From Google's local search advances to users finally seeing Bing and Facebook results, here's insight on some of the hottest news.

This week, all the major search engines caught a share of headlines in internet marketing news. From Google's local search advances to users finally seeing Bing and Facebook results, here's insight on some of the hottest news.

Monday was the deadline for marketers to transition their Yahoo accounts to Microsoft's adCenter, and by Wednesday, the internet was abuzz with news that the Bing/Yahoo search alliance is now complete. Additionally, Yahoo announced a new vice president, and officials say the company will now devote itself to improving consumer experience on its sites. For its part, Microsoft is excited to gain more influence in the search market with Bing.

Bing also made news this week when some users started seeing options for Facebook-powered results, reported by Brafton. The Bing and Facebook alliance was announced earlier this month, and now marketers may start to see significant search benefits from having their content Liked by Bing users.

While it may be a good idea for marketers to start optimizing their sites for Bing, the Microsoft FY11 Q1 Earnings report released on Thursday suggests the search engine took a major revenue loss this year. Nonetheless, it is gaining ground in the search market, with Compete's September 2010 Top 50 Website Rankings showing that Bing demonstrated a 108.5 percent year-over-year growth in visits last month.

Meanwhile, Google made the news for its increasingly local focus. On Monday, the company announced a new ad format, Google Boost. Advertisers can manage paid search campaigns through their Places accounts, and Google automatically displays ads on Google and Google Maps according to queries from consumers in a business' area.

Another advancement in local search that fueled major headlines this week was Google's launch of a new Places Search feature, covered by Brafton. Places Search puts the emphasis on local businesses, reducing the number of results per screen view compared to previous Google Maps searches. It also showcases select nearby businesses in greater depth, which means it may be wise to give SEO strategies a local leaning. Places Search results also feature links to review pages, suggesting social recommendations are key to catching clicks online.

Speaking of social recommendations, Myspace got a redesign this week that generated a lot of buzz. It now focuses on fostering sharing of entertainment information among users. As Brafton reported, the site targets Generation Y and aims to complement Facebook and Twitter by allowing users to automatically update their other social profiles with content they recommend on Myspace.

Next week should offer lots of hot news as internet marketers flock to ad:tech NY 2010. Brafton will be live-reporting the week's events – stay tuned!

Katherine Griwert is Brafton's Marketing Director. She's practiced content marketing, SEO and social marketing for over five years, and her enthusiasm for new media has even deeper roots. Katherine holds a degree in American Studies from Boston College, and her writing is featured in a number of web publications.