Former Google search chief Amit Singhal joins Uber
Singhal will become a senior vice president of engineering, overseeing Uber's Maps & Marketplace departments.
Danny Sullivan was a journalist and analyst who covered the digital and search marketing space from 1996 through 2017. He was also a cofounder of Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land and MarTech, and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo and MarTech events. He retired from journalism and Third Door Media in June 2017. You can learn more about him on his personal site & blog He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.
Amazon
Where is Santa Claus? Your 2016 guide to Santa trackers from NORAD & Google
Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus ... but where exactly is he? Our guide to Santa trackers helps you locate Jolly St. Nick in a flash.
Amazon
Google’s top results for ‘Did the Holocaust happen’ now expunged of denial sites
Initial fix merely bumped denial site down, then failed to work consistently. Now the denial site is gone from first page of results.
Content
Google will change AMP display to make it easier to find & share publishers’ direct URLs
Change will be to the header in AMP content, expected in early 2017.
Apple
Official: Google makes change, results are no longer in denial over ‘Did the Holocaust happen?’
Criticized for listing a Holocaust-denial site first, Google's results are finally changing -- but probably due to external factors.
Content
Google studying ways to deal with offensive search suggestions & results
Facing criticism over "fake news," inappropriate search suggestions and more, the search company is looking for long-term and comprehensive solutions.
Amazon
Move over, Amazon Echo & Google Home: Here comes Microsoft Cortana
Cortana will be baked into a new smart speaker from Harman Kardon to be released next year, potentially the first of many Cortana-powered devices.
Content
How Google may be slowing down AMP by not using direct links to publishers
What's in a name? When it comes to AMP, a URL that's not the publisher's may not smell as sweet.
Why Google might not be able to stop “fake news”
Google says it wants to prevent fake news from spreading, but the search giant has serious challenges in actually curbing it.
Amazon
For answering questions, Google Home bests Amazon Echo & Alexa
If you've always wanted someone around the house to answer all the questions you have during the course of your day, that someone is a something -- Google Home.
Amazon
How Google Home turns voice answers into clickable links
It turns out Google's new hands-free voice-based assistant has a way to let users click to the answers it gets from publishers. That's via the companion app.
Amazon Advertising
Google creates its own antitrust woes with poor communication over search listings
Have an issue with your listings in Google? Getting an official answer might be tough. And when that happens to a Google competitor, as it did with ProtonMail, it could come back to harm Google's defense from antitrust charges.
Amazon
Direct answer fail: Google gives only one side of proposed gun ammo & magazine law
Want to know about California’s Proposition 63, a measure to control gun ammunition sales and large magazines, which is on the state ballot this month? Google has the answer. It’s a “deceptive ballot initiative that will criminalize millions of law-abiding Californians.” So much for balanced search results. Google presents that answer at the very top of its […]
How Trump & Clinton have failed to use free space in Google for US presidential candidates
For a week, neither campaign used the special program giving them guaranteed listings in Google for their name.
Amazon
With Google Assistant & Google Home, Google seeks to win the hands-free generation of search
Having won on desktop and mobile, Google now wants to succeed in an entire new area: hands-free search, especially within homes.
Apple
There’s no Google Search widget for the iOS 10 Search screen: why that matters
Google search could be on the iOS Search screen with a widget, if it wanted. Why isn't it offering that option to its users?
How many days has it been since the last Google Penguin Update?
Caught by the Penguin anti-spam filter and fixed your site? Here's how long you've been waiting for a chance to be released.
Amazon
Google launches ‘In Apps,’ a way to find content within apps on Android phones
Somewhat similar to Apple's Spotlight, the new feature allows you to search your Android phone for content, as opposed to the web.
Content
Google lets any publisher apply to have “Critic Reviews” of local businesses
Initially open to five publishers, Google opens the doors to anyone to apply after criticism by Yelp and TripAdvisor.
SEO
FAQ: All about the Google RankBrain algorithm
Google's using a machine learning technology called RankBrain to help deliver its search results. Here's what's we know about it.