Topic: Boston

SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 21, 2013

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the Web. From Search Engine Land: Bing Ads Accredited? Get Updated Badges And Certificates You may have noticed, Microsoft rolled out new branding for Bing and Bing Ads over the past month. Now, that new look has […]

State AGs: Google Still Allows & Profits From Illegal Drug Ads

The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) is accusing Google of continuing to give consumers access to illegal and counterfeit goods — including drugs — in its search results, and is allowing sites that deal in such goods to advertise with Google. NAAG has asked Google co-founder and CEO Larry Page to discuss its concerns […]

2013 Boston Marathon Explosion: Official Information Sources

Following today’s explosions at the Boston Marathon, social media channels were immediately swamped with reports, graphic images and videos from the scene. Race officials immediately held runners on course, and canceled the rest of the event. During tragic events like this, it’s hard to determine what’s official and real information until it is verified by […]

Google Adds AMBER Alerts Atop U.S. Search Results

Google has started showing active AMBER Alerts for missing U.S. children above its search results on both regular Google Search and on Google Maps. And that includes both desktop and mobile searches. Here’s what one that’s currently showing up on a search for “amber alerts boston” looks like. Here’s Google’s explanation of what might prompt […]

Hurricane Sandy Superstorm Resources

Trying to keep up with Hurricane Sandy? Below are a variety of resources which may help. Storm Tracking Google Super Storm Sandy Map Google Super Storm Sandy Maps: NYC Close-up ESRI’s Hurricane Information Map Weather.com Hurricane Tracker Local TV Live Stream Boston: CBS NYC: NBC Philadelphia: CBS Washington DC: Fox Washington DC: NBC Radio A […]

Study: 43 Percent Of Total Google Search Queries Are Local

Ad network Chitika has just released some new data — you’re seeing it here first — that compares local search volumes on Google, Yahoo and Bing. The study examined both PC and mobile traffic to determine an overall number. (Chitika has now informed us that these numbers are incorrect; see postscript II below.) Chitika looked […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, July 27, 2012

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: A Gold Medal Roundup Of Online Olympics Resources The games of the XXX Olympiad begin in a few hours in London. For the next two weeks people around the globe will […]

Google’s “Trusted Photographers” Turns Business Photos Into A Self-Serve Product

Google is hoping to expand its Business Photos product with the launch of a new service called “Trusted Photographers” that essentially makes the process entirely self-service. Local businesses that are interested in having interior photos taken can use the new Business Photos website to find a “trusted photographer.” The business owner and photographer are supposed […]

Why Siri Can’t Find Abortion Clinics & How It’s Not An Apple Conspiracy

“I’m standing in front of a Planned Parenthood,” the CNN reporter says, “And Siri can’t find it when I search for abortion clinic.” No, it can’t. It’s not because Apple is pro-life. It’s because Planned Parenthood doesn’t call itself an abortion clinic. Welcome To Search Scandals, Apple It’s been interesting to watch the Siri Abortiongate […]

Google Travel Search Takes Flight With First ITA Travel Product

Google has made what amounts to a promising downpayment on more ambitious travel search tools with its new Flight Search, debuting today. Launching initially for a select group of US cities Google users will have access to an expanded range of airline search options and a much more verticalized experience than has been available in […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, September 7, 2011

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Confirmed: Bartz Out As Yahoo CEO Details are very sparse, but All Things Digital is reporting that Carol Bartz’s rocky tenure as Yahoo CEO has ended. All Things Digital reports that […]

Google Offers Goes Live In Five New Cities

As promised, Google Offers is continuing to expand. Google has just announced its launch in five new cities: Seattle, Denver, Austin, Washington, DC and Boston. They join six other locations in four cities where Offers is already available: Portland, San Francisco, Oakland and three sections of New York City. But, wait! There’s more: As the […]

SEO

Hurricane Irene Swirling Around the Web

The sheer number of people potentially affected by the approaching Hurricane Irene means that the web is experiencing an incredible amount of traffic from those seeking information. Hitwise reports that searches for Hurricane Irene have increased more than 2300% since August 21. Thankfully, there are plenty of resources online where people along the heavily-populated East Coast […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, August 10, 2011

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Yahoo Gives Image Search A New Look Yahoo’s Image Search is sporting a fresh look today that presents the image results in a cleaner, more organized fashion. Do a search and […]

Major Google Updates Documented

SEOmoz announced they have published the Google Algorithm Change document detailing all “major updates” that happened since the Boston update in 2003. SEOmoz did it with style in this graphical document: While I agree with a lot of the updates listed here, I had worked up a list of my own a few months ago. […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, August 9, 2011

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’s Matt Cutts Offering More Detailed Video Search Tips The Google Webmaster Blog announced a new format for Google’s Matt Cutts video tutorials. Instead of the short minute or so videos, […]

Bing Maps The Mall

Today Bing added 400 shopping mall maps as part of a larger “venue maps” (indoor mapping) effort. A minor but useful addition to Bing Maps (especially if the initiative expands), users can now zoom in on any of the included malls and see the stores and related details for the various tenant retailers. This is […]

Local Search: Mostly A Small City & Southern Activity, Report Says

Do Internet users in the southern US do more local searches than the rest of the country? Are searchers in smaller cities more likely to conduct local searches than those in New York City, Chicago and the San Francisco area? The answer to those questions is “yes,” at least according to recent data compiled by […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, June 30, 2011

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+ Has Been Blocked In China Just one day after Google offered invites to Google+, China has blocked access the new social networking site. This is not surprising at all as […]

Google And Virgin Air Offer Clever Chromebook Promo

Google and Virgin America have teamed up in a clever Chromebook promotion that will benefit both brands. The airline sent out an email this morning that offers a free Chromebook test drive, “From July 1 to September 30 . . . on select flights from San Francisco, Dallas-Fort Worth, Boston, and Chicago, exclusively on Virgin […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, June 13, 2011

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Facebook IPO Coming In 2012, Could Be Worth $100 Billion Everyone knows that Facebook is going public. When was the only question. Now it appears that it will be early next […]

SEO

How To Integrate Desktop & Mobile Search For The Travel Industry

Living in the old Italian neighborhood in Boston, I come across tourists everyday. It’s interesting to observe their behavior, particularly in a setting like Boston, which is famous for being a walking city. Most tourists already have a hotel booked by the time they arrive. They have a set timeframe, and a short list of […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, June 6, 2011

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Bing Voice Search Coming To Xbox Later this year, Bing search will take on a new platform: the Xbox entertainment/gaming console. And to prove that it’s all cutting edge stuff in […]

Richard Scarry Gets Google Logo

Today on Google is a special logo for the 92nd birthday of Richard Scarry. Richard Scarry was a popular children book author and illustrator who sold over a 100 million units and written over 300 books. He was born today, June 5, 1919 in Boston and died on April 30, 1994 in Switzerland at the […]

Skyhook Case Giving Google PR Headache

Ultimately Google will probably prevail in the lawsuit that Skyhook Wireless filed last year, but not without taking a few hits along the way. In that action Skyhook claims Google interfered with its relationships with two hardware manufacturers, Motorola and “Company X” (Samsung). Both OEMs were reportedly committed to using Skyhook’s location-positioning system vs Google’s […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, May 5, 2011

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: New: Google Showing Recent Stories From News Sites With News Snippet Search for [news] or [new york times] or [fox news] or other queries that would bring up a popular news […]

Google Announces Local “Business Photos”

Today at the Social-Loco conference in San Francisco Google’s Doyenne of Local Marissa Mayer formally announced Google Business Photos. This is not a new product but the formalization of an offering that has been available in a more limited way since last year. Google is inviting local businesses in a few cities in the US, […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, April 20, 2011

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 Testing Instant Previews On Ads (Here’s What It Looks Like) Google is testing a new feature that marries its Instant Previews with AdWords. The test gives searchers a chance to […]

SEO

eBay Buys Location-Based Services Pioneer WHERE.com

Adding to its LBS portfolio, eBay has acquired Boston-based WHERE.com, which has a popular mobile app and operates a “hyper-local” mobile ad network. Last year eBay bought local product inventory finder Milo.com. The terms of the WHERE deal were not disclosed. Great Mix of Assets WHERE, which began as uLocate, will apparently be housed in […]

SEO Held Liable, Fined In Counterfeiting Case

A website builder and SEO firm has been held liable in federal court in a case in which it was accused of enabling the sale of counterfeit goods. Bright Builders faces a $770,000 fine for damages in the judgment, handed down in U.S. District Court in South Carolina last week, while its client was only […]

A New Search Engine for Hotel Rooms: Room 77 Launches

Like “seat guru for hotel rooms,” was my immediate thought; Room 77 is a search engine for hotel rooms. The site is creating and indexing data on hotels in the US and UK (and eventually around the world) that qualify with three stars and above. There’s also an iPhone app launching simultaneously today. There are […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, February 10, 2011

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Bing Results Get Localized & Personalized The idea of “normal” search results died a little more today, as Bing has begun delivering personalized listings depending on a searcher’s location or past […]

Mapquest Introduces Transit, Walking Directions

Mapquest has introduced public transit and walking directions. It has had walking directions on mobile for awhile. The transit directions are limited right now to rail (including subway) and in only a few cities: Rail Transit Directions are now available in six major metro areas (NYC, Chicago, D.C., San Fran, Boston and Philly) all of […]

Study: Google “Favors” Itself Only 19% Of The Time

For the past year or so, there’s been a rising meme that Google is altering its search results in ways to favor itself over competitors. Now a new study is out showing the opposite. Google is far more likely not to show its own products in the first spot of its search results. The survey […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 16, 2010

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Confirmed: Yahoo Closing Buzz, Traffic APIs – Maybe Delicious & AltaVista News is traveling fast about a leaked slide from a Yahoo “all hands” meeting earlier this week that listed several […]

Bing Releases Version 2.0 Of iPhone App

Bing has released a new version of their iPhone app. This is a version 2.0 update and includes a huge array of new features. You can download the app by clicking here. Those features include: Quickly find the perfect restaurant based on your price range, cuisine, atmosphere, or location. Easily find great movies by name, […]