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 is testing new trust scores in the search entity knowledge panels. Google Ads AI chat bot was at a loss for words. Microsoft Advertising revenue in Bing Search was up 18%. Google Ads has new conversion reports with sales and leads tabs. Google Search is showing menu highlights carousels at the top.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Google Ads New Sales & Leads Conversion Reports
Google is rolling out new sales and leads conversion reports in the Google Ads advertiser console. These reports are under the Goals section, then Conversions and then Summary tab and there are then toggles to see sales versus leads. -
Google Search Entity Trust Scores From APIVoid & ScamAdviser
Google seems to be showing trust scores for some website entities in the knowledge panel box. It can show a trust score from APIVoid and ScamAdviser. I can replicate it for some websites but not for most. -
Google Menu Highlights Search Carousel
Google can show a restaurant's menu right at the top of the search results for a search on that restaurant's brand name. It comes up in this "menu highlights" carousel and showcases some of the items on that restaurant's menu. -
Google Business Profiles Learn Something Specific Question Box
Google is testing replacing the question and answer box for Google Business Profile listings with a title that reads, "Lear something specific." At least I think it is the same functionality as the question and answer box. -
Google Ads AI Chat Bot Is At A Loss For Words
Google Ads has been rolling out its conversational ad experience and more and more advertisers has been seeing the Google Ads chat feature come up. This Google Ads AI Chat can sometimes be at a loss for words. Thomas Eccel posted a screenshot of the Google Ads AI Chat bot responding with nothing, no words, just emptiness. -
Microsoft Bing Advertising Revenue Up 18%
Microsoft reported its first quarter 2025 earnings and it showed that its search and advertising revenue was up 18%. The last quarter it was up 19%, but as I noted then, the last time it was up over 19% in a quarter before last quarter was 10 quarterly earning reports ago, in Q3 2022. -
Spooky Google Halloween Office Signage
Halloween is here, and Google is prepping some of their offices for the holiday. The Google Brazil office changes some of its signage to dress up the Google logo in cobwebs and a witch broom, amongst other things.
Other Great Search Threads:
- 145x – That's how much referral traffic from ChatGPT has grown since May., Mark Traphagen on LinkedIn
- Clean URLs are the best URLs., John Mueller on LinkedIn
- Suspended/Disabled profiles Troubleshooting and FAQs, Google Business Profile Community
- The CEO of personal finance giant NerdWallet just said "Q3 was pretty brutal as far as some of the headwinds we faced in organic search, especially in highly commercial areas". Despite this, the company reported revenue of $19, Glen Allsopp on X
- Advice on how to remove detrimental business reviews, Local Search Forum
- Predictably, my article is now outranked by message boards talking about my article, Josh Tyler on X
Search Engine Land Stories:
- LinkedIn rolls out post boosting for Lead Generation
- Google pilots Business Links to boost Search Ad engagement
- NerdWallet reveals costly Google SEO visibility challenges
- Google rep’s unauthorized ad changes spark advertiser concerns
- Google’s next algorithm update is coming soon, but don’t expect to recover lost traffic
- How to identify untapped opportunities in PPC
- SEO beyond Google: Building your brand on Reddit, Quora, TikTok and more
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Google Analytics 4 Benchmarking: Compare Site with Peer Groups, Measure Minds Group
Industry & Business
- Google accused of imposing illegal 'gag order' blocking workers from discussing antitrust cases, NY Post
- Google Confirms $2.7 Billion Deal to Hire Character Co-Founders, The Information
- Perplexity's CEO punts on defining 'plagiarism', TechCrunch
- Google store opening at Oakbrook Center Friday, NBC Chicago
- Microsoft reports big earnings in AI, Microsoft 365 commercial products and cloud services, Axios
- Microsoft's financial disclosures show how OpenAI is fueling growth — and taking a toll on profits, GeekWire
Links & Content Marketing
- How Ahrefs’ Best Bootstrapped Backlink Builders Got Their Links [Analysis], BuzzStream
- 7 Bright Ideas To Help Your Content and Marketing Shine in 2025, Content Marketing Institute
- Beyond the funnel: A new approach to content marketing, MarTech
Local & Maps
- Reserve with Google: Boost Bookings Directly from Search, Yext
- The State of Local AI Search Results Near You, Local SEO Guide
- Expedia Group and Microsoft Bing Launch New Strategic Partnership Offering Travelers Additional Loyalty Perks, Expedia Group
Mobile & Voice
- Apple Intelligence released: Here's how to get it on your iPhone, CNBC
- ChatGPT Plus vs. Google Gemini Advanced: Battle of the Premium AI Chatbots - Video, CNET
- GitHub's Copilot goes multi-model and adds support for Anthropic's Claude and Google's Gemini, TechCrunch
- These 3 Apple Intelligence Features in iOS 18.1 Are the Ones You'll Actually Use, CNET
- Waymo explores using Google’s Gemini to train its robotaxis, The Verge
SEO
- Analyzing Sep 2024 traffic drops for Forbes & CNN: Sections of sites unrelated to the brand were affected, Marie Haynes
- How to optimize your SEO career, SERP's Up SEO Podcast
- Local SEO 101 – How to Rank in Multiple Locations, Codefixer
- Smoke out the competition with smart…, STAT Search Analytics
PPC
- 4 Google Ads Custom Columns I Use Everyday, PPC Hero
- Free Shipping Label in Bing Search Ads, PPC News Feed
- Google and post-cookie ad tech trends for marketers, publishers, Ad Age
- Help Page on Bidding Exploration Published, PPC News Feed
- How to Use Impression and Click Share Metrics to Scale Your Google Ads Campaigns, Databox
- The Future of PPC in a Conversational AI-Driven World, PPC Live
- Black Friday PPC Statistics: Insights to Boost Your PPC Campaigns, PPC News Feed
- Conditional Formatting for Google Ads Reports, PPC News Feed
Search Features
- Bing 2024 Elections Experience, Bing Search Blog
- We Studied 200,000 AI Overviews: Here‘s What We Learned, Semrush
Other Search
- Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas on the rush toward an AI-curated web, TechCrunch
- Generative AI could produce a new global surge in electronic waste, Washington Post
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