More Google+ distribution tricks, a bad month for daily deals, and an odd IPO…

Google+ Now in Gmail

Yesterday, Google added Google+ hangouts to Youtube. Now Gmail is showing recent Google+ activity. This is a clever way to convince people to update their own Google+ profiles regularly. (Or to convince them to do a one-time “I don’t use this account” update.)

Inside Google’s Search Updates

Google has posted a video about their search algorithm update process. Nothing too new here; the numbers are the same ones people usually cite, and the search process has always been best understood as the scientific method on a massive scale: hypothesis, lots of testing, and the occasional paradigm shift just to keep things interesting.

Pandora’s Solid Quarter

Pandora reported massive growth in revenue and minutes listened, but still no profits. One nagging issue: revenue per minute is down. Meanwhile, “Content Acquisition” cost per minute is up. This doesn’t mean it’s impossible for them to turn this into a profitable business, but it does constrain them.

Yipit’s Daily Deal Update

Groupon’s not dead yet. Per Yipit, their marketshare is up month over month, while the daily deal market as a whole is weak. Travel is turning into a major category (which must be frustrating to Travelzoo, which has been in the travel daily deal business since before Groupon existed). The fact that new players can enter an old business and do well at it is a sign that group-buying has more brand value or user loyalty than previous suspected.

Dealer.com’s Big Raise

Dealer.com, a provider of auto dealer marketing software, raised $30mm from Accel. Industry-specific software usually has limited market potential, but the car dealer market is enormous (and already spends ridiculous amounts of money on TV ads). So this deal has a very late-stage feel, in terms of size and risk/reward profile.

Angie’s List Files for IPO

Angie’s List is preparing to raise money. It’s a pretty odd filing. They’re losing money, and have been for a while, and they’re far more mature than other local business competitors. A closer look at their financials reveals that they step up marketing whenever they get close to breakeven, which is the sort of behavior common among companies with an unlimited financial backstop.

SEOMoz on “Article Marketing”

SEOMoz analyzes the venerable marketing practice of article marketing, which actually means a variety of things—everything from pointlessly gaming the system to what amounts to guest blogging for people who don’t make friends easily. The latter has been relentlessly devalued since it’s more expensive than the former, but it still shows up in some SEO campaigns.

Google Brands “Google Reviews”

Google is calling their local reviews “Google Reviews,” apparently in an effort to extend the brand name. This is a nice addition to their bootstrapping strategy: first they had reviews from everyone but Google, then they had a mix of reviews, now “Google Reviews” are showing up far ahead of the non-Google reviews that catalyzed them in the first place.

In other Google news, Max Levchin is leaving. Levchin came on board to make Google’s social initiatives happen, so this is unfortunate timing. The former softwarewunderkind (probably a little old for the title, probably now just a wunder) tends to start new startups pretty quickly after leaving old ones; it will be interesting to see what he’s up to next.