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 heated up again over the weekend. Yahoo Search is testing not just AI Chat but AI generated answers in search. Bing is testing new AI answer layouts and interfaces. Bing is testing different colored URLs for sponsored and organic results. Google is testing this weird similar jobs box.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Google Search Ranking Volatility Spiked Friday Jan 24 Through Weekend
Google Search may have pushed some unconfirmed Google search ranking algorithm update or tweak around Friday, January 24th. I briefly mentioned this on my Friday video but I felt it was worth kicking up here as its own story. -
Yahoo Search AI Chat Expanded & Adds AI Answers To Search
Yahoo is continuing its AI Chat features within Yahoo Search, while also incorporating AI Answers into its search results. The AI powered answers and chat seemed to be powered by OpenAI. -
Bing Tests AI Answers Sources Section In Carousel View & Videos
Microsoft Bing is testing placing the sources section of its AI Answers in a carousel view, instead of a list view. This let's you scroll through the sources as opposed to just seeing them below in a list view. -
Bing Tests Black Organic URLs & Green Sponsored URLs
Microsoft is testing different colored URLs for its organic (free) results and its sponsored (paid) results. The organic URL slugs are bold black colored and the sponsored URL slugs are bold green colored. -
Google Search Tests Jobs At Similar Employers
Google is testing a new job carousel in the search results titled "jobs at similar employers." This likely pulls from the Google Jobs postings schema and more but it can come up if you are just searching for products from that company. -
Scary Google Calendar Costume
Here is a photo from around Halloween where this Googler dressed up as Google Calendar with some scary appointments and events on the calendar. She wrote, "That was so SpOoOkY of you to send me a calendar invite after 5pm on a Friday."
Other Great Search Threads:
- Folks still don't seem to understand that there'll soon be an infinite (and growing) amount of "content" targeting any keyword that any SEO tool reports as having search volume. The days of writing articles to try to "fill gaps" a, Jono Alderson on X
- GSC has just sent out a survey regarding the 24-hour site performance report, Leary on X
- The choice of ALT text is not primarily an SEO decision. If you like working with structured processes, check out, bookmark, share, and use this decision tree of when & what to use as ALT text, when it comes to accessibility., John Mueller on Bluesky
- This is why I recommend using markup instead. 30-40% seems reasonable., John Mueller on Bluesky
- When some go down, others move up -> With the latest manual actions for 'Site reputation abuse' in the EU, I've shared a number of drops across publisher coupon sections. But, there are obviously sites benefiting from those drops, Glenn Gabe on X
- When Google Says ‘No products found’: The hidden Soft 404 Trap impacting composable e-commerce., Bernt Johansson on LinkedIn
- When covering the December 2024 spam update, I explained how some sites were surging *with spam*. Looking back at those sites now, it didn't take Google long to address that. A number of those have dropped off a cliff, and most by ea, Glenn Gabe on X
Search Engine Land Stories:
- The latest jobs in search marketing
- Meta launches ads on Threads
- How to make search and PMax campaigns complement each other
- SEO today and beyond: 8 ways to balance what works now with what’s to come
- 5 key PPC areas to prioritize in 2025
- Tools and tips for making internal training videos
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- How To Use GA4 and AI To Find the Gold In Your Data, Content Marketing Institute
Industry & Business
- Alphabet shares close above $200 value for first time, CNBC
- Google to Fight NLRB Over Joint Employer Finding in D.C. Circuit, Bloomberg
- Seventh Google Store coming to Austin, Texas, 9to5Google
- Google pushes global agenda to educate workers, lawmakers on AI, Reuters
Links & Content Marketing
Local & Maps
- Google agrees to crack down on fake reviews for UK businesses, The Guardian
- Google to Put Warnings on U.K. Businesses Using Fake Online Reviews, Wall Street Journal
- Apple makes a change to its AI team and plans Siri upgrades, The Verge
Mobile & Voice
- Delayed next generation CarPlay is still coming, says Apple, AppleInsider
- Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis: The Path To AGI, LLM Creativity, And Google Smart Glasses, Big Technology
- Google widely rolling out Gemini overlay redesign for Android, 9to5Google
- Perplexity Assistant wants to replace Gemini on your Android phone, 9to5Google
- How Google tests Pixel phones for durability, Google Blog
- Live translations on Meta’s smart glasses work well — until they don’t, The Verge
- Siri Is Super Dumb and Getting Dumber, Daring Fireball
- Apple Glass development continues despite massive hurdles, AppleInsider
- Apple's Siri suggests users ask ChatGPT for accurate Super Bowl answers after major failures, The Financial Express
SEO
- Keywords - Do They Still Matter for SEO?, SEO Vendor
- Modern Ecommerce SEO Guide (For 2025), Go Fish Digital
- Embedding robots.txt in WAV files, John Mueller's randoms
- Enhancing SEO with AI: Implementing an Automated Agent Using browser-use and DeepSeek R1, Metehan
- Hubspot's Blog Organic Search Traffic Drop: What really happened?, Aleyda Solis
- Website aesthetic considerations affecting SEO?, Ecommerce Consultant & Strategist
PPC
- AI-Powered Feed Optimization: 6 Ways to Use AI for Product Feed Optimization, PPC Hero
- Expert PPC Management: The Complete Guide to Transforming Your Digital, Hopskip Media
- Updates to Cryptocurrencies and related products policy (January 2025), Google Advertising Policies Help
- Extending the deprecation period for the Authorized Buyers Real-time Bidding protocol, Google Ads Developer Blog
- How to Handle Image Assets with Overlays, PPC News Feed
Other Search
Feedback:
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