More from Search Engine Land: Page 3

Content

Sponsored Study Argues Google’s “Rival Links” Don’t Drive Enough CTRs To Rivals

Google’s original antitrust settlement proposal, negotiated with the European Commission, was attacked by Google competitors and critics as being a token concession to competition. Anti-Google lobbying group FairSearch.org sponsored a consumer study that argued Google’s presentation of three “rival links” to competitors in search results did little to drive traffic to competitors’ websites. In September Google presented a […]

Greg Sterling | Dec 13, 2013 at 9:18 am ET

PPC

Staying Competitive In PPC: Learning From Black Friday’s Most Popular Offers

The five-day Black Friday weekend from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday provided an insightful glimpse into how retailers are running their PPC strategies for the holidays. Particularly interesting are the variety of offer types run by retailers, ranging from the expected free shipping to 2-in-1 offers which include two offers in the same ad. Since shoppers […]

Lori Weiman | Dec 13, 2013 at 9:15 am ET

Google

Google Testing Ads On The Knowledge Graph

Google is testing showing ads on the Knowledge Graph. Gianluca Fiorelli from Spain shared a screen shot of the ad format on Twitter. The new ad format seems to be a local ad that shows local dealers specifically for the new car knowledge graph format. Here is a picture showing local dealers that may sell […]

Barry Schwartz | Dec 13, 2013 at 9:12 am ET

Content

November 2013 Search Market Share Frozen, Overall Query Volume Down

It’s very cold in many parts of the US right now. And just like much of the country, the relative market share positions of the major search engines are essentially frozen. November search market share data from comScore reflects virtually no change from last month. Google lost a fraction of a percent and Yahoo gained […]

Greg Sterling | Dec 12, 2013 at 7:49 pm ET

Google Shopping

SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 12, 2013

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 Christmas & Kwanzaa Decorations Are Live For 2013 A few weeks ago, Google added their Hanukkah decorations, but now that Christmas and Kwanzaa are just around the corner, Google has […]

Barry Schwartz | Dec 12, 2013 at 5:04 pm ET

Ecommerce

Google’s Christmas & Kwanzaa Decorations Are Live For 2013

A few weeks ago, Google added their Hanukkah decorations but now that Christmas and Kwanzaa are just around the corner, Google has now outfitted their top bar for the special holidays. The Christmas theme can be seen on Google by searching [christmas] and the Kwanzaa theme can be seen on Google by searching [kwanzaa]. The […]

Barry Schwartz | Dec 12, 2013 at 4:59 pm ET

Bing

Bing’s Knowledge Repository, Satori, Adds More Interactive Content

Dr. Richard Qian from the Microsoft Bing Index & Knowledge Team announced some major updates to Satori, Bing’s version of Google’s knowledge graph. The updates are vast and incredibly smart, making the Bing knowledge repository a lot more useful and interactive. The new features include: Links to TED Talks when people searches return the talks […]

Barry Schwartz | Dec 12, 2013 at 1:18 pm ET

Apple

Google Adds “Now” Content, Features To iOS Maps Apps

In October, Google started adding Google Now style cards to its PC Maps. Now, Google is adding some of those same features to its iOS Maps apps. If you update Google Maps for iOS and sign in, you can now see flight, hotel, and restaurant reservations from Gmail in Maps — and then search or […]

Greg Sterling | Dec 12, 2013 at 12:24 pm ET

SEO

Survey: Majority Use Mobile Search, Find It “Harder Than PC”

In the cross-platform, post-PC era, the big question the search industry faces is whether and how PC search behaviors are extending into mobile. The short answer is they are. Google has sponsored research that shows majorities of smartphone owners use search engines (74 percent). Yet mobile search, even voice-enabled search, is an awkward version of its […]

Greg Sterling | Dec 12, 2013 at 10:21 am ET

Google

4 Recent Changes To SEO That Are Vital To Holiday Retail Strategy

It’s the holiday season again, and while certain sectors may be winding down for a relaxing month of festivities, online sellers are revving up their retail strategy. It’s a crucial, make-or-break time of year for retailers to excel in customer service, gift-wrapping services, and, of course, search. A lot has happened in digital marketing in […]

Nathan Safran | Dec 12, 2013 at 10:00 am ET

Google

Google Webmaster Tools Upgrades Structure Data Markup Errors Report

Google’s Webmaster Trends Analyst Mariya Moeva announced, on the Google Webmaster blog, a new update to Google Webmaster Tools where they now show items with errors in the Structured Data dashboard. This can help webmasters better debug issues they are having with their structured data markup. Google is showing the item-level error, but the top-level […]

Barry Schwartz | Dec 12, 2013 at 9:19 am ET

Bing

The Test Continues: Which Shopping Search Engine Finds The Best Price For A Blu-Ray?

It’s time for our second test of how well Google Shopping and other shopping search engines find the best prices on products. For this installment, what’s the lowest price from a major retailer for a copy of “Red 2” in the Blu-ray, DVD and digital download combo pack? Is The Featured Price The Lowest Price? […]

Danny Sullivan | Dec 12, 2013 at 9:00 am ET

Google Ads

3 Components Of Geo-Targeting Excellence For 2014

Smart use of the geo-targeting controls through Enhanced Campaigns in AdWords will prove to be the single largest opportunity for paid search marketers in 2014. Geo-targeting is nothing new. It has been a foundational element for local and regional businesses since the very early days of AdWords. What Enhanced Campaigns gives us is the ability […]

George Michie | Dec 12, 2013 at 9:00 am ET

Google algorithm updates

SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 11, 2013

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Analyst Gives Both Google Now And Siri A “C+” Piper Jaffray financial analyst Gene Munster performed his now annual comparison of Google Voice Search/Google Now and Siri to determine which one […]

Matt McGee | Dec 11, 2013 at 5:00 pm ET

Apple

Analyst Gives Both Google Now And Siri A “C+”

Piper Jaffray financial analyst Gene Munster performed his now annual comparison of Google Voice Search/Google Now and Siri to determine which one performed better. Using 800 queries under a variety of “controlled” and “uncontrolled” conditions, Munster and his team tested and compared the two “assistants.” Munster gave Google Voice Search/Now a C+, an improvement from the […]

Greg Sterling | Dec 11, 2013 at 10:15 am ET

Ecommerce

This Holiday Shopping Season, Searching Google For “Pearl Necklace” Leads To NSFW Surprise

Those using Google to find the perfect pearl necklace for their significant other this holiday season may be in for a rude surprise. If you search for “pearl necklace,” one of the top results is a definition from Urban Dictionary, which is completely not safe for work. A reader sent us an email about the shock […]

Barry Schwartz | Dec 11, 2013 at 9:28 am ET

PPC

Don’t Dismiss Broad Match: It’s Come A Long Way

A red car is a red car. Unless it’s a maroon sedan. Or a crimson convertible. Or a burgundy truck. Or, for that matter, a red car. Search marketers know that bidding for exact search terms — a [red car], for instance — yields a high degree of precision, reaching searchers who are very specific […]

John Cosley | Dec 11, 2013 at 9:00 am ET

Pinterest

Brand Bias: 70% Of Consumers Look For Known Retailers When Doing Product Searches

New research from Search Engine Land and SurveyMonkey shows that consumers have a definite brand bias when it comes to searching for products online. According to data from a survey conducted last month, almost 70 percent of US consumers said they look for a “Known retailer” when deciding what search results they click on. That […]

Matt McGee | Dec 11, 2013 at 9:00 am ET

Link building

SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 10, 2013

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: It’s True! Bing Ads Allows Use Of Exclamation Mark In Ad Titles After reading the news yesterday that Bing Ads has made a change to its Editorial Guidelines prohibiting third-party sellers […]

Barry Schwartz | Dec 10, 2013 at 4:59 pm ET

Advertising

It’s True! Bing Ads Allows Use Of Exclamation Mark In Ad Titles

After reading the news yesterday that Bing Ads has made a change to its Editorial Guidelines prohibiting third-party sellers from appearing as an original brand, I noticed this notation in the change log from November: We have removed the restriction on use of exclamation points in ad titles from the Content and Style Guidelines. A […]

Ginny Marvin | Dec 10, 2013 at 4:23 pm ET

Google SEO

Google’s Matt Cutts: Guest Blogging Abuse & Spam On The Rise

Google’s Matt Cutts posted a video today on the things one should avoid when doing guest blogging. The main point he made was that guest blogging, on a whole, is “growing” in terms of the spam and abuse he sees in the guest blogging space. Now, if you are guest blogging, Matt offered four-points on […]

Barry Schwartz | Dec 10, 2013 at 2:49 pm ET

Bing

Yahoo Tells SEC: 31% Of Our Revenue Comes From Microsoft

Yahoo has revealed in a US Securities & Exchange Commission filing that nearly one-third of its revenue last quarter — 31% — came from its search deal with Microsoft, according to a Bloomberg report. That’s far higher than the “more than 10%” figure Yahoo previously acknowledged, making it seem even more difficult for the company […]

Danny Sullivan | Dec 10, 2013 at 2:41 pm ET

Analytics & conversion

Traffic: How To Analyze Quantity Vs. Quality

Google has released some great traffic-boosting campaign types over the last year, such as dynamic search ads and product listing ads (PLAs). While it’s great to be bringing in this additional traffic year-on-year, it’s important to analyse this traffic increase against Analytics metrics to ensure that the quality of your traffic is also improving. Are […]

Rebekah Schelfhout | Dec 10, 2013 at 1:35 pm ET

Advertising

Bizible Adds Google AdWords ROI Reporting For Salesforce

Bizible, a marketing analytics app for Salesforce.com, has launched a feature to enable Google AdWords cost data to be imported and tied to actual revenue posted in Salesforce. The AdWords ROI Dashboard enables revenue tracking against keywords, ads, ad groups and campaigns. The AdWords ROI Dasbboard was released generally last week. The company says beta […]

Ginny Marvin | Dec 10, 2013 at 12:51 pm ET

Content

4 Surprising Ways CPG Brands Are Using Paid Search For Brand Marketing [Study]

Consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers have been spending an average of $6.2 million monthly on Google AdWords in the US over the past three years, according to a new AdGooroo study which looked at ad impressions between August 2012 and July 2013.  All of the CPG companies engaged in brand marketing, but AdGooroo found that […]

Ginny Marvin | Dec 10, 2013 at 11:37 am ET

PPC

Majestic Search Explorer Now Displays Ranking Factors

In October, Majestic SEO decided to launch their own alpha search engine named Search Explorer. Today, Dixon Jones from Majestic, announced an added feature to the search engine that the SEO community might like. The feature shows you why the search tool ranked the results as they did. Dixon explain that not only will Search […]

Barry Schwartz | Dec 10, 2013 at 10:48 am ET

PPC

Moz Launches MozCast Feature Graph: Tool To See Google Features By Query

Moz announced a new MozCast feature named Google SERP Feature Graph. In short, this feature does two things: (1) It shows you how often a specific feature is found being used in the Google search results. (2) It lets you see search results that should show those features on the live Google search results page. […]

Barry Schwartz | Dec 10, 2013 at 9:59 am ET

Content

How Do You Differentiate Yourself From Your Competitors?

I recently acquired a new client that is a competitor of a site to which I’m personally loyal. At a neighborhood party, I overheard someone mention this new client, so I asked if he’d ever been to the other site (the one I’m so personally loyal to), and he had never heard of them. Conflicted, […]

Julie Joyce | Dec 10, 2013 at 9:00 am ET

Apple

SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 9, 2013

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 Matt Cutts: Link Spamming Google For A Specific Time Period? Then Mass Disavow Those Links. In a recent video released by Matt Cutts, Google’s head of search spam, Matt answered […]

Barry Schwartz | Dec 9, 2013 at 5:01 pm ET

Content

Google’s Matt Cutts: Link Spamming Google For A Specific Time Period? Then Mass Disavow Those Links.

In a recent video released by Matt Cutts, Google’s head of search spam, Matt answered the question, “How can a site recover from a period of spamming links?” The example given was when Interflora was penalized by Google for buying links and only was penalized for 11 days. The question was, how can a site […]

Barry Schwartz | Dec 9, 2013 at 2:17 pm ET

Apple

Following Android Refresh, Bing Intros New iPad Experience

Last week, Bing refreshed its Android app. Today, Bing announced an upgrade of its app for the iPad. The primary driver of the redesign was iOS 7 and the aesthetics of the new Bing app are intended to match the new Apple OS. One of the most promoted new features, as on the Android app, […]

Greg Sterling | Dec 9, 2013 at 1:52 pm ET

Google

Google Debuts +Post Ads: Lets Brands Turn Google+ Content Into Ads On GDN

Google has introduced its first monetization effort for its social networking platform, Google+. Rather than running ads directly within the platform, Google has announced a new ad unit called +Post ads, which allow brands to turn their Google+ content into expandable display ads. Those ads can then run across the Google Display Network. Brands can […]

Ginny Marvin | Dec 9, 2013 at 12:08 pm ET

Google algorithm updates

99 Zingers – Tips That Will Challenge Your Digital Marketing Beliefs

I love using short, one-line zinger phrases to communicate key points about any given topic, and SEO is no exception. I have accumulated tons of these and decided to compile them into a single post! To supplement my list, I posted on Google+ to crowdsource more of them; for each of those provided to me, […]

Eric Enge | Dec 9, 2013 at 9:10 am ET

Local

8 Tips For Planning Your Small Business’ 2014 Marketing Strategy

While the holiday season is undoubtedly a busy period for small business owners, it’s important to set aside time to plan your marketing strategy for the year ahead. How will you continue to maintain and grow your business in 2014? What plans do you have to keep your business on track and stay ahead of […]

Wesley Young | Dec 9, 2013 at 9:00 am ET

Ecommerce

Grace Hopper Honored With Google Logo To Mark The Computer Scientist’s 107th Birthday

Not only a pioneer in the field of computer programming, Grace Hopper was the oldest active-duty commissioned officer in the US Navy at the time of her retirement. While serving in the Navy Reserves, Hopper was one of the original programmers of the Harvard Mark I computer and is credited with developing the first compiler […]

Amy Gesenhues | Dec 9, 2013 at 8:54 am ET

Ecommerce

Google News Reader Is Updated For Android & iOS, With Customized Settings & Added Desktop Features

Google is updating the look and feel of its News reader on Android and iOS devices, as well as adding a few new features. According to the announcement, the new Google News reader for Android and iOS offers three new customized settings: the option to change the theme from light to dark, reduce or increase […]

Amy Gesenhues | Dec 6, 2013 at 4:31 pm ET

Google algorithm updates

SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 6, 2013

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 Busts Yet Another Link Network: Anglo Rank Google’s head of search spam, Matt Cutts, just confirmed on Twitter that Google has targeted another “private link network” – this one is […]

Matt McGee | Dec 6, 2013 at 3:57 pm ET

Content

Google Busts Yet Another Link Network: Anglo Rank

Google’s head of search spam, Matt Cutts, just confirmed on Twitter that Google has targeted another “private link network” – this one is named Anglo Rank. Matt’s tweet was pretty direct, he wrote: “There are absolutely NO footprints linking the websites together” Oh, Anglo Rank. That is a quote directly from Anglo Rank’s marketing material, […]

Barry Schwartz | Dec 6, 2013 at 3:20 pm ET

Ecommerce

Google Officially Testing Images In Web Search Results Snippets

Google has confirmed they are running a user interface in the search results to show images within the web search snippets. Reader, Samuel Edwards from Tenthwave Digital sent us a screen shot of this unusual Google search results test. A Google spokesperson confirmed this is indeed one of Google’s many tests. Here is a picture […]

Barry Schwartz | Dec 6, 2013 at 12:56 pm ET

Bing

Bing Brings Enhanced Mapping To Windows 8.1

Yesterday Microsoft announced “Bing Maps Preview” for Windows 8.1 (including tablets). The new mapping app offers a range of enhanced features and capabilities. It seeks to bring highly realistic, 3-D imagery together with a more intuitive UI. Google Earth and what used to be called Microsoft Virtual Earth have always been a bit slow and […]

Greg Sterling | Dec 6, 2013 at 12:43 pm ET