Yahoo and Microsoft combined have an opportunity to be competitive in the search marketplace even though they trail considerably behind Google, according to a new analysis by comScore. In June 2009, Google had 65 percent of the U.S. search market, compared to 28 percent for Yahoo and Microsoft combined. Despite lagging in terms of overall search share, the combined searcher penetration of Yahoo and Microsoft was 73.2 percent, not far behind Google at 84 percent.

Google has introduced a new search ads quality "getting started" guide . The guide addresses frequently asked questions from users and offers additional tips about how to improve ad quality. Since introducing the concept back in July 2005, we've done a lot of work to make Quality Scores more detailed, accurate, and transparent," says Dan Friedman of Google's Inside AdWords Crew. "These improvements have included adding landing page load time,

They say all good things must come to an end. For The Stefan, good things include new laptops, fresh coffee in the morning, and dewy-eyed, innocent minions who do my wacky bidding because they believe it will make them captains of social media. It is outrageous yet it is true - TI (The Intern) and TOI (The Other Intern)- are going back to school to get their degrees.

Google AdWords has released a couple of important updates that you'll want to know about. First up, there's a new Search Ads Quality Guide . This is an introductory guide for understanding Quality Score and how you can improve it. Secondly, the Display Ad Builder is getting new templates . They are a set of templates designed around an "Elegant" theme. You can find the new "Elegant" set under the "General" category.

Hi blog readers, Anuj from the comms team here. I downloaded the new eBay iPhone application earlier this week.   Version 1.4.0 now lets me pay with PayPal direct from the phone - instead of logging into a PC to complete my purchase.   The new app also lets me keep a .

Twitter is planning on making the act of ReTweeting an official Twitter feature . Right now, it's just some crazy phenomenon started by users. It wasn't all that far-fetched, really. People have been using @username to respond to comments on blogs for years. However, Twitter plans to post those ReTweets in a different way. The ReTweet will appear as a regular Tweet, with the avatar of the original Tweeter and everything but underneath,

by Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. California fires (Searches increased by 571%). The fire in the Santa Cruz mountains is causing evacuations and threatening the Bonny Doone community . Sarah Palin Facebook (+471%). The former Alaska governor defended her questionable "death panel" claims on her Facebook page . Alfred Hitchcock (+390%). The film director would be 110 years old . Che Guevara (+103%).

New Hitwise data is showing Bing Shopping's market share growing by 169% over 2 months . The first week of Bing's launch , Shopping debuted at 4.04%. Last week, Bing Shopping came in at 10.86% in the comparison shopping niche. That's an awesome rise that anyone would like to see in their niche. Now, the charts for you visual people out there: What do you think of the success of Bing Shopping? Chart your comments below.

by Vera H-C Chan " Singin' in the Rain ." " Saturday Night Live ." " Star Wars ." " Purple Rain ." " Dirty Dancing ." If you are of a certain vintage, you know these titles aren't just generational films. The soundtracks provide the musical backdrop of their era. For this week's movie releases, the songs for " Bandslam " and " The Time Traveler's Wife " debuted in stores and online Tuesday.

Search Engine Strategies San Jose 2009 turned out to be an energetic week of presentations, networking and positivity for the search marketing industry. Interested marketers flocked from around the country (and around the world) to get social, connect and learn.  It was clear from from attitude and attendance that the SEM industry is thriving. While the even itself has come to a close - the tips, trends and presentations didn't just stay at the conference.