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 SGE dropped the December 2023 end date. Google says double slashes in URLs can confuse some crawlers. Google said use character encoding when Google gets your special characters wrong. Bing has a local business on Christmas box. Google advertiser program now accepts trade names and DBAs. Bing is on a holiday lock down for new features. The Google Kwanzaa decorations are also live. I posted the weekly SEO video recap. Happy holidays all!
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Search News Buzz Video Recap: More Google Ranking Volatility, Local Openness Signal Confirmed, Some Indexing Issues, Long Google Ads & More
As we approach the end of the year, it just seems Google is getting more and more volatile with its search results. Google also confirmed that 'openness' as a local ranking signal was strengthened... - Google Search Generative Experience December End Date Removed
When Google first launched its Search Generative Experience, it labeled the "end" date of the program as December 2023 for US users and February 2024 for India and other countries. Well, now that end date was removed from the Google Search Labs interface. - Google: Double Slashes In URLs Can Confuse Some Crawlers
Gary Illyes said some search engines can be confused by seeing double slashes in a URL. Previously, Google suggested not to use double slashes in your URLs but here Gary is saying that technically pages load with double slashes but with some search engines may have issues crawling URLs with double slashes. - Google Search On When Special Characters Don't Work
Gary Illyes from Google explained how Google Search may or may not handle special characters within Google Search. He explained this in the latest Google SEO office hours at the 16:10 mark. - Bing On Holiday Lockdown - Slows Production Releases
Microsoft is currently on a holiday lockdown for Bing, Copilot, formerly known as Bing Chat. Mikhail Parakhin, the CEO, Advertising and Web Services at Microsoft, wrote on X, "Holiday lockdown doesn't help (we reduce production changes at this period, because so many people are on vacation)." - Bing Local Businesses For Christmas Search Section
Bing is showing a box in its search results for "Local businesses for Christmas." This box shows Christmas-related stores, such as groceries, bakeries, etc, that are open now. - Google Advertiser Verification Program To Accept DBAs
Google Ads has this advertiser verification program and now advertisers can use their DBAs ("doing business as") or trade names for that verification. Google said these names are accepted if the legal documents also state the names and in many legal documents, it does ask for DBAs to be listed. - Google Search Kwanzaa Decorations Are Live For 2023
Kwanzaa is coming up next week and Google has launched its Kwanzaa decorations for its search results. Just like Google did with Christmas decorations and Chanukah decorations. Search for Kwanzaa to see the decorations in Google Search... - Google Cloud Building
Here is a look at the Google Cloud sign on the Google Chicago office. We've seen plenty of photos from within the Google Chicago office, but here it is from the outside.
Other Great Search Threads:
- Current thinking is that you can delete the threads that you don’t want personalization to use., Mikhail Parakhin on X
- Getting a URL with parameters indexed accidentally happens to most sites / SEOs at some point or another, John Mueller on X
- Google is now testing out a new display for the structured data component of a product page rich result on mobile. The test shows the price at the front in bold and the 'in stock' text in green (normally grey), with no review r, SERP Alert on X
- I'm signing off for 2023. Wishing everyone rest and peace this holiday season. Thank you for all the questions, ideas and feedback throughout the year. See you in 2024!, AdsLiaison on X
- If you have a short SEO / Google Search related question on your mind that you'd like an answer from Google's side to, send them our way., John Mueller on LinkedIn
- Interesting patent: Google files a patent for sniffing out fake news -> Detecting Information Operations Campaigns In Social Media With Machine Learning, Glenn Gabe on X
- Let Santa bring some good cheer to your drives this ho-ho-holiday season. Pair Santa’s voice navigation with his signature sleigh for a holly, jolly ride. Activate the experience, Google on X
- The documentation says that there can be issues with internal pages catching up with the home page. One of those is probably not synced and will catch up over. time, Google SearchLiaison on X
Search Engine Land Stories:
- 7 key 2024 search trends to watch and 3 top priorities
- Google Search is investigating reports of delayed indexing issues
- 6 books to help make your marketing more successful in 2024
- Google’s shifting approach to AI content: An in-depth look
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- What Is Web Analytics? What It Means & How You Can Benefit, Semrush
- Your Ultimate Guide to GA4 Recommended Events, Semrush
Industry & Business
- 2023: Year in review, Search Off the Record
Links & Content Marketing
- Content Gap Analysis: 4 Steps to Earn More Traffic and Trust, Semrush
- How Newsquest's seven AI-assisted reporters are using ChatGPT, Press Gazette
- Internal Links: Ultimate Guide + Strategies, Semrush
Local & Maps
- Android Auto changes app and status icons to match your phone, 9to5Google
- Google Maps' UI Got Worse, So This Navigation App Made Its Map View Way Better, AutoEvolution
- Study: Business Opening Hours and Local Rankings, BrightLocal
- Google makes bid to resolve competition concerns in Germany over its automotive services bundling, TechCrunch
Mobile & Voice
- Apple isn't behind on AI, it's looking ahead to the future, AppleInsider
- Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 No Longer Available From U.S. Online Store, MacRumors
- Microsoft just killed Windows Mixed Reality, Windows Central
- Researchers working on enabling 'Apple GPT' to run on iPhone, 9to5Mac
SEO
- Improve Your Website Performance in Two Simple Steps, BruceClay
- SEO in 2024: Four insights from Yoast SEO experts, Yoast
- How smart bucketing can strengthen your SEO testing approach and deliver accurate traffic data, Search Pilot
- November 2023 Google Core Update: Analysis and SEO Impact, Semrush
- Top 10 Takeaways From Whiteboard Fridays in 2023, Moz
PPC
- Google Ad Extensions: 12 Assets to Enhance Your Campaigns, Semrush
- No, Keywords Aren't ONLY Topics, They're Specific Words With Intent, ZATO Marketing
- Why Your PPC Agency Can't Scale Your Brand (As Much As You Think), ZATO Marketing
- Crypto drainer steals $59 million from 63k people in Twitter ad push, Bleeping Computer
- Updates to Gambling and games policy (December 2023), Google Advertising Policies Help
Other Search
- Google Books takes a look back at some fun winter activities from the past, Google Blog
- Google Chrome December update: New performance and security features, Google Blog
Feedback:
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