Check your YoY reporting and how to set HARD, DUMB or FAST search marketing goals; Monday’s daily brief
Plus, ORM strategies when attack sites strike and Facebook says the algorithm isn't the ONLY one to blame
Topic: Android
Pickup and delivery attributes, indoor Live View and more AI-powered features are coming to Google Maps and GMB
Google is packing more features, many commerce-related, into Maps, helping the company maintain its position as the intermediary between our online and offline activities.
Long live small businesses and brand awareness with Prince Harry; Monday’s daily brief
Plus, Microsoft proposes feature to submit URLs directly from WordPress
Changes are afoot, and this time they’re going in the right direction; Tuesday’s daily brief
Plus, register for SMX Create
Zero-click Google searches rose to nearly 65% in 2020
Efforts to regulate Google aren’t making a dent. And, the pandemic may have resulted in greater overall search volume, but zero-click searches may rise even further as people become more mobile.
Privacy AND targeted content: can they coexist?; Monday’s daily brief
Plus, how the NYT A/B tests headlines
Why the FTC didn’t sue Google in 2013; Wednesday’s daily brief
Plus, everything we know about FLoC, and some good ole marketing humor.
Bans lifted, ad outages, feature releases, and more CWV; Tuesday’s daily brief
Plus, how has your martech stack changed with COVID--a survey
Google Search Console adds ‘associations’ so you can link with other Google accounts
These can give you a better and wider view of your data across your various Google services.
Clubhouse, Shopify, and unconfirmed algorithm updates; Thursday’s daily brief
Plus, EU search choice screen pleases almost no one
Google’s search choice screen had virtually no effect on search market share, perhaps by design
Auction participants say the model favors ad-heavy search engines and redirects their profits to Google.
Google Search Console Discover performance report now includes all data
Also be on the look out for the new origin referrer for Chrome Google Discover traffic.
Google Search launches about this result feature
Google launches a feature to help searchers learn more about the search result listing before they click on it.
DuckDuckGo’s focus on privacy-minded users pushes it past 100 million searches in a single day
Although it’s a long way from being a Google competitor, DuckDuckGo’s business model may serve as a playbook for new search engines.
Google News performance report added to Google Search Console
Google Search Console now lets you dive in to how well your news site performs in Google News and the Google News App.
SEO year in review 2020: COVID forces platforms to adapt their local and e-commerce offerings, and more
Even a pandemic couldn’t slow down developments in the search industry. Here’s our recap of the year’s most important stories and news.
What would it take for new search engines to succeed?
Neeva and You.com seek to pick up segments of users overlooked by Google, and with shifting user preferences and increased governmental scrutiny, there might be an opportunity.
Google adds more discovery to Google Maps with ‘community feed’
The new feed offers more opportunities for local business exposure.
Social Shorts: YouTube expands ad inventory, Twitter launches Fleets, more
YouTube to show ads on channels that aren’t in the Partner Program In it’s latest terms of service update, YouTube creators agree to allow the service to monetize their content with ads (or by charging users for access) but are not necessarily entitled to revenue sharing. To be eligible for YouTube’s revenue sharing Partner Program […]
Marsbot is Foursquare for AirPods
Its augmented reality for your ears.
DOJ antitrust suit: Google uses contracts, market power to neutralize rivals
Google thinks it will win but the DOJ used these arguments successfully before.
Congressional report blasts Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook as monopolistic ‘gatekeepers’ of the digital economy
Breaking up these companies will apparently be on the table.
Web Stories are coming to Google Discover
Web Stories is being expanded to show in more Google areas.
Google gives publishers new content ‘Showcase’ on News, Search, Discover
There are no ad or ranking implications, but Showcase News features will be coming to Search and the Discover feed.
Google local ads gain Smart Bidding for store sales, ‘pick up later,’ service attributes
The company is investing heavily to address the dominant online to offline use cases, including buy online, pickup in-store.
Apple IDFA consent: Roughly 60% of consumers open to allowing tracking
With the right incentives, iOS users might be willing to share data.
Voice SEO: Different tactics required for Google Assistant, Siri and Alexa
Study by SEMrush found only 1% overlap in answers to the same voice queries across platforms.
Is Apple getting real about search and about to take on Google?
Multiple indicators suggest Apple may be stepping up its search efforts.
Facebook launches free ‘paid online events’ for SMBs and others
The new all-in-one tool will be free for at least a year, the company says.
DuckDuckGo: Google’s mobile share would drop 20% with new search choice screen
The finding was based on user testing and an eye tracking study.
Social Shorts: TikTok’s future, Quora lead-gen ads, Facebook’s India plans
TikTok and LinkedIn under one roof? “Microsoft is in talks to acquire TikTok, the Chinese-owned video app, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions, as President Trump said on Friday that he was considering taking steps that would effectively ban the app from the United States,” The New York Times reported Friday. The […]
Google upgrades enterprise messaging capabilities in Maps and Search
Enhanced features include smart replies, visual product carousels, custom welcome messages.
Social Shorts: Creative highlights, Quora queries, Twitter ad data, Facebook’s newest app
(Beyond social) creative moments that caught our attention Audi x We Are Social takes viewers on a virtual road trip. With much of the world on lockdown, Audi Australia in partnership with creative agency We Are Social jumped on the opportunity to recreate a scenic drive for those stuck at home. The four-hour, slow TV-style […]
EU Android search choice screen’s impact delayed due to COVID-19
Engagement with the search choice screen has been slowed by stifled smartphone supply and decreased demand.
Yelp sees huge decline in restaurant demand, offers $25MM relief package
Yelp is seeking to become a hub for "virtual local businesses" during the coronavirus outbreak.
Ecosia to join Chrome v81 default search engine choices
The not-for-profit search engine joins Google, Bing, Yahoo! and DuckDuckGo as an option in 47 markets.
Google Search is showing YouTube Music links on album queries
More visibility for the platform may mean more subscribers.
In feature battle with Google, Yelp improves restaurant waitlist functionality
Yelp is trying to stay one step ahead of Google with tools that benefit both consumers and business owners.
Happy 15th birthday to Google Maps, the company’s second most important product
Google updates the app that embodies its commitment to local search.
Apple’s big maps makeover now available across U.S., Europe coming soon
Apple Maps needs a 'breakout' feature. Could that be privacy?