Earlier this year, Stone Temple Consulting released a study looking at Google’s rich answers in search. These are the results that appear on search results pages giving the user a direct answer on the page, reducing the likelihood that they’ll…
Google Tests Feature That Could Keep Even More Traffic From Sites
Google is apparently testing a feature that could lead to even less clicks from users to third-party websites. Is Google going too far with its on-site content? Should it be sending more traffic to publishers? Let us know what you…
Google Adds Call To Action Links To Quick Answer Results
Google is showing users “Show me how” links for some of its quick answer results. Unfortunately, so far, the only examples we’ve seen point you to Google’s own content. Search Engine Roundtable points to an example shared by Tommy Sands…
A Lot Of First-Page Google Results Are Using HTTPS
Two months ago, Google announced that HTTPS is now a ranking signal used in its algorithm. The company had been pushing the use of HTTPS (HTTP over TLS/Transport Layer Security) for quite some time, and called for “HTTPS everywhere” at…
New Google Feature Could Keep Traffic From Websites
Google introduced a new feature for search results pages this week, which displays so-called facts in the snippets of specific results. It’s yet another way of Google displaying information on a page that could mean the user doesn’t have to…
Google Introduces Structured Snippets
Google announced the launch of “structured snippets,” a new feature that puts “facts” in the snippets of web results. As with Google’s Knowledge Graph, these facts may or may not be accurate. Here’s what they look like: The company says,…
Google Calls Out Sites In Mobile Results For ‘Faulty Redirects’
Google is calling out webistes with “faulty redirects” in mobile search results to save users from having to deal with the “common annoyance” of tapping a search result only to be redirected to a site’s mobile homepage. This occurs when…
Google Uses DMOZ Description For Its Own Sites
Last year, Google started including a feature on search results, which let you click a link and get a little pop-up card with a description about the site. The idea is that you can get a basic idea of what…
Are You Buying The Answers Google Is Selling You?
Google is once again displaying some questionable content in its Knowledge Graph-style results, and displaying it as the answer to your question. Have you personally come across questionable content in the Knowledge Graph? Let us know in the comments. “We…
Users Search For Specific Brands, Have To Scroll Past Competing Services From Google
Website owners often complain that Google is pushing organic results down the search results pages by putting its own services at the top. Google’s response is something like, “You’re the corkscrew, and we’re the Swiss Army Knife.” One of our…
Google Redesigns Search Results On Desktop
Google has been “experimenting” with a new design for its search results pages, which gets rid of the underline on links, increases the font size, and gets rid of the colored boxes around ads in favor of a more organic…
You Can Now Vote For American Idol Directly From Google Search Results
Google announced on Wednesday that American Idol fans can now vote for their favorite performers directly from its search results. The company announced a partnership with Fox, which makes Google an official voting platform for the show. Users can search…
Google Suggests You Watch ‘House Of Cards’ Online For Free At Stream-TV Over Netflix [Updated]
Update: Since this was first published, Google is now showing Netflix at the top of the organic results for the House of Cards example. It has also been brought to my attention that nobody is really using the “watch house…
Google Embeds Big YouTube Videos On Results Pages For Music Tracks
In another move related to keeping users on Google properties, the search engine is now showing big embedded YouTube videos on the top of search results for a lot of song queries. For example, if you search for “flaming lips…
Google Drops Links To Competitors In New Search Result Style
Mutliple reports have come out showing a new style of Google result for stock searches, which add additional financial information, but remove links to competing financial sites like yahoo Finance and MSN. TechCrunch shares a screenshot: That’s opposed to the…
Here’s Google’s Knowledge Graph Being Wrong Again (This Time A Business Is The Victim)
I’ve written a handful of times about how Google’s Knowledge Graph, on occasion, displays erroneous information. At first it seemed kind of rare, but now, I’m seriously beginning to wonder just how often this is happening. Rajni Singh, Associate Manager…