For seasoned users of the internet, the chronology of our era divides into two ages: BG and AG – before and after Google. The year 1998 marks the dividing line. Before then, as the web expanded exponentially, a host of “search engines” had attempted to provide searchable indexes to it. The best of them was AltaVista, which launched in 1995 and provided the first searchable, full-text database of the web via a simple interface. It was the engine that I and most of my colleagues used… Source link
Read More »Google’s Android app will finally let you delete the last 15 minutes of your search history
Google appears to be finally bringing the ability to delete the last 15 minutes of your search history to its Android app. Former XDA Developers editor-in-chief Mishaal Rahman said he was tipped about the feature seemingly rolling out, and a Verge editor has spotted the feature on their phone. We’ve asked Google if it can share any details about the rollout, but to check and see if you have it, open Google’s Android app, tap your profile picture, and look for the “Delete last 15… Source link
Read More »Russian search giant Yandex tells investors it’s looking for a media exit – TechCrunch
Russia’s internet giant Yandex has told investors it’s exploring “strategic options” for its media products — including a potential sale of its news aggregator, Yandex News, and a user-generated content recommendation and blogging “infotainment” platform, called Zen. The disclosure confirms our reporting earlier this week — when sources told us Yandex is in discussions to sell Yandex News and Zen. Our sources suggested the move is linked to the risks posed by tighter… Source link
Read More »Russian search giant Yandex tells investors it’s looking for a media exit
Russia’s internet giant Yandex has told investors it’s exploring “strategic options” for its media products — including a potential sale of its news aggregator, Yandex News, and a user-generated content recommendation and blogging “infotainment” platform, called Zen. The disclosure confirms our reporting earlier this week — when sources told us Yandex is in discussions to sell Yandex News and Zen. Our sources suggested the move is linked to the risks posed by tighter regulations on freedom… Source link
Read More »Google Search Results and Synonyms
John Mueller answered a question about why a site that ranked for one keyword phrase didn’t rank for what they said was a synonym for the same phrase. John answered the question in general terms, explaining how what’s important is the full context of the search query. Synonyms and Search Results Before Google Hummingbird Google generally ranked sites by matching keywords in the search query to keywords in a web page. After the Google Hummingbird update Google swapped out some important… Source link
Read More »Google’s free hotel booking links arrive on Search and Maps
Google is expanding its free hotel booking links to show on Search and Maps, the company announced Wednesday. The company is also adding reporting capabilities, support for hotel rates in Google Business Profiles and rolling out Local Posts to hotels as well. Image: Google. Free hotel booking links expand to Search and Maps. In March 2021, Google started offering free listings within Google Hotel search. Now, the company is adding support for free hotel booking links… Source link
Read More »Mozilla Removes Yandex, Mail.ru Search Options From Firefox
Mozilla has removed Yandex and Mail.ru from its Firefox browser. The release notes for Firefox 98.0.1, which debuted on March 14, note that “Yandex and Mail.ru have been removed as optional search providers in the drop-down search menu in Firefox.” Yandex and Mail.ru are both essentially Russian takes on Google in that they offer email services, news platforms, and other products in addition to their search engines. Mozilla goes on to say: “If you previously installed a customized version of… Source link
Read More »Google refine this search and broaden this search now live in search results
Google Search has rolled out the “refine this search” and “broaden this search” in the US based English search results, a Google spokesperson confirmed with Search Engine Land today. These features were previewed last year at the Search On event last September. Google did say that while some are noticing the things to know/consider being tested, this is not yet fully live in Google Search yet. Refine this search. Google spoke about this feature at Search On… Source link
Read More »Firefox 98.0.1 removes Yandex Search and Mail.ru search providers
Mozilla released Firefox 98.0.1 on March 14, 2022. It is a minor release that comes a week after Firefox 98. Firefox 98.0.1 removes the search providers Yandex and Mail.ru from the web browser in select regions. When Mozilla released Firefox 98, it did hint at the removal of search engine providers in Firefox, but did not mention any by name or provide more details other than that it did not “receive formal permission” to integrate the unmentioned search engines in Firefox. The Firefox… Source link
Read More »Mozilla Firefox removes Russian search providers over misinformation concerns
Mozilla has removed the Yandex Search, Mail.ru, and OK.ru default search providers from the Firefox browser over reports of state-sponsored content favored in search results. These sites are three of the most popular websites in Russia, used by over a hundred million users per month. Since 2014, Mozilla has made Yandex the default search engine in Russia, and the following year made it the default search for users in Turkey. With today’s release of Firefox 98.0.1, Mozilla announced that… Source link
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