is the day in search marketing history: February 1, 2012

Google accuses Bing that it copied its search results

Search Engine Land’s headline Google: Bing is Cheating, Copying Our Search Results was first published in 2011.

Danny Sullivan reported that Google has conducted a sting operation to prove that Bing has been monitoring what people search on Google and the websites they choose from Google’s results. The information is then used by Bing to improve its search listings.

Google discovered that Bing returned the same results as Google for people who entered unusual misspellings in May 2010. In October 2010, there was a greater overlap between Bing and Google than in previous months. Google eventually created a honeypot page in order to rank at the top 100 “synthetic searches” (questions that very few, if any, would ever type into Google).

and dozens of other media outlets picked up the story. Both companies engaged in a public war over words and blog posts.

Google called Bing’s search results “cheap imitation“.

Bing referred to the sting operation as a ” spynovelesque stunt” while defending their monitoring of consumer behavior in order to influence Bing’s search results.

All this took place on the same day Bing’s Future of Search Event was held, in which the Google-Bing dispute continued to rage.

What a wonderful day!

This day, too


Auto-tagging is now available in Google Merchant Center.

2022: Tag added URL parameters to your tracking URLs to improve analytics and measurement.


Microsoft launches portfolio bid strategies and automated Google Tag Manager integration

2022 Portfolio feature automatically adjusts bidding across multiple campaigns in order to balance under- or over-performing campaigns with the same bidding strategy.


Google Search launches this result feature

2021 This feature allowed searchers to learn more about the search results or search features they were interested in.


Google has added a Black-owned business name to its product results

2021 This label stated “identifies Black-owned” in Google Shopping’s product listing results.


Marketers believe COVID vaccines will bring back in-person events

2021: Marketers saw an end to the conditions that made travel to conferences, training seminars and trade shows unreliable.


Video by Dawn Beobide, Google. Confirmed vs unconfirmed algorithm updates

2021 Beobide also spoke with Barry Schwartz in this episode of his vlog series.


Bing Ads launches multiuser access via single sign-on

2018: Multi User Access allows users to use one email address and one password to access all their Bing Ads accounts.


Restaurant owners now have the ability to edit their menus in Google My Business

2018 It was possible to create a menu structure for mobile search results directly from Google My Business.


Google Assistant introduces new media capabilities before HomePod release

2018 Now you can wake up to your favorite playlist and use your voice to continue with Netflix shows.


Google wins the ‘right not to be forgotten’ case at the Japanese high court

2017: Japan’s highest court ruled search results are speech that is entitled to protection.


Google’s Fake Locksmith Issue Hits The New York Times

2016 Companies that are not located in their local area often create fake locations within Google Maps to fool the algorithm into believing they are locally based.


Valentine’s Day searches start now: When they peak depends on the category

2016: Data provided by Bing showed key trends in Valentine’s Day searches, including jewelry, candy, and flowers.


Google Search iOS App Adds “I’m Feeling Curious” To 3-D Touch

2016 A hard press on the app brought up the menu for the “I’m feeling Curious” button.


Google Expanding Candidate Card, Will Also Offer Primary Reminders

2016 Search and Google Now allowed users to find a mix of candidate-generated and third-party information about the primaries, election and subsequent results.


Yahoo Could Again Compete in Search: Mobile

2014 Yahoo could have created new “search” usages and ad revenue through mobile with the right content and user experience.


Google Comes to an Agreement with France: There is no ‘Link Tax’ but EUR60 Million Media Fund

2013: After months of discussion over France’s plan for Google to link to French news content, the settlement was reached.


Google Submits a Formal European Antitrust Settlement Proposal

2013 This proposal was needed to address four areas of concern: “search bias” (diversion of traffic); improper use of third party content and reviews by Google; exclusivity agreements with third-party publishers; and portability for ad campaigns to different search engines.


Microsoft Sued by Company that Won Patent Lawsuit Against Google in 2012

2013 These two patents were originally issued in the early 90s and later purchased by Lycos. They concern the placement and ranking of ads in search results.


How are We Searching for the Super Bowl?

2013: Answer: On multiple devices. Find out more about the teams and recipes.


Search in Pics: The Google Business Card Collection. Silver Android Statue. Golden Gate Bridge Pin.

2013 These are the most recent images that show what people eat at search engine companies, their play habits, where they go, and what toys they own.


French Court Fines Google $660,000 Because Google Maps Is Free

2012: Google remains “convinced” that a high-quality, free mapping tool is beneficial to both Internet users as well as websites.


Google Promises to Crackdown on Unscrupulous AdWords Reellers

2011 The terms required agencies to report their clients on AdWords clicks, costs and impressions at least once a month, if not more frequently.


Blekko Bans Content Farms from Its Index

2011: Blekko banned all top 20 spam websites from its index, including ehow.com.


Intrigue, Speculation Surround Google’s Delayed Cloud Tunes Music Service

2011: Licensing problems had delayed the service despite Google offering huge sums to music labels.


Google Adds Latitude Check-Ins to

2011: latitude could remind you to check in at certain locations when you arrive. It also supported automatic check-ins at specific places and checked you out automatically when you leave a place.


Google New Local Ad category Invades the “7 Pack”

2010 A local business ad (“enhanced listing”) allows a business to stand apart with an “enhanced presence” on the map.


The Most Recent On Google News Sitemaps

2010: News editors had until April 2010 to update their news sitemaps to reflect the new protocol.


Report: Google To Bring More “Transparency” To AdSense Revenue Sharing

2010: Google’s sales boss Nikesh Ara reportedly stated that Google would be open to more transparency regarding AdSense revenue splits.


AP & Google Reach A Deal – Sort Of

2010, Google and Associated Press came to an agreement that allows Google to continue using AP content. However, it was not clear if this agreement would be long-term.


SEOmoz Retires From Consulting Business to Focus on Software

2010 A new SEO agency, Open Site Explorer, offered a range of SEO tools.


Google Can Kill Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 6.

2010: Google stated that they will no longer support “very old browsers”.


US Appeals Court Allows Google Street View Traffic Lawsuit To Continue

2010 In 2008, the Boring couple sued Google for taking photos of their suburban Pennsylvania house. It was located on a clearly-marked private road.


2000 Review: AdWords Launches, Yahoo Partners with Google; GoTo Syndicates

2010: The major events in consumer search since 2000.


Searchers Can Find The Superbowl!

2009: Websites and search engines still have a lot of room for improvement in order to connect to searchers.


Searching for the Superbowl Ads and Search: Can Broadcast Marketers Gain Online Acquisition?

2009: This was the year for the microsite.


Microsoft Makes $45 Billion Bid To Buy Yahoo

2008 Microsoft offered $31 per share to Yahoo’s board of directors in order to buy the company. This deal could be worth up to $45 billion. Yahoo rejected the bid, but it wasn’t the last. Continue reading:


Mine Web’s Socially-Tagged Link: Google Social Graph API Launched

2008: Developers were able to find socially-labeled pages and create connections using the API.


“Open Network” A Reality, C Block Of 700MHz Spectrum Hits $4.6 Billion “Reserve Price”

2008 The rules stated that any legal consumer device must be permitted to access the C Block broadband network.


Get up close to Yahoo’s new Delete URL Feature

2007: Pages will continue to be crawled but they won’t be indexed.


Google News Engine Bugging Out

2007: It returned 500 errors, graphics were not loading and searches weren’t working.


National Pork Board Moves After Breastfeeding Search Marketing Marketer

2007 The National Pork Board ruled that one of her T-shirts in violation of their trademark for the phrase “The Other White Meat” was a violation of their trademark.


Google Fensi – Google’s Asian Social Networking Site.

2007: Was this a social network or a game? Or a game? Or a service. We might never know.


Marchex launches Review Aggregation Feature “Open View”

2007 Open View the aggregated user reviews and expert opinions and generates an interactive summary in less than one paragraph.


Google To Kick Off X Prize’s Next Fundraising Campaign

2007: The X Prize’s mission is to “create radical breakthroughs in the service of humanity.”


Aussies Turn Out For Battle Of Sydney; Google Gets Shot Down

2007: Google flew over Sydney to capture imagery of the landscape. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out as planned.

Search Marketing Expo ( , SMX).

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 1 was first published on Search Engine Land.

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