SearchCap: Happy New Year’s, Santa tracker & Google’s new recipe results

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

From Search Engine Land:

A year in review: Search Engine Land’s top 10 columns of 2016
Dec 30, 2016 by Jessica Thompson
Which topics drew the most attention within the search industry this year? From infographics to quizzes to advice, our top 10 columns of the year covered all the bases.
4 steps to make your organic listings more effective
Dec 30, 2016 by Jason Decker
How can you improve your organic search results? Columnist Jason Decker outlines four basic steps to make your listings more compelling to searchers and prospects.
Google’s New Year’s eve day logo for 2016
Dec 30, 2016 by Barry Schwartz
Here is the New Year’s eve Doodle from Google all decked out in jumpy balloons.
Paradigm shift: Has Google suspended defamation removals?
Dec 30, 2016 by Chris Silver Smith
Columnist Chris Silver Smith takes a look at what could be a recent policy shift in Google’s longstanding informal policy of granting court-ordered defamation removal requests.
Don’t just appeal to a local searcher’s wants or needs, focus on the journey
Dec 30, 2016 by Lydia Jorden
You’ve probably heard sayings like, “Life’s about the journey, not the destination,” but have you thought about putting this philosophy to work in local search? Columnist Lydia Jorden explains how to optimize for this trend.
Search in Pics: Google wine gift, holiday staircase & Google paradise store
Dec 30, 2016 by Barry Schwartz
In this week’s Search In Pictures, here are the latest images culled from the web, showing what people eat at the search engine companies, how they play, who they meet, where they speak, what toys they have and more. Google Paradise store: Source: Instagram Google holiday staircase: Source: Instagram Google wine gift: Source: Instagram Google […]
SEO in 2017: Seizing opportunity, evangelizing success, achieving overarching growth
Dec 29, 2016 by Jim Yu
Columnist Jim Yu contends that to succeed in 2017, brands will need to coordinate organic and paid search marketing disciplines and understand how they can work together to build the relationship with customers.
Organic Search Party: Our Top SEO Columns of 2016
Dec 29, 2016 by Jessica Thompson
Which stories got the SEO community fired up this year? Check out Search Engine Land’s top “All Things SEO” and “Link Week” columns of 2016 to find out!
Why Google shutting down Map Maker should terrify SMBs
Dec 29, 2016 by Joy Hawkins
Contributor Joy Hawkins warns about the likely unintended consequences of Google’s impending shutdown of Map Maker, calling for the search giant to create more transparency.
Google launches a new look for recipes in the mobile search results
Dec 29, 2016 by Barry Schwartz
Google launched a new way to find new recipes for your New Years feast. The new recipe results are seen on mobile search.
What you’re missing with SEO that will make a world of difference
Dec 29, 2016 by Julian Connors
While long-term efforts are SEO mainstays, contributor Julian Connors suggests more short-term reactive strategies can also have significant rankings impact.
Google logo for Charles Macintosh, the Scottish chemist who invented waterproof fabric
Dec 29, 2016 by Barry Schwartz
Google celebrates the 250th birthday of Charles Macintosh, who invented the Macintosh raincoat in 1823.
2016: The year in paid search (A year of massive change!)
Dec 29, 2016 by Ginny Marvin
This year will be seen as a watershed moment for mobile, with nearly every change reflecting mobile’s now-dominant contribution to search.
Amazon begins testing Product Listing Ads on AdWords
Dec 28, 2016 by Greg Finn
For the first time ever, Amazon Product Listing Ads have been popping up in what appears to be an AdWords test.
Google Shopping feed optimization: Speak your customers’ language and write more compelling product titles
Dec 28, 2016 by Andreas Reiffen
Product titles are among the most important factors influencing the performance of your Google Shopping campaigns. Contributor Andreas Reiffen shares data on how to optimize them.
SEM’s legit: Our top paid search columns of 2016
Dec 28, 2016 by Jessica Thompson
Expanded text ads, the removal of the right rail in SERPs, and many other changes dominated the PPC world this past year. Read on to see Search Engine Land’s most popular paid search columns of 2016.
Is Google’s AMP carousel working? (Or, SEO insights from Kanye West)
Dec 28, 2016 by Barb Palser
Publishers are asking questions about the effectiveness of Google’s AMP carousel. Columnist Barb Palser analyzed 235 million AMP search impressions to find answers.
Improve search rankings and increase productivity with local marketing automation software
Dec 27, 2016 by Digital Marketing Depot
Managing online citations, claimed and unclaimed listings, reviews and ratings, landing pages and data feeds for hundreds or thousands of locations has become time-consuming and costly for enterprise brands. Automating these processes can improve search rankings, increase productivity and lower CPCs due to better SEO. Marketing Land’s “Enterprise Local Marketing Automation Platforms” examines the market […]
Google Search Console warns of nonsecure collection of passwords with upcoming Chrome browser release
Dec 27, 2016 by Barry Schwartz
Have a login form on an HTTP URL? You will need to switch it to an HTTPS URL if you want to avoid security warnings in Chrome in January.
3 ways in-house do-it-yourselfers can prepare for PPC management
Dec 27, 2016 by Pauline Jakober
So, your boss just told you that managing PPC is being added to your list of responsibilities. What to do? Columnist Pauline Jakober offers tips on how to get up to speed.
Eat Local: Our Top 10 Local Search Columns of 2016
Dec 27, 2016 by Jessica Thompson
Hungry for some good local SEO content? Satisfy your hunger with Search Engine Land’s 10 most popular local search columns of the year.
Where is Santa Claus? Your 2016 guide to Santa trackers from NORAD & Google
Dec 24, 2016 by Danny Sullivan
Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus … but where exactly is he? Our guide to Santa trackers helps you locate Jolly St. Nick in a flash.
‘Tis the season! Google spreads more cheer on Day 2 of its Holiday 2016 doodle series
Dec 24, 2016 by Amy Gesenhues
Google’s 2016 holiday doodle series included three separate animated images posted on December 23rd, 24th and 25th.
Google’s top results for ‘Did the Holocaust happen’ now expunged of denial sites
Dec 24, 2016 by Danny Sullivan
Initial fix merely bumped denial site down, then failed to work consistently. Now the denial site is gone from first page of results.