Daily Search Forum Recap: January 7, 2025

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 is trying to trick Bing users to thinking they are using Google. Google Search Console's 24 hour view now is exportable, by hour, for the last 24-hours. Google Search Partner Network have a 37% lower ROAS than normal Google Search Ads. Google added first registration attribute to vehicle ads. Google is testing people also ask and people also search for refinements.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Google Search Console Performance Reports Now Exports Hourly Data
  Google now added the new 24-hour hourly data from the performance report in Google Search Console to the export functionally. So now you can export hourly data, the most recent data, from Google Search Console's performance report.
• Report: Google SPN Placement Have A 37% Lower ROAS vs Google Search
  Google Ads SPN, search partner network, has a 37% lower ROAS, return on ad spend, for shopping campaigns on Google Ads when compared to Google Search ads, directly. Mike Ryan wrote this on LinkedIn, saying, "SPN is a budget buy. It doesn't convert as well, but it also doesn't cost as much. I crunched the numbers for you, and the Shopping via SPN has a ROAS 37% lower than Google Search."
• Google Vehicle Ads Gains Date First Registered Attribute
  Google has added a new attribute to its vehicle ads product attributes. The new attribute is [date_first_registered], the date of when the vehicle had its first registration date with the public authorities or government.
• Google Tests People Also Ask & People Also Search For Refinements
  Google is testing new search refinement options to let users expand their queries for the people also ask and people also search sections of the search results. We've seen numerous variations of this over the years but here are new ones.
• Microsoft Tricking Bing Users To Thinking They Are On Google
  About a month ago, a reader sent me a screenshot of Bing showing this weird search box on its page after you search for Google. I thought it was some weird Microsoft Rewards promotion and took it at that and moved on. I was wrong, tons of publications are now saying this is Microsoft's way of tricking Bing users to thinking they are using Google Search.
• Google Painted Volkswagen
  Here is a photo I randomly found on Instagram of a Volkswagen painted in Google's colors. I am not sure why someone would do this, but it was done. The photo looks pretty old, to be honest.

Other Great Search Threads:

• Might not be new, but on message leads in Local Services Ads, Google is now hiding the last four numbers of the leads phone number and you have a click "show number" to see the leads phone number. This is only on message leads, t, Anthony Higman on X
• For eCommerce businesses that have an online store and physical locations – this is a non-brainer to have in place (many sites don't). Within Google Merchant Center Next, there is a section that you can access under Settings Ad, Brodie Clark on X
• I decided to just work today and then take the rest of the week off. Let's see if that works :), John Mueller on Bluesky
• insane thing: we are currently losing money on openai pro subscriptions! people use it much more than we expected., Sam Altman on X
• Just watched John Wick 4, did a quick search to see if they are making a 5th one. This is the abysmal state of Google and the internet as we go into 2025. : r/mildlyinfuriating, Reddit
• Search Quality Evaluator GPT, SEOFOMO News
• There is no action to take to opt out of or change an account’s segment designation. Specific instructions and deadlines are sent to the emails of account administrators to ensure minimal disruption to th, AdsLiaison on X
• Thoughts about internal linking in 2025, BlackHatWorld
• Sorry about this. That looks to be a featured snippet, a long-standing feature that isn't AI generated. It highlights text from a page; in this case, the page apparently had the wrong time. I can't replicate this now, but I'll pass this on., Google SearchLiaison on Mastodon

Search Engine Land Stories:

• Instacart expands foodservice advertising
• Google updates financial products policy for crypto ads
• How to fix the ‘Page with redirect’ error in Google Search Console
• Optimizing LLMs for B2B SEO: An overview

Other Great Search Stories:

Industry & Business

• Google should be forced to bargain with contractor's union, US labor agency says, Reuters
• Reddit's Google sub has transformed into a long list of criticisms as mods appear absent, Android Police
• Reflections, Sam Altman
• Microsoft to invest $3 billion to expand AI, cloud capacity in India, Reuters

Links & Content Marketing

• Author Bio Pages: Examples, Tips, and How to Write Your Own, Digital Commerce Partners
• Top Google Searches (January 2025), Ahrefs

Local & Maps

• Google Maps is over! The tech giant complies with EU orders to remove navigation services from search results, Jason Deegan
• Maximizing Google Ranking Factors for Local Businesses, Search Engine People

Mobile & Voice

• Apple will more clearly label Apple Intelligence notification summaries soon, Engadget
• Apple working to update AI feature after BBC complaint, BBC
• Apple, Google, and Samsung will accept Matter certification of smart home products, The Verge
• Apple’s future Home devices have a key feature in common that explains a lot, 9to5Mac
• CES 2025: Google TV Gets Gemini AI Added to Voice Controls, Bloomberg
• Gemini AI smarts are coming to Google Home to make the Assistant a better conversationalist, Engadget
• Gemini getting ready to replace Google Assistant on Wear OS , 9to5Google
• Your Samsung Galaxy Smartwatch could soon become a James Bond-style TV remote, TechRadar

SEO

• Case Study: Does Schema Affect Visibility in SearchGPT's Local Search Results?, Adster Creative
• Google December 2024 Spam Update Analysis - 5 Case Studies Covering Scaled Content Abuse, AI Content, Doorway Pages, and more, GSQI
• How to Find All Existing and Archived URLs on a Website, Moz

PPC

• Ad Scheduling Compatibility, PPC News Feed
• Google Ads Policy Change and Impact on Branded Searches, Cypress North
• Google Plays Catch-Up in Video Ad Tech as Streaming Ads Take Off, The Information
• The Ultimate Guide to Audiences in Google Ads, PPC Hero
• Callout Assets Replace Descriptions in Search Ads, PPC News Feed

Search Features

• AI is weaving itself into the fabric of the internet with generative search, MIT Technology Review
• Apple steps up expansion of its News platform, Financial Times (Sub)

Other Search

• Google is forming a new team to build AI that can simulate the physical world, TechCrunch
• Google's Most Serious Rival Isn't Microsoft But Startup Perplexity, Bloomberg

Feedback:

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