Twitter has begun random testing by adding a search box on its home page. Not seeing it when you log in? No problem. Loren Baker provides a link to a page with the Twitter search box, so you can test it out yourself. Once at the page, type in a keyword, such as "food," and query results return all the posts that include the written "food." Baker believes it's a signal from Twitter that "they are getting serious about search and expansion of their basic functionality." He believes it's a good sign "that may lead to a business …

A patent filing from Google last week focuses primarily on describing how the search engine might use compound words for search advertisements it serves up on Web pages and in search results. William Slawski defines compound words and tells us queries should return the exact same results for word such as paper clips and paperclips. Using examples from Google search advertising, the patent provides a better sense of how the search engine might view icecream vs. ice cream "Some patent filings are narrow in scope, but near the end of this one, we are told that the way …

Small businesses should consider Twitter as a marketing tool to connect with customers, especially because it's free to use. While the links don't transfer PageRank value from Twitter to linked-to sites, there could still be some value in ranking terms, Chris Smith writes, citing a post written last year by Steve Espinosa. Serving up tips for small businesses, Smith suggests sending customers instant coupons, and keeping tabs on what other businesses in your market do. He also points to a post from Andrew Shotland that provides insight on using Twitter to create something similar to online yellow pages. …

Ann Smarty provides insight into preventing duplicate content with .htaccess files on Linux servers with the Apache Mod-Rewrite module enabled. . One of the four examples includes changing domain names. "When you need to change your domain name you should use 301 redirect to preserve your PageRank (and rankings)," she writes. "You can do it by using this code in your .htaccess file: Options +FollowSymlinks. RewriteEngine on rewriterule(.*) http://www.newdomain.com/$1 [r=301,nc]."

Google's Matt Cutts tells us how to link to specific frames in video posts on YouTube. He provides a link to Eric Schmidt's question and answer session about Twitter and the economy at a recent Morgan Stanley Technology Conference. Most important, he tells us that the "#t=31m08s" at the end of the URL takes you 31 minutes and 8 seconds into that video.

The Firefox toolbar addon, Search Cloudlet, can give you a better understanding of Google and Yahoo SERPs, according to Ann Smarty. It inserts a related tag cloud that lets you see the keywords. She provides tips and photos to demonstrate the tool, which Ukraine-company Intspei developed. The most useful SEO function on Search Cloudlet is that it gives you a "quicker understanding of SERPs for any search term," Smarty writes. "It is great for creating immediate associations with the topic." For instance, The Source Cloud and Location Cloud identify state, country or region for news and publisher, whereas …

David vs. Goliath? Aaron Greenspan tells his tale of suing Google. It all started after Think Computer Corp. became a Google AdWords advertiser. Sadly, he writes, the several ad campaigns he tried ended in failure. Months passed until Greenspan signed up for an AdSense account, when trouble ensued. Greenspan steps through the circumstances that led to the small claims court lawsuit for $721, and the findings that led the judge to rule in his favor. He also details Google's paralegal's rather absurd defense, and the judge's response.

If you have ever wondered how AdWords determines a keyword's quality score, Joe (whose profile admits he's been looking for an outlet to tell his life story) believes he has the answer. The epiphany came after creating a new campaign and ad groups within a Google AdWords account. The keywords he had just created "a few seconds ago" had AdWords Quality Scores. Joe provides a quick review of how a keyword's Quality Score is established, to aid in better keyword targeting and performance, he writes.

Strapped for money? Microsoft has added a Live Search Cashback program icon to its MSN Toolbar for those looking for a little cash in tough economic times. The icon "gleams" when you encounter an item in your search results that offers a cash back offer. It aims to ensure you don't miss a deal when searching for products and services on Live Search, Yahoo, Google and Craiglist. The program is only available for U.S. residents.

Google rolled out an expandable advertising format this week that lets marketers put more information into ads. Arnold Zafra summarizes the features based, in part, on information at an Google AdSense blog post. The advertisements expand after someone clicks or interacts with them such as a rolling or mousing over the ad. The expandable ad feature is available to AdSense users in North America and Europe. Marketers need to enable the image ads feature in their AdSense account. "Earnings for these expandable ads can either be on a CPC or CPM basis," Zafra writes. "CPC revenues apply for …