Apr 1, 2012 at 3:37am ET by Matt McGee

It was right about this time last year when we gave Google the winner's trophy for a series of gags that put all others to shame. We could do the same again right now, because Google has tried to top itself with another round of April Fool's Day jokes that pretty well span the globe of Google's international properties. Below is a recap of Google's (and a few others) pranks, and we'll do our best to update this as the day goes along. Google Racing: Self-Driving Cars Hit NASCAR The main joke at the moment is Google's "announcement" of a partnership with NASCAR called Google Racing, whi [...]

Firefox To Use Google Secure Search By Default; Expect More “Not Provided” Keywords To Follow

Mar 21, 2012 at 11:47pm ET by Danny Sullivan

The popular Firefox browser is on track to use a secure method of searching Google by default, a change that will help prevent potential "eavesdropping" of what people are searching for. It will also further reduce the ability for publishers to know how people find their sites in Google -- except for Google advertisers. A loophole in Google Secure Search continues to provide them with this data. “We are currently testing the change to use SSL for built-in Google searches in our Firefox nightly channel. If no issues are uncovered, it will move through our Aurora and Beta release channels bef [...]

Google Chrome’s Paid Link Penalty Now Lifted

Mar 16, 2012 at 9:37am ET by Barry Schwartz

Google has lifted the 60-day paid link penalty Google Chrome was given the first week of January. Now if you search for [chrome], [browser] or similar searches, the Google Chrome landing page will once again show up on the first page of the search results. Here is a picture showing the page ranking in position number for on Google: As you may remember, right after the New Years, Google was caught running a sponsored post campaign for Chrome. After a day or so, Google's Matt Cutts applied a link penalty to the Google Chrome landing page for 60 days. Now, about days later, Googl [...]

Google Screenwise: New Program Pays You To Give Up Privacy & Surf The Web With Chrome

Feb 8, 2012 at 1:30am ET by Matt McGee

Google is quietly taking requests from web users who want to get paid to surf the web using the Chrome browser while sharing data with Google. The program is called Screenwise and, though we're not aware of any official announcement, Google has a signup page at www.google.com/landing/screenwisepanel. The page explains that Google wants to create a panel of people to help it "learn more about how everyday people use the Internet." It explains that panel members have to be at least 13 years old, have (or sign up for) a Google account and use the Chrome web browser. They also have to be willin [...]

Chrome’s Market Share Drops In January; Was It Due To Google’s Penalty?

Feb 3, 2012 at 3:05pm ET by Matt McGee

After 17 straight months of gains in market share, Google's Chrome web browser dropped 0.17 percent in January, and the company that tracks browser market share suggests that it's because Google penalized Chrome after a botched sponsored blog post campaign. The figures come from Net Applications, which says it tracks about 160 million unique visits per month to a worldwide network of more than 40,000 sites. According to Net Applications, Firefox and Safari also saw market share losses in January. While they were declining, Microsoft's Internet Explorer gained 1.09%, its biggest monthly g [...]

Related Topics: Google: Chrome | Google: SEO | SEO: Spamming | Stats: Popularity | Top News

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