Amazon told Reuters it will stop serving product ads at the bottom of search results that lead to third-party retail sites starting Nov. 1. Engines like Google have been able to glean data from the transactions. The Amazon marketplace will replace the ads with Amazon Text Ads, which enable marketers to drive traffic to Web sites through a pay-per-click model. Still, some retailers such as Lamps Plus note that the program was an asset. In a case study it noted increasing sales through the program by more than 80%.

Researchers will publish a series of studies exploring how search engine query results manipulate the decisions of those using the technology, according to The Washington Post. The forthcoming study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, highlights the influence that tech giants such as Google have when it comes to coloring the thinking of humans whose only resource is online. The researchers are most concerned about the research people do to find out more information about presidential candidates.

Scroll halfway down the post to find tips on how to protect Web sites from negative search engine optimization attacks, which Marcela De Vivo calls the new cheap link-building services industry. She explains how to use the disavow tool and prevent from becoming a victim.

Google plans to launch an affiliate program for Google Play similar to Apple's that runs on its digital content stores, according to 9to5Google. Sources tell the media outlet that Performance Horizon Group, the same company which in 2013 began supporting Apple’s affiliate program, will also support Google's. The program will initially only cover content sold through Play Movies and Music, but eventually expand to include apps and hardware. 

Are beacons a technology on the verge or emerging, or they already yesterday's technology? The small sensors barely made it off the ground. Marketers hoped they could use beacons to personalize messages to consumers using signals from search queries and technology in the mobile phone. Consumer interest has barely manage to rise, according to an eMarketer report, which points to a study from Econsultancy in partnership with ResponseTap. 

Google updated -- not issued as the post suggests -- a patent that ties the ranking of search query results with email spam. It's a method to determine the reliability of an online vendor. Dave Davis runs through the patent description to determine what it all means.

Bing and Yahoo are serving sponsored video ads. When someone clicks on the thumbnail the ad expands, pushing down the search results below, to show a full-size video within the search results, which begins auto-playing once expanded, Jennifer Slegg explains. She posts several examples and tell us why it's an "interesting move."

Google has named Brian Elliott general manager of Google Express same-day delivery service. The move suggests that Google continues to "find its footing in commerce," mobile and desktop. Elliott moved into the position from business development for Google Shopping where he spent the past two years expanding partnerships and leading development of the ability to make a purchase from the site through a buy button.

Eric Enge provides some analysis of a forthcoming study from Moz, Search Engine Ranking Factors. The study is based on commercial queries across 165,177 pages. He compared it to his own analysis of informational queries for more than 182,340 pages. The post analyzes things like the difference between search engine results pages for commercial queries and informational queries. For each analysis, Enge provides an actionable item along with summary of the data.

Erin Sagin provides advice on how to save the numerous calls consumers abandon after not immediately connecting with a live person or getting the answers required to complete the call in a positive note. Start by eliminating long hold times, making it easy to connect with the right department, and picking up the phone rather than forcing it into voicemail. Sagin explains.