This day in search marketing history: February 2

Revamped Google Partners program finally launches

In 2022, the changes to Partners program requirements, originally announced in 2020, finally took effect.

Those changes were supposed to happen in June 2020 but were first postponed until 2021 and then delayed a second time due to the upheaval caused by the coronavirus pandemic and shelter-in-place orders.

Agencies were not happy with the first iteration of Google’s new Partners program requirements, particularly Google’s doubling of the 90-day spend threshold (from $10,000 to $20,000) and adding an optimization score requirement.

Read all about it in Google finally launches revamped Partners program.

Also on this day

Performance Max campaigns get support in Data Studio

2022: Advertisers could include Performance Max campaigns in Data Studio reports.

Google Search Console snapshot in search results now can show domain properties

2022: A card could appear only if you were an owner or full user of the site in Google Search Console, and you are signed in with that Google account while searching for your site or queries it might rank for.

Google opens up about how Maps review moderation works

2022: Google’s overview detailed why it might update its policies, how it enforced them and the role of machines and humans in content moderation.

Google Q4 search ad revenue: $43.3 billion

2022: Alphabet announced revenue of $75 billion in Q4 of 2021. Of that, $61.2 billion came from Google advertising.

Google Search Console Discover performance report now includes all data

2021: Google would now show not just the data from Google Search app or on Google.com’s home page but also from Chrome.

Australia’s showdown with Google has profound implications for domestic businesses and other digital platforms

2021: The proposed legislation could have created an untenable position for search engines in Australia

Who wins? Google & Bing’s ‘Super Bowl ad’ search results are quite different

2018: People turning to Google and Bing for information about the official Super Bowl Lii commercials found very different treatments of the results. 

Search in Pics: Google Bike riding, hanging hammocks & Valentine’s Day prep

2018: The latest images 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 local knowledge panel testing promotion box

2017: It allowed Google My Business owners to post deals and promotions below their core listing.

Yandex Rolls Out Mobile-Friendly Algorithm In Russia, Code Name Vladivostok

2016: Pages that were not mobile-friendly might not rank as well.

Firefox Deal Continues To Boost Yahoo As US Search Share Grows Again In January

2015: StatCounter said, conclusively, that the Firefox deal was responsible for Yahoo’s recent movement.

Microsoft adCenter Increases Ad Description, Adds Budget Widget & More Mobile Targeting Options

2012: Microsoft’s January 2012 adCenter release update.

Bing: “We Do Not Copy Results. Period.”

2011: Bing’s Yusuf Mehdi: “We have some of the best minds in the world at work on search quality and relevance, and for a competitor to accuse any one of these people of such activity is just insulting.”

Google Uses Amazon’s Algorithm For YouTube’s Recommendation Engine

2011: Google had switched the algorithm they used for YouTube’s recommendation engine from their own to a variation of Amazon’s algorithm that was designed in the late 1990s. 

AdWords Targeting Getting More Geographically Granular in 17 Countries

2011: The changes allowed advertisers to target, analyze and optimize ad campaigns based upon more granular geographic data.

Google’s Mobile Moves Tighten Its Grip On Local

2011: Google was starting to leverage its massive local infrastructure across products.

Study: Facebook Ad Click-Throughs Declining

2011: Click-through rates on Facebook ads only averaged 0.05% in 2010, down from 0.06% in 2009 and well short of what was considered to be the industry average of 0.1%

Google Rolls Out Shopper App For iPhone

2011: Shopper allowed users to search for products by voice, with the camera, via barcode scan or by text entry.

Honeycomb Puts Android 3.0 Tablets On Nearly Equal Footing With iPad

2011: More coverage: Live Blogging The Google Android 3.0 “Honeycomb” Event 

Report: Twitter Co-Founder Ev Williams No Longer Works There

2011: He wasn’t working on product and hardly ever showed up at Twitter’s office. 

Google Apps May Get Its Own App Store

2011: The store reportedly would “sell business software designed by outside developers to integrate and add capabilities to Google Apps, such as enhanced security features or the ability to import contacts.”

Google News Allows You To “Star” News Stories

2011: Starring let Google know you were interested in that subject.

Google Gears Comes To AdWords: Browser Local Storage

2011: Instead of loading the data off Google’s servers each time you clicked on a section in the AdWords console, Google would load the data off your local computer.

Does CityGrid From Citysearch “Answer” The Local SEO Problem?

2011: This was Citysearch’s new local ad exchange/marketplace.

Katy Perry: I Googled Myself & I Liked It

2011: That’s how the singer discovered that Russell Brand was going to propose to her.

How Open Redirects Can Hurt Your Site’s Trust

2009: Open redirects could lead to spammers abusing your site and ultimately hurting your rankings in Google or other search engines.

Google AdWords Tests Campaign Level Keyword Diagnose Tool

2009: Google seemed to be testing a new AdWords feature that allowed you to batch your keyword analysis into a larger overview report.

Yahoo Shuts Down Publisher Network RSS Ads

2009: Yahoo ended the beta program to focus on more popular ad products.

400,000 Google Video Searches Are Polluted: Report

2009: “Blackhat SEO poisoning” could lead users to download malicious software.

SearchBiz: MicroHoo Redux, MySpace ‘Dissed’ By Yahoo, Microsoft Hiring In Search

2009: What could have been if Yahoo had accepted Microsoft’s offer.

It’s Google’s Ocean, We Just Swim In It

2009: More coverage: Live Blogging The Google Earth 5.0 / Google Ocean Event

Google Ramps Up Personalized Search

2007: Google combined Search History, Personalized Search and Personalized Homepage products.

SEO Gains Ground, Search Ads Top In Top Performing Online Ad Tactics

2007: SEO grew from 33% in 2005 to 45% in 2006 in the category of best performing online advertising tactic, whereas search ads declined from 52% in 2005 to 49% in 2006.

Google AdSense Makes Changes to Publisher Referral Program

2007: Publishers could earn up to $255 for referring a new publisher to AdSense, up from $100.

Google Local Ads In Google Earth

2007: Search on Google Earth brought up the same sponsored listings as Google Maps.

Viacom Tells Google’s YouTube To Remove Videos

2007: YouTube agreed to remove 100,000 video clips.

Google Launches Maps For Windows Mobile

2007: The Google Windows Mobile client provided an experience that was significantly better than the mobile browser and almost as good as the desktop – and in some ways better.

Google Demanded North Carolina Stay Quiet

2007: About Google’s tax break demands.

Digg Drops List Of Top Users To Curb Gaming

2007: It was to help lower the perceived manipulation of the Digg system by those top diggers.

New Yahoo ‘OurCity’ Local Mashups

2007: Yahoo tested it in India, incorporating content from Flickr, Del.icio.us, Upcoming and news.

National Pork Board Says: Breastfeeding Is A Viable Trademark Threat

2007: “We have a responsibility to the industry to challenge all viable infringements.”

Past contributions from Search Engine Land’s Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)

These columns are a snapshot in time and have not been updated since publishing, unless noted. Opinions expressed in these articles are those of the author and not necessarily Search Engine Land.

• 2018: Four new search trends in mobile app discovery by Brian Solis
• 2017: Local search: It’s all about mobile by Jacob Baadsgaard
• 2017: Methbot, fake news and five other reasons SEM/SEO interest will surge by Kevin Lee
• 2016: Get Your Priorities Straight: Structuring Google Shopping Campaigns by Laura Collins
• 2016: Client-Based Or Task-Based? Structuring Your Link Team by Julie Joyce
• 2015: Dealing With That Key Exec Who Thinks All SEO Is Spam by Eric Enge
• 2015: 10 Common Mistakes To Avoid On Local Websites by Greg Gifford
• 2012: Can Bing & adCenter Bring More To The Table For Large Advertisers? by Eric Enge
• 2012: How Much Does SEO Cost? 3 Analogies To Help You Determine Its Value by Trond Lyngbø
• 2011: Successful SEM Tactics For Marketing Mobile Apps by Kelly Gillease
• 2011: Brands Beware: Affiliate Tricks Used In Email by Lori Weiman
• 2011: Pop This! How To Manage Visual Hierarchy For Conversion by Sandra Niehaus
• 2010: Why Coming In Second Can Be A Good Thing by Bas van den Beld
• 2010: What Is A Link Worth? Part 1: Valuing PageRank by Ted Ives
• 2010: Why You Shouldn’t Trust Feeds For Social Updates by Greg Finn
• 2010: “Inkbait”: A Case Study In Linkability by Debra Mastaler
• 2009: Seeking The Holy Grail Of The Long Tail by Eric Enge
• 2009: Making Your Search Campaigns Work Harder During The Economic Downturn, Part Two by Chris Wine
• 2009: PPC Marketing In A Down Economy by Brad Geddes
• 2007: Exclusive Interview: Larry Cornett, Yahoo Director Of User Experience Design by Gord Hotchkiss

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