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.
If you had any doubts over how Google feels about Russia’s legislation against gay “propaganda,” just go the Google home page. The company has started what will be a string of special logos for the Olympics with one that includes a quote stressing that the official Olympic Charter is against discrimination and using the colors […]
Google’s finally reached a proposed agreement with the European Union over antitrust charges. Judging from screenshots the EU has released, it will give Google rivals unprecedented positioning in Google’s results, sometimes for free, sometimes for a fee. Consider how the EU is saying that shopping results will appear, as part of the agreement. The before: […]
Satya Nadella being named CEO of Microsoft isn’t just big news for Microsoft. It’s big news for search. For the first time in ages, the three major search companies in the US are all run by CEOs who either came out of a search-background or have a solid understanding of it. Despite the attention search […]
Along with the Super Bowl, there’s another annual big game that happens — sites trying to be number one for “What Times Does The Super Bowl Start?” This year, I want to win by pointing out that no one should click on any of the articles competing. Just look up, searchers — Google already won. […]
Leaving nothing to chance, Apple’s ensured that anyone searching for “Mac” on Google or Bing today, the 30th birthday of the Mac, will know about the anniversary. The company has purchased ads that lead to a special Mac birthday area of the Apple site. Above is an example of what shows on Google, for a […]
Earlier this week, we reported a glitch in Google Search, where clicking on a link after a search for Gmail listed someone’s email address, complete in a window ready to send them email. With today’s Gmail outage, that error — never fixed — has resulted in at least one person getting thousands of unwanted emails. […]
By default, searches on Yahoo.com are now done through a secure server. That means more protection for searchers but less data for search marketers about how they are receiving traffic. Most visits from Yahoo done via search will appear as if someone came to a site directly. As a result, Yahoo’s apparent popularity as a […]
Expedia appears to have been hit by a Google penalty related to unnatural links. So what do Google and Expedia have to say about the situation? No comment. As covered yesterday, the visibility of Expedia listings in Google appears to have recently plunged, according to measurements by Searchmetrics: This comes after accusations last month, which […]
Thousands of hotels listed within Google+ Local appear to have had links leading to their official sites “hijacked” and replaced with ones leading to third-party booking services. Google+ Local listings are what Google depends on to provide results in Google Maps or Google Search, when people look for local businesses. A Hijacked URL For example, […]
Lyrics site Rap Genius says that it is no longer penalized within Google after taking action to correct “unnatural links” that it helped create. The site was hit with a penalty for 10 days, which meant people seeking it by name couldn’t find it. That’s been fixed, though it’s unclear how much traffic the site […]
It’s Christmas Eve, time for all good boys and girls to be expecting Santa Claus to be bringing them gifts. But where is jolly old St. Nick on his journey? Once again, there are two major services tracking him: NORAD and Google. Below, our annual review of the tracking sites and methods of using them […]
How much is one US dollar in UK pounds? Google will give you a direct answer to that and many other currencies with the conversion tool that’s built into its search results. But when it comes to Bitcoin, Russian-based Yandex seems to have won the honor of being first to support conversion of that currency. […]
It’s time for our second test of how well Google Shopping and other shopping search engines find the best prices on products. For this installment, what’s the lowest price from a major retailer for a copy of “Red 2” in the Blu-ray, DVD and digital download combo pack? Is The Featured Price The Lowest Price? […]
Yahoo has revealed in a US Securities & Exchange Commission filing that nearly one-third of its revenue last quarter — 31% — came from its search deal with Microsoft, according to a Bloomberg report. That’s far higher than the “more than 10%” figure Yahoo previously acknowledged, making it seem even more difficult for the company […]
It sounds pretty damning. Two recent surveys suggest that Google Shopping isn’t leading searchers to the best prices on products. But the surveys weren’t well documented, nor did they include competitors like Bing, Shopzilla, PriceGrabber and Nextag, which have similar issues. So, Search Engine Land will be running its own fully documented tests. Every few […]
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple has purchased Topsy, one of the leading Twitter search and analytics companies, for more than $200 million. The WSJ report says that Apple has confirmed the deal but wouldn’t comment more beyond this statement: Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do […]
It’s official. NORAD Tracks Santa, the annual Santa tracking effort run by the joint US-Canadian air defense organization, will be using Microsoft’s Bing for the second year to map Santa’s route. But will Google be mapping Santa on a different route, as happened when it ran its own breakaway tracking service last year? There’s hope […]
When Microsoft’s next-generation gaming console, the Xbox One, comes out on Friday, it will arrive with Bing built-in to power a range of searches from games to music to television programs — and searches you can do just by speaking to the Xbox. Today, Bing shared a preview of how this will work. On the […]
SES — formerly Search Engine Strategies — is about to undergo another name change, this time to “ClickZ Live.” The news comes from an email that Incisive Media sent to various contributors. From the email: Tomorrow is a big day for ClickZ and its sister brands Search Engine Watch and SES, and as our valued […]
For two years running, Google’s broken major promises about search. It began doing paid inclusion in 2012, which it once called “evil.” This year, it’s experimenting with banner ads it said would never be allowed. Both represent major philosophical shifts for the company about search, but shifts it has largely avoided explaining. Does that erode […]
Nearly ten years after it began and eight years after Google was sued over it, Google’s program that scans books in order to make them searchable has been found legal. A judge found fair use, especially in that “Google Books does not supersede or supplant books because it is not a tool to be used to […]
A big change in Android 4.4 is: those using Google’s new mobile operating system, nicknamed “KitKat,” can search for businesses right from within the Phone app. How’s it work? For me, it’s awful. Google+ Invades The Android 4.4 “KitKat” Phone App: What It Means For Businesses & People is our separate article that explores the integration […]
Looking for some help? Providing answers has always been Google’s goal, and now it has a new way to do it. “Helpouts,” a way to pick people offering help via live video, for a price. People that are vetted, checked and backed by Google. Google shared the news of the new program today on its […]
Veterans of the SEO space will know the name Trellian, a long-time SEO tools company. Veterans may also remember at some of the early search conferences often seeing the Warmuz brothers walking around, Ren and David. Sad news today that Ren is no longer with us. Pierre Zarokian has a nice In Memoriam post about […]
Three years into its investigation of Google over antitrust issues relating to search, the European Union took another step closer toward a likely resolution, asking Google rivals and other third-parties to review a settlement proposal. Notably, the general public wasn’t invited to participate. The news comes via several reports today. The European Union’s Competition agency posted […]
We already knew Google wasn’t likely to update the PageRank meter in the Google Toolbar this year. The head of Google’s web spam team, Matt Cutts, reiterated today that this will stay the case and explained why. Google’s ability to update the toolbar is broken, and it’s not a priority to fix it. Speaking at […]
The nofollow tag is a way publishers can tell search engines not to count some of their links to other pages as “votes” in favor of that content. Why would publishers need to block such votes? Doing so can help them avoid problems with search engines believing they are selling influence or are somehow involved […]
Hurray! Google has added TV episode listings to its search results, the company announced today. What’s not to like? Perhaps that they don’t work as well as they could and are disappointing compared to what Google’s TV listings are like within Google TV. You remember Google TV, right? Google Search: Now With TV Episodes Google […]
The fifth confirmed release of Google’s “Penguin” spam fighting algorithm is live. That makes it Penguin 5 by our count. But since this Penguin update is using a slightly improved version of Google’s “Penguin 2” second-generation technology, Google itself is calling it “Penguin 2.1.” Don’t worry. We’ll explain the numbering nonsense below, as well as […]
Last week, Google moved to send all searches through Google SSL Search, setting up the ultimate end of keyword data passed along via referrers non-advertisers. Now, Google’s official alternative channel for this information — Google Webmaster Tools — has also stopped sharing the data, most likely due to a bug. A Bug Or An Intentional […]
Google has a new search algorithm, the system it uses to sort through all the information it has when you search and come back with answers. It’s called “Hummingbird” and below, what we know about it so far. What’s a “search algorithm?” That’s a technical term for what you can think of as a recipe […]
At a special event in the garage where Google was born, the company announced a new “Hummingbird” search algorithm is live and especially designed to handle complex queries. Google also announced a new design for tablets and phones, richer direct answers with comparison, a new song exploration feature and notifications of Google Now information for […]
Google turns 15 this week — celebrating its official birthday on Friday. But it already is gearing up for the celebrations with a special easter egg. Search for “google in 1998,” and you’ll see how Google used to look back then, in the year of its birth. The head of Google’s web spam team, Matt […]
In the past month, Google quietly made a change aimed at encrypting all search activity — except for clicks on ads. Google says this has been done to provide “extra protection” for searchers, and the company may be aiming to block NSA spying activity. Possibly, it’s a move to increase ad sales. Or both. Welcome […]
I’ve watched Microsoft fight Google in search for a very long time. Bing has come a long way, and I’ve been pleased to see a strong competitor emerge. But Microsoft hasn’t actually hurt Google’s share. It’s only robbed from its partner, Yahoo. So how’s Microsoft going to beat Google? Comments from departing CEO Steve Ballmer […]
Apple’s new iOS 7 mobile operating system officially rolled out today, and with it, the Siri assistant is finally out of beta. The most significant change to Siri is arguably that it no longer taps into Google for searches. As expected, a deal with Microsoft now makes Bing the default in Siri. Twitter also gets a […]
What’s hot in search? Often, it’s the same-old, same-old. That’s why Google Trends has added a new feature today, “Trending Top Charts,” to show interest areas that are spiking in popularity outside the norms. Most Searched For Vs. Trending For example, the Top Charts area shows the Ford Mustang and Ford F-Series are the most […]
It’s pretty easy to sit back and slam Google for how you think it should make decisions when it comes to search listings. It’s much harder to actually make those decisions, when you have a deeper understanding of all the implications involved. To experience this better, here’s a chance to put yourself in Google’s shoes […]
How do you convince a bunch of publishers to buy ads on your service? If you’re Google, how about withholding data from those publishers about how people are finding their sites, as a way to drive them into your ad system? I don’t think Google planned for this to happen. But that’s the end result, […]
Data telling publishers the top terms being used to find their web sites will be available for up to one year in Google Webmaster Tools, rather than the current 90 days, Google has said. The news came in response to an article today on Search Engine Land covering a conflict between Google limiting the time period […]