SearchCap: DMOZ officially closes, Google dilutes Exact Match in AdWords & more

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

From Search Engine Land:

• Your playbook for click-to-call paid search is here
  Mar 20, 2017 by Digital Marketing Depot
  Consumers now click on “Call” buttons from search ads and landing pages by the billions. To stay competitive, marketers must change their desktop-centric thinking and adopt new mobile-first ad, bidding, and attribution strategies for call conversions.
• Twiggle offers plug-and-play semantic search to online retailers
  Mar 20, 2017 by Greg Sterling
  Company says its sophisticated search can be implemented without replacement of existing enterprise search.
• Google thaws (a little) on defamation cases
  Mar 20, 2017 by Chris Silver Smith
  Would-be-legal remedies for online reputation issues are still up in the air, explains contributor Chris Silver Smith, arguing that it may be time to amend the applicable legislation.
• SEM account management: How to improve account performance
  Mar 20, 2017 by Ted Ives
  In part two of his three-part series on SEM account management, contributor Ted Ives discusses how to keep your PPC campaigns running smoothly and performing well.
• Google: Hacked sites increased 32% in 2016
  Mar 20, 2017 by Barry Schwartz
  Google is encouraging webmasters and site owners to verify their sites in Google Search Console to help both prevent and fix website hacks.
• Spring equinox 2017 Google doodle marks 1st day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere
  Mar 20, 2017 by Amy Gesenhues
  Today’s animated doodle ushering in spring shows a mouse at work, completing its spring cleaning rituals.
• What happens when Google pushes into branding and messaging?
  Mar 20, 2017 by Pauline Jakober
  As Google elbows its way further into PPC branding, columnist Pauline Jakober discusses the drawbacks of automating tasks that impact messaging and branding.
• Use Artificial Intelligence to bridge the gap between data and personalization
  Mar 17, 2017 by Digital Marketing Depot
  Marketers today have access to exceptional amounts of data. While “big data” was once a luxury only available to the largest enterprises, it is now available to even the smallest organizations. But the actual management, organization and analysis of the resulting volume of data quickly becomes an insurmountable task.
• DMOZ has officially closed after nearly 19 years of humans trying to organize the web
  Mar 17, 2017 by Danny Sullivan
  The closure marks the final end of a chapter of humans trying to organize the web.
• Google to further dilute exact match in AdWords; will ignore word order & function words
  Mar 17, 2017 by Ginny Marvin
  Not just for plurals anymore, close variants will extend to include word ordering and function words in inexact match keywords.

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

• Emarsys: Verizon’s exit from email services prompts strategic opportunity by marketers
• A proven method for building a strong PPC account team
• Three foolproof steps to excellent AdWords ads
• Advice for AMP-curious publishers
• Report: Bad bots are swarming virtually every website and login page
• eBay to offer 3-day shipping for 20M items in new Guaranteed Delivery policy
• A digital marketing CEO’s prescription to cure advertising fraud
• Is your marketing career progressing as it should be?
• Google is making a big change to exact match keyword targeting in AdWords
• How to Use Network Data to Turn Bad Inputs into Gold
• ANA calls for independent audits of ads in the ‘walled gardens’
• Google, Facebook to face large fines in Europe unless they change policies

Search News From Around The Web:

Link Building

• Ranking Without Backlinks, and Penalties Still Apply, Ignite Visibility

Local & Maps

• Google Maps lets you record your parking location, time left at the meter, TechCrunch
• Journey under the Earth’s surface in Street View , Google Maps Blog
• Street View comes to Tunisia and a Vanuatuan volcano, Google Earth Blog

Searching

• Google Image Search Action Buttons Go Missing For Some, Search Engine Roundtable
• Google’s Search Lead: I Can’t Go After Individual Problems In Search Results, Search Engine Roundtable
• How the Internet of Things Is Reshaping Search, CMS Wire

SEM / Paid Search

• Cashing in With ABM Strategies in Existing PPC Accounts, Clix Marketing PPC Blog
• Google Display Network Targeting: Boost Top-of-Funnel Traffic for Uniform Audiences, Aimclear Blog
• Two New Analytics Academy Courses and Year-Round Certification, Google Analytics Blog

SEO

• How To Export Search Queries From Google Search Console To Compare Clicks And Impressions After An Algorithm Update, GSQI
• 7 Easy-to-Forget SEO Steps You Should Take Every Time You Publish, Copyblogger
• A Short & Sweet SEO Checklist for New Websites, Search Engine Journal
• Google’s Top Stories Inclusion Is Algorithmic, No Hand Selection, Search Engine Roundtable
• Helpful Tips for Doing Search in a Low-Volume Niche, Moz
• How To Check If Your SSL HTTPS Website Still Uses HTTP URLs, Search Engine People
• Why Does User Intent Matter So Much to Your SEO?, Content Marketing Institute
• Will Linking to Wikipedia Hurt Your Google Ranking?, Small Biz Trends

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