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 says a new search ranking update is coming soon, but told those hit by previous updates, not to expect recoveries and maybe it is time to move on. Google reported its earnings last night and it was their highest quarter for ad revenue ever. Google Ads is piloting new business link assets. Google confirmed its ad rep made unauthorized changes to an ad account by mistake. Bing is testing search ads labels that are so hard to see. Google is testing a scrollable search ad toggle unit.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Google: Search Ranking Update Coming Soon But HCU Victims Should Move On
Google held that Web Creator summit yesterday at the GooglePlex, where Google told victims of previous search ranking updates including the September 2023 helpful content update, that a new search ranking update is coming fairly or very soon, but if they were hit by the helpful content update, they should not expect to recover and they likely should move on to new things. -
Confirmed: Google Ad Rep Made Unauthorized Changes To Ad Account
Ginny Marvin, the Google Ads Liaison, has confirmed that a Google ad representative, a Google employee, has made unauthorized changes to a Google ad account. Marvin wrote that following up after an investigation on the matter, "we did not properly follow our processes for ensuring approvals are granted before making changes." -
Google Ad Revenue Up 10% - With Biggest Ad Revenue Quarter Ever
Google / Alphabet reported its Q3 2024 earnings last night, where its ad revenue hit $65.85 billion, up 10% from last year's quarter of $59.65 billion. Google's revenue was up 15% with $88.3 billion and its profit was up 33% to $26.3B. Search revenue specifically was up 12% to $49.39 billion. -
Bing Tests Hiding Ads Labels After Domain
You thought Google was sneaky with their ad or sponsored labels. Microsoft has a history of being super sneaky with their ad labels in Bing Search. Here is a new example of Bing hiding the small ad label right after the domain name, normally it shows up in the front section of the ad, which is also hard to see, but not as hard as this. -
New Google Ads Business Links Asset Type
Google Ads has a new asset type with enhancement features named business links. Google posted a new help document that says, "Business links is a new asset type with enhancement features that allow you to target customized and varied user intents all in a single Search ad." -
Google Tests Scrollable Search Ads Categories
Google is testing a search ad product carousel format that has these sub-categories that scroll as you swipe through the carousel of products. This format looks familiar but I cannot find any coverage of this new look, so I am covering it now. -
Google Hong Kong Office Maps
Here is a photo of the Google office in Hong Kong. It shows the map of the office they have there. Yeah, the internal blueprints of where to go, how to get there, and where all the Google ranking secrets can be found.
Other Great Search Threads:
- SEOs, this Looker Studio feature was BUILT FOR YOU! Once you connect your Search Console property, click to add a dimension, scroll to the bottom of the list, and click "Add Group.", Brie E Anderson on X
- I find it's nice to have some ideas of who else to follow on a network like this, but ranking them is a bad idea, and oh my, everyone here looks the same, there are so many other people with insightful thoughts on this network. I'd suggest redoing this on, John Mueller on LinkedIn
- We’re starting to roll out the ability to search through your chat history on ChatGPT web. Now you can quickly & easily bring up a chat to reference, or pick up a chat where you left off., OpenAI on X
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google Ad spend grows despite AI changes
- How to choose an SEO-friendly domain name
- How to implement a PPC campaign
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Benchmarking, Google Analytics Help
Industry & Business
- Google among investors putting $110 million into Nigeria's Moniepoint, Reuters
- Google CFO says company can 'push a little further' in cost savings, CNBC
- Meta’s AI Abundance, Stratechery by Ben Thompson
- Microsoft and Google’s Brussels lobbying war heats up, POLITICO
- Most interesting takeaways for SEOs on Google's Q3 2024 earnings call, Marie Haynes
- Google Fined Mind-Boggling $2.5 Decillion For Not Restoring Russian Media Outlets: Reports, NDTV
- Sundar Pichai Admits DOJ Proposals Could Have 'Unintended Consequences' — Google Mapping Out Plan B In Case Apple Ends Search Deal?, Benzinga
Links & Content Marketing
- How Salesforce Blazed Award-Winning Content Trail for Sales Pros, Content Marketing Institute
Local & Maps
- Google Flights Adds The Ability To Return To A Different Airport, If You Know Where To Look, DansDeals
- Google Maps now has over 2 billion monthly users, 9to5Google
Mobile & Voice
- Samsung’s smartphone crown slips with company in crisis, Financial Times (Sub)
SEO
- Brutally Short List of WordPress Plugins That Help Local SEO, Local Visibility System
- How Google's Updates Brought Out My Insecurities From High School, Mike Hardaker
- How to optimize for Interaction to Next Paint (INP), Wix SEO Hub
- How to Support your Website Deployment Workstream with Crawling, Sitebulb
- It’s Time for SEO to Evolve, Search Engine World
- For Reach plc, Google Discover has offset search-driven traffic declines, Digiday
- From AI to social search: Key takeaways from BrightonSEO, Builtvisible
PPC
- Save time and expand reach on Microsoft Advertising using the new Google Import this holiday, Microsoft Advertising
- 12 Tips for Google Ads with a Low Budget, Jyll Saskin Gales
- Is @xwf.google.com Legit? What does this email address mean?, Jyll Saskin Gales
Search Features
Other Search
- Beyond the Algorithm - Decoding the Macrotrends that are Shaping the Future of SEO, Kantar
- ChatGPT is Ranking in Google's Search Engine Results Pages, Bill Hartzer
- Google says its next-gen AI agents won't launch until 2025 at the earliest, TechCrunch
- Joe Rogan Addresses Claims YouTube Censoring Donald Trump Interview, Newsweek
- AI super users have found the ultimate work hacks, Washington Post
- Scammers seem to be exploiting Google Search's News tab, Tech Issues Today
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