PeterD tells the story of Somewhere at Mountain View in a conversation betwen Google Guy and Other Google Guy. The two hash out a problem with an "algo" because it keep returning "low-quality farmer garbage." The satire runs through nonsense, ranking signals, Chrome, data, and more.

A setup wizard in the administrator control panel now provides a guide that can walk users through key configuration options, from creating user accounts to activating email, migrating existing data to Google Apps and configuring mobile devices. The wizard includes progress indicators that lets users easily return to the setup tab and continue where they left off.

Matt Cutts released information Monday about a strategy to block spam content. The extension for Google's Web browser Chrome can now block Web sites that they don't wish to view. If clicked, the "early experimental" browser extension sends blocked site information to Google to study the results. Cutts also provides directions on how to edit the list of blocked sites.

Bradley Simonis, who specializes in local search, social media and mobile apps for restaurants and the service industry, provides insights into helping businesses and consumers understand how to use social media like Facebook and Twitter. He suggests ways to determine local rankings, steps to take control of local business listing, and more.

Aaron Wall tells us Yahoo and Bing generally use the same relevancy algorithm, but for certain reasons one engine drives more organic search traffic than the other. Wall explains why this happens by looking atanalytics from three different Web sites that provide different and significant search traffic streams. Each targets different demographics -- and both get more search traffic from Bing than Yahoo.

A/B tests not only determine the effectiveness of content on a Web page, but can determine the best method to refer quality leads. Most campaigns with lower budgets and less traffic rely on A/B testing, though there are several different methods. It allows marketers to compare version A against version B. Determining the most effective elements of a promotion, and then combining them, can make marketing efforts more profitable. Cameron Chapman steps through the first in a series of posts covering A/B testing to provide a framework for marketers.

Mark Jackson points to Google's recent sting operation against Bing, telling us the bigger news is the search engine went public with the findings after Matt Cutts' admitted its search results need improving. Since content remains the biggest influence in query rankings, Jackson tells us how to build a strategy through content and tags on social sites, blogs, videos, FAQa and more.

Questions about whether JCPenney.com used white- or black-hat SEO tactics came into play when the company ranked high in Google search engine results for months on end for a variety of topics ranging from skinny jeans to bedding. David Segal details how Google site rankings work, describes the "correction action" Google plans to take against JCPenny.com, and points to other companies that stepped over the line between white- and black-hat SEO.

AT&T this week announced reaching the highest ad revenue during Q4 2010 for Internet services offered by its local ad business unit. One of the carrier's success stories, the YPmobile platform, AT&T Interactive's flagship mobile platform, saw search queries grow 125% in 2010, compared with the prior year. The platform provides access to millions of local business listings accessible via a mobile app on millions of Web-enabled mobile phones across all U.S. wireless carriers. YP for the iPhone, officially announced Thursday, adds features focusing on local deals.

One in three mobile searches identify local intent on Google, and 61% of those clicking on content that serves up on the mobile phone call the business. Although that sounds like a marketer's dream, the problem is less than half of the search engine's advertisers are prepared and have a mobile strategy. Jon Rognerud walks through the steps of optimizing Web sites for local search. They include verifying your business, selecting the categories and asking for reviews.