SEARCHENGINES
Google Ads Testing Paid Customer Support Options

Google is testing a paid version of customer support for its advertisers who use Google Ads. Google said this is a “paid pilot” where its “smallest customers can receive specialized, one-on-one support, tailored to their specific needs.”
Google did not post anything about this on their blog or support channels, but a Google spokesperson emailed us at Search Engine Land about this.
Google said this paid pilot is based on “customer feedback” where Google Ads is experimenting with options “to improve and rethink our Ads customer experience,” the company told us.
The paid level support will offer its smaller customers the same level of support some of its largest customers get. Google did tell us that “these changes are part of a long term strategy that we’ll be building on overtime, testing and learning as we go.” That is a bit concerning in that maybe Google will also require large customers to pay for one-on-one support in the future?
This is just a test, and it is not available to all small advertisers now, Google may expand this over time after the pilot is over.
Google said agencies working with customers included in this pilot will also be able to schedule specialized paid support consultations tailored to their clients’ specific needs.
What It Looks Like
Here is a screenshot of Google offering this through the Google Ads interface, this was spotted by Lomaxx PPC on Twitter. You can see an appointment here costs 40£ ($50) per call, I am told the time limit is currently up to 45 minutes (but that may change):
Community Reaction
Honestly, it just seems weird to me that this would be something advertisers would have to pay for. I get if you are hiring a third-party consulting agency, you would pay them, but to pay the advertising network to support you on their ad platform, that just seems off to me.
The idea that Google would charge smaller advertisers to actually have access to decent support is gross.
How we have let these platforms get away with not offering even basic customer service to paying advertisers continues to be mind blowing.#PPCChat
— Julie F Bacchini (@NeptuneMoon) August 16, 2023
Absolutely horrible idea. Imagine if any other company did this. #ppcchat
— Melissa L Mackey (@beyondthepaid) August 16, 2023
Based on the examples provided, I would hope they don’t charge a lot. Sounds like it’s more of account tune-up items which a business might typically pay a consultant to help with anyway.
….or just ping #ppcchat for free 😉
— Greg (@PPCGreg) August 16, 2023
IMO I think this is counterintuitive and may backfire on Google. We’ve seen the work of rep recommended accounts, it usually creates more business (account rescue missions/audits) for agencies. (Assuming this is the same level of expertise support reps for small accounts have now
— Pauline Jakober (@GrpTwentySeven) August 16, 2023
The gall of Google to charge for this is just amazing to me. Imagine being charged by Verizon or AT&T every time you called support with an issue. YOU’RE ALREADY PAYING THEM FOR THEIR SERVICE
— Melissa L Mackey (@beyondthepaid) August 16, 2023
Straight garbage.
— Anthony Higman (@AnthonyHigman) August 16, 2023
Heightism at its worst.
— AlexHarford-TechSEO (@AlexHarfordSEO) August 16, 2023
Forum discussion at Twitter.
SEARCHENGINES
Google Hanukkah Decorations Are Live For 2023

Hanukkah (aka Chanukah) starts this coming Thursday night, December 7th. Google has added its Hanukkah decorations to the Google Search results interface to celebrate. Google does this every year and I expect to see the same rollout in the coming weeks for Christmas and Kawanzaa but for now, since Chanukah is in the coming days, we have the Hanukkah decorations live at Google Search.
Here is a screenshot of the Chanukah decorations as they look like on the mobile search results.
You can see it yourself by searching on Google for [chanukah], [hanukkah], but not yet [חֲנוּכָּה] or other spelling variations yet but it should soon. It looks better on mobile than it does on desktop results.
To see the past, the 2023 decorations, 2021 decorations, 2020 Chanukah decorations, 2019 Google holiday decorations, the 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010 and so on.
Happy Chanukah, everyone!
Forum discussion at X.
SEARCHENGINES
Google Pay Accepted Icons In Google Search Results

Google seems to be testing a Google Pay Accepted label or icon in the Google search results. This label has the super G logo followed by the words “Pay accepted” words next to search result snippets that support Google Pay and notate such in their structured data.
This was first spotted by Khushal Bherwani who shared some screenshots of this on X – here is one:
Here are some more screenshots:
Here is test and without test window for same query. pic.twitter.com/n9cYWBOsro
— Khushal Bherwani (@b4k_khushal) October 20, 2023
Brodie Clark also posted some screenshots after on X:
In continuation from the test from October, Google is now testing out a new Google Pay label associated with organic results. Last month, Google was testing Pay Accepted text, with this month changing it to Pay encrypted checkout. More details: https://t.co/MvFNoPmMDR pic.twitter.com/WDVVc4RbTO
— SERPs Up 🌊 (@SERPalerts) November 30, 2023
I tried to replicate this but I came up short.
This is not the first time Google had similar icons like this in its search results.
Forum discussion at X.
SEARCHENGINES
Google Discover Showing Older Content Since Follow Feature Arrived

Typically, Google Discover shows content that is less than a day old, but it can show content that is weeks, months, or even years old. However, typically, Google will show more recent content in the Discover feed. Well, that may have changed with the new Google follow feature.
Glenn Gabe, who is a very active Google Discover user, noticed that since the Follow feature rolled out, he has been seeing content that is weeks and months old way more often than before the follow feature rolled out. Glenn wrote on X that “this could also be playing a role. i.e. Google isn’t providing as much recent content, but instead, focusing on providing targeted content based on the topics you are following.”
It makes sense that if you follow a specific topic and if Google Discover only shows the most authoritative types of content, it might be hard for Google to find new content on that topic. So it does make sense that Google may show older content more often for that specific topic you follow.
Here are screenshots Glenn shared:
Have you noticed this in your Discover feed?
Forum discussion at X.
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