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 Business Profiles has new FAQs feature to let you automate some of your messaging with customers over Google Search and Google Maps. Google is testing "reviews aren't verified" labels in Google local business listings. Google's people also ask feature has returned to normal levels. Google's local pack shows an hours filter that also lets you filter by day of the week. Google's search timer and stopwatch just stopped working.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Google Business Profiles Messaging FAQs For Automated Responses To Customers
Google My Business has added a new feature to automate responses to customer messages through Google Search and Google Maps. It is a frequently asked question section where you enter the FAQs, and Google can respond with answers when the customer's question match. - Google People Also Ask Back To Normal Levels
Ten days ago, we reported that the people also ask feature dropped down 30 percentage points in terms of how often the feature is shown in Google Search. Well, now it seems to be back in full force, according to RankRanger and Semrush. - Google Tests "Reviews Aren't Verified" Label
Google is testing a new label to notate that the reviews aren't verified in Google Search and Google Map. The label is above the reviews in the local business listing and it says "reviews aren't verified." - Google Local Pack Hours Filter By Day Of Week
Google Search's local pack has for a long time let you filter the local results by hours of operation. But I am not sure when Google added by the day of the week. I am not sure if this is new but I don't think I've seen it before. - Google Search Timer & Stopwatch Stop Ticking
The Google countdown timer and stopwatch feature seem to have stopped working. It seemed the Google stopwatch stopped ticking on July 19th. This feature first came up in Google about a decade ago. - Store Sign: Coffee Shop Near Me
Here is a store with a sign, I assume its name is this, "coffee shop near me." Yea, the store is named Coffee Shop Near Me. Now try finding that store on Google. This reminds me of the dental office
Other Great Search Threads:
- I'll leave you with this final video of Explore based on a search for "best seo bloggers". I think Google's Explore algo ran out of ideas. Watch the progress (and categories) as I enter Explore and scroll down. Wow, Glenn Gabe on Twitter
- Maybe? I can't tell from just that. I suspect the HTML-encoding is unnecessary ("&" is probably just "&"), assuming you copied the URL from t, John Mueller on Twitter
- Signal manipulation is still possible. I have observed a fake site avoiding Google's anti-spam algorithms over the last 12 months with peak in performance marked since May 2022 core update. Fascinating stuff and lots to learn from. DM m, DEJAN on Twitter
- We’ve been working to make high-quality video ad creation easier for businesses of all sizes. Video creation is now fully launched in Google Ads Asset Library. You can also quickly add voice-over to your new & existing video, AdsLiaison on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google adds automated messaging through Business Profiles frequently asked questions
- Google launched three new ad creation tools
- Google Search Console adds CNAME DNS verification
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Google Analytics 4 – The Change You Have to Make Happen Now, Dealer Marketing Magazine
- What Marketers Should Do Before GA4’s 2023 Debuts, CMSWire
Industry & Business
- Google Adds Support for DNS-over-HTTP/3 in Android to Keep DNS Queries Private, The Hacker News
- Google Announces Hiring Pause, The Information
- Limits on personal data gathering by Google, Facebook, others advance in U.S. House, Reuters
- Amazon Breaks Lobbying Record Amid Antitrust Fight, Bloomberg
Links & Content Marketing
- If Google Steals Your Clicks, Why Does SEO Even Matter?, Content Marketing Institute
- Small Business Content Marketing Trends | Study, MarketingProfs
Local & Maps
- Ask a Googler: Terrance, Local Guides Connect
- How to flag scam reviews in Google Maps and Search, 9to5Google
- US President Joe Biden mocked over bike fall as ‘Brandon Falls’ location added to Google Maps, Cycling Weekly
Mobile & Voice
- Alexa Adds Flexibility for Multi-Voice Assistant Devices, Voicebot
- Amazon is automating Alexa through routines, assistants and universal commands, The Verge
- Android Auto music apps see design tweaks with latest updates, 9to5Google
SEO
- 404 vs 410 - The Technical SEO Experiment, Reboot Online
- How GoDaddy's Websites + Marketing service improved customer Core Web Vitals by 75%, Web Dev
- Schema - why you NEED Yoast SEO to do it right!, Yoast
- SEO Reporting: How to tell if your SEO strategy is working, Search Metrics
- SEO Split Test Result: Adding Local Intent Keywords to Headings, Semrush
PPC
- 5 Crafty Ways to Split Test Your Google Shopping Ads, WordStream
- Display & Video 360 API Annual Developer Survey 2022, Google Ads Developer Blog
- Give every video ad a voice-over with new text-to-speech feature in Google Ads, Google Ads Help
- New asset management and video ad creation solutions, Google Blog
Search Features
- SearchResearch Bonus Challenge (July 20, 2022): What's a large US city with very low population density?, SearchReSearch
- Suicide prevention resources on Google Search, Google Blog
Other Search
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