SearchCap: Google assistant, AMP stats & Firebase app indexing

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.

From Search Engine Land:

• Meet Google assistant: A new search platform, rather than a gadget or an app
  May 18, 2016 by Danny Sullivan
  Think of it as Google 2.0. Google assistant is Google’s search smarts put into anything, no keyboard needed & conversations welcomed.

• Google launches rich cards for movie and recipe websites
  May 17, 2016 by Barry Schwartz
  Google upgrades rich snippets, adding rich cards for movie and recipe websites. They also added a new section in the Google Search Console for reporting.

• Florida court allows Google to be sued by publisher delisted as “pure spam”
  May 18, 2016 by Greg Sterling
  Procedural ruling flies in the face of established legal precedent.

• Google adds the ability to see how people find your AMP pages in Google Search Analytics reporting
  May 18, 2016 by Barry Schwartz
  AMP reporting has gone beyond just error reporting in the Google Search Console, and it now shows in the Search Analytics report.

• Google’s latest health tool: a BMI calculator now available directly in search
  May 18, 2016 by Amy Gesenhues
  A search for “BMI calculator” delivers an interactive tool that helps users determine their body mass index.

• Google now also allows you to search using emoji characters
  May 18, 2016 by Barry Schwartz
  You can now ? using Google to find your favorite emoji results. Whether you love ? or ? or you’re on the healthy side and love ?, you can search for them on Google now.

• Is Google App Indexing becoming Firebase App Indexing?
  May 18, 2016 by Barry Schwartz
  Today at Google I/O, we expect an announcement that Google App Indexing is now part of their Firebase company and will be renamed Firebase App Indexing.

• 5 ways to maintain your SEO ranking
  May 18, 2016 by Daniel Faggella
  You’ve worked hard to reach the top spot on Google — now you have to defend your position. Columnist Daniel Faggella provides his advice for staying on top.

Recent Headlines From MarTech, Our Sister Site Dedicated To Internet Marketing:

• VR is coming to the Google Play store this fall with Daydream
• Amazon reaches $100B in annual sales
• Make room for Google Home, Amazon Echo/Alexa
• Google announces Firebase Analytics & Universal App Campaigns updates for app developers
• Google I/O Live Blog: Home voice-activated assistant, Allo messaging app announced
• How to understand the value of content and measure digital emotion
• 5 damaging mobile engagement mistakes
• MarTech Today: Acxiom’s turnkey environment, VR ads & Google’s mobile-friendly testing tool
• Report: Google to introduce “Home” voice assistant to compete with Amazon Echo
• Printing your way to SEO success
• Startup Grey Jean launches AI-powered personalization platform

Search News From Around The Web:

Local & Maps

• Google asks South Korea to rethink its strict policies on providing map data, TechCrunch

Searching

• Answer: In the middle of nowhere?, SearchReSearch
• Search Challenge (5/18/16): Questions that come up during travel…, SearchReSearch

SEO

• How to Handle Product or Business Reviews in Other Languages / Countries, thesempost.com
• How will removing BBC recipes affect search?, Branded3
• Retail SEO: 8 Tips to Optimise Your Product Pages for Organic Search, Builtvisible
• SEO Tags Virtual Keynote with Gary Illyes and Eric Enge, Stone Temple
• Sitemaps – 4 Basics to Get You Started, Bing Webmaster Blog

SEM / Paid Search

• How To Evaluate AdWords Quality Score Factors In Bulk, PPC Hero

Search Marketing

• Learn to Love Your Existing Content – 5 Ways to Get More Visibility, Moz
• SEO Is Worth It, But PPC Can Get Instant Results, webpresence.tv