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.
Google may be texting businesses to validate their information within their Google Business Profiles. Google no longer allows you to opt out of education Q&A carousels. Google is testing showing follower counts in the search results. Google now supports 50 countries for return details in structured data. Google Ads API version 13.1 is now available.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Google Ads API Version 13.1 Now Available
Google has released Google Ads API version 13.1, and below is a list of what changed. The big changes include bid simulations retrievals, added several recommendation types related to Shopping campaigns, and much more. - Google Texting Businesses To Validate Google Business Profile Information
Google may be sending text messages to business owners to verify that the information they have listed in their Google Business Profile is accurate and up-to-date. This text comes from a confirmed Google phone number, but some local SEOs are worried that this is not really coming from Google. - Google Tests Displaying Follower Counts In Search Result Snippets
Google is testing showing the number of followers a specific social media account has in the mobile search results. You usually see this information in the snippet itself, but Google is testing showing the count also directly below the site name, in place of where the URL would be. - Google Now Supports 50 Countries For Return applicableCountry Property
Google has noted that it now supports 25 more countries for the applicableCountry property within the new return policy information to the Product structured data documentation. Now Google supports 50 countries for this property. - You Can No Longer Opt Out Of Google's Education Q&A Carousel
Google has removed the ability to opt out of Education Q&A carousel in its search results. The original help documentation had a section with a link to a form to request not to show your content in the Education Q&A carousel, which was now removed. - Easter Cakes at Google Netherlands
Here is a photo from a few weeks ago of some of the cakes the Google Netherlands office had on Easter. They are Easter cakes with bunny ears and eyes, carrots and more Easter colors.
Other Great Search Threads:
- We do indeed sitemap files sometimes, mostly when someone links to them for whatever reason. If you don't like to see them in the results, add the noindex header Martin suggested., Gary Illyes on Twitter
- In which I give my opinion on the GSC APIs & rocket science. With a special @Aurora_Morales cameo, Daniel Waisberg on Twitter
- Search console will continue reporting this for quite some time, but it's not a problem. 404's, 410's are fine. That's how the web works. It's not something you have to clean up in the report., John Mueller on Twitter
- The anonymized queries are documented in the help center page & the blog post (which it looks like you have). There's not more information on it. For what you're doing, I'd use data exports and filter/sort that way (either CSV/Sheets or Big Query)., John Mueller on Twitter
- Ugh...let me tell you how to do this job. Respond with, "you're right. This is spam. I've fixed it." Then, "looks like the original report was missed, and we're going to find the root cause & fix that too." This response is, Joel Headley on Twitter
- We have an issue on some Edge browser instances where the Sidepane can't read the content of the active Tab, even when all the permissions are given. Especially affecting the Dev version of Edge. Should be fixed today/to, Mikhail Parakhin on Twitter
- I don't think Google has a preference per-se. It's almost certain that things rank subtly differently, but that's probably more anecdotal, and not by design. Try it out. I imagine the biggest effect is really on the user-side, which is more about your bot, John Mueller on Mastodon
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Meta’s ad revenue is up 4.3% in Q1
- TikTok Shop launches in Beta
- Google Ads is testing a gold verification badge
- The SEO hierarchy of needs for local businesses on a budget
- Google updates site names in search results after numerous complaints
- Google now supports 25 more countries with new return policy structured data
- How to uncover the root cause of PPC performance changes
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Prevent SGTM From Setting The FPID Cookie, Simo Ahava's blog
Industry & Business
- Google Has Eliminated Some Favorite Office Snacks to Cut Costs: Report, Business Insider
- Yandex Announces First Quarter 2023 Financial Results, Yandex
Links & Content Marketing
- Big Brand Link Building in the Age of Generative AI ft Jeremy Moser, iPullRank
- Should SEOs adopt a content mindset?, SERP's Up SEO Podcast
- How To Interview a Job Candidate in a Style Fit for a Content Marketer, Content Marketing Institute
Local & Maps
- A Google Maps-like Timeline could come to your phone’s system settings, Android Police
- Russia Ukraine invasion: Google Maps shows devastating impact of Russia's invasion in Ukraine's Mariupol, 9 News
Mobile & Voice
- Apple AR headset in final sprint for assembly before WWDC, AppleInsider
- All the Most Useful “Hey Google” Voice Commands, How To Geek
SEO
- Google's Front Row Seat: Proven Methods to Secure First-Page Rankings in 2023, I Love SEO
- Intro to Search Console APIs - Google Search Console Training, Google Search Central YouTube
PPC
- Announcing new music ad solutions to reach Gen Z, Google Blog
- Removing support for PHP 7 in the Google Ad Manager SOAP API Client Library for PHP, Google Ads Developer Blog
Search Features
- News Showcase is launching in Belgium, Google Blog
Other Search
- Robust and efficient medical imaging with self-supervision, Google AI Blog
- Google Chrome tests dynamic menu theming on desktop, Android Police
Feedback:
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