Now that Yahoo and Microsoft have been granted regulatory approval for their search deal, what happens now? That is a question that many people in the search industry want answered.

Just for a recap, Microsoft will power Yahoo Search and Yahoo will become the exclusive search advertising provider for Microsoft’s search engine, Bing. Recently, WebProNews had the opportunity to sit down with Shashi Seth, the Senior Vice President of Yahoo Search Products, to learn more about how the alliance between the two companies would be integrated.

First of all, Seth points out that the full integration will take between 18-24 months. As it takes place, he is quick to say that users will continue to receive a compelling search experience from Yahoo that goes beyond the traditional search page.

In spite of the partnership, each engine will maintain its individual areas of focus. For Yahoo specifically, Seth says, “…What our users will continue to find is that not only can they find that great content that resides on [the] Yahoo network on Yahoo Search, but also that we can take people from Yahoo Search to the appropriate properties etc., in the right context…”

According to Seth, users will likely see slight modifications to Yahoo Search over the next several months as the Microsoft integration is completed. However, the companies have not yet decided if they will do a major launch with new features and functionalities.

There are still many questions regarding Yahoo such as the company’s level of commitment to search, implications on advertisers, future innovations, and more.  Keep watching WebProNews for more information on these very issues directly from Yahoo.

According to Monte Cahn, the Founder and President of Moniker, finding the right domain name is key in driving traffic to your site. At SMX West in Santa Clara, Cahn talked to WebProNews about several issues surrounding domain names.

He said specifically, “It’s not all about SEO and SEM strategies, but without the right domain name, you’re really not going to be successful on the Web.”

Since there is so much talk of 301 redirects, how do people know when to use them and when to build up a domain name? Cahn says people should always use 301 redirects for various misspellings of the brand’s name.

On the other hand, he advises companies to build out subsites for their products or services. By doing this, companies can take advantage of link juice and use the links and referrals to drive SEO value.

One of the biggest mistakes brands make with domain names is not being proactive when they release new products or services. Cahn gives examples where both Microsoft and Apple released products before checking on the availability of the domain. If companies wait until after they announce their new product or service, chances are the domain name price will skyrocket.

Is your domain name driving traffic to your site?

Email marketing is one of the oldest forms of marketing but is still very effective. Social media marketing is a relatively new form of marketing but is also very effective. What happens if the two are combined? According to Kara Trivunovic of StrongMail, email and social media provide many great advantages when they are put together.

When people integrate social into their email marketing programs, they have the opportunity to not only expand the reach of their existing offers, but also to encourage existing customers to evangelize on their behalf. As a result, companies could grow their database through acquisition, which is not usually common in email marketing.

As Trivunovic points out, there are three primary ways that people use to implement social into their email marketing efforts. They are:

1.    Sharing with your network
2.    Leveraging as a medium to incentivize current customer base
3.    Business model: acquiring customers through referrals

Trivunovic told WebProNews that approximately 86 percent of email subscribers share their email via email when they are asked to evangelize on the behalf of a company. Other social sharing methods include Facebook, Twitter, and blogging.

Incidentally, of that 86 percent that share via email, 19 percent of the receivers convert. That said, it seems safe to say that social media and email marketing work pretty well together.

Most marketers utilize search engine optimization in order to make it easier for customers to find them and, ultimately, buy their products. As search, social media, and public relations become more intertwined, marketers need to understand that journalists are essentially customers as well.

Lee Odden, the CEO of TopRank Online Marketing, spoke with WebProNews at OMS and explained this idea. It is no secret that all companies want media coverage since it produces credibility, sales, search visibility, and more. So, what can marketers do to get noticed by journalists?

Based on survey conducted by TopRank, 91 percent of reporters, journalists, and editors used Google to help them find contacts in 2008. Of those surveyed, only 27 percent used social media. However, George Washington University and Cision released a report this year showing that 86 percent of the media use blogs and 64 percent use social media.

What does this tell marketers? According to Odden, marketers need to optimize their content in regards to what journalists are looking for. In other words, he suggests including terms such as “expert” and other credentials, specifications, and trends that journalists would use.

Incidentally, the survey found that TV and online journalists were more apt to use social media to find information.

Sennheiser is a brand that is known for its quality microphones, headphones, and wireless transmission systems. The products the company released at CES 2010 proved that it is raising the bar for its audio innovations.

Sennheiser recently partnered with Adidas to produce new sport headphones. The companies took complaints and turned them into solutions to make an athlete’s experience better. According to Eric Palonen of Sennheiser, the headphones sound great, stay in place, and are sweat proof.

Another product Sennheiser displayed at CES was the MM 450, which won a CES Innovation Award. The MM 450 allows users to answer phone calls and listen to music in stereo. In addition, it cancels up to 90 percent of ambient noise, which makes it perfect for a frequent traveler.

For more information on Sennheiser and their products, visit their site.

New to the Online Marketing Summit this year is a special day dedicated strictly to search that is called the Search Engine Strategies Forum. As Incisive Media’s Matt McGowan explains, the two shows came together to provide a more comprehensive view of search.

Incisive’s ClickZ brand first became involved with OMS over a year ago. The two even launched the ClickZ/OMS Whistle Stop Tour, which consisted of marketing and SEO seminars throughout 22 cities in the U.S. over the course of 2 months. McGowan said the tour would take place this summer as well.

At OMS San Diego specifically, the SES Forum will provide information regarding SEO, paid search, social media, and more. McGowan said the day would cover search from an introductory level to an intermediate level.

Keep watching WebProNews for more exclusive coverage of OMS in San Diego.

Many small and medium-sized businesses tend to struggle since they typically have a lack of resources. Most of them are understaffed but still have to make time for social media, search engine rankings, leads, following up on leads, and more.

While at the Online Marketing Summit in San Diego, Mike McDonald of WebProNews spoke with Genoo’s CEO Kim Albee about these very issues. Genoo provides tools that allow businesses to manage multiple aspects in one place. As a result, the business has more time to dedicate to leads, follow-ups, and conversions.

These areas are very important to small businesses because, as Albee points out, “…if you don’t follow up, then whatever you spent to get those leads lose their value every month that you don’t follow up.”

In addition, the company puts enterprise level information into SMB terms. Often times at industry events, the perspective is from a large brand. Genoo takes that information and makes it applicable to SMBs.

Many people go to websites everyday and fill out forms, but what happens after they fill out the form? At the Online Marketing Summit, WebProNews spoke with Lauren Vaccarello, the Global Head of Search at Salesforce, about how websites can make sure they are tracking these potential leads.

First of all, you need to know how people get to your form.  According to Vaccarello, Salesforce and others offer solutions that allow this information to be passed through a hidden field. It is an automated solution that not only sorts through the data, but also passes it through an application that builds dashboards, which reveals even more data.

With this information, you can find out important facts such as where your visitors are coming from, who is converting and who is not, where you are spending that is producing profits, and where you are losing money.

After you have gathered this data and analyzed it, you have a stronger knowledge of which leads are worth following up on and how you should approach them.

According to Lawrence Coburn, the President of RateItAll, this is an exciting time for search marketers due to new opportunities in search queries. Historically, people would go to a search engine and enter a query. Now however, with a mere tap of a button on a phone, people can send out their location and it acts as a query.

Coburn comes from a user-generated content background and knows that it is not easy to get people to post content. But with check-in applications such as Foursquare and Gowalla, a single tap on a phone creates the content.

These applications tell your friends where you are while also letting Foursquare and Gowalla what places are popular. In addition, this data provides valuable opportunities for advertisers to get involved with location.

What does all this mean for search marketers? Location is important to them because they can build upon the APIs that Foursquare, Gowalla, and other similar applications have. Coburn’s company is even developing a product called DoubleDutch that will allow users to build their own Foursquare and Gowalla if they have a community tied to a specific location.

Because this idea of location as a query is relatively new, there are and will be challenges for search marketers. To help avoid them, Coburn advises marketers to create content around latitude and longitude. If they do this, then when people reveal their location, the marketers will know what to deliver.

How do you feel about using location as a query?

The Online Marketing Summit is going on this week in San Diego, California, and WebProNews is there to provide exclusive coverage of the event. The show will run through Thursday of this week with that final day consisting of a special Search Engine Strategies Forum.

Aaron Kahlow, the Chairman and Founder of OMS, talked with us at SES Chicago and said the event is focused on educating attendees on all the aspects of online marketing. It covers social media, email, search, analytics, and more.

A few specific highlights of the show include Dan Siroker’s presentation that details how data helped the Obama campaign win, Wharton’s keynote that debunks several social media myths, and numerous case studies from world class brands.

In addition, the speaker list includes names such as Tony Uphoff, the CEO of TechWeb, Thomas Hoehn, the Director of Interactive Marketing and Convergence Media at Eastman Kodak Company, Ravit Lichtenberg, the Founder and Chief Strategist for Ustrategy Consulting, and more.

Be sure check out the WebProNews video coverage of the event right here.

Since most of us have our data scattered across multiple locations, wouldn’t it be nice to have a centralized place for all our files? At CES 2010, Intel showed off the HP MediaSmart Home Server that does just that.

As Steve Murtha tells WebProNews, the server is based on the Microsoft Home Server OS and is about value propositions.  The first value point that the server provides is protection. If a hard drive fails, someone could lose several years’ worth of pictures, video, and more.

The HP MediaSmart Home Server has a backup of up to 10 PCs or laptops in a household. In addition, it provides backup in the cloud with its third party ISPs through the open API.

The second value proposition is sharing. The server can stream media from the home server to networked computers. It also streams content to TVs, Xbox 360s, and mobile devices.

Thirdly, the server provides remote access. A user can access their home server from anywhere in the world via a URL, which allows for easy sharing of data.

The HP MediaSmart Home Server is available at prices starting at $299.

Since there really is an app for just about anything, you may not be surprised to learn about an app called DateCheck that lets users conduct background checks. With only a name, number, or email address, DateCheck from Intelius allows users to check out someone they just met.

After users input the information they have, they can enter estimated characteristics such as the person’s age, to help pinpoint who they are trying to check out. At that point, the app goes through several features that reveal information on the person in question.

First on the list is the “sleaze detector.” This feature looks at criminal records based on the state’s history. Secondly, the app conducts a compatibility test that includes astrological information on both parties. Thirdly, the app has a money aspect that shows property ownership information, value of home, and more.

Taking the money aspect one step further, the fourth feature tells the living situation of the home and if anyone else lives there. Lastly, there is an interests’ feature that provides a summary of all the social and professional networks the person is involved with.

So, if you’re wondering whether or not you should connect with a potential “date,” use DateCheck to find out more information before you make a move.

DateCheck is available as a free download for the iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android devices.

As you have seen from our coverage, WebProNews witnessed a wide variety of amazing innovations at CES 2010. Definitely ranking at the top of our “favorite’s list” was the Beamz musical technology.

The Beamz product consists of 3 laser light beams for each hand, which translates into a total of six beams altogether. When users break a beam, music is created. Once broken, the light beams trigger and activate 100+ instruments, chords, music clips, sound effects, and rhythms. Amazingly, the Beamz software ensures that every musical sound is perfectly on key and beat.

Beamz has an educational component since it helps users learn how to play music. Users of all ages can play the device with ease and more experienced musicians can use it to compose, produce, and record music. In addition, users have found Beamz therapeutic and spiritual.

Beamz also introduced a new gaming platform at CES.

The product is compatible with both PC and MAC and is powered through a USB port. To learn more about this incredible innovation, visit www.thebeamz.com.

There are multiple ways to connect laptops to HDTVs, but most of them require bulky cables and cords. However, at CES 2010, Intel revealed its Wireless Display technology (AKA WiDi) that makes this connection a lot easier.

Intel’s WiDi requires a laptop PC based on the company’s Core processor family, HD graphics, and Centrino wireless technology in order to deliver the WiDi capability. Also, the Netgear Push2TV adapter is needed to receive signals from the laptop and display them on the TV. The adapter can connect to the TV through HDMI or AV cables.

This technology allows users to share content such as photos, Internet radio, YouYube, and Hulu with friends and family.  In addition, it eliminates the hassle of dealing with cables and cords.

Intel’s Wireless Display is currently available on Best Buy’s Blue Label 2.0 laptops and is sold together with the Netgear Push2TV adapter at prices starting at $899.

At CES 2010, Regen introduced an environmentally friendly way to charge iPhones and iPods. The company makes personal, home electronics that allow consumers to create and use their own energy.

The first product they are bringing to the market is called the ReNu tablet. It is a personal, solar tablet around 9×9 inches. ReNu can be taken outside to gather power, or it can also be hung on a window with a suction cup.

Once the energy is gathered, the device stores it in a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery. Consumers have the option of charging their iPhones and iPods through a USB port or through a dock that works with tablet.

Mark Riedy, Regen’s Director of Communications, told WebProNews that the company has already seen a lot of interest in its products. He credits this positive adoption to the fact that “people want to do something good for the environment.”

Regen is hoping to have both the tablet and the dock available by June.

Most people with smartphones keep their devices covered with some sort of protective case.  However, did you know that many of those cases still allow debris and dirt to get to your phone, which could ultimately cause scratches?

For this reason, Wrapsol created a unique film that protects mobile and other electronic devices. The film is clear for the front of the device and has a matte finish for the back.

Although Wrapsol protects from scratches and nicks, it is not bulky. In fact, users could even put a protective case over the film if they desired.

Wrapsol’s products are currently available on their site but will soon appear in stores such as Office Depot, Best Buy, and Staples.

WebProNews discovered a new product at CES 2010 that allows users to stream media files from a computer to any USB enabled device such as a TV, gaming console, or stereo.

When the HSTi Wireless Media Stick is plugged in, it connects to the actual storage media where users’ files are stored. It supports wireless protocols a/b/g/n and can stream files that are from any computer or storage device linked to the network through the wireless router.

As a result, users can access music on their laptop or a movie from the home server. It does not require batteries, external power supply, or additional remote controls.

HSTi’s Wireless Media Stick is currently available on their site for $119. It is expected to be in stores very soon as well.

At CES 2010, Cideko showed off an all-in-one device that combines a keyboard, mouse, and remote control. WebProNews stopped to take a look at the gadget to see all its cool features.

The Air Keyboard has an 80 key mini keyboard that includes function keys as well. The wireless mouse in the device is equipped with 3D motion mouse sensors that help control the cursor.

After being idle for 10 seconds, the Air Keyboard switches to a power saving mode that can be woken up by pressing any key. It can last up to 50 hours of constant use and is effective up to 50 meters away.

Cideko’s Air Keyboard is available on Amazon for $89.99.

How would you like to make your own 3D video? Thanks to innovations from Intel and Cineform, you can. At CES 2010, WebProNews found out how it works.

One would think the process would be complicated, but according to Intel, it’s not. The setup is basic with 2 cameras on a single tripod. Each camera puts out a video stream and with the Cineform Silicon DVR software, the 2 streams are combined.

As a result, a QuickTime file is created that loops back to a TV. Without polarized glasses, consumers see 2 images. However, with polarized glasses on, consumers can see 3D.

If you’re still wondering how this is possible, there is a secret behind it all. As the Intel representative explained, a lot of horsepower is needed in order for this to work, which is where Intel comes in. Cineform’s 3D technologies run on Intel’s Core i7 processor.

This technology is currently available at Cineform.

Samsung’s display at CES 2010 was one of the most talked about exhibits at the entire show.  With its fascinating collection of TVs, 3D innovations, and a new category of e-readers, Samsung wowed everyone that walked by including WebProNews.

First on the list was the full lineup of TVs consisting of LCDs, Plasmas, and LEDs. Each of these product lines has a full range of 19-65-inch TVs.  Some of the models within each of these lineups will feature a new technology called AllShare. This innovation allows users to connect the television to other devices in the home such as digital cameras, computers, mobile devices, and more.

The company also introduced their own App store called Samsung Apps. Now users can download content for their TVs, just as they do for their mobile phones. The store includes a wide variety of apps such as informational apps, gaming apps, and movie-streaming apps.

High-end versions of the 3 television lineups also have 3D capabilities. As Scott Cohen told WPN, users can watch anything in 3D with Samsung. Some TVs have a processor that allows users to render any 2D content into 3D.

With Plasma specifically, Samsung’s product line has grown. The primary focus of this line is picture-quality enhancement, such as deeper blacks and better motion. Top-end Plasma models will have customizable features that allow users to adjust the picture to their preference.

The last but certainly not the least in the TV product lines is the LED. The advantages of this line are low power consumption, vibrant colors, and brightness. Also, the LEDs are all under 2-inches deep with the flagship model at only 0.3-inches, which is thinner than a pencil!

In spite of all the hype around the fascinating TVs, Samsung’s category of e-readers also created a lot of buzz. The company will be bringing 4 e-readers to the market with screen sizes ranging from 5-10-inches. In addition, Samsung revealed a partnership with Google Books for this product.

All these Samsung products will be available during the first half of 2010. To find out more, visit www.Samsung.com.