Google: BERT now used on almost every English query

BERT powers almost every single English based query done on Google Search, the company said during its virtual Search on 2020 event Thursday. That’s up from just 10% of English queries when Google first announced the use of the BERT algorithm in Search last October. In December 2019, Google expanded the use of BERT to…

Google Search Console temporarily drops request indexing feature

Google said it has disabled the “Request Indexing” feature of the URL Inspection Tool within Google Search Console. The feature has been disabled “in order to make some infrastructure changes.” Google said the feature should return in the coming weeks. The announcement. Google posted this announcement on Twitter: We have disabled the “Request Indexing” feature…

Customizable Amazon Sponsored Display ads go live globally

Amazon has rolled out the ability for eligible advertisers to add their brand logo and customize the headline in Sponsored Display ads. The customized Sponsored Display units can run on product description pages, customer reviews, shopping results pages and under the Featured Offer. The ads render responsively to fit inventory units on the web, mobile…

Status update on the Google indexing bugs

A couple of weeks ago we reported on a number of indexing bugs with Google Search. Google has updated us on Twitter with a status update on those bugs. Mobile-indexing bug. The mobile-indexing bug is now 99% resolved, with almost all the URLs being restored. The mobile-indexing bug was when Google failed to select any…

Yelp introduces new ‘business accused of racist behavior’ consumer alert

Yelp announced two initiatives designed to fight racism and promote diversity and inclusion among local businesses. The company expanded a relationship with non-profit consortium Open to All to make training resources available “for small and medium-sized businesses to uplevel their diversity and inclusion practices.” The other initiative could prove more controversial. Yelp said it will…

Congressional report blasts Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook as monopolistic ‘gatekeepers’ of the digital economy

According to an exhaustive report issued yesterday by the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook wield monopoly power over their respective markets. Produced after more than a year of fact-finding and testimony the Congressional report (.pdf) recommends a host of remedies, including “structural separation” (divestiture) to restore competition and prevent a…

Bing rebrands as Microsoft Bing, expands Give with Bing

Microsoft has rebranded Bing, the company announced Monday, to incorporate the parent name. The now-dubbed “Microsoft Bing” also has a new logo. The company also announced an expansion of Give with Bing, an extension of Microsoft Rewards that lets users donate their points to a nonprofit organization of their choice, alongside the rebrand. The previous…