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 has published new more detailed best practices for linking. Microsoft said most are happy with the new Bing Search AI features but has a lot more to do to improve it. Google's John Mueller is not a fan of hyphenated keyword rich domain names. A poll says Google won't lose too much market share to Bing with these new features. Google Ads released the Google Ads API version 13.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- New Google SEO Link Best Practices
Google has published a new, or vastly revamped, document on SEO link best practices. The previous document was just on how to make your links crawlable but the new one adds tips on anchor text placements, how to write good anchor text, internal links within your content and external links from other sites. - Microsoft: 71% Of Searchers Give The New Bing Search AI Experience A Thumbs Up
Microsoft published a new blog post on the Bing blog about its learnings from its first week with the new Bing AI search and chat feature being live. Microsoft said the new Bing experience has mostly been "positive," where "71% of you giving the AI-powered answers a thumbs up" in the interface. - Why John Mueller Of Google Is Not A Fan Of Keyword Hyphenated Domains
Google's John Mueller posted at Reddit why he is not a fan of using keyword-rich hyphenated domains. He said, "I'm not a fan of keyword-keyword domains, but YMMV." - Survey Says SEO Think Microsoft will Gain Less Than 5% Market Share From Google
Matt McGee posted a poll on Twitter asking how much of Google's search engine usage market share do you expect the new Bing with ChatGPT to take in the next year? Most who responded, who I assume are SEOs, said less than 5%. - Google Ads API Version 13.0 Now Available
Google has released Google Ads API version 13.0 and below is a list of what changed. Version 12.0 was released in October 2022, Version 11.0 of the Google Ads API was released in June, and version 11.1 was in August. - Google Birthday Swag Box
Google's Pixel team sent Will H. a birthday swag box, um, for his birthday.I see cookies, phone case, hat, and something I have no clue what it is. This was shared on Twitter.
Other Great Search Threads:
- I don't think anyone has said only gaming sites can write about gaming. You write about a lot of different things too., John Mueller on Twitter
- Search Console Training is back! Join @danielwaisberg to learn how to make more data-driven decisions and optimize your results on Google Search. Subscribe, Google Search Central on Twitter
- GA4 made "improvements for large scale data", Barry Schwartz on Twitter
- Hey all! There have been a few questions about our waitlist to try the new Bing, so here’s a reminder about the process: We’re currently in Limited Preview so that we can test, learn, and improve. We’re slowly scaling pe, Yusuf Mehdi on Twitter
- Just to be clear about the rationale behind that new doc: we got documentation feedback asking for an example of combining extensions. That's the only reason we added that new doc. Long term, Gary Illyes on Twitter
- We're always looking for ways to improve! If you haven't shared your feedback about the new Bing, here's one of the many ways you can let us know what you think, Bing on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- This day in search marketing history: February 15
- Instagram is ending its live shopping feature in March
- Meta aims to increase transparency in ad targeting for Facebook and Instagram users
- Why Performance Max for lead generation often fails and how to make it work
- How to analyze Google’s SERPs
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Google Analytics 4 Real Time Report Not Working - (Fixed), Data Driven U
- How to Create Contact Form Events for GA4, SiteVisibility
Industry & Business
- Alphabet Chairman John Hennessy on hesitation over Google Bard, CNBC
- Father of the Internet warns: Don't rush investments into chat AI, CNBC
- Google reassesses timeline for downtown San Jose transit village, Mercury News
- Google reportedly starting layoffs in Israel, The Times of Israel
- Google to expand misinformation 'prebunking' in Europe, AP News
- Yandex Announces Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2022 Financial Results, Yandex
Links & Content Marketing
- Get Common First If You Want To Develop a Great Content Strategy [Rose-Colored Glasses], Content Marketing Institute
- Three Link-Building Mistakes to Avoid, Rank Ranger
Local & Maps
- A Small Gift for Local SEOs and a Big Cheer for Original Images, Moz
- Apple Maps is good now, and that's a big problem for Google, Android Police
- Google Maps new Wear OS 3 update ensures you'll never get lost, Android Police
- Introducing Active Sync: The Smarter Way to Manage Listings, BrightLocal
- Marketing with Google Maps, SAMBUNO
Mobile & Voice
- The Privacy Sandbox Beta is coming to Android, Google Blog
- What is podcast SEO?, Oncrawl
SEO
- Best Practices for Paywalls and SEO, SEO for Google News
- Enterprise SEO Insights From 200+ Digital Leaders [SURVEY RESULTS], Lumar
- Four Success Factors for International SEO Projects, Search Metrics
- How SEO might thrive under Bard and Prometheus, Kevin Indig
- Introducing True Demand: The Most Accurate Alternative to Google’s Keyword Search Volume, seoClarity
- SEO Case Study: Bringing a Unicorn Back to Life, Adam Riemer
- What Is Dwell Time & Why Does It Matter for SEO, Semrush
PPC
- How to Evaluate Search Partners on Google Ads & Microsoft Ads, Adalysis
- Don't let PPC kill your landing pages, SERP's Up SEO Podcast
- Yahoo Shuttering Its SSP Is Evidence That Ad Exchanges Are Becoming Interchangeable, AdExchanger
Search Features
Other Search
- Erase browser history: can AI reset the browser battle?, The Verge
- Google Research, 2022 & beyond: Robotics, Google AI Blog
- Microsoft’s Bing AI, like Google’s, also made dumb mistakes during first demo, The Verge
- You told us: You'd only consider switching to Bing for these reasons, Android Authority
Feedback:
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