Google AI Overviews: 90% accurate, yet millions of errors remain: Analysis
Nine out of 10 correct may sound strong for generative AI, but that means searchers could be getting millions of inaccurate answers every day.
Topic: The Times
How to optimize your 2025 content strategy for AI-powered SERPs and LLMs
The future of SEO is about mentions, authority, and AI relevance. Here’s how to secure brand visibility in AI-generated search results.
New York Times: Don’t use our content to train AI systems
Many large language models are trained using website content without permission – and some brands are demanding compensation.
Twitter’s U.S. ad revenue drops 59%
Major advertisers have abandoned or reduced their spending on the platform. Can new Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino turn things around?
Axios news SEO playbook: Speed, authority and brevity
Ryan Kellett, VP of Audience at Axios, shares how SEO helps this news site compete against the world's biggest news publishers.
Privacy AND targeted content: can they coexist?; Monday’s daily brief
Plus, how the NYT A/B tests headlines
Google selling Zagat to restaurant recommendations site The Infatuation
Google no longer needs Zagat as it once did.
There’s nothing stopping climate change deniers from using Google AdWords
The latest case study on ways in which targeting algorithms determine the kinds of ads we see.
SearchCap: AdGooroo Launches New Tool, Google’s Candidate Cards & Today’s Google Doodle
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: AdGooroo Launches Competitive Insights For Local Paid Search Jan 26, 2016 by Ginny Marvin The new tool provides keyword, ad copy and budget insights at a city level. Google Introduces Candidate […]
Who Invented The Mechanical Television? John Logie Baird Google Doodle Marks TV’s 90th Anniversary
On this day in 1926, John Logie Baird demonstrated his "televisor" invention for the Royal Institution and The Times of London.
Is It Time For Google To Rank News Content Behind Paywalls Better?
If Hollywood's paid content can be shown without fear of upsetting searchers, why not news? But with more visibility, all access subscription may be needed.
How Google Fails To Enforce “First Click Free” — An Eric Schmidt Case Study
News publishers often want to be listed in Google. News publishers also often want to have paywalls or registration barriers. The good news is Google has rules that allow for this. The bad news is that Google routinely fails to enforce these rules. Below, a case study involving content in a major publication authored by […]
Yelp Joins Effort To Undo Current Google-EU Antitrust Settlement
Yelp has been an increasingly vocal critic of Google for several years. Now it has joined a group of companies opposing the European Commission’s current antitrust settlement proposal with Google. Originally Google and Yelp were partners. Google unsuccessfully tried to buy Yelp for a rumored $500 million a year or so before the company went […]
Apple Maps Sees Its First International Territorial Dispute As Korea Protests Island Naming
From the it-had-to-happen-sooner-or-later department: Apple is in the midst of its first international territorial dispute over its new Apple Maps product. As the Korea Times reports (and also picked up by ZDNet), the South Korean government is upset because Apple is displaying a collection of small islands in between it and Japan with different names […]
WSJ Pulls Back On What Google Searchers Can Read For Free
Are you used to using Google as a way around the Wall Street Journal’s paywall? Think again. The WSJ has been holding back stories available through Google’s “First Click Free” program, a move that I suspect other newspapers might soon emulate. Over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed that I wasn’t able to read some […]
Google X: A Secret Lab Where Google Plays With Crazy Ideas & Robots
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 […]
All Sales & No Service: Google’s Small Business Priorities Are All Messed Up
Google is, again, wiping the egg off of its company face this week after the New York Times exposed yet another way in which some users are manipulating Google Places to the detriment of unsuspecting small/local business owners. The latest issue involves unscrupulous individuals/companies marking other businesses as closed in Google Places. It’s a process […]
Google’s Prayer Time Rich Snippets: The Good & Bad
A little over a month ago, Google announced a new rich snippet markup for prayer times. I was very intrigued by this rich snippet because of the complexities behind how prayer times for both the Islamic and Jewish faith work. In short, if you do a search asking Google for prayer times in a location, […]
90 Days Later, J.C. Penney Regains Its Google Rankings
J.C. Penney appears to be back in Google’s good graces after a 90-day penalty that removed the retailer from appearing prominently in Google’s search results for both short- and long-tail phrases. The company has regained first- and second-page rankings on a number of terms that were mentioned in a New York Times exposé of Penney’s […]
The Leaky New York Times Paywall & How “Google Limits” Led To “Search Engine Limits”
How did we go from the New York Times seeming to single out visitors from Google with a “5 free visit per day” policy to supposedly all search engines being limited in such a way? And what’s up with there being no limit for visitors coming from anything that’s not a search engine, including Twitter […]
Kadafi, Gaddafi, Qaddafi: In The Age Of Search, News Publications Still Struggle With Libya Leader’s Name
A decades-old dispute involving Libya remains unresolved. How do news organizations spell the name of Libya’s leader, Muammar Gaddafi? The exact spelling has a bigger impact these days, where people search for news. Use the wrong spelling, and your story might go missing. Can search tell us the “right” one? More below.
SearchCap: The Day In Search, January 19, 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 Knol Still Alive & Fixed, But Questions Linger About Its Future Google has fixed a bug that temporarily made Knol look like a ghost town this week. And, without exactly […]
Google Makes Modest Comeback In China
Google is making a slow comeback in China — in more ways that one. Earlier this month Google CFO Patrick Pichette was quoted in The Times of London suggesting that Google would “return” to China in a more forceful way in the not-too-distant future. The company stopped censoring its results last year and started redirecting […]
Google Can’t Seem to Quit China
Google doesn’t really want to be out of China it appears. Despite a principled stand against censorship and the subsequent revelation that Chinese government surrogates were behind GMail hacking the company is contemplating a “return” to the Chinese market. In fact it’s still there but in a half-hearted way. Google CFO Patrick Pichette told the […]
Wikileaks: Chinese Leaders’ Vanity Searches On Google Led To Hacking
I’m almost positive that one day we’ll see “Wikileaks: The Musical” on Broadway (or perhaps the Opera at The Met). There are equal measures of comedy, tragedy and intrigue in the many thousands of documents dumped and disclosed last week. It’s perfect fodder for dramatic adaptation. And one set of documents that embody all of […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, November 18, 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: Yahoo’s Sketch-A-Search App For Desktop, iPhone & iPad Yahoo announced a new set of quick search apps today. The one I like the best is this Sketch-A-Search App, but they also […]
Report: FBI Talks To Google, Facebook About Wiretapping
The New York Times is reporting that FBI Director Robert S. Mueller met this week with executives from several tech firms — including Google and Facebook — to talk about a plan to make Internet wiretapping easier. The Times says the US government is looking to expand a 1994 law, the Communications Assistance for Law […]
Need Pre-Facebook Movie Drama? Go Read “Googled” This Week
With the Facebook movie’s debut a week away, how about something to keep you entertained while you wait? A book. About that other major internet drama story, Google. The book? “Googled, The End Of The World As We Know It,” by Ken Auletta. Googled came out at the end of last year, and I’ve been […]
Report: Verizon And Google In “Neutrality” Agreement Over Preferred Content Access
We’ll have to wait and see what emerges from the reported discussions between Verizon and Google. However prospect of a patchwork of agreements between large internet companies and ISPs like Verizon over web traffic is highly undesirable. (See update below.) The private Google-Verizon talks are an apparent response to the slow pace of progress on […]
Yahoo Using Search To Help Determine News Coverage
Yahoo has been investing in news, including original content development. Consistent with its content strategy the company paid roughly $100 million for “content farm” Associated Content just a few months ago. And, according to the New York Times, Yahoo is now planning to use search and search query volume to help drive editorial coverage. Yahoo […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, May 25, 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: Live Matrix Wants To Be Your Guide To The Live Web If you’re looking for something to do, there are several event search engines you might use: Upcoming.org and Zvents are […]
Google Building Instant Translator Companion
Google leaps language barrier with translator phone from The Times Online reports Google is working on a new tool that would bring instant translation to people. It appears that Google is a couple years away from this coming but they would build on their existing Google Translate and Google Voice features to create an instant […]
Where’s AP In Google News? Apparently In Limbo, As Contract Running Out
It’s been noticed that new Associated Press stories — hosted by Google itself — are no longer appearing in Google News. It’s true. Since Dec. 24, Google has no longer added new AP content, something the company confirmed with me today. I received this statement: We have a licensing agreement with the Associated Press that […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, November 24, 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: Google’s ‘New’ Search Ad Formats The Google Blog formally announced the new search ad formats Google has been showing in the search results. The new ads include the relatively old AdWords […]
More (Alleged) Detail On The GooglePhone
In October TheStreet reported a rumor that Google was building its own mobile phone. That was repeated again recently by TechCrunch, which said emphatically that Google was building a branded phone — despite Android founder Andy Rubin’s denials that Google was going to design its own hardware. Now we get the Times of London with […]
Thoughts On A “Killer” Bing-News Corp Deal & The Myth Of An “OPEC For News”
It’s back, the prospect that Microsoft might try to make Rupert Murdoch happy by offering a “get listed with Bing” exclusive deal. Later, I’ll revisit the topic in a coordinated fashion. But for now, I’ve collected a number of thoughts I’ve put out on Twitter, in blog comments and elsewhere. First, I’ll point readers back […]
Microsoft Taking Click Fraud Battle To Court
The New York Times reports that Microsoft is taking the click fraud battle to court. “Microsoft filed the civil complaint on Monday in United States District Court in Seattle against Eric Lam, Gordon Lam and Melanie Suen, of Vancouver, British Columbia, along with several corporation names they were believed to have used, and several unnamed […]
MicroHoo Lite And Other Creative Speculation About Yahoo’s Immediate Future
Yahoo Q1 earnings are coming up next week. There were also some recent, not-so-secret conversations between new CEO Carol Bartz and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer about a search deal of some sort or a broader advertising partnership. And there’s a fairly credible rumor that more layoffs are coming at Yahoo, which are tied to a […]
Google To Create “Hulu” For Music Video, Moves Toward Inclusion Of More Professional Content On YouTube
YouTube spawned Hulu and Hulu is having a big influence on the future of YouTube. Hulu has had great success with brand advertisers, while YouTube has struggled to sell itself to brands despite being the dominant video site online (see chart below). Accordingly, last month ClickZ reported that YouTube was getting a Hulu-like makeover that […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, April 3, 2009
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.