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This day in search marketing history: February 2
Posted On 04 Feb 2023
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Google’s revamped Partners program, plus: Bing again denies copying Google results, YouTube using Amazon’s algorithm and more.
In 2022, the changes to Partners program requirements, originally announced in 2020, finally took effect.
Those changes were supposed to happen in June 2020 but were first postponed until 2021 and then delayed a second time due to the upheaval caused by the coronavirus pandemic and shelter-in-place orders.
Agencies were not happy with the first iteration of Google’s new Partners program requirements, particularly Google’s doubling of the 90-day spend threshold (from $10,000 to $20,000) and adding an optimization score requirement.
Read all about it in Google finally launches revamped Partners program.
Also on this day
Performance Max campaigns get support in Data Studio
2022: Advertisers could include Performance Max campaigns in Data Studio reports.
Google Search Console snapshot in search results now can show domain properties
2022: A card could appear only if you were an owner or full user of the site in Google Search Console, and you are signed in with that Google account while searching for your site or queries it might rank for.
Google opens up about how Maps review moderation works
2022: Google’s overview detailed why it might update its policies, how it enforced them and the role of machines and humans in content moderation.
Google Q4 search ad revenue: $43.3 billion
2022: Alphabet announced revenue of $75 billion in Q4 of 2021. Of that, $61.2 billion came from Google advertising.
Google Search Console Discover performance report now includes all data
2021: Google would now show not just the data from Google Search app or on Google.com’s home page but also from Chrome.
Australia’s showdown with Google has profound implications for domestic businesses and other digital platforms
2021: The proposed legislation could have created an untenable position for search engines in Australia
Who wins? Google & Bing’s ‘Super Bowl ad’ search results are quite different
2018: People turning to Google and Bing for information about the official Super Bowl Lii commercials found very different treatments of the results.
Search in Pics: Google Bike riding, hanging hammocks & Valentine’s Day prep
2018: The latest images showing what people eat at the search engine companies, how they play, who they meet, where they speak, what toys they have and more.
Google local knowledge panel testing promotion box
2017: It allowed Google My Business owners to post deals and promotions below their core listing.
Yandex Rolls Out Mobile-Friendly Algorithm In Russia, Code Name Vladivostok
2016: Pages that were not mobile-friendly might not rank as well.
Firefox Deal Continues To Boost Yahoo As US Search Share Grows Again In January
2015: StatCounter said, conclusively, that the Firefox deal was responsible for Yahoo’s recent movement.
Microsoft adCenter Increases Ad Description, Adds Budget Widget & More Mobile Targeting Options
2012: Microsoft’s January 2012 adCenter release update.
Bing: “We Do Not Copy Results. Period.”
2011: Bing’s Yusuf Mehdi: “We have some of the best minds in the world at work on search quality and relevance, and for a competitor to accuse any one of these people of such activity is just insulting.”
Google Uses Amazon’s Algorithm For YouTube’s Recommendation Engine
2011: Google had switched the algorithm they used for YouTube’s recommendation engine from their own to a variation of Amazon’s algorithm that was designed in the late 1990s.
AdWords Targeting Getting More Geographically Granular in 17 Countries
2011: The changes allowed advertisers to target, analyze and optimize ad campaigns based upon more granular geographic data.
Google’s Mobile Moves Tighten Its Grip On Local
2011: Google was starting to leverage its massive local infrastructure across products.
Study: Facebook Ad Click-Throughs Declining
2011: Click-through rates on Facebook ads only averaged 0.05% in 2010, down from 0.06% in 2009 and well short of what was considered to be the industry average of 0.1%
Google Rolls Out Shopper App For iPhone
2011: Shopper allowed users to search for products by voice, with the camera, via barcode scan or by text entry.
Honeycomb Puts Android 3.0 Tablets On Nearly Equal Footing With iPad
2011: More coverage: Live Blogging The Google Android 3.0 “Honeycomb” Event
Report: Twitter Co-Founder Ev Williams No Longer Works There
2011: He wasn’t working on product and hardly ever showed up at Twitter’s office.
Google Apps May Get Its Own App Store
2011: The store reportedly would “sell business software designed by outside developers to integrate and add capabilities to Google Apps, such as enhanced security features or the ability to import contacts.”
Google News Allows You To “Star” News Stories
2011: Starring let Google know you were interested in that subject.
Google Gears Comes To AdWords: Browser Local Storage
2011: Instead of loading the data off Google’s servers each time you clicked on a section in the AdWords console, Google would load the data off your local computer.
Does CityGrid From Citysearch “Answer” The Local SEO Problem?
2011: This was Citysearch’s new local ad exchange/marketplace.
Katy Perry: I Googled Myself & I Liked It
2011: That’s how the singer discovered that Russell Brand was going to propose to her.
How Open Redirects Can Hurt Your Site’s Trust
2009: Open redirects could lead to spammers abusing your site and ultimately hurting your rankings in Google or other search engines.
Google AdWords Tests Campaign Level Keyword Diagnose Tool
2009: Google seemed to be testing a new AdWords feature that allowed you to batch your keyword analysis into a larger overview report.
Yahoo Shuts Down Publisher Network RSS Ads
2009: Yahoo ended the beta program to focus on more popular ad products.
400,000 Google Video Searches Are Polluted: Report
2009: “Blackhat SEO poisoning” could lead users to download malicious software.
SearchBiz: MicroHoo Redux, MySpace ‘Dissed’ By Yahoo, Microsoft Hiring In Search
2009: What could have been if Yahoo had accepted Microsoft’s offer.
It’s Google’s Ocean, We Just Swim In It
2009: More coverage: Live Blogging The Google Earth 5.0 / Google Ocean Event
Google Ramps Up Personalized Search
2007: Google combined Search History, Personalized Search and Personalized Homepage products.
SEO Gains Ground, Search Ads Top In Top Performing Online Ad Tactics
2007: SEO grew from 33% in 2005 to 45% in 2006 in the category of best performing online advertising tactic, whereas search ads declined from 52% in 2005 to 49% in 2006.
Google AdSense Makes Changes to Publisher Referral Program
2007: Publishers could earn up to $255 for referring a new publisher to AdSense, up from $100.
Google Local Ads In Google Earth
2007: Search on Google Earth brought up the same sponsored listings as Google Maps.
Viacom Tells Google’s YouTube To Remove Videos
2007: YouTube agreed to remove 100,000 video clips.
Google Launches Maps For Windows Mobile
2007: The Google Windows Mobile client provided an experience that was significantly better than the mobile browser and almost as good as the desktop – and in some ways better.
Google Demanded North Carolina Stay Quiet
2007: About Google’s tax break demands.
Digg Drops List Of Top Users To Curb Gaming
2007: It was to help lower the perceived manipulation of the Digg system by those top diggers.
New Yahoo ‘OurCity’ Local Mashups
2007: Yahoo tested it in India, incorporating content from Flickr, Del.icio.us, Upcoming and news.
National Pork Board Says: Breastfeeding Is A Viable Trademark Threat
2007: “We have a responsibility to the industry to challenge all viable infringements.”
Past contributions from Search Engine Land’s Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
These columns are a snapshot in time and have not been updated since publishing, unless noted. Opinions expressed in these articles are those of the author and not necessarily Search Engine Land.
