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.
Microsoft Bing will be launching a major relevancy and quality improvement to the new Bing AI Chat on Thursday. The Google Business Profile "profile strength" feature is live and local SEOs are not happy. Gary Illyes spoke about nofollow, noindex directives on pages that 301, 302 redirect. Microsoft Bing has increased the pricing for the Bing Search API. Google Ads is testing disabling the opt out campaign setting for the display ad network. I posted a vlog with Sam Michelson today.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Microsoft To Release Major Quality Improvement For Bing AI Chat On Thursday
A major quality improvement should be coming to the new Bing AI Chat feature on Thursday, February 23rd said Mikhail Parakhin, the CEO of Advertising and Web Services at Microsoft. - Google Ads Tests Disabling Opt Out Of Search Partners & Display Network
A week ago, Thanos Bertes posted on LinkedIn, which I found via Mike Ryan on Twitter, that Google Ads disabled the ability in campaign settings to easily opt out of your campaigns being also shown in the Google Search Partner network and the Google Display Network. - Google Business Profile Profile Strength Widget Now Live & Many Local SEOs Not Happy
Last June, Google began testing a "profile strength" widget or status icon that shows you if you need to do more with your Google Business Profile. Well, that just went live on Friday and seemed to be fully rolled out. But many local SEOs are not happy with it. - Google's Gary Illyes On Noindex With Redirects
What happens when the noindex, nofollow directives are in the HTTP header and that URL is also being redirected somewhere, will Google respect or ignore the directive. Gary Illyes from Google hinted that Google will likely ignore the directive to be safe. - Microsoft Bing Search APIs Price Going Up 10x
Microsoft is increasing the price of using the Bing Search APIs by 10x the current cost, effective May 1, 2023, the company posted. That includes using the API for Bing image search, news search, video search, visual search, web search, entity search and more. - Vlog #211: Sam Michelson & Client Business Development
Sam Michelson was in town, and he is the CEO of Five Blocks, a digital reputation management firm based in Jerusalem, Israel. We spoke about how Sam started... - John Mueller With Smoke Coming Out Of Head
There is a saying about smoke blowing out of ones... Well, this is John Mueller of Google posting a funny photo of himself with smoke blowing out from behind his head.
Other Great Search Threads:
- A new "Conversion Differences" report for understanding discrepancies in conversions between Google Ads and Google Analytics 4 is now available in the Google Merchandise Store demo account!, Charles Farina on Twitter
- Microsoft is hiring 4 + Director of SEOs.... This comes on the heels of: -10,000 employee layoffs -Bing search taking the world by storm, Shalom Goodman on Twitter
- Nothing has changed here. For more background see: https://t.co/zuOl2zdFD0 #ppcchat, Ginny Marvin on Twitter
- To mark Black History Month, @TheFCDC published a report showing the race gap in SEO authorship The industry is far from achieving equality, and we wanted to show just how wide the gap is We collected data from, Chima Mmeje on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- The big concern for publishers is when AI becomes the journalist
- How the YouTube algorithm works: What marketers need to know
- What is short-form content? Your guide to when and how to use it
- This day in search marketing history: February 17
- Susan Wojcicki, the CEO of YouTube, is stepping down
- Googlers urged to help improve Bard, its AI chatbot
- Ads for cannabis are now allowed on Twitter
- Where is SEO in the business hierarchy?
- 8 aspects of a sustainable SEO strategy
- Microsoft: Searchers happy with Bing’s AI-powered results despite technical glitches
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- How to Track User Interactions in GA4 for a B2B Site, Measure Minds Group
Industry & Business
- A personal update from Susan, YouTube Blog
- After cutting 12000 jobs, Google is hiring for multiple positions in India, India Today
- Founder who sold his startup to Google says the company has lost focus, CNBC
- Google Racial Pay Discrimination Suit Is Poised to Advance, Bloomberg
- Google, Twitter, Meta face tougher EU online content rules, Reuters
- How Google Ran Out of Ideas, The Atlantic
- The Race Gap in SEO Authorship 2023 [Report], Freelance Coalition
- YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki is leaving, replaced by Neal Mohan, Vox
- Google Lays Off 453 Employees In India Report, BW Businessworld
Links & Content Marketing
- 21 Copywriting Mistakes to Avoid for Better Marketing Results, WordStream
- Introducing ClarityAutomate Link Optimizer: Automated Link Architecture, seoClarity
- Content Research: 9 Actionable Tips to Master It, Ahrefs
Local & Maps
- Use Google Maps, Pixel and more to start running, Google Blog
Mobile & Voice
- iOS 16.4 will let web apps on your homescreen send push notifications, The Verge
- Ray-Ban Stories: How We Built Our First Smart Glasses, Meta
- iOS 16.4 reintroduces new HomeKit architecture, 9to5Mac
SEO
- A Simple SEO Strategy Model, SEO Theory
- Google PageSpeed Insights helps make your site faster, Yoast
- Total Blocking Time (TBT) ‒ Everything You Need To Know, Onely
Search Features
Other Search
- Microsoft Considers More Limits for Its New A.I. Chatbot, New York Times
- Microsoft increases Bing Search API pricing by up to 1000%, gHacks Tech News
- Microsoft is multiplying prices for Bing data (and damaging the internet ecosystem), SISTRIX
Feedback:
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