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Bing Updates Friends’ Photos Search With Windows Tiles Layout & Slideshow View
Bing announced they have made some changes to the Friends Photos search site that lets you browse and search photos of your Facebook friends. Friends Photos launched in August 2012 and several months later gets its first major refresh. The changes include a new title-like layout you are familiar with when it comes to Windows […]
Burden Of Search UI Innovation Now Falls To Yahoo Veteran Laurie Mann
Laurie Mann has been promoted to run Yahoo Search. Mann, who is a man, has been senior vice president of engineering operations at Yahoo since 2002. Prior to that Mann spent a number of years at Oracle in various engineering roles. The news was first reported late last night by AllThingsD. Mann fills the position that was […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, February 15, 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: Bing Ads Sticks With Improved Reporting Interface Bing Ads announced that the new reporting user interface released in October is now the default. Users will no longer see the option to […]
Bing Ads Sticks With Improved Reporting Interface
Bing Ads announced that the new reporting user interface released in October is now the default. Users will no longer see the option to switch to the old reporting version. The updated reporting UI includes: A new, Wunderbar-style navigation for faster access to reports Report creation in half the clicks A simpler, more convenient way to download […]
How To Use Social Networks To Create Laser-Targeted B2B Advertising Campaigns
The bane of most search marketers’ existence is search query ambiguity. Is a user searching for [one night stand] interested in an illicit affair or a piece of antique oak furniture for his bedroom? Does the query [internet security] reflect the needs of a consumer fed up with viruses or a CIO looking for a […]
Bing Ads Updates Pro Accreditation Training; Exam Is Now Free
Bing has announced updates to its Bing Ads Accredited Professional Program for search marketers looking to get certified as “Pro Bingers”. Among the changes, Bing transitioned the training segments from video based to text based content. Users can now view the training on the Bing Ads website or print out the training materials, a frequent customer […]
How Search & Social Will Hit The Fast Forward Button In 2013
The search and social graphs have made giant strides in the recent past. Even two years ago, people were skeptical about the relationship between search and social media. Fast-forward to 2013, and we are now faced with a complex and large search and social ecosystem that offers a world of opportunity to SEO marketers while […]
Bill Gates On Google: “Bing Is The Better Product”
It’s been more than four years since Bill Gates worked full-time at Microsoft, but he’s still promoting Bing, the company’s 3+-year-old search engine. Gates, who’s still serving as Microsoft’s non-executive chairman but is focused full-time today on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, promoted Bing during an “Ask Me Anything” conversation today on Reddit. It […]
Microsoft Sued By Company That Won Patent Lawsuit Against Google In 2012
New York-based Vringo has sued Microsoft over two patents that pertain to the ranking and placement of ads in search results. The patents were originally issued in the early ’90s and owned for a long time by Lycos, which later sold them. The patents in question are 6,314,420 and 6,775,664, referred to in the complaint (below) as the […]
Bing On Super Bowl 47: San Francisco 49ers Twice As Many Searches Than Baltimore Ravens
If search has any influence or say in who will win the Super Bowl this Sunday, Super Bowl XLVII, then the San Francisco 49ers are clear winners. A Bing representative told us that the San Francisco 49ers have twice as many searches than their competitor the Baltimore Ravens. Plus, the 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, has […]
25 Questions To Ask When Executing B2B Content Marketing Campaigns
With the new year upon us, search engine marketers are focused on putting the foundation together for campaign execution throughout 2013. Central among the strategies meant to deliver B2B SEO results will be content marketing. Just in time for preparation in the new year, MarketingProfs and the Content Marketing Institute launched their 2013 B2B Content […]
Bing Tags Expands, Makes Pages Linked To Your Profile Public
Search engines continue to go old school, encouraging people to “tag” content in a way that makes it feel like it’s 1999 all over again. Today, Bing makes another push in that direction, making content you tag with “Bing Tags” more visibile. Honestly, I feel like this tagging crazy is simply Google and Bing falling […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, January 21, 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: The Power Of Headlines: The LA Times Gets It Right With Their Piece On The Inauguration Journalists call them headlines; SEOs call them titles and headings. Whatever you call them, they’re […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, January 18, 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: Will [Not Provided] Ever Reach 100% In Web Analytics? With the news today that Chrome is moving to secure search, marketers may be wondering about the larger picture of using search […]
Ever Wanted To Be Siri? Apple Seeks A Writer
By now, everyone’s used to Siri’s wit. Tell her you love her, and Apple’s Siri digital assistant may respond that all you need is love — and an iPhone. Or that it will never work out. And she’s got jokes for a variety of other queries. But who’s the woman behind Siri? Or the man? […]
Bing Adds 5X More Facebook Content To Social Sidebar
The big news in search this week was the announcement of Facebook’s Graph Search. But today, Microsoft is making enhancements to its own “social search” capability. Specifically, Bing is adding more content to its Social Sidebar feature. In a way, this is a reintroduction of Social Sidebar following the news of Facebook’s Graph Search. People […]
Adobe: Paid Search Opportunities Lie In Tablet Targeting And PLAs
Where are the bargains in paid search these days? According to an analysis of the fourth quarter in paid search, Adobe determined that both tablet targeting and product listing ads represent great opportunities for marketers, where there’s a substantial gap between cost-per-click (CPC) and conversion rate. Adobe came to its conclusions after looking at paid […]
How Facebook Exchange (FBX) Can Help Search Marketers Improve Reach & Performance
Since its launch a few months back, the Facebook Exchange (aka FBX) has created lots of buzz amongst companies involved in Real Time Bidding (RTB). While much of the initial discussion about FBX was centered around low-funnel tactics such as site retargeting, more companies (including my company, Simpli.fi) are now complementing site retargeting with upper […]
Up Close With Facebook Graph Search
We’ve covered the launch of Facebook Graph Search, explored how it differs from Google search but now it’s time for the hands-on. Come along for a tour of how it works. Sign-Up & Wait To get started, you have to sign-up, where you’ll be added to a waiting list. There’s no particular ETA of when […]
How The New Facebook Search Is Different & Unique From Google Search
At long last, Facebook’s search challenge to Google has arrived. But it has arrived in a much different format than many expected. Indeed, Facebook’s not using its data to provide a better search than Google. Facebook is providing a new type of search that you simply can’t do on Google or anywhere else. The Connections […]
Survey Shows Americans Confused By How Google, Facebook Make Money
A new survey from Harris Interactive on behalf of The Search Agency finds, among other things, that large numbers of people in the US don’t really understand how Facebook and Google make money. The online survey was conducted in August 2012 with a sample of just over 2,000 adults. The Search Agency (via Harris) asked […]
Propel Promotion Of Your Content: 9 Ways I Promote Sharing Online
Search Engine Land recently published its top 10 articles of 2012, and I had articles in the #1 and #6 positions on that list. The Social Search Revolution: 8 Social SEO Strategies To Start Using Right Now had over 40,000 unique pageviews with 2,004 tweets, 708 likes, 389 +1′s and 1,353 linkedin shares. While great content and choice […]
A Test, Not A Bug: Bing Deep Links To Facebook, eBay, Craigslist Under Google’s Search Result
It looked like a screwup. If you searched for [google] on Bing, you saw Deep Links to Facebook, eBay and Craigslist underneath the main search result for Google. So, in my article earlier today, I called it a “strange bug” in Bing’s search results. I was wrong. It wasn’t a bug; it was a test […]
Strange Bug In Bing Deep Links Shows Facebook, Craigslist As Part Of Google
Google has deep pockets and probably would be happy if Facebook, eBay and Craigslist were part of its empire … but last I checked, they’re all separate companies. Nonetheless, links to those three sites are showing as Deep Links on Bing under the Google.com result when you search for [google]. The “Go to YouTube” link […]
Top Search Marketing Columns & Contributed Features Of 2012
As an industry news publication, the majority of our visitor traffic comes to our site to read daily news updates, in-depth coverage of search engine technologies and ever-evolving search engine algorithms. On top of the hardest working full- and part-time editorial staff in search, we have over 100 guest columnists who dedicate a significant amount […]
How To Build A Better B2B SEO Strategy In 2013
It’s the last week of 2012. If you’re reading this column, you are forsaking at least a bit of much needed rest for some serious B2B SEO planning in 2013. For me, the few days ahead are about research, preparation, and getting milestones in place for client initiatives (and probably finishing one or two or […]
International Search Predictions For 2013 – Perhaps More Accurate Than The Mayans?
As I write this piece, the Mayan calendar is about to end bringing about the demise of everything. So, if you’re reading this, we survived and the predictions were wrong. Predicting the future is always tricky, but I’m going to have a go at predicting 2013 in the confidence that more of what I say […]
Bing Linked Pages Now Called Bing Tags
Earlier this year, Bing announced a new featured named Bing Linked Pages, that feature is now named Bing Tags. The feature allows you or your friends to “tag” web pages and documents in Bing’s index as being related to you or your friend. The purpose is to make the search results for you and your […]
Bing Updates Image Design Again: Dim Background, Faster Load Speed & More
Microsoft Bing announced they have once again updated the Bing Image Search user interface. The previous update was in June of this year. This new update includes: Added dimmed background and full-screen mode to make it easier to view images in high definition Larger filmstrip results to make viewing and browsing the images easier Lightning […]
Yahoo Intros Cost-Per-Lead Search Ads, First New Format Under Marissa Mayer
Yahoo Advertising is introducing something of a groundbreaking new ad unit, inserting a cost-per-lead ad just under a site’s listing within the organic search results. It also allows Yahoo a new way to earn off search separately from its deal with Microsoft, which has proven disappointing for the company. The new ad format, which can […]
Bing’s Social Sidebar Lands On The iPad
Bing has announced that searchers on the iPad will start seeing its “social sidebar” over the next few days. That includes the iPad Mini. Today’s announcement comes just days after Bing finalized a new design for those social results. The social sidebar integrates friend and expert content from a variety of social sources that might […]
This Year, NORAD Tracks Santa With Microsoft & Bing, Not Google
Google has been helping the popular NORAD Tracks Santa site locate Santa Claus on Christmas Eve since 2007. But this year, Jolly St. Nick will be tracked on Bing Maps, not Google. NORAD is also pushing an official Windows 8 app. It part of Microsoft being the new lead partner for the site. NOTE: If […]
Real Relationships Lead To Search Marketing Success
How far do your relationships extend across the Web? This question is totally relevant to digital marketing nowadays. No longer are the days of just plain and simple on-page SEO. I have read countless articles about link building vs. relationship building, seen Whiteboard Fridays and attended panels at conferences about the subject. The obvious conclusion being: relationships […]
Official: Bing Updates Social Sidebar Design
Bing has officially announced they have redesigned the search results screen and social sidebar to help improve usability of the page. The changes include: The social results on the right are now clearly labelled as “Social Results” The search results on the left are now left-justified Addition of a + more link to expand the […]
Bing Expands Its Snapshot To Include People & Landmarks
There’s no escaping it: It looks and acts a lot like Google’s Knowledge Graph. But Bing calls it “Snapshot” — that middle column in between its main search results and the social sidebar on the far right. And today, Snapshot expands to begin showing facts and related information for both people and landmarks. So, on […]
Bing Shopping As A Poster Child For Consumer Confusion About Ads
Bing has been escalating its attacks against Google Shopping over consumer transparency since launching its “Scroogled” campaign just over a week ago. Well, consumer confusion is a serious issue. Indeed, Bing itself can be used to illustrate some of the problems consumers face at both Bing and Google. The day after Bing’s campaign launched, I […]
The Mysterious Relationship Between Bing Business Portal And Nokia Prime Place
People have strongly criticized Google for confusing local marketers by having two places to update and enhance local business information (Google Places, Google+ Local Pages). But there’s also something confusing about what Microsoft appears to be doing in local listings management. The company appeared to be trying to establish the Bing Business Portal as the definitive place […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, November 28, 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: Bing Attacks Google Shopping With “Scroogled” Campaign, Forgets It’s Guilty Of Same Problems Bing is attacking Google over its shift to a pay-for-play shopping search engine through a new “Scroogled” site, […]
Bing Attacks Google Shopping With “Scroogled” Campaign, Forgets It’s Guilty Of Same Problems
Bing is attacking Google over its shift to a pay-for-play shopping search engine through a new “Scroogled” site, pledging that Bing has “honest search.” Great campaign, if it were true. It’s not. Bing itself does the same things it accuses Google of. It’s also another indictment of how little the FTC is doing to protect […]
How To Build The Best Relationships, Err…I Mean Links
What is it about SEO that makes people stop acting like people? Sure, it has your fair share of data mining in dark corners, but the SEO industry is brimming with personality, sometimes too much of it. So why is it that when it comes to link building, that personality is left to the wayside? […]