser in June, According to comScore Ad Metrix, comScore
• Report: Google Backing Another Undersea Cable Project, WebProNews
• Technorati Buys Online Blog Network Blogcritics, paidContent.org

Link Building

• The Link Spiel: Using Tip Jars For Links Link Building and Link Training Blog by Debra Mastaler, thelinkspiel.blogspot.com
• The Second Commandment of Viral Marketing - Thou Shalt Be Remarkable, Search Engine Guide

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Flickr [heart] Burning Man [heart] OpenStreetMap, code.flickr.com
• OPA Local Sites Study , Screenwerk
• Dex/RHD Shares Online Advertiser Numbers, Screenwerk
• No More Speculation - This is the G1 from T-Mobile, AndroidGuys

Paid Search & Contextual

• 3 Silly Mistakes you Might be Making When Optimising your PPC Campaign, www.sitevisibility.co.uk
• AdSense Login System is Broken, ekstreme.com
• 5 Bad PPC Symptoms that Usually are NOT Click Fraud, Serengeti Communications
• Accidental Ad Blocker, Washington Post
• Ad serving for everyone, Inside AdSense
• AdWords Report Center: Summer cleaning, Inside AdWords
• Google Quality Score Update, Ophir Cohen
• Internet Explorer 8's InPrivate Could Block Advertising, Wired
• Searcher Behaviour Research - SES San Jose 2008 , adCenter Blog
• The Biggest Search Marketing Lie Ever Told, Lairig Marketing

Searching

• Google And YouTube Need More Transparent Takedown Procedures, Information Week
• Get Alerted Once Any Page Is Changed, Search Engine Journal
• Disappearing Search Results Add to Chinese Gymnast Controversy | Austin, Texas, Apogee Search Marketing Blog
• Phil Bradley: Search Blogger of the Day, The SEO Scoop
• Search Engines: Google Still Growing, Ariadne
• Disable Google Suggest, Lifehacker

SEM Industry

• Court Slams Competitive Metatagging and Keyword Advertising--Soilworks v. Midwest Industrial Supply, Eric Goldman
• Dave Naylor's SEO Addiction, Jennifer Slegg
• Displaying Your SEO Ethics - SEO Blog, BruceClay.com
• How Well Do Search Marketers Brand Themselves?, Search Engine Guide
• SES San Jose 2008: Top 10 Stories, Search Engine Watch Blog
• What is the Black Hat Definition for Search Engine Optimization?, Search Engine Roundtable
• I’m Going to Work for Google, John Andrews

SEO & SEM

• Page One Results On Google Is Going To Get Harder |, itstheroi.com
• SEO Success -- Guess What...Content Works! , Search Engine Watch Blog
• Basics of Repurposing Content for Blogs, Online Marketing Blog
• Does the Encoding of a Web Site Matter for Google?, Search Engine Roundtable
• Free SEO Tips for Google Search Suggest, SEO Book
• Getting Google Webmaster Tools Gadgets On Your Homepage, ShoeMoney
• Getting Shoppers From Search to Store, Ad Age
• Headsmacking Tip #6 - Test with Paid Search Before You Target with SEO, SEOmoz
• Optimizing for Navigational Searches, SEO.com
• Search Engines Are Like Your College Professor, Yahoo! Search Marketing Blog
• SES San Jose Site Clinics, Dave Naylor
• Weapons of Mass Optimization, Search Engine Watch Blog

Social Media

• Preview the new FriendFeed design, FriendFeed
• The Fake Follow Becomes A Reality With FriendFeed's New Design, TechCrunch
• Reddit Now Fully Customizable: Bring Your Own Design and Domain - ReadWriteWeb, Read/Write Web
• The Brooks Corollary of Social Networking Theory , SEMpdx Blog
• You Might Be A Digg Spammer If, 10e20 Blog

Video, Music & Image Search

• Metacafe Flavors Video Search with Wikipedia-Type Perk, ResourceShelf

Other Items

• Google Earth shows cows point north, News.com
• Google Map of All Olympic Medallists, Google Maps Mania:

Recent Hot Items From Sphinn, Our Social News Sharing Site:

• Social Media Marketing ROI- Metrics and Analysis
• Top SEO blogs: The Ultimate Rank
• Follow the Money in This Google Mapspam + HIV/STD Saga
• Link Building Basics : Presentation on Building Links
• How Google Suggest Changes SEO
• 301 Redirect Plugin for Wordpress … for Non-Technical Bloggers
• How to Get Google to Index Your Site Deeper
• Why SEO copywriting is so damn important
• Be A Search Conference JackA - - In 8 Easy Steps
• SEO Champion's Chaos at SES San Jose
• God Hates Link Sellers: saw the sign at SES San Jose? [PHOTO]