Daily Search Forum Recap: August 14, 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.

The US is considering breaking up Google as a remedy to it being a monopoly, including breaking off Android and Chrome and maybe Google Ads. Google Gemini Research may be the future of Google Search, maybe. Google Hotel listings are being hijacked with fake WhatsApp numbers and marked as permanently closed. Google Search Console only shows 35% of your data, it depends says Google. Apple Business Connect expands showcases for businesses.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• DOJ May Break Up Google: Separating Android & Chrome; Maybe Ads
  US Considers a Rare Antitrust Move: Breaking Up Google, out of Bloomberg last night was the big business news from yesterday. How would Google be broken up? Well, they would diversify Android and Chrome and potentially try to force Google to sell "AdWords," they mean Google Ads.
• Google Gemini Research: Web Search & Adds Link Citations
  We keep trying to understand if Google Search will change, if it will just be AI Overviews or if the change will be more drastic. Well, Google demoed Gemini Research, where Google uses AI to do your research, by curating information across the web to build a document that gives you a detailed researched answer.
• Google Search Console Only Shows 35% Of Your Data? It Depends, Says Google.
  When Google announced the new Google Search Console recommendations, one of the examples of the recommendations was to bulk export your data because "Search Console only shows 35% of your performance data." Now, this is not new, we knew Google anonymized way too much of your data in Search Console, but now Google is showing how much in this example report.
• Google Hotel Listings Under Siege: Fake WhatsApp Numbers & Marking As Closed
  I am hearing reports of some spammers or hackers hijacking some Google Hotel listings by marking some hotels as permanently closed and also changing the phone numbers to WhatsApp numbers. This can be a huge concern for many hotel operators, but I am not sure how widespread the issue is.
• Apple Business Connect Adds Showcase Enhancements & Updates
  Apple Business Connect has added a new feature named Showcase enhancements. A "Showcase" allows you to share up-to-date information with your customers, like seasonal items or promotions. Apple extended these showcases for longer periods and more characters.
• White Piano At Google Zurich Office
  Here is a photo from the Google office in Zurich, Switzerland. You can see they have this nice looking white Yamaha piano.

Other Great Search Threads:

• 5 product results in shopping grid fully live here is link where the test covered, now looks fully live for US, Khushal Bherwani on X
• Google Discover is now testing showing 'Updates on topic that you follow' button - clicking which takes to a SUPER long feed with so many URLs. Amazing for publishers actually - more cards in Discover - more opportunity to be, Gagan Ghotra on X
• Historically, for most applications, we cared about knowing that we're talking to the correct server, but the server rarely cared about knowing us. I'm talking about SSL/TLS, and mutual TLS (mTLS)., Gary Illyes on LinkedIn

Search Engine Land Stories:

• Report: U.S. considering forcing a Google breakup
• Google extends deadline for Hotel Ads commission bidding sunset
• Google Ads API streamlines conversion adjustment uploads
• Google AI Overviews volatility continues: Rise, fall, repeat
• How Google Search ranking works
• Broad match keywords: When to test and when to avoid

Other Great Search Stories:

Industry & Business

• DOJ Considers Seeking Google Breakup After Major Antitrust Win, Bloomberg
• FTC Outlines Remedy Concerns in Amicus Brief After Jury Finds Google Illegally Monopolized App Store, Federal Trade Commission
• Thoughts on the U.S. v. Google Verdict (Part 1), Above Avalon
• Hidden Power, Broken Rules: How companies are gaming global emissions reporting rules, Action Speaks Louder

Links & Content Marketing

• Brand Story Archetypes, Content Marketing Institute
• Why taming content chaos is not a technology story, Diginomica

Local & Maps

• Apple Maps could be plotting a big update to help it compete with Google Maps' Street View, TechRadar
• Apple Planning to Expand Maps App's 'Look Around' Feature, MacRumors

Mobile & Voice

• 14 new AI features in Google’s Pixel 9 series devices, Google Blog
• Gemini AI: Updates to Android and Pixel at Made by Google 2024, Google Blog
• Google AI: How Gemini makes Android more helpful, Google Blog
• Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold: Price, specs, photos, Google Blog
• Google Pixel Buds Pro 2: Earbuds built for Gemini AI, Google Blog
• Google Pixel Watch 3: New features, design, battery life, Google Blog
• New Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL: Specs, design, price and more, Google Blog
• Pixel and Android announce new AI accessibility updates, Google Blog
• Gemini, Google's AI-powered chatbot, is the default assistant on Pixel 9 phones, Engadget

SEO

• How Extra HTML Attributes in Canonical Tags Impact Search Engines, Merj
• How to adapt to evolving search algorithms, Oncrawl
• Is Google’s engagement-hacking masking stalled growth?, Near Media
• Move over SEO, Profound is helping brands with AI search optimization, TechCrunch
• Researching Keywords for Your SEO Strategy, Step by Step, TopRank
• Video Carousel SERP Feature: SEO Impact (Research Included), seoClarity
• SERP’s Up Goes Live: 100th Episode Special, Wix SEO Hub

PPC

• Businesses have 'no choice' when it comes to Google ad surcharge, CBC News
• Commission Bidding in Google Hotel Ads Extended Until February 2025, PPC News Feed
• Harris-sponsored Google ads suggest publishers are on her side, Axios
• Deprecation of Energy Efficiency Attributes Postponed, PPC News Feed
• Who Stands To Benefit In Search Ads Following Google’s Antitrust Verdict?, AdExchanger

Search Features

• Microsoft is not doing any favors with its new Bing strategy, XDA Developers
• Prediction marketplace Polymarket partners with Perplexity to show news summaries, TechCrunch

Other Search

• ChatGPT updated to new model that exhibits multi-step reasoning, VentureBeat
• Introducing SWE-bench Verified, OpenAI

Feedback:

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