This day in search marketing history: February 17
Microsoft introduces the Bing Network, plus: Standard Shopping campaigns, Google Panda eats Demand Media, Google Social Search and more.
Microsoft introduces the Bing Network
In 2016, Microsoft announced the launch of the Bing Network, marking the end of the Yahoo Bing Network.
Bing Ads continued to serve ads on a sizable percentage of Yahoo’s search results.
The Bing Network was the result of a renegotiated search deal between Microsoft and Yahoo, which was originally a 10-year deal. The revised Yahoo-Bing search deal returned ad sales and account management back to each company: Bing handled Bing customers, Yahoo handled Yahoo customers.
Read all about it in Microsoft Introduces Advertisers To The Bing Network.
Also on this day
Google launches Google Business Profiles calls API
2022: Businesses could pull call history data from this API and into their CRM software.
Google dropping follow and welcome offers in local listings
2022: Google: “Soon, customers will no longer be able to follow businesses on Google Search or the Google Maps app.”
Google confirms Standard Shopping campaigns will remain available
2022: Performance Max was set to absorb Smart Shopping campaigns by summer.
Google vs. Edible Arrangements: Court rejects ‘theft’ claim
2022: Edible Arrangements was seeking damages from Google for selling its name via search ads. The court didn’t bite.
Amazon and Visa come to a truce over fee increases
2022: After months of feuding, Amazon would continue to accept Visa credit cards at its websites and stores.
Google’s search choice screen had virtually no effect on search market share, perhaps by design
2021: As an antitrust remedy, the choice screen had not only failed to make the search market a more competitive space, it may have even reinforced Google’s dominant position.
Google Ads offers more granular conversion actions for leads and sales
2020: This gave advertisers more options to track website actions through the customer journey.
Video: Chris Boggs on experience in the SEM industry
2020: This former U.S. Marine built a professional career in SEO and SEM while giving back to the community.
Google temporarily disables ‘not mobile-friendly’ label in search results due to bug
2017: Google had mislabeled pages as not mobile-friendly over the prior 24 hours.
Google brings back emojis in the search results snippets for relevant queries
2017: Google had removed emojis in June 2015 due to webmaster abuse.
Google iOS app gets new local search filters, more AMP support & Gboard access
2017: Local search filters like “Top Rated” and “Open Now” were added to the app.
Search in Pics: Google indoor clouds, Bing heart balloon & stroopwafels
2017: 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.
DuckDuckGo Now Supports Instant Answers In French, German, Czech & Polish Languages
2015: DuckDuckGo said they could provide instant answers for around 9 million different queries and was supported in four languages.
Google Adds, Then Pulls, Advice Not To Block Ad Landing Pages From Its Crawler
2014: Google: “Sorry for the confusion there.”
Starbucks & The Economist Admit To Using Google+ For SEO More Than Social
2014: From the files of no kidding.
Bing: Don’t Be Held Hostage Over The Perfect Domain Name
2014: “… with a bit of creativity, you could find the perfect domain very cheaply.”
Madoogle SEO Game: Angry Birds As SEOs
2014: A game that swapped out the birds with SEO personalities and the pigs with black hats.
Google Panda Update Costs Demand Media $6.4 Million In 4th Quarter?
2012: Google’s Panda algorithm was mostly to blame for Demand Media’s $6.4 million loss in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Google Moves AdWords Help Forum To AdWords-Community.com
2012: Google relaunched its AdWords Help Forum on a new platform and gave it its own URL.
Cookiegate Another Privacy Black Eye For Google
2012: Google and other ad networks were discovered circumventing mobile Safari’s default “no third party cookies” settings.
Dilbert: Hiring A Weasel To Do SEO & Corrupt The Industry
2012: The cartoon tied people who do SEO as weasels and those who hire SEOs as an accomplice, someone who actively participates in the commission of a crime.
Search In Pics: Android Skiing, Fake Google Shops, Google Kippah & Lego Googlers
2012: 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’s Search Results Get More Social; Twitter As The New Facebook “Like”
2011: Google expanded Social Search results. Friends’ activity on Twitter, Flickr and elsewhere would soon be more visible in Google’s search results and have an impact on how pages ranked.
Official: More Are Seeing Google’s New Navigation Bar
2011: Google started rolling its new bar out widely.
Once Condemned Google Now Hailed By Publishers For “One Pass”
2011: Google was being embraced and celebrated for its new publisher-friendly platform after it had been derided and bashed by content publishers and newspapers.
Presidential Hopeful Rick Santorum Stymied By Search Problem
2011: When you searched for [Santorum], the first result was a blog created as part of a successful campaign to associate the senator’s name with anal sex.
Google Congratulates Watson On Twitter; IBM Says Thanks
2011: Among those watching IBM’s Watson win “Jeopardy” were folks at Google.
Redesigned Bing Bar Toolbar More Like A “Dashboard”
2011: The toolbar, which was graphically more pleasing to look at than a conventional toolbar, let users get lots of different types of information via drop-down windows.
How To Search Google Buzz
2010: For a product from Google, searching Buzz was less than impressive.
Fortune 500 Still Clueless About SEO, Study Says
2010: Despite spending millions of dollars on paid search, Fortune 500 companies continued to fail when it came to natural search visibility.
Google SVP Rosenberg’s Tome On Social Challenges, The Internet And Google’s Future
2009: His discussion of experts and quality was one of the most interesting parts. It had implications for Google’s search results and algorithm.
Yahoo Reorganizes, Rebrands Mobile Offerings As “Yahoo Mobile”
2009: It appeared to be mostly a rebranding and repackaging of existing Yahoo mobile assets.
Yahoo Sued For Showing Spam Pages About Person’s Name
2009: There were at least two obvious problems with the lawsuit.
From Search Marketing Expo (SMX)
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.
- 2022: How to avoid international SEO mistakes by Corey Patterson
- 2017: Organic traffic & link building for small businesses by Marcus Miller
- 2017: How to write PPC text ads in 2017’s sophisticated environment by Matt Umbro
- 2016: A Primer On Automating AdWords With Structured Data by Frederick Vallaeys
- 2016: 5 Link-Building Techniques You’ve Been Neglecting by Pratik Dholakiya
- 2016: Quick Wins To Beat The SEO Waiting Game by Dan Bagby
- 2015: 3 Keys To Gaining Company-Wide SEO Support by Casie Gillette
- 2015: AMA: Common Local SEO Mistakes Made By Businesses Big & Small by Andrew Shotland
- 2014: Lessons From Google On Optimizing Your SEO by Jonah Stein
- 2012: Spreading SEO Awareness & Knowledge by Shari Thurow
- 2012: Listen Up, Small Businesses: Your Customers Are Telling You Something by
- 2012: Deconstructing Microsoft AdCenter’s Missed Opportunities by Jonathan Hochman
- 2010: Fox In The Henhouse: How To Recruit Your Competitors’ Facebook Audience by Marty Weintraub
- 2010: Customized Google Analytics: Migrating From setVar To setCustomVar by Will Critchlow
- 2010: New B2B Product Introductions: Prioritize Your Online Tactics by Andy Komack
- 2010: When In House Should Opt For Outsourcing by Duane Forrester
- 2009: How #uksnow Made Social Media Fun Again by Ciarán Norris
- 2009: Sustainable Link Equity by Eric Ward
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