SEARCHENGINES

Daily Search Forum Recap: May 22, 2024

Published

3 weeks ago

May 23, 2024

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.

Google Marketing Live was yesterday and we covered all of the search ad announcements including that ads are coming to AI Overviews. I am seeing a possible Google ranking update, unconfirmed of course. Google and Bing both recommend you upgrade to WordPress 6.5 because it supports native lastmod elements in the sitemap files. There is this weird surge in Google Search Console performance reports for product snippets. Bing is testing search tag filters. Apple Maps may mark a business closed due to missing an address and/or business hours.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

Google Search Ranking Volatility Spike Around May 22

After a few days of calm Google weather, we are now seeing a spike in volatility, fluctuations and SEO chatter around Google search ranking movement. It is somewhat early on but I am seeing both a spike in SEOs noticing ranking movement and many of the tools are showing a spike in volatility.

Google Ads In AI Overviews, AI Shopping Ads, Brand Profile Ads & More AI Ad Tools

Google Marketing Live was yesterday, and the Google Ad team announced a ton of new AI formats, new ad tools, and changes to the Google Ads platform that are coming soon. The big items for me are ads in AI Overviews, new AI Shopping Ads, Brand Profile ads, and more AI tools to help you create your ads.

Unusual Surge In Google Search Console Product Snippets Search Performance

Google Search Console may have another data bug, maybe, this time with product snippets. If you look at your Search Performance report, then filter by search appearance for product snippets, you will likely see a surge in impressions and clicks over the past few days.

Google & Bing Say Upgrade To WordPress 6.5 To Gain Lastmod Sitemap Support

Google and Bing are recommending that those on WordPress to upgrade to version 6.5 because 6.5 now supports lastmod dates in the sitemap files natively. In fact, Fabrice Canel from Bing says this is a “game-changer.”

Bing Search Testing Tag Filters

Microsoft is testing a way to filter your Bing Search results based on tags. The tag filter is showing up for some searchers via a tab that you can click on via the right side of the page that will expand and show you tag filter options.

Apple Maps Listing Permanently Closed Over Missing Business Hours & Address

Did you know that Apple can mark a business listing within Appel Maps / Apple Business Connect, as permanently closed if that business listing is missing the business hours and business address and/or if the business hours and address do not match what is on the business’s website or other local listings (like on Yelp, Google Maps, etc)?

Google Golf Clubs

Here is a photo from a Google event named “Grow with Google” where there are Google branded gold clubs in this backdrop. You can see them in the golf bag on the right of the photo.

Other Great Search Threads:

Search Engine Land Stories:

Feedback:

Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, on Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky and you can follow us on Facebook and on Google News and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or just contact us the old fashion way.

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SEARCHENGINES

Daily Search Forum Recap: June 14, 2024

Published

1 day ago

June 15, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.

Google experiments sometimes cause problems for Google Search and they need to revert them. Google Business Profile websites now 404. Google Ads it testing new call and location extension formats. Google is testing a new from sources across the web snippets. SEO bloggers are the reason Googler’s don’t share as much, sorry. Plus, I posted the SEO video recap (in a daze).

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Weekend Volatility, Google On Search Leak, Elizabeth Tucker Interview, Apple Intelligence & More

Google Search had more weekend volatility, surprise, surprise. Google responded more to the search leak around Navboost, clicks and user interactions. I interviewed Google’s Elizabeth Tucker on the March core update and much more. Google said you can recover from the helpful content update after a core update…

Google: Sometimes Search Experiments Conflict Causing Issues

In the last Search Off The Record podcast, Gary Illyes from the Google Search team said that sometimes issues can arise within the Google Search results due to two experiments that conflict with each other. He said at the 19:41 mark, “Very often there are experiments that need to be rolled back because two experiments might interact very badly with each other.”

Google Business Profiles Websites No Longer Load – 404

Google Business Profiles websites, which stopped loading websites and began redirecting to the Google Business Profiles listing on Google Maps now completely 404 – as expected. It was supposed to stop working completely this past Sunday, but it did not stop working until later this week.

Google Tests New Call & Location Extension Ad Format

Google may be testing a new call extension and location extension ad format. This format shows up as a carousel of links or buttons that you can scroll through below the ad snippet in the search results.

Google Tests Multiple Featured Snippets Under From Sources Across The Web

Google is testing a new look for the “from sources across the web” search results feature. This one looks like the multiple features snippets look, with the perspectives design, but is titled under the “from sources across the web” search results.

I’m The Reason Googlers Don’t Reply With Nuance

Did you know that SEO bloggers, like myself, are the reason you see fewer and less nuanced responses from Google Search reps? John Mueller from Google said so on Reddit, where he wrote, “Love the SEO news/bloggers, but it also means I can’t reply to things with nuance publicly.”

Google Dinosaur Eating A Baby

Stan, the Google dinosaur, has a baby in its mouth, as if it is eating the baby. Stan is the Google dinosaur that is located at the GooglePlex, the Google Mountain View offices in California.

Other Great Search Threads:

SEO jobs are slightly down, but if you’re interviewing, you NEED to know how to negotiate You are way more valuable than you might realize Terrific guide via @CarolynLyden with tons of actionable strategies to increase your SEO salary, Cyrus SEO on X

SEO Tip: for the first time ever, Google is now testing Seller Ratings for organic listings outside of the US. Seller Rating rich results have been a default feature within the US for almost a year, now being expanded to other reg, Brodie Clark on X

Update on AI Overviews Inclusion Per Category: * Google is slowly adding more AIO in a few sectors after the update generating a big decrease, but nothing like what they were showing at the start. See the evolution of, Aleyda Solis on X

BTW, beyond just adding the end of my SMX presentation to YouTube, I’ve been toying with the idea of providing *concise* video podcasts covering interesting things I come across in ‘Google Land’. And by concise, I mean less than 15, Glenn Gabe on X

In talking with the recipe team, we think ratings probably mean more to readers if they’re associated with something more than just the rating alone. In particular, readers probably appreciate ratings that a, Google SearchLiaison on X

Seems like there was a big issue with GA4 while I was offline – it also seems the issue was just resolved, Barry Schwartz on X

This was a @rustybrick update on https://t.co/usdbVw3dzG, to clarify, Barry asked us why desktop was so flat so our dev increased the number of sample queries, caused a spike and had to normalise data appropriately. It was a hot day, but, DEJAN on X

Search Engine Land Stories:

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SEARCHENGINES

Daily Search Forum Recap: June 13, 2024

Published

2 days ago

June 14, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.

Google is testing description overlays on local photos in the Google local pack. Microsoft Bing is testing black review stars. Google said we should not let Googlebot crawl action URLs. Google is testing larger fonts for the snippet title link and smaller fonts for the site links. Google updated GA4 attribution models to associate conversions better to paid search campaigns. Reminder, I am offline today and this newsletter was pre-written and scheduled.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

Google Fixes GA4 Attribution Models To Better Associate Conversions To Paid Search

Google posted a notice that it fixed an issue where Google Analytics, GA4, would sometimes not credit the proper conversion attribution to the paid search campaign. Google said it will update the “attribution models in GA4 over the next two weeks to improve the accuracy of conversion credit for paid search campaigns.”

Google Tests Larger Fonts For Main Snippet Title Link & Smaller Font For Sitelinks

Google is testing a larger font size for the main search result title link, followed by smaller fonts for that same snippet’s sitelinks. This was spotted a few days ago by both Umair Khan on X and Lily Ray on X.

Google: Disallow Crawling Of Action URLs (Buy Now, Sign Up, etc)

Google posted a public service announcement saying you should disallow Googlebot from crawling your action URLs. Gary Illyes from Google posted on LinkedIn, “You should really disallow crawling of your action URLs. Crawlers will not buy that organic non-GMO scented candle, nor do they care for a wishlist.”

Bing Tests Black Review Stars In Search Results

Microsoft is testing using black-colored review stars in its Bing Search results. This is instead of the yellow or orange review stars. I am not sure why they are testing it in black, but they are.

Google Local Pack Photos With Labels

Google seems to be testing adding labels and descriptions on the photos within the local business profile listings. These are on both the carousel of images and on the detailed business profile page.

I’m Feeling Lucky Notebooks At Google

Here are some colorful notebooks that say “I’m Feeling Lucky” that were spotted at the GooglePlex, the Google office in Mountain View.

Programming Note: Offline For Shavuot On Wednesday & Thursday

This is a programming note that I will be completely offline for the holiday of Shavout/Shavous, from Tuesday night, June 11th, through late Thursday night, June 13th – I return Friday, June 14th. Any stories published here will be scheduled, written beforehand, and not written during the holiday hours.

Other Great Search Threads:

Search Engine Land Stories:

Feedback:

Note: This was pre-written and scheduled to be posted today, I am currently offline for Shavout.

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SEARCHENGINES

Daily Search Forum Recap: June 12, 2024

Published

3 days ago

June 13, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.

Yesterday I interviewed Google’s Elizabeth Tucker about the core update, the old helpful content update, Reddit, AI Overviews and the Google Search leak. Google now supports return policy markup at the organization level. Google Maps is testing QR codes in Business Profile listings. Google Ads will ad a new optional verification method. Google is testing shaded site names and favicons in the search results. Google has drop the home activities cards from its search results. As a reminder, I am offline today, this newsletter was pre-written and scheduled.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

I Interviewed Elizabeth Tucker, Googler Responsible For The March Core Update

Yesterday at SMX Advanced, I interviewed the Google executive who announced the March 2024 core update on the main Google blog. I asked Elizabeth Tucker a boatload of questions around SEO, the core update, the helpful content update, the search data leak and of course AI Overviews. Heck, I even made a comment about Reddit ruling the Google Search results.

Google Adds Return Policy Structured Data Support To Organization Level

Google has expanded its support for return policy structured data to allow you to add the return policy to the organization level, and not have to specify that policy on each and every product detail level. Last year Google began supporting return policies in structured data but at the individual product level – now it is also supported at the organization level.

Google Home Activity Removed From Search

Google Search no longer shows home activities after launching the feature just under four years ago. Google has pulled down the home activities structured data from its search developer documents last night and wrote, “The home activity feature no longer appears in Google Search results.”

Google Maps Tests QR Codes On Business Profiles

Google is testing QR codes on the Google Business Profile listings within Google Maps. The QR code shows on the right side of the action buttons (i.e. directions, save, share, etc).

Google Ads Adding New Optional Verification This Month

Google Ads announced it will add a new optional verification to verify the affiliation of the advertiser/individual with the organization they are verifying. This starts sometime this month, June 2024, but it is not clear to me what the new verification is exactly.

Google Tests Shaded Site Name & Favicon For Search Results

Google is testing shading the background color in gray behind the favicon and site name and URL for the mobile search results. It brings a little bit more of a design flair to the ten blue links, don’t you think?

Giant Spinning Rock At Google

At the Google visitor center they have this giant spinning rock. This rock is mounted on this device that slowly spins it in circles.

Programming Note: Offline For Shavuot On Wednesday & Thursday

This is a programming note that I will be completely offline for the holiday of Shavout/Shavous, from Tuesday night, June 11th, through late Thursday night, June 13th – I return Friday, June 14th. Any stories published here will be scheduled, written beforehand, and not written during the holiday hours.