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's Nick Fox questions the click-through studies on AI Overviews. Google touts its index freshness as an advantage for its AI services. Google Ads is testing a more compact segment dropdown menu. Google Merchant Center brings back product status changes. Bing is testing an updated image carousel. And Jill Whalen, industry legend, has passed at the young age of 63.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Google Questions AI Overview Click Studies & Says Web Is Thriving
Jason Howell on the AI Inside podcast had Nick Fox, VP of Search at Google, on a few weeks ago. In that interview, he said that the methodologies used by the click studies done on AI Overviews can be "questioned." He added, "from our point of view the web is thriving." -
Google Touts Its Index Freshness As A Win For Google AI
Google's Jeff Dean, the lead of Google AI and a Google veteran since 1999, highlighted Google's index freshness as one of its key advantages in its AI services. On X, Jeff posted, "Index freshness is something I and many others at Google have worked on for many years." -
Google Ads Tests Compact Segment Dropdown Menu
Google Ads is testing a new version of the segment dropdown menu within the advertiser console. The new version is a more compact version that displays more options on your screen simultaneously. -
Google Merchant Center Product Status Changes History Report Returning
Google appears to be reintroducing the "product status change" report within Google Merchant Center. This displays the historical changes of your product statuses and is a feature that was greatly missed. -
Bing Search Tests Updated Image Carousel With More Images
Microsoft is testing a new image carousel within the Bing Search results. This image carousel shows two rows of images, instead of one, has related searches with an arrow at the top of the carousel and a new larger squared off arrow format. -
The Industry Mourns The Loss Of Jill Whalen - Content SEO Hero & Legend
It is with a heavy heart that I am reporting that one of the founding pillars of the SEO industry, one of the first female SEOs in our industry, and one of the individuals who made the industry what it is today, has passed away. Jill Whalen retired from SEO over a decade ago after her fight to ensure SEOs take content seriously, over other factors, was victorious. -
Google Android XR Glasses & App
Here is a photo I found on Instagram of a close up of the new Google glasses with Android XR built in. You can also see it next to the app designed for it which seems to be named Google Martha?
Other Great Search Threads:
- Google will automatically enable conversion tracking for your free product listings using your existing gTag, Adriaan Dekker on LinkedIn
- New help videos are here! Our first tutorial, "Product Disapprovals: Troubleshoot & Fix in Merchant Center," is now available. Learn how to identify and resolve common product disapproval issues and get your pro, Google Merchant Center on X
- It's officially available on the Google app. The Images tab, an image feed like Google Discover, personalized by user. How does Google personalize the images in this new image feed? There are several things: - Image suggested b, Damien (andell) on X
- Interesting to see LinkedIn Advice drop pretty heavily over the past year or so (again). The content in that section starts off as all AI content and then users (sometimes) add their commentary and additional information. The section, Glenn Gabe on X
Search Engine Land Stories:
- SEO pioneer and content expert Jill Whalen passes away
- The latest jobs in search marketing
- 44 marketing initiatives where AI alone will fail
- Google Ads adds new “Conv. value (incl. predicted)” metric
- Google’s AI-powered Shopping ad ecosystem: Where to focus your strategy
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Common Reasons Behind GA4 & E-commerce Platform Data Mismatch, MeasureMinds
- File Downoads in GA4, KRM Digital Marketing
Industry & Business
- Apple Debates a Deal With Perplexity in Pursuit of AI Talent, Bloomberg
- Exclusive: Google wants to help cities build AI strategies, Axios
- Google offers to tweak search results to promote rivals, stave off EU antitrust fine, documents show, Reuters
- Meta Discussed Buying Perplexity Before Investing in Scale AI, Bloomberg
- Responsible AI Transparency Report, Microsoft
- Solar Company Sues Google for Giving Damaging Information in AI Overviews, Futurism
- Jony Ive Deal Removed from OpenAI Site Over Trademark Suit, Bloomberg
Links & Content Marketing
Local & Maps
- Google killed Maps Timeline, so I self-hosted a better one, Android Authority
- Pedestrian Apple Maps camera spotted getting footage in Leeds, The Tab
Mobile & Voice
- Apple sued over delays to AI-powered Siri, AppleInsider
- Introducing Oakley Meta Glasses, a New Category of Performance AI Glasses, Facebook
SEO
- AEO vs AIO vs GEO – What's The Difference?, Terakeet
- Google's Stance on Publisher Controls in the AI Age - Behind the Scenes, SISTRIX
- Localization SEO That Works: 10 Real-World Lessons from 14 Markets, Ahrefs
- Technical SEO for Ecommerce: Complete Guide to Drive Sales, SEO Testing
- What Has Changed in SEO? | Whiteboard Friday Revisited With Cyrus Shepard, Moz
- What Is Entity SEO?, Schema App Solutions
- Here Comes SEO For AI Search, Forbes
PPC
- How you can prove SEO & PPC drive revenue, PPC Hero
- It's Time to Rethink PPC KPIs, ZATO Marketing
- PPC Pricing: How Much Does PPC Management Cost in 2024, MeasureMinds
- Google Launches 1st Order Promotions for Shopping Ads, PPC News Feed
Other Search
- ChatGPT: Everything you need to know about the AI chatbot, TechCrunch
- Google's Gemini transparency cut leaves enterprise developers 'debugging blind', VentureBeat
- Naver to launch integrated AI agent for smarter search, The Korea Times
- AI Is Breaking The Internet. Can Bill Gross Fix It?, John Battelle's Search Blog
- ChatGPT Rules the LLM Space by a Wide Margin, But, Search Engine World
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