Daily Search Forum Recap: February 24, 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 AI Overviews with dozens of links lead to concern that no one will click from them to your sites. Google Ads offline conversion quality in smart campaigns and PMax with goals are changing. Bing plays dirty when you search for Google Chrome, Gemini, Grok or Perplexity. Google expands the detailed review questions on local listings. Apple Intelligence may bring Google Gemini as an option for integration.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Will Searchers Click On Links Within Google AI Overviews With Dozens Of Links?
  A few weeks ago, I reported on how Google was testing showing deeper Google AI Overviews, maybe powered by Gemini 2.0, with over 60 links and citations in them. Well, over the past few weeks, more and more of us are seeing these AI Overviews, with dozens of links within them. And we are asking ourselves, who will click on these links?
• Microsoft Bing Doesn't Want You Searching For Google Chrome, Gemini or X's Grok
  Microsoft is at it again with its search engine - Bing. Previously, when you searched for Google, they tricked you to think you were searching Bing and then hide Google completely from its search results. Now when you search for Chrome, Gemini, Grok or even Perplexity - you are given a banner to use Microsoft products and not use Google, X or Perplexity.
• Google Ads Changes To Offline Conversion Quality In Smart & PMax Campaigns With Store Goals
  I will start off by saying, I am super confused by this Google Ads email but it says Google is "Improving offline conversion quality in Smart and PMax Campaigns with Store Goals." Starting on February 28, 2025 Google will "increase focus on locally engaged users on channels with higher local intent."
• Google Maps Expands Detailed Review Questions - Survey Style
  For the past few years or so, Google has had a more detailed, almost survey-style review questionnaire for some local results, especially restaurants. Now, according to Claudia Tomina, Google has expanded the questions it asks on those surveys.
• Apple Intelligence With Google Gemini Integration Coming?
  Apple seems like it may be preparing integration Google Gemini in Apple Intelligence as an option for its users to select. Aaron Perris from MacRumors spotted hints in the iOS 18.4 beta code that Google is listed alongside OpenAI as a "third party model."
• Android Product Experts Toy
  We have seen variations of Android toys being given to Google Top Contributors or Product Experts over the years. Here is a new Android figurine toy Google is giving to some of those Product Experts.

Other Great Search Threads:

• Copilot answers and related searches are missing for the search term 'Google' / 'YouTube' on Bing SERP., Shameem Adhikarath on X
• Google Ads unpopular opinion from an ex-Googler. 8 times out of 10, the "low hanging fruit" for better ROAS is website optimization, not campaign optimization.⁠ ⁠ You must have high enough conversion rate and average order valu, Jyll Saskin Gales on Bluesky
• It's time to call it. AI is built on a house of cards of intellectual property violations starting with Facebook which is starting to look a lot like a crime scene as held back discovery documents begin to be compelled and unsealed, Jason Kint on X
• Podcast transcripts in Google AI Overviews... or not, Luke Chapman on LinkedIn
• Sponsored results are labeled under 'Featured Results' with "more sponsored results" button, showing people also consider queries, Shameem Adhikarath on X
• Google’s testing a new design for eCommerce rich cards—images now have a background, tags moved below, and a blue line added under 'Where to Buy.' here is the before and after screenshots, Sachin Patel on X

Search Engine Land Stories:

• The latest jobs in search marketing
• Google faces EU charges over search bias
• Google Ads to remove parked domain placements by default
• Is AI making PPC marketers better or worse?
• 7 video optimization tips to boost your organic reach in 2025
• 9 essential geotargeting tactics for Google Ads

Other Great Search Stories:

Analytics

• How to Use Google Analytics to Track Donor Engagement, fundsforNGOs
• SearchGPT and ChatGPT Referral Tracking : Why your Analytics Can Be Missing It, Search Engine World

Industry & Business

• AI startup Genspark raises $100 million to compete with Google, source says, Reuters
• Exclusive: Google to be hit with EU charges of breaching Big Tech rules, sources say, Reuters
• Report: OpenAI plans to shift compute needs from Microsoft to SoftBank, TechCrunch

Links & Content Marketing

• 12 Laughably Bad Linkbuilding Schemes, Michael Cottam
• Sports content marketing needs more truth, not more buzzwords, Marketing Mag

Local & Maps

• Recipes, restaurant reviews, coming to Apple News+ Food, AppleInsider
• Google Maps Loses a Key Feature on CarPlay, Users Hope It's Just an Error, AutoEvolution

Mobile & Voice

• Apple’s Vision Pro has a problem a year into existence: Too few apps, CNBC
• Hands on with Apple Intelligence on Apple Vision Pro, AppleInsider
• The Vision Pro is getting Apple Intelligence in April, TechCrunch
• visionOS 2.4 beta brings Apple Intelligence & new apps to Vision Pro, AppleInsider
• visionOS 2.4 Will Bring Apple Intelligence, Spatial Gallery, iPhone App & Guest Flow, UploadVR

SEO

• Topic Clusters for Local SEO: Types, Tips & Examples, WordStream
• Are LLM based chat bots vulnerable to SEO spam given the probabilistic nature of their responses? If a particular element of information is corroborated many times across the crawlable web does it influence results?, Kevin Lee
• SEO in the age of paywalls: A new study examines best practices in driving subscriptions; plus, media notes, Dan Kennedy
• The Rise of Embeddings in SEO, Chris Green
• When Clients Won't Implement: Trust Issues & Red Tape, Level343

Other Search

• ChatGPT referral traffic to top publishers up 8x in six months but still negligible, Press Gazette
• DeepSeek Promises to Share Even More AI Code in a Rare Step, Bloomberg
• OpenAI tops 400 million users despite DeepSeek's emergence, CNBC
• Biggest paywalled publishers in UK and US: new 2025 ranking, Press Gazette
• Grok 3 appears to have briefly censored unflattering mentions of Trump and Musk, TechCrunch

Feedback:

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