Matt G. Southern, Author at Search Engine Journal

About

Matt G. Southern, Senior News Writer, has been with Search Engine Journal since 2013. With a bachelor’s degree in communications, Matt specializes in gathering details, checking facts, and making complex subjects easy to understand. In addition to writing articles, Matt oversees strategy development for SEJ’s news department.

Articles

News
PPC

Ads for Google Products Featured in Top Position in 91% of Searches [STUDY]

Revealing data from a Wall Street Journal study suggests Google is advertising its own products at the top of search results 91% of the time.

2 min read
864 Reads
Jan 23, 2017

News
Tools

Qwant, a French Search Engine, Thinks it Can Take on Google — Here’s Why

French search engine Qwant has ambitious plans to one day beat Google at its own game.

3 min read
6.0K Reads
Jan 19, 2017

News
Tools

DuckDuckGo Hits Milestone 14 Million Searches in a Single Day

DuckDuckGo revealed it has hit a milestone of 14 million searches in a single day. In addition, the search engine is celebrating a combined total...

2 min read
82K Reads
Jan 19, 2017

Safari for iOS Adds Click-to-Call Button in Search Suggestions

It has been discovered that Safari for iOS is now returning click-to-call buttons in some of its search suggestions for local businesses.

2 min read
1.1K Reads
Jan 19, 2017

Careers
News

Matt Cutts Resigns from Google, Confirms He’s Staying With the US Digital Service

Matt Cutts, once the head of Google’s webspam team, confirmed his leave of absence from the company is permanent.

2 min read
6.1K Reads
Jan 19, 2017

Google Acquires Fabric, a Mobile App Development Platform

Fabric, one of the most popular mobile development platforms, has been acquired by Google.

2 min read
1.5K Reads
Jan 18, 2017

News
PPC

Bing Ads Now Lets You Schedule When Ad Extensions are Displayed in Search

Bing is giving advertisers more control over their ad extensions with the ability to schedule specific times for them to be displayed.

1 min read
613 Reads
Jan 18, 2017

Traffic From Google Home App Considered Direct Traffic in Google Analytics

It has been discovered that Google Analytics is reading clicks from the Google Home app as direct traffic.

2 min read
3.7K Reads
Jan 17, 2017

Google App on Android Will Save Searches if Connection Fails

Google has updated its Android app to benefit those who may find themselves running into spotty internet connections from time to time.

1 min read
266 Reads
Jan 17, 2017

News
SEO

Googlebot Crawl Budget Explained by Google’s Gary Illyes

“Crawl budget” is a loaded term made up of a lot moving parts. Gary Illyes, a Google Webmaster Trends Analyst, has explained exactly what crawl...

3 min read
5.0K Reads
Jan 16, 2017

Book an Uber Ride Directly in Google Maps on iOS and Android

Google Maps is rolling out a global update to its ride services mode which brings a new design and the ability to book rides directly...

2 min read
1.6K Reads
Jan 12, 2017

WordPress 4.7.1 Security Release Available, Immediate Update Recommended

A security release for all previous versions WordPress is now available, which the company strongly recommends all users upgrade to immediately.

2 min read
1.7K Reads
Jan 12, 2017

News
Tools

Google Recommends No Longer Using the Link: Operator

Google’s John Mueller recommends users no longer use the ‘link:’ operator in search.

2 min read
63K Reads
Jan 12, 2017

News
PPC

Google to Automatically Add Call Extensions to Mobile Ads in February

Google AdWords will be automatically adding call extensions to mobile ads beginning February 6, 2017.

2 min read
1.5K Reads
Jan 10, 2017

News
Tools

Yahoo Renames Itself as ‘Altaba’, CEO Marissa Mayer Resigns

Yahoo as we know it is no longer. CEO Marissa Mayer resigned, and remaining board members have chosen to rename the company as “Altaba Inc.”

2 min read
2.7K Reads
Jan 9, 2017

10 Ways to Get Ready for Google’s Mobile Interstitials Penalty

Ready for Google’s mobile interstitials penalty? If not, we have rounded up 10 pieces of expert advice.

7 min read
35K Reads
Jan 9, 2017

2016 in Review: Top US Marketing Search Terms of the Year

Bing has revealed the top marketing keywords searched for in 2016, according to Bing US search data.

2 min read
686 Reads
Jan 5, 2017

Google Assistant Coming Soon to Android TV

With Siri being thoroughly integrated into the latest Apple TV units, it was only a matter of time before Google Assistant made its way to...

1 min read
314 Reads
Jan 5, 2017

News
Tools

Bing Wants to Keep People Healthy in the New Year With These New Search Features

Bing announced a series of updates to its search results designed to make it easier for people to find health and fitness information.

2 min read
1.0K Reads
Jan 4, 2017

Google’s iOS App Updated With Native YouTube Support, Built-in Gboard, + More

Google’s iOS app received a fairly significant update, bringing with it several new features that will help users do more without having to leave the...

2 min read
734 Reads
Jan 4, 2017

Google Adds Recipe Suggestions to Mobile Search Results

Google has a new mobile interface for recipe search results, featuring recipe suggestions and newly designed recipe cards.

1 min read
663 Reads
Dec 29, 2016

Google Assistant vs. Siri: Which is the Best Smartphone AI? [INFOGRAPHIC]

Google Assistant vs. Siri – is one smartphone AI better than the other? We’ll leave that for you to decide with this infographic.

2 min read
4.3K Reads
Dec 28, 2016

Google Has 5 of the Top 10 Apps in 2016, According to Nielsen Rankings [REPORT]

Google claimed 5 spots in the list of top 10 downloaded apps of 2016 in latest Nielsen report.

1 min read
1.3K Reads
Dec 28, 2016

HTTPS Required for Collecting Sensitive Information in Chrome as of January 2017

Google has cautioned site owners that, at the end of January 2017, Chrome will mark sites without HTTPS as non-secure if they collect sensitive information.