This day in search marketing history: February 16
Google says avoid link building, plus: Conductor buys ContentKing, Google shows less than 10 results, Forbes paid links, and more.
Topic: Google My Maps
SearchCap: Wikimedia Search, Google MyMaps App & Link Building
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Wikimedia Foundation: “We’re Not Building A Global Crawler Search Engine”Feb 16, 2016 by Matt McGee Two executives refute recent reports that Wikipedia is planning to build its own search engine to […]
Google Makes MyMaps App Improvements But Doesn’t Quite Make It There
Google has rebuilt and relaunched its MyMaps app. For those unaware. it’s a stand-alone app that allows users to create and share custom maps. The idea is compelling. But it’s less compelling as a user experience. A trip-planning and social-mapping tool, it’s also interesting as a way to save local favorites for repeated use. Google […]
SearchCap: Google Penguin Rolls On, AdWords Editor Revamped & Mobile-Friendly Labels Go Global
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 Says Penguin To Shift To “Continuous Updates” Google To Continuously “Optimize” The Penguin Algorithm As It Goes Google Overhauls AdWords Editor: Version 11 Released Globally Editor now supports more bulk […]
SearchCap: End Of Yahoo Directory, Managing Negative SEO & Google’s Panda 4.1 Update
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: The Yahoo Directory — Once The Internet’s Most Important Search Engine — Is To Close For some, it may seem like there has always been Google, and it’s always been the […]
SearchCap: Germany Wants Google’s Algorithm, Google My Maps Back & Bing Predicts Scottish Referendum
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: German Official: Google Should Reveal Its Ranking Algorithm One of the unanswered questions in the ongoing European-Google antitrust saga is what concrete changes or concessions critics want (or will accept) from […]
Google Revives, Upgrades My Maps
Like many of Google’s local/mapping products, My Maps has had a … let’s call it a “checkered” history. It’s been heavily promoted and then seemingly ignored. It’s been renamed (to “My Places”) and had some of its features co-opted by other Google products. Perhaps most importantly, it wasn’t supported in the new Google Maps that […]
New Google Maps App Gives Users More Search Functionality & Navigation Features
Google announced today the release of a new Google Maps app for Android devices, with iPhone and iPad versions soon to follow. According to the announcement, the new Google Maps app will include more search functionality and updated navigation features, as well as Zagat reviews and discount offers for specific destinations. Google has also created […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, May 11, 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 Chromebooks Out June 15, $349 For Consumers, $20-$28 Monthly For Educators/Business At long last, the Google Chrome OS operating system is going prime time against Windows and Mac computers. On […]
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 […]
Mapquest Introduces New Look, New Capabilities
You might not have thought of it this way but the old MapQuest was mostly about driving directions. The new Mapquest (launching today) is about local search and an expanded range of capabilities and use cases. There’s a new look and feel, a new back end, a single search box and a new “brand.” Mapquest […]
Local Search Marketers Share Ranking Factors
Nearly three dozen local search marketers from around the world have shared their opinions on what matters most this year when it comes to ranking well in Google Maps, Yahoo Local, and Bing Local. David Mihm has published the results of the 2010 Local Search Ranking Factors survey. The survey asks local search marketers to […]
Secret Sauce: Leverage Outside Listings To Help Local Rankings
Google Maps (or Local, or Places, or whatever it is calling itself this month) is the bane of my existence. Well, maybe 3rd place behind Bing and Yahoo PPC platforms…but you catch my meaning. Inevitably, I can expect at least one phone call or email a week from a client asking why they’re not showing […]
How Google Buzz Hijacks Your Google Profile
Google Profiles existed long before the launch of Google Buzz earlier this month. But since that time, Google Buzz has hijacked Google Profiles in a way unmatched by any other Google product. That’s bad news for those who want to fully opt-out of Google Buzz. Doing so kills your Google Profile. It’s also bad news […]
8 Opportunities To Optimize Content Beyond Local Listings
Not to beat a dead horse, but as I said in my last column, I think 2009 was truly a watershed year for local search. Between Google’s introduction of the generic 10-pack, its beta test of local listing ads, dramatic improvements to Bing’s Local Listing Center, and numerous partnerships throughout the industry— all of these […]
Google Earth iPhone App 2.0 Available Soon
A new version of Google Earth for the iPhone is due soon, and among its new features is one with a personal touch: the ability to see maps you’ve created and/or saved in Google Maps. To make this happen, the new Google Earth iPhone app will add the ability to login to your Google account […]
Google Flu Shot Locator Shows Where To Get Vaccines Near You!
Looking for where to get a seasonal flu shot or that hard-to-find vaccine against H1N1 swine flu? Google has a new flu shot locator that can help. When the locator loads, you many need to manually enter your location. Do so using the “Change Location” option: After doing your search, a red needle icon shows […]
Hawaii Joins The Google Street View Union; Microsoft Updates Look Of Bing Maps, Adds Features
Google has now added Hawaii to Street View, making it the 50th and final US state to be included in the Maps image database. You can also get these images in Google Maps for Mobile. Google launched Street View a little more than two years ago, in May 2007. Since that time there has been […]
Google Dashboard Offers New Privacy Controls
Google has launched a new privacy dashboard — technically just called Google Dashboard — that gives users quicker access to, and more control over, the personal information stored in Google’s databases. The dashboard is a one-stop shop for managing this data and the settings that are associated with the Google products you use when signed […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 12, 2009
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Levinson Leaves Google’s Board Of Directors, Stays On Apple’s Arthur Levinson, a member of Google’s board of directors since 2004, has resigned from that position effectively immediately. Google’s announcement doesn’t give […]
Google Maps Adds Multiple Search Support & Layers To Mobile
Google announced a new feature for Google Maps and a new feature for Google Maps for Mobile. The first feature allows you to plot multiple searches on the same map. This comes in handy when you want to get driving directions, plus plot the various gas stations, golf courses, supermarkets and so on, along the […]
Google Announces “Favorite Places” Amid SMB Sales Event
Yesterday Google held a private event for small businesses (SMBs) at San Francisco City Hall hosted by SF Mayor Gavin Newsom. Private it was. As I searched for the email confirming that I was “on the list” (because I was told I wasn’t on the list when I arrived), I saw the gatekeepers turn many […]
Land Grab: Google Expands Real Estate Listings
MLS, Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, Craigslist, fellow real estate listings sites, newspapers and other classified ad providers … please meet your new neighbor: Google.com. Google has expanded its real estate listings and added extra search functionality for users to find property listings in Google Maps. A Google Maps search for “seattle real estate” looks mostly like […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, February 12, 2009
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
Google “My Tracks” Uses Android GPS To Capture Outdoor Performance
Google’s new Android-only app My Tracks is a “route tracking and outdoor training aid” that helps runners, skiers, bikers and other outdoor enthusiasts capture their routes and performance using the phone’s GPS chip. The data can be uploaded to Google Docs, Google Maps (in the form of My Maps) and/or otherwise shared (e.g., via Twitter […]
Google Local Business Ads Score New Features
The Google AdWords team has announced a group of new features for Local Business Ads, some of which are in place now, and others that will be coming soon. In place now are new links that will appear at the bottom of the ad’s info window: Get Directions, Street View, and/or Save to My Maps. […]
Tough Love For Microsoft Search
Back in June, I spoke at Microsoft as part of a regular series for those involved with its webmaster tools group and anyone generally interested in search. My talk was called “Tough Love For Microsoft Search,” and I covered various reasons why I felt the company has generally failed to make headway in the space. […]
Google Maps Cleans Up Its Act
Google Maps (Earth) is far and away the company’s most successful product after search. It is now the second most popular mapping service online (Mapquest still leads) and the most popular mobile mapping tool (Mapquest Mobile is second), according to comScore. Every few months, it seems, Google “tweaks” the service, adding new features here and […]
Google Introduces Map Maker For “Uncharted” Regions
There’s an interesting analogy to the 15th and 16th Centuries when European explorers (or colonialists) were out sailing and mapping the globe. The world was not entirely known and mapped at that time. So it is today on the Internet. While many areas are highly developed and well documented in online mapping, there are others […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, May 27, 2008
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
Travel Appears To Be Next Up For Google
BusinessWeek writes about Google’s potential plans to enter the travel arena with a specialized offering. That offering, assuming it appears, would likely include a heavy dose of video. There would also likely be a heavy helping of Maps. Interestingly, Google is pushing Maps and MyMaps today as a travel/trip planning tool.
New Microsoft Live Maps Roll Out With A Boatload Of Upgrades
A new version of Microsoft’s Live Search Maps has rolled out (after yesterday’s major traffic and routing upgrade). There’s an enormous range of feature and functionality upgrades, which are explained in some detail on the Virtual Earth blog. There’s also a discussion at CNET. At a crude level, what it means is that Live Maps […]
Microsoft To Upgrade Mobile IE Browser, Live Search For Mobile With New Mapping Features And Voice Search For Blackberries
At the CTIA wireless industry trade show yesterday, among the scores of announcements, Microsoft said that it would be releasing a new and improved mobile IE browser for smart phones in the fall that promises to bring “desktop quality” to the mobile Internet experience. (Numerous others are engaged in this same pursuit, including Safari, Mozilla, […]
Google Maps Opens Up Editing To Everyone
Last year in November Google opened up Maps to community editing, allowing people to move the pushpin markers to correct or improve the accuracy of business locations. John Hanke, Director of Maps & Earth, told us at the time that Google would move beyond just place markers and allow registered users to edit Maps more […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, January 18, 2008
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
What Does 2008 Have In Store For Local?
Many people I speak to still ask the familiar question, “Is this going to be the breakout year for local?” while expressing frustration or disappointment that “local hasn’t yet lived up to expectations.” But local is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s also more complex than the general search market, which features an ecosystem built […]
Search Year 2007: Search News, In Review
Each month, I compile Search Month — a recap of all the stories that have happened relating to search, categorized by topic. I thought it would be fun to take all the Search Months over the past year and produce this edition of Search Year 2007. It was far more work than I imagined, but […]
Google Unifying And Putting More Emphasis On “Profiles”
Google Operating System discusses the integration of Google Profiles into most Google services and products and the unification of disparate profiles into a single master profile. Whether and how this might ultimately be integrated with Google’s newly reinvigorated social network, Orkut, is unclear. Although they are much less extensive, Profiles may turn out to be […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 12, 2007
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
Google Turning My Maps Into Social Mapping Platform With Collaboration, Ratings, And Comments
After core search, without question Google Maps (including Earth) is the company’s most successful and popular product. And lately Google has taken the product in very interesting directions. Among the most interesting things Google has done with Maps was the launch of My Maps in April of this year. Since that time, more than 7 […]