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 Tests New “Favorites” Feature That Lets Users Bookmark Images Still in beta, the new feature is available only for users signed in to their accounts on a desktop. AdWords Search […]
Still in beta, the new feature is available only for users signed in to their accounts on a desktop.
Reuters is reporting that Microsoft is getting ready to make Cortana, its digital assistant, available on Android and iOS as an app. This possibility was first raised in a Microsoft SMX Advanced keynote conversation last year. The Reuters article also discusses a Cortana-linked, artificial intelligence project called “Einstein.” At the time of SMX Advanced Microsoft […]
Columnist Rachel Lindteigen recaps a presentation on voice search and opportunities for marketers, in coverage of the SMX West conference.
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Video Of Matt Cutts Talking About The Early Days At Google Miss hearing from Google’s Matt Cutts? Here is a 34 minute video of him giving a talk at UNC Chapel […]
Cortana, the personal digital assistant, has become a key part of Microsoft's competitive strategy.
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Right To Be Forgotten: Google Tells Europe It Won’t Scrub Global Index European privacy regulators continue to push for an extension of The Right to Be Forgotten (RTBF) to the entire […]
The race is on. Three weeks out from Santa’s annual trek around the world, and both Google and now NORAD — working again with Microsoft — have launched their Santa tracking sites. This year’s NORAD Tracks Santa site features a brand new set of games, improved performance, and an optimized mobile experience. Microsoft says Windows Phone users […]
Apple Insider reports on the discovery of a web-crawling bot originating from Apple’s servers. It was first “outed” by developer Jan Moesen. This is what Moesen saw: Moesen reports that the bot is only crawling HTML, “not the CSS, JavaScript or image files.” Then he asks whether this is an “official Apple project” or just “someone crawling the web […]
Microsoft’s Director of Search admitted this week that Bing isn’t likely to put a significant dent in Google’s search market share. Stefan Weitz appeared Tuesday at the Web Summit conference in Ireland, where he told attendees that Bing instead wants to focus on making its search technology an important part of mobile apps and other […]
At a Bing Ads Next event in Redmond, Washington yesterday, Microsoft executives outlined the roadmap ahead for Bing and Bing Ads, which powers paid search advertising on both Bing and Yahoo. In discussing the evolution of Bing and the way Micosoft is thinking about search, Rik van der Kooi, Corporate VP, Advertiser and Publisher Solutions […]
Google came under fire last night from Stephen Colbert, over a direct answer that got the comedian’s height wrong. But Apple’s Siri makes the same mistake — something Colbert didn’t raise during his video appearance at the Apple’s iPad event today. Stephen Colbert Demands Google Apology For Getting His Height Wrong on our Marketing Land […]
According to a voice search study commissioned by Google, the most smartphone-obsessed teens are using voice search every day. However many adults feel self-conscious or embarrassed when they talk to their smartphones. The study found that 45 percent of US adults said they felt “like a geek” talking to their phones. (Yet this is what […]
Stone Temple Consulting (STC) published a study in which it compared mobile answers to “3086 different queries” on Siri, Google and Cortana to determine how each performed relative to the others. Google was the winner with more direct answers and more complete information. Eric Enge, who wrote up the results, says this was not a “personal assistant […]
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 Shows What’s Playing At The Movies, In Remake Of Google’s Own Film Carousel Bing has a new way of showing you what’s playing in your local theater, a “carousel” format […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Cortana Coming To Windows 9, Will It Replace Bing? Next week in San Francisco, Microsoft will unveil Windows 9 for the press. Among the features of the new OS is reportedly […]
Next week in San Francisco, Microsoft will unveil Windows 9 for the press. Among the features of the new OS is reportedly going to be the virtual assistant Cortana. A range of sites are repeating some early evidence found by a German site, and also a discussion on Neowin, that assert Cortana will be a central feature […]
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 Launches Xiaolce Chinese Chatbot With Cortana Smarts For Windows Phone After taking its Windows Phone 8.1 with Cortana to China last month, Bing announced today the launch of XiaoIce (“little […]
After taking its Windows Phone 8.1 with Cortana to China last month, Bing announced today the launch of XiaoIce (“little ice”), a Chinese-speaking social assistant chatbot for Windows Phone users. According to the announcement on Bing’s search blog, XiaoIce’s technology is far beyond a normal chatbot. [blockquote cite=”Bing Search Blog”]XiaoIce is a sophisticated conversationalist with […]
Do you have the skills it will take to thrive in the SEO environment of the future? In the first of this 3-part series, search industry veterans weigh in on how things will be different in 2015.
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 Webmaster Guidelines Update Calls “Low Quality Guest Blog Posts” Spam Google has updated their webmaster guidelines, specifically in the little or no original content guideline, to add “low-quality guest blog […]
Aiming to make its search results more “developer friendly,” Bing says it has streamlined API, code and non-alphanumeric queries, made software download searches safer and added instant answers to the top of search results for Microsoft-related technology queries. Using a side-by-side comparison against Google search results for a “c# hashtag example” query, Bing illustrated how […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Experts Weigh In On Google’s “Pigeon” Update Aimed At Improving Local Search Results Last week, Google made new search waves when it rolled out updates to its local search algorithm. The […]
There’s increasing evidence that Microsoft’s personal assistant Cortana is being positioned as a key differentiator vs. Android and iPhones. A new TV commercial (below) purports to compare Cortana to Siri, with a mock Siri voice saying “I can’t do that” a number of times. This morning Microsoft announced new geographies and new features for Cortana […]
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 Is Getting A Slick New Look That Will Feel Familiar Bing is unveiling a new look that will start showing up in the web interface next week. The new […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Microsoft Bing Now Added To Google Chrome New Tab Page Microsoft’s search engine, Bing, is now an option within Google’s Chrome new tab page screens. Prior, if you changed your default […]
Microsoft’s new predictive search agent Cortana is finally becoming available to the general public. How does it compare to longstanding champion Google Now? After months of using them both, it’s no contest. Google Now easily wins, in my daily life. But Cortana does gives Microsoft an important foundation in the predictive search space and puts […]
According to a story appearing in The Verge yesterday, Microsoft is not allowing users to set Google as the default search engine for mobile web browsing on new Lumia 8.1 devices (630 and 930). As the article points out, the search button on the handset uses Bing and cannot be switched. I reached out to […]
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 Admits They Need To Do Better With Webmaster Communication In a blog post today on the Bing Webmaster Blog, Bing’s Igor Rondel, Principal Development Manager of the Index Quality team, […]
Microsoft shared details about their future plans for deeply integrating academic data/search into the Bing search engine. Starting this Fall, Microsoft said they “will be able to point the way to a wealth of information from the academic community.” Microsoft explained that currently Cortana, Microsoft’s version of Google Now and Apple Siri, is powered by […]
“As great as this past year was, I’m more excited about FY15 than I’ve ever been,” said Microsoft’s David Pann, General Manager for the Search Network, by phone this week about Bing Ads as the company starts its next fiscal year. “All the fundamentals are set,” he added. Recapping the successes of this past year […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: “America” Movie Filmmaker Sends Legal Demand For Google To Fix Showtime Results The Hollywood Reporter writes that Dinesh D’Souza’s movie, “America” is not coming up properly in the Google search results […]
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 Ups Its Twitter Game: Rolls Out Hashtag & Twitter Handle Search Features Starting this week, Bing users are going to see even more Twitter content in search results. As a […]
You’re probably pretty familiar already with Siri and Google Now, the personal assistant-type technologies from Apple and Google, respectively. Each has its own approach to the idea of providing information and answering questions without needing a traditional search box and search query. You may be a bit less familiar with Cortana — she’s Microsoft’s upcoming […]
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 Payday Loan Algorithm 3.0 Rolling Out Now Google is now rolling out the 3rd version of the PayDay Loan algorithm. Last night we reported that Google is going to be […]
It’s far too early to consider monetizing Cortana, Microsoft’s new virtual personal assistant, but the company is already thinking about how to scale her across different devices, platforms and around the world. Those were two of the key points from Microsoft’s keynote conversation Thursday morning at our SMX Advanced conference in Seattle. Marcus Ash, a […]
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 Launching Payday Loan Algorithm 3.0 Targeting Spammy Queries This Week Google’s head of web spam, Matt Cutts, announced at SMX Advanced tonight that the third version of PayDay Loan algorithm […]
We’re ready to get started on day two of SMX Advanced, and today’s opening keynote promises to talk about the future of search. Microsoft’s Marcus Ash (Group Program Manager for Windows Phone) and Rob Chambers (Group Program Manager, Applications and Services Group) will be here to talk about Cortana, the company’s recently launched virtual assistant […]
Microsoft’s Bing search engine has turned five this week. There are good reasons for some birthday celebrations at Microsoft. The company has created a solid competitor to Google, grown its market share and created a search platform for other Microsoft products. But when it comes to mindshare, Bing is still far behind rivaling Google as […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: States Threaten Action If Google Doesn’t Delist “Illegal Sites” According to the Washington Post, 24 state attorneys general are trying to pressure Google to discontinue ads and the indexing of sites […]