This day in search marketing history: March 8

Goodbye, Google Toolbar PageRank

In 2016, Google confirmed that it would be removing Toolbar PageRank.

Google would still continue using PageRank data internally within the ranking algorithm. Only the external PageRank values shown in the Toolbar would soon go away completely.

The end of Toolbar PageRank was inevitable by this point. Google hadn’t updated PageRank scores since 2013 and PageRank has been slowly vanishing from their toolbars and browsers.

Toolbar PageRank originally become a visible, public metric when Google released its first version of the Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer in 2000.

Dig deeper in RIP Google PageRank score: A retrospective on how it ruined the web.

Also on this day

Member of SEO community and her two children killed in Ukraine

2022: Tatiana Perebeinis, the chief accountant of SE Ranking, was one of four people killed in a Russian attack in Irpin, Ukraine.

Platforms that have suspended ads in Russia

2022: In addition to political and economic sanctions, the conflict in Ukraine prompted many crucial platforms to cut advertiser access to Russian audiences.

SEOPress WordPress plugin adds IndexNow support

2022: This gave another 200,000 sites that are using this plugin easy access to enable IndexNow on their WordPress sites.

Google brings Full Coverage news to search results

2021: Google announced it was bringing the “Full Coverage” feature you can find in Google News directly to Google Search.

Google Lens comes to Android devices through the side door — Google Photos

2018: Previously only available on the Pixel and Pixel XL, Google Lens became (indirectly) available on all Android phones through Google Photos.

Google amplifies musicians in Google search through the Google Posts platform

2018: Google launched Google Posts to all musicians who had Knowledge Panel details in search.

Google working to integrate AMP benefits into future open web standards

2018: Standardization would allow sites to implement, and benefit from, AMP features without adopting the framework.

Google rolls out AdWords account-level call extensions, among other call updates

2017: Business names in call-only ads, more detailed reporting and an expansion of automated call extensions were on the way.

Pinterest’s updated browser extension turns off-Pinterest images into search queries

2017: Pinterest’s extension would scan images on a webpage to show related pins. Those visual search results wouldn’t include ads.

Google Flights’ new search features let users filter searches by travel interests

2016: Travelers could perform Google Flight searches without entering a specific date or place.

Bing auto-tagging comes to Shopping Campaigns, Image Extensions

2016: Ad group tracking was also enabled via the utm_content tag.

Bing search for “periodic table” returns interactive periodic table directly in results

2016: Bing added a fully interactive, color-coded periodic table that shows up at the top of its results for a search on [periodic table].

Report: Google To Settle “WiSpy” Investigation With Attorneys General For Measly $7 Million

2013: And Google would admit no wrongdoing.

Search In Pics: Yahoo’s Mascot, Google+ Cake & Yahoo’s Birthday Party

2013: 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.

Santorum’s Changing “Google Problem” — & Search Engine Land — Make The Rachel Maddow Show

2012: Search Engine Land got one of several shout-outs in the piece, along with some on-screen visuals.

Bing And Google Gain Market Share While Yahoo Drops

2012: Yahoo’s decline since 2011 was significant.

Ask.com Launches New Visual Q&A App “Pollroll”

2011: Pollroll, according to Ask, was “designed to facilitate the creation, distribution and sharing of poll questions and results.”

Google Bans Itself Again By Banning BeatThatQuote.com

2010: Google acquired and then penalized BeatThatQuote within a single day.

Google Makes Mobile Instant Previews Official

2010: Google’s Instant Preview feature, which let users view thumbnails of webpages in results, was officially being rolled out to Android and iOS devices.

Google Ventures Backs Another Marketing Company, Hubspot

2010: Hubspot garnered a $32 million series D funding round from Google Ventures, along with Sequoia Capital and Salesforce.com.

Google Confronting Spain’s “Right To Be Forgotten”

2010: A Spanish court was asking Google to remove data about a private individual from its index.

Foursquare 3.0 Aims To “Redefine Loyalty”

2010: The company hoped to “redefine loyalty,” with a range of new offer types and tools for merchants.

Enchantment: Guy Kawasaki On Why Your Focus Should Be On Working Magic

2010: He suggested that the overall goal for anything you’re trying to accomplish is to enchant others.

Google Adds Public Data Search Tool To Labs

2010: It included data from five new providers: Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD); California Department of Education; Eurostat; US Center for Disease Control; and US Bureau of Economic Analysis

Google Testing TV Search Service With Dish Network

2010: It allowed users to search content from Dish and web video (e.g., YouTube), and personalize a lineup of shows.

EU Privacy Push May Drive Google To Stop Updating Street View In Europe

2010: Google said it needed to retain an “unblurred” version of the photography for a year.

Microsoft To Launch Bing Ads In UK vs. “Goliath”

2010: Microsoft was about to roll out a “a multimillion-pound TV ad campaign” for Bing in the UK market, where it has less than a 5 percent share of searches. 

Google Local Business Center Adds Photos, Attributes, Maps Corrections & Stats

2007: You could adjust the marker for your business, add a photo to your listing, add custom attributes and see statistics on how your listing was performing.

Google Testing Showing Search Volume Numbers In AdWords Keyword Tool

2007: Google was showing actual numbers in search volume for the previous month for keywords.

Mark Cuban Subpoenas Google Over YouTube Videos

2007: Magnolia Pictures, Mark Cuban’s film studio, subpoenaed Google for the identities of those who uploaded his videos to YouTube.

5 Shiny Reasons Google Should Take Over Ford’s Twin Cities Auto Plant

2007: A fun and compelling pitch for Google to come to St. Paul, Minnesota.

Google Wins Google Earth Patent Case

2007: Google won the dispute dating back to 2002, when it was filed by Skyline Software Systems against Keyhole, which Google later acquired and whose software became Google Earth.

Microsoft’s “Third Era” Of Search Begins With Departure Of Search Chief Christopher Payne

2007: He oversaw Microsoft’s “second era” of search, when it developed a crawler-based search engine to take on Google.

Yahoo Adds Networking Features To Answers

2007: You could add Yahoo Answers users to your own personal collection of contacts, providing direct access to the questions they ask, answer, and star on Answers.

Ask City’s Shape Search Tool For Local Search Results

2007: You could go to Ask City, locate a location, draw a circle or square in a certain location and then search specifically within that location.

Baidu & Google Go Head To Head With Chinese Book Search

2007: Baidu and Google both wanted to be the largest and best book search service in China. 

From Search Marketing Expo (SMX)

• SMX Overtime: What really matters for SEO success (SMX West 2019)
• Content, your brand and the battle for customers (SMX West 2016)
• The great account structure debate (SMX West 2016)
• SMX West 2011 Day One 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.

• 2022: 5 ways your CX team can enhance content marketing efforts by Victoria Shepherd
• 2021: How targeted advertising is impacted under Virginia’s CDPA by Joe Stanganelli
• 2019: How retailers can survive Amazon’s stronghold in Google search by Steve Costanza
• 2018: How to effectively report competitor spam by Kaspar Szymanski
• 2017: A technical argument for quality content by Dave Davies
• 2013: Drilling Into Top Conversion Paths For Valuable Insights by Carrie Hill
• 2012: 4 Reasons Your Boss Might Hate Your SEM Campaign by George Michie
• 2012: The Internet: It’s Like Real Life, Only With Buttons by Kerry Dean
• 2011: The 5 Pillars Of International SEO Forensics by Andy Atkins-Krüger
• 2011: Engaging In Entertainment Social Networks by Kelsey Jones
• 2011: The Farmer Panda Impact On Links Nobody Is Talking About by Eric Ward
• 2010: New Online Destinations Create Local Marketing Opportunities For Small Businesses by Neg Norton
• 2010: Why Most Attribution Analysis Is Fatally Flawed by David Roth
• 2010: The Pitfalls Of A/B Ad Split Testing, Part 1 by Matt Van Wagner
• 2007: Survival of the Nimble by Christine Churchill

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