WebProNews

Tag: Search Engine Land

  • Yahoo Teasing a Search Engine Return

    Yahoo Teasing a Search Engine Return

    Yahoo is teasing a return to the search engine market years after abandoning it to Google and Microsoft.

    Yahoo was once the dominant search engine on the internet, long before Google became a household name, let alone a verb. In fact, Yahoo botched two different opportunities to buy Google, one for a mere $1 million. In the time since those — and other — bad decisions, Yahoo’s search share shrunk, the company’s other prospects dimmed, and it finally outsourced its search to Microsoft Bing. After changing hands a couple of times, the company’s prospects look to be on the rise again.

    According to a job posting and various tweets, the internet company is once again ready to take search seriously. The job posting, for a Product Manager for Search, has the following description:

    As a Product Manager for Search, you will help develop our search strategy and roadmap and lead its execution. The ideal candidate will leverage strong organizational skills and deep subject matter expertise to partner with design, science, engineering, and other key cross-functional teams. You will determine what we prioritize for our customers in our search experiences and bring the vision to life. You will also lead the effort to discover and amplify content from across the vast Yahoo ecosystem to create new and innovative search experiences across surfaces and for our Search App. The role is also responsible for identifying and documenting product and business requirements and taking them from concept to production, while working with a broad set of stakeholders that include marketing, sales, legal, editorial, design, UXR, and other teams.

    In addition to the job posting, Yahoo has also been dropping hints via its Yahoo Search Twitter account.

    The company also tweeted about a Search Engine Land article discussing this news.

    If Yahoo is truly eyeing a return to the search market, this may be the best possible time. Google is facing increasing headwinds and regulatory challenges to its dominant position, and Microsoft has never been able to mount a major challenge.

    With users and lawmakers looking for alternatives and AI-based technologies poised to upend the search industry, Yahoo may finally have an opening to do what it failed to do all those years ago — make a success of search.

  • Google Brings Back Validate Fix Button in Search Console

    Google Brings Back Validate Fix Button in Search Console

    Google has brought back the validate fix button in its Google Search Console after it disabled it earlier this month for upgrades.

    Google disabled the validate fix feature earlier in August in order to add in item classification features. According to Search Engine Land, the search giant has brought back the feature alongside its new additions:

    Now when you go into Google Search Console and click on some of the coverage reports, the “validate fix” button should be back. Google disabled it while upgrading the classification system. There was a notice that read “Limited functionality: We are making some minor updates in the next few days. During this period you will not be able to issue new validation requests.” That notice has been removed and you now have the validate fix feature back.

    While some may prefer the older validate fix, the newer classification feature provides similar information in a simpler, more streamlined manner. Google described the benefits in their initial blog post detailing the change:

    We are grouping the top-level item (a rich result for the rich result reports, a page or URL for the other reports) into two groups: pages or items with critical issues are labeled something like invalid; pages or items without critical issues are labeled something like valid. We think this new grouping will make it easier to see quickly which issues affect your site’s appearance on Google, in order to help you prioritize your fixes. Read more about how this change will affect each of the reports in the Help Center.

  • Google Local Search Ads Will Now Require Five Reviews

    Google Local Search Ads Will Now Require Five Reviews

    Google is changing how Local Search Ads work, requiring five reviews for a listing instead of just one.

    First spotted by Search Engine Land, some users are receiving notice that, as of June 30, they will need five reviews to run Local Service Ads. A Google Ads Liaison confirmed the change to some users via Twitter, saying that “more customer reviews help build trust and will mean more opportunities to connect with potential clients.”

    Currently the industries listed below are impacted:

    • House cleaners
    • HVAC
    • Personal injury Lawyers
    • Real estate agents and brokers
    • Roofing
    • Tree service

    It remains to be seen if the change will eventually roll out to other industries, or if it will only apply to the current ones.

  • Microsoft Reverses Course, Will Allow (Some) Crypto Ads on Microsoft Ads

    Microsoft Reverses Course, Will Allow (Some) Crypto Ads on Microsoft Ads

    Microsoft has made a major change in its stance toward crypto, allowing some crypto ads on its Microsoft Ads platform.

    First spotted by Search Engine Land, Microsoft Ads will allow pre-approved crpyto ads, starting in the US only. The company hopes that the pre-approval process will help prevent scammers. The program will also allow “educational content,” provided it is offered by the primary party.

    There are still some limitations, including:

    • No ads promoting crypto investments or training programs.
    • No ads for sites that incentivize users with free crypto, offers subscription services, or otherwise monetize their advice.

    As Search Engine Land points out, this is a fairly reasonable compromise that should help protect Bing users, while at the same time providing legitimate crypto outlets a valuable advertising opportunity.

  • Google Ads Error Impacting Video Pages in Google Ads Frontend

    Google Ads Error Impacting Video Pages in Google Ads Frontend

    Google Ads is experiencing a major issue, one that is impacting access to Video pages in the Google Ads Frontend.

    First spotted by Search Engine Land, the issue has been acknowledged by Google and is impacting “a majority of users.” The issue happens when users try to access the Video pages, leading to an error message and red banner. The company says there is no work around, although it is working on a fix.

    We’re aware of a problem with Google Ads affecting a majority of users. We will provide an update by May 19, 2022, 6:00 PM UTC detailing when we expect to resolve the problem. Please note that this resolution time is an estimate and may change. The affected users are able to access Google Ads, but are seeing error messages, high latency, and/or other unexpected behavior.

  • Some Users Can’t Access Google Search Console

    Some Users Can’t Access Google Search Console

    Google appears to be having an issue with Search Console, as many users are reporting trouble accessing it.

    It’s been a bad couple of weeks for outages, with AWS reporting two different issues that impacted a wide range of websites and service. Now Google appears to be having some issues of its own, with users having trouble accessing the Google Search Console, according to Search Engine Land.

    Google has acknowledged the issue and says they are working on a fix.

  • Google Search Result Volatility Up Significantly in 2021

    Google Search Result Volatility Up Significantly in 2021

    If it seems like your Google search results have been more volatile than normal you’re not alone, as Google’s results are far more volatile in 2021.

    According to data collected by Semrush, via Search Engine Land, when it comes to desktop search results on Google for the year-to-date, there are 68% more days of high volatility than in 2020.

    Mobile results are even more volatile, with 2021 showing an 84% increase in high volatility days.

    Even more interesting is the number of “very high” volatility days, with 2021 showing a 50% increase in such days.

    Mordy Oberstein, Semrush Head of Communications, broke the statistics down in a Twitter thread.

  • Google Has Completed Its July 2021 Core Update

    Google Has Completed Its July 2021 Core Update

    Google has finished rolling out its July 2021 core update, following a June 2021 core update last month.

    Google usually rolls out core updates to its search algorithm every six months. Some of the updates weren’t quite ready for the June rollout, however, necessitating a follow-up rollout in July.

    The rollout began July 1 and is now complete.

    Google has not given much information on what to expect, only that some sites may see their rankings go up or down, or not change at all. According to Search Engine Land, however, some webmasters were seeing significant changes on July 2 and July 9. There’s a possibility some webmasters are seeing an impact today, but it’s probably still too early to be sure.

    Webmasters whose sites have been impacted should check out Google’s page on how core updates work and mitigation efforts that can be taken.

  • Microsoft Re-Launches Bing Site Explorer

    Microsoft Re-Launches Bing Site Explorer

    Microsoft has announced the release of a revamped version of Site Explorer, including major new features.

    Site Explorer is an important tool for webmasters, as it shows them how Microsoft Bing sees their site. According to Microsoft, “It reflects most URLs we have seen on the web, including redirects, broken links, or those blocked by robots.txt, organized in a file explorer-like fashion. Thus, giving you the flexibility to navigate each folder and the URLs contained inside them to understand, debug and modify your site structure as required.”

    The update comes amid a rebranding of Bing to Microsoft Bing. With this latest effort, the Redmond-based company seems to be focusing more attention on its search engine. The company probably sees an opportunity for growth, as Google has been increasingly under scrutiny for what many regulators believe is monopoly abuse of its search dominance.

    While, on the surface, these updates to Site Explorer may seem minor, Microsoft told Search Engine Land: “This is a complete new experience, cleaner and far easier to use and complete new system to support this tool.”

    Webmasters will likely benefit from the new tools and updated options.

  • Ecommerce Ad Spending Doubles As a Result of Coronavirus

    Ecommerce Ad Spending Doubles As a Result of Coronavirus

    While some industries may be reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, ecommerce ad spending is experiencing a boon.

    According to Search Engine Land, a recent report details the growth ecommerce ad spending is currently undergoing, jumping “from $4.8 million the week of February 17 to $9.6 million the week of March 9. The data, released by media sales intelligence firm MediaRadar on Friday, encompasses advertising spend across national TV, print and digital media, including websites, Snapchat, YouTube and podcasts.”

    The data is another indication that the U.S. and world economies are experiencing fundamental shifts as a result of the pandemic. People are practicing social distancing, working from home, turning to social gaming for human interaction, relying on cloud environments, communicating via Slack or Microsoft Teams and turning to videoconferencing in never before seen numbers. Similarly, the increase in ad spending corresponds to people sheltering in place and relying on ecommerce for their day-to-day needs.

    The longer the pandemic goes on, the more likely such trends will become permanent, forever changing how people go about their personal and work lives.

  • Google’s ‘Mugshot’ Update Has Been In The Works For The Majority Of The Year

    As previously discussed, Google launched an algorithm update a few days ago (in addition to the latest Penguin launch) aimed at dealing with shady mugshot sites.

    The New York Times put out a big article about sites that collect mugshots and make people pay to have them removed ranking well in Google results. Google’s update prevents them from doing so.

    Some are criticizing Google’s timing on this, as the issue was discussed all the way back in February, when Jonathan Hochman and Jonah Stein wrote about the problem in an opinion piece at Search Engine Land. Danny Sullivan from SEL seems a little annoyed that Google appears to only have taken action when the New York Times wrote about it, despite his site having addressed it so much earlier.

    In reality, as the NYT piece noted, Google has already had the update in the works, and Google’s Matt Cutts says the SEL piece actually contributed to the team working on to begin with.

    Either way, the update is out there now, and it’s probably going to help a lot of people’s reputations.

    Hochman wrote in a new blog post:

    Victims of the scam have been writing to me since February, explaining how these mugshots made it hard to get a job, rent an apartment, or even get a date. In our society we have courts to determine the fair punishment for a crime. Many people arrested are found innocent, have charges dismissed, or the record may be expunged upon completion of a treatment program. Sometimes it is in society’s interest for people to have a second chance after they’ve committed a minor crime, because we don’t want to create an underclass of unemployable people.

    I’m very glad that Google did the right thing. A number of states have been trying to pass laws, and there’s at least one class action lawsuit pending. Instead of waiting for a patchwork of laws and court rulings that might not have been very effective, in one algorithmic swoop, Google appears to have cleaned up the problem.

    [via Search Engine Land]