Microsoft released to the public a test social-search platform nearly a month ago, but it took time for the project to gain attention. The site offers search and social in one platform, along with the ability to watch movies and content with others logged into the site. Microsoft Research GM Lili Cheng told marketers at the MediaPost Search Insider Summit how the site evolved since the launch at the end of December 2011. She reminded us that companies developed search before social and that if the two were designed today, they would be inseparable.

Practical tips and tactics to gain referrals, win customers and find new business start with building a handful of case studies, a few sites and pages to point to when potential customers want to see the company's work, suggests Rand Fishkin. He also suggests doing some pro bono work for local charities or non-profits, as well as small local startups -- but making the offer very specific -- as well as picking a specialty.

Who owns Facebook before and after the Initial Public Offering (IPO)? KISSmetrics put together an infographic to show ownership, Facebook revenue, as well as quick facts like the number of friendships, likes, photos uploaded daily, and integrated apps and Web sites. It highlights gross revenue, net revenue and revenue from Zynga, but doesn't include details on search or Microsoft Bing's investment in the company.

Mark Ballard tells us Google will likely officially launch an update to AdWords’ matching behavior for exact and phrase match keywords early next week. These changes have sophisticated search marketers a little on edge, so Ballard offers tips on segmenting and bidding seperately on broad and exact match traffic, as well as testing the campaigns.

Three augmented reality patents provide insight on the direction Google could take to bridge the real with the virtual. A fourth describes how the technology could combine with IR reflective paint on fingernails, gloves or other wearable items to become the conductor. Bill Slawski provides us with a look into the patents, along with the diagrams.

Think about analyzing on-site behavior through the use of in-page analytics. Rob Boyd tells us about a tool that allows marketers to do quick and dirty analysis of the page that should lead to decisions on conversion rate optimization. He demonstrates how to use the tool for both mobile and desktop, and provides examples on the type of data gained from a little digging.

Geotargeting, ad extensions, and ad group structures are three of the eight paid-search topics that Jasmine Aye discusses to help marketers do a little "spring cleaning" on paid-search campaign. While there are always improvements to be made, Aye put together a list and screen shots detailing her most frequent recommendations provided during paid-search audits.

After filtering through 1,000 questions related to search engine optimization techniques and skills, Pete Meyers decided to respond to nine of the most frequently asked. He doesn't write out the questions verbatim, but rather summarizes issues and provides a point of view. He discusses link-building versus on-page SEO, and tells us that marketers should know the spam and the paid-for backlinks are much too obvious.

Jeff Lerner gives us three common and easy-to-solve AdWords issues that could cost marketers time and money. He lists the problems, explains why this happens, and serves up the solutions. Here's one example of a problem and why it happens. Problem: Broad matched keywords yield low conversion rates and phrase/exact match keywords lack impressions. Why it happens: Broad matched keywords link to too many irrelevant search queries, and tightly matched keywords omit relevant search queries. The solution: Modified broad match.

Google could give mobile device makers early access to its next Android version to reassure partners that the Motorola Mobility deal won't leave them out. The Wall Street Journal reports that expanding into direct sales marks a bid to gain more control of key features and apps that run on Android-powered phones and tablets. WSJ tells us that Google will work with as many as five manufacturers to create a portfolio of devices that include smartphones and tablets.