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 Things to Know has been removed from the desktop search results. Google Local Services Ads is now showing three listings, up from two listings, on mobile. But Local Service Ads also are riddled with fake listings and reviews. Google product carousel shows product review content in "appears on these lists." Google is testing the search bar menu with search refinements. And I posted another vlog with Jaimie Clark, this one on the Google Products Reviews update, and Jon Clark, on SEO for Startups.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Google Tests Search Bar With Refinements Mixed With Vertical Navigation
Google is testing mixing the search bar, where you normally see the vertical search options like videos, maps, images, shopping, news, etc - but also showing refinements for your searches. - Google Products Carousel Displays Product Reviews Under Appears On These Lists
Google has a section named "appears on these lists" that will show you which product review content (or comparison lists) has mentioned the product you are looking at. This works both on desktop and mobile and is displayed after you click on a product in the product carousel or product grid on mobile. - Google Local Service Ads Seeing A Lot Of Fake Reviews
Google's Local Service Ads are supposed to be screened, guaranteed, and reviewed by someone contracted by Google. But supposedly, the reviews in many Local Service Ads are filled with fake reviews. - Google Now Showing Three Local Service Ads Listings
Google is now showing three local service ads listings in both the mobile and desktop interface. Previously, Google has shown two local service ads listings, but as Len pointed out on Twitter, Google is now showing three. The desktop interface has had three for some time, but mobile generally has shown only two listings. - RankRanger: Google Things To Know No Longer Showing In Desktop Search
The Google Things To Know box, which was announced at Google I/O, and eventually has been showing up for about 1% of desktop queries, is no longer showing up for any desktop query now, according to RankRanger data. - Vlog #183: Jaimie Clark On Google Product Reviews Update & Jon Clark On SEO For Startups
Jaimie and Jon Clark came for a visit and we all spoke SEO and a lot more. Jaimie Clark is the VP of SEO at Centerfield, she was previously the Head of SEO at Wirecutter, a New York Times company... - Google Pier 57
Months ago, Google opened up its new park area in New York City named Google Pier 57. Google has been hosting media events there, which I have yet to accept an invite to. But here is a photo of the G
Other Great Search Threads:
- GA4 is adding filters to their custom reports. To date all the standard reports shown when you log in are unfiltered. Admins can now apply filters, so all users see various subsets of data like US only, SEO only, or Mobile, Charles Farina on Twitter
- Google Under Pressure from Both Sides, WebmasterWorld
- Look at this collection of recommended books. I wonder if this works for Gates and others?, Adam J. Humphreys on Twitter
- My guess is time zone quirk., John Mueller on Twitter
- robots.txt prevents crawling, so if you're worried about overloading your server, that would be enough. It's unlikely that these URLs would appear, when, John Mueller on Twitter
- So Google thinks @elonmusk has an affair with Sergey Brin, Barry Schwartz on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- How To Build A Google Analytics 4 Landing Page Report In Less Than 4 Minutes, Search Engine Journal
Industry & Business
- Alphabet Stock Split Lands With a Thud in Worry-Filled Market, Bloomberg
- Pro-Russia authorities will ban Google in occupied regions of Ukraine, The Verge
- Congress Might Actually Pass ADPPA, the American Data Privacy and Protection Act, WIRED
- Google Fires Blake Lemoine, Engineer Who Called Its AI Sentient, Substack
- Sonos Wins Ruling on One Patent in Google Case Over Smart Audio, Bloomberg
- Elon Musk’s Friendship With Sergey Brin Ruptured by Alleged Affair, Wall Street Journal
- Google Is Selling Advanced AI to Israel, Documents Reveal, The Intercept
Links & Content Marketing
- 8 Content Marketing Metrics You Should Actually Care About [Infographic], Quuu
- Is an Unbranded Content Site Worth It? All Signs Point to Yes, Content Marketing Institute
Local & Maps
- 5 Ways you can use Google tools to plan a vacation, Google Blog
- Google Maps Now Lets You See What Your House Looked Like Years Ago, Apartment Therapy
- When Google Maps struggles, Citymapper comes to my rescue, Android Authority
Mobile & Voice
- HomePod update hints at launch in Norway and Sweden, 9to5Mac
- How to totally disable Bixby on your Samsung Galaxy phone or tablet, Android Police
SEO
- Programmatic SEO: Integrating Blog Content With Programmatic, SammySEO
- What does it mean to be an ethical SEO?, Matt Tutt
- Programmatic SEO: Tracking & Performance Monitoring, SammySEO
PPC
- Performance Max upgrade has started, Google Ads Developer Blog
- Convincing ‘YouTube’ Google ads lead to Windows support scams, Bleeping Computer
Feedback:
Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, you can follow us on Facebook and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or just contact us the old fashion way.
