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Google Search Console Canonical URL Reporting Bug Resolved

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Robot Canonical Documents Google Logo

From the end of July through just a couple of days ago, Google has had this weird error for some sites in Google Search Console. In short, Google Search Console was reporting the wrong canonical URL for some pages. Yesterday, September 4th, it seemed like Google fixed the issue.

The issue was first reported by Rafael Martin back on August 4th, eventually he wrote it up in detail on LinkedIn. I highly recommend you read his detailed write up.

But in short, Google Search Console was reporting the wrong canonical URL for some pages. The canonical URL is the URL Google says is the main URL for a specific page. So if you have a page like this and you add parameters to it, or you have a mobile version or an AMP version, all with different URLs, you can specify which page you want Google to consider the main URL, not the alternate URL – that is called the canonical URL.

This may have impacted e-commerce-related sites but not all, just some – it is not clear which sites were impacted by this.

Rafael Martin said on August 4th on Mastodon, ” In the GSC, the pages with the most links have radically changed. In my case, I have analyzed the first one with the most links (which, in principle, according to the structure of the site, should not have so many links). I check the pages that link to it, and most of them don’t have a link to it (as example one that is a pdf without any links to there). I don’t get it, it seems that google has mixed up some data and is missing out on search results.”

He shared these two screenshots documenting the issue:

461a8aacb7944d89

5f65813eb768bb4b

He was right, John Mueller of Google actually confirmed the issue yesterday on X after I prodded a bit and he said, “I think there were some weird things for a small number of sites around canonicalization, but not enough to merit making a post. It sounds like things are settling down now.”

Rafael was not just the only person to notice. There was a complaint, at least one, in the Google Webmaster Help Forums and Shaun Anderson also noticed this:

Yesterday, September 4th, Rafael wrote on Mastodon that it was fixed, he said, “Good news!!! I don’t have any G warnings, but by testing it seems that almost everything that affected this problem returns to normal. The videos appear in searches correctly again. The images too. We will wait for the recalculation of More Linked Pages.”

Google did not document the fix on the data anomalies Search Console page, so I asked John if this was on Google’s send. In which he replied, “I think there were some weird things for a small number of sites around canonicalization, but not enough to merit making a post. It sounds like things are settling down now.”

Shawn added, “Had me REALLY concerned last week. SC Audit data totally incorrect. I’ve now got audits and advice to completely redo.” Rafael also noted, ” I also understand the concern of affected SEOs and the explanations they have to give to their clients who expect results and that, as an SEO professional, not even they know what is happening. More than anything I think they are referring to this. Those of us who have been affected had a huge headache.”

So if you report on these types of elements to your clients, you may want to redo or annotate the issue that started towards the end of July and was fixed around September 4th.

Forum discussion at Mastodon and Twitter.



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Google Shopping Researched with AI

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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.



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

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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.

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

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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.

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