SearchCap: Google Algorithm Update, Android Apps In Search & 16 Product Listings

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.

From Search Engine Land:

• Google Core Algorithm Updates Continue As SEOs Notice Weekend Google Update
  Jan 18, 2016 by Barry Schwartz

  Another Google update this weekend has been confirmed, but it is a core update, not Penguin.

• Google To Shut Several Search APIs In February
  Jan 18, 2016 by Barry Schwartz

  Google to close the Google Patent Search API, Google News Search API, Google Blog Search API, Google Video Search API, and Google Image Search APIs on February 15.

• Google Revamps Their Webmasters Portal With Clean New Slick Design & Resources
  Jan 19, 2016 by Barry Schwartz

  Check out the new Google Webmaster resource with a new design, better organization, and three new features.

• Don’t Miss SMX West – Here Are 10 Reasons Why
  Jan 19, 2016 by Search Engine Land

  Are you obsessed with SEO or SEM? Then SMX West is for you! Here are 10 reasons you should attend:

  10. Pre-Conference Workshops: Pre-conference workshops offer a full day deep-dive into SEO, advanced AdWords, local search, in-house SEO, personal branding, or SEO/User Experience (UX). Workshop presenters are the most knowledgeable anywhere on these topics!

  9. Expert Speakers From Brands & Agencies

• Link Wars: The Force Awakens
  Jan 19, 2016 by Winston Burton

  Link building looked different a long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away). Columnist Winston Burton explains how things have changed and what works today.

• Google Expandable PLA View Test Displays 16 Product Listing Ads
  Jan 19, 2016 by Ginny Marvin

  When expanded, PLAs muscle out other ads and organic listings to take over most of the above-the-fold real estate.

• Evaluating Link Quality For SEO Campaigns
  Jan 19, 2016 by Andrew Dennis

  What’s the best way to determine which links to pursue and which to pass up? Columnist Andrew Dennis shares his criteria.

• You Can Now Install Android Apps Directly From Google’s Search Results
  Jan 19, 2016 by Barry Schwartz

  Some Android users can install Android apps from within the mobile search results, bypassing a step to the Google Play store.

• Survey: Under 40 Percent Start A “Local Search” With A Search Engine
  Jan 18, 2016 by Greg Sterling

  What we widely call “local search” is only partly about search engines. Finding local content and making offline purchase decisions is a multifaceted process that involves several categories of information and devices. That’s according to a new survey and report from IDC and YP. The report, called “Local Search Unleashing Opportunities for National Advertisers,” is based on data.

• Why Local Rank Trackers Fail
  Jan 18, 2016 by Andrew Shotland

  Columnist Andrew Shotland finds most local ranking solutions to be lacking for a number of reasons. Is there any way to solve this problem?

• Martin Luther King Jr. Day Google Doodle Celebrates Civil Rights Leader’s Moving Speeches
  Jan 18, 2016 by Amy Gesenhues

  To honor the Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Google says, “Today we’re inspired to keep working towards a better future with grace and optimism.”

Recent Headlines From MarTech, Our Sister Site Dedicated To Internet Marketing:

• Facebook Lead Ads Get More Features & Come To Desktop
• Paris-Based Startup Reelevant Offers Simplified Email Personalization
• Apple iAd’s App Network Shutting Down
• Why Local Search Rank Trackers Fail
• Top 10 Video Creators In December: BuzzFeed Tasty Reclaims No. 1 Spot With 1B Views
• Automate Your Way To Search Marketing Success
• 6 Big Mistakes That SEO Rookies Make
• Study: Sophisticated Bots Outwitting Marketers, Will Cost $7.2 Billion In 2016
• Do You Know What People Expect From Online Content?
• Content Marketing And Targeting Fallacies
• Twitter Sustains Massive Outage Across Web, Mobile & APIs
• Freshen Up Your 2016 Email Strategy
• Super Bowl 50 Advertisers: These Brands Are Ready To Play The Commercial Game
• Google Changes Language, Being “Plus-Size” Or “Curvy” Isn’t A Negative Physical Attribute
• MarTech Today: Microsoft Reportedly Buying InMobi, Limelight’s Live Marketing Platform & SEM Automation
• What Is The New eBay Enterprise All About?

Search News From Around The Web:

Industry

• Essex Property Trust headquarters sold to Google, Silicon Valley Business Journal
• Google Sales SVP Philipp Schindler On Challenges From Apple, Facebook, Re/code
• Why Google Quit China—and Why It’s Heading Back, The Atlantic

Local & Maps

• Another look at the new Google Earth Ocean data, Google Earth Blog
• Google Earth Imagery Update mid-January 2016, Google Earth Blog

Link Building

• What is link earning?, Branded3
• When Google Doesn’t Trust Links On A Site: It Won’t Let It Pass PageRank, Search Engine Roundtable
• Best New Link Alerts sent to your Mailbox, Majestic Blog

Searching

• Weekly Update 85: An Easy Way To Help Out, DuckDuckGo Blog
• DuckDuckGo Friends Newsletter #66, duck.co
• Revisiting “Navigational,” “Informational,” & “Transactional” Searches in a Post-PageRank World, Moz
• Unintentional Google Easter Egg For A Definition, Search Engine Roundtable
• Answer: When & Wither These Buildings?, SearchReSearch
• Bing Predicts: New England, Carolina still on track for title game showdown, Bing Search Blog
• Google’s AMP Poised To Take The Lead From Facebook’s And Apple’s Walled Gardens, Monday Note
• People trust Google for their news more than the actual news, Quartz

SEO

• The Economist, The New Yorker, and Time all fall victim to Google update, The Drum
• Google Feels Some SEO Weather Tools May Pick Up Wrong Signals, Search Engine Roundtable
• How a Hacked Website Led To a Wrongful Google Penalty, State of Digital
• Why Google’s new Visit-in-Person query type deserves some attention, blog.arhg.net
• Why SEOs Shouldn’t Trust All Algo Weather Reports & Winner/Loser Lists, thesempost.com
• Can SEOs Track The Google Weather?, Search Engine Roundtable
• Computational Queries: The New Vista in Search, SEO Theory
• Google has lost the war on webspam, Branded3
• Google News Publishers Don’t Get A Ranking Boost, Search Engine Roundtable
• HTTPS Sites Now 25 Percent of Top Google Search Results, Small Business Trends
• Surfacing Featured Snippets From The SEO And SEM Industry, And What I Learned Along The Way, hmtweb.com
• Title Tags Are Not Critical To A Page Says Google, Search Engine Roundtable

SEM / Paid Search

• Project-Based PPC Engagements – The Real Story, PPC Hero

Search Marketing

• 6 Search Marketing Buzzwords You’ll Become Familiar With in 2016, Search Engine Guide
• How bath salts polarised the UK SERPs, Branded3