Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Infographic: How Much Does SEO Cost? How much does SEO cost? How much time do you have to discuss the various models and prices out there! However, a new survey sheds […]
Before Google was formally approved to buy travel software company ITA, the company argued that the acquisition would result in “innovation” for travelers and travel search users. Beyond the appearance of flight times/routes in search results we haven’t seen much “innovation” yet. Google’s new “find hotels by travel time” experiment is, however, an example of […]
More than 300 Billion searches were made in the US in 2011, according to ComScore. In December each year, the Big Three search engines publish the most popular searches of the year. In 2011, the top ten searches from the three search engines added up to more than 250 million searches alone. We thought it […]
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: Paid Clicks Up 34% While Cost Per Click Down 8% YoY Google just posted their Q4 2011 earnings resulting in a massive quarter but not meeting expectations of investors. In […]
Google Maps has added a feature where it will highlight in a pink color the borders of a city, postal code or other borders based on your search. To see it yourself, go to Google Maps and search for a city name or even a zip code. You will see a pinkish highlight around the […]
Google’s favoritism of Google+ in its new Search Plus results is just the latest in the line of favoritism it has done with vertical search? It’s not, because Google hasn’t really favored itself with vertical search. It is favoring itself with Google+, and that’s why things are so disturbing. Vertical Search Is What Search Engines […]
Several major hotel chains have launched what might be described as “Hulu for hotels,” a new travel search site called Roomkey. According to Tnooz, the consortium includes Choice Hotels, Hilton, Hyatt, InterContinental, Marriott and Wyndham Hotels. Starwood, operator of Sheraton and W hotels, is not among them. Hotels have been struggling for years to get […]
Amid all the controversy that has erupted over Google’s new search personalization (Search Plus Your World), I’ve been doing local searches to see what if any impact it’s having on that arena. So far, in my unscientific query survey, the impact seems to be minor. Below are some examples where I toggle between personalized and […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Two webcasts next week: “The Buyers’ Journey,” and “Content, Freshness and SEO for Large Sites” Search Marketing Now will host two webcasts next week. On Tuesday, January 17, Christine Crandell and […]
Maybe it’s my bias as a longtime fan/practitioner of local search and SEO. Or maybe it’s because I’m mentioned as one of the sources/contributors. But more likely it’s just that this is an important search reference document, and that’s why I think that anyone interested or involved in local search should know about it. David […]
In a sound byte that might remind you of Baghdad Bob*, Iran’s police chief has announced that Google is a tool for spying. And not only that, but the Iranian government is also using that and other concerns to form a “national internet” under state control. Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam made his comments this week to […]
Chris Pendleton announced on the Bing Maps blog that they have pushed out a major update to their driving directions “routing engine.” The new routing engine is twice as fast as the old one and adds more features like adding up to 3 routes in one request. Previously, Bing Maps used a routing algorithm named […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Do Your 2012 Resolutions Include Increasing Conversion Rates? That’s a trick question. Of course the answer should always be yes. Hopefully your website conversions in 2011 have already resulted in a […]
It’s Christmas Eve! Santa Claus is on his annual trip of delivering presents to good little boys and girls around the world. Time also for our annual tradition, telling you how to track Santa using the internet, by smartphone and even through good old-fashioned voice telephone calls. NOTE: If you’re looking for the latest information […]
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 New Happy Holidays Logo: Dancing Christmas Lights & Jingle Bells For Christmas and the holiday season, Google has a new musical logo out that plays Jingle Bells and ends by […]
Yelp is now established and mainstream enough to be included in BMW’s Online/in-car content. Yelp reviews and related content will shortly be available to BMW owners “who subscribe to the optional BMW Assist Convenience Plan and have a navigation-equipped vehicle capable of receiving the BMW Online service.” This means select BMW vehicles (see below for […]
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 […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: RIAA Scolds Google, Wants Search Algorithm Changed To Fight Online Piracy Saying that Google has a “special responsibility” to fight copyright infringement, the RIAA has issued a report card that scolds […]
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 Letter From Santa To The Search Community December, 2011 The North Pole Dear Search Community: Thanks so much for your many letters to the north pole. Your nicely written texts […]
Hotel industry, you’re on notice: Google appears to be running a test that places its own Google Hotel Finder at the top of very competitive, hotel-related queries. Search Engine Land reader Alex, who works in the hospitality industry, tipped us to this development and at least one of our SEL editors was able to replicate […]
SoLoMo: Social, Local & Mobile – A Crossroads Of Opportunity Presentations from SMX Social Media Marketing, December 2011 For the first time, web-enabled mobile devices like smartphones and tablets are outselling computers as people increasingly want to be online everywhere. Kleiner Perkins internet visionary Mary Meeker has deemed the next five years as the era […]
Five years ago, Search Engine Land was officially born. On the occasion of our fifth birthday, we’re proud of how much the site has accomplished and excited to officially welcome our new sibling-site MarTech. Some Statistics Since we opened, Search Engine Land has grown to doing between 1.5 million and 2 million pageviews per month. From our Google Analytics […]
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 Images Carousel For Tablets & Better Movie Results For Phones Google announced two new improvements to mobile interfaces. The first is a new look for image results on tablets called […]
Google announced on the Google Maps blog that they are now powering their own map data in the UK, Germany, Finland and Sweden. Google maps data in the U.S. and many other countries is powered by Google’s own data. But this week, Google dropped their third-party map data provider, Tele Atlas, and switched their map […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: SMX West Super Early Bird Rates Expire Soon – Register Now, Save $400 February 28 – March 1 in San Jose, CA Attend SMX West and get expert insights and real-world-proven […]
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 Image Search Adds Social Sharing & Continuous Scrolling Yahoo announced two new features on Yahoo Image Search, social sharing and continuous scrolling. Social Sharing On Images: Yahoo Images enables you […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: AdWords Unveils New Top-Of-Page Bidding Options Google introduced a report in July that let AdWords advertisers compare performance between top-of-page ads and those appearing on the side (and now the bottom) […]
Google is bringing the blue dot indoors. Google Maps for Android 6.0 is going to start showing interior maps of airports, select malls and retail stores in the US and Japan. In Japan transit stations are also mapped. The floor plan data has been obtained from all the participating entities, which Google’s Steve Lee says […]
Today Mike Blumenthal of Blumenthals.com posted about what appears to be a new addition to Google’s local results. A specific query for “transmission servicing lexington ky” displayed the normal Google Places listings, with one exception: The grey icon is displayed next to a specific places results. However, when clicked, the user is taken to the following Google+ […]
In something of a surprise move, Microsoft has renamed its daily deals product and shifted the brand to MSN. It was “Bing Deals.” Now it’s MSN Offers. Apparently the change was the result of an effort to clear up perceived confusion. A press release went out but I discovered this through my in-box. Bing.com’s deals […]
Light bulbs that connect to the internet? Elevators that reach into space? Robots that show up for work in your place? These are a few of about 100 ideas that Google is reportedly toying with inside Google X, the name of a “top-secret lab” somewhere in the Bay Area. The New York Times wrote about […]
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 Leads In Search Engines’ Efforts To Woo TV Viewers Google’s “Dear Sophie” TV spot for Chrome, in which a father creates a Gmail account for his newborn daughter and sends […]
A new eye-tracking and click-tracking study from Mediative (formerly known as Enquiro) shows the value of having the top spot in Google’s local results, but also suggests that social content and signals can boost rankings further down the page. Early last month, Mediative did eye tracking on 12 participants and online click tracking on another […]
When Q4 rolls around, in-house search marketers, like me, probably feel a heady mix of anxiety, dread and oddly, excitement. All this can only mean one thing, it is annual budgeting time! Stressful deadlines, aggressive goals, but also great ideas and opportunities all roll into a couple of intense weeks (and I feel for those […]
A new feature of Google+ is Google+ Direct Connect, where typing the name of a company preceded by a + symbol will make that company’s Google+ Page appear as a suggestion in the search box, in the right circumstances. Who are the lucky few, so far? Here’s an alphabetical rundown, which reveals a number of […]
Finally, Google is now allowing businesses, brands and any non-human entity to participate in its Google+ social network, through new Google+ Pages that are launching today, promised to be available to everyone shortly. Businesses Weren’t Allowed, Initially Businesses have wanted to be part of Google+ from the start. In fact, many businesses and brands made […]
Google’s universal search results — things like videos, news, images and local business listings — aren’t “separate ‘products and services’ from Google,” according to company chairman Eric Schmidt. He makes that claim, and many others, in a lengthy written response submitted today to the U.S. Senate’s antitrust subcommittee — a required follow-up to Schmidt’s in-person […]
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 Search Algorithm Change For Freshness To Impact 35% Of Searches; Twitter Firehose Remains Off Google announced they are rolling out a new search algorithm change that helps make the search […]
Yesterday Google formally announced some changes in the presentation of local results on Google.com SERPs. The right rail has been turned into a rich display of Places information, including links to interior business photography in some cases. It brings a great deal more of the Place Page into the SERP and will become a new […]
Over the weekend Fusible.com surfaced several domain registrations from Google that suggested Google was creating a mobile site builder or portal. Then yesterday several outlets picked up on the Fusible post. Today Google is formally launching a mobile site development portal dubbed HowToGoMo. It provides education, case studies and best practices for marketers large and […]