This day in search marketing history: March 2
Happy 28th birthday, Yahoo!, plus: Semrush plans IPO, click to call ads, Google's About 260 problem, Steve Ballmer yelling at SMX and more.
Topic: Carol Bartz
This day in search marketing history: February 18
Yahoo stops using Google search, plus: Core Web Vitals, RSAs become default, Google Shopping Campaigns For PLAs and more.
This day in search marketing history: January 25
Google defuses miserable failure, plus: Topics API replaces FloC, value-based bidding, average search ranking position and more.
This day in search marketing history: January 19
Google's page layout algorithm, plus: Matt Cutts resigns from Google, Top Stories deduplication, mobile usability warnings and more.
This day in search marketing history: January 15
Facebook Graph Search launches, plus: brand profiles in Google knowledge panels, Rand Fishkin's last day at Moz, and more.
This day in search marketing history: January 13
Google's Matt Cutts search integrity tour, plus: core updates, Carol Bartz becomes Yahoo CEO, Baidu censors Google and more.
This day in search marketing history: January 8
A shift from keyword research to intent research, plus: search engines taking data from SEOs, PPC spending/budget cuts, and more.
Renegotiating Search Deal, Yahoo And Microsoft Extend Deadline
Negotiations likely to yield new terms for Search Alliance.
Where Yahoo Might Again Compete In Search: Mobile
Kara Swisher on Friday broke the news that Yahoo was working on two internal (no longer) secret initiatives to get Yahoo back into organic and potentially paid search and thereby separate from Microsoft. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has been critical of the Search Alliance with Bing and its impact on her company. The Search Alliance […]
Yahoo-Microsoft Search Tensions On Public Display In Court Ruling
Microsoft has essentially had to sue Yahoo to get the company to fully comply with the terms of their 2010 “Search Alliance” agreement. Yahoo under Marissa Mayer had sought to delay rollouts of Bing search results in Taiwan and Hong Kong, awaiting a new Microsoft CEO. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer resigned ahead of schedule under […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, September 26, 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: Google’s Knowledge Graph Gets Smarter With Comparisons & Filters Google’s Knowledge Graph is a little smarter today with the addition of filters and a way to compare two Knowledge Graph items […]
Surprise: Yahoo Maps Gets A Facelift, New Features
Shortly after she became Yahoo CEO, Marissa Mayer declared (disappointingly) that she wasn’t going to invest in Local. It turns out that what she meant was she wasn’t going to go head-to-head with Google in Maps. Her predecessor Carol Bartz had outsourced maps (to Nokia), and she wasn’t prepared to make a bunch of new […]
When It Comes To Google, Microsoft’s Ballmer Is Still Fighting Old Battles With Old Tactics
I’ve watched Microsoft fight Google in search for a very long time. Bing has come a long way, and I’ve been pleased to see a strong competitor emerge. But Microsoft hasn’t actually hurt Google’s share. It’s only robbed from its partner, Yahoo. So how’s Microsoft going to beat Google? Comments from departing CEO Steve Ballmer […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 4, 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: Google’s August & September Updates: Panda, Knowledge Graph, Page Quality & SafeSearch Google has announced details on the search algorithm and quality changes made over the past two months – August […]
As The Yahoo-Microsoft Search Alliance Falls Short, Could A Yahoo-Google Deal Emerge?
Once again, Yahoo is earning so little under its search deal with Microsoft that Microsoft is having to make up the difference due to a revenue guarantee. If the performance doesn’t improve, Yahoo might go looking for a new partner, which could include Google. Let’s explore how the deal has continued to falter, quarter-after-quarter, and […]
Ironically, Search Might Be Less A Priority At Yahoo As Google’s Marissa Mayer Takes The Helm
Wow. Wow. Wow. That’s all that keeps running through my head as I digest the news that long-time Google executive Marissa Mayer is to take over as president and CEO of Yahoo. Smart move for Mayer. Smart move for Yahoo. And as I’ll explain more, perhaps a move that finally takes Yahoo out of the […]
Confirmed: Marissa Mayer Leaving Google For Yahoo CEO Role
Marissa Mayer is leaving Google today, and will take over as Yahoo’s President and CEO as of tomorrow. The 37-year-old Mayer was Google’s 20th employee and has been responsible for a number of Google products over the years. Most recently, she oversaw development of Google’s local products and services. Yahoo has struggled to find a leader […]
No CEO News Emerges From Yahoo Shareholder Meeting
You can’t blame Yahoo’s board for being a little bit gun shy. After all, eight out of 11 directors are new this year — three of them were appointed in the wake of the highly-public resume scandal that ousted CEO Scott Thompson. With the Thompson debacle, the departure of co-founder Jerry Yang, and the ill-fit […]
Report: Scott Thompson To Step Down As Yahoo CEO, Ross Levinsohn To Step In
Kara Swisher at AllThingsD is reporting that embattled Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson is going to step down for “personal reasons.” Swisher has one or more “moles” inside the company and consistently gets inside information — which generally turns out to be correct. Thompson’s “personal reasons,” as we all know, are: misrepresenting that he had a […]
Will Pending Layoffs Put Final Nail In Yahoo Search?
Whatever is left of Yahoo Search — and, frankly, that’s unclear at this point — might be gone completely within the next couple of weeks. At AllThingsD today, Kara Swisher is reporting that Yahoo is planning substantial layoffs as early as next week, with a company restructuring to be revealed the week after that. Swisher, […]
Yahoo’s Co-founder Jerry Yang Resigns
Yahoo announced its co-founder Jerry Yang has formally resigned after 17 years on the job. Yang co-founded the company in March 1995, and has been on the Board of Directors since. 17 years later, he has officially stepped down from its Board of Directors and all other positions with the company. And he has done so […]
It’s Official: PayPal President Scott Thompson The New Yahoo CEO
AllThingsD reported late yesterday that PayPal president Scott Thompson would likely be named CEO of Yahoo. It’s now official; Yahoo just put out its formal press release announcing Thompson’s appointment. In appointing Thompson, Yahoo is choosing a leader with a deeper technology and product background than prior CEO Carol Bartz who was abruptly terminated last […]
Dear Congress: It’s Not OK Not To Know How Search Engines Work, Either
Did watching elected representatives debate SOPA last week without understanding some fundamentals of the internet rattle your nerves? Welcome to my world of watching the same thing happen about Google and search. In September, the US Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights held a hearing called “The Power of Google: Serving Consumers or […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 28, 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 Tweaks Its Rel=Author Display, Promotes Google+ In Search Results Google has rolled out a few changes to how it shows results that use the rel=author markup. Some of these are […]
Powered By Nokia, The New Yahoo Maps Goes Live
Former Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz will be remembered mainly as a cost cutter who outsourced numerous functions to third parties. A partial list of those includes outsourcing Search to Microsoft, Shopping to PriceGrabber, Real Estate to Zillow and Maps to Nokia/Navteq. And now, the new Nokia-powered Yahoo Maps (NokiHoo) have just gone live in the […]
As Buyers Circle Yahoo, Will It Be Carved Up?
Now that it’s for sale, there are several reports indicating multiple buyers are interested in some or all of Yahoo. Among the names mentioned are Silver Lake Partners, a private equity firm, Yahoo search partner and former suitor Microsoft, News Corp. and Jack Ma of China’s Alibaba, in which Yahoo owns a multi-billion dollar stake. […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, September 16, 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: Twitter Announces Analytics For Tweets, Traffic & Buttons This week at TechCrunch Disrupt, Twitter announced Web Analytics to webmasters (and Tweeters) see how their content is being shared and how their […]
Yahoo Rolls Out New SERP, Will People Notice?
In the wake of the firing of Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz and amid the growing speculation surrounding a possible sale of the company, work continues for the Yahoo rank and file. (The employees must have a kind of PTSD.) But in the spirit of “life goes on,” Yahoo search engineers announced that the company is […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, September 12, 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: Search Engines & 9/11: Remembrances Today; Some Thoughts Of Then The major search engines are all memorializing the 10th anniversary of 9/11 on their home pages today. Below, a recap, some […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, September 8, 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: Twitter Hits 100 Million ‘Active’ Users Started just 5 years ago, Twitter announced today at the “State of the Union” that they have officially reached their 100 millionth ‘active’ user. Of […]
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 […]
With Carol Bartz Out As CEO, Yahoo Needs To Find Its Own “Steve Jobs”
The not-so-shocking news came yesterday afternoon that embattled Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz was fired. When Bartz came to power in January 2009 I compared her to then newly elected Barak Obama. Both confronted crises and high expectations. Both have seen goodwill erode and give way to disappointment. Low Employee Approval The task of both chief […]
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 current CFO Tim Morse will take over the CEO spot on an interim basis. Speculation raged earlier this summer that Bartz’ days were numbered when Yahoo announced weak Q2 financials. […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, July 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 Labs To Be Closed As Larry Page’s Product Streamlining Continues Is there any doubt that things at Google have changed under new CEO Larry Page? Today the company has announced […]
After Weak Q2 Time May Be Running Out For Yahoo’s Bartz
She was supposed to help turn around the company, but Yahoo’s CEO Carol Bartz may soon be the one in turnaround because of another mixed or mediocre quarter. The search alliance and revenue share with Microsoft was partly blamed for Q2 revenues being down compared the same period last year: Revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, June 23, 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: Googleopoly: The Definitive Guide To Antitrust Investigations Against Google We’re another step closer to the US Federal Trade Commission launching an expected antitrust investigation of Google. If it does, the FTC […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, June 22, 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: How To Use Occupational Targeting In Facebook For B2B Leads & Sales For many B2B marketers, mainstream social channels a la Facebook (FB) and LinkedIn remain the proverbial Wild West of […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, June 2, 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: 7 Reasons Why Nixing Branded Keywords Is Not The Fix For CPC Inflation “If your friend jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?” While this classic parenting question is […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, May 31, 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: Twitter Intros Instant Follow Button In a bid to increase its presence across the Web, Twitter today announced the “follow button,” a snippet of code that can be placed on any […]
The Yahoo Search Revenue Disaster
Yesterday, Yahoo reported a second quarter of massive declines in its search revenue. Yahoo blamed the “headwind” of paying its partner Microsoft 12% of Yahoo’s net search revenues. Yahoo also said Microsoft’s ads are underperforming. But even without these factors, Yahoo has seen an almost unbroken quarterly decline in search revenues since 2008. Failure is […]