Daily Search Forum Recap: August 22, 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.

Now we are seeing some early reports of those early August core update gains are being reversed, for some. A new report says if you want links in Google AI Overviews, then you need to rank well organically. Google said unanswered comments are not bad for your rankings. Google Ads bug attributed traffic to a legacy match bidding type. Google is testing verification icons on organic search results.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Reports: Some Google August Core Update Gains Vanishing In Past 24 Hours
  I am starting to see some early reports from some site owners and SEOs that the gains they may have seen early on with the Google August 2024 core update, is slowly starting to slip away or vanish as you would... Meaning, some are noticing a surge (small relative to pre-helpful content update) increases but now some are seeing that surge slide back down.
• Google Ads Bug Attributes Traffic To Legacy Smart Matching Type
  Google has confirmed another bug with Google Ads where it accidentally attributed traffic to a match type that should not exist anymore - smart matching. Ginny Marvin, the Google Ad Liaison, confirmed the issue and said, "Advertisers will not be charged for these clicks, and we've reverted the change."
• New Report: Want Links In Google AI Overviews? Rank Well In Google Search.
  Do you want to get links in the new Google AI Overviews that show up in Google Search? Well, a new report says all you need to do is rank well in Google Search organically and you are incredibly likely to have links in the AI Overviews.
• Google: Unanswered Comments Don't Hurt Your Google Search Rankings
  Martin Splitt from Google said that having unanswered comments on your site or webpages does not negatively hurt your rankings in Google Search and is not a bad SEO thing. He said Google Search does not look to see of your comments get answered or do not get answered.
• Google Tests Verification Icons For Free Search Result Listings
  After testing the blue verification icons and labels for ads in the Google Search results, now Google seems to be testing them on the free organic search results. Oh, and Google also tested them in gold, and Microsoft tested verification labels in organic free listings too.
• Google IPO Day Ringing The Bell Photo From 20 Years Ago
  On August 19, 2004 Google's initial public offering took place, a total of 19,605,052 shares were offered at a price of $85 per share. Here is a photo that former Google executive, Marissa Mayer shared on X the other day, of the photo of some Googlers ringing the bell that day.

Other Great Search Threads:

• Good Morning Google Land! This is the August 21st edition of "Core Update Notes". Although many have been focused on HCU(X) sites (me included), there are some other sites surging back from the dead. I wrote a post in November cover, Glenn Gabe on X
• Google has started testing the short videos carousel on desktop for the first time since 2021. The test looks similar to the 2021 version, now highlighting the YouTube in-SERP viewing experience or TikTok favicons. History: https://t.co/, SERP Alert on X
• Google is testing the "Shop nearby" section in Serp, and when you click on it, it will take you to a near-me search query. Before we have saw the https://t.co/3rYMWvDtzO which covered by @rustybrick, Khushal Bherwani on X
• The subject line includes a competitor's brand name but the customer ID is ours... Has there been another mixup in @GoogleAds ? This was sent to the client's email address, not mine. @adsliaison do you have any info on what's happ, Chris Ridley on X

Search Engine Land Stories:

• Report: Google encouraged advertisers to target teens on YouTube
• Google Ads updates PMax modification campaign request form
• Google AI Overviews, organic results overlap jumps to 99%, analysis finds
• How to fix ‘Crawled – Currently not indexed’ error in Google Search Console
• Evaluating 7 AI video generators while waiting for OpenAI’s Sora

Other Great Search Stories:

Industry & Business

• Google agrees to $250M+ deal to fund California newsrooms, AI, POLITICO
• Google to help build cyber protection for Australian infrastructure, Reuters
• Baidu reports flat Q2 revenue as China's economic slowdown hits ad spending, Reuters
• China's Baidu beats quarterly revenue estimates By Reuters, Investing
• Tech industry taps old power stations to expand AI infrastructure, Financial Times (Sub)

Links & Content Marketing

• Link Building For Local Relevance & Topical Authority, RicketyRoo Inc
• Refreshing Evergreen Content: A Comprehensive Guide, NewzDash
• The Big Guide to Organic Social Media Marketing, TopRank
• The Future of AI in Content Marketing: 3 Noteworthy Trends, Inc
• What It Takes To Build a Unified Content Experience, Content Marketing Institute

Local & Maps

• Semrush Map Rank Tracker: A Solid Local Grid Rankings Tool, Local SEO Guide
• People notice major difference in Google Maps and Apple Maps but are divided on which is better, Unilad

Mobile & Voice

• ChatGPT makes Siri more intelligent in iOS 18: Here’s how, 9to5Mac
• Google Assistant gets yet another UI redesign on Android Auto, Android Police
• Google's Gemini Leaves Apple Intelligence In the Dust, Extremetech
• Google's new Pixel phones feature AI features for photo editing and chat, Axios

SEO

• 7 Outdated SEO Tactics to Stop Doing NOW, WordStream
• Biggest Web Migration Gotchas, Builtvisible
• Orphan Pages | How to Find & Fix Them, SEOTesting

PPC

• Announcing v202408 of the Google Ad Manager API, Google Ads Developer Blog
• Google Suggests Buyers Target Teens, Against Policy, AdWeek
• Inability to Upload Existing Supplemental Feed in Google Sheets, PPC News Feed
• Localized Digital Advertising: Killer Strategies to Maximize Your ROI, PPC Hero
• Performance Max's Final URL Has Been Relocated, PPC News Feed
• Updates to Financial products and services policy (September 2024), Google Advertising Policies Help
• 5 Expert Tips for Local Businesses Using Google Ads, Jyll Saskin Gales

Other Search

• Sick of Google? Try one of these 5 search engines instead, PCWorld

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