is the day of search marketing history: February 4,

Day 4: Microsoft’s bid for Yahoo!

The news that Microsoft had purchased Yahoo! in 2008 brought about some major developments.

Google was not happy with the news. Google objected to the news, arguing that it would harm what it called the fundamental principles of the internet: openness and innovation.

Ironically, there was some back and forth. Google had spent the last year trying to acquire DoubleClick. Microsoft opposed this acquisition because it would make Google too dominant online advertising.

Was Yahoo thinking of forming an alliance with Google while this was happening? Why did Eric Schmidt, Google’s CEO, call Jerry Yang, Yahoo CEO to offer his help?

What about “integration” issues after acquisition? Both companies made significant investments in local, maps, mobile, but there was also significant duplication and redundancy.

Microsoft seemed pretty certain that the deal would go through. Kevin Johnson said it best:


Dig deeper:

This day, too


Enhanced Conversions: Google tests global site tag with automatic collection

2022 The global tag could now automatically gather the information (e.g. email, telephone number, etc.) that a user submits to the website.


Microsoft Bing now adds car and automobile search features

2022 The knowledge panels for car-related searches were located under “learn More” and “shop Used Cars” above the car specs.


Google expands the phrase match to include broad match mod traffic

2021 Phrase Match would be expanded to include more broad match modifier traffic, and support for broad match modifications would cease.


5 Takeaways from Google’s Q4 2019 earnings

2020 The company has revealed its YouTube advertising revenues for the first time.


Hitwise suspends certain reporting services following Jumpshot’s closing

2020: Hitwise advised its customers that the daily, weekly, and monthly metric updates would be suspended until further notice.


Manage product groups in Microsoft Shopping soon

2020: scripts are also available in Microsoft Advertising’s Shopping campaigns.


Bing does not show ads for Super Bowl commercials queries, but Google does

2019 The primary goal of the company was not to generate revenue, so they chose to not monetize search results.


Survey: SEO is a ‘artisanal discipline’ that is dominated by small agencies

2019 53% of local SEO firms had 10 clients or less.


Google Adds JSON-LD Support For Structured Data Markup

2016: Google began supporting JSON-LD structured data markup for product rich snippets and reviews.


Google Revamps Mobile Search Results, Nearly Making Web Results Insignificant

2016 After you clicked the “more destinations” button on Google, you were taken to a travel search page that made it difficult to see organic search results.


Bing Updates Android and iOS Apps To Allow More Finding With Less Searching

2016 According to Microsoft, the idea was to make it easier for users to “find” and to “do” more quickly.


Google Expands Webmaster Documentation Around Reconsideration Requests

2015: Google has clarified and extended their reconsideration request documentation to those who were hit by a Google manual act.


Report: Google will get access to Twitter’s Firehose again

2015 This agreement was reached 3+ years after an identical arrangement had ended. This would make it easier for users to search for tweets.


Google answers now showing blue icons linking to publisher sites or more Google answers

2015 This was previously done for Google’s content and easter eggs, but it now works for third-party publishers.


Bing Ads discusses 3 New Initiatives. Native Ads on MSN.com, Mobile Advertising Formats, and Remarketing

2015 The company will be experimenting with native advertising. It will use Bing Ads intent signals.


Nadella’s appointment means that the “Search CEOs”, now run Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft

2014: The three largest search companies in the US had their CEOs either from a search background, or with a deep understanding of the subject.


Google AdWords to Rollout Flexible Conversion Counting

2014: Converted Clicks = 1 per-click and Conversions = 2 per-click.


Google DoubleClick Search Focuses on PLAs and Ecommerce with New Commerce Suite

2014: This suite included two new capabilities: Product Listing Ads optimization and Dynamic Product Listing Ads creation.


Google Displays Large Video Embeds in Some Search Results

2014 A Google search for video-related content will return a large and playable video at the top of the results.


Google Maps App Continually Searching for Faster Route

2014: This app will notify you if there is a faster route while you are in transit.


Beyonce and Blackout, Ravens, M&Ms — What we Searched for During Super Bowl 2013.

2013: Viewers flipped to their phones to inquire [why did the lights go out],[superdome power cut] and [what caused the power outage].


Bing – Why Google Is Failing to Recognize Its Claims

2011 Bing claimed it has search signal but not Google signal.


Yelp: 35 percent of Searches Mobile Now

2011 Yelp’s mobile audience was more engaged and active than its PC audience.


Search In Pics: Google Sweden License Plate, Yahoo Beach Sandals & Google Privacy Cup

2011 These are the most recent images taken from the internet. They show what people eat at search engine companies, their play habits, where they live, what toys and other details.


Google Maps To Add “Google Store Views”

2010: Google Store Views will allow you to walk in the store from Google Street Views.


Yahoo sells “Non Core” Asset HotJobs for $225 Million

2010, Yahoo would still have a career website, but it would now be powered by Monster.


2001 Review: Search Engine Marketing Gains Respect, as Does Search Generally

2010 – The major events in consumer search since 2001.


Google Latitude – Share your location on Google Maps

2009: More coverage: Google Latitude Turns Maps (For Mobile) Into Social Tool


Google Android Phone Discovers Its Voice (Search that Is)

2009 Google launched voice search via the Android platform’s new software update.


FriendFeed Improves Search Features

2009 This search can be used to search for advanced terms and then you can subscribe via RSS.


Internet Explorer 8 Search Now – Instant Answers from Live Search

2009 – Instant Answers were provided for searches related to financial information and weather conditions, movie times, calculations, equations conversions and definitions.


Yahoo Starting To Roll Out “Search Pad” Feature

2009 As users conduct online research, the application automatically collects sites and contents.


Google’s Influence in The Oval Office

2009: Google was President Obama’s “fourth-largest corporate source for campaign cash.”


Virtual Earth’s First 2009 Photory Update

2009 Major updates include the newly licensed Digital Globe satellite imagery and “bird’s-eye” photos of Paris, France.


IAC Troubles, Ask.com, And Post-Yahoo Search Share

2008: IAC claimed that the legal battle to control IAC’s board had impeded the company’s ability operate effectively.


Microsoft’s Prize: Big Yahoo CPMs, Largest Display Share

2008: Yahoo was ranked the number one site with less than 19% US online display advertising.


Google Releases a New Urchin Beta

2008: Designed for those who require server-based analytics.


EU Prepares “Objections” To Google-DoubleClick Acquisition

2008 In order to approve the acquisition, the European Union’s antitrust regulator would likely impose conditions on Google or request concessions from Google.


Google Takes Screenshots of Compensation Tool with SEC

2008 This tool models the potential value for Google equity awards, which include transferable stock options.

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Past contributions by Search Engine Land’s Subject matter Experts (SMEs).

These columns represent a snapshot of time. They have not been updated since publication, except where noted. These articles do not reflect Search Engine Land’s views.

Search Marketing History

The post This Day in Search Marketing History: February 4 was first published on Search Engine Land.

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