Search Engine Watch
Jason DeMers takes us through the differences betwen rich snippets and structured snippets to help marketers understand their use. He tells us that some marketers use the terms interchangeably, which adds to the confusion. Structured snippets are a type of rich snippet, and will not apply to every query. He also tells us how each affect click-through rates, how to ensure that snippets are accurate, and what it all means for the future of search.
BizJournals
Google has filed an application for a state-issued certificate of franchise authority with the Tennessee Regulatory Authority for Google Fiber. The application, filed last week, describes the intent to offer video service for purchase or provide new broadband Internet service within two years. Eleanor Kennedy explains that earlier this year, the company told potential expansion cities not to be overly excited about regulatory filings, because they are not a guarantee of service.
ABC News
Google has developed technology using hundreds of algorithms that sense how a hand shakes, allowing people with Parkinson's Disease to eat without spilling. The technology senses how the hand shakes and makes adjustments to keep it steady. A clinical trial shows Liftware spoons reduce shaking of the spoon bowl by an average of 76%. AP reports that more than 10 million people worldwide, including Google co-founder Sergey Brin's mother, have tremors or Parkinson's disease.
Gizmodo
Gizmodo considers the case of the Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles, and how -- an in effort to deter tourists -- some local government officials convinced Google and Garmin to alter their digital mapping services. “Working closely with Google and … Garmin, [one local councilmember] was able to convince them to change the directions to the sign,” Gizmodo reports. Needless to say, “The fact that [digital] cartographers are publishing false information about public lands in the middle of Los Angeles is quite worrying.”
eMarketer
eMarketer estimates that advertises will spend $3.2 billion on native advertising this year, rising to $8.8 billion by 2018. While one brand called traditional digital advertising "wallpaper," executives interviewed for the study cite numerous challenges tied to native advertising efforts. The most common was scale -- how to reach a sufficiently large audience, along with measurement.
The New York Times
The industry continues to hear similar stories to Mark Baldino's, who has worked in his family's locksmith business since fifth grade. At 61 he blames search engines for a decline in the family business revenue because they publish thousands of listings for unlicensed locksmiths, which makes it more difficult for consumers to find his company amid the clutter. He claims the search engines are aware that phony locksmiths clog their listings, and in fact, the search companies benefit from their inclusion because these listings force Baldino's and other legitimate locksmiths to pay for ads to help their businesses appear higher …
Bing
Mir Rosenberg runs down several challenges related to mobile search advertising, as well as provides answers and solutions. While it's easy to type URLs on PCs and Macs, it’s more cumbersome on phones, so engines developed voice search, which also could work on brand Web sites. Some pages that work fine on a PC or Mac are useless on some mobile devices -- think Flash-only pages on iOS, for example. Rosenberg explains.
Bing
Bing has introduced a high-definition, widescreen home page, along with a carousel of trending topics at the foot of the page. Those using the page can customize what they see with information on news, stocks, and weather, as well as track a flight. At the top of the page, Microsoft added access to the productivity tools of the Office Online suite. The Bing team explains.
IFA Magazine
Google quietly acquired 510 Systems in 2011, and its sister company, Antony's Robots, and used the company's technology to build out the systems for its self-driving cars and Google Street View. Not many have heard about the acquisition because Google went so far as to insist that some 510 employees sign agreements not to discuss that the acquisition had even occurred. Mark Harris spills the beans.
New York Post
Web domain giant GoDaddy.com is reportedly planning a public offering of about $4.5 billion, early next year. “CFO Scott Wagner met last week with analysts to give an update on GoDaddy since it first filed paperwork to go public in June,” according to The New York Post. “In its meeting with the Street, GoDaddy stressed its desire to diversify -- building Web sites for customers and helping them to process transactions on their sites, for example.”