Apple

SearchCap: The Day In Search, September 28, 2012

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Apple Does The “Miracle On 34th Street” Thing, Promotes Third Party Maps In App Store In the beloved holiday film Miracle on 34th Street, people at Macy’s department store in New […]

Apple

After Apple’s Apology, What’s Next For iOS 6 Maps?

It’s official. Apple’s new Maps in iOS 6 have problems so serious that even Apple CEO Tim Cook has issued a public apology about them. What does Apple do next? Going back to Google-powered Maps is unlikely but not out-of-the-question. More likely, Apple will push through the pain. However, it could reconsider whether maps really […]

Analytics & conversion

Why Clean Source Tagging Is Worth Your Time

Messy, incomprehensible analytics make my stomach churn. Just knowing that I’m going to spend the next several hours cleaning up sloppy data puts the kibosh on my day. The problem with Google Analytics, or any analytics package for that matter, is that even if my site is properly tagged and I’ve developed a systematic inbound […]

Apple

Did Motorola Use A False Address To Slam Apple Maps?

Right as all the negative Apple Maps stories were coming out, Google’s Motorola division created an ad and Twitter campaign to argue that, unlike Apple Maps, Google Maps won’t get you lost. The campaign #iLost, also promoted on Google+, used a specific address as an example of one that Apple wouldn’t get right: 315 E 15th […]

Google

Google Shows Movie Trailers Right In Its Search Results

If you’re searching for movie information on Google, you can now watch trailers right in your search results. Google posted about the change this afternoon, saying that a new “trailer” button will appear on searches for specific movie titles, and on queries like [showtimes nyc] or [movies nyc]. On that more generic type of search, […]

Apple

SearchCap: The Day In Search, September 27, 2012

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Bing’s Social Sidebar Gains Klout Scores & People Recommendations Klout has become the latest social service to be integrated into the new Bing Social Sidebar that was launched earlier this year. […]

Google

Google Merges Insights For Search With Google Trends

Google has merged two of its popular search/keyword research tools. Google Insights for Search has been absorbed by Google Trends; the combined tool keeps the Google Trends name and exists at the www.google.com/trends address, too. If you try to access the Insights for Search address (www.google.com/insights/search), Google redirects you to the new Google Trends. When […]

Analytics & conversion

Safari Shifts To Google Secure Search in iOS 6, Causing Search Referrer Data To Disappear

Another source of Google search referrer data appears lost. Searches through Google that happen in Apple’s Safari browser search box in iOS 6, Apple’s latest mobile operating system, no longer pass along search terms to publishers. For those unfamiliar, “referrer” data is information a browser passes along to a publisher about the last page you were […]

Platforms

Understanding SEO Friendly URL Syntax Practices

Poor URL structure is a frequent SEO issue, one that can impair rankings, keep pages out of the search engine indexes, and suck ranking authority from your other pages or even the entire websites. Some content management systems bake poor URL structures right into their websites. Lax rules can be a culprit, for example, not […]

Apple

Closing The Loop From Mobile Search To Mobile Payment Systems

As the adoption of smartphones increases, consumers are becoming comfortable using their smartphones and tablets to buy goods, transfer money and perform many different kinds of financial transactions. A new study by comScore reports 80% of U.S. smartphone owners accessed mobile commerce sites and apps in July (85.9 million total). According to Google’s Our Mobile […]

Apple

SearchCap: The Day In Search, September 26, 2012

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 Search & Social Engines Are Using Semantic Search The term “Semantic Search” is certainly not new. However, it has taken on a new dimension and implications in both search and […]

SEO

How Search & Social Engines Are Using Semantic Search

The term “Semantic Search” is certainly not new. However, it has taken on a new dimension and implications in both search and social engines today. In addition, it has had a strong impact on targeted semantic advertising. This special series of forthcoming articles on semantic search will take a look at the history behind the […]

Apple

Everybody With A Maps App Is Piling On Apple

It’s a marketing tactic that’s about as old as time itself: When a competitor stumbles, you turn it into opportunity for self-promotion. That’s certainly been the case since the Apple Maps app stumbled out of the gate a week ago on iOS 6. Bing is the latest competitor to call for attention. The company published […]

PPC

Part 2: A Bird’s-Eye View Of The Search & Display Lumascapes

Welcome to Part 2 of the “A Bird’s-Eye View of the Search and Display Lumascapes.” In Part 1 last month, we covered two main topics: There is no à la carte targeting data in SEM Display is not catered to the long tail My third topic is an important one; it encompasses both the defining […]

Google Ads

Etsy To Bankroll Product Listing Ads For Its U.S. Sellers

Google’s decision to eliminate free product listings in favor of paid Product Listing Ads (PLAs) for Google Shopping has reverberated through the ecommerce world. One consequence: online marketplace Etsy has decided to pay for its U.S. sellers’ products to be listed in PLAs through the rest of the year. The ecommerce company, known for facilitating […]

Apple

Google’s Street View Goes Under The Sea At Six Coral Reefs

Under the sea Under the sea Darling it’s better down where it’s wetter Take it from me – from The Little Mermaid Every so often, the Google Street View service does something cool enough to make you forget about the WiFi data collection screwup, and this is one of those things — at least for […]

Apple

SearchCap: The Day In Search, September 25, 2012

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Eric Schmidt Floats Idea Of A Yahoo-Google Search Partnership Apple, Google and mapping apps weren’t the only thing that Eric Schmidt spoke about today in Tokyo. Forbes is reporting that Schmidt […]

Apple

Eric Schmidt Floats Idea Of A Yahoo-Google Search Partnership

Apple, Google and mapping apps weren’t the only thing that Eric Schmidt spoke about today in Tokyo. Forbes is reporting that Schmidt also floated the idea of a Google-Yahoo search partnership. Dow Jones reporter Kenneth Maxwell was at the event, and shared this statement with Forbes: Yes, I can confirm, Eric Schmidt definitely said they’d […]

Content

11 Things To Ask Yourself When Optimizing Content

A client asked me the other day why we were optimizing his software for Los Angeles, when he’s located in Raleigh, NC. In explaining the reason to him, I realized that a basic guideline for optimizing pages is long overdue. I’ve developed the following flow chart and explanation in response. Theming Content The first question […]

Google Ads

Google To Proactively Police Ad Sitelinks For Duplicate Landing Pages

Google has always banned the use of duplicate landing pages for AdWords sitelinks extensions. It just hasn’t been particularly aggressive about ensuring compliance, until now. This because the company has noticed many advertisers including two or more sitelinks that go to the same landing pages, or different pages with substantially the same content. Starting this […]

SEO

How To Expand Your Keyword Portfolio For Global Leads & Sales

Last time, we looked at the process of A Minimalist Approach To Global Keyword Expansion & Monitoring, which is the bare minimum a company should do in an overseas market. This essentially solves for the first phrase of the typical purchase cycle – Awareness. It is critical in a market where you don’t have a […]

Apple

Google On iOS 6 Maps App: “We Haven’t Done Anything Yet”

For the past week many people have been trying to determine whether Google had built (and submitted) a replacement app for Google Maps for the iPhone. There were even some reports, now largely debunked, that Google had in fact submitted an app and it was waiting for Apple’s approval. Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt seemed […]

Apple

SearchCap: The Day In Search, September 24, 2012

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: iPhone 5 Won’t Change Mobile Search, But Can Nokia? With the launch of the iPhone 5, perhaps the most eagerly awaited electronics launch ever, speculation has been rampant on the impact […]

Apple

iPhone 5 Won’t Change Mobile Search, But Can Nokia?

With the launch of the iPhone 5, perhaps the most eagerly awaited electronics launch ever, speculation has been rampant on the impact it’ll have on the mobile phone market, on Apple’s future as an innovator post-Steve Jobs, and on the coolness of the next gadget to get dropped into your pocket. But from a mobile […]

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