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This day in search marketing history: March 12
Posted On 13 Mar 2023
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Go inside a Google search quality meeting, plus: Google core search ranking algorithm update, how Google prices and ranks ads and more.
Google publishes video of search quality meeting
In 2012, Google shared a video from one of its search quality meetings – something that few outsiders had ever seen.
Google annotated the video to make the conversation more understandable to the general public, as well as explain more about the particular feature that was being discussed, a change to how it handles spelling corrections.
“I got to attend one last October, and it was one of the most fascinating, interesting things I’ve witnessed in my nearly 16 years of covering search,” wrote Search Engine Land’s Editor-in-Chief Danny Sullivan. “I watched many different features get evaluated, with discussion and debate flying back-and-forth among those gathered in the crowded room as well as those interacting through video conference…”
Read all about it in An Unprecedented Video Glimpse Into How Google Crafts Its Search Results.
Also on this day
Google pushes out deadline parallel tracking for Video due to ‘global events’
2020: The mandatory deadline was extended into June.
Ecosia to join Chrome v81 default search engine choices
2020: The not-for-profit search engine joined Google, Bing, Yahoo and DuckDuckGo as an option in 47 markets.
Google Ads rolling out Budget Planner forecasting tool
2019: Designed to show how changes in spend could impact campaign performance.
What will Google Hotels mean for online booking sites?
2019: The new site mirrored the UI of Google Flights – would it have a similar impact on the hotel booking market?
Bing Ads brings 3D ads to Search with Samsung
2019: Users could interact with the desktop ad format to inspect product features and details.
DuckDuckGo CEO testifies: Privacy legislation isn’t ‘anti-advertising’
2019: Gabriel Weinberg also believed that privacy legislation could make the internet more competitive.
Google confirms core search ranking algorithm update
2018: Google acknowledged the suspected update but said there was nothing webmasters can do to fix their sites if they dropped in rankings.
Google tests rounded mobile search design without full Google logo
2018: This new interface used a more rounded design and boldly omitted the full Google logo at the top of the search results page.
AdWords custom columns now available at keyword and ad levels
2018: You could track and optimize to custom metrics tailored to your goals at all levels of your campaigns.
Chat rate is the new CTR for AdWords message extensions
2018: Google would roll out message reporting metrics in the next few weeks for the US, the UK, Canada and other countries.
Google Local Pack Displaying Logos In Web Search Results
2015: Google was testing a new local pack in the web search results that displayed maps plus logos and pictures of the business listing.
Google Mobile Multi-Colored Line Separators Now Live
2015: Google seemed to be rolling out the new mobile interface where they showed Googley colored line separators in the mobile search results.
Google, Wal-Mart Breakup Suggests Problems Ahead For Local Inventory Ads
2015: Wal-Mart reportedly had plans to offer inventory data directly to its shoppers through Wal-Mart.com and its mobile app, rather than through an intermediary.
Google To Publishers Concerned Over The Knowledge Graph; Searchers Still Need Your Content
2014: While Google’s goal is to give searchers a quick answer, there is no substitute for the searcher to do deeper research by clicking into the sources provided in the Google search results.
Google’s New Look Search Results: Still An Experiment
2014: Google’s head of search, Amit Singhal, said “we’re always experimenting” and this design test was just that, one of Google’s experiments.
Google Reviewing “Not Provided,” Withholding Keywords From Organic But Not Paid Search Clicks
2014: Google said it was reexamining the issue and seeking a better solution.
Google Confirms Giant Banner Ad Test Is Dead
2014: The test only ran in the U.S. and was small with about 30 advertisers participating and banners showing on about 5% of search queries.
Google Adds Concert Dates To Knowledge Graph
2014: Concert information for a musician would be pulled from the artist’s official website if the site included structured data markup.
Yahoo Goes Live With Yelp Local Reviews
2014: When you clicked on “read all . . . reviews” or “write a review” you were taken to the Yelp profile or review page for the specific business.
Google Launches Help Center For Hacked Sites
2013: Complete with step-by-step instructions and videos that outlined each part of the process.
Will Google Now For iPhone & iPad Boost Google Search App Usage?
2013: A promotional video suggested the Google Search App for iOS may be gaining Google Now support.
It’s Official: Google Settles “WiSpy” Case For $7 Million
2013: Google had to take additional measures to educate employees and consumers about data privacy.
Facebook: No Plans For An External Search Engine
2013: Facebook was focused on improving search from within Facebook through Graph Search.
Google Webmaster Tools Revamps Crawl Errors, But Is It For The Better?
2012: Unfortunately, several pieces of important functionality were lost with this change.
Survey Paradox: People Like Google But Not What It’s Doing
2012: Survey respondents had a very positive view of search and the quality of search results. Yet the majority gave an unequivocal thumbs down to search personalization (and behavioral targeting).
Google’s Easter Eggs For Binary, Octal & Hexadecimal
2012: The easter egg showed the value of the results in those number systems.
Microsoft’s Photosynth App Goes Worldwide After 6 Million US Downloads
2012: Photosynth made it simple to create photo panoramas without any additional stitching/editing required.
Four Sites Impacted By Google’s “Farmer Update” Speak Out
2012: Reactions from local community directory AmericanTowns.com; product reviews site Buzzillions; small business networking site MerchantCircle; and product search engine TheFind.
Bing Apologizes For Japan Quake Tweet
2011: In the controversial tweet, Bing promised to donate $1 to quake relief for every retweet, up to a maximum $100,000 donation.
Google Adds Microdata Support For Rich Snippets
2010: In addition to microformats and RDFa support, Google had added microdata support, which was part of the HTML5 specification.
Can Google Stay In China And Still Save Face?
2010: China’s no-compromise-on-censorship position was reiterated by a top-level Chinese minister.
Yahoo Goes Hollywood With New TV, Celebrity Shortcuts
2010: The TV shortcut showed the title and a short synopsis of the next episode, along with video clips and links to see photos, the show’s schedule and an episodes list.
Google Explains How Search Ads Rank & Cost
2009: A video showed how Google prices and ranks search ads in the AdWords system based on quality and bid.
Google Improves Image Search For iPhone & Android
2009: You could see up to 20 images on a single page. When you clicked on the details of that image you could view a larger thumbnail, visit the web page, or view it in full size.
Google Voice: Next Generation Telco?
2009: Google announced a wide range of new services under the banner of Google Voice.
Yahoo SearchMonkey Accepts Videos, Games & Documents – No Application Required
2009: Flash video, games, and documents could now be embedded into Yahoo search results with only a few lines of code.
Twitter’s Traffic Growth & The Rise Of Social Search
2009: There were a lot of stats and analyses about Twitter’s traffic, how it compared to other social search sites, and who benefited from all the traffic Twitter can send.
Google Exec Tim Armstrong Named New AOL Chairman & CEO
2009: One of Google’s longest serving executives, Tim Armstrong, was departing the company to become AOL’s new chairman and CEO, replacing existing chair and CEO Randy Falco.
Open Letter To Google: Do The Right Thing, Divest Yourself Of Performics
2008: Why spinning off Performics needed to be a priority.
Message In A Bottle: Google Now Stores Messages For Unverified Webmaster Central Users
2008: Google announced it would have webmaster communication messages waiting for webmasters even if they have not yet verified their site in Google Webmaster Tools.
“Google Earth Town” Nanaimo Wires Self To Google Maps To Drive Tourism
2008: Nanaimo, a British Columbia town on Vancouver Island, was also known as “Google Earth Town” or “the capital of Google Earth.”
News Corp. Appears To Close Door As AOL Opens One To A Potential Deal With Yahoo
2008: Were the stars aligning for a potential Yahoo-AOL alliance in an effort to address both companies’ woes?
Health Insurance Carrier Aetna Introduces Personalized Health Search From Healthline
2008: Vertical health destination and search engine Healthline teamed up with US health insurance carrier Aetna to offer what the company called Aetna SmartSource – customized health search.
Search Biz: Google’s Project Management Tools, Iowa Seeks Microsoft, & More
2008: Click Forensics got $10 million in funding; an early Googler donated money to San Jose State; the fight to control IAC carried on and more.
Google Warning Against Letting Your Search Results Get Indexed
2007: The days of doing a Google search that brought up results leading to search results from other sites were heading for a close.
Google Rumored To Have Dish Networks TV Ads Deal
2007: Google and Dish Networks were reportedly going to sign a TV ad deal.
Google Print & Radio Ads A Success All Around
2007: Advertisers and publishers were happy with early tests from Google’s Print Ads and Audio Ads.
How Much Is ‘Local Search’ Really Worth?
2007: A roundup of various local online advertising forecasts and some perspective on what the “local search market” may be worth.
