SearchCap: Google blog comments & People also ask in Google

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.

From Search Engine Land:

• Nofollow couldn’t save the Google webmaster blog from comment spam
  Jan 14, 2019 by Barry Schwartz

  Google’s plan of “preventing comment spam” with the nofollow link attribute didn’t work for its own webmaster blog.

• The explosion of PAA: Answering questions is the new way to dominate search
  Jan 14, 2019 by Ryan Johnson

  Quality answers in plain language land in Google’s answer box and “People Also Ask.” Here’s how you can improve your website’s chances as a featured snippet.

Recent Headlines From MarTech, Our Sister Site Dedicated To Internet Marketing:

• Freedive, Amazon’s free video-on-demand service, serves up new video advertising opportunities
  Jan 14, 2019 by Amy Gesenhues

  The ad-supported platform could give Amazon a stronger foothold in the video advertising landscape.

• Google decision to yank comments from webmaster blog highlights user-generated content challenges
  Jan 14, 2019 by Amy Gesenhues

  If Google can’t filter spammy content from one of its own blogs, what hope do brands have when it comes to policing user generate content?

• Catalina adds first attribution tracking service
  Jan 11, 2019 by Barry Levine

  The shopper data firm can now track the impact of digital ads on product sales and buyer behavior, down to UPC barcodes.

• Marketers react to Gartner finding: Martech spending now exceeds staff costs
  Jan 11, 2019 by Barry Levine

  A recent report by the research firm indicates that a corner may have been turned for marketing budgets.

• Mobile carriers end data sharing with location aggregators; should marketers worry?
  Jan 11, 2019 by Greg Sterling

  Carriers are not the only sources of location data; their moves won’t be a significant blow to the ecosystem.

Search News From Around The Web:

• Amazon Sponsored Products Gets New Targeting Options and a Portfolio Tool, Merkle
• Assistant icon shows up on the Google.com mobile page, Android Police
• Google Local Spammers Using Open Date Edits To Hurt Businesses, Search Engine Roundtable
• Search Ranking Study Interpretation: Why It Can Get Better, Stone Temple
• Stop the presses: How a new publishing platform can help local news, Google Blog
• Tech Workers Unite to Fight Forced Arbitration, Wired