Innocent until proven guilty, yes -- but murderers also sometimes kill the wrong intended target. Julia Angwin tells us about a legal battle between tech companies like Google and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that would give law enforcement access to unlock mobile phones to search for information. She points to the perceived difficulties of getting the information in a locked phone with encrypted information, but actually it's quite easy.

Screen shots and numbers explain how close variants can increase leads after Google announced new matching behavior for phrase and exact match keywords. A step-by-step guide takes us through how to identify whether this tactics can improve campaigns. It all starts with downloading an SQR report that allows marketers to segment campaigns to identify trends. This helps to identify the types of keywords a campaign should use.    

Google has set up a method to report problems in maps. (It's about time.) A link at the bottom of the map allows people to suggest changes. For business listings, type in the name of the business and select from a menu to identify the discrepancy. Google also provides a place to report if a street name has changed or when there's a problem in driving directions.

Timeliness requires precision. The ad must reach the consumer at the precise time or risk losing the conversion. Citizen Watch's challenge to develop a one-on-one relationship with consumers led the manufacturer to social media to build an active online community of 70,000 loyal customers. Courtney tells us how the company developed the mobile strategy to search and connect 3.3 million consumers to local retailers and products.

For search marketers looking to build campaigns on Facebook, Kyle Spencer offers up some investment tips that provide insight into the direction of the social network. He tells us about Facebook's expansion -- or lack of -- expansion -- into countries other than the U.S., and that (he believes) kids have begun to abandon the site. Spencer points out the importance of the exodus, and how parents tend to follow their kids around the Internet.

Envision a world where Google becomes the only engine that search marketers can place paid-search ads. Amanda WestBook debunks a few myths, pointing to one that suggests Microsoft adCenter isn't worth the time. She reminds marketers how the audience differs from Google. Bidding on different keywords can help gain higher returns on investments for most market segments. Typically, the cost per click on Bing costs less than on Google, but marketers should remember they are also targeting a different type of audience.

Bing added in the U.K. the ability to see trending topics on the search page in a feature called "Popular Now." Each day, the Bing U.K. editorial team will monitor the engine for the most popular trends and post them, according to the blog. Clicking by the "Popular Now" keywords on the bottom right-hand corner of the home page directs searchers to results to find the latest news and results related to the term.

David Harry analyzes whether general or niche Web directories are still good for building links after seeing a post on Facebook asking that very question. He tells us why a link is no longer just a link, and why just because Google indexes a specific directory directly doesn't mean it's okay to tap one of its links. He also cautious about certain types of link building, providing tips on what to look for when planning a strategy.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Tuesday awarded Google a patent titled "Login to a computing device based on facial recognition." It describes a security technology that authenticates and identifies a person's face to log into a personal device and access information. Some phones like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus come with this feature and allow people to snap a photo of themselves to unlock the phone, rather than type in a password.

Alex Yumashev describes how little of the screen Google uses to display non-paid search results in search engine query result pages. In one example, he shows how Google dedicates a mere 18.5% of the screen, not including ads, to SERPs, and compares it with a year-old screenshot where the search engine dedicated as much as 53%. Looking at how Product Listing Ads now serve up in results, it's not difficult to see the change. Apparently, Matt Cutts took concern with that issue, and in a Hacker News discussion thread tells us why ads can become more helpful than organic …