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 said they are tracking the site reputation abuse problem by treating some sites within a site. Google says disavowing toxic links is a billable waste of time. ChatGPT Search is now out for all logged in users, for free. Google Merchant Center has first order discount promotion types. Google added newish documentation around faceted navigation.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Google Site Reputation Abuse: Treating Some Sites Within A Site
Jonathan Jones attended the Google Search Central Live event in Zurich last week and posted excellent and detailed notes about the event, including a bit more on the more often core updates. But he also covered how Danny Sullivan, Google's Search Liaison, said how Google thinks about site reputation and how treating some sites within a site, as a solution to this problem. -
Google: Disavowing Toxic Links Is A Billable Waste Of Time
Google's John Mueller reiterated in a big way that SEOs and site owners should not spend time disavowing "toxic" links. He said it is a "billable waste of time" to disavow toxic links, as provided in some of these SEO toolsets. -
OpenAI Opens ChatGPT Search To All Logged In Users
When OpenAI launched ChatGPT Search several weeks ago, it was just available to paid users. Now, anyone who logs into ChatGPT should have access to the Search the Web button on ChatGPT.com. -
Google Adds Faceted Navigation To Help Documentation
Google has repurposed its 2014 blog post on faceted navigation best practices (which we covered a decade ago) and created a new help document page named Managing crawling of faceted navigation URLs. -
New Google Merchant Center Promotion For First Order Discount
Google Merchant Center added a new field in the "Promotion conditions" section for "first order" discount. This seems to be for shopping ads set up in Merchant Center. -
Video: Google Bay View Holiday Party
Here is a pretty interesting holiday party Google had at their Bay View campus. Watch the embedded video below - it seems pretty expensive.
Other Great Search Threads:
- Google with new expanded 'What people are saying' sections with more social media discussion, powered by Generative AI.", Khushal Bherwani on X
- NINE Site Links! LOL Legit Like Everything Is BROKEN In Google Ads In The Last Few Weeks. Im Getting Nervous!, Anthony Higman on X
- Also, here's an example of where the Web filter appears. It can move around (like any filter) based on the exact query that's used. If it's not immediately visible, then use More to access it. Tapping Web disables all search feat, Google's Search Liaison on Bluesky
- Cool look into the world of Javascript development., John Mueller on Bluesky
Search Engine Land Stories:
- ChatGPT’s search surge: 1% market share predicted by 2025
- TikTok takes U.S. ban challenge to the Supreme Court
- ChatGPT search is now available to all free users
- Exploit reveals how and why Google ranks content
- Google Ads tests AI-powered reporting tool
- Top 10 Google Ads mistakes to avoid in 2025
- 13 digital marketing trends you should plan for in 2025
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
Industry & Business
- Google names its new India chief, TechCrunch
- Google Search VP Liz Reid powers Search through AI era, Fortune
- Google's big week was a flex for the power of big tech, MIT Technology Review
Links & Content Marketing
- How To Create Your 2025 Content Strategy, Good Words Work
- Can AI Content Rank on Google? We Analyzed 20K Blog URLs, Semrush
Local & Maps
- Custom vehicle icons in Google Maps have started rolling out to a select few on Android, Android Police
- You can now search your Google Maps lists via Google Saved, 9to5Google
Mobile & Voice
- 8 Google Home tips for celebrating the holidays, Google Blog
- Meta adds live AI, live translations, and Shazam to its smart glasses, The Verge
- Meta updates its smart glasses with real-time AI video, TechCrunch
SEO
- All Google’s 2024 Core Updates in a glance, ROI Rangers
- Avoid These International SEO Mistakes for Global Success, seoClarity
- Google Core Update December 2024, SISTRIX
- Google's Quality Rater Guidelines Summarised in Under 15 Minutes, Optimisey
- Improving your SEO with conceptual models, Mark Williams-Cook on YouTube
- Why is SEO Important? A Comprehensive Guide, Warren Laine-Naida
- Advanced Xpath Functions for the Screaming Frog SEO Spider, Screaming Frog
- The Google Advantage: 13 Core Update Winning Strategies, SEO Lady
PPC
- Beyond Keywords: How to Build Winning Campaigns with Audience Targeting and First-Party Data, PPC Hero
- Optimizing [Product_Detail] and [Product_Highlight] eCommerce Success, WordLift Blog
- The Truth About Low Budget Google Ads Campaigns, Jyll Saskin Gales
- Google Ads Trends Coming In 2025, Bitvero
- PPC Spying: 7 Ways to Spy on Your Competitors’ Ads, Ahrefs
Search Features
- Google’s Whisk AI generator will ‘remix’ the pictures you plug in, The Verge
- YouTube will now let creators opt in to third-party AI training, TechCrunch
- Circle to Search shimmer getting new Google color scheme, 9to5Google
Other Search
- OpenAI Rolls Out ChatGPT Search Features to All Users, Escalating Google Rivalry, Bloomberg
- Perplexity, not Google, is now the best search engine, The Register
Feedback:
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