This day in search marketing history: March 17
Google AdWords further dilutes exact match, plus: DMOZ officially closes, Matt Cutts hints at HTTPS ranking signal and more.
Topic: Yellowpages.com
This day in search marketing history: March 4
Sheryl Sandberg leaves Google for Facebook, plus: new GA4 homepage, Wikipedia turns PPC into SEM, goodbye Scroogled and more.
This day in search marketing history: February 24
Google unleashes the Panda update, plus: E-A-T patent, AMP Top Stories, Overstock's Google penalty, optimize by conversions and more
This day in search marketing history: January 31
Google releases URL Inspection Tool API, plus: AdWords IF functions, Page Speed Update confusion, local paid inclusion and more.
This day in search marketing history: January 5
Google AdWords introduces click-to-call ads, plus: IndexNow WordPress plugin, AdWords 2x budget change, search being solved and more.
Millions of fake Google Maps listings hurt real business and consumers
Google says it is working on it, but is still positioned to profit as local businesses claw back visibility with paid ads.
Local SEOs mixed, some peeved at idea of paying for Google My Business services
They recognized the logic – but many had strong criticisms.
YP brings search and location data together in “audience cartography”
The dominant use of location data in mobile display advertising has ironically become more about "who" over "where."
SearchCap: Google Algorithm Update, Android Apps In Search & 16 Product Listing Ads
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 Core Algorithm Updates Continue As SEOs Notice Weekend Google UpdateJan 18, 2016 by Barry Schwartz Another Google update this weekend has been confirmed, but it is a core update, not […]
Survey: Under 40 Percent Start A Local Search With A Search Engine
What we widely call “local search” is only partly about search engines. Finding local content and making offline purchase decisions is a multifaceted process that involves several categories of information and devices. That’s according a new survey and report from IDC and YP. The report, called “Local Search Unleashing Opportunities for National Advertisers,” is based […]
SearchCap: Google Feud, AdWords Top Movers & Mobile SEO Ranking
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 Top Movers Report Gets A Makeover Google is updating the Top Movers report with a summary to make it easier to spot areas for AdWords improvement. 3 Keys To Understanding […]
SearchCap: Link Building In 2015, Google’s New Doorway Page Penalty Algorithm & Anna Atkins Google Logo
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: What’s The State Of Link Building For SEO In 2015 & Beyond? The rules regarding link building are seemingly always changing, so columnist Jayson DeMers lays out thoughts about what’s safe, […]
YP Launches New Local Search Marketplace For National Advertisers
Once dismissed as the exclusive concern of small businesses, brands and national advertisers are recognizing the importance of location data and local search. Often, however, they have trouble operationalizing local SEO and other tactics. YP has built a new PPC platform to appeal to these national-locals called “ypSearch Marketplace.” It’s a paid-search, bidded marketplace that […]
SearchCap: Google Business Photos & Chat, AdWords Spring Cleaning & Google Unwanted Downloads
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 Tests “Chat” Button In Local Business Box Google is testing showing a live chat button in the local search box within the web search results for some businesses. No […]
Local Search Provider YP Offers All-Inclusive PPC Search Product For SMBs
Local search provider YP has launched a one-stop-shop local PPC solution targeting small and medium businesses. It combines YP’s own PPC-search inventory with paid-search ads on Google, Yahoo and Bing. The company has been a Google AdWords Premier SMB Partner for years, as well as a Yahoo Bing Network Strategic Ambassador. Now it’s adding its own PPC search inventory to […]
Zomato Buys Urbanspoon For $50 – $60 Million To Enter US Local Search Market
International restaurant search provider Zomato has acquired Urbanspoon from IAC for between $50 and $60 million in cash. Zomato was founded in India in 2008 but now operates in more than 20 countries and 130 cities globally. Urbanspoon content will be incorporated into Zomato and the Urbanspoon brand will go away after a short transition period. […]
Google Redesigns Maps, Adds OpenTable Reservations, Uber Estimates
Google continues to evolve its Maps for mobile. It has gone well beyond the rudimentary local search and navigation product it once was and become an increasingly sophisticated local discovery tool with an array of content types and improved functionality. Now Google has made Maps more “actionable” with OpenTable reservations and Uber pickup and price estimates built into the app. For […]
Foursquare: 55 Million Users, 54 Percent Lift Since Relaunch
Whether it’s all part of the master plan or more opportunistic, Foursquare is undertaking a “multimillion-dollar effort” to brand and differentiate itself from Yelp and other local search apps. The campaign will appear in out-of-home locations in New York and Chicago as well as online in other cities. I believe branding is important for Foursquare, so this […]
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 “Pigeon” update (the name Search Engine Land gave it in absence of an official name from Google) aims to deliver improved local search results, with enhanced distance and location ranking parameters. According to Google, the new local […]
SearchCap: Yelp’s Leaked Documents, Bing Movie Times & YP’s MyBook
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Leaked Documents Show How Yelp Thinks It’s Not Getting Screwed By Google Yelp may once again feel Google is robbing it of its fair share of search traffic, with a study […]
Survey Says Yelp The Most Influential Local Review Site
Yelp says it’s the most frequently used, most trusted and highest quality local reviews site, according to new Nielsen survey data. Some of those data were released on the company’s official blog two days ago. Beyond Yelp, the universe of competitors included in the survey were the following: Angie’s List Citysearch OpenTable TripAdvisor YP Zagat […]
SearchCap: Bing + Twitter, Foursquare Fees & Okay Google
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 […]
Report: Google Losing Share Of Mobile Search Ad Market
Data aggregator and prognosticator eMarketer is out with a new mobile advertising forecast that shows Google losing share of the mobile search ad market. The company says that apps are taking their toll on Google’s mobile ad dominance. The firm says that US mobile advertising in total will be $17.73 billion this year. That would […]
Foursquare To Move Check-ins Into “Swarm” App, To Focus Better On Local Discovery
Foursquare is doing something surprising, even radical. It’s removing some of the legacy features (i.e., check-ins) from its app and moving them over to a new app called Swarm (available soon). Check-ins, sharing and friend finding will now reside in Swarm, and Foursquare will evolve in a bid for further mainstream adoption to challenge Yelp […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, March 26, 2014
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: How A Single Guest Post May Have Gotten An Entire Site Penalized By Google Google made it clear earlier this year that those doing guest posts “for SEO purposes” might be […]
Yelp and YP Enter Into “Strategic” Content, Distribution Partnership
YP and Yelp have announced a strategic partnership that will in the near future provide YP advertisers with an enhanced presence on Yelp and effectively bring Yelp into the YP Local Ad Network. There is probably a revenue sharing deal in the background but the parties declined to discuss terms. Yelp has existing content deals […]
Foursquare Adds Menu Items To Search Capability
Foursquare has added the ability to search for particular menu items. The underlying menu data come from partners Locu and SinglePlatform, now owned by GoDaddy and Constant Contact respectively. The company says that there are more than 500,000 places and 43 million menu items that can be searched in this way. And while specific menu item […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, September 5, 2013
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 Debuts Offline Conversion Tracking For Full Sales Cycle Optimization Running lead generation campaigns on Google AdWords? Measuring success and optimizing campaigns for actual sealed-deal conversions, not just lead in-take, just […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, July 31, 2013
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 Reportedly Testing Local News Card For Google Now Google is reportedly testing a local news “card” for its Google Now predictive search product. Quartz first reported on the project, and […]
Report: Building Contractors Number 1 Local Ad Category
Restaurants is still the most widely searched local business category according to YP’s Q2 Local Insights report. However restaurants doesn’t even show up in the top 10 when it comes to advertising spend. According to YP data, the following list represents the most searched local categories overall. The list is a blended average of both […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, May 17, 2013
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 Matt Cutts: Domain Clustering To Change Again; Less Results From Same Domain Google’s head of search spam, Matt Cutts, posted a new video about a new change coming to Google’s […]
Yahoo Wins $2.75 Billion Appeal In Yellow Pages Case
Yahoo announced yesterday that it had prevailed in an appeal of a $2.75 judgment in Mexico obtained by former joint venture partners. Those former partners, Worldwide Directories and Ideas Interactivas, sued Yahoo for breach of contract and damages. The case arose from the termination of a contract between Yahoo de Mexico and Ideas Interactivas. In […]
Search On Smartphones Up 26 Percent, On Tablets Up 19 Percent In 2012 [Study]
Search continues to shift away from the desktop toward mobile devices. That’s one of the conclusions of the just-released Neustar Localeze/15miles/comScore Local Search Study, which is now in its sixth year. This year’s study involves a sample of more than 3,000 U.S. adults that say they use the Internet to search for local businesses. Results […]
“Better Than Google” Claims: Why Doesn’t Anyone Believe Them?
Microsoft continues to run online its Pepsi-Challenge style ads “Bing It On,” in which a majority of users prefer Bing in a “blind comparison test” with Google. Despite the commercials and despite Microsoft reporting that after extensive testing users preferred Bing 2:1, people generally express skepticism. People simply don’t buy the campaign. Another recent study […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, March 7, 2013
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the Web. From Search Engine Land: Facebook Updates Newsfeed, No Impact On Graph Search (Today) We’ve covered this morning’s changes and enhancements to Facebook Newsfeed over at Marketing Land: Facebook Newsfeed Evolving Into “The Best Personalized Newspaper” […]
Blind Study Finds YP Local Results Beat Google, Bing, Yahoo
A “blind” study commissioned by directory publisher and local ad network YP, performed by Crowdflower, found that YP’s local search results were better overall than those of search engines. This was measured as a function of user satisfaction rating. Thousands of queries were compared over a year-long period. I can hear the skepticism: “It’s sponsored […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, February 25, 2013
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 Panda Two Years Later: The Real Impact Beyond Rankings & SEO Visibility (Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of articles looking at the aftermath of Google’s Panda […]
YP: Our Mobile Ad Network Second Only To Google
When the dust settles US mobile ad revenue will probably come in somewhere between $3 and $3.5 billion for 2012. Google is the clear market leader. But which company is number two? Facebook? Millennial Media? Twitter? Not according to a statement released this morning by YP (the former AT&T Interactive). YP said that it had “over $350 […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 17, 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: Google Maps iPhone App Gets 10 Million Downloads In Two Days Just about a week ago Google’s new Google Maps iPhone app was released and oh boy were people waiting for […]
YP: 30 Percent Of Search Queries Now Coming From Mobile
Local search provider and online ad network YP has released its end of the year review report (.pdf). The data are drawn from a huge volume of queries on its PC destination site, its mobile site and apps, as well as its broader advertising network. YP says that 30 percent of its overall query volume […]