Connect with us

SEARCHENGINES

Google Maps Details How It Handles Review Spam & Policy Enforcement

Published

on

Google Maps Details How It Handles Review Spam & Policy Enforcement

I believe for the first time, Google has provided more detail on how it handles review spam policy enforcement for Google Maps. The search company wrote a blog post, accompanied by a short video, describing what they do to tackle issues with reviews in Google Maps.

The blog post goes over the policies, the enforcement of the policies, how Google moderates reviews with machine learning and human help and more.

Here is the video if you want to watch it first or not:

Google said “when governments and businesses started requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccine before entering certain places, we put extra protections in place to remove Google reviews that criticize a business for its health and safety policies or for complying with a vaccine mandate.” So I asked some local SEO experts on this and this is what I heard:

Google added it uses both humans and algorithms to fight review spam, and machine learning is Google’s “first line of defense,” the company said. Google’s algorithms look at reviews from these angles:

  • The content of the review: Does it contain offensive or off-topic content?
  • The account that left the review: Does the Google account have any history of suspicious behavior?
  • The place itself: Has there been uncharacteristic activity — such as an abundance of reviews over a short period of time? Has it recently gotten attention in the news or on social media that would motivate people to leave fraudulent reviews?

Google’s automated methods look for patterns, Google disclosed a couple patterns it looks for including (1) a group of people leaving reviews on the same cluster of Business Profiles to a business or (2) a single place receiving an unusually high number of 1 or 5-star reviews over a short period of time.

Google said its “human operators regularly run quality tests and complete additional training to remove bias from the machine learning models.”

But while the automated methods act quickly, sometimes things do need human review. And humans can flag reviews in the platform for human review. Google said its “human operators works around the clock to review flagged content. When we find reviews that violate our policies, we remove them from Google and, in some cases, suspend the user account or even pursue litigation.”

Anyway, we all know Google has its issues, espesially with map spam and review spam – but it is nice to see Google trying to be more transparent about it – on some level.

Forum discussion at Twitter.




Source link

Keep an eye on what we are doing
Be the first to get latest updates and exclusive content straight to your email inbox.
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Invalid email address

SEARCHENGINES

Google Shopping Researched with AI

Published

on

Google Robot Shopping

Google Shopping is testing a new AI Overview answer titled “Researched with AI – Experimental.” This seems to pull together reviews for specific products based on Google Gemini AI.

I am told this was displayed in the Google Shopping interface for the query [TV] – I cannot replicate this.

But Khushal Bherwani shared a couple screenshots on X – here are one of those screenshots:

Google Shopping Researched With Ai

Bordie Clark was then able to replicate this and post this video of it in action:

Here are more:

This seems to replace the “AI Overview” with this “Researched with AI” specifically in Google Shopping. Although, it looks a lot like an AI Overview, just with a different title.

Forum discussion at X.



Source link

Keep an eye on what we are doing
Be the first to get latest updates and exclusive content straight to your email inbox.
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Invalid email address
Continue Reading

SEARCHENGINES

Google AI Overview Ads, New Link Format, AI Organized Search Results & Plus More

Published

on

Google Robot Typing

Google announced a bunch of new AI Search features including search ads finally rolling out to AI Overviews, the new link format rolling out, AI-organized search results, new AI shopping features, Google Lens and more.

Of course, Google announced this when I am offline, but at least I got a heads up a few hours prior. So I was able to write it up for Search Engine Land and here and schedule it.

Ads In Google AI Overviews

Google‭ Search‬‭ and‬‭ Shopping‬‭ Ads are now rolling out to AI Overviews. These ads will have the “Sponsored” label on them, like other search ads. Google said these ads now‬‭ available‬‭ for‬‭ mobile‬‭ users‬‭ in‬‭ the‬‭ US after several months of testing.

“People‬‭ have‬‭ been ‬‭fidning the‬‭ ads‬‭ within‬‭ AI‬‭ Overviews‬‭ helpful‬‭ because‬‭ they‬‭ can‬‭ quickly‬‭ connect‬‭ with‬‭ relevant‬‭ businesses,‬‭ products‬‭ and‬‭ services‬‭ to‬ take‬‭ the‬‭ next‬‭ step‬‭ at‬‭ the‬‭ exact‬‭ moment‬‭ they‬‭ need‬‭ them,” Google wrote.

Here is a screenshot of the ads in the AI Overviews, which look like they are under the AI Overviews:

Google Ai Overview Ads

Google is also rolling out Shopping‬‭ Ads‬‭ through‬‭ Google‬‭ Lens. Shopping‬‭ ads‬‭ will‬‭ appear‬‭ above‬‭ and‬‭ alongside‬‭ visual‬‭ search‬‭ results‬‭ by‬‭ the‬‭ end‬‭ of‬‭ the‬‭ year.‬

Google wrote, “For‬‭ example,‬‭ let’s‬‭ say‬‭ you’re‬‭ shopping‬‭ at‬‭ a‬‭ mall‬‭ and‬‭ a‬‭ backpack‬‭ displayed‬‭ in‬‭ a‬‭ store’s‬‭ window‬ ‭ catches‬‭ your‬‭ eye.‬‭ You‬‭ want‬‭ to‬‭ learn‬‭ more‬‭ — ‬‭ and‬‭ check‬‭ if‬‭ there’s‬‭ other‬‭ colors‬‭ available‬‭ — ‬‭ but‭ you’re‬‭ in‬‭ a‬‭ hurry.‬‭ Simply‬‭ tap‬‭ the‬‭ Lens‬‭ icon‬‭ in‬‭ the‬‭ search‬‭ bar,‬‭ snap‬‭ a‬‭ photo‬‭ or‬‭ upload‬‭ one‬‭ from‬ ‭ your‬‭ gallery‬‭ to‬‭ learn‬‭ more‬‭ about‬‭ the‬‭ product.‬‭ Lens‬‭ will‬‭ bring‬‭ together‬‭ our‬‭ advanced‬‭ AI‬‭ models‬ ‭ and‬‭ Google’s‬‭ Shopping‬‭ Graph‬‭ — ‬‭ which‬‭ has‬‭ information‬‭ on‬‭ more‬‭ than‬‭ 45‬‭ billion‬‭ products‬‭ — ‬‭ to‬ ‭ identify‬‭ the‬‭ exact‬‭ item‬‭ in‬‭ your‬‭ photo.‬”

Links Updated In AI Overviews

As Google showed us in August, Google has a new link format for AI Overviews that are now rolling out “globally to all countries where AI Overviews are available,” Google told us.

Google also told us, “with AI Overviews, we’re seeing that people have been visiting a greater diversity of websites for help with more complex questions.” “And when people click from search result pages with AI Overviews, these clicks are higher quality for websites — meaning users are more likely to spend more time on the sites they visit,” Google added.

They said they have seen a positive reception during testing, saying, “we’ve seen that this improved experience has driven an increase in traffic to supporting websites compared to the previous design, and people are finding it easier to visit sites that interest them.”

Here is the illustration Google posted:

Google Ai Overview Links

Here are the screenshots of this test we posted a few weeks ago:

Google Ai Overview Links Desktop

click for full size click for full size

AI-Organized Search Results

Also previously announced, Google is now rolling out AI-organized search results.

Google wrote, “we’re rolling out search results pages organized with AI in the U.S. — beginning with recipes and meal inspiration on mobile. Y ou’ll now see a full-page experience, with relevant results organized just for you. You can easily explore content and perspectives from across the web including articles, videos, forums and more — all in one place.”

Here is what it looks like:

Google Ai Organized Results

Plus, as I mentioned at Search Engine Land, there is also more on Google Lens and Shopping:

  • New multimodal Lens features. Google is launching the ability to search with video in Lens and ask complex questions about moving images (available through Search Labs) and voice input in Lens, so you can ask questions out loud while snapping a photo (or recording video) to more easily search what you see.
  • Shop easily with Lens. Google is now showing more helpful product information when using Lens for shopping, including a product’s price across retailers, reviews, or where to buy.

Source link

Keep an eye on what we are doing
Be the first to get latest updates and exclusive content straight to your email inbox.
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Invalid email address
Continue Reading

SEARCHENGINES

Google Ranking Volatility Record, Forbes Advisor Slapped, Bing Generative Search Experience & More

Published

on

Google Ranking Volatility Record, Forbes Advisor Slapped, Bing Generative Search Experience & More

We had more of the same Google ranking volatility but this time, we broke a record of the longest period of heated search ranking volatility ever. Google may have slapped Forbes Advisor with some sort of penalty. Bing generative search experience is now rolling out. I posted the big Google October 2024 webmaster report. Google Search Console released sticky performance filters. Google Search Console recommendations is now fully rolled out but more people see it. Danny Sullivan, Google’s Search Liaison, was interviewed again, this time by Aledya Solis. Google warned about using JavaScript generated product markup. Google spoke again about noindex versus canonical tags. Google said don’t use a generic coming soon page for new pages. Bing Search can get dates and times wrong for search snippets. Microsoft Advertising has a new ad console experience, and new diagnostics and performance snapshot. Bing is testing replacing the ad label with a sponsored label. Google Shopping is testing a new updated interface with expandable refinements. Google Local Service Ads has a new bidding option for target cost per lead. BingBot celebrated its 14th birthday. Google didn’t celebrate its 26th birthday for some reason. I am offline today and yesterday for Rosh Hashanah, so this video and post was pre-recorded and scheduled. The Google AI Overview news did not make it into the video, as I recorded it before I was given a heads-up on this news. That was the search news this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

Sponsor: BruceClay one of the founding fathers of the SEO space, doing search marketing optimization since 1996. Bruce Clay is big into SEO training, check out seotraining.com to learn more and check them out at bruceclay.com. Also, check out their new product, Prewriter.ai – this tool empowers writers to write better and more efficiently, so check it out.

Make sure to subscribe to our video feed or subscribe directly on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or your favorite podcast player to be notified of these updates and download the video in the background. Here is the YouTube version of the feed. For the original iTunes version, click here

Search Topics of Discussion:

Please do subscribe on YouTube or subscribe via iTunes or on your favorite RSS reader. Don’t forget to comment below with the right answer and good luck!

Source link

Keep an eye on what we are doing
Be the first to get latest updates and exclusive content straight to your email inbox.
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Invalid email address
Continue Reading

Trending