No sooner did I hit "publish" on my earlier post, Google’s "Voice Assistant" Not Quite Siri-Smart But Most People Won’t Notice, than people on Twitter started responding that I was out of my mind. A couple of people cited a Piper Jaffray study, published yesterday, comparing the accuracy and breadth of Siri "search results" vs. Google in a "street test" in Minneapolis. Google Gets a "B+" Siri Gets a "D" In short Google was graded with a "B+" in terms of accuracy, while Siri got a "D." It's really an "apples to oranges" comparison, however. Let's take a look at the methodology. Piper J [...]

Related Topics: Apple: Siri | Channel: Mobile | Google: Mobile | Google: Voice Search

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google’s “Voice Assistant” Not Quite Siri-Smart But Most People Won’t NoticeAt Google I/O this week Google introduced spoken search results, which mimic Siri’s functionality on the iPhone. Siri had been a major point of differentiation between Android handsets and the iPhone, despite Google’s preexisting voice search. The new Google female voice actually sounds less like a machine and more natural than Siri. And there [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | SearchCap

At Google I/O this week Google introduced spoken search results, which mimic Siri's functionality on the iPhone. Siri had been a major point of differentiation between Android handsets and the iPhone, despite Google's preexisting voice search. The new Google female voice actually sounds less like a machine and more natural than Siri. And there are already a number of video demos favorably comparing Google's "Voice Assistant" to Siri (see below). Since Google didn't give her a name (or not one that we've heard yet), I'll call her "JB" for Jelly Bean. The following side-by-side video belo [...]

Related Topics: Apple: Siri | Channel: Mobile | Google: Google Now | Google: Mobile | Google: Voice | Google: Voice Search | Search Engines: Mobile Search Engines | Top News

It's time again to update your AdWords Editor desktop software. Google today released version 9.8.1 which will now let users add and edit dynamic search ads and product listing ads. Each of these ad formats now has its own tab, and these types of ads can now be managed on two new targeting tabs. The new version also adds a Locations tab (under Targeting), where users can add, update and copy location targets. The company has also made changes to CSV imports and exports, and changed text on the software to match that within the AdWords website interface. Here are the full release notes [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords

All the talk today about Bing's launch of a disavow this link tool is a good reminder that we should go back into our video archives and post the comments that Google's Matt Cutts made about a tool like that during our SMX Advanced event earlier this month. Cutts was speaking with Search Engine Land's Danny Sullivan during their annual keynote conversation when the subject turned to "negative SEO" and the possibility that some recent Google updates had made it easier for one website to purposely hurt another site with low-quality links. Here's some of that discussion: You can go back [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Google: Disavow Links Tool | Google: SEO | Google: Webmaster Central | Link Building: General

The new Google Shopping is based off of your typical paid comparison shopping engine, such as Pricegrabber, Nextag or Shopping.com. It’s a move that presents significant opportunity to the merchants who chose to stay and play in the market-rate CPC program, with no minimum CPCs. Many small merchants and some SEOs have shown their disgust with the move and will  likely take their products elsewhere to advertise. Affiliates will also have trouble on Google Shopping, making the potential traffic pie much larger. Even marketplaces will be affected. Merchants who sell on Ebay or Amazon [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Retail | Google: Product Search | Search & Retail

In this week's Search In Pictures, here are the latest images culled from the web, showing what people eat at the search engine companies, how they play, who they meet, where they speak, what toys they have, and more. Neon Fur Man With Sergey Bring: Source: Google+ Android Jelly Bean: Source: Google+ Android Kids: Source: Google+ Google Beach Party: Source: Flickr [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | Search In Pictures

Google doesn't always penalize you for bad links, they sometimes and very often, will ignore links completely that they find to be against their guidelines. Back in 2007, Google started penalizing sites for selling paid links and over the years they have penalized many sites for buying links. Recently, Google has stepped up their notifications of unnatural link warnings and with the Penguin update many webmasters have been obsessed with cleaning up their external link profiles. Ignoring Links But you need to know, not all links that may look bad or even be really bad actually harm your si [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Google: Disavow Links Tool | Google: SEO | Google: Web Search | Google: Webmaster Central | Link Building: General | Link Building: Paid Links

An interesting challenge came across my desk this week. A site owner had installed a new contact form plugin on their WordPress website and they were struggling with tracking the submissions. The form submit button triggered some JavaScript and didn't then open its own thank you page within the site. The problem? Virtual Pageviews were previously chosen as the necessary method of seeing submissions. The new form was not recording those Virtual Pageviews. Something was wrong with the tracking setup when using the new contact form handling system. Unfortunately, the need for this new [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Analytics | Google: Analytics | Search & Analytics

Google has long made it possible for users of YouTube to skip ads. Now, it's adding that capability to the Display Network, letting people hit an "X" to dismiss, or mute, the currently-displaying ad. Google says it will use the signal as a way to deliver more relevant ads to consumers. Once a person mutes a certain ad, he or she will no longer see ads from that campaign. After the ad is muted, the user sees a confirmation, which leads them -- if they click -- to Google's Ads Preferences manager, where they may further fine-tune Google's profile of them. The new feature should be especially [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords | Top News

For years, Google's webmaster guidelines have noted that attempts to manipulate Google's algorithms with artificial external link profiles (paid links, link schemes and the like) are violations and that Google may take action (by removing the site from the index or lowering its ranking).  This year, Google starting alerting site owners with "unnatural links", recommending that they remove them. Google also launched a new algorithm called Penguin, aimed at flagging sites that attempt to manipulate Google's guidelines with spam techniques such as artificial link profiles. One of the recommen [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Features: Analysis | Google: Disavow Links Tool | Microsoft: Bing SEO | Microsoft: Bing Webmaster Tools | Top News

Google continues to hold a death-grip on search market share in the U.S., but Experian Hitwise says that Bing has taken five percent of Google's market share in the last 12 months. According to Hitwise's market share stats for May 2012, Google accounted for 65 percent of all U.S. searches -- down from 68 percent a year ago. Meanwhile, Bing-powered searches in May accounted for 28.1 percent, which is up from 26.8 percent last year at this time. That's a five percent year-over-year decline for Google, and a five percent gain for Bing-powered search share. Hitwise credits Yahoo with [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Strategy | Stats: Hitwise | Stats: Popularity | Top News

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Make Deal With French Anti-Racism Groups Over ‘Jew’ Search SuggestionsGoogle in deal with French groups over ‘Jew’ suggestion via the AFP reports Google has made a deal with several French anti-racism groups of Google offering ‘Jew’ to the search suggestions for several prominent names in that country. Our earlier story named Google Queries Reveal Potential "Underground" Anti-Semitism In France explains that [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | SearchCap

Google in deal with French groups over 'Jew' suggestion via the AFP reports Google has made a deal with several French anti-racism groups of Google offering 'Jew' to the search suggestions for several prominent names in that country. Our earlier story named Google Queries Reveal Potential "Underground" Anti-Semitism In France explains that the French people are routinely searching on politicians’ names followed by the world "juif," which means "Jewish" in French. This may imply a strong sense of anti-Semitism, which is known to have been prominent in the history of many European countrie [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Google: Legal | Google: Outside US | Google: Suggest | Google: Web Search

Microsoft announced today, that in conjunction with Nokia, Bing has added "more than 2,700 venue maps" in North America, Europe and Asia. You can access them online at Bing.com/maps ("explore venue maps"). In the US and UK markets venue (indoor) maps are also available on Windows Phones and through the Bing app for the iPhone. The following are the categories of venue maps on Bing (numbers indicate coverage in the US): Airports (85) Amusement Parks (1) Casinos (25) Community Centers (1) Convention Centers (2) Hotels (2) Malls (1370) Museums (1) [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Local | Google: Maps & Local | Microsoft: Bing | Microsoft: Bing Maps & Local | Microsoft: Outside US | Microsoft: Partnerships

[caption id="attachment_125983" align="alignright" width="250" caption="I tried to give Roger (@SEOmoz) a hug. #YOLO"][/caption] SMX Advanced is my favorite conference of the year. Hands down. The sessions are always memorable, and I get to see a lot of the SEO "old timers" - you know...the SEOs who have been in the game for at least 10 years, which is like 70 years in Internet time. In conclusion, SMX Advanced is awesome, and this year's conference was everything I thought it would be. By now, I'm sure you have probably read all the SMX Advanced recaps, so I'm not going to bore you w [...]

Related Topics: All Things SEO | Channel: SEO | SEM Industry: Conferences

AdWords advertisers on Google's Display Network can now use multiple targeting methods at the ad group level, rather than the campaign level, via a new feature called "Flexible Reach." The option was first reported by Philly Marketing Labs on its blog, but it is already appearing in accounts and in AdWords Help. With Flexible Reach, which can be enabled now within the campaign settings under Networks, advertisers can, for example, choose to target to a specific placement or placements -- so the ads only show there. Alternatively, they can choose to bid differently for these placements, [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords

As of yesterday Google's new offline mapping capability for Android devices is now live (with a Google Maps update). It was announced a couple of weeks ago at the Google Maps "next dimension" event that preceded the announcement of Apple's new mapping platform. Offline maps are available for 150 countries, and users can save offline maps for up to six large metropolitan areas (e.g., Manhattan). To save a map, you search for the desired location, pull up the mapping menu (not the layers) and select "make available offline." You'll be asked to confirm or crop the area of the map you want t [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile | Google: Maps & Local | Google: Mobile

Yahoo has suffered through its fair share of turmoil over the last few years: a revolving door of CEOs, significant layoffs, investor revolts, and a declining share of the search space, both paid and organic. One recent bright spot for Yahoo was their first year over year growth in search revenues after traffic acquisition costs (ex-TAC)  since their alliance with Microsoft in the fourth quarter of 2010. In fact, before last quarter, Yahoo hadn't shown Y/Y growth in search revenue ex-TAC since they began reporting it in 2009. Not too shabby then, and Yahoo's results were generally well [...]

Related Topics: Advanced | Channel: SEM | Enterprise SEM | How To | How To: PPC | Microsoft: Bing Ads | Search Marketing: Branding | Yahoo

Google announced a few upgrades and new features to its Maps and Places APIs during the Google I/O developers conference on Wednesday. On the API front, Google Maps' Product Manager Thor Mitchell announced that business reviews are now available in the Google Places API. Developers will be able to access the top five reviews associated with a business listing, but there was no explanation for how the top five reviews are determined. Mitchell also said Google is working on adding full Zagat review data to the Places API. The Google Maps API now includes one of the most oft-requested deve [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Local | Google: APIs | Google: Maps & Local