Daily Search Forum Recap: January 2, 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.

Welcome to 2024 - we may have had an unconfirmed Google Search update over New Year's Eve. I also launched a new version of the Search Engine Roundtable after 13 years. A Wharton profession slammed search calling the decay of internet search. Microsoft launched its Copilot app on Android and iOS, it is the same as the Bing App. Don't create your Google Business Profile in a different language. Google's data highlighter tool works but there are caveats. Bing is testing a knowledge panel design that looks like Google. Google posted its New Year's Doodles. John Mueller was helping SEOs on New Year's as well.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Google New Years Eve Search Algorithm Update
  There has been a ton of chatter within the SEO community over the past couple of days related to extreme ranking volatility within the Google Search results. The Google tracking tools have also picked up the volatility over the past day or so. There is no way Google pushed out a confirmed update this week but hey, Google's search results live a life of their own.
• Wharton Professor, Ethan Mollick, On The Decay Of Internet Search
  Ethan Mollick, an Associate Professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, posted on X about his disappointment with overall internet search. He wrote, "There is no greater way to feel the overall decay of internet search then to try to figure out when & if a new season of a show is coming out."
• Bing Tests Copying Google's Knowledge Panel Design
  It looks like Bing may be testing a new design for its search knowledge / answer panels in the search results. And that new design looks very much like the new Google knowledge panel Google has for the past year-plus.
Create Your Google Business Profile Listing In Your Language Or You May Have Issues
Before creating your Google Business Profile listing, make sure you are using the right language. If not, it may cause serious issues for you in the long run where the services will be wrong and will appear in that language.
• Google Data Highlighter Tool Still Works But There Are Caveats
  Google launched its data highlighter tool in 2012, and it still works today despite not being migrated to the new Search Console interface, and almost no one I know uses it anymore. Google's John Mueller said on Mastodon that it just isn't easier to use the data highlighter these days with all the plugins you can add to your site to handle it automatically.
• Chat In Bing & Copilot Apps Are The Same
  Last week, Microsoft quietly released the Copilot App for Android and iOS. Don't tell anyone but the Bing App and Copilot App use the same chat feature, the only difference is the Copilot App takes you directly to the chat interface and bypasses search.
• YouTube Wooden Plank Sign
  Here is cool signage from the Google Nederland office of a YouTube sign made out of wooden planks. I spotted this on Instagram, it happens to be from 2016, so I don't know if the sign still exists.
• Search Engine Roundtable Version 5: Redesign & Platform
  Today we have released version 5 of the Search Engine Roundtable. We have redesigned the site from the ground up while also revamping many of the site's backend and technical features. The site is now over 20 years old and the design was just over 13 years old - it was time for a redo.
• Google's John Mueller Providing SEO Support On New Years
  John Mueller, Senior Search Analyst, and Search Relations team lead at Google, was again out there on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, providing SEO support for site owners, creators, publishers, SEOs, and others. He has done this on Christmas every year and also New Years every year.
• Google's New Year's Eve 2023 Doodle Is Shiny
  Google's Google's New Year's Eve doodle for 2023 is live in some regions and will be live in New York in the next five hours or so. If you want a sneak peek at it early, here it is.

Search Engine Land Stories:

• Top 10 PPC expert columns of 2023 on Search Engine Land
• Top 10 SEO expert columns of 2023 on Search Engine Land
• PPC 2023 in review: UA sunsets, Google antitrust trial, X’s downfall and more
• SEO year in review 2023: The year of generative AI
• Google algorithm updates 2023 in review: Core, reviews, helpful content, spam and beyond

Other Great Search Stories:

Analytics

• VIDEO: Navigating switch to Google Analytics 4 important for tracking website performance, Healio

Industry & Business

• A Search Central year in review 2023!, Google Search Central YouTube
• Inside the News Industry’s Uneasy Negotiations With OpenAI, New York Times
• Google Gets Respite From Some Worker Race Discrimination Claims, Bloomberg
• Things are about to get a lot worse for Generative AI, Gary Marcus
• OpenAI’s Annualized Revenue Tops $1.6 Billion as Customers Shrug Off CEO Drama, The Information
• This is over, Google Search Central Blog
• US Supreme Court's Roberts urges 'caution' as AI reshapes legal field, Reuters
• Yandex Has Expanded the List of Business Categories To Receive the “Good Place” Award, RSN

Links & Content Marketing

• 5 Content Marketing Ideas for February 2024, Practical Ecommerce
• The Ultimate Guide to B2B Content Marketing Strategy, Influencer Marketing Hub

Local & Maps

• The Best and the Worst Google Maps Updates in 2023, AutoEvolution
• Eveve Adding Restaurants to Platform Without Consent, Online Ownership
• This Google Maps feature could disappear in 2024 — and it’s bad news for drivers, Tom's Guide

Mobile & Voice

• Microsoft’s Copilot app is now available on iOS, The Verge
• All I want from Google in 2024 is a coherent AR strategy, 9to5Google

SEO

• 7 Steps to Developing an SEO Process in B2B Marketing, Online Marketing Blog
• Retail SEO Guide: How to Conquer the Competition, Semrush
• WooCommerce SEO: Complete Optimization Guide for 2024, Semrush
• International SEO: How to Leverage to Optimize Your Online Store, Neal Schaffer
• Programmatic SEO — Getting It Right, Hubspot

PPC

• Google's issue with excessive advertisements is only growing worse, Android Police
• Key Privacy Settings to Adjust if You Stream on Roku, Apple TV and Other Devices, CNET
• Market Analysis & Insights Part 1: Keyword Research, SammySEO
• Presentation Release: Level Up Your Google PMax Campaigns in 70 Minutes - Google Ads Training Video, ZATO Marketing

Search Features

• Introducing the "Verified Store" Badge, RSN
• Google wants to know what new Bard features you want in 2024, 9to5Google

Other Search

• Apple’s LLM gap is real. It might not last much longer., Joan Westenberg
• Boom in A.I. Prompts a Test of Copyright Law, New York Times
• Here’s what Google killed in 2023, Android Police
• Baidu's AI generative product ERNIE Bot amasses over 100 million users as China welcomes a 'battle of large models', Global Times

Feedback:

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