Google has updated  the interface for AdWords Express, Google's AdWords product designed for small businesses. Among the interface updates are a redesigned dashboard to show an at-a-glance look at ad views (impressions), clicks and calls generated as well as a pie chart that tracks monthly budget expenditures.  A new performance graph allows advertisers to compare results over time. A real-time ad creator tool now lets users see how their ad will look as they write their copy. Hovering over the icons at the bottom of the window allows advertisers to see a preview of the ad in the di [...]

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

At the Google Developer conference keynote this morning in San Francisco, one of the clear highlights was the introduction of a redesigned Google Maps experience for the PC and mobile. The New Google Maps are available now with an invitation. Already the leading digital and mobile mapping service, the various feature and UI improvements put more distance between Mountain View and its competitors. While Microsoft, Nokia and Apple offer some or even many of the same mapping capabilities, no one offers "the complete package" that Google does. The new Google Maps offer a redesigned UI, though it [...]

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

Last week, Alex Chitu at Google Operating System blog reported on some screengrabs that were apparently leaked from Google Maps. The images indicated that new Maps interfaces could be in the works, and it was supposed that these might be officially announced at Google I/O today or tomorrow. This morning, Mike Blumenthal reported on new Google Place Results pages that are rolling out in Europe and appear to be closely related in look and feel to the leaked images. Compare a closeup detail of one of the leaked images on the left, with a screengrab I just took of the map portion of the results [...]

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

One of the more desperate requests I get from clients interested in Local Search is wanting to rank well in Google for local queries when they don't have a physical location in the searched city. The challenge is that Google appears to not want to show businesses that are not physically located in the searched city if they can avoid it. And, in their guidelines, they are fairly explicit about trying to game the listings, particularly with easily faked addresses like P.O. Boxes: "Do not create a listing or place your pin marker at a location where the business does not physically exist. P.O [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Local | Google: Maps & Local | Google: Place Pages | Google: SEO | Local Search

The new Timelapse site, created by Time Inc. and Google, is a pretty amazing way to see how any part of the world has changed since 1984 through 2012. The site offers amazing animations such as the growth of Las Vegas and the shrinking of the Columbia Glacier, and you can point it at any part of the world you want. Google explains more about how it has collected the images with the US Geological Survey since 2009 and sifted through to find those with good quality, and without cloud cover, over every part of the world. Here are some examples of what you can see. Deforestation in the A [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Local | Google: Maps & Local | Top News

Alex Chitu reports Google is testing a new Google Maps interface, possibly to be launched next week at Google I/O. The new interface is a complete and major overhaul of the current Google Maps user interface. The design and interface changes touch everything from the map colors, icons and text formats to dropping the navigation elements on the left hand side and adding in Google+ integration. For example, you can filter local search results specifically to friends in your Google+ circles. The navigation seems to have been moved to button like methods, similar to how mobile apps work, wit [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Local | Google: Maps & Local | Google: User Interface | Top News

Google has quietly dropped yet another search feature; this one is related to local search results within a search on Google. Google has removed the "more results near..." link on local search results for queries with local intent. For example, if you search for [pizza] on Google.com, Google will show you local businesses selling pizza to consumers, as well as webpages, videos and so forth on pizza. This is part of the universal search initiative from 2007. Since then, when Google showed local listings in the organic search results, Google would show a "more results near..." link under t [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Local | Features: Analysis | Google: Maps & Local | Google: User Interface | Google: Web Search | Top News

Google has been at the center of heated geo-political controversy before, usually around disputed place names or borders on maps. A new controversy, however, has arisen about one of Google's international homepages: Google.ps. That's the page previously dedicated to the "Palestinian Territories." On May 1 Google dropped "territories" and now calls it "Google Palestine." This move follows UN recognition of the Palestinians last November as a "non-member state." The name change was condemned by Israeli authorities immediately after it happened. According to the Jerusalem Post D [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Local | Google: Critics | Google: Legal | Google: Maps & Local | Google: Outside US

Google Maps announced today that their collection of images now include Street Views from 50 countries with photos recently added from Hungary and Lesotho, an enclave surrounded by South Africa. According to the Google Maps blog, their latest update is the largest single update of Street Views imagery since Google Maps launched in 2007, with new images from nearly 350,000 miles of roads across 14 countries. The new Street Views of Hungary allow users to see the historic center of Budapest, with up close views of the Hungarian Parliament building along the Danube and Hungary's Chain Bridge. [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Local | Google: Maps & Local | Google: Street View | Top News

Local business owners have a new tool for managing their Google Places For Business listing: a dedicated app that works on the iPhone and iPod Touch. There's no official announcement that I can find about the app, and as best I can tell, the iClarified blog was first to report on it. The Google For Places Business app is a free download in the iTunes app store. I haven't tried it yet (and may not be able to given the ongoing mess as Google merges the Places dashboard with Google+ Local), but here's how Google describes the app's capabilities: Business owners can use the app to: - Verif [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Local | Google: Maps & Local | Google: Place Pages | Top News

The proposed terms of the Google antitrust settlement in Europe have started to come to light, first through a report in the Financial Times, and this weekend, in articles from the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. As anticipated, the primary "remedy" Google is offering involves labeling its own results to distinguish them from third-party publishers. Yet, there are some new twists and nuances that have not been discussed or disclosed before. They involve third-party enforcement and presentation of competitive links as alternatives to Google's own content. Apparently, the settle [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile | Google: AdSense | Google: Android | Google: Antitrust | Google: Critics | Google: Legal | Google: Maps & Local | Google: Outside US | Legal | Legal: Regulation | Top News

Google has formally submitted its antitrust settlement proposal to the EU. Wait, didn't that happen weeks ago? Apparently, it did not. While the parties have been talking for months (seems like years), Bloomberg reported today that Google had "formalized" its settlement proposal to avoid potential fines and other penalties. EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia is now going to "market test" Google's proposal. What that means as a practical matter is that he will circulate the proposal among Google's critics and rivals for feedback. No doubt, they will be dissatisfied because Googl [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Local | Google: Antitrust | Google: Critics | Google: Legal | Google: Maps & Local | Google: Outside US | Legal | Legal: Regulation

Recently, Google announced some significant changes to their Google Places dashboard. The wires have been humming ever since, and the reaction has ranged from fall-off-seat excitement to 'humph, is that it!?' [caption id="attachment_154764" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Dashboard images: Local Search Forum[/caption] Whatever the opinion, the truth is that these changes signify a big development in the way Google handles 'Local.' Google has been talking up the importance of local for an age, and the increased real estate given to local results in SERPs backs this up. They have also upd [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Google: Maps & Local | Google: Place Pages | Local Search | SEO: Local

Google has run up against some of India's restrictive laws in the past, most notably in the context of vague and expansive censorship rules for content and search results. A new episode involves a crowdsourced mapping contest run by the company to obtain data for Google Maps. According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Google ran a "Mapathon" contest in February and March offering prizes in exchange for information about local places, facilities and businesses: The Internet company invited amateur mappers as well as mapping enthusiasts to add local information through its Google Map Make [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile | Google | Google: Android | Google: Critics | Google: Legal | Google: Maps & Local | Google: Mobile | Google: Outside US | Legal: Regulation

The New York Times offers an interesting story about Google and the competitive landscape of mobile. The headline is "As Web Search Goes Mobile, Competitors Chip at Google’s Lead." The central idea of the article is that while Google is used on the PC equally to discover information and to navigate to specific sites, on smartphones people go directly to apps such as Amazon, Kayak or Yelp. As a basic matter, that's accurate. However, quoting Danny Sullivan, the story also acknowledges that there's still a great deal of mobile search activity, which is dominated by Google. Indeed, accordin [...]

Related Topics: Apple: Maps | Apple: Siri | Channel: SEM | Facebook: Facebook Search | Google: AdWords | Google: Maps & Local | Google: Mobile | Google: Web Search

Goodbye Facebook Nearby, hello Facebook Local Search. InsideFacebook points out that the company has renamed its mobile app feature "Nearby" as Facebook "local search."  Until late last year, Nearby was a friend-finder tool. Then it became a way to find local business recommendations. But, many users are undoubtedly still unaware of the change in functionality. The name change will help. But, Facebook will also have to make the new local search capability more prominent and do a better job of reaching out to users to get them to engage with the tool. Yet, Facebook is already on [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Facebook | Facebook: Facebook Search | Google: Maps & Local | Google: Mobile | Top News

Google has begun a staged upgrade of its Google Places Dashboard -- the backend tool that allows local businesses to manage their business information that appears in Google's search results. A new dashboard that looks much more like the current Google (and Google+) aesthetic, and also offers some new functionality, will be available "over the coming weeks." It's the latest step in Google's (very) slow process of updating its business listings management from Google Places to Google+ Local. The consumer side of that switch happened last May, when Google's local search results and listings b [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Features: Analysis | Google: Google+ | Google: Maps & Local | Top News

April Fool's Day is pretty much like a national ... err, international holiday for everyone that works for Google. It seems that nobody else on the Web takes the tradition of pranks and jokes as seriously as Google does -- just see our coverage from the last few April Fool's Days for proof: Google's Gags Go Worldwide For April Fool's Day 2012 It's Over: Google Has Already Won April Fools Day 2011 Google Books, Google Maps Get 3D View – But Only For April Fool's Day April Fools' Day 2009: Google CADIE & More From Search Industry It may still be March 31st for me, and maybe [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Features: General | Google: Analytics | Google: Docs & Spreadsheets | Google: Gmail | Google: Internet Access | Google: Maps & Local | Google: Marketing | Google: Street View | Google: Trends | Google: Wallet | Google: YouTube & Video | Search & Society: April Fool's | Top News

Findings from a new study show the visibility of Google Shopping in Google's "Universal Search" results dropped significantly after the search engine implemented a new paid inclusion model. Video content also dropped but still remained by far the most dominant source mixed with web page listings. Searchmetrics, a provider of search and social analysis software, conducted the study by analyzing millions of listings to evaluate Universal Search results for videos, images, maps, shopping and news. Google implemented Universal Search in 2007 to offer an improved search experience for users [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Video | Google: Images | Google: Maps & Local | Google: News | Google: Product Search | Google: Universal Search | Google: YouTube & Video | Top News

Don't want your content to be included in many of Google's vertical search services, such as Google Shopping or Google+ Local? Google's got a new tool for that, a result of its agreement earlier this year with the US Federal Trade Commission over anti-trust charges. Announced on the Google Webmaster Central Blog, the new tool is located within Google Webmaster Central and allows publishers to keep their content out of: Google Shopping Google+ Local Google Flights Google Hotels Google Advisor (financial product search) Oddly, several of these services only allow you to be inc [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Google: Advisor | Google: Antitrust | Google: Flight Search | Google: Maps & Local | Google: Place Pages | Google: Product Search | Google: SEO | Google: Travel Search | Google: Webmaster Central | Top News