SearchCap: Google Expands Hotel Ads Program, Local Search Top Channel For Businesses & More

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

From Search Engine Land:

• Google Expands Commission-Based Hotel Ads Program
  Sep 22, 2015 by Ginny Marvin
  Book on Google ads now available on desktop in the US.
• Local Search Voted Most Powerful Channel For Local Businesses
  Sep 22, 2015 by Myles Anderson
  Columnist Myles Anderson shares key insights from BrightLocal’s 2015 “Local Clicks & Calls” survey, which asks local business owners and local search marketers about which digital marketing channels are the most effective.
• Google Loses Appeal By AdWords Advertisers In Suit Over Ads On Error Pages
  Sep 22, 2015 by Ginny Marvin
  Ruling overturns lower court denial of class-action status for advertisers, paving the way for plaintiffs to be able to sue as a group. Higher court also sides with advertisers on methods for calculating restitution.
• Google Switched To Local 3-Packs: Is There Cause For Alarm?
  Sep 22, 2015 by Andrew Shotland
  Should local search marketers be worried about Google’s new local display format in SERPs? Columnist Andrew Shotland takes a look at the impact from multiple angles.

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

• ABC Gives #TGIT Fans Emoji Triggers For Video Trailers On Twitter
• Ad Blocker Usage Highest Among Key Advertiser Demos: Millennials And High Earners
• Top 10 Video Creators In August: BuzzFeed Surpasses 1.8B Combined Video Views
• Federal Trade Commission To Serve As Opening Keynote For Marketing Land’s SocialPro Conference
• Pinterest Says Pinners Are Already Planning For The Holidays
• It’s Alive: The Power Of First-Party Intent Signals
• Marketing Men & Machines: Balancing Technology And Human Capital
• Ad Blocking: The IAB Wants To Sue, But It Probably Can’t Win
• 7 Habits Of Highly Strategic Marketers
• Let Us Now Praise Famous Marketers

Search News From Around The Web:

Link Building

• Did Google Change How PageRank Flows With Nofollow Links?, Search Engine Roundtable
• Getting Brand Links to Ecommerce Sites (and the Best Way to Do It), State of Digital

Local & Maps

• Google Adds Claim this Business Button in Knowledge Panel, Imprezzio Marketing
• Google Hotel Finder Home Page Shuts Down, Search Engine Roundtable

Searching

• Google Glossary: Revenge of Mega-SERP, Moz

SEM / Paid Search

• Baby Product Advertising in Paid Search Jumps 33%, AdGooroo
• Back to School! The Top 10 Colleges for Creating Paid Search Talent, Wordstream
• Google Analytics Day View Defaults To Hourly Graph, Search Engine Roundtable
• Maximize Your Google Analytics with These Helpful Add-Ons, Kiss Metrics
• The 7 Deadly Sins of PPC: Sloth, Wordstream
• Top 5 ways to amplify the impact of TV dollars with digital, Google Analytics Blog

SEO

• Google Search Ranking Fluctuation This Past Week?, Search Engine Roundtable
• How to Create Actionable KPI Dashboard for Your SEO, Search Engine Journal
• Mobile Content vs Desktop Content: What’s the Dif?, The SEM Post
• SEO is not dead, it’s just no longer fashionable which is a good thing, Cornwall SEO
• SEO, App Indexing, and Deep Links: Cutting Through the Confusion, 3qDigital
• Statistical Forecasting for SEO & Analytics, Distilled