Daily Search Forum Recap: January 17, 2025

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 search ranking volatility is still very heated but the tools are super calm - Google may be blocking them. There is this scary Google Ads phishing scam going around. Google Ads "Search Max" may be coming soon. Google updated its structured data screenshots for events and estimated salaries. Google is testing an AI What people are saying. Google is updating its hotel policies soon. And I posted my weekly SEO video from while on vacation (sorry for the quality).

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Is Google Blocking SEO Rank Checking Tools As Search Volatility Continues
  For the past week, we've been discussing how most of the third-party tracking tools have been showing much calmer and cooler search ranking volatility. This is all while the chatter within the SEO community still seems super heated. The reason may be that Google has been deploying new and more advanced blocking mechanisms towards these SEO tools.
• Scary Google Ads Phishing Scam
  Some are seeing a super scary Google Ads phishing scam in the Google Search ads slots. When you search, sometimes a scam may come up, sending you to a Google Sites address that is not managed by Google, where it asks you to login to your Google account with your username and password.
• Google Ads Search Max Coming Soon?
  Google may be bringing Search Max to Google Ads soon. A "Search Max" option is showing up in the Google Ads match type report for some advertisers.
• Google Updates Examples Of Events & Estimated Salary Images In Structured Data Docs
  Google has updated the screenshot examples of the events and estimated salary sections of the Structured data markup that Google Search supports. I assume this update was to better match the newer updated designs that Google uses in the actual search results.
• Google Testing AI Generated What People Are Saying
  Google seems to be testing an AI-generated version of What People Are Saying in Google Search. This shows a similar video or social media type of search results but it says generative AI is experimental.
• Google Hotel Policies Updated On Availability & Rates
  Google is updating its hotel prohibited practices policy to specify that (1) you are required to display final room availability and rates before requesting user information and (2) you are required to avoid price changes after users enter their personal information.
• Google Sufi Dancing
  Google held a dance workshop at the GooglePlex that taught Googlers how to do Persian and Sufi dancing. Here is a promo photo of it from Google and its partner. Sufi, I Googled...
• Video: Google Search Volatility Cooling, AI Overviews Penalties, Maps Pin Hack Fix, Search Market Share & More
  This week I covered how the third-party search rank checking tools seem to have cooled, but the chatter is still pretty heated. Google still shows sites in AI Overviews even if they have manual actions. Google updated its manual actions for News and Discover policy violations.

Other Great Search Threads:

• AIO tracking is tough, especially when Google starts blocking trackers. Seems that could be the case with Ziptie (and possibly other tools) as Tomek explains. I noticed a pretty big drop in AIO prevalence via Ziptie, and after looking in, Glenn Gabe on X
• Quick update on the Reddit drop. After dropping nearly 500 visibility points (huge), it's starting to reverse course. I'll check this out in greater detail soon, but they were dropping for many branded queries, so those could be bou, Glenn Gabe on X
• Struggling with Google Business Profile Verification? Google’s updated flow makes it harder if you fail early attempts. Biggest issue? Signage. No signage = no pass This is not a bug, its the updated flow!, ClaudiaT on X
• We've observed a decrease (approximately 2 percentage points) in AIO detection rates through Ziptie's tracking system. It seems Google is blocking AIO checkers in a smart way, far beyond traditional captchas. We are looking for wa, Tomek Rudzki on X

Search Engine Land Stories:

• 11 free Chrome extensions you need for SEO
• PPC diagnostics: How to find and fix the root cause of low conversions
• Your PPC guide to effective product category research

Other Great Search Stories:

Analytics

• How to get started with CRO, Blue Array SEO
• Managing direct traffic in google analytics: practices for effective performance, Adgully

Industry & Business

• Google partners on solar energy projects in Oklahoma, Google Blog
• Google strikes world's largest biochar carbon removal deal with Indian startup Varaha, TechCrunch
• Google to buy power from Leeward’s 724-MW Oklahoma solar portfolio, Renewables Now
• Trump, Musk dined with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at Mar a Lago, Semafor

Links & Content Marketing

• Boosting Content Marketing with AI: Blending Written and Video Content for Maximum Impact, AutoGPT
• Content Marketing Strategies for 2025: A Framework for Success, Social Media Examiner
• How To Write a 1-Page Content Marketing Strategy in a Few Hours, Content Marketing Institute

Local & Maps

• Dearborn uses Waze, Apple Maps to alert of emergency vehicles nearby, Freep
• Fake AI Reviews Are Ruining Google. What Can We Do?, Whitespark
• Google Maps Will Start Talking Like a Human Being If You Drive a Mercedes, AutoEvolution

Mobile & Voice

• 'Hey, Gemini!' AI upgrade spotted in Galaxy S25 leak, ReadWrite
• Apple disables some notification summaries amidst backlash, AppleInsider
• Google Wants 500 Million Gemini AI Users by Year’s End, Pymnts
• Google’s Gemini AI just shattered the rules of visual processing — here’s what that means for you, VentureBeat
• How to Change Keyboard Shortcut for Type to Siri on Mac, OX Daily

SEO

• Building a Strong Personal Brand as an SEO Expert, RankSuite
• How Google and AI are Killing Travel Blogs Like Mine, Dangerous Business
• Mark Zuckerberg Talks Classifiers, Confidence, and Algorithmic Collateral Damage (And it relates to Google Algorithm Updates), GSQI
• Marketplace SEO tips to improve product listing visibility, Yoast
• The State of Digital Agencies in 2024: Client Referrals Drive Agency New Business, But Is It Enough? And Are Sales Pipelines a Cause For Concern?, SparkToro
• Trust Google’s AI to manage your monthly budget?, Take It Offline
• Understanding AI Search Engines: Facts All SEOs Should Know, seoClarity

PPC

• Analytics Tools for Business: What Can They Do for You?, PPC Expo
• Demand Gen with product feeds can also show in these placements., AdsLiaison on X
• How to Leverage AI to Write Better Google Ads Copy Faster, PPC Hero
• Lunar New Year: Top trends and four powerful strategies for advertising success, Microsoft Advertising
• The Rise of AI-Generated Slop Sites: What Advertisers Need to Know, DoubleVerify

Search Features

• Google to Give Businesses AI Tools Whether or Not They Want It, The Information
• Microsoft bundles Office AI features into Microsoft 365 and raises prices, The Verge

Other Search

• Biggest news publishers on Youtube: Top accounts grow subscribers 20% in year, Press Gazette
• Google reports halving code migration time with AI help, The Register
• Google won't add fact-checks despite new EU law, Axios
• She Is in Love With ChatGPT, New York Times
• Vertex AI RAG Engine: A developers tool, Google Developers Blog

Feedback:

Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, on Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky and you can follow us on Facebook and on Google News and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or just contact us the old fashion way.