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 should release a confirmed algorithm update or two this summer. Google Search Console link report is showing drastically fewer links. Google clarified that journalistic awards are not a direct ranking signal. Bing Chat will get dark mode in weeks, and Bing Chat will be available on other browsers within a week or two.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Google: Expect A Confirm Google Algorithm Update This Summer
I think everyone in our industry is surprised we have not had a confirmed Google search ranking update since April 2023. But you should expect Google to confirm a search ranking algorithm update before the summer is up. - Google Search Console Link Report Showing Drastically Fewer Links
Google Search Console has a link report and that link report has become less and less useful over the years. This morning, it seems like Google pushed an update or has a bug where now people are seeing about half the number of links that they saw the previous day. In some cases, SEOs are seeing zero to just a handful of links being reported. - Google: Journalistic Awards Are Not A Direct Search Ranking Signal
As you may remember, Google has a news topic authority ranking system, which has been around for a while but Google recently disclosed to the public. Danny Sullivan, Google's Search Liaison, clarified on Twitter that some of the "signals" listed in its document are not "direct signals" but rather ways for you to "self-assess if a source has built a good reputation." - Microsoft: Bing Chat To Work On Any Browser In A Week Or Two
Several weeks ago, Bing's CEO, Mikhail Parakhin said that Bing Chat will soon work on any browser - that you don't have to use Microsoft Edge to run Bing Chat. Well, now he is saying we are only a week or two away until that starts to roll out. - Bing Chat In Dark Mode Coming In A Couple Of Weeks
For the past couple of months now, Microsoft has been saying dark mode is coming to Bing Chat. But now they are putting a timeline on it - dark mode for Bing Chat is now only a "couple of weeks" away. - Mikhail Parakhin Bing Conference Room Candies
Here is something I didn't know, Microsoft's Mikhail Parakhin, who is the CEO of Bing, has his own conference room and in that conference room he has sticky and tasty caramel candies.
Other Great Search Threads:
- Another recent favicon drop, this time for APPLE. Checking their homepage, they don't provide code for their favicon... I see the favicon dropped out of the SERPs over the past few days, like several other large brands/sites., Glenn Gabe on Twitter
- Bing Image recognition is exactly the same model from OpenAI. Same bits., Mikhail Parakhin on Twitter
- We've published a new, in-depth implementation guide detailing how Google Ads is using the Privacy Sandbox Attribution Reporting API to approach ad measurement differently in a cookie-less future.., AdsLiaison on Twitter
- Are there industries where producers of low effort, low quality work brag about the amount of money they make, where they're idolized, and protected by folks in the industry?, John Mueller on Twitter
- Check out our statement on the @nytimes story about potential AI-enabled tools for news publishers: In partnership with news publishers, especially smaller publishers, we’re in the earliest stages of exploring ideas to, Google Communications on Twitter
- It looks like there are links to the side and would be inline in expanded view. But please do use the feedback link, because the team does consider that on how to improve the experiment., Google SearchLiaison on Twitter
- Stop calling your social media posts or success stories SEO case studies! This guy bought a domain, developed a website, created content, bought backlins, and set up monetization., Mike Blazer on Mastodon
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Microsoft’s Performance Max is now in open beta
- Instagram updates Reels to simplify content creation
- Google confirms related search operator is going away
- 5 free SEO tools and plugins to try
- How to calculate and improve your agency’s churn rate
- How to use Google Ads to get more donations for your nonprofit
Other Great Search Stories:
Industry & Business
- 68 SEO Experts To Follow On Threads, Search Engine Journal
- How Google Taiwan builds new features and products, Google Blog
Links & Content Marketing
- 5 Internal Linking Case Studies of Increased Visibility and Opportunity, seoClarity
- Google Tests A.I. Tool That Is Able to Write News Articles, New York Times
- 8 AI Copywriting Tools to Improve Efficiency, Bitvero UK Ltd
Local & Maps
- Apple Maps versus Google Maps: Tide is turning, say analysts, 9to5Mac
- Don’t trust that airline hotline number on Google Maps, Android Police
- Google Maps Rival Creates System To Detect Flooded Roads and Send Warnings to Drivers, AutoEvolution
- How to remove a Google Maps subscription, Macworld
Mobile & Voice
- How to use dictation in macOS Sonoma, AppleInsider
- Meta Scales Back Ambitions for AR Glasses, The Information
- Samsung starts development of ‘Galaxy Ring’, THE ELEC
- Unity’s Apple Vision Pro game development tool opens in beta, TechCrunch
- iPhone 15 launch may be delayed, AppleInsider
SEO
- 7 reasons why your website does not show up on Google, Onely
- Cross-regional Video SEO Case Study, Google Search Central
- What If You Only Worked with SEO Clients You Loved?, BruceClay
PPC
- Effectively use the Attribution Reporting API for ad measurement, Google Ads Developer Blog
- What Are Page Feeds in Performance Max Campaigns?, ZATO Marketing
- Why Google's head of ad tools in the Americas thinks the AI revolution is a good problem, Digiday
Search Features
- Answer: How can we use LLMs to search better?, SearchReSearch
Other Search
- Apple Preps Ajax Generative AI, ‘Apple GPT’ to Rival OpenAI and Google, Bloomberg
- Bing Chat invites are showing up for Google Chrome users, Windows Central
- Enterprise-ready generative AI models go GA in Vertex AI, Google Cloud Blog
Feedback:
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