Apple

SearchCap: The Day In Search, September 30, 2011

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Confirmed: Google Panda 2.4 Update Arrived This Week Google has confirmed that the latest iteration of its Panda algorithm update is live. Based on our tracking of the algo changes, this […]

Google

Confirmed: Google Panda 2.5 Update Arrived This Week

Google has confirmed that the latest iteration of its Panda algorithm update is live. Based on our tracking of the algorithm changes, this is Panda Update 2.5. Google declined to share any specifics about what types of sites, pages or content this update targeted, instead only sharing the company’s default statement: We’re continuing to iterate […]

Google

Google Shows “Helicopter View” Of Routing On Maps

Google will now allow you to take a virtual aerial trip in Google Maps/Earth along a contemplated route. They’ve informally called it “helicopter view.” It’s a pretty cool feature, although perhaps not as “useful” as traffic information. You plot a route (“Get Directions”) between two points and click a button and the animation takes over. […]

Analytics & conversion

Event Tracking 101 For Google Analytics

Setting up Analytics accounts has evolved beyond installing “generated” scripts on pages and calling it a day. What started with the advent of software that told us how many “hits” we got a day has evolved into a sophisticated decision assistance engine, and keeping up on the new and cutting edge offers full time employment […]

Ecommerce

Yahoo Favors Its Own Download Site, Then Offers Yahoo Toolbar Download, Too

While the US government accuses Google of, in part, favoring its own properties in search results, Yahoo appears to be doing the same thing on download-related searches. And, in the process of offering downloads of popular software, Yahoo is also offering searchers additional downloads including the Yahoo Toolbar. This was first spotted by GFI Labs, […]

Apple

Chromezone: Google Opens A Retail Store In London

Years from now, when we’re comparing the number of Google, Apple and Microsoft branded stores around the world, let’s remember that, for Google, it all began in late September 2011 with a small retail mini-store in London. According to the Evening Standard, Google’s mini-store is called “Chromezone” and is located inside a PC World store. […]

Content

Facebook “Frictionless Sharing” Creating Friction With Privacy Advocates, Regulators

Mark Zuckerberg at F8, the Facebook developer conference held last week, exhorted people to “tell their life story” on Facebook via its new Timeline feature. Facebook also promoted new Open Graph apps integration and so-called “frictionless sharing.” But frictionless sharing is already creating a great deal of friction for Facebook in privacy circles and with […]

Google

Google Adds “Site Health” To Webmaster Tools Home Page

Saying that it wants to help website owners prioritize their work, Google has added a new “site health” view to the Webmaster Tools home page. The next time you visit Webmaster Tools, Google will show the sites in your account sorted with those in need of work at the top. Here’s a screenshot of Google’s […]

Google

Google Maps Sports New Look & Feel

Don’t be alarmed the next time you use Google Maps: Yes, pretty much everything looks just a little bit different than it did yesterday. There’s not a single, major change; instead, almost all of the individual pieces of the Google Maps interface have been updated: the red marker pins, the navigation controls, the Satellite/Earth/Traffic/etc. widget […]

SEO

Google: No Longer Guessing About Celebrity Sexual Orientation

Wondering if some celebrity is Gay, Lesbian, Straight or Bisexual? Plenty of people do and turn to Google to find out. But the search engine just stopped offering direct answers about these questions, after they became more noticeable. Google’s “Best Guess” About Sexual Orientations Here’s an example of one of the answers that were being shown, […]

Google algorithm updates

SearchCap: The Day In Search, September 29, 2011

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Bing’s New Airport Maps Aim To Make Air Travel Easier Finally, some good news for air travelers: Flying gets a little bit easier with Bing’s launch of detailed U.S. airport maps. […]

Bing

Bing’s New Airport Maps Aim To Make Air Travel Easier

Finally, some good news for air travelers: Flying gets a little bit easier with Bing’s launch of detailed U.S. airport maps. Much like the previously announced shopping mall maps, Bing’s airport maps take searchers inside the airport to see things like gate locations, stores and restaurants on each concourse, restroom locations and more. Searchers will […]

Ecommerce

Flickr (Finally) Has An Android App

It sure took a long time, but Flickr has finally launched its first Android app. Flickr has had an iPhone app for more than two years. The new Android app appears to offer several features not available on the iPhone version — including filters to help edit photos before publishing, and additional sharing options. The […]

Ecommerce

Holiday Season Countdown Kickoffs For Online Marketers

Driving back from work today, my lovely wife mentioned that she can’t wait to have a pumpkin spiced latte and then proceeded with the list of holiday gifts that she would like to receive. This can only mean one thing: holiday season is around the corner. For most people, holiday musings bring to mind family, […]

Content

Compete.com: Google Slowly Losing Market Share, Bing Slowly Gaining

Compete.com has weighed in with its US search engine market share statistics, and the results mirror what others have been reporting in recent months: small, slow losses in Google’s market share, and correspondingly slow gains for Bing. According to Compete’s research, Google-powered search (which includes both Google and AOL) had 68.3% of the US market […]

SEO

Warren Buffett’s Business Wire Awarded Patent For Press Release SEO

Submitting press releases in hopes of gaining search traffic has long been an SEO tactic. But now Business Wire — one of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway companies — has been granted a patent over it. That’s pretty nuts. SEOing Press Releases, Patented! Yousaf Sekander over at ElevateLocal spotted the news and has his own write-up […]

Apple

Employing Microformats & Structured Data For Enhanced Search Engine Visibility

With the introduction of the schema.org vocabulary, much attention has been focused on the benefits of employing structured data for improved visibility in the search engines. The mostly widely cited and easily verifiable of these benefits is the generation of rich snippets:  a specially formatted search result block that includes information specific to the type […]

Analytics & conversion

18 Considerations To Determine Which Call Tracking Metrics Matter For Your Business

One challenge for online marketers is data overload. There’s often so much data that sometimes it’s hard to know which key performance indicators matter. Revenue, leads, clicks, calls, conversions, or revenue . . . what should you pay attention to? If you’re considering adding call tracking data to the mix, here are three sets of questions to ask yourself: A. […]

Analytics & conversion

The Art Of Seductive Landing Pages

People don’t just want to be educated about what you offer. They want to be seduced. Yes, seduced. Being seduced is an exhilarating experience. (If you haven’t tried it yet, I highly recommend it.) Yes, we want to be educated and make rational decisions that optimize our goals. But we also yearn to be romanced, […]

Content

Google Intros AdWords For Video, Folding In YouTube Features

In a bid to unify its advertising interfaces and improve reporting for YouTube video ads, Google is launching a limited public beta of “AdWords for Video” — which includes four “TrueView” video ad formats, for which advertisers pay when the video is viewed or started by a user. The release integrates video advertising, previously housed […]

Content

Sen. Franken Criticizes Google In Hearings, Praises Google In Promotional Video

Politics are messy and often riddled with ethical potholes and challenges. One illustration of this is Senator Al Franken’s apparent “conflict of interest” where Google is concerned. Discovered by Mike Blumenthal Franken did a “commercial” on behalf of Google’s “Get Your Business Online” initiative in Minnesota. Blumethal characterizes Franken as “shilling for Google.” It’s not […]

SEO

Want To Speak @ SMX Social Media Marketing? Here’s How

The agenda is live, and we’re now accepting submissions to speak at SMX Social Media Marketing 2011, Scottsdale, AZ, on December 5-6, 2011. To increase the odds of being selected, be sure to read the agenda. Understand what the sessions are about. Ensure that your pitch is on target to the show’s audience and the […]

Google Analytics

SearchCap: The Day In Search, September 28, 2011

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: How You Can Build Links Easily With Product Reviews The art of building links to increase search rankings has been a big topic in the SEO community for a long time. […]

Link building

How You Can Build Links Easily With Product Reviews

The art of building links to increase search rankings has been a big topic in the SEO community for a long time. This always seems to be the topic of discussion at the Search Engine Optimization meetings I attend each month. Everyone seems to be looking for the latest and greatest ways to increase in-house […]

Amazon

Amazon “Fire” Android Tablet Undermines Google

Amazon’s new “Fire” Android tablet is an incredible act of audacity that thumbs its nose at Google, while using Google’s mobile OS in the background. Nowhere does the Google or Android brand appear on the device. Amazon has even created its own browser (“Silk”) for mobile web access. Fire is an Android tablet without the […]

Link building

A Holiday & Seasonal Event-Driven Link Building Primer

With the holiday season fast approaching, let’s run through a quick event-driven link marketing strategy primer, with a few examples. For this column, I’ll focus on the most basic of event-driven link marketing techniques. With this technique, you get out your calendar, look a few months ahead to see what’s coming, then look for ways […]

Paid social

A Revamped Delicious Increases Imagery & Adds “Stacks”

Back in May, the social bookmarking site Delicious was purchased from Yahoo! by AVOS (a company led by the founders of YouTube) and innovative features were promised for the community. Yesterday, the newest version of Delicious launched, with quite a new look: The new look Delicious features many enhancements, including stacked bookmarks (called “stacks”) and […]

SEO

Larry Page: Biggest Threat To Google? “Google”

It’s the Google Zeitgeist conference, Google’s big event for major partners and advertisers. Last session of the event? A talk with Google CEO Larry Page and chairman Eric Schmidt. Here’s my live blog, ending with the Page’s answer that Google has nothing to fear but Google itself. Larry says he hopes everyone is inspired by […]

Apple

SearchCap: The Day In Search, September 27, 2011

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Old AdSense Interface To Be Retired in November Google has worked the most-requested features from its older interface into its new one, including creating scheduled reports and viewing channels on the […]

Google Ads

Old AdSense Interface To Be Retired in November

Google has worked the most-requested features from its older interface into its new one, including creating scheduled reports and viewing channels on the Home tab. Now, it’s getting ready to sunset the old interface, as of mid-November. So, Google is urging AdSense publishers to take the time now to familiarize themselves with the new interface, […]

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