🔍 Bing turns 10: Why we should care

Plus, Google favicons, keyword strategies and more. May 29, 2019 Good morning search marketers, do you love an underdog? Ten years ago, Microsoft introduced Bing. The company is celebrating the birthday of its search engine next month, but we’re sticklers for detail and published [our look back and ahead at Microsoft’s search business]( on the anniversary of its actual launch day, May 28, 2009. It may be easy to dismiss Bing as a distant second-fiddle to Google, but don’t be so quick to dismiss its contributions. “While there are certainly many ways in which Bing helped advance our industry (Bing Webmaster Tools being one of them), I think the open access to their API has had an even more profound effect on the search ecosystem in general,” said Russ Jones, principal search scientist for Moz. Advertisers have watched Bing evolve out from under Yahoo’s thumb and push beyond scrambling to match Google’s ad features. “Today, Microsoft Advertising has carved out a permanent place at the table when it comes to paid search,” Melissa Mackey, search supervisor at Gyro, who remembers the Bing’s launch, told us. “What I find most exciting about Microsoft Advertising,” said Jeremy Hull, SVP of innovation at iProspect, “is that they’re once again moving away from simply providing parity with other solutions.” Microsoft has the luxury of not having to rely on an ad-driven business, but under CEO Satya Nadella, who led the launch of Bing, after all, search and advertising have been elevated internally. With artificial intelligence powering new features, data integrations with other Microsoft properties such as LinkedIn and other efforts, Microsoft is making a huge bet in advertising and on the advertising group, executives told agency representatives at the Microsoft Advertising Partner Summit in Seattle last month. We’ll be watching where it goes in the next 10 years. Read on for your daily Pro Tip, favicon etiquette (Shocker, it didn’t take long for SEOs to start testing Google’s favicon guidelines) and more. Ginny Marvin Editor-in-Chief Pro Tip Here’s how you assess the viability of potential keywords “As you tease out potential keyword targets, you also need to assess the viability of those terms and think about whether you can create something that could rank well for those searches,” explains Andrew Dennis of Page One Power. “While there are a variety of factors that go into search opportunity, it essentially boils down to search volume and competition. The higher the search volume, the greater the traffic opportunity and lower competition means a greater likelihood of ranking your content. One important thing to remember with search volume is that estimates can be low for an individual term because they only provide volume for that specific phrase. However, if you build a page that ranks well for an individual term, that page will also likely rank well for all the associated long-tail keywords, which can add up to a significantly higher total search volume.” [Read More »]( Webinar Tomorrow: The Top 4 Digital Challenges Facing Consumer Brands And How to Solve Them Sponsored by [Mapp Digital]( There’s still time to register! Large consumer brands are losing share to more nimble, digitally savvy challengers. Digital disruptors such as Casper and Dollar Shave Club operate with ultra-fast supply chains, using digital channels to create convenient and authentic shopping experiences. How do traditional marketers compete? Join our brand marketing experts as they tackle the biggest challenges facing consumer goods companies – and provide the strategies and tactics that will help you win. [Read More »]( Search Shorts Google favicons can disappear. Google favicon removals. [Google is already removing favicons]( from the [new mobile search design]( for sites that do not comply with the favicon guidelines. Google disavow tool status. There have been some rumors that the disavow tool is going away. However, Google’s John Mueller [hinted]( that is not the case [twice]( on Twitter. #AskGoogleWebmasters. Google is going to be producing more short SEO videos to answer your questions. To submit questions use the hashtag #AskGoogleWebmasters on Twitter. [You can learn more about this over here](. What we're reading We've curated our picks from across the web so you can retire your feed reader [Try This Chrome Extension to Test Google Conversion Tracking]( – Clix Marketing [Analyzing Google’s New Desktop “People Also Search For” Box]( – Moz [Chrome Extensions for SEOs: A Comprehensive List]( – SEM Rush [Google Maps speed camera alerts and speed limit indication expand to more countries]( – Android Police [Google’s Shadow Work Force: Temps Who Outnumber Full-Time Employees]( – New York Times [LinkedIn Admits They Got Hit By A Google Algorithm Update]( – Search Engine Roundtable [Microsoft celebrate Nature with new free Bing Animals and Bing US National Parks themed]([Windows 10 wallpaper packs]( – MSPoweruser [SEO: Can Ecommerce Sites Win the Answer Box?]( – Practical Ecommerce [YouTube gets smarter voice search and starts playing videos immediately after your query]( – Android Police Join Us Gain expert SEO & SEM tactics to drive your campaign's success. Attend SMX Advanced, June 3-5! Attend Search Engine Land's [SMX Advanced](, June 3-5, 2019 for expert-led sessions, networking (including the 2019 Search Engine Land Awards), and top amenities including WiFi, delicious meals, and snacks. This is your once-a-year event to learn only advanced SEO and SEM tactics. You'll come away with at least one tactic that you can immediately put to use… we guarantee it. [View rates and register today](! [Search Engine Land] [( [Want to advertise?]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. [Unsubscribe]( [We respect your privacy.]( This email was sent by: Search Engine Land - a Third Door Media, Inc. publication with headquarters at 279 Newtown Tpke. Redding, CT 06896 USA © 2006-2019 Third Door Media. All Rights Reserved.