Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz provides a rundown on the search alliance with Microsoft during Yahoo's earnings call Tuesday, along with the financial and operational impact. She said the transition to Microsoft's system has been completed in five countries, including the U.S. The plan is to move several markets to the new system this year, but plans to complete the transition will be solidified as AdCenter improves revenue per search.Read the whole story...

"Your computer appears to be infected" is the message some searchers might see at the top of their Google Web search results. The search engine found some unusual search traffic while performing routine maintenance on one of its data centers. The malware causes infected computers to send traffic to Google through a small number of servers called "proxies." Google hopes by taking steps to notify users whose traffic comes through proxies it can help them update antivirus software and remove the infections.Read the whole story...

Cyrus Shepard describes two strategies for the "outreach" around linking content to external sources. He describes some benefits and problems with each for making new connections and getting something more valuable in return. As an SEO expert, do you use a link-out strategy?Read the whole story...

Shaun Anderson provides insight on tools to check search engine rankings, and protect the privacy of those doing it. Search engines don't like automated bots that scrape their content ("the irony," he writes). So, he also tells us about a tool to change the computer's IP location, and another to save reports to a free storage Web site.Read the whole story...