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This day in search marketing history: February 13

Google AMP stories launch, plus: unconfirmed algorithm updates, faceted navigation and infinite scroll, AdWords display URL policy and more.

Danny Goodwin on February 13, 2023 at 12:01 am | Reading time: 9 minutes

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Google AMP stories launch

In 2018, Google launched a new, visually rich mobile content format designed to generate more engagement from users.

Breaking with previous guidance, Google didn’t intend for this type of AMP content to match your non-mobile content. Instead, this mobile-only content was supposed to be unique.

Specifically, Google said AMP Story content should be “fulfilling and standalone.”

In addition to Hearst and The Washington Post, Google worked with CNN, Meredith, Mashable, Mic, Vox and Condé Nast to develop and roll out AMP Stories.

Dig deeper:

Also on this day

Google: ‘We do updates all the time’ — somewhat confirming February update rumors

2020: Google’s Danny Sullivan referred to the company’s advice given around “several updates” in November 2019.

Big Google Partners program changes are coming: What you’ll need to qualify

2020: There were new requirements for agencies to achieve and maintain Google Partner status starting in June.

Google backtracks on using (relevant) keywords in your Google My Business description

2020: An update to the help page about adding keywords to improve visibility in local search results was disputed by local SEOs and quickly removed.

TechTarget cites technical SEO issues as reason for 25% decline in Google traffic

2020: In TechTarget’s recent earnings report, the company said unpaid traffic represented 94% of overall traffic in the quarter.

Business owners can now reply to reviews on Google Maps desktop

2019: Business owners with verified Google My Business listings could reply to reviews left about their business directly in Google Maps on desktop.

Google tests ads in Assistant results

2019: With the Assistant on a billion devices, the move was inevitable.

Google enables ‘join waitlist’ for restaurants

2019: Clicking on the join waitlist button opened a screen that identifies the current wait time and enabled users to input their party size.

Google launches new look for ‘people also search for’ search refinements

2018: The suggestions either loaded on delay or when a user clicked on a result and then clicked back to the search results.

Spotted: Links to competing shopping engines in UK Google Shopping results

2018: The new “inclusive” look was in response to the European Commission’s antitrust ruling against Google.

Google: No comment on possibility of a Feb. 7 algorithm update

2017: Many webmasters and SEOs were noticing some significant changes in Google’s search rankings algorithm.

Google’s ‘people also ask’ search feature officially gains dynamic loading

2017: Google’s people also ask feature gained a new way for searchers to explore topics in the desktop and mobile search results.

Google Maps new feature lets users create lists of saved places that can be shared & accessed offline

2017: Users could keep track of saved places and share lists with others via text, email and popular messaging apps.

Google Webmaster Tools Data Stopped Updating Almost A Week Ago

2015: The data and tools had stopped updating Feb. 7.

Search In Pics: Google Disco Ball, A Cacoon & YouTube Cafe

2015: The latest images showing what people eat at the search engine companies, how they play, who they meet, where they speak, what toys they have, and more.

Google Offers Advice On Faceted Navigation & Infinite Scroll Web Pages

2014: Techniques to make infinite scroll pages and faceted navigation more search engine friendly.

Will 11th Hour Objections Derail The Google-EU Antitrust Settlement?

2014: EU Commissioners were considering forcing additional discussions or preventing the settlement from becoming final.

Bing Ads Expands Mobile Sitelinks Coverage In US, Will Roll Out To EU Markets

2014: Bing Ads had enabled over 60% of the mobile traffic on the Yahoo Bing Network to run sitelinks in the U.S.

Green Ribbon, Minimum Wage, Climate Changes: Google Searches For The State Of The Union

2013: Some of the interesting trends we saw on Google due to the State of the Union address.

Panic Flu Searches May Have Tricked Google Flu Trends Into Thinking Things Were Worse

2013: Google Flu Trends overshot the percent of the U.S. population with influenza-like illness by nearly double what the CDC reported.

A “Cool” Google Rich Snippet For Snow Conditions

2013: It contained snow depth statistics, new snow stats within 24 and 72 hours, the conditions of the snow, the lifts open on the mountain, the current weather and more.

Google Hits 67 Percent Market Share Again, Bing Hits Another All-Time High [comScore]

2013: Search activity was up 11% in January over December, to almost 19.5 billion “core” searches.

Google Fixes Bug That Required Cookies To Search

2012: Google also initially reconfirmed that requiring cookies “is not something we’re testing or rolling out.”

Where’s It Hurt? After You Search For A Symptom, New Google Health Search Results Suggest Causes

2012: Google introduced improved results that shortened the time from symptom-related search to the discovery of potential medical causes and conditions.

Google Apologizes, Continues To Tweak Buzz

2010: Google announced three tweaks to Buzz (including changing auto-follow to auto-suggest) and offered an apology for what it called a “challenging week.”

Google: ‘Don’t Blame Us For Terrorism’

2009: Google said it shouldn’t be blamed for terrorist use of Google Earth.

Google Analytics On The iPhone: 3 Apps Reviewed

2009: The good, bad, and ugly of Google Analytics apps on the iPhone (Analytics App, myAnalytics and Analytics Pro).

Newspapers, Google And The “Devaluation” Of Content

2009: “Google is great for Google, but it’s terrible for content providers, because it divides that content quantitatively rather than qualitatively.”

Android Paid Apps Launch: “It’s Business Time”

2009: developers can start charging for their apps and consumers will start gaining access to and paying for selected apps on Android phones.

Yahoo Discontinues MyWeb, Pushes Delicious

2009: MyWeb launched in 2005, as part of Yahoo’s vision for a “very individual Web.”

Google AdWords To “Strictly Enforce” Display URL Policy

2008: The policy was remaining the same, but starting April 1, Google would begin “strictly enforcing” it.

Google Study: 1.3% Google Searches Return At Least One Malicious Result

2008: They checked 66.5 million URLs and found that 3.4 million were “suspicious” and 3.4 million were malicious, pointing to 181,699 landing sites.

News Corporation A Potential Partner For Yahoo In Avoiding Microsoft, Google Interest ‘Wanes’

2008: Antitrust realities were likely at the heart of Google’s diminishing interest in a search deal.

Third Annual Yahoo Searchlight Awards Happen Against Surreal Backdrop

2008: As Yahoo was laying off its promised 1,000 workers.

Microsoft adCenter Says No To Spanish Landing Pages For US Traffic

2008: The landing page was targeting U.S.-based Spanish-speaking customers.

WPP To Consolidate Search Agencies Under GroupM And Outrider Brand

2008: This consolidation created a global search agency with offices on multiple continents.

Google On Centerfold Of Marie Claire

2008: The 12-page piece was named Fashion for Work at the Google Headquarters and highlighted model Britni Standwood throughout the Googleplex.

Google Maps Adds “Report Incorrect Data” Link

2007: For any unverified business listing, Google would show a “report incorrect data” link that took you to a page to easily notify Google of the problem.

Google Search Results Now May Display Malware Warnings

2007: Google’s “This site may harm your computer” message linked directly to a Google help document explaining the message in more detail.

Google Ads Getting New Google Checkout Badges

2007: The icon would be updated to a badge format similar to the Google Checkout buttons used by merchants since the program started.

Google Loses In Belgium Newspaper Case

2007: A Belgium court found that Google did violate copyright when including material from several Belgian newspapers in its search index.

InfoSpace Joins Forces With FAST For Mobile Search

2007: It sought to marry InfoSpace’s carrier relationships and content expertise with FAST’s search technology and PPC platform on mobile devices.

Wordtracker Adds UK Keywords Option To Keyword Tools

2007: Those wanting to target the UK region would have an option to specify UK keywords only and be shown related keywords based on that data.

SingingFish.com Now Redirects To AOL Video Search

2007: AOL purchased SingingFish.com in November 2003.

Special Valentine’s Day Cards For SEOs

2007: Messages included “I love you more than links from Google itself,” “Roses are red, violets are blue, link bait is fun and so are you.”

Eurekster Adds More ‘Wiki’ To Swickis

2007: Eurekster added Q&A functionality to Swickis (social site-search widgets) and the ability for site users to add links directly into the site’s index.

From Search Marketing Expo (SMX)

SMX West ’09 Day Three Recap

Past contributions from Search Engine Land’s Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)

These columns are a snapshot in time and have not been updated since publishing, unless noted. Opinions expressed in these articles are those of the author and not necessarily Search Engine Land.

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