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This day in search marketing history: March 13

Google hides organic search listings plus: broad core search algorithm update, Panda updates, author rank, incremental ad clicks and more.

Danny Goodwin on March 13, 2023 at 12:01 am | Reading time: 10 minutes

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Google tests hiding organic listings on some search results

In 2018, Google showed answers without any additional search results for some queries.

For example, if you searched for [time in los angeles] or [time in new zealand], Google would show the answer, then show a button below the answer to Show all results.

“For calculator, unit converter & local time, we’re experimenting with a condensed view to further speed up load time,” said Google’s Danny Sullivan. “People who search for these tools rarely use full search results, but the results will remain available for those who want them via the ‘Show all results’ button.”

Read all about it in Google search results page displays answer without any search results.

Also on this day

Hiring an SEO? Why a technical SEO audit shouldn’t be part of the proposal process

2020: Experienced SEOs shared what to expect from an initial audit and why Google’s hiring video missed the mark.

Early look: Google Ads customer value reporting and conversion value rules

2020: The two features had been in testing for about a year.

Google helping to build pilot coronavirus testing website

2020: Engineers were contributing to the project aimed at helping people find nearby drive-through COVID-19 testing sites.

Google released a broad core search algorithm on March 12

2019: Google restated previous advice that there was no fix if your site was negatively impacted.

What’s going on with In-depth Articles on Google?

2019: Google said there was a coding change but that it still showed high-quality, evergreen content. Close watchers said they saw big shifts.

Goodbye green? Google testing black “Ad” label in Search

2019: Google appeared to be looking to switch up the way it labeled text ads again.

DuckDuckGo a new ‘default search’ option for Chrome, is it time to start paying attention?

2019: The upstart search engine’s visibility was growing.

Notes are coming to AdWords, plus Recommendations & an Account Performance Score

2018: Google announced several productivity updates, including the ability to note important changes right in the UI.

Google Images update: Captions added to images, pulled from the page title tag

2018: To add more context to image results, Google would now display a caption with images in mobile Images search results.

Google to fix missing data from Search Console analytics report soon

2017: A whole day of data was missing in the Search Analytics report.

Google To Sunset Webmaster Tools API Version One On April 20

2015: Google was dropping support for the original Webmaster Tools API, which meant you could no longer obtain keywords from the content reports.

AdWords Search Query Data Now Available Sooner

2015: Search terms and some other data were now available within 6 hours.

Google Is Practically Begging Firefox Users To Switch Their Default Search Engine

2015: A message above Google’s search results was the most visible attempt yet at getting Firefox users to switch back to Google.

Report: Microsoft’s Cortana Coming To iOS, Android This Fall

2015: Under CEO Satya Nadella, the company had decided to roll out its products, including Office, more freely to other platforms rather than have non-Microsoft users adopt alternatives.

Bing Tests New “Favorites” Feature That Lets Users Bookmark Images

2015: The feature was available only for users signed in to their accounts on a desktop.

Search In Pics: Google Shop, Google Stone & Golden Android

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 Working On A Softer & Gentler Panda Algorithm To Help Small Businesses

2014: Google’s Matt Cutts explained that this new Panda update should have a direct impact on small businesses and help them do better.

Yes, Google Does Have & Use Author Rank; Specifically Within In-Depth Articles

2014: It was specifically used within the in-depth articles system to determine which articles to show.

Google Makes It Official: New Search Results Design Goes Live For All

2014: Titles were larger and the underlines were removed. On the ad side, Google migrated over the “new ad labels from mobile, making the multi-device experience more consistent.”

Google Testing I’m Feeling Lucky Search Button Within Search Suggestions Drop Down

2014: Google was testing displaying the Google Search and I’m Feeling Lucky search buttons within the search suggest or Google Instant drop-down menu.

Forecast: Google To Lose $1.4B In PC Revs As Search Shifts To Mobile

2014: Some of that PC revenue decline would be offset by growth in mobile paid clicks.

Bing’s New “Image Match” Button Helps Locate Images Of Varying Resolutions & Sizes

2014: Bing announced it is launching a new “Image Match” button, a feature that helped users quickly find alternative resolutions and sizes of a desired image.

Yandex Begins Purging Links From Its Rankings For Some Moscow Verticals

2014: Yandex started to remove links gradually from the Yandex MatrixNet algorithm for commercial queries in just the Moscow region.

Google: Panda To Be Integrated Into The Search Algorithm (Panda Everflux)

2013: The Panda algorithm would soon be more integrated into Google’s overall continuous algorithm updates, Matt Cutts, Google’s head of search spam, announced at SMX West.

Enhanced Campaigns: Product Listing Ads Now On Smartphones

2013: Product listing ads (PLAs) began showing on smartphones in all markets that served PLAs.

Google To Double The Size Of Their Kirkland (Seattle) Campus

2013: Google was set to launch major expansion efforts to their Kirkland, Seattle office – home of many of the Google Webmaster Central team.

Bing Ads Makes Campaign & Ad Group Targeting Improvements

2013: Both target settings would be considered together to improve ad relevancy and delivery.

Study: 55% Of Mobile-Search Driven Conversions Happen In One Hour Or Less

2013: The overwhelming majority (77%) of mobile search happened at home or work, according to an extensive study from Google and Nielsen.

Google, Bing Both Gain Market Share In February [comScore]

2013: Core search activity was down in February overall, but both Google’s and Bing’s share of search activity in the U.S. were up during the month.

Google Research: Yes, You Still Need To Keep Buying Search Ads

2012: Researchers found that incremental ad clicks went down by 85% if campaigns were paused entirely.

Implementing Pagination Attributes Correctly For Google

2012: How Google handled the pagination attributes within a page’s source code.

How People Power (& Personalize) Bing’s Social Search

2012: Eric Enge‘s interview with Bing’s Principal Group Program Manager for Bing Social Search, Paul Yiu.

Google Preparing To Launch Social “Circles” — Or Maybe Not

2011: There was a lot of buzz about something called “Google Circles” which was possibly to launch.

Google Earth Shows Before & After Images Of Japan Earthquake And Tsunami

2011: Google captured satellite imagery showing the devastation of the 8.9 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Google Looks To Shutter China Search Operation As Talks With Government Reach “An Impasse”

2010: Google was reportedly about to pull out of the Chinese search market due to talks reaching an “impasse.”

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.

2020: Data suggests there’s still no corporate or brand bias in Google results by Bryson Meunier
2019: Regression analysis to improve Google Ads performance by Mark Meyerson
2018: Optimize for voice search by keeping it short and to the point by Dave Davies
2017: Manufacturing FAQs: The workhorse of content and search marketing by Dianna Huff
2017: Seasonal SEO: Identifying your merriest times of the year by Laura Scott
2015: 4 Super Smart Rising Stars In PPC Marketing To Read & Follow by Larry Kim
2014: Why You Shouldn’t Worry About SEO Costs But Focus On What It Earns by Trond Lyngbø
2012: Is Your Global Search Ecosystem Thriving Or Dying? by Bill Hunt
2012: 4 Reasons The Social Link Graph Will Have To Improve by Eric Ward
2009: An Insider’s Look At Google’s Search Based Keyword Tool by Josh Dreller
2009: Search: Too Boring For Branding? by Lance Loveday
2008: A Small Business Marketing Success Story: Pink Cake Box by Matt McGee
2008: Tagging 10,000 Videos: Science Or Sweat? by Sherwood Stranieri
2008: Reputation Monitoring Made Easy, And Free! by Aaron Wall
2008: Nine Essential Tactics For Reputation Management In Social Media by Marty Weintraub
2007: 3 Ways Social Media Marketing Helps SEO by Cameron Olthuis
2007: Paid Search Back-Checks, Slays Dragons, Asks for Little in Return by Andrew Goodman

< March 12 | Search Marketing History | March 14 >

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