This day in search marketing history: January 1

By Danny Goodwin

Published: January 1, 2023 at 12:01 am

Happy New Year!

Welcome to the first installment of what will be a daily, ongoing feature here on Search Engine Land in 2023 – This day in search marketing history.

Search Engine Land has been the publication of record for all things search and search marketing since launching in 2006. And the founders of that 2006 team had been reporting on and educating the industry for about a decade prior to that (at Search Engine Watch).

So join us every day, as we rediscover the headlines and history of SEO, PPC and digital marketing from years gone by.

Also on this day

Happy New Year Google Doodles!

On Jan. 1, every year since 2000, Google has consistently given us Doodles, in lieu of any significant news of note to report on. Hey, it is a holiday after all. The editorial team is getting some much-deserved rest (not counting Barry, who is almost always working) and traffic is pretty dismal on New Year’s Day.

It’s been years since we covered Google’s special logos. But once upon a time, Search Engine Land was competing with countless other publishers in the hopes of driving some insanely huge search traffic by covering these celebratory Google Doodles:

14 “Is Google Evil?” Tipping Points Since 2001

2007: A particular bad week for Google resulted in this look back at a number of “tipping points” that Google had survived in prior years, including the infamous Florida Update of 2003.

Best | top | most popular Search Engine Land stories of the year

Jan. 1 can be a good day to take a final look back at the most popular stories from the past year. Check out what stories earned the most pageviews in prior years:

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Report: Microsoft To Lay Off 15,000 Workers

2009: There were reports that Microsoft was getting ready to lay off 17% of their workforce, on or around Jan. 15.

< December 31 | Search Marketing History | January 2 >

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Editorial disclosure

Search Engine Land is owned by Semrush. We remain committed to providing high-quality coverage of marketing topics. Unless otherwise noted, this page’s content was written by either an employee or a paid contractor of Semrush Inc.

About the author

Danny Goodwin

Editorial Director, Search Engine Land & SMX

Danny Goodwin is Editorial Director of Search Engine Land & Search Marketing Expo - SMX. He joined Search Engine Land in 2022 as Senior Editor. In addition to reporting on the latest search marketing news, he manages Search Engine Land’s SME (Subject Matter Expert) program. He also helps program U.S. SMX events.

Goodwin has been editing and writing about the latest developments and trends in search and digital marketing since 2007. He previously was Executive Editor of Search Engine Journal (from 2017 to 2022), managing editor of Momentology (from 2014-2016) and editor of Search Engine Watch (from 2007 to 2014). He has spoken at many major search conferences and virtual events, and has been sourced for his expertise by a wide range of publications and podcasts.

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