SearchCap: Google Home is really smart, Google pronounce & Congress

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

From Search Engine Land:

• How to create landing pages that convert
  Dec 21, 2018 by Digital Marketing Depot

  If you’re looking to gather leads for your business, you need to have a landing-page strategy. Like every other marketing tactic, this can be done well or it can be done poorly. To see the greatest return on their investment, businesses need to build effective landing pages, then test and optimize them to maximize conversion […]

• Google Home wins smart speaker IQ test but Siri beats Alexa and Cortana
  Dec 21, 2018 by Greg Sterling

  Alexa had the most noticeable improvement according to the test results, nearly matching Google for general information queries.

• Google is testing a pronunciation feature in web search
  Dec 21, 2018 by Barry Schwartz

  Check out this cool new feature Google is experimenting with in search.

• Opinion: Congress needs to do their homework on search engines
  Dec 21, 2018 by Shari Thurow

  During a Dec. 11 hearing, congressional representatives questioning Google’s CEO demonstrated their lack of knowledge about how search engines actually work.

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

• Initiative CEO calls out Facebook, says he’s advising clients to pull ads
  Dec 21, 2018 by Amy Gesenhues

  Mat Baxter, CEO of Initiative ad agency, took to LinkedIn to criticize Facebook over the latest revelations it had shared more data than previously disclosed.

• In-app advertising has come a long way: Here’s why you should use it
  Dec 21, 2018 by Yoni Argaman

  New developments for the in-app environment allow brands to measure viewability, fraud, data quality and attribution, similar to what advertisers are used to on mobile.

• Why first party data should be your first priority
  Dec 21, 2018 by Mark Grether

  Stringent privacy regulations are creating a variety of potential risks for agencies and brands without access to data.

• Back to Basics: Maximize your YouTube advertising
  Dec 21, 2018 by Bruce Budkofsky

  YouTube is a ‘reference engine’ and advertisers can leverage it to define their target audience. But like other social media platforms, brand safety must be considered.

Search News From Around The Web:

• Apple appoints AI chief John Giannandrea to exec team, CNBC
• Canonicalizing Your Site: Understanding the Why and How, BrightEdge SEO Blog
• A slice of Google: looking back on 2018, Google Blog
• Baidu Maps tests traffic alarm for emergency services, TechNode
• Google Link Schemes Adds Clause About Contractually Requiring Follow Links Against Guidelines, Search Engine Roundtable
• How to: Check Your Site For Spam Links Using Screaming Frog, Portent