Daily Search Forum Recap: March 3, 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 Ads stopped running for many advertisers over the weekend, Google finally fixed it Monday. Google Ads has this "mystery shopper rating" that is super confusing. Google Ads is doing triple serving ads - not just double serving. Google vehicle ads now supports RVs and campers. Google Merchant Center has a shipping rates bug stopping some advertisers from showing their products. And I posted the monthly Google webmaster report.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Many Google Ads Accounts Not Serving Or Delivering Ads Since March 1 (Confirmed & Fixed)
  Since March 1st, there are many Google Ads accounts that are not serving ads. The Google Ads forum is filled with complaints about this and as far as I can tell, I cannot find a single response from an official Google Ads representative (as of yet).
• Google Ads Mystery Shopping Rating - What?
  Have any of you heard of the Google Ads mystery shopping rating? Well, it may be used by Google for the overall store rating, which is calculated from customer reviews and a "Mystery Shopping Rating," according to a Google Ads rep.
• Google Ads Triple Serving Ads On Same Search Results Page
  Last December, Google confirmed they are testing double serving ads on the search results. Double serving ads is showing the same ad from the same advertiser more than once on the search results page. It was something against the Google Ads policy. Well, now Google is triple serving ads on the same page!
• Google Tests AI Overviews In Germany, Switzerland, Italy & More
  While we've seen AI Overviews in the United States for a while now, and while Google has expanded them to 100+ countries - they are still not officially launched in many European countries like Germany, Switzerland, Italy and others. Well, now we are hearing that Google is testing AI Overviews in those countries.
• Google Vehicle Ads Now Allow RVs & Campers
  Google now accepts RVs (recreational vehicles) and campers in Google Vehicle Ads. Google posted this on Friday afternoon and wrote, "Vehicle ads will be expanding to include recreational vehicles (RVs) and campers."
• Google Merchant Center Shipping Rates Bug Ongoing
  Retailers have been complaining for the past several days that there is a bug in Google Merchant Center when trying to add the shipping rates and costs. Step four of that process just bugs out and it is preventing some merchants from completing their details and advertising with Google Ads or listing free listings in Google Shopping.
• March 2025 Google Webmaster Report
  It is time for the monthly Google Webmaster Report. We are now in March as we continue to wait for the first Google core update of 2025. We did have a number of big unconfirmed Google updates, as documented below.
• Google National Teachers Program
  Here is a photo from an event Google held at the GooglePlex. The event was named Google 2025 National Teacher of the Year Program Orientation and you can see the balloons and blow up education art behind this person.

Other Great Search Threads:

• Google in 2010 vs 2025, using their own TV ad., Brandon Saltalamacchia on X
• AdSense Earnings and Observations - March 2025, WebmasterWorld
• First time I see AIOverviews in germany. Welcome to germany AIO!, Olaf Kopp on LinkedIn
• Google added a new easter egg on Google Search, “Naruto”., Radu Oncescu on X
• This is new to me. Whenever a website wants to link to an article, instead of linking to it directly, they are linking to an archive of that page. So linking to the Wayback machine or similar sites instead of the original article. That's re, Preeti Gupta on Bluesky
• "Time flies. 30 years ago today, David Filo and Jerry Yang founded Yahoo! to be the first trusted guide to the Internet. There have been many eras of the company ever since, marked by many ups and a few downs. But most companies don't m, Jim Lanzone on X

Search Engine Land Stories:

• Google Ads stop running for some advertisers
• Top 5 Google Ads opportunities you might be missing
• The shift to semantic SEO: What vectors mean for your strategy

Other Great Search Stories:

Industry & Business

• Google co-founder urges AI staff to 'turbocharge' efforts, work 60 hours per week, Seeking Alpha
• Google's newest moonshot delivers internet by firing lasers through the air — Taara project upgrades to tiny 13mm photonic chips placed 1km apart, Tom's Hardware

Links & Content Marketing

• Big Audience Machine: AI-powered content marketing for SMEs, Silicon Republic
• There's Nothing Prudent About Good Content Marketing, DMNews

Local & Maps

• Android Auto 13.9 update now rolling out, 9to5Google
• Google Maps Has New Car Icons, and Users Will Love Them, AutoEvolution
• Google Maps will add this feature from Waze to make driving more colorful and fun, PhoneArena

Mobile & Voice

• How to use Apple Shortcuts on iPhone, iPad, Mac, AppleInsider
• Apple Siri Compared With Alexa+; M4 MacBook Air and iPad Air 2025 Coming Soon, Bloomberg
• Siri may only get minor improvements before iOS 19, AppleInsider
• Android showcases new AI and Gemini features at MWC, Google Blog
• Google's Gemini now lets you ask questions using videos or what's on your screen, TechCrunch

SEO

• December 2024 Google Spam Update Analysis, Hobo
• The Hidden Dangers of Programmatic SEO, Airops
• Unannounced February 2025 Google update activity, Hobo
• Keyword ranking is most popular metric among SEO professionals amid concern over algorithm changes, Exploding Topics
• Search Everywhere Optimization: The Complete Guide (2025), SEOSherpa

PPC

• Boosting your reach and performance with Google Display Ads, Google Blog
• Update to the Personalized ads policy in India (March 2025), Google Advertising Policies Help
• Announcing Android Google Mobile Ads SDK version 24.0.0, Google Ads Developer Blog
• Spring 2025 changes to Display & Video 360 API and Structured Data Files, Google Ads Developer Blog
• Google Merchant Center Renames Conversions, PPC News Feed

Other Search

• Meta plans to release a standalone Meta AI app, CNBC
• How AI ‘Reasoning’ Models Will Change Companies and the Economy, Bloomberg

Feedback:

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