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 told us to wait until the August core update is done rolling out to see how we were impacted, maybe because of that ranking bug overlap. Google AI Overview inclusion is impacted by Google core updates. Google spoke about why you may see the discovered - currently not indexed note in Google Search Console. Google is showing a new style for maps in the Google Search results. Google is testing your related searches in the sidebar as a timeline.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Google: Wait Until The August Core Update Is Complete To See Effects
As you know, Google released its August 2024 core update on Thursday, August 15th, followed shortly after by a large search ranking bug hours later. SEOs and site owners are asking how we can differentiate between the two. Google's John Mueller explained that you should not fully judge the effect of the current core update until it is fully done rolling out. -
Seems Like Google AI Overviews Are Impacted By Core Updates
Google core updates, such as the August 2024 core update, seem to directly impact if a site shows in the Google AI Overviews or not. Google did say quality is a benchmark for showing in the AI Overviews, plus we know featured snippets and many other search features are all impacted by Google core algorithmic updates. -
Google Discovered - Currently Not Indexed - Quality, Timing Or Server Speed
Google's Martin Splitt posted a video in his SEO Made Easy series on the topic of the Google Search Console "Discovered - Currently Not Indexed" page indexing report status note. In short, there are three primary reasons you'd see pages in this category, they are: -
Google Your Related Searches Timeline On Sidebar
Google is testing a new search feature named "your related searches" that seems to be pinned to the sidebar of the Google Search results. It reminds me of the Chrome Journeys but this seems to be baked right into Google Search. -
New Google Maps Design Within Google Search Results
Google Search has a new design for the embedded map you see for both local pack maps and knowledge panel maps. The new map has a more subtle design, with blue roads, not yellow roads and other design differences. -
Olympic Medal Winners Google Talk
Google recorded a Google talk at the Google Paris, France office, during the Olympics, with Olympic medal winners Gus Kenworthy, Greg Louganis and Marcos (don't know last name - maybe you do).
Other Great Search Threads:
- Jarvis Rising -> I just received Gemini Live. This is pretty incredible. Just had a conversation with Gemini about how to hit sand shots in golf. I interrupted a few times to ask for clarification, and it seamlessly handled that. Th, Glenn Gabe on X
- Confirming that Audience Insights is *not* being removed. The team is aware of an issue that caused this reporting to stop showing in some accounts and is working to address it., AdsLiaison on X
- In the first 6000 pixels of this mobile search (engagement rings Williamsville) Google shows: 1 Sponsored Ad carousel 4 regular ads 1 Map Pack Ad 3 Pack listings People Also ask I have never seen so many ads, Mike Blumenthal on X
- Is the Associated Press the latest casualty of Google's site reputation abuse manual actions? Their Buyline section, launched in partnership with Taboola, seems to have lost all rankings (including for its own name). All of th, Glen Allsopp on X
- When you set up a new #GA4 property, Google now recommends installing the Google Tag MANUALLY instead of using GTM. What do you think about this recommendation? Why is Google pushing manual tagging?, Himanshu Sharma on X
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google Ads removes Audience Recommendations?
- Google’s Top stories looks broken: Are news publishers to blame?
- Prioritizing SEO strategies: Where to focus your efforts
- Google Search ranking bug is now resolved
- How to get faster SEO results
Other Great Search Stories:
Industry & Business
- Condé Nast Signs Deal With OpenAI, Wired
- Energix signs long-term solar power deal with Google, Reuters
- FlightAware warns that some customers' info has been 'exposed,' including Social Security numbers, TechCrunch
- New ways we're advancing our clean energy commitments in the U.S., Google Blog
- US appeals court revives Google privacy class action, Reuters
- UK watchdog shuts down probe into Apple and Google app stores, Reuters
Links & Content Marketing
- How AI-Generated Content Is Challenging SEO and Web Operators, The New Stack
- B2B marketers aim to up their social media and video content this year, eMarketer
Local & Maps
- Google Maps Competitor PamPam Wants Maps to Be Fun, Build Communities, Business Insider
- Offline Google Maps rolls out to Wear OS, Android Authority
Mobile & Voice
- Apple Vision Pro review: six month stasis, AppleInsider
- Google might pair Pixel Screenshots with Circle to Search for rediscovery, Android Central
- Using Gemini Live was faster than Google, but also more awkward, The Verge
SEO
- 50 Bootstrapped SaaS Companies Dominating SEO in 2024, Ahrefs
- Introducing the Google-CloudVertexBot crawler, Google for Developers
- Laravel SEO made easy with the Honeystone package, Laravel News
- SEO for Higher Education: 3 Unique Challenges, Sitebulb
- Social media ads vs. organic strategy: which is better for SEO?, Yoast
- Bing Webmaster Tools or Google Search Console: A Comparison, Bing Webmaster Blog
PPC
- Google Updates Performance Max Campaign Request Form, PPC News Feed
- WhatsApp Asset Rolls Out to 11 More Countries, PPC News Feed
Other Search
- Fine-tuning now available for GPT-4o, OpenAI
- Gemini in Gmail can now help polish up your drafts, The Verge
Feedback:
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