This Week’s Industry News

Compiled By Rocket Clicks Staff

We’re All Still Here

The Mayans, a civilization that believed the earth was sitting on the back of a giant turtle and couldn’t predict its own collapse, were wrong.

Source: Your Existence

Get Ready For Facebook News Feed Video Ads

If you love ads as much as Tom Haverford, and you use Facebook, you’re in luck! The world’s most popular social network is preparing to show video ads directly in News Feeds once the calendar turns to 2013. Funny enough, they could be committing a major violation of CRO basics by including an auto-start, auto-expand feature in the ads.

Facebook’s motive stems from its desire to get companies to shift TV ad dollars to a website with over 800 million eyeballs scrolling up and limitless targeting opportunities. Buenos suerte, Senor Zuckerberg.

Source: The Verge

AdWords Bid-Per-Call Is Riding Into The Sunset

The AdWords bid-per-call feature is barely a year old, and it’s already headed for the Google scrap heap. Google announced this week it is returning to the fixed $1 rate sometime in the ever-ambiguous future, hoping the change “simplifies” things for advertisers.

Source: SEER Interactive

Google Denies Algorithm Update, Webmasters Cry Foul

Webmasters everywhere were in a tizzy last Thursday, as many reported strange fluctuations within Google’s serach results that would typically accompany a nod and a wink regarding an algorithm update from someone on Google’s news team. However, the search engine is denying all culpability, claiming they changed nothing, despite the evidence to the contrary. Dr. Pete breaks down his findings on SEOmoz, and concludes that we need more information.

So did something happen or not? Is Google throwing up a smokescreen? Either way, Donald Rumsfeld would be proud (“I don’t know where, I don’t know when, but something is happening.”).

Source: SEOmoz

Ray Kurzweil Is Now Google’s Director Of Engineering

A pioneer in the realm of voice recognition technology is now head of Google’s engineering division. Ray Kurzweil, who has long expressed affection for Google, and likewise, as Google funded his Singularity University project. Predictably, Kurzweil will be working on language processing and machine learning, meaning he’s the real life Myles Dyson.

Source: Search Engine Journal

Facebook Launches ‘Nearby,’ Foursquare Uses Facebook To Improve Results

In the wake of Facebook’s announcement of the Foursquare-esque “Nearby” service, Foursquare itself has responded in a humorous fashion. The check-in service announced it is turning the dial to 11 on its personalized Explore tool…by using Foursquare data compiled from user’s Facebook friends.

Source: Search Engine Land

Apple, Foursquare Nearing Deal To Merge Data In iOS Maps

Google Maps is still light years ahead of Apple’s mapping product, in terms of quality and popularity with users. However, Apple is poised to entice those users by adding functions and data from the popular Foursquare check-in service. The Wall Street Journal has reported executives from both companies are discussing just that, meaning the mobile mapping war is about to get interesting.

Source: Fast Company

Facebook Jumping Into Local Search On Mobile

Facebook is attempting to get a piece of the pie when it comes to local search on mobile devices by updating the “Nearby” feature in its iOS and Android apps. Prior to the update, Nearby let you know where your friends had checked-in at.  Now, it’s role has expanded by also showing you nearby businesses and other places ranked by various criteria like star ratings, check-ins, Likes and recommendations. Users will also be able to search for local businesses by name or category.

Source: Search Engine Land

Facebook Tweaks A Few Messaging Features

Facebook has changed a couple aspects of its messaging system this week. This includes an alteration to the message filter that allows users to choose between a Basic and Strict filter, with the difference lying in whose messages you’re interested in seeing regularly (friends, people you might know, or just friends).

Likewise, Facebook is experimenting with a pay system that would allow users to fork over $1 to send messages to people they are not friends with on the network. Stalkers and exes everywhere are opening their wallets.

Source: The Verge

Google Resolves Incidental Mobile Ad Clicking Issue

Fat fingers, rejoice! Google had revamped their mobile ad layout to help users avoid accidental clicks, and thus, accidental costs to the advertisers. When users click in a certain area that could be construed as ambiguous, Google has a “Visit Site” icon pop up to confirm the user’s choice.

Source: Search Engine Journal

The ‘Instagram Is Going To Sell Your Photos’ Saga

First, Instagram ignited a fury of backlash across social media this week when it released updates to its privacy policy to reflect the company’s recent acquisition by Facebook. The changes indicated, as expected, that Instagram would be sharing user data with Facebook.  However, one passage in the updated privacy policy really rubbed users the wrong way.

The offending passage seemed to suggest that Instagram could sell users photos to advertisers without payment or notification. In reality, the policy shift wasn’t quite that extreme or much of a departure from Instagram’s previous policy.  Basically, advertisers could now pay Instagram to display your photos as part of a promotion, but not alter them or create a “derivative work” from them in anyway.

Nonetheless, user dissatisfaction remained high and Instagram caved, abandoning the language in its new terms of service and reverting back to old policy

Source: Washington Post

Google Starts Own Santa Tracking Service

Google will attempt going it alone this year with its own Santa tracking service, challenging the decades-old, established Santa tracking provided by NORAD.  The service will creatively be called “Google Santa Tracker.” The move comes after NORAD dumped Google as a partner, opting to join forces with Microsoft instead. Trying to exact revenge is not something that will get you on Santa’s nice list.

Source: Search Engine Land

Facebook Tops 2012 List Of Most Searched Terms

According to an end-of-year Experian study, “Facebook” was the most popular search term in 2012, accounting for 4.13% of all searches (which is 33% higher than last year). Other top terms (in order): YouTube, craigslist, Facebook login, Facebook.com, Yahoo, eBay, www.facebook.com, Mapquest (this is still a thing), and Amazon.

Additionally, the study found one-word queries were up 16% over 2011, and Facebook topped the most visited websites of the year.

Source: Search Engine Land

Zuckerberg Donates 18 Million Facebook Shares To Charity

Almost two years after Mark Zuckerberg pledged to donate half of all he earned to charity; Facebook’s founder announced that he would donate 18 million shares of Facebook stock to The Silicon Valley Foundation a charity in, as its name implies, Silicon Valley. The 18 million shares amount to just under $500 million.

Source: Fast Company

Notable Commentary

That’s Ho-Ho-Hot Of The Presses

Site Structure Improvement And Its Role In SEO

When most people think of on-site SEO, content, keyword density, and title and meta tags often spring to mind. However, another aspect of the site that is crucial to retaining and herding users towards your intended destination also affects a site’s performance in the search results: site structure. Sujan Patel has a basic, but informative intro to this underrated ranking factor.

Analysis By: Sujan Patel, Search Engine Journal

How Google’s Ad System May Be Screwing With Advertisers

Riza Berkan takes an interesting look into Google Instant and how it can negatively impact advertisers simply by showing ads that won’t be clicked on as users stall in their query completion.

Analysis By: Riza Berkan, Search Engine Journal

Read This Best Of 2012 List Of Marketing Articles

Search Engine Watch has a solid compilation of their best marketing articles for 2012. It includes everything from PPC to SEO to CRO to LMFAO.

Analysis By: Sujan Patel, Search Engine Watch

Make Your 2013 Marketing Resolutions Now

Adria Saracino has 13 resolutions marketers should consider as New Years Eve draws closer. It spans from communication, to personal development, to strategic focus, and beyond.

Analysis By: Adria Saracino, Search Engine Watch

7 Questions For Your New PPC Manager

Search Engine Watch lists 7 important questions to ask your new PPC manager.

Analysis By: Melissa Mackey, Search Engine Watch

Forbes 30 Under 30

Forbes details the 30 most influential entrepreneurs, innovators and creative trend setters under 30. Unfortunately, Jake came in at 32 on the list and was not included.

Analysis By: Caroline Howard, Forbes

16 Things You Forgot Happened In 2012

Mashable recalls 16 things you probably forgot happened in 2012.

Analysis By: Mashable

Tom Anderson Pwns A Twitter User, Who Then Deletes His Account

Make fun of Myspace co-founder Tom Anderson all you want; he cashed in selling the site, and won’t hesitate to tell you about it if you rip him publicly. If I ever made nine figures off a website, there’s absolutely nothing you could say that would offend me.

Analysis By: Todd Wasserman, Mashable