This day in search marketing history: February 14

Google Webmaster Tools comes out of beta

In 2007, Google Webmaster Tools officially came out of beta.

Launched in June 2005 as Google Sitemaps, its expansion led to a name change on Aug. 4, 2006.

Google also revealed that Webmaster Central had more than a million users.

Read all about it in Google Webmaster Central Leaves Beta; Its Blog Gains Comments.

Eventually, Google Webmaster Tools would be rebranded as Google Search Console, on May 20, 2015.

Also on this day

Google crawl stats report is missing a chunk of data

2022: This seemed to be a widespread reporting issue.

Google AdSense launches related search for content pages

2022: The feature was designed to drive incremental ad revenue while encouraging more engagement from visitors.

Microsoft Advertising nearly doubles available markets with 29 more countries

2022: This expansion would increase the platform’s reach by 41 million customers.

EU copyright directive poised to become law, includes licensing fees for search engines

2019: Controversial ‘link tax’ and content filtering provisions were part of the final language of the Directive.

Google announces AMP for Email – delivering Accelerated Mobile Pages experiences to your inbox

2018: The new spec was available through the Gmail Developer Preview, with support in Gmail slated for later that year.

Google featured snippets now often followed by the ‘people also ask’ box

2017: People also ask got more frequent and prominent placement in Google.

Open Letter: Why Search Engine Land Will & Won’t Cover Someone Being Penalized By Google

2014: Search Engine Land would only write about it if there was some exceptional news value.

Googling The Weather: From 20% Project To Sophisticated Query Analysis

2014: A look at the evolution of weather-related searches and how Google handled them.

Google Publishes Full Text Of EU Antitrust Agreement

2014: The document contained extensive examples of how search results would look in Europe under the new agreement.

New Bing Ads Editor Release Coming Soon, To Include Update To Campaign Conflicts Review

2014: The update gave users the option to override changes without having to review the conflicts first.

For Robocop, Bing Imagines The Future Of Search In 2028

2014: The Bing search folks shared a few screenshots showing a 3D, three-panel search display that they came up with for search circa 2028.

The Donkey Cutts SEO Game: Avoid Panda & Penguins

2014: The game worked like “Donkey Kong,” but replaced the objects based off of Google ranking signals.

Search In Pics: Google Boomerang, Google NYC In Snow & Susan Wojcicki’s Last Day

2014: 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 Sends Hundreds Of Thousands Of Webmaster Notifications Each Month & 90% Are Black Hat Related

2013: Google’s Matt Cutts answers “How many types of messages does the webspam team send to Webmaster Tools?”

Google Now Adds Movies, College Sports, Homescreen Widget

2013: Google Now added movie ratings from Rotten Tomatoes and movie passes from Fandango.

The Google Movie — “The Internship” — Debuts Its Trailer

2013: A comedy about what it was like to work at Google as interns (Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson).

Why The Wikipedia/Google Search Results Study Is Flawed

2012: Study was based on 1,000 unique one-word searches created by using a random noun generator on Google UK and conducted using Google Chrome on Incognito mode.

Google AdWords Sitelinks Now Uses Related Ads

2012: Google said they “incorporate text from ads in your account that are related to your sitelinks,” to make up the Enhanced Sitelinks.

Bing & Google: “Spreading Romney” Ranking Tops For “Romney” Is Normal

2012: Apparently it was business as usual.

Scroogle Says Google Is Blocking Their Privacy Search Engine

2012: Google said it wasn’t manually blocking Scroogle but they had automated systems in place that “deter scraping or excessive queries to Google.”

New: Block Sites From Google Results Using Chrome’s “Personal Blocklist”

2011: While Personal Blocklist was designed to allow individuals to build up their own unique blocklists, Google said it could use the data to influence the search results for others.

Google Image Search Adds SVG Filter & Google Displays Satellite & Terrain Maps

2011: Two updates for Google Search and Image Search.

Study Asks, Can You Trust Google’s Personalized Search Results?

2011: For most people, search quality had been declining, results were less personal, reflecting more of a standardized Google-centric view than ever before.

Google Wants You To “Map Your Valentine”

2011: It used Google Maps and enabled you to send an email card to a spouse/partner/lover/friend.

comScore Looks Back At Smartphone Growth In “Mobile Year In Review”

2011: Facebook, far and away, was the leader in total engagement with more than 3X the mobile time spent on Google.

One Mission Accomplished: Microsoft’s Deal With Nokia Injects Windows Into The Smartphone Conversation

2011: It helped create a perception that there were three mobile platforms that mattered and Windows was one of them.

Twitter As Utility, Like Running Water? That’s Goal, Says CEO

2011: “It needs to be water. It’s instantly useful. It’s simple. I don’t have to re-learn how to use water. It’s always present,” said Twitter CEO Dick Costolo.

deCarta Challenges Google With Free Mapping, Local Search Tools Aimed At Mobile Developers

2011: The set of free developer tools was intended to challenge Google Maps and Places.

ComScore To Report Google Maps Now Number 1

2009: MapQuest’s January monthly unique visitors were 41.5 million and Google’s were 42.2 million.

AdWords + Video: Video Ads Come To Google Search Results

2008: Advertisers paid once on a CPC basis where any click counted. So if a user clicked on the URL link that counted as a click or if a user clicked to play the video that also counted as a click.

Hitwise Illustrates How A Google Slap Can Hurt Hard

2008: One website saw a 87% decrease in traffic for the search term “car insurance”]” due to a Google penalty.

Microsoft Executive Shuffle Goes “Live”

2008: Who was in and out. Related coverage: Official: Microsoft Management Reorg Announced; Dueling Ad Groups?

Yang’s Letter: Dear YHOO Shareholders, Yahoo Will Be A “Must Buy” For Advertisers & Grow 15% Per Year

2008: He said Yahoo had a “unique combination of strengths,” including a strong brand and being a leader in display advertising, search advertising, mobile and online video.

Pew: Americans Increasingly Shop Online But Still Fear Identity Theft

2008: 43% of internet users have been frustrated by the lack of information they encounter while using the internet to find out about or buy goods or services.

Citysearch And AOL Announce Reciprocal Content And Ad Distribution Deal

2008: The two firms would share revenue from clicks or leads generated from AOL distribution.

Vertical Search Provider Healthline Beefs Up Content, Features

2008: More search, tools and content, plus a marketplace.

Google AdWords Adds Quality Score Column & To Improved Quality Algorithm

2007: The most significant change in the algorithm: they would better handle keywords that had little data.

Google Officially Opens Gmail To World

2007: Gmail restrictions were dropped.

Google News: Top Of Mind, Even If Not Top Of Traffic

2007: Google News came under far more criticism and attention than its apparent usage as a news resource.

Google Scores Higher On Forbes Tests

2007: Google Search got an A-.

Google Earth Adds KML Search Feature

2007: Enabled you to search for Keyhole Markup Language.

VSearch: Embedded Voice Mobile Local Search

2007: VSearch would be ad supported.

From Search Marketing Expo (SMX)

Google’s Matt Cutts Keynote At SES London 2007

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.

2020: The state of tracking and data privacy in 2020 by Andrew Garberson

2019: 6 things you need to know about Google’s change for service area businesses by Joy Hawkins

2019: Update your match types and account structure to improve performance, here’s how by Amanda Farley

2018: A link-building case study: Using brand mentions and competitive linking tactics by Andrew Dennis

2018: How to build a stronger, more effective PPC team by Frederick Vallaeys

2017: How to use psychological principles to improve ad copy by Jason Puckett

2017: Seasonal and holiday link building by Andrew Dennis

2014: Prioritizing SEO Strategies In 2014: Where To Focus by Warren Lee

2013: How Leveraging Data Quality In Google Shopping Can Increase Product Sales by Barbara Starr

2013: You’d Want To Have A Thorough Doctor, Why Not Your SEO? by Trond Lyngbø

2013: 6 Advanced Strategies For Optimizing PLA Campaigns by Matt Lawson

2012: Developing A Global SEO Diagnostics Plan by Bill Hunt