This day in search marketing history: February 12
Google penalizes JCPenney for link scheme, plus: Google SEO certifications, Automated Bidding overhaul, canonical tag announced and more.
Topic: Orbitz
How to build an enterprise SEO team
Not sure how to build an enterprise SEO team? Learn from 25 enterprise SEO experts on how to create your enterprise SEO org chart.
SEOClarity acquires RankSense technology
The enterprise platform will integrate the technology, which was created by the late Hamlet Batista, into its platform.
If almost everyone uses Google, does that make it a public utility?; Thursday’s daily brief
Plus, tips for choosing the right event to speak at.
What will Google Hotels mean for online booking sites?
The new site mirrors the UI of Google Flights and could have a similar affect on the hotel booking market.
Google Hotel Ads now showing nightly price trends
Shows best prices for one-night stays by day when data is available.
Meet A Landy Award Winner: How SearchMarketers.com Won Overall Small Business SEM Initiative For Its Surf Air Campaign
Granular targeting and key technology integrations helped increase memberships for the agency's client Surf Air.
SearchCap: Google Penguin, Google Maps, Hotel Booking & Hreflang
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 Refresh Months Away From Happening Google’s Gary Illyes reminds us that the Penguin algorithm refresh is still months and months away, as Google works to make Penguin run […]
SearchCap: Google Search Impact Report, Expedia Buys Orbitz & AdWords Topics
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 Success for 2015: Conversion Tips from Inside Experts Is your AdWords campaign ready for success in 2015? 10 WordPress SEO Questions That Took Me 10 Years To Answer! Looking to […]
Now It’s Expedia Vs. Priceline As Orbitz Swallowed For $1.6 Billion
After buying Travelocity last month, Expedia grabs Orbitz in competitive bidding.
Travel Search Consolidation: Expedia Buys Rival Travelocity For $280M
The move puts most US and global travel market in just a few hands.
Revealed: The 17 Other Search Engines The FTC Warned Over Paid Ad Disclosures
In June, the US Federal Trade Commission warned seven “general purpose” search engines — including Google, Bing and Yahoo — about the need to ensure they were properly disclosing paid ads. But 17 other “specialty” search engines were also warned. Which ones? The FTC wouldn’t say. Thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request, Search […]
Is Google Poaching Clicks From Travel Advertisers? Spend Trends Down Even As Advertisers Increase (Study)
On the cusp of the summer travel season, AdGooroo has taken a look at the state of paid search in the travel sector in the U.S. The company has found that, on the whole, paid search expenditures have been trending down since 2011. Spend fell 19% from January through April of this year compared to last […]
After A Month, Silence From The FTC On Search Engine Disclosure
A month ago, I sent a letter to the US Federal Trade Commission asking it to review how search engines are complying with its guidelines on disclosing listings where payment is involved. The silence since then, as the saying goes, has been deafening. That’s a pity given how important that review is to the on-going antitrust […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, June 26, 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: Official Google Panda Update Version 3.8 On June 25th Google has announced they pushed out a new refresh to the Panda algorithm recently. This update “noticeably affects only ~1% of queries […]
Big Chains Launch “Hulu For Hotels”
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 […]
Bing’s Travel Search & Kayak Favoritism Angers No One, While Google’s Gets Headline Attention From WSJ
Bing’s not-so-newest push into online travel hasn’t begun to roil the industry, the latest example of where if Bing does something, no one cares, but if Google does it, it’s time for a Wall Street Journal story examining the potential evilness of the move. In case you missed it, the Wall Street Journal has a […]
Report: IAC Is Google’s Biggest Ad Spender, According to Kantar
Kantar Media is taking a stab at estimating advertiser spend on Google, and a new report it produced for AdAge shows IAC/InterActiveCorp spent $174 million on paid search ads in the first three quarters of the year. IAC is, of course, the parent company of Ask.com, Match.com and the Newsweek Daily Beast, among many other […]
Google Makes Flight Search Results Better Looking, More Useful
In September Google did the first part of its integration with ITA, showing flight schedule information in search results and launching a separate flight search “portal” of sorts (Google.com/flights). Here’s what it looked like in Google.com results: The display could be expanded to reveal flight schedule information. However that wasn’t very pretty or useful, especially […]
The Alphabet of Google+ Direct Connect
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 […]
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, January 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: Foursquare Improves, Expands Information For Businesses Foursquare is going after local businesses and major brands with an improved and expanded content section that explains how they can take advantage of Foursquare’s […]
Once Again: Should Google Be Allowed To Send Itself Traffic?
The question of Google’s right to refer traffic to its own sites is once again in the center of policy debate. The European Commission is looking at this issue as part of its larger anti-trust investigation against Google. It’s also a question at the heart of the federal regulatory review of the ITA acquisition. Preferential […]
Senator Calls On DOJ To Limit Google’s ITA Purchase
Citing a litany of concerns over competition, airfare, and technology, a US Senator is calling on the Justice Department to put conditions on Google’s purchase of travel software company ITA. In a letter to the DOJ on Wednesday, Senator Herb Kohl outlined a number of concerns over Google’s purchase of ITA — the independent software […]
Feds Consider Google-ITA Deal: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t
In what is becoming an annual ritual Google announces a dramatic acquisition, pundits speculate about the potentially market-changing impact and anti-trust investigators give it a long, hard look — only to allow it in the end. Last year the transaction in question was AdMob; this year it’s ITA software. Since the roughly $700 million deal […]
For Travel Planning, Search Engines May Not Be Your Best Destination
It's that time of year when many of us turn to the internet for information, advice and maps to help plan a getaway for some rest and relaxation. Although search engines may be an obvious place to start your quest, they often aren't your best bet for useful information, helpful advice or savvy planning tips. Here's why—along with an in-depth look at more useful alternatives.
Google Takes On Travel Sites, Courts Regulatory Action With ITA Acquisition
Google has signed an agreement to acquire travel reservations software company ITA. The purchase price is reportedly about $700 million. We speculated about this and the likely travel industry and potential regulatory fallout earlier this week. Google put up a site to explain and promote the deal. Indeed, Google knows it’s girding for a fight […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, June 30, 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: Google News Has Major Redesign: Personalization, Sharing & “News Stream” Offered Today, Google News is undergoing its first major redesign since being launched in 2002. Gone is the default “section” view, […]
Google In Discussions To Buy Travel Software Company, Will FTC Ground It?
Most people have never heard of ITA. However it’s the dominant company that provides reservations (inventory management) software and performs other functions for the travel industry. The company’s client list includes major airlines such as American and Continental as well as popular travel sites such as Kayak and Orbitz. ITA is foundational infrastructure for many […]
Google May Buy Travel Software Provider ITA: Report
Bloomberg News is reporting that Google is in discussions on what could be a $1 billion buyout of ITA Software, a company that provides reservation/information systems used by many well-known travel industry companies. Bloomberg cites “three people familiar with the matter” in its article, two of whom speculate that ITA could want up to $1 […]
Siri: Not A “Search Engine” But You Might Use It Like One
When I’ve spoken in the past to people at Siri we’ve discussed and they’ve struggled a bit with how to present and “position” what they’re doing. Described as a “virtual personal assistant” — and called the “Siri Assistant” in fact in its formal launch — the company’s much anticipated iPhone app has arrived. There will […]
Bing’s Stefan Weitz: Rethinking The Search Experience
Way back when, in the dying weeks of 2009, I asked the question, “Where does search go from here?” It seems that everyone agrees we’ve barely scratched the potential that is web search, but what might that scratch reveal? What will our searching look like in two years? In five years, or even in ten […]
Using Competitive Intelligence To Protect Your Brand
Protecting your brand online is an ongoing activity. It requires hard work and due diligence. One area of concern is when others bid on your brand, or use your brand name in their ads. My current understanding of Google’s policy is that it’s OK to bid on a competitive brand name, but it is not […]
InsideTrip Seeks To Add More Depth And Dimension To Travel Search
Entering the already competitive and crowded market for travel search, InsideTrip is betting it’s bringing enough value to the market to gain consumer awareness and usage. The site offers a metasearch engine (like Kayak or Farechase) for airfares. But it also has compiled public data on a range of other factors such as aircraft type […]
Travel Search Sites Kayak And SideStep To Merge In Nearly $200 Million Deal
TechCrunch reported last night that travel meta-search site Kayak had closed a whopping $196 million round and then turned around and bought competitor SideStep for almost that same amount. The press release officially describes the transaction as a merger and both brands will apparently be preserved, but Kayak is clearly the dominant party and acquirer. […]
SMX Travel @ PhoCusWright Live Coverage Recap
The two day SMX Travel @ PhoCusWright show in Orlando is now complete. Chris Sherman hosted the travel focused agenda and we were lucky enough to have Marty at the aimClearBlog provide full coverage of the event. Below are links to his coverage.
Google Calendar Launches Public Calendar Directory
Philipp Lenssen reports that Google Calendar has added a gallery of public calendars that users can subscribe to. The directory is cataloged by Top Picks, TV shows, Events, Sports, Entertainment, Miscellaneous, Holidays and By Google. Wouldn’t it be nice if the By Google category showed scheduled Google Search updates?
Google Maps Introduce User-Generated Content
When Google launched its personalized mapping tool, My Maps, the company said it would soon be integrating user-generated content. It appears that is now happening on many Google Maps searches (hat tip to NLC Marketing Blog).
Yahoo China Morphing Into A Business Portal
Yahoo China is transforming itself into a business-oriented search engine, in part to deal with crushing competition from Baidu.com and portal Sina.com. “If Yahoo is going to win, it has to do so in a new way,” said Jack Ma, CEO of e-commerce company Alibaba Group, which runs Yahoo’s China operations in an interview with […]