Daily Search Forum Recap: May 16, 2024

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.

We are still seeing really big and heated Google search ranking volatility. Tons of searchers do not want the AI Overviews in the Google Search results but there is no way to turn them off. Google Local Service Ads now lets you text multiple advertisers at the same time. Google said sites hit by the helpful content update, if they fix everything, can recover with the next core update. Service areas may be a new Google local ranking factor. Google AdSense will not change the minimum reporting thresholds.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Continued Heated Google Search Ranking Volatility Through May 16th
  I have been continuing to update the May 9th Google ranking volatility story, but it is super unusual to see such heated volatility for such a long period within the Google Search rankings. This continued Google search ranking update of sorts kicked off with May 3rd but then spiked with May 9th and has really not let up much since.
• Google Local Service Ads Tests Message Multiple Businesses
  Google is testing a new button for the Local Service Ads to "message multiple businesses" instead of just messaging one business at a time. We saw something like this before, but it only showed up after you messaged the first business.
• Google: Sites Hit By Helpful Content Update Could See Improvements With Next Core Update If...
  Google's John Mueller was asked when can a site expect to recover from the September 2023 helpful content update, assuming the site took all measures to "fix" their site. John Mueller said you can assume "bigger changes would be visible when the next core updates happen."
• Is Service Areas A New Google Local Ranking Factor?
  A bunch of local SEOs are buzzing about a possible new local SEO Google ranking factor and are looking to confirm it. Darren Shaw posted on X that while setting the service area historically had no influence on your Google local rankings, that may now have changed.
• Google AdSense Will Not Change Minimum Reporting Thresholds
  Google AdSense planned on changing the minimum reporting thresholds for Custom Channels and Search Styles to 100 clicks per day on May 15th. But Google sent an email to AdSense publishers that it will not make those changes.
• Many Searchers Want To Turn Off Google AI Overviews
  There are many searchers who have been using Google daily that are heading to the Google Web Search Help forums to ask how they can turn off the new AI Overviews within the Google Search results. As you know, AI Overviews started to roll out on Tuesday and some searchers simply do not want it.
• Google Level 5 Local Guide Banana Hat
  It looks like GooGler biG miG, which is a stuffed banana, has reached level 5 as a Google Local Guide. I never heard of this banana before but this banana seems to take photos at a lot of local places and posts them as reviews as a local guide.

Other Great Search Threads:

• You'll likely see ‘unknown’ in ad destination segment reporting for a couple of reasons: - Traffic landing in channels such as Gmail that don't get segmented further by ad destination..., AdsLiaison on X
• Google was testing a 'Define' option for words directly on the SERP. Previously, there were two options: 'Copy' and 'Define'. However, it appears that now only the 'Define' option is available., Shameem Adhikarath on X
• I'm also not flagging it as an issue to the Search Console folks, since hints like this are useful for site owners even if they're not consistently used, John Mueller on X
• I imagine that we don't use a cache when fetching sitemaps, it would be the reasonable thing to skip for something machine-readable like a sitemap file, or robots.txt, etc., John Mueller on Mastodon
• The most impressive and long-term impactful facet of GPT-4o is the two-way, streaming, interruptible, low-latency, full-duplex native speech. That is REALLY hard - possibly the first model that genuinely will be easier to talk to than type., Mikhail Parakhin on X
• When folks say that SEO is dead, will die, or go away, it would help to understand what they consider SEO to be. People do so many different things in the name of SEO - which of those things do they expect to change? (And there's always change :-)), John Mueller on X

Search Engine Land Stories:

• How entity-based strategies can contribute to PPC success

Other Great Search Stories:

Industry & Business

• How Google’s Gemini AI model got its name, Google Blog
• Why Google and OpenAI Don’t See Eye to Eye on Voice Assistants, The Information
• Baidu Non-GAAP EPADS of $2.76 beats by $0.57, revenue of $4.37B beats by $30M, Seeking Alpha
• Google and OpenAI race to build the feature of search, The Verge

Links & Content Marketing

• 3 Contextual Link-Building Strategies That Actually Work, Content Marketing Institute
• What a Content Hub Is & How to Create One (+ Examples), Semrush

Local & Maps

• Google announced an update for Android Auto with new apps and casting support, Engadget
• Introducing Gemini model capabilities for Places API, 3D Maps in the Maps JavaScript API, and open-source React components, Google Maps Platform

Mobile & Voice

• Google Glass Is Poised for a Comeback, Executives Say, Bloomberg
• Wear OS 5 will triple down on battery life, The Verge
• ChatGPT-4o vs Google Gemini Live — how the new AI assistants stack up, Tom's Guide
• Google's Android Chief Says AI Is a New Weapon Against Apple's iPhone, Business Insider
• Google’s new Ask With Video is an accessibility godsend for me — here’s why, Tom's Guide

SEO

• How to Build a Winning YouTube SEO Strategy, TopRank Marketing
• Real talk on SEO and accessibility, SERP's Up SEO Podcast
• Rivian adds YouTube App and Google Cast to R1 infotainment, Electrek
• The Future of SEO Is Here: AI Overview, GPT-4o, Plus GPTBot Data Now in Botify, Botify
• The rise of situational content: Lessons from Google’s March 2024 core update, Wix SEO Hub
• Unveiling Google I/O 2024 (Bonus Episode), SERP's Up SEO Podcast
• Google's Site Reputation Abuse Policy: All You Need To Know, SEOSLY

PPC

• 5 Campaign Red Flags And Why They Matter, PPC Hero
• Search Terms Available Again in Performance Max: What This Means & How Can You Benefit, Optmyzr

Other Search

• Google I/O 2024: 100 things Google announced, Google Blog

Feedback:

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