SearchCap: The Day In Search, May 1, 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: How “Not Provided” Makes BuzzFeed Think Google’s Search Traffic To News Sites Is Down Well look at that! Search traffic to news sites has dropped over the past eight months, according […]

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

From Search Engine Land:

  • How “Not Provided” Makes BuzzFeed Think Google’s Search Traffic To News Sites Is Down
    Well look at that! Search traffic to news sites has dropped over the past eight months, according to how BuzzFeed tracks referrals to sites within its network. A change of user behavior? More like the result of “Dark Google” and “Not Provided.” Come on, I’ll explain how Google is likely making itself look like it’s […]
  • Google’s Matt Cutts: Holding A Patent Doesn’t Mean We Use That Patent In Search Quality
    Google’s head of search spam, Matt Cutts, posted a YouTube video talking about a recent SEO misconception that he would like the SEO and webmaster world to “put to rest.” Matt said, just because Google has a search quality or ranking patent it does not mean that the patent was or is currently part of […]
  • This Year’s Doodle 4 Google Winner To Receive $30,000 College Scholarship
    Beginning today and lasting through May 10, Google is asking users to vote for the best Doodle submitted by elementary and secondary school students from across the country. According to Google’s announcement, more than 130,000 submissions were received with fifty state winners selected as national finalists to compete for the 2013 Doodle 4 Google national […]
  • Five Ways To Flip Your Copywriting For Higher Conversion Rates
    When faced with creating a conversion-focused SEO landing page, what should our copy focus on? There are so many things we can do — so many directions we can go — that it becomes hard to know what to choose. Do I go with statistics or stories? Facts or feelings? Data or discounts? If one of these is […]
  • Data: The Digital Common Denominator
    In April 2013, the IAB released a report that revealed double-digit growth for both search and display. Additionally, within digital, video was named the fastest-growing sector, reaching $2.3 billion. I spoke with three industry experts in display, search and video to gain deeper insights into how and why search, display and video will continue to […]
  • 7 Takeaways From The Local Search Association Annual Conference
    Earlier this month, local search marketing leaders from the U.S., Canada and 12 other countries gathered in Las Vegas for the Local Search Association’s 2013 annual conference, “Search Starts Here.” Over several days, attendees engaged in informative discussions about the numerous opportunities and challenges facing our industry, ranging from the growing importance of original digital […]
  • Which Finds The First-Ever Website Better, Google Or Bing?
    For the 20th anniversary of CERN making Web technology available to anyone royalty-free, the European science lab has restored the very first website to its original location. Could today’s search engines of Google and Bing, which didn’t exist when the site was first posted, find it now? Time for a test. The answer turns out […]
  • When Google Gets It Wrong By Changing The Titles Of Web Pages
    Google doesn’t always use the HTML title tag of a web page, choosing instead to make its own title for a page, if it thinks it can do a better job. Here’s an example of it getting this completely wrong. I was searching for Dana Point Jet Ski, which is a real business in Dana […]

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About the author

Barry Schwartz
Staff
Barry Schwartz is a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land and a member of the programming team for SMX events. He owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry can be followed on Twitter here.

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