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.
I posted the November 2024 Google webmaster report a bit late this month, sorry about that. Google is testing anchor text based links in the AI Overviews. Google Ads has unpaused the election ads today. Google Ads Editor version 2.8 is out. Google is testing removing the site name and favicons from the search results. Google Maps finder may or may not show the sponsored label on the left side. HARO is being closed next month.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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November 2024 Google Webmaster Report
While Google has yet to confirm a Google search ranking update, we have seen tremendous volatility in the Google Search results this month. Google did however confirm it can downgrade sections of content that is starkly different from the main content. We also posted an update on the helpful content update. Finally, Google did say a new Google update is coming soon. -
Google AI Overviews Testing Anchor Text Based Hyperlinks
Google is testing showing real blue anchor text based hyperlinks in the AI Overviews, instead of showing that paperclip icon. This may encourage searchers to click on the links within the AI Overviews more - or maybe not - we have no data to validate this because Google won't give it to us. -
Google Ads Allows US Elections Ads Again Today
Google has lifted its pause on US election and political ads today, Monday, November 11, 2024. The pause of US based election ads was temporarily instituted after the US election polls closed on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Google has now lifted the temporary pause and you can begin those ads again, if you so want to. -
Google Tests Dropping Site Name & Favicon From Search Results
Google is testing removing the favicons and site name from the mobile search results. As you may remember, Google first launched these in the mobile search results back in October 2022 and yes, Google has had its trouble with these favicons and site names over the years. -
Google Map Finder Ads Sponsored Labels Not Always Showing
Google may be testing displaying sponsored labels in different positions within the local map finder view. Some of the ads have sponsored labels on the left side, where it lists the local listings. While others don't show the sponsored label until you hover over the listing. -
Google Ads Editor Version 2.8 Is Now Out
Google has released version 2.8 of the Google Ads Editor. This new update brings a number of new features including AI-generatged images, export to Google Sheets, brand guidelines, image cropping, strict age and gender targeting, a new help center and more. -
HARO / Connectively Platform Closing Down December 9
HARO, Help a Reporter Out, now known as the Connectively Platform is being discontinued, and shut down, on December 9th. For SEOs, it was a way to get attention and potentially links, from journalists and it is a topic we've covered in the past. -
Google Hosts A Plant Party
This isn't a joke, they have parties centered around plants. Google had a "plant party" at its Kitchener, Ontario office the other week. Googlers sat in a big room and made plants, it was a party.
Other Great Search Threads:
- For those wondering about what @JohnMu answered to my question related to the validity or not of es-419 as language code for Latam Spanish in the #hreflang , here his answer confirming it’s still not considered, Gianluca Fiorelli on X
- Nothing has changed, the documentation for this is pretty stable. If we decided to support different code sets, we would make a big deal about it., John Mueller on LinkedIn
- This is great to see, an HCU-affected site (which Google specifically acknowledged as having good content) is now ranking in position 2 organically for a valuable, relevant keyword (above REI & Switchback Travel). Green line in t, Lily Ray on X
- Google is displaying schema prices in bold, Sachin Patel on X
- Heads-up: Looks like there have been some huge surges and drops in the recipe space over the past few weeks. And Oct 26 was a big day for a number of those sites impacted. Some were tied to the August 2024 broad core update... and t, Glenn Gabe on X
- We took a revenue hit in our Moz SEO business, partially due to the MozCon conference moving out of the quarter, but also due to a softening a new customer acquisition" Ziff Davis are usually pretty quiet about their Moz acquisit..., Glen Allsopp on X
- I'm delighted to announce the #SEOFOMO News: Your Real-Time Source for SEO and Digital Marketing news. SEOFOMO News is a news community designed for SEO and digital marketing professionals to stay current with the, Aleyda Solis on X
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google to unpause political election ads Nov. 11
- The latest jobs in search marketing
- Google shifts Demand Gen audience categorization to ‘signals’
- Google sunsets Local Services Ads mobile app, shifts focus to web platform
- Google’s srsltid= parameter: What it means for SEO and attribution
- YouTube expands shorts monetization, adds new analytics features
- How to brief a content creator effectively for social search marketing
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
Industry & Business
- OpenAI loses another lead safety researcher, Lilian Weng, TechCrunch
- A.I.-Powered Painting of Alan Turing Sells for $1.1 Million, New York Times
- How ChatGPT Brought Down an Online Education Giant - WSJ, Wall Street Journal
Links & Content Marketing
- 100+ Winter Content Ideas to Keep Your Marketing Momentum, WordStream
- 10 Content Optimization Tips From 13 SEO Experts, Surfer SEO
- Optimize Content for Search Engines: From Invisible to Unmissable, Level343
Local & Maps
- Edit your Business Hours on Google Business Profile, Sterling Sky
- Google Maps now lets you pick and paint your own virtual car, Android Police
- Has Google Maps seemed a lot less reliable to you lately?, Android Police
- Siri Finally Gets Local Search, Near Media
- Google Maps Introduces AR For Paris Landmarks With Rock Paper Reality, Forbes
Mobile & Voice
- Gurman: Apple Vision Pro 2 on track for release between Fall 2025 and Spring 2026, 9to5Mac
- Standalone ‘Google Gemini’ app spotted for iPhone with Live, 9to5Google
SEO
- AI vs. SEO: What does the Future of Search look like?, SISTRIX
- News sites 'don't have genuine choice' over Google AI crawlers, Press Gazette
- SEO Poisoning: Google Search Traps Cat Lovers with Malware in Surprising Bengal Cat Scam, Bill Hartzer
- SERP Features Beyond Google – Analysing China, Advanced Web Ranking
- What if Schema.org is just… Labels?, Jono Alderson
PPC
- 9 PPC Metrics to Track & How to Optimize Them, Semrush
- Google Ads Speeds Up Access to Automated Asset Settings, PPC News Feed
- How To Design Effective A/B Tests for PPC, PPCChat
- Video: How to Set Up Attribute Rules in Google Merchant Center Next, ZATO Marketing
- What Is Keyword Advertising? A Guide to How It Works + Tips, Semrush
- Customize Your Communication Preferences with Google Ads Reps, PPC News Feed
- Google AdSense unveils enhanced features for 2024 holiday season monetization, PPC Land
- Performance Max Is transforming Google search results - But at what cost?, PPC Land
- Google Ads RLSA: How to Retarget Your Search Campaigns, Jyll Saskin Gales
Search Features
- The Google app is testing a convenient way to check your search history, Android Police
- How search engines changed with proxies, TechRadar
- Veterans Day 2024 Doodle, Google Doodles
Other Search
- ChatGPT told 2M people to get their election news elsewhere — and rejected 250K deepfakes, TechCrunch
- AI didn’t sway the election, but it’s eroding voters’ grip on reality, Washington Post
- OpenAI Shifts Strategy as Rate of ‘GPT’ AI Improvements Slows, The Information
- Researchers at Peking University Introduce A New AI Benchmark for Evaluating Numerical Understanding and Processing in Large Language Models, MarkTechPost
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