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 and Microsoft announced financial earnings, both showed a lift in ad revenues, I dig in below. Google's John Mueller said programmatic SEO is a fancy banner for spam. Google Business Profile appointment links has been moved to a new location. Google Ads Performance Max campaign self upgrade tools are more available. Google is testing more visual elements in search.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Google Ads Performance Max Upgrade Tool Now Available For Dynamic Search Ads (DSA)
Google announced that the self-upgrade tool for "upgrading" your Google Ads to Performance Max campaigns is now available for Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) campaigns and Google Display campaigns. - John Mueller: Programmatic SEO Often A Fancy Banner For Spam
Google's John Mueller had another one-liner - this one was posted on Twitter and it reads, "programmatic SEO is often a fancy banner for spam." - Google Ad Revenue Up 3.3% & Bing Ads Revenue Up 8%
Both Google (Alphabet) and Bing (Microsoft) reported earnings last night and both showed that their ad revenues grew. Google Ad revenue was up 3.3%, with overall revenue up 7%. Microsoft Advertising revenue was up 8% with overall revenue up 8% as well. - Google Business Profiles Appointment Link Moved To Booking Section
Google has moved the way to add an appointment link in your Google Business Profile. It use to be within the edit profile section and is now available in the main "Booking" section. - Google Search Tests More Visual Elements For Featured Snippets, Top Stories, Products & More
Over the past few days I've seen reports of Google Search testing more visual elements. These visual elements are across featured snippets, top stories, products and likely more. - Space Google Android Statue
Here is one of the many Android statues around the GooglePlex, the Mountain View, California office. This one is of an Android figure in a space suit. Pretty out of here, don't you think?
Other Great Search Threads:
- Google has provided an updated page detailing how the traffic source dimensions in GA4 work. This further illustrates how these dimensions won't show you the impact of true direct traffic or sessions with multiple traffic, Charles Farina on Twitter
- It says the page is indexed. To un-index it, I'd use the robots meta tag., John Mueller on Twitter
- If the embedded HTML page has a noindex robots meta tag, it won't be used as a part of the embedding page for indexing (also if it's disallowed by robots.txt)., John Mueller on Twitter
- What are your biggest regrets in the SEO field so far?, Reddit
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google search revenue rises 5%, slight increase in total ad revenue
- Instagram rolls out subscription feature to 10 more countries
- Google Display Ads and Dynamic Search Ads upgrades rolled out in PMax
- Information gain in SEO: What it is and why it matters
- How to 10x rankings in competitive spaces using the ‘beachhead principle’
- Bing Chat not yet available on Chrome or Safari browsers
- How to optimize your content strategy for Google SERP features
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Is Google Analytics Illegal? 10 Steps to Make GA4 Legal, Measure Minds Group
Industry & Business
- AI lesson for Microsoft and Google: Spend money to make money, Reuters
- Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat leaving role to become president and chief investment officer, CNBC
- Bing Chat's popularity plunges to less than 1% of ChatGPT amid user complaints and feature comparisons, OnMSFT
- Google and Microsoft Paying Big to Play in AI, Wall Street Journal
- Google shows it can prevail despite AI threats as cloud business booms, CNBC
Links & Content Marketing
- An Employee's Guide to Building a Personal Brand, SparkToro
- Repurposing your content for search, SERP's Up SEO Podcast
Local & Maps
- 10 tips to help you make the most of Google Maps, Google Blog
- 7 Google tools to plan a hiking, camping or backpacking trip, Google Blog
- Google Maps' eco-friendly routing: Like taking 250,000 cars off the road?, Green Car Reports
- Google Street View to Post First New Pictures from Germany in a Decade, Bloomberg
Mobile & Voice
- Apple’s app tracking triggers statement of objections from French competition authority, TechCrunch
- Google abandons work to move Assistant smart speakers to Fuchsia, 9to5Google
- Google is ending support for Android 4.4 KitKat, XDA Developers
SEO
- Accessibility and SEO: How they're related and why it matters, Wix SEO Hub
- How To Create an E-Commerce Webpage That Drives Organic Traffic and Conversions, BruceClay
- Yoast SEO 20.12: Improvements and fixes, Yoast
- Foot Locker Image SEO Case Study: 228% Increase for Google Image Thumbnails, Brodie Clark Consulting
- Looking for Affordable SEO Services? Here’s What You Need to Know, Ahrefs
PPC
- What Google and YouTube’s alleged ad scandal says about the industry, Marketing Dive
- What's New with Local Service Ads? Google Expands LSAs, Dagmar Marketing
- How to Research Your Competition With Google Ads Transparency Center, Social Media Examiner
Search Features
Other Search
- Adam Selipsky: There will not be one generative AI model to rule them all, Financial Times
- Anthropic, Google, Microsoft and OpenAI launch Frontier Model Forum, Google Blog
- Frontier Model Forum, OpenAI
- Google's 20 year lead in search will inform better A.I. decisions, says Deepwater's Gene Munster, CNBC
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