Daily Search Forum Recap: November 29, 2024

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 November 2024 core update did not yet finish and we passed the two weeks timeline, we are into Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Google is testing a "more sponsored results" button in Google Search. Bing Webmaster Tools shows data for Yahoo Search, not ChatGPT. Google Sitelinks search box is gone, finally. Google Maps has a new report business conduct form for review manipulation. Google Business Profiles guidelines were updated around service-area businesses and minimum age products. Google spoke about giving prior notice of search penalties. And I posted my weekly SEO video recap.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Thanksgiving & Google November 2024 Core Update
  Today is Thanksgiving in the United States, so I was planning on not posting anything - since most of you just want to enjoy your time with your family. But I felt I needed to (1) showcase the Thanksgiving Doodle that (2) resembles the volatility of the Google Search results with the Google November 2024 core update still not being complete before Thanksgiving and likely Black Friday.
• Google On Giving Prior Notice To Search Penalties
  Google's John Mueller said he was generally in favor to the idea of giving prior notice to receiving a manual action, but he said "it's challenging." John then explains that Google's search algorithm try to reward sites, while also negating any benefit any spam may have - but not demote. But that may have dodged the specific question provided.
• Google Sitelinks Search Box Now Really Gone
  Google told us that the Sitelinks search box would stop working within Google Search on November 21st. Well, it finally stopped working a week later on November 27th, in the afternoon.
• Bing Webmaster Tools Shows Data For Bing & Yahoo; Not ChatGPT
  Bing Webmaster Tools shows search data for Bing Search and Yahoo Search but not OpenAI's ChatGPT search feature. I actually forgot that Bing Webmaster Tools has Yahoo Search data but that was the deal when Yahoo closed Site Explorer in 2011 and I guess that deal still lives on.
• Google Ads More Sponsored Results Button In Search
  Google is testing displaying a button in Google Search to load more ads. The button reads, "More sponsored results" and when clicked, it can load more ads, if Google has more to serve.
• Google Business Profiles Guidelines Updated: Storefronts Required For Minimum Age Products
  Google has updated its Google Business Profiles guidelines to say that businesses associated with products or services that require the customer to be a certain minimum age are not permitted as service-area businesses without a storefront.
• Google Maps Adds Report Business Conduct To Report Review Manipulation
  Google has launched a new report form in Google Maps to "report business conduct." Specifically, this form is to report businesses that offer incentives in exchange for reviews, or pressuring people to leave reviews.
• Search News Buzz Video Recap: Black Friday Google Core Update, Personalized Google, Google Ads, Google Local & Bing Webmaster Tools With Yahoo Search
  Happy Thanksgiving and Black Friday! The Google November 2024 core update is not done rolling out yet - it should have been. And yes, we are still seeing heated volatility throughout this week, even today. Google warned....
• Google NYC Mural
  Here is some artistic mural (I guess all murals are artistic) on a wall in the New York City office. I assume there is a lot of meaning around this mural but I don't want to guess what that might be.

Other Great Search Threads:

• If it's problematic in the docs, send us some feedback please! (Gary has some things he's looking at adding, so get your feedback in early :-), John Mueller on Bluesky
• Quick update about the 'Site reputation abuse' manual actions (based on Google's recent policy update). Most manual actions have been applied at the directory level, but it seems there are some sites where urls mixed into the site ha, Glenn Gabe on X
• Having better online visibility isn’t just about having a website... It’s about your latest content being found by all customers, in search engines, in Ahrefs and soon in many other places. Adopt, Fabrice Canel on X
• Ziptie AI Overview tracking shows a decent jump in AIO prevalence in Google Search starting on 11/25-ish. Now up to 16.89%. From @ziptiedev: "We’re tracking AI Overviews (AIOs) in 11 verticals. In addition, we track 4 query types (How, Glenn Gabe on X

Search Engine Land Stories:

• How to monitor brand visibility across AI search channels
• The latest jobs in search marketing
• Decoding LLMs: How to be visible in generative AI search results
• ChatGPT search: Does it deserve the fanfare?

Other Great Search Stories:

Analytics

• 12 Reasons for a High Bounce Rate & What to Do About it, Measure Minds Group

Industry & Business

• FTC opens wide-ranging antitrust probe into Microsoft, CNN Business
• Google launches the London AI Campus, Google Blog
• Google Seeks to Undo Epic Games’ Antitrust Win Over Play Store, Bloomberg
• Canada's antitrust watchdog sues Google alleging anti-competitive conduct in advertising, Reuters
• Google sues Indian employee over alleged leaks, The Register
• India competition watchdog to investigate Google's gaming app policy, Reuters

Links & Content Marketing

• How to Use Local Language to Make Your Audience Feel at Home, RicketyRoo
• Do Nofollow Links Impact Your SEO? The Truth Behind the Debate, Sterling Sky
• 7 Examples of Great Branded Content, Ahrefs

Local & Maps

• Ad Grants Ads in Google's Map Section, PPC News Feed
• Bareilly bridge accident: Google Maps faces questions over India car plunge crash, BBC
• Want to Burn Off Your Thanksgiving Dinner? Go For a Hike With iOS 18, CNET

Mobile & Voice

• Gemini app for Android, iOS rolling out to Google Workspace users, 9to5Google
• Google removed support for this voice command, and I'm still mad, Android Authority

SEO

• AI Search Engines Framework: SEO In the Age of AI, seoClarity
• Google's Shift in Personalization with the November 2024 Core Update, Law Firm Marketing
• How to use SEO data correctly, SERP's Up SEO Podcast
• SEO for Founders, Ahrefs
• SEO Header Tags: How to Optimize H1, H2 & H3, KP Playbook
• SEO in 2024: Use Content Clusters To Drive Relevance and Rankings, Search Engine World
• Under Google’s blind eye, a growing parasite ecosystem is flourishing – recleudo.com, Recleudo
• Working with an SEO Consultant, Take It Offline
• Google Tightens Site Reputation Abuse Policy (and removes Forbes Advisor from the index), SISTRIX
• Is SEO Really “Always Changing”?, Chris Green

PPC

• Is Your PPC Strategy Sabotaging Your SEO? 2.3M Keyword Study, Ahrefs
• Keyword Preview Diagnostics Within Ad Status Column, PPC News Feed
• How To Fix Grayed Out Button In Google Merchant Center Supplemental Feeds, FeedArmy
• Improved support for service accounts in the Google Ads API, Google Ads Developer Blog
• The Ultimate Guide to Your Google Ads Account Structure, PPC Hero
• Google Ads 101: A Beginner's Guide to Getting Started, Jyll Saskin Gales
• Google Tests Black Buttons in Its Interface, PPC News Feed

Other Search

• Anthropic says Claude AI can match your unique writing style, The Verge
• Former Googlers to Build new AI Agents Operating System at /dev/agents, Search Engine World

Feedback:

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