Google’s results got more personal with Search Plus Your World
In 2012, Google’s search results were radically transformed as a new “Search Plus Your World” format began rolling out.
Google started mixing together content from the web with content that had been shared with you privately into a single set of listings.
Search Plus Your World didn’t cover content on Facebook, Twitter, or any social networks where content could be shared to a more limited audience. Really, “Search Plus Your World” was best described as “Search Plus Google+”
Twitter was quick to express concerns, stating that Search Plus Your World was “bad for people, publishers, news organizations and Twitter users.”
Read all about it in: Google’s Results Get More Personal With “Search Plus Your World” and follow-up article Search Engines Should Be Like Santa From “Miracle On 34th Street”.
Also on this day
Google Ads releases disapproved ads auditor tool
2022: It let advertisers review and delete policy-violating ads across accounts.
Google launched subtopics ranking in mid-November
2021: Google subtopics ranking was meant to help deliver search results with a greater diversity of content when searching for something broad.
Google Ads testing custom dimensions to enable reporting based on your business structure
2020: Advertisers could group and report on campaigns with a hierarchical structure to see performance by business category or marketing strategy.
Microsoft Advertising’s PromoteIQ integration for retailers, brands is now in beta
2020: The company was also starting to make its new on-site search product Microsoft Bing for Commerce available to retailers.
Yelp cracks down on ‘review rings’ as Google continues to see widespread mapspam
2020: Yelp introduced a new category of consumer alerts intended to flag businesses “that may have received reviews from deceptive review rings.”
Google’s internal SEO strategy: Make small changes, embrace change, consolidate
2019: Google was making, on average, more than 200 changes to its 7,000 internal websites on a daily basis.
SEOs noticing ranking volatility in Google’s search results
2019: An unconfirmed Google update? Especially around Jan. 5, 6 and 9, the SEO community was discussing both positive and negative ranking changes.
Google may be headed for victory in EU right-to-be-forgotten indexing appeal
2019: The top legal advisor for the European Court of Justice has recommended that delisting under RTBF not extend outside the EU.
Google PageSpeed Insights now uses real data from Chrome browser users
2018: The PageSpeed Insights tool was updated to use data from the Chrome user experience report, which meant the tool was using metrics from real-world Chrome users.
Google is sunsetting AdWords Review extensions
2018: Review extensions stopped showing later in the month and would be deleted entirely in AdWords accounts in February.
Google App for Android gets a refresh with new shortcuts to frequently used features
2017: Shortcuts to widgets for Weather, Nearby Restaurants, My Events and more began appearing at top of Google Now home screen.
Powerball Numbers? You’ll Be Surprised Which Search Engines Knew Them
2016: It was the biggest lottery drawing in U.S. history, and neither Google nor Bing showed searchers the winning numbers. Here’s who did.
Google’s Latest Official Stance On Links Within Widgets
2014: A small but significant update to the Google Webmaster Guidelines link schemes page: the page now specified the exact type of links that were not allowed within widgets, as opposed to saying any links.
DuckDuckGo Has Biggest Day Ever In 2014 With More Than 4 Million Queries
2014: More than a billion queries were performed on the search engine during 2013.
Google Apologizes For Berlin Street Being Renamed “Adolf Hitler Platz” On Google Maps
2014: The Berlin square Theodor Heuss Platz was briefly renamed “Adolf Hitler Platz” on Google Maps.
VA Court Delivers Blow To Yelp, Free Speech Of Users
2014: A Virginia state court of appeal ruled that Yelp must disclose the real identities of seven individuals who posted anonymous, critical reviews of an Alexandria, Virginia carpet cleaning business.
Search In Pics: Speedy Delivery, Pinterest & Matt Cutts On TIME Magazine
2014: The latest images culled from the web, showing what people eat at the search engine companies, how they play, who they meet, where they speak, what toys they have, and more.
Reports: Tablet Paid-Search Spend Surpasses Smartphones
2013: Mobile devices accounted for less than 20% of total paid search budgets – and in Q4, tablet metrics grew dramatically faster than those for smartphones.
After Years Of Anti-Competitive Complaints Foundem Sues Google In UK Court
2013: Foundem was seeking damages for revenue lost as a result of Google’s “anti-competitive conduct.”
EU Antitrust Chief: Google “Diverting Traffic” & Will Be Forced To Change
2013: While saying he’s “still investigating,” the head of the European Union’s antitrust regulatory body said he was convinced that Google was “diverting traffic” and that it will be forced to change its results.
The History Of Google Places, All On One Page
2012: David Mihm published A Brief History of Google Places, which documented everything from 2004 (when Google launched what was then called “Google Local”) up to the Google Places era of 2012.
December “Explicit” Search Numbers: Bing Now Ahead Of Yahoo
2012: Google was at 65.9%; Bing at 15.1%; Yahoo at 14.5%
Iran: Google Is A Spying Engine
2012: the Iranian government was looking to form a “national internet” under state control.
Search Engines Should Be Like Santa From “Miracle On 34th Street”
2012:
Google Partner Brings Big Data To Product Search
2011: This deal was about getting more product data directly from their sources and expanding the number of specific attributes or features exposed to consumers
Google Maps’ John Hanke Becomes Head Of New “Entrepreneurial Lab”
2011: Where he would focus on new products and user experiences associated with “mobile, local, and social information.”
Survey: 77% Of Americans Oppose Search Engine Regulation
2011: Of the voters asked if there was “a need for government regulation of the way that search engines select the recommendations they provide,” only 11% said yes while 12% were not sure.
European Commission Wants 7-Year Limit On Google’s Digitization
2011: Google was using a 15-year “preferential use” limit, but a report called for the limit to be cut to seven years.
Google Goggles Has Mad Sudoku Skillz
2011: Spoiler alert: Google Goggles was not the death of Sudoku.
Why You’re Still Waiting For Hulu Plus On Google TV
2011: Google and Hulu were still working out a partnership deal.
SEMPO Releases In-House SEM Salary Survey Results
2008: The average salary fell in the $60,000-$70,000 range and experience was a factor in how much search marketers earned.
Google Maps Gaining On Market Leader Mapquest
2008: Traffic to Mapquest was remained flat year on year and was down 20% in the past 6 months. Meanwhile, Google Maps traffic was up 135% year on year and was up 7% in the past 6 months.”
A Search Product CEO – Necessary To Win The Search Engine Game?
2008: Do successful search companies have to have CEOs or top execs who “grew up” from the search product side? A look at the major players and where those in charge came from.
Spice Up Your Google AdWords Ads With ASCII Art
2008: Real or fake? What is real: Google had removed ASCII ads shortly after they went live, due to content issues.
Zillow Comes Out Of Beta, Improves Zestimates
2008: Zillow had home valuation estimates for almost 90% of all homes in the U.S.
TV Is Dead: Long Live Distributed Video
2008: 48% of internet users said they had visited a video-sharing site (e.g., YouTube) – growth of more than 45% year on year.
Google Blog Search’s People Search Spam Problem
2007: The latest junk on Google Blog Search.
Should Google Pay Off Brand Owners With Cut Of Keyword Sales?
2007: Probably not. Also, a review of Google’s policies and how they came to be.
Stay Master Of Your Feed Domain
2007: Having your own domain name for your feeds was incredibly easy and cheap to do via FeedBurner.
A Search Engine For Geriatrics
2007: The folks behind new search engine Cranky.com thought they had just what you needed to avoid search rage and information overload.
Authorama: Testing If Google Can Restrict Public Domain Books It Offers For Download
2007: Could Google dictate that public domain books that it has scanned and distributed on the web really be subject to restrictions on non-commercial work?
Virtual Earth Enhances Aerial, Satellite Imagery
2007: Microsoft announced that it will integrate more than 400,000 square miles of U.S. aerial imagery into Virtual Earth
Search Engine Land: Top Stories & Stats, Jan. 9, 2007
2007: Looking at the top stories and what made them pop.
From Search Marketing Expo (SMX)
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.
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About the author
Danny Goodwin is Managing Editor of Search Engine Land & SMX. In addition to writing daily about SEO, PPC, and more for Search Engine Land, Goodwin also manages Search Engine Land’s roster of subject-matter experts. He also helps program our conference series, SMX – Search Marketing Expo.
Prior to joining Search Engine Land, Goodwin was Executive Editor at Search Engine Journal, where he led editorial initiatives for the brand. He also was an editor at Search Engine Watch. He has spoken at many major search conferences and virtual events, and has been sourced for his expertise by a wide range of publications and podcasts.
